THE 


Jewish Encyclopedia 


A DESCRIPTIVE RECORD OF 

THE HISTORY, RELIGION, LITERATURE, AND CUS- 
TOMS OF THE JEWISH PEOPLE FROM THE 
EARLIEST TIMES TO THE PRESENT DAY 


Prepared by More ihan Six Hundred Scholars and Specialisis 

UNDER TIIK DIRECTION OK TIIE FOLLOWING EDITORIAL BOARD 

CY ™s Ai> l er, Pii.D. (Departments of Post- Joseph Jacobs, B.A. (Departments of the Jews 
Biblical A ntujiuties : the Pews of America of F.nsrlnnd „,,d 4 


Biblical Antiquities ; the Jews of America). 
Wilhelm Baciier, Pii.D. (Departments of the 
Talmud and Rabbinical Literature). 

Gottiiard Dkutscii, Pii.D. (Department of 
History from 141)2 to rgoj). 

Richard Gottheil, Pii.D. (Departments of 
History from Ezra to 14)2 ; History of Post- 
Talmudic Literature). 


of England and Anthropology; Revising Editor). 

Kaufmann Kohler, Pii.D. (Departments of 
Theology and Philosophy) . 

Herman Rosenthal (Department of the Jews of 
Russia and Poland). 

Isidore Singer, Pii.D. (Department of Modern 
Biography from /yjo to igog). 


IC.mi l G. Hirscii, Pii.D., LL.D. (Department of Crawford II. Toy, D.D., LL.D. (Departments 

Bible). nf /:>/,,/„/„ j rr 


the Bible). 


ISAAC K. PUNK, D.D., LL.D. 

Chairman of the Board 


of Hebrew Philology and Hellenistic Literature). 
FRANK II. VIZETEI.LY, F.S.A. 

Secretary of the Board 

William Popper, M.A., Pii.D. 

Associate Revising Editor ; Chief of the Bureau of Translation 

ISIDORE^SINGER, Ph.D. 

Projector and Managing Editor 

ASSISTED BY AMERICAN AND FOREIGN BOARDS OF CONSULTING EDITORS 


COMPLETE IN TWELVE VOLUMES 

EMBELLISHED WITH MORE THAN TWO THOUSAND ILLUSTRATIONS 



FUNK 


NEW YORK AND LONDON 

AND WAGNALLS COMPANY 

M 1 ) C C C C V 


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THE JEWISH EHCYCLOI 

i»i:uiA * vni. w 

COPYRIGHT. 190 

BY MAYER SULZBERGER, 

PHILADELPHIA 


«J Saruo/t ^jmoja 




(7rrtn an- unjiuf’/ij/u-t / yain/my /y 70a(lcrttn( 

7/«d/ant, dm. 



-m -f/n- JjcJUjJion . 11 ^ j7on. y/fay/i- .jfu/jf/nyer. 

P/aUd/un. 







THE 


Jewish Encyclopedia 


A DESCRIPTIVE RECORD OF 


the history, religion, literature, and cus- 
toms OF THE JEWISH PEOPLE FROM THE 
EARLIEST TIMES TO THE PRESENT DAY 


Prepared by More Ihan Six Hundred Scholars and Specialists 

UNDER THE DIRECTION OK THE FOLLOWING EDITORIAL BOARD 


Cyrus Adler, Ph.D. {Departments of Post- 
Biblical Antiquities ; the Jeios of America ). 

Wilhelm Baciier, Ph.D. {Departments of the 
Talmud and Rabbinical Literature'). 

Gottiiard Dkutscii, Ph.D. {Department of 
History from 1492 to 190J). 

Richard Gotthkii, Ph.D. {Departments of 
History from Ezra to 1492 ; History of Post- 
Talmudic Literature ). 

Emil G. IIirscii, Ph.D., LL.D. {Department of 
the Bible). 

ISAAC K. FUNK, D.D., LL.D. 

Chairman of the Board 


Joseph Jacobs, H.A. {Departments of the -Jews 
of England and A nthropology; Revising Editor). 

Kaufmann Kohler, Ph.D. {Departments of 
Theology and Philosophy). 

Herman Rosenthal {Department of the fews of 
Russia and Poland). 

Isidore Singer, Ph.D. {Department of Modern 
Biography from 1750 to 1905). 

Crawford H. Toy, D.D., LL.D. {Departments 
of Hebrew Philology and Hellenistic Literature). 

FRANK II. VIZETELLY, F.S.A. 

Secretary of the Board 


William Popper, M.A., Ph.D. 

Associate Revising Editor; Chief of the Bureau of Translation 

ISIDORE t SlNGER, Ph.D. 

Projector and Managing Editor 

ASSISTED BY AMERICAN AND FOREIGN BOARDS OF CONSULTING EDITORS 


VOLUME XI 

SAMSON—' TALMID HAKAM 


Stadt-Bib] 

Frankfurt 


NEW YORK AND LONDON 

FUNK AND WAGNALLS COMPANY 

MDCCCC V 


OTHEK 

MAIN. 


fuel'* 



F UNK 



Copyright, 1905, by 

St W AGNAILS COMPANY 

A U rights 0/ translation reserved 


Registered at Stationers’ Hall, London, Kngland 
I Printed in the United States of A merica ] 




LITERARY DIRECTORATE 


EDITORIAL BOARD 


CYRUS ADLER, Ph.D. 

( Departments of Post-Biblical Antiquities and the Jews of 
America.) 

President of the American Jewish Historical Society: Assistant 
Secretary, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D. 0 . 

WILHELM BACHER, Ph.D. 

( Departments of the Talmud aud ltahbiuieal Literature.) 
Professor in tho Jewish Theological Scmlnnry, Budapest, 
Hungary. 

GOTTHARD DEUTSCH, Ph.D. 

(Department of llistnru from WJ3 to ioor>.) 

Professor of Jewish History, Hebrew Union College, Cincinnati, 
Ohio ; Editor of “ Deborah.” 

RICHARD GOTTHEIL, Ph.D. 

(Departments of J list org from Ezra to l/,!U amt History of 
Post-Talmmlie Literature.) 

Professor of Semitic Languages, Columbia University, New York ; 
Chief of tho Oriental Department, New- York Pnblle Library. 

EMIL G. HIRSCH, Ph.D., LL.D. 

(Department of the Bible.) 

Rabbi of Chicago Slnnl Congregation, Clilongo, 111 .; Professor of 
Rabbinical l.lierataic and Philosophy, University of 
Chicago ; Editor of ” Tho Reform Advocate.” 

JOSEPH JACOBS, B.A. 

( Departments of the Jews of Eugtaud aud Anthropology ; 
Devising Editor.) 

Formerly President of the Jewish Historical Society of England; 
Anchor of "Jews of Angevin England,” etc. 


KAUFMANN KOHLER, Ph.D. 

(Dc}m rl incuts of Theology aud Philosophy.) 
President of Hebrew Union College, Cincinnati, Ohio; ltabbf. 
Emeritus of Temple Beth-El, Now York. 

HERMAN ROSENTHAL. 

(De/Mirhiicut of the Jews of Itnssia aud Pnlaud.) 

Chief of the Slnvoulc Department, New- York Pnblle Library, 

ISIDORE SINGER, Ph.D. 

Managing Kmtok. 

(Department of Modern Biography from mo to loot.) 
CRAWFORD HOWELL TOY, D.D., LL.D. 
(Departments of Hebrew Philology aud Hellenistic 
Literature.) 

Professor of Hebrew in Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass.; 
Author of "The Religion of Israel," etc. 

I. K. FUNK, D.D., LL.D. 

(C'/imTinnu of llic Hoard.) 

Edltor-ln-chlcf of the Stand aud dictionary ok thk English 
Language, ete. 

FRANK H. VIZETELLY, F.S.A. 

(Secretary of llic Hoard.) 

Associate Editor of the Standard Dictionary, "Tlio Colom- 
bian Cyclopedia,” ete. 

WILLIAM POPPER, M.A., Ph.D. 

Dissociate Hcrising Editor; Chief of the Bureau of 
Translation.) 

(iiistnv (iottlicll Lecturer In Semitic Languages, Columbia 
University, New York (HXW-f>); Author of "The Censorship 
| of Hebrew Books." 


AMERICAN BOARD OF 

BERNARD DRACHMAN, Ph.D., 

Rabbi of the Congregation Zk-Iimn Ephraim; instructor In 
the Bible and In Hebrew (iramnmr, Jewish Theological 
Seminary of America. New* York. 

B. FELSENTHAL, Ph.D., 

Rablil Emeritus of Zion Congregation, Chicago, III. ; Author of 
"A Practical (irammiir of the. Hebrew Language.” 

GUSTAV GOTTHEIL, Ph.D. 

(i)KCKASKD), 

Laic, Rabbi Eaieiilns of Temple Eiiniim-Ki, New York. 

HENRY HYVERNAT, D.D., 

Head of the Department of Semitic, and Egyptian Literatures, 
Catholic University of Amcriea, Washington, I). V. 

MARCUS JASTROW, Ph.D. ! 

(deceased), j 

Late Ilabbl Emeritus of the Congregation ltotlef Shalom, Phila- 
delphia, P11.: Author of “ Dictionary of the Talmud." I 


CONSULTING EDITORS 

MORRIS JASTROW, Jr., Ph.D., 

Professor of Sctnlllc Languages tiii<l T.llinirlan In Hie University 
of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pa. ; Author of " Re- 
ligion of the Babylonians and Assyrians,” ete. 

J. FREDERIC McCUREY, Pli.D., LL.D., 
Professor of Oriental Languages, University ('allege, Toronto. 
Canada ; Author of " History, Prophecy, ami 
the Monmnenis.” 

H. PEREIRA MENDES, M.D., 

Itnhhi of tlie Slicarltii Israel Congregiillon (Spanish and P01I11- 
gueso). New York ; Presiilent of lho Hoard of .lew Lsli 
Ministers, New' York. 

MOSES MIELZINER, Ph.D., D.D. 

(DECEASED), 

Late President of tlie Hebrew Union College, (inciiinntl, Ohio; 
Author of " Introdiietioa to tlie Talmml.” 



LITERARY DIRECTORATE 


GEORGE F. MOORE, M.A., D.D., 

Professor of Biblical LlUniilini! mid llie History of Religious 
In Harvard University, Caniluldge, Mass.; Autliorof 
"A Coimnenlnry on tlio Rook of Judges,” etc. 

' DAVID PHILIPSON, D.D., 

Itahlil of tla; Congregation R'ne Israel; Professor of Homiletics, 
Hebrew Union College, Cluelniiatl. Olilo; Preshlent of 
Hebrew Sabliatli School Union of Amerlen. 

IRA MAURICE PRICE, B.D., Ph.D., 

Professor of Seiultio Languages and 1 Jteintures, University of 
Chleago, ill.; Author of ’’ The Moinnuents and 
the Old Testanieut,” etc. 


SOLOMON SCHECHTER, M.A., Litt.D., 
Preshlent of the Faculty of the Jewish Theological Seminary of 
America, New York; Autliorof "Studies in Judaism.” 

JOSEPH SILVERMAN, D.D., 

President of Central Conference of American Rabbis; Rabbi of 
Temple Emiiun-Kl, New York. 

JACOB VOORSANGER, D.D., 

Rabbi of the Congregation Emniin-Ei, San Fnmelseo, Cal.; Pro- 
fessor of Semitic. Languages and Literatures, Uni- 
versity of California, Herkeley, Cai. 


FOREIGN BOARD OF CONSULTING EDITORS 


ISRAEL ABRAHAMS, M.A., 

Coeditor of “The. Jewish Quarterly Review"; Autliorof “Jew- 
ish Life In the Middle Ages,” etc.; Reader In Tnhiimlie, 
Cambridge University, England. 

M. BRANN, Ph.D., 

Professor In the Jewish Theological Seminary, Breslau, Ger- 
many ; Editor of ” Moiuitssehrlft fiir Geschlchte and 
Wlssenschnft des Jmlenthuins." 

H. BRODY, Ph.D., 

Rabbi, Naehod, Bohemia, Austria; Coeditor of “ Zeltscbrlft fur 
HubriUschu Blbllogniphle.” 

ABRAHAM DANON, 

Principal of the Jewish Theological Senilnnry, Constantinople, 
Turkey. 

HARTWIG DERENBOURG, Ph.D., 

Professor of Literal Arable at the Special School of Oriental 
Languages. Paris ; Member of the Iustltut de France. 

S. M. DUBNOW, 

Autliorof *’ Istoriya Yevreycv,” Wlhta, Russia. 

MICHAEL FRIEDLANDER, Ph.D., 
Principal of Jews’ College, London, England ; Author of “The 
Jewish Religion." etc. 

IGNAZ GOLDZIHER, Ph.D., 

Professor of Semitic Philology, University of Budapest, 
Hungary. 

M. GUDEMANN, Ph.D., 

Chief Rabbi of Vienna, Austria. 

BARON DAVID GUNZBURG, 

St. Petersburg, Russia. 

A. DE HARKAVY, Ph.D., 

Chief of the Hebrew Department of the Imperial Public LI I wary, 
St. Petersburg, Russia. 

ZADOC KAHN, 

Chief Rabbi of France; Honorary President of the Alliance 
Israelite Universelle; Olllcer of the Legion 
of Honor, Paris, France. 

M. KAYSERLING, Ph.D. 

(DECEASED), 

Late Rabbi, Budapest, Hungary : Late Corresi»ondhig Monitor 
of the Royal Academy of History, Madrid, Spain. 


MORITZ LAZARUS, Ph.D. 

(DECEASED), 

Late Professor Emeritus of Psychology, University of Berlin ; 
Meran, Austria. 

ANATOLE LEROY -BEAULIEU , 

Member of the lustitiit de France ; Professor at the Free School 
of Political Science, Paris, France; Autliorof 
” Israel chez les Nations." 

ISRAEL LiJVI, 

Professor in the Jewish Theological Seminary ; Editor of 
" Revue des Ktmles Jnlvcs,” Paris, France. 

EUDE LOLLI, D.D. 

(Deceased), 

Late Chief ltnbbi of Padiin; Late Professor of Hebrew at the 
University, Padua, Italy. 

IMMANUEL LOW, Ph.D., 

Chief Rabbi of Szegedin, Hungary; Author of “ Die AminiUschen 
Pilanzennninen." 

S. H. MARGULIES, Ph.D., 

Principal of the Jewish Theological Seminary : Chief Ilabbl of 
Florence, Italy. 

H. OORT, D.D., 

Professor of Hebrew Language and Archeology at the State 
University, Leyden, Holland. 

ABBE) PIETRO PERREAU, 

Formerly Librarian of the. Keale Biblloteen Pulutina, Parma, 
Italy. 

MARTIN PHILIPPSON, Ph.D., 
Formerly Professor of History at the Universities of Bonn and 
Brussels; President of the Dentseh-lsinelitiseber 
Gcmulndchnud, Berlin, Germany. 

SAMUEL POZNANSKI, Ph.D., 

Rabbi In Warsaw, Russia. 

E. SCHWARZFELD, LL.D., 
Secretnry-Generai of the Jewish Colonization Association, Paris, 
France. 

LUDWIG STEIN, Ph.D., 

Professor of Philosophy, University of Bern, Switzerland ; Editor 
of ” Arehiv fiir (iesc.iiiciite dor Philosophic,” etc. 

HERMANN L. STRACK, Ph.D., 

Professor of Old Testament Exegesis and Semitic Languages, 
University of Berlin, Germany. 

CHARLES TAYLOR, D.D., LL.D., 

Master of St. John’s College, Cambridge, England ; Editor ol 
” Sayings of the Jewish Fathers," etc. 



SYSTEMS OF TRANSLITERATION AND OF CITATION 
OF PROPER NAMES * 

A.— Rules for the Transliteration of Hebrew and Aramaic. 

1 . All important names which occur in the Bible are cited as found in the authorized King James 
version; e.g., Moses, not Mosheli ; Isaac, not Yizliak ; Saul, not Sha’ul or Shaiil; Solomon, not 
Shelomoli, etc. 

2. The spellings of names that have gained currency in English books on Jewish subjects, or that 
have become familiar to English readers, are generally retained ; cross-references are given when 
topics are treated under forms transliterated according to the system tabulated below. 

,1. Hebrew subject-headings are transcribed according to the scheme of transliteration ; cross-refer- 
ences are made as in the case of personal names. 

'1. The following system of transliteration has been used for Hebrew and Aramaic: 

N Not noted at the beginning or the end of a word ; otherwise ’ or by dicresis; e.g,, pe'cr or Me'ir. 


3 b 

r * 

1 

S (with dagesh), p 

V) sh 

i o 

n h 

D m 

3 ( without dagesh), f 

V « 

1 d 

a t 

J n 

S ? 

n t 

n h 

' y 

D s 

p k 


1 to 

3 k 

V k 

n r 



Note : The presence of dagesh lene is not noted except in the case of D. Dagesli forte is indi- 
cated by doubling the letter. 

5, The vowels have been transcribed as follows : 

— (kamez) a —u a T e i o 

— (kamez hatuf) o 

— e — e — o i — i 

— i — e -T7- a ) u 

The so-called “Continental” pronunciation of the English vowels is implied. 

0, The Hebrew article is transcribed as ha, followed by a hyphen, without doubling the following 
letter. [Not hak-Kohen or hak-Cohen, nor liosh ha-shshanah.] 

B.— Rules for the Transliteration of Arabic. 

1 . All Arabic names and words, except such as have become familiar to English readers in other 
forms, as Mohammed , Koran, mosque, are transliterated according to the following system : 


^ See N above. 

£ kh 

\J> sh 

i ° h 

U 11 

*-r>b 

0 d 

W®? 

u Jf 

0 h 

cp/ 

3 < lh 


d* 

> lv 

CLlfh 

J '■ 

1 f 

Cjk 

^SV 

ZiJ 

) * 


J l 


C ’! 

{J*> s 


f m 


the three vowels — 

•a, i, u — are 

a 

represented : 

— i 

-i- u 



No account has been taken of the imalah; i has not been written e, nor u written o. 

* J M nil other matters of orthography the spelling preferred by the Stan’ ha no Dictionaky hns usunlly been followed. Typo- 
graphical exigencies have rendered occasional deviations from these systems necessary. 



SYSTEMS OF TRANSLITERATION AND OF CITATION OF PROPER NAMES 


The article is joined by a hyphen to the follow mg woid. 

4 . At the end of words the feminine termination is written aft, but when followed by a genitive, 
at • e.g., liisalah ilhut al-Knrsiyy, but Hi' at aI-AJlah\ 

3 - N o 

C.— Rules for the Transliteration of Russian. 

forms, "s A ££ ?oll“^smm : * 


A a 
B<5 
Bh 
r r 

;u 

Be 

Sit 

33 

II it 1 i 
It K 
JI.H 
Mm 


a 

b 

v 

h, v, or g 

cl 

c ami ye 

at 1 lie 
beginning. 

zh 


k 

l 

m 


II u 
Oo 
II h 
Pp 
Cc 
Tt 

y y 

<I» ll> 

Xx 

1U 

l l ’i 

hi m 


kh 


cli 

sh 


111,111. 
r I)l, 
1)1 U 
hi, 

■ft i> 
9 9 

10 io 
JI ji 
0 o 
V v 
lift 


shell 

mute 

V 

half mute 


yu 

ya 

F 


Rules for the Citation of Proper Names, Personal and Otherwise. 

Whenever possible, nn author is cited nmler "TkZZ 

lioqiieinanre. 

When a person is not referred to „s above, he is 

of Metz; Isaac of Curbed. 

0. Names contain^ ,ho words * tie. 

t^i^^ -W n.o -n„w ( .. g e.a.rplee = 

2 zt ,re sjp. “ IE!3F 

Abraham ben Azriel Abral.am of Beja Abmlnun 

.. ii« iiiitiinliiiLicul nluco under “1." 






... n cncillp lllll-t. (if I 






Noth to tiik Kkadhu. 

Subjects on which farther information is ..Horded elsewhere in this work me imlicded by the 
use of capitals mid small capitals in the text; as, Aiwa Akira; umiikdiia. 



LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS 


[Self-ovidonl nbbiovmiiims, particularly I, hose used in the bibliographies, are not included here.] 


Ab A hot. I’irko 

Ab. It. N Aliotde-itnbbi Nitlan 

‘Ab. Zninh ‘Abodnh /.anil) 

ail Inc at the place ; to the passage cited 

a. n in the year of the Hegira 

Ailg. /.oil. lies .Did.. Aiigeineine Knitting des .Imlcnthnins 
Am. Jew. 111st. Soc. A incricnn Jewish Ilistoricai Society 
A bang U S<!l,lii ' f American Journal of Semitic Languages 
Angio-Jew. Assoc.. . A nglo-.lewlsli Association 

Apoc Apocalypse 

A peer Apocrypha 

Aposl. Const. Apostolical Constitutions 

‘Ar ‘Anikin tTnimnd) 

Arch. Isr Archives Israelites 

a rniiinu iu..r,.«i« n 1 A i on ins. Itegoston znr Geschichte der Jnden 
AiO"i"s.ilegc.sle" ^ 1)o ,as(!iiiiind 

A. T Das A ite Testament 

A. V Authorized Version 

I) lien or bar or born 

I$ An'iilr ! ln ! > ; {' Baeiter, Agnda der Habylonisciicn Ainoriier 
Ilaciier, Ag. I’ui. I Itaeiicr, A gad a der I’niiistincnsisc.hen Amo- 
Ainor ( liter 

Ilaciier, Ag. Tan — ISaehcr, Agada der Taiiniiiten 

II. IS iiaba Ilutni ITaiinnd) 

u.e before Hie Christian era 

Iiek ltekorot (Tainimi i 

Den zinger, An:h....Iieiizingcr, llchiuische Arcliitologie 
— . . Itenikot (Ta iin nil) 


Deri i i 


seiirifi.. 
Iicrllncr’s 
Mugaxln. , 


• Kc 


j- Festschrift zinn 7(iien Oehnrtstag Iieriincrs 
i Iicrlincr’s Mngnzin filr die Wisscnschnft des 
1 .Iiideiitininis 

lillil. Dili) Dibliotiiecn Italiliinica 

Hlk Dikkurini ITaiinnd) 

D. K Kalia Knnnna (Tahnnd) 

IL AI Italia Mezi'a (Tahnnd) 

DoictiiiAcad.iiist. -J 1,1 Ilcni '''-adeinin de ,a IIis,0,ia 

Di li. Mus Drilisit Museum 

itriiii'u iniii'ii 1 IJrfiiFs .laiirbilciier fiir Jiidische Gesciiieiite 
mints Jainii ] mid Litlenitnr 

Dniieiin Ail. Isr. . . . Dniietin of liio Alliance Israelite Universeiie 
c nlxnit 

Cant Canticles (Song of Solomon) 

Cat. Angio-Jcw. I Cilia login; of Angio-Jcwish Ilistoricai Kx- 

lijst. Kxh l iiiliition 

Fazes, Nolcs Di- 1 (.‘axes. Notes Dihiiogniphupicssnr la Littcrn- 
liiiograpiiiipics . ) turn .Iiiive-Tnnisicnno 

c-.K common era 

ell chapter or chapters 

Ciicyncami Diack. t 
Kncyc. Dibl. . . . f ' IU J 1 


e and Diack, Lncyelopiedla liihiica 


riiwni«i.n ii.iiii.M. 1 Dcnieii des Tinvanx Itddigcs en Meinolro 
1 Vo?iiine ....... j J^dcnliliqncdeM. Dimiei CIiwol- 


C. I. Ii 

0. I. ii 

(M. I* 

(!. I. S 

comp 

t'minicr. Diet. 
Nat 


son, iStii iKilli 

..Corpus iiiscriptioninn Atticarmn 
. . .Corpus iiiscriptiomim (inecannn 
...Corpus Iiiscriiitionma Ilcbraicarmn 
...Corpus Iiisei'iptioiimii I.atiminmi 
. . .(‘orpns inscriplioimm Pelopoimcsl 
...Corpus Inscriptioniim Sciiiitlcnrimi 
. . .compare 

I K. K. Cnrinier, Dietionnairo National des 
. l Contemporains 

<■ died 

I) Deiitenmomisl 

De (iiiberuaiis, t De. Uiiiiernatis. Dizionario Dlograilco degii 

Diz. Diog I Heriltori Coiiteiuponmei 

I)c Giihcrnntls, t De Gnhcrnntis, Did 101)111111-0 Inleniatiomii 
Fcrlvains dii. lour t ties Kcrivninsdn Join- 
Dele Hoi, .laden- (Do ie Itoi. tieschichte der Kvnngciisclieii 

Mission I Jnden- Mission 

Deni Denial (Talmud) 

lien. ii1imii.fr Hid I DCIVIlllOlllg. Ks.SH I Sill' i’iiisiOilC Ct ill GCO- 

in.K.niionig, nisi. la Palestine, etc. 

He Itossi, Dixie- ( De Ilossi. Diziomirlo storlco degii Aniori 
‘ Khrei o delie. Loro Opera 

De. ltossi-liniiibeiger, liislorisciies WOHer- 
Inich der .Iiidlsciien Kcliriftsteiicr mid 

Ihrar W elite 

Driver, Inlmdiie-IS.lt. Driver. An Inli-odndion to Die Liter- 

linn f atnro of Die. Old Testament 

K Kioiiist 

Eeei Kccicslasies 

Kccias. (Slnicli) .... KccIcsiusDcns 

cd edition 

Kdny ‘Kdnyot (Tainimi) 

Flsenhowr nimr l Ludwig Klsciiherg’s (irosscs Dlognipiiisciies 
I'.isumoig, illog.^ u . xik(m ,|w Dentsciien Iliiime ini XIX. 

‘ { .liihrliimdert 

Kncyc. Di ll Kiicvclopiodln Dritimiilca 

Eng English 


l)c Itossi -I lam-) I) 
liergcr, II isl. V 
Worterli I 


Epipiianins, Ihcrcs. Epiphanies, Advcrsus Hacrcses 
Kr ‘Krtiliin (Talmud) 

Ei-seli and » Erscli ami Grntier, Aiigeineine Enc.yklopadic 

(! ruber, Kncyc.. i dor Wisscnsclmftcii lintl Kiinsio 

I-'sd Ksdras 

ct s cq and following 

Knschins, Hist. Kcci.Kiisehhis, Ilistoria Kcciesiastlca 

Ewaid, Cost’ll Ewaid, Ccscidchto des Voikos Israel 

Frankel, Mebo Frankel, Mobo Yenislmimi 

Kill's t, Iiibi. .lnd. . . .Filrst. Dibliotiiecn J minion 
^'KnrHcrt? 1 .! 1 .’ !l 1 .* [ Enrst, Ccschiclito des Knracrtiiiinis 
^'llcvis Marks*/. .. [ Dnslcr, Ilcvis Marks Memorial Volume 

( Geiger, Ursoin-lft lind Uebcrsetznngen der 
Geiger, Ui-sciirift.-t Dibei in Direr Abiiiingigkoit von der In- 
( licreii Entwiekiiing des Judentlmms 
Geiger’sJiid.Zeit. ■} °SESSt ZcHs,:inlft ffir W|SSCI1 ' 

Geiger’s Wiss. I Geiger’s Wlssenscliaftllelie Zcitsebrift fiir 
Zell. Jnd. Tlieol. f Jiidisciie Tiieoiogie 

Gescii Gesciiieiite 

Gesenins, Gr Gescnins, Grammar 

Gnsoniiis. Til Gesciiius, Tiiesanrns 

Gibbon, Dooilne i Gibbon, History of Die Decline and Fall of 

ami Fail i Die Itomnii Empire 

Ohidinifr’c im.ii. J Oil) slm lg’s New Massoretico-CriDcal Text 

uinsimiT, mm< .. , of IU! i, rcw im,| C 

hit (iittin (Tainimi) 

Graelz, Ilisi Graetz, History of Die Jews 

Griitz, Gcscli Griltz, Gesciiieiite der Jnden 

r; ii a « in n ■> ■■ I Giidemanii, Gesciiieiite des Erzichnngs- 

U a. " ' ’ wesoas mid der Cnltnr der AbendiUndi- 

s I seiien Jnden 

H Holiness Code 

lb*g Ihiggid 

I.Iag l.iagigaii (Talmud) 

1.1a I i.Iaiiaii (Tahmid) 

Iiiiiiiliiirger, <. Hamburger, itcaleiieyo.lopiidie fiir Dibei 

It. D. T I mid Ttiimml 

11 DDde?.\ f Hastings, HicDonary of Die. Ilibic 
I ieli. . . . . Epistle to Die Hebrews 
Iiebr Mnsnivlie. Text 

Ilerzog-Piiit or i Ilerzog-Piitt or Iierzog-ilanck, Iteni-Hiicy- 
iierzog- Haiick, -- kiopiidic fin- Prut csinntiseheTiieoiogic mid 
Iteal-Kiicyc — ( Kirclio (2d and lid editions respectively) 
liiivf.n nii.fp i f, v I iilrscii, liiogrnpliisclics i.exikon dor iiervor- 
")'• ‘ mo *” lA x> I l-.igoiidon Aerate Aiier Zeiten und VOiker 
Iior Iiorayot (Taimnd) 

I. Ini Uiiilln (Tiihimd) 

ih same place 

idem same aiiliinr 

Isr. Lettoi'bude Israciitisciiu Lcltcrbode 

J Ialivist 

Jaarbocken liairlioekon voorde Israeli ten in Nederiand 

J Jambs, iiHiniry into Die Sources of Snanisli- 
.Iacobs, bonnes.. ( jewlsb History 

J *DibL Angio/VinL ! Jacobs and )Voif, Iiibiiotiicea Angio-Jndaica 
Jnhrb. Gescii. der l Jahrlmcii fiir die Gesciiieiite der Jnden und 

Jnd t des .Indcnthmiis 

iiKirmv III,. I i .last mw, Diclionary of Die Targimdm, Tai- 

.Instion , I)I< I } imidiiii. and Midrasiiim 

Jeiiinck, Ii. ii Jeiiinek, Ilet hn-Midrash 

.lew. Ciiron Iewisii Clmmicic, Umdon 

.lew. Kncyc The Jewish Encyclopedia 

Jew. IDst. Soc. Kng. Jewish Ilistoricai Society of England 

Jew. World Jewish World, London 

Josephus, Ant Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews 

Josephus, Ii. J Ioscpitns, I)c Hello Jndaieo 

Josephus, Contra A p. Josephus, Contra Apioncni 

Josh Joshua 

.lost’s Aimnlci) lost’s Israclitiselie Aimnlcn 

Jour, iiili. Lit lom-nal of ISibiicnl Literature 

,1. (J. It Iewisii Quarterly Iteview 

J. It. A. S Journal of Die Itoyni Asiatic. Society 

Justin, Dial, cum t , 

Try pi l 

Kan fin nnn . 

dciikbncii i maiin 

Kniitzscli, Apo- > Knnlxsclt, Die Apokryplien nmi I’seudepi- 

krypiicii t grapiicn des Alton Testaments 

Knysorling. Iiilii. i Knysoriiiig.liihiiotccn Ksparioin-Poi iuguexa- 
Ksp.-I’ort.-.liid.. t Jndaien 

Ka nwn«i!!im w.'lni’ l Kayseriliig. Die Jiidisciicn Fraiion In der 
ini ’ j Geschlclne, Literal nr mid Konst 

Kcr Keritot (Taimnd) 

Ket Ketubot (Tiiliinid) 

.. .. .. i Knvzer HiiiiiM'iiinmeiitar znm Alien Testa- 

Jv ‘ * I inent, ed. Marti 

Kid Kiildiisliiii (Talinmli 

KII Kll’nyiiii (Taimnd) 

Kin Kiuiihii (Tahiniil) 


J- Justin, Diaiogus cum Tryplione Judmo 
(. Gedenklmcli znr Erin liming nn David Kauf- 



X 


LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS 


K< ^Siime m ° rial !' Semifcic Studies in Memory of A. Kolmt 
Krauss, Lehn- I, Krauss, Griechisclie und Lateiniselie Lehn- 

worter 4 worter im Talmud, Midrascb, und Targum 

Kuenen, Einlei- ( Kuenen, Historiseb-Kritische Einleituug in 
tung 4 die Bucher des Alien Testaments 

t niot I Larousse, Grand Dictionnaire Uuiversel du 

Lai ousse, met . ... ^ XIXe Si ^ cle 

}.c in the place cited 

Levy, Clial. ( Levy. Clialdaisches Worterbuch liber die 

WOrterb I Targumim 

t aw vaniiAhv I Levy, Neuhehraisches und Clialdaisches 
1 wArflrS 11601 ’ i Worterbuch iiber die Talmudim und Mid- 

v>olieiD ( raschim 

Lewysohn, Z. T Lewysolm, Zoologie des Talmuds 

lit literally 

LOw, Lebensalter j t “ e LebensaUer in der Jadisclien Li ' 

LXX Septuagint 

m married 

Ma’as Ma’aserofc (Talmud) 

Ma’as. Sh Ma’aser Slieni (Talmud) 

Macc Maccabees 

Maimonides, Moreh.Maimonides, Moreh Nebukim 
Maimonides, Yad ..Maimonides, Yad ha-Hazakah 

Mak Makkot (Talmud) 

Maksh Maksliirin (Talmud) 

Mas Masorab 

Massek Masseket. 

Mnruntnnv i McClintock and Strong, Cyclopaedia of Bib- 

^Stron^ 0 Cyc a ) lica1, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Liter- 

Meg Megillah (Talmud) 

Me’i Me Hah (Talmud) 

Mek Mekilta 

Men Menaliot (Talmud) 

Mid Middot (Talmud) 

Midr Midrasb 

Midr. Teh Midrash Tehillim (Psalms) 

Mik Mikwa’ot (Talmud) 

.M.’K Mo’ed Katan (Talmud) 

nm tccAnwft j Monatsseiirift fur die Geschichte und Wis- 
Mouatsscuntt -j sensch . lft des j ude ntbums 

Mortara, Indice Mortara, Indice Alfabetico 

Miiller, Frag. Hist. (.Muller, Fragmenta Historieorum Grteco- 
Grtec 4 rum 

Mirak, Melanges, de ™>°soplue Juive 

Murray’s Eng. Diet. A. H. Murray. A New English Dictionary 

Naz . Nazir (Talmud) 

n.d no date 

Ned Nedarim (Talmud) 

Neg NegaHn 

Neubauer, Cat. ( Neubauer, Catalogue of the Hebrew MSS. 
Bodl.Hebr.MSS. )’ in the Bodleian Library 

Neubauer, G. T Neubauer, Geographie du Talmud 

Neubauer, M. J. C. .Neubauer, Mediaeval Jewish Chronicles 
n.p no place of publication stated 

N. T New Testament 

Oest.Wochenschrift.OesteiTeichfsclie Wochenschrift 
Oh Olialot (Talmud) 

Onk Onkelos 

Orient, Lit Literaturblatt des Orients 

O. T Old Testament 

P Priestly Code 

T»orroi Tima- Tnv j Pagel.Biograpbisclies Lexikon Hervorragen- 
i a^ei, i5io e . nc.\. f der ^erzte des Neimzelinten Jabrlumderts 
Pal. Explor. Fund.. Palestine Exploration Fund 
Pallas Lex Pallas Nagy Lexicon 

Pauly- Wissowa, i Pauly-Wissowa, Real-EncyelopadiederClas- 

Real-Encyc (" siseben A Itertimiswisseiiscliaft 

Pes Pesahim (Talmud) 

Pesh Pesliito, Peshitta 

Pesik Pesikta de-Rab Kahana 

Pesik. R Pesikta Rabbati 

Pirke It, El Pirke Rabbi Eli’ezer 

Proc Proceedings 

Publ Publications 

R Rab or Rabbi or Rabbab or Redactor 

^Li^Pdatt ( Ralimer ’ s Judisclies Litteratur-BIatt 

Regesty Regesty i Nadpisi 

r. E. j Revue des Etudes Juives 

Rev. Bib Revue Biblique 

Rev. Sem Revue Semitique 

R. H Rosh lia-Sbanab (Talmud) 

-nmo rotnriinc j Amador de los Rios, Estudios Historicos, 
itios, Lsiucuos — ) Politicos y Literarios, etc. 

-Rino met j Amador de los Rios, Historia . . . de los 

luus, nisi f Judios de Espana y Portugal 

■RiUAr TVHbnnria i Bitter, Die Erdkuude im Verhaltnis znr 
Kilter, Lrakunae. j Natur und zur Geschichte des Mensclien 
Robinson. Later (Robinson, Later Biblical Researches in Pul- 
Researches 4" estine and the Adjacent Regions . . . 1852 
Robinson, Re- ( Robinson, Biblical Researches in Palestine, 
searches 4 Mt. Sinai, and Arabia Petrma . . . 1838 

Roest, Cat. I Roest, Catalog der Hebraica und Judaica 

Rosenthal. Bibl. f aus der L. Rosen thal’sclien Bibliothek 
R. V Revised Version 


Salfeld. Martyro - } Salfeld, Das Martyrologium des Niirnberger 

logium f Memorbucbes 

Sanh Sanhedrin (Talmud) 

S. B. E Sacred Books of the East 

o t> n rr j (Sacred Books of the Old Testament) Poly- 

b. i>. u. i -j C ] lrome Bible, ed. Paul Haupt 

SC Ency? erZ °°’ [ Schaff-Herzog, A Religious Encyclopaedia 

q nhillAr Qvi«Accv (Catalogue of tlie Hebrew Manuscripts Pre- 

aStoSSffi j la tbe Univereity Libra ™ C8m - 

Schrader, I Schrader, Cuneiform Inscriptions and the 

C. I. 0. T f Old Testament, Eng. transl. 

Cr»in«, t” 4 r n 4 Schrader, Keilinscliriften und das Alte Tes- 
bc eder, k. a. l.-) 

Schrader, K. B Schrader, Keilinschriftliehe Bibliothek 

Qf>hrnrtor T - J Schrader, Keilinscliriften und Geschichts- 
bebrader, lv. (*. I . -j forschung 

Schurer, Gescli Schiirer, Geschichte des Jiidiscben Volkes 

Sem Semaliot (Talmud) 

Shab Shabb'at (Talmud) 

Sheb Sbebi‘it (Talmud) 

Sbebu Shebu’ot (Talmud) 

Shek Shekalim (Talmud) 

Sibyllines Sibylline Books 

Smith, Rel. of Sem..Smith, Lectures on Religion of the Semites 

Soe. Bibl. Arch Society of Biblical Archeology 

7 pit«srhrift i Stade’s Zeitscbrift fiir die Alttestament- 
btaae s zeitscbrift -j liche w issenschaf t 

Steinschneider, j Steinsclineider, Catalogue of the Hebrew 

Cat. Bodl { Books in the Bodleian Library 

QtAincAhnAiriAr ( Steinschneider, Catalogus Codicum Hebre- 
bteiuscaneiaer, j orum Bibliothece Academise Lugduno- 
Lai. i,eyaen — > Batavce 

QfAfncohnAi'iAr ( Steinschneider, Die Hebraiscben Hand- 
btemscnneiaei , j sc jj r ift e n der K. Hof- und Staats-Biblio- 
Cat. Munich ... . j thek in MUnchen 

St Hebr! l BTbi e1, \ Steinsclineider, 1-Iebraiscbe Bibliograpbie 

St Hebr h Uel^rs f Steinschneider, Hebraische Uebersetzungen 

cfmai- not. pinf 4 Strack, Das Blut im Glauben und Aber- 
Stracl, Das Blut. . gIauben der Mensehheit 

Suk Sukkah (Talmud) 

s.v under the word 

Ta‘an Ta'anit (Talmud) 

Tan Tanhuma 

Targ Targumim 

Targ. Onk Targum Onkelos 

Targ. Yer Targum Yerushalmi or Targum Jonathan 

Tem Temurab (Talmud) 

Ter Terumot (Talmud) 

Test. Patr Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs 

Toh Toliorot 

Tos tosafot 

Tosef Tosefta 

Tr Transactions 

transl translation 

Tristram, Nat. Hist.Tristram, Natural History of the Bible 

T. Y Tebul Yom (Talmud) 

‘‘Uk ‘Ukzin (Talmud) 

Univ. Isr Univers Israelite 

( Virchow’s Arcliiv fur Pathologische Anato- 
Vircnow’s Archive mie und Physiologic, und fiir Klinische 
( Medizin 

Vulg Vulgate 

Weiss, Dor Weiss. Dor Dor we-Dorsliaw 

Wellhausen, ( Well hausen, Israelitische und Jiidiscbe 

I. J. G \ Geschichte 

Winer, B. II Winer, Biblisches Reahvorterbucli 

Wisdom Wisdom of Solomon 

Wolf, Bibl. Hebr. ..Wolf, Bibliotheca Hebraea 

r, r Ar J Wiener Zeitscbrift fiir die lvunde des 

w . z. iv. m. i Morgenlandes 

Yad Yadayim (Talmud) 

“ Yad ” Yad ba-Hazakah 

Yalk Yalkut 

Yeb Yebamot (Talmud) 

Yer Yerushalmi (Je* tsalem Talmud) 

Yhwii Yahweli, Jebo* r 

Zab Zabim (Talmuu) 

„ T . . r r . 4 Zeitschrift der Deutscben Morgenliiudi- 

z. u. m. u -j SC ] ien Gesellscbaft 

Z. D. P. V Zeitschrift des Deutscben Palastina-Vereins 

Zeb Zebahim (Talmud) 

Zedner,Cat. Hebr. i Zedner, Catalogue of the Hebrew Books in 
Books Brit. Mus. f xbe British Museum 

Zeit. fiir Assvr Zeitschrift fiir Assyriologie 

Zeit. fur Hebr. Bibl. Zeitscbrift fiir Hebriiiscbe Bibliograpbie 
Zeitlin, Bibl. Post- I Zeit.lin, Bibliotheca Hebraica Post-Mendels- 

Mendels f sohniana 

Zunz, G. S Zimz, Gesammelte Scbriften 

Zunz. G. V Zunz, Gottesdienstliche Vortriige 

Zunz, Literatim- ( Zunz, Literaturgescliichte der Synagogalen 
gesch 4 Poesie 

r? ^ -n-f, o j Zunz, Die Ritus des Synagogalen Gottes- 
z.unz, Kicus I flienstes 

Zunz, S. P Zunz, Synagogale Poesie des Mittelalters 

Zunz, Z. G Zunz, Zur Geschichte und Literatnr 



A. 


CONTRIBUTORS TO VOLUME XI 


Cyrus Acller, Ph.B., 

President of the American Jewish Historical 
Society ; President of the Board of Directors 
of the Jewish Theological Seminary of Amer- 
ica; Assistant Secretary of the Smithsonian 
Institution, Washington,!). C. 

A. A. B Amy A. Bernhardy, 

Teacher of Italian Literature, Smith College, 
Northampton, Mass. 

A. Bu Alexander Buchler, Ph.D., 

Rabbi, Keszthely, Hungary. 

A. Ga Abraham Galante, 

Formerly Editor of “La Buena Esperanza,” 
Smyrna ; Cairo, Egypt. 

A. Kai Alois Kaiser, 

Cantor, Temple Oheb Shalom, Baltimore, Md. 

A. Ki Alexander Kisch, Ph.D., 

Rabbi, Meysel Synagoge, Prague, Bohemia, 
Austria. 

A. Lew Abraham Lewinsky, Ph.D., 

Chief Rabbi, Hildesheim, Hanover, Germany. 


A. Low Adolf Lowinger, Ph.D., 

Rabbi, Szegedin, Hungary. 

A. P A. Porter, 

Formerly Associate Editor of “The Forum,” 
New York ; Revising Editor of “Standard Cy- 
clopedia” ; New York City. 

A. Pe A. Peiginsky, Ph.D., 

New York City. 

A. S. A A. S. Anspacher, 

Rabbi, Anshe Hesed Congregation, Scran- 
ton, Pa. 


A. S. I Abram S. Isaacs, Ph.D., 

Professor of German Language and Litera- 
ture, New York University Graduate Semi- 
nary, New York City ; Rabbi, B’nai Jeshurun 
Congregation, Paterson, N. J. 

A. S. W A. S. Waldstein, B.A., 

New York City. 

A. Ta Aaron Tanzer, Ph.D., 

Rabbi, Hohenems, Tyrol, Austria. 

A. TJ A. Dry, 

Chief Rabbi, Strasburg, Alsace, Germany. 

A. W Albert Wolf, 

Dresden, Saxony, Germany. 

A. W. B A. W. Brunner, 

Architect, New York City. 

B. Be Bela Bernstein, Ph.D., 

Rabbi, Stein-am-Anger, Hungary. 

B. Pr Bernhard Friedberg, 

Frankfort-on-the-Main, Germany. 


C. I. de S — Clarence I. de Sola, 

President of the Federation of Canadian Zion- 
ists; Belgian Consul, Montreal, Canada. 

C.L Caspar Levias, M.A., 

Formerly Instructor in Exegesis and Talmudic 
Aramaic, Hebrew Union College, Cincinnati, 
Ohio. 


D Gotthard Deutsch, Ph.D., 

Professor of Jewish History, Hebrew Union 
College, Cincinnati, Ohio. 

D. G. L David Gordon Lyon, Ph.D., 

Professor of Old Testament Exegesis and Sem- 
itic Languages; Curator of the Semitic Mu- 
seum, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass. 


D. I. P.... 

...D. I. Preedman, B.A., 

Rabbi, Perth, Western Australia. 

E. A 

Edouard Andre, 

Paris, France. 

E. C 

. . .Executive Committee of the Editorial 
Board. 

E. G. K.. 

....Emil G. Hirsch, Ph.D., LL.D., 

Rabbi, Sinai Congregation ; Professor of Rab- 


binical Literature and Philosophy, University 
of Chicago ; Chicago, 111. 

E. I. 1ST... 

...E. I. Nathans, 

Philadelphia, Pa. 

E. J 

...Emil Jelinek, 

Vienna, Austria. 

E. K .. 

...Eduard Konigr, Ph.D., LL.D., 

Professor of Old Testament Exegesis, Univer- 
sity of Bonn, Germany. 

E. Ms 

...E. Mels, 

New York City. 

E. N. 

...Eduard Neumann, Ph.D., 

Chief Rabbi, Nagy-Kanizsa, Hungary. 

E. N. A... 

. . .Elkan N. Adler, 

Solicitor at Law, London, England. 

E. N. S... 

. . .Elvira N. Solis, 

New York City. 

E. S.-C. .. 

. . .Emily Solis-Cohen, Jr., 

Philadelphia, Pa. 

E. SI 

. ...E. Slijper, Ph.D., 

Leyden, Holland. 

P. C 

. ..Prank Cramer, B.Sc., 


New York City. 

P. H. V... 

. ..Prank H. Vizetelly, P.S.A., 

Associate Editor of the “Columbian Cyclo- 
pedia ” and of the Standard Dictionary ; 
New York City. 

P. L. C... 

. .Prancis L. Cohen, 

Chief Minister, Sydney, N. S. W., Australia. 

P. N. G. . . . 

..PelixN. Gerson, 

Journalist, Philadelphia, Pa. 

P. P 

. .Pelix Perles, Ph.D., 

Rabbi, Konigsberg, East Prussia, Germany. 

P. T. H... 

. . .Frederick T. Haneman, M.D., 


Brooklyn, N. Y. 

G 

. .Richard Gottheil, Ph.D., 

Professor of Semitic Languages, Columbia 
University, New York ; Chief of the Oriental 
Department, New York Public Library ; New 
York City. 

G. A. B... 

...George A. Barton, Ph.D., 

Professor of Biblical Literature and Semitic 
Languages, Bryn Mawr College, Bryn Mawr, 
Pa. 

G. A. K... 

. . George Alexander Kohut, 

Formerly Rabbi in Dallas, Tex.; Assistant 
Librarian of the Jewish Theological Seminary 
of America, New York City. 

G. B. L... 

...Gerson B. Levi, 

New York City. 

G. D. R.... 

..George D. Rosenthal, 

Electrical Engineer, St. Louis, Mo. 

G. J 

. . Giuseppe J are, 

Chief Rabbi, Ferrara, Italy. 

G. L 

. . Goodman Lipkind, B. A. , 


Rabbi, New York City. 



xii 


CONTRIBUTORS TO VOLUME XI 


G-. Li Gustave Lindner, 

Astor Library, New York City. 

Gr. Mo Godfrey Morse, 

Counselor at Law, Boston, Mass. 

G. S Gabriel Schwarz, Ph.D., 

A grain, Croatia, Hungary. 

H. B. E Hannah B. Einstein, 

President of Emanu-El Sisterhood of Personal 
Service, New York City. 

H. C Henry Cohen, 

Rabbi B’nai Israel Congregation, Galveston, 
Tex. 

H. Ga H. Galandaner, 

Rabbi, Soborten, Bohemia, Austria. 

H. G. F H. G. Eriedmann, B.A., 

New York City. 

H. Gut H. Guttenstein, 

New York City. 

H. M Henry Malter, Ph.D., 

Professor of Talmud and Instructor in Judrno- 
Arabic Philosophy, Hebrew Union College, 
Cincinnati, Ohio. 

H. R Herman Rosenthal, 

Chief of the Slavonic Department of the New 
York Public Library, New York Citj^ 

H. S Henrietta Szold, 

Secretary of the Publication Committee of the 
Jewish Publication Society of America, New 
York City. 

I. A. H Isaac A. Hourwich, Ph.D., 

Expert Special Agent of the Bureau of the 
Census, Department of Commerce and Libor, 
Washington, D. C. 

I. Be Immanuel Benzingrer, i»ix.x>., 

Professor of Old Testament Exegesis, Uni- 
versity of Berlin, Germany ; Jerusalem, Pal- 
estine. 

I. Br Isaac Broydd {Office Editor ), 

Doctor of the University of Paris, France; for- 
merly Librarian of the Alliance Israelite Uni- 
verselle, Paris, France ; New York City. 

I. Co Israel Cohen, 

London, England. 

I. D Israel Davidson, Ph.D., 

Instructor in Hebrew Literature. Jewish Theo- 
logical Seminary of America, New York City. 


J. G. L J. G. Lipman, Ph.D., 

Assistant Agriculturist, New Jersey State Ex- 
periment Station, New Brunswick, N. J. 

J. Go Julius Gottlieb, M.A., Ph.D., 

New York City. 

J. H J. Hessen, 

Counselor at Law, St. Petersburg, Russia. 

J. H. G Julius H. Greenstone, 

Rabbi, Philadelphia, Pa. 

J. H. H Joseph Hermann Hertz, 

Rabbi, Witwatersrand Old Hebrew Congrega- 
tion, Johannesburg, S. A. 

J. Hy J. Hyams, 

Bombay, India. 

J. Ka Jacques Kahn, 

Rabbi, Paris, France. 

J. Leb Joseph Lebovich, 

Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass. 

J. So Joseph Sohn, 


Contributor to “ The New International En- 
cyclopedia ” ; formerly Musical Critic on the 
New York “American and Journal 11 ; New 
York City. 


J. L. S Joseph Loeb Sossnitz, 

Rabbi; Lecturer on Jewish Ethics, Educa- 
tional Alliance, New York City. 

J. V Jacob Voorsanger, D.D., 

Professor of Semitic Languages and Litera- 
ture, University of California, Berkeley, Cal.; 
Rabbi Congregation Emanu-El, San Fran- 
cisco, Cal. 

J. Z. L Jacob Zallel Lauterbach, Ph.D. {Office 

Editor ) , 

Rabbi. New York City. 

K Kaufmann KoWer, zpu.zd., 

Rabbi Emeritus of Temple Beth-El, New 
York; President of the Hebrew Union Col- 
lege, Cincinnati, Ohio. 

L. B Ludwig Blau, Ph.D., 

Professor, Jewish Theological Seminary ; Edi- 
tor of “Magyar Zsidd Szemle”; Budapest, 
Hungary. 

L. G- Louis Ginzberg, Ph.D., 

Professor of Talmud, Jewish Theological Sem- 
inary of America, New York City. 

L. Grii Lazarus Grunhut, 

Director of Orphan Asylum, Jerusalem, Pales- 


I. G. D I. George Dobsevage, 

New York City. 

I. H Isidore Harris, A.M., 

Rabbi, West London Synagogue, London, 
England. 

I. L Israel Levi, 

Rabbi ; Professor in the Jewish Theological 
Seminary, Paris; Editor of “Revue des 
Etudes Juives,” Paris, France. 

I. Lo Immanuel Low, Ph.D., 

Chief Rabbi, Budapest, Hungary. 

I. M. C I. M. Casanowicz, Ph.D., 

United States National Museum, Washington, 
D. C. 

I. M. P Ira Maurice Price, Ph.D., LL.D., 

Professor of Semitic Languages and Litera- 
ture, University of Chicago, Chicago, 111. 


J Joseph Jacobs, B.A., 

Formerly President of the Jewish Historical 
Society of England ; Corresponding Member 
of the Royal Academy of History, Madrid; 
New York City. 

J. C. B. . . . . . J. C. Baer, 

Strelitz, Mecklenburg, Germany. 

J. D, E Judah David Eisenstein, 

Author, New York City. 


tine. 

L. H. G Louis H. Gray, Ph.D. , 

Assistant Editor of the “ Orientalische Biblio- 
graphic ” ; formerly on the editorial staff of 
“ The New International Encyclopedia ” ; 
Newark, N. J. 

L. H. L. .. ..Louis H. Levin, 

Editor of “Jewish Comment,” Baltimore, Md. 


L. Hu L. Hiihner, A.M., LL.B., 

Counselor at Law, New York City. 

L. K Lesser Knoller, Ph.D., 

Rabbi: Principal of the Bildungsanstalt fur 
Judisclie Lehrer; Hanover, Germany. 

L. N. D Lewis H. Dembitz, D.H.L., 

Counselor at Law, Louisville, Ky. 

L. V Ludwig Venetian er, Ph.D., 

Rabbi, U.ipest, Hungary, 

M. Co Max Cohen, 

Counselor at Law, New York City. 

M. deS Meldola de Sola, 

Rabbi, Montreal, Canada. 

M. E . . .Michael Eriedlander, Ph.D., 

Principal, Jews’ College, London, England. 

M. Ei Maurice Eishherg, M.D., 

Surgeon to the Beth Israel Hospital Dispen- 

sary; Medical Examiner to the United States 
Hebrew Charities, New York City. 


J. E. McL — J. E. McLaughlin, M.A., B.D., 

Professor of Oriental Languages and Litera- 
ture, Victoria College, Toronto, Canada. 


M. Er M. Eranco, 

Principal, Alliance Israelite Universelle 
School, Demotica, Rumelia, Turkey. 



CONTRIBUTORS TO VOLUME XI 


xiii 


M. K Meyer Kayserling, Ph.D. (deceased). 

Late Rabbi, Budapest, Hungary. 

M. Lan Max Landsberg, Ph.D., 

Rabbi, Berith Kodesb Congregation, Roches- 
ter, N. Y. 

M. L. B Moses Bob Bamberger, Ph.D., 

Rabbi; Lecturer in Rabbinic, Jewish Semi- 
nary, Wurzburg, Bavaria, Germany. 

M. Lv Marc Levi, 

Schlettstadt, Alsace, Germany. 

M. Mr M. Margel, Ph.D., 

Rabbi, Pozega, Slavonia, Austria. 

M. II Max. Rosenthal, M.D., 

Visiting Physician, German Dispensary, New 
York City. 

M. Ri M. Rich tmann, Ph.D., 

Budapest, Hungary. 

M. Sc Max Schloessinger, Ph.D., 

Librarian and Lecturer on Biblical Exegesis, 
Hebrew Union College, Cincinnati, Ohio. 

M. Sel Max Seligsohn (Office Editor ), 

Doctor of the University of Paris, France; 
New York City. 


M. W. M Mary W. Montgomery, Ph.D., 

New York City. 


N. D Newell Dunbar, B.D., 

Author, Newark, N. J. 

N. E.B.E...N. E. B. Ezra, 

Shanghai, China. 

P. Be Philippe Berger, 

Professor of Hebraic, Chaldaic, and Syriac 
Languages and Literature, College de France ; 
Member of the Academie des Inscriptions et 
Belles Lettres, Paris, France. 

3?- Wi. . .• Peter 'Wiermolc, 

Journalist, New York City. 

R. N Regina Neisser, 

Author, Breslau, Silesia, Germany. 

S. . . . , Isidore Singer, Ph.D., 

Managing Editor,. New York City. 


S. H S. Hecht,Ph.D., 

Rabbi, B’ni B’rith’ Congregation, Los An- 
geles, Cal. 

S. Ho S. Horovitz, Ph.D., 

Professor, Jewish Theological Seminary, Bres- 
lau, Germany. 

S . Hu S . Hurwitz, 

New York City. 

S. Kr Samuel Krauss, Ph.D., 

Professor, Normal College, Budapest, Hungary.. 

S. Man S. Mannheimer, B.L., 

Instructor, Hebrew Union College, Cincinnati,. 
Ohio. 

S. Mun Sigmund Miinz, Ph.D., 

Vienna, Austria. 

S. O Schulim Ochser, Ph.D. (Office Editor ), 

Rabbi, New York City. 

S. We Samuel Wessel, 

Rabbi, Sarajevo, Bosnia. 

T Crawford Howell Toy, D.D., LL.D., 

Professor of Hebrew, Harvard University,. 

Cambridge, Mass. 

T. K Theodor Kroner, Ph.D., 

Rabbi, Stuttgart, Wiirttemberg, Germany. 

TX. C Umberto Cassuto, 

Editor of “La Ri vista Israelitica,” Florence,, 
Italy. 

V. C. Vittore Castiglione, 

Chief Rabbi, Rome, Italy. 

V. E Victor Rousseau Emanuel, 

New York City. 

W. B Wilhelm Bacher, Ph.D., 

Professor, Jewish Theological Seminary, Buda- 
pest, Hungary. 

"W. 2ST Willi elm Nowack, Ph.D., 

Professor of Old Testament. Exegesis. Uni- 
versity of Strasburg, Germany. 

W. Wi Wolf Willner, M.A., 

Rabbi, Congregation Beth Israel, Meridian,. 
Miss. 




LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS IN VOLUME XI 


N. B.— Iu the following list subjects likely to be sought for under various headings are repeated 
under each heading." Cross-references in this list are to other items in the list, not to articles in 
the Encyclopedia. ___ 


PAGE 

Albo, Joseph, Page from the First Edition of the “ ‘Ikkarim ” by, Soncino, I486 465 

Algiers, Interior of the Old Synagogue at 6 ®° 

Almemar of the Old Synagogue at Casimir, near Cracow 636 

America: see Indianapolis; Montreal; New York; Philadelphia; San Francisco; Semitic 
Museum. 

Amsterdam, Title-Page from a “TikRun ” Printed in 1666 at -^1 

Antokolski, Mark, Statue of Baruch Spinoza by 518 

Archeology: see Cromlechs; Dolmens; KafrBirTm; Mazzebah; Meron; Seals; Sii.oam; Solo- 
mon; Tomb. 

Architecture: see Booths; Semitic Museum ; Solomon; Synagogues; Tabernacle; Tomb. 

Ark of the Law in the Synagogue at Sarajevo 59 

Arms of the De Sola Family 430 

Art: see Archeology, Architecture; Scroll of the Law; Siiofars; Spinoza; Tables of the 

Law; Tallit; Typography. 

Booths Used During the Feast of Tabernacles, Eighteenth Century 657-659 

Breastplates for Scrolls of the Law ^ 

Breslau, Seal of the Head of the Community of Figs. 35, 86 of plate between 136-137 


California : see San Francisco. 

Cases for Scrolls of the Law 

Cemetery, The Old Jewish, at Sarajevo 00 

Ceremonial: see Scroll of the Law; Seder; Siiofars; Simhat Torah; Slaughtering ; Strifes; 
Tabernacles, Feast of; Tallit. 

Costume: see Sitabbetiiai Zebi ; Smyrna; Susskind of Tkimberg ; Tallit. 

Cromlechs, Palestinian 

Cups, Silver, of the Sixteenth Century” Used at the Seder 0 


Dolmens, Palestinian 

Dresden, Communal Seal of 


557, 558 

Fig. 33 of plate beticeen 136-137 


First Editions: Head-Piece Used by the Soneinos in the 1485 Edition of the Earlier Prophets 

Page from Albo’s ‘“Ikkarim,” Soncino, 1485 

Title-Page from Mei’r Schiff’s “Hidduslie Halakot,” Homburg-vor-der-Hohe, 1737. 

Flagellation ; Inflicting Stripes. From seventeenth- and eighteenth-century prints 

Florence, Exterior of the Synagogue at 


462 

465 

99 

. . . , 569, 570 
637 


Galicia : see Zoi.kiey. 

Germany: see Goeppingen ; Heidenheim ; Landsberg; Munich ; Xikolsburg ; Reichenberg; Rot- 
terdam; Stkasburg; Worms. 

Goeppingen, Plan of the Synagogue at 


Haggadah, Page from the Mantua, of 1550, Depicting the Seder Ceremonies .... folder between 142-143 

Ilalberstadt, Communal Seal of, Seventeenth Century Fig- H of plate between 136-137 

Hamburg, Seal of the Portuguese Community of Fig. 1 of plate between 136-137 



xvi 


LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS IN VOLUME XI 


PAGE 

Heklenheim, Plan of the Synagogue at 634 

Homburg-vor-der-Hohe, Title-Page from MeTr Schiff’s “Hidduslie Halakot,” Printed in 1737 at 99 

Incunabula : see Soncino. 

Indianapolis, Plan of the S 3 r nagogue at 635 

Inscription, The Siloam, with Transcription in Modern Hebrew Characters 340 

see also Seals ; Tombstone. 

Italy: see Florence; Rome. 

Jerusalem, Interior of a Synagogue at * 626 

Seals of Various Communities at 139 

Supposed Stables of Solomon at 437 

Johannesburg, South Africa, Synagogue of the Witwatersrand Old Hebrew Congregation at 478 

Kafr Bir'im, Palestine, Ruins of an Ancient Synagogue at 621 

Karaite Synagogue at Odessa, Russia 638 

Ground Plan of a 636 

Tallit - 677 

Knives Used in Slaughtering 256 

Landsberg, Plan of Synagogue at 634 

Lutomirsk, Russia, Exterior of the Wooden Synagogue at 633 

Lutsk, Russia, Exterior of the Synagogue at 633 

Manuscripts: see Scroll of the Law; Selihah; Shetarim; Sira, Ben; Siyyum; Slave; 
Spinoza ; Susskind of Trimberg. 

Map of Sicily Showing Places Where Jews Resided 326 

of Spain and Portugal Showing Places Where Jews Resided Before the Expulsion 491 

of the World Showing Chief Centers of Jewish Population 534, 535 

Mazzebah, Phenician 558 

Medal Established by the Royal Society in Honor of James Sylvester 614 

Struck in Commemoration of the Sanhedrin Convened by Napoleon, 1807 46 

with Effigy of Gershom Mendez Seixas 159 

Meron, Palestine, Ruins of an Ancient Synagogue at 620 

Metz, Seal of the Community of - 136 

Montreal, Canada, Interior of the Synagogue of the Spanish and Portuguese Jews at 629 

Munich, Plan of the Synagogue at •' 635 

Music: “Selihot” 177-181 

“ Shahar Abakkeshka ” 226 

“ Shema* Koli” -67 

“ Sliirah Hadasliali ” 293, 294 

“ Shofar ” 305, 300 

“ Shofet Kol ha-Arez ” 307-310 

“Shomron Iyol Titten ” 311 

Napoleon, Medal Struck in Commemoration of the Sanhedrin Convened by, 1807 46 

New York, Interior of Shearith Israel Synagogue 627 

Main Entrance to Shearith Israel Synagogue 628 

Main Entrance to Temple Beth-El 627 

Plan of Temple Beth-El 635 

Nikolsburg, Plan of the Synagogue at 634 

Odessa, Russia, Karaite Synagogue at 638 

Main Entrance to the Great Synagogue at 632 

Palestine: see Cromlechs; Dolmens; Jerusalem; Kafr Bir‘im; Meron; Sandals; Sheep; 
Siiiloaii; Siloam; Tombs. 

Phenician Mazzebah 558 

Philadelphia, Interior of Mikve Israel Synagogue 629 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS IN VOLUME XI 


xvii 


Plans of Synagogues 

Pogrebishche, Russia, Wooden Synagogue at, 


Portraits: see 

Samuel, Haeem 
Saphir, Jacob 
Saphir, Moritz Gottlieb 
Sasportas, Haiiam Jacob 
Sassoon, Sir Albert 
Sassoon, David 
Schenk, Leopold 
Schiff, Jacob Henry 
Schreiber, Moses 

SCHUDT, JOHANN JAKOB 
Schulman, Kalman 
Schwab, Low 


Schwarz, Joseph 

See, Germain 

Seixas, Gershom Mendez 

Seligman, Jesse 

Siiabbethai ben MeIr ha-Kohen 

Shabbethai zebi 

Shneor, Zalman 

Simon, Sir John 

Simson, Martin Eduard yon 

Sinzheim, Joseph David 

Slonimski, Hayyim Selig 

Smolenskin, Peter 


PAGE 

628, 684-635 
631 


SONNENFELS, JOSEPH 

Sonnexthal, Adolf 
Spektor, Isaac Elhanan 
Spinoza, Baruch 
Steinsciineider, Moritz 
Steinthal, Herman 
Stern, Abraham 
Strashun, Mathias 
Straus, Oscar 
Sulzberger, Mayer 
Sulzer, Solomon 


Portugal, Map of Spain and, Showing Places Where Jews Resided Before the Expulsion 491 

Prague, Seal of the Butchers’ Gild of, Seventeenth Century Fig. 32 of plate between 136-137 

Seal Granted to the. Community of, by Ferdinand II. in 1627 Fig. 13 of plate between 136-137 

Procession Carrying Palms During the Feast of Tabernacles, Eighteenth Century 661 


Heichenberg*, Plan of the Synagogue at 628 

Rome, The New Synagogue at 639 

Rotterdam, Interior of the Old Synagogue at 624 


Russia: see Lutomirsk ; Lutsk; Odessa; Pogrebishche ; Wilkowiszki; Zaragorod. 


Salonica, Jews of, Doing Penance During the Shabbethai Zebi Agitation. From a print of 1701 223 

Samson bsn Samson, Seal of, Thirteenth Century ... 4 

Samuel, Alleged Tomb of, at Mizpali o 

• Samuel, Haeem, Indian Communal Worker 16 

San Francisco, Interior of the Sutter Street Sjmagogue 36 

Mortuary Chapel of the Home of Peace and Hills of Eternity Cemeteries 35 

The Broadway Synagogue 34 

Sandals Used in Palestine 40 

Sanhedrin, Medal Struck in Commemoration of the. Convened by Napoleon, 1807 46 

Meeting of the, Convened by Napoleon, 1807 49 

Title-Page from the Prayers Recited at the Meeting of the, Convened by Napoleon, 1807 47 

Saphir, Jacob, Rabbi and Traveler 61 

Moritz Gottlieb, Hungarian Humorist • 61 

Sarajevo, Ark of the Law in the Synagogue at 59 

The Old Jewish Cemeteiy at 60 

— — The Synagogue at • - 58 

Sasportas, Haham Jacob, English Rabbi and Cabalist 65 

Sassoon, Sir Albert, Anglo-Indian Merchant 66 

David, Indian Merchant 67 

Tomb of, at Puna, India 68 

Schenk, Leopold, Austrian Embryologist 95 

Schiif, Jacob Henry, American Financier and Philanthropist 98 

Meir, Title-Page from “Hiddushe Halakot,” Homburg-vor-der-Hohe, 1737 99 

Schreiber, Moses, German Rabbi HI 

Scliudt, Johann Jakob, German Potyliistor and Orientalist 113 

Schulman, Kalman, Russian Author, Historian, and Poet 114 

Schwab, Low, Moravian Rabbi ' 116 

Schwarz, Joseph, Palestinian Geographer 118 

Scroll of the Law, Binder for 132 

Breastplates for 130, 133, 135 

Ceremonies Accompanying the Presentation of, to a Synagogue 127 

from China 128 

from Tafilet, Morocco 131 

Metal and Wooden Cases for 126, 133 

with Crown, Breastplate, and Pointer. 129 



xviii 


LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS IN VOLUME XI 


Seal of Samson ben Samson, Thirteenth Century 4 

of Spinoza ^ 

Seals, Ancient Hebrew ^ 

Communal and Private 136, 138, 139 and plate between 136-137 

with Representation of the Seven-Branched Candlestick, Third Century l86 

Seder as Observed by Dutch Jews of the Early Eighteenth Century 143 

Ceremonies. From the Mantua Haggadah of 1550 7 7 7 77 '.folder 'between ' 142-143 

Dish and Device for Holding the Three Mazzot 

Feast, From a medieval manuscript in the British Museum 144 

From the Sarajevo Haggadah of the fourteenth century -^g 

: From a seventeenth-century Haggadah ^ 

Ewer and Basin Used at the 

Silver Cups of the Sixteenth Century Used at the 145 

See, Germain, French Physician > 

Segovia, Remains of the Ancient Synagogue at ^~g 

Seixas, Gershom Mendez, American Rabbi and Patriot 

Tablet in Shearith Israel Synagogue, New York, Erected in Memory of 160 

Tombstone of, Chatham Square Cemetery, New York Igg 

Moses, Tombstone of, Newport, R. I ’ ’ 

Seligman, Jesse, American Banker and Philanthropist 168 

Selihah, Page from a Fifteenth-Century Manuscript 1™ 

“Selihot,” Music of 177 181 

Semitic Museum, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass., Exterior of 193 

Seville Communal Seal of, Fourteenth Century . Fig .' 27 of plate between 1S6-V67 

Old Judena, Street in Which St. Maria la Blanca Is Situated 210 

The Golden Tower at, Used as a Residence by Jewish Financiers of the Kings of Castile 209 

Tombstone of Solomon ben Abraham Found at ogg 

Shabbetliai ben Meir ha-Kolien, Russian Talmudist ’77777 217 

Zebi, Pseudo-Messiah. From con temporary portraits 219 2°0 

Enthroned. From a print of 1666 7 7 7. 221 

in Festive Attire 999 

Jews of Salonica Doing Penance During the Agitation of. From a print of 1701 77 .777 7 * 223 

a Prisoner at Abydos. From a print of 1701 901 

“Shahar Abakkeshka,” Music of, 996 

Sheep and Shepherd, Palestinian ^51 

Palestinian, with Cart Supporting Tail 

“Shema* Koli,” Music of, . ^ 

Shetarim, English Jewish, of the Thirteenth Century 777777.7777.7 . 286 287 

Shields Depicted on the Assyrian Monuments ' * ’900 

Shiloah (Siloain), Fountain of 

“Shirali Hadasliah,” Music of ,7.77*777* *7 293 9 94 

Shneor, Zalman ben Baruch, Leader of Hasidim ’ * ’ 99Q 

Shofar Calls, Music of 

bhotars, Various Forms of .™ 9 qgo 

“ Shofet Kol ha-Arez, 55 Music of 7777777 77 . .’ .’ ’ ’ .* * ’ ] ’ ’ ’ ‘ * * * ’ ‘ * 7 ‘ ’ * 30^ Jin 

“Skomron Kol Titten,” Music of * 

Sicily, Map of, Showing Places Where Jews Resided 7 7 7 7. 7 7 7 . 7 3^6 

Siloam Inscription, with Transcription in Modern Hebrew Characters 77. 340 

Simeon the Just, Traditional Tomb of ^ 

ben \ ohai, Traditional Tomb of, During a Pilgrimage . ggl 

Simhat Torah, Throwing Cakes to Children on * 7 365 

Simon, Sir John, English Politician 3g9 

Simson, Martin Eduard von, German Statesman 3^g 

Sinzheim, Joseph David, Rabbi of Strasburg and Member of the Napoleonic Sanhedrin 386 

Sira, Ben, Manuscript Fragments from * 

Siyyum, Poem Written on the Occasion of a, Italian, Seventeenth Century 401 

Slaughtering-Knives 2gg 

Yards, German Jewish, of the Eighteenth Century 254 255 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS IN VOLUME XI xix 


PAGE 

Slave, Manumission of a, Dated Cairo, 1087 405 

Slonimski, Hayyim Selig, Russian Author and Scientist 409 

Smolenskin, Peter, Russian Writer 413 

Smyrna, Interior of the Principal Synagogue at 41o 

Jewish Girls of 416 

Jewish Hawkers of 417 

Jewish Porter of 417 

Jewish Quarter of 444 

Sola, de, Abraham 432 

Benjamin 434 

David de Aaron 432 

Family, Arms of the 430 

Solomon, Supposed Stables of, at Jerusalem 437 

Solomon’s House of the Forest of Lebanon 438 

Soncino: Head-Piece Used by the Soncinos in the First Edition of the Earlier Prophets, 1485 462 

Page from the First Edition of Albo’s “ Tkkarim,” Printed by Joshua Solomon Soncino in 1485. . 465 

Sonnenfels, Joseph, Austrian Jurist and Novelist 468 

Sonnenlhal, Adolf, Austrian Actor 469 

South Africa: see Johannesburg. 

Spain, Interior View of St. Maria la Blanca at Toledo. 487 

Map of, Showing Places Where Jews Resided Before the Expulsion 491 

Spektor, Isaac Elhanan, Russian Rabbi 503 

Spinoza, Baruch, Dutch Philosopher. From an unpublished painting by Vaillant, dated 1672. .Frontispiece 

From a miniature in the possession of the Queen of Holland 512 

From a statue by Mark Antokolski 518 

Diagram Illustrating the Metaphysical System of 515 

Holograph Letter of 521 

Residence of, at Rhijnsburg . 514 

Seal of 513 

Workroom of, at Rhijnsburg . . . 516 

Steinschneider, Moritz, Austrian Bibliographer and Scholar 545 

Steinthal, Herman, German Philologist and Philosopher. 547 

Stern, Abraham, Russian Inventor and Educator 548 

Stone and Stone- Worship: Palestinian Cromlechs 556, 557 

: — Palestinian Dolmens 557 558 

Plienician Mazzebali 558 

Strasburg, Exterior of the Synagogue at 562 

Interior of the Synagogue at 563 

Plan of, Showing the Gate Leading to the Jewry. From an early seventeenth-century print. . . . 561 

Strashun, Mathias, Russian Talmudist 565 

Straus, Oscar, American Statesman 566 

Stripes, Inflicting. From Leusden, 1657 569 

in a Dutcli Synagogue of the Early Eighteenth Century 570 

Sulzberger, Mayer, American Jurist 586 

Sulzer, Solomon, Austrian Cantor • 586 

Sun, Table Showing the Times of Sunset for the Entire Year in Various Latitudes. . . .folder between 596-597 

Siisskind of Trimberg Before Church Dignitaries. From a thirteenth-century manuscript 605 

Swabia, Seal of the Chief Rabbi of, Eighteenth Century Fig. 2 of 'plate between 136-137 

Sylvester, James, Medal Established by the Royal Society in Honor of 614 

Synagogues: see Algiers; Florence; Goeppingen; Hejdeniieim; Indianapolis; Jerusalem; 

Johannesburg; Kafr Bir‘im; Landsberg; Lutomirsk; Lutsk; Meron; Montreal; Mu- 
nich; New York; Nikolsburg ; Odessa; Philadelphia; Pogrebishche ; Reichenberg; 

Rome; Rotterdam; San Francisco ; Sarajevo; Segovia; Smyrna; Strasburg; Szegedin; 

Toledo; Wilkowiszki; Worms; Zaragoiiod; Zolkiev. 

Szegedin, Stained Glass Windows with Jewish Symbols in the Synagogue at 650 

Tabernacle, The, as Restored by Ferguson 654 

as Represented on the Title-Page of “She'elot u-Teshubot,” Printed at Venice, 1694 655 



i; 

\\ 

j: 


LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS IN VOLUME XI 


Tabernacles, Feast of, as Observed by Dutch Jews of the Early Eighteenth Century . . . . 

as Observed by German Jews of the Eighteenth Century 

Booth Used on. From a woodcut of 1695 

Procession Showing the Carrying of Palms During the 

Tables of the Law from an Italian Synagogue, Dated 1671 

Tallit, Embroidered 

Jew with. From a fifteenth-century mahzor 

Jew with. From a drawing by Alphonse Levy 

Karaite, and Bag 

Title-Page from Meir Schiff’s “Hiddushe Halakot,” Homburg-vor-der-Hohe, 1737 

from the Prayers Recited at the Sanhedrin Convened by Napoleon, Paris, 1807 

from a “Slie‘elot u-Teshubot,” Venice, 1694 

from a “Tikkun,” Amsterdam, 1666 

Toledo, Spain, Interior View of St. Maria la Blanca at, Formerly a Synagogue 

Tomb of David Sassoon, Puna, India 

Traditional, of Samuel, at Mizpah 

of Simeon the Just 

of Simeon ben Yohai During a Pilgrimage 

Tombstone of Gershom Mendes Seixas in Chatham Square Cemetery, New York 

of Moses Seixas at Newport, R. I 

of Solomon ben Abraham Found at Seville 

Typography: see Amsterdam ; Homburg-vor-der-Hoiie; Soncino ; Venice. 

Venice, Title-Page from a “She‘elot u-Teshubot,” Printed in 1694 at 

Wilkowiszki, Russia, Exterior of the Wooden Synagogue at 

Worms, Plan of the Old Synagogue at 

Zaragorod, Russia, Exterior of the Synagogue at 

Zolkiev, Galicia, Exterior of the Synagogue at 


PAGE 

. 659 
. 658 
. 657 
. 661 
. 663 
. 678 
. 677 
. 677 
. 677 
. 99 
. 47 
. 655 
. 221 
. 487 
68 
5 

. 353 
. 361 
, 160 
. 161 
. 208 


655 


633 

634 

630 

633 








THE 


Jewish Encyclopedia 


SAMSON. — Biblical Data: Oue of the judges 

op^eoton it «» Pl«““ e'difot 

SS ii .o M* -t«. 

:isBS5ss== 

"ated was Samson with a PhHistme woman of Tmx- 
nali tlmt, overcoming the objections of 1 1 < ’ 

1,0 nvn-ried her The wedding-feast, like that ceic 
m ed in certain parts of the East to-day, « » 
seven-day banquet, at which various kinds of en- 
tertainment were in vogue. Samson, equal to the 

demands of the ““^^^Tient and tearful 

„ hp betrays it to the thirty young men. To meet 
their demands he 

anger lava the . ho woman' gives her 

,rr ZSZ& se. 

thigh, am demanded from 3,000 

arm ^nf f Tudah the deliverance to them of Samson. 
With Samson’s consent they tied him with two new 

ATT —1 


of Judges XV. it is said that “he judged Israel in 
the days of the Philistines [’ sway] twent) >ca . 

Ch xvi records the disgraceful and disastrous end 

of Samson. Hisactionsat Gazadisplay his strength 
and also his fascination for Philistine women, 
final and fatal episode, in which Delilah betrays 
him to ins enemies, is similar in its beginnings ^ 
the art practised by the Timmtess Samson s ie- 
venne at the feast of Dagon was the end of a hfe 
that’ was full of tragic events. Despite his heioie 
deeds he does not seem to have rid Iris people of 
the onnression of the Philistines ; his single-handed 

'ris“~ *»<*•**«. . 

Israel from Philistine tyranny. His death V®”. 
severest revenge for the Philistines’ cruelty in put- 
ting out his eyes. j ^ p 

J ' In Rabbinical Literature : Samson is idem 

nf n-m “ Bedan ” being explained as Ben Dai 
(H H 35a) On the maternal side, however, he was 

!’ 0n , "chron v The name “Samson” is de- 

(comp. I Cliron. • M m s0 that Samson 

rived from shem e. ) shield ” 

SS -3?g 5 tSiSgt^ aid^nor 

further resembled God in xequ ^ o M 

girded even as the Messiah (Gen R. ^ ^ 
Ms'hfm and Sl^olpIdro'litmiC Idle* till* sei’pel't 



Samson . 

Samson ben Josepn 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


arose and clashed against one another so that they 
could be heard for a like distance (Lev. K. vm 

He was so strong that he could up lilt 

His two mountains and rub them together 
Strength, like two clods of earth {ib. ; Sotali 9b), 
yet his superhuman strength, like 
Goliath’s, brought wo upon its possessor (Eccl. R. 
i. end). Iu licentiousness lie is compared with 
\mnon and Zimri, both of whom were punished for 
their sins (Lev. R. xxiii. 9). Samson’s eyes were put 
out because be had “ followed them ” too often (Sotali 
l.c.). When Samson was thirsty (comp. Judges xv. 
1S-19) God caused a well of water to spring from Ins 

teeth (Gen. R. l.c. % IS). . ■ . 

In the twenty years during which Samson ]udgeci 
Israel (comp. Judges xv. 20, xvi. 31) lie never re- 
quired the least service from an Israelite (kum. R. 
ix 25) and he piously refrained from taking the 
name of God in vain. As soon, therefore, as he told 
Delilah that he was a Nazarite of God (comp. Judges 
xvi 17) she immediately knew that he had spoken 
the* truth (Sotali l.c.). When he pulled down the 
temple of Dagon and killed himself and the Pas- 
tilles (comp. Judges l.c. verse 80) the structure fell 
backward, so that he was not crushed, his family 
being thus enabled to find his body and to buiy it 
in the tomb of bis father (Gen. R, l.c. % 19). 

Even in the Talmudic period many seem to have 
denied that Samson was a historic figure*, he was 
apparently regarded as a purely mythological per- 
sonage A refutation of this heresy is attempted 
by the Talmud (B. B. l.c.), which gives the name of 
his mother, and states that he had a sister also, named 
“Nishyan” or “ Hash y an ” (variant reading, pHW; 
this apparently is the meaning of the passage in 
question, despite the somewhat unsatisfactory ex- 
planation of Rashi). T 

w. b. L ' - L * 

SAMSON AND THE SAMSON SCHOOL 

See WOLFENBUTTKL. 

SAMSON BEN ABRAHAM OF SENS 

(RaSHBa or HaRaSH of pw?) : French tosa- 
fist; born about 1150; died at Acre about 1280. His 
birthplace was probably Falaise, Calvados, where 
lived his grandfather, the tosafist Samson ben Jo- 
seph, called “ the Elder.” Samson ben Abraham was 
designated also “the Prince of Sens.” He received 
instruction from Rabbemi Tam (d. 1171) at Troyes 
and from David hen Kalonymus of Mttnzenberg 
while the latter was Tam’s pupil, and for ten years 
attended the school of Rabbi Isaac hen Samuel ha- 
Zaken of Dampierre, after whose death he took 
charge of the school of Sens. Ashen says of him 
that after R. Tam and Isaac ben Samuel be exer- 
cised the greatest influence upon Talmudical studies 
in France and in Germany during the thirteenth 
century Joseph Colon declares that Isaac ben Sam- 
uel Judali Sir Leon of Paris, and Samson ben 
Abraham formed the three strong pillars of the 
northern French school. Samson’s tosafot, abridged 
by Eliezer of Touques, are the principal sources for 
the interpretation of tlie Talmud. 

Being recognized as a high authority, Samson was 
frequently consulted upon religious and ritual ques- 
tions ; and most of his decisions were accepted. He 


did not slavishly submit to tradition, nor did he con- 
sider his opinions irrefutable. “ If my opinion does 
not agree with yours, reject it,” lie once remarked 
(“Mordekai,” on Hul. viii. 718). In bis love for 
truth be once revoked a former decision of his own 
(“Or Zarua\” ii. 175); and with great 
His Views, reserve he decided against the views 
of R. Tam (“Mordekai,” l.c . p. 733) 
and against those of his teacher Isaac ben Samuel 
{ib. Pes. ii. 556). But be showed himself very intol- 
erant toward the Karaites, whom he looked upon as 
heathens with whom Israelites should neither in- 
termarry nor drink wine. 

Samson sided with the adversaries of Maimomdes 
in their polemics. With Mei'r ben Todros lia-Levi 
Abulafia he kept up a lively correspondence; 
through Abraiiam ben Nathan lia-1 arid he sent 
an answer to the letter which Abulafia had addressed 
to the rabbis of Lunel and Toledo, and said, “I did 
not come to refute the great lion after Ins death. 
But, like Abulafia, lie condemned Maimomdes’ ra- 
tionalistic views on bodily resurrection *ind Tal- 
mudic haggadah; lie likewise sided with Abulafia 
in his objection to some halakic views of Maimom- 
des and reproached tlie last-named for not having 
indicated the Talmudic sources dn bis “Misbnek 
Torali.” But later on they quarreled because Abu- 
lafia was offended by some of Samson s remaiks. 
Samson refers to Saadia Gaon, whose works he 
knew not through Judah Tibbon’s Hebrew trans- 
lation, but probably through extracts made for him 
by Abraham ben Nathan. 

In consequence of the persecution of tlie Jews by 
Pope Innocent III. (1198-1216), Samson, joining 300 
English and French rabbis, emigrated to Palestine 
° about 1211. For some years be lived 

Migrates in Jerusalem, lienee lie is designated 
to “the Jerusalemite” (“SeMaG,” Pro- 
Palestine. liibitious, 65, 111 ; Precepts, 48). As 
mentioned above, he died at Acre 
(Acco), and he was buried at the foot of Mount 
Carmel 

Besides tosafot, many of which he composed under 
the direction of his teacher Isaac ben Samuel, Sam- 
son wrote a commentary on that part of the Misli- 
nah not treated in tlie Babylonian Talmud, namely, 
the orders Zera'im and Toliorot with the exception 
of the tractates Berakot and Nkldali. He fre- 
quently refers therein to the Palestinian Talmud to 
which he devoted more attention than any of his 
predecessors or contemporaries, and to the older 
compilations Tosefta, Mekilta, Sifra, and Si ire, and 
he tries to reconcile the discrepancies between them 
and the Mishnali. He refers to Nathan ben Jcluel, 
to Raslii, and other authorities, but never mentions 
Maimonides’ commentary, which lie probably did 
not know (see Tos. Yom-Tob on Maksli. v. 10). A 
revised edition which lie prepared was not printed. 
According to Jacob ben Aksai, Samson wrote also 
commentaries on Shekalim, ‘Eduyot, Middot, and 
Ivinuim, but none of them is extant. Tlie tosafot 
of Sens on ‘Eduyot, published under the title Edut 
Ne’emanali ” (Dessau, 1813), are wrongly attributed 

to him. e „ 

He further wrote a commentary on the bitra; for 
this, besides other older works, he utilized the 



3 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Samson 

Samson "ben Joseph. 


commentary of Abraham ben David of Posquieres 
(RaBaD), which lie quotes under the designation 
“sages of Lunel,” “sages of the Pro- 
His vence,” without mentioning the ail- 
writing’s. thor’s name. An inadequate edition of 
Samson’s commentary, the manuscript 
of which is in the Bodleian Library at Oxford, was 
published at Warsaw in 1866. As Samson therein 
explains numerous Pentateuchal passages, it was er- 
roneously supposed that he had written a commen- 
tary on the Pentateuch. He -wrote also a few litur- 
gical poems, and sometimes used rime in his letters. 

Of Samson’s father, Abraham, Meir Abnlafia 
speaks as a pious, saintly, and noble man. Samson’s 
brother, . Isaac of Dampierre (RIBA or RIZBA), 
called also Isaac the Younger to distinguish him 
from liis teacher Isaac the Elder (Isaac ben Samuel), 
whom he succeeded as principal of the school of 
Dampierre, is also one of the prominent tosafists. 
He wrote, too, some liturgical poems and a commen- 
tary on the Pentateuch. He died about 1210, and, 
Samson attended his funeral. Both brothers are 
frequently mentioned in “Or Zarua‘,” “Mordekai,” 
“ Orhot Hayyiin,” “SeMaG,” “Semak,” “Sefer ha- 
Yashar,” “Kol Bo,” “Sha‘are Dura,” “Haggahot 
Maimuniyyot;” “Terumat lia-Deshen,” and similar 
works, and by Asher ben Jehieland MeiTof Ro then- 
burg, In his “ Milhamot Adonai ” Abraham ben Mai- 
mon refers to Samson’s presence in Acre and to his 
attacks on Maimonides (pp. 16, 17). A son of Sam- 
son, Jacob, was buried at the foot of Mount Tabor; 
a grandson, Solomon, who lived at Acre about 
1260, was known as a great scholar. The statement 
of Gratz (“ Gesch.” vii. 61) that Moses of Coucy was 
a brother-in-law of Samson is refuted by Gross (in 
“R. E. J.” vi. 181, and “Gallia Judaica,” p. 555); 
he was a brother-in-law of Samson of Coucy. 

Bibliography: Azulai, Shem ha-GcdnUm. i. 126b, No. 178, 
Warsaw, 1876; Burst, Bibl.Jud. iii. 278; Gratz, Gesch. 1st 
ed., vi. 253, 396 ; vii. 17, 41,-324 ; Gross, Gallia Judaica , pp. 
165, 168, 169, 477, 622 ; idem, in R. E. J. vi. 168-186, vii. 40-77 ; 
Heilprin, Seder ha-Dorot , i. 293, Warsaw, 1883 ; Michael, Or 
ha-Haijyim , No. 1226; Mielziner, Introduction to the Tal- 
mud. p. 69, Cincinnati, 1894 ; Steinschneider, Cat. Bndl. cols. 
2639-2642 ; Weiss, Dor. v. 10, 25, 63 ; Zacuto, Sefer Yuliasin. 
ed. Filipowski, p. 218b. 

p. S. Man. 

SAMSON BEN ELIEZER : German “ sofer ” 
(scribe) of the fourteenth century; generally called 
Baruk sbe-Amar, from the initial words of the 
blessing which he delighted to repeat, even in boy- 
hood, at the early morning service. He was born in 
Saxony, but later went with his parents to Prague. 
Orphaned when eight years old, he was adopted by 
R. Issachar, a learned scribe, who taught him to 
write tefillin, mezuzot, and scrolls of the Law. Sam- 
son apparently traveled through Austria, Poland, 
Lusatia, Thuringia, and Bavaria, and finally went 
to Palestine to study the work of the soferim of the 
Holy Land, where he found that the majority of the 
scribes were ignorant of the correct tradition in re- 
gard to the form of the letters. He endeavored to 
correct this evil in his work “Baruk she-Amar” 
(Shklov, 1804), which contains a treatise by R. Abra- 
ham of Sinzheim, a pupil of Meir of Rotlienburg, 
on tlie making and writing of tefillin, together with 
Samson’s own notes from the “Halakot Gedolot,” 
“ ScMaG.” “ Terumah,” “ Rokeah,” and other works. 


This same edition, which is poorly edited, likewise 
contains the “Ottyyot de-Rabbi ‘Akiba” and vari- 
ous cabalistic notes on the form of the letters. 

According to Azulai (“Shem lia-Gedolim,” ii. 
19), the name “Baruk she-Amar” became hereditary 
in the family; and Joseph Caro in his “Bet Yosef” 
(Orah Hayyim, p. 87) mentions a certain R. Isaac 
Baruk she-Amar, probably a descendant of Samson. 


Bibliography ; Zunz, Z. G. p. 209 ; Steinschneider, Cat. Bodl. 
col. 2634. 


W. B. 


M. E. 


SAMSON BEN ISAAC OF CHINON : French 
Talmudist; lived at Chinon between 1260 and 1880. 
In Talmudic literature he is generally called after 
his native place. Chinon (Hebr. jiyp), and sometimes 
by the abbreviation MaHaRShaK. He was a con- 
temporary of Perez Kohen Gerondi, who, as reported 
by Isaac ben Sheshet, declared Samson to be the 
greatest rabbinical authority of his time (Responsa, 
No. 157). 

Samson was the author of the following works; 
(1) “ Sefer Keri tut ” (Constantinople, 1515), a meth- 
odology of the Talmud divided into five parts: 
(«) “Bet Middot,” treating of the thirteen rules of 
R. Ishmael; ( b ) “Bet ha-Mikdasli,” on the rules for 
deductions by analogy and conclusions a fortiori; 

(c) “Netibot ‘Olam,” containing explanations of the 
thirty -two rules of R. Eliezer ben Jose ha-Gelili; 

(d) “ Yemot ‘Olam,” giving the names of the Tan- 
naim and Amoraim, and setting forth a method for 
deciding Between the contrary opinions of two doc- 
tors; (e) “Leshon Limmudim,” explanations of cer- 
tain halakic decisions. The “ Sefer Iveritut,” owing 
to its easy style and its author’s great authority, 
became a classic. (2) “Kontres,” a commentary on 
the Talmudic treatises ‘Erubin and ‘Abodah Zarah ; 
mentioned in the “ Sefer Keritut. ” (3) “Bi’ur ha- 
Get” (Vienna MS. No. 48), on the laws concerning 
divorce. 

Samson wrote also responsa, several of which are 
quoted by Joseph Colon (Responsa, ^No. 187) and 
Solomon ben Adret (Responsa, iii., No. 1; iv., No. 
152). According to Gross, Samson was the author of 
the supercommentary on Ibn Ezra’s commentary on 
the Pentateuch found by Judah Mosconi at Perpi- 
gnan between 1368 and 1375 (Halberstam MS0- 
As regards the word (= “ of Marseilles ”), 

which appears in the manuscript after the name 
Samson of Chinon, Gross believes that Samson set- 
tled at Marseilles after the banishment of the Jews 
from France. 

Bibliography: Azulai, Shem ha-Gedolim. i. 1S2 ; Zunz.Z.G. 
p. 44 ; Luzzatto, Halikot Kedem. p. 46 ; Halberstam, m J eshu - 
run. 1866, pp. 167-168; Magazin. iii. 47; Renan-Neubauer, 
Les Rabbins Frangais. p. 461; Gross, Gallia Judaica. pp. 
581 et seq. T _ 

w. b. I* Bit. 

SAMSON BEN JOSEPH OF FALAISE : 

Tosafist of the twelfth century ; grandfather of the 
tosafists Isaac ben Abraham of Dampierre and Sam- 
son of Sens. Jacob Tam, with whom he carried on 
a scientific correspondence, held him in high esteem. 

Samson was the author of tosafot to the Talmud- 
ical treatises Sliabbat, ‘Erubin, Yebamot, and Hul- 


lin. He wrote also ritual decisions, cited by Joel 
lia-Levi under the title “Pesakim.” One of his 
decisions, permitting a woman still nursing her 



Samson ben Samson 
Samuel 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


4 




child to many again within three months of her 
divorce, was severely criticized by Jacob Tam 
(“ Sefer ha-Yashar, ” p. 59d ; Tos. Ket. 60b). 

Bibliography: Conforte, Korc ha-Dorot , ed. Berlin, p. 18a; 

Gross. Gallia Jitdaica* p, 177. 

Iv. I. Bh. 

SAMSON BEN SAMSON (called HaRaSH, 
and by anagram Ha-Sar [= “the prince” of 
Coucy]) : French tosafist ; nourished at the end of the 
twelfth and in the first half of the thirteenth century. 
Many of his explanations are found in the tosafot to 
Lhe Talmud. He is mentioned also as a Biblical 
commentator. Samson was a descendant of Joseph 
b. Samuel Bonfils, a nephew of 
the tosatist Judah of Corbeil, and 
a brother-in-law of Moses of 
Coucy, who in “SeMaG” often 
quotes him. In the glosses of 
Perez on “ SeMaG ” (Prohibitory 
Laws, 111) he is erroneously 
called ; hence Geda- 

Seal of Samson ben liah ibn Yuliya (’* Shalslielet ha- 

. Samson. Kabbalah,” ed. Venice, p. 55a) 

(lu the British Museum.) aild after llim Gl’lltZ (“ GeSCll. ” 

vii. 61) falsely state that Samson 
ben Abraham of Sens was a brother-in-law of .Moses 
of Coucy. 

Samson was a disciple of Isaac ben Samuel the 
Elder of Dam pierre and one of the prominent rabbis 
to whom Mei’r ben Todros Abulafia addressed his 
letter of protest against Maimonides. Isaac ben 
Moses of Vienna, with whom Samson corresponded, 
was one of his pupils. Many of Samson’s ritual 
decisions are mentioned in the rabbinical works “Or 
Zarua‘,” “SeMaG,” “Orhot Hayyim,” and “Piske 
Bekanati.” 

Bibliography: Conforte, Kore ha-Dorot , p. ISa; Gross, Gal- 
lia Judaica, pp. 554-556 ; Michael, Or lia-Jiayyim , No. 1230; 

Neubauer, in Geiger’s Jild. Zeit. ix. 217 ; Zunz, Z. G. p. 201. 

d. S. Man. 

S AMTJDA : Old Spanish and Portuguese family, 
identified for some generations with the communal 
affairs of the London Jewry. The first member to 
settle in England was the physician and scientist 
Isaac de Sequeyra Samuda. In 1728 he pro- 
nounced a funeral oration over the grave of Haham 
David Nieto. In the records of Bevis Marks he is 
described as “Medico do Beal Colleges de Londrcs” 
and “E. Socia da Beal Sociedade.” 

In the early part of the nineteenth centuiy David 
Samuda founded the firm of David Samuda & Sons, 
of Leman street, Goodman’s Fields, London. In 
17S9 he was a member of the Board of Deputies. 
One of his sons, Jacob Samuda, was an opulent 
London broker, and for some years was president of 
the Mahamad of Bevis Marks. 

J acob Samuda : English civil engineer ; horn at 
London Aug. 24, 1811; died Nov. 12, 1844; de- 
scribed on liis tombstone, in the Sephardic ceme- 
tery, Alile Enel, London, as “ tlie first JcavIsIi err - 

ginccr”; elder son of Abraham Samuda, an East 
and West India merchant of London, by his mar- 
riage with Joy, daughter of H. d ’Aguilar of Enfield 
Chase, Middlesex. On completing his apprentice- 
ship with John Hague, an engineer, Jacob started 
business on his own account in partnership with his 



brother Joseph d’ Aguilar; aud the firm of Samuda 
Brothers thereafter advanced steadily in wealth and 
influence. 

Samuda displayed considerable inventive genius, 
which led to important discoveries. One of these, 
the atmospheric railway, received at first with con- 
siderable opposition, was subsequently adopted as a 
means of transit by several important companies. 
The Dublin and Kingstown Bailway was the first to 
recognize its advantages and to utilize them (Aug., 
1842). Sir Bobert Peel later recommended its adop- 
tion to the House of Commons and the Board of 
Trade. The first English line formed was from Ep- 
som to London; and later the South Devon Bail way 
adopted the principle of the new invention. 

Another invention of Samuda’s was his improve- 
ment in marine engines, a type of which he con- 
structed on a novel pattern possessing many advan- 
tages. In 1843 he contracted to build the “Gypsy 
Queen,” an iron boat to be fitted with his improved 
engine. On the trial trip, which took place on Nov. 
12, 1844, Samuda, with six persons who had accom- 
panied him, met his death through an explosion. 
Bibliography: Voice of Jacob , Nov. 29, 1844. 

J. G. L. 

Joseph d ? Aguilar Samuda : English civil en- 
gineer and politician ; born at London May 21 , 1813 ; 
died there April 27, 1885; younger son of Abraham 
Samuda. He gained his first experience of business 
in his father’s counting-house; but in 1832 lie left 
it to join his elder brother, Jacob Samuda. 

Joseph and his brother Jacob established them- 
selves as marine and general engineers and sliip- 
b alders, and their operations were of the most ex- 
tensive and important character. For the first ten 
years of the existence of the firm they confined 
themselves principally to the building of marine en- 
gines. Then they engaged in the construction of 
railway lines on the atmospheric principle. In 1843 
they entered the ship-building business, and from 
that time onward, notwithstanding the tragic death 
of Jacob in the following year, the firm was uninter- 
rupted^ engaged in constructing iron steamships 
for the navy, merchant marine, and passenger and 
mail services of England as well as of other countries, 
besides rojuil yachts and river-boats. Many of these 
vessels were built under Samuda’s personal superin- 
tendence. 

In I860 Samuda helped to establish the Institute 
of Naval Architects, of which he was the first treas- 
urer and subsequently a vice-president, contributing 
frequently to its “ Transactions. ” A con pie of years 
later be became a member of the Institution of Civil 
Engineers, to whose “Proceedings ” he likewise con- 
tributed. He was the author of “A Treatise on the 
Adaptation of Atmospheric Pressure to the Purposes 
of Locomotion on Bailways. ” 

Samuda created for himself also an important 
parliamentary career. He had been a member of 

tlae Metropolitan Board of Worksfrom 1S60 to 1S65. 

and in the latter year he entered Parliament in the 
Liberal interest for Tavistock. He sat for that 
constituency until 1868, when he was returned for 
the Tower Hamlets, which he continued to repre- 
sent until 1880. He then lost his seat owing to the 
j support which he gave to Lord Beacousfi eld’s for- 



5 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Samson ben Samson 
Samuel 


eign policy. While in the House he spoke -with 
much authority on all matters connected with his 
profession. Some of his speeches are described as 
“treasure-houses of technical and political knowl- 
edge.” Having, with his family, seceded from the 
Jewish community, he was interred in Kensal Green 
Cemetery. He married, in 1837, Louisa, daughter 
of Samuel Ballin of Holloway. 

Bibliography: Jew. World, May 1, 1885; Celebrities of the 
Day , July, 1881 ; Diet, of National Biography , s.v.; The 
Times (London), April 29, 1885. 

j. I. H. 

SAMUEL. — Biblical Data : Samuel was the son 
of Elkanah and Hannah, of Ramatliaim-zophim, in 
the hill-country of Ephraim (I Sam. i. 1). He was 
born while Eli was judge. Devoted to Yriwn in 
fulfilment of a vow made by his mother, who had 


times in succession Samuel heard the summons and 
reported to Eli, by whom he was sent back to sleep. 
This repetition finally- aroused Eli’s comprehension; 
he knew that Yhwh was calling the lad. Therefore 
he advised him to lie down again, and, if called once 
more, to say, “Speak, for Thy servant heareth.” 
Samuel did as he had been bidden. Yhwh then re- 
vealed to him His purpose to exterminate the house 
of Eli. 

Samuel hesitated to inform Eli concerning the 
vision, but next morning, at Eli’s solicitation, Samuel 
related what he had heard (iii. 1-18). Yhwh was 
with Samuel, and let none of His words “ fall to the 
ground.” All Israel from Dan to Beer-sbeba recog- 
nized him as appointed to be a prophet of Yhwh; 
and Samuel .continued to receive at Shiloh revela- 
tions which he imparted to all Israel (iii. 19-21). 



Alleged Tomb oe Samuel at Mizpaii. 

(From a photograph by the American colony at Jerusalem.) 


long been childless, he was taken to Shiloh by Han- 
nah as soon as he was weaned, to serve Yhwh dur- 
ing his lifetime (i. 11, 22-28, 28). 

The sons of Eli being sons of Belial, wicked and 
avaricious, Samuel ministered before Ynwn in their 
stead, being even as a lad girded with a linen ephod 
(ii. 12 et seq., 22 ct seq.). His mother, on her yearly 
visits, brought him a robe. As he grew up Samuel 
won ever-increasing favor with Yirwn and with 
men (ii. 26). How he was called by 
The Call of Yiiwii is related as follows; Eli, old 
Samuel. and dim of vision, had lain down to 

sleep, as liacl Samuel, in tl»e Temple 

of Ynwir, wherein w r as the Ark. Then Yiiwii called 
“Samuel!” Answering, “Here am 1,” Samuel, 
thinking Eli had summoned him, ran to him ex- 
plaining that lie had come in obedience to his call. 
Eli, however, sent him back to his couch. Three 


During the w T ar with the Philistines the Ark "was 
taken by the enemy. After i ts mere presence among 
the Philistines had brought suffering upon them, it 
was returned and taken to Kirjath-jearim. While 
it was there Samuel spoke to the children of Israel, 
calling upon them to return to Yhwh and put aw T ay 
strange gods, that they might be delivered out of 
the hands of the Philistines (vii. 2 et seq.). The test 
came at Mizpah, where, at Samuel’s call, all Israel 
had gathered, under the promise that lie would 
pray to Yiiwii for them, and ■where they fasted, con- 
fessed, and were judged b} r him (vii. 5-6). Before 

the Piiilistines attacked, Samuel took a 
Samuel as sucking iamb and offered it for a ^toie 
Judge. burnt offering, calling unto Yhwh for 
help; and as the Philistines drew’ 
up in battle array Yiiwii “thundered with a great 
thunder” upon them, “and they were smitten before 



Samuel 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


6 


Israel. ” As a memorial of the victory Samuel set up 
a stoue between Mizpali and Shen, calling it “Eben- 
ezer ” (= “ hitherto hath the Lord helped us ”)• This 
crushing defeat kept the Philistines in check all the 
days of Samuel (vii. 7-14). 

In his capacity as judge Samuel went each } r ear 
in circuit to Beth-el, and Gilgal, and Mizpah, but lie 
dwelt at Bamah, where he built an altar (vii. 15 et 
seq.). When he had grown old, and was ready to 
surrender his duties to his sous, neither Joel, the 
first-born, nor Abijali, the second, proved worthy ; 
they “ turned aside after lucre, and took bribes ” (viii. 
1-3). This induced the elders to go to Bamah and 
request Samuel to give them a king, as all the other 
nations had kings. Samuel was much vexed,. but 
upon praying to Yiiwh and receiving the divine 
direction to yield, he acquiesced, after delivering 
a powerful address describing the despotism they 
were calling upon themselves and their descendants; 
this address, however, did not turn the people 
from their purpose (viii. 3 et seq.). In this crisis 
Samuel met Saul, who had come to consult him, the 
seer, concerning some lost asses. Yiiwii had already 
apprised him of Saul’s coming, and had ordered 
him to anoint his visitor king. When Saul inquired 
of him the way to the seer’s house, Samuel revealed 
his identity to the Benjamite, and bade him go 
with him to the sacrificial meal at the “high place,” 
to which about thirty persons had been invited. He 
showed great honor to Saul, w T ho was surprised and 
unable to reconcile these marks of deference with 
his own humble origin and station. The next morn- 
ing Samuel anointed him, giving him “signs” 
which, having come to pass, would show that God 
was with him, and directing him to proceed to Gil- 
gal and await his (Samuel’s) appearance there (ix., 
x. 1-9). 

In preparation for the installation of Saul, Samuel 
called the people together at Mizpah, where the pri- 
vate anointment of Saul was confirmed by his selec- 
tion by lot (x. 17-24). Samuel is re- 

Samuel ported also to have taken active part 
and Saul, in the coronation of Saul at Gilgal (xi. 

12-15). He profited bj: the opportu- 
nity to rehearse before the people his own life and 
secure their acknowledgment of his probity. After 
a solemn admonition to the people to be loyal to 
Yhwii, Samuel, as a sign that the demand fora king 
was fundamentally wicked, called forth thunder and 
rain, which so impressed the people that they im- 
plored him to intercede with Yiiwii for them, “that 
we die not.” Samuel turned the occasion into a 
solemn lesson as to what the penalties for disobe- 
dience would be (xii.). 

At Gilgal a break with Saul came because, in 
the absence of Samuel, the king had offered the 
burnt offering. Samuel announced then and there 
that Saul’s dynasty was not to be permitted to con- 
tinue on the throne (xiii. 8-14). Nevertheless, Sam- 
uel sent Saul to accomplish the extermination of 
Amalek (xv.). Again Saul proved refractory, spar- 
ing Agag, the Amalekite king, and the flocks, and 
everything that was valuable. Thereupon the word 
of Yiiwii came unto Samuel, announcing Saul’s 
deposition from the throne. Meeting Saul, Samuel 
declared his rejection and with his own hand slew 


Agag (xv.). This led to the final separation of 
Samuel and Saul (xv. 34-35). Mourning for Saul, 
Samuel was bidden by Yiiwii to go to Jesse, the 
Beth-lehemite, one of whose sons was chosen to be 
king instead of Saul (xvi. 4). Fearing lest Saul 
might detect the intention, Samuel resorted to strat- 
egy, pretending to have gone to Beth-lehem in order 
to sacrifice. At the sacrificial feast, after having 
passed in review the sons of Jesse, and having found 
that none of those present was chosen by Yiiwii, 
Samuel commanded that the } r oungest, David, who 
was awajr watching the sheep, should be sent for. 
As soon as David appeared Yiiwii commanded Sam- 
uel to anoint him, after which Samuel returned to 
Bamah (xvi. 5-13). 

Nothing further is told of Samuel until David's 
flight to him at Bamah, when he accompanied his 
fugitive friend to Naioth. There, through Samuel’s 
intervention, Saul’s messengers, as did 

Samuel later Saul himself, turned prophets 
and David. “ before Samuel ” (xix. 18 etseq.). The 
end of Samuel is told in a very brief 
note: “And Samuel died, and all Israel gathered 
themselves together, and lamented him, and buried 
him in his house at Bamah” (xxv. 1, Hebr.). But 
after his death, Saul, through the witch of En-dor, 
called Samuel from his grave, only to hear from 
him a prediction of his impending doom (xxviii. 3 
etseq.). 

In I Chron. xxvi. 28 Samuel the seer is mentioned 
as having dedicated gifts to the Sanctuary. He is 
again represented in I Chron. xi. 3 as having, in 
Yiiwn’s name, announced the elevation of David to 
the throne. He is furthermore credited with having 
ordained the “porters in the gates ” (I Chron. ix. 22). 

In the Biblical account Samuel appears as both 
the last of the Judges and the first of the Prophets, as 
the founder of the kingdom and as the legitimate 
offerer of sacrifices at the altars (I Sam. vii. 9 et 
seq., ix. 22 et seq., x. 8, xi. 15, xvi. 1 et seq.). In 
fact. Chronicles (I Chron. vi._28) makes him out to 
be of Levitical descent. According to I Sam. ix. 9, 
the prophets preceding Samuel were called seers, 
while it would appear that he was the first to be 
known as “nabi,” or “prophet.” He was the man 
of God (ix. 7-8), and was believed by the people to 
be able to reveal the whereabouts of lost animals. 
In his days there were “schools of prophets,” or, 
more properly, “ bands of prophets. ” From the fact 
that these bands are mentioned in connection with 
Gibeah (I Sam. x. 5, 10), Jericho (II Kings ii. 5), 
Bamali (I Sam. xix. 18 et seq.), Beth-el (II Kings ii. 
3), and Gilgal (II Kings iv. 38) — places focal in the 
career of Samuel — the conclusion seems well assured 
that it was Samuel who called them into being. In 
the Acts of the Apostles (xiii. 20) Samuel occurs as 
the last of the Judges and the first true prophet in 
Israel (Acts iii. 24, xiii. 20; Ileb. xi. 32), while a 
gloss in Chronicles (II Chron. xxxv. 18) connects his 
time with one of the most memorable celebrations 
of Passover. The Old Testament furnishes no 
chronological data concerning his life. If Josephus 
(“Ant.”vi. 13, § 5) is to be believed, Samuel had 
officiated twelve years as judge before Saul’s corona- 
tion. The year 1095 n.c. is commonly accepted as 
that of Saul’s accession to the throne. E. G. II. 



7 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Samuel 


In Rabbinical Literature : Samuel was a 

Levitc (Lev. R. xxii. 6) of the family of Korah 
(Num. R. xviii. 17), and was also a Nazarite (Naz. 
66a). As a child he was extremely delicate (Hag. 6a), 
but highly developed intellectually. Thus, when he 
was weaned and brought by his mother to Shiloh, 
he noticed that the priests were most careful that 
the sacrificial victims should be slain by one of their 
number. Samuel, however, declared to the priests 
that even a layman might offer sacrifice, whereupon 
he was taken before Eli, who asked him the grounds 
of his statement. Samuel answered : “ It is not writ- 
ten that the priest shall slay the victim, but only 
that he shall bring the blood ” (Lev. i. 5; comp. Zeb. 
32a). Eli acknowledged the validity of his argu- 
ment, but declared that Samuel merited the penalty 
of death for giving legal decisions in the presence of 
a master; and it was only the entreaty of Samuel’s 
mother which saved the child (Ber. 31b). When 
God revealed Himself to Samuel for the first time 
and called his name, he cautiously answered only 
“ Speak ” (I Sam. iii. 10) and not, as Eli commanded 
him, “Speak, 0 God” (Shab. 113b). 

Samuel was very rich. On his annual journeys 
as judge to various cities (comp. I Sam. vii. 16-17) 
he was accompanied by his entire household, and 
would accept hospitality from no one (Ber. 10b ; Ned. 
38a). While Moses commanded the people to come 
to him that he might declare the Law to them (comp. 
Ex. xviii. 14-16), Samuel visited all the cities of the 
land to spare the people weary journeys to him ; 
and while Samuel was considered equal to Moses 
and to Aaron (Ber. 31b ; Ta‘an. 5b), he was favored 
above Moses in one respect; for the latter was 
obliged to go to the Tabernacle to receive a revela- 
tion from God, whereas God Himself came to Sam- 
uel to reveal His will to him (Ex. R. xvi. 4). For 
ten years Samuel judged Israel; but in the tenth 
the people asked for a king. Samuel anointed 
Saul; and when the latter was rejected by God, 
Samuel grieved bitterly and aged prematurely 
(Ta‘an. 5b). Cruel though he was in hewing Agag 
to pieces, yet this was a righteous punishment for 
the Amale'kite, who had been equally barbarous to 
the children of Israel (Lam. R. iii. 43). 

Samuel wrote the books of Judges and Ruth, as 
well as those bearing his own name, although the 
latter were completed by the seer Gad (B. B. 14b- 
15a). He died at the age of fifty-t-wo (M. K. 28a). 
When’ he was raised from the dead b} r the witcli of 
Endor at the request of Saul (comp. I Sam. xxviii. 
7-19), he was terrified, for he believed that he was 
summoned to appear before the divine judgment- 
seat ; he therefore took Moses with him to bear wit- 
ness that he had observed all the precepts of the 
Torah (Hag. 4b). 

w. b. J- Z. L. 

Critical View : The outline of the life of Sam- 
uel given in the First Book of Samuel is a com- 
pilation from different documents and 
Sources of sources of varying degrees of credibil- 
Biography. ity and age, exhibiting many and not 
ahva} 7 s concordant points of view (see 
Samuel, Books of — Critical View). The name 
“Shemu’el” is interpreted “asked of Yinvn” and, 
as Kimhi suggests, represents a contraction of y\$W 


an opinion which Ewald is inclined to accept 
(“Lehrbuck del* Hebraischen Spraclie,” p. 275, 3). 
But it is not tenable. The story of Samuel’s birth, 
indeed, is worked out on the theory of this construc- 
tion of the name (i. 1 et seq ., 17, 20, 27, 28; ii. 20). 
But even with this etymology the value of the ele- 
ments would be “priest of El ” (Jastrow, in “Jour. 
Bib. Lit.” xix. 92 et seq.). Ch. iii. supports the theory 
that the name implies “ heard by El ” or “hearer of 
El.” The fact that “alef” and ‘“ayin” are con- 
founded in this interpretation does not constitute an 
objection; for assonance and not etymology is the 
decisive factor in the Biblical name-legends, and of 
this class are both the first and the second chapter. 
The first of the two elements represents the Hebrew 
term “ sliem ” (= “ name ”) ; but in this connection it 
as often means “son.” “Shemu’el,” or “Samuel,” 
thus signifies “son of God ” (see Jastrow, l.c.). 

The older strata in the story are more trustworthy 
historically than are the younger. In I Sam. ix. 
1-x. 16 Samuel is a seer and priest at one of the 
high places; he is scarcely known beyond the im- 
mediate neighborhood of Ramah. Saul does not 
seem to have heard of him ; it is his “ boy ” that tells 
him all about the seer (ix.). But in his capacity as 
seer and priest, Samuel undoubtedly was the judge, 
that is, the oracle, who decided the “ ordeals ” for 
his tribe and district. In order to apply to him the 
title of “judge” in the sense it bore in connection 
with the heroes of former days — the sense of “ liber- 
ator of the people ” — the story of the gathering at 
Mizpah is introduced (vii. 2 et seq.). Indeed, the 
temptation is strong to suspect that originally the 
name (Saul) 'was found as the hero of the vic- 
tory, for which later that of (Samuel) was 

substituted. At all events, the story proceeds on 
the assumption that Samuel had given earnest 
thought to his people’s plight, and therefore was 
prepared to hail the sturdy Benjamite as the 
leader in the struggle w T ith the Philistines (ix. 15, 
17, 20 et seq. ; x. 1 et seq.). His hero was to be the 
champion of Yinvn and of Yhwii’s people, the 
anointed prince (“nagid”), -whose call would rouse 
the scattered tribes from their lethargy and whose 
leadership would unite the discordant elements into 
a powerful unit for offense and defense. Favoring 
Saul even before the people had recognized in him 
their predestined leader, Samuel soon had cause to 
regret the choice. Common to both accounts of the_ 
rupture (xiii. 8 et seq. and xv. 10 et seq.) is the dis- 
obedience Saul manifested in arrogating to himself 
Samuel’s functions as priest and offerer; the story 
concerning Agag’s exemption from the ban (see 
Schwally, “Der Heilige Krieg im A1 ten Israel,” p. 
30) seems to be the more likely of the t-wo, but in both 
instances the data show clear traces of having been 
recast into prophetic-priestly molds. 
Probably In fact, the majority of the reports 
Shaped concerning Samuel reflect the post- 
TJnder In- Deuteronomic, prophetic conception, 
fluence of and therefore, on the theory that be- 
Deu- fore the erection of the central and 
teronomy. permanent sanctuary the “ altars ” and 
“high places” -were legitimate, no 
offense is manifested at his having, though not 
a priest, sacrificed at these places, though pre- 



Samuel, Books of 


8 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


cisely for this reason the Book of. Chronicles lays 
stress upon his Levitical descent. In ch. iii. 20 
Samuel appears as the prophet of Yiiwii, known as 
such from Dan to Beer-slieba. In ch. xix. IS ct seq. 
Samuel is at the head of prophet bands (differing 
from ix. 1 et seq where these roving bauds of 
“shouters” [“nebi’im”] appear to be independent 
of him). Again, ch. vii., viii., and ix. represent him 
as the theocratic chief of the nation. Ch. vii. 7 et 
seq. must be held to be pure fiction, unless it is one 
of the many variants of Saul’s victory over the Phi- 
listines (comp. xiii. 1 et seq.). Nor is there concord- 
ance in the conceptions of the rise and nature of the 
monarchy and the part Samuel played in its found- 
ing. In ix.-x. 16 Yhwh legitimatizes the nomina- 
tion of the king, but in ch. viii. the view of Deut. 
xvii. 14 et seq. predominates. This chapter could 
not have been written before Hos. x. 9, and the 
reign of Solomon and some of his successors. 
The fact is, the monarchy developed without the in- 
tervention of Samuel. Such deeds as those per- 
formed at Jabesh caused the people to offer Saul the 
crown at Gilgal (xi. 1 ct seq.), an act which Samuel, 
who at first may have welcomed the young leader 
as chief only, expecting him to remain under his 
tutelage, was compelled to ratify. 

The story of David’s elevation (xvi. 1-13) pre- 
sents itself as an offset to that of Saul’s (I Sam. x. 
17 ctseq .), the historical kernel in it being the fact 
that Samuel, disappointed in Saul, transferred his 
favor to the rival tribe of Judah, and intrigued to 
bring about the raising of a counter-king in the 
young freebooter David. Ch. xv. is a prophetic 
apotheosis of Samuel, which rings with the accents 
familiar in the appeals of Amos, and which makes 
Samuel a worthy forerunner of Elijah. The Levit- 
ical genealogy of I Chron. vi. is not historical. 

Birliooraphy : Gutlie, Gesch. des Vo Ikes Israel pp. 68 ctscq., 
Freiburg. 1899; idem, Bihelwbrterbuch , Tubingen and Leip- 
sie, 1903 ; H. p. Smith, Old Testament History* p. 106, New 
York, 1903. 

E. G. H. 

SAMUEL, BOOKS OF.— Biblical Data: Two 

books in the second great division of the canon, the 
“ Nebi’im, ” or Prophets, and, more specifically, in the 
former of its subdivisions, the “Nebi’im Rishonim,” 
or Earlier Prophets, following upon Joshua and 
Judges; the third and fourth of the historical wri- 
tings according to the arrangement of the Masoretic 
text. Originally the two books of Samuel formed a 
single book, as did the two books of Kings. In the 
Septuagint Samuel and Kings were treated as one 
continuous and complete history of Israel and Ju- 
dah, and the work was divided into four books 
under the title B ipua B aciAa&v ( u Books of King- 
doms ”). This division was accepted in the Vulgate 
by Jerome, who changed the name to “Books of 
Kings.” Thence it passed into the editions of the 
Hebrew Bible published by Daniel Bombergof Ven- 
ice in the sixteenth century; and it lias since reap- 
peared in every Hebrew printed edition, though the 
individual books retained the captions they had in 
the Hebrew manuscripts, viz., “I Samuel” and “II 
Samuel ” for the first two of the four Kings, and “I 
Kings” and “II Kings ” for the last two. But the 
Masorali continued to be placed after II Samuel for 
both 1 and II. 


The name “Samuel,” by which the book, now di- 
vided into two, is designated in Hebrew, was con- 
strued to imply that Samuel was the 
Name and author (see below). More likely, the 
Contents, title was chosen because Samuel is the 
most important of all the personages 
mentioned in the record, he having a prominent, 
even dominant, part in most of the events related in 
hook I. The two books comprise, according to the 
Masoretic note at the end, thirty-four “sedavim” 
(the mnemonic word is given as'-fp); in the printed 
editions the first book lias thirty-one chapters and 
the second twenty-four, making fifty-five chapters in 
all. They give the history of Israel from the con- 
cluding days of the period of the Judges— Samuel 
being considered the last of them— through the 
reigns of the first two kings, Saul and David, and 
continue the story not up to the latter’s death, but 
merely to his incipient old age, the account of his 
declining years forming the prelude to the history 
of Solomon in I Kings. 

First Book of Samuel : This book consists of 
three main sections, to which the following headings 
may respectively be prefixed: (1) Eli and Samuel, 
ch. i.— vii. ; (2) Samuel and Saul, viii.-xv. ; and (3) 
Saul and David, xvi.-xxxi. In detail the contents 
are as follows : 

(1) Eli and Samuel: Samuel's Younger Days and 
the Story of Eli : Birth of Samuel and his dedication 
to Yiiwii (i.); Hannah’s song (ii. 1-10); Samuel’s 
service in the sanctuary (ii. 11-iv, 1). 

The Story of the Ark : Loss of the Ark and its dire 
consequences (iv.); the Ark retained by the Philis- 
tines (v.); return of the Ark (vi. 1— IS) ; the Ark at 
Beth-shemesh and Kirjatli-jearim (vi. 19— vii. 1). 

Samuel as Judge : The people’s sorrow (vii. 2-6); 
defeat of the Philistines (vii. 7-12); Samuel judges. 
Israel (vii. 12-17). 

(2) Samuel and Saul : Israel Clamors for a King : 
The desire of the people (viii. 1-5) ; Samuel consults 
Yiiwii (viii. 6-9); Samuel admonishes the people 
(viii. 10-18); their persistence (viii. 19-22). 

Saul Anointed as King : Details of Saul’s pedigree 
and character (ix. 1-2); his adventure with his fa- 
ther’s asses and his visit to the seer (ix. 3-14) ; meet- 
ing of Samuel and Saul (ix. 15-21) ; meal set before 
Saul(ix. 22-24); Saul anointed by Samuel (ix. 25-x. 
8); Saul’s home-coming (x. 9-16). 

Saul's Election to the Kingship : The election by 
lot (x. 17-25a); dismissal of the people (x. 25a-27a). 

The Peril of Jabesh-gilead ; Saul's Valor and Its 
Reward — the Crown: Siege of Jabesh-gilead ; out- 
rageous conditions of peace (xi. 1-3) ; 
Saul As- messengers for relief at Gibeah ; Saul, 
sumes the stirred by the spiri t, calls Israel to arms 
Kingship, (xi. 4-8); Saul relieves the city (xi. 

9-11) ; his kingship acknowledged and 
confirmed (xi. 12-15). 

Samuel Relinquishes His Judgeship : Samuel ’s chal - 
lenge to prove malfeasance in office against himself 
(xii. 1-6);- his pleading with the people in a retro- 
spect of Israel’s history (xii. 7-15); he calls down 
thunder and rain upon the people, who are thereby 
compelled to request his intercession for them as 
sinners; he exhorts them to fear Yiiwii (xii. 16-25). 
War Against the Philistines: Saul begins his reign 



9 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Samuel, Books of 


(xiii. 1) ; war breaks out; tlie people in distress hide 
for their lives (xiii. 2~7a); Saul’s failure; his rejec- 
tion at Gilgal (xiii. 7b— to) ; Philistines in possession 
of the mountains of Ephraim (xiii. 16-18, 23); the 
people of Israel are unarmed, the Philistines having 
forbidden work at the smithies (xiii.. 19-22) ; Jona- 
than’s great feat of arms(xiv. 1-15); battle with the 
Philistines (xiv. 16-24); Saul’s curse on the man that 
should eat, and Jonathan’s violation of the prohibi- 
tion (xiv. 25-80); Saul prevents the people from 
eating blood (xiv. 31-35); discovery of Jonathan’s 
transgression; his rescue by the people (xiv. 36-45); 
brief exposition of Saul’s wars; names of his sons 
and daughters; and other details (xiv. 46-52). 

War Against the Amalekites ; Saul's Rejection : 
Command to Saul to destroy Amalek (xv. 1-3) ; the 
war; Saul disobeys by sparing Agag and the flocks 
(xv. 4-9) ; Samuel’s censure and menace for this dis- 
obedience (xv.- 10-23); Saul, repentant, pleads for 
mercy (xv. 24-31); death of Agag(xv. 32-33); Sam- 
uel’s complete separation from Saul (xv. 34-35). 

(3) Saul and David : David's Family and Qualifica- 
tions : Selection and consecration of David, the son 
of Jesse, after the rejection of his brothers (xvi. 
1-13); David, as a cunning player on the harp, is 
brought to Saul to drive away the evil spirit from 
the king (xvi. 14-23); David’s valor; his victory 
over Goliath (xvii. 1-54); David becomes Jonathan’s 
friend and a general of Saul (xvii. 55-xviii. 5). 

David Distrusted by Saul ; His Flight: Saul’s jeal- 
ousy ; the women’s song, “Saul has slain his thou- 
sands, and David his ten thousands”; 

Saul’s the king hurls his spear at David; the 
Jealousy of latter is relieved of the duty of attend- 

David. ing on Saul ; David is loved by all Is- 
rael and Judah ; Saul attempts to lure 
David to his death at the hands of the Philistines by 
the promise of his elder daughter, Merab, in marriage ; 
David weds Miclial, the king’s younger daughter, 
in spite of the dangerous conditions Saul imposes 
for the marriage (xviii. 6-30) ; Jonathan’s interces- 
sion leads to a reconciliation between Saul and David ; 
futile attempt by Saul to assassinate David; the 
latter, aided by a ruse of Miclial, flees (xix. 1-17) ; 
David with Saul at Ramali ; Saul repeatedly at- 
tempts to seize him, but is foiled (xix. 18-24) ; David 
and Jonathan (xx.); David at Nob with Aliimelech 
the priest; he eats the Siiowbkead, feigns madness 
before Acliisli (King of Gath), takes refuge in the 
cave of Adullam, and goes to Mizpali of Moab ; he 
returns to Judah upon the advice of the prophet 
Gad; Saul’s revenge against Aliimelech, who is 
killed under his orders by Doeg (xxi.-xxii.). 

David a Freebooter in Philistia : David and the 
city of Keilah; Saul threatening to besiege him 
there, David consults Abiathar’s ephod and at the 
oracle’s advice departs (xxiii. 1-13); Davids ad- 
ventures while pursued by Saul in the wilderness of 
Ziph and in the strongholds of En-gedi (xxiii. 14- 
xxiv. 23); Samuel’s death (xxv. la); David in the 
wilderness of Paran; his dealings with Nabal and 
Abigail (xxv.); his night visit to Saul’s camp 
(xxvi.) ; his escape into the land of the Philistines, 
where lie finds protection at the hand of Acliisli at 
Gath, receiving later Zildag as a gift; lie dwells in 
the land a year and four months, raiding his neigh- 


bors, while duping the king into the belief of his 
loyalty to him and in his active hostility to the peo- 
ple of Judali (xxvii.). 

Saul's End : War breaks out between Acliish and 
Philistia, and Saul of Israel (xxviii. 1-2) ; Saul and the 
witch of En-dor (xxviii. 3-25) ; Acliisli, upon the com- 
plaint of his chieftains, who distrust 
Closing 1 David, dismisses him to Ziklag (xxix.) ; 
Days of David’s expedition against the Ama- 
Saul’s lekites,. who, during his absence, had 
Reign. raided Ziklag and set it on fire, taking 
large booty and carrying off among 
the women David’s wives. Consulting the ephod, 
David pursues the marauders. Meeting on the 
way an Egyptian slave abandoned by the Amalek- 
ites, David is led by him to where the enemies are 
feasting. He fights them till sundown, slaying or 
capturing all save 400, and recovering his own; 
David’s ordinance concerning the division of the 
spoils; his gifts to the elders of Judah (xxx,); the 
last battle of Saul; death of his sons Jonathan, 
Abinadab, and Melchi-sliua ; Saul, after the refusal 
of his armor-bearer to kill him, dies by falling upon 
his own sword ; his body and those of his sons are 
stripped; Saul’s head is cut off, to be sent as a tro- 
phy into the cities of Philistia ; his body is fastened 
to the wall of Beth-shan, whence it is recovered by 
the men of Jabesh-gilead, who burn it, together 
with the remains of his sons, at Jabesh, and later 
bury the bones under a tamarisk-tree (xxxi.). 

Second Book of Samuel : This book likewise 
readily lends itself to a division into three main 
parts: (1) David as king (i.-viii.); (2) David and his 
crown princes (ix.-xx.); and (3) complementary ap- 
pendixes consisting of various historical glosses 
(xxi.-xxiv.). The details are as follows: 

(1) David as King : David Learns of Saul’s Death : 
Arrival of the messenger (i. 1-5) ; he reports that he 
had slain Saul at the latter’s own request (i. 6-10); 
David mourns for Saul and Jonathan (i. 11-12); he 
directs that the messenger, “ the son of a stranger, 
an Amalekite,” be surreptitiously killed (i. 13-16). 

The Lament (“ Kinah ”) of David for Saul and 
Jonathan: Superscription, with note that the lam- 
entation is written in the Book of Jasliar (i. 17-1S); 
the lamentation (i. 19-27). 

David Reigns in Hebron ; War Against Abner, Lsh- 
bosheth’ s {Esh-baaV s) Captain: Upon Yhwh’s advice, 
David goes up to Hebron with his two wives, his 
men, and their households; he is anointed king by 
the men of Judah (ii. 1-4); he sends a message of 
approval to the men of Jabesh-gilead for having 
buried Saul (ii. 5-7); Abner is loyal to Saul’s son 
Ish-bosheth or Esh-baal (ii. 8-11); Abner meets 
Joab, David’s captain, by the pool of 
David Gibeon, where twelve young men on 
in Hebron, each side engage in a trial by com- 
bat, all twenty-four falling; Abner is 
defeated in tlie battle which ensues (ii. 12-19) ; Abner 
is pursued, but slaj’s Asaliel, liis pursuer, after vainly 
imploring him to desist (ii. 20-23); Joab, after par- 
leying with Abner, blows the trumpet as a signal 
for the pursuit to cease (ii. 24-32). 

The Extermination of Saul’s House : War between 
the house of Saul and that of David (iii. 1, 6a) ; enu- 
meration of David’s sons (iii. 2-5); relations be- 



Samuel, Books of 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


10 


tween Abner and Ish-bosheth disturbed by suspicions 
on the latter’s part (iii. 7-11); Abner makes trea- 
sonable overtures to David, inducing him to de- 
mand his wife Mi dial from Ish-bosheth, who takes 
her away from her second husband, Paltiel, and 
sends her to David (iii. 12-16); Abner urges the 
elders of Israel to go over to David ; he himself pays 
a visit to him and promises to deliver over to him 
all Israel (iii. 17-21) ; Abner is treacherously slain 
by Joab (iii. 22-30); David mourns for Abner; he 
refuses to eat until sunset, which pleases the people 
(iii. 31-39) ; Ish-bosheth is assassinated ; and his head 
is taken to David, who, however, causes the assas- 
sins to be killed (iv. 1-3, 5-12; verse 4 is a gloss 
giving an account of the escape of Mephiboshetli, 
Jonathan’s son, when five years old, and of his fall 
from the arms of a nurse, which resulted in his 
lameness). 

David and Jerusalem : David is made king over 
all Israel (v. 1-3); his age and length of reign (v, 4, 
o) ; he takes Jerusalem from the Jebusites; comment 
on David’s growing power (v. 6-10); Hiram of Tyre 
sends materials and workmen and builds David a 
house (v. 11-12) ; David increases his harem ; names 
of his sons born in Jerusalem (v. 13-16); xvar with 
the Philistines leading to their defeat (v. 17-25). 

Removal of the Ark : The Ark is brought on a new 
cart out of the house of Abinadab, David and the 
Israelites playing before it on all sorts of instru- 
ments ; its arrival at the thrashing-floor 
The Ark of Naehon ; Uzzah, to save the Ark 
Brought to from falling when the oxen stumbled, 
Jerusalem, puts forth his hand, for which act he 
is smitten dead (vi. 1-8) ; David, afraid 
to remove the Ark to Jerusalem, carries it aside to 
the house of Obed-edom, the Gittite, where it re- 
mains for three months (vi. 9-12); hearing that 
Obed-edom has prospered in consequence, David 
brings the Ark to Jerusalem, offering sacrifices along 
the way ; David dances before the Ark, which causes 
Michal to despise him ; the Ark is set in the midst 
of a tent, David offering “‘olot” and “shelamim” 
before Yhwh, and the people receiving a share of 
the sacrificial meal; Michal’s censure of David; her 
reproof and punishment (vi. 18-23). 

Plans to Build Temple : Nathan and David; the 
prophet recalls that no permanent sanctuary has ex- 
isted during Israel’s history, and bids David desist 
from his plan to build one (vii. 1-12) ; the prophet 
promises that David shall have a successor, who 
will be permitted to carry out his (David’s) plans 
(vii. 13-17); David’s prayer of thanks for his own 
elevation and for the divine promise that his dynasty 
shall continue to rule (vii, 18-29). 

Data Concerning David's Reign: David’s wars 
(viii. 1-6) ; the spoils of gold and silver vessels dedi- 
cated to Ymvn (viii. 7-12); other military records 
(viii. 13-14); David as a just ruler; details of the 
administration and the names of his chief officers 
(viii, 15-18). 

(2) David and His Crown Princes ; The Sioip of 
David and Jonathan' s Son : Ziba, a servant, upon 
David’s inquiry, reveals the existence and place of 
sojourn of Mephiboshetli (ix, 1-5); David sends for 
him, receives him graciously, assigns him Ziba 
for a body-servant, restores to him all of Saul’s 


lands, and accords him a place as a daily guest at 
the royal table (ix. 6-10a) ; Ziba, his fifteen sons, and 
rwenty retainers serve Mephiboshetli and his son 
Miclia (ix. 10b-13). 

The Expeditions Against Ammon and Syria : The 
first campaign; the provocation; Ammon’s king 
having died, David sends a deputation to present 
his coudolence to Hanun, the son and successor ; his 
envoys are grossly insulted, and are sent back with 
one-half of their beards shaved off, and their clothes 
cut off in the middle, so that they have to wait at 
Jericho until they obtain fresh garments and their 
beards are grown (x. 1-5); the first battle; Ammon 
hires Syrian mercenaries, against whom David sends 
Joab and an army of mighty men ; with fine strategy 
Joab and his brother Abishai defeat the enemy 
(x. 6-14); the second battle: Hadarezer leads the 
Syrians, against whom David in person takes the 
field, marching to Helam, where he defeats them (x. 
15-19) ; war against Ammon is renewed, but David 
remains at Jerusalem; he sins with 
David and Bath-sheba, wife of Uriah the Hittite, 

Uriah. who is with the army (xi, 1-5); to 
hide his sin David commands Uriah to 
return home, but is foiled in his designs (xi. 6-13) ; 
Uriah delivers to Joab a letter from David contain- 
ing an order to place Uriah in the forefront of the 
battle so that he may be killed; this is done, and 
Uriah falls (xi. 14-17); Joab sends a report to David 
(xi. 18-25); David takes Bath-sheba into his house, 
where she gives birth to the first son born unto him 
while king; Yhwh is displeased (xi. 26, 27); Na- 
than’s parable: “Thou art the man”; Nathan re- 
bukes the king; David confesses (xii. 1-15); the 
child sickens; David fasts; death of the child; 
David, to the surprise of his servants, now eats ; his 
explanation (xii. 16-23); Solomon born of Batin 
sheba; Nathan gives him the name “ Jedidiah ” (xii. 
24-25); Joab calls upon David to join the army lest 
all the glory of the victory fall to his (Joab’s) name; 
David captures Rabbah, taking the king’s crown for 
himself, and treating the prisoners most cruelly; 
end of the war (xii. 26-31). 

Amnon and Absalom : Amnon, in love with Tamar, 
the sister of his half-brother Absalom, upon the 
counsel of his cousin Jonadab feigns sickness and 
secures his father’s consent for Tamar to nurse him; 
lie outrages her, and sends her off with insults (xiii. 
1-19); Absalom, seeing her grief, consoles her, takes 
her to his house and awaits an opportunity to take 
revenge (xiii, 20-22) ; two years later Absalom in- 
vites the king and his sons to a sheep-shearing feast 
in Baal-liazor, in which Amnon, after the king’s 
refusal to attend, takes part; at the bidding of Absa- 
lom, Amnon is killed at the table, (xiii. 23-29a) ; the 
king’s sons fleeing, David hears that all have been 
killed; Jonadab reassures him, revealing to him 
Absalom’s plot; Absalom takes refuge with Talmai, 
King of Geshur, remaining in exile three years (xiii. 
29b-38) ; the king yearns for Absalom ; Joab’s ruse 
in sending for a wise woman from Tekoali, who 
feigns to be a widow and to having had an experience 
with her two sons similar to that of the king; ex- 
tracting a promise from David that the avenger of 
blood shall destroy no more, she invokes the promise 
in Absalom’s case; she confesses to be in league 



11 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Samuel, Books of 


with Joab (xiii. 39-xiv. 20); Absalom is granted 
complete immunity ; Joab is sent to bring him home ; 
Absalom is bidden to stay in his own house without 
seeing the king (xiv. 21—24) ; Absalom s beauty , his 
sons and daughter (xiv. 25-27) ; Absalom, aftei living 
two years in Jerusalem without seeing the king, in 
order to force an interview with Joab sets fire to the 
latter’s field; Joab meets Absalom, and at his bid- 
ding intercedes in his behalf with David ; David 
pardons Absalom (xiv. 28-33). 

Absalom's Rebellion : Outbreak of the rebellion at 
Hebron (xv. 1-12); David has to leave Jerusalem; 
incidents of the flight; Ittai; Zadok and the Ark; 
Aliithophel and Husliai ; Ziba reveals Mephibosheth’s 
plot against David, and is rewarded ; Shimei curses 
David, who, however, will not have him punished 
(xv. 13-xvi. 14); Absalom at Jerusalem; Husliai 
joins him; Aliithophel advises Absalom to seize the 
harem (in token of liis being the ruling sovereign), and 
asks to be allowed to pursue David; Hushai counsels 
that Absalom should go out in person at the head of 
all Israel; Hushai’s advice is followed; Hushai 
sends to Zadok and Abiatliar asking them to warn 
David ; Jonathan and Aliimaaz, the messengers, are 
seen by a lad who betrays them, but they are hidden 
in a well by a woman, and Absalom can not find 
them; they warn David, who passes over the Jor- 
dan ; Aliithophel commits suicide (xvi. 
David and 15-xvii. 23); David at Mahanaim; 
Absalom. Absalom crosses the Jordan with 
Amasa as his general; Sbobi, Machir, 
and Barzillai provide beds and food (xvii. ,24-29). 

The Battle and Absalom's Death: David not allowed 
to go into battle; he. gives orders to deal gently 
with Absalom ; the battle in the forest of Ephraim ; 
Absalom is defeated ; lie is caught by his liair in 
the boughs of an oak while his mule passes from 
under him; Joab, learning of this, takes three 
darts and thrusts them into Absalom’s heart; this 
ends the pursuit (xviii. 1-16); glosses concerning 
Absalom’s monument and grave (xviii. 17-18) ; Joab 
sends the Cushite to the king; Ahimaaz, after hav- 
ing been refused by Joab, is allowed to follow the 
Cushite, whom he outruns; Ahimaaz informs the 
king of the victory; David inquires after Absalom, 
and receives from Ahimaaz an evasive answer ; the 
Cushite arriving, David learns of his son’s fate; 
David’s lamentation (xviii. 19-33); the people mourn, 
the soldiers entering the city as though they had 
been defeated ; Joab forces David to show 7 himself 
to the people (xix. 1-9); David returns at the solici- 
tation of the people and the priests; Shimei sup- 
plicates for pardon ; Mephiboslieth, whose appear- 
ance shows grief, pleads that his servant deceived 
him ; Ziba and he are told to divide the land ; Bar- 
zillai invited to live at court; he declines, plead- 
ing old age, and begging that Chimliam may take 
his place; jealousy between Judah and Israel (xix. 

10 -44). . _ x 

Sheba's Uprising and Amasa' s Violent Death: 
Sheba instigates a rebellion on the part of Israel 
(xx. 1-2); David’s return to Jerusalem; treatment 
of his concubines (xx. 3); Amasa, bidden to call the 
Judeans together, exceeds the prescribed limit of 
three days; Abishai given command to pursue 
Sheba ; at the great stone in Gibeon, Amasa meets 


them; Joab in full equipment salutes him, and 
thrusts a sword into his bowels, killing him; kind- 
ness of a young man to the dying Amasa (xx. 4-13) ; 
Sheba besieged in Abel; the wise woman’s parley 
with Joab to save the city ; Joab asks that Sheba be 
delivered up, and the woman promises that his head 
shall be thrown to Joab over the wall; she induces 
the people to kill Sheba, and his head is cast out to 
Joab ; the siege is raised (xx. 14-22) ; repetition of 
viii. 16-18 (xx. 23-26). 

(3) Complementary Appendixes : Famine and the ex- 
termination of Saul’s house (xxi. 1—14) ; the four 
giants and their capture (xxi. 15-22); David’s song 
of triumph (xxii.); his last words (xxiii. 1-7); his 
thirty-three “ might} 7 men ” (xxiii. 8-39) ; census 
(xxiv. 1-9), plague (xxiv. 10-17), and erection of the 
altar (xxiv, 18-25). 

Critical View : Rabbinical tradition assigns to 

Samuel the prophet the authorship of ch. i.-xxiv. 
(his own biography up to his death), while, on the 
strength of I Chron. xxix. 29, it credits Gad and 
Nathan with having written the remainder of the 
book (I and II forming one book in the Jewish 
canon; B. B. 14b, loa; see Biblical Data, above). 
In so far as tradition recognizes that the books of 
Samuel are not by one author, it accords with the 
conclusions of the critical schools. It is, however, 
needless to add that modern scholars reject the the- 
ory of the joint authorship of Samuel, Gad, and 
Nathan. As preserved in the canon, the books of 
Samuel are clearly not the work of men contempo- 
rary with the events chronicled. Behind these doc- 
uments lie various and conflicting traditions which, 
in keeping with the method of early 
Complex Hebrew historiography, the compiler 
Documen- has to a certain extent incorporated in 
tary bis work without making any attempt 

Sources, to harmonize discrepancies. Thus, in 
recording how Saul was chosen king, 
the first book in ch. ix., x. 1-16, xi. 1-11, 15, xiii., 
and xiv. 1-46 proceeds on the theory that Yhwh 
had appointed a king over the people in order to lib- 
erate them from the yoke of the Philistines, com- 
manding the seer to anoint young Saul, who had come 
to him while seeking his father’s asses (ix. 15 et seq.). 
In the war against the Ammonites, Saul proves 
himself a hero and is chosen king by the people (xi.), 
after which he leads them against the Philistines 
(xiii. et seq.). It is for this war that he enlists young 
David’s services (xiv. 52). An altogether different 
sequence of events and ideas is unfolded in vii. 2 et 
seq ., viii., x. 17-24a, xii., and xv. Samuel the judge is 
remembered as having finally and conclusively driven 
off the Philistines. Ungrateful Israel, in order to be 
like the other peoples, compels Samuel in his old 
age to yield to their clamor for a king; and Yiiwh, 
though greatly incensed, at last gives His consent 
(viii., x. 17 et seq.). With due solemnity Samuel re- 
linquishes the office which he has administered so 
faithfully, but reserves for himself the post of cen- 
sor and counselor, and interceder with Yhwh (xii.). 
At the first test Saul is discovered to be disobedient 
and is rejected by Yhwh (xv.). 

In the story of David a similar duplication and di- 
vergence are easily established. In xvi. 14-23 David 
is called to Saul’s court to dispel the king’s evil 



Samuel, Books of 
Samuel ben Abba 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


12 


moods by playing on the harp. He is a y oung but 
tried warrior, and is at once appointed armor-bearer 
to the monarch. In eh. xvii. David is a lad who, 
up to the time when the story opens, tended his 
father’s flock. He is not inured to war and kills 
Goliath with a stone from his shepherd’s sling'. This 
feat of valor attracts to him the attention of Saul, 
who has him trained subsequently for a warrior’s 
career. Analysis with reference to both the content 
and the religious conception thereby disclosed, and 
also to stylistic and linguistic peculiarities, makes it 
apparent that the books of Samuel in their present 
form are a compilation from various written and 
oral sources, their last editor being post-Deutero- 
nomic. 

Undoubted^, the oldest literary documents are 
David’s elegies (on the death of Saul and Jonathan. 
II Sam. i. IS et seq . ; on Abner, a fragment, II Sam. 
iii. 33-34). Next in age are those portions which 
are assigned to the “ Jerusalem ” cycle 

Oldest of stories. This cycle takes its name 
Literary from the fact that the scene of the 

Strata. happenings it purports to describe is 
always Jerusalem. It gives a history 
of David and his house, and is probably the work 
of a Judean writing shortly after Solomon (II Sam. 
v. 3-16, vi. 9-20). To the ninth century, and to a 
Judean, or perhaps a Benjamite, author, are cred- 
ited the fragments of Saul’s (I Sam. ix. 1-x. 16, xi., 
xiii., xiv.) and David’s histories (I Sam. xvi, 14-23* 
xviii. 6-11, 20, 27; xx. 1-3, 11, 18-39; xxiii.-xxv.; 
xxvii.-xxxi. ; II Sam. i.-iv. ; v. 1, 2,17-25; xxi. 
15-22; xxiii. 8-39). 

The story of the Ark (I Sam. iv. 1-vii. 1) displays 
a character of its own; it interrupts the story of 
Samuel begun in the preceding chapters; the pun- 
ishment of Eli and his sons, which, according to ch. 

iii., might be expected to be the cen- 
Story of tral event, is treated as a mere inci- 
th.e Ark. dent, the whole of Israel being involved 
in the catastrophe. Moreover, the 
fate of the Ark does not emphasize the misfortune 
of Israel nearly as much as it does the triumph of 
Eloliim, and the episode seems to have been written 
to bring the latter idea into bold relief. In this ac- 
count the Ark is regarded as a tribal or national pal- 
ladium, not as a mere case for the tablets of the Dec- 
alogue. This part exhibits the coloring of a situation 
in which a resident of the Northern Kingdom, before 
the cruder conceptions of the Deity had given way 
to higher ones, would most likely be interested. 
For this reason it has been held to be a fragment 
from a history of sanctuaries of northern origin. 

The remaining portions of the book reflect the 
views of prophetism. The histories of Saul and 
Samuel are rewritten from a very rigid, prophetic 
point of view (I Sam. i. -iii. ; viii.; x. 17-24; xv. 
[perhaps]; xvii. 1-xviii. 5 [for the most part], 
12-19, 28-30; xix. [most]; xxi. 2-10; xxii. ; xxvi. ; 

II Sam. i. 6-10, 13-16). Ch. xv. seems to be planned 
to connect the older Saul story with this newer pro- 
phetic reconstruction. It presupposes the details of 
the former (xv. 1, 17 [Saul’s anointment] refers to 
x. 1 ; the phraseology of xv. 19 recalls xiv. 32), but 
the prophetic reconstruction of this chapter ap- 
pears not to have been known when the old Saul 


story was incorporated. Otherwise there would 
have been no occasion for the elaborate justification 
of Samuel’s right to counsel and command Saul. 
Still, the point of view is similar to that of the pro- 
phetic reconstruction. Samuel is the king’s superior. 
He is not the seer, but the prophet, of the type of 
Amos and Hosea. The story emphasizes the teach- 
ing that obedience is more precious than sacrifice 
(comp. Jer. vii. 21-26). 

These various components were probably gath- 
ered into one compilation shortly before the Exile. 

The redactor (Rd) traces of whose 
Supposed hand are found mainly in I Sam. ii. 

Time of 27-36, vii. 2b-16, xii., and II Sam. vii., 
Redaction, is held to have been under Deuterono- 
mic influences, and thus to have been 
antecedent to the redactor whose views reflect those 
of the Priestly Code and through whose hands all of 
the historical books passed, though in Samuel there 
are few indications of liis revisions, among them the 
glosses in I Sam. ii. 22b and the introduction of the 
Levites in I Sam. vi. 15 and II Sam. xv. 24. Addi- 
tions in loose connection are noticeable that can not 
be classified; for instance, I Sam. xix. 18-24'and xx. 
They break the sequence of the narrative and in- 
troduce several contradictions. Ch. xix. 18-24 is 
an attempt to explain a proverbial idiom (“Saul 
among the prophets ”), and, as such, is a double to I 
Sam. x. 11. According to ch. xv. 35, Samuel never 
saw Saul again, but here Saul appears before him. 
Ch. xx., an account of David’s flight, is similar to 
xix. 1-7. Among such additions, gleaned from pop- 
ular traditions or merely literary embellishments, are 
reckoned 1 Sam. xxi. 11-16 and II Sam. ii. 13-16, 
viii., xxi.-xxiv. The song of Hannah (I Sam. ii. 1 
et seq . ), the psalm in II Sam. xxii., and David’s “last 
words ” (II Sam. xxiii. 1 et seq.)&xe very late. These 
additions may have been made at various periods, 
but they antedate the final redaction as a part of the 
second larger division of the canon. 

Historically, the prophetic reconstruction is enti- 
tled to the least confidence. So strongly is the 
“Tendenz” impressed upon the narratives of this 
group that some recent critics have come to the 
conclusion that they do not represent an originally 
independent source, but are due to the literary 
activity of the Deuteronomic redactor. Being more 
naively primitive, the Saul and David histories re- 
flect actual occurrences, colored, however, by the 
desire to exalt the national heroes. The Jerusalem 
cycle intends to glorify David’s dynasty as the 
legitimate royal family of all Israel. 

The Masoretic text is highly corrupt ; that underly- 
ing the Septuagint version is more nearly correct. 
The literalism of the Greek has enabled scholars in 
many instances to reconstruct a text much nearer the 
original than is the extant Hebrew. Unfortunately, 
the Greek text of the Septuagint itself requires care- 
ful editing. In many passages the Septuagint 
shows interpolations based on the Masorah, so that 
it presents duplicate versions, while in others the 
original independent Greek lias been replaced by the 
translated Hebrew of tlie Masoretic text. The vari- 
ous Septuagint codices are not of equal value for 
purposes of textual criticism. The “Codex Vati- 
canus B” is the most important for the books of 



13 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Samuel, Books of 
Samuel ben Abba 


Samuel, while the Alexandrinus itself shows too 
many emendations of the Greek after the extant 
Hebrew to be of much aid. 

Bibliography: Textual criticism: Friedrich Bottcher, Neue 
Exeye tisc h-Ki itisch e Aehrenlese zum A. T. 1863, vol. i.; Ju- 
lius Wellhausen, Der Text der Bucher Samuelis , 1871 ; S. R. 
Driver, Notes on the Hebrew Text of the Book of Samuel , 
1890 ; R. Kittel, Textkritische Erlduteruiujen (appendix to 
E. Kautzscli, Die Heilige Schrift des Alten Testaments , 
1896); Karl Budde, in 5. B. O. T.; A. Mes, Die Bihel des Jo- 
sephus, 1895; H. Oort, Texti Hebraici Emendationes , 1900. 

Commentaries: Otto Thenius, Die Bucher Samuels, 1898; 
A ugust Klostermann, Die Biicher Samuelis unci der KOnige , 
1887 ; H. P. Smith, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary 
on the Books of Samuel , 1899; Karl Budde, Die BUcher 
Richter und Samuel , 1890; idem. Die Bucher Samuel (in 
It. H. C.); Bleelc, Einleitung , 1878; Guthe, Kurzes Bibel- 
ivOrterbuch , 1903. 

E. G. H. 

SAMUEL, MIDRASH TO: Midrash Sliemu’el, 
a haggadie midrasli on the books of Samuel, is 
quoted for the first time by Raski in his commentary 
on I Sam. ii. 30. In his “ Ha-Pardes ” (ed. Constan- 
tinople, p. 24b) Kashi again quotes from this mid- 
rash (xvii. 1; ed. Buber, p. 48a), saying that it is 
entitled “‘Etla-‘Asot la-Adonai”; it probably de- 
rived this name from Ps. cxix. 126, with which it 
begins. The midrash is entitled also “Agadat 
Shemu’el ” (Rashi, in his commentary on Sukkah 
53b, s.v. “Aliaspa”; Tos. Sotah 42b, s.v. “Me ’ah 
et al .), and the name “Shoher Tob” has been er- 
roneously given to it (in the editions of Zolkiev, 
1800, and Lemberg, 1808 and 1850); the error is 
due to the fact that in the Venice edition of 1546 the 
midrash was printed together with the midrasli on 
the Psalms, the title of the latter, “Shoher Tob,” 
being taken to refer to both. 

The midrasli contains haggadie interpretations 
and homilies on the books of Samuel, each homily 
being prefaced and introduced by a verse taken 
from some other book of the Bible. It resembles 
most of the other haggadie midrashim both in dic- 
tion and in style; in fact, it is a collection of sen- 
tences found in such midrashim and referring to 
the books of Samuel. The editor arranged the sen- 
tences in the sequence of the Scripture passages to 
which they refer. The midrasli, however, does not 
entirely cover the Biblical books ; but as it contains 
all the passages quoted from it by other authorities, 
it may be assumed that, with the exceptions men- 
tioned in the following sentence, it never contained 
any more than it does nowand that its present form 
is that into which it was cast by its compiler. In 
two places onty have passages been added by later 
copyists: eh. iv. 1 (ed. Buber, p. 27b; comp, note?) 
and ch. xxxii. 3 et seq. (comp. ed. Buber, notes 9, 
17, 19). 

The midrasli is divided into thirty-two chapters. 
Ch. i.-xxiv. contain interpretations and homilies on 
the First, and ch. xxv.-xxxii. on the Second, Book 
of Samuel. The author has collected these sentences 
from the Mishnah, Tosefta, Mekilta, Sifre, Yeru- 
shalmi, Beresliit Rabbali, Wayikra Rabbah, Shir 
ha-Shirim Rabbah, Kolielet Rabbah, Ekah Rabbah, 
Ruth Rabbah, Midrasli Esther, Midrash on the 
Psalms, Pesikta de-Rab Kahana, Pesikta Rabbati, 
and Tanliuma. Only once (x. 10 [ed. Buber, p. 26a]) 
does he quote a sentence from Babli (‘Er. 64a), which 
he introduces with the words “ Taman amrin ” (They 
say there; comp. Buber, “Einleitung,” p. 4a, note 


1). This, as well as the fact that all the amoraim 
mentioned in this midrash were Palestinians, justi- 
fies the assumption that its compiler lived in Pales- 
tine. His name and the time at which he lived can 
not be definitely determined. Zunz assigns him to 
the first half of the eleventh century, although the 
reasons which he gives for this assumption have 
been refuted by Buber (“Einleitung,” p. 4b). 

A manuscript of this midrasli is in the Parma 
Library (Codex De Rossi, No. 563). The first printed 
edition of the work appeared at Constantinople in 
1517 or 1522; the Hebrew date is not fully legible, 
but it undoubtedly refers to one of these years. It 
was printed again at Venice in 1546, and subse- 
quently at various places and times. The latest and 
best edition is that by Solomon Buber, with intro- 
duction and notes (Cracow, 1893). 

Bibliography : Zunz, G. V. pp. 269-270 ; Weiss, Dor, iii. 276 j 

Buber, preface to bis edition of tbe midrasb. 

w. b. J. Z. L. 

SAMUEL. See Samael. 

SAMUEL : Tax-gatherer and treasurer to King 
Ferdinand IV. of Castile (1295-1312); born in An- 
dalusia. He was hated by the queen mother D. 
Maria de Molina because, according to Spanish his- 
torians who were friendly toward her, he had become 
involved in court intrigues, anc^ also because he had 
encouraged the young king in his prodigality and led 
him to commit thoughtless acts. One day when in 
Badajoz, where he was preparing to accompany the 
king to Seville, he was attacked by an assassin and 
dangerously wounded, but, owing to the careful 
nursing and treatment which the king procured for 
him, his life was saved (1305). 

Bibliography: Crnnica de Fernando TV. cb. xviii. et seq.; 

Florez, Reinas Catolicas, ii. 589 ; Rios, Hist. ii. 96 et seq.; 

Lindo, History of the Jews in Spain , p. 124; Gratz, Gesch. 

vii. 290 et seq. 

S. M. K. 

SAMUEL (SANWEL) BEN AARON BEN- 
JAMIN : Scribe at Worms in the seventeenth cen- 
tury. After the fire of 1689 (Lewysohn, “Nafshot 
Zaddikim,” p. 73, Frankfort-on-tlie-Main, 1855) he 
left Worms and settled in Hamburg. He was the 
author of “Hidah Mezukkakali u-Zerufah,” a rimed 
riddle on the subject of tobacco (Hamburg, 1693). 
His “Shir,” a poem on the Pentateuch dedicated to 
the Talmudical students in Worms, bears the acrostic 
“Samuel of Worms” ^YOT; Hamburg, 

1692). 

Bibliography : Steinscbneider, Cat. Bodl. col. 2403. 

e. c. S. G. 

SAMUEL BEN ABBA : Palestinian amora of 
the latter half of the third century. Although a pu- 
pil of Johanan, he did not receive ordination (Yer. 
Bik. 65c). He declined to permit Hela and Jacob 
to do him honor by rising before him (ib.). He 
appears to have been a pupil also of R. Assi and 
Ze‘era, to whom he addressed several halakic ques- 
tions (Kid. 59b; Yer. M. K. S2d; Yer. Hag. 76a; 
Yer. Yeb. 2c; Yer. Naz. 52c; : Er. 9a; Yoma 47a). 
He is sometimes confounded with the great Samuel 
(Tan., Bo, 10; Midi*. Teh. to Ps. xix. 4). 

Bibliography: Franfcel, Mebo , p. 125b; Bacher, Ag. Pah 

Amor . p. 619. 

w. b. o. U. 



Samuel ben Abbahu 
Samuel, Baron Denis &e 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


14 


SAMUEL BEN ABBAHU : Babylonian amora 
of the fourth century. He engaged in a ritual con- 
troversy with R. Ahai in regard to the use of the 
Circassian goat as food. Samuel was disposed to 
permit it to be eaten, but It. Ahai opposed him. 
Finally it became necessary to refer the question to 
Palestine for adjudication ; the answer was in favor 
of Samuel ben Abbahu (Hul. 59b). 

w. b. S. 0. 

SAMUEL BEN ABIGDOR : Russian rabbi ; 
born about 1720; died 1793 at Wilna, where his 
father, who bad been rabbi in Pruzhani, Rushany, 
and Wilkowyszky, spent his last years (see Abigdok 
be ist Samuel). His father-in-law, Judah ben Elie- 
zer, surnamed “Yesod,” was probably the most in- 
fluential citizen of Wilna in his time, and contributed 
much to Samuel's advancement. The latter was at 
first engaged in business; and several financial agree- 
ments between him and the “kahal” (communal 
council) of Wilna (c. 1745) are recorded. In 1750, 
while still a } r oung man, he was chosen rabbi of the 
old community of Wilna, but for several years his 
father-in-law administered the office, which, in those 
times of rabbinical jurisdiction over all secular Jew- 
ish affairs, was one of great responsibility. Later 
Samuel became rabbi of Smorgony, and there is 
a record of his having held also ( c . 1777) the rabbin- 
ate of Konigsberg (Epstein, “ Geburot ha-Ari,” p. 
29, Wilna, 1870). 

In 1777 the kahal of Wilna decided to remove 
Samuel from the rabbinate. The community was 
divided on the matter, and a quarrel ensued, which 
was conducted with much bitterness. The Gentile 
authorities also took sides, Prince Radziwill, the 
waywode of Wilna, agreeing with the views of the 
kahal, which represented the secular authority of 
the Jewish community, while Archbishop Masolski 
took the part of the rabbi. Samuel and many of his 

partizans removed to tire suburb of Antokol which 

was under the bishop's jurisdiction, in order to he 
safe from the persecutions of Radziwill, who ruled 
the city. Many were subjected to imprisonment 
or exile ; and it may be said that both sides lost in 
the end. The power of the kahal was broken, and 
under the new Russian dominion it was unable to 
regain its former status. 

Samuel remained rabbi in name onty. The office 
died with him ; and in the strict sense of the word 
Wilna has not since had a rabbi or “ab bet din.” 
Samuel is not known to have left any writings; but 
he is mentioned in contemporary rabbinical works 
with the highest respect. 

Bibliography: Fuenn, Kir yah Ne'&manah, pp. 126-132, Wii- 
ua, 1860. 

H. It. P. Wl. 

SAMUEL IBN ABUN B. YAHYA : Arabo- 
Jewish poet of the eleventh century; great-grand- 
father of Samuel ibn Nazar and a contemporary of 
Moses ibn Ezra. A poem of his with the acrostic 
jnx was edited from the fourth section of the Oran 
Mahzor by Luzzatto in “ Kerem Hemed,” iv. 31-32; 
and an elegy on his death by Moses ibn Ezra was 
printed zb. p. 86. 

Bibliography : Ffirst, Bihl. Jud. iii. 242. 

E. c. S. O. 


SAMUEL IBN ‘ADIYA (Arabic, Samau’al 
ibn Jarid ibn ‘Adiya 5 ) : Poet and warrior; lived 
in Arabia iii the first half of the sixth century. His 
mother was of the royal tribe of Ghassan, while his 
father, according to some, was descended from 
Aaron, or, according to others, from Kaliin, son of 
Harun and progenitor of the Jewish tribes of Kuraiza 
and Nadir. Samuel owned a castle near Taima 
(eight hours north of Medina), built by his grand- 
father ‘Adiya and called, from, its mixed color, Al- 
Ablak. It w r as situated on a high hill aud was a 
halting-place for travelers to and from Syria. 

More than for his poetic talents Samuel ibn ‘Adiya 
is famous for his connection with the warrior- poet 
and prince Amru al-Kais, which won for him the 
epithet “faithful,” and gave rise to the saying, still 
common among the Arabs, “ more faithful than Sam- 
uel.” This came about in the follow- 
“ More ing manner: Amru al-Kais, being 
Faithful abandoned by his followers in his 
than fight with the Banu Asad to avenge 
Samuel. 55 the death of his father, and being pur- 
sued by Manzur ibn Ma‘assama‘, wan- 
dered about from tribe to tribe seeking protection as 
well as support in his endeavor to regain his inherit- 
ance. When he came to the Banu Fazarah their 
chief advised him to seek out the Jew Samau’al ibn 
‘Adiya’ in his castle Al-Ablak, saying that although 
he had seen the emperor of the Greeks and visited 
the kingdom of Hira, he had never found a place 
better fitted for assuring safety to those in need, 
nor known a more faithful protector than its owner. 
Amru al-Kais, who was accompanied by bis daughter 
Hind, and his cousin, and had with him five suits of 
mail besides other weapons, immediately set out for 
the castle, and on the way he and his guide com- 
posed a poem in praise of their prospective host. 
Samuel received the poet hospitably, erected a tent 
of skins for Hind, and received the men into his own 

Hall. After tliey had been there ee as long as God 

willed,” Amru al-Kais, wishing to secure the assist- 
ance of the emperor Justinian, asked Samuel to give 
him a letter to the Ghassanid prince Haritli ibn Abi 
Shamir, who might further him on his way. The 
poet then departed, leaving Hind, his cousin, and his 
armor in Samuel's keeping, and he never came to re- 
claim them. According to Arabian tradition, while 
on his homeward journey from Constantinople, lie 
was poisoned by order of Justinian, who had listened 
to treacherous accusations against him. 

After Amru al-Kais had left Al-Ablak, Prince 
Manzur— it is not known whether before or after 
Amru’s death — sent Haritli to Samuel ordering him 
to deliver up the articles deposited with 
Prefers him. Samuel refusing to do so, Haritli 
Death, of laid siege to the castle. The besieg- 
Son to Loss ers met with no success until one da} r 
of Honor. Haritli captured Samuel's son, who, 
according to the story in the “ Kitab 
al-Aghani,” was returning from the chase. Haritli 
then called upon the father to choose between giv- 
ing up tbe property and witnessing his son’s death. 
Samuel answered that his son had brothers, but that 
his honor once lost could not be recovered. Haritli 
at once struck off the boy’shead before the unhappy 
father’s eyes and then withdrew, perceiving that, he 



15 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Samuel ben Abbahu. 
Samuel, Baron Denis de 


could accomplish nothing in the face of such stead- 
fastness. There are a few verses handed down by 
different Arabian writers in which Samuel ibn 
‘Adiya refers to this. deed. 

A description of the castle Al-Ablak is given by 
the poet A‘sha (Yakut, i. 96), who confuses it with 
Solomon’s Temple. It is related of this poet that, 
being captured together with other Arabs, he was 
taken as a prisoner to the castle at Taima, at that 
time belonging to Samuel’s son Sliuraih, without 
his captor’s knowing that he was in the company. 
Waiting until Sliuraih was within hearing, A‘sha 
began to recite a poem extolling the deed of his 
father, and calling on the son to emulate his exam- 
ple by rescuing him (A‘sha). Sliuraih procured the 
poet's release, and allowed him to depart, first pre- 
senting him with a swift camel. Sliuraih himself, 
his brother Jarid, and Samuel’s grandson Sa‘ba 
were all poets. 

Samuel ibn ‘Adiya’s reputation as a poet rests 
upon one of the first poems in the collection called 
the “Hamasa.” It is full of warlike 
His vigor and courage, and manifests a 

Poems. high ideal of honor. There is nothing 
in it to distinguish it from the work of 
any other Arabian poet ; and it has been doubted 
whether Samuel was really its author, as the verse 
(6), upon which the compiler of the “ Hamasa ” bases 
his ascription to Samuel, is not wliolty convincing. 
Since, however, old, reliable authorities attribute 
parts of the poem, at any rate, to him, it is prob- 
able that most of it was written by Samuel. Another 
poem attributed to him has been published in Arabic 
and Hebrew, with an English translation, by H. 
Hirsclifeld (“ J. Q. R.” xvii. 431-440). 


Bibliography: Caussin de Perceval, Essalmr VHistoire des 
Arabes Avant VMamisme, ii. 319 ct seg ., Paris, 1S47 ; Franz 
Delitzsch, Jildisch-Arabische Poesien cuts Vormuhamme- 
disclier Zeit, Leipsic, 1874 ; Gratz, Gesch. 3d ed., v. 83 r 86; Ha- 
masa , ed. Freytag, pp. 49 et seq.; Kitab al-Aghani , Index; 
Noldeke, Beitrtige zur Kenntniss der Poesie der Alten 
^ traber , pp. 57-72. Hanover, 1864 ; Rasinusen, Additamenta 

(from Ibn Nubata). p. 14 : Ft. E. .7. Vli. 

<2«s jETdis. 


176 ; Baron MacGucKin ae 
Introduction. 


M. W. M. 


SAMUEL BEN ALEXANDER OF HAL- 
BERSTADT : German rabbi and scientist ; per- 
haps a resident of Frankfort-on-the-Oder; died July 
6, 1707. He was the author of “Peri Megadim,” an 
alphabetical index to Shulhan ‘Aruk, Hoshen Mish- 
pat (Frankfort-on-the-Oder, 1691). 

Bibliography : Steinschneider, Cat. Bodl. col. 2403 ; Benjacob, 
Ozar ha-Sefarim, p. 495 ; Roest, Cat. Rosenthal. Bibl. n. 


SAMUEL BEN AMMI : Palestinian amora of 
the beginning of the fourth century. He is known 
through his controversies with other scholars. He 
contended, for instance, that II Chron. xiii. 17 
should be interpreted as meaning that King Abijah 
of Judea allowed the bodies of the fallen Israel- 
ites to remain exposed until the faces had become 
unrecognizable, in order that their widows might 
be prevented from remarrying (Yer. Yeb. 15c; Gen. 
R. lxv., lxxiii. ; Ruth R. vii.). 


Bibliography : Bacber, Ag. 
w. B. 


Pal. Amor. ii. 162, 501. 

s. o. 


SAMUEL BAR ASHER: Martyr; lived at 
Neuss, Rhenish Prussia, in the eleventh century. 
According to Salomon ben Simeon, he, with his two 
sons, was murdered on St. John’s Day (June 24), 
1096. Samuel and one of his sons were buried on 
the river-bank, while the body of the other son was 
hanged to the door of his father’s house, exposed to 
general derision. According to another report, by 
Eliezer ben Nathan, the body of neither son was 
buried, but both were smeared with dirt and hanged. 

bibliography : Neubauer and Stern, Quellen zur Gesch. der 

Juden in Deutschland , ii. 18, 41. 

S. S. O. 

SAMUEL DE CACERES. See Caceres. 

SAMUEL BEN DAVID MOSES HA-LEVI 
OF MESERITZ: Polish Talmudist; born about 
1625; died April 24, 1681, at Kleinsteinbach, Bavaria. 
As a wandering scholar he is found for a time at 
Meseritz and then at Halberstadt. In 1660 he was 
rabbi of Bamberg, with his residence at Zeekendorf. 
His stay here was of short duration, for lie made 
many enemies through his violent temper and the 
self-assertion which he displayed in his new office; 
and it was in vain that his relative and subsequent 
successor warned him that he would endanger his 
position if he did not heed the views of the German 
scholars ; for he had even dared to set up his own 
scholarship against the infallibility of MaHaRIL 
by saying : “ Knowledge is free ; I will speak openly 
even before kings; for the philosophers have not 
idly used the simile of the dwarf who bestrides the 
shoulders of the giant.” In view of these circum- 
stances it is not surprising to learn that Samuel re- 
signed the rabbinate about 1665 — whether volun- 
tarily or not is not known. 

During the period of enforced idleness that fol- 
lowed he prepared for the press the manuscript of 
his “Nahalat Shib'ali” (see below). At length he 
found a position in the unimportant rabbinate of 
Kleinsteinbach, where he remained until his death. 
In spite of his great scholarship and wide reading 

Samuel still showed la a too. sel f tlae dialed of lias time in 

believing in magic and the black arts as well as in 
the Messiahship of Shabbethai Zebi. 

Samuel’s chief work, to which he owes his gen- 
eral popularity, appeared in Amsterdam (1667-68) 
under the title “Nahalat Shib £ ah,” being a collection 
of formulas for all documents and records, inter- 
spersed with thorough discussions of questions of 
civil and matrimonial laws in connection therewith. 
A second edition of this work, with much supple- 
mentary matter, appeared (Frankfort-on-the-Main, 
1681) shortly before his death, under the title “ Maha- 
dura Batra le-Sefer Nahalat Shib'ah.” After his de- 
cease the responsa written by him or addressed to 
him by others were published by his son Abraham 
under the title “Nahalat Shib‘ah” (Furth, 1692). 
The “Seder Tikkun Slietarot ” (Furtli, 1698) is a 
compilation from the “Nahalat Shib‘ah.” 

Bibliography: A. Eckstein, Gesch. der Juden im Ehemali- 

gen Fiirstbistum Bamberg , p. 160, Bamberg, 1898. 

E. C. A. PE. 

SAMUEL, BARON DENIS DE; English 
financier; born 1782; died in London 1860. He 
came of a Polish family, and counted among his an- 
cestors several eminent rabbis. Samuel was a nati v e 



Samuel ben Enoch. 
Samuel ben IJofni 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


16 


of England; but early in life lie established himself 
in business at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. There he 
soon acquired high standing as a merchant, and 
attained considerable influence at court, enjoying 
the confidence of some of the highest personages. 
Through his instrumentality the English were per- 
mitted in 1821 to erect a church at Rio, and to en- 
gage publicly therein the Protestant worship, which 
had previously been forbidden. The letter of thanks 
written to him by the leading Protestants at Rio 
was read in Parliament in 1848. 

After a stay of seventeen } r ears in Brazil, Samuel 
returned to London, where he married and spent the 
remainder of his life. He continued to be held in 
favor at the Brazilian court, as is evidenced by his 
decoration with the Order of the Rose. He received 
the title of baron at a later period from the Portu- 
guese government, in recognition of eminent serv- 
ices rendered by him. 

Bibliography: Jew. Chron. Aug. 24 and Oct. 12, 1860. 

,i G. L. 


Bibliography : Renan-Neubauer, Les Bobbins Francois, pp. 
65S, 701; Griitz, Gesch. vli. 220, 224; Gross, Gallia Judaica , 
pp. 328, 432. A p E 

SAMUEL OE EVRETJX : French tosafist of 
the thirteenth century. He is identified by Gross 
with Samuel ben Shneor (not ben Yom-Tob, as given 
by Zunz in “Z. G.” p. 38), whose explanations of 
Nazir are cited by Solomon ben Adret (Responsa, iii., 
-No. 345), and whose authority is invoked by Jonah 
Gerondi. Samuel directed a rabbinical school at 
Chateau-Thierry, and had for disciples R. Hayyim 
(brother of Asher ben Jeliiel of Toledo), R. Perez, and 
R. Isaac of Corbeil. He carried on a correspondence 
on scientific subjects with Jeliiel of Paris (“ Orhot 
Hayyim,” i. 110c) and with Nathaniel the Elder 
(“ Mordekai ” on Hul. vii., No. 681). Samuel's Tal- 
mudic interpretations are often quoted in the Tosa- 
fot (Bezali 14b, 20b, 24b; Kid. 27b, 39a; Ned. 90b; 
‘Ab. Zarali 68a; Tern. 19b). From the fact that the 
author of the tosafot to Sotali mentions there the 
name of Moses of Evreux as being his brother, it 
is inferred that these tosafot were written by Samuel 


SAMUEL (SANWEL) BEN ENOCH Polish 

rabbi; flourished in the seventeenth century; born 
at Lublin. He officiated as day y an * at Jassy and 
later at Mayence. He was the author of “Dibre 
Shemu’el,” derasliot on the Pentateuch; but only 
that part of it on Genesis, Exodus, and Leviticus 
(Amsterdam, 1678; Venice, 1702) is now extant. 


Bibl 


ib biography: Benjaeob, Ozar ha-Sefarim , p. .107, No. 141; 
Fiirst, Bibl. Jud. iii. 244 ; Steinsclmeider, Gat. Bodl. col. 2413. 

S. Man. 


SAMUEL OF ESCALETA (ESCALETTE ; 

called also Samuel Sulami) : French Talmudist, 
poet, and philanthropist of the fourteenth century. 
Jacob of Provence considers him one of the first 
poets of Provence. His piety, learning, and gener- 
osity also were praised by his contemporaries. At 
first he lived in Narbonne, and then in Perpignan. 
He took an active interest in the religious contro- 
versies of 1303-6, and announced his adherence to 
the principles of the liberal party by harboring the 
unfortunate Levi of Yillefranclie in his house at 
Perpignan (Gross, “Gallia Judaica,” p. 200). De- 
spite many warnings on the part of Ben Adret, he 
did not abandon the persecuted Levi. However, he 
was not the man to remain true to his inner convic- 
tions at all costs, and when fate pursued him relent- 
lessly and his daughter died, he believed that these 
events were consequences of his sins; hence he 
withdrew His favor and hospitality from Levi. This 
course of' action, which was, in a certain sense, un- 
manly, seems to have evoked the pity rather than 
the displeasure of his contemporaries. In any case 
it did not diminish the esteem in which he was held 
by all. 

The misfortunes that befell Samuel seem to have 
wrought a great change in his religious attitude. 
Whereas formerly, despite the piety which his op- 
ponents conceded to him, ho had not wished to hear 
of limitations to the study of the liberal sciences, 
now, broken bj’ his misfortune and hence irresolute 
in his views, he joined with Ben Adret in forbidding 
the young to study the sciences and the allegoric 
interpretation of the Biblical narratives. 


Bibliography: Michael, Or ha-JIayyim , p. 593, No. 1202; 

Gross, Gallia Judaica, p. 258. 

e. c. £, I- Bn. 

SAMUEL, HAEEM : Indian communal work- 
er; born at Alibag, near Bombay, in 1830; educated 
at’ the Robert Money School in Bombay. Samuel 
entered the service of the government in 1851, and 
was promoted to be second assistant to the inspector- 
general of ordnance at Puna. He was pensioned in 
1878, During his period of service he succeeded in 
inducing the government to issue European rates of 
batta to the Beni-lsrael soldiers. 

Samuel founded in 1853 the Bombay Beni-lsrael 
Benevolent Society, and in 1881 the Israelite High 
School of the Anglo - 
Jewish Association 
of London. Of this 
school he has been 
the honorary presi- 
dent, secretary, and 
treasurer for twen- 
ty-four years. To 
supplement the 
school Samuel 
opened a prayer- 
hall in 18S8, an act 
for which he was 
excommunicated by 
the three Beni-lsrael 
synagogues of Bom- 
bay. He introduced 
the system of seat- 
holders and the de- 
livery of sermons in 
the prayer-hall. Owing to his efforts a building, 
with a spacious playground, was erected (Nov., 
1898) for the school. Samuel published a sketch 
of the history of the Beni-lsrael. 

Samuel’s eldest son, Samuel, who died in 1884, 
was editor of the periodical “Israel.” In 1882 he, 
with his eldest uncle, saved the community from the 
consequences of a blood accusation by explaining to 
the cazi of the Juma Masjid the restrictions placed 
by the Mosaic law on the eating of blood. He pub- 



Haeem Samuel. 



17 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Samuel ben Enoch 
Samuel ben Hofni 


lislied a catechism of the Hebrew faith, bamuel. s 
second son, A. Hyams, a well-known doctor in 
Bombay, died of the plague in 1897 at the age of 
thirty-two. T w r 


SAMUEL, HARRY SIMON : English politi- 
cian; born Aug. 81, 1858; son of Horatio S. Samuel 
by his marriage with Henrietta Montefiore. He 
was educated at Eastbourne College and St. John’s 
College, Cambridge (B. A. 1875). Samuel is a free- 
man of the city of London and a member of the 
Coopers’ Companjs and has been a captain in the 
First Middlesex Volunteer Royal Engineers. In 
1892 he contested the Limehouse division of the 
Tower Hamlets, but was defeated. In 1895 he was 
elected member of Parliament for Limehouse in the 
Conservative interest. 

T G. L. 


SAMUEL IBN HAYYIM : Medieval liturgical 
poet; the time and place of his birth are unknown. 
He composed eighty-two liturgical poems, of which 
the four mentioned last by Zunz in his addenda are 
intended for the Simhat Torah festival. Twice the 
author signs his name in acrostic as Samuel ha- 
Katan ha-Kohen Berabbi Memeli Sofer. 


Bibliography : Zunz, S- P- pp. 593-590, 052-653. 

E. C. 

SAMUEL HAYYIM OF SALONICA : Ma. 

ternal grandson of Samuel of Modena; lived in 
Salonica during the sixteenth century. He wrote 
“Bene Shemu’el,” a collection of novellm on Tur 
Hoslien Mislipat, as well as on Hilkot Yom-Tob 
and Ta‘arubot. Sixty -three responsa by him were 
published at Salonica in 1(113 (2 vols.). 


Bibliography: Steinschneider, Cat. BocU. col. 2413; Azuiai, 
Shcm ha-Gedolim , i. 174, ii. 18 ; Heilprin, Seder ha-Borot, 
iii. 20a ; Conforte, Korc ha-Borot , p. 44a. 

E. C. b - 


SAMUEL, HERBERT : English politician ; 
bom in London 1870; youngest son of Edwin L. 
Samuel, and nephew of Sir Samuel Montagu. He 
was educated at Balliol College, Oxford, where he 
took first class honors in history and the degree of 
M.A. in 1897. At Oxford he was president of the 
Russell Club, and in 1895 he stood unsuccessfully as 
a candidate for South Oxfordshire in the Liberal in- 
terest. In Oct., 1900, he again contested this seat 
unsuccessfully. In 1902 he was elected as a Liberal 
for the Cleveland division of the North Riding of 
Y orksliire. 

Samuel is honorary secretary of the Home Coun- 
ties’ Liberal Union, a member of the committee of 
the Eighty Club, of the governing body of the Lon- 
don School of Economics and Political Science, of the 
Central Chamber of Agriculture, and of the com- 
mittee of the Thames Preservation League, and a 
fellow of the Royal Agricultural Society. 

Bibliography: Jew. Chron. Sept. 28, 1900; Jewish Year 

BooK 1903. n T 


SAMUEL B. HIYYA: Palestinian amora of 
the second half of the third century of the common 
era. None of his lialakic or haggadie maxims lias 
been preserved ; and he is known only through his 
quotations of the statements of others. He is twrice 
NT. — 2 


mentioned in the Babylonian Talmud : in Hill. 56b, 
where lie transmits an apothegm of R. Mani, and in 
B. M. 72b, where he cites an opinion by R. Eleazar. 
He is apparently identical with Samuel b. Hiyya b. 
Judah, who is frequently mentioned in the Pales- 
tinian Talmud as quoting the maxims of R. Hanina 
b. Hama. Furthermore, in Gen. R. xlviii. 6 Samuel 
b. Hiyya is named as the authority for the same 
statement of R. Hanina b. Hama as is quoted in 
the name of Samuel b. Iliyya b. Judah in Pesik. R. 
15 (ed. Friedmann, p. 72a). 

Bibliography: Heilprin, Seder ha-Borot, ii. 179a; Frankel, 
Mebo lia-Ycrushalmi, p. 125b. 

w. B. J. Z. Li. 

SAMUEL BEN HOFNI : Last gaon of Sura ; 
died in 1034. His father was a Talmudic scholar 
and chief judge (“ab bet din,” probably of Fez), 
one of whose responsa is extant (see Zunz, k ‘Ritus,” 
p. 191; Steinschneider, “Hebr. Bibl.” xx. 132), 
and on whose death Samuel wrote an elegy. Sam- 
uel was the father-in-law of Hai ben Sherira Gaon, 
who is authority for the statement that Samuel, like 
many of his contemporaries, zealously pursued the 
study of non-Jewish literature (“Tesliubot ha-Ge’o- 
nim,” ed. Lyck, 1864, No. 99). Beyond these few 
data, nothing is known of the events of Samuel’s 
life. 

Although, as a rule, geonic literature consists 
mainly of responsa, Samuel ben Hofni composed 
but few of these (see Rapoport in “Bikkure ha-‘It- 
tim,” xi. 90; Fiirst in “Orient, Lit.” x. 188; Weiss, 
“Dor,” iv. 192, note 2; Muller, “Mafteah,” pp. 168 
et seq.; Harkavy, “Zikron la-Rishonim,” etc., iv. 
146, 258; Winter and Wiinsclie, “Die JudischeLit- 
teratur,” pp. 50 et seq.; Schechter, “Saadyana,” p. 
61). This was due to the fact that the Academy of 
Sura liad for a century occupied a less prominent 
position than that of Pumbedita, and that, espe- 
cially in the time of Hai ben Sherira, information 
was preferably sought at the latter institution. A 
genizah fragment of the Taylor-Schechter collection, 
containing a letter to Shemariah ben Elhanan writ- 
ten, according to Schechter’s opinion, by Samuel ben 
Hofni, and another letter of Samuel’s to Kairwan 
(“ J. Q. R.” xiv. 808), show the great efforts which 
at this time the last representative of the Babylonian 
schools had to make to maintain the ancient seats of 
learning in Babylonia (Schechter, l.c. p. 121). Sam- 
uel’s responsa, written in Hebrew, Ara- 
His maic, and Arabic (those written in the 
Responsa. • last-named tongue were translated into 
Hebrew), treat of “ tefillin ” and “ zizit, ” 
the Sabbath and holy days, forbidden and permitted 
food, women, priests, servants, property rights, and 
other questions of civil law. They consist chiefly 
of explanations of the Talmud and include some 
very short lialakic decisions, from which fact it is 
surmised that they are taken from his Talmud trea- 
tise “Slia ‘are Berakot” (Weiss, l.c. p. 193; Stein- 
schneider, “Die Arabiscke Literatur der Juden,” p. 
109). With the intellectual independence peculiar 
to him, he occasionally declares a Talmudic law to 
be without Biblical foundation; and when an ex- 
planation in the Talmud seems inadequate, he adds 
one of his own which is satisfactory (“ Sha‘are Ze- 
dek,” i. 805). 



Samuel ben I£ofni 
Samuel ben Jacob 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


18 


Samuel wrote “Madkhal 11a ‘al-Talmud ” (Hebrew 
title, “ Mebo ha-Talmud ”), an Arabic introduction 
to the Talmud which is known only through cita- 
tions from it made by Abu al-Walid (“Kitab al- 
Usul,” ed. Neubauer, p. 166), Joseph ibn ‘Aknin, 
and Abraham Zacuto. His treatise concerning the 
hermeneutic rules in the Talmud is known only b} r 
name. 

Samuel’s systematic treatises on many portions of 
the Talmudic law surpassed in number those of his 
predecessors. They were composed in Arabic, al- 
though some bore corresponding familiar Hebrew 
titles. They are: (1) “Ahkam Shar‘ al-Zizit,” ten 
chapters, on rules concerning fringes (Harkavy, 
“Studien und Mittheilungen,” iii. 31, note 77). (2) 

“Lawazim al- Ahkam,” known from a citation 
(Harkavy, l.c. p. 35, note 93), from the cata- 
logue of a book-dealer of the twelfth century (this 
catalogue was found among the genizah fragments 
of Fostat, and was published by E. N. Adler and 1. 
Broyde in “ J. Q, R.” xiii, 52 et seq.), and from frag- 
ments recently discovered and published by Schecli- 
ter {l.c. p. 114). (3) “ Al-Bulugh wal-Idrak,” in six 

chapters, on the attainment of one’s majority (Har- 
kavy, l.c. p. 31, note 77). (4) “Fi al-Talak” (ap- 
pears in the above-mentioned catalogue under the 
title “Kitab al-Talak”), on divorce. 
Treatises. (5) “Naskh al-Shar‘ wa-Usul al-Din 
wa-Furu‘ha ” ( i.e ., “ Abrogation of the 
Law and Foundations of Religion and Its Branches”), 
cited by Judah ibn Balaam and Moses ibn Ezra (Stein- 
schneider, “Cat, Bodl.” cols. 880, 2164; idem . “Pole- 
misclie und Apologetische Litteratur,” p. 102; Har- 
kavy, l.c. p. 40, notes 112-114), (6) “ Fi al-Nafakat,” 
concerning taxes (Harkavy, l.c. p. 34, note 90). (7) 

“ Al-Shuf‘a,” twenty chapters, concerning boundary 
disputes (Harkavy, l.c. p. 30, note 60). (8) “Risalah 
al-Shakiriyyah ” (= Hebrew, nW38P, mentioned by 
Moses ibn Ezra; see Schreiner in “ R. E. J.” xxii. 69), 
probably concerning the hiring of persons. (9) “ Al- 
SharaT,” concerning commandments (see Schech- 
ter, l.c. p. 43); divided into “gates” or chapters 
(“she'arim ”) with separate titles, e.g., “Sha‘are Slie- 
liitut”; “Sha‘ar shel Bediljut ha-Basar min ha-He- 
leb”; “ Sha'are Berakot.” The last-mentioned part 
has been edited in Hebrew by I, H. Weiss in “Bet 
Talmud,” ii. 377, and partially translated into Ger- 
man in Winter and Wtinsche, “ Die J udisclie Litte- 
ratur,” ii. 49. (10) “Shurut,” concerning contracts 

(see “(Euvres de Saadia,” ix., p. xxxviii.). (11) 
“Ha-Mattanah,” concerning gifts (Harkavy, l.c. p. 
36, notes 97, 98). (12) “ Ila-Shuttafut,” concerning 

partnership (Harkavy, l.c. note 96: for further ref- 
erences see Steinschneider, “Die Arabische Litera- 
tur,” pp. 108 et seq.). 

The above-mentioned catalogue (see “J. Q. R.” 
xiii. 60, 62) contains in addition the following titles 
of works by Samuel on the same subjects of Tal- 
mudic law: (13) “Kitab Ahkam al-Pikkadon,” con- 
cerning deposits; (14) “Kitab al-Mujawara,” con- 
cerning neighborhood ; (15) “ Al-Kitab [sic!] al-Bai‘,” 
concerning sales. The catalogue {l.c. p. 59, No. 56) 
ascribes to Samuel ben Hofni likewise a commentary 
on the treatise Yebamot. Moreover, Scliechter’s 
genizah fragments contain the beginning of an 
Arabic commentary by Samuel on a Hebrew “re- 


shut” of Saadia’s (“ Saadyana,” pp. 43, 54, where 
further writings of his previously unknown are 
mentioned; see also Poznanski in “Zeit. fur Hebr 
Bibl. ” vii. 109). 

The most important work of Samuel, however, 
was in Bible exegesis. As early a writer as Abu al- 
Walid (“Kitab al-Luma‘,” p. 15) called him a lead- 
ing advocate of simple, temperate explanation 
(“peshat”), and Ibn Ezra, although finding fault 
with his verbosity, placed. him in the front rank 
of Bible commentators of the geonic period (see 
Bacher, “Abraham ibn Ezra’s Einleitung zu Seinem 
Pentateuch-Commentar,” etc., p. 18). In modern 
times his significance as a Bible exe- 
As Bible gete has been given proper apprecia- 
Exegete. tion through Harkavy ’s studies of the 
manuscripts in the St. Petersburg Li- 
brary (see Berliner’s “Magazin,” v. 14 et seq , , 57 et 
seq . ; Harkavy, l.c. i., iii.; Steinschneider, “Hebr. 
Bibl.” xx. 132^^.). 

Samuel ben Hofni wrote, besides, an Arabic trans- 
lation of the Pentateuch with a commentary, a com- 
mentaiy on some of the Prophets, and perhaps a 
commentary on Ecclesiastes (see Harkavy, l.c . iii. 
24, note 59; Poznanski, l.c , ii. 55, note 5). M. I. 
Israelsohn (“Samuelis b. Hofni Trium Sectionum 
Posteriorum Libri Genesis Versio Arabica cum Corn- 
men tario,” St. Petersburg, 1886) lias published a 
portion of Samuel’s Pentateuch translation (Gen, 
xli.-l.) with commentary. The deficiencies in these 
edited fragments might be supplied by the citations 
in Abraham Maimonides’ commentary on Genesis 
and Exodus (Neubauer, “Cat. Bodl. Hebr. MSS.” 
No. 276). The German translation of a specimen 
of these fragments is given in Winter and Wun- 
sche {l. c. ii. 254). The fragments show 
Transla- that Samuel’s translation of the Pen- 
tions of th.e tateuch was dependent upon, though 
Bible. it was more literal than, that of Saadia, 
which had been written almost one 
hundred years earlier. In contrast to Saadia, Samuel 
gives Hebrew proper names in their original form. 
Grammatical notes occupy a remarkably small space 
in his verbose commentaiy; and his grammatical 
point of view was that taken by scholars before 
the time of Hayyuj. On the other hand, he 
gives careful consideration to the chronology of 
Bible accounts; and in explaining a word he gives 
all its various meanings besides references to its 
occurrence elsewhere. His source is the midrashic 
and Talmudic literature, though he specifically men- 
tions only the Seder ‘Olam and the Targum On- 
kelos (see Bacher in “R. E. J.” xv. 277, xvi. 106 
et seq.). 

Samuel ben Hofni is mentioned in connection with 
Saadia and Mukammas as a polemical writer (Stein- 
sclmeider, “Jewish Literature,” p. 319) ; and an anti- 
Karaite work entitled “‘Arayot,”on 
Polemical the degrees of relationship, is ascribed 
Writings, to him (Furst, “Gesch. des Kaniert.” 

ii. 153), but whether correctly or in- 
correctly is not certain (see the above-mentioned 
catalogue, Nos. 58-59). Cabalists have assigned to 
him a “Sefer lm-Yashar” (Zunz, “S. P.” p. 146), 
and a request directed to Saadia for liis decision on 
oaths. 



19 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Samuel ben Uofni 
Samuel ben Jacob 


Samuel ben Hofni is justly called a rationalist 
(Schreiner, in “Monatssekrift,” 1886, pp. 815 et seq.). 
In religious matters lie considered reason higher 
than tradition (Harkavy, l.c. note 34). Holding to 
a belief in the creation of the world out of noth- 
ing, he rejected astrology and everything that rea- 
son denies. He deliberately placed himself in oppo- 
sition to Saadia, who had held fast to the belief that 
the witch of En-dor had brought Samuel to life 
again, that the serpent had spoken to Eve, and the 
ass to Balaam, even though he felt 
Theolog*- himself compelled to explain thewon- 
ical Views, ders by supplying the intermediary 
agency of angels. Samuel denied these 
and similar miracles, and, with an irony reminiscent 
of Hiwi al-Balkhi, he put the question, “Why, if 
they were able to do so at one time, do serpents not 
speak at present? ” 

According to his conception, God changes the 
natural order of things only when He wishes to 
verify before all people the words of a prophet 
(“Teshubot lia-Ge’onim,” ed. Lyck, No. 99). This 
view was opposed by his son-in-law Hai Gaon. 

That his contemporaries did not denounce him as 
holding heretical views shows the enlightened spirit 
of the time, when the study of the profane sciences 
was general; and that in later times he was not 
termed a heretic, although disparaging criticism 
was not lacking, was due to his position as gaon 
(see Weiss, l.c. iv. 198; Menahem Me’iri, “Bet ha- 
Behirali,” in Neubauer, “M. J. C.” ii. 225). 

Bibliography : In addition to the references given above see 
Zunz, Ritus, p. 191; G. Margoliouth, in J. Q. R. xiv. 811. 
w. b. M. Sc. 

SAMUEL, ISAAC : English hazzan ; born in 
London March 9, 1833. He was appointed minister 
of the Bristol congregation in 1860, and became the 
senior hazzan of the Bayswater Synagogue in 1864. 
He has acted as honorary secretary of the Jews’ 
Deaf and Dumb Home for forty-one years. He was 
mainly instrumental in effecting the erection of 
its present building and its subsequent extension. 
He was appointed teacher of hazzanut at Jews’ 
College in 1888. In 1892 the London County Coun- 
cil appointed him Jewish chaplain to the Colney 
Hatch Asylum, which he had served for many years 
in an honorary capacity. He is the only Jewish 
minister in England who has received a stipendiary 
appointment as Jewish chaplain in a non-sectarian 
institution. 

Bibliography; Jewish Year Book ( English), 5664(1904-5). 
j. M. DE S. 

SAMUEL BEN ISAAC HA-SARDI : Span- 
ish rabbi; flourished in the first half of the thir- 
teenth century. In his youth he attended the school 
of Babbi Nathan ben MeTr of Trinquetaille, Pro- 
vence, and later he returned to Spain, his native 
country. Conforte (“ Kore ha-Dorot,” p. 20a) de- 
rives the name “ Sardi ” from the city of Sardinia. 
Zacuto (“ Yuliasin,” ed. Filipowski, p. 221a) calls 
Samuel “Ha-Sefaradi ” ; so does Heilprin in “Seder 
ha-Dorot,” i. 216b, 292a in the Warsaw edition of 
1888, but in iii. 108b of the Warsaw edition of 1882 
he designates him “Ha-Sardi.” 

Samuel was a contemporary of Nahmanides, whom 


he consulted on Talmudical questions. Solomon 
ben Abraham of Montpellier, who in his implacable 
hatred of philosophy denounced the works of Mai- 
monides and appealed to the Inquisition to burn 
them, wrote a letter to Samuel in which he speaks 
highly of his learning and reminds him of their 
friendly relations in their youth. This letter, one 
of the many that Solomon addressed to French and 
Spanish rabbis against Maimonides, was published 
by S. J. Halberstam in Kobak’s “ Jescliurun, ” viii. 98. 

Samuel wrote in 1225 : “ Sefer ha-Terumot ” (Sa- 
lonica, 1598 and 1628 ; Prague, 1605 , with Azariah 
Pigo’s commentary “Giddule Teruinah,” Venice, 
1643), novelise on the civil laws of the Talmud, di- 
vided into “she‘arim ” (gates) and “ perakim ” (chap- 
ters). In the preface the author mentions another 
work 'written by him, “Sefer ha-Zikronot,” on the 
arrangement of the tractates and chapters of the 
Mishnali; but it was not printed, and the manu- 
script is no longer extant. 

Bibliography : Aziilai, Shem ha-Gedolim , i. 124b, No. 129 ; ii. 

115b, No. 98, Warsaw, 1876; Benjacob, Ozar ha-Sefarirru p. 

673, No. 978; Frankel, Der Gerichtliclie Beweis , p. Ill; 

Gross, Gallia Judaica, p. 326; Michael, Or ha-JTayyim , No. 

1208 ; Steinscbneider, Cat. Bodl. col. 2476. 

X). S. Man. 

SAMUEL BEN ISAAC OE UCEDA : Tal- 
mudist of Safed in the sixteenth century; descend- 
ant of a family of Uceda, which, when banished 
from Spain, settled at Safed. Samuel was head of 
the Talmudical school which was conducted in the 
latter city by the liberality of the wealthy Solomon 
di Shiraz. On the death of Solomon, Samuel was 
obliged to become an itinerant preacher. In Con- 
stantinople he was befriended by Abraliam Algazi, 
at whose expense he published his last book. 

Samuel was the author of the following works: 
(l) “ Midrash Shemu’el” (Venice, 1579), a commen- 
tary on the Pirke Abot; (2) “Lehem Dim ‘ah ” (ib. 
1600), a commentary on Lamentations; (3) “Iggeret 
Shemu’el” (Constantinople, 1600), a commentary on 
Ruth, printed together with the text and Rashi. 

Bibliography: Conforte, Kore ha-DoroU pp. 42a, 4Sa: Azu- 

lai, Shem, ha-Gedolim , i. 172; De Rossi, Dizionario , p. 254; 

Steinscbneider, Cat. Bodl. col. 2493. 

W. B. I. Bit. 

SAMUEL BEN JACOB OF CAPUA : Italian 
translator; lived, probably at Capua, at the end of 
the thirteenth century, if Steinsclineider’s supposi- 
tion that Samuel was the father of the physician 
Solomon of Capua (MS. Turin No. 42) be correct. 
Samuel translated, under the general title “Melia- 
‘Ezali weha-Teba*im weha-Tena’im,” the work “ Shel 
Refu’ot ha-Meshalshelot ha-Pesliutot welia-Murka- 
bot” (“De Medicamentorum Purgantiuin Delectu 
et Castigatione ” or “ De Consolatione,” etc.). The 
original work, written in Arabic by Mesue the Elder 
under the title “Islah al-Adwiyak al-Mushilah ” (ac- 
cording to “Fihrist,” p. 226), or “FiTartib Sakyi 
al - Adwiyali al-Mushilah” (according to Ibn Abi 
Usaibi‘ah), is divided, in the Latin translation as 
well as in the Hebrew, into two parts: (1) Canones 
Generates ('fe 10XD); (2) Simplicia (niDIC'SH). 
Samuel’s translation is still extant in manuscript. 

Bibliography: Steinschneider, Hebr. Bibl. xxi. 28; idem, 

Hebr. Uebers. p. 71S; Mortara, Indice , p. 10. 

g. I- Be. 



Samuel ben Jacob 
Samuel lia-Ka^on 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


20 


SAMUEL BEN JACOB IBN JAM* : Rabbi 
of a North-African community (DUtfp) ; flourished 
in the twelfth century. He was on intimate terms 
with Abraham ilm Ezra, who dedicated to him his 
“Hai ben Mekiz” and mentioned eulogiously three 
of his sons — Judah, Moses, and Jacob. Under the 
title “Elef lia-Magen,” or, perhaps, “Agur” (the He- 
brew equivalent of his Arabic name, “Jam* ”), Sam- 
uel wrote a supplement to the “‘Aruk” of Nathan 
ben Jeliiel. Excerpts from this supplement, which is 
still extant in manuscript (Parma MSS. Nos. 140, 
ISO), were published by Solomon Buber in “ Gratz 
Jubelschrift.” Samuel is believed to be identical 
with the author of the same name whose novellas on 
Sanhedrin are mentioned by Isaac ben Abba Mari 
of Marseilles in his “Sefer ha-Tttur.” Two Arabic 
works, “ Risalat al-Burhan fl Tadlikiyatal-Haiwan,” 
containing the laws concerning the slaughtering of 
animals (Neubauer, “Cat. Bodl. Hebr. MSS.” No. 
793), and “ Kitab al-Zahdah lil-Muta’ammiliu fi Yaka- 
zat al-MutaghaffiIin,”on ethics, are also credited to 
him. According to Dukes and other scholars, Samuel 
was the author also of the grammatical work “Re- 
sliit lia-Lekah,” which is found in manuscript in the 
Vatican and Paris libraries, and which bears the 
name of Samuel hen Jacob. This, however, is de- 
nied by Steinschneider, who believes this grammar 
to have been written bj r another Samuel hen Jacob, 
of a later day. 

Bibliography : Rapoport, "Erek MiUin , Introduction ; Dukes, 
in Ben Chananja, 1861, p. 11; idem , in Orient , Lit. xii. 350; 
idem, in Ozar Nehmad, ii. 199; Pinsker, Likkutc Kadmoniy- 
]jnt, i. 151 ; Geiger, in Z. D. M. G. xii. 145;’ heifttian, in Ha - 
Karmel , ii. 243 ; Halberstam, ib. iii. 215 ; Neubauer, in J . Q. R. 
iii. 619; Kobut, Arueli Completum , Introduction; Stein- 
sebneider, Hchr. Bihl. vi. 10, xiii. 3 ; idem. Die Arabische 
Litcratur dor Juclcii , § 105. 

w. b. I. Bu. 

SAMUEL BEN JACOB OF TROYES : French 
Talmudist of the first half of the thirteenth century , 
a descendant of Rashi. In his youth he addressed a 
circular letter, probably cabalistic in nature, to the 
Provengal Asher hen David, to which the latter al- 
ludes in his cabalistic work, written about the mid- 
dle of the thirteenth century, oil the explanation of 
the thirteen attributes of God. 

Bibliography: Gross, Gallia Judaica, p. 239. 

fi. c\ A. Pe. 

SAMUEL BEN JEHIEL ; Martyr of Cologne 
in the First Crusade, June 25, 1096. When the Cru- 
saders hunted the Jews of Cologne out of the vil- 
lages where, under the protection of Archbishop Her- 
mann, they had sought refuge, Samuel, standing in 
one of the marshes of the village of Wevelinghoven, 
pronounced a blessing before killing his son, and as 
the victim answered “Amen” all those looking on 
intoned the “ Shcma* ” and threw themselves into 
the water. After this act of despair Samuel handed 
the knife to Menahem, the sexton of the synagogue, 
and caused himself to be killed (see Jew. Encyc. iv. 
379, s.v. Crusades). 

Bibliography: Gratz, Gesch. lsfced., vi. 10S. 

R. S. Man. 

SAMUEL BEN JONAH: Palestinian amora 
of the fourth century. He is perhaps identical with 
Samuel ben Ini j ah or Inia Samuel ben 

Jonah once gave an opinion concerning Samuel ben 


Naliman’s system of calculating the advent of tlie 
new moon (Pesik. R. 54b). Samuel ben Inia trans- 
mitted traditions of Alia (Yer. Ber. 3d; Yonm51b; 
Eccl. R. ix. 7) on the triple designation of Daniel as 
“Hamudot” (Dan. ix., x.). 

Bibliography: Bacber, Ag. Pal. Amor. ii. 478; iii. 111. 112, 
115, US, 152. 

W. 33. S. O. 

SAMUEL BEN JOSE BEN BUN (ABUN) : 

Palestinian amora of the fourth century, in whose 
time the Jerusalem Talmud is said to have been ar- 
ranged and completed Ity his father, Jose. Some of 
his sayings have been preserved in Yer. R. PI. i. 5; 
Ber. i. 6; Sotali ix. 5; and Kid. iv. 8. 

Bibliography: Frankel, Mcbo , p. 12ob; Weiss, Dor , iii. 118- 
1L9; Bacber, Ag. Pal. Amor. iii. 749. 

W. R. S. O. 

SAMUEL BEN JOSEPH JOSKE : Polish 
Talmudist of the sixteenth and seventeenth cen- 
turies; born at Lublin. He was the first known 
rabbi of Jung-Bunzlau, and was the author of 
“Lehem Rab” (Prague, 1609), supplementing the 
Shulhan ‘Aruk, Orah Hayyim, and arranged in the 
order followed in the latter. This work was ap- 
proved by Judah Low ben Bezaleel. 

Bibliography : Burst, Bihl. Jud. iii. 238 ; Steinschneider, Cat. 
Bodl. col. 2431. 

s. M. SEL. 

SAMUEL BEN JOSEPH OF VERDUN: 

French tosafist of the twelfth and thirteenth cen- 
turies. He was a disciple of Isaac ben Samuel the 
Elder of Dampierre, with whom he corresponded, 
and is mentioned in the Tosafot, in “ Or Zarua‘,” and 
in “Haggahot Maimuniyyot ” as “ha-Bahur” (the 
Younger). He is sometimes confounded with Sam- 
uel ben Hayyim, likewise cited as “Samuel of 
Verdun.” 

Bibliography: Gross, Gallia Judaica, pp. 200-207; Zunz, 
Z. G. p. 55. 

d. S. Man. 

SAMUEL BEN JUDAH : Scholar and head 
of the Jewish community at Lemberg. He suffered 
martyrdom in a terrible form outside the city on the 
8th of Iyyar (a Sabbath), 1667. 

Bibliography: Buber, Anshc Shcm , p. 211. 

E. C. S. 0. 

SAMUEL BEN JUDAH (Provencal name, Mo- 
les Benjudas ; called also Borbe-Vaire = “ gray ” 
or “blue beard”); French physician and translator; 
born at Marseilles 1294. He devoted himself early 
in life to the study of science, especially philosophy. 
When he was about eighteen years old he went to 
Salon, where he studied astronomy under the guid- 
ance of Sen Astruc de Noyes. 

Together with man}' other Jews, Samuel was de- 
tained as a prisoner in 1322 in the Tower of Rotonde 
at Beaucaire, hut subsequently was released. Later 
lie sojourned successively at Murcia (Spain), Taras- 
con, Aix (Provence), and Montelimar. Samuel made 
himself known by his translations of scientific works 
from Arabic into Hebrew, which bo began at a 
very early age. These translations are: (1) “Ha- 
She’elot lia - Dibriyyot welia - Derushim Aslier la- 
Filusufim,” dissertations on some obscure passages 
of Averroes’ commentary on the “Organon.” by 
the Arabic writers Abu al-Kasim ben Idris. Abu al- 



21 


T HE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Samuel ben Jacob 
Samuel ha-Katon 


Hajjaj ibn Talmus, Abu al-‘ Abbas Ahmad ben Ka- 
sim, and ‘Abd al-Rahman ben Tahir. These disser- 
tations were rendered into Latin from Samuel’s 
Hebrew translation by Abraham de Balmas (first 
published in 1550). (2) Averroes’ middle commen- 

tary on the “ Nicomachean Ethics ” of Aristotle, fin- 
ished Feb. 9, 1321, at the age of twenty-seven (Ox- 
ford MSS. Nos. 1350, 1355, 1424, 1425, 1426; Turin 
MS. No. clxix. ; Florence MS., Laurentiana I., No. 
Ixxxviii. 25; Home MS., Casanan tense I., vi. 11). 
(3) Averroes’ commentary on Plato’s “Republic,” 
finished Sept. 3, 1321, in the prison of Beaucaire 
(Oxford MSS. Nos. 1350, 1355; Munich MS. No. 308; 
Turin MS. No. 40; Florence MS. No, Ixxxviii. 25; 
Milan MS., Ambrosiana, No. 33, suppl. ; Vienna MS. 
No. cxxix.). (4) Averroes’ “Compendium of the 
Organon,” finished Dec. 13, 1329, at Tarascon (Paris 
MS. No. 956, 4). (5) On the geometrical bodies 30 
and 31 of Euclid, as a supplement to the translation 
of Ivalonymus ben Kalon 3 7 mus, in which these two 
bodies are missing. (6) Commentary on the “Al- 
magest,” parts i.-iii. (Vatican MS. No. 398). (7) 

Abridgment of the “Almagest” by Abu Moham- 
med Jab bar ibn Aflah (Paris MSS. Nos. 1014, 1024. 
1025, 1036). (8) “ Ma’amar Alaksander ha-Firdusi ” 

(ib. Nos. 893, 894; Berlin MS. No. 332). (9) On the 

eclipse of the sun July 3, 1097, and “Iggeret be- 
‘Ammud lia-Shahar,” on the aurora, both by Abu 
‘Abd Allah Mohammed ibn Mu‘ad of Seville (Paris 
MS. No. 1036). (10) “Ma’amar bi-Tenu‘at ha-Ko- 

kabim lia-Kayyamim,” treatise on the fixed stars 
by Abu Ishak al-Zarkalah (ib. No. 1036, 3). 


PP. 1UU, IrirV, 

Ecrivains Juifs Frctnqais , p. 207 ; Gross, Gallia Judaica , 
p. 379. 

J. I. Bit. 


SAMUEL B’ JUDAH IBN ABUN. See Ab- 
bas, Samuel abu Nasr, ibx. 

SA.MUEL BEN KALONYMUS HE-HASID 
OF SPEYER; : Tosafist-. liturgical poet, and philos- 
opher of the twelfth century; surnamed also “the 
Prophet ” (Solomon Luria, Responsa, No. 29). He 
seems to have lived in Spain and in France. He is 
quoted in the tosafot to Yebamot (6lb) and Sotah 
(12a), as well as by Samuel b. Me'fr(RaSHBaM)in his 
commentary on “ ‘Arbe Pesahim ” (Pes. 109a). 

Samuel was the author of a commentary on the 
treatise Tamid, mentioned by Abraham b. David in 
his commentary thereon, and of a liturgical poem, 
entitled “Shir lui-Yiliud,” divided into seven parts 
corresponding to the seven days of the week. This 
poem is a philosophical hymn on the unity of God, 
for which Ibn Gabirol’s “Iveter Malkufc” served as 
the basis. Like the latter, Samuel he-Hasid treats 
of the divine nature from the negative side, that is 
to sa} r , from the point of view that God is not like 
man . The Hebrew , i f not very poetical , is pure ; but 


foreign words are used for the philosophical terms. 
The recitation of the poem was forbidden by Solo- 
mon Luria; but other rabbis, among whom was 
Samuel Judah Katzenellenbogen, who wrote a com- 
mentary on it, decided to the contrary. On the dif- 
ferent opinions concerning the authorship of the 
“Shir ha-Yihud” see Dukes in “Orient, Lit.” vii., 
cols. 483, 484. 


Bibliography: Michael, Or ha-Hayyiyn, p. 592 ; Dukes, Orient, 
Lit. vii., cols. 483-488; idem, Neuliebrtlische RcligWse 
Po&sie , p. 105 ; Landshuth, Sicldur Hegi/on Leh , pp. 529-531 ; 
Steinsehneider, Cat. Lodi. cols. 2413-2417 ; Zunz, Z. G. pp. 
55. 72, 74. 

j. M. Sei.. 


SAMUEL BEN KALONYMUS HA-HAZ- 

ZAN (known also as Samuel Dewlin [J^VH]) : 
Leader of the congregation at Erfurt in the’ twelfth 
and thirteenth centuries. He is sometimes, but er- 
roneously, referred to as Samuel de Aphota Dieti 
Dovlin. He wrote a number of piyyutim, including 
five for Sabbath weddings, one for the Friday eve- 
ning service, one for the Sabbath of Hukkat, one for 
the Sabbath after Sukkot, and, perhaps, a “ Me'orali ” 
for Purim. The last-named, however, is generally 
credited to Samuel of Magdeburg. On June 16, 
1221, Samuel and liis wife, Hannah, died as martyrs 
(Aronius, “Regesten,” pp. 183, 413). 

Bibliography: Zunz, Ritus. pp. 127, 201; Jacob Weil, Re- 
sponsa , No. 41; Dukes, in Orient , Lit. 1844, No. 15, p. 232; 
Neubauer, Cat. Lodi. Lehr. MSS. No. 425; Zunz, Lileia- 
turgeseh. p. 465, note 1, and Supplement, p. 63 ; Parma De 
Rossi MS. No. 586 : Steinsehneider, Cat. Hamburg , Nos. 49, 
5S ; Berliner, Magazin , No. 13. 

j. s. o. 

SAMUEL HA-KATON ; Tanna of the second 
generation; lived in the early part of the second 
century of the common era. His surname “ha- 
Katon” (= “the younger”) is explained by some as 
an epithet given him on account of his extreme 
modesty, while others regard it as an allusion to tbe 
fact that he was only slightly inferior to the prophet 
Samuel (Yer. Sotah 24b). It is also possible, how- 
ever, that the name was first applied to him pos- 
thumously, since he died at an early age. 

Samuel was so humble that when, during a con- 
ference on the intercalation of a month to make a 
leap-year, the nasi asked an outsider to withdraw, 
Samuel, uot wishing the intruder to feel humiliated, 
arose and said that he was the one who had come 
without invitation (Sauli. lie). He was, moreover, 
held in such esteem by liis contemporaries that 
when, in an assembly of sages, a voice was beard 
proclaiming that one of those present was worthy 
of the Holy Spirit (“Ruali ha-Kodesh ”), the entire 
company considered that Samuel was intended (Yer. 
Sotah, l.c.). 

None of his halakot has been preserved; but 
some of his haggadic aphorisms are still extant, in- 
cluding the following: When asked to explain Eccl. 
vii. 15 he said: “The Creator of the world knows 
and understands that the pious may waver; where- 
fore God says, ‘ I will take him away in his right- 
eousness’ [this being the meaning of “ be-zidko ”], 
that he may not falter” (Eccl. R. ad loc.). The 
words “and all the upright in heart shall follow it” 
(Ps. xciv. 15) are interpreted as meaning that the 
holy may expect their reward only in the future 
world (Midr. Teh. ad loc.). 

Samuel was exceeding^ pious, aud once, when 
he ordered a fast on account of drought, rain fell on 
the very morning of the day designated b} r him for 
the fast (Ta‘an. 25b). According to Brull. he orig- 
inated the use of the invocation “ Ribbono shel ‘Glam ” 
= “Lord of the World,” that he might avoid pro- 
nouncing the name of God (comp. Shab. 33a, where 
he employs this periphrasis of the divine name). 



Samuel ha-Kohen 
Samuel b. Meir 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


22 


Samuel is known especialty for the anathema against 
Judmo-Christiaus, Minimus, and informers (“birkat 
ha-minim”) which he composed at the request of 
the patriarch Gamaliel II., and which was incor- 
porated into the daily “ Sliemoneh ‘Esrcli” prayer 
(Ber. 28b-29a). He is known also for the sinis- 
ter prophecy uttered by him on his death-bed: 
“Simeon and Islimael are doomed to destruction; 
their companions, to death; the people, to pillage; 
and bitter persecutions shall come upon them” 
(Sotah 48b). This prophecy, which many of those 
present did not understand, was fulfilled in its en- 
tirety (comp. Krochmal, “ Moreli Nebuke lia-Zeman,” 
p. 62), His favorite maxim, Prov. xxiv. 17, shows 
his pious and humane character, although some 
deny that this was his motto (Ab. iv. 19; comp. 
Rahmer’s“ JiklischesLit.-Blatt,” 1892, p. 195), while 
others ascribe to him the apothegm on the ages 
of life (Ab, v. 21; Taylor, “Sayings of the Jewish 
Fathers,” p. 23). 

Bibliography: Briill, Einlcitung in die Mischna, i. 98-99, 
Frankfort-on-tlie-Main, 1S76; Bucher, Ag. Tan. i. 370-372; 
Gratz, Gcsch. iv. 59. 

w. b. J. Z. L. 

SAMUEL HA-KOHEN: Rabbi of the six- 
teenth century. He was the author of the following 
works: “ Derek Hayyim ” (Constantinople, n.d.), on 
the 613 precepts; “Ner Mizwali ” (Venice, 1598), 
seventeen homilies on the thirteen articles of faith ; 
and “Torah Or” (zb. 1605), homilies on the Pen- 
tateuch. 

Bibliography: Burst, Bibl. Jud. iii. 238. 

H. It. A. S. W. 

SAMUEL HA-KOHEN DI PISA: Portu- 
guese scholar of the sixteenth and seventeenth cen- 
turies. He wrote a commentary on the difficult pas- 
sages in Ecclesiastes and the Book of Job, discussing 
in it the immortality of the soul and the question as 
to whether Job denied the resurrection of the dead. 
The work, which is divided into fourteen chapters, 
appeared in Venice in 1650. 

Bibliography: SteinscBneider, Cat. Bodl. col. 2433; Benja- 
cob, Ozar ha-Scfartm , p. 512; De Rossi, Dizionario, p. 265; 
Nepi-Gliirondi, Toledot Gedolc Yisrael , pp. 327, 329. 

E. C. S. O. 

SAMUEL MAR. See Samuel Yaiitiixa’aii. 

SAMUEL, SIR MARCUS, Bart.: English 
financier and lord mayor of London; born in Lon- 
don 1853; son of Marcus Samuel and senior partner 
of the shipping firm of Samuel, Samuel & Co. of 
Yokohama, a house of the highest standing in Japan 
and entrusted with the placing of the Japanese loan 
in 1898. Samuel was elected alderman for Port- 
soken Ward in 1891, and was knighted in May, 
1898. He is lord of the manor at the Mote, Maid- 
stone, and is a justice of the peace for the county of 
Kent. He was made a baronet in 1903 on the eon- 
clusionof his year of office as lord mayor of London. 

Bibliography: Jew. Chrov. May 27, 1898; Jewish Year 
Book , 1901, p. 320 ; TF7io’s Who, 1900. 

J. G. L. 

SAMUEL BEN MARTA (KrnD): Palestinian 
amora of the third century. The word “mishkan,” 
twice occurring in Ex. xxxviii. 21, is explained 
by him as having reference to the fact that the sanc- 
tuary was twice confiscated as a pledge (“ mashkon” ; 
i. e . , the first and second destructions; see Ex. R. 1.). 


Simeon ben Marta, who is mentioned in Gen, R. ix., 
seems to be identical with Samuel, the subject of 
this article. 

Bibliography: Bacher, Ag. Pal. Amor. ii. 313, note 3; iii. 
620, note 10. 

W. B. • S. O. 

SAMUEL B. MEIR (RaSHBaM) : French 
exegeteof Ramerupt, near Troyes; bom about 1085; 
died about 1174; grandson of Raslii on his mother’s 
side, and eldest son of the family. He was a pupil 
of his grandfather, and was at first an adherent of 
liaggadic interpretation, although he subsequent^ 
approached more closely to the school of Menahem 
b. Helbo. He was one of the first realistic exegetes, 
and is also frequently mentioned as a tosafist. His 
Biblical commentaries include the following: (1) On 
the Pentateuch, of which the section from Gen. 
xviii. to Deut. xxxiii. 3 was first printed, with sev- 
eral other commentaries, under the title “ Ila-Rash- 
bam” in the edition of the Hebrew Pentateuch pub- 
lished in Berlin in 1705, while the portion on Gen. i. 

1- 31 was edited in “Kerem Hemed,” viii. 44 et seq. 
(2) On Judges and Kings (Perles, in “ Monatsschrift,” 
1877, pp. 363, 367 et seq. ; Berliner’s “Magazin,” i. 

2- 5). (3) On Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the 

twelve Minor Prophets. (4-7) On Ezra and Nelie- 
miah (many notes in the existing commentary on 
these books which is ascribed to Raslii, appear to 
be by RaSHBaM). (8) On Job, beginning, in De 
Rossi MS. No. 181, with ch. xi. 27, but extending, in 
“Cat. Munich,” No. 2 (according to Lilienthal), from 
ch. xxxviii. to the end. (9) On the Five Megillot, 
of which the portion on Canticles and Ecclesiastes 
has been published by A. Jellinek (Leipsic, 1855), 
together with some fragments from the other three 
Megillot (see, however. Rosin, “R. Samuel ben 
Meir,” pp. 17-21, Breslau, 1880). (10) On the 

Psalms, said to have been discovered bj r Isaac ha- 
Levi of Satanowin the Berlin Library and published 
by him in 1793 (reprinted at Vienna, 1816), 

One of the earliest writings of Samuel is undoubt- 
edly his commentary on Canticles, which he regards 
as the representation of a dialogue between God and 
the Jewish people, and as a description of the con- 
dition of Israel in times of miseiy and of happiness. 
In his other Biblical commentaries, on the contrary, 
he opposes all haggadicinterpretation. His sources 
for this commentary were: the Bible, the Masoretic 
text of which he closely followed, and with which 
he compared French, German, and Spanish manu- 
scripts; the Targnm Onkelos; the Babylonian Tar- 
gum to the Prophets; the Jerusalem Targumto the 
Pentateuch; the Palestinian Targum to theHagiog- 
raplia; the Vulgate, in so far as he objected to 
its renderings; the Mishnali, Mckilta, Sifra, and 
Sifre; the Baraita of R. Eliezer ; Seder ‘Olam; Pirke 
Rabbi Elkezer; the “Dibre ha-Yamim shel Moslieli ” 
(Jellinek, “B. II.” ii. 1-11); Eleazar Kalir; Menahem 
ibn Saruk ; Dunash ben Labrat ; Kaloi^mus of Rome 
(on Num. xi. 35); and Menahem b. Helbo. 

Rashbam explains his aim in Biblical exegesis 
thus: “Those who love pure reason should always 
remember that the sages have said a Biblical 
passage must not be deprived of its original 
meaning [on Gen. xxxvii. 1]. Yet as a conse- 
quence of the opinion expressed by them, that the 



23 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Samuel ha-K.oh.en 
Samuel b. Meir 


constant study of the Talmud is one of the most 
laudable pursuits, commentators liave been unable, 
by reason of such study, to expound individual 
verses according to their obvious meaning. Even 
my grandfather Solomon was an adherent of this 
school ; and I had an argument with him on that 
account, in which he admitted that he would revise 
liis commentaries if he had time to do so. It is sub- 
sequently related that Raslibam so thoroughly con- 
vinced his grandfather that the latter burned his 
own works. 

Briefly Raslibam may be said to have had the fol- 
lowing objects in view in his exegesis: to harmo- 
nize his comments with the progress made by the 
exegesis of his time ; to simplify exegesis and inves- 
tigate the inner meaning of the Scriptural text ; to 
preserve the traditional interpretation when it agiees 
with the literal sense; to show the connection of dis- 
connected passages of the Bible; and to defend Juda- 
ism (pjpftn nni^n). In regard to form, he advances, 
adopts, or rejects explanations with a brief and 
pointed statement of his reasons therefor (see Rosin, 
l.c. pp. 92-98). 

The following passage on Gen. xxxiv. 25 may be 
quoted as an example of the simplicity of Samuel s 
exegesis: “ ‘ They [Simeon and Levi] came upon the 
city [Sliechem].’ This certainly means that they 
came upon the city when it felt itself secure, siuce 
the Hebrew word ‘ betah ’ can be applied only to an 
object at rest.” This explanation is at the same 
time a criticism of Rashi, who first refers “betah” 
to the inhabitants and not to the city, and then in- 
terprets the passage haggadically. Raslibam was 
himself attacked by Ibn Ezra in “Iggeret Shabbat” 
because in his interpretation of Gen. i. 5 he tries to 
prove that the Jewish day, even the Sabbath, be- 
gins at dawn and not at evening. 

In his comment on Ex. ii. 14 Raslibam shows, his 
mastery in determining the most evident meaning. 
The names of God are explained as verb-forms, the 
first one, rpHtt, as placing in the mouth of God Him- 
self the declaration of eternal existence, iTHN 
j-PHK, and the second, ffliY, as placing in the mouth 
of man the same declaration. Equally obvious is 
the connection he finds between the Feast of Tabei- 
naclcs and the festival of ingathering (Lev. xxiii. 
43), basing it on the sentiment of humility and grat- 
itude; the humble hut being occupied during the 
most beautiful outdoor festival of the year, and being 
a reminder at the same time of the ancient tent life. 
He explains the threefold repetition of the word 
rpV'V in Num. xv. 39 by saying that a notable play 
on words underlies its third occurrence. The ob- 
scure use of in Dent. xxvi. 17, 18, lie explains, 
as no commentator before him had done, by the pas- 
sages Num. xv. 41 and Ex. xix. 6. On otliei phil- 
osophical explanations, some of which are untenable, 
comp. Rosin, l.c. pp. 104-108. 

The most radical of Raslibam’s commentaries is 
that on Ecclesiastes. For instance* (1) He declares 
that the words “vanity of vanities” were not spoken 
by the preacher, but were prefixed by the editoi who 
arranged the book in its present form. (2) He diaws 
a distinction between practical wisdom, which is not 
speculative (Eccl. ii. 3), and theoretical wisdom, 
which must not be confounded with it. (3) In op- 


position to all the earlier commentators — unless 
the comments of this nature were added by a later 
editor (comp. Rosin, l.c. p. 108, note 4) — he explains 
according to their natural literal meaning all the 
sentences of the preacher relating to doubts and to 
pessimism (Eccl. iii. 21, v. 7). , 

Raslibam’s attitude toward science may be consid- 
ered from two points of view, (1) the theological, and 
(2) the secular. In regard to theology he clings to the 
doctrine of the spirituality and omniscience of God 
(Gen. i. 26; “Kerem Hemed,” viii. 45), holding that 
neither the former nor the latter is in any way cir- 
cumscribed. In his views on angels, prophecy, and 
the miracles mentioned in the Bible he falls short of 
the religious philosophers both of his own and of a 
later epoch. Nor does he rise superior to the super- 
stitions of his time and country, explaining many 
Biblical passages (e. g., Gen. xxxi. 19; Ex. xxxi. l)ac- 
cording to the prevailing ideas. He bases the Bib- 
lical laws (e.y., Gen. xxxii. 33 [A. Y. 32] ; Ex. xii. 8, 
9, 17; xxv. 31) not only on ethical but also on other 
grounds. Occasionally he offers to his reader ex- 
traneous ideas suggested by some occurrence or train 
of thought. As regards his secular attainments, he 
gives evidence of being conversant with Old French 
(see the Old French philological explanations which 
he quotes, given in alphabetical order in Rosin, l.c. 
pp. 92-97). He knew Latin also, and could even 
read the Vulgate (see-on Ex. xx. 13, in reference to 
the translation of “Non occides” = “Thou shall. not 
kill,” and “Ego occidam,” Deut. xxxii. 39). 

* Borne correct geographical uotes (on Gen. xxxv. 
21; Num. xxi. 28; Dent. ii. 3) show that Raslibam 
was conversant also with the geography of Palestine. 
In his knowledge of Hebrew grammar and lexicog- 
raphy not only was he the equal of his contem- 
poraries, but he even surpassed Menahem and Du- 
nasli in point of general scholarship, although he 
could not make use of Saadia’s works, as he did not 
know Arabic (this topic is treated in detail in Rosin, 
l.c. pp. 120-144, 145-155). 

Among Raslibam’s Talmudical works are the fol- 
lowing commentaries: (1) On the treatise Baba Batra 
(iii. 29a to the end). (2) On Pesahim (x. 99b to the 
end). (3) On ‘Abodali Zarali, of which only a few 
passages are quoted in “Temim De l im,” ed. Venice, 
iii. 19b, 20b, 28c. (4) On the treatise Niddali, as 

appears from the “ Or Zarua ” (Berlinei s Maga- 
zin,” i. 100a). (5) Additions to Alfasi (Aliaba, ed. 

Amsterdam, i. 136b). (6) Additions to Raslii’s com- 

mentary (Zunz, “ Z. G.” p. 32). (7) “ Teshubot,” in R. 
Eliezerb. Nathan’s “Eben lia-‘Ezer,” ed. Prague, 
143b- 146c, and in the “Pardes,” ed. Constantinople, 
fol. 4a (Berliner’s “Magazin,” 1876, p. 60; “Or 
Zarua 4 ,” i. 79b; “ Mordekai ” on Ivet. viii. 300, fol. 
108b, in “Haggaliot Maimuniyyot.” “Isliot,” iii.). 
(8) On the treatise Abot (Zunz, “Z. G.” pp. 124 et 
seq.); also the work “Ba‘al ha-lMa’or ” (according to 
Rieti), and the conclusions of the commentaries on 
the Talmud left incomplete by Rashi. 

Raslibam is, however, much weaker than Rashi in 
his Talmudic commentaries, and he occasional^ be- 
comes prolix in attempting detailed explanations, 
while the simplicity of Rashi is at once evident. 
As a tosafist Raslibam is quoted in B. Iy. 6b, 10a, 
and in B. M. 96b, while additions of his to the Pirke 



Samuel, Moses 
Samuel ben Naijman 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


24 


Abot are found also in tlie “Migdal 'Oz ” of Shem- 
Tob Gaon. 

Few details of Rashbam’s life are known. He is 
said to have been so modest that lie always walked 
with downcast eyes; and Mordecai b. Hillel says 
(‘Erubin, end) that he was so absent-minded that 
once, while traveling, he climbed into a wagon 
loaded with cattle. 

Bibliography : Zimz, Z. G. pp. 32, 57, 70, 124; Shalshelet ha - 
J£ahhalah, ed. Amsterdam, p. 39b; Rieti, Mi [a I ash Me* at, 
p. 100; Azulai, Shem ha-Gedolim , i. 770, ii. lt>2; Dukes, in 
Zion, ii. 104; D. Rosin, R. Samuel h. Mc'ir als Schrifter- 
Idtirer , Breslau, 1S80; Geiger, Bcitrduc , p. 29; idem, Par- 
schandatha , p. 20, Leipsic, 1S55; Jellinek, in Mnnatsschrift, 
iii. 116; Orient , Lit. viii. 354; Franz Delitzscli, Zur Gesch. 
der Jiidischen Poesic , p. 115; Steinselmeider, Cat. Bodl. 
col. 2452 ; Gross, Gallia Judaica , pp. 179, 229, 259, 542, 637 ; 
Winter and Wiinsebe, Jiidischc Litcratur , ii. 278, 286-288. 

W. B. 8. O. 

SAMUEL, MOSES : English author; born in 
London 1795; died at Liverpool 1860. He acquired 
considerable reputation as a Hebrew scholar and an 
authority on rabbinical literature. While at Liver- 
pool he published an “ Address to the Missionaries 
of Great Britain,” a forcible protest against the at- 
tempts of conversionist societies to entice Jews from 

till ell* tawtx. xi<= ^rote a pamphlet on 

position of Jews in Great Britain, and was one of 
the editors of a monthly magazine entitled “The 
Cup of Salvation.” Samuel was a zealous advocate 
of the emancipation of his coreligionists, and a re- 
buke, entitled “The Jew and the Barrister,” he ad- 
ministered to a member of the bar was favorably 
noticed in several magazines. He translated “The 
Book of Jasher” and Mendelssohn’s “Jerusalem,” 
London, 1838. 

Bibliography: Jew. Chron. April 37, 1860; Picciotto , Sketches 
of A noln- Jewish History, pp. 364-365. 

J- G. L. 

SAMUEL BEN MOSES : Russian cabalist ; 
lived at Swislotz, government of Grodno, in the 
seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. He was the 
author of “Shem Shemu’el,” containing cabalistic 
interpretations of the Pentateuch and giving caba- 
listic reasons for the precepts therein. In the pref- 
ace the author quotes another work of his entitled 
“Yad Shemu’el,” on the Psalms. 

Bibliography: Steinselmeider, Cat. Bodl. col. 2455; Fiirst 
Bihl. Jud. iii. 240. 

J- I. Bit. 

SAMUEL B. MOSES PHINEHAS ; Polish 

rabbi; died in Posen Nov. 25, 1806. He was a 
descendant of R. Joshua (d. 1648), the author of “ Ma- 
ginne Shelomoh,” and was related to the Ileilprin 
family. At the age of twenty-three he became 
rabbi of Bilguria, near Zamoscz, and later held sim- 
ilar positions in Przeworsk and in Tarnopol, where 
he was living in 1795. In 1801 lie succeeded his 
brother Joseph “ha-Zaddik” (son-in-law of R. Eze- 
kiel Landau of Prague) in the rabbinate of Posen, 
where he remained until his death. He was the au- 
thor of “Bet Shemuel Aharon,” of which the first 
parts contain responsa, and the last is devoted to 
sermons on the weekly lessons from the Pentateuch 
(Novidvor, 1806). 

Bibliography: Preface to Bet Shemuel Aharon: Mnnats- 
sclmft,xiv. 250 et secy. Eisenstadt-Wiener, Da'at Kedaxhim , 
p. 69, St. Petersburg, 1897-98. 

H. R. P. Wl. 


SAMUEL HA-NAGID (SAMUEL HA- 
LEVI BEN JOSEPH IBN NAGDELA) : Span- 
ish statesman, grammarian, poet, and Talmudist ; 
bom at Cordova 993; died at Granada 1055. His 
father, who was a native of Merida, gave him a 
thorough education, Samuel studied rabbinical lit- 
erature under Enoch, Hebrew language and gram- 
mar under the father of Hebrew philology, Judah 
Hayyuj, and Arabic, Latin, and Berber under vari- 
ous non-Jewish masters. In 10.13, in consequence 
of the civil war and the conquest of Cordova by the 
Berber chieftain Sulaiman, Samuel, like many other 
Jews, was compelled to emigrate. He settled in 
the port of Malaga, where lie started a small busi- 
ness, at the same time devoting liis leisure to Tal- 
mudic and literary studies. 

Samuel possessed great talent for Arabic callig- 
raphy; and this caused a change in his fortunes. 
A confidential slave of the vizier Abu al-Kasim ibn 
. al-‘Arif often employed Samuel to write bis letters. 
Some of these happened to fall into the hands of the 
vizier, who was so struck by their linguistic and 
calligraphic skill that he expressed a desire to make 
the acquaintance of the writer. Samuel was brought 

VO tllC pixln.ee?, txn Cl -ivas To rt Ix-w itH engaged 

vizier as liis private secretary. The former" soon 
discovered in Samuel a highly gifted statesman, 
and allowed himself to be guided by bis secretary’s 
counsels in all the affairs of state. In 1027 the vizier 
fell ill, and on his death-bed confessed to King 
Ilabus, who had expressed his sorrow at losing such 
an able statesman, that his successful 
Appointed undertakings had been mainly due to 

Vizier. his J ewisli secretary. Being free from 

all race prej udices, Ilabus raised Sam- 
uel to the dignity of vizier, and entrusted him with 
the conduct of his diplomatic and military affairs. 

In his exalted position Samuel remained the same 
pious and modest scholar, and disarmed Ids enemies, 
who could not forgive him liis Jewish faith, by liis 
gentleness of manner and liis liberality. The fol- 
lowing is au Illustration of his magnanimity: A 
fanatical Mohammedan dealer in spices, who lived 
near the calif’s palace, once grossly offended Samuel 
while accompanying the calif. Incensed at the of- 
fense, the calif commanded Samuel to punish the 
fanatic by cutting out liis tongue. Instead of exe- 
cuting this order Samuel made a present to the of- 
fender, and thus gained his gratitude. 'When the 
calif again noticed the seller of spices he was aston- 
ished at the change, and questioned Samuel about 
it. “I have torn out,” answered the vizier, “liis 
angry tongue, and given him instead a kind one.” 

The 3 r ear 1037 proved to be the turning-point in 
Samuel's life. Hahns died, and there arose two 
parties in Granada who respectively rallied round 
two princes. The majority of the Berber nobles, 
and some influential Jews— Joseph ibn Migas, Isaac 
ben Leon, and Neliemiah Aslikofa — sided with the 
younger son of Ilabus, while Samuel at the head of 
a smaller party supported the elder son Badis. The 
chances were all in favor of the majority, and Sam- 
uel ran the risk of losing not only iiis position, but 
also liis life, when unexpectedly the younger son of 
Habus abdicated in favor of bis elder brother. 
Badis was then hailed king, and Samuel not only 



25 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Samuel, Moses 
Samuel ben Nahman 


retained Jiis former position, but became practically 
king of Granada, as the pleasure-seeking Badis paid 
but little attention to affairs of state. 

Samuel not only employed his power for the ben- 
efit of the Jews of Granada, of whom he was the 
authorized chief (“ nagid ”), exercising 
As Nagid. the functions of rabbi, but also strove, 
in his diplomatic relations, to amelio- 
rate the condition of the Jews in other places. 
Greatly interested in the propagation of science, he 
spent enormous sums for copies of books, which he 
presented to poor students. He corresponded with 
the leading scholars of his time, especially with Hai 
Gaon and R Nissim of Kainvan. Among the re- 
cipients of his bounty was Ibn Gabirol, who had 
been banished from Saragossa. “ In Samuel’s time,” 
says Moses ibn Ezra in his “ Kitab al-Muliadarali ” 
(comp. Munk, “Notice sur Abu’l Walid,” p. 57), 
“the kiugdom of science was raised from its lowli- 
ness, and the star of knowledge once more shone 
forth. God gave unto him a great mind which 
reached to the spheres and touched the heavens, so 
that he might love Knowledge and those that pursued 
her, and that he might glorify Religion and her fol- 

lowers.” Sa.mu.el found recognition not Only aaiOllg 

In's coreligionists, but also among the Mohammedans, 
many of whom were his stanch friends and admirers. 
An Arabic poet, Muntafil, extolled him in verse, 
and acknowledged that Samuel had made him a secret 
worshiper of the God who had prescribed the sanc- 
tification of the Sabbath. The best proof, however, 
of Samuel’s great popularity is that, notwithstand- 
ing the machinations of the Mohammedan fanatics, 
he remained vizier until his death, and was succeeded 
in that office by liis son Joseph. 

Of Samuel’s writings only a few have been pre- 
served. Besides two responsa, which have been 
inserted in the “Pe’er lia-Dor” (Amsterdam, 1765), 
only the “Mebo lia-Talmud” has been published 
(Constantinople, 1510; frequently re- 
His printed together with the “Halikot 

Works. ‘Glam” of Joshua ha-Levi; and since 
1754 together with the Talmud, at the 
end of the treatise Berakot). The work is divided 
into two parts: the first containing a list of the 
bearers of tradition from the members of the Great 
Assembly down to Enoch, Samuel’s teacher; the 
second, a methodology of the Talmud. It was trans- 
lated into Latin by Constantin l’Empereur, under 
the title “Clavis Talmudica, Completas Formu- 
las, Loca Dialectica et Ehetorica Priscorum Jud&- 
oruin ” (Leyden, 1683). Another Talmudic work of 
Samuel’s, entitled “Hilkata Gibbarwa, ” containing 
Talmudic decisions, is quoted by Me’iri in bis com- 
mentary on Abot, by .Bezaleel Ashkenazi (“Shittah 
Mekubbezet,” Ketubot 36b), and by others. 

Of the poetical productions of Samuel there liave 
been preserved a part of the “Ben Mishle,” contain- 
ing aphorisms and maxims, some of which have 
been published in various periodicals (see bibliog- 
raphy below), and fragments of adiwan, still extant 
in manuscript (Neubauer, “Cat. Bodl. Hebr. MSS.” 
No. 2422, 18). Some verses of his are cited by 
Moses ibn Ezra, and liis poem on the pen is quoted 
by Judah ibu Tibbon in a letter addressed to his 
son Samuel. Mention is made also of a poem in 


seven languages addressed to King Habus. In ad- 
dition Samuel wrote “Ben Mishle,” containing de- 
votional poems, and “Ben Kohelet,” containing 
philosophical meditations, both of which are no 
longer extant. Samuel's poetic compositions are 
distinguished for their elevation of thought; but 
they are devoid of elegance of form. It became 
proverbial to say, “Cold as the snow of Hermon, or 
as the songs of the Levite Samuel” (Dukes, “Nahal 
Kedumim,” p. 5). The diwan of Samuel lia-Nagid 
was edited, although not in its entirety, by A. Har- 
kavy in “Studieu und Mittheilungen aus der St. 
Petersburger Kaiserliclien Bibliothek,” i. (“Zikron 
la-Rislionim ”), St. Petersburg, 1879. 

Among Samuel’s works on grammar, which are 
no longer in existence, mention should be made of 
the “Sefer lia-‘Osher” (Arabic title, “Kitab al- 
Istighna ”), which was divided into twenty-two sec- 
tions. In this work, as in all of his writings on 
grammar, Samuel did not go beyond the rules laid 
down by his master Judah al-Havyuj. Indeed, his 
respect for the father of Hebrew philology was so 
great that he waged war against Ibn Janah and 
wrote and caused others to write the pamphlets 
known as “ Epistles of the Companions ” (“ Rasa’il al- 

TtllaH in tliat g-ra.xnreia.rfa.xi w-as violently 

attacked for his strictures on Hayyuj’s writings. 

Bibliography: Abraham ibn Daud, Sefer ha-Kabbalahe ed. 
Constantinople, p. 43a; Abraham Zacuto, Sefer ha-Yuhasin, 
ed. Amsterdam, p. 127a ; Gedaliah ibn Yahya, Shalslielet ha- 
Kabbalalu ed. Amsterdam, p. 29b; David Gans, Zonal), Da- 
wicle for the year 1027 ; Saadia ibn Danan, in Hemclah Genu- 
zah, p. 29; Conforte, lyore ha~DoroU P* 6a; Azulai. Shem 
ha-Geclolim , i. 89 ; De‘ Rossi, Dizionavio . s.v.,* Dukes, Bei- 
trilgc, p. 179; idem, Nahal Kedumim, p. 31; idem, Blumen- 
lese , p. 56; Luzzatto, in' Kef em Jfcmed , iv. 31; Zunz, S. P. 
p. 218; Dozy, Introduction d VHistoire de VAfrique ct de 
VEspagnc Intitulee dl- Eagan al-Maghrib par Ibn Aclhari , 

i. 81 et seq ., Leyden, 1846-51; Munk, Notice' sur Alni'l Wa- 
lid, p. 87 ; Jost, Gesch. iv. 137 ; Steinschneider, Cat. Bodl. 
col. 2457 ; Griitz, Gesch. vi. 11 etseq.: idem, Blumenlese , p. 33 ; 
Baeber, Leben unci Wcrhe Ahulwalicls , 1888, pp. 1S-25; 
idem , in Winter and Wiinsche, Jildische Literature ii. 180; 
Joseph Derenbourg, Opuscules d'Ahoulwalich p. xxxv. et 
passim. 

j. I. Bn. 

SAMUEL BEN NAHMAN (NAHMANI) : 

Palestinian amora; bom at the beginning of the 
third and died at the beginning of the fourth cen- 
tury. He was a pupil of R. Jonathan hen Eleazar 
(Pes. 24a) and one of the most famous haggadists of 
his time (Yer. Bcr. 12 d ; Midr. Teh. to Ps. ix. 2). He 
was a native of Palestine and may have known the 
patriarch Judah I. (Gen. R. ix.). It appears that he 
went to Babylon in his 3 -outh but soon returned 
to Palestine (Sanh. 96b). He seems, however, to 
have gone to Babylon a second time in an official 
capacity in order to determine the intercalation of 
the year, which, for political reasons, could not be 
done in Palestine (Yer. Ber. 2d: Pes. 54b). As an 
old man he went to the court of Empress Zenobia 
(267-273) to petition her to pardon an orphaned youth 
who had committed a grave political .crime (Yer. 
Ter. 46b). In the days of Judah II., Samuel ben 
Nahman appears among the most in- 
Relations timate associates of the patriarch, with 
with whom he went (286) to Tiberias at 
Diocletian. Dioeletian’s order; later he joined the 
emperor at Paneas (Yer. Ter. ix., end; 
Gen. R. lxiii.). In the school Samuel held a po- 
sition of authority; to him is ascribed the rule 



Samuel ben Nahman 
Samuel ben Shneor 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


26 


that during t-lie heat of the day instruction should be 
suspended (Lam. R. i. 3, end; Midr.Teh. to Ps. xci. 
6). On account of his fame as a haggadist questions 
were addressed to him by such authorities as the 
patriarch Judah II. (Gen. R. xii., end), Simeon ben 
Jeliozadak (Gen. R. iii., beginning; Lev. R. xxxi. ; 
Pes. 145b; Midr. Teh. to Ps. civ.; Tan. to WayaV> 
hel, beginning; Ex. R. 1., beginning), Ammi (Lev. 
R. xxxi., beginning; Lam. R. i. 13), Hanina ben 
Pappa (Pes. 157a; Midr. Teh. to Ps. lxv. ; Lam. R. 
iii. 45; Yer. Slieb. 35b), and Helbo (B. B. 123a, b). 

Among the transmitters of Samuel’s sayings were 
Helbo, the haggadist Levi, Abbahu (Lev. R. xxxv., 
end; Yer. Ta'an. iii.), and Eleazar ben Pedat (Pes. 
159b). Of Samuel’s sons two are known by name — 
Nahman and Hillel; sayings of both have been pre- 
served (Gen. R. x., xxxii. ; Midr. Teh. toPs. Iii. ; Yer. 
Slieb. 36b; Yer. Kid. 61c; Eccl. R. i. 4; Midr. Slie- 
mu’el xv., on Neh. viii. 17). Samuel ben Nahman ’s 
decisions and sayings concern the study of dogma 
(Yer. Peali 17a; Meg. 74d; Hag. 76d), prayer (Pes. 
157a, b; Dent. R. ii. ; Yer. Ber. 7a; Gen. R. 
Ixviii.), and Sabbath regulations (Gen. R. xi., end; 
Pesik. R. 23; Yer. Shah. 15a); the history of Israel 
and the nations and empires (Pes. 15b, 151b ; Lev. R. 
ii., beginning, xxiv., end, xxix. ; Num. R. ii., end; 
Yer. Slieb. 35b; Yer. ‘Ab. Zarah 44b); the ordi- 
nances regarding proselytes (Cant. R. vi. 2; Yer. 
Ber. 5b, c) ; Scripture (‘Ab. Zarah 25a; B. B. 
15a; Gen. R. vi., end; Cant. R. i. 1, end), halakic 
exegesis (Yer. Sliek. 45d; Yer. Sliab. 9b; Yer. 
Hal. 57b), and Biblical characters and narratives 
(B. B. 123a; ‘Ab. Zarah 25a; Yer. Yeb. 9c; Yer. 
Ber. 4b; Tosef., Sliab. vii., 25; Gen. R. xlii., xlix., 
lxii., xcviii. ; Ex. R. xliii. ; Lev. R. xi. ; Pes. vi. ; 
Eccl. R. vii. 1; Midr. Shemu’el xxiii.). 

Especially noteworthy is Samuel b. Nahman ’s 
description of the grief of the patriarchs Abra- 
ham, Isaac, Jacob, and of Rachel, over the destruc- 
tion of the Temple (Lam. R., Pref. 24, 
His end). It is written in beautiful He- 

Dirges. brew prose, and is accompanied by 

dramatic dirges in Aramaic. Then 
follow the dirges of all the Patriarchs, which they 
intone when Moses for the second time lias commu- 
nicated to them the sad tidings. Finally, Moses 
himself chants a lament, addressed partly to the sun 
and partly to the enemy. 

Other utterances of Samuel b. Nahman ’s refer to 
homiletics (Gen. R. xiv., xx., xliii.; B. B. 123b; 
Hul. 91d; Sliab. 113b), to God and the world (Gen. 
R. xxxiii. ; Pes. 139a; ‘Er. 22a; B. K. 5a, b), and to 
eschatology (Gen. R. viii. ; Midr. Teh. to Ps. Ixxiii., 
end; Pes. 156b; Midr. Shemu’el xix. ; Eccl. R. i. 8). 

Bibliography: Bacher, Ag. Pal. Amor. i. 477-551, ii., and iii. 
(see Index); Frankel, Meho, pp. 146 et seq.; Weiss, Dor , iii. 
66 ; Jellinek, B. H. vi. 104. 

W. 33. S. O. 

SAMUEL HA-NAKDAN: Masorite and 
grammarian of the twelfth century. A grammatical 
work of his entitled “ Deyakut ” is extant in the Royal 
Library at Berlin. It deals with various grammat- 
ical points and with the accents. According to 
Steinschneider. it is valuable as showing the begin- 
nings of grammatical study among the French Jews 
before the influence of ICim hi or of the Spanish school 


was felt. The author may be identical with one 
Samuel le Pointur, mentioned in a tax-roll of 1194 
as living in Bristol. 

Bibliography : Steinschneider, Die Handschriften-Vcrzcich- 
nwse dev KOniglichen BibHotheh zu Berlin , p. 100; Jacobs, 
Jews of Amjevin England , pp. 162, 421. 

T. J. 

SAMUEL HA-NASI: Exilarcli in Bagdad, 
probably between 773 and 816. Until recently his 
existence was known only from a difficult passage 
in a manuscript, part of which is printed in the 
“ Mazref la-Hokmali.” This states that the pious 
had taken the basis of the liturgy from Aaron 
ben Samuel iia-Nasi, who had left Babylon. An- 
other manuscript (Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris, 
No. 174), dating from the fourteenth century, states 
that the Moses who wrote the liturgical work “ Emet 
Nore’oteka” was a pupil of Aaron ben Samuel lia- 
Nasi of Babylon. The importance of Aaron in the 
Chronicle of Ahimaaz hen Paltiel, and his resi- 
dence in Italy, prove the existence of Samuel ha- 
Nasi. 

Bibliography: Gratz, Gesch. v. 387, 3SS, note 12; Ahimaaz 
hen Paltiel, Chronicle, in Neubauer, M. J. C. ii. 111-132 ; Let- 
ter of Sherira Gaon, in Neubauer, l.c. i. 41. 

J. S. 0. 

SAMUEL BEN NATHAN: Amora of the 
early part of the fourth century. He appears mostly 
as the transmitter of the sayings of Hama b. Hanina 
(Sliab. 38a, note; Yer. Shah. 5d). On one occasion 
Hama b. Hanina transmits a tradition of Samuel 
concerning his journey to the baths at Gadar in 
company with his father (Yer. Ter. 41c). 

Bibliography : Bacher, Ag. Pal. Amor. i. 447, note 4. 
w. b. S. 0. 

SAMUEL BEN NATHAN: Liturgical poet of 
the fourteenth century; place of birth and residence 
unknown. He was the author of three prayers, and 
is sometimes mentioned in manuscripts by the name 
of Rabanu (from). 

Bibliography: Zunz, Litcraturgescli . p. 371. 

E. c. S. O. 

SAMUEL BEN NATRONAI : German tosa- 
fist of the second Half of the twelfth century. He 
was the pupil and son-in-law of R. Eliezer b. Natan 
(RABaN), and brother-in-law of R. Joel b. Isaac ha- 
Levi. He is often cited by his father-in-law in his 
work “Eben ha-‘Ezer” (§§ 27, 28, etc.), and also by 
Zedeldali b. Abraham in his “Shibbole lia-Leket” 
(“Hilkofc Senialiot,” § 23 [ed. Buber, p. 176ai). 
Some novelise by him are mentioned in “ Haggaliot 
Maimuni” on “Hilkot Isliot,” xxiii. 14. By the 
Posekim he is often cited by the name of RaSHBaT 
(=“R. Samuel b. Natronai”; not “Simeon ben 
Tobias , ” as some have assumed). Samuel suffered 
death as a martyr at Neuss in 1197. 

Bibliography: Michael, Or ha-Haygim, No. 1210. 
w. b. J. Z. L. 

SAMUEL PHOEBUS BEN NATHAN FEI- 

TEL : Austrian historiographer; lived in 

Vienna in the sixteenth and seventeenth cen- 
turies. He w 7 as the author of “Tit lia-Yawen,” de- 
scribing the horrible excesses perpetrated in the 
Cossacks’ Uprising under Bogdan Ciimielnickt in 
the Ukraine and Galicia in the seventeenth century. 



27 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Samuel ben Nahman 
Samuel ben Shneor 


The work gives the names of several cities that 
suffered, also 140 synagogues that were destroyed, 
and states that 600,070 Jews were supposed to 
have fallen victims in the uprising. This work was 
first published in Venice after 1649 ; a second edition 
appeared in Cracow in 1892, included in the “Le- 
Korot lia-Gezerot be-Yisrael” of J. Hayyim Gur- 
land. 

Bibliography : Steinsclineider, Cat. Bodl, col. 2472 ; Benjacob, 

Ozar ha-Sefarim , p. 208. 

jL c. S. O. 

SAMUEL BE N REUBEN OE BEZIERS: 

French Talmudist ; flourished at the beginning of 
the fourteenth century. He was one of Solomon 
ben Adret’s numerous correspondents during the 
religious controversy of 1808-6. He addressed a 
rimed epistle to Adret, in which lie took the part of 
his relative Levi of Villefranclie, while excusing 
himself for having signed the letter sent by the lib- 
eral party to the rabbis of Barcelona, a letter the 
contents of which, as he said, were unknown to him. 
He agreed with Adret in forbidding the study of the 
liberal sciences to young students. According to 
Gross, Samuel was perhaps a son of Reuben ben 
Hayyim of Narbonne, the uncle of Levi of Ville- 
franche. 

Bibliography: Kenan-Neubauer, Les Rabbins Fmngais, p. 

674; Zunz, Z. G. p. 47S; Gross, Gallia Judaica, pp. 105-200. 

e. c. A. Pe. 

SAMUEL BEN REUBEN OF CHARTRES : 

French liturgical poet. He wrote a “reshut” in 
Aramaic which was recited with the Targum of the 
haftarali for the Feast of Weeks, and which con- 
sisted of sixty half-lines riming with NH- The re- 
sh ut is signed “ Samuel ha-Ketabi. ” Gross explains 
this ambiguous designation as follows: The name 
of Samuel's native city, Chartres, is very similar to 
the old French word “ charte ” (document, charter), 
which may be translated in Aramaic by “ketab.” 
From this noun Samuel formed the adjective “ keta- 
bi,” alluding to his native cit}\ 

Bibliography: Zunz, Literaturgeseh. p. 464; Gross, Gallia 

Judaica , p. 005. 

e. c. A. Pe. 

SAMUEL, SAMPSON : Solicitor and secretary 
to the London Board of Deputies; born in 1804; 
died in Loudon Nov. 10, 1868. He began life on the 
Stock Exchange, but after some time resigned his 
membership and entered the legal profession. He 
became honorary solicitor to several of the leading 
charities; as solicitor and secretary to the Board 
of Deputies his advice was sought on many impor- 
tant issues, and he accompanied Sir Moses Montefiore 
on his mission to Morocco. Samuel was a member 
of the committee of the Great Synagogue and of 
nearly all the charitable institutions, in the founda- 
tion of many of which he was concerned. He helped 
to establish the Jews’ Infant School, London, and 
took an active part in its management. 

Bibliography: Jew. Chron. Nov. 13 and 20, 1S6S; Jewish 

Record , Nov. 20, 1868. 

j. • G. L. 

SAMUEL, SIR SAUL, Bart.: Australian 
statesman ; born in London, England, Nov. 2, 1820; 
died there Aug. 29, 1900. In 1882 he emigrated 
with relatives to New South Wales. He entered 


Sydney College, and afterward engaged in mining 
and commercial pursuits. In 1889 he made the 
acquaintance of Sir Henry Parkes, whose colleague 
he later became in several governments. His public 
career began in 1846, when he was appointed a 
magistrate of the territory of New South Wales. 
In 1854 he won legislative honors, and in 1856 en- 
tered the Representative Assembly of New South 
Wales. In 1859 he joined the ministry; and from 
that time forward lie held office continuously up 
to his appointment in 1880 to the London agent- 
generalship of New South Wales. In 1872 lie. was 
nominated to a seat in the Legislative Council, in 
which chamber he represented the government; lie 
was minister for finance and trade in 1859, 1865, 
1866, 1868, 1869, and 1870, and postmaster-general 
from 1872 to 1875, in 1877, and from 1879 to 1880. 

Samuel’s main work in the colony was of a finan- 
cial character. As agent-general he expended over 
£6, 000, 000 in the purchase of railway plants and war 
material, and effected large loans totaling £50,000,- 
000. As colonial treasurer he made financial ar- 
rangements for separating Queensland from the 
imrent colony of New South Wales. As postmaster- 
general he negotiated a postal service to Great Brit- 
ain via San Francisco-— an achievement which se- 
cured him the C.M.G. (1874). In 1882 he was made 
K.C.M.G., and in 1886 the Companionship of the 
Bath was couferred upon him. He was the author 
of the Government Savings Bank Act, the Naviga- 
tion Act, and other acts of equal importance. 

Samuel was one of the most practical pioneers in 
the work of Australiau federation, and cultivated 
the interests, not of New South Wales only, but of 
the whole of Australia. He was also the pioneer of 
several important industries which have developed 
in the colony. He represented Sydney at several 
international exhibitions, and in 1887 was one of the 
.delegates of New South Wales to the Colonial Con- 
ference held in London. 

Sir Saul Samuel was a member of the council of 
the Anglo-Jewish Association, and was connected 
also with other leading communal institutions. 

Bibliography: Jew. Chron. Oct. 22, 1S97, and Aug. 31, 1900; 

Jew. Year Book , 5661 (= 1901), p. 320. 

J. G. L. 

SAMUEL SCHMELKA BEN HAYYIM 
SHAMMASH : Preacher and actuary of the rab- 
binate of Prague under Ephraim Solomon of 
Lencziza in the second half of the sixteenth cen- 
tury. He was the author of the following works: 
“ Perusli al ha-Masoret,” a supplement to Elijah 
Levita’s Masoretic explanations (Prague, 1610) ; 
“Seder Nashim,” on the three chief commandments 
concerning women — “niddali,” “hallah,” and “de- 
likah” — written in Juduco- German (^.1629); “Ba- 
Ileshbon,” a multiplication table (ib. n.d.); “Som 
Sekel,” a work on the Masorali (Cracow, after 1629) ; 
“Haggabot li-Sliehitot u-Bedikot,” additions to 
Jacob Weil’s rules for slaughtering (Prague, 1668). 

Bibliography: Steinsclineider, Cat. Bodl. cols. 2412, 2413; 

Zunz, Z. G. pp. 297, 29S ; K. Lieben, Gal ‘Ed. p. 63 (German 

part); Benjacob, Ozar ha-Se jar im . pp. 412, 469, 56S. 

E. c. S. O. 

SAMUEL BEN SHNEOR. See Samuel of 
Evreux. 



Samuel ben Simeon 
Samuel Yarhina’ah 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


28 


SAMUEL BEN SIMEON (called also Samuel 
Astruc d’Escola) : French scholar; lived in Pro- 
vence in the fourteenth century. Ilis Hebrew sur- 
name was “Kenesi,” incorrectly derived from “ke 
neset ”(= “school ”), the Hebrew translation of 
“ d’Escola,” a name frequent^ found in southern 
France. He wrote a preface to the astronomical 
work “Slicsh Ivenafayim ” ly Immanuel ben Jacob, 
which is still in manuscript. Probabty he is the 
Nasi Samuel d’Escola who explained the astronom- 
ical tables of Bonet Bon Giorno. 

Ill hi.iography : Gross, Gallia Juclaica, p. 147. 
d. S. Man. 

SAMUEL, SIMON : German pathologist; born 
at Glogau Oct, 5, 1S33; died at Konigsberg, East 
Prussia. May 9, 1899. He studied medicine at 
Berlin and Vienna (M.D. 1855), established himself 
as a physician in Konigsberg in 1856, and became 
pri vat-docent in 1864. and assistant professor in 
1S74. . 

Among his many works and essays may be men- 
tioned: “ Diotropliische Nerven,” 1860; “Der Ent- 
ziuidimgsprocess,” 1873; “Die Entstelmng der 
Eigeuwiirme and des Fiebers,” 1876; “Handbueli 
der Allgemeiuen Pathologic, ” 1879. With A. Eulen- 
burg he published also “Handbueli der Allgemeinen 
Thera pie und der Therapeutischen Methoden,” 
Leipsic and Vienna, 1899. 

Bibliography : Pagel, Biocj. Lex. 

s. P. T. II. 

SAMUEL BEN SOLOMON OF FALAISE : 

Tosafist of the twelfth and tliirteenth centuries. 
His French name was Sir Morel, by which lie is often 
designated in rabbinical literature: ,V*TID 

irpD YEL lie was a pupil of Judah Sir Leon 
of Paris and of Isaac ben Abralmm of Sens. In 1240 
he took part in the renowned controversy instigated 
by the baptized Jew Nicholas Donin. 

Samuel was the author of the following works: 
(1) tosafot to several Talmudical treatises, among 
which those to the ‘Abodah Zarali were published, 
together with the text, according to the redaction of 
his disciple Perez ben Elijah; (2) a commentary, no 
longer in existence, on the laws concerning Passover 
composed in verse by Joseph Tob ‘Elem, quoted by 
Hayyim Or Zaruu* (“Or Zarua\” ii. 114); (3) ritual 
decisions, frequently” cited by Meir of Rothenburg, 
Mordecai ben Hillel, and other rabbinical authorities 
of that time. 

Bibliography : Loeb, in R. E. J. i. 248 ; Gross, Gallia Juda - 
ica, pp. 478-479: Berliner’s Magazin, iv. 179-194; Griitz, 
Gesch. vii. 130: Zunz, Z. G. p. 37 ; Jacobs, Jews of Angevin 
England , pp. 53, 146, 421. 

E. C. I. Br. 

SAMUEL BEN SOLOMON NASI OF CAR- 
CASSONNE : French scholar of the thirteenth 
century. He was the author of a commentary on 
the “Moreli Nebukim,” which is still extant in man- 
uscript in the Library of the Neophytes at Rome. 
Gross identities Samuel Nasi with Samuel Sekili, 
whom Menahem Mo'iri represents as one of the 
greatest scholars of the thirteenth century, and as 
being very well versed both in rabbinical literature 
and in secular science. Samuel Sekili’s authority is 
often invoked in “ Orliot Hayyim ” and in “ Kol Bo.” 
Bibliography: Gross, Gallia Judaica, pp. 433, 615. 

J. I. Br. 


SAMUEL B. SOLOMON SEKILI. See Sam- 
uel ben Solomon Nasi. 

SAMUEL, SYDNEY MONTAGU: English 
author and communal worker; born in London June 
21, 1848; died June, 18S4; educated at University 
College, London. For upward of lifteen years 
Samuel threw himself into communal work with 
much Zealand earnestness. In 1878 he became hon- 
orary secretary to the Board of Guardians, and wrote 
its annual reports from 1878 to 1882. He held a 
similar office in the Jewish Association for the Diffu- 
sion of Religious Knowledge, and assisted in estab- 
lishing the Jewish Working Men’s Club. In 1879 
he journeyed to the East, and made investigations 
into the moral and physical condition of the Jews 
in the TIoty Land and in other parts of the Orient. 
The result was embodied in his “Jewish Life in the 
East.” He contributed also to the general press, 
and wrote some very graceful verses. 

Samuel disp^ed much activity in theatrical mat- 
ters, was a ready adapter of plays, and wrote the Eng- 
lish libretto of “Piccolino,” produced at Her Majes- 
ty’s Theatre in 1879. A comedy b 3 r him entitled “ A 
Quiet Pipe” was produced at the Folly Theatre in 
1880. In collaboration, he translated Victor Hugo’s 
“La L} r re et la Harpe ” into English verse for a can- 
tata b) r Saint-SaGns, produced at the Birmingham 
Musical Festival in 1879. 

Samuel was a broker of the city” of London, and 
was engaged in the banking establishment of ids 
relatives, Samuel Montagu & Co. An authority 
on finance, be contributed to the “Examiner”; 
and wrote for the “Times” an annual surve 3 r of the 
course of exchange. His health broke down under 
the strain of his multifarious exertions. 

Bibliography: Times (London), June 28, 1884; Jew. Chron. 

and Jew. World, June 27, 1884. 

J. G. L. 

SAMUEL BEN URI SHRAGA PHOEBUS : 

Polish rabbi and Talmudist of Woyd 3 r slaw in the 
second half of the seventeenth century. In his earl 3 r 
3 r outh lie was a pupil of R. Ileshel in Cracow, and 
on the latter’s death he continued his studies under 
R. Heshel’s successor, R. Leib Fischeles, whose 
daughter he married. 

Samuel officiated as rabbi in Shvdlow, Poland, 
whence lie was called in Sept., 1691, to the rab- 
binate of Furth, Germany. In his new office he 
displayed great activit 3 % and was the recipient of a 
good income; nevertheless Ills new surroundings 
were distasteful to him. The reason is not known ; 
but it is recorded that he longed for his former rab- 
binate. In 1694 he received a call to return to 
Slydlow, which be soon accepted, as appears from 
his approbation of the work “ Tr Binyamin ” (Frank- 
fort-on-the-Oder, 1698), in which lie is mentioned as 
rabbi of the Polisli town. 

Samuel wrote in Hebrew a clear and comprehen- 
sive commentary on the Shulhau ‘Aruk, Eben lia- 
‘Ezer, which appeared in Dyhern furth in 1689, 
being the first Hebrew work printed there. Later 
he thoroughly revised it; and a second edition, with 
several emendations and additions, appeared at 
Furth in 1694. He wrote also several responsa and 
opinions, one of which is published in “ Hinmik Bet 
Yelnidah,” No. 131 (Frankfort-on-tlie Main, 1705). 



29 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Samuel ben Simeon 
Samuel Yarhina’ah 


Bibliography : Hayyim N. Dembitzer, Kelilat Yofi , i. 81a, b, 
ii. 58b, Cracow,* 1888-93; M. Brann, Geschichte und An- 
iialen der Duhcrnjurter DrucHerei , in Monatssclirift , xl. 
5:30; idem, Fine Sammlung Further Grabachriften , in 
Kaufmann Gedcnkbuch , pp. 396, 397; Azulai, Shem ha- 
Geddlim , s.v.; Steinscbneider, Cat. Bodl. col. 2494. 

E. c. J. Z. L. 

SAMUEL YARHINA’AH (generally known 
as MAR SAMUEL) : Babylonian aniora of the 
first generation ; son of Abba b. Abba ; teacher of the 
Law, judge, physician, and astronomer; born about 
165 at Nehardea, in Babylonia ; died there about 257. 
As in the case of many other great men, a number 
of legendary stories are connected with his birth 
(comp. “Halakot Gedolot,” Gittin, end; Tos. Kid. 
s.v. >ND). His father, who subsequently was know'n 
only by the designation Abuli di-Shemu’el (“father 
of Samuel”), was a silk-merchant. R. Judah b. 
Bathyra ordered a silken garment from him, but 
refused to take it after Abba had pro- 
His Birth, cured it, and when the latter asked him 
the reason of his refusal, R. Judah 
answered, “The commission was only a spoken 
word, and was not sufficient to make the transac- 
tion binding,” Abba thereupon said, “Is the word 
of a sage not a better guaranty than his money ? ” 
“You are right,” said R. Judah ; “and because you 
' lay so much stress upon a given word you shall 
have the good fortune of having a son who shall be 
like the prophet Samuel, and whose word all Israel 
will recognize as true.” Soon afterward a son was 
bom to Abba, whom he named Samuel (Midi*. 
Shemu’el, x. [ed. Buber, p..39a]). 

Even as a boy Samuel displayed rare ability 
(Yer. Ket. v. 30a; l r er. Peali viii. 21b). His first 
teacher was an otherwise unknown, insignificant 
man, and Samuel, who knew more about a certain 
legal question than did his teacher, would not 
submit to ill treatment b} r him (Huh 107b). Then 
Samuel’s father, who was himself a prominent 
teacher of the Law, recognized as such even by Rab 
(Abba Arika; Ket. 51b), undertook to instruct the 
boy. As he seems to have been unequal to this 
task he sent him to Nisibis to attend the school 
of the rabbi who had predicted the boy’s birth, 
that he might there acquire a knowledge of the 
Law (** Tanya,” Hilkot “ Abel,” ed. Horowitz, p. 137, 
quoted from Y T er. ; comp, also Mordecai on M. K. 
889). Samuel seems to have remained only a short 
time at Nisibis. On his return to Nehardea he 
studied under Levi b. Sisi, who was in Babylon be- 
fore the death of Judah lia-Nasi I. (see A. Krochmal 
in “He-IIaluz,” i. 69), and who exerted a great in- 
fluence on Samuel's development. Samuel made 
such rapid progress and became so proficient in his 
studies that he soon associated as an equal with his 
teacher (Hoffmann, “Mar Samuel,” p. 70). 

Apart from the Bible and the traditional Law, 
which were usually the only subjects of study of 
the Jewish youth of that time, Samuel was in- 
structed, probably in his early youth, in otheT 
sciences. It is likely that he accompanied his father 
on the latter’s journey to Palestine (Y T er. B. M. iv. 
9c; Yer. Pcs. v. 32a); for after his teacher Levi b. 
Sisi had gone to Palestine there was no one in Baby- 
lon with whom he could have studied. According 
to an account in the Talmud (B. M. 85b), which 


Rapoport declares to be a later addition (“ ‘Erek Mil- 
lin,” pp. 10, 222), but which may have some basis 
in fact, Samuel is said to have cured 
His R. Judah ha -Nasi I. of an affection 

Training, of the eyes. Although Samuel was at 
that time too young to study directly 
under R. Judah, he studied under the pupils of the 
patriarch, especially with Hama b. Hanina (comp. 
Ilofifmann, l.c. pp. 71-73; Fessler, “Mar Samuel, der 
Bedeutendste Amora,” p. 14, note 1). 

After having acquired a great store of knowledge 
in Palestine, his studies there including the Mishnali 
edited by R. Judah lia-Nasi as well as the other col- 
lections of traditional lore, Samuel left the Holy 
Land, probably with his father, and returned to his 
native city. His reputation as a teacher of the Law 
having preceded him, many pupils gathered about 
him. As he was especially well versed in civil law, 
the exilarcli Mar ‘Ukba,who was his pupil, appointed 
him judge of the court at Nehardea, where he was 
associated with his friend the learned and clever 
Kama. This court was regarded at that time as 
the foremost institution of its kind. 
The Judges In Palestine, as well as in Babylon, 
of Samuel and Kama w*ere called the 
the Exile, “judges of the Diaspora” (dayyane 
Golali; Sanh. 17b). Upon the death 
of R. Shila, the director of the Academy (“resh 
sidra”) of Nehardea, Mar Samuel was appointed to 
the office, after it had been refused by Rab, wiio 
w r ould not accept any post of honor at Nehardea, 
Samuel’s home (Letter of Slierira Gaon, in Neu- 
bauer, “M. J. C.” p. 28). The Academy of Nehar- 
dea entered upon a brilliant phase of its existence 
under Samuel’s directorate, and, with the academy 
founded by Rab at Sura, enjoyed a high general 
reputation. 

Rab at Sura and Mar .Samuel at Nehardea estab- 
lished the intellectual independence of Babylon. 
Young men taking up the study of the Law r 
there w r ere no longer obliged to go to Palestine, 
since they had the foremost teachers at home. Bab} r - 
lon now came to be regarded, in a sense, as a sec- 
ond IIol}'' Land. Samuel taught, “ As it is forbidden 
to migrate from Palestine to Babylon, so is it for- 
bidden to migrate from Babylon to other countries ” 
(Ket. 111a). After Rab’s death no new' director was 
elected, and Rab’s greatest pupil, R. Huna, wdio be- 
came president of the court of Sura, subordinated 
himself to Mar Samuel in every respect, asking his 
decision in every difficult religio-legal question (Git. 
66b, 89b; comp. Sanh. 17b; Tos. ib. t s.v. the 
phrase “be Rab” referring to R. Huna). 

The Academy of Nehardea w'as now the only one 
in Babylon, and its director, Samuel, who survived 
Rab about ten years, w r as regarded as the highest 
authority by the Babylonian Jew's. 
Supreme at Even R. Johanan, the most prominent 
Nehardea. teacher in Palestine, and wdio at first 
looked upon Samuel merely as a col- 
league, became so convinced of his greatness, after 
Samuel had sent him a large number of responsa 
on important ritual laws, that he exclaimed. “I 
have a teacher in Babylon ” (Hul. 95b). 

As a man. Mar Samuel w'as distinguished for his 
modesty, gentleness, and unselfishness, being always 



Samuel Yarfiina’ah 
Samuel Zarfati 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


30 


ready to subordinate his own interests to those of 
the community. He said: “A man may never ex- 
clude himself from the community, but must seek 
iiis welfare in that of society ” (Ber. 49b). He de- 
manded seemly behavior from every one, saying 
that any improper conduct was punishable by law 
(Hag. 5a). One should help one’s fellow man at 
the first signs of approaching difficulties, so as to 
prevent them, and not wait until he is in actual dis- 
tress (ib.). In his solicitude for helpless orphans he 
imposed upon every court the task of acting as 
father to them (Yeb. 67b ; Git. 37a, 52b); and lie de- 
clared that a loan taken from an orphan was not 
canceled in the Sabbatical year, even if no pros- 
bul had been made out for it (Git. 36b-37a). He 
stored his grain until prices had risen, in order to 
sell it to the poor at the low prices of the harvest- 
time (B. B. 90b). In order to save the people from 
being cheated he ordered the merchants never to 
take a profit of more than one-sixth of the cost price 
(B. M. 40b), and he was ready even to temporarily 
modify the Law in order to prevent them from sell- 
ing at a high price goods necessary for the fulfilment 
of a religious duty (Pes. 30a; Sukkah 34b). In a 
certain case also he permitted the infraction of a 
religious prescription in order to keep people from 
harm (Shab. 42a). 

Mar Samuel was very modest in his associations 
with others, openly honoring auy one from whom he 
had gained auy knowledge (B. M. 33a). 

His He never obstinately insisted on his 
Halakah.. own opinion, but yielded as soon as 
he was convinced of being in error 
(‘Er. 90a, b ; IIul. 76b ; Ber. 36a). He was friendly 
to all men, and declared : “ It is forbidden to deceive 
any man, be he Jew or pagan ” (Hul. 94a). u Before 
the throne of the Creator there is no difference be- 
tween Jews and pagans, since there are many noble 
and virtuous among the latter” (Yer. R. II. i. 57a), 
He taught that the dignity of manhood should be 
respected even in the slave: the slave is given to 
the master only as a servant, and the master has no 
right to treat him with condescension or to insult 
him (Niddah 17a, 47a). Once, when a female slave 
had been taken away from Samuel and lie had un- 
expectedly recovered her by paying a ransom, he 
felt obliged to liberate her because he had given up 
hope of recovering her (Git. 38a). 

Mar Samuel seems to have possessed a thorough 
knowledge of the science of medicine as it was 
known in his day; this is evident from many of 
his medical maxims and dietetic rules scattered 
through the Talmud. He energetically opposed the 
view then current, even in intelligent circles, that 
most diseases were due to the evil eye, declaring that 
the source of all disease must be sought in the 
noxious influence exercised by the air and the 
climate upon the human organism (B. M. 107b). 
He traced many diseases to lack of cleanliness 
(Shab. 133b), and others to disturbances of the 
regular mode of living (B. B. 146a). He claimed 
to possess cures for most diseases (B. M. 113b), 
and was especially skilful in treating the eye (B. 
M. 85b); he discovered an e} r e-salve which was 
known as the “killurin \jio?Jx.vpiav) of Mar Samuel,” 
although he himself said that bathing the eyes with 


cold water in the morning and bathing hands and 
feet with warm water in the evening were better 
than all the eye-salves in the world (Shab. 78a, 108b). 
Samuel discovered also a number of the diseases of 
animals (Hul. 42b). He sometimes drew the figure 
of a palm-branch as his signature (Yer. Git. ix. 50d), 
although this was, perhaps, used by physicians gen- 
erally at that time as a sign of their profession (Rapo- 
port, “‘Erek Millin,” p. 17). 

From the scattered references in the Talmud it is 
impossible to determine exactly Mar Samuel’s pro- 
ficiency in astronomy; but lie knew how to solve 
many mathematical problems and how to explain 
many phenomena. He sa} T S liimsel f :/“ Although I am 
as familiar with the courses of the stars as with the 
streets of Neliardea, I can not explain the nature or 
the movements of the comets ” (Ber. 58b). Samuel 
devoted himself especially to that branch of applied 
astronomy that deals with calendric science, which he 
taught to his colleagues and pupils. His astronom- 
ical studies of the revolutions of the moon enabled 
him to predict the beginning of the month (“ rosh 
liodcsh ”) as it was determined in Palestine, and he 
claimed to be able to remove the necessity of celebra- 
ting double holy days in the Diaspora (R. II. 20b; 
comp. Raslii ad loc.). He also computed a calendar 
for sixty years, which he subsequently sent to R. 
Joliauan, the head of the Palestinian teachers, as a 
proof of his knowledge (Hul. 95b). He was called 
“ Yarliina’ah (“yerali ” = “month ”) because of this 
familiarity with calendric science and this ability to 
determine independently the beginning of the month 
(B. M. 85b). According to Krochmal (“ He-Haluz,” 
i. 76), “Shoked,” another name given to Samuel, 
means “astronomer” (Yer. Ket. iv. 2Sb); but Hoff- 
mann’s view that “Shoked” (for which Babli has 
“ Shakud ” ; Ket. 43b) means “ the watchful, diligent 
one,” is more likely correct. This name is said to 
have been given to Samuel because, despite his 
medical and astronomic studies, lie devoted himself 
to the study of the Law. 

Following the example of his teacher Levi b. Sisi, 
Mar Samuel collected the traditions handed down to 
him; his collection of baraitot, called “Tanna debe 
Sliemu’el” in the Talmud (Shab. 54a; ‘Er. 70b, 86a, 
89b; Pes. 3a, 39a, b; Bezah 29a; R. II. 29b; Yoma 
70a; Meg. 30a; Zeb. 22a), was noted for its correct- 
ness and trustworthiness, although it was not held in 
such high esteem as were the collections of R. Iliyya 
and R. Hoshaiali (Letter of Sherira 
His Gaon, l.c. p. 18). Samuel did much to 
Haggadah. elucidate the Mislmah, both by his tex- 
tual explanations (Shab. 104b; Pes. 
119b; Git. 67b; B. M. 23b; ‘Ab. Zarali 8b, 32a; R. 
II. 18a; Kid. 76b) and by liis precise paraphrasing 
of ambiguous expressions and his references to 
other traditions. He is chiefly important, however, 
because of his promulgation of new theories and his 
independent decisions both in ritual and in civil 
law. However, in the field of ritual law he was not 
considered as great an authority as his colleague 
Rab, and practical questions were always decided 
according to Rab’s views as against those of Samuel 
(Niddali 24b; Bek. 49b). In civil law his authority 
was the highest in Babylon, and his decisions be- 
came law even when contrary to Rab’s (ib.). 



31 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Samuel Yar&ina’ah 
Samuel Zarfati 


Mar Samuel amplified and expanded earlier legal 
theories and originated many new legal maxims. 
He formulated the important principle that the law 
of the country in which the Jews are living is bind- 
ing upon them (B. K. 113b). This principle, which 
was recognized as valid from a halakie point of 
view, made it a religious duty for the Jews to obey 
the laws of the country. Thus, although the Jews 
had their own civil courts. Mar Samuel thought that 
the Persian law should be .taken into account and 
that various Jewish regulations should be modified 
according to it (B. M. 108a ; B. B. 55a). On account 
of his loyalty to the government and his friendship 
with the Persian king, Shabur I., Samuel was called 
Shabur Malka (B. B. 115b). Fiirst (“Orient, 
Lit.” 1847, No. 3, p. 39) and Bapoport ( ib . p. 196) re- 
fer, each differently, the name of Aryok, given to 
Samuel (comp. Shab. 53a; Kid. 39a; Men. 38b; Hul. 
76b), to liis close relations with the Neo-Persians and 
their king. Older commentators explain this name 
without reference to such relations (Tos. Shab. 53a; 
Bashi ad loc . ; comp. Fessler, lx. p. 9, note 1). 

It was due to Mar Samuel's influence with the 
Persian king that the Jews were granted many priv- 
ileges. On one occasion Samuel even 
Relations made his love for his own people sub- 
with the sidiary to his loyalty to the Persian 
Persian king and to his strict view of the 
Court. duties of a citizen ; for when the news 
came that the Persians, on capturing 
Mazaca (Ctesarea), in Cappadocia, had killed 12,000 
Jews who had obstinately opposed them, Samuel 
refrained from displaying an}' sorrow (M. K. 26a). 
But he had a great love for his people, and he loy- 
ally cherished the memory of the former kingdom 
of Judah. Once, when one of his contemporaries 
adorned himself with a crown of olive, Samuel sent 
him the following message: “The head of a Jew’ 
that now ‘wears a crown w T hile Jerusalem lies deso- 
late, deserves to be separated from its trunk ” (Yer. 
Sotah ix. 24b, c). Samuel expected the restoration 
of the Jewish state in Palestine to come about in a 
natural way, through permission given to the Jews 
by the various governments to return to Palestine 
and establish an independent state there (Ber. 34b). 

Mar Samuel was unfortunate in his family life. 
He had no sons, and his two daughters were captured 
by soldiers during the war with the Romans. They 
■were taken to Sepphoris, in Palestine, where they 
were ransomed by coreligionists, but both died at an 
early age after having been married successively to 
a relative (ICet. 23a; Yer. Ket. ii. 26c). The esteem 
in which Mar Samuel w T as held appears from the 
fact that no one thought of attributing his misfor- 
tune to any sin committed by him ; it was explained 
rather as being in consequence of some offense 
committed in Babylon by R. Hananya, the nephew 
of R. Joshua (Yer. Ket. ii. 8; comp. Ket. 23a). After 
his death Samuel was glorified in legend. 

Bibliography : Heilprin, Seder ha-Dnrot , ii. 350-352, Warsaw, 
1878; Weiss, Dor, iii. 161-176; Ha- A sif, 18S5, ii. 262-274; 
1886, iii. 287-291, 333: Halevy, Dornt ha-Rishomm , ii. 400- 
410; Griitz, Gesch. 3d ed., iv. 263 el set;., 270-272: D. Hoff- 
mann, Mar Samuel , Leipsic, 1873; Siegmnnd Fessler, Mar 
Samuel der Bedeutendstc Amara , Halle, 1879 ; Felix Ranter, 
Bcitriige zur Kenntniss des Rechtssystems und der Ethik 
Mar Samuels, Bern, 1895; Baclier, Ag. Bab. Amor., pp. 37-45. 
w. b. J. Z. L. 


SAMUEL AND YATES: Names of two 
families which led the congregation of Liverpool, 
England, in the early part of the nineteenth cen- 
tury. They trace tlieir descent on the one side to 
one Ralph Samuel, who was born probably at Stre- 
litz, possibly at Kissiugen, Nov. 22, 1738, and on 
the other to Samuel Yates, also of Strelitz, who 
married Martha Abrahams ; the latter’s mother was 
one Martha Haynes (daughter of a Dorsetshire 
farmer), ’who eloped and became a Jewess. A 
brother of Samuel Yates married a sister of Polly 
Levy, and the latter married Ralph Samuel; the 
sisters Levy were connected with the chief Ash- 
kenazic family of London that founded the Great 
Synagogue. Three daughters of Samuel Yates 
married three sons of Ralph Samuel, and thus 
constituted a combined family, some of the later 
members of which adopted the name of Yates. For 
chart of the Samuel and Yates pedigree see pages 
32 and 33. 

Two members of the family are in the British 
Parliament: Herbert Samuel, born 1870; educated 
at Baliol College, Oxford. He was secretary of the 
Home Counties Liberal Federation from 1895 to 1902. 
In Parliament he sat for the Cleveland Division of 
the North Riding of Yorkshire, Nov., 1902. He 
wrote “Liberalism: Its Principles and Proposals ” 
(London, 1902). Stuart M. Samuel, born Oct. 
24, 1856; educated at Liverpool Institute and Uni- 
versity College School. He is president of the Home 
for Jewish Incurables, and vice-president of the 
Jewish Workingmen's Club. He represented Tower 
Hamlets (Whitechapel Division) in 1900. 

Bibliography: L. Wolf, History and Genealogy of the Jew- 
ish Families of Tates and Samuel of Liverpool (privately 
printed, London, 1901); Jewish Year-Book , 1904-5. 

J. 

SAMUEL ZARFATI : Court physician to the 
popes Alexander VI. and Julius II. ; died about 1519. 
The name “Zarfati ” indicates that Samuel was ana-' 
tive of France, and as lie was xirobabty from south- 
ern France he is called by Burchard “ the Spanish 
rabbi, physician of the pope” (“Notices et Extraits 
des Manuscrits,” i. 124). At the coronation of Pope 
Julius II., Samuel presented the petition of the Jews 
for the continuance of their privileges, making a 
solemn speech. By a hull of May 14, 1504, Samuel 
himself was confirmed in the rights previously be- 
stowed upon him by Alexander VI. He was thus 
appointed court physician of Julius II., granted the 
privilege of attending Christian patients, freed from 
the obligation of wearing the Jews’ badge, and taken 
with his entire family under the immediate protec- 
tion of the pope. On account of his property in 
France he also obtained letters of protection and safe- 
conduct from Louis XII. Samuel was an unusu- 
ally skilful physician, and the pope relied more upon 
him than upon his Christian physicians. On Aug. 
17, 1511, the pope fell seriously ill, aud his physi- 
cians, with the exception of Samuel, pronounced him 
dead. Samuel's opinion proved correct, and the 
pope lived two years longer. There exist certain 
calendar- tables in Hebrew the author of which is a 
Samuel Zarfati (Neubauer,“ Cat. Bodl. Hebr. MSS.” 
No. 2255, 2), hut they may belong to the printer 
Samuel Zarfati of Rome, who lived about the mid- 
dle of the sixteenth century. 



Samnelson 
San Antonio 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


32 


Bibliography: Landau, Gcsch.der JUdischcnAerztc, p. Oo ; 

Voffelstein and Rieger, Gcsch. dcr Judcn in Rom, 11 . 29-ou, 

83-85 ; Berliner, Gcsch. dcr Juden in Rom, vol. ii., parti, p. 19. 

j. M. Sel. 

SAMUELSON, SIR BERNHARD : English 
merchant and politician ; born at Liverpool Nov. 22, 
1S20 ; died May 10, 1005. After serving an appren- 
ticeship in a general merchant’s office in Liverpool 
(1835-41), lie was placed in charge of the Continen- 
tal transactions of Sharp, Stewart & Co., engi- 
neers of Manchester (1842-45). He established rail- 
way works in Tours, France (1846-48), purchased 
the Agricultural Implement Works of Banbury 
(1849), and erected blast-furnaces at Middlesborough 
(1854), to which lie later added collieries and iron- 
stone mines (1872-SO). He was a member of Parlia- 
ment for Banbury in 1859, and from 1865 to 1885, 
and for North Oxfordshire from 18S5 to 1S95, and 
was appointed on t lie Royal Commission of Tech- 
nique and Education in 1881, of which lie became 
chairman. He early severed his connection with 
Judaism. 

Bibliography: IV/io's Who, 1905. 

d • 

SAMTJELY, NATHAN: Austrian ghetto poet ; 
born in Stry, Galicia, 1846. At the age of seventeen 
lie published a story in Hebrew entitled “Shewa 
Shaboses,” which he followed by a second, “Sefat 
Ne’emanim,” and two volumes of Hebrew poems, 
‘‘ Kenaf Renanim,” the subjects being taken from old 
Jewish history. A succession of his German pro- 
ductions which appeared later was due to the en- 
couragement of the German poet Moritz Rapoport. 
In 1886 appeared at Leipsic the first volume of Sam- 
uel’s “ Culturbilder ” ; the second was published 
live years afterward. This work consists of stories 
of Jewish life in Galicia, and lias been translated 
into many modern languages. “ Zwischen Licht und 
Finsterniss,” a longer story, was published at Vienna 
in 1889. The following short stories were published 
in Berlin: “AusDunklen Tagen,” “Zwischen Ham- 
mer und Ambos,” “Eine Traurige Erinneruug” 
(1896), “ Macht fur Macht,” “ Die Rekrutirung.” In 
1902 appeared “Alt Lemberg,” a liistorical sketch. 
A story in three volumes, “ Nur ein Bischen Wasser,” 
is the most recent of his works. 

In the meantime a few Hebrew books by Samuely 
were published, among them “Min ha-Hayyim,” in 
five small volumes (Warsaw), and “ Parzufim ” (id.). 

S. 

SAMUN, JOSEPH HAYYIM IBN : Italian 

Talmudist; lived at Leghorn in the eighteenth and 
nineteenth centuries. He was the author of “ ‘Edut 
bi-Yeliosef” (Leghorn, 1800), in two volumes, the 
first containing novelise on the Talmudieal treatise 
Baba Mezi'a, and the second a collection of re- 
sponsa. To the work is appended “Lekah Tob,” 
containing novelise and responsa by the author’s son 
Shem -Tob, rabbi of Leghorn (comp. Steinschneider, 
“Cat. Bodl.” col. 2533; Mortara, “Indice,” p. 58). 

Bibliography : Furst, Bihh Jud. iii. 231; Benjacob, Ozar 1m- 

Scfarim , p. 430. 

E. C. I. Br. 

SAN ANTONIO: Largest city in Texas ; 
founded by the Spaniards in 1718. Jews first set- 
tled there in 1S54. when the cemetery was founded. 

The Reform congregation Beth-El was organized 


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Samuel and Yates Pedigkee — Continued. 





San Antonio 
San Francisco 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


34 


May 31, 1874, although preliminary meetings had 

been lield two years earlier, and tbe first service was 
held at the home of Abraham Morris, fSTortli Flores 
street. Ground was purchased in Travis Park and 
a synagogue erected. In 1903 a more commodious 
building was erected on the old site. The follow- 
ing rabbis have served the congregation : B. E. 
Jacobs, I. Lewintlial, M. P. Jacobson, H. Elkin, and 
Samuel Marks (the present, 1905, incumbent). 

The Hebrew Benevolent Association was organ- 
ized in 1S56, and reorganized in 1866 ; in 1885 the 
name of the society was changed to Montefiore 
Benevolent Association. There is also a Ladies’ 
Hebrew Benevolent Association in active operation. 
An Orthodox congregation was founded June 1, 
1890, with a membership of 43. After it had met 
for eight years in private houses the present syna- 
gogue on j)\vj r er avenue was erected. Edar Lodge, 
No. 211, I. O. B. B., was organized June 24, 1874. 

San Antonio has been the center of a number of 
Texo-Mexican conflicts. Moses Albert Levi, as sur- 
geon-general in Sam Houston’s army, was present 
at the storming of the Alamo by the .Texans in Dec., 
1835. Colonel Johnson’s report of the capture of 
San Antonio, Dec. 5, 1835, says: “ Doctors Levi and 
Pollard deserve my warmest praise for tlieir unre- 
mitting attention and assiduitj r ” (II. Cohen, “Settle- 
ment of the Jews in Texas,” in “Publ. Am. Jew. 
Hist. Soc.” 1894, p. 151; Baker, “Scrap-Book of 
Texas ”). Upon the monument erected in Austin 
to the memory of the heroes of the Alamo, who per- 
ished March 6, 1836, is the name of A. Wolf (W. 
Corner, “San Antonio,” p. 124). Simon Wolf, in 
“ The Jew as Patriot, Soldier, and Citizen ” (pp, 884- 
388), gives the names of Jews who were among the 
recruits from San Antonio in the Confederate army. 

Members of the San Antonio community have been 
prominent in civil life: Alexander Nordliaus was for 
seven years justice of the peace; II. Silva Heimann, 
L. Zork, A. Lewy, and Alexander Michael have been 
aldermen; John Rosenlieimer, count}* judge; S. C. 
Eldridge, attorney and counselor at law, member 
and secretary of the Democratic Executive Com- 
mittee. Constance Pessels (Ph.D., Johns Hopkins 
University) holds the chair of English in San An- 
tonio high school. Dr. Burg (M.D., Vienna) is 
prominent in communal affairs; Nat. M. Washer is. 
president of the Beth-El congregation, and upon 
President Roosevelt’s visit to San Antonio, April 7, 
1905, was chosen by the citizens to make a presenta- 
tion address; and the Oppenlieimer brothers and the 
HalfT brothers are prominent as bankers and mer- 
chants. . 

San Antonio has a population of 53,321, of whom 
1,300 are Jews. 

Bibliography: H. Cohen, Settlement of the Jews in Texas, 
in Publ. Am. Jew. Hist. Snc. 1894, pp. 189-156; American 
Jewish Tear Book , 5061 (1900-1), pp. 617-618. 

A. II. C. 

SAN BANIELE DEL FRIULI : Italian 
town, near Udine. About 1600 two brothers named 
Luzzatto established themselves here, a descendant 
of one of whom was Hezekiali, the father of Samuel 
David Luzzatto. Tbe enactment of 1777 renewed 
the right of the Jews to live in Venice, though 
with many obnoxious restrictions. According to a 


Hebrew document of the time, they were forbidden 
to live in the villages of the state, because of the 

quarrels between tlie native and tlae foreign Jews at 

Venice. The community of San Daniele, like many 
others, was subsequently dissolved, and Hezekiali 
Luzzatto, who was then sixteen years of age, went 
with his family to Triest. 
s. G. J. 

SAN FRANCISCO : Principal city of Califor- 
nia ; chief commercial city of the Pacific coast. The 
name of San Francisco was given to the village of 
Yerba Buena by Washington Bartlett, who, through 
his mother, a Jewess born at Charleston, S. C., was 
connected with the leading Portuguese Jewish fam- 
ilies of the South (“California Star,” Jan. 30, 1847; 
Ilittel, “Hist, of California,” ii. 596 et seq.). As 
early as 1S36 American settlers appeared on the 
peninsula. Whether any Jews were 
Early among them is not known, though it 
Settlers, is probable (sec Leidesdorff, Will- 
iam). The descendants of Raphael 
and Benjamin Fisher state that these brothers were 
merchants in San Francisco in 1847, and that sub- 
sequently they returned to their native city of 
Kempen, Prussia. The year 1849 saw a considera- 
ble number of Jews collected in San Francisco, some 
of whom entered the Golden Gate on the first Pacific 
mail-steamer, in February, 1849. The roll of the 
Society of California Pioneers, however, which con- 
tains only names of “forty-niners,” mentions but few 
Jews besides Louis Gloss. The Jews arrived over- 
land from “the States,” and by sea from Europe 
and Australia, and scattered over the entire gold- 
mining region (see California). 

The beginnings of the communal life of the Jews 
of San Francisco date from the autumn of 1849, 



The Broadway Synagogue, San Francisco. 

(From an old drawing.) 


though man 3^ of the details’ are obscured in tradi- 
tion. Among the “ forty-niners ” were quite a num- 
ber whose names subsequently became prominent in 
tbe judicial, political, and commercial history of the 
state. Seligmans, Hazards, Wormsers, and Glaziers, 
now international bankers and financiers, were 
among them. To these may be added the names of 
Chief Justice Solomon IIeydenfeldt and Judge 




35 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


San Antonio 
San IFranciaeo 


Henry A. Lyons. In the autumn of 1849, towaid 

tlie approach of tlie lioly season, there were consid- 
erably more than one hundred Jews in the new city. 
About fifty assembled on the Day of Atonement in 
that year in a room above a store in which gold- 
dust was weighed (“ Occident,” vii. 480). ihe tiadi- 
I tion of the Sherith Israel congregation, collected 
I from the statements of its founders, also go back to 
! an Atonement service in 1849, held in a tent, pre- 
i sided over by Hyam Joseph, and led by Joel Noah, 
a brother of Major Mordecai M. Noah. The organ- 
ization of the two principal congregations took 
place . about the same time— the summer of 1850— 
along geographical lines, one representing the Ger- 
man-Bavarian 
and American 
elements, the 
other represent- 
ing the Polish 
and English ele- 
ments, of which 
latter Israel Sol- 
omons was the 
chief represent- 
ative. The cor- 
ner-stone of the 
new California 
street syna- 
gogue of the 
Sherith Israel 
congregation 
bears the legend, 

“ Organized Au- 
gust, 1850.” 

That the Ger- 
man congrega- 
tion, subse- 
quently known 
by the name of 
Emanu-El, was 
already enjoy- 
ing a corporate 
existence in July or, at the latest, August,' lSoO, 
is proved by the contract, dated Sept, 1, 1850, en- 
tered into by Emanuel M. Berg, president, “for 
Congregation Emanu-El,” and Loriug Bartlett, Ji., 
in tlie presence of C. Gilchrist, for the 
The Two renting of “a certain room” on Bush 
Congrega- street, below Montgomery street. The 
tions. Emanu-El and Sherith Israel congre- 
gations probably originated in the 
two “ minyanim ” or prayer-services held on Atone- 
ment Day, 1849. Only three Jewesses are known 
to have attended these services. 

Certain Jews early attained distinction in San 
Francisco. Abraham C. Labatt was an alderman 
as early as 1851. Joseph Shannon, an English 
Jew was county treasurer of San Francisco in the 
same year. In 1852 the city sent Elkan Heyden- 
feldt and Isaac Cardoza to the state legislature. 
During the first decade of the California common- 
wealth the commercial importance of the Jewish 
community became sufficient to change the date of 
“ collection day ” whenever it fell on the Day of 
Atonement. Early in 1850 Emanuel Ilart presented 
the community with a lot for a cemetery. When 


many of the adventurous gold-diggers returned un- 
successful from the fields and other Jews arrived 

from tlie East and South without means, August 

Helbing and Israel Solomons organized the Eureka 
Benevolent Association and tlie First Hebrew Benev- 
olent Association, both dating from Sept., 1850. It 
was not until 1854 that tlie two congregations were 
prepared to consecrate their houses of worship, both 
having been made ready for the autumn holy days 
of that year. Dr. Julius Eckmann, first rabbi of the 
Congregation Emanu-El, officiated at the consecra- 
tion of both the Broadway (Emanu-El) and the 
Stockton street (Sherith Israel) synagogue. 

The organization of the Hebrew Young Men’s 

Literary and 
Benevolent As- 
sociation took 
place in Oct., 
1855, under the 
inspiration of 
Dr. Eckmann, 
who in 1854 had 
organized the 
first • Sabbath- 
school (Emanu- 
El). Dr. Eck- 
mann founded 
also in 1855 the 
first Jewish jour- 
nal to appear on 
the Pacific coast, 
the “Gleaner.” 
This was fol- 
lowed by the 
“Voice of Is- 
rael ” (H. M. 

Bien, L. L. Den- 
nery), and sub- 
sequently by the 
“ JewisliMessen- 
ger of tlie Paci- 
fic”^. M.Bien). 
The Independent Order B’nai B’rith was intro- 
duced into the city of San Francisco by Lewis Abra- 
ham, afterward of Washington, D. C. (1855). The 
first lodge was named Ophir, No. 21, and was then 
composed of the leading Hebrews of San Francisco. 
Grand Lodge No. 5 was organized by Baruch Roths- 
child in 1863, Jacob Greenebaum of Sacramento 
being its first president (“ Menorali, ” iii. 407-408). In 
1857 the Hebra Bikkur Holim u-Iyaddisha was organ- 
ized “ to assist needy and sick brethren with doctoi , 
medicine, attendance, and all necessaries in cases of 
disease.” This society is still in existence. Jews 
were among the members of the Vigilance Commit- 
tee and the fire companies (Hittel, l.c,). 

In 1860 the Reform movement reached San Fran- 
cisco. During the first decade of the existence of the 
Congregation Emanu-El it had adhered 
Introduc- to the minhag in vogue among German 
tion congregations, in contradistinction to 
of Reform the Sherith Israel congregation, which 
Ritual. worshiped according to the Anglo- 
Polish minliag. Tlie Emanu-El con- 
gregation, however, always remaining in touch with 
Eastern thought, availed itself of the advent of Dr. 



Mortuary Chapel of tlie Home of Peace and Hills of Eternity Cemeteries, 
San Francisco. 

(From a photograph.) 




San Francisco 
Sanchez 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


36 


Elkan Colm (June, 1860 ; cl. March 11, 1889) to insti- 
tute reforms. At first these were slight and unim- 
portant ; they were attended, nevertheless, by con- 
siderable friction, which resulted in 1864 in the 
secession of a large element of the membership and 
the organization of the Ohabai Shalome congrega- 
tion, which afterward invited Albert Siegfried Bet- 
telheim to become its rabbi. Despite this defection 
the Emanu-El congregation continued to flourish, 
and on March 23, 1S66, dedicated a new synagogue 
on Sutter street. The Slierith Israel congregation, 
likewise finding its accommodations too limited, 
erected the Taylor street synagogue, and in 1904 
laid the corner-stone of a new building on California 


San Francisco have organized two other important 
societies— the Emanu-El Sisterhood and the Council 
of Jewish Women. Altogether, there are 69 local 
Jewish institutions in San Francisco, including the 
Mount Zion Hospital (organized 1888) and 11 lodges 
of the I. O. B. B. 

There are many Jews among the leading bankers, 
merchants, and manufacturers of San Francisco. 
The Nevada National, Anglo-Californian, and Lon- 
don, Paris, and American banks are under Jewish 
control. Jews furnish a. considerable percentage of 
the student bodies of the two universities, and as a 
result they are becoming prominent in the legal, 
journalistic, engineering, and other professions. 



Interior of the Sutter Street Synagogue, San Francisco. 

(From a photopraph.) 


street. For many years H. A. Henry and Henry Vi- 
daver filled the rabbinical office in this congregation, 
the present (1905) rabbi of which is Jacob Nieto. 

In 1874 the Pacific Hebrew Orphan Asylum and 
Home Society was organized, under the presidency 
of Dr. Elkan Cohn ; it supports over 200 orphans 
and 40 aged. Samuel Wolf Levy lias been its presi- 
dent since 1874. 

The Jewish congregations in San Francisco num- 
ber ten; Emanu-El, Slierith Israel, Beth Israel, and 
Ohabai Shalome (Reform, or moderate Reform), - 
Sha’are Hesed and Keneseth Israel 

Present (Orthodox); and four smaller congre- 
Condition. gations organized on geographical 
lines. The benevolent societies are 
numerous. Besides the Eureka Benevolent and First 
Hebrew Benevolent societies, the Jewish women of 


The growth of the Jewish population has been uni- 
form with the general development of the city. 
From barely 100 in 1849 it reached 17,500 in 1895; 
in 1905 it exceeded 20,000. The total population is 
440,000. 

bibliography : Hittel, History of California : Markens, The 
Hebrews in America ; Voorsanger, Chronicles of Emanu- 
El ; idem, A Few Chapters from the History of the Jews 
of the Pacific Coast , in American Jeivs ’ Annual 5649; 
Pacific Hebrew Annual vols. i, and ii. 

A. J. V. 

SAN JOSE. See South and Central Amer- 
ica. 

SAN MARINO : Ancient republic of central 
Italy ; situated not far from the Adriatic Sea and 
founded in the fourth century by the Dalmatian Mari- 
nus. The first mention of Jews here dates from 


37 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


San Francisco 
Sanchez 


the second half of the fourteenth century, when the 
statutes concerning debtors and usurers point with 
unmistakable clearness to the business transac- 
tions of Jews, and when one Emanuele of Rimini 
lent money in San Marino (1869). In 1442 Count 
Guidantonio of Montefeltro recommends “to the 
care of the captains regent the Jews who transact 
business in San Marino.” Mention is made of a 
Jewish thief (1455), of an alleged or suspected trai- 
tor, and of a dispenser of counterfeit coin (1459); 
also of a banker, Musetto, who furnished the regency 
with ready cash to meet the expenses entailed by 
the visit of princely guests to the republic (1462). 
Several other Jewish names are recorded in official 
documents of the fifteenth century ; and from the be- 
ginning of the sixteenth century documents regard- 
ing Jews are so numerous as to fully justify the 
inference that a Jewish community existed in San 
Marino. Measures and resolutions regarding the 
Jews and their trades were repeatedly passed by the 
government in the sixteenth and seventeenth centu- 
ries. The Jews were ordered to wear special badges 
and to submit to certain restrictions; but official 
protection and consideration were granted to them. 

Two letters from the aldermen of San Leo (1587) 
and San x\rcangelo(1546), announcing the conversion 
to Catholicism of two poor Jews, are found in the 
archives. 

In the seventeenth century Jews often requested 
the government to assist them in disposing of the 
pledges deposited at their “banchi,” a term of two 
months being generally assigned for redemption. 
In later centuries the importance and number of the 
Jews in San Marino steadily diminished, doubtless 
in consequence of the institution of public pawn- 
broking establishments and the general modification 
of public economics. 


Bibliography: Original documents in the government ar- 
chives at San Marino ; C. Malagola, L'Archivio Govcrnatwo 
della Repubblica di S. Marino , Bologna, 1886; A. A. Ber- 
nardy, Carteggi San Marinesi del Secolo XV. m Arch. 
Stnrico Italiano , Disp. 3a, 1900 ; Frammenti San Marinesi 
e Feltrcschi, 1902-3. 

D< A. A. B. 


SAN MILLAN DE LA COGOLLA: Local- 
ity in Spain, not far from Najera, with a famous 
convent of great antiquity. Jews were living here 
as early as at Najera, and they suffered greatly in 
the civil war between D. Pedro and D. Henry de 
Trastamara. On Oct. 15, 1369, at the request of the 
directors of the small aljama of San Millan, whose 
cause was advocated by “certain Jews who were 
received at court,” Henry II. of Castile ordered that 
“the Christian men and women and the Moorish 
men and women ” should immediately discharge all 
their debts to the Jews, “ that the last-named might 
be able to pay their taxes the more promptly.” On 
Sept. 10, 1371, however, the king released the abbot 
and all the monks of San Millan from whatever 
debts they had contracted with the Jews since the 
battle of Najera. 

Bibliography : Boletin Acad. Hist, xxxix. 255 et seq. 

e M. K. 


SAN SALVADOR. See Soxjth and Central 
America. 

SANAA. See Yemen. 


SANBALLAT : One of the chief opponents of 
Neliemiah when he was building the walls of Jeru- 
salem and carrying out his reforms among the 
Jews. “ Sanballat,” according to Sayce (in Has- 
tings, “Diet. Bible,” .<?.«.), is connected with the 
Assyrian “Sinballidli,” and means “Sin has vivi- 
fied.” He was called also “the Horonite,” and was 
associated with Tobiah the Ammonite and Geshem 
the Arabian (Nell. ii. 19, iv. 7). But his home was 
evidently at Samaria, from whatever “ Horon ” he 
may have come. 

The first arrival at Jerusalem of Neliemiah and 
his escort aroused the sleeping enmity of these op- 
ponents of the Jews. They were grieved (ib. ii. 10) 
that the welfare of the Jews should be fostered. 
When Nehemiah actually disclosed his intention of 
building the walls of Jerusalem they laughed him 
to scorn (ib. ii. 19), and said, “Will ye rebel against 
the king?” Nehemiah resented their insinuation, 
and gave them to understand that they had no right 
in Jerusalem, nor any interest in its affairs. As soon 
as Sanballat and his associates heard that Nehemiah 
and the Jews were actually building the walls, they 
were angry (ib. iv. 1-3); and Sanballat addressed 
the army of Samaria with a contemptuous reference 
to “these feeble Jews.” Tobiah appeased him by 
saying that a jackal climbing on the wall they were 
building would break it down. Nehemiah and his 
builders, the Jews, vigorously hurried the work, 
while Sanballat and his associates organized their 
forces to fight against Jerusalem (ib. iv. 8). Nehe- 
miah prepared to meet the opposition and continued 
the work on the walls. Five different- times San- 
ballat and his confederates challenged Nehemiah and 
the Jews to meet them in battle in the plain of Ono 
(ib. vi. 1-7). Nehemiah was equal to the emergency 
and attended strictly to his work. Then Sanballat, 
with Jews in Jerusalem who were his confeder- 
ates, attempted to entrap Nehemiah in the Temple 
(ib. vi. 10-13) ; but the scheme failed. These treach- 
erous Jews, however, kept Sanballat and Tobiah in- 
formed as to the progress of the work in Jerusalem. 
Nehemiali’s far-sighted policy and his shrewdness 
kept him out of the hands of these neighbor-foes. 
In his reforms, so effectively carried out, he discov- 
ered that one of the grandsons of the high priest 
Eliashib had married a daughter of this Sanballat, 
and was thus son-in-law of the chief enemy of the 
Jews (ib. xiii. 28). The high priest was driven out 
of Jerusalem on the ground that he had defiled the 
priesthood. 

Josephus (“Ant.” xi. 7, § 2) gives a different 
story, placing Sanballat later on in Persian history, 
during the reign of Darius Codomannus. His story 
is probably a traditional account of the origin of the 

Temple on Mt. Gerizim. 

j. I- M. P. 

SANCHEZ (SANCHES), ANTONIO RI- 
BEIRO: Russian court physician ; born 1699; died 
in Paris 1783; member of a Marano family of Pena- 
macor, district of Castello Branca, Portugal. San- 
chez, with many coreligionists, escaped from the 
persecutions in Portugal and went to Holland, 
where he studied medicine at the University of 
Leyden. There he enjoyed the friendship of his 
professor, the eminent physician Herman Boerhaave, 



S anchez 
Sandalfon 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


38 


who formed a very high opinion of Sanchez’s abil- 
ity. When Empress Anna Ivanovna of Russia re- 
quested Boerhaave (1731) to send her a learned physi- 
cian who would be competent- to act as her medical 
adviser, he recommended Sanchez, who entered her 
service the same 3 r ear. The empress was so pleased 
with Sanchez that she appointed him chief phy- 
sician of the Cadets ; and soon after he was elected 
member of the Imperial Academy of Science. In 
1740, after the death of Anna Ivanovna, Sanchez 
was appointed, by the regent Anna Leopoldovna, 
physician to the young prince Ivan Antonovich. She 
had such confidence in him that even from Riga she 
sent to him for examination the prescriptions of the 
attending physicians. 

At this time Sanchez had a large practise and 
many influential friends in St. Petersburg. He de- 
voted his leisure hours to study, and accumulated a 
valuable collection of medical works. When the 
regency of Anna Leopoldovna ended, in 1741, and 
many statesmen and courtiers were replaced, Sanchez 
was retained as physician to the empress Elizabeth 
Petrovna, He enjoyed her favor, and maintained his 
reputation as one of the most skilful physicians in 
Europe, In 1744 Sanchez attended the princess 
Sophia Augusta, afterward Empress Catherine II., 
and, according to the statement in her “Memoirs,” 
saved her from a dangerous illness. He was then 
elevated to the rank of councilor of state. 

Three years later Sanchez was suddenly ordered to 
resign and to leave St, Petersburg, Officially he re- 
ceived his conge on account of illness. In the ac- 
ceptance of his resignation Elizabeth praises his 
great skill as a physician and the honesty with 
which he had discharged his duties. Sanchez’s dis- 
missal astonished the court circle, especially as he 
was known never to have interfered in politics. He 
hastened to sell his property, and then went to Paris. 
His library, purchased by the empress, greatly en- 
riched the medical department of the imperial li- 
brary. The mystery of his dismissal gave Sanchez 
no rest, and soon after his arrival in Paris he wrote 
to the president of the Imperial Academy of Science, 
Count K. G. Razumovski, asking for an explana- 
tion, The latter, in turn, wrote to the chancellor 
Bestyuzhev ; and from both letters it appears that 
the only reason for Sanchez’s discharge was the fact 
that the empress, who hated the Jews, had been told 
that he professed Judaism. 

"WMioxa - Sanchez learned tills lie I’eslgned lli nisei f 

to the situation, and again devoted himself to the 
study and practise of medicine. He became very 
popular in the poorer quarters of Paris; but work 
among the poor, whom he treated gratuitously, 
ruined both his health and his finances. Some of the 
Russian dignitaries, who corresponded with him, 
considered it their duty to aid him ; and Catherine 
II. was induced to grant him a life pension of 1,000 
rubles annually (1762). 

Sanchez was the first medical writer to acquaint 
the physicians of Europe with the medical value of 
the Russian vapor-baths, through his work “ De 
Cura Yariolarum Vaporarii Ope apud Russos ” (Rus- 
sian transl. “O Parnykli Rossiskikh Banyakh,” St. 
Petersburg, 1779), He was the author also of “Sur 
1’Origine de la Maladie Venerienne ” (Lisbon, 1750). 


Bibliography: Richter, Gesch. der Medicin in Rusal and, 
vol. iii., passim ; Russki Arlthiv, 1864, p. 386 ; 1870, p. 280 ; 
Razsvyet , 1888, No. 16. 

ii. r. M. R. 

SANCHO (SANDJE or SHANGX) : Family 
name of frequent occurrence amoug Oriental Span- 
ish Jews, and borne by several writers, 

Abraham ben Ephraim Sancho : Turkish 
pl^sician and Hebrew poet; lived at Constantinople 
in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Sancho 
composed poems particularly in praise of certain 
authors; for instance, Solomon Alkabiz’s “Shoresh 
Yisbai ” (Constantinople, 1566) has at the end a poem 
by Sancho, andKimhi’s “Miklol ” and “ Sliorasliim ” 
also include poems by Sancho in praise of these 
works. Sancho himself is praised by Bezaleel Ash- 
kenazi (Responsa, No. 14), 

Bibliography: Michael, Or ha-Bayyim, No. 57. 
e. c. M. Sel. 

Eliezer ben Sancho : Turkish rabbinical author; 
lived at Constantinople in the latter part of the sev- 
enteenth century. He was a disciple of Joseph Kas- 
sabi, and in collaboration with his brother Jacob 
wrote several works, which were nearly all destroyed 
by fire, only one, the “Dat wa-Din,” a commentary 
on the Pentateuch, being preserved. 

Bibliography: Azulai, Shem ha-Gedolim, s.v. 
e. c. M, Fr. 

Ephraim ben Sancho : Spanish Talmudic scholar 
and polemist; flourished in Aragon in the twelfth 
century. Pedro .the Great, King of Aragon, invited 
him to take part in a disputation with a certain 
Nicholas de Valencia (mentioned by J. R, de Castro 
in “Bibliotheca Espanola,” i. 266, as one of the 
troubadours) on the question of the superiority of 
the Jewish over the Christian religion or vice versa. 
Ephraim answered very cleverly; and his answer 
was approved by the king. L. Dukes (in “ Orient,” 
xii. 29) identities Ephraim with Don Santo the poet, 
referred to by J. R. de Castro (lx. p, 178); but Kay- 
serling and Steinschneider have proved that the 
identification is faulty. 

Bibliography: Ibn Verga, Shcbet Yelmdah , p. 54a; Michael, 
Or ha-Hayyim , No. 523; Kayserling, Sephardim, p. 328; 
Dukes, in Orient , 'xii, 29 ; Steinschneider, Jewish Litera- 
ture , p. 350. 

Ephraim ben Sancho: Portuguese physician; 
flourished at the end of the fifteenth century. He 
was court physician to Alfonso V., King of Por- 
tugal; but the courtiers, out of jealous}^, prevailed 

ori the kino;, through all sorts of calumnies, to dis- 
miss lllm. He tlien wenti to Constantinople, wiiere 

he was received with great honor by Sultan Mah- 
mud II., the Great. The latter appointed him his 
court physician and treated him as one of his house- 
hold. 

Bibliography: Eliezer b. Sancho, Dat wa-Din , Constanti- 
nople, 1726, Preface; Michael, Or ha-Hayyim, No. 522. 
e. c. * M. Sel, 

Isaac ben Sancho ; Turkish rabbinical author ; 
born and lived at Salonica; died at Jerusalem in 
1759. He wrote the following works: “Be’erot lia- 
Mayim” (Salonica, 1754), a collection of responsa 
and a commentary on Maimonides; “Be’er Yizhak,” 
a collection of sermons in the order of the sections 
of the Pentateuch; “Be’er la-Hay,” a collection of 
funeral orations; and “Be’er Reliobot.” 



39 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Sanchez 

Sandalfon 


Bibliography : Hazan, Ha-Ma'alnt U-Shelnmoh , p 46 ; 

Franco, Histoire des Israelites de V Empire Ottoman , p. 126 ; 

Azulai, Shem ha-Gcdolim, s.v. 

E. C. M. Fr. 

SANCTIFICATION OF THE NAME. See 

Kiddusii ha-Si iem. 

SANCTUARY : A sacred place for divine serv- 
ice. There were six sanctuaries: (1) the Taber- 
nacle in the wilderness, built by Moses in the second 
year of the Exodus; (2) the Tabernacle at Siiiloii, 
built by Joshua after the conquest of Palestine 
(Josh, xviii. 1), and which stood 369 years, till the 
death of Eli the high priest ; (3) the Tabernacle at 
Nob, the city of priests, which stood thirteen years, 
till the reign of Saul (Seder ‘Olam R. xiii.); (4) the 
Tabernacle at Gibeon (II Cliron. i. 3), 

The Six which stood fifty years, till Solomon 
Sane- finished the building of the Temple 

tuaries. (Seder ‘Olam K. xi., xiv. ; Zeb. 61b); 

(5) the First Temple, destroyed in 422 
b.c. ; (6) the Second Temple, built in 352 b.c. and 
destroyed in the year 68 of the common era. 

The Tabernacle, like the Temple, was called the 
sanctuary because it contained the holy Ark with 
the tablets of the covenant (Dent. ix. 9, 15), and 
because only sanctified priests were permitted to 
enter the inner chambers. The offering of sacrifices 
was confined to the sanctuary and forbidden else- 
where, especially in the “ bamot ” = “liigh places” 
(I Kings in. 3 ; II Cliron. xxxiii. 17). The sanctu- 
ary could not, however, be used as an asylum for a 
murderer or other criminal, nor even for a political 
offender (Ex. xxi. 14; I Kings ii. 30, 31). 

The object of the sanctuary was defined by the 
injunction, “And let them make me a sanctuary; 
that I may dwell among them ” (Ex. xxv. 8). God 
declared, “ And there I will meet with the children 
of Israel, and the tabernacle shall be sanctified by 
my glory ” {ib. xxix. 48). The sacrifices were the 
medium of communion with God. A central place 
for the sanctuary served also to unify the political 
interests of the Israelites and to solidify the twelve 
tribes into one nation. The subsequent severance 
of the ten tribes from the political ties of Judah and 
Benjamin could be effected only by erecting dupli- 
cate sanctuaries at Beth-el and Dan (I Kings xii. 26, 
27). See Pilgrimage. 

The Temple at Jerusalem was known as “Bet 
‘Olamim” (Everlasting Temple), Solomon descri- 
bing it as “an house to dwell in, a settled place for 

•fcliee -CO in for <rc-er ” viii _ 13 ). Solomon de- 

clared that the sanctuary was really for the conve- 
nience of the people in congregating for the worship 
of God, and was not a dwelling-place for God, whom 
“ the heaven and the heaven of heavens can not con- 
tain ” (ib. verse 27). “ Do not I fill heaven and earth ? 

saitli the Lord ” (Jer. xxiii. 24). The Midrash de- 
clares the sanctuary was like a cave which the ocean 
overflowed and filled with water without affecting 
its own volume; similarly the glory 
Sanctuary of the Sliekinah, though it filled the 
and Tabernacle, was not therebj r dimin- 
Shekinah.. islied (Pesik. v.). The cabalists ex- 
plain the presence of the Sliekinah in 
the sanctuary by the “mystery of concentration” 
(= “sod lia-zimzum”) or the secret of revelation of 


God at a certain designated point. “The sanctuary 
was the pledge of the Holy One to dwell with us 
and not to abhor or forsake us ” (Zohar iii. 114a, re- 
ferring to Lev. xx vi. 11). 

The sanctuary below corresponds to the sanctuary 
above (Ta‘an. 5a). The ladder which Jacob saw in 
a dream reached to the gate of heaven, where the 
celestial sanctuary was erected opposite the altar 
that Jacob set up in Beth-el (Gen. R. xlix. 5). 

Symbolically the sanctuary represents the uni- 
verse, and is called “ ‘olam katan ” (= “ little world”). 
This microcosm teaches that God is the Creator of all 
matter, and guides His creatures through all desti- 
nies (Moses Isserles, “Torat lia-‘01ah,” i., § 1; and 
Israel Jaffe, introduction to same, § 15, ed. Prague, 
1833). After the destruction of the Temple the 
synagogue replaced it as the sanctuary for Prayer. 
See also Asylum; High Place; Shiloh; Taber- 
nacle : Temple. 

e. c. J. D. E. 

SANDALFON : Name of an angel. It is a 
Greek formation and synonymous with a wade/i<pog 
(=“ cobrother ” ; see “Orient, Lit.” xii. 618; Levy, 
“Neuhebr. Worterb.” iii. 553a ; Krauss, in “Byzanti- 
nische Zeitschrift,” ii. 533; idem , “Lelinworter,” ii. 
431), and is not Persian, as Kohut supposes (“ Jii- 
disehe Angelologie und Dilmonologie,” p. 43; 
“Arucli Completum,” vi. 83b). Sandalfon is por- 
trayed, not as the brother of God, but as the brother 
of Metatron, and these two angels, according to 
Naplitali Herz (“‘Emek ha-Melek,” p. 104a) and 
Jellinek (“ Auswahl Kabbalistischer Mystik, ” p. 5), 
are “ the lads ” of Gen. xlviii. 16. 

Sandalfon is one of the oldest angel figures of the 
Merkabah mysticism. A baraita of the beginning 
of the second century says: “The ‘ofan’ mentioned 
in Ezek. i. 16 is called Sandalfon. He is an angel 
who stands on the earth, and his head reaches up to 
the ‘ liayyot * [animal-shaped angels] ; he is taller than 
his fellows by the length of a journey of 500 years; 
he binds crowns for his Creator ” (Hag. 13b ; comp. 
Pesik. R. 20 [ed. Friedmann, p. 97a]). The angel 
Hadarniel led Moses in heaven until lie reached the 
fire of Sandalfon ; here he remained standing because 
he feared the fire. Moses himself was afraid at the 
sight of it, so that God placed Himself before it 
for his protection. The crowns that Sandalfon binds 
on God’s head are symbols of praise for the differ- 
ent angels” (Pesik. R. l.c.). 

In the oldest enumeration of the four and the 

seven areliangels ( See RAPHAEL) Sandalfon is U()t iU- 

cluded. Moreover, lie is noimcre ruuna m 
ish sources, a fact which designates him as a figure 
of the esoteric lore of the Merkabah. As such he 
became very popular in the post-Talmudic mys- 
ticism, in 'which the mysteries of heavenly halls and 
of divine throne-chariots that had remained hid- 
den for centuries, came to light and received a writ- 
ten form. ■ His nature remained unchanged. He is 
the fiercest fire; he keeps his place near God in the 
seventh hall; he brings the prayers of men be- 
fore the Deity (Jellinek, “B. PI.” i. 59; ii. 26, 56; 
iii. 37; vi. Ill ; Zohar ii. 58a, 246a; iii. 252b; and else- 
where) ; and particular powers also are entrusted to 
him. He is placed over mankind (“Berit Menu- 
hah,” p. 37a, in Bodenschatz, “Kirchliclie Verfas- 



Sandals 

Sanhedrin 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


40 


sung der Heutigen Jaden,” iii. 160), over the month 
Adar (“Sefer Raziel,” 41b), and over the sliofar- 
blasts on New-Year’s Day (Benasli, “ Amtahat Bin- 
yamin,” p. 30a). His name should be called on for 
protection in the forest {ib. 7a); and it occurs on an 
amulet against abortion (Grunwald, in “Mittheil- 
ungen der Gesellscliaft fur Jiidisclie Volkskunde,” 
v. 5S). In the piyyutim he is somewhat prominent 
as an angel of prayer, and is treated as such by 
Solomon ibn Gabirol (Zunz, “S. P.” p. 478). 

Moses Cordovero (“ Hekaloth,” ch. xiv.) identifies 
Sandal fon with the prophet Eli jah (see also “ Malizor 
Vitry,” pp. 324 et seq ., and “ Yalkut Hadasli,” ed. 
Presburg, pp. 66-69). 

Bibliography : Besides the works cited in the article, Schwab, 

Vncabulnire de VAngelologie , p. 201; Eisenmenger, Ent- 

decides Judeiitlnim, ii. 380, 393, 394, 401 ct scq., 851. 

w. b, L. B. 

SANDALS (Hebrew, “ na‘al ”). — Biblical 
Data ; In the warm countries of the East shoes are 
not such an indispensable part of clothing as in the 
colder northern countries. Still, people do not go 
barefoot in mountainous Palestine, especially during 
the damp winter, as frequently as they do in Egypt. 
The same was probably the case in ancient times. 
Although on Assyrian monuments warriors are often 
represented barefoot, passages like Amos ii. 6 and 
viii. 6 indicate that in the period of which they treat 
even the poor man generally possessed shoes. This, 
however, does not exclude the assumption that the 
poor and common people usually went barefoot, 
wearing sandals on special occasions only, e.g ., in 
traveling (Ex. xii. 11 ; Josh. ix. 5). The custom of 
going barefoot while in mourning, followed even 
bv the nobles, points to the justice of such an as- 
sumption (II Sam. xv. 30; Ezek. xxiv. 17, 23). 

Sandals probably came into general use, however, 
in the course of time, as culture became more gen- 
eral. They were at all times the only foot-wear of the 
Hebrews, being simple soles fastened to the feet b}' 
means of straps. Many illustrations of Egyptian as 



Sandals Used in Palestine. 

(From the Merrill collection, Semitic Museum, Harvard University.) 


well as of Assyrian sandals are extant. Sandals dif- 
fered as regards material, being made of leather, 
woven -work, papyrus, or linen, as well as regards 
form, consisting of a simple sole which is bent in 
front or has a lieel-piece. All these different kinds 
of sandals, as well as those worn by the Bedouins to- 
day, are adjusted by means of two straps crossing 
from the back over the instep. A third, narrower 
strap, fastened in front, passes between the great 
and second toe and is tied to the instep-straps. Men 
and women apparently wore the same kind of san- 


dal. In ancient times no shoes were worn in a room 
(comp. Ex. xii. 11 as an exception), and in the Ori- 
ent they are still removed before the wearer crosses a 
threshold. Similarly the sanctuary was always en- 
tered barefoot (Ex. iii. 5; Josh. v. 15). On the 
symbolic action of removing the shoes see Halizah. 

J. I. Be. 

In Rabbinical Literature: Originally the 

term “sandal” in Talmudic literature designated a 
sole fastened to the foot either by means of straps 
or by a piece of leather, usually sewed to its upper 
part so that the sandal might be put on like a slipper. 
Sandals were made either with or without heels and 
generally of thick leather, but sometimes of wood, 
either uncovered, or covered with leather. When 
made of uncovered wood the sandal, like a lieelless 
sandal, was unfit for Halizah (Yer. Yeb. xii. 1-2; 
Sliulhan ‘Aruk, Eben lia-'Ezer, 169, 21). Wooden 
sandals had the leathern pieces fastened to them 
with nails; and such sandals could be put on from 
either end. Owing to a disaster resulting from the 
use of nailed sandals on Sabbath, the Rabbis de- 
creed that they should not be worn on that day 
(Sliab. 60a). 

There are mentioned in Kelim (xxvi. 1) a “sandal 
‘amaki ” (which, according to Maiinonides, means “a 
deep-bottomed sandal,” but which, according to 
Bertinoro, means “ a sandal made at a village called 
‘Amaki ”) and a “ sandal of Laodicea. ” Both kinds 
were secured by means of draw-strings, like a purse, 
and therefore were liable to become unclean. The 
wearer could make them clean again by loosening 
the strings, without sending them to the sandal- 
maker. Lime-workers (‘Eduy. ii. 8), according to 
Bertinoro, wore sandals of wood, since lime burned 
those made of leather. The putting on of a sandal 
for the first time is considered in Talmudic law 
as the completing act of its manufacture, and must 
therefore be avoided on the Sabbath (Yer. Sliab. 
vi. 8a). Sandals were worn in the summer only, 
while in the winter shoes were used. Accordingly 
the bed of a Talmudic scholar is characterized as 
having nothing under it but sandals in the sum- 
mer and shoes in the winter (B. B. 58a; comp. 
RaSHBaM ad loc.). 

In regard to duties of the priesthood, sandals are 
considered as shoes in that the priests must not wear 
them when they mount the Dukan for the purpose 
of blessing the people. This prohibition is one of 
the nine “takkanot” of Johanan b. Zakkai (Alfasi, 
“Halakot,” Meg. 375b, and R. Nissim ad loc.). 
On Yom Kip pur, when the wearing of shoes is pro- 
hibited, one may wear wooden sandals not covered 
with leather (Sliulhan ‘Aruk, Orah Hayyim, 614, 2). 
The judge and the teacher used to strike with the 
sandal: the former, the person who would not obey 
his judgment; and the latter, liis pupils (Sanli. 7b; 
see, however, Raslii ad loc.). There was a common 
proverb: “Step on the thorns while thou hast thy 
sandals on thy feet” (Pesik. xi. 99b; Gen. R. xliv.). 
The term “sandal” designates also a horseshoe 
(Sliab. 59a), the pedestal of an idol (Yeb. 103b; 
comp. Rashi ad loc.), and the piece of wood placed 
under a short leg of a child’s bed to cause the bed 
to stand firm (Oh. xii. 4). Owing to its shape, the 
sandal gave its name to the fish (Yer. Niddah iii. 



41 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Sandals 

Sanhedrin 


50d) which in English is called “sole” (comp, also 
Shulhan ‘Aruk, Yoreh De‘ali, 305, 22). 

Bibliography: Kohut, Aruch Completum , s.v. S"UD; Lam- 
pronti, Pahacl Yizhah, s.v. S-UD ; Levy, JSfeuhebr . Wdrterb. 


SANDER (SYNDIKUS). See Godfather. 

SANDERS, DANIEL : German lexicographer ; 
born in Altstrelitz, Mecklenburg, April 12, 1819; 
died March 12, 1897. He received his early educa- 
tion in the Jewish school of his native city, under 
I. Lehfeldt (later a partner of his brother-in-law, 
Moritz Yeit, the founder of the celebrated book-firm 
in Berlin) and Joseph Zedner (afterward librarian in 
the British Museum, London). He then attended the 
gymnasium in Neu-Strelitz, took private lessons in 
Greek and Latin, and afterward went to the univer- 
sities of Berlin and Halle, studying classical and 
modern languages, mathematics, and natural his- 
tory. In Berlin he made the acquaintance of Mo- 
ritz Carriere and Heinrich Bernhard Oppenlieim, two 
men of great intellectual capacity, with whom he 
entered into a close friendship. Having graduated 
as doctor in 1843, he was appointed principal in the 
same school in which he had been trained in his na- 
tive city. He held this position for ten years, until 
the school, which was a private institution, was 
closed. 

Of his numerous works relative to the lexicog- 
raphy and grammar of the German language the 
following deserve special mention; “ Katechismus 
der Deutsclien Orthographic ” (Leipsic, 1856; 4th ed. . 
1878); “ Handworterbuch der Deutsclien Sprache ” 
(ib. 1859-65 ; 5th ed. 1893 ; this was his chief work, and 
was inspired by the German dictionary of the broth- 
ers Grimm, which he criticized sharply); “Frernd- 
worterbncli” (ib. 1871, 2 vols. ; 2d ed. 1891); “Wor- 
terbucli der Deutsclien Synony men” (Hamburg, 1871 ; 
2d ed. 1882) ; “ Deutsche Spraclibriefe” (Berlin, 1878; 
11 tli ed. 1894) ; “ Lehrbucli der Deutsclien Sprache fiir 
Schulen in 3 Stufen” (8th ed., Berlin, 1888); “Ge- 
schichte der Deutsclien Sprache und Litteratur” (3d 
ed., ib. 1886) ; “ Abriss der Deutsclien Silbenmessung 
und Verskunst” (ib. 1881; 2d ed, 1891); “Leitfaden 
zur Grundlage der Deutsclien Grammatik ” (2d ed., 
Weimar, 1894). Besides he published “Das Volks- 
leben der Neugrieclien” (Mannheim, 1844); “Das 
Holielied Salomonis” (Leipsic, 1866; new edition, 
Hamburg, 1888); “Heitere Kinderwelt ” (Neu-Stre- 
litz, 1868); “Aus den Besten Lebensstunden : Ge- 
dichte” (Stuttgart, 1878); “ Aus der Werkstatt eines 
Worterbuchschreibers: Plaudereien” (Berlin, 1889); 
“366 Spri\clie” (Leipsic, 1892); and a “Neugriechi- 
sche Grammatik ” (after Vincent and Dickson, ib. 
1881 ; 2d cd. 1890), and together with A. R. Rangabe 
(n.d.) a “ Gescliichte der Neugriechisclien Litteratur” 
(ib. 1884). In 1860 he translated into German the 
Song of Solomon, which was republished in 1880. 

In 1876 Sanders was called to Berlin to assist the 
Ministry of Instruction in the work of eliminating 
all foreign terms and expressions from the German 
language. 

Bibliography: AJJq. Zeit. des Jud. 1900, p. 91; Meyers 

Konvcrsations-Lexilzon. 

s. J. C. B. 


SANDOR, PAUL : Hungarian merchant and 
deputy; born in 1860 at Hodmezovasarliely ; stud- 
ied at the academies of commerce in Budapest and 
Dresden. He is a member of the municipal coun- 
cil and of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry 
of Budapest. In 1901 he was returned to the 
Hungarian Parliament by the electoral district of 
Lipotvaros, Budapest, 

Bibliography: Sturm, OrszuggyUlesi Almanack, 1901-6. 

s. L. V. 

SANGER, ADOLPH L. : American lawyer and 
politician; born at Baton Rouge, La., in 1842; died 
in New York city Jan. 3, 1894. A graduate of the 
City College and of the Columbia Law School, New 
York, in 1864, he had rapid success as a lawyer. In 
1870 he was appointed a commissioner of the United 
States deposit funds, and in 1885 was elected presi- 
dent of the hoard of aldermen. He served as presi- 
dential elector of the state of New York in 1880 
and 1884, and was a commissioner of education for 
three terms beginning with 1886, being made presi- 
dent of the board in 1893. He was the first to sug- 
gest Bryant Park, New York, as a site for a public 
library. A graceful speaker, he delivered addresses 
at the reception of the Bartholdi statue of “Lib- 
erty” and the statue of “The Pilgrim” at Central 
Park, and spoke also on similar public occasions. 

Sanger was active in American Judaism, being 
one of the leaders of the B’nai B'ritli, president of 
the Board of Delegates of American Israelites, and 
vice-president for some years of the Union of Amer- 
ican Hebrew Congregations. 
a. A. S. I. 

SANHEDRIN (pnrUD) : Hebrew -Aramaic 
term originally designating only the assembly at 
Jerusalem that constituted the highest political 
magistracy of the country. It was derived f»om the 
Greek aw&Sptov. Josephus uses cwidpiov for the first 
time in connection with the decree of the Roman 
governor of Syria, Gabinius(57 b.c.), who abolished 
the constitution and the then existing form of govern- 
ment of Palestine and divided the country into five 
provinces, at the head of each of which a sanhedrin 
was placed (“Ant.” xiv. 5, § 4). Jerusalem was 
the seat of one of these. It is improbable, however, 
that the term “ synliedrion ” as a designation for the 
chief magistracy was used for the first time in con- 
nection with this decree of Gabinius; indeed, from 
the use made of it in the Greek translation of the 
Proverbs, Bacher concludes that it must have been 
current in the middle of the second century b.c. 

In the Talmudic sources the “ Great ” Sanhedrin at 
Jerusalem is so called in contradistinction to other 
bodies designated by that name ; and it was gen- 
erally assumed that this Great Sanhedrin was iden- 
tical with the Sanhedrin at Jerusalem which is 
mentioned in the non-Talmudic sources, in the Gos- 
pels, and in Josephus. The accounts 
The Great in the two different sets of sources 
Sanhedrin, referring to the Sanhedrin, however, 
differ materially in their main char- 
acteristics. The Great Sanhedrin is designated 
in the Talmudic sources as “ Sanhedrin Gedolah lia- 
yosliebet be-lislikat. ha-gazit ” = “ the Great San- 
hedrin which sits in the hall of hewn stone 



Sanhedrin 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


42 


(Sifra, Wajdkra, ed. Weiss, 19a). The mention of 
“sanhedrin” without the epithet “ gedolah ” (Yer. 
Sanli. i. 19c) seems to presuppose another body than 
the Great Sanhedrin that met in the hall of hewn 
stone. For neither Josephus nor the Gospels in speak- 
ing of the Sanhedrin report any of its decisions or 
discussions referring to the priests or to the Temple 
service, or touching in any way upon the religious 
law, but they refer to the Sanhedrin exclusively in 
matters connected with legal procedure, verdicts, 
and decrees of a political nature ; whereas the San- 
hedrin in the hall of hewn stone dealt, according to 
the Talmudic sources, with questions relating to the 
Temple, the priesthood, the sacrifices, and matters 
of a kindred nature. Adolf Bucliler assumes indeed 
that there were in Jerusalem two magistracies which 
were entirely different- in character and functions 
and which, officiated side by side at the same time. 
That to which the Gospels and Josephus refer w T as 
the highest political authority, and at the same time 
the supreme court; this alone was empowered to 
deal with criminal cases and to impose the sentence 
of capital punishment. The other, sitting in the 
hall of hewn stone, was the highest court dealing 
with the religious law, being in charge also of the 
religious instruction of the people (Sank. xi. 2-4). 

I. The Political Sanhedrin : This body was 
undoubtedly much older than the term “sanhedrin.” 
Accounts referring to the history of the pre-Mac- 
cabean time represent a magistracy at the head 
of the people, which body was designated Gerusia. 
In 203 Antioch us the Great wrote a letter to the 
Jews in which he expressed his satis- 
The faction that they had given him a 

Gerusia. friendly reception at Jerusalem, and 
had even come to meet him with the 
senate ( yepovaia ; “Ant.” xii. 3, £ 3). Antioehus V. 
also greeted the gerusia in a letter to the Jewish 
people. This gerusia, which stood at the head of 
the people, was the body that was subsequently 
called “sanhedrin.” The date and the manner of 
its origin can not now be determined. Josephus 
calls it either owiSpLov or fiov?^, and its members 
irpecfiv-epoL {— “elders,” i.e., D^pt) or /3ov?,evrai 
(=“ councilors”), whose number was probably the 
same as that of the members of the Sanhedrin in the 
hall of hewn stone, namely, seventy or seventy-one. 
There are no references to indicate whence the Sanhe- 
drin derived its authority or by whom it was elected, 
unless it be assumed that the convocation of that 
body by the high priest and at times by the Jewish 
king, as mentioned in the sources, refers to the man- 
ner of its election. This Sanhedrin, which was en- 
tirely aristocratic in character, probably assumed its 
own authority, since it was composed of members 
of the most influential families of the nobility and 
priesthood (comp. Sank. iv. 2, where there is an al- 
lusion to the composition of this body). The Phari- 
sees had no great influence in this assembly^, al- 
though some of its members may have been friendly 
to them at various times. Though there are no defi- 
nite references to gradations in rank among the sev- 
eral members, there seems to have been a committee 
of ten members, oi dena n ptiroi, who ranked above 
their colleagues (comp. Sehiirer, “Gesck.” 3d ed., h. 
201 - 202 ). 


The meetings took place in one of the chambers 
of the Temple in order that the discussions and de- 
crees might thereby be invested with 
Place of greater religious authority. Accord- 
Meeting. ing to a passage in the Mekilta (Misk- 
patim, 4 [ed. Weiss, p. 87a]), the San- 
hedrin, which was empowered to pass the sentence 
of capital punishment, sat “in the vicinity of the 
altar,” i.e., in one of the chambers of the inner court 
of the Temple. It was called “ the hall of the fiov- 
2.svrac ” because the latter sat there. Subsequently 
it was called “lislikat parhedrin ” = “ the hall of 
the npoEdpoi ” (Yoma 8b). In this hall there was 
also a private room -for the high priest (Yoma 10a; 
Tosef., Yoma, i. 2). The fiov'Aeurai or the TrpoedpoL 
assembled in this private room (comp. Matt. xxvi. 
57 ; Mark xiv. 63) before they met in the hall. 

The Sanhedrin did not, however, always retain 
this place of meeting; for, according to Josephus, 
the (3ov?4 was in the vicinity of the xystus (“B. J.” 
v. 4, § 2), hence beyond the Temple mount, or, ac- 
cording to Sehiirer (I.e. ii. 211), on it, though not 
within the inner court. In the last years of the 
Jewish state, therefore, to which the account in 
Josephus must be referred, the Sanhedrin left its 
original seat, being compelled to do so perhaps by 
the Pharisees, who, on gaining the upper hand, 
would not permit the secular Sanhedrin to sit in the 
sanctuary' . Indeed, while the Sanhedrin still sat in 
the Temple, it was decreed that a mezuzah was to be 
placed in the hall of the irposdpoi. This was not re- 
quired in any of the other apartments of the Temple ; 
and R. Judah b. Ila‘i, who was otherwise thoroughly 
informed as to the earlier institutions of the Temple, 
was unable to assign a reason for the decree (Yoma 
10a). It may be explained only on the assumption 
that it was intended to secularize the sittings of this 
Sanhedrin. It may have been for the same reason 
that the body was subsequently excluded entirely 
from the Temple, inasmuch as the latter and its 
apartments were intended for the cult and matters 
connected with it, while the discussions and decrees 
of this Sanhedrin were political and secular in nature. 

The extant references to the Sanhedrin are not suf- 
ficient to give an exact and detailed idea of its func- 
tions and of the position which it occupied. It is 
certain, however, that the extent of its 
Functions power varied at different times, and 
and that the sphere of its functions was re- 
position. stricted in various ways by the Roman 
government. One of these restrictions 
was Gabinius’ above-mentioned division of the Jewish 
territory into five provinces, each with a sanhedrin 
of its own, whereby the authority and the functions 
of the Sanhedrin of Jerusalem 'were materially di- 
minished. Its power was insignificant under Herod 
and Archelaus. After the death of these rulers its 
authority again increased, the internal government 
of the country being largely in its hands. It ad- 
ministered the criminal law, and had independent 
powers of police, and hence the right to make arrests 
through its own officers of justice. It was also em- 
powered to judge cases that did not involve the 
death penalty, only capital cases requiring the con- 
firmation of the procurator. 

The high priest, who from the time of Simeon was 



43 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Sanhedrin 


also the head of the state, officiated as president of 
the Sanhedrin. He bore the title “ nasi ” (prince), 
because the reins of government were actually held 
by him. Subsequently, when they were transferred 
to other hands, the high priest retained the title of 
nasi as president of the Sanhedrin. The powers of 
the latter official were restricted und-er the procura- 
tors, without whose permission the body could not 
be convened (“Ant.” xx. 9, § 1). This Sanhedrin, 
since it was a political authority, ceased to exist 
when the Jewish state perished with the destruction 
of Jerusalem (70 c.E.). 

II. The Religious Sanhedrin: This body, 
which met in the hall of hewn stone and was called 
also “the Great Bet Din” or simply “the Bet Din 
in the hall of hewn stone ” (Tosef., Hor. i. 3; Tosef., 
Sotali, ix. 1; Yer. Sanli. i. 19c), was invested with 
the highest religious authority. According to Tal- 
mudic tradition it originated in the Mosaic period, 
the seventy elders who were associ- 
The Great ated with Moses in the government of 

Bet Din. Israel at his request (Num. xi. 4-31} 
forming together with him the first 
Sanhedrin (Sanli. i. 6). The institution is said to 
have existed without interruption from that time 
onward (comp. Yer. Sanli. i. 18b, where, in a com- 
ment on Jer. lii. 24 et seq. and II Kings xxv. 18 et 
seq., it is said that Nebuzar-adan brought the Great 
Sanhedrin to Riblali before Nebuchadnezzar) ; but 
the fact that no passage whatever in the pre-exilic 
books of the Bible refers to this institution seems 
to indicate that it was not introduced before the 
time of the Second Temple. Originally it was prob- 
ably not a regularly constituted authority, but 
merely a synod which convened on special occasions 
for the purpose of deliberating on important ques- 
tions or of issuing regulations referring to religious 
life. The first assembly of this nature was that held 
under Ezra and Neliemiah (Nell, viii.-x.), which 
was called “ the Great Synagogue ” (“ Keneset lia- 
Gedolah”) in Jewish scholastic tradition. Subse- 
quently, at a date which can not be definitely deter- 
mined, this occasional assembly was replaced by a 
standing body. The latter, which was called “ San- 
hedrin ” or “Bet Din,” was regarded as the continu- 
ation of the synods which had previously been con- 
vened only occasionally. 

It further appears from Ab. i. 2-4 that the Great 
Bet Din was regarded as a continuation of the Ke- 
neset lia-Gedolah; for the so-called “zugot”who 
were at the head of the Great Bet Din are named 
after the men of the Great Synagogue, which was 
regarded as the precursor of the Great Bet Din. 
This explains why the latter is sometimes called also 
“synagogue” Meg. Ta‘an., in Neubauer, 

“M. J. C.” ii. 16). Originally the members of this 
bet din also were priests belonging to prominent 
families, probably under the presidency of the high 
priest. The Pharisees, however, held at various 
times more or less prominent positions 

Influence in this bod}', according as they were the 
of the victors or the vanquished in their eon- 
Pharisees. flic t with the Sadducees. When John 
Hyrcanus toward the end of his reign 
turned from the Pharisees (“Ant.” xvi. 11, § 1), he 
seems to have effected their dismissal from the San- 


hedrin or bet din and to have formed a Sadducean 
bet din (Sanh. 52b), or a Sadducean Sanhedrin, as 
it is called in another passage (Meg. Ta‘an. l.c. p. 
17). Under Alexander Jannseus, Simeon b. Shetah 
succeeded in ousting the Sadducean members from 
the bet din and in reorganizing it so that it was 
composed only of Pharisees. But the latter lost their 
prestige in the subsequent quarrel with Alexander, 
gaining the upper hand again only under his suc- 
cessor, Salome Alexandra, from which time the 
Great Bet Din was composed exclusively of Phari- 
sees. According to the Mishnali (Sanh. i. 5 ; Sheb. 
ii. 2), the bet din, at least during the last years of its 
existence at Jabneli, where it had been reorganized, 
consisted of seventy or seventy-one members, ac- 
cording as the president was included in or omitted 
from the list. Simeon b. ‘ Azzai (first half of the 2d 
cent.) says that seventy-two elders (“ zekenim,” i.e., 
members of the Sanhedrin) were present when R. 
Eleazar b. Azariali was elected president together 
with Rabban Gamaliel II. (Zeb. i. 3; Yad. iii. 5, iv. 
2); this was one more than the usual number, and 
included probably, besides the seventy other mem- 
bers, the two presidents, Gamaliel and Eleazar b. 
Azariah. According to R. Jose b. Halafta, the mem- 
bers of the Great Bet Din were required to possess 
the following qualifications: scholarship, modesty, 
and popularity among their fellow men (Tosef., Hag. 
ii. 9; Sanh. 88b). According to an interpretation in 
Sifre, Num. 92 (ed. Friedmann, p. 25b), they had 
also to be strong and courageous. 
Appoint- Only such were eligible, moreover, as 
ment and had filled three offices of gradually 
Promotion increasing dignity, namely, those of 
of Mem- local judge, and member successively 
bers. of two magistracies at Jerusalem (Jose 
b. Halafta, l.c.). R. Jolianan, a Pales- 
tinian amora of the third century, enumerates the 
qualifications of the members of the Sanhedrin as 
follows: they must be tall, of imposing appearance, 
and of advanced age; and they must be learned 
and must understand foreign languages as well as 
some of the arts of the necromancer (Sanh. 19a). 

The hall of hewn stone (“lislikat ha-gazit”)in 
which the bet din sat was situated on the southern 
side of the inner court of the Temple (Mid. v. 4). 
It was used for ritual purposes also, the priests draw- 
ing lots there for the daily service of the sacrifices, 
and also reciting the“Shenm‘” there (Tamid ii., end, 
to iii., beginning; iv.,end, to v., beginning). The 
larger part of the hall was on the site of the court of 
laymen. There were two entrances: one from the 
court of the priests, which was used by the latter; 
the other in the Water gate, used by the laity. The 
Great Bet Din sat daily, except on the Sabbath and 
on feast-days, between the morning and evening 
sacrifices (Tosef., Sanh. vii. 1). On the Sabbath 
and on feast-days, on which there were no meetings 
in the hall of hewn stone, the members of the bet 
din assembled in the schoolhouse on the Temple 
mount ( ib . ). According to the accounts given in 
the Talmudic sources, the Great Bet Din had the 
following functions, which it exercised in part as a 
body and in part through committees of its members : 
It had supervision over the Temple service, which 
was required to be conducted in conformity with the 



Sanhedrin 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


44 


Law and according to Pharisaic interpretation. It 
decided which priests should perform the Temple 
service (Mid., end). It supervised especially impor- 
tant ritual acts, as the service on the Day of Atone- 
ment (Yonm i. 3). It had in charge the burning of 
the Red Heifer and the preparation of the water of 
purification (Tosef., Sanh. iii. 4). When the body 
of a murdered person was found, members of the 
Great Bet Din had to take the necessary measure- 
ments in order to determine which 
Functions city, as being the nearest to the place 
and of the murder, was to bring the sacri- . 
Authority, fice of atonement (Sotah ix. 1 ; Tosef., 
Sanh. iii. 4; comp. Sotah 44b-45a). 
It had also to decide as to the harvest tithes (Peah ii. 
6). It sat in judgment on women suspected of adul- 
tery, and sentenced them to drink the bitter water 
(Sotah i. 4 ; see Ordeal). It arranged the calendar 
(R. H. ii. 5 et seq .), and provided correct copies of 
the Torah roll for the king, and probably for the 
Temple also (Tosef., Sanh. iv. 4; Yer. Sanh. ii. 20e). 
In general it decided all doubtful questions relating 
to the religious law (Sanh. 88b) and rendered the 
final decision in regard to the sentence of the teacher 
who promulgated opinions contradicting the tradi- 
tional interpretation of the Law (“ zaken mamreli ” ; 
Sanh. xi, 2-4; see Elder, Rebellious). 

Two persons were at the head of the bet din : one, 
the actual president with the title “nasi”; the other, 
the second president or vice-president, who bore 
the title “ab bet din” (father of the court). The 
existence of these two offices is well authenticated 
from the time following the Hadrianic persecution. 
R. Jolianan (3d cent.) says that in the college which 
was regarded as the continuation of the Great Bet 
Din in the hall of hewn stone R. Nathan officiated 
as second president (“ab bet din ”) side by side with 
R. Simeon b. Gamaliel II., who was president (“nasi” ; 
Hor. 13b). In a mishnali (Hag. ii. 2) five pairs of 
scholars are enumerated who were at the head of 
the Great Bet Din at the time of the Second Temple ; 
and it is stated that one of each pair was nasi and the 
other ab bet din. These five pairs of scholars, who 
collectively are also designated “zugot” (Peah ii. 
6), were at the same time the most prominent repre- 
sentatives of the tradition (Ab. i. 1 et seq.) and at the 
head of the Pharisaic school. There is therefore no 
reason to doubt the statement that from the time the 
bet din came under Pharisaic influence 
The these Pharisaic teachers stood at its 
i i Zugot.” head. The fact that the high priest had 
formerly been the president of this bet 
din explains why there were two presidents. Since 
the high priest was probably frequently prevented 
from presiding at the meetings, or was perhaps not 
competent to do so, another officer had to be chosen 
who should be the actual director of the body. The 
double office was retained when, with the growing 
influence of the Pharisees, the nasi of the bet din 
was a scribe and no longer the high priest. The title 
“nasi,” which the president of the bet din bore, may 
have originated at the time when the high priest — 
the real prince and the head of the sta-te — acted as 
president. The following reason also may have de- 
termined the retention of the title, even after the 
high priest no longer officiated as president: The 


bet din, which, as shown above, was called also 
(corresponding to the Hebrew my), was 
identified with the Biblical “ ‘edali ” (comp. Sifre, 
Deut. 41 [ed. Friedmann, p. 59b] ; Sifra, Wayikra; 
ed. Weiss, 19a, where it is expressly stated that the 
Great Bet Din in the hall of hewn stone is the 
‘edah); and, since only a director of the ‘edali is 
called “nasi ” in Ex. xvi. 22 and Num. iv. 34, it may 
have seemed desirable to retain the title “ nasi ” for 
the president of the bet din. 

Business at the meetings of the bet din was trans- 
acted according to a certain order. Reliable tradi- 
tions describing the procedure and the balloting 
have been preserved in the Mishnah ; but it is im- 
possible to distinguish between the 
Order of regulations obtaining in the bet din at 
Business, the time of the Second Temple and 
those obtaining in the school of Jab- 
neh, which was regarded as a continuation of the 
Sanhedrin. The following are some of these regu- 
lations : The members of the bet din sat in a semi- 
circle in order that they might see one another 
(Sanh. iv. 2; Tosef., Sanh. viii. 1). The president 
sat in the center (Tosef., l.c.). Two secretaries re- 
corded the various opinions expressed by the mem- 
bers; according to one tradition there were three 
secretaries (Sanh. l.c.). When a question was raised 
and a member of the college declared that he was in 
possession of a tradition according to which the 
question might be decided, such tradition was de- 
cisive. When no member knew of any tradition re- 
lating to the question at issue, discussion followed 
and a ballot was taken (Tosef., Sanh. vii. 1). Three 
rows of scholars sat in front of the bet din, and 
filled vacancies in the latter when necessary (Sanh. iv. 
4; Tosef., Sanh. viii. 2). This regulation, however, 
refers only to the school of Jamnia and not to the 
bet din of the time of the Second Temple ; for only 
such men were appointed to membership in the 
latter as had previously sat in less important bodies. 

After the destruction of' the Temple at Jerusalem 
and the downwall of the Jewish state, the Academy 
of Jabneh was organized as the supreme religious 
authority, being therefore regarded as the continua- 
tion of the Great Bet Din in the hall of hewn stone. 
The later Jewish academies under the presidency of 
the patriarchs of the family of Hillel — hence, down 
to the end of the fourth century — were also regarded 
as the continuation of that institution (this is the 
meaning of the sentence “The bet din of the hall of 
hewn stone went on ten journeys until it finally 
settled at Tiberias ” ; R. II. 31a, b) ; they accordingly 
retained its organization, and the president bore the 
title of nasi, the second president officiating side by 
side with him as ab bet din. 

Bibliography : Schiirer, Gesch. ii. 188-189, where the litera- 
ture on the subject is given ; Jacob Reifmann, Sanhedrin , 
Berdychev, 1888; Bacher, art. Sanhedrin , in Hastings, Did . 
Bible ; Adolf Biichler, Das Swihedrium in Jerusalem und 
das Grosse Bet Din in der Quarterltammcr des Jer'iisalem- 
ischen Tempels , Vienna, 1903, the chief source for the view 
given above. 

w. b. J. Z. L. 

SANHEDRIN (“Court”): Name of a treatise 
of the Mishnah, Tosefta, and both Talmudim. It 
stands fourth in the order Nezikin in most editions, 
and is divided into eleven chapters containing sev- 
enty-one paragraphs in all. It treats chiefly of courts 



45 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Sanhedrin 


and their powers, of qualifications for the office of 
judge, and of legal procedure and criminal law. 

Cli i * Cases which are brought before a court of 
three judges (§§ 1-3), before a small sanhedrin of 
twenty-three members (§ 4), or before the Great 
Sanhedrin at Jerusalem consisting of seventy-one, 
or, according to R. Judah, of seventy members (§ 5); 
origin of the requirement that there should be sev- 
enty (or seventy-one) members in the Great San- 
hedrin, and twenty-three in the smaller body ; mini- 
mum number of inhabitants entitling a city to a 
sanhedrin (| 6). 

Ch ii : Rights of the high priest fel); rights and 
duties of the king, who may neither judge nor be 
judged, and may declare war only with 
Contents the consent of the Great Sanhedrin; 
Ch. i.-v. his share of the booty; he may not 
accumulate treasure for himself; he 
must have a copy of the Torah made for himself ; 
the reverence due him (§§ 2-5). 

Ch, iii, : Suits involving money which are decided 
by arbitrators ; cases in which one party may reject 
the judge selected or the witness cited by the other 
party ; persons debarred from acting either as judges 
or as witnesses (§§ 1-5) ; examination of witnesses, 
each of whom is questioned separately, with a sub- 
sequent comparison of their testimony' (§ 6); an- 
nouncement of the verdict by the president of the 
board ; no judge may say to either party : “ I wished 
to acquit thee, but 1 was overruled by the majority 
of my colleagues” (§ 7); if he who loses the case 
later produces written testimony or a witness in his 
favor, the sentence is reversed (§ 8). 

Ch. iv. : Difference in the proceedings and in the 
number of judges between trials in which money is 
involved and criminal cases in which the life of the 
defendant is in jeopardy, the former being conducted 
before three judges and the latter before a sanhedrin 
of twenty -three members (§§ 1-2); the sanhedrin sat 
in a semicircle, so that all the members might see 
one another, while the clerks recorded the reasons 
which the judges gave either for acquittal or for 
condemnation (§ 3); three rows of scholars versed in 
the Law sat in front of the sanhedrin, one or more 
of them being called upon at need to fill the bench, 
in case a quorum of judges was not present. (§ 4); 
.address to the witnesses in criminal cases, reminding 
them of the value of a human life ; in this connection 
it is said that Adam is called the ancestor of the whole 
human race, in order that no one might supercili- 
ously say to his fellow man : “ My great grandfather 
was more important than thine” (§ 5). 

Ch. v. : Examination of the witnesses regarding 
the time, place, and circumstances of the case, and 
the coherency of the testimony given ; consultation 
and mode of procedure on the part of the judges 
($§ 1-5). 

' Ch. vi. : How the condemned man is led to the 
place of execution ; proclamation of the verdict, so 
that a reversal may be possible at the 
Contents last moment if proofs of innocence are 
Ch. vi.-xi. produced (§ 1) ; the condemned man is 
exhorted to confess his sins that lie 
may atone for them by his deatli (§ 2); method of 
stoning to death, and cases in which those who are 
:stoned are hanged after death, and the manner of 


hanging (§§3-4); burial-place of those who have 
been executed, and the demeanor of their relatives 
(§§ 5-6). 

Ch. vii. : The four methods of capital punishment- 
stoning, burning, beheading, and strangling and 
the manner of each (§§ 1-3); crimes punishable by 
stoning (§§ 4-11). 

Ch. viii. : The circumstances in which a stubboin 
and rebellious son (comp. Deut. xxi. 18 et seg.) is re- 
garded and sentenced assucli(§§ 1-4); the stubborn 
son, like the burglar (comp. Ex. xxii. 1), is treated 
with severity in order that he may be prevented 
from committing greater crimes; in this connection 
the eases are given in which one about to commit 
a crime may be killed to prevent its commission 
(§§ 5-7). 

Ch. ix. : Criminals who are burned and those who 
I are beheaded ; cases in which homicide is not re- 
garded as murder (§§ 1-2) ; cases in which a mistake 
is made as to the identity of criminals condemned to 
death so that it is impossible to tell what punishment 
each one has deserved (§ 3) ; cases in which one has 
committed two different crimes, and so deserves two 
different forms of capital punishment (§ 4) ; criminals 
who are placed in solitary confinement (“kipali”; 

§ 5) ; eases in which a criminal taken in the act may 
be killed by any one without being brought before 

a court (§ 6). . . 

Ch. x. : Those who have no part in the future 
world ; the problem -whether the Ten Tribes will re- 
turn at some future time from tlie place of their 
exile (§§ 1-3); the idolatrous city (comp. Deut. xiii. 

13 et seg. ; §§ 4-6). ........ 

Ch. xi.: Criminals who are strangled (§ 1); the 
dissenting teacher (“zaken mamreli ”) and the pro- 
ceedings against him (§§ 2-4) ; the false prophet and 
the one who makes predictions in the name of idols 
(§§ 5-6). In the Mishnah of the Babylonian Talmud 
tiie order of the tenth and eleventh chapters is 
inverted. 

The Tosefta to Sanhedrin is divided into four- 
teen chapters, and contains many interesting liag- 
gadic interpretations and sayings besides the addi- 
tions and supplements to the Mishnah. Especially 
noteworthy is the attempt in iv. 5 to explain how 
the people sinned in asking for a king (I Sam. viii.). 
and thus to remove the discrepancy between I Sam. 
xii 17 and Deut. xvii. 14-20; there is likewise an 
interesting discussion of the problem whether the 
script in which the Torah was originally given to the 
people was changed, and, if so, when 
Tosefta the alteration was made (v. 7-8). 

and Other remarkable passages (xi. 6, xiv. 
Gemara. 1) state that the laws set forth in 
Deut. xiii. 13-18 and xxi. 18-21 are 
valid in theory only, since they never have been and 
never will be enforced in practise. 

The Gemara of both the Talmudim contains a 
mass of interesting maxims, legends, myths, stories, 
and haggadic sayings and interpretations in addi- 
tion to its elucidations of the passages of the Mish- 
nah, the number of baggadot on the tenth (or elev- 
enth) chapter being especially large. Among the 
interesting passages of the Babylonian Gemara may 
be noted the disputations with the heretics (38b- 
39a) ; the attempts to find the belief in the resurrec- 



Sanhedrin, French 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


46 


tion of tlie dead outlined in the Bible, and the po- 
lemics against heretics who deny the resurrection 
(90b-91a, 91b, 92a) ; the discussion whether the res- 
urrection of the dead described in Ezek. xxxvii. is 
to .be interpreted merely as a figurative prophetic 
vision or whether it was a real event (92b); and the 
discussions and computations of the time at which 
the Messiah will appear, with the events which will 
attend his coming (97b-99a). 

Especially noteworthy in the Palestinian Gemara 
are the legend of the angel who assumed the form 
of Solomon and deprived him of his throne (20c) ; 
the stoiy of the execution of the eighty sorceresses 
of Ashkelon on one da} r by Simeon b. Shetah (23d) ; 
and the account of the unfortunate and undeserved 
death of Simeon b. Shetali ’s son (28b). 
w. b. ’ J. Z. L. 

SANHEDRIN, FRENCH ; Jewish high court 
convened by Napoleon I. to give legal sanction to 
the principles expressed by the Assembly of Nota- 
bles in answer 
to the twelve 
questions sub- 
mitted to it by 
the government 
(see Jew. En- 
crc. v. 4CS, s.v. 

France). These 
questions were: 

1. Is it lawful for 
Jews to have more 
than one wife ? 

2. Is divorce al- 
lowed by the Jewish 
religion? Is divorce 
valid, although pro- 
nounced not by 
courts of justice but 
by virtue of laws in 
contradiction to the 
French code ? 

3. May a Jewess marry a Christian, or a Jew a Christian 
woman ? or does Jewish law order that the Jews should only 
intermarry among themselves ? 

4. In the eyes of Jews are Frenchmen not of the Jewish relig- 
ion considered as brethren or as strangers ? 

5. Vk hat conduct does Jewish law prescribe toward French- 
men not of the Jewish religion ? 

0. Do the Jews born in France, and treated by the law as 
French citizens, acknowledge France as their country? Are 
they bound to defend it? Are they bound to obey the laws and 
follow the directions of the civil code ? 

7. Who elects the rabbis? 

8. What kind of police jurisdiction do the rabbis exercise 
over the Jews? What judicial power do they exercise over 
them ? 

0. Are the police jurisdiction of the rabbis and the forms of 
the election regulated by Jewish law, or are they only sanc- 
tioned by custom ? 

10. Are there professions from which the Jews are excluded 
by their law ? 

11. Does Jewish law forbid the Jews to take usury from 
their brethren ? 

12. Does it forbid, or does it allow, usury in dealings with 
strangers ? 

At one of the meetings of the Notables, Commis- 
sioner Comte Louis Matthieu Mole expressed the 
satisfaction of the emperor with their answers, and 
announced that tlie emperor, requiring a pledge of 
strict adherence to these principles, had resolved 
to call together a great sanhedrin which should 
convert the answers into decisions and make them 
the basis of the future status of the Jews, create a 


new organization, and condemn all false interpreta- 
tions of tlieir religious laws. In order that this 
sanhedrin, reviving the old Sanhedrin 
Constitu- of Jerusalem, might be vested with 
tion of the the same sacred character as that time- 
French honored institution, it was to be con- 
Sanhedrin. stituted on a similar pattern: it was 
to be composed of seventy-one mem- 
bers— two-thirds of them rabbis and one-third lay- 
men. The Assembly of Notables, which was to con- 
tinue its sessions, was to elect the members of the 
sanhedrin, and notify the several communities of Eu- 
rope of its meeting, “that they may send deputies 
worthy of communicating with you and able to give 
to tlie government additional information. ” The As- 
sembly of Notables was to appoint also a commit- 
tee of nine, whose duty it would be to prepare the 
work of the sanhedrin and devise a plan for tlie 
future organization of the Jews in France and Italy 
(see Jew. Encyc. iv. 232, s.v. Consistory). 

On Oct. 6 , 
1S06, the As- 
sembly of No- 
tables issued a 
proclamation to 
all the Jewish 
communities of 
Europe, inviting 
them to send 
delegates to the 
sanhedrin, to 
convene on Oct. 
20. This procla- 
mation, written 
in Hebrew, 
French, Ger- 
man, and Ital- 
ian, speaks in ex- 
travagant terms 
of the importance of this revived institution and of 
the greatness of its imperial protector. While the 
action of Napoleon aroused in many Jews of Ger- 
many the hope that, influenced by it, tlieir govern- 
ments also would grant them the 'rights of citizen- 
ship, others looked upon it as a political contrivance. 
When in the war against Prussia (1806-7) the em- 
peror invaded Poland and the Jews rendered great 
services to his army, lie remarked, laughing, “The 
sanhedrin is at least useful to me.” David Fried- 
lander and his friends in Berlin described it as a 
spectacle that Napoleon offered to the Parisians. 

The opening of the sanhedrin was delayed until 
Feb. 9, 1807, four days after the adjournment of the 
Assembly of Notables. Its seventy-one members 
included the rabbis sitting in the Assembly, to 
whom were added twenty -nine other rabbis and 
twenty-five laymen. Its presiding officers, ap- 
pointed by the minister of the interior, were: David 
Sinzheim, rabbi of Strasburg (presi- 
Opening dent); Joshua Benzion Segre, rabbi, 
Session, and member of the municipal council 
of Vercelli (first vice-president) ; Abra- 
ham de Cologna, rabbi of Mantua (second vice-presi- 
dent). After a solemn religious service in the sjma- 
gogue, the members assembled in tlie Hotel de Yille, 
in a hall specially prepared for them. Following 



Medal Struck in Commemoration of the Sanhedrin Convened by Napoleon, 1807. 

(Iu the possession of Prof. John Bach RIcMaster, Philadelphia, Pa.) 




Title-Pages from the Prayers Recited at tiie Meeting of tiie Sanhedrin Convened by Napoleon, Paris, 1807 , 

(From the Sulzberger collection In the Jewish Theologlcnl Seminary of America, Now York.) 








Sanhedrin, French 
Santangrel 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


48 


the ancient custom, they took their seats in a semi- 
circle, according to age, on both sides of the pre- 
siding officers, the laymen behind the rabbis. They 
were attired in black garments, with silk capes and 
three-cornered hats. The sittings were public, and 
many visitors were present. The first meeting was 
opened with a Hebrew prayer written by David 
Sinzheim; after the address of the president and of 
Furtado, chairman of the Assembly of Notables, it 
was adjourned. At the second sitting, Feb. 12, 
1S07, deputies Asser, Lemon, and Litwack, of the 
newly constituted Amsterdam Reform congrega- 
tion Adat Jesliurun, addressed the sanhedrin, Lit- 
wack in Hebrew, the others in French, expressing 
their entire approval of the Assembly and promis- 
ing their hearty support. But the deputies were 
greatly disappointed when the president, after hav- 
ing answered them in Hebrew, invited them to be 
silent listeners instead of taking part in the debates 
as the proclamation of the Notables had caused them 
to expect. Addresses from congregations in France, 
Italy, and the Rhenish Confederation, especially 
from Neuwied and Dresden, were also presented. 

In the sittings of Feb. 16, 19, 28, 26, and March 
2, the sanhedrin voted without discussion on the re- 
plies of the Assembly of Notables, and passed them 
as laws. At the eighth meeting, on March 9, Hildes- 
lieimcr, deputy from Frankfort-on-tlie-Main, and 
Asser of Amsterdam delivered addresses, to which 
the president responded in Hebrew expressing great 
hopes for the future. After having received the 
thanks of the members, he closed the sanhedrin. 
The Notables convened again on March 25, pre- 
pared an official report, and presented it on April 6, 
1807 ; then the imperial commissioners declared the 
dissolution of the Assembty of Notables. 

The decisions of the sanhedrin, formulated in nine 
articles and drawn up in French and Hebrew, were 
as follows: (1) that, in conformity 
Its with the decree of R. Gershom, po- 
IDecisions. lygamy is forbidden to the Israelites : 

valid only after previous decision of the civil au- 
thorities; (8) that the religious act of marriage must 
be preceded by a civil contract; (4) that marriages 
contracted between Israelites and Christians are 
binding, although they can not be celebrated with 
religious forms; (5) that every Israelite is religiously 
bound to consider his non-Jewish fellow citizens 
as brothers, and to aid, protect, and love them as 
though they were coreligionists; (6) that the Israel- 
ite is required to consider the land of his birth or 
adoption as his fatherland, and shall love and de- 
fend it when called upon ; (7) that Judaism does not 
forbid any kind of handicraft or occupation; (8) 
that it is commendable for Israelites to engage in 
agriculture, manual labor, and the arts, as their an- 
cestors in Palestine were wont to do ; (9) that, finally, 
Israelites are forbidden to exact usury from Jew or 
Christian. 

In the introduction to these resolutions the sanhe- 
drin declared that, by virtue of the right conferred 
upon it by ancient custom and law, it constituted, 
like the ancient Sanhedrin, a legal assembly vested 
with the power of passing ordinances in order to 
promote the welfare of Israel and inculcate obedi- 


ence to the laws of the state. These resolutions 
formed the basis of all subsequent laws and regula- 
tions of the French government in regard to the 
religious affairs of the Jews, although Napoleon, in 
spite of the declarations, issued a decree on March 
17, 1808, restricting the Jews’ legal rights. The plan 
of organization prepared by the committee of nine, 
having for its object the creation of consistories, 
was not submitted to the sanhedrin, but was pro- 
mulgated by Napoleon’s decree of March 17, 1808. 

Bibliography : Griitz, Gesch. 1st ed., xi. 267 et seq., 620 et 
seq.; Leon Kahn, Les Juifs de Paris Pendant la Revo- 
lution , pp. 332 et seq.; S. Klein, La Vcrite sur le Talmud , 
German translation hy S. Mannheimer, pp. 137 et seq., Basel, 
1860; Jost, Gescli. ix. 121 et seq.; Tama, Transactions of 
the Pai'isian Sanhedrin , London, 1807. 
d. S. Man. 

SANITATION. See Health Laws. 

SANTA MARIA. See Paul pe Burgos. 

SANT AN GEL (SANCTO ANGELOS), 
LUIS (AZ ARIAS) DE: 1. Marano and learned 
jurist of Calatayud, Spain; died before 1459, He 
was converted by the sermons of Vicente Ferrer, 
and was made magistrate (‘‘zalmedina ”) of the cap- 
ital of Aragon. The name Luis de Santangel 
was borne also by the following: 

2. Grandson of No. 1. He was fiscal agent in 
Aragon, and in 1478 represented the knights and 
noblemen in the assembly of the Aragonese estates. 

3. Head of a mercantile house in Valencia; died 
in 1476. He maintained uninterruptedly business 
relations with King John of Aragon, and was farmer 
of the royal salt-pits at De la Mata, near Valencia, for 
which lie made an annual payment of 21,100 suel- 
dos, in accordance with an agreement dated July 9, 
1472. He farmed also the customs duties and the 
taxes in the royal domains. 

4. Grandson of No. 1; merchant of Saragossa. 
He joined the conspiracy of the Maranos against the 
inquisitor Pedro Arbues, and was publicly burned 
at the stake Aug. 18, 1487, at Saragossa. 

.£»_ Sojc ore 3sr<»- S. After Ills fatlier’s deiitli (1476) 

he succeeded him as farmer of the l'Oyal tilXGS, ana 
■ was subsequent^ promoted to the rank of royal 
counselor. He appeared as an adherent of Judaism 
in the sanbenito at the auto da fe in Saragossa July 
17, 1491. Ferdinand of Aragon, whose favorite he 
was, valued him highly for his faithfulness, hon- 
esty, and ability, and appointed him “escribano de 
radon,” that is, chancellor of the royal house of 
Aragon. 

Santangel took an important part in the discovery 
of America. After negotiations between Columbus 
and the Spanish king and queen had been broken 
off, lie succeeded in winning over Queen Isabella, 
and, from purely patriotic motives, himself lent 
the necessary money, 17,000 ducats (5,000,000 mar- 
avedis), without interest. It was Santangel that 
received Columbus’ first detailed report of his 
voyage and discoveries (see America, Tiie Dis- 
covery of). 

Ferdinand throughout his life continued to cher- 
ish friendly feelings for his beloved counselor. 
When Santangel’s daughter married D. Angel de 
Villanueva, a grandson of Moses Patagon of Cala- 
tayud (1493), the king, in recognition of the faith- 




THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


50 


San tar em 
Saphir 


fulness of lier father, presented her with the sum of 
30,000 sueldos. But the highest reward for the 
many memorable services rendered by Santangel to 
the king and to Spain was the royal exemption of 
Santangel -s children and grandchildren from liabil- 
ity to the charge of apostasy, the officers of the In- 
quisition in Valencia and other places being strictly 
forbidden to molest them in any manner on account 
of their religious belief. 

Bibliography : Kayserling, Christopher Columbus , pp. 60, 
65. 69 ct seq. 

A. M. K. 

SANTAREM : City of Portugal. Even before 
its conquest by the Portuguese in 1140, it possessed 
a Jewry, situated near the Church of S. Ildefonso. 
It is now .more than two centuries since this ceased 
t-o exist. The synagogue of Santarem was the old- 
est in all Portugal, and the city was the seat of the 
district rabbi, appointed by the chief rabbi for the 
province of Estremadura. In the “foro” or letter 
of freedom granted by Affonso Henriques to the 
city it was decided that when a Christian wished to 
pay a Jew a debt, the transaction was to take place in 
the presence of both Jews and Christians or through 
the agency of some one of prominence and established 
reputation. In a litigation between a Jew and a 
Christian or vice versa, only the Christian’s testi- 
mony was believed. When the daughter of Queen 
Isabella of Castile, the bride of the onty son of John 
II., entered Santarem in Nov., 1490, the Jews there, 
according to precedent, met her with their Torah 
scrolls, and made her the customary presents of 
cows, sheep, fowl, etc. 

After the expulsion of the Jews from Portugal, 
many secret Jews lived in Santarem. The earth- : 
quake oil Jan. 26, 1531, which caused great destruc- 
tion in Santarem, was ascribed by the fanatic monks 
to the fact that the city tolerated these secret Jews 
within its walls. Thereupon the people fell upon 
the innocent Maranos, among whom was the famous 
physician Amatus Lusitanus, and drove them from 
their houses. Against these acts of fanaticism the 
noble Bishop Fernando Coutinlio and the dramatist 
Gil Vicente especially protested loudly. See Gil 
Vicente. 

Bibliography : Kayserling, Geseh. der Juden in Portugal , 
pp. 2, 13, 98, 181, 269; Mendes dos Remedios, Os Judeus cm 
Portugal , pp. 181, 361. 

J. M. K. 

SANTOB (SHEM-TOB) DE CARRION : 

Spanish poet; born toward the end of the thirteenth 
century at Carrion de los Condes, a town in Castile, 
whence liis cognomen. He lived in the reigns of 
Alfonso XI. and his son and successor Pedro, with 
both of whom he was in high favor. The “ Doc- 
trina Christiana ” and “ Danza General en Que En- 
train Todos los Estados de Gente,” contained in the 
same manuscript with a collection of his poems, have 
long been falsely ascribed to him. 

Santob wrote “Consejos y Documentos del Rabbi 
Don Santo al Rey D. Pedro” or “Proverbios Mo- 
rales,” of which two manuscripts are in existence, 
one in the Escorial and the other in the National 
Library, Madrid. The proverbs as found in the two 
manuscripts are alike in content, but differ in word- 
ing; the latter consisting of 627, the former of 686, 


“coplas.” The manuscript of the National Library 
was copied by Ticknor in his “ History of Spanish 
Literature” (iii. 422-136, London, 1855). The Es- 
corial manuscript was published for the first time, 
with a collation of the Madrid text and under the 
title “Proverbios Morales del Rabbi Don Sem Tob,” 
in “Biblioteca de Autores Espanoles ” (lviii. 331-372, 
Madrid, 1864). Several verses have been translated 
into German by Kayserling in his “ Sephardim ” and 
by J. Fastenratli in liis “ Immortellen aus Toledo ” 
(Leipsic, 1869). The “Consejos” or “Proverbios 
Morales,” the composition of which the author began 
under King Alfonso, and which he afterward com- 
bined and dedicated to King Pedro (1357-60), begin 
as follows : 

“ Sennor Rey, noble, aito, 

Oy este sermon 

Que vyene desyr Santob 

Judio de Carrion.” 

Though without much coherence, the works of 
Santob are remarkable for the epigrammatic precision 
and vivacity of their style. The author based some 
of his apothegms on his own views on life, and 
others he took from the Proverbs of Solomon, Ec- 
clesiastes, Pirke Abot, the Talmud, and from the 
•works of the Spanish-Moorish period, e.g., Ibn Ga- 
birol’s “Mibhar lia-Peninim.” 

Bibliography; L. Stein, Untcrsuchungen Uber die Pro- 
verbios Morales von Santob de Carrion , Berlin, 1900; 
Rios, Estudios , pp. 305 ct seq.; idem, Hist. Critiea de la Li- 
tcratura Espanola , iv. 91 ct seq.; Ticknor, History of Sx>an- 
ish Literature, vols. i., iii.; Kayserling, Sephardim , pp. 21- 
45; idem, Bibl. Esp.-Port.-Jud. p.97; Gratz, Geseh. vii. 408. 
J. M. K. 

SANUA, JAMES (called also Abu Naddara 
= “lie of the spectacles” [“nazzarali”]): Egyptian 
publicist; born at Cairo April, 1839. He studied in 
Egypt and in Italy, and at the age of sixteen com- 
menced to contribute articles to Arabic, French, 
Italian, and English newspapers. In 1863 he be- 
came professor at the Ecole Polytechnique and ex- 
aminer of schools under the Egyptian government. 
In 1870 he introduced, the modern Arabic theater 
into Egypt.' He wrote no less than thirty - two 
pieces, and translated many others from European 
languages. In 1872 he founded the two societies 
Les Amis de la Science and Le Cercle des Progres- 
sistes. In 1877 he established “Le Journal d’ Aboil 
Naddara,” in which he foretold the English invasion 
of Egypt. 

On account of his opposition to the government 
Sanua was exiled in 1878. He then settled in Paris, 
from which city he has continued to publish his 
violently anti-English journal as the organ of the so- 
called Egyptian National party. In 1889 Sanua gave 
a series of lectures in Spain, Portugal, and north- 
west Africa. In 1890 he founded the monthly “ Al- 
Tawaddud,” and in 1899 the monthly “ Al-Munsif.” 
These three papers are published partly in Arabic 
and partly in English and French, with occasional 
Persian and Turkish. He has written also much 
poetry both in Arabic and in French. Among his 
other publications may be cited: “L’Egypte Sati- 
rique,” Paris, 1886; “Souhaits d* Orient,” 1892; 
“Abou Naddara a Stamboul,” 1892; and “Paris et 
Ses Expositions,” 1899. 

Sanua has visited the sultan several times, receiv- 



51 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Santarem 

Saphir 


ing from him numerous decorations. 
Shah of Persia conferred upon him the 
al-Mulk” (Poet of the Empire). 

s. 

SAPHIR, JACOB (known also as 
pir) : Rabbi and traveler 
of Rumanian diescent; •: 

horn in 1822 at Oshmiany, Ip 
government of Wilna; 
died in Jerusalem 1886. ; 

While still a boy he went 
to Palestine with his par- J 

ents, who settled at Safed ; s ’ " 0 .\ . •” 
and at their death (in 1 836) £ 

he removed to Jerusalem. 

In 1848 he was commis- 
sioned by the Jewish com- 
munity of the latter city | ^ 

southern countries to col- k ;‘ V 
lect alms for the poor of “• 
Jerusalem. In 1854 he 
undertook a second tour, > 

visiting Yemen, British 
India, Egypt, and f 

Australia. The result of 
this journey was his Mp/Y; 
“Eben Sappir” (vol. i., 

yence, 1874), in which 

work he gave the history, 

and a vivid though un- IjPEMP 

critical description of the 

condition, of the Jews HpHL. 

in the above-mentioned BP 

Saphir published also IHMWBl 

“IggeretTeman ” (Wilna, 

1868), a work on the ap- 


In 1900 the liner Courier ” (1827-29), gaining the favor of the 
title “ Sha‘ir general public by his clever pla} r s on words, a style 
then new in literature. His success made him many 
G. enemies, including Fouque, Forster, Cosmar, and 
Eben Sap- Diez, who attacked him in a pamphlet entitled 

“Saphir in Berlin.” This 
^ — v ' : ' s ‘ ;*« was ^answered by his 

f; ^ ~. ' He ttien as- 

Jaeob Saphir. The following is a list 

of Sapliir’s works: “Con- 


mm 






mm 


mm 


pearance in Yemen of the pseudo-Messiah Judah 
ben Shalom. 

Bibliography: Fuenn, Keneset Yisracl, pp.557-55S; idem, in 
Ha-Kcirmel, vi., Wilna, 1866 ; Geiger, in Jtid. Zeit. xi. 263- 
270. 

s. S. O. 


SAPHIR, MORITZ GOTTLIEB : Hungarian 
humorist; born at Lovas-Bereny Feb. 8, 1795; died 



Moritz G. Saphir. 


at Baden, near Vienna, 
Sept. 5, 1858. In 1S06 he 
went to Prague to study 
the Talmud ; but, feeling a 
deeper interest in German 
literature, he settled in 
Pestli in 1814, where he 
learned likewise French, 
English, and Italian. The 
reception given to “Pa- 
pilloten,” his first work 
(Pesth, 1821), encouraged 
him to go to Vienna, where 
he became a contributor to 
literary periodicals. After 
traveling through south- 


ern Germany in 1824. he settled in Berlin, where he 
edited both the “Berliner Schnellpost fiir Literatur, 
Theater und Geselligke.it ” (1826-29) and the “Ber- 


ditorei des Jocus” (Leipsic, 1825); “Gesammelte 
Schriften” (4 parts, Stuttgart, 1830); “Neueste 
Schriften” (3 parts, Munich, 1830); “ Humoristische 
Damenbibliothek ” (6 vols., Vienna, 1831-41); “Hu- 
moristische Abende ” (Augsburg, 1832) ; “ Humoristi- 
sche Glasperlen” (Munich, 1833); “Dumme Briefe” 
(2 parts, ib. 1834); “Carnevals und Masken-Al- 
manach ” (ib. 1834) ; and “ Das Fliegende Album fiir 
Ernst, Sclierz, Humor und Lebensfrohe Laune ” (2 
vols., Leipsic, 1846; 5th ed. 1875). His collected 
works have been published in 12 volumes (Briinn, 
1884), and in an enlarged edition in 26 volumes (ib. 
1890). 

In 1832 Saphir embraced the Protestant faith. 

Bibliography: Jiidischcs Athendum , p. 217; Pallas Lex. 

xiv.; Meyers Konvcrsations-Lexikon. 

s, L. V. 

SAPHIR, SIGMUND : Hungarian journalist; 
born in Hungary 1806 (according to some, 1S01); 
died at Pesth Oct. 17, 1S66. He edited several Ger- 
man papers in that city, among them the “ Pesther 
Tageblatt ” (1839-45), to which his uncle, the humor- 
ist, Moritz G. Saphir, contributed. It had occa- 
sionally articles of Jewish interest; for instance, 
Max Letteris’ “Das Tragische Ende eines Dicli- 
ters,” containing the legend of Judah ha-Levi’s 
death. Saphir further edited the “ Pesther Sonntags- 



Sapphire 

Saragrossa 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


52 


zeitung,” no complete sets of which are known to 
exist. On Jan. 3, 1864, a number appeared which 
was announced as beginning the seventh year of 
publication after an interruption. The paper often 
contained humorous sketches from Jewish life. He 
further edited, in conjunction with Count Maj lath, 
a poetical year-book entitled “Iris” (1840-41), which 
was subsequently continued for five years by Count 
Maj lath alone, one of its contributors being Ludwig 
August Frankl, who wrote for it “ A Night in the 
Ghetto of Home.” 


Bibliography : Wurzbacli, Biograplmches Lexikon ; Li- 
ter arise! ie$ Ccntralblatt, 1866, p. 1773; AUg. Zeit. des Jud, 
1866, p. 73.6. 


SAPPHIRE (Hebrew, T3D): A highly prized 
sky-blue precious stone, frequently mentioned in 
the Old Testament and Apocrypha (Ex. xxiv. 10, 
xxviii. IS, xxxix. 11; dob xxviii. 6, 16; Cant. v. 
14; Lam. iv. 7; Isa. liv. 11; Ezek. i. 26, x. 1, xxviii. 
13; Tobit xiii. 20). It is doubtful whether Job 
xxviii. 6 is correctly translated “it hath dust of 
gold.” The ancients, in any case, did not mean by 
“ sapphire” the stone which is now known under that 
name, but the so-called lapis lazuli, in which are in- 
terspersed many pyrites that glitter like gold against 
the blue background. The sapphire was highly 
prized by the Babylonians and Egyptians also. It 
was found in the mines of Tipper Egypt (comp. Job 
l.c.). In the Old Testament the sapphire is enumer- 
ated among the stones on the breastplate of the high 
priest (Ex. xxviii. 18, xxxix. 11). In the prophetic 
description of the New Jerusalem sapphire is men- 
tioned as forming the foundations of the city (Isa. 
liv. 11), also as the material of which the gates are 
to be built (Tobit xiii. 20). 

It is difficult to say with what meaning the sap- 
phire is used figuratively in the description of the 
human body in Cant. v. 14 and Lam. iv. 7 : the al- 
lusions have been referred both to the blue veins 
and to blue garments; but both passages cited may 
be corrupt. In the description of the tlieophany in 
Exodus and Ezekiel the foundation on which God's 
throne rests— the dark-blue firmament with its golden 
stars— is compared to a floor inlaid with sapphires 
(Ex. xxiv. 10; Ezek. i. 26. x. 7). 

j. I. Be. 


responsa he endeavored to give the reasons for his 
decisions, often declaring that if the consultants 
were present he would be better able, by discussing 
the various questions, to elucidate them. 

He warned the people not to establish institutions 
which they probably would be unable to observe. 
In cases where a community had bound itself by a 
vow to a statute which it found itself unable to ful- 
fil, he allowed it to break such vow (“Toratan sliel 
Rislionim, ” i. 47). His tolerance is shown by the fact 
that he particularly prohibited the robbing of a non- 
Jew, even when there was no “ hillul lia-Shem ” (prof- 
anation of the name of God; “Sha‘are Zedek,” part 
iv., gate 1, No. 7). But although of a mild dispo- 
sition, he insisted upon punishing severely the man 
who struck another man, or who ill-treated his wife, 
and the woman who was rebellious toward her hus- 
band (ib. part i., gate 6, Nos. 3-5); and he was very 
severe with regard to usury, placing many difficul- 
ties in the way of money-lenders (ib. part iv., gate 
2, Nos. 3-4). 

It may be pointed out that when consulted as to 
the custom obtaining in certain places of washing 
the hands and then sitting on the ground seven times 
when returning from a funeral, he answered that the 
practise was followed only by the relatives of the de- 
ceased, and that the purpose of sitting on the ground 
was to drive away thereby the demons who accom- 
pany a man when returning from the funeral of a 
relative (ib. part iii., gate 4, No. 20). Thus it seems 
that he either believed in demons himself, or, at least, 
did not oppose the popular belief in them. 

Sar Shalom manifested a tendency to interpret the 
Bible cabalistically. He particularly tried to explain 
the numbers symbolically ; thus he declared that the 
candlestick, consisting of twenty-five parts (comp. 
Ex. xxv. 31-37), symbolizes the twenty-five gener- 
ations from Adam to Moses; the ten curtains cover- 
ing the Tabernacle (ib. xxvi. 1 et seq.), the ten com- 
mandments or Decalogue; and the thirty cubits’ 
length of the upper curtains, the thirty generations 
from Isaac, who was the first circumcised on the 
eighth day, to Zedekiah, in whose days the Temple 
was destroyed. In explaining the expression “ the 
ark of the covenant ” (Josh. iii. 11) he identifies the 
Ark with the angel (“Teshubot Ge’onim Kadmo- 
nim,” No. 15). 


SAR SHALOM BEN BOAZ : Gaon of Sura, 
where he died about 859 or 864, having held the 
gaonate for ten years. He succeeded Kolien Zedek 
I., and was in turn succeeded by Natronai b. Hilai. 
He left more than 100 responsa, a great many of 
which are to be found in the collection “Sha'are 
Zedek” (Salonica, 1792), forty-seven in “Teshubot 
Ge’onim Kadmonim ” (Nos. 18-60, Berlin, 1848), 
twent3r-.se ven in “Sefer Sha'are Tesliubah,” and 
some in “ Toratan sliel Rislionim ” (Frank fort-on-the- 
Main, 1881). His responsa show clearly that Sar 
Shalom was very tolerant toward non-Jews, mild 
toward his subordinates, and liberal in the enforce- 
ment of the laws. He was consulted by chiefs of 
communities of distant countries, whom, instead of 
commanding, as it was in his power to do, he an- 
swered in a friendly manner, explaining the differ- 
ence between the customs of his school and those of 
Pumbedita, and leaving the choice to them. In his 


Bibliography: Burst, in Orient* Lit.x. 187 ; idem, Bibl.Jud. 
iii. 216 ; Gratz, Geseh. 3d ed., v. 231 ; Kaminka, in Winter and 
Wunsche, Die Jiidische Utteratur, ii. 20 et seq., 242; S. J. 
Rapoport, in Bildmre ha-Iltim , x. 36, note 28; idem, in 
Teshubot Ge'onvm Kadmonim, pp. 8-10; Weiss, Dor , iv. 

w. b. M. Sel. 

SARAGOSSA (Spanish, Zaragoza; the Roman 
Csesaraugusta ; Hebrew, TODIp'lD) : Capital of 
the former kingdom of Aragon. The cit} r is situ- 
ated on the Ebro, which is crossed by a long stone 
bridge constructed with the municipal fees received 
from the mikweli during the two years beginning 
May L 1266. Jews resided in Saragossa at a very 
earl} r time. By the tenth century they had formed a 
flourishing congregation, while the civil wars which 
raged under Sulaiman (1012) caused several Jewish 
scholars, including Ibn Janali, Solomon ibn Gabirol, 
and Moses ibn Gikatilla, to go to Saragossa, where 
tlie3 r were welcomed with hospitality. Like Samuel 



53 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Sapphire 

Saragossa 


ibn Nagdela in Granada, Jekuthiel ibn Hasan then 
occupied a high position under King Yahya ibn al- 
Mundhir, whom he served until he Avas killed at the 
same time as his sovereign. After several bloody 
struggles and vain attempts on the part of the kings 
of Aragon to take the city, it surrendered to them 
on Dec. 18, 1118. Alfonso I., “el Batallador,” the 
conqueror of Saragossa, imitated the example of 
King Alfonso VI. of Castile, and granted several 
privileges to the Jcavs, who had enjoyed under the 
califs equal rights with the Saracens. James I. de- 
clared all the Jews of his empire to be his property, 
and placed them under the jurisdic- 
Under the tion of a “bayle general.” Among 
Spaniards, those who held this office AAms Judah 
or Jehudano de Cavalleria, the richest 
and most respected Jcav of Aragon, who was head 
bailiff of Saragossa, and even of the entire kingdom, 
for several decades. He was frequently consulted 
by the king, James I., in affairs of state, and in 1263 
by the king’s orders he equipped a fleet. The treas- 
urers A bray m (Abraham) and Bondia (Yom-Tob) 
likewise lived in Saragossa, although no details are 
known regarding them. 

In this city, as in all the towns of Spain, the JeAvs 
lived in a Juderia, Avhicli Avas surrounded by Avails 
and provided xvitli gates. The quarter was very 
large, bordering on the Coso, and extending from 
the Church of S. Gil to the Plaza de Magdalena, 
along the Calle de la Veronica, Avliich is uoav called 
Barrionuevo. It thus included the folloAving streets, 
Avhicli Avere mostty named according to the trades 
pursued by their inhabitants: La Cucliilleria (Cut- 
lers’ street), La Pelliceria (TaAvers’ street), Plateria 
(Goldsmiths’ . street), Teneria (Tanners’ street), Fre- 
neria (Saddlers’ street), Borzaria, and others, Avliile, 
in accordance AA T ith a decree of Alfonso III., dated 
Nov, 5, 1288, Jewish cloth-dealers were permitted 
to sell their Avares in the Pieatoria, as far as the 
Corrigeria (Strap-Makers’ street). The Juderia re- 
mained closed on Holy Thursday and on Good Fri- 
day ; and, according to a resolution of the city coun- 
cil, passed April 14, 1442, the JeAvs were obliged to 
make an annual payment of 200 sueldos to the porter 
for opening and closing the gates (Act. de Ayun- 
tamiento de Zaragoza de 1442; comp. “R. E. J.” 
xxviii. 117). 

The aljama in Saragossa was very rich and popu- 
lous; but the estimate of 5,000 families, even for the 
most flourishing period, is too high (Brull’s “ Jahrb.” 
vi. 38). The JeAvs of the city carried on an active 
trade in their oavu manufactures as Avell as in cloth, 
silk, leather, cotton, flax, and other articles. James I. 
accorded them the privilege of manufacturing col- 
ored cloths ; and in 1323 James II. conferred upon 
them the right to dye cotton, silk, and linen. They 
pursued a great variety of trades; among them Avere, 
as may be inferred from the street-names mentioned 
aboA r e, goldsmiths and cutlers, taAA r ers and tanners, 
strap-makers and saddlers, avIio, in accordance with 
the strongly marked Aragonese cus- 

Jewish tom, had gilds of their oAvn, like the 

Gilds. Christians. The fraternity (“con- 

fradia ”) of the shoemakers— who Avere 
then, as now, A r ery numerous, the city having long 
been famous for its leather-factories — resolved by a 


statute, confirmed May 6, 1336, by King Pedro III., 
that every member, under penalty of one dinero to 
be paid into the society treasury (Almosina = npl^), 
should attend Avedding and circumcision celebra- 
tions arranged by any of its members, visit on each 
Sabbath any member who had fallen sick, and, in 
case of death, go to his house, escort the body to 
the grave, and assemble in the house for prayer 
during the days of mourning. Each needy member 
Avho fell ill received two dineros daily from the 
treasury of the fraternity (“Coleccion de Docu- 
mentos Ineditos de la Corona de Aragon,” xl. 131 et 
seq . ; “ Allg. Zeit. des Jud.” lvi. 438). To encourage 
industry, the JeAvs were permitted, about 1330, to 
keep stores outside the Juderia ; but this privilege 
Avas soon revoked. 

The taxes imposed upon the Saragossa JeAvs were 
very oppressive: besides the “cena,” or so-called 
“Jews’ tax,” and the city assessments, they were 
obliged to pay to the king 3,000 sueldos yearly 
(“Col. de Documentos,”ix. 1. 185 et seq.), and to this 
sum were added extraordinary subsidies. In 1289 the 
JeAA r s AA T ere compelled to advance James II. 12,000 
sueldos for his campaign against Sicily, although 
until this sum was repaid they Avere to be exempt 
from all state taxes. When, in 1332, the aljama 
had become so reduced that it was unable to pay 
even the taxes, the subsidies were temporarily re- 
mitted (Jacobs, “Sources,” Nos. 1011, 1059, 1163, 
1176; Rios, “Hist.” ii. 159). The officials of the 
aljama, the rabbis, administrators, and assessors, 
were nominated (or confirmed) and protected by the 
king. Whenever he came to Saragossa and visited 
the Juderia, the aljama, or rather its rabbis and assist- 
ant rabbis, Avent to meet him in festive procession, 
bearing richly decorated Torah scrolls. It is related 
that once the' aljama secretly resolved to render the 
customary homage, but with empty Torah cases. In 
1420 this was reported to the king, Alfonso V., by a 
JeAV avIio had been baptized, although he had been 
employed at the royal court even before conversion. 
Alfonso determined to punish the aljama for the 
deception. His design Avas frustrated, however, 
by a pious servant of the synagogue Avho hurriedly 
placed scrolls of the Law in all the cases. When 
the king, together with the informer and an armed 
retinue, visited the Juderia on the 17th of Sliebat, 
Avhicli was the following day, and the aljama came 
to meet him with the scrolls of the Law, he ex- 
pressed a Avish to see the Torah. To his surprise, 
all the scrolls were sIioavu to him, whereupon the 
Jcavs were graciously dismissed, and the informer 
was executed as a calumniator. The 17th of Sliebat 
was thenceforth celebrated annually in Saragossa 
after the manner *of the Purim festival (Brull’s 
“ Jahrb.” vi. 38 et seq.). 

The community OAvned several synagogues, al- 
though there is no evidence to support the statement 
that there were exactly tAvelve. The 
The Syna- Great Synagogue, a magnificent struc- 

gogues. ture situated near the Coso, consisted 
of three naves, the central one being 
higher than the other t avo, Avhile the roof, supported 
by three columns, Avas ornamented with many gilded 
carvings. At the entrance Avas a large gate with 
six small doors on each side. In the interior of 



Saragrossa 

Sarah 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


54 


the building the walls were decorated with verses of 
the Psalms in large red and blue Hebrew letters 
(“Boletin Acad. Hist.” xviii. 83 etseg.), and the Ark 
was a splendid piece of mosaic. The remaining 
synagogues were smaller in size. Whenever a mem- 
ber of the community was about to sell or give 
away a piece of property, it was customary to an- 
nounce the fact in three synagogues on four suc- 
cessive Sabbaths, and to give notice that all claims 
upon the property must be presented within four 
weeks (Isaac b. Slieshet, Responsa, No. 388). 

The community of Saragossa had not a good 
moral or religious reputation ; and its licentiousness 
was censured by the grammarian Ibn Janah and by 
the pessimistic poet Solomon ibn Gabirol as early 
as the eleventh century. Two centuries later the 
Jews of the city were much more severely condemned 
for godlessness, ignorance, sensuality, and immo- 
rality by the satirist Solomon Bonfed, a deposed 
rabbi of Saragossa (“ Catalogue of the Michael Li- 
brary,” pp. 363 et seq ., Hamburg, 1848). It is at 
least clear that this Jewish community formed a 
sharp contrast to that of Toledo. As early as the 
thirteenth century, according to the complaints of 
Baliy a b. Asher, a native of Saragossa, the most im- 
portant religious commands were slightly regarded, 
and despite the existence of a Jewish school and a 
society of Talmudic scholars (Confradia de Estu- 
dios de los Judios; Jacobs, “Sources,” No. 1177), 
the study of the Talmud was not pursued assidu- 
ously. The rich Jews of the city strove for the 
friendship of the Christians, married 
Frequent Christian women, and accepted Chris- 
Inter- tian husbands for tlieir daughters, 
marriages. In the controversy over the writings 
of Maimonides, the congregation of 
Saragossa and their leader, Don Bahya ben Moses, 
physician in ordinary to King James L, were fore- 
most among his defenders. The tendency of Sara- 
gossa was liberal; and its congregation was prob- 
ably the only one in Spain in which the scroll of 
Esther was read to the women at Purim in Spanish, 
instead of in Hebrew— a fact which roused the in- 
dignation of Isaac b. Slieshet, a rabbi of the town, 
and of liis teacher Nissim (Isaac b. Shesbet, X.c. 
Nos. 389, 390). 

The aljama in Saragossa liad several famous rab- 
bis and preachers, among them, according to a gen- 
erally accepted but unsupported view, Bahya b. 
Joseph, author of the “Hobot ha-Lebabot,” and the 
equally noted preacher Baliya ben Asher, who 
wrote, two hundred years later, a valuable com- 
mentary on the Pentateuch. A highly respected 
rabbi was Azariali ibn Jacob (1313-28), described as 
“ Excelentissimo de la Juderia de Zaragoza.” Like 
Solomon ibn Jacob (1297-1301)— bis brother, if not 
his father— he was a physician, and, like him also, 
enjoyed special privileges from the king, having an 
assistant hy royal permission (“ Arch, de la Corona 
de Aragon,” reg. 477, fol. 147; 860, fol. 60). Aaron 
b. Joseph ha-Levi was a rabbi in Saragossa at the 
same time as Azariali. In the last third of the four- 
teenth century the office was held by the easy- 
going and indulgent Joseph b. David, as well as by 
Isaac ben Slieshet and the celebrated Hasdai Cres- 
cas. Rabbi Zerahiah ha-Levi, with the learned Yidal 


Benveniste and R. Mattathias ha-Yizhari, repre- 
sented the congregation at the disputation in Tor- 
tosa. Jewish physicians were numerous in Sara- 
gossa, where several members of the Benveniste 
family lived. Nathaniel ibn Almoli was a resident 
of the city at the same time as the Solomon ibn 
Jacob mentioned above; and a few decades later 
Samuel Alazar, physician in ordinary to the king 
(“fisieo de su magestad”), was especially favored, 
as were other members of liis family (“Arch, de la 
Corona dc Aragon,” reg. 860, fol. 20; 861, fol. 213; 
863, fol. 205), to which belonged Don Ezra of Sara- 
gossa, a personal acquaintance of Isaac b. Slieshet 
(Isaac b. Slieshet, l.c. Nos. 215, 388). 

The year 1391 marks a crisis in the history of the 
community of Saragossa as well as in the fortunes 
of the Spanish Jews in general, and the congre- 
gation soon sank into comparative 
Massacre insignificance in size and importance, 
of 1391. In consequence of the persecutions and 
subsequent^ of the sermons of Vi- 
cente Ferrer its richest members renounced Juda- 
ism. Then came the plague, which raged in 1429, 
1448, and the following years, and carried off many 
Jews. Saragossa was filled with Maranos, who were 
the richest inhabitants of the town, owning tlie 
most beautiful houses at the “Mercado” (the mar- 
ket-place), holding the highest offices, and occu- 
pying the most important positions. They were 
the bitterest opponents of tlie introduction of the 
Inquisition; and hundreds of them fell as victims of 
tlie tribunal during the first years of its activity. 
On June 30, 1486, Juan de Esperandeu, who owned 
houses and large tanneries on the Coso, together 
with Manuel de Almazan and other coreligionists of 
Saragossa, was publicly burned at the stake. On 
the first visit of tlie king and queen to the capital of 
Aragon, which took place a few weeks later, the 
aljama of the city presented them with twelve cows 
decorated with rich ornaments, an equal number of 
wetliers, a silver table-service (carried by twelve 
Jews), and two silver dishes, one hearing a precious 
goblet and tlie other a goblet filled with Castellanos, 
each castellano having the value of 480 maravedis. 

The decree of banishment was scarcely promul- 
gated when the city council of Saragossa pressed a 
claim for 4,000 sueldos against the aljama. The J ews 
sold their looms, their manufactures, and other goods 
at a great loss, and left the town. The main street 
of the Juderia was given tlie name “ Barrionuevo ” 
some weeks later, while the Great Synagogue served 
for a time as a warehouse, until the Jesuits enlarged 
it in 1560, and dedicated it as a church. It was torn 
down, however, fifteen years later, and on its site 
was .erected a church which is still standing and is 
the largest in Saragossa. 

Bibliography : Rios, Hist. i. 225 et seq ., 386, 396 ; ii. 155, 296 ; 
iii. 71 et seq., 259 etseg., 292; Tourtoulon, Jacme I. le Con- 
querant , Hoi cV Aragon, ii. 376 et seq., Montpellier, 1867 ; 
Jacobs, Sources , s.v.; Boletin Acad. Hist, xviii. 83 etseg., 
xxxii. 89 et seq.; R.E.J. xxviii. 115 et seq. 
g. M. K. 

SARAGOSSI, JOSEPH : Talmudist and caba- 
list of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. On be- 
ing banished from Spain in 1492 he went successively 
to Sicily, Beirut, and Sidon. He resided in Sidon 
for some time, and finally settled at Safed, where 



55 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Saragrossa 

Sarah. 


he assumed the position of rabbi. Possessed of a 
mild character, and esteeming above all else peace 
and harmony, Saragossi gained the love not only of. 
his flock, but even of the Mohammedan inhabitants 
of Safed, toward whom he displayed a spirit of con- 
ciliation and great tolerance. At one time Saragossi 
was on the point of leaving Safed, when he was 
prevailed upon by the inhabitants to remain, they 
promising him an annual salary of 50 ducats, two- 
tliirds of which sum was furnished by the Moham- 
medan governor of the city. Combining Talmudic 
with cabalistic knowledge, Saragossi contributed 
largely to the development of those branches of 
Jewish learning in Safed. His lectures on the Cabala 
were attended by David ibn Abu Zimra. 

Bibliography : Sliebahe Yerushalayim, p. 16b ; Griitz, Gesch. 

ix. 17, 26. ‘ T ^ 

s. I. Br. 

SARAH (SARAI). — Biblical Data: Wife of 
Abraham, who for a long period remained childless 
{Gen. xi. 29-30). She accompanied her husband- 
from Haran to Canaan (ib. xii. 5). Driven by 
famine to take refuge in Egypt, Abraham, fearing 
that her beauty would put his life in danger if 
their true relations became known, proposed that 
she pass as his sister. .As he had apprehended, she 
was actually taken by Pharaoh, to whom her per- 
sonal charms had been highly praised (ib. xii. 10 
et seq.), while Abraham was richly dowered by the 
monarch on her account. But, visited by troubles, 
Pharaoh began to suspect the truth ; and, censuring 
Abraham, he bade him take his wife and depart. 

Sarai being still childless, she induced her hus- 
band to take her Egyptian handmaid Ilagar for a 
concubine, that through her she might be “built 
up.” Hagar, feeling herself quick with child, de- 
spised her mistress, whereupon Sarai bitterly up- 
braided her husband. Wishing not to be involved 
in the quarrel, Abraham told her to do with her - 
handmaid as she deemed best, and Hagar was soon 
compelled to flee by the harsh treatment accorded 
her; but an angel, announcing that her seed would 
be numerous, urged her to return to Sarah (ib. 
xvi.). After Hagar had borne Ishmael, God told 
Abraham, whose name hitherto had been Abram, to 
change Sarai 's name to “Sarah,” announcing that 
she would bear him a son. Incredulous on account 
of Sarah’s age (she was ninety), Abraham burst into 
laughter, wherefor the son was to be called “Isaac ” 
(ib. xvii.). Sarah overheard that she was to give 
birth to a son when, at a subsequent visit of the 
three messengers on their way to Sodom, the prom- 
ise was renewed ; she, too, was incredulous, and 
laughed inwardly, but when interrogated denied 
that she had laughed (ib. xviii,). 

Abraham next removed to Gerar, where Sarah 
had an experience with Abimelech similar to the one 
she had had in Egypt. Abimelech, however, vras 
warned in a dream. Reproved for the wrong done, 
Abraham justified liis and Sarah’s statement by the 
explanation that Sarah was the daughter of his father 
but not of his mother (ib. xx. 1-12). After this, 
Sarah bore a son, Isaac, which aroused her to say, 
* God hath made me to laugh, so that all that hear 
will laugh with me ” (ib. xxi. 1-7). The fact that 
now she had a son of her own augmented her dis- 


pleasure with Hagar and Ishmael ; and Abraham, at 
her solicitation, sent both away after God had quieted 
his scruples (ib. xxi. 10 et seq.). Sarah’s death is 
very briefly recorded as having taken place in Kir- 
jath-arba, or Hebron, when she had attained the age 
of 127 years. She was buried by Abraham in the 
cave of Machpelah (ib. xxiii., xxv. 10, xlix. 31). No 
other reference^ to Sarah is found in the Hebrew 
canon, except in Isa. li. 2, where the prophet ap- 
peals to his hearers to “look unto Abraham your 
father, and unto Sarah that bare you. ” 

E. G. H. 

In Rabbinical Literature : Sarah was the 

niece of Abraham, being the daughter of his brother 
Haran. She was called also “Iscah” (Gen. xi. 29), 
because her beauty attracted general attention and 
admiration (Meg. 14a). She was so beautiful that 
all other persons seemed apes in comparison (B. B. 
58a). Even the hardships of her journey with Abra- 
ham did not affect her beauty (Gen. 
Named R. xi. 4). According to another ex- 

Iscah. planation, she was called Iscah be- 

cause she had prophetic vision (Meg. 
l.c.). She was superior to Abraham in the gift of 
prophecy (Ex. R. i. 1). She was the “ crown ” of her 
husband; and he obeyed her words because he rec- 
ognized this superiority on her part (Gen. R. xlvii. 
1). She was the only woman -whom God deemed 
worthy to be addressed by Him directly, all the other 
prophetesses receiving their revelations through 
angels (ib. xlv. 14). On their journeys Abraham 
converted the men, and Sarah the women (ib. 
xxxix. 21). She was called originally “Sarai,” i.e., 
“my princess,” because she was the princess of her 
house and of her tribe ; later she was called “ Sarah ” 
= “princess,” because she was recognized generally 
as such (Ber. 13a; Gen. R. xlvii. 1). 

On the journey to Egypt, Abraham hid his wife in 
a chest in order that no one might see her. At the 
frontier the chest had to pass through the hands of 
certain officials, who insisted on examining its con- 
tents in order to determine the amount of duty pay- 
able. When it was opened a bright light proceeded 
from Sarah’s beauty. Every one of the officials 
wished to secure possession, of her, each offering 
a higher sum than his rival (Gen. R. xl. 6; “Sefer 
lia-Yashar,” section “ Lek Leka ”). When brought 
before Pharaoh, Sarah said that Abraham was her 
brother, and the king thereupon bestowed upon 
the latter many presents and marks of distinction 
(“ Sefer lia-Yashar,” l.c.). As a token of his love for 
Sarah the king deeded his entire property to her, 
and gave her the land of Goshen as her hereditary 
possession: for this reason the Israelites subse- 
quently lived in that land (Pirke R. El. xxxvi.). He 
gave her also his own daughter Hagar as slave (ib.). 

Sarah prayed to God to deliver her 
In from the king, and He thereupon sent 
Pharaoh’s an angel, who struck Pharaoh when- 
Harem. ever he attempted to touch her. Pha- 
raoh was so astonished at these blows 
that he spoke kindly to Sarah, who confessed that 
she was Abraham’s wife. The king then ceased to 
annoy her (“Sefer lia-Yashar,” l.c.). According to 
another version. Pharaoh persisted in annoying her 
after she had told him that she was a married worn- 



Sarah 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


56 


an : thereupon the angel struck liim so violently that 
lie became ill, and was thereby prevented from con- 
tinuing to trouble her (Gen. R. xli. 2). According 
to one tradition it was when Pharaoh saw these mira- 
cles wrought iu Sarah’s behalf that he gave her his 
daughter Hagar as slave, saying: “It is better that 
my daughter should be a slave in the house of such 
a woman than mistress in another house”; Abim- 
elccli acted likewise (Gen. R. xlv. 2). Sarah treated 
Hagar well, and induced women who came to visit 
her to visit Hagar also. Hagar, when pregnant by 
Abraham, began to act superciliously toward Sarah, 
provoking the latter to treat her harshly, to impose 
heavy work upon her, and even to strike her (ib. 
xlv. 9). 

Sarah was originally destined, like Abraham, to 
reach the age of 175 years, but forty-eight years of 
this span of life were taken away from 
Relations her because she complained of Abra- 
witli ham, blaming him as though the cause 

Hagar. that Hagar no longer respected her 
(R. II. 16b; Gen. R. xlv. 7). Sarah 
was sterile ; but a miracle was vouchsafed to her 
(Gen. R. xlvii. 3) after her name was changed from 
“Sarai ” to “Sarah ” (R. IT. 16b). When her youth 
had been restored and she had given birth to Isaac, 
the people would not believe in the miracle, saying 
that the patriarch and his wife had adopted a found- 
ling and pretended that it was their own son. Abra- 
ham thereupon invited all the notabilities to a ban- 
quet on the day when Isaac was to be weaned. 
Sarah invited the women also, who brought their 
infants with them; and oil this occasion she gave 
suck to all the strange children, thus convincing the 
guests of the miracle (B. M. 87a; comp. Gen. R. 
liii. 13). Sarah’s behavior toward Islimael, whom 
she drove away from his father’s roof, is justified 
on the ground that she saw liim commit the three 
greatest si us, namely, idolatry, unchastity, and mur- 
der (ib. liii. 15). 

Legends connect Sarah’s death with the sacrifice 
of Isaac (id. lviii. 5), there being two versions of the 
story. According to one, Samael came to her and 
said: “Your old husband seized the boy and sacri- 
ficed him. The boy wailed and wept ; 
Died at but he could not escape from his 
Thought of father.” Sarah began to cry bitterly, 
the and ultimately died of her grief (Pirke 
Sacrifice of R. El. xxxii.). According to the other 
< Isaac. legend, Satan, disguised as an old 
man, came to Sarah and told her that 
Isaac had been sacrificed. She, believing it to be 
true, cried bitterly, but soon comforted herself with 
the thought that the sacrifice had been offered at 
the command of God. She started from Beer-slieba 
to Hebron, asking every one she met if he knew iu 
which direction Abraham had gone. Then Satan came 
again in human shape and told her that it. was not 
true that Isaac had been sacrificed, but that he was 
living and would soon return with his father. Sarah, 
on hearing this, died of joy at Hebron. Abraham 
and Isaac returned to their home at Beer-slieba, and, 
not finding Sarah there, went to Hebron, where they 
discovered her dead (“Sefer ha-Yashar,” section 
u Way era ”). During Sarah’s lifetime her house was 
always hospitably open, the dough was miraculously 


increased, a light burned from Friday evening to 
Friday evening, and a pillar of cloud rested upon 
the entrance to her tent (Gen. R. lx. 15). 

w. b. J. Z. L. 

Critical View ; The two forms of the name, 

“Sarah” and “Sarai,” are identical in meaning; it 
is difficult to understand the reason for the change. 
“Sarai” is probably the more archaic form of 
“Sarah,” though the termination “ai” is unusual 
iu the feminine. The writer of Geu. xvii. 15 must 
have considered the “ah ” of “Sarah ” as implying in 
some way “yaliu” or “yah” (the “Yhwii” ele- 
ment). Accordingly, the change would be similar 
to that of “Joshua” to “Jehoshua.” Perhaps it 
was the intention to read the name “Sarayahu,” the 
“liu” being added to “Sarai.” In that case the 
meaning “princess” now given to “Sarah ” must he 
abandoned. The element “ sarah ” is iden tical with a 
part of the name “ Israel, ” and “ Sarah ” and “ Sarai ” 
are appropriate names for Israel’s mother (Isa. li. 2; 
comp. Robertson Smith, “Kinship and Marriage,” 
p. 30; for the forms see Olshausen, “Lehrbuch dor 
Ilebraischen Sprache,” § 110; Noldeke, in “Z. D. 
M. G.” 1886, p. 1S3; 1S8S, p. 484; Konig, “ His- 
loriscli-Kritisclies Lclirgebaude,” II. i. 427). The 
name “ Sa-ra-a ” is reported to occur in Babylonian 
tablets (Clieyne and Black, “Encyc. Bibl.” iv. 4285, 
note 3). 

The story of Sarah’s life, brief and incomplete as 
it. is, presents nevertheless curious repetitions, e.g., 
the incident with Pharaoh and a similar incident 
with Abimelech (Gen. xii. 10 et seq. 
Repetitions and xx. 1 et seq.). Marriages with 

in the half-sisters were, iu primitive matri- 
Narrative. arch}’-, regarded as anything hut in- 
cestuous. From the poiut of view of 
the history of culture these episodes are very in- 
structive. But it is not very probable that Abra- 
ham would have run the risk twice. Moreover, a 
similar incident is reported in regard to Isaac and 
Rebecca (ib. xxvi. 6-11). This recurrence indicates 
that none of the accounts is to be accepted as histor- 
ical ; all three are variations of a theme common to 
the popular oral histories of the Patriarchs. That 
women were married in the way here supposed is not 
to be doubted. The purpose of the story is to extol 
the heroines as most beautiful and show that the 
Patriarchs were under the special protection of the 
Deity. The promise of Isaac and the explanation 
of the name are given in duplicate. First, Abraham 
is the recipient of the promise, and he laughs (ib. 
xvii. 15-21). In the second narrative (ib. xviii.) 
Abraham again is given the promise, but Sarah 
laughs. Finally, the name receives a third justifi- 
cation in Sarah’s exclamation at his birth (ib. xxi. 6). 

According to Penfcateuchal analysis, the refer- 
ences to Sarah in Genesis are divided among the 
various strata as follows: 

Gen. xi. 29 belongs to J (Jalivist); xii. 5, 10-20 to J; xvi. to 
J (except la, b\ 15, 10); xvii. 15-21 to P (Priestly Code); xviii. to 
.1 ; xx. to E (Elohist); xxi. la, 2a to J ; xxi. 6, 7 to E ; the re- 
mainder to P. 

Concerning the kernel of historical fact underly- 
ing the patriarchal cycle in Genesis, and thus also 
the detached glosses concerning Sarai = Sarah, there 
is no unanimity of opinion among scholars. Their 



57 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Sarah. 


various views may bo summarized as follows: (1) 
The Patriarchs, including Abraliam, so likewise his 
wives, were historical individuals reports of whose 
adventures and deeds have come down through long 
and differing channels of oral tradi- 
Views as to tion. According to the theory which 
Historical they variously assumed to be worked 
Character, out in the history of Israel, historiog- 
raphers whose writings are incorpo- 
rated in the Pentateuch selected from this mass of 
discordant material what suited their purpose, and 
reconstructed even this in accordance with then- 
plans. This accounts for the duplications and 
discrepancies. According to Baethgen (“ Beitrilge 
zur Semitisclien Religionsgescli. ” p. 157), “ Sarah ” is 
a simple appellative representing a historical char- 
acter, whose life is given in fragments and with free 
embellishments. 

(2) The patriarchal cycle represents older Canaan- 
ite, pre-Israelitish material, adopted and adapted by 
Israel. As such, the stories disclose views concern- 
ing the relations of septs and clans, as well as con- 
cerning political and geographical conditions. Gen- 
ealogies such as those evolved in the patriarchal 
story are never of individuals. Tribal antipathies 
and sympathies, and political and racial interde- 
pendence and kinship, are expressed by them; but 
frequently, in order to complete a system, ail in- 
dividual ancestor or eponym is invented. While 
some of the names that occur are clearly those of 
clans, or of localities, Abraham = Abiram is not. 
It seems to be an appellative; but it is connected 
with Hebron, an old center. Sarai = Sarah, on the 
other hand, is the name of a clan— -Israel. As Jacob 
became Israel in another cycle (with Betli-el), so here 
Abraham (Hebron) is connected with Israel. This 
is the meaning of the marriage of Abraham with 
Sarah, as similar ethnic or historical data underlie 
the story of his dealings with Ilagar and Keturali. 

(3) These Patriarchs are regarded by most mem- 
bers of the critical school as the outcome of culture- 
evolution. That matriarchy once prevailed, that 
blood-relationship was traced only through the 
mother, that marriage by capture or purchase was 
the rule, form probably the historical kernel in- 
volved in the repeated narratives of Sarai’s marital 
adventures with men other than Abraham. On the 
other hand, her dealings with Ilagar illustrate the 
conditions obtaining in the polygamous households 
of the sheiks of the time and country. The persons 
are free inventions; the conditions are not. 

(4) Originally, Canaanite local eponyms connected 
with Israel ; the Patriarchs were later ranged and 
ranked systematically, so as to establish an exclusive 
descent for Israel and disclose its distinction as the 
people of Yiiwii. In this scheme Abraham becomes 
the “ great ancestor ” (Abram), or “ the ancestor of 
many nations,” Through his wife Sarah he begets 
the Isaac- Jacob tribes, or Israel (= Sarah); and 
through his concubine Ilagar he begets Ishmael, 
who therefore is marked as lesser in her degree of 
purity. 

(5) The development of religion is typified in 
these ancestral figures. Abraham and Sarah repre- 
sent a sort of elementary monotheism, a religion 
standing midway between pure Mosaism and the 


Canaanite cults. This is the view of Dillmann, 
Ewald, and Kittel. 

(6) Abraham and Sarah are free inventions of un- 
conscious popular poetry, untrammeled by consid- 
erations of genealogical data or tribal or religious 
motives. Wellhausen is the main exponent of this 
view (“Prolegomena zur Gescli. Israels,” pp. 337- 
et seq.). 

(7) The mythological theory makes Sarai identical 
with Islitar. She and Abraham are said to be lunar 
deities, or adaptations of the Babylonian Adonis- 
Tammuz (Abraham.) and Islitar (Sarai) myths (the 
descent of Ishtar). Winckler (in his “ Gesch. Israel’s ” 
and other writings) and Stucken (“ Astralmy then ”) 
advance this view. 

The most likely of all these views is the one that 
makes Sarai an eponym for Israel. Her marriage 
with Abraham represents the union of the Israel 
group with some clan or clans settled 
Eponym around Hebron. Ed. Meyer (in Stade’s 
Theory. “Zeitschrift,” 1S86) is inclined to re- 
gard even Abraham as the name and 
eponym of a clan or sept, and refers to Abi-ezer 
(Judges vi. 34). Cheyne, of course (in Cheyne and 
Black, “Encyc. Bibl.” s.v. “Sarah”), makes Abra- 
ham a Jerahmeelite, whose marriage with Sarah ex- 
presses the amalgamation of Israel with the descend- 
ants of Jerahmeel. 

Bibliography: Ed. Meyer, Der Stamm Jacob , in Stade’s 
Zeitschrift , 1886; F. Baethgen, Beitrilge zur Semitisclien 
Rcligionsgcschichtei F. Hommel, Die Alt isr aclit isclie Ucber - 
licfenmg ; B. Kittel, Gescli. cler Hebriier. vol. i.; A. Dill- 
mann, Biblische Theologie , ed. Kittel, 1895: I. Goldziber, 
Der Mytlws bei den Hchriicrn , 1876 ; W. Staerk, Stndien 
zur Religions - und Sm'acligeschichte des Alttestaments , 
1889, vol. i.; Hermann Guthe. Gescli. des Volkes Israel , 1899; 
H. P. Smith, Old Testament History , 1903. 

Hi. (jr. hi. 

In Arabic Literature: Sarah, the wife of 

Abraham, was, according to some accounts, the sis- 
ter of Lot and the daughter of Aran, Abraham's 
paternal uncle. According to others, she was the 
daughter of the King of Haran, and her mother was 
daughter of Kutba, King of Babylon. Sarah was 
the most beautiful woman of her time and possessed 
a perfect figure. She resembled Eve, to whom God 
gave two-thirds of all beaut} r ; indeed, she was so 
beautiful that Abraham transported her 
Her in a chest. When, on entering Egypt, 
Beauty. Abraham was obliged to give a tithe 
of all his goods, he at first refused to 
open the chest in which Sarah was, and when he was 
finally forced to do so, the official ran and told the 
king. Questioned by the latter regarding Sarah, 
Abraham replied that she was his sister, having in- 
structed her to say the same. When, on that sup- 
position, the king wished to marry her and reached 
out to take her, Sarah prayed God to wither his 
hand; and when the king promised not to touch 
her, she prayed God to restore it. Forgetful of his 
promise, the king reached toward her once more, 
and his hand was again withered. This was re- 
peated three times. Abraham was a witness of this 
interview, God causing the walls of the house to be- 
come transparent for the purpose. Finally the king 
restored Sarah to Abraham and loaded her with 
presents. He insisted on her choosing for herself 
one of his slave girls, and she selected Hagar, for 
whom she had conceived a liking. 



Sarah 

Saratof 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


58 


Afterward Sarah gave Hagar to Abraham ; and 
when Islimael was born she became so jealous that 
she could no longer live with Hagar. On one occa- 
sion she swore that she would not rest satisfied until 
her hands had been dipped in Ilagar’s blood, where- 
upon Abraham immediately pierced Hagar’ s ears so 
that the blood might be on Sarah’s hands. Such 
was the origin of the wearing of earrings. Abra- 
ham then took Hagar and Ishmael away. In after 
years, when he went to visit Ishmael, Sarah was still 
so jealous that 
she exacted a 
promise from 
Abraham that 
he would not 
alight from his 
horse. 

Sarah is not 
directly men- 
tioned in the 
Koran; but she 
is referred to in 
sura xi. 74, 
where she is 
spoken of as 
standing by 
when Abraham 
receives the visit 
of the angels. 

Sarah was sev- 
enty years old 
when she con- 
ceived Isaac (ac- 
cording to Ta- 
bari; Baidawi 
says she was 
ninety or ninety- 
nine). She lived 
to the age of 180. 

She is said to 
have been the 
mother of Jacob 
and Esau also, 
although some 
say that they 
were sons of 
Abraham by an- 
other wife. As 
long as Sarah 
lived Abraham had no other wife, but after her 
death lie married Keturah. Sarah was buried in the 
land of Canaan in a cave bought by Abraham, -where, 
later, he also w 7 as interred. 

Bibliography: Mas'udi, Prairies tVOr, Index; Tabari, A. i- 

nales , Index, Leyden, 1879-81 ; idem, Persian version, trans- 
lated by Zotenberg, Paris, 1867, Index ; Weill, Biblical Leg- 
ends of the Mussulmans , New York, 1816, s.v. Abraham. 

or. M. W. M. 

SARAH COPIA SHULAM. See Sullam, 
Sana Copia. 

SARAJEVO (Turkish, Bosna-Serai) : Capital 
of Bosnia. For the history 7 of its Jewish community 
till 1850 see Bosnia. 

About 1850 Omar Pasha (Michael Lattas) granted 
the Jews of Sarajevo the right to settle in any part 
of the city. Down to 1878, when Austria-Hungary 
took possession of Bosnia, the Jews living at Sara- 


jevo, as well as throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina, 
were all Sephardim (called Spanioles ”). After 
that year there was formed in the city an Ashkenazic 
congregation which lias been recruited mainly from 
Jews who emigrated from Austria-Hungary after the 
occupation of Bosnia by that countiy. Many of the 
Ashkenazim are highly educated, and occupy lead- 
ing positions, especially as lawyers and physicians, 
and have been appointed to offices under the govern- 
ment. The congregation, which is continually in- 
creasing, has a 
handsome syna- 
gogue in the 
Moorish styde, 

which, was dedi- 
cated Sept. 30, 
1902. Its insti- 
tutions include 
a hebra kaddi- 
slia, Talmud To- 
rah, women’s so- 
ciety 7 , etc. Its 
rabbi, Samuel 
W e s s e 1, w a s 
called to the of- 
fice in 1898. 

The Sephardic 
Jews are some- 
what more nu- 
merous, and, 
like all the 
Spanioles in the 
East, are gen- 
erally Orthodox. 
Of the promi- 
nent rabbis of 
Sarajevo the fol- 
lowing may be 
mentioned: Ha- 
kam Zebi (17th 
cent.), David 
and his son Isaac 
Pardo, Moses 
Danon (to whose 
grave at Stolar 
the Sephardim 
still make pil- 
grimages) and 
his brother Ben- 
jamin Danon (all in the eighteenth century), Moses 
Perera, Simon Chason, Moses Levi, Abraham Salom, 
Judah Finzi,and his successor Hakam Abraham Abi- 
nuna (d. 1902). The two congregations now main- 
tain friendly intercourse, and their members inter- 
marry, whereas in former times the Sephardim held 
aloof to a certain extent from their Ashkenazic 
brethren, looking down upon them as an inferior 
class. The relations between Jews and non- Jews 
also are exceptionally cordial. 

In 1895 the Jews of Sarajevo numbered 4,060 in a 
total population of 41,548. 

Bibliography: Ad. Strauss, Bosnien , Land und Leute , i. 
269 et seq., Vienna, 1882; Spaninlen in Bosnien , in Ji 1- 
disches Familienblatt , 1903, No. 12; Die Judenin Bosnien 
und der Zionismus , in Die Welt, 1903, No. 25. 

S. 



The Synagogue at Sarajevo. 

(From a photograph. 


s. We. 



59 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Sarah 

Saratof 


SARASOHN, KASRIEL H. : American jour- 
nalist; born in Paiser, Russian Poland, 1835; died 
at New York city Jan. 12, 1905. He studied at 

home and prepared himself for the rabbinate; but 
in 1866 he abandoned this intention and emigrated 
to the United States. In 1874 he founded in New 
York city, 
where lie had 
settled, the 
“Jewish Week- 
ly” and the 
“Jewish Ga- 
zette,” and in 
18S6 the “Jew- 
ish Daily jSTews. ” 

When he began 
the publication 
of his journals 
there existed no 
other Jewish 
paper printed in 
Hebrew in the 
United States, 
a n d li e li a d 
great difficulty 
in obtaining the 
necessary type. 

In 1882 Sara- 
solin founded 
the Hebrew 
Sheltering 
House, now 
known as the 
Hebrew Shelter 
House and 
Home for the 
Aged. In 1901 
he visited Pales- 
tine, and on his 
return w a s 
elected presi- 
dent of the com- 
mittee for the 
collection of 
funds for the 
support of 
poor Hebrews 
in Palestine. 

He was also 
chairman of the committee for the Kishinef suf- 
ferers. 

Bibliography : New York papers of Jan. 13 and 14, 1905 ; The 
Jewish Daily News (New York), Jan. 15, 1905 
A. Jj. 1. XI. 

SARATOE ; Russian city, in the government of 
the same name; situated on the right bank of the 
Volga. The city is chiefly memorable for the 
“Saratof affair,” which began in 1853. The direct 
cause of it was the murder of two Christian beys 
about the time of Passover. A few years earlier, 
in 1844, Skripitzyn, who was entrusted with the 
management of Jewish affairs in Russia, wrote a 
paper entitled “Information About the Killing of 
Christians by Jews for the Purpose of Obtaining 
.Their Blood.” A limited number of copies was 
printed and distributed among the members of the 


royal family, ministers, heads of departments, and 
members of the Senate. Although this paper was 
proved afterward to be a plagiarism of a treatise 
published in 1740 by a demented priest, Gaudent, 
still the theory expounded in it found many ardent 
believers among administrative and judicial circles, 

so much so that, 
as late as 1878, 
it was published 
in the “Grazh- 
dan in.” No 
wonder, then, 
that the Jews 
were immediate-, 
ly accused of 

this double mur- 
der. A certain 
Yuslikewitzer, 
his wife, their 
son Theodor 
Yurlov, a sol- 
dier, and a bar- 
ber named Shlif- 
fermann were 
put under arrest. 
The chief wit- 
nesses against 
them were 
Olympiada Go- 
rokhova (a 
woman of bad 
character and a 
paramour of 
Yurlov) and 
Bogdanov, a sol- 
dier. When 
first put on the 
writness-stand 
the woman flatly 
denied all 
knowledge of 
the case, but aft- 
erward changed 
her mind and re- 
lated the follow- 
ing story: In 
July, 1853, she 
(Olympiada) 
went, toward 

evening, to the market-place, where she met Ita 
Neliamah Yuslikewitzer, whom she accompanied 
home. There the conversation turned upon the 
burning question of the day, the murder of the two 
Christian boys. After much urging, 
So-Called Ita Neliamah admitted that the Jews 
Confession, had killed the boys. She gave an ac- 
count of the crime: The boys were 
first kept in a semistarved condition for many weeks, 
and, in spite of their tears and appeals, w r ere 
brought to the synagogue, where they were stabbed, 
suspended by their feet from the ceiling, circum- 
cised, and again stabbed in many places. Upon 
Olympiada’s asking what was done with the blood, 
Ita Neliamah said that “it had been collected in a 
large vase, dried, made into powder, and sent to Jit- 
omir, where it was purchased by some wealthy 



Saratof 

Sardinia 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


60 


Jews; and that for this the barber Schliffermann 
received 4,000.000 rubles and her husband Yankel 
2,000,000.” Olympiada also declared on the stand 
that her lover Yurlov, upon hearing that his father 
had been arrested, threw up his hands, exclaiming, 
“ We are all lost ! ” and begged her to save him. The 
woman’s testimony was full of contradictions; at 
one time she asserted that she understood Yiddish 
well, though the fact was that she had no knowl- 
edge of it. 

The soldier Bogdanov testified that while sitting 
one day in the armory he overheard a conversation 
between two Jewish soldiers, Cliader and Levin; 
they were discussing the necessity of liberating their 
coreligionist Berlinsky, who was under arrest for 
complicity in the murder of the tAvo boys, and 
LeA 7 in said, “ We must not make anything public! ” 
Bogdanov further testified that another JeAvish sol- 
dier joined them and exclaimed, in Russian, “No! 
Ave must not confess anything, though they should 
dismember us!” When he, Bogdanov, made his 
presence known 
to the Jewish 
soldiers they 
gave him half a 
ruble and bade 
him not to tell 
anything of 
what he had 
heard. 

A special com- 
mittee Avas sent 
from St. Peters- 
burg to investi- 
gate this case, 
and though the 
prosecuting at- 
torney, Durno- 
vo, and his as- 
sociates made 
every effort to 
convict the 
Jews nothing could be proved, the testimony 
offered being entirely untrustworthy. However, 
many JeAvisli families were ruined, and the effect 
upon the Jews living in that part of the country 
was liighty injurious, so much so that the goA 7 - 
ernment Avas forced to appoint a commission of 
scholars to settle once for all the question Avliether 
the JeAvs used Christian blood for religious purposes. 

Saratof has a population of 137,109, of Avhom 570 
are Jcavs. 

Bibliography : RiisskiEncyclopcdicheski Slovar, vol. xxviii.; 
VnxhJwil, Oct., 1881; Clnvolson, Die Blutanklaqc , p. 117, 
Frankfort-on-the-Main, 1901; O. Niekotorykh, Srcdnovieko- 
vijhh Protiv Tevrcyev , p. vii., St. Petersburg, 1880. 

Ji- «- J. Go. 

SARAVAL : Family of scholars, of whom the 
folloAving deserve special mention : 

Abraham b. Judah. Lob Saraval ; Flourished 
in the sixteenth century. He Avas tlie author of a 
commentary on the “Ma‘amadot.” The second edi- 
tion of his commentary is dated 1617, but the place 
of publication is not knoAvn. 

Bibliography: Steinschneider, Cat. Bodl. col. 709; Roest, 
Cat. Rosenthal. Bihl. i. 29; Benjacob, Ozar ha-Sefarim , p. 
3ol ; Mortara, Indicc, p. 59. 


Jacob ben Lob Saraval: Lived at Cologne; 
died there 1608 or 1614. He is mentioned in the 
responsa of Jacob Alpron, “ Nalialat Ya'akob.” An 
epitaph in A. Berliner’s “ Luhot Abanim” refers, per- 
haps, to him (Mortara, “Indice,” p. 59). 

Jacob Raphael b. Sim^Lah Saraval; Rabbi 
at Venice; born about 1708; died at Venice April, 
1782. He published an ansAver to a treatise by the 
lawyer Benedetti of Ferrara on the religion and the 
oath of the Jcavs. Among his poems should be 
mentioned a “kiuali ” on the death of sixt} 7 -fiA 7 e Je\A 7 s 
who perished together in an accident. Shortly be- 
fore his death lie Avas preparing a treatise on the 
etymology of the names of the “terafim.” A letter 
by him on theMasorali appears in Kennicott’s “Dis- 
sertatio Generalis ” (BrunsAvick, 1783). His “ Disser- 
tazione sull’ Ecclesiaste ” Avas contained in Joseph 
Almanzi’s library, now in the British Museum. 

Bibliography; De Rossi, Dizinnario ; Steinschneider, Hehi\ 
Bihl. vi. 89; Zunz, Z. U. p. 2-10 ; Mortara, Indice , p. 59. 

Judah Lob Saraval : Rabbi at Venice ; died May 

17, 1617. He is 
quoted in the 
ritual av o r k 
“ MashbitMilha- 
mot,” in connec- 
t i o n av i t h a 
question in re- 
gard to the ritual 
bath. He is 
mentioned also 
by Joseph di 
Trani (Respon- 
sa, i. 147). Sa- 
raval translated 
into II e b r e av 
Saadia’s com- 
mentary on Can- 
ticles (Venice, 
1777). His tomb- 
stone Avas found 
in the cemetery 
of Padua by Filosseno Luzzatto ; the epitaph Avas 
published by Nepi-Ghirondi (“Toledot Gedole Yis- 
rael,” pp. 218-219). 

Bibliography: Steinschneider. Cat. Bodl. col. 1371; Azulai, 
Shan ha-Gedolim , i. 59; Zunz, in Liebermann, Volkska- 
lendcr, 1853, p. 72; Mortara, Indicc , p. 59. 

Leon Vita Saraval : Bibliophile; born at Triest 
in 1771; died Jan. 26, 1851. He Avas the author 
of “Discorsi Pronunciati all’ Apertura degli Stu- 
dii della Communita Israelita di Trieste” (Triest, 
1811). Ilis son M. Saraval catalogued his father’s 
library betAveen 1851 and 1853, publishing the cata- 
logue at Triest in 1853. The entire library Avas pur- 
chased for the Breslau seminary (1853). 

Bibliography: Steinschneider, Cat. Bodl. col. 2500; Sera - 
peum, 1853. pp. 280-281, 291-298; 1851, pp. 187-188; Mortara, 
Indicc, p. 59; Zunz, Z . (J. pp. 213, 568. 

Nehemiah b. Judah Lob Saraval ; Venetian 
scholar; died in Venice in 1649. He Avrote an ap- 
probation to Joseph Solomon Delmedigo’s “Elim ” 
(Amsterdam, 1629). He is mentioned in the fol- 
lowing responsa collections: Raphael Meldola, 

“ Mayim Rabbim,” i. 11; Samuel Aboab. “Debar 
Shemu’el,” No. 19 (Fiirst, “Bibl. Jud.” iii. 245; 
Mortara, “Iudice,” p. 59). 



The Old Jewish Cemetery at Sarajevo. 

(From a photograph.) 



61 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Saratof 

Sardinia 


Solomon Hai b. Nehemiali Saraval : Scholar 
of the seventeenth century ; lived at Venice. He is 
mentioned in the responsa of Samuel Aboab ( Debai 
Shemu’el,” p. 375) and in “ Pi she Rikanati ka- 
Aharonim,” p. 24. He was still living in 1674 (Mor- 
tara, “ Indice, ” p. 59). 
s. 

SARDINIA : An island in the Mediterranean, 
about 140 miles from the west coast of Italy, be- 
tween 8° 4' and 9° 49' E. long., and between 38° 55' 
and 41° 16' N. lat. The settlement of Jews in various 
parts of the island goes as far back as the year 19 of 
the common era. During tiie reign of the emperor 
Tiberius 4,000 Jewish youths were banished from 
Rome to Sardinia as a penalty for the misdeeds of 
four Jewish swindlers. Pretending to be collectors 
for the treasury of the Temple at Jerusalem, the cul- 
prits had received enormous sums in money and 
jewels from Fulvia (wife of the Roman senator 
Saturninus), who was a sympathizer of Judaism 
(Josephus, “Ant.” xviii. 3, § 5; comp, also Taci- 
tus, “ Annales,” ii. 85, and Suetonius, “Tiberius,” 
86). During the early centuries the fate of the 
Jews in Sardinia resembled that of 
Under tlie their brethren in other Roman prov- 
Romans. inces: so long as pagans ruled tlie 
empire the Jews possessed full rights 
of citizenship, but as Christianity became the dom- 
inant power these rights were curtailed. 

From the middle of the fifth to the middle of the 
seventh century Sardinia was governed first by the I 
Vandals and then by the Goths, and the condition of 
the Jews there was on the whole favorable. There 
were communities in Oristano, Lula, G-allura, 
Nora, Sinai (probably founded by Jews), Cana- 
Mm, Sulcis, Tliarros, Alghero, Colmedia, and 
Cagliari, the capital of Sardinia. An incident which 
greatly disturbed the Jews occurred in the last- 
named place toward the end of the sixth century. 
A converted Jew named Peter placed images of 
saints in the synagogue on Easter Monday. The 
Jews lodged a complaint with Pope Gregory the 
Great, who ordered Bishop Januarius of Cagliari to 
have tlie images at once removed (“Epistola,” v.). 

Of the period extending from the time of the es- 
tablishment of a native government in Sardinia (665) 
to that of the annexation of the island to Aragon 
(1325), only a few incidents in the life of the Jewish 
communities are known. The Sardinian historian of 
the eighth century, Antonio di Tliarros, and Delo- 
tone, the compiler of the poems of the Sardinian 
king Gialeto, mention two Jewish scholars of Ca- 
gliari, Abraham and Canaim, who deciphered the 
Phenieian inscriptions collected by Gialeto and the 
Greek and Plienician inscriptions found in the pal- 
ace of Masu. The Sardinian chronicler Severino re- 
lates that the synagogue of Cagliari, which was 
situated in the quarter called Aliama, was in 790 
destroyed by afire generally attributed to the malev- 
olence of soine fanatical Christians (De Castro, “Bib- 
liotheca,” p. 75). During the administration of 
the province of Arborea by Onroco there often oc- 
curred at Oristano bloody conflicts between Jews 
and Christians, and in order to put an end to these 
struggles the Jews were ordered to leave the prov- 
ince within two months. On their expulsion fiom 


Arborea they settled in the cities of Lugodoro, 
especially in Lula and Gallura. Traces of their 
long sojourn in Arborea were still found in the city 
of Tliarros in 1183 by the Mohammedan traveler 
Mohammed Abu Jabbar. 

During the first century of the Spanish domina- 
tion the Jews of Sardinia enjoyed prosperity. The 
Aragonian king granted them many 
Under th.e privileges, and their numbers were 
Spaniards, greatly augmented by the arrival of 
new settlers from Barcelona, Majorca, 
and other places. Especially favored were the 
Jews of Algliero, for whom King Alfonso and his 
successors showed marked friendliness by exempt- 
ing them from the payment of customs duties and 
by urging the governors to protect their business 
interests. On their part the Jews of Algliero often 
showed their loyalty to the Aragonian kings. In 
1370 they contracted many debts in order to supply 
King Pedro with money and provisions for his 
armies, and in token of his gratitude the lattei foi - 
bade their creditors to claim repayment within two 
years. In the early years of the fifteenth century 
the community of Algliero subscribed the sum of 
1,600 ducats for the exploitation of the royal mines 
of Iglesias. A Jew named Vidal de Santa Pau gave 
600 Alfonsine livres in 1423 for the restoration of 
the walls of Algliero ; in 1459 Zare di Carcassona pre- 
sented 622 livres for the same purpose. The J ews of 
Algkero were mostly engaged in trade, but there 
were also many scholars and physicians among 
them, the best known being: Isaac Eymies, who 
was pensioned by the governor of Lugodoro and by 
the city of Algliero, and who was called in 1406 to 
the post of city physician of Cagliari ; Hayyim of 
I-Iipre, author of a work on the medicinal plants of 
Sardinia; and Solomon Averonques, renowned for 
his surgical operations. The Jews of Algliero \\ ere 
not excluded from official positions. Mention is 
made of a Jew named Moses Sofer who occupied in 
1467 the position of tax-collector. An- 
Com- other, named Moses di Carcassona, was 
munity of appointed by the vice-king Carroz in 
Algliero. 1467 as tlie general sheriff’s officer of 
the court of Algkero. In 14S2 the same 
Moses obtained for the sum of 2,250 livres the farm- 
ing of the taxes of the departments Gociano, Porte 
Oder Reale, Mondrolisai, and Oristano for a period 
of three years. Together with his brother Nino 
Carcassona, Moses lent large sums for , the equip- 
ment of the navy aud of the armies which had been 
led by the vice-king Ximene Perez to the city of 
Oristano. 

It seems that before the Spanish domination Al- 
o-liero contained but few ,1 ews, who had neither a syn- 
agogue nor a separate cemetery. It was only at the 
end of the fourteenth century that these institutions 
were founded. In 13S1 Vitali Alabi bought from 
Giacomo Bassach and his wife their house, situated 
in the street leading to the castle, which he wished 
to use for a synagogue. Two years later Fran- 
cisco Giovanni of Santa Colombia, governor of Sas- 
saroand Lugodoro, and later vice-king of Sardinia, 
permitted the physician Solomon Averonques to buy 
any place he might choose for a cemetery. In 1438 
the community of Algliero was permitted by the mu- 



Sardinia 

Sarko 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


62 


nicipality to enlarge the sjmagogue. The enlarge- 
ment was completed in 1454, and on this occasion the 
administrators of the community, Samuel Carcassona 
and Jacob Cohen, petitioned the government to al- 
low them to put the coat of arms of the king on the 
edifice. In 1455 a petition was addressed to the 
municipality by the Jewish administrators Terocio, 
Buria, and Giacoble Nathan to allow them to enlarge 
the Jewish cemetery. Like all the communities of 
Sardinia, that of Alghero was administered by elected 
directors or secretaries, who possessed judicial power 
in all litigations between Jews, and even between 
Jews and Christians when sums not exceeding five 
livres were involved. 

However, while the Jews of Alghero were, for 
unknown reasons, the object of the solicitude of the 
government and enjoyed a high degree of prosperity 
until the very year of their banishment, those of 
Cagliari and other communities were after 1430 
treated in the harshest manner. They 
Persecu- were compelled to live in special quar- 
tion and ters and to wear special kinds of caps, 
Expulsion, and were not allowed to wear jewels 
or to put on shoes of any other color 
than black. Jewish traders were forbidden, under 
the penalty of losing their goods, to transact business 
on Christian feast-days. A Jew who employed a 
Christian was subject to a fine of twenty livres. 
Foreign Jews were forbidden, under the penalty of 
death, to settle in Sardinia without the permission 
of the vice-king or the archbishop. A decree issued 
iu 1481 fixed the penalties for an olfense against 
Christianity and for the employment of Christian 
servants. For the former crime the Jew was to 
have his hands cut off ; for the latter he was to re- 
ceive 200 stripes and to pay a fine of 200 ducats, 
and the servant was to receive an equal number of 
lashes. In 1485 the Jews were declared royal prop- 
erty and were subjected to the special jurisdiction 
of the ro 3 r al attorney. At the same time they were 
forbidden to export any of their belongings from 
the island. The decree containing these measures 
was communicated by the vice-king Ximene Perez 
to the leaders of the Jewish community of Cagliari, 
Abraham Alili, Emanuel INJili, Samuel Bondra, Isaac 
Sallom, Isaac Aleva, Leon Miro, and others. The 
banishment of the Jews from Spain was closely fol- 
lowed by that of the Jews of Sardinia. 

BmuoRRAPHr : Gazaba, Storia della Sardcqna, ii. 151; R.E, 
j. vtii. 280 ct seq.; Spano, in Vcssillo Israclitico , xxvii. 115 
ct seq.; Ersch and Gruber, Encyc. section ii., part 27, p. 147* 
Griitz, Gesch. v. 52. 

J - I. Bn. 

SARDIS : Ancient city of Asia Elinor and capi- 
tal of Lydia ; situated on the Pactolus at the north- 
ern base of Mount Tmolus, about sixty miles from 
Smyrna. The town is first mentioned b}' ./Eschyhis 
("Persse,” ed. Kirchhoff, line 47), and may be the 
“Sparda ” of the Old Persian inscriptions of Darius 
Hystaspes (Beliistun, i. 15; Persepolis, e, 12; Nakslii 
Rustam, a, 28). It had an eventful history, and after 
the. establishment of the Roman province of Asia in 

1^3 33. c. it) teciwne tlie capital of a “ conventus ” or 

district. 

The date and early history of the Jewish commu- 
nity of Sardis are unknown, although it is clear that 
by the second half of the first century b.c. it had 


become an influential one ; for in a decree of the 
proquestor and propretor Lucius Antonins, dating 
from 50-49 and preserved by Josephus (“Ant.” xiv. 
10, § 17), the Jews are described as having “an as- 
sembly of their own, according to the laws of their 
forefathers, and this from the beginning, as also a 
place of their own, wherein they determined their 
suits and controversies with one another.” In obe- 
dience to an order of Antonius that the Jews, as 
Roman citizens, should be confirmed in their rights 
and privileges, the Sardians passed a decree (ib. 
§ 24) that the community should enjoy freedom of 
worship, while special measures were taken to im- 
port food which should he ritually clean. A few 
years later, in the early part of the reign of Augus- 
tus, the proconsul Cams Norbanus Flaecus, at the 
express command of the emperor, renewed the relig- 
ious privileges of the Jews of Sardis and permitted 
them to send money to Jerusalem (ib. xvi. 6, § 6). 

The single allusion to Sardis in Rev. iii. 1-4 adds 
no information concerning its Jewish community, 
nor does the Talmud throw any light on the history 
of the Jews in the city, although Sardis may be 
meant by “Asia” in a few passages (Sifre, Balak, 
ed. Friedmann, p. 47b; ‘Ab. Zarali 30a; B. M. 84a). 
Its site is now occupied by the ruined village of 
Sart. • 


Bibliography : Scbtirer, Gesch, 3d ed., iii. 12 ; Neubauer, G. 
T. pp. 310-311 ; Wilson, Handbook for Travellers in Asia 
Minor , etc., pp. 82-83, London, 1895. 

E. G. Tl. L. II. G. 


j SARGENES (called also Kittel) : A white linen 
garment which resembles a surplice and consists 
of a long, loose gown with flowing sleeves and 
with a collar laced in front, a girdle of the same 
material, and a skullcap to match. The name is de- 
rived from “ sarge ” (= “serge”), a woolen stuff 
(comp, “serieum,” silk, and see Rashi, s.v. 

Sliab. 77b). R. Jeremiah in his last testament di- 
rected that he should be buried in a white garment 
with borders (prpan pirn), In which it was his 
custom to attire himself when alive (Yer. Kil. ix. 3). 
Brides, bridegrooms, and marriageable girls were 
dressed in white (Sliab. 114a; Ta'an. 26b). A white 
robe was generally considered a garment of joy. 
Being confident of God's willingness to forgive on 
Rosli lia-Shanali, the day of judgment, the wor- 
shipers were dressed in white (Yer.^R. II. i. 1). On 
the Day of Atonement the white dress is symbolical 
of the angelic purity to be attained when the wor- 
shiper shall be finally absolved and pardoned. The 
sargenes as a shroud is first mentioned by R. Eleazar 
of Worms in his “ Ha-Rokeali ” and by R. Heir of 
Rothenburg in his “ Ilaggahot,” and it is still so used 
by all Orthodox Jews throughout the world. It is 
mentioned by Maimonides in his “ Yad” (Sliabbat, 
xxx. 2) as a reminder of death. 

R. Yom-Tob Lipmann Heller (1579-1654) in his 
“ Lehem Hamudot ” on Asheri, “ Halakot Ketannot ” 
(“Zizit, ” No. 25, end) refers to the relics of the mar- 
tyr Solomon Molko, brought from Regensburg to 

trlie Plimelias Synagogue, Prague, as consisting of 

“an Abba* Kanfot of yellow silk with yellow silk 
fringes, two flags, and a sargenes called kittel” 
(fo'P plpcy DirriD; “sargenes” is the term that 
was used in western Germany, “kittel” in eastern 



63 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Sardinia 

Sarko 


Germany; the garment is now known in eastern 
Europe by the latter name, the former being almost 
forgotten). During the fifteenth century brides 
dressed themselves in the sargenes before the veil 
was thrown over the face prior to the nuptial cere- 
mony. The kittel is now worn by the host at the 
Seder ceremony on Passover eve, as a symbol of 
freedom ; by members of the community on Yom Kip- 
pur; and by the hazzan at the musaf service of 
Shemini ‘Azeret and at musaf of the first day of 
Passover. See Costume ; Gesiiem. 

Bibliography: I. Abrahams, Jewish Life in the Middle 

Ages, pp. 18, 204, 292 ; Berliner, Lchcn der Deuischen Juden 

ini Mittclalter , pp. 48, 70, 131, Berlin, 1900 ; Max Grunbaum, 

JlUlisch-Deiitsche Chrestomatlvic , pp. 502-504, Leipsic, 1882. 

K. J. D. E. 

SARGON: King of Assyria; died 705 b.c. He 
is mentioned in the Bible only in Isa. xx. 1 ; and his 
name is preserved by no classic writer. All modern 
knowledge of him dates, therefore, from the discov- 
ery of his palace at Kliorsabad, twelve miles north- 
east of Nineveh, by Botta in 1843. This palace was 
a part of the city of Dur-Sharrukin, which Sargon 
built as a new capital for himself. It was lined with 
bas-reliefs presenting an illustrated account of his 
reign ; and under the foundations of the city gates 
also chronicles on clay were found. From these and 
the chronological data of the Assyrian kingdom, 
an account of Sargon’s reign, which extended from 
722 to 705, can be reconstructed. 

Sargon succeeded Shalmaneser IY. Whether he 
was of royal blood or not is a matter of dispute. 
Neither lie nor his son Sennacherib claimed royal 
descent ; but liis grandson Esar-liaddon claimed the 
king Bel-bani as a remote ancestor of Sargon (comp. 
“Journal of the American Oriental Society,” Pro- 
ceedings, May, 1891, p. cxxxii.). The fact that 
Sargon ascended the throne in the same month that 
Shalmaneser died indicates that he was looked upon 
as the natural successor of the latter. Before his ac- 
cession he was general of the armies of Assyria. 
The name “ Sargon ” was probably assumed on his 
accession, in imitation of the famous Sargon of 
Agade. 

When Shalmaneser died the Assyrian armies were 
besieging Samaria. In the first year of Sargon’s 
reign Samaria fell ; and at his command more than 
27,000 of the inhabitants were deported, Babylonians 
and Syrians being brought to take their places. 
Under-Merodacli-baladan Babylon revolted, and was 
not reconquered until 709. In 720 Sargon sent an 
army into Palestine; and at Baphia he defeated 
Eg} r pt and her allies. This gave him the mastery 
of the west. Between 719 and 708 he undertook 
many campaigns against and finally subdued Urartu 
in Armenia — a kingdom which had given his ances- 
tors much trouble. During the same period he made 
several campaigns against the Moschi and Tabal 
in the Taurus Mountains. In 711 lie sent his “Tar- 
tan ” into Palestine to put down a coalition headed 
byAslidod; it is this expedition which Isaiah men- 
tions. In 709 he completed the conquest of Bab 3 r - 

loil, ancl was crowned Ring Of that coo ntry, and in 70S 

his new capital and palace at Dur-Sharrukin were 
completed. In 705 he died a violent death ; but the 
text which relates the event is so broken that the 


nature of the violence is unknown. He was sur- 
passed in ability by Tiglatli-pileser III., but was one 
of Ass 3 'ria’s greatest kings. 

Bibliography: D. G. Lyon, Keilschrifttexte Sargons , Leip- 
sic, 1883; Winckler, Keilschrifttexte Sargons, 1889; Schrader, 
K. B. ii. 34-81 ; Rogers, History of Babylonia and Assyria , 
1900, ii. 148-182; Goodspeed, History of the Babylonians 
and Assyrians , 1902, pp. 243-264. 
j. ‘ G. A. B. 

SARGON, MICHAEL : Indian convert to 
Christianity; born in Cochin 1795; died about 
1855. He was converted in 1818 by T. Jarre tt of 
Madras, and became the first missionary in India 
of the London Society for Promoting Christianity 
Among the Jews, In 1820 Sargon visited his par- 
ents at Cochin, who received him kindty; and for 
a time the Cochin Jews seemed to have no objection 
to discussing with him his new faith. This reception 
appeared to promise well for a conversionist propa- 
ganda in India; and a local committee of the Lon- 
don society was formed in Madras with Sargon as 
the representative missionaiy. Madras became the 
center of the society’s work in Asia. By 1822 Sar- 
gon had 116 Jewish children under his charge at 
Cochin ; but in 1824 he was transferred to Bombay, 
where he opened under the auspices of the London 
society a school exclusively for Jews, obtaining 
forty pupils. The result of his labors in Cochin 
was the baptism of one Jew and of two Jewesses in 
1828; and shortly afterward the activity of the Lon- 
don society ceased in India. 

Sargon and his brother Abraham, however, con- 
tinued their educational activity in Bombay, where 
for nearly thirty years they taught the Jewish chil- 
dren the tenets of Judaism without any attempt to 
convert them. While Sargon is regarded by the 
London society as one of its pioneer workers, the 
Beni-Israel of Bombay consider him one of the 
agents in the revival of religious feeling among 
them. 

Bibliography: W. T. Gidney, Sites and Scenes , 2d ed., 1899, 
pp. 226-227 ; Report of the London Society for Promoting 
Christianity Among the Jeivs , 1821, p. 103: H. Samuel, A 
Sketch of the History of Beni-Israel, p. 21, Bombay, n.d. 

J. 

SARKO (ZARKO, ZARIK), JOSEPH BEN 
JUDAH : Italian grammarian and Hebrew poet of 
the first half of the fifteenth century. According 
to Carmoly (“Histoire des Medecins Juifs,” p. 129), 
he was a native of Naples and one of the teachers of 
Judah Messer Leon. He was the author of “Rab 
Pe‘alim,” an analytic Hebrew grammar divided into 
several sections. He states in the preface that lie 
terminated this work on the first day of Elul, 1429. 
The part which deals with numbers (“Sefer lia- 
Misparim”) is printed at the end of August Justin- 
ian’s edition of Ruth and Lamentations (Paris, 1520). 
Sarko’s Hebrew verses, which follow the preface, 
were published by Dukes in “Orient, Lit.” viii. 441. 
According to the latter ( ib . x. 452), Sarko was the 
author also of “Ba‘alha-Lashon,” a Hebrew diction- 
ary, in which he often quotes his “Rab Pe £ alim.” 
Zunz, however, says (“Z. G.” p. 113) that the au- 
thor of the “Ba‘al lia-Dashon ” was a certain Joseph 
o- Jozadali. Parma 13 o Kossi IMS. J^o. 939, 2 con- 
tains verses by various poets, among others Joseph 
Sarko; but this may be a grandson of the author 
of “ Rab Pe'alim ” who lived about a century later 



Sarmad 

Sasportas 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


64 


(comp. Zunz in “Iverem Hemed,” vii. 120). It is 
probably with this later Sarko that Ibn Yaliya 
(“ Shalshelet ha-Iyabbalah,” p. 6Bb) confused the au- 
thor of the “Rab Pc'alim” when he says that lie 
was a contemporary of Elijah Levita.* 

Bibliography: Dukes .Kontrcsha-Masoret, pp. 23-24; Furst, 
Bibl. Jud . iii. 245 ; Steihsclineider, Cat. Bodl. col. 1524. 
s. M. Set,. 

SARMAD, MOHAMMED SA‘ID : Persian 
poet of Jewish birth; nourished in the first half of 
the seventeenth centuiy. He was born at Kashan 
of a rabbinical family, but later embraced Moham- 
medanism, and went to India as a merchant. In 
the cit}" of Tatta, Karachi, lie became infatuated 
with a young Hindu named Abliichand, whom he 
converted to a mixture of Judaism and Mohammed- 
anism. In 1647 Sarmad was in Haidarabad, not far 
from Tatta, and there meeting Moslian Fani, the au- 
thor of the “Dabistan-i Madlialiib,” or “School of 
Sects,” he gave him the material for a meager chapter 
on the Jews. According to Moslian Fani, Sarmad 
held that man’s life and death are a day and a night 
succeeding each other indefinitely at regular inter- 
vals of one hundred and twenty years each, and that 
at death the body passes partly into minerals and 
partly into vegetables, animals, and the like. This 
doctrine shows Hindu influence, while his view that 
allusions to Mohammed exist in the Old Testament 
bears the impress of Islamitic teaching. During the 
rule of Shall Jehan, Sarmad was unmolested; but 
Aurungzebc soon after his accession to the throne 
in 1658 charged him with heresy and caused him to 
be put to death. 

Sarmad was a poet of considerable ability; and 
several of his quatrains are still preserved. He is 
chiefly noteworthy, however, for having edited, to- 
gether with Moslian Fani, a portion of Abhiehand’s 
Persian translation of the Pentateuch. This version, 
cited in the “ Dabistan ” as far as Gen. vi. 8, differs 
materially from the earlier Judteo-Persian transla- 
tions by Jacob Taw us and others (see Jew. Encyc. 
iii. 190, vii. 817). 

Bibliography: The Dabistan , or School of Manners , trans- 
lated from the Persian by Shea and Troyer, vol. ii., Paris, 
1843; Itieu. Catalogue of the Persian Manuscripts in the 
British Museum , London, 1SS1. 

s. L. II. G. 

SARMENTO, JACOB DE CASTRO. See 

Castro Sarmento. 

SARPHATI, SAMUEL : Dutch ph} r sician and 
economist: born at Amsterdam Jan. 31, 1813; died 
there June 23, 1866. After finishing his medical 
studies at Leyden (M.D. 1838) he established him- 
self as a physician in Amsterdam. He founded a 
society for the cultivation of land fertilized by the 
town sewage (Maatschappij van Landbouw en Laiul- 
ontgi lining) ; and on his initiative the first school of 
commerce was established, before the state had or- 
ganized this branch of secondary instruction. 

After a journey to London in 1852 Sarphati founded 
a society for the erection of a palace for exhibitions 
of natural industries, and to disseminate bis plan 
published the periodical “De Yolks vii jt.” In 1864 
the Palys voor Volks vii jt was dedicated on a spot 
then on the outskirts of the town, but now the cen- 
ter of a new Amsterdam, with a Sarphati Straat, a 


Sarpliatikade, and a Sarphati Park in which his 
monument has been erected. The first houses of 
this new city were built by him. To provide people 
with cheap bread be founded the Maatschappij 
voor Meel-en-Broodfabrieken ; and on bis initiative 
the Amstel Hotel was built (March 26, 1866) in the 
street later named after him. 

Sarphati was a member of the Provinciale Staten, 
officer of the Eikenkroon, and a member of the 
Order of the Netherlands Lion. 

Bibliography: A. C. Wertlieim, S. Sarphati , in Eigen 
Hoard, ii. 148, with portrait, 
s. , E. Sl. 

SARSINO (SARCINO), JACOB B. JO- 
SEPH: Italian rabbi of the seventeenth century ; 
pupil of lb Zcbi Ilirsch b. Isaac in Cracow. Hh 
was rabbi in Venice, and labored as such together 
with Leon of Modena. He corrected several books 
which were printed in Venice, and supplied them 
with notes; and he printed the “Ilaggahot” of his 
teacher Zebi Ilirsch on Jacob Weil’s “ Sheliitot u-Be- 
dikot,” to which be added liis own notes. Sarsino 
published “ Seder lia-Nikkur ” (Venice, 1692), contain- 
ing rules and regulations for porging ; but this is said 
to be only an extract from a work of liis teacher. 

Bibliography: Stelnsclmeider, Cat. Bodl. 1223-1224; Furst, 
Bihl. Jud. iii. 247, s.v. Sarsiila ; Nepi-Gliirondi, Tolcdnt 
Gedole Yisrael, p. 164 ; Benjacob, Ozar lia-Sefarim , p. 412, 
No. 138 ; Fuenn, Kcncset Yisrael , p. 557. 
w. b. J. Z. L. 

SARTELES, MOSES BEN ISSACHAR 
HA-LEVI. See Moses Saerteles ben Issaciiar 
ha-Levi. 

SARUG (SARUK), ISRAEL (called also 
Ashkenazi) : Cabalist of the sixteenth centuiy. 
A pupil of Isaac Luria, be devoted himself at the 
death of bis master to tlie propagation of the lat- 
ter’s cabalistic system, for which lie gained many 
adherents in various parts of Italy*. Among these 
the most prominent were Menahem Azariah daFano, 
whom he persuaded to spend large sums of* money 
in the acquisition of Luria’s manuscripts, and Aaron 
Berechiah of Modena, author of the “Ma'abar Yab- 
bok ” (“ Ma‘abar Yabbok, Korban Ta‘anit,” i.). Sa- 
rug lectured also in various places in German}" 
and in Amsterdam. In the latter city one of his 
disciples was Abraham de Herrera. 

Sarug was the author of: a cabalistic essay enti- 
tled “Kabbalah,” published in tlie “Mazref Ja-Hok- 
mali” of Joseph Delmedigo (Basel, 1629); “ilan- 
iiagot Yoslier,” or “Tikkun Keri,” or “ Iveri Mikra " 
(Salonica, 1752), hodegetics to asceticism ; and “ Kon- 
tres Ne‘im Zemirot Yisrael,” a cabalistic commen- 
tary on three of Luria’s piyyutim for Sabbath. 

Bibliography: Steinscbneider, Cat. Bodl. col. 1173; Gratz, 
Gesch. x. 420; Fuenn, Kcncset Yisrael , p. TOO. 
s. I. Br. 

SASON, AARON BEN JOSEPH : Rabbi of 
Salonica in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries; 
died shortly before 1626. lie was a pupil of Mor- 
decai Matalon, and in bis turn was the teacher of 
Ilayyim Sliabbetliai. He was the author of va- 
rious works both rabbinic and cabalistic, most of 
which were burned in the fire at Constantinople in 
1606. Some of his responsa were published by his 
son Joseph Sason under the title “Torat Emet” 
(Venice, 1626). His text of agreements (“liaska- 



65 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Sarmad 

Sasportas 


mot”) for renting houses and other property is to 
jje found in Abraham lia-Levi’s “Ginnat Weradim 
/ nar t relative to the Tut Hoshen Mislipat, Ro. 6). 
Shabbetlmi Bass (“ Bifte Yeshenim,” P- 80, No. -01) 
mentions a work of Sason’s entitled Sefat Emet 
(n p„ n.d.), consisting of novella; on the rosafot to 
the Talmud. Both De Rossi (“ Dizionano, n. l-'ri 
and Wolf (“ Bibl. Ilebr.” i., No. 184) confuse this 
WO rk with that of Moses Ilagiz, declaring that it 
was republished at Amsterdam in 1706. 

7 " T - M. See. 

E. C. 

SASON, ABRAHAM: Italian cahalist; flour- 
ished in Yeniee at the beginning of the seventeenth 
century. He was the author of the following works: 
“Kol Mebasser” (Venice, 1605), a commentary on 
Daniel; “Kol Sason,” on the arrival of the Messiah 
printed together with the preceding work; and 
“Appiryon Shelomoli ” (ib. 1609), essays on Cabala 
.and mysticism. 

K. 

SASON, JACOB BEN ISRAEL : Palestinian 
Talmudist; flourished at Sated at the end. of the 
seventeenth century; a inipil of Isaac Alfandan 
He was the author of “Bene Ya altob (Constanti- 
nople 1714), consisting of a commentary on a part ot 
Isaac b. Abba Mari’s “ Sefer ha-‘Ittur,» and fourteen 
responsa and novella; on Maimomdes lad and 
on Jacob b. Asher’s four Turin;. Owing to Sason s 
premature death (at the age of thirty-one), this work 
was 'left unfinished. 

schneider, Cat. BotlJ. col. l^od. ^ 

E. C. 

SASON JOSEPH BEN JACOB: Editor and 
perhaps, author; lived in the sixteenth century 
He edited the “Mahazor Sefardi” (Venice, 1584) ; 
and a Jewish calendar for the period 1585-1689 was 
printed the same year at Sason’s expense. The au- 
thor of “ Shemen Sason, ” Joseph Sason, may he iden- 
tical with the subject of this article. This work is 
a treatise on the Masorali, in which are quoted the 
ancient works thereon, e.g . , the “ Shte Al.iyot. It 
is cited in Lonsano’s “ Or Torah” and Nora s Mm- 
l.iat Shai” (comp. Dukes, “Kontrcs ha-Masoret, p. 
24, Tubingen, 1846). 
t, piirct Ttihl Jucl. iii. 250; Steinschneider and 

Ll Cussel, JMische Tiipoampliie, in Ersch and Gruber, Encyc. 
section ii., part 28, p. 58, note 12. ^ 


SASPORTAS : Spanish family of rabbis and 
scholars, the earliest known members of which lived 
at Oran Algeria, at the end of the sixteenth centuiy . 
The name seems to indicate that the family origi- 
nally came from a place called Seisportas (- six 
gates”; comp. Jacob Sasportas, “Ohel Aaakob, 
bios. 21, 68). Later it was mispronounced “bas- 
portas, ”* “ Saportas, ” “Saporta,” and “ Sforta”; and 
Jacob Sasportas himself gives his name in an acros- 
tic as NDTlDe'. A Saporta family lived later m 
^Montpellier, France. The Sasportas family, v>i 


the Cansinos at Oran, then a Spanish colony, re- 
mained loyal to the Spanish kings, who were at war 
with the Moors. Members of both families com- 
peted for the office of government interpreter (see 
Jacob b. Aaron Sasportas). It may he added 
that Aaron Sasportas, the earliest known member 
of this family, was a descendant in the tenth genera- 
tion of Nahmanides (Jacob Sasportas, l.c. INO. 24). 
The more prominent members are the following : 

Isaac hen Jacob Sasportas : Rabbi of the Por- 
tuguese community at Amsterdam in the beginning 
of the eighteenth century. He left in manuscript 
a collection of rabbinical decisions, poems, sermons, 
and letters in Spanish, Portuguese, and Hebrew, 
besides a Spanish translation of two responsa writ- 
ten in Hebrew in 1720 (comp. Steinschneider, Hebr. 

Bibl.” xi. 41). . , .. . 

Jacob ben Aaron Sasportas ; Rabbi, cabalist, 
andanti-Shabbethaian; born at Oran 1610; died at 
Amsterdam April 15, 1698; father of Isaac h. Jacob 
Sasportas. He became rabbi successively ot Ilem- 
cen (at the age of twenty - four), Morocco, Fez, 
and Sali. About 1646 he was imprisoned by the 
Moorish king, but succeeded in escaping with his 
family to Amsterdam 
(c. 1658). He stayed 
there tilKhe disorders 
in Africa ceased, when 
he was called back by 
the King of Morocco 
and sent on a special 
mission to the Spanish 
court (c. 1659) to ask 
for .aid against the 
rebels. On his return 
he was invited to the 
rabbinate of the Portu- 
guese community of 
London (1664). Ac- 
cording to David 
Franco Mendes (in 
“ Ha-Meassef,” 1788, p. 

169), Jacob had ac- _ .... 

companied Manasseli b. Israel to London m 16oo. 

O win o* to the outbreak of the plague in London m 
1665 Jacob went to Hamburg, where he officiated 
as rabbi till 1678. In that year he was called to Am- 
sterdam and appointed head of the yeshibah Keter 
Torah, founded by the brothers Pinto. Two yeais 
later he became dayyan and head of the yeshibah 
at Leghorn, and in 16S0 he returned to Amsterdam, 
where he was appointed head of the yeshibah E? 
Hawim. After the death of Isaac Aboab (1693) he 
was appointed rabbi of the Portuguese community, 
which office he held till his death. . 

Jacob was one of tlie most violent antagonists of 
the Shabbethaian movement; he wrote many letters 
to various communities in Europe, Asia, and Africa, 
exhorting them to unmask the impostors and to 
warn the people against them. He 
A Virulent wrote; “Toledot YaAkob” (Amster- 
Anti-Shab- dam, 1652), an index of Biblical pas- 
betbaian. sages found in the haggadah of the 
Jerusalem Talmud, similar to Aaron 
Pesaro’s “Toledot Aharon,” which relates to the 
Babylonian Talmud only; “Ohel La‘akob 0 • 



Haliam Jacob Sasportas. 



Sasportas 

Sassoon 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


66 


1737), responsa, edited and prefaced by bis son Abra- 
ham Sasportas; “Zizat Nobel Zebi” (ib. 1737), po- 
lemical correspondence against Shabbethai Zebi and 
his followers, also edited by his son. The last-named 


SASSOON ; Family claiming to trace its descent 
from the Ibn Shoshans of Spain. The earliest 
member to attain distinction was David Sassoon of 
Bombay. 


David Sassoon 
( 1792 - 1864 ) 

= Hannah Joseph 


Sir Albert Abdallah 
David, Bart. (1817- 
1S96) = Hannah 
Moses (d. 1S95) 


r i ! 

Joseph Sir Edward, 3 

(1843- Bart. (b. daugh- 

1S84) June 20, ters 

1856) = 

Aline Caro- 
line Rothschild 


David 

Sassoon 


“I 

daugh- 

ter 


Arthur 
(b. 1840) 
= Louise 
Perugia 


I l 

Reuben Aaron 
(1835-1905) 

= Kate 
Ezekiel 


Solomon 

i 


Frederick 4 

daugh- 

ters 


Jacob Charles Edward Meyer David 


David 


daugh- 

ters 


David 


Philip Albert Gustave Sybil Rachel Betty 
David (b. 1SSS) Cecile (b. 1894) 


Rachel 

Ricarda Marrot 
(issue) 


Louise Judith 
Sassoon 


daughter 

= Maurice Elias Gubbay 
(issue) 

J. IIy. 


Pedigree op the Sassoon Family. 


work was afterward abridged by Jacob Emden 
under the title “Kizzur Zizat Nobel Zebi ” (Altona, 
n.d.). Jacob edited the “Ilekal lia-Kodesli” of Mo- 
ses b. Maimun Albas, to which he added an introduc- 
tion and supplied notes (Amsterdam, 1653), Griltz 
(“ Gescli.” x., note 2) identifies Jacob Sasportas with 
Jalio Saportas, who competed with the Cansinos for 
the office of interpreter at the Spanish court (Jacob 
Cansino’s preface to Moses Almosniuo’s “Extremos 
y Grandezas de Constantinople,” Madrid, 1638). 

Bibliography: Fuenn, Kcnesct Yisrael, p. 577; Fi'irst, Bibl. 
Jucl. iii. 251 ; Griitz, Gesch. 3d ed., x. 204, 215, 217, 225-226, 
note 2; Kayserling, Bibl. Esp.-Povt.-Jud. pp. 4, 8, 98-99; S. 
Rubin, in Magyar Zsicl 6 Szemlc, vii. 711 ; Abraham Sasportas, 
preface to Ohcl Ya'akah ; Steinscbneider, Cat. Bocll. col. 
1254 ; S. Wiener, in Ha-Meli 1894, Xos. 203, 245 : Cat . An- 
glo- Jew. Hist. Exli. p. 48; Wolf, Bibl. Hebr. i. 619. 

J. M. Sel. 

Solomon Sasportas ; Rabbi at Nice from 1690; 
died there Oct. 2, 1724; son of Isaac Sasportas and 
grandson of Jacob Sasportas. Like his father, Sol- 
omon engaged in cabalistic studies. His work 
“Shesli She‘arim, Zeker Rab. Memoria de los 613 
Preceptos de la Ley, y Siete de Sabios. Traducido 
del Ilebraico, ” in Spanish and Hebrew, was printed 
by Solomon Adhan of Tafilet (iDnsterdam, 1727). 

Bibliography: Nepi-Ghirondi, Toledot Gedole Yisrael , p. 
318 ; Steinscbneider, Cat. Bodl. col. 2275 ; Kayserling, Bibl. 
Esp.-Port.-Jud . pp. 8, 99. 

S. M. K. 

SASSLOWER, JACOB KOPPEL BEN 
AARON : Russian Masoriteof the seventeenth cen- 
tury; lived in Zaslav, government of Volhynia. He 
wrote “ Nahalat Ya‘akob” (Sulzbach, 1686), on the 
accentuations of the Decalogue in Ex. xx. 1-18 for 
Sabbaths and Pentecost respectively, with a sup- 
plement on the Masorah. 

Bibliography : Steinschneider, Cat. Bodl. col. 1179 ; idem, 
Jewish Literature , p.235; Benjacob, Ozar ha-Sefarim , p. 
396. 

E. C. S. O. 


Sir Albert Abdallah David Sassoon, Bart. ; 
Anglo-Indian merchant ; head of the house of David 
Sassoon & Co., “the Rothschilds of the East ” ; born 
at Bagdad 1817; died at Brighton, England, Oct. 
24, 1896; eldest son of David Sassoon. Sassoon re- 
ceived a European education ; and on the death of 
his father, in 1864, he succeeded to the leadership 
of the great banking and mercantile firm of David 
Sassoon & Co. The history of the development of 
Bombay and its benevolent institutions is insepa- 
rably associated with his 
name. The Sassoon Dock, 
constructed by his firm, 
was the first instance of a 
wet dock built in western 
India; and it stimulated 
the Bombay government 
to promote the construc- 
tion of the large Prince's 
Dock. The Sassoon man- 
ufactories of silk and cot- 
ton goods at Bombay fur- 
nished employment for a 
large amount of native 
labor; and the Sassoons 
were also the managers 
of the Port Canning 
Company, with estates 
lying at the mouth of the River Mullah, in Bengal. 

Sassoon made many donations to Bombay, his 
benevolence lying mainly in the promotion of edu- 
cation among every class and creed. He contributed 
largely toward the Elphiustone High School of 
Bombay, aud founded scholarships at the university 
and the art school of that city. In his own commu- 
nity he maintained the David Sassoon Benevolent 
Institution, a school affording instruction to many 
hundreds of Jewish children. He was a vice-presi- 
dent of the Anglo-Jewish Association, and in Bag- 



Sir Albert Sassoon. 




67 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Sasportas 

Sassoon 


dad erected the school of the Alliance Israelite L T m- 
verselle, presenting it to the community free of all 

encumbrances. . . 

In 1867 Sassoon was appointed a companion of the 
Star of India, and a year later he became a member 
of the Bombay legislative council, a position which 
be continued to hold for some years. It was mainly 
through his contributions that a colossal statue 
of Edward, then Prince of Wales, was erected m 
Bombay. In 1872 he received the honor of Knight- 
hood- and in November of the following year the 
corporation of London conferred upon linn the free- 
dom of the city, he being the first Anglo-Indian to 
receive it. The shah, whom he entertained at the 
Empire Theatre, London, in 1889, conferred on him 
the Order of the Lion and the Sun ; and in 1890 Queen 
Victoria advanced him to the dignity of a baronet. 

Briumm uBir The Times (London), Oct. 26, 1896; Jew. 
CmS an. 10, 1S90, and Oct. 30, 1896. G L 

,T. 

David Sassoon: Indian merchant and banker; 
born at Bagdad Oct., 1792; died at Bombay Nov. 

7, 1864. He had a fair 
knowledge of Hebrew, 

Arabic, Persian, Turk- 
ish, and Hindustani, but 
not of English. His 
father, who was a 
wealthy Mesopotamian 
merchant, and who was 
for many years state 
treasurer to the Turkish 
governor of Bagdad, was 
known as “Nasi [= 

“Prince”] of the Captiv- 
ity.” David Sassoon was 
employed in a banking- 
house at Bagdad till 
1822. After the plague 
he left Bagdad for Bas- 
sora, proceeding thence 
to Busliire. In 1832 an 
important commercial 
engagement caused him 
to visit Bombay, to 
which city he subse- 
quently removed with 
his family. Plere he 
established the house of 
David Sassoon & Co., 
with branches at Cal- 

cutta, Shanghai, Canton, and Hongkong; and 
his business, which included a monopoly of the 
opium-trade, extended as far as Yokohama, Naga- 
saki, and other cities in Japan. Sassoon attributed 
liis great success to the employment of his sons as 
his agents and to Iris strict observance of the law of 
tithe. 

Owing to his benefactions Sassoon s name was 
familiar to all the Jews of Turkey, China, Japan, 
Persia, and India. In Bombay he built and mu- 
nificently endowed a splendid synagogue and es- 
tablished a Talmud Torah school; and at Puna, his 
summer residence, he built another handsome syna- 
gogue. He subscribed liberally to the Sailors 
Homes in Bombay and Hongkong, to the famine 


fund, to the fund for the widows and orphans of 
those killed during the Indian Mutiny of 1857, and 
to the Lancashire relief fund. He supported an in- 
stitution for teaching English, Arabic, and Hebrew 
(closed 1901); and shortly before his death lie set 
apart a large sum for the erection of a Mechanics 
Institution at Bombay, which is called by liis name. 
One of the most important of his public institutions 
is the Sassoon Reformatory and Industrial Institu- 
tion for Juvenile Offenders. Sassoon built and en- 
dowed the Infirm Asylum at Puna; and another 
charitable institution erected by him was the Gen- 
eral Hospital at Puna, founded in 1863, for all castes 
and creeds. In appreciation of Sassoon’s philan- 
thropic labors the citizens of Bombay placed a 
marble bust of him in the Victoria and Albert Mu- 
seum, to which he had presented an illuminated 
clock-tower. His last public act was the erection 
of a statue in memory of Albert, prince consort. 

On Dec. 13, 1864, under tlie presidency of the 
governor, a special meeting for the purpose of vo- 
ting a memorial to Sassoon was held in the Bombay 
Town Hall; and as a re- 



David Sassoon. 


suit a statue was placed 
in the Sassoon Mechan- 
ics’ Institution of that 

"I J. By. 

David Sassoon Sas- 
soon: Indian merchant; 
born at Bombay 1832; 
died at London 1867. 
At an early age he was 
sent to Bagdad, where 
he was initiated into 
Biblical and Talmudic 
lore. Thence he pro- 
ceeded to Shanghai, 
where he conducted the 
mercantile operations of 
the China branch of the 
firm of David Sassoon, 
Sons & Co. He went 
to London in 1858, and 
soon occupied a prom- 
inent position among 
the principal merchants 
of that city, being 
elected director of a 
number of impor- 
tant companies. 


He spoke several Oriental languages with great 

Sassoon was president of a committee which had 
for its object the organization of an expedition to 
the Jews in China, Abyssinia, and the East ; and 
was a member of the council of Jews College and 
of the committee of the Jews’ Free School, which 
two institutions he munificently endowed. He was 
also a warden of the Spanish and Portuguese syna- 
gogue. For several years he acted as examiner m 
Hebrew to the Jews’ Free School. 

Bibliography: Jeiv. Chron. July 19, 186 <. . 

Sir Edward Albert Sassoon, Bart.: Eldest 
surviving son of Sir Albert Sassoon and of Hannah, 
daughter of Meyer Moise (Moses) of Bombay ; bom 



Sassoon 

Satan 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


68 


in that city June 20, 1856; succeeded to the bar- 
onetcy in 1S96 on the death of Sir Albert Sassoon. 
He is a graduate of London University, a major in 
the Duke of Cambridge’s Hussars Yeomanry, and a 
deputy lieutenant. In March, 1899, he was elected 



Tomb of David Sassoon, Puna, India. 

(From a photograph.) 


member of Parliament for Hytlie in the Unionist 
interest. In Feb., 1902, on the resignation of Sir 
Joseph Sebag Montefiore, Sir Edward was elected 
president of the London Spanish and Portuguese 
Congregation ; and lie is a vice-president of Jews’ 
College and of the Anglo- Jewish Association. 

In 1SS7 he married Aline Caroline, daughter of 


Baron Gustave de Rothschild. 


Bibliography : Jew. Chron. March 3, 1S99, and Feb. 9, 1900; 
Harris, Jewish Year Hooh , 1901; Who's TF7to, 190o. 

j. G. L. 


Elias David Sassoon: Indian merchant and 
banker; born in 1819; died at Colombo 1880. He 
was the first of David Sassoon’s sons to go to China 
(in 1844) to open a branch there. After his return 
he conducted his father’s business in Bombay with 
great skill and energy, and avoided becoming in- 
volved in the crisis of the share mania. He left his 
father’s firm in 1867, and opened branches in Hong- 
kong and Shanghai. Sassoon contributed to the 
erection of the Maternity Hospital at Puna, and to 
the David Sassoon Infirm Asylum in the same city. 
He also built a synagogue in Hongkong. 


Jacob Elias Sassoon : Indian mill-owner, mer- 
chant, and banker; born 1848. He succeeded his 
father in business. He built a synagogue and 
opened a Hebrew and English school for Jewish 
children in the Fort, Bombay. Sassoon is one of the 
proprietors of the E. D. Sassoon Mills, the Alexan- 
dra Mills, the E. D. Sassoon Dye Works, and is the 
owner of the Jacob Sassoon Mills, one of the largest 
establishments of the kind in India. In 1900 he 
built a house in Colaba, Bombay, to be utilized for 
the use of the poor of his community. There are 
branches of his business house at Calcutta, Hong- 
kong, Shanghai, Kobe, London, and Manchester. 

j. J. Hy. 

Solomon David Sassoon : Indian merchant and 
banker; born at Bombay 1841 ; died there March 18, 
1894. He went to China as an assistant in his father’s 
business house, and afterward became the head of 
the firm of David Sassoon & Co., remaining in charge 
of it until his death. Sassoon was director of the Bank 
of Bombay and one of the port trustees, and was twice 
nominated in the time of Sir James Fergusson as an 
additional member, for making laws and regulations, 
of the council of the governor of Bombay. He was 
chairman of the. Sassoon Spinning and Weaving Co., 
of the Sassoott and Alliance Silk Co., of the Port 
Canning and Land Improvement Co., of the Oriental 
Life Assurance Co., and of several other joint-stock 
associations. He was also president of the Bombay 
branch of the Anglo-Jewish Association from 1894. 
j. G. L. 

SATAN : Term used in the Bible with the gen- 
eral connotation of “adversary,” being applied (1) 
to an enemy in war (I Kings v. 18 [A. V. 4]; xi. 
14, 28, 25), from which use is developed the concept 
of a trai tor in battle (I Sam. xxix. 4); (2) toanaccuser 
before the judgment-seat (Ps. cix. 6) ; and (8) to any 
opponent (II Sam. xix. 23 [A. V. 22]). The word 
is likewise used to denote an antagonist who puts 
obstacles in the way, as in Num, xxii. 32, where 
the angel of God is described as opposing Balaam in 
the guise of a satan or adversary ; so that the con- 
cept of Satan as a distinct being was not then 
known. Such a view is found, however, in the 
prologue to the Book of Job, where Satan appears, 
together with other celestial beings or “ sons of God,” 
before the Deity, replying to the inquiry of God 
as to whence he had come, with the words: “From 
going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up 
and down in it ” (Job i. 7). Both question and an- 
swer, as well as the dialogue which follows, charac- 
terize Satan as that member of the 
In divine council who watches over liu- 
the Bible, man activity, but with the evil pur- 
pose of searching out men’s sins and 
appearing as their accuser. He is, therefore, the 
celestial prosecutor, who sees only iniquity ; for lie 
persists in his evil opinion of Job even after the 
man of Uz has passed successfully through his first 
trial by surrendering to the will of God, whereupon 
Satan demands another test through physical suffer- 
ing (ib. ii. 3-5). 

Yet it is also evident from the prologue that Satan 
has no power of independent action, but requires 
the permission of God, which he may not transgress. 


69 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Sassoon 

Satan 


He can not be regarded, therefore, as an opponent 
of the Deity; and the doctrine of monotheism is dis- 
turbed by his existence no more than by the pres- 
ence of other beings before the face of God. This 
view is also retained in Zecli. iii. 1-2, where Satan 
is described as the adversary of the high priest 
Joshua, and of the people of God whose representa- 
tive the hierarch is ; and he there opposes the “angel 
of the Lord,” who bids him be silent in the name of 
God, In both of these passages Satan is a mere ac- 
cuser who acts only according to the permission of 
the Deity; but in I Cliron. xxi. 1 he appears as 
one who is able to provoke David to destroy Israel. 
The Chronicler (third century b.c.) regards Satan as 
an independent agent, a view which is the more 
striking since the source whence he drew his ac- 
count (II Sam. xxiv. 1) speaks of God Himself as 
the one who moved David against the children of 
Israel. Since the older conception refers all events, 
whether good or bad, to God alone (I Sam. xvi. 14; 
I Kings xxii. 22; Isa. xlv. 7; etc.), it is possible 
that the Chronicler, and perhaps even Zecliariali, 
were influenced by Zoroastrianism, even though in 
the case of the prophet Jewish monism strongly op- 
posed Iranian dualism (Stave, “Einfluss des Parsis- 
mus'auf das Judentlium,” pp. 253 et seq.). An im- 
mediate influence of the Babylonian concept of the 
“accuser, persecutor, and oppressor” (Schrader, 

“ k. A. T.” 3d ed., p. 468) is impossible, since traces 
of such an influence, if it had existed, would have 
appeared in the earlier portions of the Bible. 

The evolution of the theory of Satan keeps pace 
with the development of Jewish angelology and 
demonology. In Wisdom ii. 24 he is represented, 
with reference to Gen. iii., as the author of all evil, 
who brought death into the world ; he is apparently 
mentioned also in Ecclus. (Siracli) xxi. 27, and 
the fact that his name does not occur in Daniel is 
doubtless due merely to chance. Satan was the se- 
ducer and the paramour of Eve, and 
In the was hurled from heaven together with 
Apocry- other angels because of his iniquity 
pha. (Slavonic Book of Enoch, xxix. 4 et 
seq.). Since that time he has been 
called “Satan,” although previously he had been 
termed “ Satanel ” (ib. xxxi. 3 et seq.). The doctrine 
of the fall of Satan, as well as of the fall of the 
angels, is found also in Babylonia (Schrader, l.c. p. 
464), and is mentioned several times in the New 
Testament. Satan rules over an entire host of 
angels (Martyrdom of Isaiah, ii. 2; Yita Adse et 
Eva?, xvi.). Mastema, who induced God to test 
Abraham through the sacrifice of Isaac, is identical 
with Satan in both name and nature (Book of Jubi- 
lees, xvii. 18), and the Asmodf.us of the Book of 
Tobit is likewise to be identified with him, especially 
in view of his licentiousness. As the lord of satans 
he not infrequently bears the special name Samael. 
It is difficult to identify Satan in any other passages 
of the Apocrypha, since the originals in which his 
name occurred have been lost, and the translations 
employ various equivalents. An “argumentum a 
silentio ” can not, therefore, be adduced as proof that 
concepts of Satan were not wide-spread ; but it must 
rather be assumed that reference to him and his 
realm is implied in the mention of evil spirits of 


every sort (comp. Demonology, and Kautzsch, 

“ Apokryphen,” Index). 

The high development of the demonology of the 
New Testament presupposes a long period of evo- 
lution. In the Gospels the beliefs of the lower 
orders of society find expression, and Satan and his 
kingdom are regarded as encompassing the entire 
world, and are factors in all the events of daily life. 
In strict accordance with his manifold activity 
he bears many names, being called “ Satan ” (Matt. 

iv. 10; Mark i. 30, iv. 15; Luke x. 18 
In et passim), “devil” (Matt. iv. 1 et pas- 
the New sim), “adversary” (I Peter v. 8, avri- 
Testament. ch/cof,-I Tim. v. 14, avruai/ievog), “en- 
emy ” (Matt. xiii. 39), “ accuser ” (Rev. 
xii. 10), “old serpent” (ib. xx. 2), “great dragon” 
(ib. xii. 9), Beelzebub (Matt. x. 25, xii. 24, et pas- 
sim ), and Belial (comp. Samael). The fall of 
Satan is mentioned in Luke x. 18, John xii. 31, II 
Cor. vi. 16, and Rev. xii. 9. He is the author of all 
evil (Luke x. 19 et passim; Acts v. 3; II Cor. xi. 3; 
Ephes. ii. 2), who beguiled Eve (II Cor. xi. 3 ; Rev. 
xii. 9), and who brought death into the world (Heb. 
ii. 13), being ever the tempter (I Cor. vii. 5; I 
Thess. iii. 5; I Peter v. 8), even as he tempted Jesus 
(Matt. iv.). The belief in the devil as here devel- 
oped dominated subsequent periods, and influenced 
indirectly the Jews themselves; nor has it been 
entirety discarded to-day. 

Satan and his host are mentioned comparatively 
seldom in the Talmud and Midrash, although the 
material on this subject is not without importance. 
In the older or tannaitic literature the name of Sa- 
tan is met with but rarely. Thus in Ab. iv. 11 
sin itself, and not Satan, is the accuser, the term 
Karrjyup becoming a standing epithet of Satan in 
the New Testament, and being applied to him by 
the later Talmudic teachers also. In Tosef., Shab. 
xvii. (xviii.) 3 it is stated that the angels of Satan 
accompany the blasphemer on his way, according 
to Ps. cxv. 6, while a comparison of Gen. R. xxxviii. 
7 with Sifre, Num. xxv. 1 shows how reference to 
Satan was introduced by the Amoraim into tan- 
naitic sayings (Baclier, “Ag. Pal. Amor.” ii. 254) ; 
and in like manner “Satan” is substituted for “an- 
gel” in Ned. 32a. 

The Angelology of the Talmud, moreover, 
proves that, according to the older view (until about 
200 c.e.), punishment was inflicted by angels and 
not by Satan. In the course of time, however, offi- 
cial Judaism, beginning perhaps with Johanan (d. 
279), absorbed the popular concepts of Satan, which 
doubtless forced their way gradually from the lower 
classes to the most cultured. The later a midrashic 
collection the more frequent is the mention there- 
in of Satan and his hosts. The Palestinian Talmud, 
completed about 400, is more reticent in this regard ; 
and this is the more noteworthy since its prove- 
nience is the same as that of the Neiv Testament. 

Samael, the lord of the satans, was a 
In Talmud mighty prince of angels in heaven 
and (Gen. R. xix.). Satan came into the 
Midrash. world with woman, i.e., with Eve 

(Yalk., Gen. i. 23) ; so that he was cre- 
ated and is not eternal. Like all celestial beings, he 
flies through the air (Gen. R. xix.), and can assume 



Satan 

Satire 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


70 


any form, as of a bird (Sanli. 107a), a stag ( ib . 95a), 
a woman (Kid. Sla), a beggar (ib.), or a young man 
(Tan., Way era, end); lie is said to skip (Pes. 112b; 
Meg. lib), in allusion to bis appearance in the form 
of a goat (comp, the goat-demons of the Bible), and 
it was as such that he was addressed with the words 
“ an arrow between thine eyes ” by one who wished 
to express contempt for him (Kid. 30a, 81a, et 
passim). 

He is the incarnation of all evil, and his thoughts 
and activities are devoted to the destruction of man; 
so that Satan, the impulse to evil (“yezer ha-ra‘ ”), 
and the angel of death are one and the same person- 
ality. He descends from heaven and leads astray, 
then ascends and brings accusations against man- 
kind. Receiving the divine commission, he takes 
away the soul, or, in other words, he slays (B. B. 
16a). He seizes upon even a single word which may 
be prejudicial to man ; so that “ one should not open 
liis mouth unto evil,” i.e., “unto Satan” (Ber. 19a). 
In timhsof danger likewise he brings his accusations 
(Yer. Shab. 5b et passim). While he has power over 
all the works of man (Ber. 46b), he can not prevail 
at the same time against two individuals of different 
nationality ; so that Samuel, a noted astronomer and 
teacher of the Law (d. at Nehardea 247), would start 
on a journey only when a Gentile traveled with him 
(Shab. 32a). 

Satan’s knowledge is circumscribed ; for when the 
shofar is blown on New-Year’s Day he is “con- 
founded ” (R. H. 16b ; Yer. Targ. to Num. x. 10). 
On the Day of Atonement his power vanishes ; for 
the numerical value of the letters of his name ()D£7l) 
is only 364, one day being thus exempt from his in- 
fluence (Yoma 20a). Moses banished him by means 
of the Divine Name (Grimhut, “ Sefer ha-Likkutim, ” 
v. 169). If Satan does not attain his purpose, as was 
the case in his temptation of Job, he feels great sor- 
row (B. B. 16a) ; and it was a terrible blow to him, as 
the representative of moral evil, that the Torah, the 
incarnation of moral good, should be given to Israel. 
He endeavored to overthrow it, and finally led the 
people to make the golden calf (Shab. 89a; Yer. 
Targ. to Ex. xxxii. 1). while the two tables of the 
Law were bestowed on Moses of necessity without 
Satan’s knowledge (Sanli. 26b). 

The chief functions of Satan are, as already noted, 
those of temptation, accusation, and punishment. 
He was an active agent in the fall of man (Pirke R. 
El. xiii., beginning), and was the father of Cain (ib. 
xxi.), while he was also instrumental in the offering 
of Isaac (Tan., Wayera, 22 [ed. Stettin, p. 39a]), in 
the release of the animal destined by Esau for his 
father (Tan., Toledot, 11), in the theophany at Sinai, 
in the death of Moses (Dent. R. xiii. 9), in David’s 
sin with Bath-slieba (Sanh. 95a), and in the death of 
Queen Vashti (Meg. 11a). The decree to destroy 
all the Jews, which Haman obtained, was written 
on parchment brought by Satan (Esther R. iii. 9). 
When Alexander the Great rejiroached the Jewish 
sages with their rebellion, they made the plea that 
Satan had been too mighty for them (Tamid 32a). 
He appeared as a tempter to Akiba and Mattithiah 
b. Heresh (Kid. 81a; Midr. Abkir, ed. Buber, p. 11). 
He sowed discord between two men, and when MeiT 
reconciled them, he departed, crying, “Alas, Mei'r 


has driven me from home !” (Git. 52a ; comp. ‘Er. 2i\i) 
— i.e., Satan is the angel of strife (see also Yoma 
67b; Shab. 104a; Yeb. 16a). If any one brings 
a beautiful captive home, he brings 
His Satan into his house, and his son will 
Functions, be destroyed (Sifre, Deut. 218) ; for 
Satan kindles the evil impulse (“ye- 
zer ha-ra‘ ”) to impurity (Ex. R. xx.). Where one 
makes his home Satan leaps about; where merri- 
ment rules, or wheresoever there is eating or drink- 
ing, he brings his accusations (Gen. R. xxxviii. 7); 
and when there is a chance that prosperity may be 
enjoyed in this world or in the next he likewise 
rises up as an accuser. Even Jacob was forced to 
prove to Satan that he had borne much suffering in 
this world (Gen. R. lxxxiv., in Weber, “System der 
Altsynagogalen Palastinisclien Theologie,” p. 323); 
and when Satan reveals the sins of Israel to God 
others plead the alms which Israel has given (Ex. 
R. xxxi.). In the hour of birth, and thus in the hour 
of peril, he brings his accusation against the mother 
(Eccl. R. iii. 2). The serpent of Gen. iii. is identi- 
fied with Satan (see Weber, l.c. pp. 218 et seq.\ 
comp. Adam; Eve; Serpent). 

As the incarnation of evil Satan is the arch-enemy 
of the Messiah: he is Antichrist. The light which 
was created before the world was hidden by God 
beneath His throne; and to the question of Satan 
in regard to it God answered, “This light is 
kept for him who shall bring thee to shame.” At 
his request God showed Satan the Messiah; “and 
when he saw him he trembled, fell upon his face, 
and cried : ‘ Verily this is the Messiah who shall hurl 
me and all the princes of the angels of the peoples 
down even unto hell , ” (Pesik. R. iii. 6 [ed. Fried- 
mann, p. 161b] ; further details are given in Rous- 
set, “ Der Antichrist ”). 

While the Pirke R. Eli‘ezer, and the mystic mid- 
rasliim edited by Jellinek in his “Bet ha-Midrash,” 
belong historically to the post-Talmudic period, they 
do not fall under this category so far as their con- 
tent is concerned. Here belong, strict- 
In the ly sjieaking, onty the Zoliar and other 
Cabala. esoteric works comprised under the 
name “Cabala.” The basal elements 
remain the same; but under the influence of medi- 
eval demonology a wider scope is ascribed to the 
activity of Satan and his host, daily life falling 
within the range of his power. The miscreants of the 
Bible, such as Amalek, Goliath, and Hainan, are 
identified with him; and his hosts receive new 
names, among them “Kelippa ” (husk, rind, peel- 
ing, scale). Antichristian polemics also compli- 
cate the iDroblem (see the rich collection of material 
in Eisenmenger, “Entdecktes Judenthum,” i. 812 
et seq.). 

Satan was mentioned in the liturgy at an early 
period, as in the daily morning prayer and in the 
Blessing of the New Moon ; and his name has nat- 
urally occurred in amulets and incantations down to 
the present day. Terms and phrases referring to 
Satan which are met with in Judmo-German must 
be regarded as reminiscences of the ancient pojmlar 
belief in him. 

Bibliography: Davidson, Theology of the Old Testament , 
pp. 300-355, Edinburgh, 1904; Faivre, La Personality du 
Satan (TA.pre.s la Bible, Montauban, 1900; Hennecke, 'Neu- 



71 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Satan 

Satire 


fv 358-362 (and the bibliography there given); Schrader, K. 

A, T. 3d ed., pp. 463 et seq. 

L. B. 

j. 

SAT A2JOW, ISAAC HA-LEVI: Scholar and 
poet; bom at Satanow, Poland, 1733; died in Berlin 
Germany, Dec. 25, 1805. In early manhood he left 
his native country and went to the Prussian capital 
in search of learning. There he became the protege 
of Isaac Daniel and David Pnedlander, who pro- 
cured for him employment as a teacher in some 

prominent families. _ -i t> 

Satanow represents a peculiar type. Like Eyron, 
lie was, both physically and mentally, a conglomer- 
ation of contrasts. He dressed in the garb ot the 
Polish Jew of the period, yet was a thorough Ger- 
man in his actions and habits. Though Orthodox 
in liis beliefs, he nevertheless favored Reform m 
practise. He was one of the greatest authorities on 
Jewish tradition and lore, yet he was one of the 
most free-thinking of philosophers. He was a shrewd 
physicist and an inspired poet ; a realist and an ideal- 
ist While writing his “Mishle Asaf,” a work in 
which the noblest thoughts are expressed in the 
choicest diction, he did not disdain at the same time to 
write a treatise on how to drill holes through three 
hundred pearls in one day and how to mix success- 
fully different kinds of liquors. Even in the most 
earnest and solemn of his writings there can always 
be detected an undercurrent of the most playful 

In liis " Mishle Asaf ” lie so blended the quaintly an- 
ti que style of the Bible with modern fine writing that 
the critics of his time were at a loss how to character- 
ize the work. Some were inclined to revere it as a 
relic of antiquity, w r liile others attacked the authoi as 
a literary charlatan who desired to palm off his own 
work as a production of the ancient writers. . Rabbi 
Joseph of Frankfort gives a very clever criticism of 
his work. He says ; “ I do not really know to whom 
to ascribe these sayings [of the “Mishle Asaf ]; it 
may be the publisher himself has composed them; 
for I know him to be a plagiarist. He, however 
differs from the rest of that class in this respect, that 
they plagiarize the works of others and pass them 
for their own, while he plagiarizes ^ his own works 
and passes them for those of others.” _ 

Satanow as a poet belongs to two distinctly differ- 
ent schools. In bis earlier works he followed the 
theory of the old school, which considered plays on 
vords great flourish of diction, and variegated ex- 


YY Uluo, — ' - A 

prcssions as the essential requirements of good 
poetry ; but iu his later works he used the simple, 
forcible style of the Biblical writers, and he may be 
-justly styled “tlie restorer of Biblical poetry.” It 
is sufficient to compare liis “ Eder ha-Yekar ” and 
“Sefer lia-Hizzayon” with liis “Mishle Asaf” to see 
at a glance tlie difference in style. 

Among Satanow ’s most important works are the 
following ; (1) “Sifte Renanot,” a brief exposition of 
Hebrew grammar (Berlin, lTTB). (2) “ Sefer ha-Hiz- 
zayon ” (ib. 1775 [?]), in eight parts: part i., a trea- 
tise on criticism and knowledge; ii., on poetry , m., 
a collection of proverbs; iv., treatises on different 
scientific topics: a discussion about the visual and 


auditory senses, from which he makes a digression, 
and discusses the inhabitants of the moon; v., dis- 
cussions on esthetic problems, as love, friendship, 
justice, etc. ; vi., a picturesque description of tlie 
universe; viii., discussions on various topics. Ihe 
whole work is written in a highly ornate style ; it 
does not bear the author’s name; but a few hints 
in some of tlie poems leave no doubt as to who 
lie was. (8) “Imre Binah” (ib. 1784). (4) “Selihot,” 
a newly arranged edition (ib. 1785). (5) Sefer lia- 

Slioraslilm,” in three parts, a treatise on Hebrew 
roots (ib. 1787). (6) “Mishle Asaf,” a collection of 

gnomes, modeled after the Book of Proverbs (tb. 
1788-91) (7) “Moreh Nebukim,” text together 

with commentary (ib. 1791-96). (8) “ Zemirot Asaf ” 

with the commentary of Samuel ben Meir (tb. 1 '93). 
This was the first attempt of the Slavonic school 
to build up a national lyric poetry, although tlie 
psalms have the form rather of philosophic reflec- 
tions than of lyric expression. No references to 
national history or national lore, and no expressions 
of patriotism, are to be found in them. They foim a 
simple doxology, and reflect a rational view of na- 
ture as opposed to mysticism. (9) “ Pirke Slniah, 
on the natural sciences. 

-RimioGRAPHY* Franz Delitzscta, Zur Geschichte dcr JU- 
mschm Polsic, § 23, Leipsic, 1836 ; Fuenn, Keneset I israeh 
1886^.643. j Gq 

SATIRE ; Ironical and veiled attack,, mostly in 
verse Among the Hebrews satire made its appear- 
ance with the advent of the usurper. The tradition 
runs that wdien Abimelech, tlie son of a maid- 
servant, treacherously slew all his. brothers except 
Jotliam, and usurped the leadership of the men of 
Shechem, Jotliam, his youngest brother, hurled at 
him from the top of Mount Gerizim the famous 
satiric fable of the trees that went forth to anoint a 
king over themselves and chose the bramble (Judges 
ix. 7-15 ; see Fable). Again, when David wronged 
his faithful servant Uriah the prophet Nathan 
brought him to repentance with the 
Biblical parable of the rich man who feasted 
Examples, liis guest on the poor man’s lamb (II 
Sam. xii. 1-13). Isaiah’s oration at 
tlie death of the King of Babylon (Isa. xiv. 4-28) is 
one of the strongest satires in all literature. Many 
more examples could bo cited from the Bible, but 
those mentioned are sufficient to warrant the state- 
ment that the beginning of the development of 
satire among the Hebrews dates from tbe earliest 

period in tlieir history. . „ 

The satire of Ben Sira is sententious in form and 
refers to all phases of the social life of his day. 
The frailty of women, the fickleness of friends, the 
arrogance of the rich-these and many other topics 
are discussed in the style of the Proverbs with here 
and there a suggestion of fable and parable. In the 
Talmud and Midrash, examples of satire abound m 
the form of puns, parables, and epigrams. The 
ancient Rabbis had a keen sense for the satirical, 
and often employed it in tlieir disputes with the 
Sadducees and the neophytes. The tyranny of the 
Caesars and the profligacy of Rome were other topics 
for the satirists though iu these instances they found 
it prudent to veil their expressions and speak in 



Satire 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


72 


metaphors. As an example of their powers of satire 
the following may be cited : 

“ There was a widow who lived with her two daughters and 
possessed only one held. When she began to plow the field, 
Moses said to her, ‘ Thou shalt not plow with ox and ass to- 
gether.’ When she began to sow, he admonished her not to 
sow the field with two kinds of seed. She began to reap and 
pile up the stacks ; then he told her to leave 1 gleanings ’ [cpV], 
k the poor man’s sheaf ’ and the ‘ corner ’ [hnd]. When 

the harvesting season came, he said to her, ‘ Yield up the priest’s 
share and the first and second tithes.’ She submitted, and gave 
what lie demanded. Then she sold the field and bought two 
young sheep to use their wool and profit from their offspring. But 
as soon as the sheep gave birth to their young, Aaron came and 
said, ‘ Give me the first-born, for so the Lord hath ordained.’ 
Again she submitted, and gave him the young. When the time 
of shearing came, he said to her, 'Give me the first shearing.’ 
Then she said, 4 1 no more have strength to endure this man ; I 
shall slaughter these animals and use their meat.’ But when 
she had slaughtered them, he said to her, ‘Give me the shoulder, 
the two cheeks, and the. maw.’ Then she said, ‘Even after 
slaughtering these animals I have not escaped this man ; let 
them, then, he consecrated.’ ‘ In that case,’ replied he, ‘ they 
belong altogether to me; for the Lord hatli-said, “Everything 
consecrated in Israel shall be thine ” ’ [Num. xviii. 14]. So he 
took the sheep, and went his way, and left the widow and her 
two daughters weeping ” (Yalkut Shim'oni, Korah). 

This satire was undoubtedly directed against the 
corrupt officials who robbed and oppressed the poor 
people on religious pretexts, though. the satirist puts 
his criticism in the mouth of Korah in order to save 
himself from the animosity of those he attacked. 

The rise of Karaism in the middle of the eighth 
century brought a great deal of satire and polemics 
into Jewish literature. One of the 
Medieval best, known of Saadia’s polemical re- 
Satire. marks is in regard to the two Karaites 
Anan and Saul: “As Anan has con- 
sumed and vanished away, so shall Saul go down 
and shall come up no more ” — a parody of Job vii. 9. 
On the other hand, some of the poems of Moses Darri 
(Pinsker, “Likkute Kadmoniyyot,” pp. 73-74) are 
fair specimens of Karaitic satire against Rabbinism. 

The influence of Arabic culture on Jewish lifeand 
literature, which grew stronger and stronger during 

-fclie succeeding centuries, was propitious to tlie 

growth of satire. A mere difference of opinion in 
linguistics was sufficient to call forth a scathing 
poem by Dunasli ben Labrat against Menahem ben 
Sarulc (10th cent.). In the eleventh century Ibn 
Gabirol indulged in occasional satires against those 
who ill-treated him, as is seen in his wine-song; 
and Samuel ibn Nagrela wrote satirical maxims in 
imitation of Proverbs and Ecclesiastes. Early in 
the twelfth century Abraham ibn Ezra penned his 
epigrams on poverty and the arrogance of the rich, 
and wrote his satire on card-players. Later in the 
same century Joseph Zabara wrote a satire ou the 
medical fraternity of his day, entitled “The Physi- 
cians’ Aphorisms ” (DW'Dn.l nOND), and two satires 
on women — “A Widow’s Vow” YD) and 

“Contentions of a Wife” (ncytf The thir- 

teenth century can boast of two great satirists, 
Judah ben Isaac ibn Shabbethai and Judali Al- 
Harizi. The former is known for Iris “Gift of 
Judah ” (rmiY nnJD), which is both a satire on the 
woman-hater and a reproach to those who marry in 
haste. Ibn Sliabbetliai wrote also “The Conflict 
Between Wisdom and Wealth” (nDDnn 
YGWH1), and a polemic against his personal enemies 


entitled “The Writ of Excommunication ” (HY7 
’■IDiY) flfjtfn), which is still in manuscript. Of the 
two, however, Al-Harizi is by far the 
Al-Harizi. greater satirist. His extensive travels 
brought the whole panorama of Jew- 
ish life under Iris observation and enabled him, in his 
itineraries, to criticize the follies and foibles of his 
contemporaries. His great skill lies in drawing a 
vivid picture in few words. His art suggests that 
of caricature. His satires, known by the collect- 
ive title “Tahkemoni,” are, varied and numerous. 
Some are on women (“Tahkemoni,” eh. vi.), some 
on avarice (ch. xii.), some on religious superstitions 
(ch. x.), and some on the ignorance of religious offi- 
cials (ch. xxiv.), while the quack doctor likewise 
receives a flagellation (ch. xxx., xlviii.). 

In the fourteenth century the art of satire, like 
Jewish culture in general, is found fully developed 
in Provence and in Italy. Immanuel of Rome and 
Kalonymus ben Kalonymns of Provence, contempo- 
raries and friends, enriched Hebrew literature with 
their satires and at the same time gave a vivid 
picture of the manners of their time. Imman- 
uel shows the influence of Italian culture, while 
Kalonymus is more under the spell of Arabic learn- 
ing. Immanuel, much in the style of the trouba- 
dours, takes love for his topic and 
Immanuel indulges in pleasantries about women, 
of Home. The twenty -eighth chapter of his. 

“Maliberot” is the only one in which 
his satire embraces all phases of the social rife of his. 
day. Kalonymus, ou the other hand, is of a more 
serious turn of mind. In his “Treatise of Purim” 
(D'YE) fDDD), it is true, he criticizes only the scum 
of society— the beggar, the miser, the drunkard, 
and the glutton; but in his “Touchstone ” (jrQ pN) 
he satirizes the whole social framework. The 
desecration of the holy days, the hypocrisy of the 
professed religious man, the arrogance of those who- 
pride themselves on their pedigree, the young and 
immature who hasten to write books without the 

necessary preparation, the di^-as-dust grammarians. 
Who wrangle over a dot, tlie rimesters -wiio claim 
poetic genius — these and similar subjects engage 
his attention. Of course, the quack physician and 
women receive a good share of his lashing satire. 
Femininity affords occasion for a rare bit of irony, 
in which he pretends to show how enviable is a. 
woman’s lot in rife and how burdensome a man’s. . 
He concludes this passage with the following 
prayer, which is rimed in the original : 

“Heavenly Fattier, Thou who rescued our forefathers from 
fire and water, . . . changed the staff into a serpent in the- 
presence of thousands, and turned the clean hand white with 
leprosy ; who made the Red Sea as dry land and the bottom of 
the Jordan as firm ground, ... 0 that Thou wouldst change 
me into a woman. . . . But wherefore do I cry and complain, 
since Thou hast decreed so and hast inflicted on me a blemish 
which can not he removed. To yearn for the impossible is harm- 
ful, and empty consolation is of no avail. Let me, then, bear 
my misfortune till my dying day. And since 1 have learned 
that one must offer thanksgiving for evil as for good, I will pro- 
nounce my benediction in a low voice and with faltering lips : 
Blessed art Thou, 0 Lord, that Thou hast not made me a 
woman” (jnh px, pp..l7-lS, Lemberg, 1SG5). 

During the latter part of the same century two 
satires were written against Christianity; one is 
known only to students, the other is the most 



73 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Satire 


widely known polemic of its kind. Tlie “ Hagga- 
duh ” of Jonah Rapa (c. 1880), still in manuscript, 
is a vehement denunciation of the licentiousness 
indulged in by Gentiles during the carnival. The 
letter of Profiat Duran to his former friend David 
Bonet Bongoron, entitled “Be Not Like Thy 
Fathers” ("pltOtO 'fin b«). was already widely 
circulated in his, own day. In an ironical style 
rarely excelled, the author, who returned to Judaism 
after a forced conversion, refutes and derides the 
dogmas of Christianity. The ironical refrain, “Be 
not like thy fathers,” led many of the clergy to con- 
sider the epistle as friendly to Christianity. 

In the fifteenth century the art of satire was not 
so assiduously cultivated, and those who indulged 
in it limited themselves almost to one subject — 
woman . These were David ben Judah Messer Leon, 
author of “Praise of Women ” (D’BOH 113850; Abra- 
ham of Serteano, author of “Enemy 
Satires on of Women ” (D’BOn *02?) ; Abigdorof 

Woman. Fano, author of “ The Helper of Wom- 
en” (D'tw nny); and Elijah Hayyim 
ben Benjamin of Genazzano, author of 
The last-named wrote also a satire against Christian- 
ity in the style and metrical form of the hymn “ Yig- 
dal.” The sixteenth century also had but few sati- 
rists, who contributed only to the literature on wom- 
en : Judah ben Isaac Sommo, author of “ The Shield 
of Women ” (D'tSE pE), and Jacob Fano, author of 
“Armor of the Strong ” (DnUiH 

The seventeenth and the greater part of the eight- 
eenth century were even less productive of satire 
than the sixteenth. Jacob Francis (17tli cent.), 
however, wrote a scathing satire on the so-called 
cabalists who dabbled in mysticism and attempted 
to study the Zohar though unable to understand 
simple passages in the Bible (see Brody, “Metek 
Sefatayim,” pp. 72-73, Cracow, 1892). During the 
closing years of the eighteenth century the art 
of satire began to revive, and almost all social, 
religious, and political questions engage the at- 
tention of tlie modem satirist. One of the earliest 

satires Of the modern period, is thework of Zachariali 

Pugliese (c. 1795), on the money-lenders of his 
day; he called it “The Laws of Cred- 

Kevival of itor and Debtor ” (ni^l JY&E JYD^n). 

Satire. This, however, is still in manuscript. 

Another early satire, only recently 
published, is the D'Tl^ EHn IDT o£ Tobias Feder, 
which is an attack on Hasidism. Like these two, 
many of the satires of the nineteenth century are 
parodies, and as such have already been discussed 
in tlie article Parody. 

The satirist par excellence of the first half of 
the nineteenth century was unquestionably Isaac 
Erter, author of five satires, published, with other 
matter, under the collective title of “The Seer of the 
House of Israel” 1V:£ HDI^TI ; Vienna, 1858). 

In finish of style and beauty of language these satires 
have seldom been equaled, while the influence they 
exerted on the author’s generation can not he over- 
estimated. In the first satire, “ Weighing Balances ” 
6pTO ; 1823), the author shows that he had 
not yet discovered his own powers; his criti- 
cism of life is still superficial, and the problems lie 


grapples with are of minor importance. In “ Hasi- 
dism and Enlightenment ” (HDD HI rrtTDn), published 
eleven years later, lie describes the meutal struggle 
he underwent in freeing himself from the bondage 
of Hasidism. But it is in three later compositions 
that he stands out preeminently ns a satirist of the 
manners, morals, and customs of his time. “ The 
Complaint of Sani, Sansani, and Smengaloph” 
(ff&EED'l DD3D ED rm^rO, the supposed guardian 
angels of young babes, is a withering satire on the 
popular superstition of demons and angels. Still 
stronger is the satire “p^n, in which all the weak- 
nesses of the age are ruthlessly laid bare. Among 
certain classes of Jews it is still customary to go on 
the first day of Rosh ha-Shanali to a river and shake 
their garments while reciting the verse, “Thou wilt 
cast all their sins into the depths of the sea ” (Mi call* 
vii. 19). On one such occasion, the 

Erter’s satirist says, he met Satan and his 

Satires. host busily engaged in throwing nets 
into tlie river to gather the sins of 
Israel, freshly fallen from their garments ; and at the 
satirist’s request Satan disclosed to him all the cor- 
ruption and wickedness of the age. In the last and 
strongest satire, called “ Metamorphosis ” ( ^l), 
published in 1S45, Erter sketches, among other 
characters, those of the Hasid, the tax-collector, and 
the Hasidic rabbi, in a manner inimitable and with a 
power unexcelled. His humor has not unjustly been 
compared to Heine’s by one historian (Griitz, “Ge- 
sch.” 2d ed., xi. 447) and to that of Lucian by an- 
other writer (Rubin, “Teliillat ha-Kesiliuv’ p. 85). 

The next satirist of the Galician school is Joseph 
Perl of Tarnopol, whose satire on Hasidism in the 
form of a parody has been treated in the article Par- 
ody. In his second satire, “The Searcher of the 
Righteous” (p*HV jrD; Prague, 1838), he gives a 
picture of the manners and morals of the Polish 
Jews a century ago. His satire is not as rich as 
that of Erter, but it is more direct in its expression 
and larger in scope, and is colored here and there 
with intense pathos. After the middle of the nine- 
teenth century tlie great satirists are found in Rus- 
sia, and, naturally, It is the life of the Russian Jews 

that is reflected in their writings. Judah Lob Gor- 
don, poet, feuilletonist, journalist, and fabulist, was 
at his best as a satirist, and as such he holds a 
prominent position in Jewish literature. In mas- 
tery of style and resourcefulness of language he has 
not his equal among modern poets, while liis irony 
and sarcasm are of the keenest. Three of his poems, 
“In tlie Moon at Night" (nW* m'3), “The Tip on 
the Letter Yod ” (TP fa lSip), and “The Two Jo- 
sephs hen Simeon,” may he mentioned here as the 
most powerful of his satires. In them he attacks 
many of the time-honored institutions of the Rus- 
sian Jewry and depicts, with remarkable mastery of 
color and effect, the unhappy lot of the Jewish 
woman of his time and country, the corruption of 
public officials, and the struggle of the young gen- 
eration for modern culture and enlightenment. 

Another contemporary satirist of no mean ability 
was Moses Lob Lilienblum. In bis “Assembly of 
the Dead” (D'tfSn pnp; Odessa, 1870) he depicted 
sixteen different types of the Russian Jewry, some 



Satrap 

Saul 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


74 


of which have not yet disappeared. The strongest 
of these satires are those on the pilpulist and the 
preacher. The former gives a parody 
Recent of the casuistic reasoning known as 
Satires. “pilpul,” and the latter an enumera- 
tion of many of the superstitious cus- 
toms that are regarded b} r some as religious duties. 
There are other satirists and satires that can only be 
mentioned here. Dolitzky’s “Eclipse of the Two 
Luminaries ” Vienna, 1879), 

though the product of his youth, is a very power- 
ful satire on Hasidic rabbis, and Kaminer’s works 
are noted not only for their strong irony, but for 
the cleverness with which they imitate the style of 
the liturgy. IFordecai David Buandstadter also 
held up to derision the shortcomings of the fanatic 
Hasidim. 

Bibliography: H. Adler, Jewish Wit and Humor, in The 
Nineteenth Century , March, 1S93; J. Cliotzner, Humor and 
Irony of the Bible , Hanover, 1S83; A. Geiger, Jildische 
Dichtungen , Leipsic, 1850 ; M. Grilnwald, XJcherden Humor 
in dev JUdischcn Literatur , in PnpuUir-Wisscnschaftlichc 
MonatbUltter , 1893, pp. 106-110, 149-150 ; A. Kohut, Wit, 
Humor , and Anecdote in Talmud ami Midrash , in Amer- 
ican Hebrew , xxvi., No. 13; xxvii., Nos. 1-5; L. Low, Die 
Lebensalter in tier JUdischcn Literatur , pp. 295-300, 346- 
351; G. Rosenzweig, Der Idisher Witz, in Die Zukunft, 
Jan., 1902; L. Schulmann, Panics, ii. 235-241; M. D. Shutter, 
Wit and Humor of the Bible , Boston, 1893. 

J. I. D. 

SATRAP (A. V. “prince,” “lieutenant”): Ruler 
of a province in the governmental system of ancient 
Persia. The Old Persian form of the word, “ klisha- • 
thrapavan ” (protector of the kingdom), occurs twice 
in the inscriptions of Darius H} r staspes at Behistun 
(iii. 14, 55) with reference to the rulers of Bactria 
and Aracliosia; and this is corrupted into the Bib- 
lical N'JErntSTlN. The office was created by Darius, 
who selected the satraps from the Persians only, and 
frequently from those of royal blood. They originally 
numbered twenty ; and their primary duty was to 
regulate the taxes of the provinces which they gov- 
erned and to send to the king the revenues collected 
therein, although they were likewise required to 
lev}' troops. 

The late and distorted references to satraps in 
Ezra, Esther, and Daniel are of little historical value. 
Ezra viii. 86 states that the decree of Artaxerxes 
for rebuilding the Temple was delivered to them — 
a statement obviously absurd, since only one could, 
under any circumstances, be concerned with Pales- 
tine. In like manner, in Esth. iii. 12, R. V. (comp. 
ib. ix. 8), Hainan issues orders in the name of Atias- 
uerus “ unto the king’s satraps, and to the governors 
that were over every province, and to the princes of 
every people.” These provinces, which extended 
“ from India unto Ethiopia ” (comp, the mention of 
“Hindu” [India] and “ Mu dray a ” [Egypt] in the 
Old Persian inscriptions of Darius, Persepolis e 11, 
17-18; Naks-i Rustam a 25, 27), were in all 127 
(Esth. i. 1, viii. 9, xiii. 1, xvi. 1; Dan. vi. 1; I Esd. 
iii. 2; Josephus, “Ant.” xi. 6, §§ 6, 12), a number 
which at once shoves the lack of historical accuracy 
in these accounts (comp, the conflicting and value- 
less statements of Josephus, who says, “Ant.” x. 11, 

§ 4, that Darius founded 860 satrapies, but in an- 
other passage, ib. xi. 3, § 2, only 127). In Dan. iii. 

2, R. V. (comp. ib. iii. 27, vi. 7), the satraps of Neb- 
uchadnezzar ( !) are mentioned together with “the 


deputies, and the governors, the judges [or chief 
soothsayers], the treasurers, the counselors, the 
sheriffs [or lawyers], and all the rulers of the prov- 
inces.” Over the satraps, according to the account 
in Daniel, were set three “presidents” as supervisors 
(Dan. vi. 2-4, 6, 7), evidently a reminiscence of some 
such system of mutual control as that described in 
Xenophon’s “Cyropedia,” viii. 6, § 16. 

Bibliography : Brisson, De Rcgio Pcrsarum P't'incipatu, 
pp. 234-250, 631, Strasburg, 1710 (1st edition, Paris, 1590, still 
of value for its collection of classical references); Lagarde, 
Gcsammdte Abhandlungen, pp. 68-70, Leipsic, 1866; Spie- 
gel, EraiHsche Altcrthumskunde, i. 227-234, iii. 629-633. ib. 
1871-78; idem, Altpersische Keilinschriftcn , 2ded., ib. 1882; 
Buchbolz, Qucestiones de Persai'um Satrajns, ib. 1896. 

E. G. IT. L. H. G. 

SATYR : Rendering by the English versions of 
the Hebrew “se‘irim” in Isa. xiii. 21, xxxiv. 14 (R. 
V., margin, “lie-goats”; American R. V., “wild 
goats ”), while in Lev. xvii. 7 and II Cliron. xi. 15 
the Authorized Version renders the word by “ devil,” 
the Revised Version by “he-goat,” and the Revised 
Version, margin, b} r “satyr.” The old versions use 
for it a word denoting a demon, false god, or a hairy 
being. It is certain that a natural animal is not in- 
tended in these passages. Thus in Isaiah the se'irim 
are mentioned together with Lilith and animals of 
the desert and desolate places, and are described 
as “dancing” and “calling to one another”; in the 
other passages they are referred to as objects of 
worship. Possibly the versions reflect the ancient ■ 
conception of the se'irim as hairy and perhaps 
goat-shaped beings. The association of monstrous 
beings with ruins and desert places is still a preva- 
lent element in the folk-lore of Arabia and Syria ; 
and the Arabian jinn also are represented as having 
monstrous hairy forms. 

In Kid. 72a the Islimaelites are compared to the 
se'irim of unclean places, i.e., the spirits (“sliedim ”) 
which inhabit retreats. Of other monstrous, half- 
human and lialf-animal beings referred to in the Tal- 
mud may be mentioned here the “adne [or “abne ”] 
sadeh” (Kil. viii. 5, and Maimonides ad loc.\ and 
the “ j r iddoa‘ ” (Sauh. 65b), explained as a being 
with human shape and attached to the earth by its 
umbilical cord (comp. Bertinoro on Sanli. vii. 7). 

Bibliography : Tristram, Nat. Hist. p. 131 ; Lewysobn, Z. T. 
pp. 64, 356. 

J. I. M. C. 

SAUL. — Biblical Data : The first king of all , 
Israel. He was the son of Kish, “aBenjamite, a 
mighty man of valor ” (I Sam. ix. 1). For many years 
Israel had been ruled by judges, and had suffered 
many and severe sorrows at the hands of lier hostile 
and ambitious neighbors. In the time of Saul’s 
youth, Samuel was the active judge of Israel. The 
Philistines were the perpetual liarassers of Israel’s 
borders, and were threatening the very life of the 
tribes. Samuel’s intervention had done something 
to relieve the distress (ib. vii. 1-11); but the people 
of Israel were ambitious for a military leader, such 
as they saw among their neighbors. They made a 
formal appeal to Samuel for a king; and at the com- 
mand of Ynwn their request was to be granted. 

The method of the selection of this new monarch 
is given in two different records. In the first (ib. 
ix.) Saul with his attendant, after searching far and 



75 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Satrap 

Saul 


in vain for the lost asses of his father, resorted to the 
well-known “man of God,” who happened at this 
time to be conducting a sacrifice and feast in the 
land of Zuph (ib. ix. 5). The outcome of this visit 
was that Samuel, according to the command of 
Ynwn, anointed Saul to be a prince over the inher- 
itance of Israel (ib. x. 1). In confirmation of this 
appointment, Saul saw several signs which Samuel 
had foretold him. Saul then modestly retired to 
the family inheritance, probably at Gibeah. 

Another, and a public, selection of Saul as king 
took place in a general assembly of Israel at. IMizpah. 
Saul, as if avoiding the prominence which his pri- 
vate anointing would certainly bring him, liid him- 
self among llie baggage; but the lot fell to him, and 
he was found and enthusiastically proclaimed, the 
people shouting “ God save the king 1 ” Samuel also 
prepared the charter of the kingdom to be estab- 
lished and wrote it in a book. . Saul, however, in 
his modesty again retired to Gibeah, not without 
having aroused jealousy on the part of some base 
opponents (ib. x. 19 et seq.). 

Saul probably could not as yet safely assume the 
rule over Israel; but the desperate straits into 
which the people of Jabesh-gilead had 
Rescues fallen before Nahasli the Ammonite 
Jabesh- soon furnished him with his opportu- 

gilead. nit 3 r . Naliash, willing to acquire as 
great power and fame as possible, 
gave the besieged Israelites time to appeal to the 
west-Jordanic tribes. Doubtless aware that Saul 
had been crowned king, the people of Jabesli came 
to Gibeah just as the king was coming in from his 
daily toil. Saul responded to the appeal, summoned 
and threatened all Israel, and by a forced march com- 
pletely rescued the besieged Jabeshites. This vic- 
tory assured Saul of his place at the head of the 
nation ; and he was formally inaugurated king of 
Israel . 

Saul was now responsible for the administration 
of a central regal government of Israel. The first 
menace to his supremacy was the power of .the 
Philistines. They had established a garrison at 
Geba (ib. xiii. 8) to protect their interests and to 
keep in subjection the restless Israelites. Saul had 
2 000 men at Michmash and Jonathan 1,000 at Gibeah 
in Benjamin. The latter valiantly attacked and 
routed the Geba garrison; and this so roused the ire 
of the Philistines that they collected a great army of 
infantry, cavalry, and chariotry (ib. verse 5). This 
large body of troops forced itself up through the 
heart of the country to cut off any cooperation be- 
tween the northern and southern tribes. In desper- 
ation the Hebrews fled in every direction, hiding 
themselves in caves, thickets, rocks, coverts, and 
cisterns. Saul withdrew with his meager 600 to 
Gilgal, until the arrival of Samuel, who severely re- 
buked him for attempting by himself to offer sacri- 
fice to Ynwn. Firmly entrenched in tlieir moun- 
tain fastnesses, the Israelites looked down upon the 
hosts of Philistines encamped in the valleys. To 
secure food and intimidate any possible recruits, the 
Philistines sent out foraging parties in three direc- 
tions. The supposed security of the Philistines 
doubtless led them to be somewhat careless in dis- 
cipline. At any rate Jonathan’s valor surprised 


them ; they were pursued ; and the whole mass of 
Israelites completely routed their enemies, and for 
a time shook off their galling yoke. The close of 
this campaign witnesses the remarkable rescue of 
Jonathan from death, which Saul’s hasty oath would 
have demanded (ib. ch. xiv . ). 

This was only one of the many military cam- 
paigns in which Saul was engaged. He fought 
against Moab, Ammon, Edom, the kings of Zobah, 
and the Amalekites. It was in the 
His Cam- exterminating war against this last 
paigns. people that Saul sees liis end as king. 

Though commanded to destroy them 
wholly, he saved Agag, their king, and the best of 
the flocks. Now Samuel for the second time (ib. 
xiii. 14, xv. 26) tells Saul of the certain downfall of 
his house as rulers over Israel. This rebellion on 
the part of Saul serves as a fitting introduction to 
the story of David’s life. Samuel finds this succes- 
sor to Saul, and formally anoints him at Betli-lehem. 

Saul has not yet finished with the Philistines. .He 
has driven them from the hills, and is now fighting 
them on their own ground. His great success at 
Socoh (A. Y. “ Shocoli ”) was due to the valor of 
David against Goliath. As Saul returns to his 
court the people give David the greater ovation, 
and thus slight the king, who now makes him an 
officer in his army. Later events show that this was 
a design on Saul’s part to secure the death of liis 
rival. By means of the army, of David’s wife 
(Michal, daughter of the king), of ambushes, and of 
his own javelin, Saul tries to kill David, who flees 
to Ramali from the king’s rage, only to be followed. 
Thence he goes to Nob, and to Gath in Pliilistia. 
Only by feigning madness does he escape. After 
collecting a band of sympathizers, David flees like a 
bird of the mountains, from one place to another, 
from the rage of Saul. At En-gedi he has the king 
in liis power, but mercifully spares him. At Zipli, 
later on, he again spares the king when he might 
have slain him. David, however, can not trust Saul, 
and so goes to Philistia and takes up his residence 

in Ziklag. . 

Saul returns to his court ; and the Philistines be- 
come still more aggressive. David’s friendliness 
perhaps encourages them to strike a still harder 
blow at Israeli tisli power. To prevent Saul from 
enlisting the northern tribes they despatch a great 
army to Aphek in the valley of Jezreel. Saul mus- 
ters all his forces, but before engaging the enemy, 

he, in desperation for some prophecy 

Death of of the outcome, consults a witch of 
Saul. En-dor. With downcast heart at her 

reply, lie returns to the scene of conflict. 

Broken in spirit, the Israelites are routed, puisued, 
and slain. Saul falls on his own sword on Mt. Gil- 
boa; and the Philistines are victors. 

Saul was beheaded; his body, with those of his 
sons, was fastened to the wall of Betli-shan, and 
his armor was hung up in the house of Ashta- 
roth. When the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead, the 
scene of Saul’s first victory, heard of the deed of the 
Philistines, they sent valiant men who marched all 
night, took the bodies from Betli-shan, brought them 
to^Jabesh, burned them there, buried the ashes, and 
fasted seven days. 



Saul 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


76 


Saul’s reign of, possibly, twenty years was a 
failure, except that he succeeded in part in unifying 
Israel and in bringing to the front so valiant and 
capable a man as David, 
j. I. M. P. 

In Rabbinical Literature: Two opposing 

views of Saul are found in rabbinical literature. One 
is based on the usual opinion that punishment is a 
proof of guilt, and therefore seeks to rob Saul of the 
halo which surrounds him. The passage I Sam, ix. 
2, *‘a choice young man, aud a goodly,” is accord- 
ing^ interpreted as meaning that Saul was not good 
in every respect, but “goodly ”only with respect to 
his personal appearance (Hum. R. ix. 28). Accord- 
ing to this view, Saul is only a “ weak branch ” (Gen. 
R. xxv. 8), owing his kingship in no wise to his own 
merits, but rather to his grandfather, who had been 
accustomed to light the streets for those who went 
to the bet lia-midrash and had received as his re- 
ward the promise that one of his grandsons should 
sit upon the throne (Lev. R. ix. 2). 

The second view of Saul makes him appear in the 
most favorable light as man, as hero, and as king. 

It was on account of his modesty that 
His Come- he did not reveal the fact that lie had 
liness. been anointed king (I Sam. x. 16 ; Meg. 

18b) ; and he was extraordinarily up- 
right as well as perfectly just. Nor was there any 
one more pious than he (M. K. 16b ; Ex. R. xxx. 12); 
for when he ascended the throne he was as pure as a 
child, and had never committed sin (Yoma 22b). He 
was marvelously handsome ; and the maidens who 
told him concerning Samuel (comp. I Sam. ix. 11- 
13) talked so long with him that they might observe 
his beauty the more (Ber. 48b). In war he was able 
to march 120 miles without rest. When lie received 
the command to smite Amalek (I Sam. xv. 3), Saul 
said: “For one found slain the Torah requires a sin- 
offering [Deut. xxi. 1-9] ; and here so many shall 
be slain. If the old have sinned, why should the 
3 7 oung suffer; and if men have been guilty, why 
should the cattle be destroyed ? ” It was this mild- 
ness that cost him his crown (Yoma 22b; Num. R. 
i. 10) — the fact that he was merciful even to his ene- 
mies, being indulgent to rebels themselves, and fre- 
quently waiving the homage due to him. But if his 
mercy toward a foe was a sin, it was his only one; 
and it was his misfortune that it was reckoned against 
him, while David, although he had committed much 
iniquity, was so favored that it was not remembered 
to his injury (Yoma 22b; M. K. 16b, and Rashi ad 
loc.). In many other respects Saul was far superior 
to David, e.g. . in having onty one concubine, while 
David had many wives and concubines. Saul ex- 
pended his own substance for the war, and although 
he knew that he and his sons would fall in battle, 
he nevertheless went boldly forward, while David 
heeded the wish of his soldiers not to go to war 
in person (II Sam. xxi. 17; Lev. R. xxvi. 7; Yalk., 
Sam. 138). 

Saul ate his food with due regard for the rules of 
ceremonial purity prescribed for the sacrifice (Yalk., 
l.c.), and taught the people how the} 7 should slay 
cattle (comp. I Sam. xiv. 34). As a reward for this, 
God Himself gave him a sword on the day of battle, 
since no other sword suitable for him was found (ib. 


xiii. 22). Saul’s attitude toward David finds its ex- 
cuse in the fact that his courtiers were all tale- 
bearers, and slandered David to him 
His (Deut. R. v. 10) ; and in like manner 
Character, he was incited by Doeg against the 
priests of Nob (I Sam. xxii. 16-19; 
Yalk., Sam. 131). This act was forgiven him, how- 
ever, and a heavenly voice (“ bat kol ”) was heard, 
proclaiming; “Saul is the chosen one of God ” (Ber. 
12b). His anger at the Gibeonites (II Sam. xxi. 2> 
was not personal hatred, but was induced by zeal 
for the welfare of Israel (Num. R. viii. 4). The fact 
that he married his daughter Michal, the wife of 
David, to Phalti, the son of Laisli (I Sam. xxv. 44), 
finds its explanation in liis (Saul’s) view that her be- 
trothal to David had been gained by false pretenses, 
and was therefore invalid (Sanli. 19b), During the 
lifetime of Saul there was no idolatry in Israel. 
The famine in the reign of David (comp. II Sam. 
xxi. 1) was to punish the people because they had 
not accorded Saul the proper honors at his burial. 
(Num. R. viii. 4). In the other world Saul dwells, 
with Samuel, which is a proof that all has been for- 
given him ( c Er. 53b). 

s. J. Z. L. 

Critical View : The history of Saul’s life and 

career is often embarrassingty confusing until the- 
sources are critically analyzed. The matter as pre- 
sented in I Samuel contains traces of more than 
one narrative. It is found, for example (viii. 4 et 
seq.), that the people ask fora king in spite of the: 
protest of Samuel and the apparent disappointment 
of Ynwn ; and yet Saul is to be anointed to save Israel 
out of the hands of the Philistines because its cry 
went up to Yhwh (ix. 16), Samuel selects and 
anoints Saul b} r the direct command of Yi-iwii (x. 
1); but in his farewell address he charges the people 
with the rejection of Him because they asked for a 
king (xii. 12). Samuel anoints Saul strictly in private 
(x. 1), but in another account the people select him 
by lot in a great national assembly at Mizpah (x. 20' 
et seq.). 

Saul’s consecration and selection do not seat him 
on the throne, however; for he goes to his house- 
in Gibeah, where lie engages in the peaceable pur- 
suits of agriculture. Even when the inhabitants of 
Jabesh-gilead appeal to the west-Jordanic tribes for 
assistance, they do not seem to know 
Sources, that a king has been anointed over 
them. Saul apparently learns simply 
by accident the reason of the commotion caused by 
the messengers from Jabesh-gilead. When he takes, 
the lead of the western tribes his appeal to the nation 
is made as if he were not a king but an associate 
with Samuel, whose authority will be instantly rec- 
ognized. Again, Samuel in his final address to the 
people (xii. 12) states that the reason why the peo- 
ple asked for a king was the campaign against them 
of Nahasli the Ammonite. On the overthrow of 
the invader, Saul is publicly proclaimed king be- 
fore Ynwn in Gilgal. The order of the narrative 
that recites these facts seems to point to a combina- 
tion of at least two different documents, though such 
a theory does not solve all the difficulties. 

Budde maintains that a combination was made of 
two independent narratives, particularly as regards. 



77 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Saui 


the choice of Saul as king and the characters of 
Samuel and Saul. The first or older document is 
contained in ix. 1-x. 16, x. 27b (Septuagint), and xi. 
1-11, 14, 15, where Samuel calls the people together 
at Gilgal and Saul, because of his actual success in 
defeating the Ammonites, is formally made king 
over all Israel. This narrative is continued directly 
in cli. xiii. and xiv., which describe 
Budde’s somewhat in detail Saul’s activity 
Views. against Israel’s oppressors, the Philis- 
tines. The second or later document 
is found in ch. viii., where the people ask for a king; 
in x. 17-27a, where Saul is chosen by lot at Mizpali; 
and in ch. xii., which consists of Samuel’s farewell 
address to the people. 

The older document, as outlined by Budde, pre- 
sents a consistent story of Saul’s coronation and his 
clash with the Philistines. Samuel the seer was 
present in a certain unnamed city to celebrate a 
feast. Saul, who had been unsuccessful in the search 
for his father’s lost asses, appealed to the seer for in- 
formation. Ynwii had revealed to Samuel on the 
previous day that He would send to him a man out 
of the land of Benjamin, and that he (the seer) 
should “anoint him to be prince” over His people 
Israel; “and he shall save my people out of the 
hand of the Philistines ” (ix. 16). At the feast Sam- 
uel honors Saul, detains him overnight, and privately 
anoints him the next morning, averring that it is 
Yhwh who has commanded him to do so. Samuel 
then points out the signs that he shall see, the change 
that he shall experience, and admonishes him : “do 
as occasion shall serve thee ; for God is with thee ” 
(x. 7). When Jabesli-gilead was besieged about a 
mouth later, according to the Septuagint (x. 27b), 
Saul had the “ occasion ” to demonstrate his ability. 
Summoning all the tribes of Israel, he successfully 
marshaled his forces, and routed the besiegers and 
invaders. Returning to Gilgal, he was confirmed 
king in accordance with Samuel’s consecration of 
him at the gate of the unnamed town. 

The real purpose of Saul’s coronation (ix. 16) is ful- 
filled in ch. xiii. l-7a and 15b-xiv. 46, where he and 
Jonathan, his son, with their troops 
Interpo- completely overthrow and drive out 
lations in the Philistine oppressors. These cliap- 
Ch. xiii. ters have been worked over, and now 
and xiv. contain several interpolations that in- 
terfere with the smooth flow of the 
narrative. Ch. xiii. 7b-15a belongs rather to the 
rejection of Saul in ch. xv., and glances back to x. 
8. Ch. xiii. 18 should be followed immediately by 
xiv. 1, as xiii. 19-28 is a very corrupt text and deals 
with an issue aside from the main line of the narra- 
tive. Ch. xiv. 47-52 is supplementary to the pre- 
ceding narrative, and is not connected with the 
theme in question. 

In the later narrative (viii., x. 17-27a, xii.) Sam- 
uel is a judge, who has established his sons as judges 
in various cities of the land. After repeated re- 
quests of the people, in which are embodied protests 
against the conduct of these sons, Yhwh finally 
agrees to allow Israel to have a king like the other 
nations. Samuel is commanded to choose such a 
king, and then dismisses the people. It must be 
noted that mention is made here not of foreign op- 


pression, but of the manifest malfeasance of Samuel’s 
sons, as the basic reason for the request and the final 
concession of Yhwh. The people are then called 
together in assembly (x. 17-27a) ; and a king is chosen 
by lot. The note in xi. 14 regarding the renewal of 
the kingdom is thought to be merely a harmonizing 
statement of the editor. Samuel’s address (xii.) re- 
views the situation, and cites as another reason for 
the people’s request the Ammonite campaign {ib. 
verse 12) ; but at the same time it condemns them 
for the request (ib. verses 17, 19). 

Ch. xv. does not properly belong to either of the 
two narratives already treated. It seems to occupy' 
a kind of intermediate position, placed, as it is, after 
the formal close of Saul’s reign, and before the 
introduction of David’s life. It is a prophecy of 
the fall of Saul’s house, and paves the way for the 
beginning and continuation of the kingdom through 
the house of David. 

Ch. xvi.-xviii. contain two documents descriptive 
of David’s introduction to Saul. In the first, Sam- 
uel goes to Beth-lehem to offer sac- 
Ch. xvi.- rifices and anoint the future king 
xviii. Con- of Israel. After he has passed, by 
tain Yhwh’s order, upon all the sons of 
Two Docu- Jesse that are present, the youngest 
ments. one, David, who, caring for his sheep, 
is absent from the sacrifice, is called 
in and formally anointed (xvi. 1—18). After this act 
“the Spirit of Yhwh came mightily upon” him 
“ from that day forward. ” The character of David 
as a shepherd boy is developed in xvii. 1-xviii. 5, 
where David chances to visit his brothers during a 
battle with the Philistines, and with a shepherd’s 
sling slays Goliath, and wins the encomiums of the 
people of Israel. The second account (xvi. 14-23) 
introduces David as a skilful musician, “ a mighty 
man of valor, and a man of war, and prudent in 
speech ” (ib. verse 18). Saul is so impressed by him 
that he makes him his armor- bearer. and holds him 
in high esteem. If the accounts are not separate in 
origin, it is not clear how Saul could have asked the 
question attributed to him in xvii. 55-58. Subse- 
quent references (xix. 5; xxi. 9, etc.) to David' s 
victory over Goliath show how this event was woven 
in with the traditions of his early life. 

The Septuagint, however, almost harmonizes the 
differences between xvi. 14-23 and xvii. 1— xviii. 5 
by the omission from the latter of verses 12-31, 41, 
50, 55-xviii. 5. In xviii. 6-30, which is a continua- 
tion in thought of xvi. 14-23, there are also several 
variations in the Septuagint, each clearly showing 
the increasing enmity toward David on the part of 

Saul. ... . 

There is a variety of opinion in the analysis of the 
matter contained in xix.-xxxi. One of the most 
striking and critical features of the whole narrative 
of this section, however, is the duplication of the ac- 
count of David’s merciful treatment of Saul when 
the pursued had the pursuer in his 
Duplica- hands. It is maintained that the rec- 
tion in Ch. ord of David’s hiding in the cave and 
xix.-xxxi. his treatment of Saul, in xxiv., and 
that of David’s elusion and final po- 
tential capture of Saul within the camp of his army, 
are two versions of one and the same story". The 



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framework of one is the framework of the other. 
The points of agreement and the character are just 
what, would be expected had each been built on the 
same original event. 

Saul’s despair in the face of the Philistine army 
led him to consult the witch of En-dor as to the 
probable result of the battle about to be fought. 
H. P. Smith (“Old Testament History,” p. 126) 
holds that ch. xxviii. is only the dramatic embodi- 
ment of an idea ; and that was the popular idea con- 
cerning intercourse with the dead. It is asserted 
that there are two accounts of Saul’s death. In one 
it is stated that he was defeated, his sons were slain, 
and he himself was wounded. To escape the igno- 
miny of falling alive into the hands of the enemy he 
urged his armor-bearer to slay him. Upon the at- 
tendant’s refusal to do so, he fell upon his own sword. 
According to the other account an Amalekite slew 
him. These two records are doubtless built upon 
the fact that Saul and his sons died on the field of 
battle fighting for the liberty of their people. 

Bibliography : Wellliausen, Der Text cler Bileher Samuelis , 
1871 ; Wellliausen, in Bleek, Einleitung , 1878, pp. 206-231 ; 
K. Budde, Die Bilcher Richter unci Samuel , 1890, pp. 167- 
276; idem , in Haupt, S. B. 0. T. 1895; S. R. Driver, Notes 
on the Hebrew Text of the Bonks of Samuel , 1890 ; T. K. 
Clieyne, Aids to the Devout Study of Criticism , 1892, pp. 
1-126; H. P. Smith. Old Testament History , 1903, ch. vii.; 
Clieyne and Black, Encyc. Bibl. 
j. I. M. P. 

SAUL : Karaite leader ; son and successor of 
Anan ben David ; died about 780. He is styled by 
the later Karaites “nasi” (prince) and “rosh ha- 
golali ” (exilarcli). Saul’s activity was compara- 
tively unimportant. He is mentioned by Solomon b. 
Jeroham in his commentary on the Decalogue as hav- 
ing also written a commentary thereon. He is par- 
ticularly quoted for his opinion with regard to the 
sixth commandment; namely, that adultery includes 
connection with any woman not one’s own wife or 
concubine, and is not confined, as in rabbinical law, 
to connection with another man’s wife. 

Saul was one of the followers of Gnai Baruch, 
who is supposed as head of Ezra’s bet din to have 
ordained the reading of the Law on Sabbaths and 
holy days, beginning in the month of Tishri and 
terminating with the end of the year. 

Bibliography: Fiirst, Gesch. des Kan'iert. i. 61; Pinsker, 
Liklmte KadmoniyyoU P- 41 (Supplement), pp. 53, 106, 186. 
j. M. Sel. 

SAUL, ABBA : Tanna of the third generation. 
In Ab. R. N. xxix. mention is made of an Abba 
Saul b. Nanos whom Lewy (“ Ueber Einige Frag- 
mente aus der Mischnah des Abba Saul,” in “Be- 
riclite liber die Hochschule far die Wissensehaft 
des Judenthums in Berlin,” 1876) regards as identi- 
cal with the Abba Saul of this article. The Abba 
Saul bar Nash mentioned in Niddah 25b is probably 
likewise identical with him. As Abba Saul ex- 
plicitly refers, in Tosef., Sanh. xii., to an opinion 
of R. Akiba’s, and, in Tosef., Kil. iv. and Oh. vi., 
to disagreements between the latter and Ben ‘Azzai, 
as well as between Akiba and the hakamim, it may 
be concluded that he was a pupil of R. Akiba and 
that he lived in the middle of the second century 
c.e. The reference to “bet Rabbi” in Pes. 84a, 
where Abba Saul is said to have prepared the bread 
according to Levitical rules of purity in “Rabbi’s” 


house, must be construed as referring to the house 
of the patriarch R. Simeon b. Gamaliel II., not to 
that of R. Judah ha-Nasi I. (comp. Lewy, l.c. p. 21, 
and note 42). 

The “ Abba ” in “ Abba Saul ” is titular only, and 
is not a part of this fcanna’s name. Nor does he 
appear to have held the title of rabbi. Abba Saul 
was tall of stature, and liis business is said to have 
been that of burying the dead (Niddah 24b). Some 
of the haggadic sayings of Abba Saul that have 
been preserved throw light on his inner life and his 
lofty character. He explains the word inUN in 
Ex. xv. 2 as though it were composed of UN and 
Kim, and interprets it as meaning that man must 
endeavor to imitate God and, like Him, show char- 
ity and benevolence (Mek., Beshallah, Shirali, ii. 
[ed. Weiss, p. 44a]). To Lev. xix. 2 (“Ye shall be 
holy : for I the Lord your God am holy ”) he cites 
the parallel, “The king’s companions must do 
according to the king’s will” (Sifra, Kedoshim, i. 
[ed. Weiss, p. 86c]). “Discord in the school causes 
general corruption” (Derek Erez Zuta ix.), and 
“Morality is greater than learning” (Sem. xi.) are 
others of his sayings. 

Abba Saul devoted himself assiduously to the 
study of the mode of worship in the Temple (comp. 
Z. Frankel, “Darke ha-Mislinah,” pp. 177 ei seq . ; 
Pes. 18b, 86b; Bezah 29b; Yoma 19b; Niddah 61a, 
71b). He also made a collection of mishnayot which 
in many respects differed from others; this collec- 
tion has partly been preserved in the present Mish- 
nah, whose redactor, Judah ha-Nasi, occasionally 
made use of some passages in it which were at 
variance with other mishnaic compilations. 

Bibliography : J. Briill, Einleitung in die Mischnah , i. 200- 

201 . 

w. B. J. Z. L. 

SAUL ABBA B. BATNIT: Tanna of the sec- 
ond and first centuries b.c. According to Deren- 
bourg, his mother was a Batanian proselyte, whence 
he derived his name “ ben Batnit ” ; it appears from 
Ned. 23a, however, that “Batnit” is a masculine 
proper name. Saul Abba was engaged in commerce 
with R. Eleazar b. Zadolc, together with whom he 
issued a regulation referring to the Sabbath law 
(Shab. xxiv. 5). It is said of him that he filled his 
liquid measures with wine on the eve of the feast- 
days in order to be able to give it to the children on 
those days (Bezah iii. 8). He is the transmitter, or 
perhaps the author (comp. Baclier, “Ag. Tan.” i. 
46, note 2), of a sentence referring to the outrages 
and misdemeanors committed by some of the priestly 
families (Pes. 57a), 

Bibliography: DerenBourg, Hist. p. 223; Bacher, Ag. Tan. 

i. 46, 50, 871. 

w. b. J. Z. L. 

SAUL B. AEYEH. See Lowenstamm, Saul. 

SAUL COHEN ASHKENAZI. See Ash- 
kenazi, Satjl Cohen. 

SAUL BEN DAVID; Russian rabbi; died 
1628. He was the author of; “Tal Orot” (Prague, 
1615), treatise, in verse, on the thirty-nine principal 
classes of work forbidden on Saturdaj r , with an ap- 
pendix entitled “Hiddushe ‘Erubin,” discussions on 
‘“erubin”; “Hanukkat lia-Bayit” ( ib . 1616), on the 



79 


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Saul 

Saul of Tarsus 


halakot connected with the Feast of Lights ; and a 
kinali or elegy on the death of his teacher Solo- 
mon b. Judah (Amsterdam, 1697), in twenty-two 
stanzas. 

Bibliography : Heilprin, Seder ha-DoroU iii. 52, Warsaw, 
1S82 ; Furst, Bibl. Jud. iii. 255. 

H. R. A. S. W. 

SAUL BEN JOSEPH OF MONTEUX : 

French liturgical poet; lived at Carpentras in the 
second half of the seventeenth century. The ritual 
of Avignon contains a piyyut which he composed 
upon the deliverance of the Jews of Carpentras 
from the riot that broke out on the 9th of Nisan, 
1682, and which begins with the words “ Shebali 
yekar u-gedullah.” He probably was a son of the 
liturgical poet Joseph ben Abraham, who copied 
44 Sefer Orhofc Hayyim,” an extract, extant in manu- 
script at the library of Avignon, of Joseph Caro's 
“Bet Yosef.” 

Bibliography: Gross, Gallia Judaica, p. 322; Landshuth, 
k Ammude liarAbodah , p. 89; Zunz, Z. G. p. 476. 

S. Man. 

SAUL OF TARSUS (known as Paul, the 
Apostle of the Heathen) : The actual founder 
of the Christian Church as opposed to Judaism; 
born before 10 c.e. ; died after 63. The records 
containing the views and opinions of the opponents 
of Paul and Paulinism are no longer in existence ; 
and the history of the early Church has been colored 
by the writers of the second century, who were anx- 
ious to suppress or smooth over the controversies of 
the preceding period, as is shown in the Acts of the 
Apostles and also by the fact that the Epistles as- 
cribed to Paul, as has been proved by modern critics, 
are partly spurious (Galatians, Ephesians, I and II 
Timothy, Titus, and others) and partly interpolated. 

Saul (whose Roman cognomen was Paul; see Acts 
xiii. 9) was bom of Jewish parents in the first dec- 
ade of the common era at Tarsus in Cilicia (Acts 
ix. 11, xxi. 39, xxii. 3). The claim in Rom. xi. 1 and 
Phil. iii. 5 that he was of the tribe of Benjamin, 
suggested by the similarity of his name with that of 
the first Israelitish king, is, if the passages are gen- 
uine, a false one, no tribal lists or pedigrees of this 
kind having been in existence at that time (see Euse- 
bius, “Hist. Eccl.” i. 7, 5; Pes. 62b; M. Sachs, 
“Beilrage zur Sprach- und Alterthumsforschung,” 
1852, ii. 157). Nor is there any indication in Paul’s 
writings or arguments that he had received the rab- 
binical trainingascribed to him by Christian writers, 
ancient and modern; least of all could he have acted 
or written as he did had lie been, as is alleged (Acts 
xxii. 3), the disciple of Gamaliel I., 
Not a the mild Hillelite. His quotations 
Hebrew from Scripture, which are all taken, 
Scholar ; a directly or from memory, from the 
Hellenist. Greek version, betray no familiarity 
with the original Hebrew text. The 
Hellenistic literature, such as the Book of Wisdom 
and other Apocrypha, as well as Philo (see Haus- 
rath, “ Neutestamentliche Zeitgeschichte, ” ii. 18-27; 
Siegfried, “Philo von Alexandria,” 1875, pp. 304- 
310; Jowett, “Commentary on the Thessalonians and 
Galatians,” i. 363-417), was the sole source for his 
eschatological and theological system. Notwith- 
standing the emphatic statement, in Phil. iii. 5, that 


he was “a Hebrew of the Hebrews” — a rather un- 
usual term, which seems to refer to his nationalistic 
training and conduct (comp. Acts xxi. 40, xxii. 2), 
since his Jewish birth is stated in the preceding 
words “of the stock of Israel” — he was, if any of 
the Epistles that bear his name are really his, en- 
tirely a Hellenist in thought and sentiment. As 
such he was imbued with the notion that “ the whole 
creation groaneth ” for liberation from “ the prison- 
house of the body,” from this earthly existence, 
which, because of its pollution by sin and death, is 
intrinsically evil (Gal. i. 4; Rom. v. 12, vii. 23-24, 
viii. 22; I Cor. vii. 31 ; II Cor. v. 2, 4; comp. Philo, 
“De Allegoriis Legum,” iii. 75; idem, “De Yita 
Mosis,” iii. 17; idem, “De Ebrietate,” § 26; and 
Wisdom ii. 24). As a Hellenist, also, he distinguished 
between an earthly and a heavenly Adam (I Cor. 
xv. 45-49; comp. Philo, “De Allegoriis Legum,” i. 
12), and, accordingly, between the lower psychic, 
life and the higher spiritual life attained only by 
asceticism (Rom. xii. 1; I Cor. vii. 1-31, ix. 27, xv. 
50; comp. Philo, “De Profugis,” § 17; and else- 
where). His whole state of mind shows the influence 
of the theosopliic or Gnostic lore of Alexandria, 
especially the Hermes literature recently brought to 
light by Reizenstein in his important work “Poi- 
mandres,” 1904 (see Index, s.v. “Paulus,” “Briefe 
des Paulus, ” and “Philo”); hence his strange belief 
in supernatural powers (Reizenstein, l.c. pp. 77, 
287), in fatalism, in “speaking in tongues” (I Cor. 
xii.-xiv. ; comp. Reizenstein, l.c. p. 58; Dieterich, 
“Abraxas,” pp. 5 etseg.; Weinel, “Die Wirkungen 
des Geistes und der Geister,” 1899, pp. 72 et seq.- r 
I Cor. xv. 8; II Cor. xii. 1-6; Eph. iii. 3), and in 
mysteries or sacraments (Rom. xvi. 25; Col. i. 26, ii. 
2, iv. 3; Eph. i. 9, iii. 4, vi. 19)— a term borrowed 
solely from heathen rites. 

There is throughout Paul’s writings an irrational 
or pathological element which could not but repel 
the disciples of the Rabbis. Possibly his pessimistic 
mood was the result of his physical condition ; for 
he suffered from an illness which affected both body 
and mind. He speaks of it as “ a thorn in the flesh,” 
and as a heavy stroke by “ a messen- 
His ger of Satan ” (II Cor. xii. 7), which 
Epilepsy, often caused him to realize his utter 
helplessness, and made him an object 
of pity and horror (Gal. iv. 13). It was, as Krenkel 
(“ Beitriige zur Aufliellung der Geschiclite und Briefe 
des Apostels Paulus,” 1890, pp. 47-125) lias convin- 
cingly shown, epilepsy, called by the Greeks “the 
holy disease,” which frequently put him into a state 
of ecstasy, a frame of mind that may have greatly 
impressed some of his Gentile hearers, but could not 
but frighten away and estrange from him the Jew, 
whose God is above all the God of reason (comp. II 
Cor. v. 13; x. 10; xi. 1, 16; xii. 6). The conception 
of a new faith, half pagan and half Jewish, such as 
Paul preached, and susceptibility to its influences, 
were altogether foreign to the nature of Jewish 
life and thought. For Judaism, religion is the 
hallowing of this life by the fulfilment of its mani- 
fold duties (see Judaism) : Paul shrank from life as 
the domain of Satan and all his hosts of evil ; he 
longed for redemption by the deadening of all desires 
for life, and strove for another world which he saw 



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in his ecstatic visions. The following* description of 
Paul is preserved in “ Acta Pauli et Theche, ” an apoc- 
ryphal hook which has been proved to be older and 
in some respects of greater historic value than the 
canonical Acts of the Apostles (see Conybeare, 
“Apollonius’ Apology and Acts, and Other Monu- 
ments of Early Christianity,” pp. 49-88, London, 
1894): 

“ A mail of moderate stature, with crisp [scanty] hair, crooked 
legs, blue eyes, large knit brows, and long nose, at times looking 
like a man, at times like an angel, Paul came forward and 
preached to the men of Iconiuni : ‘ Blessed are they that keep 
themselves chaste [unmarried] ; for they shall be called the 
temple of God. Blessed are they that mortify their bodies and 
souls ; for unto them speaketh God. Blessed are they that de- 
spise the world ; for they shall he pleasing to God. Blessed be 
the souls and bodies of virgins ; for they shall receive the reward 
of their chastity.’ ” 

It was by such preaching that “he ensnared the 
souls of young men and maidens, enjoining them to 
remain single ’’(Conybeare, lx. pp. 62, 63, 67; comp. 
ib. pp. 24-25; Gal. iii. 38; I Cor. vii. 34-36; Matt, 
xix. 12; Clement of Rome, Epistle ii. § 12). 

Whatever the pln T siological or psychological anal- 
ysis of Paul’s temperament may be, liis conception 
of life was not Jewish. Nor <?an his unparalleled 
animosity and hostility to Judaism as voiced in the 
Epistles be accounted for except upon 
Anti- the assumption that, while bom a 

Jewish. Jew, lie was never in sjunpathy or in 
Attitude, touch with the doctrines of the rab- 
binical schools. For even his Jewish 
teachings came to him through Hellenistic channels, 
as is indicated by the great emphasis laid upon “the 
day of the divine wrath” (Rom. i. 18; ii. 5. 8; iii. 
5; iv. 15; v. 9; ix. 22; xii. 19; I Tliess. i. 10; Col. 
iii. 6; comp. Sibyllines, iii. 309 etseq., 332; iv. 159, 
161 et eeq. ; and elsewhere), as well as by his ethical 
monitions, which are rather inconsistently taken 
over from Jewish codes of law for proselytes, the 
Didaciie and Didascalia. It is quite natural, 
then, that not only the Jews (Acts xxi. 21), but also 
the Juda?o-Christians, regarded Paul as an “apos- 
tate from the Law” (see Eusebius, Lc. iii. 27; Ire- 
uceus, “Ad versus !Iaereses,”i. 26, 2; Origen, “Contra 
Celsum,” v. 65; Clement of Rome, “Recognitiones,” 
i. 70, 73). 

To judge from those Epistles that have all the 
traits of genuineness and give a true insight into his 
nature, Paul was of a fiery temper, impulsive and 
impassioned in the extreme, of ever-changing moods, 
now exulting in boundless joy and now sorely de- 
pressed and gloomy. Effusive and excessive alike 
in liis love and in bis hatred, in his blessing and in 
his cursing, he possessed a marvelous power over 
men ; and he had unbounded confidence in himself. 
He speaks or writes as a man who is conscious of a 
great providential mission, as the servant and herald 
of a high and unique cause. The philosopher and 
the Jew will greatly differ from him with regard to 
every argument and view of his; but 
His Per- both will admit that he is a mighty' 
sonality. battler for truth, and that his view 
of life, of man, and of God is a pro- 
found^ serious one. The entire conception of re- 
ligion has certainty been deepened by him, because 
his mental grasp was wide and comprehensive, and 


his thinking hold, aggressive, searching, and at the 
same time systematic. Indeed, he molded the thought 
and the belief of all Christendom. 

Before the authenticity of the story of the so-called 
conversion of Paul is investigated, it seems proper 
to consider from the Jewish point of view this ques- 
tion; Why did Paul find it necessary 

Jewish to create a new system of faith for the 

Prosely- admission of the Gentiles, in view of 
tism the fact that the Synagogue had wcll- 
and Paul, nigh two centuries before opeued its 
door to them and, with the help of the 
Hellenistic literature, had made a successful propa- 
ganda, as even the Gospels testily? (Matt, xxiii. 15; 
see Schurer, “Gescli.” 3ded., iii. 102-135, 420-483; 
J. Bernays, “Gesammelte Abhandlungen,” 1885, i. 
192-282, ii. 71-80; Bertholet, “Die Stellung der 
Israeliten und Juden zu den Fremden, ” 1S96, pp. 257- 
302.) Bertholet (l.c. pp. 303-334; but see Schurer, 
lx. i. 126) and others, in order that they may reserve 
the claim of universality for Christianity, deny the 
existence of uncircumcised proselytes in Judaism, 
and misconstrue plain Talmudic and other state- 
ments referring to God-fearing Gentiles (Bertholet, 
lx. pp. 338-339); whereas the very doctrine of Paul 
concerning the universal faith of Abraham (Rom. 
iv. 3-18) rests upon the traditional interpretation of 
Gen. xii. 3 (see Kuenen, “ Prophets and Prophecy in 
Israel.” pp. 379, 457) and upon the traditional view 
which made Abraham the prototype of a missionary 
bringing the heathen world under the wings of the 
Shekinah (Gen. IL xxxix., with reference to Gen. 
xii. 5 ; see Abraham ; Judaism; Proselyte). As 
a matter of fact, only the Jewish propaganda work 
along the Mediterranean Sea made it possible for 
Paul and his associates to establish Christianity 
among the Gentiles, as is expressty recorded in the 
Acts (x. 2; xiii. 16, 26, 43, 50; xvi. 14; xvii. 4, 17; 
xviii. 7); and it is exactly from such synagogue 
manuals for proselytes as the Didache and the Di- 
dascalia that the ethical teachings in the Epistles of 
Paul and of Peter were derived (see Seeberg, “ Der 
Katechismus der Urchristeuheit,” 1903, pp. 1-44). 

The answer is supplied by the fact that Jewish 
prosely tism had the Jewish nation as its basis, as the 
names “ ger ” and “ ger tosliab ” for “ proselyte ” indi- 
cate. The proselyte on whom the Abrahamic rite 
was not performed remained an outsider. It was, 
therefore, highly important for Paul that those who 
became couverted to the Church should rank equal- 
ly with its other members and that every mark 
of distinction between Jew and Gentile should be 
wiped out in the new state of existence in which 
the Christians lived in anticipation. The predomi- 
nating point of view of the Synagogue was the 
political and social one; that of the Church, the 
eschatological one. May such as do not bear the 
seal of Abraham’s covenant upon their flesh or do 
not fulfil the whole Law be admitted into the con- 
gregation of the saints waiting for the world of res- 
urrection? This was the question at issue between 
the disciples of Jesus and those of Paul ; the former 
adhering to the view of the Essenes, which was also 
that of Jesus; the latter taking an independent posi- 
tion that started not from the Jewish but from the 
non-Jewish standpoint. Paul fashioned a Christ of 



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liis own, a cliurcli of his own, and a system of belief 
of his own ; and because there were many mytho- 
logical and Gnostic elements in his theology which 
appealed more to the non-Jew than to the Jew, he 
won the heathen world to his belief. 

In the foreground of all of Paul’s teaching stands 
his peculiar vision of Christ, to which he constantly 
refers as his only claim and title to apostlesliip 
(I Cor. ix. 1, xv. 8; II Cor. xii. 1-7; 

PauPs Phil. iii. 9; Gal. i. 1, 12, 16, on which 

Christ. see below). The other apostles saw • 
Jesus in the flesh ; Paul saw him when, 
in a state of entrancement, he was carried into para- 
dise to the. third heaven, where he heard “ unspeak- 
able words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter ” 
(II Cor. xii. 2-4). Evidently this picture of Christ 
must have occupied a prominent place in his mind 
before, just as Metathon (Mithra) and Akteriel did 
in the minds of Jewish mystics (see Angelology ; 
Meiikabaii). To him the Messiah was the son of 
God in a metaphysical sense, “ the image of God ,J 
(II Cor. iv. 4; Col. i. 15), “the heavenly Adam ” (I 
Cor. xv. 49; similar to the Pliilonic or cabalistic 
Adam Ivadmon), the mediator between God and the 
world (i Cor. viii. 6), “ the first-born of all creation, 
for by him were all things created” (Col. i. 15-17), 
identical also with the Holy Spirit manifested in 
Israel’s history (I Cor. x. 4; II Cor. iii. 17; comp. 
Wisdom x. l.-xii. 1; Philo, “DeEo Quod Deterius 
Potiori Insidiari Soleat,” § 80; see also Jew. Encyc. 
X. 183b, S . V . PliEEXISTEXCE OF THE MESSIAH). 

It is, however, chiefly as “the king of glory” (I 
Cor. ii. 8), as ruler of the powers of light and life 
eternal, that Christ is to manifest liis cosmic power. 
He has to annihilate Satan or Belial, the ruler of 
this world of darkness and death, with all liis hosts of 
evil, physical and moral (I Cor. xv. 24-26). Paul s 
“gnosis” (I Cor. viii. 1, 7; II Cor. ii. 14; I Tim. vi. 
20) is a revival of Persian dualism, which makes of 
all existence, whether physical, mental, or spiritual, 
a battle between light and darkness (I Thess. v. 4-5 ; 
Epli. v. 8-13; Col. i. 13), between flesh and spirit (I 
Cor. xv. 48; Rom. viii. 6-9), between corruption and 
life everlasting (I Cor. xv. 50, 53). The object of 
the Church is to obtain for its members the spirit, 
the glory, and the life of Christ, its “head,” and to 
liberate them from the servitude of and allegiance 
to the flesh and the powers of earth. In order to 
become participants in the salvation that had come 
and the resurrection that was nigh, the saints were to 
cast oft' the works of darkness and to put on the 
armor of light, the breastplate of love, and the hel- 
met of hope (Rom. xiii. 12; II Cor. x. 4; Eph. vi. 
11; I Thess. v. S; comp. Wisdom v. 17-18; Isa. 
lix. 17; “the weapons of light of the people of 
Israel,” Pesik. R. 33 [ed. Buber, p. 154]; Targ. 
Yer. to Ex. xxxiii. 4; “the men of the shields” 
[“ba'ale teresin ”], a name for high-ranking Gnos- 
tics, Ber. 27b; also “the vestiture of light” in Man- 
dsean lore, “Jahrbuch fur Protestantische Theolo- 
gie,” xviii. 575-576). 

How then can this world of perdition and evil, 
of sin and death, be overcome, and the true life be 
attained instead? This question, which, according 
to a Talmudic legend (Tamid 32a), Alexander the 
Great put to the wise men of the South, wasapparent- 
NI, — 6 


ly the one uppermost also in the mind of Paul (see 
Kabisch, “ Die Eschatologie des Paulus,” 1893); and 
in the form of a vision of the crucified 
The Christ the answer came to him to “die 
Crucified in order to live.” This vision, seen in 
Messiah, his ecstatic state, was to him more 
than a mere reality : it was the pledge 
(“ ‘erabon” of the resurrection and the life of which 
he was in quest. Having seen “the first-born of 
the resurrection” (I Cor. xv. 20-24; the Messiah is 
called “the first-born” also in Midr. Teh. to Ps. 
lxxxix. 28, and in Ex. R. xix. 7), he felt certain 
of the new life which all “ the sons of light ” were 
to share. No sooner had the idea taken hold of him 
that the world of resurrection, or “ the kingdom of 
God,” had come, or would come with the speedy 
reappearance of the Messiah, than he would invest 
with higher powers “ the elect ones ” who were to 
participate in that life of the spirit. There can be no 
sin or sensual passion in a world in which the spirit 
rules. Nor is there need of any law in a realm 
where men live as angels (comp. “ The dead is free 
from all obligations of the Law,” Shab. 30a, 151b; 
Niddali 61b). To bring back the state of paradise 
and to undo the sin of Adam, the work of the serpent, 
which brought death into the world — this seems to 
have been the dream of Paul. The baptism of the 
Church, to which sinners and saints, women and 
men, Jews and Gentiles, were alike invited, sug- 
gested to him the putting oft of the earthly Adam 
and the putting on of the heavenly Adam (Rom. 
vi.). He was certain that by the very power of 
their faith, which performed all the wonders of the 
spirit in the Church (I Cor. xii., xv.), would the be- 
lievers in Christ at the time of his reappearance be 
also miraculously lifted to the clouds and trans- 
formed into spiritual bodies for the life of the resur- 
rection (I Thess. iv. ; I Cor. xv. ; Rom. viii.). These 
are the elements of Paul’s theology— a system of 
belief which endeavored to unite all men, but at the 
expense of sound reason and common sense. 

There is possibly a historical kernel -to the story 
related in the Acts (vii. 58-ix. 1-31, xxii. 3-21, 
xxvi. 10-19), that, while on the road to Damascus, 
commissioned with the task of exterminating the 
Christian movement antagonistic to 
PauPs the Temple and the Law (ib. vi. 13), 

Con- Paul had a vision in which Jesus ap- 

version. peared to him, saying, “ Saul, Saul, 
why persecutes! thou me?” (comp. I 
Sam. xxvi. IS) ; that in consequence of this vision 
he became, with the aid of Ananais, one of the 
Christian seers, “ a chosen vessel unto me [Christ], 
to bear my name before the Gentiles.” According 
to the Acts (vii. 5S; ix. 2; xxii. 5; xxv. 1, 10-12), 
Paul was a young man charged by the Sanhedrin 
of Jerusalem with the execution of Stephen and 
the seizure of the disciples of Jesus. The state- 
ment, however (ib. xxii, 8-9), that, being a zealous 
observer of the law of the Fathers, “ he persecuted 
the Church unto death,” could have been made only 
at a time when it was no longer known what a wide 
difference existed between the Sadducean high 
priests and elders, wdio had a vital interest in quell- 
ing the Christian movement, and the Pharisees, who 
had no reason for condemning to death either Jesus 



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or Stephen. In fact, it is derived from the Epistle 
to the Galatians (i. 13-14), the spuriousness of which 
lias been shown b} r Bruno Baur, Steck, and most 
convincingly by Friedrich Maeliliss (“ Die Uneclit- 
lieit des Galaterbriefs, ” 1891). The same is the 
case with Phil. iii. 5. Acts xxii. 17-18 speaks of 
another vision which Paul had while in the Temple, 
in which Jesus told him to depart from Jerusalem 
and go with his gospel to the Gentiles. Evidently 
Paul entertained long before his vision those no- 
tions of the Son of God which he afterward ex- 
pressed ; but the identification of his Gnostic Christ 
with the crucified Jesus of the church he had 
formerly antagonized was possibly the result of 
a mental paroxysm experienced in the form of 
visions. 

Whether the Hellenists in Jerusalem, at the head 
of whom stood Stephen, Philip, and others named 
in Acts vii. 1-5, exerted an influence upon Paul, can 
not be ascertained: that Barnabas, who was a native 
of Cyprus, did, may be assumed with 
Barnabas certainty. He was Paul’s older com- 
and Other panion, apparently of a more impo- 
HeUenist s . sing stature (Acts xiv. 12); and, ac- 
cording- -to ix. ST, lie introduced 

Paul to the apostles and induced him (xi. 25) to 
cooperate with him in the church of Antioch. The 
two traveled together as collectors of charity for the 
poor of the Jerusalem church {ib. xi. 30, xv. 2; see 
Apostle), and as preachers of the gospel {ib. xiii. 

3, 7, 13, 14, 43, 46, 50; xiv. 14, 20; xv. 2, 12, 22, 35), 
Paul soon becoming the more powerful preacher. 
Finally, on account of dissensions, probably of a 
far more serious nature than stated either in Acts 
xv. 36-39 or Gal. ii. 13, they separated. That both 
Paul and Barnabas held views different from those 
of the other apostles may be learned from I Cor. ix. 

6. Paul’s relation to Apollos also was apparently 
that of a younger colaborer to an older and more 
learned one (I Cor. i. 10, iii. 5-23, xvi. 12). 

According to Acts xiii., xiv., xvii.-xviii. (see 
Jew. Encyc. ix. 252-254, s.d. New Testament). 
Paul began working along the traditional Jewish 
line of proselytizing in the various 
His synagogues where the proselytes of 
Missionary the gate and the Jews met ; and only 
Travels, because he failed to win the Jews to 
his views, encountering strong oppo- 
sition and persecution from them, did he turn to the 
Gentile world after he had agreed at a convention 
with the apostles at Jerusalem to admit the Gentiles 
into the Church only as proselytes of the gate, that 
is, after their acceptance of the Noachian laws (Acts 
xv. 1-31). This presentation of Paul’s work is, 
however, incompatible with the attitude toward the 
Jews and the Law taken by him in the Epistles. 
Nor can any historical value be attached to the 
statement in Gal. ii. 1-10 that, by an agreement 
with the seeming pillars of the Church, the work 
was divided between Peter and Paul, the “gospel 
of circumcision ” being committed to the one, 
and the “ gospel of uncircumcision ” to the other; as 
the bitter and often ferocious attacks against both 
the Jews and the apostles of the Judaso-Christian 
Church (in Phil. iii. 2 he calls them “dogs”) would 
then have been uncalled for and unpardonable. In 


reality Paul had little more than the name of apos- 
tle in common with the actual disciples of Jesus. 
His field of work was chiefly, if not exclusively, 
among the Gentiles; he looked for a virgin soil 
wherein to sow the seeds of the gospel; and he suc- 
ceeded in establishing throughout Greece, Mace- 
donia, and Asia Minor churches in which there were 
“neither Jews nor Gentiles,” but Christians who ad- 
dressed each other as “ brethren ” or “ saints. ” Re- 
garding liis great missionary journeys as'described 
in the Acts after older documents, see Jew. Encyc. 
l.c. pp. 252-254. As to the chronology, much reli- 
ance can not be placed either on Gal. i. 17— ii. 3 or 
on the Acts with its contradictory statements. 

From II Cor. xi. 24-32 (comp. ib. vi. 4; I Cor. iv. 
11) it may be learned that his missionary work was 
beset with uncommon hardships. He labored hard 
day and night as a tent-maker for a livelihood (Acts 
xviii. 3 ; I Thess. ii. 9 ; II Tliess. iii. 8 ; I Cor. iv. 
12, ix. 6-18). He says (II Cor. ix.) that more 
frequently than any other apostle he was impris- 
oned, punished with stripes, and in peril of death 
on land and sea; five times he received the thirty- 
nine stripes in the synagogue, obviously for some 

ipuniic tonsgression of tlxo Law (Lent. xxv 3) - 

three times was he beaten with rods, probably by 
the city magistrates (comp. Acts xvi. 22) ; once he 
was stoned by the people ; and thrice he suffered 
shipwreck, being in the water a night and a day. 
In Damascus he was imprisoned by King Aretas at 
the instigation, not of the Jews, as is stated by 
modern historians, but of the Jerusalem authorities; 
and he escaped through being let down in a basket 
from a window (II Cor. xi. 24-32; comp. Acts 
xxvii. 41). He was besides this constantly troubled 
with his disease, which often made him “ groan ” 
for deliverance (I Thess. ii. 2, 19— iii. 1 ; II Cor. i. 
8-10, iv. 7-v. 5, xii. 7; Gal. iv. 14). 

Corinth and Ephesus, the two great centers of 
commerce, with their strangely mixed and turbu- 
lent as well as immoral population, offered to Paul 
a large field for his missionary work; and, because 
the Jews there were few and had little influence, 
he had free scope and ample oppor- 
In Greece, tunity to build up a church according 
to his plans. He was greatly aided 
therein by the Roman protection which he enjoyed 
(Acts xviii. 12-17, xix. 35-40). Yet as long as the 
church at Jerusalem was in his way he found lit- 
tle comfort and satisfaction in his achievements, 
though he proudly recounted the successes which 
marked his journeys throughout the lands. It was 
to Rome that his efforts gravitated. Not Athens, 
whose wisdom he decried as “folly” (I Cor. i. 17- 
24), but Rome’s imperial city, whose administrative 
system he had learned to admire, attracted and fas- 
cinated his mind by its world-wide horizon and 
power. Consciously or unconsciously, he worked 
for a church with its world-center in Rome instead 
of in Jerusalem. A prisoner in the years 61-63 
(Phil. i. 7, 16), and probably also a martyr at Rome, 
he laid the foundation of the world-dominion of 
pagan Christianity. (For further biographical de- 
tails, which form the subject of much dispute 
among Christians, but are of no special interest for 
Jewish readers, see the article “Paul” in Hauck, 



83 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


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“ Real-Encyc, , ” in Hastings, “ Diet. Bible, ” and simi- 
lar works, ) 

In order to understand fully the organization and 
scope of the Church as mapped out by Paul in 
his Epistles, a comparison thereof 
Paul’s with the organization and the work 
Church of the Synagogue, including the Es- 
versus the sene community, seems quite proper. 
Syria- Each Jewish community when organ - 
gogue. - ized as a congregation possessed in, 
or together with, its synagogue an 
institution (1) for common worship, (2) for the in- 
struction of young and old in the Torah, and (3) for 
systematic charity and benevolence. This threefold 
work was as a rule placed in charge of men of high 
social standing, prominent both in learning and in 
piety. The degree of knowledge and of scrupu- 
lousness in the observance of the Torah determined 
the rank of the members of the Synagogue. 
Among the members of the Essene brotherhood 
every-day life with its common meals came under 
special rules of sanctity, as did their prayers and 
their charities as well as their visits to the sick, the 
Holy Spirit being especially invoked by them as a 
divine factor, preparing them also for the Messianic 

kingdom of -wliielx tliey lived in expectation (see 

Essenes). The Christian Church, in adopting tiie 
name and form of the Essene Church (’E Kisfajaia; see 
Congregation), lent to both the bath (see Bap- 
tism) and the communion meals (see Agape) a new 
character. Paul, the Hellenist, however, know- 
ingly or unknowingly, seems to have taken the 
heathen cult associations as his pattern while intro- 
ducing new features into the Church (see Aurieh, 
“Das Antike Mysterienwesen in Seinem Einfluss 
auf das Christen thum,” 1894; Wobbormin, “Re- 
ligionsgeschichtliche Studien zur Frage der Beein- 
flussung des Urchristenthums Durch das Antike 
Mysterienwesen,” 1896, p. 158; Hatch, “Influence 
of Greek Ideas and Usages upon the Christian 
Church,” 1890, pp. 281-296; Cumont, “Die Mvs- 
terien des Mithra, Deutsch von Geli- 
Influence rich,” 1908, pp. 101, 118-119; Anz, 
of the “Ursprung des Gnosticismus,” 1897, 
Greek pp. 98-107; Reizenstein and Kabisch, 
Mysteries, l.c .). To him baptism is no longer 
a symbolic rite suggestive of purifi- 
cation or regeneration, as in Jewish and Judseo- 
Christian circles (see Baptism), but a mystic 
rite by which the person that enters the water and 
emerges again undergoes an actual transformation, 
dying with Christ to the world of flesh and sin, and 
rising with him to the world of the spirit, the new 
life of the resurrection ( Rom. vi. 1-10). 

Still more is the partaking of the bread and the 
wine of the communion meal, the so-called “Lord’s 
Supper,” rendered the means of a mystic union with 
Christ, “a participation in his blood and body,” 
exactly as was the Mitliraic meal a real participa- 
tion in the blood and body of Mithra (see Cumont, 
l.c.). To Paul, the Holy Spirit itself is not an eth- 
ical but a magic power that works sanctification 
and salvation. It is a mystic substance permeating 
the Church as a dynamic force, rendering all the 
members saints, and pouring forth its graces in the 
various gifts, such as those of prophesying, speaking 


in tongues, and interpreting voices, and others dis- 
played in teaching and in the administration of 
charity and similar Church functions (Rom. xii. 
4-8; I Cor. xii., xiv. ; see Kabisch, l.c. pp. 261-281). 
The Church forms “ the body of Christ ” not in a 
figurative sense, but through the same mystic actu- 
ality as that by which the participants of heathen 
cults become, through their mysteries or sacraments, 
parts of their deities. Such is the expressed view 
of Paul when he contrasts the “ table of Christ ” 
with the “table of the demons” (I Cor. x. 20-21). 
While Paul borrows from the Jewish propaganda 
literature, especially the Sibyllines, the idea of the 
divine wrath striking especially those that commit 
the capital sins of idolatry and incest (fornication) 
and acts of violence or fraudulence (Rom. i. 18-32; 
I Thess. iv. 5), and while he accordingly wishes 
the heathen to turn from their idols to God, with de- 
sire of being saved by His son (I Thess. i. 9-10), his 
Church has by no means the moral perfection of the 
human race for its aim and end, as has Judaism. 
Salvation alone, that is, redemption from a world of 
perdition and sin, the attainment of a life of incor- 
ruption, is the object; yet this is the privilege only 
of those chosen and predestined “ to be conformed 
to the image of His [God’s] son ” (Rom. viii. 28-80). 

It is accordingly not personal merit nor tlae greater 

moral effort that secures salvation, but some arbi- 
trary act of divine grace which justifies one class 
of men and condemns the other (ib. ix.). It is not 
righteousness, nor even faith — in the Jewish sense 
of perfect trust in the all-loving and all-forgiving 
God and Father— which leads to salvation, but faith 
in the atoning power of Christ’s death, which in 
some mystic or judicial manner justifies the unde- 
serving (Rom. iii. 22, iv,, v. ; comp. Faith; for the 
mystic conception of faith, 'niong, in Hellenism 
alongside of gnosis, see Reizenstein, l.c. pp. 158-159). 

Heathen as is the conception of a church securing 
a mystic union with the Deitjr by means of sacra- 
mental rites, equally pagan is Paul’s 
The Mys- conception of the crucifixion of Jesus. 

tery of While he accepts the Judseo-Christian 
the Cross, view of the atoning power of the 
death of Jesus as the suffering Mes- 
siah (Rom. iii. 25, viii. 3), the crucifixion of Jesus 
as the son of God assumes for him at the very be- 
ginning the character of a mystery revealed to him, 
“a stumbling-block to the Jews and folly to the 
Greeks” (I Cor. i. 23-ii. 2, ii. 7-10). It is to him 
a cosmic act by which God becomes reconciled to 
Himself. God sent “his own son in the likeness of 
sinful flesh ” in order to have His wrath appeased 
by his death. “He spared not liis own Son, but 
delivered him up,” so that by his blood all men 
might be saved (Rom. v. 8; viii. 3, 32). To a Jew- 
ish mind trained by rabbinical acumen this is not 
pure monotheistic, but mythological, thinking. 
Paul’s “Son of God ” is, far more than the Logos of 
Philo, an infringement of the absolute unity of 
God. While the predicate “ God ” applied to him in 
Titus ii. 13 may be put to the account of Paul’s 
school rather than to liis own, throughout ail the 
Epistles a share in the divinity is ascribed to Jesus 
in such a manner as to detract from the glory of 
God. He is, or is expected to be, called upon as 



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84 


* £ the Lord ” (I Cor. i. 2; Rom. x. 13; Phil. ii. 10-11). bodies must be consecrated to him and not given to 

Only the pagan idea of the “ man-God ” or “the sec- fornication (ib. vi. 15). In fact, they ought to live 

ond God, ’the world s artificer, and “son of God” in celibac}^; and only on account of Satan’s tempta- 

(in Plato, in the Hermes-Tot literature as shown by tion to lust are they allowed to marry (ib. vi. 18- 

Reizenstein, l.c.), or the idea of a king of light de- vii. 8). As regards eating and drinking, especially 
scending to Hades, as in the Mandman-Babylonian of offerings to idols, which were prohibited to the 

literature (Brandt, “ Die Mandaisclie Religion, ” 1889, proselyte of the gate by the early Christians as well 

pp. 151-156), could have suggested to Paul the con- as by the Jews (comp. Acts xv. 29), Paul takes the 
ception of a God who surrenders the riches of di- singular position that the Gnostics, those who pos- 
vinity and descends to the poverty of earthly life in sess the higher knowledge (“gnosis”; I Cor. viii. 
order to become a savior of the human race (I Cor. 1, xiii. 2, xiv. 6; II Cor. iv. 6; comp.Reizenstein] 
xv. 2S, with ref. to Ps. viii. 6-7; Phil. ii. 6-10). l.c. p. 158), are “the strong ones” who care not for 
Onty L* om Alexandrian Gnosticism, or, as Reizen- clean and unclean things and similar ritualistic dis- 
stein ( l.c . pp. 25-26; comp. pp. 278, 285) convin- tinctions (Rom. xiv. 1-23; I Cor. viii. 1-13). Only 
cingly shows, only from pagan pantheism, could he those that are “weak in faith” do care; and their 
have derived the idea of the “pleroma,” “the ful- scruples should be heeded by the others. The 
ness ” of the Godhead dwelling in Christ as the head Gnostic principle enunciated by Porphyrins (“De 
of all principality and power, as him who is before Abstinentia,” i. 42), “Food that enters the body can 
all things and in whom all things consist (Col. i. 15- as little defile free man as any impurit 3 r cast into 
19 ii. 9). . the sea can contaminate the ocean, the deep foun- 

Paul’s attitude toward the Law was by no means tain of purity ” (comp. Matt. xv. 11), has in Paul’s 
hostile from the beginning or on principle, as the system an eschatological character: “The kingdom 
interpolated Epistle to the Romans and the spurious of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness 
one to the Galatians represent it. Neither is it the and peace and joy in the IIoly^Gliost” (Rom. xiv. 
legalistic (nomistic) character of Pharisaic Judaism 17; comp. Ber. 17a; Jew. Encyc. v. 218, s.v. Es~ 
whicli he militates against, as Jesus ciiatology). As he stated in I Cor. ix. 20-22: “And 

Paul’s in the Gospels is represented as doing ; unto the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain 

Opposition nor was he prompted by the desire the Jews; to them that are under the law, asunder 

to to discriminate between the eeremo- the law, that I might gain them that are under the 

the Law. nial and the moral laws in order to law; to them that are without law, as without law 

accentuate the spiritual side of relig- (being not without law to God, but under the law 

ion. Still less was he prompted by that allegorizing to Christ), that I might gain them that are without 
method of which Philo (“ De Migratione Abrahami,” law. To the weak became I as weak, that I mi edit 

§16) speaks as having led many to the disregard gain the weak: I am made all things to all men, that 

of certain ceremonial laws, such as circumcision (M. I might by all means save some.” 

Friedlander, “ZurEntstehungsgeschichtedes Chris- The original attitude of Paul to the Law was 
tenth urns,’’ pp. 149, 163, Vienna, 1894). All such accordingly not that of opposition as represented in 

interpretations fail to account for Paul’s denuncia- Romans and especially in Galatians, but that of a 

tion of all law, moral as well as ceremonial, as an claimed transcendency. He desired “the strong 

intrinsic evil (Ilausrath, “Neutestamentliche Zeit- ones” to do without the Law as “schoolmaster” 

geschichte,” 2d ed., hi. 14). According to his argu- (Gal. iii. 24). The Law made men servants: Christ 

meats (Rom. in. 20, iv. 15, vii. -viii.), it is the Law rendered them “sons of God.” That is, their nature 

that begets sin and works wrath, because with- was transformed into an angelic, if not altogether 
out the Law there is no transgression. “I had not divine, one (Rom. viii. 14-29; I Cor. vi. 1-3). 

known lust, except the Law had said, Thou skalt Only in admitting the heathen into his church did 

not covet ” (ib. vii. 7). He has no faith in the moral he follow the traditional Jewish practise of empha- 

power of man: “I know that in me (that is, in my sizing at the initiation of proselytes 

flesh) dwell eth no good thing ” (ib. vii. 18). What Law for. “the law of God,” consisting in “Love 
he is aiming at is that state in which the sinfulness the thy neighbor as thyself,” taken from 

of the flesh is entirely overcome by the spirit of Proselyte. Lev. xix. 18 (Rom. xiii. 8-10 contains 

Christ who is “the end of the Law ” (ib. x. 4), be- no allusion to Jesus’ teaching). Also 

cause he is the beginning of the resurrection. For in the mode of preparing the proselyte— by specify- 
Paul, to be a member of the Church meant to be ing to him the mandatory and prohibitive coin- 
above the Law, and to serve in the newness of the mandments in the form of a catalogue of virtues or 
spirit under a higher law (ib. vii. 4-6, 25). For in duties and a catalogue of sins, making him promise 
Christ,, that is, by the acceptance of the belief that to practise the former, and, in the form of a 
with him the world of resurrection has begun, man “ widdui” (confession of sins), to avoid the latter- 
lias become “a new creature: the old things are Paul and his school followed, in common with all 
passed away . . . all things have become new ” (II the other apostles, the traditional custom, as may be 
Cor. v. 17). For Paul, the world is doomed: it is learned from I Tliess. iv. 1-10; Col iii. 5-14- Rom 
flesh beset by sin and altogether of the evil one; i. 29 (comp. J. Rendel Harris, “The Teaching 0 f 
hence home, family life, worldly wisdom, all earthly the Apostles,” 1887, pp. 82-84; Gal. v, 13^23 
enjoyment are of no account, as they belong to a copied from Rom. l.c. • so also Eph. ii.-vi. ; I Peter 
world which passes away. (I Cor. vii. 31). Having ii.-iii. ; I John iii.-iv. ; Heb. xiii.; see Seebero-, 
at first only the heathen in view, Paul claims the “Der Katechismus der Urchristenheit,” 1903, pp. 
members of the Church for Christ; hence their 9-22, and Didaciie). A comparison of the “Didas- 



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Saul of Tarsus 


calia ” with Paul’s various admonitions in the Epis- 
tles likewise shows how much lie was indebted to 
Essene teachings (see Jew. Encyc. iv. 588-590, s.v. 
Didascalia, where it is shown in a number of in- 
stances that the priority rests with the Jewish “Di- 
dascalia ” and not, as is generally believed, with Paul). 
Also “turning from darkness to light” (I Tliess. v. 
4-9; Pom. xiii. 12; Epli. v. 7-11; and elsewhere) is 
an expression borrowed from Jewish usage in re- 
gard to proselytes who “ come over from the false- 
hood of idolatry to the truth of monotheism ’’ (see 
Philo, “ De Monarchia,” i. 7; idem, “De Pceniten- 
tia,” §§ 1-2; comp. “Epistle of Barnabas,” xix. 1- 
xx. 1). It is rather difficult to reconcile these moral 
injunctions with the Pauline notion that, since law 
begets sin, there should be no law ruling the mem- 
bers of the Church. It appears, however, that Paul 
used frequently the Gnostic term — “ perfect,” 

“ mature ” (I Tliess. v. 4, 10; Phil. iii. 12, 15; I Cor. 
ii. 6, xiii. 12 et seq ., xiv. 20; Eph. iv. 18; Col. i. 28). 
This term, taken from Grecian mysteries (see Light- 
foot, “Epistles to the Colossians,” ad loc .), and used 
also in Wisdom iv. 13, ix. 6, suggested an asceticism 
which in some circles of saints led to the unsexing 
of man for the sake of fleeing from lust (Wisdom iii. 
13-14; Philo, “ De Eo Quod Deterius Potiori Insi- 
diatur,” § 48; Matt. xix. 12; see Conybeare, l.c. p. 
24). For Paul, then, the Christian’s aim was to be 
mature and ready for the day when all would be 
“caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the 
air” and be with Him forever (I Thess. iv, 16-17). 
To be with Christ, “ in whom dwelleth all the fulness 
of the Godhead,” is to become so “complete” as to 
be above the rule of heavenly bodies, above the 
“tradition of men,” above statutes regarding cir- 
cumcision, meat and drink, holy da} r s, new moon, 
and Sabbath, all of which are but “a shadow of 
the things to come ” ; it is to be dead to the world 
and all things of the earth, to mortify the members 
of the flesh, to “put off the old man” with his deeds 
and passions, and put on the new man who is ever 
renewed for the highest knowledge of God (gnosis), 
so that there is “neither Greek nor Jew, circum- 
cision nor uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, bond- 
nor free, but Christ is all and in all ” (Col. ii, 0— iii. 
11; comp. I Cor. v. 7: “Purge out therefore the 
old leaven, that ye may be a new lump ”). 

Far then from making antagonism to the Law the 
starting-point of his apostolic activity, as under the 
influence of the Epistle to the Homans is assumed 
by almost all Christian theologians, 
Conflict except the so-called Dutch school of 
■with. Juda- critics (see Cheyne and Black, “Encyc. 
ism and Bibl.” s.v. “Paul and Romans, Epis- 
the Law. tie to the ”), there is intrinsic evidence 
that Paul’s hostile attitude to both the 
Law and the JeAvs was the result of his conflicts 
with the latter and with the other apostles. There 
is no bitter hostility or antagonism to the Law no- 
ticeable in I Tliessalonians (ii. 14b-16 is a late inter- 
polation referring to the destruction of the Temple), 
Colossians, I Corinthians (xv. 56 is obviously inter- 
polated), or II Corinthians (where iii. 6-iv. 4, on 
closer analysis, also proves to be a late addition dis- 
turbing the context) ; and so little opposition to the 
Law does Paul show in those epistles first addressed 


to the Gentiles, that in I Cor. xiv. 21 he quotes as 
the “law”— that is, Torah in the sense of Revela- 
tion — a passage from Isa. xxviii, 11; whereas he 
avoids the term “law” (vojjloq) elseAvhere, declaring 
all statutes to be worthless human teaching (Col. 
ii. 22). 

His antinomian theology is chiefly set forth in the 
Epistle to the Romans, many parts of which, how- 
ever, are the product of the second-century Church 
with its fierce hatred of the Jew, e.g., 

Antino- such passages as ii. 21-24, charging 

mianism the Jews with theft, adultery, sacri- 
and Jew- lege, and blasphemy, or ix. 22 and xi. 

Hatred. 28 (comp. iii. 2). The underlying mo- 
tive of Paul— the tearing down of the 
partition- wall between Jew and Gentile — is best ex- 
pressed in Eph. ii, 14-22, where it is declared that 
the latter are no longer “gerim” and “toshabim” 
(A. Y. “strangers” and “foreigners”), but “fellow 
citizens with the saints” of the Church and fully 
equal members “ of the household of God. ” In order 
to accomplish his purpose, he argues that just as lit- 
tle as the heathen escapes the wrath of God, owing 
to the horrible sins he is urged to commit by his 
clinging to his idols, so little can the Jew escape by 
his Law, because “the law worketh sin and wrath” 
(Rom, iv. 15). Instead, indeed, of removing the 
germ of death brought into the world by Adam, the 
Law Avas given only to increase sin and to make all 
the greater the need of divine mercy which Avas to 
come through Christ, the new Adam ( ib . v. 15-20). 
By further tAvisting the Biblical Avords taken from 
Gen. xv. 6, Avhich he interprets as signifying that 
Abraham’s faith became a saving power to him, and 
from Gen. xvii. 5, Avhich he takes as signifying that 
Abraham was to be the father of the Gentiles instead 
of nations, he argues that the saving grace of God 
lies in faith (that is, blind belief) and not in the 
works of the LaAv. And so he declares faith in 
Jesus’ atoning death to be the means of justification 
and salvation, and not the LaAv, which demands 
servitude, Avliereas the spirit of Christ makes men 
children of God (Rom. iv.-viii.). The Pauline Jew- 
hatred was ever more intensified (see ib. ix.-xi., and 
comp. ix. 31)— which is clear evidence of a later 
origin — and culminates in Gal. iii., Avliere, besides 
the repetition of the argument from Gen. xv. 6 and 
xauL 5, the Luav is declared, Avith reference to Deut. 
xxviii. 26 and Hab. ii, 4 (comp. Rom. i. 17), to be 
a curse from Avliicli the crucified Christ — himself 
“a curse” according to the LaAv (Deut. xxi. 23; 
probably an argument taken up from controversies 
with the Jews) — was to redeem. the believer. An- 
other sophistic argument against the LaAv, furnished 
in Gal. iii. 19-24, and often repeated in the second 
century (Heb. ii. 2 ; Acts vii. 38, 53 ; Aristides, 
“Apologia,” xiv. 4), is that the Luav was receded 
by Moses as mediator from the angels— a quaint no- 
tion based upon Deut. xxxiii. 2, LXX. ; comp. Jo- 
sephus, “Ant.” xv. 5, § 3— and that it is not the law 
of God’, Avhich is a life-giving laAV of righteousness. 
Furthermore the Iuavs of the JeAvs and the idolatrous 
practises of the heathen are placed equally low as 
mere servitude of “ the weak and beggarly elements ” 
(= “planets”; Gal. iv. S-ll), Avhereas, those that 
have put on Christ by baptism have risen above all 



Saul of Tarsus 
Savannah 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


80 


distinctions of race, of class, and of sex, and have be- 
come children of God and heirs of Abraham ( ib . iii. 
26-29 ; what is meant by the words “ There shall be 
neither male nor female ” in verse 28 maybe learned 
from Gal. v. 12, where eunuchism is advised; see 
B. Weiss’s note ad loc.). 

The. Pauline school writing under Paul’s name, 
but scarcely Paul himself, worked out the theory, 
based upon Jer. xxxi. 80-31, that the 
The Old Church of Christ represents the new 
Testament covenant (see Covenant ; New Tes- 
and tament) in place of the old (Rom. xi. 
the New. 27; Gal. iv. 24; Heb. viii. 6-13, ix. 

15-x. 17 ; and, following these pas- 
sages, I Cor. xi. 23-28). Similarly the interpolator 
of II Cor. iii. 6-iv. 4, in connection with ib. iii. 3, 
contrasts the Old Testament with the New: the 
former by the letter of the Law offering but damna- 
tion and death because “ the veil of Moses ” is upon 
it. preventing God’s glory from being seen; the 
latter being the life-giving spirit offering righteous- 
ness, that is, justification, and the light of the 
knowledge (gnosis) of the glory of God as reflected 
in the face of Jesus Christ. It is superfluous to 
state that this Gnostic conception of the spirit has 
nothing to do with the sound religious principle 
often quoted from I Cor. iii. 6 : “ The letter killeth, 
but the spirit giveth life.” The privilege of seeing 
God’s glory as Moses did face to face through a 
bright mirror held out in I Cor. xiii. 12 (comp. Suk. 
45b; Lev. R. i. 14) to the saints in the future is 
claimed in II Cor. iii. 18 and iv. 4 as a power in the 
actual possession of the Christian believer. The 
highest hope of man is regarded as realized by the 
writer, who looks forward to the heavenly habita- 
tion as a release from the earthly tabernacle (II 
Cor. v. 1-8). 

This unhealthy view of life maintained by Paul 
and his immediate followers was, however, changed 
by the Church the moment her organ- 
Spurious ization extended over the world. 
Writings Some epistles were written in the 
Ascribed to name of Paul with the view of estab- 
Paul. lishing more friendly relations to soci- 
ety and government than Paul and 
the early Christians had maintained. While Paul 
warns his church-members not to bring matters of 
dispute before “the unjust,” by which term he 
means the Gentiles (I Cor. vi. 1; comp. Jew. 
Encyc. iv. 590), these very heathen powers of Rome 
are elsewhere praised as the ministers of God and 
His avengers of wrong (Rom. xiii. 1-7) ; and while 
in I Cor. xi. 5 women are permitted to prophesy 
and to pray aloud in the church provided they 
have their heads covered, a later chapter, obviously 
interpolated, states, “Let your women keep silence 
in the churches” (ib. xiv. 34). So celibacy (ib. vii. 
1-8) is declared to be the preferable state, and mar- 
riage is allowed only for the sake of preventing for- 
nication (Eph. v. 21-33), while, on the other hand, 
elsewhere marriage is enjoined and declared to be a 
mystery or sacrament symbolizing the relation of 
the Church as the bride to Christ as the bridegroom 
(see Bride). 

A still greater change in the attitude toward the 
Law may be noticed in the so-called pastoral epis- 


tles. Here the Law is declared to be good as a pre- 
ventive of wrong-doing (I Tim. i. 8-10), marriage is 
enjoined, and woman’s salvation is declared to con- 
sist only in the performance of her maternal duty 
(ib. ii. 12, 15), while asceticism and celibacy are con- 
demned (ib. iv. 3). So all social relations are regu- 
lated in a worldly spirit, and are no longer treated, 
as in Paul’s genuine epistles, in the spirit of other- 
worldliness (ib. ii.-vi. ; II Tim. ii. 4-6; Titus ii.-iii. ; 
comp. Didascalia). Whether in collecting alms for 
the poor of the church on Sundays (I Cor. xvi. 2) 
Paul instituted a custom or simply followed one 
of the early Christians is not clear ; from the “We” 
source in Acts xx. 7 it appears, however, that the 
church-members used to assemble for their commun- 
ion meal in memory of the risen Christ, the Lord’s 
Supper, on the first day of the week — probably be- 
cause they held the light created on that day to sym- 
bolize the light of the Savior that had risen for them 
(see the literature in Schlirer, “Die Siebent&gige 
Woche,” in “Zeitschrift fur Neutestamentliche Wis- 
senschaft,” 1905, pp. 1-2). Little value can be at- 
tached to the story in Acts xviii. 18 that Paul 
brought a Nazarite sacrifice in the Temple, since for 
him the blood of Christ was the only sacrifice to be 
recognized. Only at a later time, when Pauline and 
Judean Christianity were merged, was account 
again taken, contrary to the Pauline system, of the 
Mosaic law regarding sacrifice and the priesthood ; 
and so the Epistle to the Hebrews was written with 
the view of representing Jesus as “ the high priest 
after the order of Melchizedek ” who atoned for the 
sins of the world by his own blood (Heb. iv. 14- v. 
10, vii. -xiii.). However, the name of Paul, con- 
nected with the epistle by Church tradition, was 
not attached to it in writing, as was the case with 
the other epistles. 

How far, after a careful analysis discriminating 
between wliat is genuine in Paul’s writings and 
what is spurious and interpolated, he may yet be 
regarded as “the great religious genius” or the 
“ great organizer ” of the Christian Church, can not 
be a matter for discussion here. Still the credit 
belongs to him of having brought the teachings of 
the monotheistic truth and the ethics of Judaism, 
however mixed up with heathen Gnosticism and 
asceticism, home to the pagan world in a form 
which appealed most forcibly to an age eager for a 
God in human shape and for some means of atone- 
ment in the midst of a general consciousness of sin 
and moral corruption. Different from 
Paul and Simon Magus, his contemporary, 
Paulinism. with whom he was at times mali- 
ciously identified by his opponents, 
and in whose Gnostic system sensuousness and pro- 
fanity predominated, Paul with his austerity made 
Jewish holiness his watchword ; and he aimed after 
all, like any other Jew, at the establishment of the 
kingdom of God, to whom also his Christ subordi- 
nated himself, delivering up the kingdom to the 
Father when his task of redemption was complete, 
in order that God might be all in all (I Cor. xv. 28). 
He was an instrument in the hand of Divine Provi- 
dence to win the heathen nations for Israel’s God of 
righteousness. 

On the other hand, he construed a system of faith 



87 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Saul of Tarsus 
Savannah 


which was at the very outset most radicalis m 
conflict with the spirit of Judaism: (1) He sub- 
stituted for the natural, childlike faith of man in 
God as the ever-present Helper in all trouble, such 
as the Old Testament represents it everywhere, a 
blind artificial faith prescribed and imposed from 
without and which is accounted as a meritorious 
act (2) He robbed human life of its healthy lm 
pulses, the human soul of its faith in its own regen- 
erating powers, of its belief in its own self and in 

its inherent tendencies to goodness, by 

His declaring Sin to be, from the days of 
System of Adam, the all-conquering power of 
Faith. evil ingrained in the flesh, working 

everlasting doom ; the deadly exhala- 
tion of Satan, the prince of this world, from whose 
o-rasp only Jesus, the resurrected Christ, the pnnee 
of the other world, was able to save man. (J) In 
endeavoring to liberate man from the yoke of the 
Law he was led to substitute for the views and hopes 
maintained by the apocalyptic writers the Chris- 
tian dogma with its terrors of damnation and hell 
for the unbeliever, holding out no hope whatso- 
ever for those who would not accept his Christ as 
savior, and finding the human race divided between 
the saved and the lost (Rom. ii. 12; I Cor. i. IS; H 
Cor. ii. 15, iv. 3; II Tliess. ii. 10). (4) In declaung 

the Law to be the begetter of sin and damnation 
and in putting grace or faith in its place, he ignore 
the great truth that duty, the divine command 
alone renders life holy; that upon the law of right- 
eousness all ethics, individual or social, rest (5) 
In condemning, furthermore, all human wisdom 
reason, and common sense as folly, an in ap 
pealing only to faith and vision, he opened wide 
the door to all kinds of mysticism and superstition 
(6) Moreover, in place of the love greatly extolled 
in the panegyric in I Cor. xiii.-a chapter which 
strangely interrupts the connection between cli. xu. 
and xiv — Paul instilled into the Church, by lus 
words of condemnation of the Jews as “vessels of 
wrath fitted for destruction ” (Rom. ix. 22; II Cor 
iii 9 iv 3), the venom of hatred -which rendered 
the earth unbearable for God’s priest-people Prob- 
ably Paul is not responsible for these outbursts ot 
fanaticism; but Paulinism is. ' It finally led to that 
systematic defamation and profanation of the Old 
Testament and its God by March® and his followers 
which ended in a Gnosticism so depraved and so 
shocking as to bring about a reaction in the Churc 
in favor of the Old Testament against the Pauline 
antinomianism. Protestantism revived Pauline 
views and notions; and with these a biased opinion 
of Judaism and its Law took possession of Gliris- 
tian writers, and prevails even to the present (comp. , 
cq Weber, “Jiidiselie Theologie,” 1897, where 
Judaism is presented throughout simply as No- 
mismus”; Schurer’s description of the life of the 
Jew “under the law” in his “Gesch.” 3d ed„ n. 
464-496- Bousset, “Religion des Judenthums in 
Neu-Testamentlichen Zeitalter," 1903, p. 107; and 
the more popular works by Harnack and others; 
and see also Scliecliter in “J. Q. ; 

Abrahams, “Prof. Schurer on Life Under the Jewish 
Law,” ib. xi. 626; and Schreiner, “Die Jungsten 
Urtli'eile liber das Judenthum,” 1902, pp. 26-34) 


For other Pauline doctrines see Atonement; 
Body in Jewish Theology; Faith; Sin, Origi- 
nal. 


uirttography : Cheyne and Black, Encyc. Bibl. s.v.PauU 
whe?e the main literature is given; Eschelbacher , Do* Ju- 
dentlium und das Wesen des Christenthums , Berlin, 190a , 
rVZt? Gesch 4th ed., iii. 413-425 ; Moritz Loewy, Die Pauh- 
nische Lehre vom Gesetz , in Monatsschrifb , 1903 4 ; Claude 
Monteftore, Rabbinic Judaism and the Epistles of Paul , 
in J. Q. B. xiii. 161. 

SAUL WAHL. See Waul, Saul. 

SAULCY, LOUIS FELICIEN JOSEPH 
q^jGNART J5E : Christian archeologist and nu- 
mismatist; born at Lille March 19, 1807 ; died in Paris 
Nov. 5, 1880. He first adopted a military career, 
and in this way "became custos of the Museum of 
Artillery, Paris, in 1842. He then made a voyage 
to Palestine, paying particular attention to the 
country around the Dead Sea. On his return he 
claimed to have discovered the ruins of Sodom and 
Gomorrah, and presented to the Louvre a sarcoph- 
agus which he insisted was that of King David. 
Among his many works, those of Jewish interest 
(all published in Paris) are; “Voyage Autour.de la 
Mer Morte,” 1854; “Reclierches sur la Numisma- 
tique JudaYque, ” 1854 ; “ Dictionnaire des Antiquites 
Bibliques, ” 1857; “Histoire de l’Art Judaique, 
1858* “ Voyage en Terre Sainte,” 1865; “Histone 
d’Herode, Roi des Juifs,” 1867; “Numismatique de 
la Terre Sainte,” 1873 (the standard work on the 
subject previous to Madden’s); “Sept Sieeles de 
L Histoire Judaique,” 1874. 

Bibliography: Larousse, DicU La Grande Encyclopedic. 

J . 

SAVANNAH; Important commercial city of 
Chatham county, Georgia; situated on the Savannah 
River. It was founded in 1733 by Gen. James Ogle- 
thorpe, and received its charter about half a century 
later (1789). It constituted the central point of the 
colony of Georgia, intended as a refuge for all per- 
sons fleeing from religious persecutions; and the 
spirit of its founder is best expressed m the words of 
Francis Moore (“A Voyage to Georgia,” p. Id. Lon- 
don 1744), who says that Oglethorpe * shew d no 
Discountenance to any for being of different Persua- 
sions in Religion.” On the arrival of the first He- 
brew settlers (1733) the trustees of the colony in- 
formed General Oglethorpe that they did not purpose 
“ to make a Jews’ colony of Georgia ... and that 
they hoped they [the Jews] would meet with no 
encouragement.” The general ignored the sugges- 
tions of the trustees, and called their attention to 
the good offices of Dr. Nunez, who was one of the 
first Hebrew arrivals in Savannah. 

The Jews of Savannah prospered both materially 
and religiously, and led a peaceful existence until 
the outbreak of the American Revolution, when they 
became scattered, several of them enlisting in the 
Revolutionary army. On the ratification of the 
treaty between Great Britain and the United States 
they began, however, to return to Savannah, and 
shortly afterward were again prominently identified 
with the commercial and industrial growth of the 
city. When the independence of the United States 
was declared, and Washington was elected presi- 
dent, the Jews of Savannah extended their congrat- 



Savior 

Saxon Duchies 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


88 


illations to the chief magistrate in a letter signed by 
Levy Sheftall, the president of the Mickwa Israel 
congregation ; the letter was suitably acknowledged. 

Since the declaration of the independence of the 
United States the Jewish community of Savannah 
has enjoyed an almost uninterrupted era of tran 
quillity. An exodus of Jews which took place be 
tween 1797 and 1820 was soon offset by the arrival 
of new settlers ; and the history of the growth of the 
Mickwa Israel congregation (see Georgia), which 
was founded shortly after the arrival of the first 
Jewish settlers, gives ample evidence of the pros 
perity of the Savannah community. 

Among the ministers who have served the Mickwa 
Israel congregation special mention should be made 
of Dr. Jacob de la Motta and the Dev. I. P. Mendes. 
The latter, who was appointed to the rabbinate in 
1877, had officiated for four y ears previously as rabbi 
of the Portuguese congregation in Richmond, Va. 
He was born in Kingston, Jamaica, Jan. 13, 1853; 
studied at North wick College, London ; and received 
the degrees of M.A. (1892) and D.D. (1899) from the 
University of Georgia, being the only Jew in the 
state of Georgia on whom the university bestowed 
an honorary degree. He published “ Pure Words,” a 
collection of prayers; “First Lessons in Hebrew,” 
dedicated to the Council of Jewish Women; a book- 
let of “ Children’s Services ” for use in his own con- 
gregation; and a collection of special prayers for 
Sabbath services and Sunday-school. He died at 
Savannah June 28, 1904. 

In addition to Congregation Mickwa Israel, Savan 
nah now (1905) has the congregations B’nai B’rith 
Jacob and Agudas Achim (incorporated 1904), be- 
sides the following communal organizations : Daugh- 
ters of Israel, founded 1891; Clievra Gemilutli 
Chesed, 1887; Hebrew Benevolent Society, 1851; 
Ladies’ Hebrew Benevolent Society, 1853; Mickwa 
Israel Temple Gild, 1894; Orphan Aid Society, 
1880; and a Young Men’s Hebrew Association, 1874. 

At present the Jews of Savannah number between 
2,800 and 3,000 in a total population of 54,244. 

A - F. C. 


SAVIOR. See Messiah. 

SAVOY; Ancient independent duchy; part of 
the kingdom of Sardinia from 1720 ; ceded to France 
in 1860; and now (1905) forming the departments 
of Savoie and Ilaute-Savoie. When in 1182 the 
Jews were expelled from France by Philip Augus- 
tus, many of them sought refuge in Savoy, espe- 
cially in the cities of Chambery, Yenne, Seissel, 
Aiguebelle, Chillon, Chatel, and Montmelian (comp! 

Joseph ha-Kolien, “‘Emek ha-Baka,” 
A Refuge p. 71) ; and a new contingent of set- 
from tiers arrived after the second French 
France. expulsion in 1306. Toward the end 
of the thirteenth century Amadeus V. 
granted the Jews of his dominions many privileges; 
these were renewed Nov. 17, 1323, by Edward, who 
accorded special favors to Vivant de Vesos, to Mag- 
ister Agin, Vivant’s son-in-law, and to Harasson de 
Bianna. In 1331 Aymon the Peaceful reduced the 
yearly taxes of the Jews of Savoy from 2,000 gold 
florins to 1,200. 

Savoy was especially prominent in the tragedy of 


the Black Death in 1348. Chambery, its capital, 
was alleged by the accusers of the Jews to have 
been the place where the poison for the wells, the 
supposed origin of the plague, was prepared by 
Rabbi Peyret and a rich Jew named Aboget. In 
consequence of this accusation Jews were massacred 
at Chambery, Chillon, Chatel, Yenne, Saint-Gems, 
Aiguebelle, and Montmelian. In the last-mentioned 
toivn the Jews were imprisoned, and while they 
were awaiting judgment the populace invaded the 
prison and massacred them, with the exception of 
eleven persons who were later burned alive in an 
old barn filled with inflammable materials. A doe- 
umeut relating to that persecution has preserved the 
names of the victims of Aiguebelle. These were: 
Benej'ton, Saul, the Jewess Joyon, Lyonetus, Soni- 
nus, Vimandus, Bonnsuper, Samuel, Mouxa, Beney- 
ton, Coen, Ilelist, Jacob and his son Bonionus, Par- 
vus Samuel, Abraham, Benyon, Sansoninus, Samuel, 
and Magister Benedictus. However, the persecu- 
tion was soon forgotten, and the Jews of Savoy 
resumed their occupations, which consisted chiefly 
in money-lending and trading in jewelry. Their 
success in the former is evidenced by the fact that 
the dukes themselves were very often their debtors. 
In 1366 the wife of Amadeus YI. pawned her jewels 
to two Jews; and in 1379 the treasurer of Savoy 
was charged to pay to the Jews Agino Ruffo and 
Samuel of Au bonne 200 gold florins for a crown the 
queen had bought from them. In 1388 the plate of 
Amadeus VII. was deposited with a Jew named 
Aaron as security for the sum of 800 gold florins. 

# A new persecution occurred in 1394 at the instiga- 
tion of Vicente Ferrer (Joseph lia-Kohen, he. p. 75). 
In 1417 the Jews of Savoy were charged with pos- 
sessing books which contained blasphemies against 
Christianity ; and two converted Jewish physicians, 
Guillaum Saffon and Pierre of Macon, were commis- 
sioned to examine all books written in Hebrew. A 
similar charge was brought in 1430, 
Hebrew and the Hebrew books were again 
Books examined, -the examiner being a con- 
Examined. verted J ewish physician named Ay me, 
who ordered them to be burned. From 
the year 1429 the condition of the Savoy Jews grew 
more and more precarious. In that year Amadeus 
VIII. expelled the Jews from Chatillon-les-Dombes. 

A 3 r ear later he annulled all the privileges that had 
been granted to the Jews by his predecessors. He 
confined the Jewish inhabitants to special quarters, 
in which they were locked during the night and 
during Holy Week, and lie ordered them to wear on 
the left shoulder a cloth badge in the shape of a 
wheel, half white and half red, four fingers in width. 
He also renewed the old prohibition against keeping 
Christian servants, and forbade the buying of sacred 
vessels or any merchandise without the presence of 
witnesses or of a notary. At the instigation of a 
converted Jewish physician named Louis, of Nice 
or Provence, who had been charged by his god- 
father, Duke Louis, to make an inventory of the 
Jewish books of Chambery, a persecution broke out 
in 1466. This persecution is. according to Gershon, 
identical with that reported by Solomon ibn Vcrga 
(“Shebet Yehudah,” No. 11) to have taken place in 
1490. Toward the end of the fifteenth century, fol- 



89 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Savior 

Saxon Duchies 


lowing upon tlie general banishment from Spain in 
1492, the Jews were ordered to leave Savoy. It 
seems, however, that a small community remained 
in Cliambery, which, according to Victor de Saint- 
Gems (“Ilistoire de Savoie,” i. 455), still existed in 
1714. 

Of the prominent men connected with Savoy may 
be mentioned the following: R. Aaron of Cham- 
bery, commentator on the Pentateuch; 
Habbis and R. Jacob Levi of Cliambery ; R Solo- 
Scholars. mon Colon, father of Joseph Colon; 

and Gershon Soncino, who, in his pref- 
ace to the Hebrew grammar of David Kimlii, says 
that he collected in Cliambery the “Tosafot Tuk” 
(see Eliezer of Torques). Numerous Jewish 
physicians lived in Savoy, the most prominent 
among them being: Samson, physician to Amadeus 
Y. ; Palmieri, body-physician of Amadeus YI. and 
physician of the city of Cliambery ; Heliasof Evian, 
invited in 1418 to attend the daughters of the Count 
of Savoy; Isaac of Annecy; Jacob of Cliambery, 
physician to Bonne de Berri, mother of Amadeus 
VIII. ; Solomon, physician to Amadeus VIII. ; and 
Jacob of Cramonoz, physician to the regent Yolande. 

Bibliography : Costa de Beauregard, 1 Votes et Documents 
sur la Condition des Juifs de Savoie , in Memoires de 
V Academic Royale de Savoie , 2d series, ii.; Victor de Saint; 
Genis, Histoire de Savoie , passim ; Memoires de la Societe 
Savoise d'Histoire et d' Archeology xv. 21 ; Gratz, Gesch. 
vii. 362 ; Gerson, Notes sur les Juifs des Etats de la Savoie , 
in R. E. J. viii. 235 et seg.; idem, in Arch. Isr. li. 229 et seq 
Isidore Loeb, in R. E. J. x. 32 et seg.; Educatove Israelita , 


SAX, JULIUS: Electrical engineer; born at 
Sugarre, Pvussia, 1824; died in London Aug., 1890. 
He emigrated to England in 1851, and started a busi- 
ness for the manufacture of scientific instruments, 
being employed by the master of the royal mint 
to construct automatic and other balances for use in 
that establishment. At the international exhibition 
held in London in 1862 he displayed bullion and 
chemical balances which obtained a prize medal, 
and which wore purchased by the governor of Hong- 
kong for the mint. The following years saw the 
production of a succession of mechanical inventions. 
In 1862 Sax took out patents for a metallic fire- 
alarm button ; in 1869 he patented a form of magnetic 
ABO telegraph ; in 1870, an improved mechanical 
recorder ; in 1872, an electric billiard-marker ; in 1881, 
an electromagnetic telephone, and an automatic sys- 
tem of electric call-bells for fire-stations ; and later 
a system of cell-calls for police stations, prisons, etc. 
(adopted by the commissioners of the metropolitan 
police), an electric apparatus for checking cash re- 
ceipts, etc. He made several improvements in elec- 
tric bells and appliances for various purposes, and 
was awarded eight prize medals for excellence of 
manufacture. 

Sax was overseer of the Western Synagogue, St. 
Alban’s place, and was a liberal supporter of Jewish 
charities in London. 

Bibliography : Jew. Chron. Sept. 5, 1890. 

j. G. L. 

SAXE-ALTENBURG, -COBURG - GOTHA, 
-MEININGEN, -WEIMAR. See Saxon 
Duchies. 


SAXON DUCHIES : The four Saxon duchies 
are those of Saxe-Altenburg, Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, 
Saxe-Meiningen, and Saxe-Weimar. 

Saxe-Altenburg* : Duchy in Thuringia ; an in- 
dependent division of the German empire. It has 
a total population of 194,914, of -whom only 40 are 
Jews. 

Saxe-Coburg-Gotha : Duchy in Thuringia ; an 
independent division of the German empire. It has 
a total population of 229,550, of whom 580 are 
Jews, Coburg having 200 and Gotha 350. 

Saxe-Meiningen : Duchy in Thuringia; an in- 
dependent division of the German empire. Jews 
are mentioned in connection with Saxe-Meiningen 
as early as the first half of the fourteenth century. 
On Good Friday, April 10, 1349, a Christian girl 
proclaimed in; a church that, on passing the syn- 
agogue at the northern city gate, she had heard 
the Jews agreeing to attack and plunder the Chris- 
tians during the Easter festival. Some of the Jews 
were thrown into prison ; and at the order, of Bishop 
Albert of Wurzburg they and their wives and chil- 
dren were burned at the stake on Juty 17 following. 
After the expulsion of the Jews the synagogue re- 
mained closed for twenty-two years, when it was 
transformed into the Chapel of St. Mary Magdalene. 
A Jew named Gutkind of Hildburghausen had busi- 
ness relations with the counts of Henneberg. In 
1348 the Jews were expelled from .Sangershausen; 
and they are not again mentioned there until 1431, 
when the town was destroyed by fire. A “ Juden- 
gasse,” later called “ Jakobstrasse,” existed in the 
town until 1858. In 1904 the Jewish population of 
Saxe-Meiningen numbered 1,487, the total general 
population being 250,731. The town of Meiningen 
has 433 Jews, who maintain a relief society for indi- 
gent travelers, a hebra ikaddisha, and a women’s so- 
ciety. Hildburghausen has 90 Jews, and Walldorf- 
on-tlie-Werra has 72. L. Frenkel is the present 
(1905) “Landesrabbiner.” 

Saxe-Weimar: Duchy in Thuringia; independ- 
ent division of the German empire. On June 30, 
1823, an edict was issued abolishing the Leibzoll 
in the duchy, but declaring that the Jews should, 
nevertheless, be afforded protection. The edict re- 
quired them to keep lists of births, marriages, and 
deaths, and to assume family names; rabbis ex- 
cepted, Jews not belonging to the duchy were not 
to be admitted; those already settled there were al- 
lowed to engage in all occupations except those of 
brewing, butchering, baking, and innkeeping; the 
“Jews’ oath” appears to have been modified, 
but not abolished. In 1833 a new edict was is- 
sued which provided that the German language 
should be used for all praj r ers, prohibited the 
recitation of “Kol Nidre,” and required a prayer 
for the grand duke to be offered at every divine 
service. 

The duchy has a total population of 362,873, in- 
cluding 1,290 Jews. Eisenach has 422 Jews ; Geisa, 
131; and Weimar, 90. The present “Landesrab- 
biner ” is Dr. Salzer of Lengefeld. 


Bibliography: Rahmer’s Jiid. Lit.-BlatU 1883, ^o. 19; 18. o. 
No. IS ; Steinschneider, Hcbr. Bibl. 1869, p. 149 ; Zeitsehrift 
fUr Gesch. und Wissenschaft des Judenthums, iv. 288-290; 
Statistisches Jahrbuch, 1904, s.v. Sachsen. 

J. »• G. 



Saxony 

Schaffer 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


90 


SAXONY : Kingdom of the German empire. 
Jews are reported to have appeared in Saxony be- 
fore the year 1000, in the train of the Lombards, 
settling principally in the cities of Merseburg, 
Naumburg, Torgau, and Meissen (B. Lindau, 
“Gesch, der Residenzstadt Dresden”). Emperor 
Otto II. (973-9S3) is said to have conferred various 
privileges upon them. Gunzelin, the brother of the 
margrave Eckard I., was deposed from the mar- 
gravate of Meissen in 1009 by Emperor Henry II. , 
because, among other things, he was accused of 
having sold Christian serfs to the Jews of that prin- 
cipality. In the twelfth century there was a “ Jews’ 
village ” in the vicinity of the towns of Magdeburg, 
Aschersdorf, and Quedlinburg. The relations be- 
tween the Jews and the Christians were amicable 
down to the thirteenth century; hatred toward the 
former first became manifest during the Crusades, 
though the persecutions at Halle in 1205, Gotha in 
1212, Magdeburg in 1213, and Erfurt in 1215 were 
due chiefly to the desire of the Christians to get rid 
of their debts to the Jews. The persecutions were 
then continued with greater bitterness by Arch- 
bishop Rupert. 

Shortly after the introduction of the “Sachsen* 
spiegel ” the Jews were deprived of all their privi- 
leges; their property was seized by 
The the Christians, and they were com- 
“ Sachsen- pelled to engage in commerce and 
spiegel.” usury under such humiliating condi- 
tions that Duke Henry felt obliged to 
issue a “Jews’ decree,” in 1265, for the regulation 
of their status. This decree comprised fifteen sec- 
tions, dealing chiefly with the legal status of the 
Jews, but designing also to afford them special pro- 
tection, in addition to the privileges which the em- 
peror accorded them as his chamber servants. Of 
these sections the following may be noted: (1) A 
Jew bringing an action against a Christian must pro- 
duce as witnesses two Christians and one Jew, men 
of good repute. (2) A Christian bringing an aetiou 
against a Jew must produce as witnesses two Jews 
and one Christian, (3) Any pledge may be taken 
without a witness. (4) A Jew who denies having 
received a pledge, and is subsequently found with 
it in his possession, is forced to surrender it, but is 
not punished. (5) Bail for a Jew is fixed at one gold 
mark for the imperial court, one gold mark for the 
margrave, one silver mark for the margrave’s cham- 
berlain, and one pound of pepper for each of the 
lower judges. 

The Jewish community of Meissen was entirely 
outside the city walls, and the so-called “ Jiiden- 
thor ” of Meissen derived its name from the Jewish 
suburb. At Freiberg, similarly, the Judenberg was 
outside the city. In the second half of the thirteenth 
century the condition of the Jews seems to have been 
more favorable, for in documents dated 1286, 1287, 
1296, and 1327 they are referred to as landowners, 
farmers, and gardeners. In the fourteenth century 
Emperor Ludwig IV. of Bavaria transferred the 
protection of the Jews of part of Saxony to Mar- 
grave Frederick the Grave (1324-47), as at that 
time the Jews were again being persecuted (1328, 
1330). They fared still worse in the second half 
of this century, when the Black Death swept over 


Germany. The extermination of the Jews of Meis- 
sen began in 1349. The persecutions took place 
chiefly at Nordhausen, Eisenach, and Dresden; only 
the Jews at Dobeln, Zscliaits, Doscliitz, and Freiberg 
were temporarily protected. The oppression con- 
tinued under the succeeding margrave, Frederick 
the Severe, when the Jews of Bautzen and Zit- 
tau were the chief sufferers. The Jews of Gor- 
litz were expelled by Duke John, after they had 
been cast into dungeons, their houses confiscated, 
and their synagogue razed. These conditions were 
somewhat ameliorated in the fifteenth century, un- 
der Duke Frederick the Warlike, who issued at 
Weissenfels a decree in which he granted absolute 
protection and self-government to the 
During Jews of Saxony. The Jews were per- 
the Hussite secuted again during the Hussite wars, 
Wars. on the accusation of having taken part 
in that uprising, and in 1433 they were 
expelled from Meissen and Thuringia by Frederick 
the Mild (1428-64). 

During the period of the Reformation they fared 
still worse. The elector Maurice of Saxony (1521- 
1553) expelled them from Zwickau, where they had 
been gladly received in 1308 by Frederick the Joy- 
ous ; and a year later, in 1543, they were expelled 
from Plauen. The police regulation of John Fred- 
erick the Younger from the year 1556 decreed 
the body-tax, the interdiction against the stay of 
foreign Jews on Saxon soil longer than one night, 
and the prohibition of trade and traffic. Still more 
severe were the regulations issued by Elector Au- 
gust, who forbade foreign Jews to remain on Saxon 
soil even one night, on pain of having one-half 
the property found in their possession confiscated. 
These regulations remained in force for fully a cen- 
tury, until Oct. 2, 1682, when John George III. of 
Saxony issued a new decree, in which the onerous 
regulations relating to Jews passing through the 
country were somewhat modified, since those regu- 
lations were found to be detrimental to the yearly 
fairs at Leipsic. The condition of the Jews contin- 
ued to improve under Frederick August the Strong, 
who was favorably disposed toward them on account 
of his court Jew Behrend Lehmann; he granted let- 
ters of protection to several Jewish families, with 
permission to settle at Dresden and Leipsic. They 
were also permitted to maintain prayer-houses. 
August II. revived (April 4, 1733) the decrees of the 
sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, ordering in 
addition that the body-tax be paid thenceforth by all 
Jews, regardless of sex or age, though Elijah Beh- 
rend succeeded in securing the exemption of children 
under ten years of age. Behrend furthermore ob- 
tained permission for all Bohemian, Moravian, and 
Hungarian Jews to travel on any road through 
Saxony and secured the repeal of the edict forbidding 
them to remain in any place longer than one day. 

The foundation of Jewish communal life is due to 
the elector August III., who issued decrees in 1772 
and 1773 ordering every Jewish fam- 
Elector Au- ily settled in Saxony to report three 
gust III. times in every month the exact condi- 
tion of the household. He introduced 
the so-called “personal tax,” on payment of which 
every Jew living in Saxony was free to go to any 



91 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Saxony 

Schaffer 


city for the purpose of trading there. About the be- 
ginning of the nineteenth century the condition of 
the Jews began to improve. On June 7, 1815, they 
were even permitted to give a solemn reception to 
the returning King Frederick August the Just. But 
civic equality and rights of citizenship were granted 
to them later in Saxony than elsewhere. After Bern- 
hard Beer, Wilhelm T. Krug, and Moses Pinner had 
advocated the granting of such rights, on Oct. 3, 
1834, King John of Saxony authorized the Jews to 
engage in all trades and industries; and on Dec. 20, 
following, affairs of Jewish culture and instruction 
were placed under the Ministry of Education. In 
1836 the state granted the Jews a yearly contribu- 
tion of 600 marks, and a year later, on May 18, 1837, 
they were empowered to organize themselves into 
communities with chapels of their own, and were 
granted citizenship, with the exception of municipal 
and political rights. The community of Dresden 
finally succeeded in obtaining full civic equality on 
Dec. 3, 1868, though the “Jews’ oatli” was not ab- 
rogated until Feb. 20, 1879. 

According to the census of 1904, the Jewish pop- 
ulation of Saxony was as follows: Annaberg, 105 per- 
sons; Bautzen, 54; Blasewitz, 21; Chemnitz, 1,150; 
Do bein, 23; Dresden, 3,059; Freiberg, 56; Leipsic, 
7,000; Lobau, 31; Lobtau, 38; Meissen, 32; Merane, 
32; Mitweida, 41; Micksen, 20; Pirna, 24; Plauen, 
250; Veilchenbach, 36; Wurzen, 39; Zittau, 135; 
Zwickau, 50. The total population of Saxony is 
4,202,216. 

Bibliography : Mitthcilungcndes VcreimfUrclie Gesch.der 
Stadt Meissen AU No. 4; Sidori, Gesch. der Juden in Sach- 
sen , 1840; H. Kurthe, Zur Gcsch. der Juden in der Ober- 
lausilz , in Neues Archtv der Sdchsischen Gesch. und Al- 
terthumslmnde , ii., No. 1, pp. 52 et seq.\ Emil Lehmann, Ge - 
sammclte Schriften , 1899 ; I. Weil, Die Erste Kammer und 
die Juden in Sachsen , Hanau, 1837 ; M. Pinner, TFos Haben 
die Juden in Sachsen zu Hoffen ? Leipsic, 1833 ; Levi, Gesch. 
der Juden in Sachsen , Berlin, 1901 ; Salfeld, Martyrologium , 
s.v. Meissen ; Aronius, Regesten , Nos. 389, 395, 422, 458, 633; 
Statistisches Jahrbuclu 1904, pp. 106-109. 

J. s. o. 

SAYCE, ARCHIBALD HENRY: English 
archeologist; born at Shirehampton Sept. 25, 1846; 
educated at Grosvenor College, Bath, and Queen’s 
College, Oxford, becoming fellow in the latter in 
1869 and tutor in 1870. He was deputy professor of 
comparative philology at Oxford from 1876 to 1890, 
and a member of the Old Testament Revision Com- 
pany from 1874 to 1884. He is the author of many 
works on Assyriology, and has attempted the deci- 
phering of the Hittite inscriptions as well as those 
of Lake Van. He assisted Professor Cheyne in com- 
piling the notes for the “Queen’s Printers’ Bible” 
(1881), and wrote an introduction to the books of 
Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther (1885). 

Sayce has devoted considerable attention to Bib- 
lical anthropologj", on which subject he has written 
“The Races of the Old Testament ” (1891). While 
accepting some of the results of recent criticism (as 
to the date of the Book of Daniel, for example), he 
has written a series of books adducing the evidence 
of the El-Amarna tablets and other inscriptions in 
support of the authenticity of the early Old Testa- 
ment narratives. His works on this subject include : 
“Fresh Light from the Ancient Monuments” (2d 
ed., London, 1884); “The Higher Criticism and the 
Verdict of the Monuments ” (ib. 1894) ; “ Patriarchal 


Palestine” (ib. 1895); “The Egypt of the Hebrews 
and Herodotus” (ib. 1895); “Early History of the 
Hebrews” (ib. 1897); “Early Israel and the Sur- 
rounding Nations ” (ib. 1899). He has written also 
“ The Life and Times of Isaiah ” (ib. 1889), and has 
edited Genesis for the “Temple Bible.” 

For reasons of health Sayce is compelled to pass 
each winter in Egypt ; and during his stay there he 
became acquainted with the treasures of the Cairo 
genizali, which he was the first to utilize, purcha- 
sing a large number of fragments from that source 
for the Bodleian Library, Oxford. 

Bibliography : Who's Who , 1905. 

J . 

SCALA NOVA (Turkish, Kuch Adassi) : 
Important cit) r of Anatolia opposite the island of 
Samos; seaport of Ephesus. The oldest epitaph 
in the Jewish cemetery is dated 1682; but the town 
evidently had Jewish inhabitants in the thirteenth 
century, for in 1307 a number of Jews removed 
from Scala Nova to Smyrna, a similar event occur- 
ring in 1500. At the time of the expulsion from 
Spain 250 Jewish families went to Scala Nova; and 
a number of the local family names are still Spanish. 
In 1720 the plague reduced the number of families 
to sixty (“ Meserit,” v., No. 39) ; and Tournefort, who 
visited the city in 1702, found there only ten fami- 
lies and a synagogue (“Voyage au Levant,” ii. 525, 
Paris, 1717). In 1800, when an epidemic of cholera 
caused many Jews to emigrate, there were 200 fami- 
lies in Scala Nova, and in 1865, when a second epi- 
demic visited the city, there were still sixty-five 
families there. In 1816 Moses Esforbes was the 
chief of customs for the town, while Isaac Abouaf 
was city physician for several j r ears, and Moses 
Faraji and Moses Azoubel were municipal phar- 
macists. 

At present (1905) the Jewish population consists 
of thirty-three families, some of them immigrants 
from the Morea after the Greek Revolution of 1821. 
The majority are real-estate owners and have some 
vines; but the only mechanics are tinsmiths. 

The synagogue, erected by Isaac Cohen in 1772, 
was rebuilt by Joseph Levy in 1900. The commu- 
nity likewise possesses a Talmud Torah, directed by 
a rabbi who officiates also as shohet and hazzan. 
The gabel is enforced. A false charge of ritual mur- 
der was brought against the Jews about the middle 
of the nineteenth century ; and a certain amount of 
anti-Semitism is generally manifested at Easter. 
d. A. Ga. 

SCAPEGOAT. See Azazel. 

SCEPTER. See Staff. 

SCHAFFER, SCHEPSEL American 

rabbi; born May 4, 1S62, at Bausk, Courland, Rus- 
sia; descendant of Mordecai Jaffe, author of the 
“Lebush.” He was educated at the gymnasium of 
Libau, Courland, at the University of Berlin (Ph.D.), 
and at the Rabbinical Seminary, Berlin. Since Jan. 
1, 1893, Schaffer has been rabbi of Shearith Israel 
congregation of Baltimore, Md. He is president of 
the Baltimore Zion Association (since 1895) and hon- 
orary vice-president of the American Federation of 
Zionists, and he was twice a delegate to the Zionist 
Congress at Basel. Schaffer is the author of “ Das 



Schaikewitz 

Sehechter 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


92 


Reclit und Seine S tel lung zur Moral nach Talmud- 
isclier Sitten- und Rechtslelire, ” Frankfort-on-the- 
Main, 1889. 

Bibliography: American Jeioish Year Boole , 1901. 

a. I. G. D. 

SCHAIKEWITZ, JTAHUI MEIR (SHO- 

IYXER} • Russian J utlseo-German novelist and pla.3-- 

wright; bom at Nesvizh, government of Minsk, 
Dec. 18, 1849. Schaikewitz distinguished himself 
as a clever story-teller even as a boy. His first lit- 
erary efforts took the form of short stories in He- 
brew for “ Ha-Mcliz 55 ; in this way he became ac- 
quainted with such writers of Hebrew as Zebi Hirseli 
Sclierscliewski, Dobsevage, and others. Later he 
became business manager in Wilna, and spent some 
time in traveling. While in Bucharest he came 
under the influence of the Jewish theater and re- 
solved to become a dramatic author. He then set- 
tled in Odessa, where he became theatrical manager 
and playwright. His play “Der Rewizor ” (Odessa, 
18S3), an adaptation from Gogol’s “ Re vizor,” proved 
very successful and showed Schaikewitz ’s talent as a 
writer. After the Jewish theater was closed in Rus- 
sia, Schaikewitz went to New York (1888), where 
he edited “Der Menschenfreund ” and “Der Ju- 
discher Puck,” two Judaeo-German weeklies, 
Schaikewitz is the author of several Hebrew nov- 
els, all representing Jewish life in Russian towns. 
Among these were: “Mumar le-Hak‘is” (Warsaw, 
1879); “Kewiyali Tahat Kewiyah” and “Ta‘ut 
Goi ” (jb. 1880) ; and “Ha-Niddahat ” (vols. i. and ii., 
Wilna, 1886; vol. iii., Warsaw, 1887). He wrote 
also “ Kayin ” (ib, 1887), a novel on Jewish life in 
Portugal. But Schaikewitz is especially known 
as a writer of Judreo-German, taking as a model, 
and finally excelling, Isaac Meir Dick. He has 
written over two hundred novels in Judieo-German, 
partly historical and partly reflecting Jewish life in 
the small towns and villages of Russia in the middle 
of the nineteenth century. As his language is simple, 
just as spoken by the Jewish masses in Lithuania, 
liis novels had the effect of greatly decreasing the 
fanaticism which prevailed in the small rural and 
urban communities. Among his more popular nov- 
els are “Der Katorzlmik,” “Der Blutiger Adieu,” 
and “Der Frumer Merder.” Many of his historical 
novels appeared in the Judaeo-German dailies. 

Over thirty of Schaikewitz 5 s plays have beeii pro- 
duced, first in Russia, then in New York, among 
them being one entitled “ Tisza -Eslar,” on the sub- 
ject of the blood accusation brought in the Hunga- 
rian town of that name. He was the subject of 
violent attacks by S. Rabinovitz, who directed 
against him his “Shomer's Mishpat” (Berdychev, 
1888), reproaching him for his literary deficiencies. 
Schaikewitz successfully defended himself in a pam- 
phlet entitled “ Yelii Or” (New York, 1898), showing 
that his literary problem was to satisfy eveiy plane 
of intelligence, from the householder to the servant- 
girl who could not understand the works of the 
later Judaeo-German writers. 

Bibliography: American Jeivish Year Book, 1904-5 ; Eisen- 
stadt, Hakme Yisrael be-Amerika , pp. 104-106, New York, 
1903 ; Hutchinson Hapgood, The Spirit of the Ghetto, pp. 272 
ct scq.; Wiener, Yiddish Literature , pp. 172 et seq ., New 
York, 1899 ; Zeitlin, BWl. Post-Mendels, p. 342. 

s. M. Sel. 


SCHAPIRA, HERMANN : Russian mathe- 
matician ; born in 1840 at Erswilken, near Taurog- 
gen, a small town in Lithuania; died at Cologne 
May 8, 1898. Educated for the rabbinate, he had 
been appointed to a rabbinical position at the age 
of twenty-four, when lie decided to devote the rest 

of His life to tke cultivation of the secular sciences, 
lie went, accordingly, first to Odessaand latex- (1S6S) 

to Berlin, where he studied for three years in the 
Gewerbeakademie. Returning to Odessa, he be- 
came a merchant, but in 1878 he again took up his 
scientific studies, and for the next four years busied 
himself at Heidelberg, especially with mathematics 
and physics. In 1883, after obtaining the degree of 
Pli.D., he established himself as privat-docent in 
mathematics at the University of Heidelberg, be- 
coming assistant professor in 1887. 

Scliapira remained a lifelong student of Hebrew 
literature, which he enriched by an edition, from a 
Munich manuscript, of the “Mishnat ha-Middot” 
(1880), and by his contributions to the Hebrew 
periodicals “Ha-Meliz,” “Ha-Zefirah,” and “Mi- 
Mizrali umi-Ma‘arab.” He was an ardent Zionist, 
adhering from the very start to the Basel program ; 
and it was during a Zionist lecture tour that he 
contracted pneumonia at Cologne. Schapira’s con- 
tributions to mathematics were published in various 
mathematical journals. 

Bibliography*. Koliut, Berllhmte Israelitische Manner und 
Frauen , vi. 249-250; AUq. Zeit . des Jud. May 13, 1898 ; AM- 
amf , 1898, pp. 296-801; Ha-Meliz, 1898, No. 95 ; 1899, Nos. 6 2, 
68, 76, 77. 

H. II. S. 

SCHAPIRO, HEINRICH : Russian physi- 
cian; bom at Grodno 1853; died at St, Petersburg 
Feb. 14, 1901. After leaving the gymnasium at 
Grodno he studied in the St. Petersburg medical 
academy (1871-76). During the Turko-Russian war 
Schapiro served as a military surgeon, aud after the 
war was assigned to duty in the military clinic of 
the medical academy. Then followed a long mili- 
tary service in St. Petersburg and Odessa, until he 
was appointed privat-docent of medicine in the 
imperial clinical institution for physicians (1895). 
In 1896 he was advanced to the position of senior 
assistant, and in 1897 was appointed to a professor- 
ship. 

Besides several treatises in Russian and German 
medical journals, and some articles in the Russian 
medical encyclopedia, Schapiro completed a work 
entitled “Lelirbucli der Allgemeinen Tlierapie,” 
commenced by Professor Eichwald, who before his 
death entrusted Schapiro, his favorite pupil, with 
its completion. He also translated into Russian sev- 
eral German medical handbooks. 

Bibliography : Ally. Zeit. des Jud. 1901, No. 8, pp. 91-92. 
n. k. F. C. 

SCHAPIRO, MOSES B. PHINEHAS : Rus- 
sian rabbi and printer; born probably in Korctz,Vol- 
hynia, about 1758 ; died in Slavuta 1838. He was the 
son of the Hasidic rabbi Pliinehas of Koretz, and 
was rabbi of Slavuta in 1808, when he began to pub- 
lish a new edition of the Talmud ( 1808-13). This edi- 
tion was much superior to former ones, and was sold 
so quickly that the printers at Kopys thought the 
injunction of the rabbis, that the Talmud should 



93 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Schaikewitz 

Schechter 


not be reprinted in Russia for twenty -five years, no 
longer binding, and began their edition (1816-28); 
this was much inferior, however, and proved finan- 
cially a failure. Schapiro then undertook the pub- 
lication of another edition (1817-22), which also 
sold better than had been expected. In 1836 the 
Romms of Wilna considered themselves free to be- 
gin work upon an edition, and found that great 

rtlbbis like -AJkifoa. Eger of Posen and Moses Sofer of 

Presburg, and most of the prominent rabbis of 
Lithuania, regarded a later injunction against pub- 
lishing a new edition for twenty -five 3 'ears, granted 
in favor of Moses Schapiro, as void. They held 
that, on the contrary, Moses Schapiro himself had no 
right to publish a new edition until the Romms had 
sold theirs or a quarter of a century had elapsed. 
Moses, however, found other rabbinical authorities 
who sided with him against the Romms ; these in- 
cluded the Orensteins and many other Polish and 
Galician rabbis, and practically all the rabbis of the 
Hasidim. . A quarrel ensued, which was waged with 
unusual bitterness on both sides, a movement to 
settle it by arbitration being rejected. 

Moses, or rather his sons Pliinehas and Samuel 
Abraham, began the publication of a third edition 
of the Talmud, but had not gone further than the 
tractate “ Pesaliim ” when they were arrested on the 
charge of having murdered a Jewish bookbinder 
who had committed suicide in their establishment. 
Their enemies succeeded in influencing the authori- 
ties against them because as printers they scrupu- 
lously abstained from publishing “liaskalah 77 litera- 
ture. After a hasty and unfair trial they were 
condemned to run the gantlet and to be transported 
to Siberia. The elder brother, Phinelias, suc- 
cumbed to the terrible ordeal, and the father, then 
an octogenarian, died of a broken heart soon after- 
ward. The printing-house was closed, though it 
was reopened about a quarter of a century later by 
Hanina Lipa and Joshua Hescliel Schapiro, grand- 
sons of Moses who had settled in Jitomir. Samuel 
Abraham, who survived the scourging and was ulti- 
mately liberated, died in 1863. 

Bibliography: Orient , 1840, p. 23 (incorrect); Rabbinoviez, 

Ma'amar ‘al Hadfasat hct-Talmud , pp. 110-117, Munich, 

1877; Walden, Shem ha-Gedolim hc-Hadash, p. 101, War- 
saw, 1882: Lipshitz, Toicdot Yizlicik (biography of R. Isaac 

Elhanan Spektor), pp. 58-61, Warsaw, 1896. 

n. it. P. Wi. 

SCHARF, MORITZ. See Tisza-Eszlar. 

SCHATZ, BORIS; Russian sculptor; born in 
1866, in the government of Kovno. lie was the son 
of a poor schoolmaster (“ melammed ”). He studied 
first at the Wilna School of Design, then at the 
Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw, and finally at 
Paris, where he was a pupil of Antokolski (1890- 
1896). He has resided at Sofia since 1896, and has 
made a special study of Jewish subjects, particu- 
larly of the oppressed Jew of the ghetto. Among 
his subjects may be mentioned: “Rabbi Blessing a 
Child ” : “ Prayer of Ilabdalali ” ; “ Saturday Eve- 
ning ” ; “ The Sliadhan.” Seliatz has also found sub- 
jects of larger scope in the past history of Israel. 
In 1892, at the Paris Salon, he exhibited a piece en- 
titled “The Mother of Moses,” an extremely fine 
group, in spite of some technical defects. In 1S96 


he produced his masterpiece, “Mattathias Macca- 
bee.” 

Schatz has also represented many types of Bul- 
garians, among whom he lives. Of these may be men- 
tioned : “A Bulgarian Piper ” ; “ A Tzigane Wood- 
Cutter Leaning on His Ax”; “A Sephardic Jew 
and Jewess of Sofia”; etc. He has executed reliefs 
of several celebrated personages, such as Antokolski, 

Rubinstein. Pasteur, and. JDr. T_ Herzl, and lie haS 

also done some decorative work. He ^as the omy 
Bulgarian sculptor who exhibited at the St. Louis 
Exposition of 1904, his subject being the struggle 
of Christianity w T ith Islam in the Balkan Peninsula 
up to the War of Independence (1876). Particular 
mention may be made of a “ Bulgarian Insurgent 
Pursued by a Bashi-Bazouk. ” The Exposition Com- 
mittee of St. Louis awarded Schatz the silver medal. 

Bibliography: Ost und, West , May 5, 1903; a pamphlet en- 
titled Societe- Betzalel, Sondercibdruch aus Altneuland , 

published at Berlin. 

ii. n. M. Fr. 

SCHECHTER, SOLOMON : President of the 
faculty of the Jewish Theological Seminary of 
America ; formerly reader in rabbinics at Cambridge 
University; born in Rumania in 1847. His youth 
w r as devoted exclusively to the study of rabbinical 
literature. He then went to Vienna, where he studied 
Jewish theology in the bet ha-midrasli under Weiss 
and Friedmann, and attended lectures on philosophy 
and other secular branches of learning in the Uni- 
versity of Vienna. After receiving his rabbinical 
diploma from Weiss, he continued his secular and 
theological studies in the University of Berlin, and 
attended Talmudical lectures by Dr. Israel Lewy. 
In 1882 Schechter went to England as tutor in rab- 
binics to Claude G. Montefiore. In 1885 he pub- 
lished his first essay, “The Study of the Talmud,” 
in the “Westminster Review.” In 1887 appeared 
his edition of “ Abot de-Rabbi Natan,” and he then 
wrote various essays and lectures in the “Jewish 
Chronicle,” “Jewish Quarterly Review,” “Revue 
des Etudes Juives,” and “ Monatsschrift.” Some of 
these lectures and essays were afterward collected 
and published under the title “Studies in Judaism ” 
(1896). In 1890 Schechter was elected lecturer in 
Talmud at the University of Cambridge, and in 1891 
the degree of M.A. (“honoris causa ”) was conferred 
upon him. 

In 1S92 Schechter was elected reader in rabbinics, 
and in the following year lie obtained the Worth 
studentship for the purpose of going to Italy to ex- 
amine the Hebrew manuscripts in the great Italian 
libraries. The “ Agadatli Shir Hashirim, ” and other 
publications in the “Jewish Quarterly Review,” as 
well as an article in the Kohut Memorial Volume, 
are partly the result of these Italian researches, an 
exhaustive report on which was presented by him 
to the vice-chancellor of Cambridge University. In 
1894 he delivered a series of theological lectures in 
University Hall, London ; in 1895 he was appointed 
the first Gratz lecturer in Philadelphia. A series 
of his lectures were afterward published in “ J. Q. 
R.” as “Some Aspects of Rabbinic Theology.” On 
May 13, 1896, Schechter discovered the first leaf of 
the original Hebrew of Ecclesiasticus; and in Dec., 
1896, he was sent to Egypt and Palestine to con- 



Schefftel 

Scheuer 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


94 


tinue liis investigations. He returned from Cairo 
laden with treasures, which became the subjects of 
various articles and monographs. The collection 
was presented by him and Dr. Taylor to the Cam- 
bridge University Libras, and is known as the 
Taylor-Schechter collection. These two scholars 
published in collaboration “The Wisdom of Ben 
Sira, ,J Cambridge, 1899.. 

While Scliecliter was engaged in the preparation 
of the large fragments of Ecclesiasticus discovered 
by him in the Cairo genizah, the University of Cam- 
bridge conferred upon him the degree of Litt.D. 
(Feb., 1898). In 1898 he was appointed external 
examiner in Victoria University, Manchester, Eng- 
land; in 1S99, professor of Hebrew at University 
College, London; in 1900, curator of the Oriental 
Department of Cambridge University Library, Eng- 
land. He was also a member of the Board of Orien- 
tal Studies and the Board of Theological Studies, 
London University, England. 

In Dec., 1901, Scliecliter accepted the presidency 
of the faculty of the Jewish Theological Seminary 
of America. After his arrival in New York he acted 
as editor of the Talmudic department of The Jew- 
ish Encyclopedia. In 1902 lie published the 
“Midrash Hag-Gadol,” from a Yemen manuscript, 
and the “Saadyana,” from manuscripts discovered 
in the Cairo genizah. He contributed the article 
"Talmud” to Hastings’ “Dictionary of the Bible” 
and a number of papers to various journals. In 
1904 he was appointed an honorary member of the 
senate of New York University and a director of 
the Educational Alliance. In 1905 Scliecliter was 
invited to deliver at Harvard University a course of 
lectures in Jewish theolog} r . 

Bibliography : Jew. Cliron. July 1, 1896 ; Feb. 10, 1897 ; Feb. 

11, 1898; Jeivish Year Book, 5659 (1899). 

a. G. L. 

SCHEFFTEL, SIMON BARUCH: German 
Hebraist ; born June 14, 1813, at Breslau ; died March 
9, 1885. In 1848 he settled as a merchant at Posen. 
After his retirement from business, in 1871, he pre- 
pared a large Hebrew commentary on the Targum 
Onkelos, which was published posthumously by his 
son-in-law Joseph Perles, under the title “ Bi’ure 
Onkelos ” (Munich, 1888). This commentary, which 
contains many valuable critical and exegetical notes, 
is one of the most important reference works on the 
Targum Onkelos. 

Bibliography: Joseph Perles, Hebrew preface to BVure On- 
kelos. 

s. F. P. 

SCHEID, ELIE : French communal worker 
and writer; born at Hagenau, Alsace, Oct. 24, 1841. 
After he had graduated from college, the impair- 
ment of his voice compelled him to give up his plan 
of preparing himself for a rabbinical career, and 
he found emplo 3 r ment in a commercial house. 

Owing to his unpleasant recollections of the man- 
ner in which the funerals of his parents had been 
conducted b} r the old Iiebra kaddisha, Sclieid in 1863 
established the Hebra ‘Am Segullah, of which he 
was the first secretary, and later became president. 
This institution was founded on principles more in 
accord with the requirements of the time ; and it was 


imitated by all the other Jewish societies of the kind 
in Alsace. 

In 1870, during the Franco-Prussian war, Scheid 
for the first time entered public life. After the bat- 
tle of Froscliweiler he served as secretary to the 
committee which had charge of the wounded and 
of furnishing supplies for the invading army. 
When the war was over he was elected member of 
the city board of Hagenau, and became its secretary, 
as well as administrator of the public savings-bank 
and president of the Jewish congregation. 

A local incident caused Scheid to make researches 
in the public library of Hagenau, and later lie pub- 
lished (in “L’Univers Israelite ”) a documentary his- 
tory of the Jewish cemetery of the city. This was 
followed by “Histoire dcs Juifs de Haguenau ” (in 
“JR. E. J.” 1879-80, and printed separately 1885), 
and by a pamphlet, “ Historique de la Societe Guemi- 
lath-Chasadim de Haguenau” (1882). His greater 
work, “Histoire des Juifs d’Alsace,” appeared at 
Paris in 1887, one of its chapters, “ Histoire de Rabbi 
Joselmann,” being printed as a separate pamphlet 
(ib. 1886). 

In 1883 Baron Edmond de Rothschild called Scheid 
to Paris to reorganize the Comite de Bienfai sauce 
and when, in September of that year, Rothschild 
began the work of colonization in Palestine, he ap- 
pointed Scheid inspector. The latter thereupon went 
to Palestine and devoted nearly six months to the task 
of organization. During the sixteen years he occu- 
pied the post of inspector he devoted all his time 
and energy to his duties, annually visiting the colo- 
nies and supervising the work of the settlers. He 
retired Dec. 31, 1899, on a pension from Baron Roths- 
child, the total number of his journeys to Palestine 
having been twenty-two. 

s. S. Man. 

SCHEINDLINGER, SAMUEL B. ABRA- 
HAM (SALER) : Polish rabbi; died in Lemberg 
Aug. 7, 1796. He was probably a native of Dobro- 
mil, and was at first rabbi in Sale and afterward 
preacher and rosh bet din in Lemberg, where he re- 
mained until his death. Scheindlinger was the au- 
thor of “Sliem mi-Shemu’el” (Lemberg, 1817), the 
first part of which contains sermons in the order of 
the Pentateuch and the second part novelise on Tal- 
mudical subjects. Samuel had three sons, Natlnan. 
Heclit of Yaroslav, Judah. Idel, and Abraham 
Abele. 

Bibliography: Buber, Anshe Shorn, pp. 213-214, Cracow, 

1895 ; Eleazar ba-Kohen, Kin' at Soferim, p. S4a, Lemberg, 

1892. 

E. C. P. Wl. 

SCHENK, LEOPOLD: Austrian embryologist; 
born at Urmeny, Comitat Neutra, Hungary, Aug. 
23, 1840; died at Schwanberg, Styria, Aug. 18, 1902. 
Having studied at the University of Vienna (M.D. 
1865), he was for the following eight years assistant 
at the physiological institute of his alma mater, re- 
ceiving the “venia legendi” iu 1868. In 1873 he 
became professor of embryology at the University 
of Vienna. 

Schenk holds an important position in the med- 
ical world on account of his numerous contributions 
to embryology. Through one of them, “Einfiuss 
auf das Geschleclits verbal tniss des Menschen und der 



95 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Schefftel 

Scheuer 


Thiere ” (Vienna and Magdeburg, 1898 ; American 
translation, “The Determination of Sex,” Akron, 
0., 1898), bis name became a household word 
throughout the civilized world. Having been an 
embryologist for over thirty years, he had made 
careful studies of the generative process, and came 
to the conclusion that the 
sex of a child depends on 
the kind of nourishment 
partaken of by the mother. 

This theory was severely 
criticized by his own fac- 
ulty and by such men as 
Virchow, Gusserow, Win- 
kel, Pfluger, Roux, Munk, 
and Born; and he was 
finally forced to resign 
liis chair (1900). Schenk, 
however, clung to his theo- 
ry and claimed further that 
the foundation for special 
capacities of the child can 
be laid in the embryo 
through special nutrition 
given to the mother; and that by avoiding cer- 
tain conditions and by feeding on certain foods the 
mother can save the future child from the life of a 
degenerate. His three cardinal conclusions were, 
therefore, that it was possible (1) to determine the 
future sex of the child ; (2) to determine its future 
profession ; and (3) to beget only normal offspring. 
Further elaborations of his theory were prevented 
by his early death. 

Of Schenk’s other writings the following may be 
mentioned: “Lehrbuch der Vergleichenden Embry - 
ologie der Wirbelthiere,” Vienna, 1874; 44 Lehrbuch 
der Ilistologie des Mensclien,” ib. 1885 (2d ed. 
1892); 44 Lehrbuch der Bacteriologie,” ib. 1894; 
“Lehrbuch der Embryologie,” ib. 1896. 

It was through Schenk’s influence that there was 
added to the medical faculty of the Vienna Univer- 
sity a department for embryology, in which subject 
he became the founder of a school. 

s. F. T. H. 

SCHERSCHEWSKI, BENJAMIN: Russian 
pliy sician ; born in Brest-Litovsk 1857. He studied 
medicine at the University of Warsaw, from which 
he graduated in 1883. In 1885 he went to Pales- 
tine and settled in Jerusalem; two years later he 
went to Vienna, where he took a special course in 
medicine. After another short stay in Jerusalem 
he settled as a practising physician in Odessa, where 
he still (1905) resides. He is the author of “Mishnat 
4 Olam Katon,” of which the first part is a treatise 
on anatomy, and the second on chemistry ; the work 
has been corrected and annotated by Jehiel Michael 
Pines (Jerusalem, 1886). 

Bibliography: Sokolow, Scfcr Zililtaron, p. 116, Warsaw, 

1890. 

II. it. P. Wi. 

SCHERSCHEWSKI, JUDAH JUDEL BEN 
BENJAMIN: Lithuanian Talmudist and Hebra- 
ist; born in 1804; died at Kovno Sept. 20, 1866. 
After having studied Talmud and rabbinics under 
Jacob Mei'r Yalovker, Scherschewski was employed 
in one of the business establishments in Wilna, 


where, in his spare hours, he occupied himself read- 
ing rabbinical works and studying the literature of 
the haskalah movement. In 1852 he was appointed 
teacher of Talmud and rabbinics in the rabbinical 
seminary of Wilna, which position he held until his 
death. 

Scherschewski was the author of 44 ‘Oz Melek ” 
(Wilna, 1857), a sermon and a hymn on the occasion 
of the coronation of Alexander II. His 44 Kur la- 
Zahab ” is in two parts ; the first part (ib. 1858) is a 
commentary on 109 difficult haggadic passages of 
both Talmuds, preceded by a long introduction treat- 
ing of the Haggadah in general ; the second part (ib. 
1866) contains an essay on the religious dogmas and 
views of the ancient Talmudists and a commentary 
on 138 haggadic passages. Several sermons of 
Scherschew ski’s are to be found in the “Kobez 
Derusliim,” a collection of sermons preached by the 
teachers of the Wilna rabbinical seminary and pub 
lished at the expense of the Russian government 
(ib. 1864). He was a constant contributor to 44 Ha- 
Karmel ” during the closing years of his life, and 
contributed many articles to various other Hebrew 
periodicals also. 

Bibliography: Fuenn, Keneset Yisrael, p. 422; Fiirst, Bibl. 

Jucl. iii. 268 ; Joshua Heschel Kalman, in Ha-Maggid, x., No. 

40 ; Zeitlin, Bibl. Post-Mendels, p. 341. 

W. B. M, Sel. 

SCHERSCHEWSKI, ZEBI HIRSCH HA- 
KOHEN : Russian Hebrew writer ; born at Pinsk 
in 1840. While still a boy he studied Hebrew gram- 
mar and archeology without a teacher. After serv 
ing as secretary of the Jewish community of Pinsk, 
he went to the Crimea, where, at Melitopol, he en- 
tered the service of a merchant named Seidener. 
Later he became assistant editor of Zederbaum’s 
“ Ha-Meliz. ” During the Russo -Turkish war he 
followed the Russian army as a sutler ; and after a 
second short stay with his former employer, Seid 
ener, he settled in 1888 at Rostov-on -the-Don, 
where he opened a bookstore. 

In addition to numerous contributions to current 
Hebrew journals, Scherschewski wrote “Boser 
Abot ” (Odessa, 1877), a satirical poem on the neglect 
of the education of Jewish children in Russia, and 
“Tyyun Sifrut” (Wilna, 1881), on the development 
of Jewish literature and its significance as a cultural 
element for raising the Jews to a higher moral stand- 
ing. His notes to the Midrash Slioher Tob are 
printed in Padua’s Warsaw edition of that midrash, 
and his rimed parodies are to be found in 44 Keneset 
Yisrael” (i. 408 et seg., ii. 2-6). 

Bibliography: Sokolow, Sefer Zikkaron, pp. 114-115; Zeit- 
lin, Bibl. Post-Mendels, p. 341. 

s. M. Sel. 

SCHEUER, JACOB MOSES DAVID (TE- 
BELE) B. MICHAEL: German Talmudist; born 
in the beginning of the eighteenth century at Frank- 
fort -on-the-Main; died 1782 at Mayence. Scheuer 
came of one of the old Frankfort families which 
adopted as family names those by which the houses 
they owned were known. Scheuer, who was one of 
the foremost pupils of Jacob Cohen, rabbi of Frank- 
fort, was appointed dayyan in that city when Jacob 
Joshua b. Zebi Hirsch, the author of “Pene Yeho- 
sh.ua V’ filled the rabbinate. At an advanced age. 



Leopold Schenk. 



THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


96 


Schey 

Schiff 


in 1759, Sclieuer was called as rabbi to Bamberg, to 
succeed bis fatlier-in-law, Nathan Utiz. 

In virtue of the universal respect which he had 
gained Scheuer succeeded, as arbitrator between 
the Jews of the chapter and the gentry, in bring- 
ing about the ceremonial agreement (“ Ceremonien- 
Recess”)of 1760, which put an end to protracted 
disputes. His beneficent activity was marred, how- 
ever, b} r the continuous attacks of a baptized Jew, 
who traduced him before the prince-bishop, making 
it impossible for him to remain at Bamberg. Hence 
he was probabty glad to accept in 1767 a call to the 
district rabbinate of Mayence, where he remained 
till his death. 

Bibliography: Dcr Israelite 1877, p. 1159; 1883, p. 961; A. 

Eckstein, Gesch. dcr Juden im Ehcmaligcn Filrstbistum 

Bamberg , p. 121. 

E, c. A. Pe. 

SCHEY, PHILIPP, BARON VON KOROM- 

LA: Hungarian merchant and philanthropist; born 
at Guns (Koszeg) Sept. 20, 1798; died at Baden, 
near Vienna, June 28, 1881. He was the first Jew 
in Hungary to be made an Austrian noble. In his 
patent of nobility, granted May IS, 1859, by King 
Francis Joseph I., his services to the imperial dy- 
nasty during the revolution in 1848 and 1849 are 
specially mentioned. Reference is made also to the 
great benevolence exercised by him “ toward suffer- 
ing humanity, regardless of creed.” 

Bibliography : Reich, Bcth-Eh i. 177. 

s. L. V. 

SCHICK, ABRAHAM BEN ARYEH LOB : 

Lithuanian Talmudist and author of the nineteenth 
century; a native of Slonim, government of Grodno. 
Schick occupied himself especialty with midrashic, 
or liaggadic, literature. In this field he published: 

“ Zera ; Abraham ” ( Wilna-Grodno, 1833), a commen- 
tary on Midrash Mishle; “Me’ore ha-Esh ” (Grodno, 
1S34), the “ Tanua debe Eliyalm ” edited with a 
commentaiy and a long introduction; “ Mahazeli 
ha-Sliir” (Warsaw, 1840), a commentary on Can- 
ticles; “Eslied ha-Nehalim” (Wilna, 1843), a 
commentary on the Midrash Rabbot, with an intro- 
duction; “‘Eli Abraham” (Konigsberg, 1848), a 
commentary on Ibn Habib’s “ ‘En Ya‘akob,” refer- 
ring also to Rashi and to Samuel Edels’ “Hiddushe 
Agadot.” Schick edited the Genesis and Exodus 
parts of Jacob Dubno’s “ Oliel Ya'akob ” (Johannis- 
berg, 1859). 

03 r K LIO o RAPnr - Fuenn, Kewesei JcvsrcteZ, t>- - Fiirst. JBibl. 

Jud. in. 269. 

w . B. M. Sel. 

SCHICK, BARUCH B. JACOB. See Babuctt 
b. Jacob (Siik lover). 

SCHICK, ELIJAH BEN BENJAMIN : 

Lithuanian rabbi and preacher; born at Vasilishok, 
government of Wilna, in 1809; died at Kobrin, gov- 
ernment of Kovno, Sept. 2, 1876. He was a pupil 
of Benjamin, chief rabbi of Grodno. As rabbi he 
officiated in various towns, including Diretchin, 
Lida, Novie Zhagory, and Kobrin ; and on the holy 
days of Rosh ha-Shanali and Yom Kippur he acted 
as cantoi’. He was one of the preachers whose ser- 
mons always attracted large audiences. Schick 
was the author of “ ‘En Eliyahu,” a commentary on 


Jacob Habib’s “‘En Ya‘akob, ” published with the 
Wilna edition of that work. 

Bibliography : Fuenn, Kcncsct Yisracl , p. 120. 

w. b. M. Sel. 

SCHIFF : Family of Frankfort-on-the-Main, Ger- 
many. The earliest known member, Jacob Kohen 
Zedek Scliiff, who is mentioned on the tombstone 
of his son, Uri Phoebus, as having discharged the 
function of dayyan at Frankfort-on-the-Main, must 
have been born about 1370,. the earliest date to which 
any contemporary Jewish family can be definitely 
traced. Uri Phoebus Schiff attained a great age, as 
his tombstone mentions, and died 1481; he must, 
therefore, have been born about 1400. The name 
occurs on one of the signs of the Juden gassc as early 
as 1613 : in Middle High German the word “ schiff ” 
means a vial and may have been used as the sign 
of ud apothecary or physician. The next member 
of the family mentioned is Mei*r Kohen Zedelc Schiff, 
referred to as para as of the community, who died in 
1626. The family has intermarried with the Adlers, 
Oppenheims, Wertheimers, Gunzburgs, Geigers, 
Glogaus. Mannlieims, and Hanaus, and one member 
married a cousin of Zunz. A step-grandfather of 
Heine was named Schiff, though of a branch of the 
family settled at Hamburg. Among the rabbinical 
authors included in the family' are Meir ben Jacob 
Schiff, known as Maharam Schiff (d. 1644); David 
Schiff, editor of the “Zemah Dawid”; and Tebele 
Schiff, chief rabbi of the Great Synagogue, London 
(1765-92), and author of “Leshon Zaliab.” The 
most distinguished recent member is Jacob Henry 
Schiff, banker and philanthropist, of New York. 

A pedigree of the family appears on page 97, the 
feminine names- being given in italics. 

Bibliography: A. Ullmann, Familienrcgistcr dcs Jacob 

J-Tlrsch Schiff und Scinen JSfachhommcn, privately printed, 

Fran lef ort-on-tbe-M ain, 1 885. 

J. 

Jacob Henry SchifF: American financier and 
philanthropist; born Jan. 10, 1847, at Frankfort-on- 
the-Main. He was educated in the public schools 
of Frankfort, and adopted the vocation of his 
father, Moses Schiff, one of the brokers of the Roths- 
childs in that city. In 1865 he emigrated to the 
United States, and was employed for a time by the 
firm of Frank & Gaus, brokers, New York. In 1867 
he formed the brokerage firm of Budge, Schiff & 
Co., which was dissolved in 1873. He then went to 
Europe, where he made connections 

witlx some of the chief German, bank- 

Kunn, ing-houses. Returning to the United 
Loeb & Co. States, he became on Jan, 1, 1875, a 
member of the banking firm of Kuhn, 
Jjoeb & Co., New York, of which he was soon prac- 
tically the head. 

Owing to his connection with the German money 
market, Schiff was able to attract much German 
capital to American enterprise, more particularly in 
the field of railway finance. His firm, under his 
direction, became the financial reconstructors of the 
Union Pacific Railroad about 1897 ; and in 1901 it 
engaged in a struggle with the Great Northern Rail- 
way Company for the possession of the Northern 
Pacific Railway; this resulted in a panic on the 
stock exchange (May 9, 1901), in which the firm of 



Jacob Kolien Zedek Schiff 
(b. about 1I570 ; dayyao at’ Frank fort-on-the-Main) 




Schiff 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


98 


Kuhn, Loeb & Co. held the situation at its mercy. 
Schiff’s moderation and wise action on this occasion 
prevented disaster, and caused his firm to become 
one of the leading influences in the railway financial 
world, controlling more than 22,000 miles of rail- 
ways and §1,321,000,000 stock. To him was largely 
due the establishment of the regime of “community 
of interests ” among the chief railway combinations 
to replace ruinous competition, which principle led 
also to the formation 
of the Northern Se- 
curities Company. 
SchifE’s firm was chosen 
to float the large stock 
issues not only of the 
Union Pacific and al- 
lied companies, but 
also of the Pennsyl- 
vania Railroad, the 
Baltimore and Ohio, 
the Norfolk and West- 
ern, and the Missouri 
Pacific railway com- 
panies, the Western 
Union Telegraph Com- 
pany, and many others. 
It subscribed for and 
floated the three large 
Japanese \var loans in 1904 and 1905, in recognition 
of which the Mikado conferred upon Schiff the 
Second Order of the Sacred Treasure of Japan. 
He was also received in private audience in 1904 by 
King Edward YII. of England. 

Schiff is connected with many industrial and com- 
mercial activities. He is a director of the Union 
Pacific, the Baltimore and Ohio, the Chicago, Burling- 
ton and Quincy railway companies; of the Western 
Union Telegraph Company; of the Equitable Life 
Assurance Society ; of the National Bank of Com- 
merce and the National City Bank, the Morton Trust 
Company, the Columbia Bank, the Fifth Avenue 
Trust Company of New York; and of various other 
trust companies in New York as well as in Phila- 
delphia. 

Schiff has especially devoted himself to philan- 
thropic activity, both general and Jewish, on the 
most approved modern methods. Besides making 
benefactions in his native city he was one of the 
founders and has been ever since president of the 
Montefiore Home, New York, and is one of the two 
persons connected with all the twelve 
Phil- larger Jewish charities of that city, 
anthropic In New York also he has presented a 
Activity, fountain to Seward Park, has given 
a house in Henry street to the Nurses' 
Settlement, has helped to establish social settlements 
on the East Side, and has provided a building for the 
Young Men’s Hebrew Association. He has also 
been a trustee of the Baron de Hirsch Fund from 
its inception, as well as of the Woodbine Land and 
Improvement Company. 

All the municipal reform movements in New York 
likewise have been supported by Schiff ; he served 
on the Committee of Seventy (1898), the Committee 
of Fifteen (1902), and the Committee of Nine (1905): 
and he has recently founded at Columbia University a 


chair in social economics. His interest in education 
and learning has found expression in the establish- 
ment of scholarships at Columbia for economic 
science, and in the presentation of a fund and build- 
ing for Semitic studies at Harvard (see Semitic 
Museum). He is chairman of the east-Asiatic sec- 
tion of the Museum of Natural History, New York, 
which has sent out many expeditions for the study 
of Eastern conditions and history. He has made 
many donations to the Metropolitan Museum of Art 
in that city and to other museums, as well as to the 
Zoological Gardens in Bronx Park, of which he is a 
trustee. 

Schiff has been connected with the Reform wing of 
Jewish religious activities, and is a trustee of Tem- 
ple Beth-El, New York. Nevertheless, he has taken 
great interest in the expansion of the Jewish Theo- 
logical Seminary of America, to the sustentation 
fund of which he has contributed largely, and to 
which he has donated a special building. He has 
also presented to the New York Public Library a 
large number of works dealing with Jewish litera- 
ture, so that it now possesses the largest collection 
of modern Judaica in the New World, 

Schilf is the author of the “Report on the Cur- 
rency of the Finance Committee of the New York 
Chamber of Commerce, ” 1 903. 

! Bibliography: It. N. Burnett, in Cosmopolitan , May, 1903; 
Jewish Comment Oct. 3, 1902; April 3, 1903; Jewish Guard- 
ian , Au£. 28, 1903. 

A. J. 

Meir b. Jacob Schiff (called also Maharam 
Schiff) : German rabbi and scholar; born at Frank- 
fort-on-tlie-Main 1608; died about 1644 at Prague. 
His father, Jacob Schiff, was director of the yeshi- 
bah at Frankfort until his death. At the age of 
seventeen Meir was called to the rabbinate of Fulda, 
where he had charge also of a number of pupils. 
There he composed, between 1627 and 1636, his 
commentaries, which covered the entire Talmud; 
but only those on Bezah, Ketubot, Gittin, Baba 
Mezi‘a, and Hullin,. together with fragments on 
Shabbat, Megillah, Baba Kamma, Baba Batra, San- 
hedrin, and Zebahim, have been preserved. 

Schilf, being averse to pilpul, attacked not only 
contemporaries, like Solomon Luria (Ket. 94), Meir 
of Lublin (B. M. 61), and Samuel Edels (B. M. 50), 
but even Raslii (Ket. 42), Isaac b. Sheshet (B. M. 

48), and Mordecai (B. M. 4). He en- 
Averse to ters at once upon the discussion of his 
the Pilpul. subjects, which he treats in detail 
though without digression ; nor does 
he attempt to derive his proofs from remote Tal- 
mudic passages. His explanations are often ob- 
scure on account of their extreme brevity, many 
sentences being incomplete. This was due to pres- 
sure of other demands on his time, since he was 
actively interested in the affairs of his community. 
He did not write his commentaries in note-books, 
but on loose leaves of paper. He refers only to one 
of the different kinds of pilpul current in his time, 
namely, the so-called “Norburger.” 

Apart from his halakic commentaries, Schiff com- 
posed also sermons on the Pentateuch. In these he 
appears as an opponent of simple exegesis. He 
says, for instance, that Jacob must have been famil- 





Schiff 

Schiller 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


100 


iar with the explanation of Gen. xxv. 33 given by 
Rashi (JB. Iv., end). Of the sermons only a fragment 
on Deut. iv. has been preserved. A mnemonic index 
to the Bible and the Talmud by him is also extant. 
In 1636 he removed to Sclimalkalden ; he was 
called to the rabbinate of Prague shortly before his 
death. 

On his death-bed Schiff is said to have called Ins 
daughter Henlali and told her to keep all his works 
in a box until one of his younger relatives should 
be able to study and publish them. Henlali sent 
the box containing the works to a strange house, 
where they became moth-eaten, and some of them 
were stolen; so that her son, Michael Stein, came 
into possession of only a remnant of them, which he 
finally published, probably in 1737, at Homburg- 
vor-der-Hohe under the title “Hiddushe Halakot.” 
A second edition appeared there in 1757 ; and both 
were full of misprints. The first revised edition 
was published by Mordecai Markus of Polozk in 
1810. It has been the model for Talmudic study, 
and a copy is often given as a prize to students 
who have distinguished themselves in the study of 
Hiddushim. 

* Most of Schiff ’s notes on the four Turim, as well 
as his cabalistic works and Talmudic decisions, were 
destroyed during the conflagration at Frank for t-on- 
the-Main in 1711. 


Bibliography ; Fraenkel, In Orient , Lit. vi. 827-830 ; S. Horo- 
detzki, in Ha-Goren, 1899, ii. 58-66 ;Azulai, Shem ha-Gedo- 
lim. p. 63; Wolf, Bibl. Hebr. iii. 1398; Stemschneider, Cat. 
Bodl. col. 1715 ; Benjacob, Ozar ha-Scfanm, p. 1-9. 

J. °* 


Moriz Schiff: German biologist ; born at Frank- 
fort-on-the-Main 1823; died at Geneva Oct. 6, 
1896. He was educated at the gymnasium and the 
Senckenbergsche Institut of his native town and 
at the universities of Heidelberg, Berlin, and Got- 
tingen (M.D. 1844). In Heidelberg he studied under 
the°anatomist Tiedemann, whose lectures had a great 
influence upon him and lvho led him to take up 
the study of biology. After a short postgraduate 
course in Paris he returned to Frankfort, where he 
was appointed chief of the ornithological depart- 
ment of the zoological museum. 

Schiff took an active part in the Baden revolution 
of 1849, being surgeon to the rebel army under the 
son of his former teacher, Tiedemann. After the 
capitulation of Rastatt he went to Gottingen, where 
he sought admittance to the medical faculty of the 
university as privat-docent ; but the Ilanoveiian 
government refused to appoint him on the ground 
that his liberal views were “dangerous to students.” 
He then went to Switzerland, where he was ap- 
pointed professor of comparative anatomy at the 
University of Bern, which position he held from 
1854 to 1863. In the latter year he was called to 
Florence as professor of physiology at the Istituto 
di Studii Superiori. He remained there till 1876, 
when he was made professor of physiology at the 
University of Geneva, which chair he continued to 
occupy till his death. 

Schiff was one of the leading biologists of the 
nineteenth century, although in later years he de- 
voted his attention almost entirely to physiology, 
especially the physiology of the construction and 


changes of the nerves. He contributed numerous 
monographs to the scientific journals, and from 1862 
was one of the editors of the “ Schweizerisclie Zeit- 
sclirift fur Heilkunde.” He was, besides, a collabo- 
rator on Prince Lucien Bonaparte’s “Conspectus 
Avium,” in which he described the fauna of South 
America. 

Of his works may be mentioned : *' Jntersucliungen 
zur Physiologie des Nervsnsystems mit Berucksich- 
tigung der Pathologic,” Frankfort-on-tlie-Main, 
1855; “ Muskel- und Nerven-Pliysiologie,” Lalir, 
1858-59; “Untersucliungen fiber die Zuckerbildung 
in der Leber und den Einfluss des Nervensystems 
auf die Erzeugung der Diabetes,” Wfirzburg, 1859; 
“Sul Systema Nervoso Encefalico,” Florence, 1865 
(2d ed. 1873); “Lecons sur la Physiologie de la 
Digestion,” Berlin, 186S; “Sulla Misura della Sensa- 
zione,” Florence, 1869; “De l’lnflammation et de la 
Circulation,” Paris, 1873; “La Pupille Cornme Es- 
thesiometre,” ib. 1875. 


Bibliography: Meyers Konversations-Lexihon ; Pagel, 
Biog. Lex.\ Hirsch, Biog. Lexr, Kussmaul, 
nmgen eines Alten Ai'ztes, oth ed., pp. 198, 199, 248, Stutt- 
gart, 1902. 


Robert$3chiff ; German chemist; bornatFrank- 
fort-on-tlil&ain July 25, 1854. He received his 
education at his native city and Florence, and then 
at the universities of Heidelberg and Zurich, grad- 
uating as Pli.D. in 1876, when he became assistant 
to Professor Canizaro in Rome. In 1878 he received 
the “venia legendi” at the University of Rome, 
and in 1879 was appointed professor of chem- 
istry in the University of Modena. In 1892 he was 
called to a similar chair in the University of Pisa, 
which he still holds (1905). 

Schiff has published essays in the “ Gazetta Chi- 
mica Italiana,” in “Berichte der Deutsclien Chemi- 
schen Gesellschaft,” in Liebig’s “Annalen der 
Cliemie,” in “Accademia dei Lincei,” and in “Zeit- 
schrift ffir Physikalische Cliemie.” , 

- - F. T. H. 


Tebele (David) Schiff: Chief rabbi of the 
Great Synagogue, London; born in Frankfort-on- 
tlie-Main; died in London 1792; son of R. Solomon 
Schiff. He was educated in the schools of Rabbis 
Jacob Poper and Jacob Joshua Falk, and for some 
time he taught at the yesliibali of R. Lob Sinzheim 
in Worms. Returning to his native city, he and 
his friend R. Nathan Maas became assistants to the 
chief rabbi, Abraham Lissa. 

The fame of Scliiff’s Talmudical learning reached 
London, and he was appointed chief rabbi there in 
1765. One of his first duties was the consecration 
in 1767 of the synagogue in Duke’s place, which had 
just then been rebuilt and enlarged. Schiff was a 
preacher of considerable power; and several of his 
sermons have been preserved, especially one which 
he preached at the thanksgiving service on the oc- 
casion of the recovery of George III. Letters also 
are extant addressed to him b}'Lord George Gordon, 
entreating to be received into the synagogue, which 
request the rabbi refused to grant. 


Bibliography : 
Papers of the 
J. 


H. Adler, The Chief Rabbis of England in 
Anglo- Jewish Historical Exhibition, 188,. 



101 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Sehiif 

Schiller 


SCHIFF, EMIL: Austrian journalist; born in 
Raiulnitz, Bohemia, May 30, 1849; died in Berlin 
Jan. 23, 1899. Scliiff was the son of a petty mer- 
chant, and became a pupil at the Jewish public 
school in his native town and at the German gym- 
nasium in Leitmeritz. Subsequently he studied 
law at Vienna University. In 1871 he became a 
political writer on the Vienna “Deutsche Zeitung,” 
in which position he was one of the first journalists 
to champion Dr. Scldiemann, the genuineness of 
whose discoveries was not at that time generally 
accepted. 

In 1874 Scliiff transferred his services to the Ber- 
lin “ Spener’schen Zeitung.” He was the Berlin cor- 
respondent of the Vienna “Neue Freie Presse ” from 
1874 to 1899. From 1878 to 1880 he studied higher 
mathematics, especially differential and integral cal- 
culus and analytic mechanics, at Berlin University, 
and in 1894 he graduated in medicine, although he 
never became a practising physician. 

Scliiff was a friend of Ludwig Bamberger and of 
Eduard Lasker. Widely as he studied, he was no 
aimless accumulator of knowledge. His varied 
learning and his insistence on truth he applied 
practically in journalism, a course which made him 
notable in his profession. The last years of his life 
were troubled by ill health. On his death Rudolf 
Virchow read a memorial address before the Berlin 
Medical Society. 

Scliiff wrote chiefly feuilletons for the “ Neue Freie 
Presse ” and essays for “ Die Deutsche Rundschau ” 
and “Die Nation,” as well as leading articles, dra- 
matic critiques, parliamentary letters, and des- 
patches. His “Pierre Jean Georges Cabanis, der 
Arzt und Pliilosoph ” appeared at Berlin in 1886. 

Bibliography: Bettelheim, Biographisches Jdhrlnich, 1900, 

pp. 256-258 ; Neue Freie Presse , Jan. 23, 1899, evening ed., p. 

3: lllustrirte Zeitung, Feb. 2, 1S99, p. 138: AUgemeine Zei- 
tung (Munich), Jan. 26, 1899, Supplement No. 21, p. 8. 

s. N. D. 

SCHIFF, JOSEF: Austrian stenographer; born 
Feb. 25, 1848, at Ragendorf, Hungary. In 1874 he 
was appointed teacher of stenograph}' at the Vienna 
Academy of Agriculture, and in 1898 lecturer on 
Gabelsberg’s system of stenography at the Univer- 
sity of Vienna, In 1888 he founded the Central- 
vereiu fur Gabelsberger’sclie Gescliaftsstenographie, 
and subsequently received the title of professor from 
the Emperor of Austria. 

The following are Schiff’s principal publications: 
“Der Theoretisch-Praktische Lehrgang der Steno- 
graphic nacli Gabelsberger’s. System ” ; “ Das Steno- 
graphische Uebungsbuch fur Mittelschulen ” ; “Ein 
Lesebuch fur Handelsschulen ” ; “Der Gescliafts- 
stenograph ” (approved, together with the preceding 
three works, by the Austrian Ministry of Instruc- 
tion); “Das Stenographisclie Worterbucli mit 
Wiener und Dresdner Schreibweisen ” ; “Das Ste- 
nograpliisclie Taschenworterbuch mit Fachkiir- 
zungen ” ; “ Das Diktierbuch fur Stenographen Aller 
Deutschen Systeme”; “Das Stenographisclie Lese- 
kabinet. ” 

Bibliography: E. Krumhein, Entwickelungsgesehichte clcr 

Schule Gabclsberger's , Dresden, 1901. 

S. 

SCHIFFER, FEIWEL (PHOEBUS): Rus- 
sian Hebraist and poet; bom in Lasezow, govern- 


ment of Lublin, about 1810: died after 1866. He 
lived successively in Josefov, Brody, Szebrszvn, and 
Warsaw, and was one of the best-known of the 
early Maskilim of Russian Poland. He wrote: 
“Hazerot ha-Shir,” an epic poem on the life of the 
patriarch Jacob (Warsaw, 1840); “Matta‘ Leshem,” 
a treatise on agriculture and life in the country (ib. 
1843); “Debar Geburot,” a biography of Prince 
Paskewitsch (ib. 1845) ; “Toledot Napoleon,” in two 
parts (ib. 1849 and 1857); “Mahlekim ‘im Ana- 
shim,” a translation of Knigge’s “Umgang mit Men- 
schen ” (ib. 1866). 

Bibliography: Hazerot ha-Shir , Preface; Zeitlin, Bihl. 

Post-Mendels. p‘ 344. ^ _ 

ii. n. P- Wr. 

SCHIFFERS, EMANUEL: Russian chess 
master; born of German parents at St. Petersburg 
May 4, 1850; died there Dec. 12, 1904. He was edu- 
cated at the gymnasium of his native city, studying 
in the classical, physical, and mathematical facul- 
ties. In 1871 he became a private tutor. 

Schiffers began to play chess when about fifteen, 
and within five years had made such progress that 
he defeated Tochoumoff and others of equal stand- 
ing. He continued to advance until he became the 
leading player in Russia. In 1873 he first played 
with Tcliigorin, to whom he then gave the odds of 
a knight. During the following seven years the 
pupil came to play a stronger game than liis teacher, 
and in 1880 Schiffers lost the championship of Russia 
to Tcliigorin. He has won matches against Alapin, 
Chardin, and Mitropolsky ; and at the International 
Tournament held at Hastings, England, in 1895, 
at which twenty-two masters competed, Schiffers 
gained sixth prize. 

Bibliography: The Hastings Chess Tournament, ed. H. F. 

Cheshire, London, 1896. 

s. A. P. 

SCHILL, SOLOMON: Hungarian philologist; 
born Oct. 14, 1849, in Budapest. He studied at 
Raab, Budapest, and Vienna; obtained his diploma 
as a teacher; and was appointed, in 1874, professor 
at the gymnasium at Arad. Iu 1878 he became 
professor of Latin and Greek in the rabbinical semi- 
nary at Budapest, which position he still (1905) 
holds. 

Schill is the. author of the following works, all 
written in Hungarian: a Greek grammar (3 edi- 
tions), Greek exercises (3 editions), a work on 
Greek antiquities and the history of Greek art (3 
editions), and a history of Greek literature. He has 
translated into Hungarian Philo’s account of the 
delegation sent to Caligula (published by the Jewish 
Literary Society of Hungary), and, for the Ungar- 
isch-Israelitischer Landes! ehrerverein, the books of 
Genesis, Exodus, and Deuteronomy, and the Siddur. 

s. L. V. 

SCHILLER, ARMAND: French journalist; 
born at Saint-Mande (Seine) Aug. 7, 1857.. .He 
studied at the Lycee Condorcet, and, after receiving 
his dipoma as “licencie en droit ” from the faculty 
of Paris, entered his father’s printing establishment. 
At the same time he contributed to various papers, 
especially to the legal journal “ L’ Audience.” In 
1879 he was chosen general secretary of the editorial 



Schiller-Szinessy 

Schlettstadt 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


102 


board of “Le Temps,” one of the leading evening 
papers of Paris. 

Schiller is the principal founder of “Le Petit 
Temps,” which consists of extras issued hourly after 
the appearance of “Le Temps.” He is a professor, 
also member of the executive committee, of the 
Ecole du Journalisme, and one of the founders and 
the president of the Association des Secretaires de 
Redaction des Journaux et de Revues Frangais. In 
1897 he was elected syndic of the Association Pro- 
fessionelle des Journalistes Republicans Frangais. 

Schiller was made a chevalier of the Legion of 
Honor in 1892. 

s. E. A. 

SCHILLER-SZINESSY, SOLOMON MAY- 
ER : Reader in rabbinic at Cambridge University ; 
born at Alt-Ofen, Hungary, 1820; died at Cam- 
bridge March 11, 1890. After a distinguished aca- 
demic career he graduated as doctor of pliilosoph} r 
from the University of Jena, being subsequently or- 
dained as a rabbi. He was next appointed assistant 
professor at the Lutheran College of Eperies, Hun- 
gary. During the great upheaval of 1848 he sup- 
ported the revolutionists in the war between Hungary 
and Austria, and it was he who executed the order 
of General Torok to blow up the bridge at Szegedin, 
by which act the advance of the Austrian army was 
checked. Wounded and taken prisoner, he was 
confined in a fortress, from which he managed to 
escape the night before his intended execution. 
Fleeing to Triest, he took passage for Ireland and 
landed at Cork, proceeding thence to Dublin, where 
he preached by invitation of the congregation. He 
then went to London, and subsequently was elected 
minister of the United Congregation at Manchester. 
This was before the secession which led to the estab- 
lishment of a Reform congregation in that city. 

Chiefly owing to Professor Theodores, Schiller- 
Szinessy was offered and he accepted the office of 
minister to the newly formed congregation. This 
position he resigned in 1S63 and went to Cambridge, 
where he engaged in teaching, and likewise under- 
took to examine the Hebrew manuscripts in the 
University Library. The fruit of his labors in the 
latter direction was his “ Catalogue of the Hebrew 
Manuscripts Preserved in the University Library, 
Cambridge,” Cambridge, 1876. In 1866 he was ap- 
pointed teacher of Talmud and rabbinical literature, 
and subsequently reader in rabbinic. In recog- 
nition of his services the university conferred upon 
him the degree of M.A. in 1878. 

Among Schiller-Szinessy ’s contributions to litera- 
ture may be mentioned an edition of David Kimhi’s 
commentary on the Psalms, book i. , and “ Massa ba- 
‘Arab,” Romanelli’s travels in Morocco toward the 
end of the eighteenth century. 

Bibliography: Jew. Chron. and Jew. World , March 14, 1890. 

j. G. L. 

SCHINDLER, SOLOMON : German-xlmerican 
rabbi and author; born at Neisse, Germany, April 
24, 1842. In 1868 he was selected to take charge of a 
small congregation in Westphalia, but, owing to his 
Reform tendencies, he was compelled to resign, and 
in 1871 he emigrated to the United States. Shortly 
after his arrival he was called as rabbi to Congrega- 


tion Adatli Emuno, Hoboken, N. J., which he left in 
1874 for Congregation Adatli Israel of Boston, Mass. 
In 1888 he was elected to the Boston school board 
by the unanimous vote of all political parties. In 
1894 Schindler retired from the rabbinate to become 
superintendent of the Federation of Jewish Chari- 
ties of Boston, but resigned that position in 1899 to 
become superintendent of the Leopold Morse Home 
for Infirm Hebrews and Orphanage at Mattapan, 
Mass., which position he still (1905) holds. 

Schindler is the author of: “Messianic Expecta- 
tions and Modern Judaism,” “Dissolving Views in 
the History of Judaism,” and “Young West: A Se- 
quel to Looking Backward.” He has written also 
many articles for the “Arena” and other period- 
icals. 

Bibliography: One of a Thousand , p. 554, Boston, 1890; 
Massachusetts of To-day , p. 274, ib.; History of the Jews of 
Boston , p. 40, ib. 1S92 ; Who's Who in America , 1903-5. 

A. J. Leb. 

SCHLEMIHL : Popular Yiddish term for an 
unfortunate person. It occurs also in the form 
Schlimmilius (“Jiidische Volksbibliotliek,” vii. 
80). According to Heine (“ Jeliuda-ben-IIalevy ”), 
it is derived from the Bible name “ Shelumiel,” owing 
to the fact that the person transfixed by the spear of 
Phinehas for incontinence with the Moabite woman 
(Num. xxv. 6) was so killed by mistake. Others 
derive the term from a corruption of the expression 
“schlimm mazzal” (unlucky star). 

Many of the most popular anecdotes of the ghetto 
relate to the experiences of persons who, through 
no fault of tlieir own, are pursued by misfortune to 
the end, and endure it without murmuring. They 
resemble in Jewish folk-tales the Gothamites or 
“ Scliildburgers ” of English and German folk-lore. 
Chamisso used the term as the name of the hero of 
his popular story, “Peter Schlemilil,” but without 
much reference to its Jewish meaning. He may 
have heard the term through Itzig, the Berlin bank- 
er, to whom Heine was indebted for his interpreta- 
tion of the word. 

Bibliography: Chamisso, Peter Schlemihl , ed. Jacobs, Pref- 
ace, p. xii., London, 1898; D. Sanders, Deutsches Wdrter- 
Imch ; idem, Kritiken , ii. 137; B. Felsenthal, in Geiger’s 
JIM. Zeit. vi. 60 ; A. Wiinsche, in Jildisches Litter aturblatt, 
viii. 135. 

A. J. 

SCHLESINGER, HERMAN: German phy- 
sician ; born at Adelebsen, Hanover, April 1, 1856 ; 
committed suicide at Frankfort-on-the-Main Aug. 
23, 1902. He was an M.D. of Gottingen (1879), from 
which university he received a prize for the treatise 
“ExperimentelleUntersuchungen liber die Wirkung 
Lange Zeit Fortgegebener Kleiner Dosen Quecksilber 
auf Thiere,” published in the “Arcliiv fur Experi- 
mentelle Pathologic und Pliarmacie,” 1880. After 
a fiostgraduate course in Berlin he settled in Frank - 
fort-on-tlie-Main. 

Schlesinger became in 1899 editor of “ Die Aerzt- 
liche Praxis,” published at Wurzburg. He was the 
author of “ Aerztliclies Handbiiclilein fur Hygie- 
niscli-Diatetische, Hydrotlierapeutische und Andere 
Yerordnungen,” 1891 (6th ed. 1896; translated into 
Italian b} r Raffaelo Supino, Florence, 1897). 
Bibliography : Pagel, Biog. Lex. 

s. F. T. H. 



103 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Schiller-Szinessy 

Schlettstadt 


SCHLESINGER, JOSEE : Austrian mathema- 
tician ; born at Maliriscli-Schonberg Dec. 31, 1831. 
The son of very poor parents, lie had to earn a live- 
lihood even as a mere boy. In 1858 he graduated 
from the Polytechnic Institute in Vienna, at which 
institution he became assistant in the folio wing year. 

In 1866 he passed the state board examination as 
teacher of geometry, and was employed in the 
schools of the Austrian capital. In 1870 he was 
called to the forestry academy at Marienbrunn, 
where he became professor of geometry ; in 1875 he 
was appointed in a similar capacity at the agricul- 
tural academy at Vienna; and in 1891 he was sent 
as representative of Vienna to the Austrian Reichs- 

^Of Sclilesinger’s works may be mentioned: “Dar- 
stellende Geometrieim Sinne der Neuen Geometric,” 
Vienna, 1870; “ Die Geistige Mechanik der Natur," 
Leipsic, 1S8S ; “Liclit fur’s Leben,” Vienna, 1890; 

“ Die Entsteliung der Physischen und Geistigen W elt 
aus dem Aether,” ib. 1893. 

Bibliography : Eisenberg, Das Geistige Wien , i., Vienna, 

1 g 893 - P. T. H. 

SCHLESIN GER, LTJDWIG: Hungarian 
mathematician ; born at Tyrnau (Nagyszombat) 
Nov. 1, 1864; educated at the Realscliule, Presburg, 
and at the universities of Heidelberg and Berlin 
(Ph.D. 1887). In 1889 he became privat-docent at 
the University of Berlin; in 1897, assistant professor 
at the University of Bonn; and since 1903 lie has 
been professor of mathematics at the Univeisity of 
Klausenburg. 

Sehlesinger has written essays for the scientific 
periodicals and journals, and he is the author of 
“Handbuch der Theorie der Linearen Differential- 
gleicliungen,” Leipsic, 1895-98, and “ Einf iilirung 
in die Theorie der Dilferentialgleichungen.” ib. 1900. 
s F. T. H. 

SCHLESIN GER, MARKUS. See Glogauer, 
Meik ben Ezekiel. 

SCHLESINGER, SIGMUND : Austrian wri- 
ter; born at Vienna 1811 ; educated at the Scliofcten- 
gymnasium and the University of Vienna (M.D. 
1835). He published in 1828 in the “Sammler” a 
poem on Ludwig Devrient, and wrote in 1831 a 
drama on the marriage of the Austrian crown prince 
Ferdinand, which was produced several times on the 
Vienna stage. In the same } r ear, using the nom de 
plume “Sigmund,” he became a collaborator on the 
“Theater Zeitung.” In 1833 he traveled through 
Moravia, and in 1835 published in Leipsic liis “ Maliri 
sche Beisebriefe.” He went to Dalmatia in 1837 as 
physician and served as surgeon in the lionved 
army during the years 1848 and 1849. His subse- 
cpient history can not be traced. 

Other works b} r Sehlesinger are: “Eleonorevon 
Toledo,” Vienna, 1888; “ Herbs t-Novelleu,” ib. 1835, 
and Leipsic, 1838; and “ Vindobona,” Vienna, 1837. 

Bibliography : Brummer, Deutsches Dichter-Lexikon , Stutt- 
garUSTG. F T H 

SCHLESINGER, WILHELM S. : Austrian 
physician; born at Tinnye, Hungary, 1839. Edu- 
cated at the University of Vienna (M.D. 1864), he 


established himself in the Austrian capital, receiving 
the “ venia legendi ” in gynecology from his alma 
mater in 1874. 

In 1878 Sehlesinger founded the “Wiener Med i- 
zinische Blatter,” to which paper he contributed 
many essays. Of his works may be mentioned. 
“Experimentelle Untersucliungen uber Uterusbe- 
wegungen”; “Ueber Reflexbewegungen des Ute- 
rus”; “Ueber die Centra der Gefass- und Uterus- 
nerven Ueber Blutgeschwiilste des Weibliclien 
Beckens”; “Zur Architektonik des Weiblichen 
Bee kens.” 


Bibliography : HirscB, Biog . Lex. 
s. 


F. T. H. 


SCHLETTSTADT : Town in Alsace, about 37 
miles south-southwest of Strasburg. In the year 
1349, under Emperor Charles IV., its Jewish inhab- 
itants suffered during the general persecution of 
Jews throughout Germany. They were expelled 
from the town, but later returned; they then, how- 
ever, became the object of new persecutions, which 
caused Charles in 13S7 to place the town under a 
ban for two years. The synagogue building dating 
from this time still exists. It has served for different 
purposes; thus, before the war of 1870 it "was used as 
an arsenal and was called “ Sainte Barbe. ” The bur- 
ial-ground dates from the thirteenth century, and is 
one of the largest in the country; tombstones bearing - 
inscriptions of the year 1400 have been found. . Dur- 
ing the time that Jews were forbidden to live in the 
city and during the various revolutions after 1350 
most of the tombstones were carried off and used in 
building houses, barns, and fences. 

From the middle of the fourteenth century until 
the commencement of the nineteenth no Jew was 
allowed to pass the night within the town limits. 
All those that were in Schlettstadt on business had 
to leave, before night, a bell being rung to announce 
the hour for departure. The bell and bell-tower are 
still in existence. The first Jew to receive permis- 
sion to settle in Schlettstadt (1806) was Solomon 
Moise, a German, who subsequently changed his 
name to Solomon Dreyfus. 

Since 1863 the town has been the seat of a rab- 
binate. It has a modern synagogue designed in the 
Russian style. The first rabbi was Meyer Ulmo (d. 
c. 1886), who was succeeded by the present rabbi, 
Benjamin Wahl. 

The Jews of Schlettstadt at present (1905) number 
about 230 in a total population of 9,135. 

s. Lv - 

SCHLETTSTADT, SAMUEL BEN 
AARON: German rabbi; born at Schlettstadt; 
lived at Strasburg in the second half of the four- 
teenth century. He was rabbi and head of an impor- 
tant yeshibali in the latter city, where he was 
highly respected by both his community and. his 
pupils, when suddenly he was caused to act in a 
case which nearly cost him his life. The com- 
munity of Strasburg about 1370 had among its mem- 
bers two informers (“moserim”), through whom it 
was constantly exposed to the depredatory incursions 
of the knights of Andlau. As the Jews could not 
summon the two moserim before the Christian court 
without involving the powerful knights, they ap- 



Schlettstadt 

Schnabel 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


104 


plied to their rabbi for assistance. The latter se- 
cretly constituted a court of justice, which con- 
demned the two traitors to death, and the sentence 
was carried out on one of them, named Salamin. 
The second, however, made good his escape, and, 
having embraced Christianity, returned to his 
friends and protectors, whom he in- 
Condemns formed of what had happened. The 
an In- knights of Andlau, followed by an 
former to armed mob, came to Strasburg clam- 
Death. oring for vengeance on the Jews for 
the death of their ally. The Jews, 
when questioned about the affair, told the magis- 
trates that the man had been executed at the com- 
mand of Schlettstadt. The knights consequently 
set out toward the latter’s house, but Schlettstadt 
succeeded, probabty through the connivance of one 
of the knights, in securing, refuge, with his pupils, 
in the castle of Ilohelandsberg, near Colmar. From 
this fortress he petitioned the leaders of the commu- 
nity to intervene on his behalf so that he might re- 
turn to his home. But either they neglected his re- 
quest entirely or their action in his behalf was not 
forceful enough to be successful; for lie remained 
six years in confinement. 

Tired of waiting, Schlettstadt left his hiding-place 
in 1376 and went to Babylonia, where he brought a 
complaint before the prince of the captivity (“ nasi ”) 
against the chiefs of the Strasburg community. The 
nasi, supported by the rabbinate of Jerusalem, wrote 
in Schlettstadt’s favor a ban (“herein”) against the 
community of Strasburg, invoking against its mem- 
bers all the curses if they should persist in their re- 
fusal to interfere in his behalf. Carmoly (“La 
France Israelite,” pp. 138-144, Frankfort-on-tlie- 
Main, 185S) and Griitz (“Gesch.” 3d ed., viii. 12 et 
seq.) think that the prince who issued the herein 
was the exilarch David b. Hodiali, and they identify 
the ban with the one published by Kirchkeim in 
“ Orient, Lit.” vi. 739 ; David b. Hodiali lived almost 
two centuries earlier, however. 

Armed with this ban, Schlettstadt returned to 
Germany. He sojourned at Ratisbon, the rabbis of 
which town were terrified by the ban written by 
the leader of the Eastern Jews. They immediately 
wrote to the chiefs of the Strasburg community beg- 
ging them to use all their energy in obtaining per- 
mission for Schlettstadt’s return, and threatening 
that otherwise they would be put under the ban. 
As a result the desired permission was at length 
granted. On the day of his arrival all the Jews of 
Strasburg went out to meet him, among others his 
son Abraham. The latter, while eross- 
Returns to ing the Rhine in a boat in order to go 
Strasburg*. to his father, met with an accident and 
was drowned. It is not known how 
long Schlettstadt lived after this event; but, as the 
narrator of the foregoing events (Joseph Loanz, 
whose narrative was published by Griitz in “Mo- 
natssclirift,” xxiv. 408 et seq.) states likewise that a 
few years later ( c . 1380) all the Jews of Strasburg 
were massacred, it is possible that Schlettstadt per- 
ished together with his community. 

Schlettstadt is particularly known for his abridg- 
ment, entitled “Kizzur Mordekai” or “Mordekai 
ha-Katon ” (still unpublished), of Mordecai ben Hil- 


lers “ Sefer lia-Mordekai. ” Both Carmoly and Griitz 
think that Schlettstadt wrote the work in the for- 
tress of Hohelandsberg. Although Schlettstadt 
generally followed Mordecai b. Hillel, yet in certain 
instances he deviated from his predecessor, and lie 
also added certain laws which are not found in the 
“Sefer ha-Mordekai. ” That his work was con- 
sidered as an independent one is shown by the fact 
that it is quoted, now alone, now together with 
Mordecai ben Hillel’s work, by Israel Bruna (Re- 
sponsa, No. 163), by Israel Isserlein (“Pesakim,” No. 
192, passim ), who refers to it as the “ Mordekai ” of 
Samuel Schlettstadt, by Jacob Weil (Responsa, No. 
88), and by Jacob Molln (Responsa, No. 155; “Min- 
liagim,” section “Sukkot”). Schlettstadt further- 
more furnished Mordecai b. Hillers work with numer- 
ous notes (“Haggahot Mordekai,” first published at 
Riva di Trento, 1558, as an appendix to the “ Sefer ha- 
Mordekai,” and afterward included in box-heads in 
the text of that work). The author of the “Hag- 
gahot ” was for a long time unknown. Zunz was 
the first to point out (in Steinschneider, “Hebr. 
Bibl.” ix. 135) that they were written by Schlett- 
stadt. Internal evidence of his authorship is af- 
forded by the following references by Schlettstadt 
himself : “ In the ‘ Mordekai I£aton '* which I com- 
posed ” (“ Mordekai ” on Yeb. 110) ; “ I, Samuel, the 
small one ” ( ib . Git. 456). In many other places the 
author refers to his “Kizzur Mordekai” simply 
[ as “ my work ” (ib. Yeb. 106, passim ; Ket. 304; Kid. 

| 544). Finally, Jacob Weil ( l.c . No. 147) refers to 
Schlettstadt’s responsa. 

Bibliography: Besides the sources mentioned in the article, 
Kohn, in Monatsschrift, xxvi. 429 et seq .; S. Landauer, in 
Genieinde-Zeitung flir EUciss-Lotlu'ingcn , Strasburg, JS80, 
No. 15. 

s. M. Sel. 

SCHLOESSINGER, MAX : German philolo- 
gist and theologian ; born at Heidelberg Sept. 4, 
1877; educated at the public school and the gymna- 
sium of his native place, the universities of Heidel- 
berg, Vienna, and Berlin (Ph.D. 1901), the Isra- 
elitiscli - Theologisclie Leliranstalt at Vienna, the 
Veitel - Heine - Ephraim’sche Leliranstalt and the 
Leliranstalt flir die Wissenschaft des Judenthums, 
Berlin (rabbi, 1903). In 1903 he went to New York 
and joined the editorial staff of The Jewish En- 
cyclopedia, which position he resigned in 1904, 
on his appointment as librarian and instructor in 
Biblical exegesis at the Hebrew Union College, 
Cincinnati, Ohio. 

Schloessinger has published “Ibn Kaisan’s Com- 
mentar zur Mo'allaqa des ‘Amr ibn Kultum nach 
einer Berliner Handschrift,” in C. Bezold’s “Zeit- 
sclirift far Assyriologie und Vcnvandte Gebiete,” 
vol. xvi., parti., pp. 15 et seq ., Strasburg, 1901. 
a. F. T. II. 

SCHMELKES, GOTTFRIED S. : Austrian 
physician ; born at Prague Sept. 22, 1807 ; died at 
Interlaken, Switzerland, Oct. 28, 1870. Educated 
at the universities of Prague and Vienna (M.D. 
1837), he became in 1838 physician to the Jewish 
hospital at Tbplitz (Teplitz), Bohemia, at 'which 
watering-place he established himself as a physician, 
practising there until his death. 

Of Sclimelkes’ works maybe mentioned; “Phy- 



105 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Schlettstadt 

Schnabel 


sikalisek-Medizinische Darstellung des Kolilemni- 
neral-Moors und Dessen Anwendung zu Biidern,” 
Prague, 1885; “Die Thermalblider zu Teplitz,” 
Berlin, *1837; “Teplitz und Seine Mineral quellen,” 
Dresden and Leipsic, 1841; “Teplitz Gegen Lak- 
mung,” Dessau, 1855; “Teplitz Gegen Neural gien,” 
Berlin, 1861; “Sedimente Meiner Praxis an den 
Thermen zu Teplitz,” ib. 1867. He wrote also some 
poetry. Sclimelkes proposed the building of the 
hospital for invalid soldiers of the kingdom of Sax- 
ony, founded at Toplitz in 1849, and was its chief 
physician until his death. 


Bibliography: Hirscb, Biog.Lex.; W. Bacher,Dr.G. 
Sehmclhes , in Ralimer’s lsraelitische Wochenschnft, 1S<1. 

s. F. T. H. 


SCHMID, ANTON VON ; Christian publisher 
of Hebrew books ; born at Zwettl, Lower Austria, 
Jan. 28, 1765 ; died at Vienna June 27, 1855. His 
father, an employee of the convent, destined him 
for the clerical career, and with this view Anton 
received a collegiate education at the convent. He 
continued his studies at the Zwettl seminary in 
Vienna to prepare himself for the university, but, 
declining to become a clergyman, he had to leave 
the institution. In 1785 he entered as an apprentice 
the establishment of the court printer Kurzbeck. 
Schmid attended the Oriental academy, and in con- 
sequence was assigned to Hebrew typesetting, for 
which he had a great predilection. Having become 
acquainted with Jewish scholars and booksellers and 
with the wants of the Hebrew reading public, he 
bought from Kurzbeck his Hebrew types in order 
to establish himself as a printer and publisher; but 
through the intrigues of the Vienna printers he was 
unable to obtain from the government the requisite 
permission to pursue that calling. Thereupon he 
presented a petition to Emperor Francis II., who 
granted him the privilege on the condition that lie 
would present a copy of each book printed by him 
to the imperial library. 

Schmid’s great success soon enabled him to buy 
Ivurzbeck’s entire printing establishment. In 1800 
the government prohibited the import of Hebrew 
books, to the great advantage of Schmid, who with- 
out hindrance reprinted the works issued by W olf 
Hcidenheim in Rodellieim. The printing was under 
the supervision of Joseph della Torre and afterward 
of his son Adalbert, and Schmid became more and 
more prosperous. By the year 1816 he had presented 
to the imperial library eighty -six works comprising 
200 volumes; and liis great merit was acknowledged 
by a gold medal from the emperor. He then en- 
larged his establishment, printing Arabic, Persian, 
and Syriac books also, and upon the donation of 17 
new Oriental works in 44 volumes to the court 
library he received a title of nobility. A few years 
later he made a third donation of 148 w T orks in 347 
volumes, presenting a similar gift to the Jewish re- 
ligious school of Vienna. His son Franz Schmid 
took charge of the establishment in 1839, and sold 
it to Adalbert della Torre in 1849. Among the 
principal works published by Schmid were the He- 
brew Bible with German translation and t-lie com- 
mentary of the Biurists, the Talmud, the Hebrew 
periodical “Bikkure ha-Tttim,” the works of Mai- 


monides and of Judah Lob Ben-Zeeb, and Jewish 
prayer-books and catechisms. 

Bibliography: Wurzbach, Biograpliisc7i.es Lexicon* xxx. 

209-212; Letteris, Wiener Mittheilungen, 1855, Nos. 28-31. 

j. S. Man. 

SCHMIEDL, ADOLF : Austrian rabbi and 
scholar; born at Prossnitz, Moravia, Jan. 26, 1821. 
He held the office of rabbi at Gewitsch, Moravia, 
from 1846 to 1849, during which time he contributed 
to the journals “ Kokebe Yizliak ” and “ Der Orient.” 
In 1849 he was called as “ Landesrabbiner ” to Tesck- 
en, Austrian Silesia, where he officiated until 1852. 
Leaving Tesclien, he held successively the rabbinates 
of Bielitz, Prossnitz, Sechshaus (1869-94; now a 
part of Vienna), and Leopoldstadt, the second dis- 
trict of Vienna, where he still (1905) officiates. 

Besides numerous contributions to periodical lit- 
erature, Schmiedl has written : “ Sansinim, ” homi- 
lies on the Pentateuch (Prague, 1859 and 1885); 
“ Studien zur Judisck-Arabiscken Religionspkiloso- 
pkie” (Vienna, 1869); “Saadia Alfajumi und die 
Negativen Vorziige Seiner Religionspkilosopliie ” 
(ib. 1870) ; “ Die Lehre vom Kampf urns Reclit im 
Verbal tniss zum Judentliume und dem Aeltesten 
Okristenthum ” (ib. 1875). 

Bibliography : Qssterreichische WochenschrifU 1901, Nos. 

4 and 5 ; Ha-Mciggid , 1901, No. 5, p. 52. 

s. S. O. 

SCHNABEL, ISIDOJEt ; Austrian physician; 
born at Neubidsckow, Bohemia, Nov. 14, 1842.. 
Educated at the University of Vienna (M.D. 1865), 
he became there assistant in the ophtkalmological 
clinic and established himself as privat-docent, . He 
rras elected professor of ophthalmology successively 
at the universities of Innsbruck (1S77), Graz (1887), 
Prague (1892), and Vienna (1896), in which last- 
named city lie still lives (1905). 

Schnabel has written many works, of which may 
be mentioned: “Zur Lelire von den Ursaclien der 
Kurzsichtigkeit, ” in “ Archiv fur Opktkalmologie,” 
xx. ; “Die Begleit-und Folgekrankkeit von Iritis,” 
in “Arcliiv fur Augenbeilkunde, ” v, ; “Zur Lehre 
vom Glaucom,” ib. vii., xvi. ; “Zur Lehre von 
der Oplitkalmoskopiscken Vergrosserung,” ib. ix. ; 
“Ueber Syphilitisclie Augenerkrankungeu,” in 
“Wiener Medizinisclie Blatter,” 1882; “Ueber Myo- 
pieheilung,” ib. 1898; “Kleine Beitrage zur Lehre 
von der Augenmuskellahmung und zur Lehre vom 
Sehielen,” in “Wiener Hlinische Wocliensckrift,” 
1899. 

Bibliography : Pagel, Bing . Lex. 

s. F. T. H. 

SCHNABEL, LOUIS: Austrian teacher and 
journalist; born at Prossnitz, Moravia, June 29, 
1829; died at New York May 3, 1897. He was 
educated at various yesliibot, and, after completing 
liis studies at tlie University of Vienna, be taught 
in the Talmud Torah of his native city, and at 
Boskowitz and Vienna. In 1854 he went to Paris, 
where he remained until 1863, teaching in Deren- 
bourg’s school for boys and in Madame Calm’s school 
for girls. During this period he contributed ex- 
tensively to the J ewisli papers. 

Schnabel emigrated to America in 1869 and be- 
came superintendent of the Hebrew Orphan Asylum 
of New York, establishing at the same time a mag- 



Schneiersohn 

Schonerer 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


106 


azine, “Young Israel,” which existed for eight 
years. In 1875 he became principal of the prepara- 
tory school for the Hebrew Union College; and in 
1890 he took charge of the English classes for Rus- 
sian immigrants established by the Baron de Hirseli 
Fund. He was the Hebrew instructor of Emma 
Lazarus. 

Schnabel published a collection of ghetto stories 
under the title “ Vogele’s Marriage and Other Tales.” 

Bibliography: Publ. Am. Jew. Hist. Soc. No. S, pp. 150-151. 

A. 

SCHBTEIERSOHN, DOB BAR. See Lamer, 
Dob Bar b. Shneor Zalman. 

SCHNITZER, EDUARD. See Emin Pasha. 

SCHNITZLER, JOHANN : Austrian laryn- 
gologist; born at Nagy-Kanizsa, Hungary, April 
10, 1835; died at Vienna May 2, 1893. .Educated at 
the University of Vienna (M.D. 1860), he became as- 
sistant at the general hospital (Allgemeines Kranken- 
haus) under Oppolzer and received the “venia 
legendi ” in 1866. In 1878 he was made titular 
professor, and in 1880 was appointed assistant pro- 
fessor of laryngoscopy. From 1888 he had charge 
of the general dispensary. Sclinitzler founded, with 
P. Markbreiter, in I860, the “ Wiener Medizinisclie 
Presse,” of which paper he was editor until 1886. 

Of Sclinitzler ’s many works, treating especially of 
diseases of the throat and larynx, may be mentioned : 
“Die Pneumatische Behandlung der Lungen- und 
Herzkrankheiten,” 2d ed., Vienna, 1877; “Ueber 
Laryngoskopie und Rhinoskopie und Hire Anwen- 
dung in der Aerztliclien Praxis,” ib. 1879; “Ueber 
Lungensyphilis und lhr Verhaltniss zur Lungen- 
schwindsucht,” ib. 1S80. 

Bibliography : Pagel, Biog. Lex. 

s. F. T. H. 

SCH1L ORUER : Judaso-German term of reproach 

for a Jewish beggar having some pretensions to re- 
spectability. In contrast to the ordinary house-to- 
house beggar, whose business is known and easily 
recognized, the schnorrer assumes a gentlemanty ap- 
pearance, disguises his purpose, gives evasive rea- 
sons for asking assistance, and is not satisfied with 
small favors, being indeed quite indignant when 
such are offered. He usually travels from city to 
city and even into foreign countries ; but he must not 
be confounded with the tramp, whose counterpart 
is not to be found in Jewish beggary. The schnorrer 
class includes the Jew who collects a fund to pro- 
vide a dowry for his daughter or for an orphan rela- 
tive about to be married, which fund is called “liak- 
nasat kallah ” ; also the one who asks for means 
to rehabilitate himself after his house or chattels 
have been burned in a general conflagration, in 
which case he is known as a “nisraf.” The author 
who considers that the world owes him a living for 
his “ great work ” for “ enlightening mankind ” and 
who presses the acceptance of his book on the unap- 
preciative rich in consideration of whatever sums 
they may be willing to contribute, is characterized 
as a literary schnorrer. 

The schnorrer period began with the Chmielnicki 
massacres iu Poland (1648-57), when thousands of 
Jews fled to Germany. In the eighteenth century 
schnorrers flourished principally in German}', Hol- 


land, and Italy, and came from Poland (mainly from 
Lithuania), and also from Palestine, one from the 
latter country being known as a “ Yerushalmi.” In 
later times impudence and presumption were char- 
acteristics of the schnorrer. This was more espe- 
cially the case with those who laid claim to a rab- 
binical education and who regarded themselves as 
privileged persons, giving the impression, with an 
assumption of condescension, that they were doing 
a favor in rendering an opportunity to their rich 
neighbors to perform a worthy deed b} r making a 
contribution. This trait has been graphically delin- 
eated in Zangwill’s “The King of Schnorrers.” The 
equivalent Hebrew term of the Malizor, “melek 
ebj^on,” has been adopted in the Yiddish vernacular 
to denote a person of extreme poverty and shabby 
gentility. See Begging and Beggars. 

Bibliography: Jacobs, Jewish Year Booh, 5659 (1899), p. 

291; A. A. Green, in Jew. Chron. 1900. 

j. J. D. E. 

SCHNURMANN, NESTOR IVAN ; English 
educationist; born 1854 in Russia. He went to Eng- 
land about 1880, and began his career as a teacher 
of Russian and kindred languages to army officers, 
becoming examiner in Bulgarian to the civil serv- 
ice commissioners. He was for some time lecturer 
in Russian and other Slavonic languages at the Uni- 
versity of Cambridge. In 1894 he was appointed 
assistant master at Cheltenham College, and head of 
a house for Jewish boys at that institution. 

Sclinurmann is the author of several text-books 
of instruction in Russian: “The Russian Manual,” 
London, 1888; “Aid to Russian Composition,” ib. 
1888; “Russian Reader,” ib. 1891. 

Bibliography: Jetvish Year Booh, 5665 (1904-5). 

j. I. Co. 

SCHOMBER-G, SIR ALEXANDER : British 
naval officer; born 1710; died in Dublin Marcli 10, 
1804; younger son of Meyer Low Scliomberg. He 
entered the navy in Nov., 1743. In 1747 he was 
promoted lieutenant of the “ Hornet ” ; in 1755 he 
was appointed to the “Medway,” one of the fleet in 
the Bay of Biscay; and in 1757 he became captain 
of the “ Richmond ” ; from this vessel he was trans- 
ferred to the “ Diana ” frigate, which in 1760 was 
one of the squadron that repulsed an attempt by the 
French to regain Quebec. Scliomberg was then ap- 
pointed to the “Essex,” a ship of 64 guns, and in 
1761 he took part under the command of Commodore 
Keppel in the reduction of Belle-Isle. In 1770 he 
was appointed to the “Prudent,” and in 1771 to the 
command of the “Dorset.” He was knighted by 
the lord lieutenant in 1777, and for many years 
headed the list of captains. 

Sir Alexander was the author of a work entitled 
“ A Sea Manual Recommended to the Young Officers 
of the Roj^al Navy as a Companion to the Signal- 
Book,” 1789. 

Bibliography: Boase, Modern Biography; Char nock, Bio- 

graphia Navalis, vi. 

j Q L 

SCHOMBERGq ISAAC; English physician; 
born at Cologne /Vug. 14, 1714; died in London May 
4, 1780; son of Meyer Low Scliomberg. He re- 
ceived a liberal education, and pursued his med- 



107 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Schneiersohn 

Schonerer 


ical studies at Ledyen, where lie took the degree of 
M.D. Returning to England, he commenced prac- 
tise in London. 

His career was remarkable for his dispute with 
the Royal College of Physicians. In Feb., 1745(6), 
he was summoned by the board of censors to submit 
himself to examination as a licentiate. In reply he 
sent a letter of excuse which was termed “improb- 
able and indecent.” In 1747 he was entered at 
Trinity College, Cambridge, and on appearing be- 
fore the censors to give notice of the fact, he was 
formally interdicted by the Royal College of Physi~ 
cians from practising his profession. Receiving bap- 
tism, he was created M.D. at Cambridge by royal 
mandate July 21, 1749; and thereupon he demanded 
examination for admission to the Royal College of 
Physicians as a right derived through his Cambridge 
degree. The examinations were allowed, and he 
was found fully competent to practise; but admis- 
sion to the college was again denied him, and liis 
repeated applications thereafter were sedulously dis- 
missed. Moses Mendez assisted Schomberg in wri- 
ting on the subject a satire entitled “The Battiad.” 
It was not until after the lapse of many years and 
after many subsequent appeals that the feeling en- 
gendered by these occurrences was removed. In 
the meantime Scliomberg’s conduct had been correct 
and conciliatory, and with the view doubtless of 
marking their approval the college admitted him as 
a licentiate on Dec. 23, 1765. He obtained a fello^v- 
ship Sepl. 30, 1771, and was appointed censor at the 
college in 1773 and again in 1778. Schomberg at- 
tended Garrick in his last illness. 


Bibliography : Gentleman's Magazine , 1751 ; Nichols, Lit- 
erary Anecdotes , iii. 26-27, iv. 606 ; Munk, Roll of Royal Col- 
lege of Physicians of London , ii. 72; European Magazine, 
March, 1803; Chalmers, Biographical Diet.; Diet National 
Biography. p T 


SCHOMBERG, MEYEE- X.O w : English phy- 
sician ; born at Fetzburg, Germany, 1690 ; died in 
London March 4, 1761. He was the eldest son of a 
Jewish practitioner of medicine whose original name 
was Low, which he changed to Schomberg. Schom- 
berg obtained the degree of M.D. from the University 
of Giessen on Dec. 21, 1710, having entered the uni- 
versity on Dec. 13, 1706. Obtaining a license, he 
began to practise at Schweinburg and later removed 
to Blanken stein. After 1710 he practised at Metz, 
and went to England about 1720. 

Schomberg was admitted as a licentiate of the 
Royal College of Physicians March 19, 1721(2). 
At that time he was in very reduced circumstances, 
and the college considerately accepted his bond for 
the future payment of his admission fees. Cultiva- 
ting an intimacy with the Jews of Duke’s place, he 
obtained introductions to some of the leading mer- 
chants, and soon became the foremost physician of 
the city, being in receipt of a professional income 
of 4,000 guineas ($21,000) a year. He was elected 
a fellow of the Ro}^ Society in 1726, and w r as a 
strong supporter of the action of his son, Isaac 
SciiOMBEiiG, against the Royal College of Physi- 
cians. 


Bibliography : Munk, Roll of Royal College of Physicians 
of London, ii. 72-73; Carmoly, Lcs Medecins Juifs, p. ~00. 

T G. L. 


SCHOMBERG, RALPH (RAPHAEL) : Eng- 
lish physician and author; born at Cologne, Ger- 
many, Aug. 14, 1714; died at Reading, England, 
June 29, 1792; twin brother of Isaac Schomberg. 
He was educated at Merchant Taylor’s School, and 
studied medicine at Rotterdam, obtaining the de- 
gree of M.D. from another university. He first set- 
tled at Yarmouth and practised there as a physician, 
also publishing some works on professional subjects. 
He was elected a fellow of the Society of Antiquaries 
in 1752, and soon afterward removed to Bath, in 
which city he practised for some years with success. 
During his residence there circumstances arose which 
compelled his retirement from Bath and from public 
practise. He removed to Pangborne in Berkshire, 
and afterward to Reading. He corresponded -with 
E. M. da Costa. 

A voluminous and miscellaneous writer, Schom- 
berg has been described as “ a scribbler destitute of 
either genius or veracity.” He wrote: “An Ode on 
the Present Rebellion,” 1746; “An Account of the 
Present Rebellion,” 1746; “Apliorismi Practici, 
sive Observationes Mediae,” 1750; “Prosperi Mar- 
tiani Annotationes in Csecas Pramotationes Synop- 
sis,” 1751; “Physical Rhapsody, ”1751; “Van Swie- 
ten’s Commentaries,” 1762 ; “ A Treatise on the Colica 
Pietonum or Dry Belly-Ache,” 1764; “Duport de 
Signis Morborum Libri Quatuor,” 1766; “Death of 
Bucephalus” (1765), burlesque acted at Edinburgh; 
“ The Life of Maecenas, ” i.767 ; “ Judgment of Paris ” 
(1768), burlesque performed at the Haymarket; 
“A Critical Dissertation on the Characters and Wri- 
tings of Pindar and Horace”; “Medico Mastix,” 
1771; “The Theorists” (1774), a satire; “Fashion” 
(1775), a poem. His productions met generally with 
an unfavorable reception. 



tiortal. XSiOQ-raz)1iT/- 

j G. L. 


SCHONERER, GEORG VON ; Austrian poli- 
tician and anti-Semitic agitator; born at Vienna 
July 17, 1842. He devoted himself to agriculture, 
and in 1873 entered the Austrian Diet, where he rep- 
resented the German-National party and gave his 
support to the anti-Semitic movement. Having en- 
tered by force the office of the “Neues Wiener 
Tageblatt ” (called “ Judenblatt ” because it pleaded 
the cause of the Jews), he was condemned (May 5, 
1888) to four months’ imprisonment and loss of his 
title of nobility and his immunity as a member of 
the Diet. Later he regained his status. He propa- 
gated his ideas in his semimonthly “Unverfalschte 
Deutsche Worte.” In 1S95 he retired from public 
life, but continued to be a bitter opponent of the 
Christian-Social party and its leaders Laeger and 
Vergani. He embraced Protestantism Sept. 2, 
1899° 

Schonerer published “Zwolf Reden” (Vienna, 
1886) and “Fimf Reden” (ib. 1891). His father, 
Mathias, a railroad contractor in the employ of the 
Rothschilds, left him a large fortune. His w r ife is a 
great-granddaughter of R. Samuel Lob Kohen, m ho 
died at Pohrlitz in 1832. See Jew. Encyc. i. 646, 
s.v. Anti-Semitism. 



Sehdnfeld 

Schossbergrer 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


108 


Bibliography : Mitthcilungcn zurAbwehrdes A nti-Semitis- 
mus, 1S91-1900; Brochhans Konvcrsations-Lexikon ; Mey- 
ers Ko i iversat iom-Lcz ikon ; Wurzbacli, Bingraphischcs 
Lexihon. 

j. S. Man. 

SCHONFELD, BARUCH: Hungarian Hebra- 
ist ; born at Szeuicz 177S ; died at Budapest Dec. 29, 
1852. He was a teacher in several towns of Hun- 
gary and Moravia, and was the author of the follow- 
ing works: “Zeror Peraliim ” (Vienna, 1814), essays 
in prose and poetry ; “ Mussar Ilaskel ” (Prague, 
1831), a manual of ethics for Jewish youth, adapted 
from Campe’s “Theophron”; “Shalme Todali” 
(Hamburg, 1840), an ode dedicated to Gabriel Ries- 
ser; “‘Anaf ‘Ez Abot” (Ofen, 1841), a metrical 
versification of some midrashic legends; and “Min- 
hali Belulah ” (Vienna, 1S50), a collection of prose 
and verse. 

Bibliography: Fuenn, Kcncsct Yisrael, p. 198; Steinscbn ei- 
der, Cat. Bodl. col. 2571; Zeitlin, Bibl. Post-Mendels, p. 348. 
s. M. Sel. 

SCHONHAK, JOSEPH: Russian author; born 
at Tiktin 1812; died at Suwalki Dec. 10, 1870. 
Sclionliak led a retired life, devoting his time to 
writing aud study. He was the author of “Toledo! 
ha- Are?” (Warsaw, 1841) and “ Ha-Maslibir,” or 
“ ‘Aruk he-Hadasli” ( ib . 1S58). The “Toledo! ha- 
Arez ” is a natural history in three parts. The 
subjects are arranged and classified, and a full de- 
scription of each is given as to color, form, and 
habitat. Those that are mentioned in the Bible are 
given book, chapter, and verse; and so with those 
mentioned in the Talmud. The “ Ha-Maslibir ” is 
an Aramaic-German rabbinical dictionary, based on 
Nathan ben Jolliers “‘Aruk.” His “ Sefer lia-Mil- 
luim ” was published at Warsaw in 1869. 

Bibliography: Ha-Maggid, 1870, No. 49; Fuenn, Keneset 
Yisrael 1866. 

S. J. Go. 

SCHOOL; SCHOOL-TEACHER. See Edu- 
cation. 

SCHOR, ABRAHAM HAYYIM BEN 
NAPHTALI HIRSCH: Galician rabbi; died at 
Belz, a small town near Lemberg, Jan. 3 (or 23), 
1632 ; buried in Lemberg. He was rabbi in Satanow 
and later in Belz, and, according to Levvinstein (in 
“ ‘Ir Tehillah ”), in Lemberg also. He wrote : “ Torat 
Hayyim ” (part i., Lublin, 1624; part ii., Cracow, 
1636), novella? on nine treatises of the Talmud ; “ Zon 
Kodashim ” (Wandsbeck, 1729), notes on the Tal- 
mudic treatises of the order Kodashim, in collabora- 
tion with Mordecai Asher, rabbi of Brzezany; and 
“Kontres Bedek lia-Bayit,” notes on the part of the 
Shulhan ‘Aruk, Eben ha-‘Ezer that deals with di- 
vorces (“hilkot gittin ”), printed with Judah Aryeli 
b. David’s “ Guv Aryeli ” (Amsterdam, 1733). Schor 
is quoted by Benjamin Aaron Salnik in his re- 
sponsa “Mas’at Binyamin” (No. 88), and by Del- , 
medigo in his “Eliin.” 

Bibliography : Buber, Anshe Shem , p. 2; Fuenn, Kcncsct 
Yisrael , p. 368 ; Furst, Bibl. Jud. iii. 284. 
e. c. M. Sel. 

SCHOR, (MOSES) EPHRAIM SOLOMON 

(the Elder) : Polish rabbi ; died in Lublin in 1633. 
He was the son of Naphtali Hirsch of Moravia and 
a descendant of the tosafist Joseph Bekor Sclior. 


Ephraim Solomon married Hannele, the daughter of 
Saul Wahl of Brest-Litovsk, of which city he later 
became rabbi. He succeeded R. Samuel Edels 
| (MaHaRSIIA) as rabbi of Lublin, where he remained 
until his death. 

Schor was the author of a work entitled “Tebu’ot 
Slior,”an abridgment of Joseph Caro’s “Bet Yosef.” 
He is sometimes called the elder “Tebu’ot Slior,” to 
distinguish him from his brother’s great-grandson 
Alexander Sender Shor of Zolkiev, who was the 
author of a work bearing the same name. Ephraim 
Solomon’s son Jacob, author of “Bet Ya'akob,” on 
Sanhedrin, was rabbi of Brest-Litovsk from 1652 to 
1655. 

Bibliography : Walden, Shem ha-Gedollm he-Hadash , p. 45 ; 

Felnstein, k Ir Tehillah , pp. 24, 26, 153, Warsaw,* 1886 ; Nissen- 

baum, Lc-Korot hci-Ychudim bc-Lublin , pp. 35-36, Lublin* 

1899. 

H. Ii. P. Wl. 

SCHOR, NAPHTALI HIRSCH BEN ZAL- 
MAN (known also as Hirsch Elsasser) : Mora- 
vian Talmudist of the sixteenth century. He was 
a pupil of Moses Isserles, who addressed to him 
many of his responsa, most of which are explana- 
tions of the “Sefer ha-Mordekai.” It seems from 
No. 121 of these responsa that Sclior’s residence 
was at Posen, and from No. 112 that lie was for a 
long time absent from his home, seeking a position 
in one of the German towns. The most prominent 
among his pupils was Joel Sirkes, author of “Bayifc 
Hadash (Ball).” 

According to Fuenn (“ Kiryah Ne’emanah,” pp. 
54-55), Schor is to be identified with Naphtali Herz, 
rabbi of Brest-Litovsk, one of the signatories to a 
decision in the affair of the ‘Agunah of Brest (Is- 
serles, Responsa, No. 14). It has, however, been 
proved that this identification is not warranted, as 
the rabbi of Brest-Litovsk in question speaks in the 
responsum not as a pupil of Isserles, but as an older 
authority. 

Bibliography : Feinstein, L Ir Tehillah , pp. 23, 145, 151, 188 ; 

Fuenn, Kcncsct Yisrael , p. 292. 

e. c. - M. Sel. 

SCHORR, JOSHUA HESCHEL (commonly 
known as Osias Schorr) : Galician Hebrew schol- 
ar, critic, and communal worker ; born at Brody May 
22, 1814; died there Sept. 2, 1895. His parents were 
rich, but, owing to the obscurantism which pre- 
vailed in Galicia, Schorr received a rather scanty 
education in the heder. Prompted, however, by an 
invincible desire for more knowledge, the boy 
sought the acquaintance of the Galician Hebrew 
scholars of the time, and finally became acquainted 
with Isaac Erter, under whose guidance he studied 
Hebrew, Talmud, foreign languages, and the secu- 
lar sciences. It was chiefly Erter that influenced 
young Schorr, who learned from him 

Early his elevated style, liis critical spirit, 

Career. and also his sarcasm. Schorr was 
greatly influenced by Samuel David 
Luzzatto also with regard to criticism and the study 
of science: but with respect toTalmudical Judaism, 
as will be shown later, he was directly opposed to 
Luzzatto. 

Schorr was married young to a woman of good 
family; and, having become independent, he de- 



109 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Schbnfeld 

Schossberger 


voted the remainder of his life to literary pursuits. 
About 1865, however, his wife and only son died, 
and he besides lost the larger part of his fortune, so 
that after that time he lived almost in seclusion. 
These reverses seem to have preyed on Schorr's 
mind, as may be seen by the difference in tone be- 
tween the first six and the latter parts of his “He- 
Haluz.” Schorr began his literary activity in He- 
brew with articles on the history of Jewish litera- 
ture for the periodical “Ziyyon,” edited by Jostand 
Creiznach. As this periodical could not publish the 
large number of contributions from Hebrew wri- 
ters, Erter resolved upon founding one of his own. 
He had already drawn up the plan of the new peri- 
odical and written part of the preface, when liis 
labors were interrupted by death, and Schorr was 
left to carry out his master's plan. The new jour- 
nal was entitled He-Haluz. 

Schorr distinguished himself by liis pungent 
style and the satirical liumor with which he at- 
tacked his opponents. He was im- 
pounds daunted in his criticism of anything 
“ He- or any one that opposed the spread of 
Haluz.” modern civilization. Together with 
Erter and other champions of the 
Haskalah, he fought against Hasidism and ob- 
scurantism, but he went much farther than his con- 
tern pdraries in that he even attacked the Talmud 
itself. He declared that the rabbis of the Gemara 
did not fully understand the meaning of the Mish- 
nah, and that therefore their decisions were very 
often absurd and contrary to reason as well as 
to the spirit of the Mishnah. In his attacks upon 
the Talmud he cited particularly those passages 
which were not in accord with the modem spirit 
or which appeared to be obscene. Hence, while 
in the early volumes of “He-Haluz” he had as 
collaborators men like Abraham Geiger, Abraham 
Krochmal, Steinsclmeider, Samuel David Luzzatto, 
and others, he remained almost alone in the later 
volumes. It is true that some of his former collab- 
orators had died ; but there were many others who 
turned against him and became the objects of his 
satirical shafts. 

Indeed, Schorr spared no one who was not of his 
own opinion, and with the exception of Nachman 
Krochmal's “ Moreli Nebuke ha-Zeman ” and Geiger’s 
“ Urschrift ” no work which came under his criti- 
cism was left unscathed. He was an 
As a able critic and had published as early 
Critic. as 1841, in “Ziyyon” (i. 147 et seq.), 
a critical essa} r on the “Sliibbole ha- 
Leket” and tlie“Sefer Tanya.” In Biblical criti- 
cism he was influenced by Kennicott, and wrote in 
“Ile-Haluz” many notes on the Bible, as well as 
numerous comments on Talmudic and midrashic 
passages. 

Schorr, in the later numbers of his “He-Haluz,” 
became even more bitter in his attacks. This may 
have been due to the moroseness into which he was 
thrown by his reverse of fortune. There is even a 
difference of ideas evident in the later and the earlier 
issues of the periodical; for whereas in the early 
volumes Schorr declared that many of the sayings 
of the Babbis are taken from Zoroastrianism and 
that most of the words are Persian (Pahlavi), in the 


later numbers he declared them to be of Greek ori- 
gin. As was natural, many polemical works were 
written against Schorr, in which the authors did not 
refrain even from violent personal abuse; for ex- 
ample, Meir Kohn Bistritz in his “Bi’ur Tit lia- 
Yawen.” 

As a communal worker Schorr was indefatigable, 
interesting himself in all questions regarding the 
Galician communities. He fought together with 
Abraham Cohen of Lemberg for the abolishment 
of the meat- and candle-tax in Gali- 
As a cia, and strove to improve the educa- 
Communal tion of the Jewish youth, insisting, in 
Worker, spite of his liberal ideas with regard 
to religion, upon the need of Jewish 
denominational schools, in which the Jewish spirit 
might be preserved in its purity. His articles in 
the “Tbri Anoki,” which he wrote on the occasion 
of the foundation of the Mahazike ha-Dat society 
in Lemberg, show clearly that he was a fervent 
Jewish nationalist. He bequeathed his property 
and his library, which was a considerable one, to 
the rabbinical seminary of Vienna. 

Bibliography*. G. Bader, in Farcies , iii. 181 et seq .; A. Br£Ul, 
in Monatsbliitter , xv. 244 et seq.\ Ha-Maggid , xxxix.. No. 
36; Furst, Bibl. Jud. iii. 284-285; Zeitlin, Bibl. Post - 
Menclels . pp. 349-350. For He-Haluz: Epstein, in Weiss- 
inan’s MonatsschrifU 1889, pp. 53 et seq.; Geiger, Zeit. Jtid. 
Theol. i7. 6T et seq., viii. 168; Wistinetzki, in Ha-Meliz , 
xxxiv.. No. 12. 

W. B. M. Sel. 

SCHORR, NAPHTALI MENDEL : Galician 
Hebrew writer ; died at Lemberg Dec. 14, 1883. He 
was the founder (1861) of the Hebrew weekly “Ha- 
‘Et,” of which only twenty-two numbers appeared. 
In 1855 he edited in Lemberg Jedaiah Bedersi’s “Be- 
hinat ha- ‘Olam ” and “Bakhashat ha-Memim,” to 
which latter work he added a German translation 
and a Hebrew commentary entitled “ Patshegen ha- 
Ketab. ” 

Schorr was, besides, the author of “Har ha-Mor,” 
a collection, in three parts, of narratives from Jew- 
ish medieval history (Lemberg, 1855-75), and of 
“Mas’at Nefesh,” called also “Mishle Berakman” 
(ib. 1867), a Hebrew translation of the “Brahma- 
nisclie Weislieit,” to which he wrote an introduction. 
Schorr contributed articles to Hebrew periodicals 
over the signature formed of the last letter of 
each of his names. 

Bibliography: Zeitlin, BiU. Post-3Iendels. p. 349. 
s. M. Sel. 

SCHOSSBERGER DE TORNA, SIMON 
WOLE: Hungarian merchant and estate-owner; 
bom 1796 at Sasvar (Sassin, Scliossberg, Comitat 
N) r itra) ; died at Budapest March 25, 1874. Through 
his many commercial, industrial, and agricultural 
enterprises he attained wealth and honor; and by 
his promotion of the tobacco industiy he solved 
a Hungarian economic problem. 

Previous to 1861 Schossberger was twice presi- 
dent of the Jewish community of Pesth. He was the 
first Hungarian Jew elevated to the nobility by Em- 
peror Francis Joseph I. (1S62) ; he assumed the name 
“DeTorna.” 

One of Schossberger ’s sons, Sigmund von 



Schott 

Schreiner 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


110 


Schossberger, was in 1885 created a baron, being 
the first Jew thus honored in Hungaiy. 
s. L. Y. 

SCHOTT (SCHOTTLANDER), BENEDICT 
(BARUCH) : German educationist ; born in Danzig 
March 11, 1703 (or 1764); died at Seesen July 21, 
1846. Left an orphan at an early age, he wandered 
through German}' as a scholar (“ bahur ”), and among 
other places sojourned in Glogau, Breslau, and Ber- 
lin. In the last-named city he was tutor in the house 
of the banker Herz Beer, father of the composer 
Meyerbeer. In 1804 Schott was called as a teacher 
to the newly established Jacobsonscliule in Seesen, 
and two years later he was made its director. 

At Jacobson’s request the title “liofrat” was con- 
ferred upon Schott by Landgrave Ludwig X. of 
Hesse - D arm stad t. 

In 1806 Schott, commissioned ly Jacobson, went 
to Paris to submit to the Sanhedrin summoned by 
Napoleon a memorial urging the necessity of better 
education among the Jews. After a long term of 
activity in the Jacobsonscliule, Schott retired July 
1, 1838, in his seventy-fifth year. 

Schott was the author of the following works: 
“Der Levit von Ephraim,” Breslau, 1798; “Toldoth 
Noach, oder die Gescliichte der Sundflutli,” ib. 1799; 
“ Zaplmat Paneach,” a collection of moral teachings, 
proverbs, stories, and poems from the Talmud and 
other Jewish works; a reader for Jewish children, 
designed especially for use in the Jacobsonscliule, 
vol. i. , Konigslutter, 1S04; vol. ii., Hildesheim, 1812; 

“ Sendsclireiben an Meine Bruder, die Israeliten in 
Westfalen, die Erriclitung eines Jlidisclien Konsis- 
toriums Betreffend,” Brunswick, 1808. 

Bibliography : Ha-Mecissef, ix. 9 ; Sulamith , hi., part v., 301 ; 
new series, vol. i., parfcii., p. 157, notes; P. Philippson, Bingra - 
phische Skizzen , ii.l6S, and notes; Steinschneider, Cat. Bodl. 
col. 2573; Zcitschrift des Harzvereins f 'dr Gescliichte und 
Altertumskimde, xxiii. 204, 206; Wolilwill,in Allg. Zeit. des 
Jud. 1847, p. 13 ; Lewinsky, Hof rat Benedict Schott , ib. 1901, 
pp. 460 ct sccj. 

s. A, Lew. 

SCHOTTLANDER, JULIUS: German mer- 
chant; born at Miinsterberg, Silesia, March 22, 1835; 
educated at the public schools of his native town and 
at Breslau. He established himself as a wool- and 
grain-merchant in Miinsterberg; but in 1859 removed 
his business to Breslau, associating himself with his 
brother-in-law, Louis Pakully. Prom 1864 to 1869 
he leased from the city of Breslau the Mittel mill, 
where he manufactured sweet -oil. During the 
Pfusso- Austrian war of 1866 he was contractor for 
the sixth Prussian army corps, and in the Franco- 
Prussian war of 1870-71 for the third German army. 
During the following twenty years Schottliinder 
engaged in milling, mining, the manufacture ©f 
cement, bricks, and sugar, and in real-estate trans- 
actions. In 1890 he retired from active business 
life, and since then has devoted himself to agricul- 
ture, having acquired a large tract of farm-land in 
Silesia. 

Schottliinder has been identified with many chari- 
ties in the cities of Breslau and Miinsterberg, and 
has contributed largely to the embellishment of the 
latter city. 

Bibliography: Mtlnstcrberyer Zeitung, March 22, 1905. 
s. F. T. H. 


SCHOTTLANDER, JULIUS : German gyne- 
cologist; born at St. Petersburg April 12, 1860. 
Studying at the universities of Munich and Heidel- 
berg, he graduated as doctor of medicine in 1887. 
During the following two }'ears he was assistant to 
Ivelir in Halberstadt, later to Martin in Berlin. In 
18931ie established himself as a physician in Heidel- 
berg, and became privat-docent in g} r necology at 
the university. In 1897 he was appointed assistant 
professor. \ 

Schottliinder has written several essays in the 
medical journals, and is the author of “Eierstock- 
tuberculose,” Jena, 1896. 

Bibliography: Pagel, Biog. Lex. 

s. F. T. II. 

SCHREIBER, EMANUEL : American rabbi ; 
born at Leipnik, Moravia, Dec. 13, 1852. He re- 
ceived his education at the gymnasium of Ixremsir, 
the University of Berlin, the Talmudical college of 
liis native town, the rabbinical seminary at Eisen- 
stadt, Hungary, and the Hochschule in Berlin 
(Pli.D., Heidelberg, 1873). In 1874 he was ap- 
pointed teacher at the Samson School at Wolfen- 
buttel, and subsequently became rabbi of Elbing 
(1875) and Bonn on the Bhine (1878). In 1881 he 
accepted a call to the rabbinate of Mobile, Ala., 
where he remained until 1883, when he was elected 
rabbi of Denver, Colo. He then held successively 
the rabbinates of Los Angeles, Cal. (18S5-S9); Little 
Rock, Ark. (1889-91); Spokane, Wash. (1891-92); 
Toledo, O. (1892-97); and Youngstown, O. (1897- 
1899). Since 1899 he has been rabbi of Congrega- 
tion Emanu-El, Chicago, 111. 

Sclireiber was editor of the “ Jiidische Gemeinde- 
und Familien-Zeitung ” (later “ Die Reform ”) from 
1876 to 1881, and of the “Chicago Occident” from 
1893 to 1896 ; and lie has written many essays for the 
Jewish press. Of his works may be mentioned: 
“Die Principien des Judenthums Vergliclien mit 
Denen des Christen turns,” Leipsic, 1877 ; “ Abraham 
Geiger,” ib. 1879; “Erz&hlungen der Heiligen 
Schrift, ” 4tli ed., Leipsic, 1880; “Die Selbstkritik 
der Juden,” Berlin, 1880, and Leipsic, 1890; 
“Graetz’s Geschichtsbauerei,” ib. 1881; “Der Tal- 
mud vom Stand punkt des Modernen Judenthums,” 
ib. 1881; “The Talmud,” Denver, 1SS4; “Reform 
Judaism and Its Pioneers,” Spokane, 1S92; “Moses 
Bloch, a Biography,” Chicago, 1894; and “The 
Bible in the Light of Science,” Pittsburg, 1S97. 

Bibliography : American Jewish Year Book. 5664 (1904). 

a. F. T. II. 

SCHREIBER, MOSES B. SAMUEL (known 
also as Moses Sofer) : German rabbi ; born at 
Frankfort-on-thc-Main Sept. 14, 1763; died at Pres- 
burg Oct. 3, 1839. His mother’s name was Reisil. 
At the age of nine he entered the yeshibali of R. 
Nathan Adler at Frankfort, and when only thirteen 
3 'ears old he delivered public lectures the excellence 
of which took his audiences by surprise. So great 
was the boy’s fame that R. Pliinehas Horowitz 
(Hurwitz), author of the “Sefer Hafla’ah,” then 
rabbi of Frankfort, invited him to become his pupil. 
Sclireiber consented, but remained under Horowitz 
for one j'ear only, when he left for the yeshibali of 
R. Tebele Scheuer in the neighboring city of Ma- 



Ill 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Schott 

Schreiner 



Moses Schreiber. 


yence, who gladly welcomed the boy. Scheuer gra- 
tuitously supplied all his wants, and Schreiber with 
increased energy and assiduity devoted himself to 
the study of the Talmud. All the prominent resi- 
dents of Mayence took an interest in the boy’s wel- 
fare and facilitated 
the progress of his 
studies. 

‘ In spite of his great 
devotion to Bible and 
Talmud Schreiber suc- 
ceeded in acquiring a 
knowledge of secular 
sciences also, becoming 
proficient in astrono- 
my, astrology, geome- 
try, and general his- 
tory. His teacher then 
gave him the rabbin- 
ical diploma, author- 
izing him to render 
decisions on questions 
of law. Yielding to 
the entreaties of his 
former teachers in Frankfort, Schreiber returned to 
his native city. 

In 1782 R. Nathan Adler was called to the rab- 
binate of Boskowitz, and Schreiber followed him. 
From Boskowitz Schreiber went, at Adler’s advice, 
to Prossnitz, where he married Sarah, the widowed 
daughter of R. Moses Jerwitz, by whom all his ma- 
terial wants v'ere supplied for tw 7 o years. He be- 
came head of the yeshibah at Prossnitz, and later 
accepted his first official position, becoming rabbi 
of Dresnitz, after he had procured the sanction of 
the government to settle in that toAvn. In the year 
1798, shortly before the Feast of Tabernacles, he 
resigned the rabbinate, and accepted that of Mat- 
tersdorf, Hungary. There he established a yeshi- 
bah, and pupils hocked to him. About this time 
he declined many other oilers of rabbinates, but 
in 1808 accepted a call to Presburg. Here also 
he established a yeshibah, which was attended 
by about 500 pupils, many of whom became famous 
rabbis. He did not, howmver, enjoy his stay at 
Presburg, his activity in behalf of liis people being 
hampered by the disturbances resulting from the 
v^ar between Austria and France ; and in 1812 liis 
troubles were augmented b} r the death of his w T ife. 
After the lapse of some time he married Sarah, the 
daughter of Akiba Eger. 

In 1819 the Reform movement among the Jews of 
Hamburg w r as initiated. Schreiber declared open 
war against the reformers, and attacked them in his 
speeches and writings with all the force at his 
command. In the same spirit he fought also the 
founders of the Reformschule in Presburg, wdiicli 
w 7 as established in the year 1827. This Avar against 
the reformers he prosecuted unremittingly for the 
remainder of his life. 

Although in his early days an adherent of the 
Pilpul, Schreiber later discarded its methods. His 
lectures, Avliieh Avere very lucid, Avere presented in 
sncli a simplified form as to be easily understood 
by all liis hearers. His relations to his pupils 
s tender in the extreme. He was likewise an 


efficient preacher; he Avas never sparing in his de- 
nunciation of evil-doers, and fearlessly attacked 
them irrespective of their position and standing in 
the community. He Avas moreover distinguished 
especially for his modesty as Avell as for liis chari- 
table deeds, being the founder of many benevolent 
institutions. 

About 100 volumes were left by Schreiber in man- 
uscript, of which the folio Aving have been printed : 
(1) “Hatam Sofer” (6 vols., Presburg, 1855-64), a 
collection of responsa; (2) “Hatam Sofer,” consist- 
ing of “ hiddushim ” to many Talmudical treatises 
published at various dates and places; (3) “Shirat 
Mosheh ” (ib. 1857), A 7 arious poems of a cabalistic na- 
ture; (4) “ZaAVAva’at Mosheh ” (Vienna, 1863), ante- 
mortem instructions to his children and descendants ; 
(5) “Torat Mosheh” (Presburg, 1879-93), commen- 
taries and notes on the Pentateuch; and (6) “Sefer 
Zikkaron ” (Droliobicz, 1896), a narrative of the 
author’s sufferings during the siege of Presburg. 
In addition to the foregoing Avorks, hiddushim by 
him Avere included in several works of other authors. 

Bibliography: L. Landsberg, BiograpMe des Moses Sofer, 

Presburg, 1876; S. Schreiber, Hut hci-Meshullasli , vol. i., 

Munkacs, 1894 ; Zedner, Cat. Hebr. Books Brit. Mus. p. 687. 

e. c. B. Fk. 

SCHREIBER, SIMON; Austrian rabbi; born 
at Presburg, Hungary, 1821; died March 25, 1888, 
at CracoAv ; son of Moses Schreiber. In 1842 he be- 
came rabbi of Mattersdorf ; in 1857 he declined a call 
from the congregation of Papa ; and in 1860 he ac- 
cepted a similar invitation to the city of Cracow. 
He became the foremost leader of the Orthodox Jews 
of Galicia in religious as w r ell as in Avorldly matters ; 
and his reputation for shreAvdness and prudence in 
secular affairs was such that in 1879 he Avas elected 
a member of the Austrian Parliament. 

In 1880 Schreiber founded the Hebrew weekly 
“Mahazike ha-Dat,” Avhich is still (1905) published 
in Lemberg. 

Bibliography : S. Schreiber, Hut ha-Me$liullcis7i, p. 66b ; Fried- 

berg, Luhot Zikkaron, p. 37. 

E. C. ’ B. Fb. 

SCHREINER, ABRAHAM ; Austrian discov- 
erer of petroleum ; born in Galicia in the second dec- 
ade of the nineteenth century ; died after 1870. He 
was a merchant in Boryslaw 7 , wdiere he possessed 
some land-. On this land Avas a holloAV from w r hich 
exuded a greasy, tarry secretion ; this the farmers 
of the neighborhood had for a long time used as a 
kind of panacea. Schreiner took some of this stuff 
and, forming a ball of it, inserted therein a Avick, 
which, Avlien lighted, burned Avitli a red flame. He 
iioav tried to distil the mass by filling an old iron pot 
Avitb it and placing it upon tbe fire. The result aa-us 
disastrous: the pot exploded, and the experimenter 
Avas severely injured. Schreiner, upon liis recov- 
ery, Aveut to an apothecary Avho sold him adistilliug- 
apparatus and instructed him in its use. With this 
Schreiner succeeded in 1853 in producing petroleum, 
which he sold to the druggists in Droliobicz and in 
Sambor. Later lie disposed of 100 pounds of it for 
15 florins to the Lemberg chemist Nikolasen, aa t 1io 
refined it and produced a colorless, clear liquid. 
The Austrian Northern Railway in 1854 bought 300 
pounds of refined petroleum at 20 florins per liun- 


Schreiner 

Schulhof 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


112 


dred weight and tested it for illuminating purposes. 
Schreiner now sank wells and procured oil in larger 
quantities; but his buildings were twice burned, and 
after the last conflagration, in 1S66, he became im- 
poverished. 

In the meantime the Americans had introduced 
petroleum to the world (1S59), and Schreiner was no 
longer able to compete with them. He died a poor 
man at the age of about fifty. 

Bibliography : Hugo Warmliolz, in Von Felszum Meei\ re- 
printed in Ally. Zeit. des Jud. Feb. 10, 1904, pp. 69 ct scq. 

s. F. T. H. 

SCHREINER, MARTIN: Hungarian rabbi; 
born at Grosswardein July 8, 18G3; educated at the 
local gymnasium and the rabbinical seminary and 
at the University of Budapest (Ph.D. 1885; rabbin- 
ical diploma, 1887). Prom 1887 to 1890 he officiated 
as rabbi at Somog} r -Csurgo, and in 1898 became pro- 
fessor at the Jewish normal school at Budapest. In 
the following } r ear he was called to the Lebranstalt 
flir die Wissenschaft des Judentliums in Berlin 
as instructor in Jewish history and the philosophy 
of religion. 

Schreiner is the author of the following works: 
“ Adalekok a Bibliai Szoveg Kiejtesenek Tortenete- 
liez,” Budapest, 1885 (in German also), historical 
notes on the pronunciation of the Biblical text; “ Az 
Iszlam Vallasos Mozgalmai az Elso Negy Szazad- 
ban,” ib, 1889, on the religious movements of Islam 
during the first four centuries a.ii. ; “ Zur Geschiclite 
des A sell hiri tenth ums,” Leyden, 1890; “Le Kit&b al- 
MuhSdliara wa-J-Mudlnlkara de Moise ibn Ezra, et Ses 
Sources,” Paris, 1892 ; “ Der Kalam in der Judisclien 
Litteratur,” Berlin, 1895; “ Contributions a THistoire 
des Juifs en Egypte,” ib. 1896; and “DieJlingsten 
Urtheilc liber das Judenthum,” ib. 1902. Schreiner 
has published also a volume of sermons in Hungarian 
(Csurgo, 1887), and has contributed many articles to 
the “Philologiai Kozlony,” “Magyar Zsido Szemle,” 
“ Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenlaudischen Gesell- 
scliaft” (including his “Zur Geschiclite der Polemik 
Zwisclien Juden uud Muhammedanern ”), “Revue 
des Etudes Juives,” and “ Monatssclirif t fur die Ge- 
schiclite und Wissenschaft des Judenthums.” 
Bibliography : Pallas Lex. 

s. L. Y. 

SCHRENZEL, ABRAHAM. See Rapopout, 
Ann aii am. 

SCHREYER, JAKOB: Hungarian jurist; born 
Feb. 7, 1847, in Ugra. He studied at Nagyvarad, 
Debreczin, Budapest, and Vienna (Doctor of Law, 
1870), and was admitted to the bar at Budapest in 
1S72. He is (1905) a member of the aldermanic 
board, and corresponding member of the chamber of 
commerce and industry. In 1893 he was commis- 
sioned bj r the minister of justice, Desider Szilagyi, 
to draft a bill for the revision of the laws pertaining 
to bankruptcy, as well as one regulating extrajudi- 
cial questions. In 1896 he was made a lmiglit of 
the Order of Francis Joseph. 

Schreyer is the author of the following works; 
“A Perorvoslatok Teljes Rendszere,” a system of 
legal procedure, awarded a prize of 100 ducats by 
the Academy of Science, Budapest; “A Polgari 
Torvenykezesi Rendtartas,” in 2 vols., treating of 


procedure in civil cases; “25 ev a Magyar Kereske- 
delmi Csarnok Tortenetebol,” a history of the Hun- 
garian chamber of commerce, printed in 1896 under 
the auspices of the Hungarian ministry of commerce. 

s. L. Y. 

SCHUBT, JOHANN JAKOB : German poly- 
liistor and Orientalist; born at Frankfort-on-the- 
Main Jan. 14, 1664; died there Feb. 14, 1722. He 
studied theology at Wittenberg, and went to Ham- 
burg in 1684 to stiuty Orientalia under Ezra Edzardi. 
He then settled in his native city as teacher in the 
gymnasium in which he had been educated, and of 
which he became rector in 1717. He devoted him- 
self especiall} 7- to Jewish history and antiquities, 
beginning with the publication of a “ Compendium 
Historic Judaicm ” (1700). His greatest work was 
his “ Jildische Merckwiirdigkeiten,” of which three 
parts appeared in 1714, and a supplementary part in 
1717. Up to that time he had been on friendly 
terms with the Jews of Frankfort, writing a preface 
to Griinhut’s edition of Kimlii’s Commentaiy on the 
Psalms, 1712, while in 1716 he published the Purim 
play of the Frankfort and Prague Jews with a High 
German translation. He had, however, previously 
published “Judams Christicida,” attempting to 
prove that Jews deserved corporal as well as spiri- 
tual punishment for the crucifixion. His “ J iidische 
Merckwiirdigkeiten ” is full of prejudice, and re- 
peats many of the fables and ridiculous items 
published by Eisenmenger; but it contains also val- 
uable details of contemporary Jewish life, and will 
always be a source for the history of the Jews, par- 
ticularly those of Frankfort. Scliudt also contrib- 
uted to Ugoliui’s “Thesaurus ” (vol. xxxii.) a dis- 
sertation on the singers of the Temple. 

Bibliography : Allgcmcine Deutsche Biographic. 

E. c. J. 

SCHTJHL, MOISE : French rabbi ; born at 
Westliausen, Alsace, May 2, 1845. He received his 
education at the lyceum at Strasburg and at the 
Rabbinical Seminary, Paris, becoming rabbi at Saint- 
Etienne in 1870, chief rabbi of Yesoul in 1888, and 
chief rabbi of the consistory of Epinal in 1896. 

Schuhl is the author of: “Sentences et Proverbes 
du Talmud et du Midrascli,” Paris, 1S78; “Super- 
stitions et Coutumes Populaires du Judai’sme Con- 
temporain, ” ib. 1882 ; “ Les Preventions des Romains 
Contre la Religion Juive, ” ib. 18S2 ; and “ Nos Usages 
Religieux,” ib. 1896. 

s. F. T. II. 

SCHUL : Judam-German designation for the 
temple or the synagogue (“ bet ha-midrasli ”), used 
as early as the thirteenth century. The building of 
synagogues being forbidden in nearly every Euro- 
pean country at that period, the Jews were obliged 
to hold their services in private buildings ; and for 
this purpose they used the schools which they 
were permitted to conduct. It thus became cus- 
tomary for them to say merety “ I go to school ” 
instead of “I go to the chapel in the school.”' Ac- 
cording to Lazarus (“Treu und Frei,” p. 285), how- 
ever, this use of “scliul” for “ synagogue ” merely 
indicates the interchange of the two allied con- 
cepts, while Giidemann asserts, on the other hand 
(“Gesch.” iii. 94, note), that the Jews originally 



113 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Schreinei 

Sclmliiof 


called the synagogue a “schul” in the sense of “as- 
sembly,” this designation being accepted by the 
Jews since the Christians would not term the syna- 
gogue a church. 

It thus becomes explicable why this term was 
adopted for the synagogue in nearly all countries, 
e,g., “ scuola ” in Italy, “sohola” in England, and 
« szkola ” in Poland. According to Jacobs (“ Jews of 
Angevin England,” p.245, London, 1898), however, 
“ the frequent 
reference to Jew- 
ish scholae in the 
English records 
may refer to real 
schools and not 
to the syna- 
gogues, as has 
been hitherto 
assumed.” At 
Norwich the 
school built be- 
fore 1189 was 
not identical 
with the syna- 
gogue, and the 
same remark ap- 
plies to London. 

Bibliography: 

Sulamith , vol. i., 
part ii., p. 277 ; 

Abraliams, Jeic- 
ish Life in the 
Middle Ages, p, 

30, Loudon, 1S96. 

J. S. 0. 

SCHUL- 
BATJM, MO- 
SES : Austrian 
Hebraist ; born 
at Jezierzan}^ 

Galicia, April 
25, 1835. His 
mother was a de- 
scendant of Ha- 
kain Zebi, At 
an early age he 
devoted himself 
to the study of 
Hebrew, and in 
1870 entered the 
printing-house 
of Michael W olf at Lemberg as proof-reader. When 
the Baron deHirsch schools were founded in Galicia, 
Schul baum was called (1889) as teacher of Hebrew 
to Ivolomea ; in 1897 he was transferred to the Baron 
de Hirsch school at Mikulince, where he is still 
(1905) teaching. 

Schulbaum is one of the foremost Neo-Hebraic 
writers. He has translated into Hebrew Schiller’s 
“Die Dauber” (Lemberg, 1871) and the pseudo- 
Aristotelian “Ethics” (ib. 1877); and has edited a 
complete revision of Ben Zeeb’s “Ozar lia-Sliora- 
shim ” (5 vols. , ib. 1880-82). The last four parts of 
this book — namely, the Clialdeo-German, Neo-He- 
braic, and German-Hebraic glossaries, and the glos- 
sary of proper names — were compiled independent^ 
by Schulbaum ; ' likewise the following parts which 
XI.— 8 


have appeared in a second edition : Hebrew-German 
dictionary (ib. 1898), and German-Hebrew diction- 
ary (ib. 1904). 

Bibliography : Zeitlin, Bibl. Post-Mendels, pp. 23, 351. 

s . M. Mk. 

SCHtJLEIi GELATJF : Organized attacks upon 
the Jews of different Polish cities by Christian 
youths, especially pupils of the many Jesuit schools 

that existed in 
Poland during 
the seventeenth 
and eighteenth 
centuries. These 
youths not only 
assaulted indi- 
vidual Jews 
whom they met 
on the streets, 
but they organ- 
ized themselves 
into bands, in- 
vading and pil- 
laging the Jew- 
ish quarters. 
Such disturb- 
ances were of 
frequent occur- 
rence in cities 
which possessed 
large Jewish 
populations, as 
Brest-Lito vsk, 
Cracow, Posen, 
and Wilna; and 
the riots often 
ended in blood- 
shed, Thus, in 
1668 the students 
of the Jesuit 
academy in Cra- 
cow, under the 
pretext that 
some Jews had 
blasphemed the 
Christian relig- 
ion, invaded the 
Jewish quarter, 
killed or wound- 
ed many per- 
sons, destroyed 120 houses, and carried off more 
than 4,000 florins, after having made their victims 
promise not to prosecute them. 

The authorities tolerated and even encouraged 
such affairs; and, in order to protect their lives and 
property, the Jews had to contribute annually to 
the various Jesuit institutions. 

bibliography : Beek and Brann, Tevreiskaya Istoria , p. 326 ; 

Seiiudt, Jildische MerckivUrdigkeitcn, ii. 800. 

j. J- Go. 

SCHULHOF, ISAAC BEN ZALMAN BEN 
MOSES : Austrian rabbi ; born about 1650 at 
Prague; died there Jan. 19, 1733. He settled in 
Ofen as the rabbi of a small congregation, and in 
16S6, when that city was stormed by the imperial- 
ists, he was overwhelmed by calamities. His wife 



Johann Jakob Seliudt. 

(From Schudt, “ Judische MerckwSrdigkeiten,” IT 14.) 


Schulhoff 

Schur 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


in 


was murdered ; his son died in prison at Raah ; while 
he himself was incarcerated, and barely escaped 
death on Elui 14 (Sept. 3), 1686. The anniversary of 
his escape was celebrated hy his family as Scliulliof 
Purim. 

Schulhof wrote elegies in commemoration of the 
deliverance of the Jews of Ofen during the assault 
of 1686, and recounted his own afflictions in a me* 
gillali. The latter was published in 1S95 b} r David 
Kaufmann. 

Bibliography: Kobak’s Jcsclmrun, vii. 131-143; S. Kohn, 
Hebcr Kutforrdsok es A delink Magyarorszag Torten cl- 
inch cz, Budapest, 18S1 ; D. Kaufmann, Die Erstlirmung 
Of ens, etc. (Meg illal Ofen), Treves, 1895. 
e. c. A. Bii. 

SCHULHOFF, JULIUS: Austrian pianist and 
composer; born at Prague Aug. 2, 1825; died at 
Berlin March 15, 1898. Kisch and Tedesco were liis 
teachers in piano, and he studied theory under 
Tomaschek. He made his debut at Dresden in 1842, 
and later played at the Leipsic Gewandliaus. He 
then went to Paris, where Chopin encouraged him 
to become a professional pianist. The concerts 
which he gave at Chopin’s suggestion met with 
such success that he went on a long tour through 
France and to London, continuing his travels 
through Spain (1S51) and Russia (1853). After this 
he returned to Paris, where he devoted himself 
entirely to composition and teaching. In 1870 he 
settled in Dresden, and later removed to Berlin. 

Of Schulhoff ’s compositions may be mentioned: 
a grand sonata in F minor, twelve etudes, and a 
series of caprices, impromptus, waltzes, mazurkas, 
etc. 

Bibliography: Meyers Konvcrsations-Lcxikon •, A. Ehrlich, 
Celebrated Pianists of the Past and Present Time , pp. 308- 
309; Baker, Biographical Diet, of Musicians , New York, 
1900. 

S. 

SCHULKLOPFEB : Name given in the Middle 
Ages to a beadle who called the members of the 
congregation to service in the synagogue. It is 
stated in the “ Minhagim ” of R. Jacob Levi, or 
Maharil (ed. 1688, p. 8Sb), that the beadle used to 
summon the congregation for service daily except 
on the Ninth of Ab. At Neustadt the beadle 
struck four times on the door: first one blow; after 
a short interval two blows; and then a fourth. R. 
Israel Isserlein, rabbi of that town, traces this cus- 
tom to the Biblical passage, “I shall come to thee 
and bless thee” (Ex. xx. 24), the numerical values 
of the letters of the first word in the Hebrew text, 
XHK, being 1, 2, 1. In the Rhine province, how- 
ever, it was customary to strike thrice only— a single 
blow followed by two others. See also Jew. Encyc. 
iv. 197, s.v. Community. 

The Christians called these officials “eampana- 
tores ” (bell-strikers) in Latin, and “Glockener” or 
“Glockner” in German — names by which similar 
officials of the Church are called. 

Bibliography: Joseph of Munster, Leket Yosher , i. 4b (Mu- 
nich MSS. Nos. 404, 405); Giidemann, Gesch. iii. 95. 
a. M. See. 

SCHULMAN, KALMAN: Russian author, 
historian, and poet; born at Bykhov, government of 
Moghilef (Mohilev), Russia, in 1819; died in Wilna 
Jan. 2, 1899. He studied Hebrew and Talmud in 


the lieder, and two years after his marriage he 
went to the yeshibali at Volozliin (1835). The six 
years spent by him in study there caused an affec- 
tion of his eyes, to cure which he migrated to Wilna. 
There he entered the 
“Klaus” of Elijah Gaon 
for the study of Talmud. 

His extreme poverty 
forced him to divorce his 
wife. Soon after he left 
Wilna and went to Kal- 
variya, where he became 
an instructor in Hebrew 
and commenced the gram- 
matical study of the He- 
brew and German lan- 
guages. Inl843 he 
returned to Wilna, where 
he entered the yeshibali 
of Rabbi Israel Ginsberg 
(Zarvecliev), from whom he received the rabbinical 
diploma. 

Scliulman’s aim was to bring about a Jewish re- 
naissance in Russia. He knew that the only language 
by means of which this aim might be reached was He- 
brew, and that this had been neglected for centuries. 
He set out to resuscitate it. Schulman, in his wri- 
tings, limited himself to the use of strictly Biblical 
terms, but so expert was he in the use of Hebrew 
that there was hardly any shade of thought or any 
modern idea that he could not easily express in that 
language. The result was that lie came to be the 
most widely read Jewish author. He succeeded in 
creating a new epoch by implanting in the hearts of 
his brethren a new love for literature and science, 
and by showing them that they had a glorious and 
resplendent history, and that outside of their dark, 
cramped quarters in Russia there existed a beautiful 
world. 

Schulman first became known as a writer through 
a petition addressed by him to Sir Moses Montefiore 
in 1846 in behalf of those Jews who had resided within 
the limit of fifty versts from the German and Aus- 
trian boundary-lines, and who by a special law of 
the Russian government had been driven from their 
homes. The beauty and clearness of his diction 
made such an impression on Loewe, the friend and 
secretary of Sir Moses, that he expressed a great 
desire to become acquainted with the author. 
Through him Schulman was introduced to the poet 
Isaac Baer Levinsolm and to the other Progressivists 
in Wilna. From this time forward his literary activ- 
ity was redoubled. His first publication was a 
funeral oration delivered on the occasion of the 
death of Rabbi Ginsberg, and printed under the title 
“ Kol Bokim. ” This was followed in 1848 by “ Safah 
Berurah,” a collection of proverbs and epigrams. 

In 1849 Schulman was appointed instructor in the 
Hebrew language and literature in the lyccum at 
Wilna. In 1858 “ Harisut Beter,” a description of the 
heroic deeds of Bar Kokba, was published ; and this 
wasfollowed in lS59by “ Toledot Yosef,” a biography 
of the high priest Joseph b. Mattatliias. To this 
class of works on Jewish history belong also “Mil- 
hamot ha-Yeliudim,” on the Jewish Avars, and 
“Dibre Yeme ha-Yeliudim ” (Vienna, 1876), a trans- 



Kalman Schulman. 



115 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Schulhoff 

Sch.ur 


lation of the first part of Gratz’s “Geschichte der 
Juden.” On the history of antiquities he wrote 
the following works: “Halikot Kedem ” (1854), an 
ethnographic description of Palestine and other 
Asiatic countries; “ Skulammit,” a continuation of 
“ Halikot Kedem ” ; “ Ariel ” (1856), on the antiqui- 
ties of Babylonia, Assyria, Nine veil, etc. ; and “ Kad- 
moniyyot ha-Yehudim.” In order to appeal to the 
imagination and to illustrate the higher emotions of 
the human heart, Scliulman wrote a beautiful transla- 
tion of Eugene Sue’s novel “ Les Mysteres de Paris,” 
and published it under the title “ Mist ere Paris” 
(1854). His most important work, however, was a 
universal history in nine parts, based on the well- 
known works of Weber and Becker; it appeared 
under the title “ Dibre Yeme ‘Olam ” in 1867. Other 
works by him were: “Iyiryot Melek Rab,” a histor- 
ical description of St. Petersburg, Russia ; “Mosede 
Erez,” a general geography; “Toledot Hakme 
Yisiael,” biographical sketches; and “‘Oslieru- 
Zedakah,” a biography of the founder of the house 
of Rothschild. 

Scliulman was active also as a journalist, contrib- 
uting to “Ha-Maggid,” “Ha-Lebanon,” “Ha-Kar- 
mel,” and “Ha-Meliz.” In 1895, at the celebration 
of the jubilee of his literary activity, there was a 
great gathering of Jewish scholars in Wilna. 
Bibliography : Ha-Karmel , 1899; Fuenn, Heneset Yisracl, 

1888, p. 180; Voskhod, 1899, pp. 1-2. 

II. II. . J- Go. 

SCHULMAN, SAMIJEL: American rabbi; 
born in Russia Feb. 14, 1865. He was taken to New 
York when hardly one year old, and was educated 
in the public schools there and in the College of the 
City of New York. Scliulman took his rabbinical 
diploma from the Hochscliule fur die Wissenscliaft 
des Judenthums in Berlin. He has occupied rab- 
binates in Helena, Mont., and Kansas City, Mo., 
and in 1901 was elected associate rabbi at Temple 
Bcth-El, New York city, becoming rabbi on the elec- 
tion of Dr. Kohler to the presidency of the faculty of 
Hebrew Union College. He was awarded the degree 
of D.D. by the Jewish Theological Seminary of 
America, 1904. 

Bibliography: American Jewish Year Book^ 5662-3 (1902). 

a. F. T. H. 

SCHULMANN, LUDWIG: German philolo- 
gist and writer; born at Hildeslieim 1814; died at 
Hanover July 24, 1870. He studied philology at 
the University of Gottingen, and then taught for a 
time in his native city. In 1842 he began to advo- 
cate the systematic training of Jewish public-school 
teachers in the kingdom of Hanover; and in conse- 
quence of his efforts a seminary for Jewish teachers 
was opened in the city of Hanover on Nov. 7, 1848. 
This institution is still in existence. Schulmann 
was for a time editor of the “ Allgemeine Zeitung 
und Anzeigen ” (Hiklesheim), and in 1868 he became 
editor of the “Neue Hannoversclie Anzeigen” 
(Hanover). When the latter paper was combined 
with the “ Ilann oversell er Courier,” he retained the 
editorship, which he continued to hold until his 
death. 

Schulmann was tlid author of the following 
works: “ Talmudisclie Kliinge ” (Hildeslieim, 1856), 
poems dedicated to District Rabbi M. Landsberg of 


Hildeslieim; “Norddiitsche Stippstorken un Le- 
gendchen” (ib. 1856; 2d ed. 1900); “Das Bodeker- 
Lied” (ib. 1864); “Das Waterloo-Lied” (Hanover, 
1865); and “Michael,” a ballad cycle (in L. Stein’s 
“ Israelitisclier Volkslehrer,” 1856, pp. 815-322). He 
was a contributor to the “ Allgemeine Zeitung des 
Judenthums ” and, under the pen-name “Justus,” to 
other periodicals. 


Bibliography: Lewinsky, Zur Jubelfeier der Bildungsan- 
stalt fur Judische Lehrerzu Hannover , in Allg. Zell. des 
Jud. 1898, 519 etseq.; ib. 1842, 685; Monatsschrift, 1856, pp. 
362 et seq.; Norddiitsche StippstOrken un Legendchen.2& 
ed., Preface, pp. iii. et seq. 

s. A. Lew. 

SCHULTENS, ALBERT: Dutch Orientalist; 
born at Groningen Aug. 23, 1686; died Jan. 26, 1756. 
He studied Arabic at Leyden under Van Til, and at 
Utrecht under Reland. He took his degree (Doctor 
of Theology) at Groningen in 1709; became teacher 
of Hebrew at Franeker in 1713; and ultimately set- 
tled at Leyden as curator of the manuscripts of the 
r*rdlr>Mirm Up WAS the first ill 


modern times to make scientific use of Arabic for 
the elucidation of Hebrew, and he has been called 
“ the father of modern Hebrew grammar. ” His most 


important treatises on this subject are: “Institu- 
tiones ” (Leyden, 1737) ; “ Yetus et Regia Via Hebra- 
izandi ” (ib. 1738). 

His chief works of interest to Hebrew students are 
an elaborate edition of Job in two quarto volumes 


(ib. 1737), which was translated into German (1748), 
and by Richard Gray into English, and an edition 
of Proverbs (ib. 1748). In reply to criticisms of 
his Job and Proverbs he wrote two letters to 
Mencken in defense of his exegetical method (ib. 


1749). 

Bibliography: Van der Aa, Biographisch Woordeiiboek ; 
Herzog-Hauck, Rcal-Encyc. _ 

E. C. *L 


SCHUR, WILLIAM: American author; born 
at Outian, near Vilkomir, Russia, Oct. 27, 1844. 
He studied Talmud at his native town and at the 
Yeshibah, Kovno, and theology at the Lehran- 
stalt fur die Wissenscliaft des Judenthums at Ber- 
lin (1868-70). During the following two years lie 
taught Hebrew in Constantinople, and in 1873 in 
Port Said and Cairo. He then spent five years (1874- 
1S79) in travel, visiting Africa, India, China, the 
Philippine Islands, and the islands of the China Sea. 
Returning to Europe, he settled in Vienna, and be- 
came a contributor to Smolenskin’s “Ha-Sliahar,” as 
well as to “Ha-Meliz” and “Ha-Yom.” In 1887 
he went to America, and lived successively in the 
cities of New York, Baltimore, Boston, St. Louis, 
and Chicago, in which last-named city he has re- 
sided since 1897. 

Sch ur is the author of “Mahazot lia-Hayyim” 
(Vienna, 1884) and “Mas‘ot Shelomoli ” (ib. 18S5), 
both containing descriptions of his journeys; of the 
following novels: “Masse’at Nafshah”; “Afiko- 
men lia-Ganub ” ; “ Ha-Nebi ’all Nilcl Hilton ” ; “ Ha- 
Halikah el ha-Heder”; “Kapparat ‘A won ” ; “Wa- 
Yippol ba-Shahat ” ; “ Aliarlia-Meridaliha-Gedolah ” ; 
and of a historico-religious work, “Nezah Yisrael.” 
Bibliography: American Jewish fear Book , 5665 (1905), 



Schuster 

Schwarz 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


116 


SCHUSTER, ARTHUR: English physicist; 
bom at Frank fort-on-tlie-Main Sept. 12, 1851. He 
was educated at Frankfort, at Owens College, Man- 
chester, and at the University of Heidelberg (Ph.D. 
1873). He early took an interest in physics, espe- 
cially in spectrum analysis ; he was appointed chief 
of the expedition that went to Siam in 1875 to ob- 
serve the eclipse of the sun, and he took part in a 
similar expedition to Egypt in 1882. In recognition 
of liis researches he obtained the medal of the Royal 
Society, of which he is a fellow (1898). He has been 
professor of physics in Owens College since 1885, 
and a large number of papers by him are preserved 
in the “Transactions of the Royal Society.” He is 
a large contributor to various scientific journals. 

Bibliography: Posgendorff, Biograpliisch - Literarisches 
Handled rtcrbuch ; TFlio’s W ho, 1905. 

J. 

SC3Eroxza"Ox>E = Jew under Hie special protec- 
tion of 1 lie head of the state. In the early days of 


digkeiten,” pp. 59-90). Similarly, when Frederick 
William, the “Great Elector,” allowed fifty families 
which had been expelled from Austria to settle in 
Brandenburg, each of them was required to pay 
eight thaler yearly, as well as other special taxes; 
these had increased very much by the time Freder- 
ick the Great issued his “ General-Privilegium ” or 
“Juden Reglement” (April 17, 1750), which re- 
stricted the numbers of the Jews and classified them 
as “ordinary” and “extraordinary Scliutzjuden,” 
the privileges of the former passing on to one child, 
those of the latter being valid only during the life 
of the original grantee. 

The Prussian Jews were collectively liable for a 
certain amount of “ Schutzgeld.” This amount was 
fixed at 3,000 ducats in 1700, at 15,000 thaler in 1728, 
and at 25,000 thaler in 1768. In 1715 every Jewish 
family of Metz was ordered to pay 40 livres annu- 

o.lly fox* permission to stay there, and tlie number 

was limited m 1718 to 480 families. The tax was 


travel and commerce the 
Jews, like other aliens, used 
to apply to the ruling mon- 
archs for letters of protec- 
tion, and they obtained 
“commendation” when 
their stay was for any length 
of time. Such letters of 
protection were granted to 
Jews in the Carlovingian 
period (Stobbe, “Juden in 
Deutschland,” p. 5). When 
the idea arose that all Jews 
of the empire were practi- 
cally . serfs of the emperor, 
he granted similar letters of 
protection, for which annual 
payment was made by the 
Jews; when he transferred 
his rights to local feudal 
authorities, the same or in- 
creased payments were ex- 
acted, in return for which 
these authorities gave the 
Jews “ Scliutzbriefer ” ; and 
when, later, wholesale ex- 
pulsions took place in 
Germany during tlie six- 
teenth century, those Jews 



Low Schwab. 


granted to Count de Bran- 
ces and Countess de Fon- 
taine (reference to this tax 
was made by Louis XVI. ia 
1784; see Jost, “Gescli.” 
viii. 30). As time went on 
a further division was made 
among the protected Jews. 
In Silesia an upper class of 
“Scliutzjuden,” called the 
“ Geduldeten,” was consti- 
tuted, its numbers being 
limited, as, for example, to 
160 at Breslau, all the rest 
being required to pay 
“ Schutzgeld. ” These limi- 
tations were removed at tlie 
same time as the Leibzoll. 
InMecklenburg-Strelitz, for 
example, tlie “Scliutzjude” 
regulation was suspended in 
1812 ; but with the reaction 
following Napoleon’s fall it 
was reinstituted (1817). 

J. 

SCHWAB, LOW (called 
originally Bafe.ur Lob 
Krumau) : Moravian rab- 
bi; born at Krumau, Mo- 


who returned to places from which they had 
been expelled were admitted only if they obtained 
such “ Schutzbriefe ” for which they paid “Schutz- 
geld ” (protection money). It was under these con- 
ditions that Jews were allowed to reenter Hesse in 
1524; and similar regulations prevailed in Bavaria, 
where, according to the “ Judenordnung ” of Sept. 
1, 1599, all Jews had to have either a “ Schutzbrief, ” 
if they remained in the kingdom, or a “Geleit,” if 
the}' passed through it(Kohut, “Gescli. der Juden,” 
p. 554). 

When the Jews of Frankfort were allowed to re- 
main there under the conditions of the “ Neue Stiittig- 
keit ” of Jan. 3, 1617, their numbers, as well as their 
marriages, were limited. They could not be bur- 
gesses, but only proteges of tlie town council (“ Ratli- 
scliutzangelibrige ” ; Scliudt, “Judisclie Merekwur- 


ravia, March 11, 1794; died April 3, 1857; pupil of 
R. Mordecai Benet in Nikolsburg, R. Moses Sofer in 
Presburg, R. Joshua Horwitz in Trebitscli, and R. 
Joachim Deutsclimann in Gewitscli. He held suc- 
cessively the rabbinates of Gewitscli (1824), Pross- 
nitz (1831), and Budapest (1836). Unaided, he ob- 
tained a knowledge of French and German and 
acquired also a good mathematical and philosophical 
education; he was well versed, moreover, in Jewish 
and Kantian philosophy as well as in Christian 
theological literature, especially Protestant homi- 
letics. 

Schwab was a conservative theologian and sanc- 
tioned only those reforms in the religious services 
which, in view of the changes in esthetic standards, 
were absolutely necessary to prevent the better- 
educated classes of the community from being alien- 



117 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Schuster 

Schwarz 


ated from the Synagogue. He was the first rabbi in 
Moravia to preach in- German and to perform the 
wedding ceremony in the synagogue (1832). He 
was averse to radical reforms, and in 1852 he brought 
about the dissolution of the Reform association in 
Budapest, which had been modeled on that of Berlin. 
Schwab’s work in Budapest left lasting traces in 
the Jewish community, and the establishment of the 
first important hospital and the large synagogue in 
that city was due to his efforts. 

Schwab frequently used his pen in the struggle 
for the emancipation of the Hungarian Jews, al- 
though he was averse to publication. He drafted 
petitions from the Jews of the country to the Land- 
tag, and wrote a refutation of malicious attacks 
made upon them. A short treatise by him on faith 
and morals (1846) is still widely used as a text-book 
in Hungarian intermediate schools. A volume of 
his sermons was published in 1840. 

-A-ftex- tli-e suppression o£ tlie Revolution in 1849 , 

Schwab was tried before a court martial ana impris- 
oned for twelve weeks ; but, notwithstanding this, 
he frequently served as councilor to the government 
in Jewish affairs. 

His son, the mathematician David Schwab, also 
preached for a time, and was for four years on the 
staff of the “Pester Lloyd.” 


Bibliography: L. Low, Gesammelte Schriften,i.-iv.; idem, 
JMischer Kongress, Index; Ben Chananoa, i. 2<, 194; Bar- 
mann, in Allgemeine Illustrierte Judenzeimmh Budapest, 
1860; Mannar Zsiclo Szemle, xvi. 128; Buckler, Azsidok 
'• VQrtenete Budapesten, p. 416. 

S. I* Lo. 


SCHWAB, MOISE ; French librarian and au- 
thor; horn at Paris Sept. 18, 1839; educated at the 
Jewish school and the Talmud Torali at Strasburg. 
From 1857 to 1866 he was secretary to Salomon 
Munk ; then for a year he was official interpreter at 
the Paris court of appeals; and since 1868 he has 
been librarian at the Bibliotli&que Rationale in the 
French capital. In 1880 lie was sent by the minister 
of public instruction to Bavaria and Wiirttemberg 
to make investigations with regard to early Hebrew 
printing-presses. 

Schwab has been a prolific contributor to the 
Jewish press; and he is the author of the following 
works, all of which were published in Paris: 


1866. Histoire des Israelites (2d ed. 1896). 

1866. Etbnographie de la Tunisie (crowned by the Socidte 
d’Ethnographie) . 

1871-1889. Le Talmud de Jerusalem, Traduit pour la Premiere 
Fois en Franqais (11 YOls.). 

1876. Bibliographic de la Perse (awarded Brunet prize by the 
Institut de France) . 

1878. Literature Rabbinique. Elie del Medigo et Pico de la 

Mirandole. 

1879. Des Points-Voyelles dans les Langues Semitiques. 

1879. Elie de Pesaro. Voyage Etbnographique de Venise a 
Chypre. 

1881. Al-Harisi et Ses peregrinations en Orient. 

1S83. Les' Inclinable.? Hebra'iques et les Premieres Impressions 
Orientales du XVIe Siecle. 

1883. Bibliotheca Aristotelica (crowned by the Academie des 
Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres) . 

1588. Monuments Littdraires de 1’Espagne. 

1589. Maqre Dardeqe, Dictionnaire Hebreu-Italien du XVe 

Siecle. 

1890. Deuxieine Edition du Traite des Berakhoth, Traduit en 
Frariqais. 

1896-99. Vocabulaire de l’Angelologie. 

1899-1902. Repertoire des Articles d’Histoire et de Litterature 
Juive (3 vols.V. 


1900. Salomon Munk, Sa Vie et Ses (Euvres.. 

1904. Rapport sur les Inscriptions Hdbraiques eD France. 

His most important work is “Le Talmud de Jeru- 
salem,” which was commenced in 1867 or 1868, 
before the appearance of Zecharias Frankel’s “In- 
troduction ” or of the special dictionaries of the Tal- 
mud. The first part appeared in 1871 and was w r ell 
received, although the critics did not spare Schwab. 
The latter then sought the cooperation of the lead- 
ing Talmudists; hut he was unsuccessful and had to 
complete the work alone. 

s. F. T. IL 

SOHWABACH, JULIUS LEOPOLD; Brit- 
ish consul-general in Berlin ; horn in Breslau 1831 ; 
died there Feb. 23, 1898. At the age of sixteen 
he entered the banking-house of Bleichroder, hiid 
twenty years later became a partner; from 1893, 
when Baron Gerson von Bleichroder died, he was 
the senior partner of the house. He was also 
president of the directors of the Berlin Bourse, and 

subsequently- resided over XX. sta.n cling committee 

of that institution. : 

Bibliography : Jew. Chron. Feb. 25, 1898 ; The Times (Lon- 
don), Feb. 24, 1898. 

J. G. L. 

SCHWALBE, GUSTAV : German anatomist 
and anthropologist; horn at Quedlinburg Aug. 1, 
1844. Educated at the universities of Berlin, Zurich, 
and Bonn (M.D. 1866), he became in 1870 privat- 
docent at the University of Halle, in 1871 privat- 
docent and prosector at the University of Freiburg 
in Baden, in 1872 assistant professor at the Univer- 
sity of Leipsic, and then professor of anatomy suc- 
cessively at the universities of Jena (1873), Konigs- 
berg (1881), and Strasburg (1883). 

Schwalbe is editor of the “ Jahresberichte fur 
Anatomie und Entwicklungsgescbichte ” and of the 
“Zeitschrift fur Morphologie und Antliropologie. ” 
He edited also the second edition of Hoffmann’s 
“Lehrbucli der Anatomie des Menschen” (Erlangen, 
1877-81), and is the author of: “Lehrbucli der Neu- 
rologie,” ib. 1881; “Ueber die Kaliberverhiiltnisse 
der Nervenfasern,” Leipsic, 1882; “Lehrbuch der 
Anatomie der Sinnesorgane,” Erlangen, 1SS6; “Stu- 
dien fiber Pithecantropus Erectus,” Leipsic, 1899; 
“Der Meander Scliadel,” ib. 1901; “ Yorgeschichte 
der Menschen,” ib. 1903. 

Bibliography: Pagel, Biog. Lex. 

s. 1. H. 

SCHWARZ, ADOLF: Austrian theologian: 
bom July, 1846, at Adasz-Tevel, near Papa, Hun- 
gary. He received bis early instruction in tlie Tal- 
mud from his father, who was a rabbi. He then 
went to the gymnasium in Papa, and subsequently 
entered the University of Vienna, where he studied 
philosophy, at the same time attending the lectures 
of A. Jellinek and I. H. Weiss at the bet ha-midrash 
of that city. In 1867 he entered the Jewish theo- 
logical seminary at Breslau, and continued his philo- 
sophical studies at the university there. In 1870 
and 1872 respectively he published two of his prize 
essays: “Ueber Jacobi’s Oppositionelle Btellimg zu 
Kant, Fichte und Schelling” and “Ueber das Jfi- 
diselie Kalenderwesen.” 

Boon after leaving the Breslau seminary he re- 
ceived an invitation to become instructor at the 



Schwarz 

Schwarzfeld 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


118 


Landesrabbinerschule, then being established in 
Budapest; but, as the opening of that institution 
was defined, he accepted a call to Carlsruhe, Baden, 
as“Stadt-und Ivonferenzrabbiner.” He occupied 
this position for eighteen } r ears, and was then (1893) 
called to Vienna to become rector of the new Jewish 
theological seminary there, which position lie still 
(1905) holds. 

Schwarz is a prolific writer on theological, homi- 
letic, and philosophical subjects. He has published : 
“ Sabbathpredigten zu den Woclienabschnitten der 
Flinf Bucher Moses,” 5 parts, Carlsruhe, 1879-83; 
“ Festpredigten fur Alle Hauptfeiertage des Jahres,” 
ib. 1884; “Predigten. Neue Folge,” ib. 1892; “Die 
Tosifta der Ordnung Mofid ” (part i. f “DerTraetat 
Sabbath,” ib. 1879; partii., “Der Tractat Erubin,” 
ib. 1882); “Tosifta Juxta Mischnarum Ordinum 
Recomposita et Commentario Instructa” (part i., 
“Seraim,” Wilna, 1890 [Hebr.]; part ii. , “Chulin,” 
Frankfort, 1902); “Die Controversen der Scham- 
maiten und Hilleliten. Ein Beitrag zur Entwicke- 
lungsgesch. der Hilelschule,” in “ Jaliresbericht der 
Israelitisch - Theologischen Lehranstalt,” Vienna, 
1893 ; “ Die Hermeneutische Analogic in der Talmud- 
isclien Literatur,” ib. 1897; “Der Hermeneutische 
Syllogismus in der Talmudischen Literatur. Ein 
Beitrag zur Geschichte der Logikim Morgenlande,” 
ib. 1901 ; “ Die Frauen der Bibel. Drei Vortrage,” ib. 
1903 ; “ Die Erzahlungskunst der Bibel. Zwei Vor- 
trfige,” ib. 1904; “ Der Mischneh Torah, ” ib. 1905. 

s. M. K. 

SCHWARZ, ANTON: Austrian chemist ; born 
at Polna, Bohemia, Feb. 2, 1839; died at New York 
city Sept. 24, 1895. He was educated at the Uni- 
versity of Vienna, where he studied law for two 
years, and at the Polytechnieum, Prague, where he 
studied chemistry. Graduating in 1861, he went to 
Budapest, and was there employed at several brew- 
eries. In 1868 he emigrated to the United States 
and settled in New York city. The- following year 
he was employed on “Der Amerikanisehe Bier- 
brauer” (“The American Brewer”) and soon aft- 
erward became its editor. A few years later he 
bought the publication, remaining its editor until 
his death. He did much to improve the processes 
of brewing in the United States, and in 1880 founded 
in New York city the Brewers' Academy of the Uni- 
ted States. 

Schwarz's eldest son, Max Schwarz (b.in Buda- 
pest Jul} r 29, 1863; d. in New York city Feb. 7, 
1901), succeeded him as editor of “ The American 
Brewer ” and principal of the Brewers’ Academy. 
He studied at the universities of Erlangen and Bres- 
lau and at the Polytechnic High School at Dresden. 
In 1880 he followed his father to the United States 
and became associated with him in many of his un- 
dertakings. 

Both as editor and as principal of the academy he 
was very successful. Many of the essays in “The 
American Brewer,” especialty those on chemistry, 
were written by him. He was a great advocate of 
the “ pure beer ” question in America. 

Bibliography : The American Brewer, New York, Nov., 1S95, 

aDd March, 1901. 

A. * F. T. H. 

SCHWARZ, GUSTAV : Hungarian lawyer; 


born at Budapest 1858; educated in his native city 
and at German universities. In 1884 he became 
privat-docent in Roman law at Budapest, being ap- 
pointed assistant professor nine } r ears later, and pro- 
fessor in the following year. In 1895 he was made 
a member of the editorial committee in charge of 
the drafting of the Hungarian civil law; and in 
1902 he became a privy councilor. 

Schwarz's works include: “A Vegrendelkezesi 
Szabadsag a Romai Jogban ” (Budapest, 1881), on the 
unrestricted right of disposal in Roman law ; “ Uj 
Iranyok a Maganjogban ” (ib. 1884), new tendencies 
in civil law; “A Tulajdonfentartas ” (ib. 1885), on 
the right of ownership ; “ Az Animus Domini ” (ib. 
1885); “MaganjogiEsetek ” (ib. 1886), cases relating 
to civil law; “Maganjogi Fejtegetesek ” (ib. 1890), 
studies in civil law ; “ A Hazassagi Jogrbl ” (ib. 1894), 
on marital law. 

Schwarz was converted to Cliristiauit} r in 1902. 
Bibliography : Pallas Lex. 

s. L. V. 

SCHWARZ, ISRAEL : German rabbi ; born at 
Hilrben, Bavaria, March 15, 1830; died at Cologne 
Jan. 4, 1875 ; educated by his father, R. Joachim 
Schwarz of Ilurben. At the age of eighteen he 
passed the state examination for Bavarian rabbis, 
and was then elected district rabbi of Bayreuth, 
where he remained until 1856, when he was called to 
the rabbinate of Cologne. Schwarz was an ardent 
supporter of the Alliance Israelite Universelle, and 
founded several local branches of that society. 

Schwarz's works include : “ Tikwat Enosli ” (1868), 
containing his own translation of Job as well as 
the haggadic sayings to this book, and the com- 
mentaries of Isaiah di Trani, Moses and Joseph 
Kimhi, and Zeraliiah b. Israel of Barcelona ; and a 
translation of a geography of Palestine, written in 
Hebrew by Joseph Sciiwarz. 

Bibliography: Burst, Bibl. Jud. ii. 300; Wolf, Hebr. Bibl. 

xii. 43-4T; JUdisches Literaturhlatt, iii. 10, 19; Zeitlin, Bibl. 

Post-Mendels, p. 358. 

s. M. L. B. 

SCHWARZ, JOSEPH: Palestinian geogra- 
pher; born at Flosz, Bavaria, Oct. 22, 1804; died at 
Jerusalem Feb. 5, 1865. When he was seventeen years 
old he graduated as 
teacher from the Ivonig- 
liches Schullehrersemi- 
nar of Colberg, after 
which he joined his 
brother Israel at the Uni- 
versity of Wurzburg, 
where for five years he 
devoted himself to the 
history and geography 
of the Holy Land, and 
published a map of Pal- 
estine ( 1829 ; republished 
at Vieuna, 1831, and Tri- 
est, 1832). It was his ar- 
dent desire, however, to 
study in Palestine itself 
the physical history and geography of the Hoty Land, 
where his knowledge of Talmudic sources and early 
Jewish writers would be of more service. According- 
ly he decided to settle in Jerusalem, whither he went 



Joseph Schwarz. 



119 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Schwarz 

Schwarzfeld 


in 1833. Schwarz then began a series of journeys and 
explorations in various parts of Palestine, to which 
he devoted about fifteen years. The results of his in- 
vestigations and researches into the history, geog- 
raphy, geology, fauna, and flora of that country have 
placed him in the front rank of Palestinian explor- 
ers and geographers. He is the greatest Jewish au- 
thority on Palestinian matters since Estori Farlii 
(1282-1357), the author of “ Kaftor w 7 a-Ferali.” One 
of the first of liis undertakings was to record from 
personal observations, made on Mount Olivet in 
Jerusalem, the exact time of sunrise and sunset for 
every day in the year, for the purpose of determining 
for the pious Watikin, of whose sect he was a devout 
member, the proper time for the morning “ Shema‘.” 

Schwarz adopted the ritual, minliagim, and cus- 
toms of the Sephardim. In 1849 he accepted the 
mission of meshullali, visiting especially England 
and the United States, and staying for a time m 
New York. An incident of his visit to America w^as 
the translation of his “Tebu’ot lia-Arez ” into Eng- 
lish by Isaac Leeser ; it wms probably the most im- 
portant Jewish w 7 ork published in America up to 
that time. The expense of publication was met 
by A. Hart. Later Schwarz revisited 
In his native country, where, in 1852, 
America. w 7 as published a German translation of 
his work, for which he was decorated 
by the Emperor of Austria. Schwarz then returned 
to Jerusalem, and continued his study of rabbinical 
literature and Cabala, joining the Beth-El cabalistic 
congregation in Jerusalem. 

Another important event in his career w T as his at- 
tempt to discover the Ten Tribes, which he thought 
might be found in Africa (Abyssinia, Central and 
South Africa) and in Yemen, Tibet, and China. He 
ridiculed the idea of identifying them with the 
American Indians or the East-Indians. An inter- 
esting correspondence on this subject is added to 
Leeser’s edition of the “Tebu’ot ha-Arez ” (pp. 493- 
518). 

Schwarz published the following works: “Luah, 
a calendar for the year 5604 (Jerusalem, 1843); 
“Tebu’ot ha-Shemesli,” in four parts, on the phys- 
ical history of the Holy Land, the cycle of the sun, 
and the calculation of sunrise and sunset {ib. 1843) ; 
“Tebu’ot ha-Arez,” geography, geology, and chro- 
nology of Palestine (ib. 1845); “Peri Tebu ah,’ Bib- 
lical and Talmudic notes on Palestine, the second 
part, entitled “ Pardes,” treating of the four methods 
of commentating (ib. 1861); “Tesliu- 
Works. bot,” responsa and, under the title 
“ Shosliannat lia-‘Emek,” additions to 
and corrections of his former vrorks (ib. 1862); 
“Luah,” tables of sunrise and sunset in the latitude 
of Jerusalem, published by his son-iu-law Azriel 
Aaron Jaffe (ib. 1862). The English translation of 
the “Tebu’ot lia-Arez” made by Isaac Leeser bore 
the title “ A Descriptive and Historical Sketch of 
Palestine,” and was published with maps, engra- 
vings, and a portrait of the author (Philadelphia, 
1850). A German translation w 7 as published by 
Israel Schwarz under the title “Das Heilige Land” 
(Frankfort-on-tlie-Main, 1852). Extracts from the 
“Tebu’ot” were published by Kalman Schulmann 
in liis “Sliulmit” (Wilna, 1855), and a complete 


edition of the work was printed by Joseph Kohen- 
Zedek at Lemberg in 1865; Luncz’s edition, Jeru- 
salem, 1890, contains a complete biography of 
Schwarz, an index of the geographical names, and 


notes. 

Bibliography: Fiirst, Biol. Jud. iii. .300; _ Israel Schwarz’s 
preface to Das Heilige Land ; Zeitlin, Bibl. Post-Mendds. 
pp. 357-358 ; the preface to Luncz’s edition, Jerusalem, 1890. 


SCHWARZ, PETER (PETRUS NIGER or 
NIGRI) : German Dominican preacher and anti- 
Jewish writer of the fifteenth century. According 
to John Eck (“Yerlegung eines JudemBiichleins,” 
signature H, i.b), Scliw r arz was a Jewish convert to 
Christianity ; but for this assertion there are no 
proofs. Having obtained the degree of bachelor in 
theology, Schwarz turned his attention to the He- 
brew 7 language and literature. He studied at differ- 
ent universities, among them that of Salamanca, 
Spain, in which city he secretly associated with 
Jewish children and listened to the lectures of the 
rabbis in order to perfect himself in Hebrew 7 . He 
then entered the Order of St. Dominic and set him- 
self the task of spreading Christianity among the 
Jews. To this end he obtained an imperial edict 
compelling them to attend his sermons. In 1474 
he preached in Hebrew, Latin, and German at 
Frank fort-on- the-Main, Ratisbon, and Worms, chal- 
lenging the rabbis of each place to a disputation, 
whTch°they, however, declined. Enraged by this 
failure, he composed tw 7 o w 7 orks vehemently attack- 
ing the Jews and the Talmud : one m Latin, w liich 
has no special title, being designated as “Tractatus 
Contra Perfidos Judseos ” (Esslingen, 1475) ; the other 
in German, bearing the title “Stern Maschiach ” (ib. 
1477). Later he w T as invited to direct the Dominican 
College of Alt-Ofen, Hungary; and he wrote there 
the “ClypeusTliomistarum” (Venice, 1482). 

In the first two of the above-mentioned w'orks 
Schwarz brought to bear all his scholarship, and at 
the same time all his spite, against the Jews. He char- 
acterized the Talmud as an infamous and deceptive 
WO rk Avhicli no Christian should tolerate and w 7 liich 
ought to be burned w 7 hen .found in any coun- 
try of Christendom. Reuchlin, naturally, declared 
Schwarz’s works absurd (“ Augenspiegel,” p. .3). 
Both books are supplied w 7 itli appendixes containing 
the Hebrew alphabet, rules for reading Hebrew 7 , 
some grammatical rules, the Decalogue in Hebrew , 
etc., and they are among the earliest specimens of 
printing from Hebrew 7 type in Germany. 


Wolf, 


Bibliography : Allgemeine Deutsche Biographic, s.v.; 

\ ii. 17, 1037, 1110 et seq.; iv. et seq. 

M. Sel. 


Bibl. Hebr. 
J. 


SCHWARZFELD: Rumanian family w 7 hich 
became prominent in the nineteenth century. 

Benjamin Schwarzfeld: Rumanian educator 
and writer; father of Elias, Moses, and Wilhelm 
Sell w 7 arzf eld ; born April, 1822; died at Jassy Nov. 
27, 1896. After completing his Hebrew education 
lie turned his attention to modern secular studies. 
From 1845 he contributed to the “ Kokebe Yizliak,” 
edited by E. Stern. His wedding, in 1848, deserves 
to be mentioned because of the fact that he w 7 as the 
first Rumanian Jew to appear under the bridal can- 
opy in a frock coat and high silk hat instead of in the 



Schwarzfeld 

Sehwob 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


120 


customary caftan and fur cap. The event aroused so 
great an excitement among the Orthodox, especially 
among the Hasidim, that the police were compelled 
to interfere to prevent public disturbances. Schwarz- 
feld started his career as a banker, and was the first 
to introduce fire insurance into Moldavia. 

In spite of the opposition of the conservative ele- 
ment among the Rumanian Jews he opened in 1852, 
at his own expense, the first modern Jewish school. 
On account of this he was excommunicated, but, 
owing to his relations with various foreign consuls, 
the ban remained without any practical effect. He 
remained at the head of the school, which was con- 
ducted until 1857. In 1858 he prevailed upon the 
minister, Cantacuzino, to close the old-fashioned 
Jewish schools (liadarim) and compel the communi- 
ties to appoint rabbis with a modern education. In 
1860 he accepted the honorary position of inspector- 
general of the Jewish schools of Moldavia. Schwarz- 
feld was a continuous contributor to the Hebrew pa- 
pers published in Rumania, and acted as correspond- 
ent for a number of foreign Jewish periodicals. 

Bibliography : E. Schwarzfeld, in ji.nua.rul pentm Israel - 
itzi , x. 108. 

Elias Schwarzfeld : Rumanian historian and 
novelist; born March 7, 1855, at Jassy. He re- 
ceived his early education in the public schools of 
Jassy, and while still a student, between 1871 and 
1878, contributed to the Jassy papers “ Curierul de Ja- 
si ” and “ Noul Curier Roman. ” In 1872 he was inter- 
ested in the foundation of the “ Vocea Aparatorului, ” 
which was started in behalf of the Jews. In May, 
*1874, Schwarzfeld founded in Jassy the “Revista 
Israelitica, ” in which he published his first Jewish 
novel, “Darasclia.” From 1874 to 1876 he studied 
medicine at the University of Bucharest, abandoning 
it later, however, to take up the study of law 
(LL.D, 1881). From 1877 to 1878 he edited the 
“ J lidischer Telegraf,” a Yiddish daily; and after 
this had ceased publication he edited the Yiddish 
biweekly “Ha-Yoez.” In 1878 he published his 
first pamphlet, “ Cliestia Sooalelor Israelite si a Pro- 
gresului Israelit in Romania,” which was occasioned 
by a circular which the Alliance Israelite Universelle 
had issued calling for information regarding the state 
of education among the Rumanian Jews. 

In 1881, on his return to Bucharest, he took charge 
of the paper “ Fraternitatea. ” He was at this time 
one of the principal collaborators on the “ Anuarul 
Pentru Israelitzi,” founded by his brother Moses in 
1877. In this he published, from 1884 to 1898, his 
numerous studies on the history of the Jews in Ru- 
mania. As vice-president of the “Fraternitatea” 
lodge, and later as secretary-general of the supreme 
council of the Jewish lodges of Rumania, Schwarz- 
feld prepared the ground for the B’nai B’rith. In 
1885 he published, in behalf of coreligionists in the 
small towns and villages, the two pamphlets “Radu 
Porumbaru si Ispravile lui la Fabrica de Hartie din 
Bacau ” (translated into German) and “Adeverul 
Asupra Revoltei de la Brusturoasa.” 

Schwarzfeld’s activities having rendered him ob- 
jectionable to the government, he Was expelled Oct. 
17, 1885, only forty-eight hours being given him to 
arrange his personal affairs. He went immediately 
to Paris. In 1886 he was appointed by Baron Mau- 


rice de Hirscli secretary of his private bureau of 
charity. When the Jewish Colonization Associa- 
tion was founded Schwarzfeld became its secre- 
tary-general ; up to the death of Baroness Hirscli he 
acted as her secretary in the distribution of her 
charities. Schwarzfeld continued at Paris his liter- 
ary activity in behalf of his Rumanian brethren, and 
he was the co-editor of the “Egalitatea,” founded 
in 1890 in Bucharest by his brother. To the “ Amer- 
ican Jewish Year Bdok ” for 5662 (1901-2) he con- 
tributed two essays: “The Jews of Rumania from 
the Earliest Time to the Present Day ” and “ The 
Situation of the Jews in Rumania Since the Berlin 
Treaty (1878) an essay on “The Jews of Moldavia 
at the Beginning of the Eighteenth Century ” ap- 
peared in the “Jewish Quarterly Review,” vol. xvi., 
and another entitled “Deux Episodes de l’Histoire 
des Juifs Roumains”in the “Revue des Etudes 
Juives,” vol. xiii. 

I Schwarzfeld is the only Rumanian writer of note 
| who has cultivated the specifically Jewish novel. 
To this class of literature belong his “Rabinul 
Facatorde Minuni, Conte Populaire ” (1888) ; “Bercu 
Batlen ”(1890); “Gangavul,” “Betzivul,” “Prigonit 
de Soarta” (1895); “O Fata Batrana,” “Uncliiul 
Beriscli,” “ Un Vagabond,” “ Schimscliele Gliibor,” 

“ Judecata Poporana ” (1896) ; and “ Polcovniceasa ” 
(1897). Most of these novels have been translated 
into Hebrew and published by Mebaschan. His “ Les 
Juifs en Roumaine Depuis le Traite de Berlin” 
appeared under the pseudonym “ Edmond Sincerus ” 
(London, 1901). 

Schwarzfeld also translated into Rumanian several 
novels of Leopold Kompert, Ludwig Philippson, M. 
Lehman, Leopold von Sacher-Masoch, S. Kohn, 
and others; Isidore Loeb’s article “Juifs”; Arsene 
Darmesteter’s pamphlet on the Talmud; and the 
two lectures by Ernest Renan on Judaism. 

Bibliography: Anuarul pentru Israelitzi , ix. 156-158; Al- 
manachul Israelit Hustrat, 566k, p. 250 ; Calendarul Ziaru- 
lui , 1SS6 , Focea- Dreptatzei , pp. 24-26. 

Moses Schwarzfeld; Rumanian writer; third 
son of Benjamin Schwarzfeld ; born at Jassy Dec. 

8, 1857. After studying medicine for a short time 
at Bucharest he turned his attention exclusively to 
literature, his first article appearing in 1877, in the 
“Revista Israelita,” published by his brother Elias. 
In the same year he founded the “ Calendarul Pen- 
tm Israelitzi,” a Jewish literary year-book, the title 
of which was changed in the following year to 
“Anuarul Pentru Israelitzi.” This publication, the 
last volume of which appeared in 1898, became the 
organ of the most eminent Jewish writers in Ru- 
mania; it contains a vast number of original essays 
on the history, folk-lore, and literature of the Ru- 
manian Jews. In 1881 Schwarzfeld became the 
principal contributor, under the pseudonym “ Ploes- 
teanu,” to the periodical “Fraternitatea,” published 
b}r his brother Elias. 

A special merit of Sell warzf eld's is the revival of 
one of tliQ most original and popular figures of Ru- 
manian Judaism, namely, Moses Cilibi, whose biog- 
raphy and literary remains he published under the 
title “Praetica si Apropourile lui Cilibi Moise Ves- 
titul din Tzara Romaneasca ” (Crajova, 18S3 ; 2d ed., 
Bucharest, 1901 ). After the expulsion of his brother 



121 


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Schwarzfeld 

Schwob 


Elias, and on account of tlie suspension by the gov- 
ernment of the periodical “ Fraternitatea, ” Schwarz- 
feld withdrew from political journalism and founded 
the Julius Barasch Historical Society, whose main 
purpose was to collect historical material concerning 
the Jews of Rumania. 

Of the studies which were published by Schwarz- 
feld in the annals of the society the following deserve 
special mention : “ Ocliire Asupra Istoriei Evreilor 
in Romania dela Inceput Pana la Mijlocul Acestei 
Veac” (Bucharest, 1887); “Excursiuni Critice Asu- 
pra Istoriei Evreilor in Romania ” (ib. 1888); “Mo- 
nente din Istoria Evreilor in Romania ” (ib. 1889). 
His “ Poesile Populare, Colectia Alexandri” (Jassy, 
1889) and “Yasile Alecsandri sau Mesterul Drege- 
strica si Aparatorii Sai ” (Crajova, 1889) are contri- 
butions to general Rumanian literature. In 1890 
Schwarzfeld founded the “ Egalitatea,” in Bucharest. 
He is an advocate of political Zionism and has been 
a delegate to several Zionist congresses. 

Wilhelm Schwarzfeld : Rumanian author; sec- 
ond son of Benjamin Schwarzfeld; bom at Jassy 
May 22, 1856 ; died at Bucharest Feb. 22, 1894. After 
receiving an education at Jassy he went to Bucha- 
rest to study for a short time at the Faculte des 
Lettres. He contributed frequently to the “Frater- 
nitatea,” “Propasirea,” “Egalitatea,” and “ Anuarul 
Pentru Israelitzi,” and took an active part in the 
foundation and development of the Julius Barasch 
Historical Society, for which he compiled a collec- 
tion of inscriptions from the more important Jewish 
cemeteries of Rumania. He published a number 
of important historical and literary essays in the 
“Anuarul Pentru Israelitzi” (vols. xii., xiii., xv., 
xvii., and xviii.). His “Amintiri din Viatza Seo- 
lara ” (1894) constitute a valuable contribution to the 
contemporaneous history of the Jews of Rumania. 

Bibliography : Anuarul Penti'u IsraelitzU xvi. 224-228 ; 

Egalitatea , 1894, pp. 73-76. 

S. 

SCHWEIDNITZ. See Silesia. 

SCHWEINFURT (Hebrew, LDTIUW) : Town 
in Lower Franconia. The first mention of its Jews 
dates from the year 1248, when Henry of Bamberg 
ordered 50 marks in silver to be paid them. In 1268 
the murder of a seven-year-old Christian girl was at- 
tributed to the Jews, and it wasonty by the mayor’s 
active interference that a persecution of them by the 
rabble was prevented. It developed later that the 
child had been murdered in one of the factional quar- 
rels of the town. In common with those of other 
Franconian towns, the Jews of Scliweinfurt suffered 
much from the persecutions in 1298 and 1349. They 
were severely affected in 1390 also, when Wences- 
laus IY. annulled all debts owing to them, and in 
1544, when the schools were closed and the Jewish 
advocate Jud Ilesel in vain endeavored to bring 
about their reopening. 

Scliweinfurt is now (1905) the seat of the “ Landes- 
rabbiner ” (present chief rabbi, Dr. S. Stein), its Jews 
numbering 415 in a total population of about 12,500; 
and it has four benevolent societies. The total num- 
ber of Jews in the district is 1,500, of which the 
town of Gerolzhofen has 148, that of Wiederwerrn 
140, and that of Theilheim 116. 


Bibliography : Aronius, Regesten , pp. 232, 286 ; "Wiener, k Emek 

ha-Baka , p. 44 ; Regesten , pp. 176, 177 ; Salfeld, Martyrolo- 

gium , pp. 233, 271, 275, 281 ; Heffner, Judcn in Franken , p. 

37 ; Stattetisches Jahrbuclu 1903, s.v. 

j. s. o. 

SCHWERIN. See Mecklenburg. 

SCHWERIN, GOTZ : Hungarian rabbi and 
Talmudist; born in 1760 at Schwerin -on-the-Warthe 
(Posen); died Jan. 15, 1845; educated at the yeshi- 
bot of Presburg and Prague. In 1796 he settled 
in Hungary, at first living the life of a private 
scholar in Baja; but in 1812 he was appointed 
rabbi of Szabadka and in 1815 of Baja. His 
house became the intellectual center of the dis- 
trict. In 1827 he was elected chief rabbi of Hungary 
by the heads of all the communities, with the right 
to officiate as the highest judge, to summon the con- 
tending parties, and even to compel their appear- 
ance. He attended the meetings of the “ asifah, ” 
or county communal gatherings, to supervise the 
apportioning of the toleration tax, to settle dis- 
putes, to record the minutes on important occasions, 
and to formulate decisions. No rabbi or ritual offi- 
cial could be appointed in the county without his 
consent, his decision in this regard being final. Re- 
ligious questions and marital difficulties and law- 
suits, matters relating to. elections and taxation, and 
differences between congregations and rabbis were 
brought before him, involving thousands of deci- 
sions during his term of office. 

Schwerin used his power with inflexible justice, 
even appealing to the authorities when necessary. 
He was not entirely untouched by the spirit of Re- 
form. He gave to the sermon, for instance, its due 
place in the service; nor was lie therein satisfied with 
the far-fetched interpretations of Biblical and Tal- 
mudic passages current at that time, but sought to 
edify and elevate his hearers. In 1844 he was an im- 
portant member of the rabbinical conference of Paks 
(Hungary). A detailed account of Schwerin’s life 
was written in Hungarian by his grandson Samuel 
Kolm, rabbi in Budapest (“Magyar Zsido Szemle” 
[1898-99], xv., xvi.). 

d. E. N. 

SCHWOB (MAYER ANDRii), MARCEL; 

French journalist; born at Chavilie (Seine-et-Oise) 
Aug. 23, 1867; died at Paris Feb. 27, 1905. He re- 
ceived his early instruction at Nantes, where his 
father was editor of the “Phare de la Loire.” Set- 
tling in Paris, he became connected with the “ Echo 
de Paris,” in which paper appeared his first stories, 
and with the “Evenement Journal,” the “Revue 
des Deux Mondes,” etc. Through the influence of 
his uncle Leon Cahun, curator of the Mazarin 
Library, he received a thorough education (A.B. 
1888) and was appointed professor at the Ecole des 
Hautes Etudes. 

Schwob, who was one of the most brilliant of mod- 
ern French writers, was the author of : “ Etude sur 
1’ Argot Francais,” 1889, witliM. Guiyesse; “Jargon 
des Coquillards en 1455,” 1890, a work on the adven- 
tures and life of the French poet Yillon; “Cceur 
Double,” 1891; “Le Roi au Masque d’Or,” 1892; 
“Le Livre de Monelle” and “Mimes,” 1894: “La 
Croisade des Enfants,” 1895; “Specilege” and 
“ Yies Imaginaires,” 1896; “LaLampe de Psyche,” 
1903; etc. He also translated Shakespeare’s “Ham- 



Scopus 

Scribes 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


122 


let ” with Eugene Moran, Sarah Bernhardt appearing 
in the title role of the production of liis version, and 
“ Broad Arrows ” by Stevenson, with whom he be- 
came quite intimate. 

Bibliography : Nouveau Larousse Illustrr : Jew. Ghron. 

March 3, 1905, p. 11 ; Athenaeum. March 4, 1905. 

s. F. T. II. 

SCOPUS : An elevation seven stadia north of 
Jerusalem, where, according to tradition, the high 
priest and the inhabitants of the city welcomed 
Alexander the Great (Josephus, “Ant.” xi. 8, § 5). 
Josephus states that the place was called Zatyeiv 
(Aramaic, pax; Hebrew, pDTC), which name was 
translated into Greek as 2/co-of = “prospect,” since 
from this height one might see Jerusalem and the 
Temple. It is evident from this statement that 2ko~6s 
was not originally a proper name, and that it be- 
came one only by degrees. The account of Jose- 
phus was based on Eupolemus; and Schlatter (“Zur 
Topographie und Geschiclite Palastina’s,” 1893, p. 
56) therefore infers that the Hellenistic Eupolemus 
understood Hebrew or at least Aramaic. According 
to the Talmud, however, the meeting with Alexan- 
der took place at Antipatris ; and since this city 
was formerly called Kefar Saba, Griitz (“Geseli.” 
2d ed., ii. 221), like Reland, inferred that there was 
a confusion between the names 2a<pa and 2a/3a. Of 
the two accounts that of Josephus is the more 
plausible. See Alexander the Great. 

Scopus is next mentioned in the account of the war 
against Pome as being the site of a camp of Cestius 
Gallus (Josephus, “B. J.” ii. 19, § 4), and later of 
Titus, who slowly approached the city from that 
point, leveling the ground thence to Herod's monu- 
ment (ib. v. 3, § 2). 

Scopus frequently appears in the Talmud under 
the name “Zofiin.” In certain lialakic respects it is 
regarded as a boundary of Jerusalem (Pes. iii. 8; 
Tosef., Pes. ii. 13); and it is also said to be a place 
from which Jerusalem is visible (M. K. 26a; Yer. 
M. Iy. 83b; Sem. ix.). It is, however, evidently a 
mere play on words when a sort of honey is named 
after the place (Sotah 48b). 

In 18S9 a canal, four meters in depth and roughly 
hewn in the rock, was discovered at the foot of the 
hill of Scopus ; and this aqueduct is regarded by 
Gordon as the water-conduit of the Temple (“Mit- 
theilungen und Nachrichten des Deutschen Paliis- 
tina-Vereins,” 1900, p. 48). A Jewish ossuary in- 
scribed with Hebrew and Greek letters, recently 
discovered on the Mount of Olives, is supposed to 
have come from Scopus (Clermont-Ganneau, in 
“Revue Biblique,” 1900, p. 307). 

Opposite Scopus is an elevation, now called Al- 
Kahkir, on which enormous stones have been found, 
and which has been identified as the site of the camp 
of Titus (Luncz, “Jerusalem,” vi. 81). Scopus is lo- 
cated by Buhl, however, in the southern portion of 
the elevation, which is bounded on the north by the 
Wadi al-Jauz. 

Bibliography : Estori Farhi, Kaftorwa-Fcrah , vi.; Neubauer, 

G. T. p. 151 ; Bottger, Lexicon zu Flavius Josephus, p. 223 ; 

Buhl, Geographic des Alten PaUistina, p. 96; Schiirer, 

Gesch. 3d ed., i. 604, note 14. 

G. S. Kk. 

SCORPION (Hebrew, “ ‘akrab ”) : An arachnid 
resembling a miniature flat lobster, and having a 


poisonous sting in its tail. It is common in the 
Sinaitic Peninsula and the desert of El-Tili. In 
Palestine, where it is represented by eight species, it 
swarms in every part of the country, and is found in 
houses, in chinks of walls, among ruins, and under 
stones. In Ezek. ii. 6 “scorpion ” is employed as a 
metaphor of bitter, stinging words; and inlKingsxii. 
11, 14 it is applied to a scourge which was probably 
provided with metal points. A place-name derived 
from the scorpion may perhaps be seen in Maaleli 
Akrabbim (“ascent of the scorpions”), occurring 
in Num. xxxiv. 4, Josh. xv. 3, and Judges i. 36. 

In the Talmud the scorpion is said to live in empty 
cisterns, in dung-heaps, in holes, among stones, and 
in crevices of Avails (Hag. 3a and parallels). It at- 
tacks Avitliout provocation or Avarning ; and its bite 
is even more dangerous than that of the snake, be- 
cause it repeats it (Yer. Ber. 9a). The scorpions of 
Adiabene (Hadyab) Avere considered especially dan-, 
gerous (Shab. 121b). The urine of a forty-day-old 
infant and the gall of the stork Avere used as curatives 
(ib. 109b; Ivet. 50a). The scorpion itself was em- 
ployed as a medicament in curing cataract (Git. 
60a). Among the permanent miracles of Jerusalem 
A\ r as numbered the fact that no one Avas ever bitten 
there by a scorpion or a serpent (Ab. v. 5). The 
auger of the Avise is likened to the sting of the scor- 
pion (ib. ii. 10). Metaphorically, “ ‘akrab ” is used 
of the iron bit of the horse (Kelim xi. 5, xii. 3). 

Bibliography : Tristram, Nat. Hist. p. 301 ; Lewysohn, Z. T. 

p. 298. 

j. I. M. C. 

SCOTLAND ; Country forming the northern 
part of Great Britain. Jews have been settled there 
only since the early part of the nineteenth century. 
In 1816 there Avere twenty families in Edinburgh, 
Avhich Avas the first Scottish city to attract JeAvish 
settlers. The establishment of a JeAvish community 
in Glasgoav came later, in 1830. These are the two 
principal communities, and contain nearly the Avliole 
of the JeAvish population of Scotland, Avhicli may 
be set down as something over 8,000. 

There are three other congregations — one at Dun- 
dee, another at Aberdeen, and a third at Green- 
ock. Dundee, Avhicli has a Jewish population of 110, 
has a Hebrew Benevolent Loan Society connected 
Avitli its synagogue in Murray gate. The Aber- 
deen congregation, though very small, came into 
prominence some years ago in connection with an 
action at law which Avas brought against it by the 
local branch of the Society for the Prevention of 
Cruelty to Animals, the JeAvish method of slaugh- 
tering haAdng been called in question and denounced 
as inhumane. The congregation at Greenock is nu- 
merically insignificant. 

Bibliography: Jewish Year Book , 1905. 

j. I. II. 

SCOTT, CHARLES ALEXANDER (KARL 
BLUMENTHAL): English author; born in 
London 1803; died at Venice Nov., 1866. At an 
early age he went to Italy, Avhere he remained for a 
considerable time. He Avas master of several lan- 
guages, and traveled extensively. In 1848 he 
joined in the Italian revolution against Austria and 
fought bravely before the fall of Venice. Later 
he enlisted as a soldier of fortune Avith Garibaldi. 



123 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Scopus 

Scribes 


When the latter organized his expedition in 1860 
Scott sought the permission of that general to set 
out for Home with some companions disguised as 
monks, with the object of carrying off young Mor- 
tara. This attempt at abduction was, however, 
abandoned. 

In 1860 Scott had a quarrel with Lord Seymour, 
who publicly horsewhipped him. Scott brought an 
action and was awarded £500 damages ; but he never 
recovered from the chastisement he received, which 
accelerated his death. He left considerable sums to 
Jewish charities and institutions. 

Bibliography : Jew. Chron. May 3 and 10,- 186T. 

j. L. 

SCOURGING. See Stripes. 

SCRANTON : Third largest city in the state of 
Pennsylvania and capital of Lackawanna county. 
Jews settled there when the place was still called 
Harrison or Slocum’s Hollow, the present name 
having been given to the city about 1850. The 
first Jew to hold public office was Joseph Rosenthal, 
who was Scranton’s first, and for a long time its 
only, policeman. This was in 1860, when the pop- 
ulation numbered but 8,500. The first Jewish con- 
gregation was organized in 1858, and was recon- 
stituted in 1860 under the name “ Anshe Hesed. ” -In 
1866 the synagogue on Linden street was built, it 
being the first building reared exclusively as a Jew- 
ish place of worship in Lackawanna county. This 
edifice, after having been twice rebuilt, was sold to 
the first Polish congregation in 1902, when the pres- 
ent temple, situated on Madison avenue near Vine, 
street, was dedicated. E. K. Fisher was the first 
rabbi; and his successors w ere RabbisOolin, Weil, 
Sohn, Eppstein, Freudenthal, Lowenberg, Feuer- 
liclit, and Chapman; A. S. Anspacher is the present 
(1905) incumbent. There are now about 5,000 Jews 
in Scranton in a total population of 105,000. They 
support, in all, five congregations, and two Hebrew 
schools holding daily sessions. One of the latter, 
the Montefiore Hebrew School, has a well-equipped 
corps of teachers and an enrolment of about 200 male 
pupils. The other school, larger in point of attend- 
ance, possesses its own house, situated on the south 
side of the city, and is supported entirely by the 
large Hungarian community. 

The more important charitable organizations are: 
the Hebrew Ladies’ Relief Society, the Ladies’ .Aid 
Society, the Deborah Verein, the South Side Relief 
Society, the Kitchen Garden School, and the Indus- 
trial Aid Society, a branch of the New York Re- 
moval Office. 

Although the Jews are chiefly merchants and 
there are but few manufacturers among them, they 
arc well represented in the legal and medical pro- 
fessions. For fourteen years a Jew active in com- 
munal work was president of the board of educa- 
tion ; and he was subsequently appointed director 
of public safet} r , the second highest office of the 
municipality. 

a. ‘ A. S. A. 

SCRIBES (Hebrew, D'"!S1D; Greek, Tpappare ig) : 
1. Body of teachers whose office was to interpret 
the Law to the people, their organization beginning 
with Ezra, who was their chief, and terminating 


with Simeon the Just. The original meaning of the 
Hebrew word “soferim” was “people who know 
how to write ” ; and therefore the royal officials who 
-were occupied in recording in the archives the pro- 
ceedings of each day were called scribes (comp. II 
Sam. viii. 17; II Kings xix. 2, passim) ; but as the art 
of writing was known only to the intelligent, the 
term “ scribe ” became synonymous with “ wise man ” 
(I Cliron. xxvii. 82). Later, in the time 
Origin and of Ezra, the designation was applied to 
Meaning, the body of teachers who, as stated 
above, interpreted the Law to the peo- 
ple. Ezra himself is styled “a ready scribe in the 
law of Moses ” (Ezra vii. 6). Indeed, he might lie 
correctly so called for two reasons, inasmuch as he 
could write or copy the Law and at the same time 
was an able interpreter of it. The Rabbis, however, 
deriving “1S1D from !DD(=“to count”), interpret 
the term “ soferim ” to mean those who count the 
letters of the Torah or those who classify its con- 
tents and recount the number of laws or objects 
belonging in each group ; e.g., five classes of people 
that are exempt from the heave-offering, four 
chief causes of damages, thirty-nine chief works 
which are forbidden on the Sabbath, etc. (Yer. 
Shek. v. 1; Hag. 15b; Kid. 30a; Sanli.l06b). While 
this may be only a liaggadic interpretation of the 
term “soferim,” it is evident that these scribes were 
the first teachers of the Torah and the founders of 
the oral law. 

The activity of the scribes began with the cessation 
of that of the Prophets. In fact, after the Israelites 
who came back from Babylon had turned their 
hearts to God, there was greater need of men to 
instruct the people and to assist them in obtaining 
a clear understanding of the Law. This body of 
teachers is identified by Zacharias -Frankel (“Darke 
ha-Mishnali,” p. 8) and Nachman Krochmal (“Moreli 
Nebuke lia-Zeman,” ch. xi.) with the “men of the 
Great Synagogue ” (comp, the expression a vvayuyy 
ypaggaTEuv in I Macc. vii. 12), of which Simeon the 
Just was the last member (comp. Ab. i. 2). If this 
identification is correct, the organization of the 
scribes lasted from the time of Ezra till the conquest 
of Palestine by Alexander the Great, a period of 
about 200 years. It must be said, however, that the 
term “soferim” was sometimes used, particularly in 
the post-Maccabean time, to designate teachers gener- 
ally. Thus Moses and Aaron are styled the “ soferim 
of Israel” (Targ. of pseudo- Jonathan to Num. xxi. 
19 ; Targ. to Cant. i. 2). Besides, in certain passages 
it is quite evident that “ soferim ” refers to Talmud- 
ists of a later period, as, for instance, in Yer. Ber. 
i. 7 and R. H. 19a, where the expression “dibre 
soferim ” (= “ the words of the scribes ”) seems to re- 
fer to the school of Hillel. But as a 
Range general rule the term refers to the 
of body of teachers the first of whom 
Activity, was Ezra and the last Simeon the Just. 

It seems that after Simeon the teachers 
were more generally styled “elders” (“zekenim”), 
and later “the wise ones” (“hakamim Shah. 64b; 
Suk. 46a), while “soferim” was sometimes used as 
an honorific appellation (Sotah 15a). In still later 
times “soferim” became synonymous with “teach- 
ers of little children ” {ib. 49a). 



Scribes 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


124 


Although, as will be shown later, the activity of 
the scribes was manifold, yet their main object was 
to teach the Torah to the Jewish masses, and to the 
Jewish youth in particular. It was they who estab- 
lished schools, and they were particularly enjoined 
to increase the number of their pupils (Ab. i. 1). 
Their mode of teaching is indicated in Nell. viii. 8: 
“ So they read in the book in the law of God distinctly, 
and gave the sense, and caused them to understand 
the reading. ” This passage is explained by the Rab- 
bis as meaning that they first read the Hebrew text 
and then translated it into the vernacular, elucidating 
it still further by dividing it into passages (“ pesu- 
kim”; Meg. 3a; Ned. 37b). Moreover, the scribes 
always connected with the text the laws which they 
deduced from the Biblical passages ; that is, they read 
the passage, explained it, and then deduced the law 
contained in it; they did not in general formulate 
abstract lialakot apart from the Biblical text. The 
halakot were the work of (1) the “Zugot ” (duumvi- 
rates), who immediately followed the scribes, and (2) 
the Tannaim, who treated the law independently of 
the Biblical text. There are, however, some misli- 
nayot which, from their style, seem to have emanated 
directly from the scribes (comp. Neg. ii. 5-7). The 
latter seem not to have departed from the literal 
interpretation of the text, although they adapted 
the laws to the requirements of the times, sometimes 
instituting by-laws (“seyagim”), this, according to 
Abot {l.c.), being one of the three main duties of 
their office (comp. R. H. 34a; Yeb. ii. 4; Sanh. 
xii. 3). 

From the time of Ezra, however, the scribes oc- 
cupied themselves also with plans for raising Juda- 
ism to a higher intellectual plane. ( They were, con- 
sequently, active in reviving the use of Hebrews 
which had been to a great extent forgotten during 
the exile in Babylon, and in giving it a more grace- 
ful and suitable script. As to the latter, it is stated 
that the Torah had first been written in Hebrew 
characters; then, in the time of Ezra, in characters 
called “ketab ashshuri ” (probably- = “ketab suri ” 
= Syrian or Aramean script; comp. Kohut, “ Arucli 
Completum,” s.v. Ti^X), the present square type, 
the former script being left to the u Hedyotot,” that 
is, the Cutlieans or Samaritans (Sanli. 

Used 2lb-22a). It is evident that the 

Square scribes, in making this change, wished 

Hebrew to give the Torah a particularly sacred 
Characters, character in distinction to the Samari- 
tan Pentateuch. The term “ ketab ash- 
shuri ” is explained by one authority as meaning 
“the even writing” (Yer. Meg. i. 71b), as contrasted 
with the forms of the ancient Hebrew or Samaritan 
characters. 

The scribes are still better known for their work 
in connection with the liturgy and in the field of 
Bible emendation; for, besides the many benedic- 
tions and prayers which are ascribed to them, they 
revised the Hebrew text of the Scriptures, their re- 
visions being called “tikkune soferim.” The num- 
ber of these scribal emendations is given as eighteen 
(in Mek., Beshallah Shirah, 6, and in Tan., Yelamme- 
denu Beshallah, ed. Vienna, 1863, p. 82b), of which 
the following, may be cited: “but Abraham stood 
yet before the Lord ” (Gen. xviii. 22), substituted 


for the original text, “but the Lord stood yet before 
Abraham” (see Gen. R. xlix. 12); “and let me not 
see my wretchedness” (Num. xi. 15), an emendation 
of the original text, “and let me not see th} r 
wretchedness”; “to your tents . . . unto their 
tents” (livings xii. 16), instead of “to your gods 
. . . unto tlieir gods. ” Other traces of the scribes’ 
revision of the text are dots above certain words 
the meaning of which seemed doubtful to them, 
the original marks being ascribed to Ezra (Ab. R. 
N., ed. Schecliter, pp. 97-98; Num. R. iii. 13). 
For the “ tikkune soferim ” see Masorah, and for the 
institutions (“ takkanot ”) established by the scribes, 
Synagogue, Great; Takkanaii. 

Bibliography: Bacher, Ag. Tan. Index, s.v. Lehrcr; J. 
Briill, Mebo ha-Mislmah, pp. 7-9, Frankfort-on-tlie-Main, 
1876; Z. Frankel, Darke lia-Mislmah , pp. 3 ct seq.; Gratz, 
Gesch. 1st ed., ii., part 2, p. 125 ; 4th ed., iii. 86 ct see/.; Ham- 
burger, R. B. T. ii., s.v. Sophcrim ; Jost, in Zeit. fiir Histo- 
rische Theologie , 1850, pp. 351 ct seq.; Schurer, Gesch. 3d ed., 
ii. 313 et seq.; Weiss, Dor, i. 50 ct seq. 

S. M. SEL. 

2. The professional scribes, known also as 
“liblarin” ( “liblar” = “libellarius”). There were 
two kinds of professional scribes : (a) one who was 
engaged in the transcription of the Pentateuch 
scroll, phylacteries, and mezuzot, and who was 
called “ sofer STaM” (= d'TlD, the initials of “ Sefer 
Torah,” “Tefillin,” and “Mezuzah”); ( b ) one who 
acted as notary public and court secretary. 

(a) The productions of the sofer being the prin- 
cipal religious paraphernalia, he was a necessity in 
a Jewish community. A learned man was prohib- 
ited from residing in a town in which there was no 
scribe (Sanh. 17b). The sofer was so indispensable 
that, according to R. Joshua b. Levi, the men of 
the Great Assembly observed twenty-four fast-days 
on which they prayed that the soferim might not 
become rich and therefore unwilling to write. A 
baraita confirms the statement that writers of the 
Torah scrolls, tefillin, and mezuzot, and those that 
deal or trade in them are not blessed with riches 
(Pes. 50b; Tosef., Bik. ii., end). Even to this day 
the vocation of the sofer is the worst paid of all 
Jewish professions. ' 

The Talmud, quoting the passage “This is my 
God, and I will beautify Him ” (Ex. xv. .2, Hebr.), 
says : “ Serve Him in a beautiful mau- 
Artistic ner . . . prepare a beautiful Sefer 
Work. Torah, written in good ink with a fine 
pen by an expert sofer ” (Shah. 133b). 
The ink must be indelible, and the parchment spe- 
cially prepared; the lines, traced and squared so 
that the writing may be straight and uniform. The 
Talmud declares that the rule regarding lines must 
be observed in the case of the mezuzah, which is 
written on one roll, but does not apply in the case 
of the tefillin-rolls. Both, however, may be copied 
from memory, the wording being familiar to the 
sofer (Meg. 18b). The tracing is done with a ruler 
and a style (comp. Git. 6b; Tosef., Git. s.v. “IDX). 

There were artists among the soferim. The Al- 
exandrian scribes especially were noted for their 
skill in illumination. They used to gild the names 
of God found in the Pentateuch ; but the rabbis of 
Jerusalem prohibited reading from such scrolls and 
ordered them to be placed in the genizah (Masseket 
Soferim i. ; Sliab. 103b). 



135 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Scribes 


The utmost care and attention were bestowed upon 
spelling, crowning certain letters (Taggin), dotting 
others, copying abnormalities, and upon the regu- 
lations as to spacing for parashiyyot and sections. 
Some soferim were careful to begin the columns of 
the Sefer Torali with a word commencing with a 
“ waw,” allowing an equal number of lines to every 
column. Such columns were known as “ wawe ha- 
'ammudim” or “waw-columns.” The preparation 
of phylacteries andmezuzot required a similar exer- 
cise of watchfulness. R. Ishmael said to a sofer: 
“My son, be careful in thy work, as it is a heavenly 
work, lest thou err in omitting or adding one iota, 
and so cause the destruction of the whole world” 
(‘Er. 1 3a). The sofer was required to copy the text 
from a model form made by an expert, and was 
not permitted to rely on his memory. “ Let thine 
eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight 
before thee” (Prov. iv. 25) is the advice given to a 
sofer. R. Hisda, finding R. Hananeel writing a Sefer 
Torah from memory, said to him: “Indeed thou art 
able to write the whole Torah by heart; but our 
sages have forbidden the writing of even one letter 
without an exemplar” (Meg. 18b). 

The model from which the sofer copied the 
Pentateuch was called “tikkun soferim” (which 
must not be confounded with tikkune soferim = 
“changes in the text”). An ancient fine copy of a 
tikkun soferim, written on vellum, and vocalized and 
accented, with “ waw-columns ” of sixty lines each, 
v r as found in the old synagogue of 
“ Tikkun Cracow (“ Ha-Maggid,” xii. 6, Feb. 5, 
Soferim. 3 ’ 1868). Among, the printed model 
forms are : “ Tikkun Soferim,” by Sol- 
omon de Oliveyra, Amsterdam, 1666; “ ‘Ezrat ha- 
Sofer,” with wawe lia-‘ammudim, edited by Judah 
Piza, ib. 1769; “ ‘Enlia-Sofer,” with wawe ha-'ammu- 
dim, by W. Heidenlieim, 10 parts, Rodelheim, 1818- 
1821. The modern “Tikkun Soferim,” without 
vowels or accents, was first published inWilna, in 
1874, with wawe lia-‘ammudim in two half-columns 
of forty-two lines. This edition has been reprinted 
several times and is now the standard cop 3 r . 

Moses Hagiz, in liis “Mishnat Hakamim ” (§§ 227- 
228, Wandsbeck, 1733), urges scrupulous carefulness 
as to the qualification of the sofer, and refers to 
Moses Zacuto, who complained of the malprac- 
tises of the soferim in their work. He refers also to 
Zacuto ’s letter enumerating ten rules for the guid- 
ance of the sofer and addressed to the rabbis of Cra- 
cow, who had requested the information. A copy 
of this letter is among the manuscripts of the Bod- 
leian Libraiy, Oxford. It contains cabalistic rules 
by Moses Zacuto for the writing of a Pentateuch 
roll according to Luria ; but it is addressed to Isaac, 
rabbi of Posen, and includes Isaac’s answer copied in 
the year 5438 = 1678 (Neubauer, “ Cat. Bodl. Hebr. 
MSS.” cols. 1871, 2, and 1890). 

The ordinary Bible for study was usually vocal- 
ized, accented, and sometimes illuminated (see Bible 
Manuscripts). In most cases the sofer would 
only write upon the order of a patron ; 
Colophons, and he would append his signature 
at the end of his work as a guaranty 
of its correctness, with the date, place of produc- 
tion, and sometimes the name of his patron also. 


as an identification in case of loss. These colo- 
phons are interesting from an antiquarian and his- 
torical point of view. Probably the earliest is that 
of Moses ben Asher’s Bible, which was ordered by 
Jabez b. Solomon and given to the Karaite con- 
gregation in Jerusalem, and of which Jacob Sa- 
phir saw the Prophets in the possession of the Kara- 
ite congregation at Cairo (“Eben Sappir,” i. 14b, 
Lyck, 1868). It was written in Tiberias and dated 
in the year 827 from the destruction of the Second 
Temple ( = 896 c. e.) ; the coloplionic matter ap- 
pearing at the end of the Minor Prophets. Some 
colophons are written in letters of gold with an 
illuminated border, giving the date according to 
the era of the Creation, the Seleucidan era, and that 
of the destruction of the Temple; a blessing for the 
patron follows; and the closing words are: “May 
salvation [or “the redeemer”] speedily come.” In 
rare instances the scribe acknowledges the receipt 
of his compensation in full ; in others he apologizes 
for any error or shortcoming and pleads for God’s 
forgiveness. 

Expertness in writing was highly developed dur- 
ing the existence of the Second Temple. Ben 
Kamzar was able to manipulate four pens between 
his five fingers and to write a four-lettered word at 
one stroke. He was blamed for not teaching 
liis art to others (Yoma 3Sb). The vocation of 
the sofer was a regular profession ; and many Tal- 
mudists were known by the appellation “Safra.” 
The scribe was recognized in the street by the pen 
behind his ear (Shah. i. 3 ; 11a). 

(b) The other kind of sofer was employed in the 
preparation of bills of divorce requiring special 
care. He acted also in the capacity of a public 
notary, and as a recording clerk in the court-house 
(“ bet din ”). There were two clerks : one recording 
the charge of the accuser; the other, the answer of 
the accused (Sanh. 17b). The sofer was, moreover, 
the public secretary. It is stated that 
Notary and the nasi Rabban Gamaliel in his offi- 
Secretary. cial seat on the Temple site had be- 
fore him Johanan the sofer, to whom 
he dictated three letters: (1) “To our brethren re- 
siding in upper and lower Galilee”; (2) “To our 
brethren in the South”; and (3) “To our brethren 
in exile in Babylon and Media and other exilic 
countries of Israel. Peace with you shall ever in- 
crease. We inform you,” etc. (Sanh. lib). In later 
times the scribe of the community (= “sofer ha- 
kahal ”) was the recording secretary of the Pinkes, 
and acted as notary as far as legal documents were 
concerned. The community had the. power to con- 
sider as valueless all contracts not written b} r the 
appointed sofer (Sliulhan ‘Aruk, Hoshen Mishpat, 
61, 1). 

The sofer’s fee w r as not fixed, nor might he make 
any charge except for loss of time. It was advisa- 
ble therefore to make a bargain with him before- 
hand (ib. Eben ha-'Ezer, 154, 4). The question by 
whom the sofer shall be paid is settled for almost 
every possible case. The underlying principle is that 
the one who is in duty bound to give the document, 
or who receives the most benefit from the transac- 
tion, shall pay the scribe; otherwise the parties 
share the expense. Those responsible for the sofer’s 



THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


fee are enumerated thus: (1) Tlie purchaser of 
property (Hoslien Mishpat, 238, 1). (2) The bor- 

rower of money ; but if the lender loses the note and 
desires a duplicate, he must pay for it. The lender 
pays for writing the receipt against a note; but 
when there is no note, and the borrower wishes to 
have a receipt, he must pay for it (ib. 39, 14; 54, 1). 
(3) The bridegroom, for the betrothal contract; but 
if the bride desires a duplicate, she must pay for 
it. The groom pays for the ketubah (Eben lia- 
‘Ezer, 51, 1). (4) The husband, for a bill of divorce 
and the receipt for the dowry (ib. 110. 1; 120, 1). 
(o) ‘ Both parties, for writing arbitration papers 
(Hoslien Mishpat, 13, 6), The plaintiff and de- 
fendant share alike the cost of writing their pleas 
and briefs for submission to a higher court (ib. 13, 
3 ; 14, 2). The person who is in contempt of court 
must pay the expense incurred in issuing the sum- 
mons (ib. 11, 4). 

See Bible Manuscripts; Get; Ink; Manu- 
scripts; Mezuzaii ; Paleography; Phylacter- 
ies; Scroll of. tiie Law; Tag gin. 

Bibliography: JSIasseket Sof crimped. Joel Muller, Leipsic, 
1S78 \ Sheba" Masscketot, Sefer Toral) , ed. Raphael Kireh- 
heitn, Fraukfort-on-the-Main, 1S51 ; Ginzc Mizrauim , Sefer 
Torah (credited to Judali Barcelona), ed. E. N. Adler, Oxford, 
1S97 ; Vitry Malizor , pp. CSC ct scq Aaron Mirels, Bet Aha- 
ron, Berlin, 1S29'; Samuel ha-Levi, Nahalat Shibc"ah, No. 1, 
Amsterdam, 1GC7; Joseph Ganzfried, Kcset ha-Sofcr, Ofen, 
'1835 ; Samson b. Eliezer, Barak She-Amar, with appendix by 
Lipmaim-Miilbausen, Shklov, 1804; Abraham b. Isaac of Nar- 
bonne, Sc.fcr ha-Eshlwl , ed. Abraham Auerbach, vol. ii., 
Halberstadt, 1868 ; Low, Graphische Rcquisitcn ; C. D. Gins- 
burg. Introduction to the Hebrew Bible , pp. 241 ct scq., Lon- 
don, 1897; Hartwig, Bcihcfte zum Centralblatt f ur Biblio- 
thekswesens , JS97, No. 19; Ludwig Blau, Studicn zum Alt- 
hejjriiisclwn Buchwcscn , i., Strasburg, 1902 ; Louis H. Levin, 
The Sophcr , in Jewish Comment , 1903, xvii. 5. 
w. u. J. D. E. 

SCROLL OF AHTIOCHTTS. See Antiociius, 
Scroll of. 

SCROLL OF THE LAW (Hebrew, “ Sefer 
Torah 3 ’): The Pentateuch, written on a scroll of 
parchment. The Bab bis count among the manda- 
tory precepts incumbent upon every Israelite the 
obligation to write a copy of the Pentateuch for his 
personal use. The passage “How therefore write 
ye 'this song for you, and teach it the children of 
Israel” (Deut. xxxi. 19) is interpreted as referring to 
the whole Pentateuch, wherein “this song” is in- 
cluded (Sanh. 21b). The king was required to pos- 
sess a second copy, to be kept near his 
Every One throne and carried into battle (Deut. 
to 'Possess xvii. 18; Maimonides, “Yad,” Sefer 
a‘ Sefer Torah, vii. 1, 2). One who is unable 
Torah. to write the scroll himself should hire 
a scribe to write it for him; or if he 
purchases a scroll lie should have it examined by a 
competent Sofer. If a Jew inherits a scroll it is 
his duty to write or have written another. This 
scroll he must not sell, even in dire distress, except 
for the purpose of paying his teacher’s fee or of de- 
fraying his own marriage expenses (Meg. 27a). 

The Pentateuch for reading in public (see Law, 
Beading from the) must be written on the skin 
(parchment) of a clean animal, beast or fowl (comp. 
Lev. xi. 2et seq.), though not necessarily slaughtered 
according to the Jewish ritual ; but the skin of a fish, 
even if clean, can not be used (Sliab. 108a). The 
parchment must be prepared specially for use as a 


126 


scroll, with gallnut and lime and other chemicals that 
help to render it durable (Meg. 19a). In olden times 
the rough hide was scraped on both 
Method of sides, and thus a sort of parchment 
Prepara- made which was known as “gewil.” 
tion. Later the hide was split, the outer part, 

of superior quality, called “kelaf,” 
being mostly used for making scrolls of the Law, 
while the inner and inferior part, called “doksostos” 



Metal Case for Scroll of the Law. 

(In the Must/e de Cluny, Paris.) 


(— (K'oxtarog), was not employed for this purpose. 
The writing was inscribed on the outer or hair side 
of the gewil, and on the inner or flesh side of the 
kelaf (Sliab. 79b). Every page was squared, and 
the lines were ruled with a stylus. Only the best 
black ink might be used (see Ink), colored ink or 


C.k.k Emories Accompanying the presentation of a Scroll of the Law to a Synagogue. 

(From Bodensehatz, “ Kirciiliche Verfassung,” 174S.) 



Scroll of the Law 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


128 


gilding not being permitted (Massek. Soferim i. 1). 
The writing was executed by means of a stick or 
quill; and the text was in square Hebrew charac- 
ters (ib.). 

The width of the scroll was about six handbreadtlis 
(=24 inches), the length equaling the circumfer- 
ence (B. B. 14a). The Baraita says half of the length 
shall equal the width of the scroll when rolled up 



SCROLL OP THE LAW PROM CHINA. 

(From the Sulzberger collection in the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, New York.) 


(Soferim ii. 9). The length of the scroll in the Ark The margin at the bottom of each page must be 
was six handbreadtlis, equal to the height of the 4 fingerbreadths ; at the top, 3 fingerbreadtlis; be- 
tablets (B. B. l.c.). Maimonides gives the size of the tween the columns, 2 fingers’ space ; an allowance be- 
regular scroll as 17 fingers (= inches) ingmade of 1 fingerbreadth for sewing the sheets to- 

Size of long (see below), seventeen being getlier. Maimonides gives the length of the page as 
the Scroll considered a “ good ” number (;nD = 17 fingers, allowing 4 fingerbreadths for the bottom 

and 17). Every line should be long enough and 8 fingerbreadths for the top margin, and 10 
Margin, to contain thirty letters or three words fingerbreadths for the length of the written column. 

equal in space to that occupied by the In the scroll that Maimonides had written for him- 
ietters The lines are to be neither too self each page measured 4 fingers in width and con- 

short, as in an epistle, nor too long, involving the tained 51 lines. The total number of columns was 


shifting of the body when reading from beginning 
to end. The sheet ; yeri‘ah ”) must contain no 
less than three and no more than eight columns. 
A sheet of nine pages may be cut in two parts, of 
four and five columns respectively. The last col- 
umn of the scroll may be narrower and must end 
in the middle of the bottom line with the words 
(Men. 30a). 


129 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Scroll of the Law 


266, and the length of the whole scroll was 1,866 
finders (= 37.34 yds.). Maimonides calculates a fin- 
ffer-measurc as equal to the width of 7 grains or the 
length of 2 (*‘ Yad,” l.c. ix. 5, 9, 10), which isabout 
1 inch. The number of lines on a page might not 
be less than 48 nor more than 60 {ib. vii. 10). The 
Baraita, however, gives the numbers 42, 60, 72, and 
98, based respectively on the 42 travels (Num. xxxiii. 
3-48), 60 score thousand Israelites (Num. xi. 21), 72 
elders (ib. verse 25), and 98 admonitions in Deu- 
teronomy (xxviii. 16-68), because in each of these 
passages is mentioned “ writing ” (Soferim ii. 6). (At 
the present day the forty-two-lined column is the 
generally ac- 
cepted style of 
the scroll, its 
length being 
about 24 inches.) 

The space be- 
tween the lines 
should be equal 
to the size of the 
letters (B. B. 

13a), which must 
be uniform, ex- 
cept in the case 
of certain spe- 
cial abnormal- 
ities (see Small 
and Large Let- 
ts it s ) . The 

space between 
one of the Pen- 
tateuclial books 
and the next 
should be four 
lines. Extra 
space must be 
left at the be- 
ginning and at 
the end of the 
scroll, where the 
rollers are fast- 
ened. Nothing 
may be written 
on the margin 
outside the 
ruled lines, ex- 
cept one or 
two letters re- 
quired to finish 
a word containing more than twice as many 
letters. 

Some scribes are careful to begin each column 
with initial letters forming together the words 
ITD (“ by his name JA1I ” ; Ps. Ixviii, 4), as fol- 
lows: JVGP&TD (Gen. i. 1), mirp (ib. xlix. 8), 

(Ex. xiv. 28), (ib. xxxiv. 11), HD (Num. xxiv. 

• 5), nTJhXi (Deut. xxxi. 28). Other scribes begin all 
columns except the first with the letter “ waw ” ; 
such columns are called “ wawe ha-'ammudim ” = 
“the waw columns” (see Scribes). 

It is the scribe’s duty to prepare himself by si- 
lent meditation for performing the holy work of 
writing the Pentateuch in the name of God. He is 
obliged to have before him a correct copy ; he may 
XI.— 9 


not write even a single word from memory ; and he 
must pronounce every word before writing it. 
Every letter must have space around it and must 
be so formed that an ordinary schoolboy can distin- 
guish it from similar letters (Shulhan ‘ Aruk, Orah 
Hayyim, 32, 36; see Taggin). The scroll may con- 
tain no vowels or accents ; otherwise it is unfit for 
public reading. 

The scroll is not divided into verses ; but it has 
two kinds of divisions into chapters (“ parashiyyot ”), 
distinguished respectively as “petuhah ” (open) and 
“setumah” (closed), the former being a larger di- 
vision than the latter (Men. 32a). Maimonides 

describes the 
spaces to be left 
between succes- 
sive chapters as 
follows : “ The 

text preceding 
the petuhah 
ends in the mid- 
dle of the line, 
leaving a space 
of nine letters at 
the end of the 
line, and the pe- 
tuhali com- 
mences - at the 
beginning of the 
second line. If 
a space of nine 
letters cannot be 
left in the pre- 
ceding line, the 
petuhah com- 
mences at the 
beginning of the 
third line, the 
intervening line 
being left blank. 
The text prece- 
ding the setu- 
mah or closed pa- 
rashah ends in 
the middle of the 
line, a space of 
nine letters be- 
ing left, and the 
setumah com- 
mencing at the 
end of the same 
line. If there is no such space on the same line, leave 
a small space at the beginning of the second line, 
making together a space equal to nine letters, and 
then commence the setumah. In other words, al- 
ways commence the petuhah at the beginning of a 
line and the setumah in the middle of a line” 
(“Yad,” l.c. viii. 1,2). Maimonides gives a list of 
all the petuhah and setumah parashiyyot as copied 
by him from an old manuscript in Egypt written by 
Ben Asher (ib. viii., end). Aslieri explains the petu- 
hah and setumah differently, almost reversing the 
method. The general practise is a compromise : the 
petuhah is preceded by a line between the end of 
which and the left margin a space of nine letters is 
left, and commences at the beginning of the following 



Scroll of the Law 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


130 


line; the setumah is preceded by a line closing at 
the edge of the column and commences at the 
middle of the next line, an interven- 
Verses. ing space of nine letters being left 
(Sliulhan c Aruk). 

The poetic verses of the song of the Red Sea 
(“ shirat ha- Yam ” ; Gen. xv. 1-18) are metrically ar- 
ranged in thirty lines (Shab. 103b) like bricks in a 
wall, as illustrated below : 


The first six lines are placed thus : 

yt\dnu mm 1 ? nN?n nmt^n nx vm na>D mti” tk 

did nso nau 'd mm 1 ? -idn 1 ? 

'nu m men vy a>a non 

vrnxi iSn nr nyw* 1 ? 

mm neciSe nin' lmeD-ixi vu* 

. nm nm iVvn njna rurne ids? 

The verses of the song of “Ha’azinu” (Deut. 
xxxii. 1-43) are placed in seventy double rows, the 
first four lines as follows : 

’fl nDN pxn yeirm 
. then Soa Vrn 
nvy 'by ma'ina’i 
U'nVvS*? S*u nn 

The scroll must be written in accordance with 
the Masoretic Ketib, the abnormalities of certain 
letters being reproduced (see Small and Large 
Letters). If the final letters are written in 
the middle of a word, or if their equivalents jDSVJD 
are written at the end, the scroll is unfit for public 
reading. (Soferim ii. 10). 

Scrupulous care must be taken in writing the 
Names op God : before every name the scribe must 
say, “I intend to write the Holy Name”; otherwise 
the scroll would be unfit (“ pasul ”) for public read- 
ing, When the scribe has begun to write the name 
of. God he must not be interrupted 

Name of until he has finished it. No part of 
G-od.. ‘ tiie name may extend into tlie margin 

outside the rule. If an error occurs in 
the name, it may not be erased like any other word, 
but the whole sheet must be replaced and the de- 
fective sheet put in the genizah. Wlien the writing 
is set aside to dry it should be covered with a cloth 
to protect it from dust. It is considered shameful 
to turn the writing downward (‘Er. 97a). 

If an error is found in the scroll it must be cor- 
rected and reexamined by a competent person within 
thirty days; if three or four errors are found on one 
page the scroll must be placed in the genizah (Men 
29b). 

The sheets are sewed together with threads made 
of dried tendons (“gidin”) of clean beasts. The 
sewing is begun on the blank side of the sheets; the 


extreme ends at top and bottom are left open to al- 
low stretching. The rollers are fastened to the ends 
of the scroll, a space of two fingerbreadths being 
left between them and the writing. Every sheet 
must be sewed to the next; even one loose sheet 
makes the scroll unfit. At least three stitches must 
remain intact to hold two sheets together (Meg. 
19a; Git. 60a). 

If the scroll is lorn to a depth of two lines, it may 
be sewed together with dried tendons or fine silk, or 
a patch may be pasted on the back ; 
Sewing the if the tear extends to three lines, the 
Sheets sheet must be replaced. If the margin 
Together, or space between the lines is torn, it 
may be sewed together or otherwise 
repaired. Care must be taken that eveiy letter is in 
its proper place and that the needle does not pierce 
the letters. 

A scroll written by a non- Jew must be put aside in 
the genizah ; one written by a heretic (“ apikoros ”) 



Breastplate for Scroll of the Law. 


(Designed by Leo Horvitz.) 

or sectarian Jew (“min”) must be burned, as it is 
to be apprehended that he has wilfully changed the 
text (Git. 45b). 

Every one who passes a scroll must kiss its mantle. 
The scroll may not be kept in a bedroom (M. K. 25a). 
A scroll of the Law may lie on the top of another, 
but not under the scroll of the Prophets, which latter 
is considered inferior in holiness to the scroll of the 
Pentateuch (Meg. 27a). 

Decayed and worn-out scrolls are placed in the 
Genizah or in an earthen vessel in the coffin of a 
talmid-hakam (Ber. 26b). See also Manuscripts. 


ma*itn D'ct^n nvxn 

Tip 1 ? y&DD 

Nitn 'by Di'y&3 
i npx mm d* 5 > vj 


131 THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA Scroll of the Law 



The reverence with which the scroll of the Law high priest. The principal ornament is the Crown 

is regarded is shown by its costly accessories and of the Law, which is made to fit over the upper 

ornaments, which include a beautiful ends of the rollers when the scroll is closed. Some 

Appurte- Ark as a receptacle, with a handsome- scrolls have two crowns, one for each upper end. 

nances. ly embroidered “paroket” (curtain) Suspended by a chain from the top of the rollers 
over it. The scroll itself is girded with is the breastplate, to which, as in the case of the 

a strip of silk and robed in a Mantle of the crowns, little bells are attached. Lions, eagles, 

Law, and is laid on a “ mappali, ” or desk-cover, flags, and the Magen Dawid either chased or era- 



SCROLL OF THE LaW FROM TAFILET, MOROCCO. 

(From the Sulzberger collection m the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, New York.) 


when placed on the almemar for reading. The two bossed, or painted, are the principal decorations, 
rollers, “ez liayyim,” are of hard wood, with The borders and two pillars of Boaz and Jacliin on 
flat, round tops and bottoms to support and pro- the sides of the breastplate are in open- 

tect the edges of the parchment when rolled up. The work. In the center there is often a 

The projecting handles of the rollers on both sides, Breast- miniature Ark. the doors being in the 

especially the upper ones, are usually of ivory. plate. form of the two tablets of the Law, 

The gold and silver ornaments belonging to the with the commandments inscribed 

scroll are known as “ kele kodesli ” (sacred ves- thereon. The lower part of the breastplate lias 
sels), and somewhat resemble tlie ornaments of the a place for the insertion of a small plate, bearing 



Scroll of the Law 


THE JEWISH- ENCYCLOPEDIA 


132 


the dates of the Sabbaths and holy days on which 
the scroll it distinguishes is used. Over the breast- 
plate is suspended, by a chain from the head of the 
rollers, the Yad. In former times the ciown was 
placed upon the head of the “ liatan Torah * when 
he concluded the reading of the Pentateuch on the 
day of the Rejoicing of the Law, but it was not 
permitted to be so used in the case of an ordinary 
nuptial ceremony (Shulhan ‘ Aruk, Orah Hayyim, 
154, 10). The people used to donate, or loan, the 
silver ornaments used for the scroll on holy days (ib. 
153, 18). When not in use these ornaments were 
hung up on the pillars inside the synagogue (David 
ibn °Abi Zimra, Responsa, No. 174, ed. Leghorn, 


verified with the aid of the table of contents and 
index in Blau’s “ Das Althebr&isclie Buchwesen” (see 
also Manuscripts). The material used for syna- 
gogue scrolls in ancient times was generally- leather 
made of the skins of wild animals, parchment being 
used but seldom (Blau, l.c. pp. 23 et seq., especially 
p. 30). This material continued to be employed in 
the East; for in the second half of the sixteenth 
century Joseph Caro was the first to codify the 
word “ gewil, ” thus giving the Polish Jew Moses 
Isserlein occasion to remark that “ our parchment 
is better” (comp, also Low, “Grapliische Requisi- 
ten,” i. 131). In Europe, on the contrary, parchment 
scrolls were approved; and it was even pemiitted 



Binder eor Scroll of the Law. 

(From Kirchner, “ JUdisches Ceremonial,” 1726.) 


1651). In modern times they are placed in a drawer 
or safe under the Ark when not in use. 

For domestic use, or during travel, the scioll is 
kept in a separate case, which in the East is almost 
invariably of wood; when of small dimensions this 
is sometimes made of the precious metals and 


decorated with jewels. 

Bibliography: Massehet Sofcrim : Mamonides, Dad, Sefer 
Torah , vii.-x.: Shullian Anils , I arch Be ah. 2<0-2S4 , \itnj 
Mahzor , pp 661-GS5, 687-704 ; bibliography under Sofer , - hl- 
iam’Rosenau, Jewish Ceremonial InstitiiUonscmdCusLoni 
p. 327 Baltimore, 1903; Catalogue Anglo-Jewisli Historical 
Exhibition. J D E 


The awe with which the Torah was regarded, 
even in its outward form, and the immutability of 
the East in general and of Jewish antiquity in pai- 
ticular, have preserved the scroll of the Law prac- 
tically unchanged, and it may therefore be consid- 
ered as the representative of the ancient Hebrew 
book. All the rules enumerated above find paral- 
lels in the Talmud and in the Midrash, and may be 


to read from the Torah in book-form if there was no 
scroll at hand(Maimonides, l.c. x. , end ; “ Migdal ‘Oz ” 
ad loc . ; and Low, l. c. ii. 138). In antiquity a scroll of 
small size with very fine script was 
History, generally used; and the largest copy, 
the official Torah scroll of Judaism, 
which was kept in the sanctuary at Jerusalem, and 
from which the high priest and the king read to the 
congregation on solemn occasions, did not exceed 45 
cm. in height, as is shown both by direct statements 
and by the illustration on the arch of Titus (Blau, 
l.c. pp. 71-78). Under European influence, how- 
ever, gigantic scrolls, specimens of which still exist, 
became the fashion in the Middle Ages, although 
side by side with them small, graceful rolls like- 
wise were used both for synagogal and for pri- 
vate worship. The earliest extant manuscript of 
the Torah is said to have been written before 604; 
only fragments of it have been preserved (see Jew. 
Encyc. iii. 180b, s.v. Bible Manuscripts). Among 
noteworthy scrolls of the Law which have disap- 





Scroll of the Law 
Seal 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


134 


peared may be mentioned, in addition to the official 
copy noted above, the roll of leather with golden 
script sent by the high priest in the third century 
B.c. to the King of Egypt, at the latter’s request, 
to be translated into Greek (Letter of Aristeas, 
§§ 176-179 ; Blau, l.c. pp. 18, 157-159), and the Torah 
scroll which Maimonides wrote with his own hand. 
The latter scroll, made of ram’s skin, was 1,366 
fingers (about 25 meters) in length, contained 266 
columns six fingers wide, with 51 lines in each, and 
conformed to the rule, enforced even in antiquity 
(B. B. 14a), that the girth of the scroll should cor- 
respond to its height (Maimonides, l.c. ix. 10). 

The history of the dissemination of the scrolls of 
the Law is one of vicissitudes. While they were 
few in number at the time of the Chronicler (II 
Chron. xvii. 7-9), their number increased enormously 
in the Talmudic period as a result of a literal inter- 
pretation of the command that each Jew should 
write a Torah for himself, and also in consequence 
of the custom of always carrying a 
Personal copy (magic influence being attrib- 
Copies of uted thereto) on the person. In the 
the Torah, later Middle Ages, on the contrary, 
the scrolls decreased in number, espe- 
cially in Christian Europe, on account of the perse- 
cutions and the impoverishment of the Jews, even 
though for 2,000 years the first duty incumbent on 
each community was the possession of at least one 
copy (Blau, l.c. p. 88). While the ancient Oriental 
communities possessed scrolls of the Prophets and 
of the Hagiographa in addition to the scroll of the 
Law European synagogues have, since the Middle 
Acres, provided themselves only with Torah scrolls 
and, sometimes, with scrolls of Esther. Six or nine 
pigeonholes, in which the rolls are lying (not stand- 
ing as in modern times), appear in certain illustra- 
tions of bookcases (comp. Blau, l.c. p. 180; also illus- 
trations in “Mittheilungen,” iii.-iv,, fol. 4), these 
scrolls evidently representing two or three entire 
Bibles, each consisting of three parts, the Torah, the 
Prophets, and the Hagiographa. Curiously enough, 
the interior of the Ark in the synagogue of Modena 
is likewise divided into six parts (comp, illustration 
in “Mittheilungen,” i. 14). See also Scribes. 


bibliography : L. Blau, Bas AUhehraische Buclncesen, Bu- 
dapest, 1902; Bodenscliatz, Kircliliche Veifjmuna 
j«de>K II. 81 

TO-284 ; 


.lUften. 11. oi CL SGU., i rauKiui t-uu-iuc-iuam, , 

Graphisclie Rcquisiten , Leipsic, 1870; Maimonides,I« (l 
Sefer Torah , i.; Shullmn 'Anik, Yoreh Do ah, 3 <0-2 


Massekct Soferim , s.v. Sofenm. 
E. C 


L. B. 


SCYTHIANS: A nomadic people which was 
known in ancient times as occupying territory 
north of the Black Sea and east of the Carpathian 
Mountains. Herodotus relates how they swept 
down over Media and across to the slioies of the 
Mediterranean, even to the threshold of Egypt. So 
far as can be determined this was between 628 and 
610 b.c. The King of Egypt, it is said, bought 
them off and induced them to return. They were 
foragers and pillagers, and hence left no traces of 
any system of government inaugurated by them. 
It is true that there was a city in Palestine called 
Scy thopolis (earlier Beth-shean) ; but it is not known 
that it owes its name to these barbarians. By many 
it is thought that Jer. iv. 3-vi. 30 refers to the rav- 


ages of the Scythian invaders; and it is possible 
that Ezekiel in picturing the hordes that poured 
down from the north (Ezek. xxxviii.) had the Scyth- 
ians in mind.. It has been suggested that the Ash- 
kenaz of the Bible is equivalent to Scythia. 

In Homan times Scythia is designated as a tei- 
ritory in northeastern Europe and Nearer Asia, occu- 
pied by barbarians of various types without an} r 
definite and fixed character. Paul in his letter to 
the Colossians (Col. iii. 11) speaks of the Scythian 
and the barbarian as those whom Christianity uni- 
fies. From the random references to them the Scyth- 
ians seem to have been peoples of unknown home 
in central Asia, whose character and habits were 
ascertained only as they crowded themselves upon 
the civilized nations of southwestern Asia and south- 
ern Europe in the centuries from 600 b.c. down to 
the first century of the common era. 


SCYTHOPOLIS. See Beth-shean. 

SEA, THE MOLTEN. See Brazen Sea. 

SEA-MEW : For Biblical data see Cuckoo. Li 
the Talmud (Hub 62b) is mentioned an unclean bird 
under the name am and (ib. 102b) under fcttWp, 
explained by Baslii as “a very lean bird.” Some 
would connect these words with the Latin “ prava 
(bad) and the Greek ktjMv (meager, dry), and see in 
these birds species of the sea-mew. 

Bibliography: Tristram, Nat. Hist. p. 210; Lewysolin, Z. T. 

p j 183 * I. M. C. 

SEA-MONSTER. See Leviathan and Behe- 
moth. 

SEAH. See Weights and Measures. 

SEAL : An instrument or device used for making 
an impression upon wax or some other tenacious 
substance. At a very early period the Jews, like 
the other peoples of western Asia, used signets 
which were cut in intaglio on cylindrical, spherical, 
or hemispherical stones, and which were employed 
both to attest documents (Neh. x. 1 et seq.) instead 
of a signature, and as seals (Isa. xxix. 11). They 
were highly valued and carefully guarded (Hag. ii. 

23) as tokens of personal liberty and independence, 
while as ornaments they were suspended by a cord 
on the breast (Gen. xxxviii. 18), and subsequently 
were worn on a finger of the right hand (Jer. xxii. 

24) or on the arm (Cant. viii. 6). A large number of 
ancient Plebrew seals has been preserved, although 

it is difficult to distinguish, them 
Biblical from Aramaic and Plienician signets, 
References, both on account of the similarity of 
the script and because of the figures; 
these frequently contain symbols connected with 
idolatry, especially in the case of the oldest speci- 
mens, which date probably from the eighth cen- 
tury b.c. Although the words rD, p» and nt^N> 
which frequently occur on seals, indicate that they 
are not Aramaic, and although the grammatical 
form of the name also helps to indicate the origin, 
it is the script which is usually the decisive factor; 
for the Aramaic, Plienician, and ancient Hebrew 
alphabets, derived indeed from the same source, 
each developed in the course of time according to an 




Breastplates for 

1. In the Great Synagogue, Aldgate, London. 

3. In the Musee de Cluny, Paris. 


SCROLLS OF THE LAW. 

2. Designed by Leo Horvitz. 

4. In the possession of Maurice Herrmann, New York. 


Seal 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


136 


individual type, although this is a surer criterion in 
the later seals than in the earlier ones. The inscrip- 
tions on the seals usually give the name of the 
owner, with the occasional addition of the name of 
the father or husband, although other phrases some- 
times occur, such as “May Ynwir have mercy,” 




Ancient Hebrew Seals. 

(From Levy, “ Siegel und Gemmen.”) • 



or “ The work of Yhwh,” the latter inscription being 
found on a seal in the Paris coin-cabinet. When sev- 
eral names are engraved on a seal which has no de- 
sign, they are separated by a double line. It is note- 
worthy that a number of the seals which have been 
preserved belonged to women, although in later times 
it was not customary for females to wear seal- 
rings in Palestine (Sliab. vi. 8; ib. Gem.), while in 
Europe, on the contrary, women have 
Use by worn them since the Middle Ages (see 
Women. King). In both the tannaitic and 
amoraic periods the hoop of the ring 
was occasionally made of sandalwood and the seal 
of metal, or vice versa (Shab. vi. 1 ; ib. Gem. 59b). 
Seals dipped in a sort of India ink were used for sign- 
ing documents, or the impression was made in clay if 
the document was inscribed on a tablet (see also the 
factory-marks, Jew. Encyc. i. 440). In Talmudic 
times (‘Ab. Zarali 31 et seq.), furthermore, seals were 
used as they are still employed, to attest the prep- 
aration of food according to ritual regulation (Plate 
i., Fig. 7; Plate ii. * Fig. 39). The signets of the pe- 
riod bore various emblems, that of Abba Arika rep- 
resenting a fish, Hanina’s a branch of a date-palm, 
Kabbah b. Huna’s a mast of a ship, and Judah b. 
Ezekiel’s a human head. The meaning of these 
emblems is unknown ; and the attempted explana- 
tions of the medieval Tal- 
mudists are entirely inade- 
quate. The seals (origi- 
nally at Bonn) now in the 
Alberti num at Dresden 
probably date from the time 
of Kab, 175-247. One of 
these, an amethyst, shows 
the seven-branched candle- 
stick on a pedestal, while 
the other, a carnelian, rep- 
resents the same candlestick between two pillars 
covered by a. canopy (Boaz and Jachinf?]; see illus- 
tration above, and Plate 3 in Belandin, “ De Spoliis 
Templi ”). 

Seal-rings were worn generally in Babylon, ac- 
cording to Herodotus and Strabo ; but since they 
were regarded as a mark of distinction, Mohammed’s- 
second successor, the calif Omar (581-644), forbade 
Jews and Christians to wear them, although he 
made an exception in favor of the exilarch Bostanai, 
who was thus enabled to give an official character 



Seals with Seven-Branched 
Candlestick, Third Cen- 
tury. 

(In the Albertinum at Dresden.) 


to his documents and decrees (for his emblem see 
Jew. Encyc. iii. 331a, s.v. Bostanai). This privi- 
lege probably remained with the exilarchate and the 
gaonate; for the last gaon, Hai b. Sherira (969- 
1038), is known to have had a seal with the emblem 
of a lion, probably in allusion to his descent from 
King David, since, according to tradition, the device 
on the escutcheons and banners of the Jewish kings 
was a lion. When the exilarchate was revived, 
about the middle of the twelfth century, the resh 
galuta Samuel was permitted, according to the ac- 
count of Pethahiah, to have an official seal for his 
diplomas, “ which were recognized in all countries, 
including Palestine.” Shortly afterward Jewish 
seals came into use in Europe; for, while the an- 
cient custom of employing signets had 
Spread of been retained in France, whence it was 
Custom, carried to Germany, the cities did not 
begin to use seals generally until about 
the middle of the twelfth century. Nor did the 
secular corporations, the lesser nobilit}^, or the 
burghers follow their example until a hundred years 
later. Jewish seals must, therefore, date from after 
this period. The statement made that the Jews were 
not allowed to use seals is erroneous; for in the 
thirteenth century the Jewish communities were 
corporations of equal standing with the communi- 
ties of Christian burghers, and were recognized by 
the state. They were therefore, like Christian, or- 
ganizations, entitled to use seals (Ntibeling, “ Die Ju- 
dengemcindendes Mittelalters,” p. 200). From that 
period date the seals of 
the Jewish communi- 
ties of Augsburg (a 
double eagle, with a 
Jew’s hat in chief, and 
the legend “Sigillum 
J udreorum Augusta}, ” 

[Dinin' Dnin 

[KDDljJ'US; see illustra- 
tion in Jew. Encyc. 
ii. 306), of TJlm (an ox- 
liead ; Jager, “ Gescli. 

TJlms,” p. 400), of Metz 
(“Kevue Orientale,” ii. 

328), and of Katisbon 
(crescent, with a large 
star in chief, and , the 
inscription *?np DDin 
yrinfcorn). Both the 
figures on the Katisbon 
seal appear also on the 
seal of Masip Crechent (“.Jahrb. Gesch. der Jud.” 
ii. 290), and on a Swiss seal of about the same pe- 
riod with an inscription no longer legible (Plate ii., 
Fig. 29). 

Even individual Jews, like the nobilit 3 r , as being 
freemen and servants of the Imperial Chamber, were 
entitled to have seals; this privilege, 
Privilege however, like many others, was some- 
Sometimes times recognized and sometimes de- 
"With- nied, as is shown, to cite but one of 
drawn. many examples, by a passage in a re- 
ceipt of the Magdeburg community 
dated 1493, “because none of them have seals” 
(“Monatsschrift,” 1865, p. 366), although the Jews 



Seal of the Jewish Community of 
Metz. 

(From Carmoly, “ Revue Orientale.’’) 





PLATE I. 



Jewish Seals. 

1. Seal of the Portuguese community of Hamburg. 2. Seal of the chief rabbi of Swabia (IStli cent.). 3, G, 8, 10, 12, 1 4-16, 19, 21, and 
22. Private seals, several bearing owners’ names and zodiacal signs of month of nativity. 4. Seal with * hands of priest 
(16th cent.). 5. Seal of a member of the butchers’ gild of Prague (17th cent.). 7. Seal attesting ritual purity of viands. 9. 
Communal seal of Ofen. 11. Communal seal of Halberstadt (17th cent.). 13. Seal granted to the community of Prague hy 
Ferdinand II. in 1627. 17. Seal of a Persian Jew. IS. Communal seal of Kriegshaber. 20. Seal of a Palestinian Jew. 

(In the collection of Albert Wolf, Dresden.) 



PLATE II. 






137 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Seal 


of that city had affixed a seal to a document in 1364 
(“Cod. Dipl. Anhaltin.” iv. 320). The conditions 
were similar in other European countries ; thus in 
1396 Duke William of Austria decreed that all 
promissory notes should be sealed both by the city 
judge and by the Jews judge (N libeling, l.c. p. 
205). Further, in a manuscript of the municipal 
archives of Presburg of the year 1376 is found the 
enactment with regard to the “ Jiidenpucli,” that 
“a Christian and a Jew shall seal the book with 
their seals ” (Winter, “ Jahrb.” 5620, p. 16). In 1402 
the chief rabbi (“ rabbi mor ”) of Portugal, who was 
appointed by the king, and who had jurisdiction 
over all the Jews of the country, was ordered by 
John 1. to have a signet, with the coat of arms of 
Portugal and the legend “ Scello do Arraby [Arra- 
biado] Moor de Portugal,” with which his secretary 
sealed all the responsa, decisions, and other docu- 
ments which he issued ; and the seven provincial 
chief justices appointed by him used a similar seal 
having the same coat of arms with the inscription 
“ Seal of the ouvidor [the ouvidores] of the commu- 
nities . . .” (Kayserling, “ Gesch. der Juden in Por- 
tugal,” pp. 10, 13). When Alfonso Y. reorganized 
the legal affairs of the Jews in 1480, he decreed that 
the chief rabbi should act as judge in the name of 

tlie King-, and. sXionlci seal liis 'verdicts -vvitli tlie royal 

seal (Depping, “Die Juden ini Mittelalter,” pp. 322 
et seq.). On the other hand, the fact that Gedaliah 
ibn Yahya refers in his “ Shalslielet ha-Kabbalah ” 
to the coat of arms of his ancestor 
Use Yahya ibn Ya'isli, the favorite of Al- 
in Spain, fonso Henriquez, seems to indicate 
that the Jews of Portugal used seals 
at a very early time. The Spanish Jews also had 
signets; and there are two in the British Museum 
which probably date from the fourteenth century: 
the signet of the community of Seville (Plate ii., 
Fig. 27) and one belonging to Todros ha-Levi, son 
of Samuel ha-Levi (Plate iii. , Fig. 9). 

The Jews of Navarre, on the contrary, were 
obliged to have their documents sealed with the 
royal seal in the notary’s office (which was farmed 
out), although they had their own courts in the 
thirteenth century (Kayserling, “Gesch. der Juden 
in Navarra, ” p. 73). The French king Philip II. de- 
creed in 1206 that the Jews should affix to promis- 
sory notes a special seal, the signet to remain in the 
custody of two notables of the city (Depping, l.c. 
p. 148). His son, Louis VIII., however, deprived 
the Jews of this seal, perhaps because, as Depping 
assumes (l.c. p. 155), it contained merely a Hebrew 
inscription without figures, in obedience to Jewish 
law, so that documents sealed with it escaped su- 
pervision, which led to many abuses. The plausi- 
bility of this hypothesis is increased by the fact 
that ultra-orthodox rabbis occasional!)' objected to 
seals with figures in intaglio (Low, “Beitrage,” i. 37, 
57), even though such scruples were comparatively 
rare, and B. Israel Isserlein (loth cent.) unhesita- 
tingly used a seal bearing a lion’s head. Most Jewish 
seals of tiie Middle Ages had devices, together with 
an inscription in Latin or in the vernacular in addition 
to the Hebrew legend. Some Jews had a double 
seal, with a Hebrew inscription on one side and a 
legend in the vernacular on the other, the latter being 


used to sign legal papers in transactions with 
Christians; e.g., the seal of Kalonymus (Plate ii., 
Figs. 24, 25). Such double seals were used also at a 
later time, as by Saul Wahl(Edelmann, 
Double “ Gedullat Sha’ul, ” p. 22) ; and their em- 
Seals. ployment continued even in the nine- 
teenth century (Plate ii., Figs. 35, 36) 
While most medieval Jewish seals, as already noted, 
contain a figure in the center of the signet (Plate ii., 
Fig. 30), some seals occur in which the device is 
set in a scutcheon (Plate ii., Figs. 23, 24, 25, 26, 28, 
29), an arrangement all the more remarkable since 
at that time it was the privilege of those “ born to 
the shield and helmet.” The shield in all these 
signets is French (“ecu fran^ais”); but no occur- 
rence of the helmet is known. Most of the seals 
were round (Plate ii., Fig. 30), though square seals 
also are found (Plate iii., Fig. 9), as well as seals in 
the form of a parabola (Plate ii., Fig. 34), the lat- 
ter being used chiefly by the clergy. 

Some of these seals are “armes parlantes,” in 
which a device represents the owner’s name, accord- 
ing to an etymology which may be either true or 
false, as in Yislin’s seal (Plate ii., Fig. 26), which 
bears three fishes embowed in pairle, or in the seal 
of Masip Crechent, mentioned above, in which the 
crescent is a play' upon the owner's 
“Armes name. Family seals (-“armes de fa- 

Parlantes.” mille ”) were used by the medieval 
Jews, as is showu by the seal of Moses 
b. Menaliem and his brothers Gumprech't and Yisli 
(“Hlustrirte Zeitung,” July 2, 1881), which bears 
three Jew’s hats with points meeting, in pairle 
(Plate ii., Fig. 23). The knightly family of Judden 
in Cologne, which was of Jewish descent, had a simi- 
lar coat of arms: three Jew’s hats argent in a field 
gules; crest, a bearded man (Jew) in a coat gules, 
wearing a Jew’s hat argent (Fahne, “Gesch. der 
Kolner Gesclilechter,” p. 192). 

In later times new emblems appeared on the 
Jewish seals. Thus, the Magen Dawid (“David’s 
shield ”) is found with increasing frequency on com- 
munal seals even to the present time, occurring, for 
instance, on that granted to the ghetto of Prague 
by Emperor Ferdinand II. in 1627 (Plate i., Fig. 
13), where it surrounds the Swedish hat and bears 
the legend “Sigillum Antiques Communitatis Pra- 
gensis Judfeorum,” with the letters in the 

corners, which are to be read “magistral” The 
shield of David is found also on the seal of the com- 
munity' of Vienna of the year 1655, with the inscrip- 
tion sb'Vl HD S&np (Kaufmann, “Letzte 

Yertreibung,” p. 151); on that of the community of 
Farth, with ’the legend 5> f ’p"p (Wlirfel, “Judenge- 
meinde Farth,” p. 71); on that of Kremsir, about 
1690 (Plate ii., Fig. 38); on that of the community 
of Kriegshaber, which bears the inscription ^np 
“Unonp (Plate i., Fig. 18); on the seals, of the 
Dresden and Beutlien communities (Plate ii., Figs. 
33, 41), both of which date from the nineteenth cen- 
tury ; and on many others. 

Different devices are found, moreover, on the seals 
of other communities. Thus, the seal used by the 
community of Halberstadt after its return to the 
city in 1661 bears a dove with an olive-branch hover- 
ing over the Ark, and the motto “Gute Hoffnung” 



Seal 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


138 


in chief, with the words p'pp below, and 
the legend “Vors teller der Judenscliaft in Halber- 
stadt ” (Plate i., Pig. 11). The seal of 
Communal the community of Ofen has an Ark of 
Seals. the Law with the inscription ‘■pjn p"p 
enn pIK and the words “Ofner 
Judengemeinde ” (Plate i., Fig. 9). In 1817 seals 
were granted both to the principal community and 
to the Portuguese community of Amsterdam, the 
former bearing a lion holding in one paw a bundle 
of arrows and in the other a shield with a magen 


pKMGP rnnD (Plate i., Fig. 2). Among Jewish 
corporations the butchers’ gild of Prague is said 
by tradition to have received from King Ladislaus 
(12th cent.), in reward of bravery, a seal with the 
Bohemian lion, and it is known that in the seven- 
teenth century this gild had a seal 
Gild (Plate ii.. Fig. 32) bearing on a shield 
Seals. engrailed a key with the magen Da- 
wid, and in chief the Bohemian lion 
“queue fourcliee,” holding a butcher’s ax in one 
paw, with the legend “Prager Judisch. Fleischer 


PLATE III. 



Jewish Seals. 

1, 3-8, and 10. Seals with names of owners, family symbols, and zodiacal signs. (In the Musde de Cluny, Paris.) 2. Seal with He- 
brew motto. (In the Musee de Cluny, Paris.) 9. Seal of Todros ha-Levi of Toledo, 14th century. (In the British Museum.) 


Dawid, and the latter having a shield with a pelican 
(see Jew. Encyc. i. 545b, s.v. Amstekdam). The seal 
of the Portuguese community of Hamburg (Plate i.. 
Fig. 1) has a rose-husli (probably originally the 
emblem of the Rosalis family) with the legend “ Por- 
tugiesisch Judische Gemeinde Hamburg.” Other 
communal seals have only inscriptions, as that of 
Kamionka in Poland, which hears merely the legend 
NpPDNp Ppl pic?' rny ^np and “Kamionker Ge- 
mein. Vorschtelir” (sic!) (Plate ii., Fig. 40), and the 
seal of the chief rabbinate of Swabia (seat of the 
rabbi of Pfersee), dating from the middle of the 
eighteenth century, which has simply the inscription 


Zunfts Insigl. ” (sic!). The members of this gild 
bore also on their seals the same lion with the ax 
(Plate i., Fig. 5), while the members of the Jewish 
barbers’ gild of the city likewise had the lion, with a 
bistoury. The Paris Sanhedrin had a seal with the 
imperial eagle holding the tables of the Law ; and 
the Westphalian consistory was allowed to use a 
signet with the arms of the state and the legend 
“Konigl. Westpliael. Konsistorium der Israeliten.” 
An official seal closely resembling that of the com- 
munity was given in 1817 to the Hoofdcommissie 
tot de Zaken der Israelieten of Amsterdam. Four 
years previously the school board of the Philan- 





Seals of Various Jewish Communities at Jerusalem. 

(In the possession of J. D. Eisenstein, New York.) 







Seal 

Second Day of Festivals 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


140 


thropin of Frankfort had received an official seal 
with the coat of arms of the grand duchy and the 
inscription “ Schulratli der Israel. Gemeinde Frank- 
furt,” while a beehive appears on the later seals of 
the institution. 

Emblems indicating the name of the owner ap- 
pear frequently on the seals of the Jews of the later 
period. These devices are either symbolic, as a bear 
for Issacliar, or a bull’s head for Joseph — e.g ., in the 
case of Josel of Rosheim — or are “ armes parlantes, ” 
like the stag on the seal of Herz (Hirz = Hirseh) Wert- 
heimer of Padua, the contemporary and adversary 
of Judah Minz (d. 1508), the rose-bush of the Ro- 
salis famity, the triple thorn} 5 ' branch of blossoms of 
Spinoza, and the crow with the severed shield and 
two hands of priests in chief in the seal of Abraham 
Menahem b. Jacob ha-Kolien Rabe of Porto (Rapo- 
port). The two hands of priests as an emblem of the 
descendants of Aaron appear with great frequency 
on their seals after the end of the sixteenth century 
(Plate i., Fig. 4), and in like manner the water-jar 
is very common on the signets of Levites, as on that 
of Hirz Coma, described by Kaufmann (“Die Letzte 
Vertreibung der Juden aus Wien,” Vienna, 1889). 
The lion, which appears chiefly on the seals of Por- 
tuguese Jews, perhaps represents on their signets 
the “lion of Judah,” although elsewhere it fre- 
quently denotes merely the name “Judah,” “ Aryeli, ” 
or “ Low ” ; and a stone lion was carved on the house 
of the “holier” R. Low at- Prague. The devices 
sometimes admitted of a mystic or cabalistic inter- 
pretation. Thus the two mountains on the seal of 
Solomon Molko ( c . 1501-31) alluded to 

Animal the hills which he saw in his vision, 
Designs, and the two “lameds” below them, 
which were taken from his name, like- 
wise had a mystic meaning (see letter in “ ‘Emek 
ha-Baka,” p. 92a). Similarly the serpent in a circle 
on the seal of Shabbethai Zebi was said to refer to his 
Messianic mission, since the Hebrew word for “ser- 
pent” (CJTIJ) has the same numerical value as the 
word “Messiah ” (rWD). 

Many of the devices that are represented on Jewish 
seals and whose meaning is no longer known may 
correspond to the emblems which the Jews in some 
places, as at Frankfort-on-t.he-Main and Worms (after 
1641), were compelled to attach to their houses, such 
as a ship, a castle, a green hat, and which gave rise 
to such family names as “ Rothschild ” and “ Grtin- 
hut.” Among the emblems alluding to the occupa- 
tion of the owner may be mentioned the anchor, 
referring to the merchant gild (Plate ii., Fig. 35), 
which occurs frequently on Jewish seals after the 
eighteenth century. Many Sephardic Jews of Je- 
rusalem in official positions use seals representing 
the wailing-place OznpDn ^JTD); note, e.g., the seal 
of the ab bet din Joseph Nissim (Bourla [?]; see 
Jew. Encyc. vi. 183), and that of the English in- 
terpreter Jacob Hai b, Moses Jacob Mizrahi (Plate 

ii., Fig. 31). In the second half of the seventeenth 
century it became customary in some parts of Ger- 
many for a Jew to have on his seal the sign of the 
zodiac which presided over the month of his nativ- 
ity, with his name as the legend (Plate i., Figs. 3, 12, 
14, 15, 16, 21, 22), this being occasionally abbreviated, 
as on the seal (described by Scliudt, “Jiidiselie | 


Merck wiirdigkei ten,” iv. 2, p. 175) used byKalony- 
mus b. Mordecai, which has the inscription |£Qp. 

The seals of other Jews had merely their owners’ 
names (Plate i., Fig. 20), with occasionally the 
modest ppfl (Plate i.. Fig. 10; abbreviated p"n, Plate 

1., Fig. 12) or “pyvn (Plate i., Fig. 17). The father’s 

name was generally affixed to that of the owner, and 
if his parent was still alive, the son added one of the 
pious formulas: = lpX'lJll VTtt imDfcS* (Plate i., 

Fig. 16), = JON D'niD DW rTTW (Plate 

11., Fig. 31), or 113 = mn'TiO 1U (Plate i., Fig. 8). 
If the father was no longer living, the phrase urDf 

was substituted (Plate i., Fig. 6). The 
owner of a seal sometimes styles himself ]2 

N"n5u = UN (Plate i., Fig. 8).: Other seals bear the 
initials of their owners, Moses Mendelssohn using a 
signet with only the letters Y'D (= Moses Dessau), 
and below the letters “M. M.” At the present time 
the Jews of the leading nations general \y use seals 
which differ in no respect from those of their fellow 
citizens of other creeds. See Coat of Arms. 

Bibliography : Seyler, Gcsch. cler Siegel , Leipsic, 1S94 ; Levy, 
Siegel und Gem men , Breslau, 1869; idem, Epigraphische 
BcitrCigc , in Jahrb. Gesch. der Jud. ii.; Low, Graphische 
Requisitcn und Erzeugnisse bei den Juden , Leipsic, 1870. 
On ancient Hebrew seals: Clennont-Ganneau, in Journal 
Asiatique , 1883, i. 123, 506; ii. 304; 1885, i. 321 ; Conder, Seal 
from Hebron , in Pal. Explot'. Fund , Quarterly Statement , 
xxvii. 224. On medieval and modern seals : Anzeiger ftir 
Kunde der Dcutschen Vorzcit , 1875, col. 106 (seals from 
Augsburg and southern France) ; Carmoly, in Revue Oricn- 
tale . 1842, ii. 329 (Jewish seals of Metz); Gastaigne, Sccaux 
mr les Obligations Dues aux Juifs , in Bulletin de la Soci - 
ete Arclieologique de la Cha, rente. 1863, 53 pi.; Geiger's Jud. 
Zeit.x. 281 ct seq. (bilingual seals); Gross, in Monatsschrift . 
1878, pp. 382, 472 ct seq. (Historischcr Jahresbericht, 1878, 
p. 46); Steinschneider, Hebr. Bibl. x. 86 ct seq., xii. 92 (seal 
of Ueberlingen); Holtze, Das Strafvcrfahrcn Gegen die 
Miirhischcn Juden inn Jahre 1510 (seals of Brunswick); 
King, Jewish Seal Found at Woodbridge , in Archeological 
Journal. 18S4,xli. 168; idem, Norman Jewish Seal, ib. p.242; 
Longperier, Sceaux Juifs Bilingues du Moyen-Agc . in Arch. 
Isr. xxxiii. 787 ; idem, Quelqucs Sccaux Juifs Bilingues, 
in Academic des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres, 1872, p. 234 ; 
idem, Deux Sceaux HebrcCiqucs au Moyen-Age, ib. 1873, p. 
230; P. J[asse], Ein Siegel der Juden zu Augsburg voni 
Jahr ms, in Orient , Lit. 1842, No. 5, col, 73; R. E. J. iii, 
148, iv. 278 et seq. (Swiss Jewish seals), v. 93 (Josel of Ros- 
heim), vii. 125 (Jewish seals of Coblenz), xi. 82 (seal of Bor- 
deaux), xi. 280 (Jewish seals of Pisck), xiv. 268 (Loeb, Un 
Sccaux Juif),xv . 122 et seq . (seals of Abraham b. Saadia and 
of ipnanajo); Steinschneider, Cat. der HebrClischcn Hand- 
schriften. No. 58, p. 38 (seal of Abraham Alfandari b. Elijah ?), 
Berlin, 1878 ; Stern, in L. Geiger, Zeitschrift filr die Gcsch. 
der Juden in Deutschland, i. 221 ct seq., and bibliography ; 
Stobbe, Die Juden in Deutschland, pp. 81, 87, 95 (note 106), 
122; Sulzbach, in L. Geiger, l.c. (zodiacal seals); Ullrich, 
Sammlung Jildischcr Geschichten in der Schweiz, pp. 376, 
433 (Swiss Jewish seals); Zeitschrift fur die Gcsch. cles 
Oberrhcins, xxxii. 430 (Ueberlingen seal). 

J. A. TV 

SEBAG, SOLOMON : English teacher and He- 
brew writer; horn in 1828; died at London April 30, 
1892 ; son of Rabbi Isaac Sebag. He was educated 
in the orphan school of the Portuguese congrega- 
tion, London, subsequently becoming master of the 
Sha‘are Tikwali School. Oil the death of Hazzan De 
Sola, Sebag acted temporarily as reader in the Bevis 
Marks Synagogue. In 1852 he wrote a Hebrew 
primer which was for a long time the chief text- 
book for Hebrew instruction among Jewish children 
in England; and several of his Hebrew poems and 
odes written for special occasions were printed. 
Bibliography : Jew. Cliron. May 6, 1892. 

J. G. L. 

SEBASTE. See Samaria. 

SEBASTUS ; The port of Caesarea on the Med- 
iterranean Sea. Caesarea itself, which Herod had 



141 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Seal 

Second Day of Festivals 


made an important seaport, received its name in 
honor of Julius Caesar, while the harbor proper 
was called “Sebastus” as a tribute to the Emperor 
Augustus (Greek, 2e/3a<7roc; Josephus, “Ant.”xvii. 
5, § 1; idem , “B. J.” i. 31, § 3); the . inscription 
“ Caesarea at the Port of Sebastus ” appears on the 
coins of Nero. The city is called also simply Kai- 
mpe'ia ^epdorjj ; but the name “ Sebastus ” is never 
found as the designation of an independent city. 
Consequently the phrase Kataapelg teal ^epaarjjvoi 
(“Ant.” xix. 9, § 1) does not denote “the inhabit- 
ants of Caesarea and Sebastus,” as Griitz (“Gesch.” 
4tli ed., iii. 353) assumed, but the civil population 
of Caesarea and the military troops, which latter 
were called “Sebasteni.” 

G. S. Kr. 

SECCHI, PABLO MARINI : Italian Christian 
merchant ; lived at Pome in the sixteenth century. 
He made a wager with a Jew, Samson Ceneda, that 
Santo Domingo would be conquered. The terms of 
the wager were that in the event of Ceneda losing 
he was to give Secchi a pound of his flesh. If 
Secclii lost, he was to pay the Jew 1,000 scudi. The 
Jew lost the wager; and Secchi insisted upon the 
payment of the penalty. The affair came to the 
ears of Pope Sixtus V., who inflicted a punishment 
on both parties for having entered upon such a wager. 
The incident has been treated by Shakespeare in 
his drama “The Merchant of Venice,” in which, 
however, the characters are inverted. But see 
Siiylock. 

Bibliography: Gratz, Gesch. x. 145; Vogelstein and Rieger, 

Gesch. dcr Jnclen in Bom , ii. 177. 

s. I. Br. 

SECOND DAY OF FESTIVALS (Hebrew, 
31 DV) : Day added by the Rabbis 
to all holy days except Yom Kippur. Jews living 
at a distance from Jerusalem were informed by mes- 
sengers of the day on which the New Moon (“ Rosh 
Hodcsh ”) had been announced by the bet din. 
These messengers would set out on the first day of 
the months of Nisan, Ab, Elul, Kislew, and Adar, 
and on the second of Tishri (the first da} r being holy, 
travel thereon was interdicted), and would rest on 
the Sabbath and on Yom Kippur ; hence they did not 
travel as far in Tishri as in the other months. The 
Jews living in the Diaspora, not knowing exactly 
on what day the New Moon would be announced, 
might easily have supposed a full month (“male,” 
i.e.y one of thirty days) to be “de- 

History. fective” (baser, i.e.y of twenty -nine 
days), and thus have observed a festi- 
val a day too soon (e.g., might have eaten leavened 
food on the 21st of Nisan), . or they might have 
erred the other way, and begun the Passover a day 
too late. By observing two da} r s for every festiviil 
this was obviated. At places which the messengers 
were able to reach in time, this precaution was of 
course unnecessary. Since, however, there were 
places which the messengers reached in time during 
Nisan, but not in Tishri, there would naturally be a 
zone wherein Passover might be observed seven days 
and Tabernacles nine. To obviate this inconsistency, 
all places in which the Tishri messengers did not 
arrive in time observed each of the festivals, even 
the Feast of Weeks, on an additional day. 


When, in the middle of the fourth century of the 
common era, Rabbi Hillel fixed the method of calcu- 
lating the calendar, and the exact date of festivals 
was no longer in doubt, the celebration of the second 
day was by some rabbis deemed unnecessary. The 
Palestinian authorities, although in a similar case it 
had once been decided that abstention from work 
on two successive days should be avoided (R. H. 
23a), sent word to the teachers in Babylonia as fol- 
lows: “Guard the custom you have from your 
fathers. At some time the government might de- 
cree laws that would lead to confusion.” Therefore, 
outside a certain district, every festival except Yom 
Kippur was observed on two days, until the nine- 
teenth century, when conditions changed and the 
custom proved a great hardship. The fathers of 
the Reform movement in Germany considered this 
observance of a second day an unauthorized innova- 
tion by the Rabbis, unwarranted in Biblical law, 
and, having outlived its raison d’etre, a hardship 
unbearable to the majority. Accordingly at the 
conference held at Breslau in 1846 it was resolved 
that congregations were justified in abolishing the 
second days of festivals, except the second day of 
Rosh ha-Shanah. To avoid dissensions, however, 
it was further resolved that the wishes of even a 
small minority for the retention of these days should 
be respected as far as services in the synagogue were 
concerned ; but the prohibition of work was definitely 
annulled (“Protokolle der Dritten Rabbinerver- 
sammlung zu Breslau,” p. 312). 

The second day of Rosh ha-Shanah was retained 
by the conference in view of the fact that it was 
observed in Palestine (where every other festival is 
kept but one day) in order to prevent the possibility 
of labor being performed on the festival day itself. 
This latter contingency might arise when the new 
month was announced to begin on the 
New-Year. very day after the observation of the 
new moon, which would render such 
day a festival. Thus Rosh ha-Shanah might have 
been even in Jerusalem and at Jabneh (Jamnia) cele- 
brated on two successive days. This may have hap- 
pened only rarely ; but whether the statement of R. 
Hinena b. Kahana (R. H. 19b), that it had never oc- 
curred since the time of Ezra, and that therefore the 
case was purely theoretical, is true or an exaggera- 
tion, can not now be determined. At any rate the 
fact that Rosh ha-Shanah may have at times been so 
observed in Palestine gives to the second day its ex- 
ceptional character. As a matter of fact, the second 
and not the first day ought to have been made the 
starting-point for the festivals in Tishri. R. Ephra- 
im of Bonn {c. 1150) declares that the Jews of Pal- 
estine ought to observe the New-Year on one day 
only ; and R. Zerahiah in his “ Ha-Ma’or ” holds that 
such had indeed been the custom there, and that the 
second day’s observance was an innovation intro- 
duced by rabbis from Provence, under the influence 
of R. Isaac Alfasi. 

Besides the above-noted inconsistency, that the 
second day of New-Year, if it ever existed, would 
have been the real beginning of the year, there are 
others. That a double Day of Atonement could 
never be enforced was evident, and therefore it never 
was introduced, according to R. Hinena ’s statement 



Second Day of festivals 
Seder 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


142 


that Elul never liad more than twenty-nine days. 
This should make the observance of the second day of 
Tabernacles and its concluding festival unnecessary. 
Moreover, if an error had^been made, and the day 
observed as the first of Tabernacles 
Inconsist- was in reality only the 14tli of Tisliri, 

encies. then the clay observed as Shemini 
‘Azeret was rather the seventh day 
of Tabernacles, or Hoslia‘na Rabbah. As lessons 
from the Pentateuch (and in the Ashkenazic rite in 
the Musaf prayer also) the order of the sacrifices, as 
contained in Num. xxviii. and xxix., is read ; during 
Hoi ha-Mo‘ed the order for two days (“sefeka dc- 
yoma ”) is read, it being either the third or the fourth 
day of the festival, according to whether the second 
or the first day was correct. To render all these 
inconsistencies less glaring it was decided that no 
doubt should be cast on the second and eighth days; 
that the seventh day should be observed as Hoslia‘na 
Rabbah ; that the eighth day, as far as the ritual and 
cessation from work were concerned, should be the 
Feast of ‘Azeret; that in order to meet the doubt 
existing as to the actual day, meals (or at least some 
food) should be eaten on that day in the “sukkah ” ; 
and that the ninth, or the second day of the festival, 
should be devoted to and set apart for Simhat Torah. 

A similar inconsistency occurs at Passover. Ac- 
cording to rabbinical law the counting of the ‘Omer 
begins on the day after the first festival day. If 
the second day of Passover is the first day in 
‘Omer, it is semiholy only, and there would be a 
doubt as to the day until the Feast of W eeks. More- 
over, since during the early times, even when an- 
nouncing messengers were sent, the exact date of 
Passover must sooner or later have been definitely 
known, there would seem to have been no necessity 
for extending the Feast of Weeks (which is deter- 
mined not by date, but by Passover) another day. 
It is therefore analogy rather than consistency that 
sanctifies the second day of Shabu‘ot and the eighth 
day of Passover. For the ‘Omer, the second day of 
Passover, although it was deemed sacred, is the rec- 
ognized beginning. 

The Rabbis, having ordained the observance of 
the second day of festivals, legislated fully for it; 

and although since the fixation of the 
Laws. calendar the observance of this day 
has become a custom rather than a 
legal necessity, yet as the custom has remained the 
provisions of the former laws have also retained 
their validity. The second day of the festivals is, 
according to rabbinical law, to be observed with all 
the sanctity appertaining to the first. However, in 
the case of a corpse awaiting burial, the Rabbis have 
considered the second as a work-day, even permit- 
ting the cutting of the shroud and the plucking of 
the myrtle with which the coffin was decked ; and 
this rule applies even to the second day of the New- 
Year. The custom of the Ashkenazic Jews was, 
however, to have the coffin, shroud, etc., prepared 
by non-Jews wherever possible, leaving to Jews 
only the transportation to the grave and the inter- 
ment. The rending of the garment, the rounding 
of the top of the grave, and similar unnecessary 
labor, were omitted on that day. Nahmanides and 
his successors forbade all not directly employed at 


the interment, even the mourners, to ride to the 
cemetery. Still-born children are not buried by 
Jews on the second day of the festival. 

Nothing must be specially cooked on the first day 
for the second, and nothing on the second for the 
day following. An egg laid on the first day, or 
fruit that has fallen from a tree, or has been 
plucked by non- Jews, or has been brought from a 
distance greater than a Sabbath-day’s journey by 
non-Jews on the first day, may be eaten or prepared 
on the second day. To this rule, however, the sec- 
ond day of the New -Year is the exception, as the 
two days of Rosh ha-Shanali are legally considered 
as forming but one day. If the second day is Fri- 
day or Sabbath, the “ thing prepared ” (see above) 
on Friday may not be used on the Sabbath; and 
food “ prepared ” on the first day of the festival, if 
on Thursday, may not be used till after the con- 
clusion of the Sabbath. As to the preparation of 
food for the Sabbath immediately following the 
second day of festivals see Bezaii; Talmud. 


Bibliography iR.H.v. 3 ; Bczah , 4a, 6a ; ffao - 8 • Maimonides, 
Tad, Shebitot Yom-Tob, i. 22-24; lb. IZiddush lia-JIodesli , 
v 5-13: Asheri on Bezaii, i. 4; Shulljan Aruk , Orah Hay- 
vim, 496, 526, 663, 666'; ib. Yoreh Dc'ah , 299. Interesting 
also is an exchange of letters between the rabbinate of Man- 
tua and Rabbi Leopold Stein, printed in Israelitische Volks- 
lehrer, 1854, pp. 80, 101. 


SECOND TEMPLE, THE. See' T emple. 
SECTS. See Dositiieus; Essenes; Falashas; 
Pharisees; Sadducees; Samaritans. 
SECURITY. See Suretyship. 

SEDBON, JOSEPH : Rabbinical and cabalistic 
author of Tunis in the second half of the eighteenth 
century. He composed a cabalistic treatise entitled 
“ Ahabat Adonai,” designed as a commentary on the 
“ Idra Zuta. ” This work, although written in 1778, 
was not published until 1871, when, through the 
exertions of certain natives of Tunis, it was printed 
at Leghorn. 

Bibliography : Caz&s, Notes BibliogmpMques , pp. 302-304. 


SEDECHIAS. See Zedekiah. 

SEDER : The term used by the Ashkenazic Jews 
to denote the home service on the first night of the 
Passover, which, by those who keep the second day 
of the festivals, is repeated on the second night. 
The Sephardic Jews call this service the “Hag- 
gadali” (story); and the little book which is read 
on the occasion is likewise known to all Jews as 
the “Haggadali,” more fully as “Haggadali sliel 
Pesali” (Story for the Passover). The original 
Passover service, as enjoined in Ex. xii. 1 et seq ., 
contemplates an ordinary meal of the household, 
in which man and wife, parents and children, 
participate. The historical books of Scripture do 
not record how and where the Passover lamb was 
eaten during the many centuries before the reform 
of King Josiah, referred to in II Kings xxiii. ; it is 
related only that during all that long period the 
Passover was not celebrated according to the laws 
laid down in the Torah. In the days of the Sec- 
ond Temple, when these laws were observed liter- 
ally, the supper of the Passover night must have 
lost much of its character as a family festival; for 













; SEDER CEREMONIES 
FROM THE MANTUA HACCADAH OF 1550 






; SEDER CEREMONIES 
FROM THE MANTUA HACGADAH OF 1550 






Seder as Observed by Dutch Jews of tiie Early Eighteenth Century. 

(From Picart.) 



Seder 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


144 


onty the men were bidden to attend at the chosen 
place; and the Passover lamb might not be killed 
elsewhere (Deut. xvi. 5-6). Thus, 
Passover only those dwelling at Jerusalem could 
at enjoy the nation’s birthday as a family 
Jerusalem, festival. There is no information as 
to how the night was celebrated dur- 
ing Temple times by the Jews outside the Holy 
Land, who did not “go up to the feast.” The de- 
struction of the Temple, while reducing the Pass- 
over-night service into little more than a survival 
or memorial of its old self, again brought husbands, 
wives, and children together around the same table, 
and thus enabled the father to comply more closely 
with the Scriptural 
command : “ Thou 

shalt tell thy son on 
that day.” 

Before the schools 
of Hillel and Sliam- 
mai arose in the days 
of King Herod, a 
service of thanks, 
of which the six 
“psalms of praise” 

(Ps. cxiii. - cxviii.) 
formed the nucleus, 
had already clustered 
around the meal of 
the Passover night; 
of this meal the 
roasted lamb, un- 
leavened bread, and 
bitter herbs were nec- 
essary elements (Ex. 
l.c . ; Num. ix, 11). 

The service began 
with the sanctifica- 
tion of the day as at 
other festivals, hence 
with a cup of wine 
(see. Kiddusii) ; an- 
other cup followed 
the after-supper 
grace as on other fes- 
tive occasions. But to 
mark the evening as the most joyous in the year, two 
other cups were added: one after the “story” and 
before the meal, and one at the conclusion of the 
whole service. The Mislinali says (Pes. x. 1) that 
even the poorest man in Israel should not drink less 
than four cups of wine on this occasion, this num- 
ber being justified by the four words employed in 
Ex. vi. 6-7 for the delivery of Israel from Egypt. 

Both in the arrangement of the table and in the 
psalms, benedictions, and other recited matter the 
Seder of the present day agrees substantially with 
the program laid down in the Mislmali. Three thick 

unleavened cakes, wrapped in napkins, are laid 

upon the Seder dish ; parsley and a bowl of salt water 
are placed next, to represent the liys- 
Tlie Seder sop and blood of the Passover of 
Table. Egypt; further, watercress or liorse- 
radisli-tops, to serve as bitter herbs, and 
a mixture of nuts and apples, to imitate the clay 
which the Israelites worked into bricks ; also slices of 


horseradish. A roasted bone as a memorial of tlie 
paschal lamb, a roasted egg in memory of the free- 
will offering of the feast, and jugs or bottles of 
wine, with a glass or silver cup for each member 
of the family and each guest, likewise are placed on 
the table. It is customary to fill an extra cup for 
the prophet Elijah. Kiddusii is recited first, as at 
other festivals; then the inaster of the house (as 
priest of the occasion), having washed his hands, 
dips the parsley in the water, and, with the short 
prayer of thanks usual before partaking of a veg- 
etable, hands some of it to those around him.. He 
then breaks off one-half of the middle cake, which is 
laid aside for Afikomen, to, be distributed and eaten 

at tlie end of the sup- 
per. Then all stand 
and lift up the Seder 
dish, chanting slowly 
in Aramaic : “ This is 
the bread of affliction 
which our fathers ate 
in Egypt: whoever is 
hungry come and eat : 
whoever is in need 
celebrate Passover 
with us, ” etc. There- 
upon the youngest 
child at the table 
asks: “Why is this 
night different from 
other nights?” etc., 
referring to the ab- 
sence of leavened 
bread, to the bitter 
herbs, and to tlie 
preparations for dip- 
ping. In the days of 
the Temple, and for 
some time after its 
downfall, there was 
also a question, 
“Why is the meat 
all roasted, and none 
sodden or broiled?” 
Eor this no longer 
appropriate question 
another was substituted, now also obsolete : “ Why 
do all of us ‘ lean around ’ ? ” in allusion to the Ho- 
man custom at banquets — which became current 
among tlie Jews— -of reclining on couches around the 
festive board. Tlie father or master of tlie house then 
answers : “We were slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt, and 
the Lord delivered us thence, ” etc. This question and 
its answer are meant as a literal compliance with tlie 
Biblical command, found thrice in Exodus and once 
in Deuteronomy, that tlie father shall take occasion 
at the Passover ceremonies to tell his children of tlie 
wonderful delivery from Egypt. 

A number of detached passages in the language 

Of tlie Mislmali all referring in some way to tne 

Exodus— follow, introducing Bible verses or com- 
menting upon them, and “ beginning with reproach 
and ending with praise,” e.g. 7 the verses from Joshua 
xxiv. declaring that before Abraham men were all 
idolaters, but that be and Isaac and Jacob were 
chosen. The longest of these passages is a running 



Seder. 

(From a medieval manuscript in the British Museum.) 




XL— 10 


Silver Ewer and Basin used at the Seder. 

(Iu the possession of Dr. Hermann Adler, London.) 









Seder ‘01am Kabbah 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


146 


comment on Dent. xxvi. 5 : “ A wandering Syrian [A. 
Y. “ a Syrian ready to perisli ”] was my father, ” etc. , 
almost every word of which is illustrated by a verse 
from some book of Scripture ; the comment closing 
with the sugges- 
tion that the last 
words (ib. verse 
8 ) , “with a 
mighty hand 
and with an out- 
stretched arm, 
and with great 
terribleness, 
with signs and 
with wonders,” 
refer to the Ten 
Plagues. Fur- 
ther on it is 
stated that none 
has done his 
duty on that 
night until he 
has given voice 
to the three 
words “ pesah ” 

(paschal lamb), 

“ mazzah ” (un- 
leavened bread), 
and “mar or” 

(bitter herb). A 
more important 
remark follows, to the effect that it is the duty of 
every Israelite to feel as if he personally had been 
delivered from Egypt. Then two of the “psalms 
of praise” (Ps. cxiii.-cxiv.) are read, in accordance 



Seder Dish and Device for Holding the Three Mazzot 

(In the possession of Dr. Hermann Adler, London.) 


with the teaching of HilleTs school ; while Sham- 
mai’s school read only one of these before supper. 
A benediction follows, in which the restoration of 
the Passover sacrifice is prayed for. A second cup 
of wine is drunk ; and with this the first part of the 


Seder ends, all present washing their hands for 
supper. 

This meal is begun by handing around morsels of 
the first and third cakes, giving thanks first to Him 

“ who brought 
forth bread from 
the earth,” and 
then to Him 
“who sanctified 
us by the com- 
mand to eat 
mazzah. ” The 
bitter herb, 
dipped in the 
imitation clay, is 
eaten next, with 
thanks for the 
duty of eating 
bitter herbs; and 
then horserad- 
ish-slices are 
made into sand- 
w iches with 
parts of the 
middle cake, 
in memory of 
Hillers action in 
Temple times, 
when he ate 
pieces of pas- 
chal lamb liter- 
ally “ upon ” unleavened cake and bitter herbs. 

The real meal then begins, its last morsels being 
broken from the afikomen. Then follows the grace 
after meals with the insertion for the festival ; and 
afterward the third cup is drunk. This grace, the 
remaining four psalms of praise (Ps. cxv.-cxviii.), 
the so-called “Great Hallel” (Ps. cxxxvii.) with its 
recurring burden “Ki le’olam liasdo” (His mercy 
endureth forever), Nisiimat, and the words of thanks 
after wine make up the second part of the Seder. 

Such was the order of exercises as far back as 
the middle of the third century. But as he “ who 
talked the most of the departure from Egypt ” was 
always deemed most worthy of praise, a few addi- 
tions were made in various countries at different 
times. Thus, the Jews of Yemen still insert in the 
kiddusli on this night, after the words “who has 
chosen us above every people,” a piece of rather 
grotesque self-praise, such as “ He called us a com- 
munity of saints, a precious vineyard, a pleasant 
plantation ; compared to the host of heaven and set 
like stars in the firmament.” Such passages were 
at one time recited in other countries also. Many of 
the Jews in Mohammedan countries have in their 
service-books legendary comments upon the Hag- 
gadah, mainly in Arabic, which the father reads by 
way of explanation and elaboration of the text. 
The Sephardic Jews in Turkey recite in Spanish 
some legends about the Exodus, not found in the 
Haggadali. The German and Polish 'Jews add five 
poetic pieces at the end of the exercises: one ar- 
ranged according to the alphabet, with the burden, 
“It was in the midst of the night” (referring to 
events in the past, or foretold in prophecy, which 
happened at that hour); another, an indescribable 



Seder. 

(From the Sarajevo Haggadah of the fourteenth century.) 


147 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Seder 

Seder ‘Olam Kabbah 


I 




jingle (“Ki lo Na’eli”) before the last cup. In 
Germany two other pieces were added which from 
old German nursery songs had first become festal 
songs and then were invested with a higher signifi- 
cance as if they typified specific Jewish ideas. See 
Eiiad Mi Yodea* and Had Gadya. 

Bibliography : Pes . x.; Maimonides, Yad, Hamez , vii.-viii.; 
Caro, Sliulhan ‘ Arulu Or ah Hayyim , 473-484; Lauterbach, 
Minhah Hadashah , Drohobicz, 1893; Friedmann, Das Fest- 
hucH Haggadah , Vienna, 1895; L. N. Dembitz, Jewish Serv- 
ices in Synagogue and Home , pp. 356-367, Philadelphia, 


SEDER 4 OLAM RABBAH: Earliest post- 
exilic chronicle preserved in the Hebrew language. 


icle is complete only up to the time of Alexander 
the Great ; the period from Alexander to Hadrian 
occupies a very small portion of the work — the end 
of the thirtieth chapter. It may be concluded , there- 
fore, that originally the “ Seder ‘Olam ” was more 
extensive, and that it consisted of two parts, the 
second of which, dealing with the post- Alexandrian 
period, has been lost, with the exception of a small 
fragment that v^as added by the copyists to the first 
part. Many passages quoted in the Talmud are 
missing in the present edition of the “Seder ‘Olam. 77 

The author probably designed the work for calen- 
drieal purposes, to determine the era of the Creation ; 
his system, adopted as early as the third century 



Seder. 

(From a seventeenth-century Haggadah.) 


In the Babylonian Talmud this chronicle is several 
times referred to simply as the “ Seder ‘Olam ” (Sliab. 
SSa; Yeb. 82b; Nazir 5a; Meg. lib; ‘Ab. Zarah 8b; 
Niddah 46b), and it is quoted as such by the more an- 
cient Biblical commentators, including Rashi. But 
with the twelfth century it began to be 
Title and designated as “Seder ‘Olam Rabbali,” 
Divisions, to distinguish it from a later, smaller 
chronicle, “Seder ‘Olam Zuta”; it 
w T as first so designated by Abraham ibn Yarlii(*‘Ha- 
Manliig,” p. 2a, Berlin, 1855). In its present form 
the work consists of thirty chapters, each ten chap- 
ters forming a section, or “ gate. 77 It is a chronolog- 
ical record, extending from Adam to the revolt of 
Bar Kokba, in the reign of Hadrian; but the cliron- 


(sce Era), is still followed. Adhering closely to 
the Bible texts, he endeavored not only to elucidate 
many passages, but also to determine certain dates 
which are not indicated in the Bible, 
Object of but which may be inferred by cal- 
Work. culation. In many cases, however. 

he gave the dates according to tradi- 
tion, and inserted, besides, the sayings and lialakot 
of preceding rabbis and of his contemporaries. In 
discussing Biblical chronology he followed three 
principles: (1) to assume that the intention of the 
Biblical redactor was, wherever possible, to give 
exact dates ; (2) to assign to each of a series of events 
the shortest possible duration of time, where neces- 
sary, in order to secure agreement with the Biblical 



148 


Seder ‘Olam Rabbah THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 

Seder Olam Zuta 


text; and (3) to adopt the lesser of two possible 
numbers. The following examples will illustrate 
the manner in which these principles are applied. 
The confusion of languages is said to have taken 
place in the days of Peleg (Gen. x. 25). The author 
concludes that the first year of Peleg’s life can not 
be meant, as at the time of the confusion Peleg had 
a j’ounger brother, Joktan, and the latter had sev- 
eral children; nor could it have occurred during 
the middle jmars of his life, for Peleg lived 239 
3 r ears, and the designation “middle years” is not 
an exact one (Gen. xi. 18-19); had the redactor in- 
tended to indicate only a general period, he would 
have used the phrase “in the days of Peleg and 
Joktan.” The Bible must therefore mean that the 
confusion of languages took place in the last year 
of Peleg’s life, and by comparing the dates of the 
previous generations, the author concluded that it 
occurred 340 years after the Flood, or 1,996 years 
after the creation of the world. 

After dealing, in the first ten chapters, with the 
chronology of the period from the creation of the 
world to the death of Moses, the writer proceeds to 
determine the dates of the events which occurred 
after the Israelites, led bj T Joshua, entered the Holy 
Land. Here Biblical chronology presents many dif- 
ficulties, dates not being clearly given; and in many 
cases the “Seder 'Olam ” was used by the later Bib- 
lical commentators as a basis of exegesis. Thus, it 
is known that from the entry of the Israelites into 
the Holy Land to the time of Jeplitliah a period of 
300 years elapsed (Judges xi. 26). By computing 
the life periods of the Judges and assuming that 
Jephthah sent his message, in which he alluded to 
the 300 years, in the second year of his rulersliip, 
the writer concluded that the reign of Joshua 
lasted twentj T -eight years. It may 
Examples be added that he placed the making 
of Method, of the image for Micah (ib. xvii. 1 et 
seq.) and the destruction of nearly the 
whole tribe of Benjamin in consequence of the 
wrong done to the Levite and his concubine in Gib- 
eah 0 ib . xix. 1 et seq.) in the time of Othniel. 

It is further stated that Solomon began to build 
the Temple in the fourth year of his reign, 480 years 
after the Exodus (I Kings vi. 1), that is, 440 years 
after the Israelites entered the Holy Land. Thus 
there was a period of 140 years from the second year 
pf Jephthah to the building of the Temple. The 
author of the “ Seder 'Olam ” concluded that the 
forty years during which the Israelites were harassed 
by the Philistines (Judges xiii. 1) did not begin after 
the death of Abdon, as it would seem, but after that 
of Jephthah, and terminated with the death of Sam- 
son. Consequently there was a period of eighty- 
three years from the second year of Jephthah to the 
death of Eli, who ruled forty j r ears (I Sam. iv. 18), 
the last year of Samson being the first of Eli’s judge- 
ship. At that time the Tabernacle was removed from 
Shiloh, whither it had been transferred from Gilgal, 
where it had been for fourteen years under Joshua; 
consequent^ it remained at Shiloh for a period of 
369 years, standing all that time on a stone founda- 
tion. It is also to be concluded that Samuel judged 
Israel for eleven years, which with the two years of 
Saul (ib. xiii. 2), the forty of David’s reign (I Kings 


ii. 11), and the four of Solomon’s reign, make fifty- 
seven years, during which the Tabernacle was first 
at Nob, then at Gibeon. The chronology of the 
Kings was more difficult, as there were differences 
to reconcile between the books of Kings and of 
Chronicles. Here especially the author applied the 
principle of “fragments of years ” (“shanim mekut- 
ta'ot”), by which he regarded the remainder of the 
last year of any king’s reign as identical w r itli the 
first year of his successor’s. In the twentieth chapter, 
which closes the second part (“Baba Mezi'a”), the 
author deals with the forty-eight prophets that nour- 
ished in the land of Israel. Beginning with Joshua, 
the author reviews the whole prophetic period 
which terminated with Haggai, Zecliariah, andMal- 
achi, elucidating as he proceeds many obscure points. 
Thus, the prophet, mentioned in Judges vi. 8 was, ac- 
cording to the “ Seder ‘Olam, ” Pliinelias , and the man 
of God that came to Eli (I Sam. ii. 27) was Elkanali. 

The prophecy of Obadiah occurred in the time of 
Amaziah, King of Judah (comp., however, Talk., 
Obad.), and those of Joel, Nahum, and Habakkuk in 
the reign of Manasseli. After devoting the twenty- 
first chapter to the prophets that lived before the 
conquest of the laud, to the seven prophetesses, and 
to the seven prophets of the Gentiles, the author 
resumes the chronology of the Kings. He continues 
it to the end of cli. xxvii., where he reaches the de- 
struction of the Temple, which, according to his 
computation, occurred after it had existed 410 years, 
or 3,338 j^ears after the creation of the world. Then 
follow the seventy years of the Captivity and the 420 
years of the Second Temple, which was destined, 
as may be seen, in the year 3828 of the Creation. 

The 420 years of the Second Temple are divided 
into the following periods: the domination of the 
Persians, 34 years; of the Greeks, 180 years; of the 
Maccabees, 103 years; of the Herods, 103 years. It 
will be seen that the allowance, contrary to his- 
torical facts, of only thirty-four years for the Per- 
sian domination is necessary if agreement with the 
Biblical text is to be insisted upon ; for it is stated 
(Dan. ix. 24) that the second exile was to take 
place after seventy Sabbaths of years (= 490 years). 
If from this number the seventjr years of the first 
Captivity be deducted, and the beginning of Alex- 
ander’s domination over Palestine be placed, in ac- 
cordance with Talmudical evidence, at 386 years 
before the destruction of the Second Temple, there 
remain only thirty -four for the Persian rule. From 
the destruction of the Second Temple, which, ac- 
cording to the “Seder ‘Olam,” occurred at the end 
of the last week of the Sabbatical year, to the sup- 
pression of Bar Kokba’s revolt, or the destruction 
of Betliar, was a period of fifty-two years. But the 
text here is very confused, and gave rise to various 
emendations and interpretations (comp. Salzer in 
Berliner’s “Magazin,” iv. 141 et seq.). 

Assuming that this “Seder ‘Olam ” is the same as 
the “Seder 'Olam ” mentioned in the Talmud, Jew- 
ish authorities generally ascribe its 

Author- authorship to the well-known Tal- 
ship. mudist Jose b. Halafta, on the strength 
of R. Johanan’s statement, “Tlietanna 
of the ' Seder 'Olam’ was R. Jose” (Yeb. 82b ; Niddah 
46b). Johanan’s comment is supported by the fact 



149 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Seder ‘Olam Kabbah 
Seder ‘Olam Znta 


that Jose was known as one who occupied himself 
with: Jewish chronology; further, many sayings of 
R, Jose’s quoted in the Talmud are paralleled in the 
“ Seder ‘Olam. ” Objecting, however, that the “ Seder 
‘Olam” often conflicts with opinions of Jose’s ex- 
pressed in the Talmud, that Jose is referred to in it 
in the third person (“R. Jose said ”), and finally that 
mention is made in it of Talmudists that lived later 
than Jose, Ratner (“Mabo leha-Seder ‘Olam Rab- 
bah,” Wilna, 1894) concludes that Jose was notits 
author; he thinks that Jose was only the prin- 
cipal authority of the “Seder ‘Olam,” and that Jo- 
lianan’s statement, mentioned above, is similar to 
another statement made by him — “Any anonymous 
opinion in the Mishnah belongs to R. Mei'r ” (Sanh. 
86a), although the redactor of the Mishnah was Ju- 
dah I. Ratner further supposes that R. Johanan 
himself compiled the work, following generally the 
opinion of R. Jose. He endeavors to prove this 
view by showing that many utterances of R. Jo- 
hanan are taken from the “Seder ‘Olam.” 

Ratner’s objections, however, are answered by 
other scholars, who think that in the “ Seder ‘Olam ” 
Jose preserved the generally accepted opinions, even 
when they wore contrary to his own, as is clearty 
indicated in Niddali ( l.c .). Besides, this work, like 
all the works of the ancient Talmudists, underwent 
many alterations at the hands of the copyists. Very 
often, too, finding that the utterance of a later rabbi 
agreed with the “Seder ‘Olam,” the copyists in- 
serted the name of that rabbi. A careful examina- 
tion shows that certain additions are later than the 
latest midrashim, and it may be that Abraham ibn 
Yarlii (l.c.), Isaac Lattes (“Slia‘are Ziyyon,” p. 25), 
and Menaliem Meiri (introduction to Abot, p. 14), 
who seem to place the redaction of the “Seder 
‘Olam ” at the time when the Massektot Derek Erez 
Rabbali, the Derek Erez Zuta, the Soferim, and 
other later treatises were composed, may have re- 
ferred to the work in its present form. 

Besides directly quoting the “Seder ‘Olam,” the 
Talmud often alludes to it under “ tanya ” (= “we 
learned”), “tana” (=“he learned”), “tanu rab- 
banan” (=“our teachers learned”), “ amar mar” 
(= “ the teacher said ”) : often the sentences following 
these phrases are found in the “Seder ‘ Olam.” In 
addition, many of its passages have been taken into 
the Mishnah without any allusion to tlieir source. 
It is not mentioned in the Jerusalem Talmud, al- 
though several passages in the latter are based on it. 
Finally, manj- of the sayings of the “Seder ‘Olam ” 
have been taken into the Mekilta, the Sifra, and the 
Sifre. 

The “ Seder ‘Olam Rabbali ” first appeared at Man- 
tua, in 1514, together with the “Seder ‘Olam Zuta,” 
the “Megillat Ta‘anit,” and Abraham b. David’s 
“ Sefer ha-Kabbalah. ” It has been reedited several 
times since then. In 1577 the “Seder ‘Olam Rab- 
bali” and the “ Seder ‘Olam Zuta ” were published 
in Paris, with a Latin translation by Gilbert Gene- 
brard. The former was edited, with a Latin transla- 
tion, notes, and introduction, by John Meyer (Am- 
sterdam, 1699). Commentaries on the work were 
written by Jacob Emden (with the text, Hamburg, 
1757), by Elijah Wilna (with the text, Sliklov, 1801), 
and by Enoch Zundel b. Joseph (a double commen- 


tary, “ ‘Ez Yosef ” and “ ‘Anaf Yosef,” Wilna, 1845). 
The three latest editions are those of Ratner (with 
critical and explanatory notes, Wilna, 1897), A. Marx 
(who published the first ten chapters, basing the 
text upon different manuscripts and supplying it 
with a German translation and an introduction; Ber- 
lin, 1908), and Jeroliam Me'ir Leiner (containing the 
commentaries of Jacob Emden and Elijah Wilna, 
and the editor’s annotations under the title “Me’r 
‘Ayin,” Warsaw, 1904). 

Bibliography: Fiirst, in Orient , Lit. vii. 547 ct seq.; idem, 
Bibl. Jud. ii. 107-108; Gratz, Gesch. 3d ed., iv. 384, and note 
14 ; A. Marx, introduction to his edition of the Seder ‘ Olam ; 
B. Ratner, Mabo Ichor-Seder L Olam Rabbali ; Steinschnei- 
der, Cat. Bodl. cols. 1433-1434 ; Weiss, Dor*, ii. 257 ct seq.; 
Winter and Wiinsche, Die Jiidische Litteratur , iii. 299 et 
seq.; Zunz, G. V. p. 85. _ ^ 

B. c. M. Sel. 

SEDER ‘OLAM ZUTA: Anonymous chroni- 
cle, called “Zuta” (= “smaller,” or “younger”) to 
distinguish it from the older “ Seder ‘Olam Rabbali.” 
This work is based upon, and to a certain extent 
completes and continues, the older chronicle. It 
consists of two main parts: the first, comprising 
about tliree-fifths of the whole, deals with the chro- 
nology of the fifty generations from Adam to Jehoi- 
akim (who, according to this chronicle, was the 
father of the Babylonian exilarch), the second deals 
with thirty -nine generations of exilarchs, beginning 
with Jehoiacliin. It is apparent that 
Genealogy the object of this work was to show 
of the that the Babylonian exilarchs were 
Exilarchs. direct descendants of David. After 
a short introduction, taken from the 
“Seder ‘Olam Rabbali,” giving the general chro- 
nology from Adam to the destruction of the Second 
Temple — a period of 8,828 years — and stating the 
number of years which elapsed between the most 
important events, such as between the Flood and 
the confusion of tongues, etc. , the chronology recom- 
mences with Adam. The “Seder ‘Olam Zuta” is 
more complete at this point than the larger work, as 
it gives the duration of the generations between 
Adam and Abraham, which is lacking in the “Seder 
‘Olam Rabbali.” It gives also the lifetime of each 
of Jacob’s twelve sons as recorded by tradition. 
Otherwise it merely enumerates the generations. 

From David onward it gives the names of the 
high priests and prophets who lived in the time of 
each king. Thus, for instance, David had Abiathar 
as high priest, and Nathan and Gad as prophets; 
Solomon, who ascended the throne at the age of 
three, had Zadok for high priest, and Jonathan, 
Id do, and Alii j ah as prophets. In this way it 
completes the list of the high priests enumer- 
ated in I Chron. v. 34 et seq. Sliallum (verses 38-39) 
officiated in the time of Amon, and between the for- 
mer and Azariah, who served in the time of Relio- 
boam, there were twelve high priests. But in I 
Chron. (l.c.) only five high priests are enumerated, 
whose names are not found at all among those given 
by the “ Seder 4 Olam Zuta. ” The author of the work 
divided these fifty generations into five series, each 
of ten generations, the last of each series being, 
respectively, Noah, Abraham, Boaz, Ahaziah, and 
Jehoiakim. 

The second part of the work begins with the state- 
ment that Jehoiachin, who reigned only three months 



Seder ‘01am Zuta 
Seduction 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


150 


and ten days, was carried into captivity by Nebu- 
chadnezzar (comp. II Kings xxiv. 8; II Chron. 
xxxvi. 9). He was afterward given high rank by 
Evil-merodach, thus becoming the first prince of the 
Captivity. Correcting the somewhat confused genea- 
logical account of I Chron. iii, 17-19, the “Seder 
‘Olam Zuta ” declares that Jehoiachin had four sons, 
the eldest of whom was Sliealtiel, who succeeded his 
father. It is worth while noting that, according to 
this chronicle, Darius conquered Babylon after it 
had been supreme for seventy years, beginning with 
the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, and fifty-two years 
after the destruction of the First Temple. Zerub- 
babel, Shealtiel’s son, who departed for Jerusalem 
in the first year of the reign of Cyrus, 
The De- returned to Babylon after the Temple 
scendants and the walls of Jerusalem had been 
of Je- rebuilt by Ezra, and succeeded his 
hoiachin. father in the exilarchate. Then the 
chronicle enumerates the successive 
exilarchs, the account being in part taken from I 
Chron. iii. 16 et seq ., but differing greatly from the 
text of the latter. In fact, the first, thirteenth, six- 
teenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth exilarchs (the 
last one being Shaphat, the father of Anan), whose 
lives extended over a period of more than 600 
years, are mentioned in I Chron. ( l.c .) not as im- 
mediate successors, but as related individuals, and in 
contemporaneous groups. Sometimes, too, the father 
in I Chronicles is the son in the “Seder ‘Olam Zuta.” 

With the deaths of Haggai, Zechariah, and Mala- 
clii— more exactly, in the fifty-second year of the 
Persian domination, or year 3442 of the Creation 
— prophecy ceased and the period of the wise men 
(“ liakamim ”) began. From Hananiah (Zerubbabel’s 
grandson) onward every exilarcli is indicated as 
having been guided by wise men. The names of 
the kings that reigned over Palestine from Alexan- 
der the Great to the destruction of the Second Tem- 
ple are given. Like the “Seder ‘Olam Kabbah,” 
this chronicle gives the reigns of the Maccabees and 
the Herods as covering 103 years each. It may be 
stated that the Herodian dynasty consisted, accord- 
ing to the “Seder ‘Olam Zuta,” of three kings only 
— Herod, Agrippa, and Monobaz; at the end of 
Monobaz’s reign and during the time of the eleventh 
exilarcli, Sliechauiah, the son of Shemaiah, the Ro- 
mans destroyed the Temple. Further, from Nahum, 
the seventeenth exilarcli, the names are given of the 
wise men, probably the chiefs of the academy, who 
assisted the exilarchs. With Bab Iiuna, the twenty- 
ninth exilarcli, the direct male line of descent from 
David terminated. The exilarchs following are stated 
to have been descendants of Kab Huna through his 
daughter, the wife of R. Hananiah, the head of the 
yeshibah, whose marriage is related at length. 

After having stated that Mar Zutra II., the thir- 
tieth exilarcli, was executed in the year 478 c.e., 
and that his posthumous son Mar Zutra III. betook 
himself, in the year 4280 of the Creation (= 520 C.E.), 
to Palestine, where he became chief of the Sanhe- 
drin, the chronicle mentions eight succeeding exil- 
archs, the last one being Kab Hazub, son of Rab 
Phinehas. Apart from certain misstatements, this 
part contains many authenticated facts, and is there- 
fore considered by modern scholars as a document 


of historical value. It may be seen that the lives of 
thirty-one exilarchs covered a period of more than 
. 900 } r ears, averaging three exilarchs to a century. 
This might help to determine the time at which the 
“Seder ‘Olam Zuta” was written, for the thirty- 
ninth exilarcli, according to this estimate, would 
have lived at the end of the eighth century. The 
additions of the copyists, however, render this task 
difficult. 

In a fragment of a chronicle published b} r Neu- 
bauer (“M. J. C.” i. 197) there is a sentence, regard- 
ing the reign of John Hyrcanus, which is found in 
the “ Seder ‘Olam Zuta ” but is referred to the “ Seder 
‘Olam de-Rabbanan. ” Lazarus (Briill’s “ Jalirb. ” x. 
8) supposes that after “ de-Rabbanan ” the word 
“Sabura’e ” should be inserted, as a chronicle under 
the title “Seder ‘Olam de-Rabbanan Sabura’e” is 
mentioned by Baruch b. Isaac of W onus (“ Sefer ha- 
Terumali,” Hilkot “‘Abodah Zarali,” § 135) and by 
Moses of Coucy (“ Sefer Mizwot Gadol,” ii. 866), in 
connection with the statement that the year 4564 
(= 804 c.e.) was a Sabbatical year. This induced 
many modern scholars, as Gratz, Steinschneider, and 
Zunz, to identify the “Seder ‘Olam Zuta” with the 
“Seder ‘Olam de Rabbanan Sabura’e.” 

As to the determination of the time of its redac- 
tion, there have existed many differences of opinion 
among authorities. Zunz observed that the sentence 
quoted by R. Baruch and Moses of Coucy with re- 
gard to the year 804 c.e. (see above) might be the 
author’s colophon— omitted by the copyist — showing 
the time of composition. Zunz’s opinion has since 
apparently been confirmed by a manuscript of the 
“ Seder ‘Olam Zuta ” (Parma, De Rossi 
Time of MSS., No. 541, 10, published by S. 
Redaction. Schecliter in “Monatssclirift,” xxxix. 

23 et seq.) which lacks the introduc- 
tion spoken of above, but has at the end the follow- 
ing sentence: “From Adam to this day, which is 
the eleventh day of Kislew of the Sabbatical year, 
4,564 years have elapsed”: this gives the year 804 
c.e. However, a -closer examination of the text 
seems to show that the enumeration of the eight 
exilarchs following Mar Zutra III. was added by 
two later hands — that of six by one, and that of 
two, Phinehas and Hazub, by another — and that the 
chronicle was composed in the first quarter of the 
sixth century. 

For the editions and Latin translations of the 
“Seder ‘Olam Zuta” see Sedek ‘Olam Kabbah. 
It must be added that Abraham Zacuto inserted in 
his “ Yuhasin ” the greater part of this chronicle, his 
text being more nearly correct than that of any 
other edition or manuscript. Zacuto’s text was re- 
published by Neubauer in his “Mediaeval Jewish 
Chronicles” (ii. 67 et seq.), where the text of the 
Mantua edition also is given. The second part, deal- 
ing with the exilarchs, has been edited by Lazarus 
in Brail’s “ Jalirb.” (x. 157 et seq.). 

Bibliography: In addition to the sources mentioned in the 
article : Gratz, Gesch. 3d ed., vol. v., note 1 ; Steinschneider, 
Cat. Bncll. cols. 1435-1436; Winter and Wiinsche, Die Jii- 
disclic Litteratur , iii. 304 et seq.; Zunz, G. V. pp. 135 et seq . 
e. c. M. Sel. 

SEDUCTION : The act of inducing a woman or 
girl of previously chaste character to consent to un- 
lawful sexual intercourse. The Mosaic law (Ex. 



151 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Seder ‘Olam Zuta 
Seduction 


xxii. 15, 16, Hebr. [A. V. 16, 17]) says: “And if a 
man entice a virgin that is not beti’othed and lie 
•with her, lie shall surely endow her to himself for a 
wife. If her father shall refuse to give her unto 
him, he shall weigh out silver according to the en- 
dowment [not dowry] of virgins.” As may be seen 
under Ketubaii, the groom makes a written con- 
tract with the bride, securing to her, aside from his 
other duties, upon death or divorce, fifty shekels of 
silver, the virgin’s endowment. For the protection 
of wives the Law fixed the minimum of this sum 
at a mina (in Babylon sixty shekels, among the He- 
brews fifty shekels) for a virgin, and half as much 
for a widow. 

The Mishnah (Ket. ii., iii.) does not speak of any 
means for forcing the seducer to marry the seduced 
girl, but only of the penalty in money. It nowhere 
defines the meaning of “enticing”; but it seems 
that no misrepresentation or promise of marriage is 
•implied by it; the enticed (or rather the deceived) 
girl is named only as one who consents, in contrast 
-to the victim of force, who is spoken of in Deut. 

xxii. 28, 29. When the act takes place 
In City in a city, the girl’s consent is pre- 
.and in the sumed in the absence of witnesses to 
Country, the contrary ; if in the field or forest, 
where her cries for help would not 
have brought any one to defend her, the presump- 
tion lies the other way ( ib . 26, 27). 

The status of the girl’s father in the text greatly 
narrows the application of the Law ; for she must 
.apparently be young enough to be in the father s 
power ; that is, she must be either below the age of 
puberty (less than twelve years and a day) or a 
“na‘arah ” (A. Y. “damsel”), which she remains 
•only until she is twelve years and six months of 
=age; for thereafter she is “overripe” (“bogeret”). 
To the Western world of the present day this restric- 
tion would make the whole Law worthless for lack 
.of cases to which it could apply ; not so in Palestine, 
where very few girls, in the days of the Mishnah, 
were not betrothed at the age of twelve years and 
:six months. 

Though the death of the father before the seduc- 
tion defeats the literal enforcement of the Law, the 
•tradition in such a case awards the amount of the 
penalty to the girl herself; so, also, if the father 
should die before the penalty is adjudged. But if 
lie dies after judgment, the benefit thereof descends 
to his sons as heirs. 

Where the Law forbids intercourse between the 
seducer and the seduced under penalty of death, the 
mulct (“kenas ”) of fifty shekels is not paid; for, un- 
■der the general principle (derived from Ex. xxi. 22), 
“ those deserving of death do not pay.” But where 
the act is punishable only by excision (“karet”), 
which carries stripes, or by stripes only, as in sev- 
eral cases of incest, or some other forbidden con- 
nections, the mulct is only remitted if the seducer 
has been criminally convicted, according to the 
rule, “Those who are flogged do not pay.” 

Aside from this class of cases, there are ten other 
exceptions for which the mulct is not paid : in the 
case of the (1) bogeret; (2) impotent (“ay lonit”); (8) 
insane ; (4) deaf-mute ; (5) one refusing (a girl married 
hy mother and brothers when she was an infant 


and who refuses her husband when she reaches pu- 
berty) ; (6, 7, 8) one converted from the heathen, re- 
deemed from captivity, or manumitted 

Ex- from bondage after the age of three 
ceptions. years ; (9) one divorced, though still a 
virgin; (10) one of an evil name, 
proof of which is established by the evidence of two 
witnesses to acts of solicitation. 

It is held by the old authorities that the mulct can 
be adjudged only upon proof by witnesses, not 
upon the seducer’s admission; this doctrine, when 
carried out, must have almost entirely nullified the 
Law for inflicting the mulct or penalty. 

But the seducer is liable also for depreciation 
(“ pegam ”) and for shame. The former is estimated 
on the basis of the loss of value in a slave-girl for 
being deflowered ; the latter depends on the social 
standing of the girl and inversely on the rank or 
standing of her seducer. The damages under these 
two heads go to the father along with the fifty 
shekels, or to the girl when he is dead ; and they 
may be awarded on the seducer’s admission. 

Maimonides (“ Tad,” Na‘arah) treats the law of 
the seduced and of the violated girl very clearly, 
drawing from Ket. ii.— iii., the Gemara on the same, 
and Kid. 46. He adds, almost entirely 
Views of on his own authority, that the penalty 

Mai- and damages should be paid only 
monides. when the seduction has taken place 
without the father’s knowledge and 
consent; but that for the father to say to a young 
man, “ Cohabit with my daughter, and . pay me 
penalty and damages,” would be highly sinful, the- 
father breaking the precept of the Law (Lev. xix. 
29), “ Profane not thy daughter to make her a har- 
lot,” and the daughter sinning against the prohibi- 
tion “There shall be no harlot [“kedeshah ”] of the 
daughters of Israel ” (Deut. xxiii. 18). No right of 
action cau arise from such a shameful agreement. 

One incident of seduction — the father’s responsi- 
bility for the support of the child, the fruit of law- 
less love — is not treated by the Talmud or the codes 
in connection with the “ penalty ” and damages 
arising from the act, but is disposed of elsewhere.^ 
It has been shown under Agnates that the child of 
an Israelite from “anywhere,” except one born of a 
Gentile or a bondwoman, is considered a son or a 
daughter for all the purposes of the Law, and more 
especially for the purposes of inheritance. So also 
the father is bound for the support of his child in 
infancy, no matter whether the child was born in 
wedlock or not. An ordinance (“ takkanali ”) pro- 
claimed at Usha in the latter half of the second cen- 
tury regulates the child’s right to support; but this 
right was undoubtedly recognized long before. 
The right of a daughter to be supported till “over- 
ripeness” (i. 6. , the age of 124 years) or betiotlial, 
whichever happens first, from the estate of the dead 
father, is derived from the mother’s ketubah, and 
does not therefore belong to a natural daughter (see 
“Yad,” Isliut, xix. 14). 

The Shulhan ‘Aruk says very little concerning the 
seduced damsel, as the jurisdiction of the couits 
over the subject had long before been lost, and this 
code confines itself to practical subjects. 
t?. n L. N. D. 



See 

Seer 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


152 


SEE : A family of Alsatian origin whose most 
important members are: 

Abraham Adolphe See : French barrister ; born 
in Colmar, Alsace, 1819; died in Paris Feb. 26, 1905; 
brother of Marc See and Gustave See. He was 
educated in his native town and, on being admitted 
to the bar, settled there as counselor at law. When, 
in 1871, France lost Alsace, See removed to Paris, 
where he practised law in the court of appeals. 

See took an active part in Jewish affairs. He was 
president of the Jewish consistoiy at Colmar; he 
financial^ assisted the rabbinical school there; and 
he was a member successively of the Jewish consis- 
tories of Vesoul and Epinal. 

Bibliography: Jcio. Chron. March 3, 1905, p. 11. 

Camille See: French deputy and jurist; born 
at Colmar, Alsace, March 10, 1847; nephew and 
son-in-law of Germain See. Having studied law 
at the University of Strasburg, he became counselor 
at Paris in 1869. In 1870, after the downfall of the 
empire, he was appointed assistant to the secretary 
of the interior, resigning in the beginning of 1871. 
In 1872 he became subprefect of Saint-Denis, but re- 
signed in 1874, Two jrnars later lie was elected 
deputy from Saint-Denis, joining the left wing of 
the Republicans ; lie was reelected in 1877, but was 
defeated in 1881, During the five years of his parlia- 
mentary service he took special interest in legislation 
concerning the education of girls; and measures 
proposed by him for the government of girls’ 
schools were passed by the Senate in 1880. In 1881 
See received the title of councilor of state. 

See is the author of “Les Lycees et Colleges de 
Jeunes Filles,” Paris, 1881. 

Bibliography : La Grande Encyclopedic. 

s. F. T. H. 

Eugene Leon See : French state functionary ; 
born at Colmar, Alsace, Dec. 18, 1850. He gradu- 
ated from the Free School of Political Science in 
1873, and was one of the 3 r ounger generation who, 
together with Thiers, Gambetta, Jules Favre, and 
others, rallied around the leaders of the Liberal 
party during the empire, and prepared the way for 
the Third Republic. He served the latter in vari- 
ous offices, namely, as secretaiy-general of the pre- 
fects of the departments of Tarn and Garonne, the 
Aube, and Upper Marne; subprefect of Tout (1877), 
Louviers (1880), Boulogne - sur - Mer (1882), and 
Rennes (1884); prefect of the Orne (1886), Upper 
Saone (1887), and Haute-Vienne (1891 to 1895). In 
1896 he was a member of the extraparliamentaiy 
commission for administrative decentralization. 
Since Sept., 1897, he has filled the post of receiver 
and collector of taxes at Paris. He is the originator 
of a plan of cattle insurance in the countiy districts. 

Since 1901 See has been a member of the central 
committee of the Alliance Israelite Universelle. He 
is also an officer of the Legion of Honor. 

s, J. Ka. 

Germain See : French physician ; born at Ri- 
beauville (Rappoltsweiler), Alsace, March 16, 1818; 
died in Paris May 12, 1896. After stud 3 r ing medi- 
cine at the Sorbonne, Paris, he graduated in 1846, 
and established himself as a physician in the French 
capital. In 1852 he became hospital physician ; in 


1866 professor of therapeutics in the medical faculty 
as successor to Armand Trousseau; in 1869 pro- 
fessor of medicine, in succession to Monneret, and 
member of the Academie de Medecine ; and in 1876 
plysician at the IIotel-Dieu. 

See studied therapeutics from the physiological 
point of view, and, not contenting himself with 
clinical observation, had 
recourse to experimental 
pathology . He was a col- 
laborator on the “ Nouveau 
Dictionnaire du Medecine 
Pratique,” and contrib- 
uted man 3 r essa 3 ^s to 
the medical journals. He 
was the author of: “De 
la Choree et des Affections 
Nerveuses en General,” 

Paris, 1851; “Lecons de 
Patliologie Experi- 
mental, ” ib. 1866; “Du 
Sang et des Anemies,” ib. 

1866; “Du Diagnostic et 
du Traitement des Mala- 
dies du Coeur,” ib. 1878 
(translated into German b 3 r Max Salomon, 5 vols., 
Berlin, 1886). 

Bibliography: Paj?el, Biog. Lex. Vienna, 1901; La Grande 

Encyclopedic. 

s. F. T. H. 

Gustave See: French forester; born at Ribeau- 
ville (Rappoltsweiler), Alsace, Dec. 25, 1882; brother 
of Abraham Adolphe See and Marc See, His clas- 
sical studies were pursued at the l 3 r ceum of Stras- 
burg, From 1853 to 1855 he attended the Foresters’ 
School at Nancy, and in the latter 3 r ear he was ap- 
pointed warden -general of forests. He subsequently 
held similar posts at Allevard (Is£re), Niederhaslach 
(Lower Alsace), and Sartene (Corsica). In 1862 he 
was promoted to the rank of subinspector. In 1865 
he was recalled to Paris by the central administra- 
tion of the Department of Agriculture, and attached 
to the service of the inspector-general of the depart- 
ment of forests, a position which he held until 1870, 
when he was appointed subdirector of the bureau of 
replanting. In 1877 he became head of the bureau ; 
and in 1881 he was appointed inspector-general of 
the department of forests. He retired from active 
service in 1898. 

Julien See : Librarian of the Bibliotlieque Pro- 
fessionelle d’Artetd’Industrie, Paris; born Aug. 31, 
1839, at Colmar, Upper Alsace. He is the author of 
“Le Journal d’un Habitant de Colmar Pendant le 
Guerre de 1870 ” and “Nos Elections an Reichstag ” 
(1874). See made the first translation in French of 
Joseph lia-Kohen’s “‘Emek lia-Baka,” a history of 
the sufferings of the Jewish people from the time of 
their dispersion to the present da 3 r (Paris, 1881). See 
is an officer of public instruction. 

Leopold See : French general ; born at Berg- 
heim, Alsace, 1822; died in Paris March 17, 1904. 
In 1840 he entered the military school of Saint-Cyr, 
and in 1849 received his captain’s commission and 
served in Algeria. Five 3 r ears later he was ordered 
to the Crimea, and took part in the battles of Inker- 
man and Traktir as well as in the storming of Mala- 



Germain Sde. 



153 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


See 

Seer 


koif, where lie was wounded. He was appointed 
chief of battalion the following year. He served in 
the Italian campaign of 1859, and fought at Ma- 
genta, and in 1867 was with the army of occupation 
in the Papal States. The following year he was 
commissioned colonel of the sixty-fifth regiment of 
the line at Valenciennes, joining in 1870 the fourth 
army corps commanded by de Ladmirault: he 
fought at Borny, Gravelotte, and Saint-Privat, 
being severely wounded in the last-cited place. Re- 
garded by the Prussians as invalided, he was allowed 
to remain in France unconditionally. After a few 
months of treatment, however, he recovered and 
offered his services to the Government of National 
Defense, which appointed him brigadier-general and 
placed, him in charge of the lines at Carentan. In 
1871 lie commanded the subdivision of Seine-et- 
Marne at Melun, and in 1878 was placed at the 
head of the twenty -sixth brigade of infantry at 
Langres, being transferred to the eighteenth brigade 
at Paris two years later. In 1880 he was promoted 
general of division, commanding the twentieth di- 
vision of infantry, but was transferred three years 
later to the tenth at Paris, which command he held 
until his retirement in 18S7. 

In 1885 See was made a grand officer of the Legion 
of Honor, 

s. J. Ka. 

Marc See : French surgeon ; born at Ribeauville 
(Rappoltsweiler), Alsace, Feb. 17, 1827 ; nephew of 
Germain See. He received his education at the 
Sorbonne, Paris, graduating as doctor of medicine 
in 1S56 and becoming “agrege” in 1860. He was 
appointed hospital surgeon in 1866, serving at the 
hospitals of BicStre, du Midi from 1867, Sainte- 
Eugenie from 1872, and Maison Municipale de 
Sante from 1875, in which year he was appointed 
also professor of anatomy at the Sorbonne. 

See took an active part in the Franco-Prussian 
war of 1870-71, and was elected a member of the 
Paris Academie de Medecine in 1878. 

See was a collaborator on Cruveilhier’s “Traite 
d’Anatomie Descriptive,” and has written many es- 
says for the medical- journals. Among his works 
may be mentioned : (with Beclard) “ Elements d ’His- 
tologic Humaine ” (Paris, 1856 ; 2d ed. 1868), a trans- 
lation of Kolliker’s “Handbuch der Gewebelehre 
fur Aerzte und Studirende”; (with Tarnier and 
Lenoir) “Atlas de l 5 Art des Accoucliements ” (ib. 
1871); “Rapport sur la Campagne Faite par la 
Deuxithne Ambulance ” (ib. 1871), report on his treat- 
ment of 1,200 wounded after the battle at Beau- 
mont ; “ Recherches sur PAnatomie et de la Physi- 
ologic du Occur ” (ib. 1875). 

Bibliography : Pagel, Biog. Lex. Vienna, 1901. 

s. F. T. H, 

SEEGrEN, JOSEF: Austrian balneologist; 
born at Polna May 20, 1822, He studied medicine 
at Prague and Vienna (M.D. 1847), becoming pri vat- 
docent at Vienna in 1S54 and assistant professor 
in 1859. From 1854 to 18S4 he practised during 
the summer months at Carlsbad. In 1856 Seegen 
founded with Oppolzer and Sigmund the Verein fur 
Quellenkunde in Oesterreich. 

Seegen has published many essays in the medical 


journals, especially on balneology, and is the author 
of : “ Compendium der Allgemeinen und Speciellen 
Ileilquellenlehre,” Vienna, 1857 (2d ed. 1862): “Dia- 
betes Mellitus,” Berlin, 1875; “Studien liber den 
StoffwechselimThierkorper,” ib. 1887; “DieZucker- 
bildung im Tliierkorper, Ihr TJmfang und Ihre Be- 
deutung,” ib. 1890. 

Bibliography : Pagel, Biog. Lex., Vienna, 1901. 

s. F. T. H. 

SEELIGr (ABI ‘EZRI) BEN ISAAC MAR- 
GOLIOTH : Polish Talmudist of the seventeenth 
and eighteenth centuries; born at Polock; died 
probably in Palestine. He was preacher at Prague 
and at Kalisz; and after the death of Israel Dar- 
slian he went to Yaroslav. From 1701 to 1711 he 
was a beneficiary of the bet ha-midrasli of Barmann 
Levi at Halberstadt, and he was finally sent by his 
benefactor to Palestine. Seelig was the author of 
“Kesef Nibhar” (Amsterdam, 1712), a homiletic 
commentary on the Pentateuch, and of “Hibbure 
Likkutim ” (ib. 1715), collectanea consisting of Tal- 
mudic novelize and responsa. 

Bibliograpity : Auerbach, Gesch. der Israelitischen Ge- 
meinde Halberstadt , p. 62, Halberstadt, 1866; Furst, Bibl. 
Jud. ii. 330 ; Steinschneider, Cat. Bodl. col. 2580. 

E. C. M. Sel. 

SEER. — Biblical Data : Rendering in the Eng- 
lish versions of the Hebrew nbnn, which in I Sam. 
ix. 9 is reported to have been the old popular desig- 
nation for the later (“ prophet ”). The seer was 
an “ isli Elohim, ” a man of God, and for a remuner- 
ation, as would appear from the story of Saul in 
quest of his father’s asses (I Sam. ix. 8 et $eq.), acted 
as intermediary between Yhwh and those that came 
to “inquire of him.” In other words, he would 
consult Yhwh and give directions accordingly. 
Samuel more especially is designated as “ the seer ” 
(I Sam. ix. 11, 18, 19; I Chron. ix. 22, xxvi. 28, xxix. 
29); but Hanani also bears the title (II Chron. xvi. 
7, 10). A synonym, ntn or ntnn, likewise is trans- 
lated “the seer.” Gad is known as such a “hozeii ” 
(I Chron. xxix. 29), more especially as the hozeh of 
David (ib. xxi. 9 ; II Chron. xxix. 2, 5). Heman is 
another denominated “the king’s seer,” with the ad- 
dition of the qualifying phrase “in the words of 
God” (1 Chron. xxv. 5), as are also Jeduthun (II 
Chron. xxxv. 15), Iddo (Hebr. “Jedi” or “Jedo”; 
ib. ix. 29, xii. 15), Hanani (ib. xix. 2), and Asaph 
(ib. xxix. 30). 

As the seer is a hozeh, his written “ visions ” are 
called “hazot” (II Chron. ix. 29). The title (in 
the plural “liozim” — “seers”) occurs in paral- 
lelism with “prophets” (“ro’im”; Isa. xxx. 10). 
The ro’im are called the heads, while the nebi’im 
are called the eyes of the people (ib. xxix. 10) ; all 
“ vision ” is become as a sealed book. In Micali the 
seers are quoted in one breath with the diviners 
(Mic. iii. 7). As for the prophets that “ see vanit} r ” 
and that “ divine lies ” (“ see lies ” in Ezek. xiii. 8), 
God’s hand will be against them (Ezek. xiii. 9; 
comp. ib. xxii. 28). 

Critical View: Comparison of the foregoing 

passages makes it plain that the seer in primitive 
time passed, and perhaps with good reason, for a 
clairvoyant. Among the kindred races, the ancient 
Arabs and even their modern descendants, sheiks 



Seesen 

Seg-ovia 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


154 


were and are found with the ability to give such 
counsel as Saul expected to receive from Samuel 
(Wellhausen, “Reste Arabisclien Heidentums,” 2d 
ed. , pp. 135, 136 ; “ Z. D. P. V. ” 1889). The distinction 
between both the priest (“kohen ”) and the diviner 
(“kosem”), on the one hand, and the seer, on the 
other, was probably that the kolien threw or shot lots 
(hence “ torali ”), the urim and thummim, in order to 
ascertain the future, and the kosem resorted to vari- 
ous tricks and incantations, while the seer spurned 
any of these accessories and paraphernalia, and dis- 
covered the will of Yhwh while in a state of trance. 
Balaam’s description of himself as “ geber shetum 
ha- ‘ay in,” and later as “geluy ‘enayim,” and as see- 
ing the visions of Shaddai (Num. xxiv. 4, 5, 15, 16) 
while falling, probably discloses the methods of the 
seers. They succeeded in putting themselves into a 
state of autohypnosis. The term “ slietum ha-‘ayin ” 
ought to be read “ hatum ha- 'ay in ” = “sealed as to 
the eye” (comp. Isa. xxix. 10, the “sealed” book in 
connection with seers upon whom sleep has fallen 
and whose eyes are tightly closed ; or if the text be 
left unemendated, the strange word Dnt? certainly 
means “half-opened and fixed,” “immovable,” in 
order to produce the hypnotic state). When the 
seer falls (^Sl)into this quasi-cataleptic condition 
(as Mohammed did) his eyes are inwardly opened 
(“geluy ‘enayim ”), and he sees the vision. 

These hozim or ro’im became absorbed into the 
nebi’im, who in their earlier days were also mere 
shouting dervishes (hence their name, “nabi” = 
“sliouter”), relying on song and dance to arouse 
themselves and others (I Sam. x. 5, 10 et seq. ; “mit- 
nabbe’im ” note the “hitpa'el ” in the verb in I Sam. 
X. 5 ). E. G. H. 

SEESEN : Town in the Harz Mountains, where 
in the fall of 1801 Israel Jacobson founded the 
school which was called after him (see Jacobson, 
Israel). The institution received large endow- 
ments from the founder and his descendants, and 
from other philanthropists, especially Nathan Beer 
Isaac, court agent at Brunswick, being thereby en- 
abled to receive a number of free scholars, among 
whom (from 1805) were many Christians, princi- 
pally from Seesen. In 1810 the school was organized 
as an elementary common school. In the same year 
a temple was built by Jacobson for the institution, 
and was the first Jewish place of worship into 
which German sermons, a choral service, and an 
organ were introduced. The continuously increas- 
ing number of pupils necessitated repeated enlarge- 
ments of the school. In 1886 the curriculum was 
changed in conformity with the Prussian normal- 
school plan for Realschulen. The school is under 
the supervision of the ducal school commission of 
Brunswick, and is empowered to give certificates 
for the one-year volunteer military service. The 
present (1905) director of the school is Dr. Emil 
Philippson. There are ten classes, with a total of 
275 pupils, of whom 123 are Jews and 152 Chris- 
tians. 

In 1852 Jacobson’s eldest son, Meyer Jacobson, 
founded in Seesen an orphan asylum for Jewish and 
Christian boys. The first building used for its pur- 
poses was the original home of the Steinway family 


of New York, and this was replaced by a large new 
building in 1902. 

The Jews of Seesen number 69 in a total popula- 
tion of 4,729. 

s. L. K. 

SEFER EA-TORAH. See Scroll of the Law. 
SEFER YEZIRAH. See Yezirah, Sefer. 
SEFIROT, THE TEN : Potencies or agencies 
by means of which, according to the Cabala, God 
manifested His existence in the production of the uni- 
verse. The term is derived from the Hebrew noun 
“sefirah,” which, meaning originally “number” 
or “category,” alternately assumed in the language 
of the Zoliar the significations of “ sphere ” (afycupa) 
and “light” (from TDD). It was first used in a 
metaphysical sense by the anonymous author of the 
** Sefer Yezirah ” ; but the real doctrine of Sefirot, 
which became the corner-stone of the Cabala, dates 
from the twelfth century. It is based upon the 
Neoplatonic conception of God and the theory of 
emanation. The Neoplatonists, in order to sur- 
mount the difficulties involved in the idea of creatio 
ex nihilo, which is incompatible with their principle 
that God can have no intention, thought, word, or 
action, resorted to the doctrine of emanation. Ac- 
cording to this doctrine all that exists 
Doctrine has been produced not by any creative 
of Emana- power, but as successive emanations 
tion. from the Godhead; so that all finite 
creatures are part and parcel of the 
Divine Being. These emanations, or intelligences 
as they are called, are the intermediary agents be- 
tween the intellectual and the material worlds. 

The cabalists of the twelfth century, who shared 
the view of the Neoplatonists with regard to God, 

were naturally compelled, to adojDt tlie doctrine of 

emanation ; but in order to clothe it in a Jewish garb 
they substituted the Sefirot for the intelligences. 
These Sefirot, according to their order of emanation, 
are divided into three groups: (1) the first three, 
forming the world of thought ; (2) the next three, 
the world of soul; and (3) the next three, the world 
of corporeality. They are all dependent upon one 
another, being united like links to the first one, which 
was latent from all eternity in the En Sof as a 
dynamic force. This first Sefirah emanated from 
the Infinite Light of the En Sof, and is variously 
called nrD (“the Crown”), apTW (“the Aged”), 
T\y\m >n iTTipi or »YttpJ (“the Primordial 

Point ” or “ Simple Point ”), mYin (“ the White 
Head”), “pH (“the Long Pace,” “Macro- 

sapon” ; or “ the Slow to Anger” ; see Bloch, “Monats- 
sclirift,” 1905, p. 158), nbyn Dn (“ the Immeasurable 
Height”), and rpHK (“lam”). From it emanated 
the masculine or active potency called riDDil (“ Wis- 
dom”), from which proceeded the fern - 
Names inine or passive potency denomina- 
and Deri- ted nm (“Intelligence”). This first 
vation. triad of the Sefirot forms the world of 
thought. The union of the masculine 
and feminine potencies, which are called also fcOK 
(“ Father ”) and XDX (“ Mother ”), produced again the 
active or masculine potency IDfl (“Mercy”) or 
i"6nH (“Greatness”), and the feminine or passive po- 
tency p, mtoJ, or “ins (“Justice,” “Power,” or 
“ Awe ”), from the combination of which proceeded 



155 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Seesen * 
Segovia 


maan (“ Beauty ”). These are the second triad of 
Sefirot, forming the world of soul. Prom the me- 
dium of the second triad, i.e ., mxsn, proceeded the 
masculine or active potency nVJ (“Triumph”); this 
again gave birth to the feminine or passive potency 
Hhl (“ Glory ”) ; and from the union of the two pro- 
ceeded (“ Foundation ”). This triad of the Selirot 
constitutes the world of corporeality or the natural 
world. The tenth and last Selirali, called 
(“Kingdom”), is the sum of the permanent and im- 
manent activity of the other Sefirot. Thus each 
triad is a compound of force, counter- force, and 
their connecting link; namely, active and passive 
agents and combination. They were all combined 
in the Adam Kadmon (“ Primordial Man ”) or Adam 
Tla’ah (“ Heavenly Man ”). 

There is a divergence of opinion among the caba- 
lists concerning the relation of the Sefirot to the En 
Sof. Azriel (commentary on the “Sefer Yezirali,” 
p. 27b) and, after him, Menahem Recanati (“Ta'ame 
ha-Mizwot, n passim) considered the Sefirot to be total- 
ly different from the Divine Being ; the 
Relation “ Ma'areket ” group took the Sefirot to 
to be identical in their totality with the 
the En Sof. En Sof, each Sefirah representing 
merely a certain view of the Infinite 
(“Ma'areket,” p. 8b); the Zohar clearly implies that 
they are the names of the Deity, and gives for each of 
them a corresponding name of God and of the hosts 
of angels mentioned in the Bible; while Luria and 
Cordovero, without regarding them as instruments, 
do not identify them with the essence of the Deity. 
The “Absolute One,” they argue, is immanent in 
all the Sefirot and reveals Himself through them, 
but does not dwell in them; the Sefirot can never 

iuclucle tlie Infinite. JEaeli Sefirah. lias a well-known 

name; but the Holy One lias no definite name 
(“ Pardes Rimmonim,” pp. 21-23). In so far as man 
is formed after his prototype, the primordial man, 
in whom were combined all the ten Sefirot, the latter 
are represented in his body by the ten following 
members: (1) the head, (2) the brain, (3) the heart, 
(4) tlie right arm, (5) the left arm, (6) the chest, (7) 
the right leg, (8) the left leg, (9) tlie genital organs, 
and (10) the complete body. See Cabala. 

Bibliography : A. Franck, La Kabbala , pp. 84 et seq ., new ed. 
Paris, 1889 ; A. Jellinek, Bettrdgezur Gesch. der Kabbalah , 
Leipsic, 1852: idem. Philosophic unci Kabbalah , ib. 1854; 
Joel, Die Rcligionsphilosophie des Sohar , pp. 179 et seq., ib. 
1849 ; C. D. Ginsburg, The Kabbalah , pp. 7 et seq., London, 
1865; Ehrenpreis, Die Entwickelung der Emanatiomlehre , 
passim, Frankfort-on-the-Main, 1895 ; Karppe, Etude sur les 
Origines et la Nature du Zohar , pp. 239 et seq., Paris, 3901 ; 
Isaac Myer, Qabbaldh , pp. 156 et seq., Philadelphia, 1888; 
Maurice Fluegel, Philosophy , Cabbala, and Vedanta , p. 48, 
Baltimore, 1902; Bacher, Ay. Bab. Amor. p. 20. 

E. c. I. Bn. 

SEGELMESA. See Morocco. 

SEfiELMESSI (SIJILMISSI), JUDAH 
BEN JOSEPH; African liturgist; flourished 
about 1400 ; a native of Segelmesa, Morocco. Two 
selihotof his are extant, one beginning “ Eleh kokebe 
marom,” and the other, “ Mali e'eseli le-zedati,”both 
of which bear the signature “Judah b. Joseph 
Segelmessi.” A part of the second selihah has been 
published by Dukes in “Orient, Lit.” x. 761. 

Bibliography: Fuenn, Keneset Yisrael. p. 415; Landsbutb, 
k Ammude ha-'Abodah , pp. G7-6S; Zunz, Literaturgesch. p. 
567. 

J. M. Sel. 


SEGOL. See Accents in Hebrew. 

SEGOVIA ; City of Spain in Old Castile ; situ- 
ated between Burgos, Toledo, and Avila. When 
conquered by Alfonso VI. it already had a consid- 
erable Jewish community, which in 1294 paid 10,806 
maravedis in taxes. In 1303 the Jews failed to pay 
the 30 dineros which each Jew of fourteen years and 
upward was required to contribute to the bishop of 
the diocese; but the next year, on the complaint of 
the bishop, a special order was issued (Aug. 29) by 
King Ferdinand III., and they were forced to make 
immediate pa 3 7 ment. The Jews of Segovia, who 
engaged in commerce and manufactures, and espe- 
cially in tanning and the production of cloth, were 
very wealthy. They suffered severely during the 
fratricidal war between D. Pedro and Henry de 
Trastamara, being plundered of their goods and of 
all the notes and pledges which they held from 
Christians. Envy at the influence which certain 
Jews, e.ff ., the king's pli) T sician, D. Meir Alguades, 
exercised at court brought upon the Jewish inhab- 
itants a charge of desecrating the host (1410). The 
bishop, Juan de Tordesillas, believed the malicious 
accusation, and caused several Jews 
In the — among them D. Mei'r Alguades — 

Fourteenth to be arrested as participants in the 
Century, crime; and two of the most distin- 
guished were executed. Not satisfied 
with this, the bishop wrongfully accused the Jews 
of attempting to wreak their vengeance upon him 
by bribing his cook to place poison in his food. As 
a result of this charge many Jews were killed, 
and numbers fled from the city. This incident is 
recorded by Alonso de Spina, the author of “For- 
talitium Fidei,” who deeply hated and defamed his 
former coreligionists, and. •\vL.o in 1455 entered the 

monastery of S. Antonio in Segovia; by S. Usque, 
“Consola$am as Tribulacoens de Yisrael,” No. 23, 
p. 191a; by Joseph ha-Kolien, “‘Emek ha-Baka,” 
pp. 78 et seq . ; and by Colmenares, “ Historia de 
Segovia,” eh. xxvii. ; while Alvar Garcia de S. Maria, 
who was the author of a history of the reign of 
Queen Katliarina, and Paul de Burgos make no 
mention of the occurrence. 

A further result of this accusation was that the 
Jews, by an edict issued by Queen Katharina in the 
name of her minor son, Juan II. , were ordered to 
leave the old Juderia. Both their synagogues were 
taken from them ; the larger one was transformed 
(Oct. 16, 1412) into a church known first as “ Igle- 
sia Nueva” (New Church) and later as “Corpus 
Christi,” and the smaller one, in the 
Synagogue Calle de la Almuzura, was given (April 
Converted 12, 1413) to the S. Maria de la Merced 
into a monastery, for use as a hospital. The 
Church., new quarters assigned to the Jews as 
their Juderia were situated on terri- 
tory belonging to the above-mentioned monastery. 
After the death of the hostile Queen Katharina, 
however, tlie Jews were permitted to dwell out- 
side the Juderia; but from Oct. 29, 14S1, they were, 
by order of the Catholic regents, restricted abso- 
lutely to a new Juderia completely separated from 
the dwellings of the Christians. It was located be- 
tween the former large synagogue and the present 
slaughter-house. 



Segovia 

Segre 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


156 



On May 16, 1474, a terrible massacre took place 
among the Maranos, who, since 1391, had been quite 
numerous in Segovia. It was insti- 
Massacre gated by the ambi tious J uan Pacheclio, 
of Maranos himself of Jewish origin, and other 
in 1474. noblemen. In tlie same year the num- 
ber of Jews in Segovia was still so 
large that their taxes amounted to 11,000 maravedis. 

The Jewish cemetery was situated on tlie slope of 
the mountain 
near the Jude- 
ria, on the hill 
now known by 
the name “ Cues- 
tadeloslloyos” ; 
in 1S86 complete 
skeletons were 
found there, 
especially in two 
large grottoes 
h e w n in the 
rock. To these 
caves the Jews 
of Segovia are 
said to have lied 
when in 1492 the 
time-limit for 
their compul- 
sory emigration 
expired; and 
from them they 
addressed a peti- 
tion to the re- 
gents asking for 
a respite. Many 

found their death in these places of refuge, while 
others, to save their lives, submitted to baptism. 
For this reason the place for a long time bore the 
name “Prado Santo.” After the expulsion the 
Juderia was called “Barrio Nuevo.” 

Among the wealthiest Jews in Segovia were 
various members of the Gallion family. Jacob 
Gal lion, Judah Caragogi, and Jacob Batidor acted 
in 1480 as representatives of the community. D. 
Juce Gallion de Pediaza sold his tannery before the 
expulsion, and left the country together with Babbi 
Feayme (Hayyim or Ephraim) de Yidas, a son of 
Mei’r de Yidas; whereas his son Gabriel remained 
in Spain and was baptized, assuming the name “ De 
la Fuente.” Another rich tanner was Judah Salero, 
whose son took the name “Juan Lopez.” Abraham 
Senior, who stood in high favor with the court, was 
a native of this town. 

Segovia was the birthplace or place of residence 
of many Jewish scholars. It numbered among its 
residents at the end of tlie thirteenth century the 
brothers Isaac and Jacob Cohen, cabalists, and 
Meshullam ben Hunain, author of a grammatical 
work ; in the middle of the fifteenth century, tlie 
authors Joseph ben Shem-Tob and Joseph and 
Moses Benveniste. 

The only existing (1905) memorials of the once 
flourishing Jewish community are the ruins of the 
large and handsome synagogue which was erected 
simultaneously with the old synagogue in Toledo 
(later transformed into the Church of S. Maria la 


Remains of tlie Ancient Synagogue at Segovia. 

(From a photograph.) 


Blanca) and in the same architectural style. This, 
as mentioned above, was transformed into the Cor- 
pus Christi Church and given to the monks of Par- 
rades. From 1572 it was in the possession of the 
Franciscan nuns, and served as a church until in 
later days, owing to its beauty, it was included 
among the national monuments. The monastery 
was located next to the church, on the spot where 
the rabbis’ house formerly stood. On Aug. 3, 1899, 

the synagogue 
was destroyed 
by fire, nothing 
remaining of the 
old building but 
its massive walls 
and two beauti- 
ful arcades. 
The walls were 
found to be 
without crack or 
crevice or sign 
of repair, thus 
disproving the 
statement made 
by Alonso de 
Spina and oth- 
ers 500 years 
before, when the 
accusation of 
host -desecration 
was lodged 
against the 
Jews, that on 
account of the 
supposed crime 
“ the synagogue trembled and its walls and pillars 
shook. ” 

Bibliography: Colmenares, Historia de Segovia; Carca, in 
Shcbet Yehudah, ed. Wiener, p. 131 ; Rios, Hist, u. 194 ; lii. 
8 et seq., 139, 102; Lindo, History of the Jews m Spam, p. 
123; Gratz, Gesch. vii. 253, 427; viii. 103 etseo., 3o8; Kayser- 
ling, Gesch, derJuden in Portugal , p. QoiBoletin Acad. 
Hist, ix. 265 ct passim, x. 76 et seq., xxxv. 319 et seq.; B. 

J. xiv. 254 et seq., xxxix. 209 et seq. ^ ^ 

SEGUE : Italian family of scholars. 

Abraham ben Judah. Segre (known as Rab 
ASX): Rabbi in Casale in the seventeenth and 
eighteenth centuries. He was on terms of intimate 
friendship with Judah Finzi of Mantua and with 
Benjamin Kohnof Reggio, and was a pupil of Judah 
Briel. A responsum of his, treating of the defile- 
ment of the tent (“ Tum’at Oliel ”), is reprinted in 
Lampronti’s “Pahad Yizliak,” p. 72; and another 
is included in Corinaldi’s “Dibre Shalom we-Emet. ” 
He was the author also of a poem expressing grief 
over the ravages of a pestilence, in which the words 
of Middot are introduced in such a manner as to 
form the opening and closing phrases of each of the 
four cantos. According to Zunz (“Literaturgeseh.” 
p. 448), he was a descendant of the Judah ben Abra- 
ham who in 1627 was leader of the Jewish commu- 
nity at Cliieri. Abraham is mentioned in Raphael 
Meldola’s “ Mayim Rabbim ” (ii. 8), in Samson Mor- 
purgo’s “Shemesli Zedakah” (iii. 13), and in “Mil- 
hamah la-Adonai” (p. 17, Amsterdam, 1714). 

Bibliography : Nepi-Ghirondi, Toledot Gedole Yisrael , pp. 4, 

7 ; Mortara, Indice , p. 60. 



157 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Segovia 

Segre 


Abraham ben Judah Segre : Scholar of the 
eighteenth century ; born at Turin ; died at Safed 
1772. He went to the latter city at the age of 
twenty-five, and there pursued his Talmudical 
studies together with the Polish scholar Israel Ash- 
kenazi. He wrote commentaries on the Mishnah 
and on Maimonides’ “Yad ha-Hazakah”; also a col- 
lection of responsa and sermons, published under 
the title “ Hibburim. ” He is said to have had a fam- 
ily of ten sons and two daughters. At a ripe age he 
undertook travels abroad in order to collect alms. 
For a time he sojourned in Jerusalem. 

Bibliography: Nepi-Ghirondi, Toledot Geclolc Yisrael, pp. 

23-25 ; Mortara, Indice, p. 60. 

Abraham ben Zarah Segre : Dayyan at Alex- 
andria, where he died in 1641. 

Alessandro Segre : Rabbi of Parma in the be- 
ginning of the nineteenth century. 

Benjamin ben Judah Segre : Scholar of Yer- 
celli; flourished in the eighteenth and nineteenth 
centuries. He was the father of Joshua Benzion 
Segre, who was a member of the Paris consistory 
from 1805 to 1809. 

Bibliography: Nepi-Ghirondi, Toledot Gedole Yisrael , p. 

107 ; Mortara, Indice , p. 60. 

Elisha ben Hayyim Segre : Lived in Vercelli 
in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. He 
was the father of Joshua Benzion Segre, rabbi of 
Yercelli. 

Bibliography : Mortara, Indice , p. 60. 

Hayyim Segre : Scholar of Padua ; flourished 
in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. He 
was the grandfather of Benjamin ben Judah Segre, 
and was one of the three Italian delegates who in 
1746 were sent to the Levant in order to inquire into 
the origin and purpose of the Shabbethaian move- 
ment. He himself was a follower of Shabbetliai 
Zebi. 

Hayyim was the author of “ Binyan Ab, ” in which 
he treated especially of R. Abbaliu’s rules regarding 
the blowing of the shofar at the New- Year festival. 
Hayyim was the father of Elisha Segre, rabbi of 
Yercelli. 

Bibliography : Nepi-Gliirondi, Toledot Gedole Yisrael , p. 107 ; 

Mortara, Indice , p. 60 ; Gratz, Gesch. x. 423. 

Hayyim Segre : Scholar of Yercelli, where he 
died in 1854. 

Bibliography : Mortara, Indice , p. 60. 

Jacob ben Isaac Segre : Rabbi of Casale Mon- 
ferrato in the seventeenth century. According to 
Zunz’s “S. P.” p. 362, he died in 1619; but accord- 
ing to the same author’s “Literaturgesch.” p. 425, 
in 1629. An eminent liturgical poet, he was the 
author of: a hymn to the New Moon, in five stan- 
zas, which is signed “Ya'akob Segre,” and is re- 
printed in Mordecai Jare’s “ Ayyelet ha-Shahar ” ; a 
long prayer in prose, beginning with the words 
“TJ-beken ribbono shel ‘Olam”; a selihah (in prose) 
on the siege of Casale in 1629, beginning with five 
stanzas; a poetical approbation of “Heshek Sbe- 
lomoli,” which appeared in 1588; an approbation of 
Isaac Alatrino’s commentary on the Song of Solo- 
mon (1605). 

Jacob was on friendly terms with Mordecai Meisel 


of Prague, and wrote a poem on the occasion of the 
founding of the Meisel Synagogue (Purim, 1590). 
Another of his poems has been inscribed on a tablet 
in that synagogue. 

Bibliography: Zunz, Literaturgesch. p. 425; idem, S. P. p. 
362 ; Landshuth, 'Ammude ha-Abodah, p. 109 ; Mortara, In- 
dice^ p. 60 ; Kaufmann, in R. E. J. xxi. 143-145. 

Jehiel Benjamin Segre: Rabbi of Treves in the 
eighteenth century. He was related to S. D. Luz- 
zatto, and was a colleague of Raphael Nathan Te- 
desco Yitale. 

Biblio grapiiy : Most, i. 178 ; Mortara, Indice, p. 60. 

Joshua Benzion Segre : Dayyan of Yercelli 
and, later, rabbi of Aqui Casale aud Scandiano; 
died toward the close of the eighteenth century ; son 
of Elisha and grandson of Hayyim Segre. De Rossi 
mentions Joshua as the author of an unpublished 
commentary on the Psalms, and relates that he had 
in his possession also the manuscript of “Asham 
Talui,” a work written by Joshua against Christian- 
ity. This w r as replete with mistakes, and in it 
Joshua, although not conversant with the Latin 
language, endeavored to convict Jerome of having 
made inaccurate statements. The sixth - chapter 
contained Joshua’s disputation with Zuccati in Aqui 
regarding the oracle of Jacob, and also an attack 
upon Moronini’s “Yia della Fede.” In his “Bib- 
liotheca Judaica Antichristiana, ” p. 106, De Rossi 
has reprinted the preface to this work, and gives 
a synopsis of the various chapters. A condensation 
by Trefot was included in the library of J. Almanzi- 

Bibliography : Nepi-Ghirondi, Toledot Gedole Yisrael , p. 107 ; 
De Rossi, Dizionario , pp. 125, 126 ; Benjacob, Ozar ha-Sefa- 
rim , p. 508 ; Steinschneider, Hebr. Bibl. v. 106, 206 ; idem, 
Cat. Bodl. col. 1255. 

Joshua Benzion Segre : Son of Benjamin 
Segre; born at Yercelli 1720; died in Paris Aug., 
1809. He was a real-estate owner, rabbi, and mu- 
nicipal councilor in his native city, and was an ad- 
herent of the Reform movement in Judaism. He 
was a member of the Italian delegation of the French 
Synod, to which the imperial ministry on July 25, 
1806, propounded twelve questions. On Aug. 15 
following Joshua delivered in Paris an Italian ser- 
mon in which he was greatly exaggerative in his 
praise of Napoleon. On Feb. 9, 1807, he was chosen 
ab bet din of the Jewish Sanhedrin, and thereafter 
lived in Yercelli until 1S09, "when he again went 
to Paris, in which city he remained till his death. 

Bibliography: Nepi-Ghirondi, Toledot Gedole Yisi'ael , pp. 
107,207; Gratz, Gesch. xi. 260, 263, 270; Benjacob, Ozarha- 
Sefarim , p. 403. 

Nathaniel ben Aaron Jacob Segre : Born in 
the seventeenth century in Ghieri, Savoy; died in 
1691 at Cento, whither he had emigrated with his 
father. He was the author of a collection of re- 
sponsa which he named “ ‘Ezer Ya £ akob ” after his 
father, and which he dedicated to Abraham Rovigo. 
The ■work is extant in manuscript. 

Bibliography : Nepi-Ghirondi, Toledot Gedole Yisrael, p. 271 ; 
Mortara, Indice , p. 61; Samuel Aboab, in Debar Shemuel , 
pp. 244-246; Furst, Bibl. Jud. iii. 308. 

Nathaniel ben Judah Segre : Scholar of Lodi 
in the sixteenth century; died in 1535. His father 
was the author of tosafot to Hullin and ‘Erubin. 

Bibliography: Mose, vii. 125-126 ; Steinschneider, Hebr. Bibl. 
xiv. 61. 

J. s. o. 



Seherr-Thoss 

Seixas 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


158 


SEHERR-THOSS, JOHANN CHRISTOPH 

(in Jewish sources FRANZ), FREIHERR VON : 
Austrian soldier; born at Lissen Feb. 17, 1670; died 
Jan. 14, 1743. He is known in Jewish history as 
having been the first to give official recognition to 
the slander that the Austrian Jews treasonably aided 
the Prussian army in the wars between Frederick 
the Great and Maria Theresa. Appointed as com- 
manding general of the troops in Moravia with 
headquarters in the fort of Spielberg at Brunn(Oet., 
1741), he issued an order on March 14, 1742, that the 
Moravian Jews should by the twentieth of the same 
month pay 50,000 florins as a fine for their alleged 
treasonable acts. The Jews, through the interces- 
sion of Baron Aguilar, succeeded in obtaining a 
repeal of the edict (March 21); but a demand for the 
same sum was repeated, without, however, being 
given the objectionable name of a fine for treason, 
and the Jews were compelled to pay it. A conse- 
quence of this accusation was the decree expelling 
all the Jews of Moravia, Jan. 2, 1745, although the 
empress merely speaks of “ various important rea- 
sons ” which had prompted her to issue the edict of 
expulsion. 

Bibliography: Zedler, Universal-Lexicon, xxxvi., cols. 1321- 
1322, 1743; Gatlia'sches Taschcnhuch FrciherrJ icJic r Hau- 
ser, 1S60, p. 802 ; Frankl-Grfm, Gesch. tier Juden in Krem- 
sier, i. 158-160, Breslau, 1896 ; Benjamin Israel Frankel, Yc- 
shu'ot Yisrael , in Sammelband Kleiner Beitriige aus 
Handschriften , ed. by the Mekize Nirdamim, vol. vii., Ber- 
lin, 1896-97. 

D. 

SEIBERLING, JOSEPH; Russian educator, 
censor, and communal worker; born in Wilna; died 
at an advanced age after 1S82, Ilis father, Isaac 
Markusewich, was one of the few Jewish physicians 
who graduated from the university which existed in 
Wilna from 1803 to 1833, when it was removed to 
Kiev. Isaac’s annotations of the ‘“Aruk,” written 
about 1830, were published .years later in 
Smolenskin’s “Ha-Shahar” (x. 44-52). Joseph Sei- 
berling, who was educated in a German university 
(Ph.D.), w’as censor for Jewish books in Kiev for 
about fifteen years, and was entrusted by the Rus- 
sian Ministry of Public Instruction with Jewish edu- 
cational interests as the successor to Leon Mandel- 
stamm (“Allg, Zeit. des Jud.” 1868, p. 378). Dur- 
ing the time he resided in St. Petersburg he took a 
prominent part in its Jewish communal affairs; he 
was also the friend and patron of such well-known 
scholars as I. B. Lewinsohn, A. B. Gottlober, P. 
Smolenskin, and others. He received from the 
Russian government four decorations, including that 
of the Order of Vladimir of the fourth class, and a 
pension in recognition of his services. Being more 
practical than his predecessor, he amassed a large 
fortune, and after having served his government 
thirty years he obtained permission to become an 
Austrian subject and settled in Vienna. 

Seiberling wrote various articles on the Jews for 
the “ Journal of the Ministry of Public Instruction.” 

Bibliography: Fuenn, Kiryah Ne'emanah, p. 33, Wilna, 
1860 ; Gottlober, Ha-Boiler Or, i. 145-146 ; Jew. Chron. May 
4, 1877; Orient, 1850, p.* 112 . 

s. P. Wi. 

SEIR : 1. Region that took its name from Seir 
the Horite, wdiose descendants occupied it, followed 
by Edom and his descendants. The earliest refer- 


ence to the name is found in the Harris Egyptian 
papyrus, in which Raineses III. says ( c . 1200 B.c.) 
that he gained a victory over the “Sa-‘a-ira” 
(= “ Se‘irim ”), one of the Bedouin tribes of the 
desert. A distinction was at that time made be- 
tween them and the Edomites. It has not been 
definitely decided whether the Seirites are identical 
with the Sheri mentioned in one of the Tell el- 
Amarna tablets. The Old Testament makes no dis- 
tinction between them and the Edomites. Accord- 
ing to the Old Testament, the Horites occupied the 
country before the Edomites (Gen. xiv. 6, xxxvi. 20; 
Deut. ii. 12, 22). These statements do not contra- 
dict the Egyptian account, since the w r ord “Horite ” 
(= “ cave-dweller ”) is not the name of a certain tribe, 
but may be a designation for the Seirites. The 
Edomites probably conquered the country after 1200 
n.c. The Old Testament mentions most frequently 
the “ mountains ” of Seir (Gen. xxxvi. 8 et seq. ; Deut. 
i. 2, ii. 1, et passim). 

But the phrase “land of Seir” also occurs (Gen. 
xxxii. 3, xxxvi. 30), as well as “ sons of Seir ” (II 
Chron. xxv. 11, 14; Gen. xxxvi. 20 et seq.), the lat- 
ter referring both to the original inhabitants, the 
Horites, and to the Edomite population. The name 
of Seir, when used alone, designates either the land 
of Seir (Gen. xxxiii. 14 et passim) or the inhabitants 
(Ezek. xxv. 8), This district, the mountains of Seir, 
is Esau’s home (Gen. xxxvi. 8), assigned to him and 
his descendants by Yiiwii (Deut. ii. 5). Its location 
is given in Deut. ii. 1. The people of Israel skirted 
the mountains of Seir on the south so as not to enter 
Edomite territory ; then they followed the eastern 
edge northward to the steppe of Moab. Hence the 
mountains of Seir lay on the east side of the Araba, 
that is, the dip extending from the Dead Sea south- 
ward to the northern point of the Gulf of Akaba 
(see Palestine; comp. Gen. xiv. 6). Mountains 
rise on both sides of the dip, those on the east being 
considerably higher than those on the west. On 
the north the mountains end in the deep cut of the 
Wadi al-Ahsa; and on the south a steep slope of the 
mountains forms a natural boundary toward Moab, 
while on the east the hills slope down toward the 
Syrian desert. 

The country of Seir is only about 15 or 20 miles 
wide, and is now called Jabal al-Sliara. It is 
traversed by several valleys running east and west 
to tlie Araba. The mountain-tops are now bare, 
but the ancient name is generally interpreted to 
mean “a wooded region.” The country is described 
as fertile; the information regarding it is still insuf- 
ficient, being confined to tlie accounts of a few 
travelers. Although tlie name of Seir was origi- 
nally that of this mountain country, it was gradu- 
ally used in a wider sense, as designating the land 
of Edom; but the territory of Edom included tlie 
mountain country west of the Araba, The name 
is used in this wider sense in, for example, Judges 
v. 4, Deut. xxxiii. 2, and Josli. xi. 17. See Edom. 
Bibliography: Buhl, Gesch. dcr Edomitcr, Leipsic, 1893. 

2. Mountain, or mountain range, in Judah, be- 
tween Kirjath-jearim and Chesalon, on the frontier 
of Benjamin; therefore, perhaps, the high ridge on 
which the village of Saris is now situated. 

e. g. ii. I. Be. 



159 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Seh.err-Th.oss 

Seixas 



SEIXAS : American family, the founder of 
which removed from Portugal to the United States 
in 1780. 

Abraham Seixas : American merchant and sol- 
dier; born in 1750 in New York city. He served 
in the American army and carried despatches for 
Gen. Harry Lee between Charleston, S. C., and 
Georgia. In 1782 he took the oath of allegiance to 
the state of Pennsylvania, where he settled at the 
close of the war. 

Benjamin Mendez Seixas ; Fourth son of Isaac 
Mendez Seixas ; born in Newport, R. I. , 1747 : died in 
New York city Aug. 16, 1817. He was a prominent 
merchant in Newport, Philadelphia, and New York, 
and was one of the founders of the New York Stock 
Exchange. 

Gershom Mendez Seixas : American rabbi and 
patriot; born in New York city Jan. 14, 1745; died 
there July 2, 1816; son of Isaac Mendez Seixas 
(1708-80) and Rachel Levy, daughter of Moses Levy, 
an early New York merchant. Seixas became the 
minister of Shearith Israel, the Spanish and Portu- 
guese congregation of his native city, in 1766, and 
occupied the rabbinate for about half a century. 
At the outbreak of the American Revolution he at 
once espoused the Patriot cause, though many of 
the Christian ministers of the city sympathized with. 



Gershom Mendez Seixas. 

(By courtesy of the Jewish Publication Society of America.) 


the Tories. It was largely due to his influence that 
the Jewish congregation closed the doors of its syn- 
agogue on the approach of the British, and decided 
to leave the town rather than continue under British 
rule. On the appearance of the British fleet in 
New York Bay (Aug., 1776) Seixas preached a ser- 
mon in English in which he feelingly stated that the 
synagogal services on that occasion might be the 
last to be held in tlie historic edifice. 

On the dispersion of the congregation Seixas left 
New York for Stratford, Conn., taking with him 
the scrolls of the Law and other ceremonial para- 
phernalia belonging to his charge. At Stratford 
he was joined by several members of his flock. 
When, in 1780, the Patriots who had fled to Phila- 
delphia were about to establish a permanent congre- 
gation, Seixas was requested to officiate, and he at 


Seixas 

Selah 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


160 


once proceed- 
ed thither from 
Connecticut., 
taking with, 
him the syna- 
gogal property 
of his former 
charge. In this 
way was estab- 
lished the Con- 
gregation 
Mickve Israel 
of Philadel- 
phia. On the 
completion of 
its newly 
erected house 
of worship, 
Seixas was one 
of the commit- 
tee that waited 





Tablet in Sbearitb Israel Synagogue, New York. 

(From a photograph.) 


clause in the 
Constitution.” 

After the 
war Seixas re- 
turned to New 
York (March 
23, 1784) and 
resumed his 
former posi- 
tion as rabbi of 
Congregation 
Shearith Is- 
rael. He was 
one of the first 
ministers to 
preach a regu- 
lar Thanks- 
giving Day 
sermon (see 
“Daily Ga- 
zette,” Dec. 


on the gov- 
ernor of Pennsylvania, in- 
viting him to attend the 
dedication ; and in the 
course of his patriotic ad- 
dress at the ceremony he 
invoked the blessing of 
Almighty God on “the 
Members of these States 
in Congress assembled and 
on his Excellency George 
Washington, Commander- 
General of these Colonies.” 

During his entire stay 
at Philadelphia, Seixas 
showed himself a public- 
spirited citizen, figuring 
also as a zealous defender 
of religious liberty. Thus 
when Pennsylvania 
adopted the religious test 
as an indispensable quali- 
fication for office, he and 
several members of his 
congregation addressed 
the Council of Censors on 
the subject (Dec., 1783), 
characterizing the test as 
“unjust to the members 
of a persuasion that had 
always been attached to 
the American cause and 
given a support to the 
country, some in the Con- 
tinental army, some in the 
militia, and some by cheer- 
fully paying taxes and 
sustaining the popular 
cause.” Westcott, the his- 
torian, expressly calls at- 
tention to this protest, 
stating “ that it doubtless 
had its influence in pro- 
curing the subsequent 
modification of the test 



Tombstone of Gershom Mendez Seixas in Chatham Square 
Cemetery, New York. 

(From a photograph.) 


23, 1789), and 
was also one of the four- 
teen clergymen participa- 
ting in the ceremony of 
the inauguration of George 
Washington as first presi- 
dent of the United States. 
In 1787 he became a trus- 
tee of Columbia College 
in the city of New York, 
and held that office con- 
tinuously to 1815, being 
the only Jew ever so 
honored. When the col- 
lege was incorporated, 
Seixas’ name appeared in 
the charter as one of the 
incorporators. 

Seixas was on terms of 
intimate friendship with 
the ministers of other de- 
nominations, particularly 
with the Episcopal clergy 
of New York. The lat- 
ter, tradition relates, fre- 
quently visited the Portu- 
guese synagogue, while 
the Jewish minister in 
turn was invited to ad- 
dress Christian congrega- 
tions. The manuscript of 
one such discourse deliv- 
ered by Seixas (Aug., 
1800) in historic St. Paul’s, 
New York, is still pre- 
served by his congrega- 
tion. Public-spirited at 
all times, he earnestly ex- 
horted his congregation 
to support the administra- 
tion during the War of 
1812 ; and an address con- 
taining his appeal for 
the sufferers during that 
struggle is still extant. 


161 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Seixas 
Selah * 


He also took the lead in philanthropic work, found* 
ing in 1802 the charitable organization known as 
“Hebra Hased Ye Amet,” which is still (1905) in 


existence. 

Seixas was twice married, his first wife being El- 
kalah Cohen (1749-85), to whom he was wedded in 
1775, and his second, Hannah Manuel, whom he 
married in 1789. His descendants are among the 
prominent Jewish families of New York. His re- 
mains lie in the old cemetery on New Bowery, in 
the city of New York. 


Bibliography: Leon Hiihner, in Jewish Comment (Balti- 
more), Jan. 10, 1902; idem. New York Jews in the Struggle 
for American Independence , in Publ. Am. Jew. Hist. Soc.; 
N. Taylor Phillips, in Am. Jew . Year Book , 1904-5, pp. 40-51; 
idem , in Publ. Am. Jew. Hist. Soc. iY. 202-214, vi. 129-133; 
Sabato Morals, ib. i.13-24; Thompson Westcott, Persons Who 
Took the Oath of Allegiance to Pennsylvania , p. xxiii., 
Philadelphia ; T. E. V. Smith, New York City in 1780 , p. 140, 
New York, 1889 ; Charles P. Daly, The Settlement of the Jews 
in North America , p. 56, ib. 1893; Isaac Markens, The 
Hebrews in America , ib. 1888 ; Moore, History of Columbia 
College , ib.; Nile's Register , Baltimore, 1816. 
a. L. Hu. 


Isaac B. Seixas; American rabbi ; born in 1782; 
died Aug. 10, 1839, in New York city; a son of 



Tombstone of Moses Seixas at Newport, R. 1. 

(From a photograph.) 


Benjamin Mendez Seixas. ' He became rabbi of the 
Congregation Shearith Israel, New York city r , in 
1828, in succession to Moses L. M. Peixotto. 

Isaac Mendez Seixas; American merchant; 
born in Lisbon 1708; died at Newport. B. I., Nov. 8, 
1780. He emigrated to North America via Barba- 


dos, arriving in New York about 1730, established 
a mercantile business there, and settled at Newport, 
R. I., in 1765. He married Rachel Franks, daughter 
of Moses Levj% by whom he had seven children. 

Moses Seixas; Merchant; eldest son of Isaac 
Mendez Seixas; born in New York March 28, 1744; 
died in New York city Nov. 29, 1809. He was one 
of the founders (1795) of the Newport Bank of Rhode 
Island, of which lie was cashier until his death. It 
was Moses Seixas who addressed a letter of welcome 
in the name of the congregation to George Wash- 
ington when the latter visited Newport, and it was 
to him that Washington’s answer was addressed. 

Bibliography: Publications Am. Jew. Hist. Soc. i.-xii.; N- 

Taylor Phillips, ib. iv. 189 et seq. (pedigree). 

A. F. T. II. 

SELA. See Weights and Measures. 

SELAH (Hebrew, n^D) : Term of uncertain ety- 
mology. and grammatical form and of doubtful 
meaning. It occurs seventy-one times in thirty-nine 
of the Psalms, and three times in Hab. iii. It is 
placed at the end of Ps. iii., ix., xxiv., xlvi., and in 
most other cases at the end of a verse, the exceptions 
being Ps. lv. 20, lvii. 4, and Hab. iii. 3, 9. Of the 
psalms in which it is found, twenty-three belong to 
the group in which “Elohim” is used to designate 
God; twenty-eight to that called by Briggs the’ 
“director’s (nVJD^ = “ choir-leader ” ; see Psalms, 
Critical View) copies”; and twenty to the 
“Davidic” collection. Again, nine of the twelve 
Koraliite and seven (LXX. eight, including lxxx. 8) 
of the twelve Asaph psalms have the term. Three 
psalms with “ Seiali ” are headed “Miktam ” ; seven, 

“ Maskil ” ; ten, “Shir”; twenty-six, “Mizmor”; 
while Habakkuk iii. is superscribed “Tefillah.” 

That the real significance of this curious term (or 
combination of letters) was not known even by the 
ancient versions is evidenced by the variety of ren- 
derings given to it. The Septuagint, Symmachus, 
and Theodotion translate diaijia ?^ — a 

Technical word as enigmatical in Greek as is 
Term. “Selah” in Hebrew. The Hexapla 
simply transliterates c re/i. Aquila, 
Jerome, and the Targum give it the value of “al- 
ways” (Aquila, dei ; Jerome, “semper”; Targum, 
for the most part = u in secula” or = 

“semper”). Theodotion in Ps. ix. 17 has the trans- 
lation aei ; the Quinta gives eig rovg aluvag (pD^) '» 
and the Sexta, dianavrog (in Ps. xx. 4, elg re?.og). 
Jacob of Edessa, quoted by Bar Hebneus (on Ps. 
x. 1), notices that instead of dim}>a2pa some copies 
present aei = pf ^22; and he explains this as refer- 
ring to the custom of the people of reciting a dox- 
ology at the end of paragraphs of the liturgical 
psalms. In five passages (see Field, Hexapla on 
Ps. xxxviii. [Hebr. xxxix.] 12) Aquila offers, ac- 
cording to the Hexaplar Syriac, Kn^ = K song, H 
the aafia by which Origen reports Aquila to have re- 
placed the SidipaXya of the Septuagint. According 
to Hippolytus (DeLagarde, “Novae Psalterii Graeci 
Edilionis Specimen,” 10), the Greek term diaifjafya 
signified a change in rhythm or melody at the places 
marked by tlie term, or a change in thought and 
theme. Against this explanation Baetligen (“ Psalm- 
en,” p. xv., 1st ed.. Gottingen, 1892) urges the cir- 


XI.— 11 


Selah 

Seleucia 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


162 


cumstanee that the enigmatical expression occurs 
also at tiie end of psalms. The cogency of this ob- 
jection would hold if the mark had been inserted by 
the original writer and not, as is most probable, by a 
later editor who may have expected the Psalms to 
be recited in succession without reference to the 
divisions in the Masoretic text; or if it were an 
indubitable fact that where in the Hebrew a psalm 
now ends it ended in the original. Augustin (on 
Ps. iv. 3) regards diaipal.fia as indicating that what 
follows is not to be joined to the preceding. He 
suggests also the possibility that the Hebrew “ Selah ” 
meant ‘‘Fiat” = “Let there be [made].” The 
Masoretic accentuation always connects “ Selah ” 
with the preceding, as though it were part of the 
text or thought, most likely because it was held 
to mean “forever.” In fact, the vowel-points in r&D 
seem to indicate a “ here 55 (with “ kamez ” on 
account of n) = “ forever ” (see B. Jacob in Stade’s 
“Zeitschrift,” xvi. [1896] 129 et seq.). 

. Nor is there greater unanimity among modern 
scholars than among the ancient ver- 
Modern sions. Only on one point is there agree- 
Views. ment, namely, that “Selah” has no 
grammatical connection with the text. 
It is either a Jiturgico-musical mark or a sign of 
another character with a bearing on the reading or 
the verbal form of the. text. As thirty-one of the 
thirty-nine psalms with the caption “ To the choir- 
master ” present “Selah,” the musical value 

of the mark has been regarded as well assured. In 
keeping with this it has been assigned to the root 
as an imperative that should properly have been 
vocalized n^b, “Sollali” (Ewald, “Kritische Gram- 
matik der Hebraischen Sprache,”p. 554; Konig, 

“ Historisch - Kritisches Lehrgebaude der Hebrai- 
sclien Sprache,” ii., part i., p. 539). The meaning 
of this imperative is given as “Lift up,” equivalent 
to “loud ” or “fortissimo,” a direction to the accom- 
panying musicians to break in at the place marked 
with crash of cymbals and blare of trumpets, the 
orchestra playing an interlude while the singers’ 
voices were hushed. The effect, as far as the singer 
was concerned, was to mark a pause. This signifi- 
cance, too, has been read into the expression or sign, 

“ Selah ” being held to be a variant of “ shelali ” 
(r6^ = “ pause ”). But as the interchange of “ shin ” 
and “ samek ” is not usual in Biblical Hebrew, and 
as the meaning “pause” is clearly inapplicable in 
the middle of a verse or where a pause would inter- 
rupt the sequence of thought, this proposition has 
met with little favor. Neither has that which pro- 
poses to treat it as a loan-word from the Greek 
i’dViS = “ strike the harp, ” etc. 

Gratz (“ Kritischer Commentar zu den Psalmen,” . 
i. 93 et seq.) argues that “Selah ” introduces a new 
paragraph as it were, a transition in thought, and 
also in some instances a quotation (e.g., Ps. Ivii. 8 et 
seq. from cviii. 2 et seq.). The fact that the term 
occurs four times at the end of a psalm would not 
weigh against this theory. As stated above, the 
Psalms were meant to be read in sequence, and, 
moreover, many of them are fragments; indeed, = 
Ps. ix. is reckoned one with Ps. x. in the Septua- 
gint, which omits Siaipa^jna also at the end of Ps. 


iii., xxiv., and xlvi. B. Jacob ( lx .) concludes (1) 
that since no etymological explanation is possi- 
ble, “Selah ” signifies a pause in or for the Temple 
song; and (2) that its meaning was concealed lest 
the Temple privileges should be obtained by the 
synagogues or perhaps even by the churches. 

Another series of explanations is grounded on the 
assumption that its signification is liturgical rather 
than musical. It marks the place, and 
More is an appeal, for the bystanders to' 
Liturgical join in with a eulogistic response. 

than Briggs (“Jour. Bib. Lit.” 1899, p. 142) 
Musical, accepts the etymology and grammat- 
ical explanation given above, i. e. , that 
“Selah ” is a cohortative imperative, meaning “Lift 
up [your benediction],” the eulogy with which 
psalms or sections of psalms were concluded. One 
would expect the imperative to be in the plural if the 
address was to more than one bystander. However, 
Briggs’ explanation indicates the line along which 
the mystery connected with this term or combination 
of consonants is to be removed. It lias been sus- 
pected that “ Selah ” is an artificial word formed from 
initials. That is probably the case, though the reso- 
lution of the initials usually suggested, rhv^b DD 
Dtyn (= “Return to the beginning, 0 singer”), has 
to be abandoned. The renderings in the versions, 
“ ; olmin,” ari, and the like (= “forever”), if they 
do not prove that n^D is a corruption for D^iy-the- 
word “ ‘olam ” standing for the first noun in the 
benediction— create a strong presumption that the 
initials of the verse in which “ ‘olam ” occurs are 
hidden in the puzzling word “Selah.” Gratz ( l.c .) 
shows that in Ps. lv. 20 n^D is a corruption for 
p6d (or even for D^D), meaning “ destroy ” ; and a 
similar corruption of the first and third consonants 
throughout has contrived to make “ Selah ” the “ crux 
interprefcum.” If in some instances rfa or obs (= 

“ destroy ”) be read and in others p&D, the enigma 
disappears. “K 1 h” represents the eulogy “Ki le- 
‘olam liasdo ” (ViDn tobtyb *0), hence the pD$>y or del 
of the versions— a eulogy which is familiar and 
which is found as such in the Psalms (Ps. c. 5, cvi. 

1, evii. 1, cxviii. 1 et seq . ; especially 
Probably a cxxxvi. ; also I Cliron. xvi. 34, 41; II 
Contracted Cliron. v. 13, xx. 21). This is con- 
Form. firmed by the fact that just such 
phrases as DID^D, and perhaps njn 
tbty, actually do occur in passages where “ Selah ” 
might stand equally well and with as little bearing 
on the context (Ps. Iii. 11, 12), In Ps. xxxiv. 11 
at the end is certainly superfluous; but it stands 
where one would expect this very term n^D; and, 
therefore, it is not too bold a conjecture to read here 
DID 'D in the sense of a technical abbreviation of the 
eulogy. In this connection the midrasli on Ps. 
cxviii. is of importance; quoting Isaiah iii. 10, it- 
commands that after the mention of the righteous 
the words DID 'D should be added, but that after ref- 
erence to an evil-doer a curse should be pronounced. 

The latter injunction throws light on many pas- 
sages in which “Selah ” has another sense than that- 
noted above, and in which it should be read nf>D or 
D^D (= “ Destroy them ”), as one word. It is 
noticeable that the term occurs frequently after a. 



163 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Selah 

Seleucia 


reference to evil-doers (Ps. iv. 3; vii. 6; ix, 21; 
xxxii. 5; xlix. 14 [xlix. 16 ?]; lii. 5; liv. 5; lvii. 4, 
7; lix, 6; lxii. 5; Ixvi. 7; lxxxii. 2; Ixxxviii. 8; 
Ixxxix. 46, 49; cxl. 6; Hab. iii. [A. Y. ii.] 13); 
and at the mention of these the bystanders break 
forth into malediction, as they do into benediction 
at the mention of God's wonderful deeds. Their 
comment on the recital is “Destroy them,” “Make 
an end of them,” or “of the evils,” i.e., “Forego” 
(as in Ps. Ixxxviii. 8). “Selah” is thus identical 
with as twice repeated in Ps. lix. 14 (Hebr.), 
“Destroy in anger; destroy that they be no more.” 
This very verse ends with “Selah,” which, as ex- 
plained above, is a repetition (but in the mouths 
of the bystanders) of the passionate outcry nb 
( = “ Destroy ”). 

Some few passages remain in which n^D seems 
to fit in neither as a eulogy — i.e., as a corruption of 
or as an artificial combination of initials ma- 
king — nor as an imprecation. But even in these 

the reading n^O (=“ Destroy ”) suggests itself, not in- 
deed as a liturgical response, but as a note to indi- 
cate that something in the text should be deleted. 
This seems to be the case in Ps. Iv. 8 (R, Y. 7), where 
verses 8 and 9 virtually conflict; for the desert is the 
place where storms blow. “ Selah ” here has the ap- 
pearance of a sign that the verse, being a quotation 
from somewhere else and really not be- 
Sometimes longing to the psalm, should be omit- 

Meaning ted. The same holds good in Ps. lxxxi. 

“Delete.” 8, where the third member of the 
verse is clearly a marginal note ex- 
planatory of the preceding. “Selah” after •»£> 
iWlID, “ at the waters of Men bah, ” indicates this fact, 
and means nb (= “ Delete ”). Another instance of 
this is Ps. lx. 6, where the words ’OQJD break 
the connection between verses 6a and 7, and really 
make no sense. In Hab. iii. (ii.) 3, 9, also, “Selah ” 
points to some defect in the text. 

Perhaps the latter use of the term will throw light 
on the origin of the Greek didfalga. It maybe con- 
nected with the verb dia^ao = “ to rub away thor- 
oughly,” “ to erase.” At all events some of the ver- 
sions point to a reading in which b was visible, e.g. } 
diairavrog (Sexta), while the translation of Aquila 
according to the Hexaplar Syriac, xrpMJh meaning 
“responsive, antiplional song,” corroborates the as- 
sumption that the benediction or malediction was 
marked as anticipated in the passage. 

“ Selah ” occurs also in the text of the Siiemoneh 
’E siiEir. This fact shows that at the time when the 
text of this prayer was finally fixed, the term had be- 
come a familiar one; and as the “Shemoneli ‘Esreli ” 
draws its vocabulary largely from the Psalms, the 
appearance of “Selah ” in the prayer is not strange. 
In the Talmud that word is treated as a synonym of 
“nezali” and “wa‘ed,” all three signifying eternal 
continuance without interruption (‘Er. 54a, J’fc? 
JVtbiy pDSn). Kimlii connects the term with the 
verb bo (== “lift up ”), and applies it to the voice, 
which should be lifted up, or become louder at 
the places marked by it (commentary on Ps. iii. 2). 
Ibn Ezra (on Ps. iii. 2) regards it as an equivalent 
of K1H p or "Din pDL an affirmative corroborative 
expletive. E. G. H. 


SELDEN, JOHN : English jurist and Oriental- 
ist; born Dec. 16, 1584, at Salvington, Sussex; died 
at Wliitefriars, London, Nov. 30, 1654. He was 
educated at Oxford, and was admitted to the Inner 
Temple June 14, 1612. He had the use of the valu- 
able library of Sir Robert Cotton, and became inter- 
ested in Oriental subjects in his antiquarian re- 
searches, the fashion of the time seeking the origin of 
all things in Hebrew antiquity. He was an exceed- 
ingly voluminous writer, and was one of the leading- 
jurists on the side of the Parliamentarians in the 
struggle which led to the Civil war, undergoing im- 
prisonment for his opinions. 

Almost all of Selden’s works quote and refer to 
rabbinic opinions. Those of special interest to Jew- 
ish literature are: “A Treatise on the Jews in Eng- 
land,” published in 1617 by Purchas, who curtailed 
and mutilated it; “De Diis Syris” (1617), the first 
careful study of Plienician and Syrian mythology ; 
“ History of Tythes” (1617), in which he based his 
heretical views on rabbinic authorities; “De Succes- 
sione in Bona Defunctorum ad Leges Ebrseorum” 
(1631) ; “ De Suceessione in Pontificatum Ebrseorum ” 
(1636), dedicated to Laud; “De Jure Naturali et 
Gentium Juxta Diseiplinam Ebrseorum” (1640); 
“De Anno Civili et Calendario Yeteris Ecclesiae seu 
Reipublicm JudaicaB ” (1644); “ Uxor Ebraica seu de 
Nuptfisct Divortiis Veterum Ebrseorum Libri Tres” 
(1646) ; “ De Syncdriis Veterum Ebrseorum ” (1646), 
a work of which the second part appeared in 1653, 
and the unfinished third part posthumously. Re- 
prints of these works appeared on the Continent; 
and till nearly the end of the nineteenth century they 
were for the outer world the chief sources on their 
respective subjects. 

Selden was one of the earliest to deal with the 
views of the Karaite Jews, in his “ De Anno Civili ” ; 
and his work on the Jewish woman has been 
authoritative in all discussions of the subject. In 
his “Marmora Arundelliania ” (1629) he translates a 
few Hebrew inscriptions. The work “De Synhe- 
driis ” seems to have been written mainty to prove 
the proposition that mere priests should have no 
judicial or political power of any kind ; but that, on 
the other hand, the ordinary judges, such as the 
Rabbis and the 'members of the greater and smaller 
sanhedrin were, should sit in judgment in all cases, 
including those involving questions of religion. 
The erudition of the author is displayed in numerous 
quotations in Greek, Latin, Hebrew, Aramaic, Ara- 
bic, and all the languages of western Europe. 
Bibliography: Diet. National Biography. 

L. N. D.-J. 

SELEUCIA (Talmud, “Selik,” “Selika,” “Seli- 
kos,” Ket. 10b, Mak. 10a; Targum, “Salwakia,” 
“Salwak) r a”; Greek, ZeAeweia): 1. Greek colony 
founded about the end of the third century b.c. 
on Lake Merom. According to the inference of 
Gratz, based on the scholium to Meg. Ta‘au., the 
remnant of the Pharisees spared by Alexander Jan- 
nseus found a refuge there. Seleucia and Sogane 
were the first cities, after Gamala, to revolt from 
Agrippa in the revolution of 66 c.e. In his enumer- 
ation of the places conquered by Alexander Jannasus 
in eastern Syria, Josephus locates the town near 
Lake Semechonitis (“ B. J. ” iv. 1 , § 1). 



Seleucidae 

Seligrinaii 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


164 


2 . Parthian city on the Tigris, to which the 
Babylonian Jews, when hard pressed by the Gentile 
population, fled. The Greeks and Syrians of Seleu- 
cia, who were continually quarreling, became recon- 
ciled out of common hatred of the fugitives, of 
whom they killed 5,000 about 41 b.c. (Josephus, 
“ Ant.” xviii. 9, § 9). 

3. According to Schiirer. a citj r identical with 
Abila, which was situated 12 Roman miles east of 
Gadara. It is first mentioned in history in connec- 
tion with the conquest of Palestine by Antiochus 
the Great. The inhabitants called themselves le- 

/, EVKElg ’ Ajjl/uJJVOl . 

Bibliography: Griitz. Gesch. ii. 232; iii. 131, 48L ; Schiirer. 

Gesch. i. 2S3, ii. 127. 

J. S. 0. 

SEIiEUCID^ : Powerful Syrian dynasty, which 

exercised an influence on tlie .liistory of the Jews for 
two centuries (812-112 b.c.). 

Seleucus I. , Nicator (“ the victorious ”) : Founder 
of the line ; born about 857 ; died about 280. He 
was one of the generals of Alexander the Great, and 
was engaged in prolonged warfare with his rivals, 
the other Diadoclii. His victory at Gaza (812) se- 
cured for him dominion over Babylon and a great 
part of Asia Minor, while the battle of Ipsus (301) 
added Syria and Armenia to his kingdom. 

Seleucus reckoned the years of his reign from 312, 
which thus marks the beginning of the Seleueidan 
era (see Era). Since legal documents were dated 
according to this epoch, the Jews called it the “era 
of contracts” (“a?ra eontraetuum,” “minyan she- 
tarofc ”), although later both Jews and Syrians termed 
it the “Greek era” (“minyan Yewanim ”). It is 
generally reckoned from Oct. 1, 312, although the 
Babylonians, Syrians, and Jews, following an old 
custom, regarded it as beginning with 
The the spring of the 3 r ear 311 (see Ideler, 
Seleueidan “Handbueh der Ohronologie,” i. 450- 
Era. 453; Clinton, “Fasti Helleniei,” 2d 
ed., iii. 472; Wachsmutli, “Einleitung 
in das Studium der Alton Geschiclite,” p. 306, Leip- 
sic, 1895; comparative tables of the Greek Olym- 
pian, the Seleueidan, the Roman, and the Christian 
eras are given by Schiirer in liis “ Gescli.” 3d ed., i., 
appendix v.). The Seleueidan era was adopted in 
the Books of the Maccabees, as well as in those pas- 
sages of Josephus which he based on these apoc- 
ryplia. It was likewise used by the Oriental Jews 
and. Syrians until late in the Middle Ages, and is 
still occasionally employed by Jews in the East. 

The Hellenization of the Orient, begun by Alex- 
ander the Great, was eagerly furthered by the Seleu- 
cidse, and the Jews also were involved in the move- 
ment. Like the other Diadoclii, the Seleueidoe were 
founders of cities; and some of the Greek towns in 
Palestine may well date from the time of the first 
members of this dynasty, although the- country was 
still vassal to Egypt. Among the most important 
of these cities were Abila, Gadara, and 
Seleueidan Seleueia. The last-named, which was 

Cities. situated on the shores of Lake Merom, 
is frequently mentioned by Josephus 
and in rabbinical literature. In all cities founded 
by Seleucus in Asia Minor and Syria he granted the 
Jews full civil rights, especially in Antioch, the 


capital; and they retained these privileges until the 
time of Josephus (see Josephus, “Ant.” xii. 3,-§ 1; 
idem, “ Contra Ap.” ii. 4). This was a deed worthy 
of a great ruler, such as Seleucus I. proved himself 
to be; but the account of Josephus is very much 
doubted, and justly so, since it is intended only as 
an apology for the Jews. This same monarch is by 
implication referred to in Dan. xi. 5. 

According to Josephus (“Ant.” xii. 3, § 2), the 
rights of citizenship were conferred both on the 
Jews and on the lonians of Asia Minor by Antiochus 
IL, Theos (261-246), but in the year 14 b.c. the Hel- 
lenic population besought Marcus Agrippa to re- 
strict these privileges to themselves exclusively. 
The limitations of paganism rendered it impossible 
for the Jews of Hellenic cities to obtain civic rights 

at this time except when they were sufficiently 
numerous to form a separate communitj-, in -wliiclx 

case a royal act of grace sometimes placed them on 
an equal footing with the Greek communities (see 
Tarsus). 

Although Seleucus I. had regarded Ccele-Syria 
and Judea as his rightful domains and had left the 
Ptolemies in possession only because be had been 
obliged to do so, it was not until the reign of Anti- 
ociius III. the Great (223-187) that the Seleucidae 
felt themselves sufficiently strong to 
Seleucidae press their claim ; and from 218 to 198 
and Judea was racked by violent wars be- 
Ptolemies. tween the Ptolemies and tlieir rivals. 

Antiochus III. lost the great battle at 
Raphia in Judea (218); but by his victory at Paneas 
on the Jordan (198) lie Avon Judea and Phenicia. 
Judea then remained under Seleueidan sovereignty 
until 142, when it regained its independence through 
Simon Maccabeus. The Syrian rule, lioAvever, 
caused the inhabitants long to remember the milder 
and more tranquil Egyptian sway; and a Ptolemaic 
faction, to which the Jews, as a body, adhered, Avas 
maintained at Jerusalem., where it devoted its ener- 
gies to the interests of the Tobiads. 

The Seleucidae in Palestine followed in general 
outlines the policy of the Ptolemies. With them, 
as Avitli the Egyptian dynasts, the high priests con- 
tinued to be the heads of the Jewish communities; 
but the political governors of Palestine exercised 
greater powers under the Syrian rule, although 
they, in their turn, were subordinate to the gover- 
nor-general of Ccele-Syria. The well-known high 
priests and so-called Tobiads, Jason and Menelaus, 
are, according to Biichler, to be considered as 
political governors; and, since tradition generally 
regards them as high priests, Josephus is justified 
in saying (“Ant.” xx. 10, § 3) that Antiochus V., 
Eupator and liis viceroy Lysias Avere the first to 
depose a high priest ( i.e ., Menelaus). This refer- 
ence is apparently an evidence of a faA'orable atti- 
tude on the part of the Syrians; but the financial 
burdens imposed upon the JeAvs make their con- 
dition appear very Avretched. References to these 
taxes are found in a pseudo-Antiocliian decree ex- 
empting the elders, the priests, the scribes, and the 
singers in the Temple from the payment of the. 
poll-tax, the crown-tax, and other dues (ib. xii. 3, 

§3). 

Additional information is derived from incidents, 



165 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Seleucidee 

Seligman 


of the reign of Seleucus IV., Philopator (187- 
175), when Heliodokus forced liis way into the 
Temple at Jerusalem to seize .its treasures for the 
king. In addition to the high priest Onias III.„ a 
certain Simon seems to have officiated as political 
governor at that time; and it was apparently he, 
and not the high priest, who was responsible for the 
taxes, and who consequently called the king’s 
attention to the treasure in the Temple (II Mace. 

iii. 4). 

During the reign of Antiochus IV., Epiphanes 
(175-164) Jason paid 360 talents for the dignity 
which the king had conferred upon 
Taxation, him, and an additional 80 talents from 
another source of revenue (II Macc. 

iv. 8). The fact that part of this sum is mentioned 

as an “additional” stun justifies tlie inference- that 

it represents an excess offered hv Jason over the 
regularly established amount of the tax ; indeed, it 
is probable that even the sum of 360 talents included 
such an excess, the established sum evidently being 
300, which very likely had been paid during the 
reign of Seleucus IV. as well. Indeed, Sulpicius 
Severus asserts (“Sacra Historia,” ii. 17) that the 
Jews under the high priests paid Seleucus 300 talents, 
and he also mentions a similar sum as having been 
given to Antiochus Epiphanes. This statement 
agrees with the circumstance that Jonathan offered 
King Demetrius II. the sum of 300 talents to 
exempt Judea from taxation (I Macc. xi. 28). 

Seleucus IV. was extolled because he held the 
Temple in high honor, and also because he person- 
ally defrayed the cost of the sacrifices (II Macc. iii. 
3); but the only statements concerning Antiochus 
IV. record his brutal excesses against the Temple 
as well as against tlie Jewish people and their relig- 
ion. How this policy finally caused a crisis and put 
an end to the Seleueidan dominion in Judea is 
described elsewhere (see Jonathan Maccabeus: 
Judas Maccabeus; Simon Maccabeus). 

The succeeding members of the Seleueidan dy- 
nasty may be more briefly enumerated. The say- 
ing, generally ascribed to Josephus, that after the 
death of Antiochus VII., Sidktes, the Seleucidm 
were no cause of concern-to Hykcanus I., must be 
considerably modified ; for the dynasty had not yet 
relinquished its claims to Judea, and 
The Later it was still to cause the Jews many 
Seleucidse. difficulties. Antiochus IX., Cyzice- 
nus devastated Judea ; and it was only 
when he had been deserted by his Egyptian allies 
and had suffered great losses in warfare against his 
brother, that Hyrcanus ventured to besiege Samaria. 
Antiochus hastened to relieve the city, but was re- 
pulsed by the sons of Hyrcanus ; so that, after an- 
other raid through Judea, he was obliged to leave 
the Jews in peace. 

Alexander Jannjeus was much more powerful 
than his father, Hyrcanus, yet he was attacked and 
completely defeated by the Seleucid Demetrius III. 
at Shechem during the civil war brought on by the 
Pharisees, while even one of the last of the Seleu- 
ckhe, Antiochus XII., Dionysus, was strong enough 
to break through the fortifications of Alexander 
Jannams and to march straight across Judea against 
the Arabs. 


The Seleueidan dynasty gradually degenerated 
into condottieri, who served the powerful Greek 
cities with their mercenaries. As lords without 
lands, they led a precarious existence, and were able 
to demonstrate their military strength only when 
the vital interests of the Hellenic cities were at stake. 
Such an occasion was the war against the Jews 
which threatened the very existence of the Greek 
cities. The civil war which raged uninterruptedly 
after the year 112 b.c. finally broke the power of 
the Seleucidse (Gutsclimid, “Kleine Schriften,” ii. 
309). 

The Seleucidse are mentioned but rarely in rab- 
binical literature. An allusion in Seder ‘Olam Rab- 
bali xxx., which Zunz, however, de- 
In Rabbin- clares to be an interpolation, runs as 
leal follows: u In the Diaspora [Babylon 

Literature. Being- tlie place especially i mplieclj 

documents were dated according to 
the era of the Greeks” (comp. 4 Ab. Zarah 10: “in 
the Diaspora they reckon only according to the 
kings of the Greeks ”). Eight monarchs are then 
enumerated (all Diadochi, excepting Alexander the 
Great), among them Seleucus (Nicator), Antiochus 
(III., the Great), and Antiochus Epiphanes (comp. 
Seder *01am Zuta, ed. Neubauer, in “M. J. C.” ii. 
71). A midrash on Ps. ix. 8 (comp. Talk., Ps. 642) 
says that Alexander built Alexandria; Seleucus, 
Seleucia, i.e., Seleucia on the Tigris (see “R. E. J.” 
xliv. 38); and (this is stated first in the midrash) 
Antiochus, Antioch. Tlie Jewish sources show a 
more intimate knowledge of Antiochus Epiphanes 
only, this being due to I Macc., which makes him 
the immediate successor of Alexander the Great, 
as do also various other chronicles (“R. E. J.” 
xlv. 28). 

Bibliography: In addition to the passages in Polybius, Dio- 
dorus, Livy, and Justin, the main sources are I and II Macc.; 
Josephus, Ant. books xii.. xiii.; Eusebius, Chronicon ; and 
Jerome on Da n . xi. See also Clinton, Fast i Hellen ici ; Droy- 
sen, Gcsch. des Hellcnismus. 2d ed., 1877-78; Holm, Ch'iech- 
ischc Gescliichic , vol. iv., Berlin, 1874; Niese, Gesch. der 
Gricchischen uml Mahcdonischen Staaten, 1899; Herzfeld, 
Gesch. des Valkes Jisracl. i., passim ; Gratz, Gcsch. ii., iii., 
passim ; Schtirer, Gesch. 3d ed., i. 165-179 ; Wellhausen, I. J, 
G. 4th ed., pp. 258 ct scq. 

j. S. Kit. 

SELF-DEFENSE. See Homicide. 

SELIGMAN : American Jewish family having 
its origin in Baiersdorf, Bavaria. The eight sons of 
David Seligman have formed mercantile establish- 
ments spread throughout the chief commercial cen- 
ters of the United States. The eldest, Joseph, went 
to the United States in 1837 ; he was followed by his 
two brothers William and James in 1839, and by 
Jesse in 1S41. These established a small clothiug 
business at Lancaster, Pa. They then removed to 
Selma, Ala., and from there opened branch stores at 
Greensboro, Eutaw, and Clinton. In 1848 the Selig- 
mans, who had been joined by their younger broth- 
ers Henry and Leopold, determined on settling in the 
North. Accordingly Henry and Jesse established 
themselves in Watertown, N. Y., where the latter 
became acquainted with Lieutenant (afterward Gen- 
eral) Grant. In 1850, at the outbreak of the gold- 
fever in California, Jesse established a store in San 
Francisco, in the only brick building then existing, 
which escaped the fire of 1851. 







Seligrman 

Seligrsoim. 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


168 


In 1857 the clothing business had become so lucra- 
tive that it was decided to supplement it by a bank- 
ing business, Joseph Seligman, the 
Dealings head of the firm, going to Europe and 
with Uni- establishing relations with German 
ted States bankers, at the same time placing 
Govern- United States bonds on the Frankfort 
ment. Stock Exchange; since that period 
the firm of Seligman Brothers has 
been concerned with every issue of United States 
bonds. 

In 1862 Joseph Seligman established the firms of 
J. & W. Seligman & Co., New York; Abraham Se- 
ligmau & Co., San Francisco (subsequently merged 
with the Anglo-Californian Bank); Seligman Broth- 
ers, London; Seligman Freres et Cie., Paris; and 
Seligman & Stettheimer, Frankfort-on-the-Main. 

An interesting feature about the formation of 
these firms was that the profits and losses of all of 
them were divided equally among the eight brothers, 
who thus followed the business policy established by 
the Rothschilds and pursued by that family for many 
years. In 1879 the Seligmans, with the Rothschilds, 
took over the whole of the 8150,000,000 bonded loan 
of the United States. They have been financial 
agents for the Navy and the State Department of 
the United States since 1876, and are the accredited 
agents of that government both abroad and at home. 
.Besides their interests in United States bonds, the 
firm of J. & W. Seligman is connected with many 
railway companies, especially in the Southwest. 

In 1905 the members of the family established at 
their original home in Baiersdorf an institution for 
the training and support of children during the ab- 
sence of their parents at work, and open to all the in- 
habitants of Baiersdorf without distinction of creed. 

Bibliography: In Mcmoriam Jesse Seligman , New York, 
privatelv printed, 1894. 

Edwin Robert Anderson Seligman : Amer- 
ican political economist; born in New York April 
25, 1861; educated at Columbia University (Ph.D. 
1884); studied at the universities of Berlin, Heidel- 
berg, Geneva, and Paris. He became prize lecturer 
at Columbia in 1885, full professor in 1891, and is now 
(1905) head of the faculty of economics and sociology. 
He has particularly devoted himself to the economics 
of finance, on which he has written two important 
treatises; “Essays in Taxation,” 3d ed. 1900; and 
“The Shifting and Incidence of Taxation,” 2d ed. 
1899. He has written also “ Railway Tariffs, ” 1887 ; 
“Progressive Taxation in Theory and Practise,”’ 
1894; and “Economic Interpretation of History.” 
1902. 

Seligman has been president of the American Eco- 
nomic Association, besides being connected with 
many scientific and philanthropic societies. He was 
a member of the Committee of Seventy and secre- 
tary of the Committee of Fifteen in New York city; 
having shown great interest in municipal reform, lie 
became president of the Tenement-House Building 
Company of New York. He is likewise president 
of the Ethical Culture Society of New York. 
Bibliography: Who's Who in America, 1905. 

Isaac Newton Seligman : American banker and 
communal worker ; born in New York July 10, 1855 ; 


educated at Columbia Grammar School and Columbia 
College, from which he graduated in 1876. Ho was 
one of the crew which won the university eight-oar 
college race on Saratoga Lake in 1874. In 1878. after 
having finished an apprenticeship in the firm of 
Seligman & Heilman, New Orleans, he joined the 
New York establishment, of which he became head 
in 1880, on the death of his father, Joseph Seligman. 
He has been connected with almost all the important 
social-reform committees in New York, and is a 
trustee of nineteen important commercial, financial, 
and other institutions and societies, including the 
Munich Life Assurance Company, St. John’s Guild, 
and the McKinley Memorial Association, and has 
been a member of the Committee of Seventy, of 
Fifteen, and of Nine, each of which attempted at 
various times to reform municipal government in 
New York ; of the last-named body he was chairman. 
He is a trustee of Temple Emanu-El and of the 
Hebrew Orphan Asylum, as well as of the United 
Hebrew Charities, though lie is also a member of the 
Ethical Culture Society. 

Bibliography: Bankers' Magazine , March, 1899; Union 
Historical Association , 1901, special issue ; JYciv York Trib- 
une , July 4, 1899. 

Jesse Seligman ; American banker and philan- 
thropist; born at Baiersdorf, Bavaria, Aug. 11, 1827; 
died at Coronado Beach, Cal., April 23, 1894. He 
followed his brothers to the United States iu 1841, 
and established himself at. Clinton, Ala. In 1848 
he removed with his brothers to Watertown, N. 
Y., and thence, with 
his brother Leopold, 
went to San Fran- 
cisco in the autumn 
of 1850, where he be- 
came a member of 
the Vigilance Com- 
mittee, as well as of 
the Howard Fire 
Company. He re- 
mained in California 
till 1857, when lie 
joined his brother in 
establishing a bank- 
ing business in New 
York. With his 
brother Joseph he 
helped to found the 
Hebrew Orphan Jesse Seligman. 

Asylum in 1859, and 

was connected with it till his death. At the time of 
his death he was a trustee of the Baron de Hirsch 
Fund. He was a member of the Union League 
Club, of which he was vice-president, and from 
which he resigned in 1893 when the club for racial 
reasons refused to admit to membership his son 
Theodore. He was head of the American Syndicate 
formed to place in the United States the shares of 
the Panama Canal. 

Bibliography: Tn Mcmoriam Jesse Seligman , New York, 
privately printed, 1894, p. 229. 

Joseph Seligman: Founder of the firm of Se- 
ligmau Brothers; born at Baiersdorf, Bavaria, Nov. 
22, 1819; died at New Orleans April 25, 1880. He 
was educated at the gymnasium of Erlangen, from 




169 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Seligman 

Seligsohn 


which he graduated in 1838. He then studied med- 
icine, and in the same year went to the United States, 
-where he acted as cashier and private secretary to 
Judge Asa Packer, president of the Lehigh Valley 
Railway. Establishing himself as a dry-goods mer- 
chant at Greensboro, Ala., he was joined by his 
brothers, and soon acquired sufficient capital to open 
an importing house in New York (1848). At the out- 
break of the Civil war he founded the banking-house 
of J. & W. Seligman & Co., New York, having vis- 
ited Germany in order to acquire financial connec- 
tions in that country. In large measure the financing 
of the Civil war, so far as European capital was con- 
cerned, was managed by the Seligman firm. In 1877 
he rendered an important service to the Navy De- 
partment of the United States by holding over till the 
following fiscal year a large debt due to the film , for 
this he received the official thanks of the department, 
of which liis firm was thenceforth the financial rep- 
resentative. He was an intimate friend of President 

Grant, by whom he was at one time offered the post 
of secretary of the treasury, which he declined. 

Seligman was the founder of the Hebrew Orphan 
Asylum, and was one of the founders of the Society 
for Ethical Culture, toward which he contributed 
large amounts, and of which he was president till his 
death. For a number of years he was a member of 
the Board of Education of the City of New Y T ork, and 
lie was chairman of one of its most important com- 
mittees. He was a member of the famous Committee 
of Seventy, during the Tweed regime.. The first 
Rapid Transit Commission, which initiated the 
whole plan for better transportation facilities in 
New Y 7 ork, was presided over by him, and he was 
an early president of the American Geographical 
Society, in which he took much interest. 

In the summer of 1877 great indignation was 
aroused by the refusal of Judge Hilton., on racial 
grounds, to receive Mr. Seligman and 
The Judge his family at the Grand Union Hotel 
Hilton in Saratoga. It was the first incident 
Affair. of this kind that had occurred in the 
United States. It called forth most 
emphatic expressions of disapproval by represent- 
atives of various races and religions, and evoked a 
loug eulogy (June 27) on the Hebrew' race by Henry 
Ward Beecher. It is understood that the incident 
caused the ruin of A. T. Stewart’s store, then man- 
aged by Judge Hilton, and which was afterward 
taken over by John Wanamaker of Philadelphia. 

Bibliography: New York Tribune , July 4, 1S99. Henry 
Ward Beecher's eulogy was reprinted m The Menorah , 
March, 1905. T 

A. 

SELIGMANN, FRANZ ROMEO: Austrian 
physician and Persian scholar; horn at Nikolsburg 
June 30, 1808 ; died at Vienna Sept, 15, 1892. Edu- 
cated at the gymnasium and University of Vienna 
(M.D. 1830), lie became pri vat-docent at his alma 
mater in 1833. From that year to 1838 he was 
assistant at the Allgemeine Krankenliaus; in 1848 
lie received the title of professor; in 1850 lie was 
appointed assistant professor and in 1869 professor 
of the history of medicine. He resigned his uni- 
versity position in 1878. 

Of Seligmann’s works maybe mentioned: “De 


Re Medica Persarum” (Vienna, 1832), a translation 
and interpretation of the oldest Neo-Persian manu- 
script on medicine; “Liber Fundamentorum Phar- 
macologic Auctore Abu Mansar ” and “ Ueber Drei 
Hoclist Seltene Persisclie Handscliriften,” ib. 1833; 
“ Cotter, Satyren und Faune,” ib. 1838: “Die Heil- 
svsteme und die Volkskranklieiten,” ib. 1850 ; “ Adam 
Clienot und Seine Zeit,” ib. 1861; “Ueber Begrab- 
niss in Culturhistorischer Beziehung,” ib. 1864. 


Bibliography: Eisenberg, Das Geistige Wien , i., Vienna, 
1S93; Pagel, Biog. Lex. 


SELIGMANN, LEOPOLD, RITTER VON : 

Austrian army surgeon; born at Nikolsburg Jan. 
18, 1815; brother of Franz Romeo Seligmann. He 
received his education at the gymnasium of his na- 
tive town and at the University of Vienna, taking 
the medico-surgical course at the Joseph- Akademie 
(M.D. 1843). He was appointed assistant surgeon 
in the army in 1843, and surgeon in 1855, after the 
revolution in Italy. He took part in the "wars of 
1859 and 1866, both in Italy; from 1868 to 1876 he 
was attached to the Ministry of War at Vienna; he 
became surgeon-major in 1871, and resigned in 1876, 
with the rank of lieutenant-colonel. 

Besides his essays in the professional journals Se- 
ligmann has written “Gemeinniitzige Auszlige aus 
den Sanitatsvorscliriften zum Selbstuntericht fiir 
Reservearzte,” 1873. 

Bibliography: Eisenberg, Das Geistige Wien, ii., Vienna, 


SELIGSOHN, MAX : Russian- American Orien- 
talist; born in Russia April 13, 1865. Having re- 
ceived his rabbinical training at Slutsk, government 
of Minsk, be went in 1888 to New Y T ork, where he 
studied modern languages till 1894, iu which year 
lie went to Paris to study Oriental languages, espe- 
cially Semitics (“eleve diplome” of the Ecole des 
Langues Orientales, 1897, and of the Ecole des 
Hautes Etudes, 1900). In 1898 he was sent by the 
Alliance Israelite Universelle to Abyssinia to in- 
quire into the conditions of the Falashas; but, 
certain difficulties arising, he was able to proceed 
no farther than Cairo, where he taught for eighteen 
months. Returning to Paris, he was invited in 1902 
to go to New York to become a member of the staff 
of office editors of The Jewish Encyclopedia. 

Seligsohn is the author of: “Le Diwande Tarafali 
ibn al-‘Abd” (Paris, 1900), a translation from . the 
Arabic into French, witli notes and au introduction ; 
a French translation of “Kitab al-Raml,” an Arabic 
work on geomanc} 7 , with preface and notes ; (with 
E. N. Adler) “Une Nouvelle Chronique Samari- 
taine,” Paris, 1903. He is a contributor to the 
“Jewish Quarterly Review "and the. “Revue des 
Etudes Juives,” mostly on Judseo-Persian literature. 

A. F. T - H - 

SELIGSOHN, SAMUEL : Hebrew poet ; born 
at Samoczin, Posen, 1815: died there Oct. 3, 1866. 
He published “Ha-Abib” (Berlin, 1845), an epos. 
Another epos, on the destruction of Jerusalem, and 
various essays by him remained in manuscript. 

Bibliography: Orient, Lit. 1845, No. 23; AUg. Zeit. des Jud. 

1806, No. 45. p. 



Selihah 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


170 


SELIHAH (plural, Selihot): Penitential 
prayers ; perhaps the oldest portion of thesynagogal 
compositions known under the term of Piyyutim. 
The word “selihah ’’(from “salali ” = “he forgave ”) 
is particularly used in the Hagiograplia as meaning 
“ forgiveness ” ; in the Middle Ages it was em- 
ployed to designate penitential prayers and invo- 
cations for God’s clemency and forgiveness. Orig- 
inally selihot were instituted for the Day of Atone- 
ment only, the main object of that day’s service 
being to implore God’s forgiveness 
Originally for man’s sins; the service itself was 
for the Day called “ Seder Selihah ” (Eliyahu Zuta, 
of Atone- cli. xxiii.)- In the course of time New- 
ment. Year’s Day (Hosli ha-Shanah), being 
considered as the day of judgment 
(“yom ha-din ”), came to be regarded as the precur- 
sor of the Day of Atonement; consequently peni- 
tence and supplication for God’s mercy were felt to 
be necessary on that day also. The days interve- 
ning between New -Year and the Day of Atonement 
are therefore known as “penitential days,” and 
together with the two holy days just mentioned are 
generally called “the ten days, of repentance,” also 
“days of awe ” (“yamim nora’im ” ; comp. Ephraim 
b. Jacob’s selihah “Ani ‘Abdeka”); for these days 
also penitential prayers were arranged. The recita- 
tion of such prayers was then extended to several 
days before New-Y'ear — on which days even fast- 
ing was instituted (“Mordekai,” Yonni, No. 723; 
Aaron of Lunel, “Orhot Hayyim.” p. lOOd) — and 
sometimes to the whole month of Elul. 

Besides the above-mentioned fast-days several 
others were instituted (see Fasting and Fast -Days), 
as the Tenth of Tebet, the Thirteenth of Adar (Fast 
of Esther), the Seventeenth of Tamnmz, the Ninth 
of Ab, and various occasional fast-days in com- 
memoration of epidemics or other calamities (comp. 
Pukims, Special). On these days, according to the 
Mislmah (Ta‘an. ii. 1), the service was opened with 
an exhortation to repentance, and was consequently 
suitable for the introduction of penitential prayers 
or selihot. 

Originally the synagogal service consisted mainly 
of Biblical passages selected for the occasion and 
grouped together (comp. Yer. Ber. v. 1; Sotali 39b; 
Massek. Soferim xiv. 8). The term “selihot” was 
applied to such verses for the Day of Atonement by 
Amram Gaon in his “Siddur” and later by Abudar- 
ham (Abudarham, p. 91a). Afterward, when the 
verses were accompanied by piyyutim of a peniten- 
tial character, the whole was termed "selihot,” the 
Biblical verses being termed “ pesuke rizzui selihah ” 
(=r “verses invoking God’s willingness to forgive”; 
Amram Gaon, “Siddur ”). or, In* the Karaites, “pe- 
suke teshubah ” (= “ verses of penitence ”). 

As God is generally styled “ Lord of forgiveness 
and mercies” (“Ba'al ha-selihot welia-rahamim ” ; 
comp. Dan. ix. 9), the penitential pra} r ers are called 
also “ rah ami in ” or “ rahamanivyot ” (Amram and 
Saadia in their “Sidd u rim”; ITai Gaon, Responsa). 
These terms are applied particularly to the supplica- 
tions (“ bakkashot ”) which depict the sufferings of 
Israel and to the shorter Invocations of God’s mercy ; 
and the Biblical verses in these selihot are called 
“ pesuke de-rahame ” (Tos. to Ber. 5a, Meg. 32a, 


and ‘Ab. Zafah 8a). It may be said, however, that 
with only one exception (in the selihah beginning 
“Aromimeka Shem ”) the authors of 
“Sup- penitential piyyutim do not refer to 
plication ” their compositions as selihot. Forgive- 
Rather ness, which is the real meaning of “ seli- 
than “For- hah,” comes only from God, while the 
giveness.” composition itself is in reality a sup- 
plication for forgiveness. It is there- 
fore variously referred to by the authors of selihot 
as “bakkashah,” “hitirah,” “tehinnah,” “tahanun,” 
and other terms, all meaning “supplication.” 

With the gradual extension iu the course of time 
of the synagogal service for the Day of Atonement 
a distribution of the selihot became necessary. Those 
connected with the Kerobot were spread over the 
five services of the Day of Atonement, each of 
which was now called “ ma‘amad, ” a term frequently 
met with in synagogal poetry, particularly in that 
of Isaac ibn Ghayyat. The earliest selihot, after the 
Biblical verses were accompanied by penitential 
compositions, were very simple. One of them, be- 
ginning “Mi slie-‘anali,” is mentioned in Ta‘an. ii. 
2-4 as having been recited in the service of the fast- 
days, and as having been interpolated in the six 
benedictions aclded to the daily eighteen (see She- 
moneii ‘Eskeii). Of the other better-known early 
selihot maybe mentioned “El melek yosheb ” and 
“El erek appayim,” both being introductions to the 
thirteen attributes of God (see Middot, Siielosh- 
‘Eskeii), and “Shomer Yisrael,” which has been in- 
corporated iu the daily morning prayer. The fast- 
davs offering an opportunity for the composition of 
selihot in which the people might tell of their 
misery, confess their sins, and implore God’s mercy 
and love, a poetic selihah literature began to develop 
iu the Middle Ages, similar to the Psalm literature 
of more ancient times. Both the selihot and the 
Psalms treat of exile, oppression, and martyrdom; 
both contain the people’s confession of their sins 
and repentance; both represent the vanity of life; 
and both are the creation of several centuries. 
There is, however, this difference between them: 
the selihot were composed in the metrical style of 
the surrounding nations— the Syrians, Byzantines, 
and Arabs — which is entirely lacking in the Psalms. 

The first p^mtim, including the poetic selihot, 
were composed , probably in the course of the 
seventh century. The oldest poetic selihot arc in 
the form of litanies, consisting of short sentences, 
sometimes arranged in alphabetical order, and 
sometimes having terminations evidencing an at- 
tempt to rime. From such litanies 
Earliest originated the rimeless selihah, com- 
Poetic posed after the model of the alpha- 
Selihot. hetical Psalms, in sentences of equal 
length. Sometimes, also, the sentences ' 
are subdivided ; so that a kind of rhythm prevails 
throughout the selihah. In the course of time the 
construction of the selihot became still more elabo- 
rate, as is 'seen in the one beginning “ Attali mebin 
sarappe leb,” in which each division consists of 
three sections of two sentences each. All the sections 
of a division begin with the same letter ; and the con- 
cluding word of one section is the commencing word 
of the next. A transition to rimed selihot now en- 



171 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Selihah 


sued which consisted mostly of three-lined strophes, 
the third line being generally a Biblical passage. 
The four-lined strophe of the “ kerobali ” also w as 
adapted to the selihah; and many selihot of this 
kind were written as early as the ninth, perhaps 
even in the eighth, century. The alphabetical seli- 
hot are composed either in -mK or in pnsyn order; 
and here again the concluding word of one strophe 
is employed to begin the next. In the four-lined 
strophes, likewise, the fourth is often a Biblical 
passage ; sometimes all the lines of a strophe begin 
with the same word. Certain selihot have no divi- 
sions, being simply arranged in alphabetical order; 
and, like the Arabic “kasidah,” they have one and 
the same rime throughout the whole composition. 
This arrangement is met with even in the old peni- 
tential prayers, but is most prevalent in the opening 
selihah (“petihali”), in the tehinnali, and in the 
metrical bakkashali. Thus, it may be seen that all 
the more elaborate characteristics of the piyyutim 
in general, such as division into strophes, connecting 
words, middle rimes, and variation of Biblical pas- 
sages, are met with even in the older selihot. 

Like the other piyyutim, the selihot are, accord- 
ing to their poetic arrangement, called “sheniyyah 77 
(= 14 of two-lined strophes ”), “ shelishiyyali ” (= “ of 
three-lined strophes”), and “skalmonit” (=“ en- 
tire 77 ; i.e., of four-lined strophes; Dukes and Zunz, 
however, explain “shalmonit” as indicating that the 
composition was written by Solomon b. Judah ha- 
Babli. This is scarcely probable, as several slialmo- 
nivyot were by other authors; see “Ila-Maggid,” 
ix*. , No. 36). 

When, in early times, the term “selihot” was ap- 
plied to the whole body of penitential compositions, 
including the collection of Biblical verses and 
prayers written in prose, any poetic penitential com- 
position divided into strophes was called a Pizmon. 
But in the course of time the appellation “selihah ” 
became restricted to poetic penitential compositions, 
and the term “ pizmon ” was then applied onh r to 
hymns provided with refrains. In the artistic de- 
velopment of the selihah the strophes acquired a 
certain rhythm. Thus in the sheniyyah the lines 
are seen to be composed either throughout of five 
words each or of a varying number ranging from 
three to seven. The sheniyyah is sometimes pro- 
vided, too, with a middle rime, either only in the 
first line, as in the selihah “Torah lia-kedosliah,” or 
in both lines, as in Eleazar of Worms’ well-known 
selihah “ Maknise raliamim.” Special 
The mention should be made of Isaac b. 

Various Yakar’s sheniyyah “ Arid be-sihi,” in 

Forms. which the middle rime occurring in 

both lines is the same as the final rime. 
Moreover, the second hemistich begins with the final 
word of the first. In the shelishiyyali the lines 
generally consist of three or four words each. Blit 
the greatest number of the older selihot consist of 
slmlmoniyyot or four-lined strophes, most of which 
have no final Biblical verse. In the last-mentioned 
class the number of words is very rarely fixed, gen- 
erally varying from three to seven. There are, 
however, some in which the lines consist through- 
out of three words each, as in Solomon b. Judah’s 
“Omerah la-El.” or of four words, as in Judah 


Leonte b. Moses’ “Laliasli zakun liakslieb.” Gen- 
erally the four lines of each strophe have the same 
rime, but sometimes, particularly in the Spanish and 
Italian selihot, they have an alternate and also a 
middle rime. Certain four-lined pizmonim, such as 
Samuel ha-Kohen’s “ Mal’ake raliamim,” have also a 
common rime for the concluding lines of the strophes. 
Selihot of more than four lines are found only in 
pizmonim and tahaniiiiim belonging to the period 
beginning with Ibn Gabirol. Tlie strophes in such 
selihot have from five to twelve lines each; and in 
the former case the fifth line of the first strophe, 
riming with the preceding four lines, becomes the 
refrain of the whole hymn. It may be added that 
besides the two alphabetical arrangements men- 
tioned above, other alphabetical combinations, called 
Gematiua (comp. Yer. Ta’an. iii. 10; Pesik. R. 43; 
Raslii on Isa. vii. 6 and on Pes. 5a), are met with, 
namely, BO DK, D2 DilN, and “D2 

The word with which the selihah begins shows that 
its selection is due to a certain influence. Thus, 
owing to the common practise of arranging verses 
in alphabetical order the selihot most frequently be- 
gin either with “alef ” or with “taw,” even when 
the composition is not arranged alphabetically. 
Very often also tliev begin with the same letter as 
the author’s name; many others begin with a Bib- 
lical passage ; others, again, with one of the names 
of God. Some of the older selihot begin with the 
concluding word of the preceding one, as if to indi- 
cate a continuation. 

The selihot for holy days are historical and liag- 
gadie in character, and resemble therefore the kero- 
bot and dirges (“kinot”). But those composed for 
the Ten Days of Repentance present a greater variety 
of material, and are divided into the following 
categories: exhortations (“tokahot”); those dealing 
with the sacrifice of Isaac (“ ‘akedali ”) ; those de- 
scribing persecutions (“ gezerot ”) ; those commemo- 
rating the execution of the ten martyrs; and suppli- 
cations (“tehinnot”). The tokahah originated in 
the hortatory addresses delivered on the fast-days, 
warning the people against sin, and 
The consist mainly either of sheiiiyvot or 
Different of slielishiyyot. Many of the latter 

Classes, belong to ancient unknown authors; 

others, to Solomon b. Judah, Gershom 
b. Judah Me’or ha-Golah, Simeon b. Isaac, etc. For 
the sacrifice of Isaac see ‘Akedaii. The gezerot 
depict in particular those voluntary sacrifices made 
for the sake of the Jewish religion, and therefore 
come in close connection with the ‘Akedali in the 
service for the Day of Atonement. Such selihot 
originate almost exclusively in France and Germany ; 
and among their authors are found Ephraim b. Jacob 
of Bonn, David b. Samuel lia-Levi, David b. Meshul- 
lam, and Joel ha-Levi; there are also some anony- 
mous selihot of this category. The Midrasli Eleli 
Ezkerah, narrating how ten prominent Talmudists 
suffered martyrdom b} r order of a Roman emperoi , 
is the basis of selihot recited on the Ten Days of Re- 
pentance and also on the Ninth of Ab (see Martvks, 
the Ten). These compositions are called “ Selihot 
‘Asarali Haruge Malkut, 77 their authors including 
Saadia Gaon (the earliest), Eliezer b. Nathan, and 
Ephraim b. Jacob of Bonn. Of this class there are 



Selihah. 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


172 


also three anonymous selihot, in which there is a 
disagreement both with regard to the names of the 
ten martyrs and the cause of their martyrdom. 

Of the selihali-composers that lived before Hai 
Gaon, only three are known: Jose b. Jose (end of 
6th cent.), supposed to be the author of the seliliah 
“ Omnam ashamenu,” recited in the evening service 
for the Day of Atonement; Saadia Gaon, who in his 
“ Siddur ” added his own compositions to the selihot 
of earlier payyetanim ; and Meborak b. Nathan (a 
contemporary of Saadia), among whose selihot is one 
beginning “MaddiuV narim rosh,” recited also in the 
evening service for the Day of Atonement. About 
the beginning of the eleventh century selihot of all 
kinds and in increasing numbers were composed in 
Greece, Italy, France (including Provence), and 
Spain, and about half a century later, Germany. 
The earliest composer of that period was Solomon 
b. Judah ha-Babli, of whose selihot almost all are of 
four-lined strophes or shalmoniyyot. A junior con- 
temporary of Solomon was Sliephatiah b. Amittai, 
author of the well-known pizmon “ Yisracl noslia* ” ; 
and a generation later flourished Gershom b. Judah 
Me’orha-Golah, author of selihot of different forms, 
and his countryman Simeon b. Isaac b. Abun, 
among whose numerous piyyutim are twenty-four 
selihot. But the most prolific selih all-composer of 
the eleventh century was Benjamin b. Zerah, author 
of forty selihot found in the Malizor 

Authors of the German rite. Toward the end 
of Selihot. of the eleventh century selihot were 
composed by the following: Bashi, 
some with Biblical and some with haggadic phrases; 
Me’ir b. Samuel, Kashi’s son-in-law; Me'ir b. Isaac 
of Orleans; Amittai b. Sliephatiah; and Zebadiah. 

The earliest of the German selihali-composers of 
that epoch was Mei'r b. Isaac b. Samuel of Worms 
(<?. 1060), an eminent Talmudist, who presented Bib- 
lical subjects in the Talmudic style. His contem- 
porary Isaac b. Moses ha-Makiri was the author of 
two selihot, in one of which, like Benjamin b. Zerah, 
he artistically interwove the Twenty-two Lettered 
Name. In the eleventh century Borne, too, pro- 
duced skilful selihali-composers. among the earliest 
of whom were Shabbethai b. Moses (e. 1050); his son 
Kalonymus, who soon after 1070 was called to 
Worms; and Jehiel b. Abraham, probably the father 
of Nathan b. Jehiel, author of the “‘Aruk.” Seli- 
hah-composers of the first half of the twelfth cen- 
tury whose native country can not be ascertained 
are: Elijah b. Shemaiah; several authors named 
Moses; Samuel b. Judah; Samuel b. Isaac; Isaac 
ha-Kohen he-Haber, author of the rimeless seliliah 
beginning “Adon be-fokdeka”; Benjamin b. 
author of two selihot; and a certain Joseph, author 
of three. Of the most prominent German selihah- 
writersof the twelfth century may be mentioned the 
following: Eliezer b. Nathan, who described tlie 
horrors of the Crusades in 1096 and 1146; Moses b. 
Samuel; Joel b. Isaac ha-Levi; Abraham b. Samuel 
of Speyer; Ephraim b. Isaac of Begensburg; and 
Ephraim b. Jacob of Bonn. Indeed, the twelfth cen- 
tury was particularly favorable for selihali-com posi- 
tion owing to the cruelties of the Crusades. One of 
the most prolific German selihali-composers of the 
end of the twelfth century and the beginning of tlie 


thirteenth was Eleazar b. Judah of Worms, who lost 
his family in one of the Crusades (1193 or 1196 or 
1214), and who composed no less than thirty-fi ve seli- 
hot, some of which are alphabetically arranged, and 
all of which begin with “alef.” Moreover, a great 
many of the anonymous selihot belong to this cen- 
tury, which is therefore considered the golden epocli 
of the piyyut in general and of the seliliah in par- 
ticular. 

More elaborate are the penitential prayers of the 
Spanish liturgists from the beginning of the elev- 
enth century. These writers, occupying themselves 
with Hebrew grammar and following the Arabic 
poets, adopted instead of the piyyutic the poetic 
style proper. They introduced meter into the seli- 
hah; and Solomon ibn Gabirol’s pizmon “Slie'eh 
ne’esar,” recited on the Seventeenth of Tammuz, is a 
real poem. Scarcely less poetic are the selihot of -Ibn 
Gabirol’s junior contemporary Isaac ibn Ghayyat. 
In the twelfth century the most prolific Spanish com- 
posers of poetic selihot were Moses ibn Ezra (the 
u Sallah, ” or composer of selihot), and Judah ha-Levi ; 
and these were followed as models by later payyeta- 
nim in Italy and in Provence and the rest of France. 

During the period extending from 1240 to 1350 
the poetic spirit declined even in Spain, owing to 
the study of the speculative sciences which absorbed 
the Jewish mind. Still there was at that time a con- 
siderable number of payyetanim ; and in Germany 
they were almost exclusively selihali-composers. 
The most active centers of selihah-composition at 
that time were Borne and Greece ; and many Kara- 
ites were among those who wrote selihot in those 
countries. The most noteworthy composers of the 
period in question were Moir of Botlienburg; Ben- 
jamin b. Abraham Anaw, in Borne, who skilfully 
imitated the Spanish pizmon and “mustajab 
Isaac b. Meshullam ; Immanuel b. Solomon of Borne ; 
and Judah b. Shemariab. 

In the two centuries between 1350 and 1540 the 
composition of synagogal poetry was confined almost 
exclusively to southern countries. The selihot of 
that period were not always called forth by certain 
events or by the poetic impulse of their 

Selihah. authors. Certain composers wrote seli- 

Poets, hot in which they gave expression to 

1350- their personal sufferings, adapting 

1540. their utterances to the theological 

teachings of the time, that is to say, 
either of the Zohar or of the “Moreh.” About 1400 
many penitential hymns were composed as the re- 
sult of rivalry between pairs of liturgists who, 
choosing the same Biblical subject, employed differ- 
ent Biblical words for the termination of the selihah- 
strophes. Among such competitors may be men- 
tioned Nissiin and Abraham ha-Levi in Provence, 
Elkanali b. Shemariah and Samuel b. Shabbethai, 
as well as Caleb and Moses Ilazzan in Greece. 
Throughout this period many sanguinary persecu- 
tions occurred ; and especially cruel were those of 
the fourteenth century.. Abigdor Kara, in a seliliah 
beginning “El nekamot,” describes the massacres of 
Prague in 1389. 

From what has been said it will be seen that dur- 
ing these four centuries there is a difference in the 
selihot of the payyetanim of Spain and those com- 





Selihali 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


174 


posed in other countries. The motive that prompted 
selihak - composition was everywhere the same, 
namely, persecution ; hut in Spain in the eleventh 

and twelfth centuries besides this motive there was 
a poetic impulse as well. The difference, too, is seen 
in the number as well as in the character of the 
selihot; for, while 1,200 of them Avere composed in 
France, Italy, Greece, and Germain*, by about 250 
authors, no less than 1,000 piyyutim. among which 
were many selihot, were composed by the five Span- 
ish poets Solomon ibn Gabirol, Isaac ibn Ghayyat, 
Moses ibn Ezra. Judah ha-Levi, and Abraham ibn 
Ezra. It may be added that only some of these 
composers are known also as teachers, rabbinical 
authors, or cantors, while in tlie case of most of them 
the names are known only through their compo- 
sitions. 

In the middle of the sixteenth century the stand- 
ard rituals of both the Ashkenazim and the Sephar- 
dim were fixed. Thus, although the following two 
centuries (1540-1750), owing to their many persecu- 
tions and massacres, produced a considerable number 
of composers of selihot, these compo- 

Selilaah.- si Lions were either not adopted at all 

Authors, for the synagogal service or were 
1540- adopted only in their respective coun- 
1750. tries and only for special days. Of the 
Italian, German, and Polish composers 
of the first of these two centuries may be mentioned 
the following : Samuel Arche volti in Padua; Eliezer 
b. Elijah (d. 1586). who removed from Egypt to Bo- 
hemia and thence to Poland ; Akibab. Jacob (d. 1597) 
in Frankfort-on-the-Main ; Moses Mordecai Margo- 
lioth (d. 1616) in Cracow; and Samuel Edels (Ma- 
HaRSHA)in Posen, the last two being composers of 
selihot commemorating the martyrs of 1596. In the 
period between 1640 and 1750 the Thirty Years’ war 
and the massacres of the Jews under Cumielnicki 
led to the composition of the earliest selihot; the 
sufferings caused by the Thirty Years* Avar being 
described in selihot by Samson Bacharach of Prague 
and by an unnamed payyetan in Kremsier, while 
the horrors committed by the Cossacks in Nemirov, 
the Ukraine, and Poland are commemorated by 
Yom-Tob Lipmann Heller, Shabbetliai ha-Kohen 
(SHaK), Moses Colien, Sclieftel Horwitz, Joseph of 
Gnesen, and Gabriel b. Heschel. The selihot of 
Shabbetliai ha-Kohen have been adopted by the 
Polish communities, which recite them on the Twen- 
tieth of Siwan. Later sufferings in Poland are com- 
memorated in selihot by Wolf b. Lob and Joseph b. 
Uri, both of whom flourished at the end of the 
seventeenth century. Of other selihali -composers 
may be mentioned : Abraham Auerbach in Cosfeld 
(1674), Aaron b. Eliezer, Naphtali ha-Kohen (d. 
1717), Samuel b. Moses of Lithuania, aud Jacob b. 
Isaac of Poseu. Among the Italian selihali- writers 
Avere: Joseph Ravenna, Moses Zacuto, Solomon 
Nizza (1700), and Isaac Pacifico (d. 1746); aud 
among the best-known German selihah-composers 
Avere: Samuel Schotten, David Oppenheimer, Jacob 
London (1730), and Lemcl Levi, who, at the siege of 
Glogau (1741), composed abakkasliahin four- versed 
strophes. At that time there was in Amsterdam 
Abraham Hezekiah Baslian, avIio composed a rimed 
tehinnah for the Ten Daj's of Repentance. The 


latest selihali-composer seems io have been a certain 
Moses who, driven from Russia about this time, set- 
tled in tlie Crimea. 

The composition of many of the later selihot Avas 
due to causes other than persecutions. Thus, Avlien 
societies for early devotion (“shomerim Ja-boker”) 
were formed, the necessity for special prayers was 
felt; and selihot were composed for such occasions. 
Moreover, epidemic diseases, drought, fires, and Avars 
gave rise to selihot supplicating God’s mercy and 
the intervention of angels: 

The main divisions of the selihot are two, Sephar- 
dic and Ashkenazic, each of which presents various 
local differences. These two divisions 
Among differ from each other with regard to 
Sephardim (1) the number of the selihah days (the 
and Ash- Sephardim having the larger), (2) the 
kenazim. nature of the selihot. and (3) their ar- 
rangement. The Sephardic collection 
is the older. In the time of Amram Gaon, as ap- 
pears from his ‘‘Skldiir,” selihot Avere composed for 
all the fast-days, including the Ninth of Ah, on 
which day the Ashkenazim recite only kinot (see 
Kissati). But even in Amram ’s time the practise 
differed in certain communities with regard to the 
introductory selihali, Avhich in some places Avas 
“Lo be-hesed Ave-lo be-ma'asim banu le-faueka,” in 
others “Atanu *al sliimka ” or “Abinu malkenu 
abinu attah.” Eacli of these introductory selihot 
A\ r as common to all the fast-davs, and after it special 
selihot appropriate to the occasion were recited. In 
Amram’s time the selihot were recited in the middle 
of the sixth prayer of the “ Shemoueh ‘Esreli ” ; 
later they were transferred to its end. Except at 
Ferrara, this is noAv the custom observed by both 
the Sephardim and the Ashkenazim (Shulhan 
*Aruk, Orah Hayyim, 566, 4). 

The Sephardic collection contains selihot (1) for 
the Ten Days of Repentance, which, like the Ash- 
kenazic selihot for those days, are generally printed 
separately ; (2) for New- Year and the Day of Atone- 
ment, which are incorporated in the Sephardic Mah- 
zor; and (3) for public fast-days, which are pub- 
lished in the ritual. The recital of selihot for the 
penitential days begins, according to Hai Gaon, on 
the first day of Elul, as is the custom in Yemen 
and Venice. In certain places, hoAvever, they are 
first recited on the fifteenth of the same month, 
Avhile in others again they are recited only on the 
days between NeAv-Yearand the Day of Atonement. 
Unlike the selihot for the public fast-days, these are 
recited before dawn, that is to say, in the last night- 
watch ; tlie} r are therefore called “ Seder ashmoret 
ha-boker. 77 

Besides the penitential prayers Avhich are common 
to all days on Avhich selihot are recited, such as the 
introductory selihot and the thirteen attributes of 
God, Avitli their two introductions, there are two or 
more special seliliot for each week-day as well as for 
each of the days between New-Ycar and the Day of 
Atonement. On New-Ycar the Sephardim recite 
only a feAv selihot, namely, one beginning “Elohai 
al tedineni,” before Nisiimat, a pizmon after the 
“Sliaharit” prayer — that for the first day begin- 
ning “Le-ma‘anka Elohai 77 and composed by David 
ibn Pakuda, and that for the second day begin- 



175 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Selihali 


ning “Ya'aneh be-bor abot”— and a long pizmon 
beginning “ 'Et slia'are razon le-hippateali,” before 

tlie blowing- of the sliofar. On the Day of .A-tone- 

ment selihot consisting of confessions (“widduyim”) 
and pizmonim are recited in all the live services. 

Tire selihot for public fast-days consist of those 
arranged for the five. universal fast-days, namely, 
the Third of Tisliri (Fast of Gedaliali), the Tenth of 
Tebet, the Thirteenth of Adar (Fast of Esther), the 
Seventeenth of Taninniz, and the Ninth of Ah, and 
those compiled for the Minhah service of these .five 
days and for that of the eve of New Moon. At the 
morning service of each of the five fast-days there 
are recited, besides the ordinary selihot, two or three 
special ones and a pizmon. The Minhali service 
lias one compilation for all the five days and another 
for the twelve eves of New Moon. Both compila- 
tions begin with the selihali “Sliema‘ koli,” which 
opens the Minhah service, except on the eve of 
New-Year, when the service is opened with the seli- 
hah beginning “ Elohai al tedineni.” The morning 
service of the Ninth of Ab lias comparatively few 
selihot, their place being occupied by kinot. It may 
be said that in Saadia’s “Siddur” all the piyyutim 
recited on the Ninth of Ab are termed selihot, 
though in reality many of them are dirges. Some 
selihot are recited by the Sephardim on the seventh 
day of the Feast of Tabernacles (Hoshahia Babbali) 
also, this day being considered one of the penitential 
days. 

As stated above, the Sephardic selihot differ ac- 
cording to the localities in which they are employed ; 

consequently selihali collections based 

Develop- on the customs of the Sephardic com- 
ment munities of Yemen, Tripoli, Venice, 
of Selihot. and other places are met with. As al- 
ready mentioned, Amram’s “ Siddur ” 
indicates differences of practise concerning the intro- 
ductory selihali. Later on, with the development of 
the selihot literature, these local differences became 
still more marked, each community choosing certain 
selihot and deciding the method of arrangement. 
The differences extend also to the grouping of the 
Biblical verses to which the poetic selihot are at- 
tached. Some examples may be given here. The 
Tripolitan collection lias for every selihali morning 
eleven selihot, different for each day, and beginning 
with a “petiliali ” and terminating with a “liatanii.” 
On the days which precede New-Year special closing 
selihot, mostly by Isaac ibn Ghayyat, are recited. 
There are also selihot for the Sabbath service of the 
Ten Days of Repentance. The selihali collection of 
Oran and Tlemcen has six selihot for each of the 
twenty -five selihali nights, the services for which 
are always opened and in most eases closed by Isaac 
ibn Giiayyat’s compositions. A manuscript collec- 
tion of African selihot (Neubauer, “Cat. Bodl. Hebr. 
MSS. 77 No. 1162) contains 391 for twenty-six selihali 
nights preceding and six nights following New- 
Year, the numbers for each night varying from nine 
to nineteen. The Tripolitan selihali collection con- 
sists chiefly of Isaac ibn Ghayyat’s compositions, 
the remainder being by Solomon ibn Gabirol. Judah 
ha-Levi, Moses Kimhi, and David ibn Pakuda. 

The Ashkenazic selihali division comprises : selihot. 
for the penitential days, generally published sepa- 


rately under the title “Seder Selihot 77 or simply 
“Selihot”; those for the services of the Day of 

Atonement, generally incorporated in tlie jVIalizor - 

and those for the public fast-days together with the 
occasional selihot, all incorporated in the prayer- 
books. The recitation of the main Ashkenazic seli- 
hot for the penitential days begins on the Sunday 
before New-Year, or, if the first day of the lat- 
ter falls on Monday or Tuesday, on tlie Sunday of 
the preceding week. Thus the number of tlie seli- 
hali days before New-Year varies from four to eight; 
each of these days lias special selihot assigned to it, 
as has also, in all cases, the eve of New-Year. The 
number of selihot for the New-Year Day is consid- 
erably larger than that for the other penitential 
days. Then follow the, selihot for the six days (ex- 
cepting Sahhatli) between New-Year and the Day of 
Atonement, beginning with the Fast of Gedaliali 
and terminating with the eve of the Day of Atone- 
ment. All the selihot of tlie penitential days, in- 
cluding those of the Fast of Gedaliali, are recited 
by the Ashkenazim before dawn. The selihot 
compiled for the public fast-days include those 
arranged for Monday, Thursday, and Monday fol- 
lowing the feasts of Passover and Tabernacles, 
and those arranged for tlie three obligatory fast- 
days, the Tenth of Tebet, the Thirteenth of Adar 
(Fast of Esther), and the Seventeenth of Tamrnuz. 
It should he stated that the selihot of Monday, 
Thursday, and Monday are recited only if there 
are ten men of the congregation fasting. Like 
the Sephardic Minhah selihot for every eve of New 
Moon, some Ashkenazic siddurim include a compila- 
tion of selihot entitled “ Torn Kippur 
For Yom Katon.” These are taken from other 
Kippur selihali collections and used to be re- 
Katon. cited each month in the Minhah service 
of the eve of New Moon, if the quorum 
of fasters was present. This custom, however, has 
become almost obsolete, the selihot being recited 
only on the eve of the New Moon of Elul. It 
lias been remarked above that the selihot for the 
Ninth of Ah were later superseded in the Ashke- 
nazic rite by kinot. In Germany, Poland, and Italy 
this change was made as early as the thirteenth cen- 
tury; but in the siddurim of Provence and Avi- 
gnon some traces of selihot. for that fast-day still 
remain. Like the Sephardic selihot, those of the 
Ashkenazic rite differ in various countries with 
regard to selection, number, and arrangement. 
Thus, while in Germany, Lithuania, and Poland the 
number recited oil the eve of New-Year is consider- 
ably greater than that on the eve of the Day of 
Atonement, the contrary is the case at Avignon and 
Carpentras. Again, a difference between the two 
latter communities exists with regard to the selection 
and number of the selihot. Moreover, special seli- 
hot are recited on special days in various places in 
commemoration of certain mournful local events. 
Tlie best known of the local selihali days are: Nisan 
1, at Erfurt; Nisan 23, at Cologne and some other 
places, in commemoration of the massacres of 1147 ; 
Iyyar 23, at Worms; Si wan 20, in France, England, 
and the Rhine provinces, in commemoration of the 
martyrs of Blois in 1171 ; tlie same date, in Poland 
since the Climiehiicki massacres (1649) ; Tebet 29, at 



Selihah 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


176 


Worms; Adar 2, at Prague, in commemoration of 
the troubles of 1611; and Adar 29, at Nuremberg 
and Fiirtli. A selihah composed by Shabbetliai 
Sofer in 1630, to be recited by the community of 
Przemysl on the eve of the New Moon of Nisan, 
lias recently been discovered and has been published 
in “ Ha-Shalnir ” (ii. 157). It consists of four-lined 
strophes and is arranged alphabetically ; it relates a 
sanguinary event which befell the community of 
Przemysl," and describes the martyrdom of some 
Jewish families. 

There are special selihot for the members of the 
Hebha Kaddisiia, the established da}* for the re- 
cital of which is generally the fifteenth 
For of Kislew, although different eom- 

Special inunities have different arrangements. 

Occasions. For example, the selihot for the hebra 
kaddisha of Halberstadt differ from 
those for the Frankfort-on-the-Main society; the 
Lemberg liebra recites its special selihot on the 
Thursday of Shemot, while that of .Cracow recites 
its own selihot on the Monday of the same week. 
In certain places selihot are recited on Mondays and 
Thursdays of Shemot, Wa’era, Bo, Besliallali, Yitro, 
Mishpatim, Terumah, and Tezawweh (nn 
in a leap-year. These selihot were first recited in 
Austria, Moravia, and Bohemia; and since 1639 
the} r have been used in Lublin also. In the 
Nuremberg selihah collection also there are seli- 
hot for nn they are recited on Thursdays 

only. The Italian communities recite selihot, com- 
posed by Moses Zacuto, in the Miiiliah services of 
the first six weekly lessons (D’3TltP) only. The 
Nuremberg collection contains, besides, special seli- 
hot for recitation on the eves of the New Moons of 
Nisan and Ab, respectively; others for circumci- 
sion when this ceremony falls on a selihah day; and 
still others, composed by Simeon b. Zalman Fiseli- 
hoff of Vienna, for recitation when the smallpox is 
raging. 

The earliest selihah edition is that according to 
the Boman ritual (Soncino, 1487), the next oldest be- 
ing that of the community of Prague (Prague, 1529). 
Then follows the seiiliah edition of the German 
order, edited by Mei'r Ivatzenellenbogen of Padua 
(Heddernlieim, *1546). Two years later there ap- 
peared at Venice the same selihah collection, with a 
commentary on the difficult words. The collection of 
the Polish rite, with a full commentary by Mordecai 
Mardus, was published at Cracow in 1584, and in 
1597 that of the German rite, with a commentary 
by the same author, appeared in Prague. A German 
translation of the Polish selihot, made by Jacob b. 
Elijah ha-Levi, was published at Frankfort-on-tlie- 
Oder, 1602. In 1671 there were published in the 
same place the selihot of both the German and Polish 
rites, with a German translation. At Amsterdam in 
1688 Eliakim b. Jacob published a Juda?o-German 
translation of the Ashkenazic selihot for the whole 
year, that is to say, of those that are printed in the 
“ Siddur.” Thirty years later those for the peniten- 
tial days, with a Judseo-German translation by Elia- 
kim, appeared in the same city. 

Bibliography: Dukes, Zur Kenntniss tier Neuhebrliischcn 

ReligiCtsen Pnesie , pp. 32 et seq.; Steinschneider, Jewish 

Literature , pp. 158, 340 et seq.; Zu nz, <S. P. pp. 59-363 ; idem, 

Ritas, passim; idem, Litcraturgesch . passim. For editions 


and translations see Benjacob, Ozar lia-Sefarim , pp. 420 et 
scar, Steinsclmeider, Cat. Bodl. cols. 430 et seq. .. 

Vf M. SEL. 

Music : The more antique the traditional mel- 
ody, the more ancient, as a general rule, the section 
of the liturgy in connection with which it has been 
handed down. Thus the reading of the Scriptures, 
the earliest devotional exercise of the Synagogue, is 
in all the various groups of rituals (see Lttukgy) 
framed on the musical theory of the first feiv cen- 
turies of the common era> and presents the form of 
C anti ll ati o N , founded on an elementary notation 
by neumes or accents, in which the music of antiq- 
uity was cast. The free improvisation, again, on a 
fixed traditional model, to which the next oldest 
section of the devotions, the “ ‘Amidah ” and the 
blessings centering around the “Shema 4 ,” u is in- 
toned, is cast in scales (comp. Jew. Encyc. ix. 122, 
s . v . Music, Syxagogal) nearer to those employed in 
the plain-song of the Catholic Church and the Perso- 
Arab melody, and developed in the period from the 
seventh to the eleventh century ; while it exhibits 
a form of song equally late (comp. Gevaert, “Ori- 
gines du Chant Liturgique de l’Eglise Latine,” p. 30, 
Ghent, 1890), and stillfiourishing in Mediterranean re- 
gions and in India (comp. Day, “ The Music of South- 
ern India,” s.v. “Raga,” London, 1894; Gevaert, 

“ Histoire et Tlieorie de la Musique de 1’ Antiquity,” 
ii. 316). But when, later on, the ancient propitia- 
tory prayer for the fast-days (Ta‘an. 16b) developed 
into the selihah (see above) and the liturgy of pen- 
ance took its shape as a complete service (comp. 
Zunz, “Ritus,” pp. 120 et seq.), the hazzan’s intona- 
tion of that service, termed collective^ “selihot,” 
exhibited still later musical elements, being based 
on scales more closely agreeing with those of post- 
medieval Western melody and shaped on its more 
rhythmic and mensural forms. 

While, too, agreement between the various north- 
ern or southern rituals is complete in the method 
and style, as in the matter, of the cantillation, and 
is approximated in the recitation, as in the diction, 
of the older benedictions and prayers, a wide diver- 
gence is at once observable in the melody as in the 
text of the penitential rituals containing the selihot, 
the main point of contact being the imitation of 
such non-Jewish airs as possess a strain of melan- 
choly (comp. Menahem de Lonzano, “Shte Yadot,” 
p. 65b). The first presentation in the synagogue of 
the liturgical melodies of the fast-days, ' 
Later therefore, may be assigned to between 
Origins, the tenth and the fifteenth century ; 

and their prevailing wail of grief, 
even more noticeable than the note of contrition, 
voices the melancholy experiences of Jewry during 
that period. Their especial transmission by the line 
of the so-called Polish precentors has led some to 
enlarge on their resemblance, in this expression of 
sadness, to the airs redolent of gloom and despair 
favored by the peasantiy of Slavonic and other 
east-European regions. The melancholy and grief, 
however, are but natural expressions of penance; 
and the minor mode is as noticeable in the German 
or in the Spanish tradition. 

The central feature of the selihot is the proclama- 
tion of the thirteen attributes of mercy (Ex, xxxiv. 



177 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Selihah 


6-7 ; see Middot, Shelosit-'Esreit) with the prayer 
introducing them. This is normally recited after 
each selihah-hymn, and so in the Spanish rite is ut- 
tered as many as twenty -six times in the Atonement 
services. Reform congregations usually now limit 
its utterance to once in each service. With the Se- 
phardim, also, it is followed by a flourish on the 
Siiofar during the week-days from the 3d to the 
9th of Tisliri (».<?., the “ten days of penitence”), re- 
calling the similar practise of the Talmudical period 
(Ta‘an. ii. 1). Other features common to all the 
rituals are the extensive quotation of selected texts, 
the prayer of contrition and the short confession 
Asiiamnu, and the ancient concluding summaries, 
as that in alphabetical acrostic, with the form “ An- 


on the days mentioned, before and after the New- 
Year, as well as in the “Kol Nidre” service on the 
evening of Atonement, forms a quasi-independent 
service by itself. (2) An abbreviated order, in the 
morning, additional, and afternoon services of 
Atonement, and in the morning service of the fasts 
of Monday, Thursday, and Monday after Passover 
and Tabernacles (see Fasting), the Tenth of Tebet, 
the Thirteenth of Adar, and the Seventeenth of Tam- 
muz, is inserted in the repetition of the “ ‘Amidah.” 
The longer order itself commences with an an- 
tiplional series of Scriptural texts, strung together 
in compliance with R. Simlai’s dictum that praise 
should precede prayer, and associated in the Tal- 
mud with the passage Ex. xxxii., read on fast- 


SELIHOT 

INTRODUCTORY VERSICLES 



swer us, A, B, C, etc., answer us,” or the Aramaic 
prayer reproducing that outlined in the Talmud (zb.) 
in Hebrew. Otherwise the rituals differ extensively, 
more particularly in the selection and even in the 
ranking of the medieval hymns of peni- 
Divergence fence. These poems, indeed, constitute 
in the difference within the wider uses, 
Rituals, as between the Bohemian (and Polish 
and English) and the German (and 
Dutch) orders. In these two orders the selihot are 
recited during the week preceding the New- Year 
and between it and the Day of Atonement. In the 
Sephardic ritual they are read on forty days, from 
the 2d of Elul to the Day of Atonement (in allusion 
to Deut. ix. IS). 

In the Ashkenazic use the selihot service is of two 
types: (1) A longer order, recited at early morning 
XI.— 12 


days (Ber. 23a). These versicles are intoned to 
a "melodious and interesting chant (A in the 
music herewith), a slight variation of which (B) 
forms the beautiful melody which closes the in- 
tonation. 

The thirteen attributes are customarily pro- 
claimed without definite melody by the assembly. 
But the versicles (modified from Ps. lxxxvi. 6, v. 3, 
ciii. 13, xx. 10, etc.) which follow^ them lead on in 
the Polish ritual, after the introduction, to the 
prayer of Moses (Num. xiv. 19-20) and its response, 
from wiiich the selihot derive their title; and this is 
usuall v chanted to a florid melody of the fifteenth or 
sixteenth century, founded on the general intonation 
of the penitential evening service, and quoted from 
its most important position as ushering in the Day of 
Atonement after the proclamation of Kol Nidre. 



Selihah 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


178 


In modem days the tradition has been received 
of reading each selihah in an undertone, the con- 
clusion being marked by the hazzan’s singing of 
the last stanza to the general penitential melody. 
The sole exceptions to this custom, which other- 


tradition prevails, the pizmon is chanted at length 
to the melody of the concluding verse of ordinary 
seliliot., which also ushers in the abbreviated order 
and leads up to the congregational proclamation 
of the “Middot” as well. It may be considered 


SELAH NA 


Con spirito. 



J ^ M 

; S s 

r ST 

-p* -r~" — s 

>_db P 

.ff-- j |C._jC 

r : S 





— S— 

See 

r*- w '~gd 1 f— 

3= - *-• * 


Se - lah na la - ‘a - won ha - ‘am ha - zek, ke - 


R 

F — 1 — r 


H—g — „ - 


— ^ t — : 

— 


1 3> 





-/I 

— — > — n iS — p — ’ 

J* T » 

i 

-W- 


tj 

r 9 

go - del 

m r9 ^ 

has 

9 9 ^ 9 

de - - ka; 

we - 

ka - a - sher na - 

sa - ta 

la- 

‘am ha - 



7 ! 

r — m I w IS 

1 


n 


_ J ix£ 

i n j 1 

— — — ( S a 



7*2"— m n 


Li. 

> |ff fm 9 

— 1 — j 1 1 ~ 

-gg — m — ~ — i 


K q II 

_S 


& 9 V * 



L_ 

: - -a 


zeh, mi - Miz - ra - yim we - ‘ad.... he - nah: we - sham ne - e - mar. 


wise covers every metrical and subject form of 
selihah, are the Pizmon or chief and last hymn 
in each service, and some few hymns 
Pizmon in the Atonement services (see 
Melodies. Ne'ilah; Omnam Ken). Of the piz- 
mon hymns, a number possess char- 
acteristic melodies of their own, as, for example, 
Adonai, Adonai; Bemoza’e Menuhaii ; NeTlah; 
She‘eh Ne’esar; Shofet Koi, ha-Arez ; Yisrael 
Nosha* ; Zekor Berit. But where no such musical 


the general selihali-chant, and seems to date in 
its present form from the fifteenth century. But 
its final phrase, which serves as a congregational 
response on the Day of Atonement, appears to 
be much more ancient. It is precisely the intona- 
tion and mediation of the second tone (“alter tristi- 
bus aptus ”) of the Gregorian psalmody, with this 
“mediation” treated as an “ending” in the sixth 
tone (“ sextus laclirymatur et plorat ”). The initial 
portion of the chant also exhibits the tonality of 


ASHKENAZIC SELIHAH CHANT 


C Andante, 


it-* . 


« « 'm • m 

1 9 m ' P' "S ' 


wr .... m i* 


l • — p- S ^ — ~ rn 

(m._a , 


br br — " — " — br 5 

~br — r. r- * S r~ 

— k— 

i— F"""' k "k * ■ 

^ pc 

faR * — br 


Se - lah la - nu, A - bi - nu, ki be - rob ' iw - wal - te - nu sha - 



U - mi... ya - ‘a - mod het... im tish - mor, . . . U - mi ya - 


— 

t =1 =1 

— f*~\ "Is 

“1 ir - N 

— _ — _ — — 

^ — iS | 






& * m 1 


rv ~9 * w~ 

i- '<*' * J 

& . gf . * & - 

r i rr 




F ^ 

1 — * 


tz Jb v * 

L 

F ! 


kum... din... im tig - mor? Ha - se - li - hah ‘im - me - ka, ... “Sa- 

Tutti. 


\~5£ 

1 ^ s — 1 

1 i 


JR 

_r j | 


J ' : m. 




& 

& 

r & » . 

P k 

jp « - 


■& ^ j 1 

— k— k- 

-k 


=t=- 

U k= 

=k= 

;t= — k— &£=:: 


lah - ti” le - mor: Response: Ha - ra - ka-mim gam le - ka mid -da - te - ka lik - mor. 




179 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Selihah 


this second tone (from the fourth below to the 
fifth above D, reciting on F), and points to an 
earlier medieval imitation of the Church plain- 
song in some Rhenish synagogue (comp. Kol 
Nidre). 


recited to the affecting melody here quoted, and 
leads into the confession of faith, Ashamnu. 

The Sephardic ritual is not characterized by 
such a regular change of hymns as are the selihot 
of the Ashkenazim; and the melodies, likewise, 


ASHKENAZIC VERSICLE MELODY 


Lento molto espressivo. 



— i — n- 



^ 


1 

—J 0 — 



t 4 —+ 0- 

« — * — j — J — 

— f. — p ptJ* 

4 fa# — I# — t— =} — 


— r -m—m — 

fa#— br— ! 




r — i 


She - ma‘ ko - le - nu, A - do - nai, E - lo - he - nu, bus... we-ra- 

0 hear our cry , 0 Lord , our God , ... pit - y and com 


-f wr— — 


' ^ , IS 



-Jr* — 

^ - 

"7*3 — w J 


^ 


t m- m- 0- 

p p ~m 

[ - LZ ^ * 


102 i 1^ 

. . ij j 

TtZ—fr—bL 




hem ‘a 

le - 

nu, 

we - 

kab - bel. 

... 

be - ra - ha 

- mim 

u - be - 

ra - zon 


pas - sion - 

ate 

us 

and 

in mer 


cy and 

: fa 

vor 

ac - cept 


I ■ - p 1 



“i 

“i 

A- 3 = 

= 4 - 

/ 7 S 

— =■ * «- 

— 

-y— <r-?=z 

L E — "rff! — 



— £=-*- 
et te - 

-) 

fil - 

-w - — 

T 

— * — 

la - 

te - - 

nu. 

Ha - shi - 

—] 

■ be - 

- U fr-Jz 

nu, A - do - 

M i— 

nai, . . . 

e - 

• these ... the toords 

of 

our 

pray 

big. 

Bring us 

back, . 

0 

Lord, .. 

to 


f® 


' ■ 


— n 

— 4 q 

_*-5 — - 


— \ 

=t- 

— i H 

|E=£— 

le - 

tz= 

ka 

we 

— — 

- 4 =- 

- na - 

shu - bah; 

had ■ 

ee^ee 

- desh . . . 

ya - 

i" r 

me - nu 

ke - 

ke - 


1?" _H 

dem. 

Tftee, * 

and 

toe 

re - 

turn ; 

re - 

new .... 

our 

days 


as 

Of 

old. 


A prayer commencing “ Zekor ” (Remember) fol- 
lows the last selihah, based on the consolatory prom- 
ises of Scripture and quoting the text in each case. 
It is recited by the hazzan in a sad chant of ever- 
increasing intensity, which rises to a climax when 
the concluding prayer (v. 21) of Lamentations is 


are more constant and invariable after the open- 
ing hymn (Anna Bekorenu; Adonai Bekol 
Shofar ; Yah Shema‘). But they are characteristic, 
and, like so very many other airs of the Sephar- 
dic tradition, give evidence of their Peninsular ori- 
gin. In some of the phrases sung, as in the “ Sliema' 


SEPHARDIC ANTIPHONY 


E Solo. Andante . 


J /i 

— 

m .1?^ ^ 


— ^ — _ • 

| 

7 # p 


F F . * 


- ' s m m 0 

~L 0- 1 

*7 V 7 



F by 


u. 1 

v: ^ 

_ 

t £=r tz 

— 1 H— 1^- 

-f b# 

U 1 12 1*— 

1 1 



Response: We - liu - sail ‘al Yis - ra - el ‘am - me - ka: 


l#4-=l v 


| | 3 

— I [— 

— 1 - wm 

i- ■ jm 1--J 


- 1 — 

i — j 

'I 

^ m ~ 

» • * r-* | <o jt 4 — : ~p 

» : -m— 


* * 

#« 


^==J 


A - do - nai ‘a - sell le - ma - ‘an she - me - ka. 


Tutti. 


# : 

— 


£ — ^ i 

__p m. A m. 0 A m. 

— * 1 by tsL ' ~r(z — 

— i F ” *1 

* — l _ H 

t/ * 

Response: We - 

liu - sah ‘al Yis - ra - el ‘am - me - ka. 


Selihah 
S email ot 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


180 


Yisrael,” etc., which is repeated in the Atonement 
selihot, there is an essential resemblance to ancient 
musical sentences of the Ashkenazic 
Antiph- tradition (comp. NeTlah), whose 
ony. general selihah chant is also repro- 
duced to some extent. Compare the 
Amsterdam tradition (E) in the preceding antiph- 
ony with C in the transcription of the selihah 


Repeatedly employed, as the general chant is in 
the Ashkenazic use, and similarly utilized, is a more 
formal melody, in which the first strain is repeated 
as often as the length of the hymn or prayer neces- 
sitates, and the second strain ends, with a long- 
drawn wail. 


Bibl 

1420, 


liography: A. Baer, Ba'ctl Tefillah, Nos. 1307-1361, 1411- 
: 26, 1451-1453, 1462-1465, Goteborg, 1877, and Fraakfort-on- 


SEPHARDIC SELIHAH TUNE 


i&v 


- 4 ¥ V 

— 1 , 

-g * »- 

-1 1 ! 


-t- h — 


i 

ri i) 

W- 

H i h 

| j > • 1 

^ ' W 1 


— i 1 i r r r 1 . . . r , 

El me - lek yo-sheb ‘al kis - se ra - ha - mim, mit - na - heg ba - ha - si - dut, 

or She-bet Yelm-dali.. be - do - hak ube - za- ‘ar, ha-yish- ag ar -yeh... ba-ya-‘ar, 


i n 


P p m 



mr 


-3— 

-=(J 

(&■- — — * — *- 


± f- t- 


h 

-i= — t 

— 




i ! r . 1 ^ 

wa - yik - ra be - shem A - do - nai we - sham ne - e - mar. 

shaw-‘a - te - nu ta ‘a - leh lishe - me me - ro 


chant, and the Leghorn tradition (F) with D there 
shown. ' 

The Sephardic recitation of Scriptural verses is 
calmer and more cluiut-like than the Ashkenazic, if 
only because so much more falls to the congregants, 
as compared with the precentor, in the former tra- 
dition. The more emphatic of these texts are, 
however, chanted first by the hazzan and antiph - 
onally repeated by the congregation, and the conclu- 
•ding verse from Lamentations likewise, in the south- 
ern use, closes as climax the central section of the 
jselihot. 


the-Main, 1883; Cohen and Davis, The Voice of Prayer ancl 
Praise , Nos. 243-256, 265, 273-274, 276-277, London, 1899; Jes- 
£urun. Booh of Prayer of the Spanish and Poituyucse 
Jews, vol. iii., Appendix, London, 1904. 
a. * I . L. 0. 

SEMAHOT (“ Jo 3 r s ”): Euphemistic name of 
the treatise known as “Ebel Rabbati," one of the 
so-called small or later treatises which in the editions 
of the Babylonian Talmud are placed after the 
fourth order, Nezikin ; it treats of mourning for 
the dead. A collection of baraitot entitled “Ebel 
Rabbati” is cited in the Talmud (M. K. 24a, 26b; 
Ket. 28a), sentences therefrom being quoted ; but it 


SEPHARDIC VERSICLE MELODY 





181 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Selihah 

Semahot 



is not identical with the treatise now under consid- 
eration, since only one of the three sentences in 
question, namely, that cited in Ket. 28a, is found 
even in an approximate form in Semahot (ii. 
13-14). 

The designation “ Ebel Rabbati ” in the Talmud 
seems indeed to presuppose that a shorter treatise 
of like content was in existence at the 
“Ebel time of the Amoraim, although it is 
Rabbati.” probable that the term “ Rabbati ” (the 
Large) was used merel} r because the 
collection of mourning regulations to which it was 
applied was more copious than that contained in 
the Mishnali (M. K. iii.). So much, however, is cer- 
tain, that besides the treatise which is now known 
as Semahot or Ebel Rabbati there was an older col- 
lection of baraitot concerning funeral ordinances, 
and that the former was designated “Rabbati” to 
distinguish between the two. The gaon Natronai b. 
Hilai (853-856), in answer to the question “ What is 
the Ebel Rabbati?” gives the reply: “Ebel is a 
treatise of the Mishnah in which are contained the 
regulations concerning mourning for the dead and 
most of the lialakic ordinances of the third chapter 
of Mo'ed Katan. There are two such : a large and 
a small one” (in Edelmann, “Hemdali Genuzah,” 
No. 90; comp. “‘Aruk,” s.v. Numerous frag- 

ments of the so-called “ small ” Ebel treatise have 
been preserved, notably in Isaac ibn Gha} r yat’s 
“Halakot,” in Nahmanides , “Torat ha- Adam,” in 
“ Tanya, ” and in Jacob b. Asher’s “ Tur ” (see the 
comparison of these passages by Briill in his 
“ Jalirb.” i. 10-22). To judge from these fragments 
the small Ebel contained regulations 
Contents concerning visitation of the sick, 
of the treatment of the d3 r ing, laying out 
“ Small” of the corpse, mourning for the dead, 
Ebel. arrangement of graves, and collec- 
tion of the bones (“ ossilegium ”), 
which was customary among the Jews as well as 
among the Greeks. This treatise, which is the old- 
est collection of halakot on mourning customs, was 
compiled in Palestine; and, according to Briill 
( l.c. ), R. Eleazar b. Zadok, who lived in Lydda at 
the time of Gamaliel II., prepared the nucleus of it. 
It was then amplified, enriched, and revised by R. 
Hiyya ; but as it was known to a small circle only, 
it was replaced by the later treatise Ebel Rabbati, 
which borrowed much from it. 

The treatise Semahot is a post-Talmudic product 
and originated in Palestine. This explains the 
many coincidences of its contents with the baraitot 
of the Palestinian Talmud. It is a compilation from 


various older works ; and in many passages traces 
of revision are to be noticed. The compiler incor- 
porated a considerable part of the 
Late Date, small Ebel, as well as much from other 
works, besides adding original matter. 
The late date of the compilation of the treatise may 
be seen from the use of the two Talmudim and from 
the character of the composition itself, which is 
unmistakable. 

The work reached Babylonia in the geonic period ; 
and even at that time it received amplifications and 
additions from both Talmudim. It took on its pres- 
ent form probably in the middle of the eighth cen- 
tury (Briill, l.c . p. 48), if not later. The work was 
comparatively widely circulated at the time of the 
later geonim, since reference to a passage in it is 
made in a question addressed to Sherira and Hai 
from a distant region. In their responsum to this 
question they call the treatise “ Mishnatenu ” = 
“our JUishnah” (Nahmanides, “Torat ha- Adam,” 
p. 51a, Venice, 1598). Rashi had the work in its 
present form, since he explicitly cites as the com- 
mencement of the treatise the opening words of the 
present text. 

The treatise is divided into fourteen chapters;- 
and this division dates from the thirteenth century 
at the latest, since even Mordecai cites it by chap- 
ters (“ Mordekai ” on M. K. 919, 926, 929). The tract- 
ate contains almost complete instructions as to the 
treatment of the dying and the dead, from the com- 
mencement of the death-agony to the arrangement 
of the grave which receives the remains. Numerous 
examples from current practise are cited. A large 
number of haggadot also are included. On the 
w r hole, it furnishes much valuable material for the 
study of Oriental antiquities in general and of an- 
cient Jewish practises in particular, for the verifi- 
cation of historical facts, and for an understanding 
of the development of Jewish customs. The pres- 
ent text is defaced by many corruptions ; so that its 
original form can not now be determined. Where- 
ever possible the commentators have made correc- 
tions on the basis of critical comparison, or have 
called attention to the corruptions. 

The following is a short outline of the contents of 
the treatise : 

The first chapter is preceded by a haggadic in- 
troduction, inasmuch as it is considered desirable 
to begin so mournful a treatise with a sentence 
of a lighter character (comp. Briill, l. c. p. 27, 
note 41). 

Cli. i. : A person in the agony of death is re- 
garded in every respect as fully alive (§§ 1-8) ; 



THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


182 


Semahot 

S&minaire Israelite 


mourning to be observed for heathen and slaves; 
other regulations concerning slaves. In this con- 
nection it is said that only the three 
Contents, patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob 
may correctly be called the fathers 


of the Hebrew race, and only the four women 
Sarah, Rebekali, Rachel, and Leah, the matriarchs 

(§§ 9 - 14 ). , ^ 

Gli. ii. : Mourning customs to be observed for a 
suicide ; cases in which a person found dead is to 
be regarded as a suicide (§§ 1-6); mourning to be 
observed, for a person condemned and executed l) 3 r 
a Jewish tribunal (§§ 7-9) ; no mourning is to be 
observed, even by their nearest relatives, for per- 
sons who have renounced their nationality and their 
faith (§ 10); mourning to be observed for a person 
executed by a non-Jewisli tribunal; other regula- 
tions (§§ 11-14). 

Ch. iii. : The different burial customs, varying 
according to the age of the deceased. 

Ch, iv. : Cases in which a priest may handle a 
corpse, although he thereby loses his priestly purity. 

Ch. v. : Mourners are prohibited from performing 


any work during the seven days of mourning; laws 
relating to excommunicants. 

Ch. vi. : What a mourner may and may not do 
during the seven days of mourning; what a person 
under a ban may not do; attitude of the community 


toward him. 

Ch. vii. : Nature of the thirty days’ mourning. 
In connection therewith many other regulations are 
enumerated which have to do with terms of thirty 
days. 

Ch. viii. : Customs which one may observe, al- 
though they appear to be heathen customs; various 
proverbs, anecdotes, and historical narratives. 

Ch. ix. : Different mourning customs for different 


relatives and for different events. 

Ch. x. : Mourning while the corpse is still in the 
house; mourning for scholars and princes; and 
other regulations. 

Ch. xi. : When two corpses are in the city, which 
of the two is to be buried first; the mourning of a 
wife for the relatives of her husband; signs of 
mourning to be displayed in the house of a mourner. 

Ch. xii., xiii. : Regulations concerning ossilegium 
(see above); various other regulations, and anec- 
dotes. 

Ch. xiv. : Regulations concerning graves and the 
laying out of burial-places; the mourning feast in 
the house of the mourner. See Burial ; Funeral 


Rites; Mourning. 


Bibliography: N. Briill, Die Talmudischen Traktate ilher 
Trailer am Vcrstorhene, in Jahrh. i. 1-57; M. Klotz, TJer 
TaJmudische Traktat Ehel Rahhati Oder Semahot , Berlin, 
1S90 ; Weiss, Bo?', ii. 246. 

w. b. J. Z. L. 

SEMALION (jV^DD) : Name occurring in an 
obscure passage relating to the death of Moses 
(Sifre, Deut. 357 ; Sotali 13b), which modern schol- 
ars consider to be identical with the Greek Xji/m/Jov 
(— “ giving a sign ”) and about which the ancient 
commentators disagreed, being uncertain whether it 
* was the name of a man or of an angel. Rashi (on 
Sotali l.c.) holds that it is the name of a scholar; 
but R. I-Iananeel (quoted in Tos. ad loc.) declares 


that some think it to be the name of an angel. In 
the latter case Semalion would be the angel who 
announced Moses’ death (comp. Samuel Edels on 
Sotali l.c.), whence his name. 

The name is found in the Hebrew MS. 

No. 770 of the Bibliotlieque Nationale, Paris (p. 
125b) as that of an angel presiding over the month 
of Marheshwan, and in “Sefer Razi’el” (p. 5a) as 
that of the angel who presides over the second solar 
period (“ tekufah ”). This name is supposed by M. 
Schwab (“ Yocabulaire de T Angelologie, ” pp. 197- 
198) to be identical with 2 q/iateog. It may be said 
that the latter name is in Greek mythology an epi- 
thet of Zeus. If, however, “ Semalion ” is the name 
of a person, it is identical with the “Semellius” 
(2 efieXTuog) of i Esd. ii. 16. 

Bibliography: N. Briill, Jahrh. iv. 98; Kohut, Aruch Com- 
pletam, s.v. juSdd; S. Krauss, Lehnworter, ii. 308; Levy, 
Neuhebr. Worterb. s.v. ivSdd. ,, ^ 

j. M. Sel. 


SEMIATITSCH, GEDAUAH : Lithuanian 
Talmudist of the seventeenth and eighteenth cen- 
turies. He was one of the Hasidic party which in 
1700 made a pilgrimage to Palestine under the lead- 
ership of Judah Hasid. In his work “Slia’alu Slie- 
lom Yerusbalayim ” (Berlin, 1716) Semiatitsch gives 
a full description of this pilgrimage, including the 
adventures of the party and the death of Judah 
Hasid. He adds an account of the history and a 
description of the ruins of Jerusalem as well as a 
list of the sepulchers of the Holy Land, the narrative 
being followed by some dirges. 


Bibliography: Benjacob, Ozar ha-Sefarim , p. 554, No. 18; 
Furst, Bibl. Jud. iii. 313; Orient , Lit. xii. 297 ; Steinscimei- 
der, Cat. Bodl. col. 1003 ; Zunz, G. S. i. 193. 

T M. Sel. 


SEMIKAH (“ laying on [of hands on the sacri- 
ficial victim] ”) : A ceremony obligatory on one who 
offered an animal sacrifice. The regulations gov- 
erning its observance were as follows: The owner 
of the sacrificial victim (Sifra, Wayikra, v. [ed. 
Weiss, 6d-7a]) was required to lay both his hands 
with all his might between the horns of the animal 
just before it was killed (Maimonides, u Yad, ” Ma £ ase 
lia-Korbanot, iii. 13). The act of imposition, which 
took place in the court of the Temple where the 
victim was slain (Men. 93a, b; Zeb. 

In 32b-33a; Maimonides, l.c. iii. 11-12), 
Sacrifices, was to be performed with bare hands, 
and there might be nothing between 
them and the head of the animal (Maimonides, l.c. 
iii. 13; Men. 93b). During this ceremony the sacri- 
ficer, in case he brought a sin-offering or an offering 
of atonement, confessed his sins, saying: “I have 
done thus and so, but have repented ; may this sacri- 
fice bring me forgiveness and be an atonement for 
me” (Yoma 35b; Maimonides, l.c. iii. 14). In the 
case of a thank-offering or a meal-offering at which 
sins were not confessed, the sacrifice!* recited hymns 
and prayers of thanksgiving during the act (Maimon- 
ides, ib.). 

Semikali was observed only when sacrifices were 
offered by Jews, not when brought by Gentiles (Men. 
93a; Maimonides, l.c. iii. 5). The ceremony was not 
observed, however, when the sacrifice was a fowl 
(Git. 28b; Maimonides, l.c. iii. 6), nor was it per- 



183 


Semahot 

Seminaire Israelite 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


formed, except in two cases, at communal sacrifices 
(Men. 92a, b; Maimonides, l.c. iii. 10). It was ob- 
served, on tie other hand, at all sacrifices offered 
by an individual, except that of the paschal lamb, that 
of the first-born, and that of the tithes of cat- 
tle (Men. ib . ; Maimonides, lx. iii. 6). Only the 
owner of the sacrificial animal might observe the 
ceremony, and it might not be performed by proxy 
(Men. 93b; Maimonides, lx. iii. 8). In case, there- 
fore, several persons made an offering in common, 
it was necessary that they should lay their hands in 
succession on the head of the victim (Maimonides, 
lx. iii. 9). When, however, one dedicated a thank- 
offering or a meal-offering and died before he could 
fulfil his vow, his male heir might offer it and ob- 
serve semikali (Men. 92a, in opposition to R. Judah ; 
Maimonides, l.c. iii. 9). Even when the semikali 
was omitted a sacrifice was still acceptable; but the 
forgiveness obtained through it was’ not as complete 
as if the ceremony had been performed (Men. 93b; 
Maimonides, l.c. iii. 12). 

The symbolism of this custom has been variously 
explained. According to Philo (“De Victimis,” § 4 
[ed. Mangey, p. 240]), the sacrifice!- intended his 
act to imply that “ these hands have done no wrong, 
but have performed good and useful deeds.” This, 
however, applies only to thank-offerings and meal- 
offerings, and not to sin-offerings or 
Its to offerings of atonement. Some rab- 
Meaning*. binical authorities, followed by certain 
Church Fathers, interpreted 44 semi- 
kali ” as meaning that the sacrifices by laying his 
hands upon the victim, transferred his sins to it, and 
imposed upon it the punishment which his conduct 
had merited (Sforno on Lev. i. 5 ; Levi b. Gershon 
on Lev. i. 4). This explanation is based on the rit- 
ual associated with the scapegoat, upon which 
Aaron laid the sins of the children of Israel, who 
were thereby freed from their iniquity (Lev. xvi. 21 
et seq .). This interpretation, however, is not well 
founded, since there is no evidence that the sins of 
Israel were conceived of as being transferred to the 
goat through the laying on of hands, although they 
may have been considered as being so transferred by 
the confession that formed part of the semikali 
ceremony, in which case the real factor w r as the 
liturgical formula rather than the ritual act. 

This explanation of semikah, moreover, does not 
apply in the case of meal-offerings and thank- 
offerings, for they had nothing to do with a trans- 
ference of sins. Since semikah was prescribed 
for sin-offerings and for offerings of atonement, as 
well as for meal-offerings and thank-offerings, it 
must have had a meaning which applied to all these 
various sacrifices, and must therefore have had some 
connection with the basal concept of sacrifice. Such 
a connection is established by the theory, advanced 
by Biihr and accepted by many modern scholars, that 
semikah w 7 as analogous to the Roman manumission. 
The hands, the members with which one holds and 
gives, were laid upon the victim’s head as implying 
on the part of the sacrificer the words: “This is my 
property, which I dedicate to God.” 

The Talmud throws no light on the origin of semi- 
kah ; but justification for the inference that the cere- 
mony was connected with the transfer of property 


may be drawn from such Talmudic regulations as 
the requirement that only the owner of the sacri- 
ficial animal or the owner’s heir might perform 
the semikah. The necessity of observing semikah, 
even when the sacrifice was offered on 
Halakic a feast-day, was a moot question for 
Contro- five generations. One member of each 
versy. of the five pairs (“ zugot ”), w t 1io w 7 ere 
considered the foremost teachers of the 
Law, favored semikah, while his colleague decided 
against it (Hag. ii. 2 ; comp, the Talmudic explana- 
tion, ib. Gem’. 16a, b). This difference of opinion was 
the first halakic controvers} 7 , according to Tosef., 
Hag. ii. 8 and Yer. Hag. ii. 77. Weiss, Frankel, and 
Levi offer various explanations of the meaning and 
importance of the controversy, but there are also 
notes on Hag. ii. 2 which state that the difference of 
opinion did not refer to the semikah ceremony dur- 
ing the sacrifice, or to its necessity or admissibility 
on a feast-day (comp. Sidon, “ Die Controverse der 
Synhedrialhaupter,” in “Kaufmann Gedenkbuch,” 
pp. 355-364, Breslau, 1900; Schwarz, in “Monats- 
schrift,” xxxvii. 164-169, 201-206). See also Obdi- 
nation. 

Bibliography: Biihr, Symbolik des Mosaischen Cultus, ii. 
338 et seq., Heidelberg, 1839 ; Duschak, Gescli.und Dcirstel- 
lung des JUdischen Cidtus, pp. 18-20, Mannheim, 1866; Volz, 
Die Handavflegungbelm Opfcr, in Stade’s ZeitschrifU 1901, 
pp, 13 et seq.; Weiss, Dor, i. 103 et seq.; Frankel. Hndegetica 
in Mischnam , pp. 43-44:; Jacob Levi, in Ozar NcTjtmad, iii., 
Vienna, 1860. 

w. jb. J. Z. L. 

SEMINAIRE ISRAELITE DE FRANCE : 

French rabbinical school. On Jan. 23, 1704, Abra- 
ham Schwab and Agathe, his wife, founded a yeslii- 
bah at Metz; and on Nov. 12, 1705, there was ex- 
ecuted before a notary public a deed of trust, a 
copy of which is still preserved in the seminary 
archives. The founders gave a site in the Rue de 
1’ Arsenal, Metz, and endowed the yeshibali with a 
yearly income of 6,000 44 livres ecus ” for the support 
of five rabbis as professors. 

On March 30, 1820, the minister of the interior 
approved a resolution of the Consistory of Metz, 
dated Dec. 21, 1819, by which the yeshibali became 
a Talmud Torah, the sum of 1,200 francs being set 
aside for its support and placed in the hands of a 
committee of five members chosen by the consistory. 

The number of pupils was limited to 
Origin. eight, four of whom w r ere exempt from 
the payment of fees.' In addition to 
religious instruction, the students were required to 
attend for one hour daily classes in elementary 
French and arithmetic in the primary school of 
Metz. 

On Aug. 21, 1S29, a decree of the French govern- 
ment sanctioned the resolution, presented for con- 
sideration by the Central Consistory of the Jews of 
France, elevating the Talmudic school at Metz to the 
status of a central rabbinical school. The institu- 
tion was accordingly opened in July of the follow T - 
ing year, and was maintained at the expense of the 
Jewish communities of France until March 28, 1831, 
when the government of Louis Philippe made an 
annual appropriation of 8,500 francs for the state 
support of the school. Shortly after this the pupils 
were released by a ministerial circular from the obli- 
gation of military service. The successive directors 



Seminaire Israelite 
Semites 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


184 


of the school at Metz were: Chief Rabbi Lion Mayer 
Lambert, 1829-38; Chief Rabbi Mayer Lazard, 1838- 
1856; and Chief Rabbi Isaac Trenel, 1856-59. 

By a decree of the empress-regent Eugenie, dated 
July 1, 1S59 (Napoleon III. being in Italy at the 
time), the Central Rabbinical School was transferred 
from Metz to Paris as the Seminaire Israelite de 
Prance, and it was granted an annual subsidy of 
22,000 francs. Chief Rabbi Isaac Trenel was the 
director of the seminary until his death in 1890, his 
successor in October of the same year being the 
present (1905) incumbent, Chief Rabbi Joseph Leh- 
mann. 

On Dec. 1, 1860, new regulations for the institu- 
tion were approved by the minister of public in- 
struction and worship, by which it was placed under 
the government of the Consistory of Paris subject 
to the supervision of the Central Consistoiy, and 
administered by a committee consist- 

Constitu- ing of the chief rabbi of the Central 
tion. Consistory (president), the chief rabbi 
of the Consistory of Paris (vice-presi- 
dent), two lay members of the Central Consistory, 
and six members to be appointed by the Con- 
sistory of Paris and confirmed by the Central Con- 
sistory. The number of resident pupils receiving 
gratuitous tuition was limited to ten, and the annual 
subsidy of 22,000 francs was increased to 32,000 
francs. In 1884, however, the allowance of 10,000 
francs for free scholarships was discontinued by the 
state, although the grant of 22,000 francs was 
maintained. The average annual expenses soon 
rose to SO, 000 francs, this sum being furnished by 
the subsidies of the state, by the Paris and pro- 
vincial consistories, and by donations and annual 
subscriptions. The military law of July 27, 1872, 
exempted candidates for the rabbinate from military 
service ; but b} r the enactment of July 15, 1889, they 
were required to serve one year in the army. 

The constitution of the Societe du Talmud-Thora 
or minor seminary was adopted Dec. 5, 1852; and . 
the school itself was opened in the following year 
under the management of Chief Rabbi Isaac Trenel. 
Rabbi Zadoc Ivahn became its director in 1862, being 
succeeded some years later by Chief Rabbi Lazare 
Wogue. In 1873 the Talmud Torah was placed 
under the same control and in the same building as 
the seminary, although it retained its separate or- 
ganization. On Dec. 30, 1892, the 
The minister of public instruction and 

Minor worship ratified the following amend- 
Seminary . ment to the regulations of Dec. 1, 1860 : 

“ To secure the steady growth of the 
Jewish seminary, a preparatory class, or Talmud 
Torah, shall be established, where candidates for 
the rabbinate may pursue both the study of the 
classics and the elementary study of theology. This 
class shall be held in connection with the Jewish 
seminary, and shall be under the direction of the 
administrative committee of that institution.” A 
class of hazzanim was established in the minor sem- 
inaiy in 1899. 

On Sept. 12, 1882, the chief rabbis Lazare Isidor 
and Zadoc Kalin, and Isaac Trenel, the director of the 
seminary, delivered addresses at the opening of its 
oratory. The public is admitted to this oratory; 


the curator is Lucien Dreyfuss, a member of the ad- 
ministrative board of the synagogues of Paris. 

The faculty of the Seminaire Israelite de France 
and of the Talmud Torah is at present composed 
of the following members, besides a number of 
rabbis and lay professors who give instruction in 
general subjects: Chief Rabbi Joseph Lehmann, 
director; Chief Rabbi Abraham Calien, adjunct di- 
rector; Israel Levi; Hartwig Derenbourg, member 
of the Institut de France; Mayer Lambert; Jacques 
Kahn; Joseph Halevy ; Julien Weill; and S. Debre. 

Bibliography: Abraham Cahen, Ephemeridcs Israelites , pp. 
7-S, Paris, 1861; Isaac Trenel, Rapport sur la Situation 
Morale du Seminaire Israelite , Paris, 1867; Zadoc Kahn, 
Sermons , 2d series, pp. 861-369, Paris, 1886 ; Isaac Ury, Re~ 
cueil des Lois Concernant les Israelites Depuis 1S50 d 1903 , 
Bordeaux, 1887-1903 ; Arsene Darmesteter, Reliques Scicnti- 
JiqucSi pp. viii.-ix., Paris, 1890 ; Joseph Lehmann, Rapport 
sur le Seminaire Israelite et le Talmud-Tliora , with an in- 
troduction by Zadoc Kahn, Paris, 1902; Joseph Lehmann, 
Rapport Moral et Financier sur le Seminaire Israelite et 
le Talmud-Thora , Paris, 1903. 

S. J. Ka. 

SEMITES (originally Shemites) : Term used 
in a general way to designate those peoples who are 
said in Gen. x. 21-30 to be the descendants of the 
patriarch Shem. 

Biblical Data: These descendants are enu- 
merated in the passage cited as Elam, Asshur (As- 
syria), Arphaxad, Lud, and Aram. Elam, a moun- 
tainous country on the east of Babylonia, was 
known in history before 4000 b.c. through its wars 
with the Babylonian king Eannadu (comp. Barton, 
“ Semitic Origins,” p. 180). Its language is, how- 
ever, not Semitic (comp. Jensen in “Z. D. M. G.” 
1901, lv. 223 et seq.). It was probably reckoned 
among the descendants of Shem here because of its 
numerous Semitic immigrants. 

The identification of Arphaxad has been the sub- 
ject of many wild guesses. The identification with 
Arrapachitis in the mountainous district of the Up- 
per Zab is now generally abandoned; and there is 
general agreement that the last element of the name, 
HPO, is the Hebrew “Kasdim ” or Chaldeans. J. D. 
Micliaelis revived this view, which Josephus (“ Ant. ” 
i. 6, | 4) seems to have anticipated. Difference of 
opinion still exists as to the meaning of the first part 
of the name. Dillmann (“Genesis,” i. 372 et seq.) 

and Holzinger (“Genesis,” in “K. II. 
Arphaxad. C.” p. 105) hold that the first element 
is PpK, which in Arabic and Ethiopic 
means “boundary,” “limit,” the whole word mean- 
ing “district of the Chaldeans.” Hommel (“An- 
cient Hebrew Tradition,” p. 292),. who is followed 
by W. Max Muller (comp. Arphaxad), explains the 
name as a corruption of “ Ur-kasdim ” ; but this view 
leaves the presence of the a unexplained. The 
Egyptian article (Hommel) is out of place here. 
Cheyne (in Stade’s “Zeitsclirift,” xvii. 190) explains 
the word as being composed of name of the As- 
syrian province of Arbaha, and HfcyiD. Whatever the 
origin of the name, it no doubt refers to the Baby- 
lonians. 

Lud can here hardly refer to Lydia ; its meaning 
is unknown. Aram refers to the Arameaiis, a well- 
known division of the Semites. ' The descendants 
of Aram are said (Gen. x. 23) to be: Uz, a region 
probably somewhere in the neighborhood of the 
Hauran (comp. Dillmann, l.e. i. 375); Hul and 



185 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Seminaire Israelite 
Semites 


Gether, two localities quite unknown; and Masli, 
probably the Mount Mash of the Gilgamish Epic 
(comp. Schrader, “K. B.” vi. 203), which Jensen 
{ib, vi. 467) places in southwestern Arabia, but 
which Zimmern (in Schrader, “ K. A. T.” Sded., pp. 
573 et seq.) identifies with the Lebanon and Anti- 
Lebanon Mountains. Dillmann and Gunkel identify 
it with Mount Masius north of Nisibis (comp, their 
commentaries ad loc .). 

The most important descendant of Arphaxad is said 
(Gen. x. 24) to be Eber ( 12 ))), whose name is clearly 
connected with that of the Hebrews (Dn3V). Eber is 
said to have had two sons: Peleg, from whom Abra- 
ham and the Hebrews were descended (- ib . xi. 10-27), 
and J oktan . The descendants of J oktan 

Sons of (ib. x. 26) are, so far as is known, 

Eber. Arabians. Almodad is as yet uniden- 

tified. Sheleph is the Arabic “Silf,” 
a name of frequent occurrence in Yemen (comp. 
Glaser, “ Skizze der Geschichte und Geographic 
Arabiens,” p/425). Hazar-maveth is Hadramaut, on 
the Indian Qcean. Jerah, according to Glaser (ib.), 
whom Gunkel follows, is to be identified with 
Malira. Hadoram is probably Dauram near San’a, 
while Uzal is San’a itself (Glaser, l.c.. p. 426). 
Obal is probably the Ebal of Gen. xxxvi. 23 (ib.), 
while Diklah and Abimael are unknown. Sheba is 
the well-known Sab’a of southern Arabia. Ophir, 
the land of gold in the days of Solomon, lay in Ara- 
bia, probably on the coast of the Persian Gulf 
(comp. Glaser, l.c. p. 368). Havilah was situated 
somewhere in Arabia, probably extending from the 
north-central part to the east (comp. Glaser, l.c. pp. 
339 etseq.). Jobab is to be identified with the Jo- 
baritai of Ptolemy — an Arabian tribe. 

Uncertain as some of these names are, it is clear 
that, according to the Biblical classification, the 
Arabs, Babylonians, Assyrians, Arameans, and He- 
brews were regarded as Semites, or the descendants 
of Shem. 

Critical View : In modern times the highest 

criterion of kinship between nations is the posses- 
sion of a common language, or languages which 
have a common derivation. This criterion is not in- 
fallible ; but when checked by other tests, kinship 
in speech is most important evidence of kinship in 
race. When determined by this test, the catalogue 
of Semitic nations differs somewhat from the Biblical 
list. It includes the Nortli-Arabians, South- Arabians 
(Minseans, Sabeans, etc.), the Abyssinians, Baby- 
lonians, Assyrians, Arameans (consisting of many 
widely scattered tribes extending from the Persian 
Gulf to Lebanon and the Hauran), the Phenicians, 
Canaanites, and Hebrews, together with the kindred 
’ of the last-named, the Moabites and the Edomites. 
The list in Gen. x. classes the Phenicians and Canaan- 
ites with the Hamites; but the linguistic and histor- 
ical evidence is overwhelmingly in favor of their 
kinship to the Semites. 

On linguistic grounds the Semites are usually di- 
vided into two groups: the northern and the south- 
ern Semites. The latter include the Arabs, -Yemen- 
ites (Minteans, Sabeans, the modern Mehri), and the 
Abj T ssinians ; the northern group, the rest. For the 
southern group this classification is excellent, cer- 
tain well-marked features of the languages, such as 


the inner or broken plurals common to these Sem- 
itic tongues alone, distinguishing them from the 
northern group. For the latter group 
Classifica- the classification is not so happy, as 
tion and the northern languages are not so 
Kinship to closely related to one another. It is 
Hamites. clear from the great variations which 
they show that the peoples speaking 
them did not live as long together in one center 
and separate from the southern Semites. Northern 
Semitic really consists of three groups of languages: 
the Babylonian (including Assyrian), the Aramean 
(including Syriac and many dialects, from Samaritan 
to Mandjean), and the Canaanitisli (including Plie- 
nieian, Hebrew, and Moabite). These languages, 
intimately related to one another, are less closely 
related to the group of languages of which ancient 
Egyptian is the most important representative, and 
which is now usually termed “Hamitic” (comp. 
Zimmern, “ Vergleicliende Grammatik der Semiti- 
schen Sprachen,” p. 5; Barton, l.c. pp. 9 et seq.). 
This Hamitic group consists of Egyptian, Coptic, 
the Berber languages (Kabyle, Tamacliek, etc.), 
and the so-called Cushite languages (Bishari, Salio, 
Galla, Afar, Somali, Bilin, Chamir, etc.). 

Formerly, on account of certain animal names 
common to all the Semitic tongues, it was held by 
Hommel and others that the Semites separated from 
the Aryans in the high table-lands of Turkestan and 
wandered to Babylonia, whence they 
Primitive spread over the Arabian Peninsula and 
Home and Syria. This view is now r generally 
Civiliza- abandoned, most scholars agreeing 
tion. that Arabia was the cradle-land of the 
Semites, w r hile North Africa was that 
of the united Hamito-Semitic race, and that the 
Semites in prehistoric times separated from their 
kinsmen and migrated to Arabia, where their 
special racial characteristics and the distinguish- 
ing features of their languages were developed, 
and whence they were distributed over other Sem- 
itic countries. The life of the Hamites and the 
Semites in North Africa and Arabia developed in a 
desert country dotted with occasional oases. The 
hard conditions of life forced them, long before the 
dawn of history, from savagery into a barbarism in 
which the cultivation of the date-palm was a prom- 
inent feature. The family was loosely organized; 
descent was reckoned through the mother ; and the 
most influential divinity was a goddess of fertility, 
the marks of whose cult are deeply embedded in the 
civilization of all the Semites. This deity was 
known in South. Arabia as “ Athtar ” ; in Abyssinia, 
as 44 Ashtar ” ; in Mesopotamia, as u Ishtar ” ; among 
the Arameans as 41 Atar ” ; and among the Canaanites 
and Phenicians as 44 Ash tart” ; in the Masoretic text 
of the Old Testament the name is perverted to 
44 Ashtoreth.” This cult profoundly influenced even 
the religion of Israel. Like kinship of language, 
it is a mark of the kinship of the Semitic races. 
Its development and elimination constitute the story 
of Semitic evolution. Traces of a similar civiliza- 
tion and religion are found among the Hamites 
! (Maspero, 44 Dawn of Civilization,” pp. 51 et seq.); 

and in both peoples it was due to the influence of 
| oasis life (comp. Ashtoreth). 



Semites 

Semitic Languages 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


186 


The Arabs in the desert fastnesses of central and 
northern Arabia have, on account of their isolated 
position, preserved unchanged more 
The Arabs features of primitive Semitic charac- 
and Abys- ter, custom, and language than any 
sinians. other Semitic nation; the conditions 
of life have always been too hard to 
permit the development of any high state of civ- 
ilization. But Arabia from time immemorial has 
poured forth wave upon wave of Semites over the 
surrounding lands; and finally, under the influence 
of Mohammed in the seventh century of the current 
era, Arabia became for a time a great world-power, 
and the Arabs, urged on by a new religious enthu- 
siasm, conquered in the course of a century western 
Asia and North Africa, extending their power from 
India to the Mediterranean and advancing also across 
Spain into France. The fertility of these lands 
soon caused the seat of Arabic power to move be- 
yond the borders of Arabia. In the conquered 
countries the Arabs have become only one element 
of the population ; but they are still an important 
factor in the world’s history (comp. Arabia; Ca- 
lifs; Islam). 

Archeological investigation has in recent years re- 
vealed in southwestern Arabia, the most fertile por- 
tion of the peninsula, the presence of a high degree 
of civilization as early as the thirteenth century b.c. 
This civilization centered in the cities of Ma‘in and 
Saba, and has left a large number of inscriptions 
written in a dialect which differs considerably from 
that of northern Arabia (comp. Hommel, “Sud- 
Arabische Chrestomathie, ” Munich, 1893). From 
southern Arabia emigrants crossed the Straits of 
Bab-el-Mandeb and established a colony in Africa, 
which in time not only became independent, but 
even conquered a part of the mother country (comp. 
Glaser, lx . ; idem, “ Die Abessinier in Arabien und 
Afrika”). These Semites are known as Ethiopians 
or Abyssinians. Their earliest inscriptions are writ- 
ten in the language and script of southern Arabia. 
By 115 b.c. the old kingdom of Saba had been over- 
thrown and the kingdom of Saba and Baidan estab- 
lished on its ruins. This kingdom lay in part in 
Africa. About 380 c.e. there arose in Africa the 
kingdom of Aksum; and about the same time the 
Sabean script gave place in Abyssinia to the Ge‘ez 
script, which still prevails in that country (comp. 

D. H. Muller, “ Epigraphische Denkmaler aus Abes- 
sinien,” Vienna, 1894; Bent, “Sacred City of the 
Ethiopians, ” 1893). Christianity entered the country 
during the same century and finally prevailed. 
There are still spoken in Abyssinia the dialects 
into which the old Ethiopic has broken up, such as 
the Amharic, the Tigre, and the Tigrina. Abyssinia 
is still an independent kingdom. 

The oldest Semitic civilization ever developed 
was the Babylonian. This, if not the oldest, is one 
of the oldest civilizations in the world ; 
The Baby- in the opinion of the majority of 
loniansand those competent to judge, its begin- 
Assyrians. nings antedate the Semitic occupation 
of Babylonia and were originated by 
a non-Semitic people, whom German scholars call 
“Sumerians,” and English, “Accadians.” The Su- 
merians had made the beginningsof civilization and 


of the cuneiform writing (comp. Weissbach, “Su- 
merische Frage,” Leipsic, 1898; Barton, lx. pp. 
164 et seq.). Before the dawn of written history, 
probably by 5000 b.c. , Semites from Arabia had min- 
gled with the Sumerians (comp. Barton, lx. pp. 196 
et seq.). 

The earliest history known at the present day 
through written documents reveals a number of 
cities— Sliirpurla, Kish, Gishban, Ur, Erecli, Larsa, 
and Agade — struggling for supremacy. One city 
held the leadership for a while, and then it would 
pass to another. There is reason to believe that in 
prehistoric times similar struggles had occurred 
between Nippur, Eridu, and Ur. Only thus can 
the position held by these cities at the dawn of his- 
tory be accounted for. About 2300 b.c. Babylon 
emerged from obscurity and became supreme under 
a dynasty which belonged to a new wave of emi- 
gration from Arabia; and for about 1200 years 
it was the most important city in the country. 
About 1700 the Kassites, a race from the south- 
east, invaded Babylonia and founded a dynasty 
which lasted for 576 years; but these foreigners were 
soon Semitized. After about the year 1000 the Baby- 
lonian kingdom became weak. The city retained a 
commanding religious and cultural influence; but 
leadership in political affairs passed to Assyria 
(comp. Babylonia). 

Assyria was a Semitic colony, or a series of colo- 
nies, from Babylonia. It begins to emerge into the 
annals of written history about the middle of the 
nineteenth century b.c. By 1100 it was the strong- 
est power in western Asia; and at various periods 
after that it held the hegemony. In the ninth, 
eighth, and seventh centuries it dominated Pales- 
tinian affairs ; in the two latter centuries, Babylonia ; 
and in the seventh century it conquered Egypt. Its 
people lacked the culture and refinement of the 
Babylonians; but they were, perhaps, the most vig- 
orous warriors whom the Semites ever produced 
(comp. Assyria). 

Another wave of Semitic emigration from Arabia 
is represented by the Chaldeans. For a long time 
they hovered around the southern border of Baby- 
lonia, where they appeared about 1000 

The b.c. By the eighth century one of 

Chaldeans their number had seized the throne 

and of Babylon for a time, and in 625 the 
Arameans. Chaldean Nabopolassar succeeded in 
establishing the Chaldean or Neo- 
Babylonian empire. As Assyria fell in 606, this 
empire succeeded to the dominion of western Asia 
until it was overthrown by Cyrus in 538 (comp. 
Ciialdea). 

The Arameans never formed one united independ- 
ent state. They were scattered along the western 
border of Babylonia; extended up the Euphrates to 
the Taurus Mountains; occupied the region between 
the Euphrates and Lebanon ; established a kingdom 
at Damascus; in early Israelitish times pushed 
down into the Hauran; and later, as the Nabataeans, 
occupied Edom, Moab, and the Sinaitic Peninsula, 
and advanced into Arabia as far as Taima. They 
were the middlemen of the East. In the time of 
Sennacherib their language had become a kind of 
lingua franca (II Kings xviii. 26); and it seems in 



187 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Semites 

Semitic Languages 


time to have displaced both the Babylonian in Baby- 
lonia (comp. Aramaic “dockets” in Stevenson, “As- 
syrian and Babylonian Contracts”; Clay, “Business 
Documents of Murasliu Sons”) and the Hebrew m 
Palestine (comp. Aramaic Language). The Ara- 
means appear in the inscriptions about 1500 b.c. by 
which time they had begun to migrate into Pales- 
tine. Hebrew tradition preserves the legend that 
Israel was of Aramean extraction (comp. Gen. xii., 
xxviii -xxxii. ; Deut. xxvi. 5). On the Arameans 
comp.* Paton, “Early History of Syria and Pales- 
tine,” cli. vii., viii. ; Aram; Aram-Geshur; Aram- 
Maaciiah; Aram - Naharaim; Aram - Rehob; 
Aram-Zobah; Damascus; Nabateans. 

The Plienicians and Canaanites were one race and 
spoke one language. Perhaps they came into Syiia 
and Palestine as a part of that move- 
Fheni- ment of races which gave Egypt her 
cians, Ca- Hyksos kings about 1700 b.c. (comp, 
naanites, Paton, lx. ch. v.). They never devel- 
and oped a consolidated kingdom, but 
Hebrews, formed small city dominions, over 
which petty sovereigns ruled. The 
Plienicians, who inhabited the little strip of land 
between Mt. Lebanon and the Mediterranean, be- 
came great sailors. They performed on the sea the 
part which the Arameans did on land, carrying 
Semitic influences to Greece and Egypt. It is com- 
monly supposed that they originated the alphabet. 
Perhaps this is not time ; but they were probably 1 
the distributors of it. The Canaanites, although 
conquered by the Hebrews, gave to the latter 
their language (comp. Canaan; Canaanites; 
Phenicia). 

The Hebrews were in origin an offshoot of the 
Arameans; but they adopted the Canaanitisli lan- 
guage. Their history is told under Israel, People 
of. Their great contribution to the world’s civiliza- 
tion has been a religious one. The Edomites and 
the Moabites were closely connected with Israel 
and apparently spoke the same language (comp. 
Edom; Moab-; Moabite Stone). 

The Semites, though never especially gifted in 
philosophical power, have contributed much to the 
civilization of the world. The Babylonians tin ough 
millenniums of painful development 
Semitic established many of the primary ele- 
Contrilbu- ments of civilized life. The fact that 
tions to the Egyptians were developing many 
Civiliza- of these elements independently in no 
tion. wise detracts from the credit due the 
Babylonians. The beginnings of as- 
tronomy, the division of time by weeks, and perhaps 
the beginnings of mathematics are traceable to Baby- 
lonia, and are at least in part to be credited to the 
Semites. Phenicia, as stated above, in all likelihood 
distributed, if she did not invent, the alphabet. 
Three of the most influential of the world’s re- 
ligions, Judaism, Christianity, and Mohammedanism 
—religions which embody for many millions who 
are not Semites their highest ideals and hopes aic 
Semitic contributions. 


Bibliography: F. Muller, Gruiulriss dev Spraclnvissen 
sch aft, vol. hi., Vienna, 18S4 ; Gerland, Ethnography \ Fggf 
delpliia, 1S85 ; Brinton, Races and Peoples, New York, 1890 
Peschel, Races of Men. ib. 18S8: Keane, Ethnology j, Cam- 
bridge, 189G ; Sergi, Mediterranean Race , New Voik, 1.101 


Ripley, Races of Europe , 1901 ; W. R. Smith, Kinship and 
Marriage in Early Arabia , 2d ed., 1903 ; idem, Rel. of 
Sem. 2d ed., 1894; Barton, Sketch of Semitic Origins, New 
York 1902 ; Lagrange, Eludes sur les Religions Semitiques , 
Paris' 1903. For the literature on the individual Semitic na- 
tions,' compare bibliographies of the respective articles m 
The Jewish Encyclopedia. n a n 

E. G. H. 

SEMITIC LANGUAGES : Languages spoken 
by the Semitic peoples (comp. Semites). These 
peoples are tlie N orth -Arabians, tlie South-Arabians, 
the Abyssinians (ancient and modern), the ancient 
Babylonians and Assyrians, the various Aramean 
tribes, the Hebrews and their kindred (the Moabites 
r — .1 +iiA nnrmnrntfis. and the Phenicians 


and their colonies . 

Like the Aryan languages, the various dialects of 
the Semitic group are inflectional. Both in the 
Aryan and in the Semitic tongues the agglutinative 
stage of development lias passed, and words (such 
as verb-stems and pronouns) originall}' placed in 
juxtaposition have been worn down 
Not Be- and welded into inflectional forms, 
lated to the Here the analogy ends; and tliediffer- 
Aryan ences between tlie two groups are so 
Tongues, striking that it is probable that they 
belong to two independent families of 
languages, each developed in a different part of the 
world quite apart from the other, and each repre- 
senting an independent evolution of human speech. 

The most fundamental characteristic of .the Se- 
mitic languages is the triliteral form of their roots. 
With the exception of some biliterals, each root 
consists of three letters, as “ktl.” A few have been 
worn down through use; but most of the words still 
exhibit the triliteral character. These roots consist 
entirely of consonants, vowels being.only secondary ; 
the substantial meaning resides in the former. 
When vowels are added tlie word is inflected, as 
“ katala ” = “ he killed, ” “ Mtilu 11 ” = “ one who kills, ” 
and “ kutila ” = “ lie was killed. ” The Aryan roots 
are totally different, as “i” = “go,” “stint” = 
“stand,” and “ vid ” = “know.” The Semitic lan- 
guages contain a system of guttural and palatal let- 
ters, some of which (“alef,” “ c ayin,”and “gliayin ) 
have no parallels in Aryan, and are nearly impossible 
for Aryan vocal organs. Moreover, the Aryan lan- 
guages have an elaborate system of tenses; the peo- 
ples°wliich originated them were careful to express 
when an action occurred. The Semites possess but 
two so-called tenses, neither of which primarily 
denotes time, but which simply represent an action 
as complete or incomplete: while little attention 
is paid to the time of an action or state, tlie man- 
ner of its occurrence is expressly noted; i. e . , 
whether it was done simply or intensively, whether 
it was done reflexively or was caused by another, 
whether it was complete or incomplete, etc. Semitic 
modes of indicating these ideas, such as the doub- 
ling of the middle radical (thus, “kattala”) to ex- 
press the intensive, the prefixing of “ a,” ‘ ha, oi 
“sha” to represent the causative idea, and the pre- 
fixing of “na” or prefixing or inserting of “t” to 
express the reflexive, are absolutely foreign to the 
genius of tlie Aryan tongues. In expressing the 
dependence of one noun upon another in the geni- 
tive relation Semites modify the first noun, produ- 
cing what is known as the construct state, while the 



Semitic Languages 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


18 S 


Amins modify the second or dependent noun. In 
short, the "whole method of conceiving* and express- 
ing thought is different in the two groups of lan- 
guages. 

With reference to the languages sometimes called 
Hamitic the case is quite different. Here a degree 
of kinship is demonstrable. The Hamitic tongues 
are the ancient Egyptian, Coptic, 
Relation Tameshek, Kaby’e, Bedza, Galla, So- 
to the mali, Saho, Belin, Chamir, and Dan- 
Hamitic kali, or 'Afar. The kinship of this 
Tongues, group to the Semitic is indicated by 
the following facts: (1) The oldest 
known representative of the group, Egyptian, pos- 
sesses the peculiar gutturals “alef” and “ ‘ay in.” 
(2) The roots of ancient Egyptian, like those of the 
Semitic languages, were originally triliteral (comp. 
Erman iu “ Sitzungsberichte der Koniglichen Aka- 
demie der Wissenschaften zu Berlin,” 1900, p. 350); 
the same is probably true with regard to the prim- 
itive stock of the whole group.. (3) The personal 
pronouns in the two groups are almost identical; 
and as pronouns are ordinarily the most individual 
of all the parts of speech, the similarities here are 
the more significant. (4) In both the Hamitic and the 
Semitic groups intensive stems are formed by doub- 
ling the second radical (comp. Erman, l.c. p. 321; 
P. Muller, “ Grundriss der Sprachwissenschaft,” iff. ’ 
section ii., lip. 268 et seq.). (5) Both groups form 
reflexive or passive verb-stems by prefixing or in- 
fixing the letter “t. ” (6) In both groups a causa- 
tive stem is formed by prefixing “s” or “sli,” 

* n some ^ ie Semitic dialects is thinned to 


tongues (described below) lead most scholars to di- 
vide them into two groups, the Soutli-Semitic and 
\the North-Semitic. Hommel (“Auf- 
Classifica- siitze uud Abliandlungen,” pp. 92 et 
tion of the seq.) proposed to divide them into- 
Semitic East-bemitic and West- Semi tic, the 
Languages, former consisting of Babylonian -As- 
syrian, and the latter including the 
other languages. The older and more generally ac- 
cepted classification is, however, far more satisfac- 
tory, as it groups the languages much more in ac- 
cordance with their similarities and differences. 
These groups are subdivided as follows: 

„ _ , A . w. f North-Arabic dialects. 

South-Seimtic Languages j Soutb-Arabic dialects. 

I Abyssinian dialects, 
f Babylonian-Assyrian. 

Nortb-Semitie. Languages \ Canaanitish dialects (including Pbe- 
® ° mcian and Hebrew). 

I Aramaic dialects. 

The probability has been demonstrated in recent 
years that the Hamito-Semitic stock was a part of 
the Mediterranean race, that its primitive home was 
in North Africa, and that the Semites migrated to 
central Arabia, where in their sheltered existence 
their special linguistic characteristics were developed 
(comp. Semites, Critical View; Barton, l.c. ch. 
i.). The linguistic differences between the northern 
and southern Semites make it probable that the an- 
cestors of the northern group migrated at an early 
time to the northeastern part of Arabia, whence they 
found their way in successive waves to the Meso- 
potamian valley and thence to the Syro-Palestinian 
coast. The following is a tentative genealogical 

chart of ancestry of tire Semitic languages = 





Primitive Hamito-Semitic 

i 


1 

1 

Primitive Hamitic 

i 



l 

Primitive Semitic 

1 

Egyptian 

Coptic 

i 

Berber 

Languages 

i 

Languages 

of 

Somaliland 


Nortb-Semitie 

i 

~ 1 

South-Semitic 

i 



Babylonian- 

Assyrian 

i 

Canaanitisb 

H f | 

Aramaic North-Arabio South-Arabic 

Abyssinian ! 


viz., two, six, seven, eight, and nine, are expressed 
by the same roots in the two groups (comp. Bar- 
ton,- “Sketch of Semitic Origins,” p. 9. note 2). (8) 
The two groups have also the same endings to 
denote the two genders: masculine, “u”or“w”; 
feminine, “ t. ” 

It can not, therefore, be doubted that the two 
groups of languages sprang from the same stock. 
The Semitic languages betray their relationship one 
to another not only bv similarity of articulation and 
grammatical foundation, but by identity of roots 
and word-forms; while the Hamitic languages re- 
veal their kinship merely by a similarity in morpliol- 
ogy and of the forms of their roots, less often in 
the material of the roots (comp. Muller, l.c. p. 225; 
Barton, l.c. p. 11). 

The linguistic differences of the various Semitic 


The known dialects of these languages are as 
follows : 

South-Semitic Languages. ' 

(1) North- Arabic Dialects: Old classical Arabic; North* 
Arabic inscriptions (various dialects); the Safaitic inscriptions ; 

modern Arabic (embracing many dialects, as. 

Known Syrian Arabic, Egyptian Arabic, Tunisian Ara- 

Dialects of bic, Algerian Arabic, Maltese Arabic, ‘Omani 

Semitic. Arabic, etc ; often each separate village lias a 

dialect of its own). 

(2) South- Arabic Dialects: Mincean and Sabean inscrip- 
tions; modern Soutb-Arabic dialects (as Mehri and Socotri). 

(3) Abyssinian Dialects : Old Ethiopic inscriptions ; Ethiopia 
(Geez); and the modern dialects Tigre, Tigrina, Amliaric Ha- 
rarl, and Gurage. 

North-Semitic Languages. 

(1) Babylonian-Assyrian (including inscriptions from c 
4000 b.c. to c. 250 b.c.) . 

(2) Canaanitish Dialects: Canaanitisb glosses in the El- 
Amarna tablets ; Hebrew (including Biblical Hebrew and post- 



189 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Semitic Languages 


Con- 

sonants 

and 

Vowels. 


Biblical Hebrew) ; Moabitisb (Moabite Stone); Pbenician (in- 
cluding runic) . West-Arumaic, including: inscriptions 

(3) (embracing Biblical Aramaic, Jew- 

of Zenjirli ; Jewish A ‘ 0 j. a ud Targ. Jonathan], Gali- 

ish Palestinian Targumim, and 

svria, and Urumia. . 

The Semitic languages i contain the follows con- 

.sonants : gutturals, “a ef, ‘ W h. > , 

lower palatals, lj, kh, ,„ s ., 

upper palatals, “k,” “g,” (“/ ): sib- 
ilants, “s” (D), “<?” Of). I s ” ^ 
“sli” “z,” “z”; dentals, “t,” “d,” 
“t” “ th,” “dh,” “d”; liquids, “1,” 
“ii,” “r”; labials, “p,” “ph”^(f), 

<, i, >> “ nr ” and “ w.” Some of these characters (“ d ” 
and “ z ”) are peculiar to the Soutli-Semitic group. 

1 comparison of the Semitic languages reveals 
such facts of phonetic equivalence as the following: 

(1) III passing from one language to anothei- Cie 
gutturals frequently interchange: 

Arabic “’aktala,” Syriac aktel, but Ilebiew 
“ liiktil ” Biblical Aramaic “haktel, and Sabean 
“hkti”; also Arabic “liumu,” but Ethiopic “ ’emnn- 
tu." So, “li” with', as Hebrew hob, Synac 

‘“obba ’’ Arabic ‘“ubb." . , . 

io\ “T” and “t ” are frequently interchanged, 
as Hebrew “katal,” Syriac j'ktal,” but Arabic 

“katala,” and Ethiopic “katal.” 

V o\ T-Tebrew “ z ” is often equivalent to Aramaic 
andArabic “dh,” e,,, Hebrew “zahahh,” 

Aramaic “ _A.mlTc. 5 cs “ <31xa-lxsAh. ; 

bah,” Ethiopic “zablia,” Aramaic d'bliah, Arabic 

d (4) Hebrew and Assyrian “ sli ” is frequently rep- 
resented in Aramaic by “ t ” (“ th ), in Arabic j 
“tli ” and in Ethiopic by “s,” as: Hebrew slior, 
Assyrian “sliuru,” but Aramaic “tora, Arabic 
“thaur,” and Ethiopic “sor Hebrew yashabli, 

Assyrian “ashahu,” but Aramaic yetheh, Sjnac 

“itliob,” Arabic “ wathaba ” . „ , 

/,-x « ci, » or “ s ” is sometimes tlimned to li ana 

thSto ’ C.r,, Assyrian “ sbu,” Sabean “ su,” but He- 
brew “hu\” Aramaic “hu,” Arabic “hua.” This ap- 
pears in the causative of the verb: Assyrian has a 
“shaf'el” («,</.,“ shukshud”), which in Hebrew and 
Sabean is a “hif'il” (c. S , Hebrew 

“hktl”) and ill Arabic and Ethiopic af el ( ■./■, 

Arabic “ ’aktala,” Ethiopic “ ’angar ”). Aramaic ex- 
hibits all three forms, since Biblical Aramaic bus the 
hif'il or liaf'el, while Syriac presents the shat el 
and ’af ‘el side by side. In Phenician a »rthei 
change to “y” occurred making a jif 1 
“ if‘il ” (e (/. , “ ytn’th ” = “ I caused to erect ). 

(C) Hebrew “ Q ” (V) is often represented in Aramaic 
by • and in Arabic by “d” ; e.g., Hebrew eiec 
Aramaic “’ar'a,” Arabic “’arc}.” For fuller lllus 
tration of consonantal equivalence compare the lit- 
erature cited below. 

It is characteristic of all the Semitic langua D 
that the peculiarities of the gutturals, the weakness 


of “ w ” and “y,’’and the tendency of a vowelless 
“u” to assimilate with the following letter, create 
“weak” or irregular verbs and cause anomalous 

noun-forms. . , 

It is probable that in primitive Semitic, as in clas- 
sical Arabic, there were but three vowels, a, 1 , 
and “u,” of each of which there were a long and a 
short variety. Perhaps there was also the ; volatil- 
ized vowel « shewn” ( e ). In Assyrian an e was 
developed: and in the other dialects, in which Hie 
vowels can be determined both an e and an ° 
were developed. “W" and “ y ” in combination 
witli “a” resulted in the diphthongs au and 

! Tl,e two Semitic verb-states mentioned above are 
the perfect and the imperfect. The former expresses 
a completed action ; the latter, an un- 
The Verb, completed action. The perfect is 
formed in all the languages by affix- 
ing to the verb-stem certain particles which were 
once pronouns or fragments of pronouns. The 
third person singular masculine is an exception 
this, as it is the verb-stem alone. The iinpeifect is 
formed by prefixing particles, likewise of pro- 
nominal origin, to the stem, and, in some forms 
by adding affixes also. The stems are vocalized 
differently in the different languages. 

The Soutli-Semitic languages are characterized 
bv a fuller aud more symmetrical development of 
the verb-forms than are theNorth-Senntic, by a more 
complete system of characters for the expression of 
sounds, by the fact that they often make the plural 
of nouns by means of internal changes £ 


shu"” = “a 


/ llKJtins uj. o ' , 

_ beast.” “ wuliushu n ” = a beasts ), and 
br many minor differences. . . 

The Arabic language with its various dmlecU is 
u5se a to-ciav bv a much greater number of people 
than is any other Semite xongue. ™- 
2 owes to the influence of Islam. Although its ht- 
» erary monuments are much } oungei 
South-Sem- tlian those of several of the other Sem- 
itic Lan- itic languages, scholars recogmze m 
guages. the classical Arabic (of which the Ko- 
Arabic. ran is the chief example) tlie dialect 
which has retained most full} the 
forms of the primitive Semitic speech. These were 
preserved' in Arabic owing to the isolated position 
of the Arabian people. Living m the desert fast- 
nesses of central Arabia, they were not subjected to 
the disintegrating influences of foreign contact. 
In both verb- and noun-forms, accordingly, classica 
Arabic is much richer than the other Semitic rian- 
vuacres. The development of its verb maj be com 
preliended by a glance at the verb-stems. They aie 
as follows:' 


1. 11. 

katala kattala 

VII. VIII. 

inkatala iktatala 
XIII. XIV. 


III. 

katala 

IX. 

iktalla 

XV. 


IV. 

’aktala 

X. 

istaktala 


V. VI. 

takattala takatala 

XI. XII. 

iktalla iktautala 


iktawwala iktanlala iktanla(y). 

Of these forms. I. denotes the simple action; II., 
the intensive of I.; HI., an attempted or indirect 
action; IV., a causative action; Y. 18 e J 

II. ; VI- is reflexive or reciprocal offl.,^ and 
VIII. are reflexive or passive of I. ; IX. and XL aie 



Semitic Languages 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


190 


used to denote inherent qualities or bodily defects; 
X. is a reflexive of IV. ; and XII. -XV., while rare 
and obscure, seem to indicate the doing of a deed, or 
the possession of a quality, in 'intensity. All the 
forms except IX. and XL -XV. possess a passive as 
well as an active voice, whence it will be seen that 
the characteristic of the Semitic verb in contest 
with the Aryan has here its fullest expression: In 
the imperfect of the verb, also, Arabic is more fully 
developed than the other languages, having the 
following modes in both the active and the passive 
voices : 

Indicative. Subjunctive. Jussive. First Energic. Second 
Energic. 

Moreover, in the richness of its development of 
infinitives or verbal nouns Arabic far surpasses the 
other Semitic tongues. This is not easily illustrated 
in a short article; but it has led grammarians to 
make the Arabic forms the standard by which to 
measure and explain all Semitic nouns. In the 
modern dialects of Arabic many of the refinements 
of form and sjmtax are neglected, and much pho- 
netic decay is apparent. 

The grammatical development of the South- 
Arabic dialects seems to be less complete. In the 
older dialects, as known from the in- 
IVrinaean scriptions (which are written in a dis- 
and tinctive South-Arabic alphabet), the 

Sabean. verb-stems corresponding to the Ara- 
bic I., II., HI., V., VI„ VII., VIII., 
and X. are found. Instead of the Arabic IV. 
(’af‘al), in Mintean the original “ sh ” of the Semitic 
causative is preserved in a saf‘el (as “saknaka”), 
and in Sabean it is only thinned to a hif‘il (as “liah- 
datha ”). In the modern dialects (Meliri and Socotri) 
considerable decay is noticeable. 

The oldest inscriptions from Abj'ssinia are written 
in the Sabean script, but inscriptions of about 380 
c.e. written in the Ge‘ez character are met with. In 
the Ge‘ez (or Ethiopic) a version of the Scriptures 
was soon made; and there exists in it a considerable 
Christian literature. It is still the 
Abyssin- sacred language of Abyssinia, bearing 
ian to the modern dialects much the same 
Dialects, relation that Latin bears to the Ro- 
mance languages. While Ethiopic 
has many features in common with the other South- 
Semitic dialects (such, for example, as “ broken ” or 
internal plurals), it has preserved some features in 
common with certain members of the North-Semitic 
group (such as the “k” of the first person perfect 
of the verb). Such characteristics are important 
philologically ; for coincidences in languages far re- 
moved from one another in locality are strong evi- 
dence of the survival of primitive features. Ethi- 
opic, moreover, has evolved the most symmetrical 
development of the Semitic verb. It has, first, the 
stems corresponding to the Arabic L, II., and III. 
Then it makes a causative not only of I., as in Ara- 
bic, by prefixing “’a,” but also of II. and III. in 
like manner. Again, from the three stems first 
mentioned it makes three passive or reflexive stems 
by prefixing “ta.” Then, lastly, from each of the 
three simple stems it forms a causative-reflexive 
stem by prefixing “’asta.” Thus a very symmet- 


rical system of twelve forms is secured. The mod- 
ern Abyssinian dialects present considerable linguis- 
tic change from the Ethiopic. Of these the Tigre 
and Tigrina are closely related, while the Amharic, 
Hararl, and Gurage form another closely related 
group. 

As noted above, the North-Semitic languages are 
not so closely related to one another as are the Soutli- 
Semitic. It seems probable that from a common 
Xorth-Semitic home in northeastern Arabia, where 
they had been but loosely held together, the ances- 
tors of these tongues migrated in three great sepa- 
rate waves, all of which moved by way of the 
Tigris-Euplirates valley. Of course there were 
many minor, intermediate waves of migration, as 
well as much direct mixture from Arabia later;, but 
these three main types were strong enough to im- 
pose their languages upon later comers. 

The Semitic ancestors of the Babylonians migrated 
into the Mesopotamian valley long before the dawn 
of history (comp. Semites, Critical View; Barton, 
l.c. pp. 196 et seq.). Their language, which was 
perpetuated by their colonists, the later Assyrians, in 
some respects differs from the Semitic 
North-Sem- prototype more than does any other 
itic Lan- Semitic tongue. This is no doubt 
guages. owing to the fact that upon their set- 
Babylo- tlement in Babylon ia the Semites came 
nian- into contact with the highly civilized 
Assyrian. Sumerians, among whom they settled, 
and whom they gradually absorbed. 
At first the Semites when they committed their 
thoughts to writing employed the Sumerian lan- 
guage; but Semitic idiom betrays itself in such in- 
scriptions as early as 4000 b.c. The Sumerians had 
developed a system of picture-writing. This the 
Semites adapted to their own language partly as a 
syllabic method of writing and partly as an ideo- 
graphic system. Semitic was written thus as early 
at least as the time of Manishtu-irba (c. 3900 b.c.), 
and continued to be so written as late at least as the 
time of the Seleucid king Antioclius I. (282-261 

B.C.). 

Some of the most striking of the peculiarities of 
this dialect are as follows :*(1) All the gutturals, in- 
cluding the lower palatal “gli,” are worn away. 
The presence of the stronger of them is indicated by 
the change of an original “a” or “i ” to “e.” (2) 
The form called “permansive,” which corresponds 
to the perfect in the other Semitic languages, has 
lost its original significance and is used to express 
a state. The imperfect has been differentiated into 
two forms, the shorter of which is used to express 
completed action, and the longer uncompleted, and 
thus performs the functions of both the perfect and 
the imperfect. (3) The forms of verb-stems exhibit 
the following scheme: there are four stems, which 
correspond in meaning respectively to the Arabic 
stems I., II., IV., and VII. Three of these are 
formed analogously to the Arabic; but the causa- 
tive is the original Semitic sliaf‘el. Grammarians 
indicate these as follows; I. 1 (simple stem); II. 1 
(intensive); III. 1 (causative); and IV. 1 (reflexive). 

By inserting a “t” in stems I. 1, II. 1, and III. 1 
after the first consonant a secondary series (I. 2, II. 

2, HI. 2), each of which was originally the recipro- 



191 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Semitic liangpistges 


The Ca- 

naanitish 

Group. 


cal or reflexive of a corresponding form of the first 
series, is produced. One other form (I. 3) is ob- 
tained hy inserting in the form I. 1 the syllable 
“Um ” after the first radical. This system is some- 
what analogous to the Etliiopic verb-system, but is 
not so complete. 

(4) Babylonian-Assyrian exhibits several phonetic 
laws peculiar to itself. For example, a vowelless 
sibilant before a dental frequently, though not in- 
variably, becomes “ 1” ; as “ lubultu ” for “ lubushtu 
and “ Kaldaai ” for Hebrew QHra- 

With the exception of a few inscriptions, of 
which that of Meslia (Moabite), that of Eshmunazer 
(Plienician), and the Marseilles inscrip- 
tion (Punic) are the longest, modern 
knowledge of the Canaanitisli group 
is confined to Hebrew. As the He- 
brews were partly, if not largely, of 
Aramean stock, it follows that they adopted the 
language of the Canaanites among whom they set- 
tled (comp. Semites, Critical View). This Ca- 
naanitish language was spoken in Palestine and 
Phenicia as early as 1400 b.c. ; for its idioms appear 
in the El-Amarna letters (comp. Tell el-Amarna). 
The Canaanites, who appear to have moved west- 
ward between 1700 and 1800 b.c., settled among the 
Amorites. The latter appear to have moved into 
Palestine about 2400 or 2500 b.c., at the time of the 
Semitic migration which brought to Babylonia the 
founders of the first Babylonian dynasty (comp. 
Paton, “Early History of Syria and Palestine,” cli. 
iii.). It is possible that the Amorites fixed the type 
of the Canaanitish languages and that the Canaan- 
ites borrowed it from them, as the Hebrews did at a 
later time from the Canaanites. This is mere con- 
jecture; but the divergence of Canaanitish from 
Aramaic would warrant one in supposing that those 
who developed the former were isolated from their 
kinsfolk at an early date. The chief distinguish- 
ing characteristic of the Canaanitish languages is 
the construction known as “waw consecutive,” in 
which a peculiarly vocalized conjunction connecting 
two verbs in a narrative enables a discourse begun 
in the imperfect state to be continued in the perfect 
and vice versa. This construction gives especial 
vividness to a narrative, enabling the reader to stand 
as a spectator of the original events and watch their 
development. It is found only in Biblical Hebrew 
and in the Meslia inscription on the Moabite Stone. 
From later Hebrew, from Plienician (no known 
inscription of which is earlier than 500 b.c.), and 
from Punic, it has disappeared. . 

The forms of the verb-stems known in Canaanitish 
arc : the “ kal ” (simple stem = Arabic I. ), the “ pi‘el ” 
and “ pu‘al ” (active and passive of the intensive, 
Arabic II.), the “liifil” (Plienician, “yif‘il”) and 
“ hof ‘al ” (active and passive of the causative, Arabic 
IV.), the “ liitpa'el,” formed by prefixing “ hit ” to the 
“pi‘el” (reflexive of the latter, equivalent to Arabic 
V ) and the “ nif ‘al ” (equivalent in form and mean- 
ing to Arabic VII.). Compare Hebrew Language. 

The Arameans appear in history 
Aramaic, about 1500 b.c. At this time they were 
making their way westward via Meso- 
potamia into Syria (comp. Patou, l.c. cli. \ii., viii.). 
They were the middlemen of the East; and then 


language became a means of international communi- 
cation, displacing both Babylonian and Hebrew. 
Thus it happens that many of the dialects, through 
the literary monuments of which Aramaic is known 
to-day, are dialects spoken by foreigners. 

The oldest Aramaic known is found in dockets to 
Babylonian tablets, inscriptions on weights, and the 
much longer inscriptions from Zenjirli of the eighth 
and seventh centuries b.c. This language, though 
undoubtedly Aramaic, approximates much more 
closely to Canaanitish than does the latei Aiamaic. 
During the Persian period Aramaic was the. official 
language of the western provinces. Some inscrip- 
tions of this period— one as early as Xerxes— and 
several tattered papyri in Aramaic are 
Jewish known, all of which exhibit much the 
Aramaic same form of the language, though 
differing from that of Zenjirli. Ara- 
maic as spoken by the Jews is known in several 
dialects as noted above. Of these, the Biblical Ara- 
maic has been much influenced by Hebrew. The 
other Palestinian dialects closely resemble the Bib- 
lical Aramaic, but exhibit a later form of it. In 
them the causative in “ha” instead of “ ’a,” and the 
formation of the passive by means of internal vowel- 
changes have disappeared (comp. Aramaic Lan- 
guage). . _ _ , . . 

The Samaritans translated their sacred books into 
Aramaic, writing it in a script peculiar to them- 
selves but developed out of the old Hebrew char- 
acter. Their dialect of Aramaic is closely related to 
the other Palestinian dialects, though perhaps they 
softened the gutturals a little more. They have 
often arbitrarily introduced into tlieir sacred books 
Hebrew forms from the original. This has led some 
wrongly to suppose that Samaritan is a mixture of 
w Hebrew and Aramaic. Aramaic is the 

Samaritan, language also of the inscriptions of the 
Nabateean, Nabataean kingdom, which flourished 
and for two or three centuries with its 
Palmyrene, capital at Petra, until overthrown by 
Trajan in 105 c.e. It is thought by 
No Id eke that the Nabataeans were Arabs who used 
Aramaic simply as a literary language. At Palmyra 
Aramaic inscriptions are found dating from a time 
shortly prior to the beginning of the Christian era 
down to the third century. The dialect of the Pal- 
myrene inscriptions, while in most respects re- 
sembling closely West-Aramaic, has some features, 
such as the plural in tf-, in common with East- 
Aramaic. 

Modern knowledge of the dialect of north-central 
Syria is confined to the Syriac inscriptions collected 
by Littmann (“Semitic Inscriptions,” pp. 1-56). 
These offer but little grammatical material. V hile 
they exhibit some dialectical differences, the forma- 
tion of the third person imperfect with “n” links 
the dialect with East-Aramaic. 

Syriac is the language of the Christian versions of 
the Bible made from the second century onward, 
and of a large Christian literature. 
Edessan or Through this literature it became 
Syriac. widely influential even in parts where 
it had not been previously known. . It 
was called Syriac because the name “Aramaic,” 
which belonged to the old inhabitants of the coun- 



Semitic Lianguages 
Senator 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


192 


try, liacl come to the Christians to mean “heathen.” 
In the eastern part of the Roman empire it was, next 
to Greek, the most important language until the 
Arabian conquest. Its characteristics, such as the 
imperfect in “n,” and the emphatic state in “a” 
from which all trace of its use as a definite article 
had disappeared, were clearly marked from the 
beginning. 

The Babylonian Talmud (Gemara) is written in 
Babylonian Aramaic; but, as there is a constant 
mingling of Hebrew and Aramaic passages, the 
Aramaic is not pure. Closely akin to this is the 
dialect of the Mandamus, a peculiar sect, half Chris- 
tian, half heathen, whose members lived probably 
in a different part of Babylonia. Man- 
Babylo- da?an is, therefore, slightly purer, be- 
nian and cause not subject to Hebrew influence. 
Mandsean These dialects employ an imperfect 
Dialects, either in “n”or in “1.” They were 
displaced by the Arabian conquest, 
though possibly the Mandieans still speak among 
themselves a descendant of their old language. 

In the region of ancient Assyria, Kurdistan, and 
Urumia dialects of Aramaic are still spoken by many 
Christians and by some Jews. American mission- , 
aries have developed the dialect spoken in Urumia 
into a new literary language. These modern dia- 
lects present many changes from the older usage, 
especially in verbal forms. 

The formal relation of Aramaic to the other Sem- 
itic languages can, perhaps, be best illustrated by a 
glance at its verb-stems. These are most fully "de- 
veloped in Edessan and Manda?an, where are found 
(I.) a simple stem = Arabic I. ; (II.) an 
The Verb- intensive stem = Arabic II. ; (III.) 
Steins of an ’af ‘eland (IV.)a shaf‘el, both equiv- 
Aramaic. alent to Arabic IY. A reflexive of 
each of these stems is formed by pre- 
fixing “ t. 55 As this “ t ” is vowelless it takes" pros- 
thetic’ with the auxiliary vowel “i,” making “’it.” 
Thus stems V., VL, VII., and Till, become the re- 
flexives of I., II., III., and IV. 

In the Jewish Palestinian dialects the shaf'el and 
its reflexive (i.e., stems IV. and VIII.) are wanting. 

In Biblical Aramaic and the inscriptions of Zenjirli 
the haf‘el takes the place of the ’af‘el, and it has no 
reflexive; so that in these dialects stems IV., VII., 
and VIII. are wanting. 

Bibliography: F. Muller, Grundriss dcr Sprachwisscnschaft, 
iii., section ii., Vienna, 1887; Erman, Das Yerlidltniss des 
Acgyptisehcnzit den Scmitischen Sprachen , in Z. D. M. G. 
xlvi. (1892) 98-126 ; idem. Die Flexion des Aecfyptischcn Vcr- 
bums. in Sitzungshcriclitc tier KonigUchcn Academic dcr 
Wissenschaftcn zu Berlin , 1900, pp. 317-353; idem, Acgyp- 
tische Grammatik. 2d ed., Berlin, 1902; Steindorff, Kopti- 
schc Gram mat ik , 2d ed., ih. 1901; Collizza, Lingua ‘ Afar . 
Vienna, 1887 ; Belkassen ben Sedira, LancjueKabijle , Algiers, 

18S7 ; Reinisch, Die Somali Sprachc , Vienna, 1900-1 ; Wright 
Comparative Grammar of the Semitic Languages. Cam- 
bridge University Press, 1890; Zimmern, Vcrcflcichcndc 
G ram matik der Sem it isclicn Spraclwn , Berlin, 189S ; Barth, 

Die Nominalh itching in den Scmitischen Spi'achcn . Leip- 
sic, 1889 ; Noldeke, Bcitnige zur Scmitischen Spraclnvisscn - 
sch aft. Strasburg, 1904 ; Wright, Grammar of the Arabic 
Language , 3d ed. (by W. R. Smith and De" Goeje), Cam- 
bridge University Press, 1890-9S; Socin, Arahischc Gram- 
niatik . 4th ed., Berlin, 1899; Spitta, Grammatik des Ara- 
h isclicn Yulgd rd ialcctes von Acgijptcn , Leipsic. 1880; 
Hartmann, Arabischcr Sjirachflihrcr. 2d ed., ih. 1S95; Stum- 
me, Grammatik des Tmiisischen Arahisch , 1896; Voders, 
Lchrbuch dcr Acgypto- Arahisch Umgangs-Sprachc , Cairo, 
1S90; Vassal li, Grammatica dellci Lingua Maltese , Malta, 
1827; Reinhardt, Bin Arabischcr Dialekt Gcsproch/m in 
Oman , Berlin, 1S94; Marcais, 'Le Dialecte Arabe Parle d 


Tlemgcn , Paris, 1902; Littmann, Zur Entziffcrung der 
Safa-Inschriften . Leipsic, 1901 ; idem, Zur Entziffcrung dcr 
Tham udenisch ei i Inschriftcn , Berlin, 1904 ; Homrnel, Siid- 
Arabische Chrestomathic , Munich, 1893; D. H. Muller, 
Mchri-und Soqotri-Tcxte , in Anzeigen der KaiserUchcn 
Academic der Wissenschaftcn in Wien , phil.-liist. Classe, 
1900-3; Die Mehri mid Snqntri Sprachc , Vienna, 1902; 
Jahn, Die Meliri-Spraclic in Slidarab isclicn. ib. 1902; D. 
H. Muller, Epigraphische Denkmalcr aus Abessinien. ib. 
1894; Dillmann, Grammatik der Aethiopischen Sprachc . 
Leipsic, 1S57 ; Priitorius, Grammatica JEthiopica , Berlin. 
1SS6; idem, Die Amharischc Sprachc. Halle, 1879; Guidi, 
Grammatica Elementare della Lingua Amarina , 2d ed., 
Rome, 1S92; Priitorius, Grammatik dcr Tigrinasprache . 
Halle, 1871; Vito, Grammatica Elementare della Lingua 
Tigvigna. Rome, 1895; Mondon-Vidmlhet.LaLcvnquc Haravi 
el les Dialcctcs Ethiopians clu Gouraghe, Paris, 1902; 
Delitzsch, Assyrian Grammar , Leipsic, 1889; Lyon, As- 
syrian Manual 2d ed., Boston, 1892; Gesenius, Hchrii- 
ische Gi am matik. 26th ed. (byKautzsch), Leipsic, 1896 ; Eng. 
ed. (by Collins and Cowley), Oxford, 1898; Konig, Lchrgc- 
huucle der Hebriiischen Sprachc , Leipsic, 1881-97 (comp, 
bibliography under Hkbrew Language); Schroder. Die 
Plionizisehc Sprachc , Halle, 1869; C. I. S. Paris; Lidzbar- 
ski . Handbuch der Nord-Scmitischen Epigraphik. Giessen, 
1898; idem, Epliemeris filr Scmitischc Epigraphik , ib. 
1900-3; Cooke, North Semitic lnscrix>tions. Oxford, 1903; 
Kautzscli, Grammatik des Bibliscli-Aramilischcn. Leipsic, 
1884; Dalman, Grammatik des Jiidisch-PaUistinisclicn Ara- 
milisch. ib. 1894; Luzzatto, Elcmcnti Granimaticali di Cal - 
dco Biblico c Dialctto Talmuclico Babiloncsc. Padua, 1865; 
Nicholls , A Grammar of the Samaritan. Language. Lon- 
don, 1858; Petermann, Brevis Lingucv Samai'itancv Gram- 
matica , Berlin, 1873; Nestle, Brevis Linguce Syricce Gram- 
matica. Leipsic, 1881; Noldeke, Kurzgcfasste Sijrische 
Grammatik. 2d ed., Leipsic, 189S ; idem, Mandiiischc Gram- 
matik. Halle, 1875; idem, Grammatik der Ncusyrischen 
Sprache. Leipsic, 1868; Littmann, Semitic Inscriptions. 
New York, 1904. See also Grammar. 

Of lexicons the following may be mentioned : Lane, Arabic 
Lexicon. London; Dillmann, Lexicon Linguce JEthiopicce. 
Leipsic, 1865; Gesenius, Hcbrtiisclics mid Aramiiisclies 
Hanclwort crlmeh . 13th ed. (by Buhl), Leipsic, 1899; Briggs, 
Brown, and Driver, Hebrew and Enalish Lexicon. Oxford, 
1892 et seg.; Delitzsch, Assyrischcs Hamhvart crbuch. Leip- 
sic, 1896; Muss-Arnolt, Assyrisch-EngUsch-Dcutschcs Hand- 
war tet'buch. Berlin, 1894 ct scq.; Jastrow, Diet. London and 
New York, 1902 ; Dalman, Aram li isch-N cuhchriiisch cs TT7>?'- 
terbuch zu Targiim . Talmucl. unci Midrasch. Frankfort-on- 
the-Main, 1901 ; Payne Smith, Thesaurus Syriacus. Claren- 
don Press, Oxford ; Brockelmann, Lexicon Syriacum. Berlin, 
189o; Steingass, Arabic-English Dictionary. London, 1884; 
Wahrmund, Wdrterhuch der Neu-Arabischen unci Deut - 
schcn Sprachen. Giessen, 1887 ; Cook, Glossary of Aramaic 
Inscriptions. Cambridge, 1S9S; Bloch.PhoenicisclicsGlossar. 
Berlin, 1891. See also Dictionaries, 
t. G. A. B. 

SEMITIC MUSEUM, HARVARD UNI- 
VERSITY ; Founded by Jacob H. Scliifif of New 
York in 1889, at Cambridge, Mass. Its objects are to 
gather, preserve, and exhibit all known kinds of 
material illustrating the life, history, and thought 
of the Semitic peoples, to increase the knowledge 
of the Semitic past by taking part in the explora- 
tion of Semitic countries and ruins, and by publish- 
ing the results of such investigations to show what 
have been the Semitic contributions to civilization. 
The founder gave in 1889, $10,000 to the university 
to purchase objects illustrating the subjects of 
Semitic instruction. On May 18, 1.891, the collec- 
tion thus purchased was formally opened to the 
public in a room of the Peabody Museum ; in the 
winter of 1902-8 it was transferred to the Semitic 
Museum Building, also the gift of its founder. 

The ground floor contains the library (the gift of 
the same donor) and tlirce lecture-rooms ; the second 
floor comprises a large hall, the Assyrian Room, con- 
taining the Babylonian, Assyrian, and Hittite ex- 
hibits, and the curator’s room. The Palestinian 
Room is on the third floor. 

The growth of the collection has been continuous, 
through both gift and purchase. In 1899 about 
$20,000 was raised by subscription for the purpose 
of further purchases. 



193 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Semitic Languages 
Senator 


The Assyrian Room contains casts from the Baby- 
lonian, Assyrian, and Hittite monuments and from 
bas-reliefs in the museums of London, Paris, Berlin, 
and Constantinople ; original Babylonian and Assyr- 
ian inscriptions on stone and clay ; stone seal cylin- 
ders * statuettes ; and building-bricks. The Palestinian 
Room contains, from Palestine (including the Merrill 
Collection), Plienicia, Palmyra, Damascus, Moab 
Arabia, and Pliilistia, monuments, inscriptions, and 
coins • geological specimens ; specimens of flora and 
fauna; glassware, pottery, and, utensils; costumes 
aud ornaments; books, manuscripts, and photo- 
graphs. It contains also objects from Egypt and 
Persia, illustrating the important connections of 
these countries 
•with the Semitic 
peoples. 
a. D. G. L. 


SEMON, 

CHARLES: 

Philanthropist; 
born in Danzig 
1814 ; died in 
Switzerland Ju- 
ly IS, 1877. He 
emigrated to 
England and 
settled in the 
manufacturing 
town of Brad- 
ford, Yorkshire, 
becoming one of 
its most promi- 
nent citizens. 
He was elected 
mayor in 1874, 
and was a jus- 
tice of the peace, 
and a deputy- 
lieutenant of the 
riding. He was 
also a member 
of the chamber 
of commerce 
from its founda- 
tion, served for 
several years 
on the council 


The Semitic Museum, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass. 

(From a photograph.) 


nephew 7 of Julius Semon. He studied medicine at 
the universities of Heidelberg, Berlin, "Vienna, and 
Paris and at St. Thomas’s Hospital, London, leceiv- 
ing his diploma as physician in 1873. His studies 
were interrupted by the Franco-Prussian war, in 
which he took part as assistant surgeon. 

Settling in the English capital in 1874, he became 
assistant at. St. Thomas’s Hospital, where from 1883 
to 1897 he Avas chief of the laryngological depart- 
ment. At present (1905) he is laryngologist to the 
Hospital for Epilepsy and Paralysis, Queen’s square, 
London. 

In 1894 Sir Felix received tlie title of professor 
from the crown of Prussia; in 1897 was knighted hy 

the Queen of 
England ; and in 
1901 Avas ap- 
pointed physi- 
cian extraordi- 
nary to the King 
of England. He 
was one of the 
founders of the 
Laryngological 
Society of Lon- 
don, of •which he 
was presiden t 
for a number 
of years; he 
founded and is 
the editor of the 
“ International 
Journal of Lar- 
yngology and 
R h i n o 1 o g y ” ; 
and is a fellow 7 
of the Royal 
College of Phy- 
sicians. 

Sir Felix has 
translated into 
German Sir Mo- 
rell Mackenzie’s 
“Diseases of the. 
Throat and 
Hose,” and 
has w 7 r i 1 1 e n 
many valuable 
papers on dis- 



Li LHU # 

of that body, and in 1871 w*as elected a vice-presi- 
dent. In 1874 Semon built the Convalescent Home 
at Ilkley, which in 1876 was handed over to the local 
corporation. He promoted the formation of the 
Bradford branch of the Anglo- Jewish Association; 
and on his initiative the Bradford chamber of com- 
merce made representations to the British govern- 
ment on the subject of the proposed Rumanian 
commercial treaty. 

At his death Semon bequeathed £35,000 (8175,000) 
for the benefit of educational institutions in the 
tow T n of his adoption. 

Bibliography : Jew. Cliron. July 27, 1 S<j ; Jew. TT arid, Aug. 
10, 1877; Bradford Observer , July, 18i ,. G L 

SEMON, SIR FELIX: English specialist in 
diseases of the throat; born at Danzig Dec. 8, 1849, 
XI.— 13 


eases of the throat and on interlaryngeal opera 
lions. 


Bibliography: Page], Biog. Lex. 
J. 


F. T. II. 

See Boxet, Jacob 


SEN BONET BONJORN. 

Bex David. 

SENATOR, HERMAN: German clinicist and 
medical author; born at Gnesen, province of Posen, 
Prussia, Dec. 6, 1S34; M.D. Berlin, 1857. During 
his medical course he was for a year and a half 
amanuensis to the physiologist Muller.. He^ estab- 
lished -himself as a physician at Berlin in 1858,. and 
in 1868 Avas admitted to the university as privat- 
docent in medicine and pharmacology. In 18 <5 he 
was elected assistant professor, and till 1888 Avas 
chief physician of the medical department of the 


Seneca 

Sennacherib 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


194 


Augusta Hospital. Iu 1881 Senator became also 
chief physician of the medical department at the 
Charite. After Professor Frericks* death in 18S5 he 
had charge of the first medical clinic of the univer- 
sity for one semester. In 1888 his department in 
the Charite was enlarged and became the third med- 
ical clinic of the university. Senator being made its 
director. In 1899 he was appointed professor with 
the title “ Geheimer Medicinalrath.” 

Since 1872 Senator has been one of the editors of 
the “ Centralblatt fur die Medizinische Wissen- 
schaft,” and he has written many essaj-s and books 
on pl^siolog}', general and special 2 ^atholog 3 r , and 
therapy. Among these may be mentioned: “Un- 
tersucliuugen liber den Fieberhaften Process und 
Seine Beliandlung,” Berlin, 1873; “Die Ivranklieiten 
des Bewegungs-Apparates,” id. 1875; “Diabetes 
Mellitus und Insipidus,” in Ziemssen’s “Handbucli 
der Speciellen Patliologie,” 1879; “Die Albumi- 
nuric im Gesunden und Kranken Zustande,” Berlin, 
1SS2 (translated into various European languages; 
into English by the New Sydenham Society); and 
“Die Erkrankungen der Nieren,” in Nothnagel’s 
“Handbucli der Speciellen Patliologie und Tliera- 
pie,” Vienna, 1896. 

Bibliography: Hirscb, Bing. Lex.; Pagel, Biog. Lex.; Wrede, 

. Das Gcistige Berlin , s.v., Berlin, 1S98; Meyers Konversa- 
tions-Lexikon ; Brockhaus Ko nversations-Lexiko n. 

s. F. T. II. 

SENECA, LUCIUS ANNJEUS : Stoic philos- 
opher; born about 6 b.c. ; died 65 c.e. ; teacher of 
Nero. Like other Latin authors of the period, Sen- 
eca mentions the Jews, although his opinions are 
known only from fragments. He devotes a long 
' passage to an unfavorable criticism of Jewish cere- 
mony, and especially of the Sabbath, on the ground 
that the Jews pass a seventh part of tlieir lives in 
idleness, and he bitterly adds*. “Yet the customs of 
this most base people have so prevailed that they 
are adopted in all the world, and the conquered have 
given their laws to the conquerors” (“victi victori- 
bus leges dederun t,” cited from Seneca’s “De Super- 
stitione” by Augustine, “De Civitate Dei,” vi. 10). 
He says further: “They at least know the reasons 
for their ceremonies ; but the mass of the rest of man- 
kind know not why they do what they do ” (id.). He 
gibes at the ceremony of lighting the Sabbath lamp, 
since the gods did not need the illumination, and 
men would object to the smoke (“Epistoke,” xcv. 
47); and he mentions (“ Qusestiones Natural es,” iv. 

1) the distribution of grain which Josephus (“ Contra 
Ap.” ii. 5) declares was refused by Cleopatra to the 
Jews. It is noteworthy that some letters of Seneca 
were translated into Hebrew by Brieli. 

Seneca shared the prejudices of Roman society 
against the Jews, although as a Stoic philosopher he 
should have been attracted by their self-restraint. 
His ethics correspond, to a certain extent, to the 
purer concepts of Judaism; and in this fact lies the 
explanation of the tradition that he was a Christian. 

Bibliography: Reinacli, Tcxtr.s cV Auteurs Grecs ct Remains 
Relatifs au Judaisme , i. 202-204, Paris, 1895; Joel, Blickc 
in die RcUgionsgcschichte , ii. 98-101, Breslau, 1888 ; Vogel- 
stein and Rieger, Gesch. der Juden in Rom , i. 72; Schurer, 
Gescli. 3d ed., iii. 116, 117. On the correspondence of Seneca 
and Paul see Fabricius, Codex A poeryphus Novi Tcstam cut i, 
ii. 880, iii. 711, Hamburg, 1743; Harnack, Gesch. der Alt- 
christlichen Literatur bis Eusebius , i. 

G. S. Kr. 


SENEH. See Botany. 

SENT UR, ABRAHAM ; Court rabbi of Cas- 
tile, aud royal tax-farmer-in-chief; born in Segovia 
in the early part of the fifteenth century; a near 
relative of the influential Andreas de Cabrera. On 
account of liis wealth, intelligence, and aristocratic 
bearing lie was in such favor with the Castilian 
grandees that he (1469) succeeded in bringing about 
the marriage of the Infanta (later, Queen) Isabella 
to Ferdinand of Aragon. Some years later (1473) 
he effected a reconciliation between Isabella and her 
brother, Henry IV. of Castile. The queen, whose 
confidence Senior enjoyed, granted him, in token of 
her gratitude for the services he had rendered her, 
a life pension of 100,000 maravedis, which in 1480 
was confirmed at the instance of Hernando de Tala- 
vera, her confessor. 

Senior received also the royal appointment of “rab 
de la corte” (court rabbi — for which office, how- 
ever, he, like many of his predecessors, lacked the 
proper qualifications) and of tax-farmer-in-chief, 
lie was so highly respected by the grandees that in 
1480 the Cortes of Toledo presented him with 50,000 
maravedis from the revenues collected through his 
agency. In the fanning of the royal taxes he asso- 
ciated himself with Isaac Abravanel, who soon be- 
came his intimate friend. During the war between 
Castile and the last king of the Moors, especially in 
the conquest of Granada, Senior rendered the Span- 
ish army valuable services as factor-general. 

Ilis interest in his persecuted coreligionists was 
an active one. It was through his efforts that the 
Jews of Castile raised a large sum to ransom those 
of their own faith who had been taken prisoners at 
tlic capture of Malaga. He is said, however, to 
have sold the jewelry belonging to the captive 
women, and to have added the proceeds to the ran- 
som-money. When the decree expelling the Jews 
from Spain (March 31, 1492) had become generally 
known, Senior, together with Isaac Abravanel, ha- 
stened to tire queen imploring her to spare them. 
He was not heeded, however, and was weak enough 
to yield to the queen’s request that he desert his 
brethren. On June 15, 1492, he and his son were 
baptized in Valladolid, the king and queen and the 
primate of Spain acting as sponsors. He then as- 
sumed the name “Fen-ad [Fernando] Perez Coronet.” 
R. David Messer Leon alludes to him in his comment 
on the appointment of a court rabbi of Castile “ who 
lacked knowledge, and fear of God— ‘kemo slie- 
liokiah sofo ‘al teliillato, ’ ” as his end proved (see 
the responsum of David Leon in “R. E. J.” xxiv. 
135). With Senior was baptized the rabbi Mei'r, 
who was, according to Bernaldez (“ Historia de los 
Reyes Catolicos,” p. 336, Seville, 1870), liis father- 
in-law, or, according to Elijah Capsali (see “Lik- 
kutim Slionim,” ed. Lattes, p. 73, Padua, 1869), his 
brother-in-law. 

Bibliography: Likkutim Slionim , ed. Lattes, pp. 60 et seq ., 
Padua, 1869 ; Mariana, De Rebus Hispaiiice , book xxiv., ch. 
i., in Coleccinu de Documentos Ineditos para la Historia 
de Espana , xiii. 195 et seq., Madrid, 1848 ; Rios, 7 list. iii. 279, 
290; Kayserlinjr, Christopher Columbus, pp. 22, 46; idem, 
Gesch. der Auden in Portugal, pp. 83, 102. 

J. M. K. 

SENIOR, PHOEBUS BEN JACOB ABIG- 
DOR: Talmudic scholar and author; lived in the 



195 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Seneca 
Sennacherib . 


first half of the eighteenth century. He wrote a 
commentary on the six orders of the Mishnah, en- 
titled “Melo Kaf Nahat,” in which. he collected ex- 
planations from Rasiii, Maimonides, Bertinoro, and 
Tosafot Yom-Tob, and made extracts especially 
from Isaac ibn Gabbai’s commentary “Kaf Nahat.” 
His work was printed with the text of the Mishnah 
in six volumes (Amsterdam, 1732; Offenbach, 1737), 
and later in the edition of the Mishnah with a Ger- 
man translation by Jost (Berlin, 1832-34). 
Bibliography: Steinschneider, Cat. Bodl. col. 2569; Fiirst, 
Bibl. Jud. iii. 312. 

S. 

SENLIS (Hebrew, Latin, “ Silvanectum,” 

“ Silvanectis,” “ Silvanectse ”) : Chief town of an ar- 
rondissement of the department of the Oise, France, 
and a noted health and pleasure resort. It possessed 
Jewish inhabitants apparently as early as the 
twelfth century ; for Odon, Bishop of Cambrai from 
1105 to 1113, says in the preface to his work on the 
incarnation that while passing through Senlis on his 
way to the Council of Poitiers, in 1106, he became 
involved in a religious controversy with a Jew 
named Leon (= Judah), who sought him at his inn 
to debate with him, the disputation being reduced 
to writing by the bishop. The story, even were it 
fictitious in itself, would nevertheless serve, accord- 
ing to Israel Levi (in “R. B. J.” v. 245), to prove 
that Jews resided in the city at the period which 
is in question. 

The records of the taxes paid by the Jews in 1202 
and from 1298 to 1300 include contributions from 
those in Senlis, who must, to judge from the large 
amounts paid by them, have been either very 
numerous or very rich. According to Delisle, 
Banditus de Silvanectis (Senlis) was one of the Jews 
who were permitted in 1204 to reside in the Cliatelet 
of Paris. In 1225 Guerin, Bishop of Senlis, issued 
a decree annulling all debts which had been con- 
tracted with the Jews of his diocese within the pre- 
ceding four years, excepting such as were acknowl- 
edged, thus seeking to deprive the Jews of their 
wealth. Joucet of Pontoise, who “belonged” to 
Charles, Count of Anjou, by an agreement which 
the latter made in April, 1296, with his brother, 
King Philip IV., was a sort of agent for the Jews, 
and paid the royal officials the sum total of the taxes 
levied on the bailiwick of Senlis. 

The bishops of Sens and Senlis were among the 
ecclesiastical dignitaries who attended the contro- 
versy held at the court of Louis IX. at Paris in 1240 
between Nicholas Donin of La Rochelle and the four 
rabbis, Jeliiel, head of the school of Paris, Judah 
ben David of Melun, Samuel ben Solomon of Cliateau- 
Tliierry or of Falaise, and Moses of Coney. 


Bibliography: B. E.J.v. 245; xy. 234, 240 ; Delisle, Cata- 
logue des Actcs de Philippe- Auguste. Paris, lbob ; Beugnot, 
Lcs Juifs deV Occident, i. 90, Paris, 1S24; Gross, Gallia Ju- 
daica, pp. 440-660; Disputation of Jehicl, ed. 1 horn, p. lb, 
1873. T _ 

c J. Ka, 


SENNACHERIB (Assyrian, “ Sin-ahe-erib ” = 
“Sin hath increased the brethren”; Hebrew, 
anmD) : King of Assyria, 705-681 B.C.; son and 
successor of Sargon. ilis reign was a warlike one, 
yet it was marked by grandeur in architecture and 
art. Almost immediately after his accession to the 


throne Sennacherib was obliged to quell a revolt 
headed by Merodacli-baladan, King of Babylonia, 
who had been dethroned by Sargon, and who now 
made an attempt, which was unsuccessful, to in- 
volve Hezekiah in his rebellion (II Kings xx. 12; 
Isa. xxxix. 1). In 703, at Kisu, about ten miles 
from Babylon, the Assyrian king completely de- 
feated his opponent (comp. Jer. 1. 2), who fled to 
Guzumani in Susiana. After taking Babylon and 
overrunning Chaldea, Sennacherib conquered a num- 
ber of minor tribes along the middle Euphrates and 
in Zagros; and in the fourth year of his reign he 
marched against Luli, King of Tyre. This mon- 
arch fled, and his territory was seized by the Assyr- 
ians, who received tribute from a number of other 
petty rulers and, after the capture of Ascalon, invaded 
Egypt. This attack was caused by the Philistine 
city of Ekron, which had dethroned its king, Padi, 
a friend of the Assyrians, and had sent him to Heze- 
kiah, who imprisoned him. Ekron then entered into 
an alliance with Egyptand Ethiopia; but this coali- 
tion was completely overthrown by Sennacherib at 
Altaku (the Eltekeh of Josh. xix. 44), near Ekron, 
and Padi was restored to his throne. 

Hezekiah, however, by his partizanship had ex- 
posed himself to the hostility of Sennacherib, who 
began in 701 a campaign which is described at some 
length in the Bible (II Kings xviii.-xix. ; II Cliron. 
xxxii. ; Isa. xxii., xxxvi.-xxxvii. ; comp. Josephus, 
“Ant.” x, 1). The invasion was at first completely 
successful for the Assyrian arms. City after city of 
Judah fell, and Hezekiah was besieged in Jerusalem 
until he submitted to the payment of 
Besieges a ransom of 300 talents of silver (or, 
Jerusalem, according to Sennacherib himself, of 
800) and 30 of gold, the Temple it- 
self being stripped to make up the amount. The 
conqueror then withdrew to Nineveh, but, after a 
marauding expedition into Cilicia, he was obliged 
in the following year again to subdue Merodach- 
baladan, who had fled to Nagitu on the Persian 
Gulf. With the aid of Phenician shipwrights, Sen- 
nacherib constructed a fleet on the Tigris, and finally 
reached Nagitu. After a stubborn resistance the 
fugitives were routed and forced to return. 

Despite certain chronological difficulties, it seems 
probable on the whole that Sennacherib again in- 
vaded Palestine, about 699, because Hezekiah, rely- 
ing on Egyptian support, had once more revolted. 
Directing liis main attacks on Libnali and Lachisli, 
the Assju'ian king sent a strong force to Jerusalem 
to demand its surrender. The insolent tone adopted 
by his officers, however, reudered all overtures im- 
possible ; and, recognizing their inability to carry the 
city by storm, they returned to Sennacherib, who 
had meanwhile reached Pelusium, where he was 
about to attack Setlios, Pharaoh of Eg 3 r pt. Before 
a battle could be fought a mysterious calamity 
befell the Assyrian army, which is said to have lost 

185,000 men in a single night, while the 

Disaster remnant, fleeing in terror, was pursued 
Before by the Egyptians (II Kings xix. 35; 
Jerusalem. Isa. xxxvii. 36; Herodotus, ii. 141). 

This disaster, however, which natu- 
rally is not mentioned in the Ass 3 r rian inscriptions, 
did not stay the career of Sennacherib. His expedh 



Sens 

Sephardim 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


196 


tion to Nagitu brought upon Babjdonia a retalia- 
tory raid by the Elamites, who set a new king on 
the throne of Babylon. The Assyrians were com- 
pletely victorious over the combined forces of Elam- 
ites and Babylonians, and in the following year (692) 
Sennacherib overran Susiana, capturing many towns, 
including the temporary capital of Kudur-Nak- 
liunta, the Elamitic king, who fled, but survived his 
defeat only three months. His son and successor, 
Umman-Minanu, made an alliance with Musliezib- 
Marduk, King of Babylonia ; and their forces were 
augmented by some of the Euphratean tribes which 
Sennacherib had subdued in the third year of his 
reign. After a fierce battle at Klialule on the lower 
Tigris, the Assyrian king routed his opponents, and 
followed up his victory by sacking Babylon itself 
(6S9). The events of the last eight years of the reign 
of Sennacherib are not recorded. In 681 the king 
was assassinated in the temple of Nisroch (possibly 
another name for Marduk) at Nineveh by two of 
his sons, Adrammelech and Sharezer. The throne 
was seized by Esar - liaddon, another son of Sen- 
nacherib. 

Bibliography : Rawlinson, Seven Ancient Monarchies : The 
Second Monarchy , 4th ed., London, 1S79; Bezold, Tnschrif- 
ten Sanhcribs , in Schrader, K. B. ii., Berlin, 1890; Thiele, 
Babylonisch-Assyrische Geschichte, Gotha, 1886; Winckler, 
Gcsch. Babylonians und Assyrians, Leipsie, 1892; Meissner 
and Rost, Bauinschriftan Sanhcribs , ib. 1893 ; Rogers, His- 
tory of Babylonia and Assyria , New York, 1900; Nagel, 
Zuy des Sanherib Gegen Jerusalem, Leipsie, 1902 ; Schrader, 
K. A. T. 3d ed. 

E. G. ii. L. H. G. 

SENS (Hebrew, etc.; 

Latin, “ Agedincum,” “Ci vitas Senonum,” “Se- 
nones”; Old French, “Sanz,” “Sans,” “Sens”); 
Chief town of an arrondissement of the department 
of the Yonne, France. Jews were among its inhab- 
itants as early as the sixth century, residing in the 
Dues de la Juiverie, de la Petite-Juiverie, and de la 
Synagogue, and having two cemeteries, one in the 
Rue Saint-Pregts, sold for the king by the bailiff of 
Sens in 1309, and the other in the Rue de la Parclie- 
minerie, which passed into the possession of the 
Celestine monks iii 1336. The magnificent syna- 
gogue, with its beautiful paintings representing 
Hebrew ceremonies, was torn down in 1750 to make 
room for a salt-warehouse. 

In the ninth century Ansegise, Archbishop and 
Viscount of Sens and Primate of Gaul, expelled the 
Jews from Sens, probably under the pretext that 
they were in secret communication with the Nor- 
mans; but in 1146 Louis VII. permitted them to re- 
turn. Pope Innocent III. complained to Philip 
Augustus in 1208 that the Jews had built a syna- 
gogue at Sens which surpassed the neighboring 
church, and that they prayed in it so loudly that 
they disturbed the Christian worshipers. 

The chief Jewish scholars whose names are asso- 
ciated with Sens are : Isaac ben Solomon, Eliezer of 
Sens, Moses of Sens, Nathan Official, Isaac ha-Levi 
b. Judah, Judah of Sens, Simeon or Samson of Sens, 
and Samson b. Abraham of Sens, head of the school 
of the city and surnamed “ the Prince of Sens ” (“ lia- 
Sar mi-Saus ” or “ Rabbenu Simson mi-Sans ”). The 
itinerary of an anonymous traveler in Palestine, a 
pupil of Nahmanides, in describing the tombs at the 
foot of Mount Carmel, notices especially those of R. 


Samson, son of Abraham of Sens, and R. Joseph of 
Sens, nephew of Samson of Sens. 

Bibliography: Gross, Gallia Judaica , pp. 661-662; idem, 
Etude sur Simson b. Abraham de Sens , in E. E. J. vi. 
167-186, vii. 40-77 ; Neubauer, Un Voyageur Anonyme an 
Palestine , ib. x. i05-106. 

S. J. Ka. 

SENSES, THE FIVE (Hebrew, niC^l“in 
or D'&yin n^Dn) j According to the Aristotelian 
psychology, the human soul possesses, besides the 
rational and nutritive faculties, that of perceiving 
external objects, through the medium of bodily 
organs which are adapted to produce the sensations 
of sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch. This the- 
ory entered into Jewish literature with the intro- 
duction of Greco-Arabic philosophy. It was first 
propounded by Saadia, who endeavored to show 
that the five senses are mentioned in the Bible 
(“Emunot we-De l ot,” ed. Slucki, p. 
The Phi- 7). Bahya ibn Pakuda (“IJobot lia- 
losophers. Lebabot, ” ix. 5) pointed out the Mosaic 
prohibitions that are connected with 
the five senses, to which Ibn Gabirol attributed the 
twent}' qualities of the soul (S. Wise, “The Im- 
provement of the Soul,” p. 17). 

With the exception of certain writers, who re- 
garded speech, movement, etc., as so many additional 
senses, the absoluteness of the number five was uni- 
versally admitted in the Middle Ages ; and authors 
like Judah ben Solomon, Shem-Tob ibn Falaquera, 
and Zemali Duran even endeavored to demonstrate 
the inadmissibility of more than five senses. Ju- 
dreo-Arabic philosophy established a parallel be- 
tween the five senses and the faculties of the 
soul; and for this reason the former were called 
“external senses” and the latter “internal senses.” 
The former were divided into two groups: (1) the 
finer or intellectual senses, and (2) the coarser or 
material ones. To the first group belonged sight, 
hearing, and smell ; to the second, taste and touch 
(Judah ha-Levi, “ Cuzari,” iii. 5). The superiority 
of the first three is shown by the fact that their re- 
spective functions are exercised from a distance and 
need not come in contact with their object, while 
the last two must be in touch with it. Another 
mark of superiority of the first three is that they are 
found only in the higher animals, while the last 
two are met with even in the lowest animals. The 
external senses perceive objects; but it is the inter- 
nal which observe their difference. It is, therefore, 
the fault of the latter if the former err (Saadia, l.e. 
vi. 98; Bahya, l.c. i. 10). 

The senses develop in the child gradually. At 
the moment of birth only the coarsest sense, that of 
touch, is present; after a while comes the sense of 
taste; then, at various intervals, ap- 
Develop- pear the senses of smell, hearing, and 
ment of the sight (Bahya, l.c. ii. 3; Albo, “Sefer 
Senses. ha-Hkkarim, ” iii. 10). Death silences 
the senses in the inverse order. The 
dying lose the sense of sight first, and retain until 
the last moment that of touch. Sleep suspends first 
the sense of touch. 

Gerslion ben Solomon and many other writers of 
the Middle Ages drew a parallel between the five 
fingers on each hand and the five senses. Each fin- 



197 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Sens 

Sephardim 


ger, according to them, stands in a natural connec- 
tion with one of the senses: the thumb is attracted 
to the mouth ; the index, to the nose ; the middle 
A crer, to the skin, the organ of touch; the ring-fin- 
ger' to the eye ; the ear-finger, to the ear (Bahya ben 
Asher, “Shulhan Arba\” p. 8a, Lemberg, 1858). 
There is a divergence of opinion between Aristotle 
and Galen as to the seat of the central organ of per- 
ception, the former placing it in the heart, while the 
latter locates it in the brain. With rare exceptions, 
the Jewish writers of the Middle Ages sided with 
Galen. 

The five senses were prominent in Biblical exege- 
sis, in the interpretation of the Haggadali, and in 
the symbolism of certain Mosaic prescriptions. 
Thus, Isaac Arama sees in the narrative of Gen. 

xxvii. 18-27 the striving of Isaac to 
In replace by the remaining four senses 
Exegesis, that of sight, which had failed him 
(“‘Akedat Yizhak,” p. 62e, Venice, 
1578). Each of the five priestly prohibitions (Lev. 
xxi. 16 et seq.) corresponds, according to Solomon 
lia-Levi, to one of the five senses (“ Dibre Shelomoli,” 
p. 265c, Venice, 1596). Nathan ben Solomon finds in 
the “ Shema‘ ” ten elements, the first five of them | 
corresponding to the five internal senses, by which 
man arrives at the knowledge of God, and the last five 
to the five external senses, which serve him to carry 
out God’s commandments (“ Mibhar lia-Ma’amarim,” 
Leghorn, 1840). The three bowls on each branch of 
the°candiestick in the Temple represented, accord- 
ing to Levi ben Gershon, the three coarser senses ; 
the knop, the sense of hearing; the flower, that of 
sight (“ Perush ‘ al ha-Torali,” p. 105b). Moses Is- 
serles sees in the five gates of the Temple a symbol 
of the five senses : the western gate typifies the sense 
of hearing, which is the symbol of night; the east- 
ern, the sense of sight, which is the symbol of day ; 
the northern, the sense of touch, which is consid- 
ered to be the author of mischief among the senses; 
while the two southern gates are symbols of the sun, 
which ripens the fruits and flowers whence smell and 
taste draw their nourishment (“Torat ha-‘01ali,” 
i. 7). The five food-offerings are another symbol of 
the five senses (Lev. ii.). 

The quorum of ten (Minyan), which is required 
for the holding of public worship, is, according to 
Abraham ben Shalom, a symbol of the five internal 
and the five external senses. The former five are 
symbolized also by the five compartments of the 
phylacteries (Solomon ibn Parhon, '‘Mahberet he- 
‘Aruk,” ed, S, G, Stern, p. 24). 

Bibliography : Kaufmann, Die Sinnc, Budapest, 1S99. 

k. I- Bn. 

SENTENCE. See Judgment. 

SEPHARDIM (called also Spagnioli, Spani- 
olSj or, more rarely, Franconians) : Descendants 
of the Jews who were expelled from Spain and Por- 
tugal and who settled in southern France, Italy, 
North Africa, Turkey, Asia Minor, Holland, Eng- 
land, North and South America, Germany, Den- 
mark, Austria, and Hungary. Among these set- 
tlers were man}" who were the descendants, or heads, 
of wealthy families and who, as Maranos, had occu- 
pied prominent positions in the countries they had 


left. Some had been state officials, others had held 
positions of dignity within the Church ; many had 
been the heads of large banking-houses and mercan- 
tile establishments, and some were physicians or 
scholars who had officiated as teachers in high 
schools. The many sufferings which they had en- 
dured for the sake of their faith had made them 
more than usually self-conscious ; they considered 
themselves a superior class, the nobility of Jewry, 
and for a long time their coreligionists, on whom 
they looked down, regarded them as such. 

This sense of dignity which the Sephardim 
possessed manifested itself in their general deport- 
ment and in their scrupulous attention to dress. 
Even those among them whose station in life was 
low, as, for example, the carriers in Salonica, or the 
sellers of “ pan de Espana ” in the streets of Smyrna, 
maintained the old Spanish “grandezza” in spite 
of their poverty. 

The Sephardim never engaged in chaffering occu- 
pations nor in usury, and they did not mingle with 
the lower classes. With their social equals they 
associated freely, without regard to creed, and in 
the presence of their superiors they displayed neither 
shyness nor servility. They were received at the 
courts of sultans, kings, and princes, and often were 
employed as ambassadors, envoys, or agents. The 
number of Sephardim who have rendered important 
services to different countries is considerable, from 
Samuel Abravanel (financial councilor to the viceroy 
of Naples) to Benjamin Disraeli. Among other names 
mentioned are those of Belmonte, Nasi, Pacheco, Pa- 
lacfre, Azevedo, Sasportas, Costa, Curiel, Cansino, 
Schonenberg, Toledo, Toledano, and Teixeira. 

The Sephardim occupy the foremost place in the 
roll of Jewish physicians; great as is the number of 
those who have distinguished themselves as states- 
men, it is not nearly as great as the number of those 
who have become celebrated as physicians and have 
won the favor of rulers and princes, in both the 
Christian and the Mohammedan world. That the 
Sephardim were selected for prominent positions in 
every country in which they settled was due to the 
fact that Spanish had become a world-language 
through the expansion of Spain. From Tangier to 
Salonica, from Smyrna to Belgrade, and from Vienna 
to Amsterdam and Hamburg, they preserved not 
only the Spanish dignity, but the Spanish idiom also ; 
and they preserved tlmlatter with so much love and 
with so much tenacity that it has remained surpri- 
singly pure up to the present day. It must be re- 
membered that Judseo-Spanish, or Ladino, is in 
no wise as corrupt a language as is the Jiukeo- 
German. 

For a long time the Sephardim took active part 
in Spanish literature ; they wrote in prose and in 
rime, and were the authors of theological, philo- 
sophical, belle tristic, pedagogic, and mathematical 
works. The rabbis, who, in common with all the 
Sephardim, laid great stress on a pure and euphoni- 
ous pronunciation of Hebrew, delivered their ser- 
mons in Spanish or in Portuguese ; several of these 
sermons appeared in print. Their thirst for knowl- 
edge, together with the fact that they associated 
freely with the outer world, led the Sephardim to 
establish new educational systems wherever they 



Sephardim 

Sepphoris 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


198 


settled; the}' founded schools in which the Spanish 
language was the medium of instruction. 

In Amsterdam, where they were especially prom- 
inent in the seventeenth century on account of their 
number, wealth, education, and influence, they es- 
tablished poetical academies after Spanish models ; 
two of these were the Academia de los Sitibundos 
and the Academia de los Floridos. In the same city 
also they organized the first Jewish educational in- 
stitution, with graduated classes in which, in addi- 
tion to Talmudic studies, instruction was given in the 

Hebrew language. Tlie Sephardim have preserved 

the romances and the ancient melodies and songs of 
Spain, as well as a large number of old Spanish 
proverbs. A number of children’s plays, as, for 
example, “El Castillo,” are still popular among 
them, and they still manifest a fondness for the 
dishes peculiar to Spain, such as. the “pastel,” or 
“pastelico,” a sort of meat-pie, and the “pan de 
Espaiia,” or “pan de Leon.” At their festivals they 
follow the Spanish custom of distributing “dulees,” 
or “dolces,” a confection wrapped in paper bearing 
a picture of the “magen Dawid.” 

Although the Sephardim live as loyal citizens in 
the various countries of their adoption, among them- 
selves they still mainly employ the Spanish lan- 
guage, and in their correspondence they use the 
Spanish cursive script. They bear exclusively 
Spanish given names, as Aleqria, Angel, Angela, 
Amado, Amada, Bienveuida, Blanco, Cara, Cimfa, 
Comprado, Consuela, Dolza, Esperanza, Estimada, 
Estrella, Fermosa, Gracia, Luna, Nina, Palomba, 
Preciosa, Sol, Ventura, and Zafiro; and such Spanish 
surnames as Belmonte, Benveniste, Bueno, Cal- 
deron, Campos, Cardoso, Castro, C Uriel, Delgado, 
Fonseca, Cordova, Leon, Lima, Mercado, Monzon, 
Ilocamora, Pacheco, Pardo, Pereira, Pinto, Prado, 
Sousa, Suasso, Toledano, Tarragona, Valencia, and 
Zaporta. 

Although the Sephardim lived on peaceful terms 
with other Jews, they rarely intermarried with 
them; neither did they unite with them in forming 
congregations, but adhered to their own ritual, which 
differed widely from the Ashkenazic. Wherever 
the Sephardic Jews settled they grouped themselves 
according to the country or district from which they 
had come, and organized separate communities with 
■legally enacted statutes. In Constantinople and Sa- 
lonica, for example, there were not only Castilian, 
Aragonian, Catalonian, and Portuguese congrega- 
tions, but also Toledo, Cordova, Evora, and Lisbon 
congregations. 

Great authority was given to the president of each 
congregation. He and the rabbinate of his congre- 
gation formed the “ma'amad,” without whose ap- 
probation (often worded in Spanish, Portuguese, or 
Italian) no book of religious content might be pub- 
lished. The president not only had the power to 
make authoritative resolutions with regard to con- 
gregational affairs and to decide communal ques- 
tions, but he had also the right to observe the relig- 
ious conduct of the individual and to punish any 
one suspected of heresy or of trespassing against 
the laws. He often proceeded with great zeal and 
with inquisitorial severity, as in the cases of Uriel 
Acosta and Spinoza at Amsterdam. 


The Sephardim, who speak a purer Hebrew than do 
the Ashkenazim, do not attribute great value to the 
“hazzanut,” and their form of cantillation is simpler 
than that of other Jews. The main point in which 
they differ from the Ashkenazim is, however, their lit- 
urgy. The Sephardic liturgy originated in part with 
the Geonim ; it is more natural and elevating than 
the Ashkenazic, and also less burdened with “piy- 
yufcim.” The Sephardim admit into their liturgy 
only the piyyutim of Spanish poets, which are 
characterized by Bapoport as “ mediators between 

tlie soul and. its Creator,” wliile tlie Ashkenazic ply- 

yutim are “mediators between tlie nation ana its 
God.” 

The Sephardic ritual with its many variations, as 
instanced in the Castilian, Aragonian, Catalonian, and 
Provencal rituals, has been very widely adopted. 
The number of Sephardic rabbis is great, and many 
of them enjoyed reputations as authorities. There 
are several among them who have published valu- 
able works, as well as collections of legal opinions 
and decisions which are highly esteemed by all Jews. 
The Cabala found many supporters, including sev- 
eral rabbis, among the Sephardim, who as a rule are 
imaginative and su perstitious. Shabbethai Zebi like- 
wise found among them his most faithful adherents. 
In modern times the Sephardim have lost more or 
less of the authority which for several centuries 
they exercised over other Jews. As to number, they 
are still important in Constantinople, Salonica, Adri- 
anople, Smyrna, Damascus, Nicopolis, and Cairo; 
also in Amsterdam, and in different communities in 
Servia and Bulgaria. The total number of Spanish- 
speaking Sephardim is about half a million. See 
Liturgy; Marano; Spain. 

Bibliography : Angel Pulido, Los Tsraelitas Espaiiolcs y el 
Idioma Castellano, Madrid, 1904; Isidoro de Hoyos y de la 
Torre, Los Judios Espaiiolcs , in Bolctin de la Real Acade- 
mia de la Historia, xlv. 205 et seq.; Kayserling, Bibl Esp.- 
Port.-Jud. pp. 10 et seq.; idem, Spanien und die Judcn, in 
Allg. Zeit. des Jud. Ixviii. 615 et seq., lxix. 79 et seq.; Zun z, 
Ritus, pp. 3S et seq.; Jost, Qesch. desJudentlmmsund Seiner 
Sckten , iii. 195 et seq., 207, 236 ; Griitz, Qesch. ix. 11 et seq.; 
M. Gaster, Leaves from the History of the Scfardim in 
England , in Jew. Chron. May ol and June 21, 1901. 

S. M. K. 

SEPPHORIS (Greek, herrcpopig ; Hebrew, 

lit. “bird ”): City in Palestine which derived 
its name from the fact that it was perched like a 
bird on a high mountain. It is first mentioned by 
Josephus, who records (“Ant.” xiii. 12, § 5) that 
Ptolemy Lathyrus vainly endeavored to conquer it 
in the early part of the reign of Alexander Janmeus. 
When the country was redivided by the Romans 
under Gabinius (57-55 b.c.), one of the five sanhe- 
drins was assigned to Sepphoris (Josephus, l.c. 
xiv. 5, g 4; idem , “B. J.” i. 8, § 5); so that it must 
then have been the most important city of Galilee. 
Subsequently it sided with King Antigonus; but it 
soon fell into the bands of his rival Herod (“Ant.” 
xiv. 15, § 4; “B. J.” i. 16, g 2). During the tur- 
moil which followed the death of Herod, the city 4 
evidently supported the Jewish nationalists; for 
Varus was obliged to send against it a detachment 
of Roman soldiers, who burned it and sold its in- 
habitants into slavery (“Ant.” xvii. 10, § 9; “B. J.” 
ii. 5, § 1). ^ 

Sepphoris then entered upon a new phase of its 
history ; for the influence of the Greek element of the 



199 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Sephardim 

Sepphoris 


city increased while that of the Jewish population de- 
clined since the place now had Hellenic institutions 
and was friendly to the Romans. Herod Antipas, 
like all his dynasty, was a founder of cities, and re- 
built Sepphoris, which he transformed into one of 
the most beautiful towns of Galilee, also gi anting 
it an autonomy which seems to have resembled that 
.riven the Greek cities of the Decapolis ( Ant 
xviii. 2, § !)• I ts coins, on ’which the mnabitants 
call themselves Sett <puptivoi, date probably from this 
neriod It was not until the time of Felix, however, 
that Sepphoris rose to the rank of capital of Galilee 
11 (Josephus. “ Vita, ” § 9) and became 

• Capita*! of a. rival of Tiberias, wliieli theretofore 

Galilee. had claimed that distinction, the 
younger Agrippa removed the loyal 
treasury (rpd^a) and the “archive ” which 

denotes probably the court of justice) from Tiberias, 
and it is to be assumed that he transferred them to 
Sepphoris. Tiberias subsequently reassumed the 
hegemony; but under Agrippa the archive was 
ao-ain taken to Sepphoris. The Mishnah (Kid. iv. 5) 
accordingly alludes to an “ earlier ” archive at bep- 
phoris (n^n vnK); and ^ ^ 
kept their family records there (Schurer [ Gesch. 

3d ed., ii. 164], who translates by “govern- 

ment,” draws incorrect inferences from the pas 
sage)'. The Mishnah, moreover, refers to the ancient 
fortress of Sepphoris (‘Ar. ix. 6; comp. Tos. Sliab. 
xiii 9), probably meaning the one which existed 
until the time of Varus,, when the Romans doubt- 
less built a new acropolis. 

Sepphoris -is described sometimes as the largest, 
city of Galilee (“ Vita,” §§ 45, 65; “B. J.” iii. 2, § 4) 
and sometimes as one of the two or three largest, 

• the others being Tiberias (“Vita,” § 65) and Ga- 
bara (ib. § 25) ; and it was furthermore considered 
the most strongly fortified city of the province ( B. 
J ” ii 18, § 11), its citadel being especially men- 
tioned (“Vita,” § 07). . That this large city sided 
with the Romans was, therefore, a disaster for the 
Jews The beginning of the war proved advan- 
tageous for Sepphoris, for Cestius Gallus entered it 
peaceably while the neighboring cities were ravaged 
(« n T ” ii 18. S 11). But the Romans 


L I V-* IIIVJ o ~ 

(« j ” ii. 18, § 11). But the Romans 
During the were obliged to depart; and tlieinhab- 
Rebellion. itants of Sepphoris, fearing for their 
city, had to submit to the domination 
of the rebellious' Jews. Josephus, as governor of 
Galilee, ordered tlie fortification of Sepplions, among 
other cities (“Vita,” § 37), entrusting this task to its 
citizens; for lie knew that they desired the war 0 ii. 
J." ii. 20, § 6), although this may have been a mere 
ruse ou tlieir part to keep the Jewish governor at a 
distance. John of Giscala, however, endeavored to 
alienate the city from Josephus (“Vita,” § 3o), and 
Sepphoris, Gabara, and Tiberias actually became hos- 
tile to the latter (“ B. J. ” ii. 21, § 7), although their ac- 
tion was due not to loyalty to the national cause, 
hut doubtless to the conviction of tlie inhabitants ot 
Sepphoris that John, who was acting on his own in- 
itiative, would be less dangerous to them than Jose- 
phus, who was subject to tlie central government at 
Jerusalem. Josephus was then obliged to storm the 
city which was plundered by liis troops despite Ins 
efforts to restrain them (“Vita,” § 67). Sepplions 


was soon to be relieved, however, from the horrors of 
war Cestius Gallus sent a garrison thither ; and when 
Josephus again entered the place, be was repulsed 
(ib. § 71 ; comp. § 15). Tlie inhabitants, moreover, 
being dissatisfied with the aid they had received, 
also requested Vespasian to send them a Roman de- 
tachment for their protection, which they received 
in due time {ib. § 74; “B. J.” iii. 4, § 1). ^ 

There are two other important events in the his- 
tory of the city. From the time of Antoninus Pius 
it was called “ Diocsesarea ” on its coins. This change 
of name implies that the city had become Hellen- 
ized ; and since there must have been some cause for 

tills it lias been assumed by Sclilatter C‘ Zur TopO- 

graphie und Gesch. raiastmas,” p. .164) se P - 
plioris was involved in the insurrection of the Jews 
during the reign of Antoninus. The city must have 
taken part in still another insurrection; for it was 
destroyed by Gallus (Sozomen, “Hist. Eccl.” iv. 10; 
see, also, Patricjus). The importance of the city 
was now at an end: the name “Diocsesarea,” fre- 
quently found also in the Greek and Roman writers 
of the" earlier centuries, disappeared ; and the old 
native name was restored. _ . 

Sepphoris is frequently mentioned in rabbinical 
works, and is identified, although no attempt is made 
to prove the identification, with Ivitron (Judges i. 

30 • Meg. 6a), the name being derived, as stated 
above, from tlie fact that the city was 
In Rabbin- perched like a bird on a mountain, 
ical although, according to another pas- 
Diteratnre. sage, it was situated on several hills 
(Pesik. R. 8). R. Jose, writing in the 
- second century, refers to it, in the florid style of the 
Talmud, as follows: “I saw Sepphoris in its time of 
prosperity ; and it contained 180,000 booths of sell- 
ers of spices” (B. B. 75b). The catastrophe which 
R. Jose implies had since that time overtaken the 
city was probably one which occurred during the 
reio-n of Antoninus Pius. Situated on a high moun- 
tain, Sepphoris was said to have a cold climate^ so 
that its inhabitants were predisposed to catarrh ( i er. 
Shab 14c); yet Judah I., the patriarch, lived there 
for seventeen years (Yer. Kil. 82b; Gen. R xevi.), 
and made it, in a certain sense, the center of Judaism. 
According to tradition, he was buried at Sepphoris, 
although his tomb is really in Beth-she'arim (Ket. 
103b) "in the vicinity of the city. In the Middle 
Acres his tomb was thought to be in a certain cave 
which was closed by a stone door (Eston Farhi, 

“Kaftor wa-Ferah,” xi., in Luncz, “Jerusalem, i. 

99). Several other rabbis, besides the patnaich, 
lived at Sepphoris in tlie Talmudic period (see 
Frankel, “Mebo,” pp. 3-4). 

A special form of the Roman coin tressis, wlncli 
was probably minted there, is a proof of tlie im- 
portance of the city as a commercial center (ios. 
Ma'as. Sli. iv. 3) ; and the upper and the lower mar- 
ket are expressly mentioned (‘Er. 54b). In view o 
the importance of the place as an emporium, many 
foreign Jews settled there; so that allusions both to 
the synagogue of the people of Guphna (Ter. Naz. 
56a) and°to a synagogue of the Babylonians at Sep- 
phoris are met with (Yer. Sanh. 28a; comp. Yei . 
Sotah 22a). Millers of Sepphoris who did not woik 
on the semiholy days are mentioned m approving 



Sepphoris 

Seraphim 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


200 


terms (Yer. Pes. 30d); and a tailor named Justus 
was once governor of the place (Reland, “Pakr-s- 
tina,” ii. 1001). Joseph b. Simai, a pious and prom- 
inent man, who lived in olden times at Sihin in the 
immediate vicinity of Sepphoris, is said to have 
been “the governor of the king,” this term proba- 
bly denoting some prince of the house of Herod 
(“ epitropos ” perhaps = “ procurator ” ; Sliab. 121a; 
Tos. Sliab. xiii. 9). 

Despite the fact that Sepphoris was the seat of 
prominent Talmudic scholars and of great academies, 
and thus owed its importance in later times to the 
Rabbis, its inhabitants were by no means friendly 
to them. Although the people showed their sym- 
pathy on the death of R. Judah I. (Yer. Ket. 32b; 
Bab. Ket. 103b), and although the city had a school 
of its own, which was termed simply the “ Sep- 
phorian ” (\er. Sliab. 7a; Yer. M. K. 82d), neverthe- 
less the people were likened to “desert, obscurity, 
and darkness” (Yer. Hag. 77a); and it was said 
of them: “The people of Sepphoris have a hard 
heart; they hear the words of the Law; but they 
do not bow down before it ” (Yer. Ta‘an. 66c). R. 
Hama b. Hanina was even refused ordination as a 
teacher solely because he was a native of the place 
(Yer. Ta'an. 68a). 

The exact site of this important city may be de- 
termined through several references. A series of 
caves and military outposts extended from Tiberias 
to Sepphoris (Yer. ‘Er. 22b); and it was situated in 
upper Galilee (Tos. Pe’ali iv. 10; Ket. 67b). Ac- 
cording to the Talmudic references, the city lay 
eighteen Roman miles from Tiberias ; 
Exact Site, but, according to Eusebius and Je- 
rome, only ten, thus being west of Mt. 
Tabor; still another passage of the Talmud locates 
it half-way between Kefar ‘Utui and Kefar Hanan- 
3 r ah (Bek. 55a). All these data justify ah identi- 
fication with the modern Saffuriy all, a village north- 
west of Nazareth. 

t The fact that Benjamin of Tudela refers to the 
city, but says nothing of any Jews there, shows that 
Sepphoris had no Jewish population in the twelfth 
century, probably in consequence of the Crusades. 

R. Moses Israel, who flourished in the early part of 
the eighteenth century, refers to its Jewish commu- 
nity ; but no Jews now (1905 ) live in the city (Griin- 
lmt, “Benjamin von Tudela,” ii. 15, Jerusalem 
1903). 

Bibliography: Robinson, Researches , iii. 440; Sepp, Jerusa- 
lemund das Heiliye Land , ii. 98; Boettger, Topograph isch- 
Histonschcs Lexicon zu den Sclirlften des Flavius Jose - 
p/ius, p. ~~9; Neubauer, G. T. pp. 191-195: Hamburger, R. 
g'L- n - Bubi, Geographic von PalCistina , p. 220; 
|^er, Gesch. 3d ed., ii. 162-167; Luncz, Hamcammer , i. 

G - S. Kn. 


veda, which was not large, although the taxes 
amounted in 1290 to 5,046 maravedis, is best known 
on account of a martyrdom suffered by its mem- 
bers. In Holy Week, 1468, the report was spread 
by their enemies that, on the advice of their rabbi, 
Solomon Picho, the Jews had tortured and cruci- 
fied a Christian child. Thereupon Juan Arias 
Davila, Bishop of Segovia, son of the baptized Jew 
Diego Arias Davila, caused eighteen of the alleged 
ringleaders to be taken to Segovia, some of whom 
were condemned to the stake and others to the gal- 
lows. The excited populace, which thought the 
fanatical bishop had proceeded too mildly, attacked 
the remaining Jews and killed most of them, only a 
few finding refuge in flight. 

Bibliography: Cohnenures, Historia de Segovia. cli. xxxiii. 
(for the year 1468); Zacuto, Yuhasin , ed. Filipowski, p. 226 
(gives Saturday, the 26th of Sivvan = June 15, 1471, as the day 
of the execution); Rios, Hist. i. 181, iii. 166; Gratz, Gesch. 
viii. 239. 


J. 


M. K. 


SEQUIRA, ISAAC HENRIQUE: English 
physician; born at Lisbon 1738; died in London 
Nov., 1816. He came of a medical family, his 
grandfather, father, and two uncles having all been 
physicians. He was instructed in general literature 
and philosophy by the Fathers of the Oratory, a 
body of learned men then highly popular in Portu- 
gal. Having chosen medicine as his profession, he 
was sent to the University of Bordeaux, France, 
where he remained for two years. He then removed 
to Leyden, and, completing the three years’ residence 
which the statutes of the university required, re- 
ceived his KD. degree Aug. 31, 1758. Eventually 
he settled in London, was admitted a licentiate of 
the Royal College of Physicians (March 25, 1771), 
and was introduced into practise by liis uncle, Dr. 
de la Cour, who soon after withdrew to Bath. 

Sequira gained a high reputation among his coun- 
trymen resident in England. He held the honorary 
appointment of physician extraordinary to the 
Prince Regent of Portugal, and was physician to 
the Portuguese embassy at the Court of St. James. 
He lived to an advanced age, and at the time of his 
death was the oldest licentiate of the Royal College 
of Physicians. 

Bibliography: Carmoly, Les Medecins Juifs ; Muiik, Roll of 
Royal College of Physicians of London. 

J - G. L. 

SERAH: Daughter of Asher, son of Jacob. She 
is counted among the seventy members of the patri- 
arch’s family who emigrated from Canaan to Egypt 
(Gen. xlvi. 17), and her name occurs in connection 
with the census taken by Moses in the wilderness 
(Hum. xxvi. 46). She is mentioned also among 
the descendants of Asher in I Cliron. vii. 30. The 


SEPTUAGINT. See Bible Translations. 

SEPULVEDA ; City in the bishopric of Sego- 
via, Spain, inhabited by Jews as early as the elev- 
enth century. Its old laws contained a paragraph 
(No. 71) to the effect that if a Jew had intercourse 
with a Christian woman, he should be condemned 
to be garrotedand she to be burned, and that, in case 
the man denied his guilt, yet was convicted on the 
testimony of two Christians and one Jew, the sen- 
tence should be carried out. The aljama of Sepul- 


fact of her being the only one of her sex to be 
mentioned in the genealogical lists seemed to the 
Rabbis to indicate that there was something ex- 
traordinary in connection with her history ; and she 
became the heroine of several legends. According 
to one of these, she was not Asher’s daughter, 
but his stepdaughter. She was three years - old 
when Asher married her mother, and she ivas 
brought up in the house of Jacob, whose affection 
she won by her remarkable piety and virtue (“Mid- 
rash Abot,” id. 45). She was the first person to tell 



THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Sepphoris 

Seraphim 


201 


, .£«ri >““i« «. s™i* «»■>« 

huded Jsotah 13a; Dent. R. »•)• , Accordmg 
b at* i „h TI vii 11), Scra.li ^as the 

wise woma™ who caused the death of Sheba ben 
" is f '^L xx ) In reference to the grave of 

Semi Lt Asher aid the synagogue named m her 

honor at Ispahan, see Jew. Encyc. vi.660.^ ^ 

RFRAIAH (nnBt)-— 1- A scribe, and one of 
the offlrial^ under David (II Sam. viii. 17; comp, 
xx 25 where he appears under the name Shev ). 

^ I Kings iv. 3 his sons, Elihorcp h and Ahwh °c- 
rinv the position of their father (here called Shi- 
=■£>, this implying 

called 1 ° Shavsha . A comparison of these , iom 
forms iustifies the conclusion that Ins leal lami > 
name was Shavslia or Sliisha (comp. Klostermann, 
“Die BUcher Samnelis und derlOmige’Anlvrmz- 
gefasster Kommentar zu den Hedigen Sclintten , 
Thenius, “ Die BUcher Samuelis,” in Kurzgefasstes 

Exegetisclies Handbnch ). # 

2 Chief priest during the reign of Zedekial , 
mentioned with Zeplianiah, the second pi icst , both 
were'executed, with others of rank by Neb uchad- 
nezzar at Hiblah (II Kings xxv 18, 21 , ,3m. .hi. 

97) Seraiali was the son of Azaiiali (I C • 

U) and the father of Ezra the Scribe (Ezra vu. 1). 

3 The son of Tanhuraetli the Netopliathite and 
one of the heroic hand that saved themselves from 
the fury of Nebuchadnezzar when lie stoimed Jeru 
salem They repaired to Gedaliah, the son ot Aln- 
kam, but killed him on account of his > altegi « 
tim Chaldeans (II Kings xxv. 25). In the parallel 
passage, Jer. xl. 8, the sons of Ephai the Nctopha- 
tliite are mentioned in addition to Semia- 

4. Son of Kenaz, and younger biothei of Oth 
niel, and father of Joab, the chief of Ge-harashun (I 

C1 5 ? n Grandfath 4 er^f Jehu, of the tribe of Simeon (I 

“pifef third in the list of those who returned 
from Babylon to Jerusalem with Zerubbabel (E 
ii 2' Neb. vii. 7 [here called Azanah], xn. 1), 
third also in the record of those who sealed the 
covenant^ bi'ndin g all Jews not to take foreign wives 
(Neh. x. 2). As the son of Hilkiah, and conse- 
quently a direct descendant of the priestly fami j i , 
he became governor of the Temple when l was 
built (Neh. xi. 11). He is mentioned (under the name 

Azariali) also in I Clvron. ix. 11. 

7. Son of Azriel, one of those whom Jelioiakim 
commanded to imprison Jeremiah and Baruch, the 

son of Keria.li (Jer. xxxvi. 26). . 

8. The son of Neriah, who went into banishment 
with Zedekiah. He bore the name also of Sar Meim- 
hah(=“ prince of repose”; comp the commen- 
taries of Dillmann and Nowack, 

gum renders “Sar Memihalr by Bab Takiubta 

(= “ prince of battle”), and the Septuagmt by «M» 
d&pJ (=“ prince of gifts" [reading “Minljah for 
“ Menuhah ”1)- At the request of Jeremiah lie cai 

. -i • • flip o*PS POn tail 


the propliet’s warning of the fall of Babylon, writ- 
ten in a hook which lie was bidden to bind to a stone 
and cast into the Euphrates, to symbolize the fall of 
Babylon (Jer. li. 59-64). g q 

SERAPHIM (D’SltJO '• Class of heavenly be- 
ings, mentioned only once in the Old Testament, in 
a vision of the prophet Isaiah (vi. 2 etseq.). Isali “ 
saw several seraphim, their exact number not being 
given, standing before the tlnone of 
Vision of Yhwh. They were winged beings, 
Isaiah. each having six wings— two covering 
their faces, two covering their feet, 
and two for flying. The seraphim cry continually 
to each other, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Loid of 
hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory (.^ 

The “ foundations of the thresholds (R. V.) 

Temple were moved by the sound of their voices 
One of the seraphim flew to Isaiah with a live coal 
in his hand, which lie had taken with the tongs from 
off the altar, and with which he touched the lips of 
the prophet to purge him from sin. Isaiah gn es no 

further description of the form and appearance of 
the seraphim; he apparently assumes that Ins lead 

^ are acquainted with them. Nevertheless, ,t may 
be concluded from the description that the seiaphm 
were conceived as having human faces, human 
ands and human voices. However, one should 
not too hastily conclude that the seraphim were 

winged human forms. At least this was no- 
original conception, although later pictured 

them so. The seraphim are frequenriy mentmned 

in the Book of Enoch (xx. 7, lxi. 10, h i . 0. ^ here 
they are designated as SpaKoveg ( sei pents ), 
always^ mentioned, in conjunction with- the ■ cheru- 
him as the heavenly creatures standing neaiest to 
Pod In Rev iv. 6-8 four animals are pictured as 

wings and, as in Isaiah, they sing the Tnsagion 
The’ passages cited furnish conclusive evidence 
against the idea, popular for a time, that tlie^seia- 
phim belong to the same category as an„els. y 
P have nothing whatever to do with the 

Meaning. “ messengers of God ” ; in the Jewish 
conception the two have always been 
distinguished. Dan. x. 13, the Book of Tobit, and 
other sources, afford information concerning a senes 
of “ chief ” angels, but allusions to the seraphim are 

entirely 6 lacking, and an etymological connection o 

the name “seraf ” with the Arabic sliaiif (to be 
exalted or distinguished) is equally valueless. 

‘ On the other band, there is a striking similarity be- 
tween the seraphim and cherubim. Both aic w inged 
creatures, half human, half animal ; both stand near 
the throne of God, and appear as itsguaidians, < , 

as has already been stated, they are always men- 
tioned together in the Book of Enoch. _ T1 , 
ever by no means proves that the origin o 
was the same; it only shows that in later Jewish 
conception, as well as in the conception of the con- 
temporaries of Isaiah, these two classes of heavenlj 

t the seraphim had their 

oririn in « e Egyptian “seref,” a composite, winged 

creature half Hon and half eagle, which guarded 
ci taunt, ua tn heaven, and trans- 


Seraphim 

Serragrlio deg-li Ebrei 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


202 


mitted prayers thither. The form and office of the 
seref, however, suggest rather the Jewish cheru- 
bim. 

According to other investigators, the conception 
was of Babylonian origin. Friedrich Delit.zseli and 
Ilommel associate the seraphim with the Assyrian 
“sharrapu,” a name which, in Canaan, 

Babylo- designated the Babylonian fire-god 
man Nergal. The seraphim, then, would 

Origin. be the flames in which this god mani- 
fested himself. An argument against 
this theory is that until now no one has been able to 
show that the word “seraph” was ever used as a 
name of a god. According to a third and more 
probable theory, the seraphim originally were ser- 
pents, as the name implies. Among many peoples 
of antiquity serpents played an important part in 
my tli and folk-lore. For instance, there were Tiamat 
in the Babylonian legend of the Creation, and the 
Uncus serpent in Egypt. .Consequently, since the 
Jews shared the superstitious ideas of surrounding 
nations in other respects, it should not be a matter 
of wonder if they adopted this notion as well. That 
the serpent filled a special role among them as 
a demoniacal being may be seen from the story of 
Adam’s fall (Gen. iii.). In this connection the 
names “ Dragon Spring ” and “ Serpent Pool ” (places 
in the vicinity of Jerusalem) are worthy of being 
noted. A brazen serpent brings relief from the 
effects of the bite of the fiery serpents (Hum. xxi. 9 
et seg.) which Yhwii sent among his disobedient peo- 
.ple in the wilderness. Isaiah (xiv. 29, xxx, 6) speaks 
of fiery, flying serpents and dragons; and a brazen 
serpent, Neliushtan, stood in the Temple at Jerusa- 
lem, and was an object of worship until the time 
of Hezekiah, who destroyed it as being idolatrous 
(II Kings xviii. 4 et seg.). The worship of Ne- 
hushtan was plainly a remnant of ancient super- 
stition, and was reconciled with the worship of 
Yhwii by connecting Nehuslitan with the scourge 
of snakes in the wilderness and the rescue from them 
(Num. xxi. 9 et seg.). Therefore the theory seems 
possible, even probable, that the seraphim have tlieir 
counterpart in the flying serpents of Isaiah (comp, 
also II Esd. xv. 29). It is only natural that these 
winged guardians of Yhwh's throne were soon 
ranked as higher beings and invested with the hu- 
man form or with some features of the human 
body ; and it was because of the very fact that they 
were adopted into the Yhwh cult that they were, in 
process of time, ennobled and spiritualized. 
e. g. h. I. Be. 


SEREBSZCZYZNA (“silver tax”): Land-tax 
imposed upon the inhabitants of Lithuania and Rus- 
sia in the Middle Ages, and deriving its name from 
the fact that it had to be paid all in silver. Origi- 
nally Russia had to pay the “serebszczyzna ” to the 
Tatars, and later to Poland and Lithuania. In the 
course of time it became a state tax throughout 
Lithuania and all the provinces taken from the Rus- 
sians. The “serebszczyzna ” is often mentioned in 

doeuments concerning the Jewisli communities of 

Litnuama, mostly in cases wiiere tne Jews tiaa suc- 
cessfully applied for exemption from it. This must 
not, however, be regarded as implying a special 


privilege granted to them, but only as an act of 
justice, inasmuch as they paid their general taxes 
annually in a lump sum according to an assessment 
fixed at the, annual sessions of the Diet. 

n. e. G. D. R. 

SERENE (SERENUS) : Pseudo-Messiah of 
the beginning of the eighth century; a native of 
Syria. The name is a Latin form of which is 

found in a responsum of Natronai Gaon (“ Sha'are 
Zedek,” p. 24a, b). Gregorius bar I-Iebrseus (“ Clironi- 
con Syriacum,” ed. Kirscli and Bruns, p. 123), how- 
ever, speaking of the same false Messiah, writes his 
name fcOlND, which was rendered “Severus” by the 
! translators of the chronicle. Natronai states in his 
responsum (Lc.) that Serene represented himself as 
the Messiah, establishing certain religious observ- 
ances opposed to the rabbinical law, abolishing 
prayer, neglectingthe laws of “terefah,” not guard- 
ing the wine against “nesek,” working on the 
second holy day, and abolishing both the ketubah 
and certain incest laws established by the scribes. 

The date of Serene’s appearance is given by 
Isidor Pacensis (“Chronicon,” in Florez’s “Espana 
Sagrada,” viii. 298) as 103 of the Hegira {c. 720 c.e.), 
which was during the reign of Yazid II. This 
same historian states that in Spain many Jews 
abandoned all their property and prepared to join 
the supposed Messiah. The latter, indeed, owing to 
his promise to put the Jews in possession of the 
Holy Land, and, perhaps, owing to his hostility to- 
ward the Talmud, gained many adherents. He was 
finally captured and taken before Yazid II,, who 
put some questions to him concerning his Messianic 
qualities which he was unable to answer. He de- 
clared that he had never had any serious design 
against the calif, and that he desired only to mock 
the Jews, whereupon he was handed to the latter for 
punishment. His adherents, having repented of 
their credulity, on the advice of Natronai Gaon Were 
received again into their communities. 

Bibliography : Gratz, Gesch. 3d ed., v. 152 et seq ., note 14 
J- M. Sel. 


SERPENT : The following terms are used in the 
Old Testament to denote 'serpents of one kind or 
another: (1) “nahash,” the generic and most fre- 
quently used term; (2) “peten” (asp or adder; 
Deufc. xxxii. 33; Isa. xi. 8; et al.), perhaps identical 
with the Egyptian cobra {Naja haje), which is 
found in southern Palestine, and is frequently kept 
by snake-charmers; (3) “zefa‘”(A.Y. “cockatrice,” 
R. Y. “basilisk,” LXX. “asp”; Isa. xiv. 29); (4) 
“zifoni ” (adder, basilisk, cockatrice; Isa. xi. 8, lix. 
5, et al.\ perhaps the large viper (Duboia xanthina ) ; 
it is identified also, by some, with the cat-snake 
(Tarbophis fallax ) ; (o) “efeli” (Arabic, “af‘a” = 
“viper”), connected in Isa. xxx. 6 with Egypt; (6) 
“shefifon” (adder; Gen. xlix. 17 [R. Y,, margin, 
“ horned snake ”]), perhaps identical with the Gerasta 
hasselguistii, said to have been the asp with which 
Cleopatra killed herself; (7) ‘“akshub” (Ps. cxl. 3; 
LXX. “asp,” Arabic version, “viper,” A. and R. 

V. “adder”: Talmud and Rashi, a kind of spider or 
tarantula [comp. “‘aKKaWsii”]); “zotmie 'afar” 

(Deut. xxxii. 24; comp. Micah vii. 17, winch desig- 
nates the serpent as creeping on the earth); (9) 



203 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Seraphim . 

Serraglio degli Ehrei 


“tannin” (Ex. vii. 9 et seq. ; elsewhere, “dragon” 
tannn t « k ; ppoz ” (Isa. xxxiv. 15; A. V. 

I’T^fowl ” R V. “arrow-snake”; the connection 
great owl, A - “saraf” and “nakash 

sainr^^Nnni" 6 xxi. 6’; Deut. viii. 15; the epithet 
“fiery ” probably refers to the horning sen»hon and 
inflammation caused by the venom otthes^ke) 

The idea of flying serpents ( saraf me ofet _ , Isa. 

. ' 0) rests, perhaps, on the confusion of 

XIV. -J, XX. . J j found also in classical 

’"f .y wis “hose <*™M 

IIS ,rticl, folk-lore people. “« 

/«p„i -wxpior. Fund, Quarterly statement, 1894, 

, 30) ^ For the “naliask hariah” and nahash 
- i infmi ” in Isa xx vii. 1 see Leviathan. 

Serpentsabound in Palestine as well as in Egypt, 
the Sinaitic Peninsula, and the Arabian desert. A 
the » ina the serp ent tribe is represented 

^Palestine by eighteen species, mostly belonging 
to Jie genera IblaL and Zamanis, of the Colubndce 

The qualities and habits attributed to the serpent 
in the Old Testament are subtlety (comp. Cen. . 
nS disposition to lie concealed l in : holes. wa is 

- -ss sxsxfJSi&trz 

s£ ill. 14; Is. U». . WW “ 

common among the Greeks andEomans The ait 

serpents into rods is still possessed by Oriental jug- 

^Thc generic names for the serpent are “ nahash ” 

.I / B er 12b). Like fish, the snake lias its 

and n nr • the s . des of its head (Niddah 

In the 23a) ; and it is endowed with a keen 
Talmud, sense of hearing ( Ah. Zaiali ' 30b). l 
back is curved, its belly flat (Ned. ~;oa). 

Its mode of progression is by slowly raising first the 

head and then gradually the rest of the body («er. 
X? Serpent! copulate with their be lies turned 
l ist Jh other; the period of » «ev» 

years during wliicli intercourse continues (Bek. 
8a) The serpent lives in empty cisterns and in 
houses, where it has a dangerous enemy in he cat 
the latter being immune to its Poison Hag 3.t W 
It tastes dust in whatever it eats; s ill it s fond ot 
water, wine, milk, and melted suet Te - 'u , 
‘Ab. Zarali 30a, b; Shab. 85a; Bezali 7b) . It .is 
driven off by the smoke of tlie burning antlei of the 
hart (Yalkut Sliim'oni, ii. 97c; comp. ^Elianus De 
Nature Animalium," ix. 20; Pliny, “Historm Natu- 
ralis,” viii. 32, 50). The skin of the seipent was 
made into covers for the seats of kings ( er. re. 
iv • Hal. 3); and in Pirke R. El. xx. (comp. Gen 
R. xxiv. 6) it is said that the garments of Adam and 
Eve (Gen iii. 21) were made of the same materia . 

The poison of the serpent forms a coherent mass 
(B K 115b). It varies in strength and wei 0 l - 
That of a young serpent is heaviest, and falls to the 
bottom when dropped into a vessel o 
Their water; that of an older one remains 
Poison. suspended midway; and that or a 
very oia one nouts 

While the serpent is one of the three creatures which 
o-mw stroneer with age (the other two bein & the 


fish and the swine), the intensity and d«dlinMS i of 
its poison decreases with advancing age ; ( Ab Zaiali 
30b) The poison of tbe seipent is dec y ( • 

Zarali 31b). If it is left in tlie wound it causes a 
burning pain, so that one sentenced to die by fire 
raav be bitten by a snake instead (Sotali 8b). The 
polon spreads through the whole body, and it is 
therefore* dangerous to eat tlie flesh of an animal 

to wear sandals made from its hide (Hul. 94a, I* asm )- 
If tlie bone of a snake enters the foot death may 
result CPes 112b). Tlie snake alone of all animals 

gL K f*r 

pared to the slanderer (Ta an. 8a et al.). 
revengeful (Yoma 23a). Still, it seldom attacks un- 
less provoked ; and it gives warning by hissing (Be 
S; P S»b. Dim. The snakes of Palestme were 
considered particularly dangerous (rf.) , hut it is 
mentioned as one of the perpetual miracles of Jer 
salem that no one there was ever bitten by a snake 

(A Tbe flesh of the snake, mixed with other things 
was considered tlie most effective antidote agai 
the poison of the snake as well as of otter 
CShab 109b). Other cures lor snake-bite aie. p 
cing the bitten part into the body of a hen vliic 

has been opened alive; applying to the wound the 
embryo taken from the womb of a sound, white 
slie-ass • and putting crushed gnats on tbe wound 
(Yoma 83b; Sliab. 77b, 109b). A snake cooked m 
olive-oil was considered a curative for itch (Skab. 

^Probably tlie anaconda is referred to in Ned. 25a 
et al where it is related that in the time of Bhabui 
a serpent devoured tlie straw of thirteen stables. 

The ringed snake is mentioned undei 
Species or tlie name of (comp. Greek e^if. 

Varieties. cx ^ va : B - K- a nd f paia ^ A f 

encircling tbe opening of a cave. Ut 
tlie “ slieflfon ” it is said that it is tlie only snake 
which is solitary in its habits, that its poison is ef- 
fective even after its death, and that its strength is 
S? in its head (Gen. R. cxi 2, cxin. 3; comp 
Ter. Ter. 43d). The period of f ““ o£ ^ 
“ ef ‘eli ” is set at seventy years (Bek. 8a). lhe 
. ‘i-„ /x-nrofl” or ‘“arod”) occurs in the 

water-snake ( arai ^ ^ /rinl 1070^ 

miraculous story of Hamna b Dom ■ 1 - > 

where Raslii explains it to be the hybrid of the sei 

tothe 

worm, as, for instance in Ber. 62 b and GiJ. Jm. 
Another name for the dragon is TON (ket. 4y ’ 

roniD Tars:, oil Jer. x. 9). ccaj^ 

A bad wife is called a snake in the proverb. No 
man can live in tlie same basket with a 
72a). But the appearance ot a snake 1 < 
of good omen (Ber. 57a). For the relation of 
serpent to Adam and Eve see Shab 1 < 


«prnpnt to AQaln auu liivu ouu 

Bibliography: Tristram, Aatnml m BO**, £ 

S„rm, Paiastina.una 

Q/perii^lSSO. j ji. O. 

SSEBAGLXO e 



Serre 

Servia 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


204 


SERRE. See Dauphine. 

SERVANT. See Master and Servant. 

SERVANT OF GOD : Title of honor given to 
various persons or groups of persons; namely, Abra- 
ham, Isaac, Jacob (Deut. ix. 27; comp. Ps. cv. 6, 
42), Moses (Deut. xxxiv. 5; Josh. i. 1; I Chron. vi. 
49 ; II Chron. xxiv. 9 ; Nell. x. 29 ; Dan. ix. 11), Joshua 
(Josh. xxiv. 29; Judges ii. 8), David (Ps. xviii., 
xxx vi., captions), the Prophets (Jer. vii. 25, xxv. 
4, and elsewhere), Isaiah (Isa. xx. 3), Job (Job i. 8, 
ii. 3, xlii. 8), and even Nebuchadrezzar (Jer. xxv. 9, 
xx vii. 6, xiiii. 10). In the second part of Isaiah, in 
some, passages of Jeremiah, and in Ezekiel the ex- 
pression occurs with a special significance. 

That devoted worshipers of the Deity were com- 
monly designated as God’s servants is attested by 
the theopliorous personal names frequent in all Sem- 
itic dialects, and in which one element 
Semitic is some form of the verb “ ‘abaci ” 
Use of (13^) and the other the name of the 
“ Servant.” god (comp. “‘Abd Allah”; see Lidz- 
barski, “Handbucli der Nordsemi- 
tischen Epigraphik,” pp. 332 et seq.). It is in this 
sense that Abraham, Moses, Job, and Joshua are 
designated as “ the ser van ts ” of Ymvii. In the case 
of Nebuchadrezzar, the meaning is somewhat differ- 
ent. By the prophet the Babylonian king is consid- 
ered as the instrument of God’s plans. To explain 
why the title was conferred on him it is not neces- 
sary to speculate on the possibly monotheistic lean- 
ings of this monarch. Nebuchadrezzar in Daniel 
and Judith is the very prototype of Antiochus 
Epiphanes, the execrated enemy of God. Nor is 
the use of the epithet in this connection satisfac 
torily explained by the theory advanced by Duhm, 
that Nebuchadrezzar bore the title because during his 
reign Israel could not very well claim to be Yhwh’s 
representative on earth. Unless ‘“Abdi” in the 
passages in Jeremiah given above is a scribal cor- 
ruption— which .most probably it is not— Nebuchad- 
rezzar is so designated because he carries out, as 
would a slave who has no choice, the designs of 
Yhwh (comp. “ Asliur sliebet appi,” Isa. x. 5). 

But the epithet represents the whole people or a 
section of Israel in the following passages: Ezek. 
xxviii. 25, xxxvii. 25; Jer. xxx. 10, xlvi. 27; Isa 
xli. 8 ; xlii. 19 et seq . ; xiiii. 10 ; xliv. 1 et seq., 21 ; xlv 
4; xlviii. 20; it has ceased to be an “epitheton or 
nans ” used to honor and distinguish an individual 
This is patent from the use of “Jacob ” as a synon- 
ymous designation (Ezek. xxviii. 25, xxxvii. 25- 
Jer. xxx. 10; Isa. xliv. 1, xlv. 4, xlviii. 20). Israel’s 
destiny and duty, rather than its previous conduct, 
are indicated in this denomination. Israel is God’s 
chosen one,” the equivalent of the expression 
servant of Ynwn” used by these exilic prophets 
(Isa. xiiii. 20, xlv. 4; comp. ib. lxv 9 
Applied to 15, 22). “My chosen [ones] ” = “My 
Israel. servants” (Sellin, “Studien zur Ent- 

. stehuugsgeschichte der Jiidisclien Ge- 

memde, ” l. 81). Yjiwii has “ called ” and “ strength- 
ened ” Israel (Isa. xli. 9) ; therefore it is not aban- 
doned and need not be afraid (ib. verse 10). Its 
enemies shall be confounded (ib. verses 11, 12). 
Itiwji lias called Israel by its name (ix.. His “serv- 


ant ” or “son ”): therefore it belongs to Him; for 
He lias created it and formed it (ib. xiiii. 1, 2), 
Through flood and Are it may pass unscathed ; for 
Yhwh is with it. He would exchange Eg}?pt, 
Ethiopia, and Sheba (the richest countries) for Israel! 
God loves it: it is precious in His eyes (ib. verses 3 
et seq.). Yhwii’s spirit will be poured out on its 
seed, and His blessing on its shoots {ib. xliv. 3). 
Israel is, in fact, a witness unto Yhwii : as He is one, 
so Israel is the one unique chosen people (ib. xliv! 
6, 7, 8, 4 Am ‘Olam ”). As such a servant, predes- 
tined to be a light for the nations, Israel is called 
from the womb (ib. xlix. 1-6; but see below). It 
is for this that Israel will return from exile (Jer. 
xxx. 10), which was a disciplinary visitation (ib. 
verse 11). Israel, however, does not as yet recog- 
nize its own opportunity (Isa. xl. 2). Though Israel 
has sinned God has ndt abandoned it (ib. xlii. 24) 
because He lias not abdicated (ib. xlii. 8). It is for 
His own sake, not for Israel’s, that God has chosen 
Israel (ib. xlviii. 11). In another passage Israel is 
filled with doubts concerning this (ib. lxiii. 15 et seq. ; 
probably this is a non-Isaian chapter). At all events, 
as yet it is blind and deaf, although, inasmuch as it 
has eyes and ears, it should and might be both an 
observer and a hearer as behooves one that is “me- 
shullam ” and “‘ebed Yhwh” (ib. xlii. 18-20; “me- 
shullam ” = “one that has completely given himself 
over,” a synonym of ‘“ebed,” as Mohammed’s 
religion is Islam and he “‘Abd Allah,” xlii. 18-20). 
Hence the command “Bring forth the blind peo- 
ple that have eyes, and the deaf that have ears ” (ib 
xiiii. 8). 

There are, however, four passages in the Isaian 
compilation when? perhaps the “national ” interpre- 
tation is not admissible, namely, Isa. xlii. 1-4, xlix. 
1-6, 1. 4-9, lii. 13-liii. 12. The descriptions in them 
of the attitude and conduct of the 
Special ‘ebed Yhwh seem to be idealizations 
Usage in of the character of an individual rather 
Isaiah, than of the whole of Israel. Espe- 
cially is this true of Isa. lii. 13-liii. 12, 
the exaltation of the “man of suffering.” In this a 
prophetic anticipatory picture of the Messiah has 
been recognized by both Jewish and Christian tradi- 
tion. Modern critics read into it the portraits of 
Jeremiah (so Bunsen), Zerubbabel (Sellin, “Serub- 
babel, 1898, and Kittel, “ Zur Theologie des Altentes- 
taments,” 2ded. : “ Jesaja und der Leidende Messias 
im A. T.”), or Sliesh bazar (Winckler, “Altorienta- 
lisclie Forscliungen,” ii. 452-453). Rothstein (and 
Sellin at present) holds the description to be meant 
for Jehoiachin (Rothstein, “Die Genealogie des 
Jeho jacliin ”) ; while Bertholet (“Zu Jesaja LIII.”), 
dividing the chapters into two distinct “songs” 
regards the first (Isa. lii. 13-15, liii. llb-12) as a 
glorification of a teacher of the Torah; and the 
second (ib. liii. 1-lla) as that of Eleazar (II Macc. 
vi. 18-31). Duhm also is inclined to separate this 
description into two distinct “songs” (Duhm, “Das 
Bnch Jesaia,” 3d ed., 1902, pp. 355-367); but be 
declares it to be impossible to assign a definite 
person as the model. The “man of suffering ” is, 
howevei, a teacher of the Torah. Even the period 
when these four ‘ebed Yirwn songs were written 
is not determinable save in so far as they are post- 



205 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Serre 

Servia 


exilic — perhaps as late as the days immediately pre 
cedine the Maccabean uprising. 

rt mav be noted that these interpretations, accoid- 
i D <r to which the picture is that of a definite mdmd- 
ual were anticipated among Jewish commentators 
of the Middle Ages. Saadia referred thc whole 
section (Isa. lii. 13-liii. 13) to Jeremiah; and Ibn 
Ezra finds this view a probable one (see Neubauei 
-mil Driver “The Fifty -third Chapter of Isaiah Ac- 
eo lS to the Jewish Interpreters”). Kraetsach 
nm- (“Der Leidende Gotteslmeclit ”), among mod- 
erns selects Ezekiel for the model on account of 
Ezek iv. Clieyne was at one time inclined to 
associate this ‘ebed Tnwn with Job (“Jewish Re- 
lio'ious Life,” p. 162). .... o 

& In o-enioiis as these various identifications are of 
htc years there has been in evidence a decided re- 
1 3 version to the theory that also Israel, 

Present or at least a part of the congregation, 
Conditions is idealized in these songs - Budde 
of Problem, (in “American Journal of Thcolo 0 y, 

1899, pp. 499-540) has successfully met 
the arguments of’Dulim; and other scholars, e.g 
Marti (see his commentary on Isaiah), Giesebrecht, 
and KOnig, are now ranged on his side. This conces- 
sion must be made: in the four songs, somewhat 
more strongly than in others where Israel is hailed 
the servant of Yinvn, stress is laid on missionaij 
activity both within and without Israel, on the part 
of the servant ; furthermore various characteristics 
are dwelt on that are attributed in a certain group 
of the Psalms to the “ pious.” For this reason there is 
strong presumption that the “ poor,” the ‘anawim 
(meek) of the Psalms, are the Israel to which the 
epithet ‘“ebed Ynwn”and the portrayal of his 
qualifications refer. Budde reverts to the theory of 
Raslii Ibn Ezra, and Kiml.n, that the confession in 
Isa. liii. is uttered by the “ nations ” referred to in Isa. 
lii. 15 and that thus Israel is the martyr, with which 
view Vellhausen, Giesebrecht, Marti, and others 
a°ree If the “ remnant ” (the “ poor ) be personi- 
fied in the “servant,” the “We” of the confession 
may refer to those of Israel that had rejected these 
“poor” and “meek”; if such an interpretation 
were to be accepted the exilic date of these ideal- 
ized personifications would, of course, have to be 
abandoned. But these “ poor ” were just such quiet 
missionaries as are described in Isa. sin. 1-4 J 

suffered in the pursuit of their missionary labors (ib 
1. 4) as well as at the hands of tlieir own fellow 
Israelites (ib. lii., liii.). 

Fullkrug. Der 

Go ftesUnecuJes Deu»aia. IS*) ; ~scmnar 
eyden, 1896 ; Clieyne, in bnc gc. BM. iv. 4698 


Florence. He became rabbi at Monticelli in 1864 ; 
from 1868 he held the rabbinate of Mondovi, and 
in 1872 was appointed chief rabbi at Oasale-Mon- 
ferrato, where he was also editor of II Vessillo 
Israelitico,” in succession to Giuseppe Levi. He 
edited also the almanac “ Annuario della Famiglia 
Israelitica,” Corfu, 1870-74, and “Lunano Israeli- 
tico,” Casale, 1881-1904. 

Servi was a prolific writer, contributing a great 
number of essays on literature and Jewish science to 
the Jewish iournals of Italy, e.g “Educa ore, 
“Corriere Israelitico,” “II Vessillo Israelitico, etc 

He was the author of: “Statistica degli Israeliti 
Italian!,” Yercelli, 1866; “Israeliti d’Europa ne la 
Liberta,” Turin, 1872; “Dante e gli Ebrei, Casale, 
1893 ; “ Studii sulla JVIissione della Donna Israelita, 
ib. 1903; “ Versi in Ebraicse in Italiano ” ; etc, . 

Bibliography: II Vessillo Israelitico, Jan., 1904, Supplement. 

s. 


2d ed., , 

seq Leyden, 
s.v. Servant of the Lord. 


Bee 


E. G. H. 

KAMMERKNECHT- 


R f.1B. TT CAMERA. 

SERVI, FLAMINIO EPHRAIM: Italian 
rabbi; born at Pitigliano, Tuscany, Dec 34,1841; 
died at Casale-Monferrato Jan. 23, 1904. He ie 
ceivcd his education in his native towm, at Padua, 
and at tlie rabbinical scliool and the Lmveisitj of 


SERVIA: Kingdom of southeastern Europe; 
until 1876 a vassal state of Turkey. The history o 
the Jews of the country is almost identical with that 
of Belgrade and of Nisii, its two oldest communi- 
ties There was no regularly organized congrega- 
tion in Belgrade until the year 1530, when one was 
established through the efforts of Don Joseph Easi, 
while the foundation of the community of ISish 
dates only from 1728. According to Samuel (li 
Medina, rabbi of Salonica, there were two other 
communities, at Semendria and Shabats, although 
the Jews of the latter city, threatened by the rebel- 
lious Haiduks or Oksoks, were greatly reduced m 
IZb,, I>y emigrations in 1 M 0 »d 1W * ft. 
Banat, Slavonia, and even to Buda. From a ieli - 
ious point of view all these communities of Serna 
were under the supervision of the congregation of 

Sa The Servian Jews were frequently molested in 
times of general disturbance, e.g., by the Turks m 
1792, and by the orthodox Servians in 1S07 and 
1813, the political equality of all Seryians being firs 
proclaimed by Miloseli Obrenovich in 1817. F om 
that period until 1830 the Servian Jews enjoyed all 
legal rights, and contributed materially to tne pros- 
uerity of the country. 

Alexander (the son of Czerni-George [Kara-Geor- 
sreviclil) who was elected on the abdication of Mi 
losch in 1842, inaugurated a policy of oppression. 
The new prince thus repaid the support given him 
by the merchants of the orthodox religion on i 
accession to power; and the Jews were foi bidden 
to settle in the interior of the country. In t 
Treaty of Paris (1856) a paragraph was inserted 
which gave full liberty in matters of religion, leg- 
islationf and commerce to the Servian Jews though 

their condition was once more to be aggravated by 

the law of Oct. 30, 1856. . -.q-q 

The restoration of Miloseli to the throne m 18o8 
revived the hopes of the Jews; and a decree issued 
by him Sept. 26, 1858, repealed all laws in foice 
•mains t them. Prince Michel, the successo of Mi- 
losch however, restricted their right to settle in the 
interior At this period Servia contained ~,4ra 
Jews, residing in Belgrade, Nish 
mendria, Shabats, and Obrenovatz. In 1861 six y 


Servia 

Severus 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


206 


Jewish families were driven from the cities of the 
interior, further expulsion taking place in 1862 and 
1S63, and especially at Shabats in 1864. 

A protest made in Dec., 1864, by the Alliance 
Israelite Uni verselle against the anti-Semitic journal 
“ Svetovide ” was ineffectual, and in January of the 
following year two Jews of Shabats 
The were assassinated, whereupon the Ser- 
Outrage of vian Jews went into voluntary exile. 

Shabats. In 1865 there were but 1,805 left in 
the country, the greater number of 
them living at Belgrade in a ghetto beyond the en- 
trenchments of the fortress. The Jews, however, still 
sought for assistance, and were aided by J. A. Long- 
worth, G. J. Ricketts, and J. C. Blunt, successively 
English consuls at Belgrade from 1861 to 1869. 
These officials presented a petition and several verbal 
protests from the Servian Jews to three successive 
ministers at the English Foreign Office. As the 
Jews of Servia wished to place themselves under the 
protection of England, the problem was discussed 
in the House of Commons on March 29, 1867, when 
a memorial was presented to the British government 
by Sir Francis Goldsmid. In a like spirit the Alli- 
ance Israelite Uni verselle and its president, Adolphe 
Cremieux, as well as the Board of Deputies in Lon- 
don, and its president, Sir Moses Montefiore, drew 
the attention of the English, Turkish, and Servian 
governments to this Jewish question. At the same # 
time Count Abraham Camondo brought all his in-* 
fiuence to bear on the viziers Ali Pasha and Fuad 
Pasha, and even on Prince Milan, when he visited 
Constantinople in 1867. The Servian constitution, 
proclaimed in 1869, while professedly liberal in char- 
acter, reaffirmed the anti-Jewish laws of 1856 and 
1861, and, moreover, rendered the Jews liable to mili- 
tary service. The English, French, Italian, and Aus- 
trian consuls at Belgrade at once protested' in the 
names of their respective governments against the 
inconsistency of these laws; and the victims of 
the measures emigrated from the country in large 
numbers. 

The most influential Jew of Belgrade at that time 
was David Russo, who kept the Alliance Israelite 
Uni verselle and the proper authorities informed with 
regard to Jewish matters. In 1873 the Alliance 
again sought to intervene with Prince Milan on 
behalf of the Jews when he passed through Paris; 
but his reply was evasive. In 1876 eleven families 
were expelled from Semendria. When Servia re- 
volted against Turkey in 1876 flfty-five soldiers from 
230 Jewish families fought in the Servian army (see 
the list in Loeb, “Situation des Israelites de Tor- 
que,” etc., p. 407). In 1873 the Jews of Belgrade 
were permitted to elect a deputy to the Skupshtina; 
and in 1SS0 Prince Milan appointed six Jews as 
members of his. private body-guard. Tlie constitu- 
tion of Jan. 2, 1889, finally abolished the anti-Jew- 
isli laws of 1856 and 1861, and from that time to the 
present date (1905) no important event has marked 
the history of the Jews of Servia. 

In 1884' tliere were 3,492 Jews in Servia. Now, 
in a total population of 2,493,770 there are 6,430," 
distributed as follows: Belgrade, 4,000; Nish’ 
800; Shabats, 600; Pirot, 300; Pojarevatz, 200; 
Lescovatz, 200; Semendria, 150; Obrenovatz,’ 


100; Vatjevo, 50; Onb, 30. Since 1841 Belgrade 
has bad a Hebrew press in the national printing- 
office, and from 1888 to 1893 a Juda?o-Spanish jour- 
nal, “El Amigo del Pueblo,” was published there. 

Although the Jews have possessed legal equality 
since the promulgation of the constitution of 1889, 
this equality scarcely exists in general intercourse’ 
and the Jews have therefore taken little part in pub- 
lic affairs. The Jewish state functionaries number 
only one schoolmaster, one schoolmistress, one head 
of a department in the Ministry of the Interior, one 
consul-general, one ex-deputy, and one sublieu- 
tenant. In the liberal professions are eight lawyers, 
six physicians, and three engineers. 

Bibliography : Loeb, Situation dcs Israelites de Turquie, 
Serhie, et Roumanie, pp. 28, 45-81, Paris, 1877; Annual 
Bulletin All. Isr. 1880, 1889,1903; Amarillo, Debar Mosheh. 
p. 69, Salonica, 1743-50. 

M. Fr. 


See Procedure in 


SERVICE OF PROCESS. 

Civil, Causes. 

SESSA, KARL BORROMAUS ALEXAN- 
DER : Anti-Jewish author; horn at Breslau Dec. 
20, 1786 ; died there Dec. 4, 1813. He studied phi- 
losophy and medicine in various universities, gradu- 
ated as doctor of medicine in Frankfort-on-the-Oder 
(1807), and was district physician in his native city. 
Besides essays on medicine and various poems and 
plays he wrote a comedy entitled “ Die Judenscliule, ” 
which presents Jewish characters in tlie most vulgar 
way, all of them being actuated by the lowest mer- 
cenary motives and speaking a repulsive jargon or 
a ridiculously stilted German. The play was first 
presented in BreslauFeb.il, 1813; then, under the 
title “ Unser Verkehr,” in Berlin and elsewhere, until 
the police prohibited its repetition. It was pub- 
lished anonymously in Breslau in 1815, and often 
reprinted, even in Reclam’s “Universalbibliothek.” 
Treitschke (“Deutsche Gescliiclite,” iii. 756, Leipsic, 
1885) says that some thought Goethe had writ- 
ten the work, and that the house of Rothschild of- 
fered a prize for the discovery of the author. Ac- 
cording to Treitschke, the author was Karl Andreas 
Mertens, a Protestant minister at Iialberstadt. Both 
of these statements of Treitschke are unfounded. 

Bibliography: Grlitz, Gcsch.xi. 338 et seq.i Ludwig Geiger 
Ucher den Vcrfasscr dcr Posse: Unser Verkehr, in Mia. 
Zeit. dcs Jud. 1903, pp. 78 et seq. 

D. 

SET-OFF (sometimes termed Counter-Claim) : 
Effort of a defendant to set up a cause of action 
against a plaintiff, to the end that the judgment of 
the court may satisfy the claims of both at the same 
time ; the “ compensate ” of Roman law. Although 
tliere is no name for it, the principle is allowed in the 
jurisprudence of the Talmud ; aiid tlie right of tliede- 
fendant to set up his claim against that of the plain- 
tiff in the same proceeding in which he is brought 
before tlie court, to have both claims discussed at 
the same time, and to have the judgment cover both 
of them, is nowhere directly denied. 

Under Assault and Battery it has been shown 
that where two men have assaulted and beaten each 
other, the damage done to one may be set off against 
the damage done to the other, and judgment may 
be rendered for the difference only. But apart from 
this instance hardly an} 7- definite recognition of the 



207 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Servia 

Severus 


ri„ht of set-off exists in the Talmud. The only pas- 
sage referred to by commentators and codifiem (B. 


cn rre reieneu lu - . ., . 

K 46b) gives hardly more than a hint, and is to this 
offert* The plaintiff is always called upon hrst [to 
state and to prove his case] ; but it is said later on 
that sometimes the defendant is called opon first 
when it appears that his estate would go off cheap 
i would he sacrificed], Baslii expounds these two 
sayings thus: “ For instance, A sues B for a mma 
which he has lent him before witnesses or on a bond; 
and B answers him, ‘ Thou hast seized my property ; 
return to me what thou hast seized,’ or. Thou hast 
a pledge from me in thy hand and hast converted it 
to thy own use.’ They [the judges] turn first to 
A’s claim and adjudge to him the mina winch B 
owes him, and afterward they turn ® ® ? lau “ 
-judge of the seizure or the pledge. But B s estate 
mio-ht lie sacrificed; i.e., there are merchants who 
would now buy his goods at a high price, but might 
leave to-morrow. And as to his real estate, it might 
depreciate under the effect of the judgment against 
him when it is seen that B is pressed ; hence it is 
best to compel A to return the seized or pledged 
goods to B so that he may pay Ins debt out of 
them ’’ In other words, the mutual claims ought 
to be heard at the same time when the contrary 
course would lead to the sacrifice of the defendant s 

* The matter is brought up in the Shullian Aruk 
(Hoslien Mishpat, 24), where Joseph Caro simply 

copies the words of the Talmud ; but BeMA, m his 
gloss, takes Bashi’s views, assuming in addition that 
B is not prepared with liis witnesses, and can not 
undertake to prove liis counter-claim within the 
thirty days which the court regularly allows to the 
defendant to make his defense. He concludes that, 
if there is danger that B’s property would otherwise 
be sacrificed, the court should not render 3 udgment 
till B lias had a chance to prove his counter-claim. 

Both the Boman and the Anglo-American systems 
of procedure grew out of a set of writs or of formu- 
las, and cross-actions were not provided form these; 
thus it required either the equitable expansion of 
the old common law or of the “jus qumtum by 
the chancellor or by the pretor, or the intervention 
of the law-makiug power, to provide for such a con- 
tingency ; hence the remedy had its own name and 
its own rules. The Jewish procedure was always 
oral, and had no fixed forms for one or another class 
of actions or defenses; hence there was no name for 
the set-off or “ eompensatio,” and it was treated like 
any other just defense. 

nim top r lpnY • Bloch, Civil Process Ordnung , § 51, Budapest, 

S" Ifsenstodt,^ PMe Tcshubak, on Jloshcn 

SETH (IlebreAV, flCT ; Greek, S^). —Biblical 
Data : According to Gen. iv. 25, 26 and v. 3-b, Seth 
was the third son of Adam. He Avas born after Cam 
had murdered Abel and Avlien Adam Avas 130 yeais 
old. Seth lived to the age of 912. His eldest son 
was Enosh, who was born Avlien Seth Avas lOo yeais 
old. In Gen. v. the line of descent from Adam to 
Noah is reckoned through Seth. Seth is mentioned 
also in I Chron. i. 1 and in Luke iff. 38; but neither 
passage contains additional information. 

E. G. 31. A - 


j n Rabbinical Literature: NotliAvitlistand- 

ing the etymology of the name given in Gen. iv. 25 
the Rabbis consider “ Seth ” to mean - foundation 
—i.e., Seth Avas the founder of the world (Hum. R. 
xiv 12; Midrash Agadah to Gen. l.c.). By “God 
hath appointed me another seed” (Gen. Z.c ) Eve 
alluded to the Messiah, Avho Avould descend from 
Beth through Ruth the Moabite (Gen. R. xxm. 7). 
After the expulsion from paradise Seth was the first 
of Adam’s children avIio had the face and form of 
man, Adam’s earlier post-expulsion progeny having 
had the shapes of demons and apes (ib. xxiv. 6; 
Tan., Bereshit, 26). Seth was one of the seven 
shepherds whom Micah (v. 5) prophesied should 
rise against the Assyrians (Cant. R. vm. 9). 

w. b. M - SeE * 

—Critical View: The account of Setli in Gen. 
v is contained in the P document, being a part of 
that writer’s list of antediluvian patriarchs. This 
list, beginning Avitli Cainan and including Lamech, is 
the same as the list of J in Gen. iv. (comp. Harper, 
“Hebraica,” v. 35). Both are transcripts of a 
Babylonian list preserved in a corrupt form by 
Berosus (comp. Gunkel, “Genesis,” in ^owack, 
“Handkommentar,” p. 121). Since “Enosh in P s 
list means “man,” as does also “Adam” in J s list, 
probably “Seth” in the Babylonian list was the 
name of a deity. Hommel (in “Proc. boc. Bibl. 
Arch.” xv. 244 et seq.) conjectures that Seth was 
originally “Shitti,” an epithet of Marduk, avIio in 
Berosus’ list occupies this place under the name 
“ Adapara.” 

SEVEN. See Numbers and Numerals. 
SEVERIN'. See Masorah. 

SEVERUS, ALEXANDER. See Alexander 

Severus. 

SEVERUS, JULIUS: Boman general; consul 
in 127. Later lie held a number of offices in the 


provinces, and was legate ofDaeia.Mcesia, and, 
cording to an inscription (“ C. I. L. ni., No. ~S30), 
of Britain. This is confirmed by Dion Cassius, who 
states (lxix. 13) that Severus was sent from Britain 

STude, .0 ,„ell .1,. .*>1- * 
being appointed “ legatus pro prffitore of the piov- 
ince of Judea and subsequently legate of Syria, 
Severus did not attack tlie Jews in open battle, 
but hunted them doAvn one by one after tedious 
struo-o-les in their fastnesses, caverns, and ravines, 
untiUo quote the words of Dion Cassius, lie anm- 
Mated, destroyed, and exterminated them. ihe 
statement, of Dion’s epitomizer (lb. 14), that Seveius 
was appointed legate of Bithynia on the couclu- 
sion of tlie war, is due to a confusion with another 
Severus, who was apparently called “ G. J. Seveius, 

while the one under consideration had the preenomen 

“ Sextus ” The Senate, according to his inscription, 
decreed him a triumph “ob res in Iutaa prospere 
gestas.” .. ^ _ 

B 3d L ed?iv. P HV; 

G. 



Severus 

Seville 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


208 


SEVERUS, LUCIUS SEPTIMIUS : Emperor 
of Home from 193 to 211 c.e. At the beginning of 
his reign he was obliged to war against his rival, 
Pescennius Niger, who had proclaimed himself Em- 
peror of the East. Which ruler the Jews preferred 
is unknown, but the other Palestinians, including 
the Greeks and Syrians, and even the Samaritans, 
fought for Niger, so that when Severus proved vic- 
torious he deprived the inhabitants of Neapolis 
(Shechem) of their citizenship (Spartianus, “Vita 
Severi,” ix.). It was not until Severus had con- 
quered his last rival, Albinus (197), that he freed 
the Palestinians from the punishment which their 
fidelity to Niger had evoked (ib, xiv.). 

On the conclusion of the Parthian war (199) Se- 
verus marched through S}'na, and it was probably 
at that time that Palestine was detached from Syria 
and made a separate province (Ivrauss, in “R. E. J.” 
xlvi. 220), while Sebaste (Samaria) became a Roman 
colony (Ulpian. 
in “Corpus Ju- 
ris,” “Digesta,” 
xv. 1,§7). Dur- 
ing this period 
one Claudius, 
who is not, how- 
ever, character- 
ized as a Jew, is 
said to have 
overrun all of 
J udea and Syria 
as a bandit, and 
to have suc- 
ceeded in reach- 
ing the emperor 
himself, and 
threatening liis 
life, nor was he 
afterward cap- 
tured (Dion Cas- 
sius, “Epitome 
of Xiphilinus,” 
lxxv. 2). Oro- 
sius (vii. 17) and Eusebius (“ Clironicon ”) likewise 
mention a rebellion of the Samaritans and Jews, 
and it was probably for that reason that the Senate 
granted the emperor a triumph over the Jews (“ Ju- 
daicum triumplium decreverat”; Spartianus, l.c. 
xvi.), which Severus, on account of his illness, per- 
mitted his son Caracalla to celebrate. 

In 202 the emperor and his son both assumed the 
title of consul in Syria, and in his march to Alexan- 
dria Severus enacted for the inhabitants of Palestiue 
a number of laws, including a prohibition against 
conversion to Judaism or Christianity (ib. xvii.). 
On the other hand, both Severus and Caracalla 
permitted Jews to fill offices of state, although 
they were obliged to bear all disadvantages con- 
nected with their status (“ Digesta,” ii. 3, § 3). The 
inscription on the synagogue of Kaisun names all 
the members of the house of Severus. 

Bibliography: Jost, Gesch. iv. 92; Gratz, Gesch. 3d ed., iv. 

208 ; Sclhirer, Gesch. 3d ed., i. 651, ill. 76; Reinach, Textes 
a Auteurs Grecs et Rnmains Relatifs ciu Judaism c, i. 344- 
346, Paris, 1895; Prosopugrctpliia Imperii Romani, ill. 213, 


SEVILLE : Capital of the former kingdom of 
Seville; after Madrid the greatest and most beauti- 
ful city of Spain. The eommiimt}^ of Seville is one 
of the oldest and largest in the country. Jews are 
said to have settled there, as at Toledo, shortly after 
the destruction of the Temple of Jerusalem (“ Shebet 
Yehudah,” ed. Wiener, p. 14). When 
Early the Mohammedan conqueror Musa 
History, took the city he placed it in charge 
of its numerous Jewish inhabitants. 
As a result of dynastic dissensions at Granada, fol- 
lowed by a massacre, many Jews of that city fled to 
Seville, where they were hospitably received by 
King Mohammed al-Mu‘tamid. Several of these 
Jews, including Joseph ibn Misgay, a faithful ad-, 
herent of the pretender to the throne of Granada, 
were sent on diplomatic missions and entrusted with 
offices of state, while the king appointed Isaac b. 
Baruch ibn al-Balia, the scholarly author of a Tal- 
mudic and astro- 
nomical work, 
to the posts of 
court astrono- 
mer and prince 
(“nasi ”) overall 
the J ewish com- 
munities of the 
realm. Through 
Ibn al-Balia Sev- 
ille became the 
center of Jewish 
scholarship, ta- 
king the place 
hitherto occu- 
pied bjr Cordova 
and Granada. 
Al-Mu* tamid, 
who hanged, at 
Seville, Isaac ibn 
Shalbib, the en- 
voy of Alfonso 
VI. of Castile, 
and who abso- 
lutely refused to subject himself to the Christian 
kings, was deposed by the Almoravides in 1091. 

The Jews of Seville lived peaceably under the Al- 
.moravides. Abu Ayyub Sulaiman ibn al-Mu‘allam 
was physician to Ali ; and Abraham ibn Kaminal 
occupied a high position at court, with the title of 
vizier, while the wealthy Eleazar b. Nahman ibn 
Asliar, a pupil of Alfasi and a man of much poetic 
talent, was the rabbi of the flourishing community. 

In 1148 Seville fell into the hands of the Almo- 
iiades, whose leader, *Abd al-Mu’min, ordered the 
Jews to accept Mohammedanism, many who re- 
mained faithful to Judaism being either sold into 
slavery or imprisoned. Even those who pretended 
to be Mohammedans suffered greatly under the 
Almohades, and it was not until a century later that 
their condition improved. 

In Nov., 1248, Ferdinand III. of Castile conquered 
Seville after a siege of eighteen months. The Jews, 
carrying the scrolls of the Law, met him as he en- 
tered the city, and presented him with the key of 
the ghetto, handsomely worked in silver and inlaid 
either with Arabic or with Hebrew and Spanish in- 



Tombstone of Solomon ben Abruliam Found at Seville. 

(From a photograph.) 



THE JEWISH EXCA CEOEEEIA 


/ - . 


scriptions (see illustration, Jew. Encyc. v 363). o 
Historians differ as to whether the key, which is t 
reserved in the Cathedral of Seville, was given to n 
Kine Ferdinand or to his son, afterward King Al- a 
fonso X., who directed the campaign as crown a 

prince. Amador — : — 

de los Bios has [ * - , . 

opinion that I -- - _ _ - 

there were two I ' < . f 

keys, one of T ; jgj 

which was pre- .. , 4MB 

sented to Ferdi- • • . .W M 

nand and bore . 

Arabic inscrip- : W& 

tions, while the ^ •' (fflSBm 

other key, with ft y mBmm 

Hebrew and \ ~ j 

Spanish iuscrip- V y - //.- * _ ^yE|| 

tions, was given ' ! |||ip| 

a few years later y-_'~ ' ~ ~"~- Bff gr 

to Alfonso as a j y f_ Am Mljj 

token of grati- I f \ A 

tude (“Hist.” i. - ~ \ .kMm rnmm 

372 et seq.). 

Ferdinand was I-: 
very gracious to I 
the Jews. In __ 

dividing the 
land he remem- %!' 

bered all who iv-_ 

had rendered X:yy 

him any service ; yy y: - 

in capturing the I . y; - 

city, as well as I /;; ' 

the Jewish tax- j * y * r 
collectors, phy- 
sicians, and in- j y 

terpreters; he I r _ 

gave the Jew’s I - _ yl 

some of the j 

mosques also, to j 
be transformed :>_ 

into synagogues, I - ’^vy 

and permitted f p|4? 3 . 

them to live in ffiH^gnafljfe m .,. 

the ghetto. - .1' ft 

This quarter, 
which was very 
large, was situ- 

ated close to the 1 

Alcazar, the for- It- ^ 

mer residence of 
the Moorish py 

kings, and ex- 

tended as far as T n e Golden Tower at Seville. Used! 
the Puerta de the Kings 

Carmona. It in- (From a i 

eluded several . , u 

parishes, and was surrounded by a high wall 
with two gates opening into the city, one on the 
Borcefijuineria, as the street is still called, an 
the other on S. Hicolas street. A third street, the 
Calle de los Levies, received its name from the 
wealthy Jews who resided there, though this name 
•was subsequently changed to Corred Mayor; an- 
XI.— 14 


other street was known as the Xamardana. In 
the sbetto w r ere situated the shops of the Jews, the 
market, the Jewish court, the slaughter-houses, 
and the synagogues, of which there were three large 
and about twenty small ones. Tlie entrance to the 

largest syna- 






Hffi 


mmm* & • 




I S i . h 


mm 














The Golden Tower at Seville. Used as a Residence Dy Jewisn Financiers of 
the Kings of Castile. 

(From a photograph.) 


g o g u e was 
through the 
Puerta de la 
Carne, or de la 
Juderia (called 
also Puerta de 
Min Joar, after 
a wealthy Jew 7 
who ow’ned land 
there). The Jew- 
ish cemetery 
was situated 
outside the 
Puerta de la 
Carne in the 
suburb of S. 
Bernardo, or Ben 
Alivar (Zuniga, 

“ Anales de Se- 
viila,” i. 140, 
155 ; Fidel Fita, 

“ La Espaha He- 
brea,” i. 215 et 
seq.). 

Alfonso X. 
confirmed liis 
father’s gifts to 
llie Jews and 
granted them 
various com- 
mercial and in- 
dustrial privi- 
leges, although 
he assigned the 
tithes of the 
| large and 
wealthy com- 
munity to the 
first Archbishop 
of Seville and 
his chapter. In 
the middle of 
the fourteenth 
century bet w 7 een 

6,000 and 7,000 
! Jewish families 

\ were living at 

Seville ; many of 
them were en- 
^ gaged in indus- 


i Residence by Jewish Financiers of try and com - 

[ Castile. merce. Their 

ograph.) wealth , ho w - 

ever, soon aroused tlie envy and hatred of the 
populace. As early as 1341 the farmers of the 
municipal taxes were enjoined to lent shops 
the Jews only in case all the shops of the com- 
munity were already occupied. The Jews were fre- 
quently exposed to attacks and maltreatment and 
a special decree was issued to tlie cflect that any 


Seville 

Sforno 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


210 


one who struck a Jew in his shop, whether wound- 
ing or killing him, should be lined 72, 600, or 6, 000 
maravedis, according to the enormity of the offense. 
The hostility^ manifested against the Jewish popula- 
tion was accentuated by the execution of Don Joseph 
Piclion, the administrator of the royal taxes, who 
bad been very popular at Seville; and it was espe- 
cially increased by the frequent vituperative ser- 
mons of the archdeacon Ferrand Martinez, whose 
baneful activity the directors of the aljama repeat- 
edly but vainly endeavored to check. 

For fifteen years Martinez incited the people. of 
Seville to kill the Jews. A riot finally broke out 
on March 15, 1391, during which several Jews were 
slain; but the nobles, who protected them, soon 
quelled the uprising. Three months 
Riot later, on June 6, the persecution was 
of 1391. renewed. The infuriated populace at- 
tacked the ghetto from all sides, plun- 
dering and burning the houses. More than 4,000 fell 
victims to the mob's fury, although most of the Jews 
accepted baptism to save their lives. Women and 
children were sold to Mohammedans as slaves (Zu- 
niga, l.c. i. 238; “Sliebet Yeliudah,” ed. Wiener, p. 
38, and pp. 128 et seq. [letter of Hasdai Crescas]), j 



Old Juderia, Street in Which the Santa Maria de ia Blanca is 
Situated. 

(From a photograph by Dr. William Popper.) 


In 1396 Henry III. presented the ghetto, including 
all its houses, lands, and synagogues, to liis favor- 
ites Diego Lopez de Estuniga and Juan Hurtado 
do Mendoza,' who were empowered by the deed of 
gift to sell, pawn, give, exchange, demolish, or 
otherwise dispose of this property according to their 
will and pleasure. The ghetto received the name of 
Villa Nueva, and the synagogues were transformed 
into churches, one, Santa Maria de la Blanca, being 
among the finest ecclesiastical edifices in the city. 
Another was called the Church of S. Cruz; a third 
became the convent Madre de Dios ; while the fourth 
was not left to the Jews, as was alleged, but was 
transformed into the Church of S. Bartolome, which 
fora long time bore Hebrew inscriptions over its doors 
and which still stands as originally erected (Caro, 

“ Antiguedas de Sevilla, ”pp. 20a, 42b, Seville, 1634).’ 


Despite the fact that there was now no real commu- 
nity at Seville, some Jews remained there even after 
the fearful slaughter and the destruction of the 
ghetto. They lived in the old Jewish quarter, as 
well as among the Christians; and with the permis- 
sion of the municipal council, which keenly felt the 
loss of the Jews’ taxes, they resumed their custom- 
ary occupations as smiths, silversmiths, tailors, 
shoemakers, workers in leather, merchants, and sur- 
geons ; but they suffered so much from the fanatical 
populace that they were compelled to hire a guard 
of 300 men for their protection. There were also 
many Maranos who remained Jews at heart, being 
confirmed in tlieir faith by Judah ibn Verga (“ She- 
bet Yeliudah,” pp. 94, 96); they were among 
the wealthiest inhabitants of the city. The tribu- 
nal of the Inquisition was first instituted at Seville, 
its earliest victims being the wealthy Maranos who 
had entered into a conspiracy against the Holy 
Office. The Jewish cemetery of Seville was trans- 
formed into a garden after the expulsion, but was 
not entirely laid out until 1580. The graves were 
obliterated, and the costly tombstones were ruth- 
lessly destroyed by the populace. 

Seville, the home of Abravanel and Ibn Tibbon, 
was the residence or birthplace of many Jewish 
scholars who took their names from it. Among the 
earliest of these were: Abun b. Sharada, the poet; 
Judah ibn Balaam, author of commentaries on the 
Bible; Abu ibn Afla, a mathematician and translator 
of a mathematical work; the famous Joseph ibn 
Migasb ; Moses Levi Abulafia (d. 1255), physician 
to the last Moorish king of Seville; the poet Judah 
Samuel ‘Abbas; Yom-Tobb. Abraham, 

Native a commentator on the Talmud; and 
Scholars. David Abudarham, author of a litur- 
gical work. Contemporaneous with 
them were the physicians Moses b. Samuel (as a 
Christian called Juan de Avignon) and Judah 
Alashkar; Isaac ben Moses (whose son Joseph wrote- 
a treatise on astronomy); David b. Solomon ibn 
Ya‘ish and his father, the physician Solomon ibn 
Ya‘isli (called also Don Soliman), the author of a, 
large Arabic commentary on the canon (Caro, l.c. p. 
42a; Zunz, “Z. G.” p. lii; Fidel Fita, l.c. i. 276 et 
seq., quotes the legible portions of the inscription on. 
Solomon’s tombstone, which still exists). 

Don Ephraim, called Al-Barceloni, and Don 
Moses b. Sacar were contemporaries of Isaac b. 
Slieshet, as were “ Ha-Sar ha-Tafsar ” and Don Moses, 
b. R. Saadia (= “Picho”), probably a relative 
of Joseph Pichon (Isaac b. Sheshet, Rcsponsa, No. 
209). Judah ibn Verga, the author of the “Sliebet 
Yeliudah ” and of mathematical works, was living 
at Seville at the time when the Inquisition was 
introduced. 

Seville lias (1905) a population of 146,205, inclu- 
ding about 200 Jewish families. Most of the latter 
are in poor circumstances, being immigrants from 
Tangier and other African cities. See Ferdinand- 
III. ; Inquisition ; Piciion, Joseph. 


Bibliography : Zuniga, Annies de ScvillnA . 140 et srq.; Rios, 
Hist. 1 .1 OS, 116, 229 et seq., 369 et seq., 452 ; ii. 214, 390 et seq.:: 
Gratz. Gesch. vi. 73 et seq., 119; viii. 62 et seq. 


M. K. 


SEXTON. Sec Siiammasii. 



Six 


Tl-IE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Seville 

Sforno 


SEXTUS, JULIUS AFRICANUS : Byzan- 
tine clironographer, noted for Ins surprisingly lucid 
interpretations of some Biblical questions; flourished 
in the first half of the third century of the common 
ora Suidas(s.». *A eppumvug) says that African us wasa 
Libyan philosopher; and this statement is supported 
by Julius’ works, which, although written in Greek, 
betray their author’s knowledge of Latin, indicating, 
therefore, that he was a native of Latin North 
A frica. He was, it seems, the son of Christian parents 
and doubtless, the scion of a noble family. This as- 
sumption explains the fact that he took partin the ex- 
pedition of Septimius Severus against Osrlioenc in 
195 He was a friend of Abgar VIII. of Edessa ; and 
he found much material for his works in the archives 
of that city. These relations with the 
His Orient explain his knowledge of Syriac, 

Knowledge which lie shows, for example, in the 
of Lan- fourth chapter of his K eoroi, where lie 
guages. gives the Sj T rian name of a fish. He 
may also have become personally ac- 
quainted with the condition of the Jews in Babylon; 
for he says in the Susanna Epistle that the J ews were 
living under their own jurisdiction in the Exile. 
His works in Biblical criticism indicate that lie knew 
Hebrew also. Toward the end of his life he was 
presbyter, or, according to others, bishop, of Em- 
maus(Nicopolis) in Palestine, and as such headed 
an embassy to Rome in behalf of that city. He was 
a contemporary and friend of Ohigen, and lived 
under the emperors Ileliogabalus and Alexander 
Severus. 

All the works of Africanus, which are of course es- 
pecially important for Christianity, are also highly 
interesting for Judaism. These works include:. 
( 1 ) a ch roil ograpliy in five books, in virtue of which 
he is not only the founder of Church history and 
the predecessor of Eusebius, but also the somce and 
pattern for the Byzantine chronogra pliers, who fie- 
qucntly make extracts from this work, tiieieb} r pie- 
serviag considerable fragments. He divides the his- 
tory of the world into seven epochal weeks, similar to 
the Jewish work “ Lepto Genesis ” (Jubilees), treating 
within these divisions the earliest history of the hu- 
man race, then Jewish history, and, finally, the lattei 
synchronistically with general history. He places 
Moses 1,020 years before the first Olympiad, a date 
probably derived from Justus of Tiberias, fiom 
whose lost history much has been preserved by 
Africanus; and it is to this source that arc to be 
traced various statements of facts found in Afri- 
canus’ history and parallel to those . given by 
Josephus. In connection with the Biblical stoiics 
Africanus relates many legends whose origin may 
in part be found in the Apocalypses and the Mid- 
rashim. 

(2) K egtol (=“ Embroidery ”), a figurative name 
given to a large work said to have included twenty- 
four (according to others, fourteen and 
His Works, nineteen) books, and dedicated to Al- 
exander Severus. The two books that 
have been preserved deal chiefly with matteis pei- 
taining to warfare, the whole work having been de- 
voted to similar subjects. Here also are found im- 
portant data relating to Jewish history ; e.g. , that the 
Pharisees, i.e., the Jews engaged in war with Titus, 


destroyed a division of the Roman army by poison- 
ing the wine the soldiers drank (K egtol, § 8). This 
work, filled with pagan views and gross super- 
stitions, was formerly ascribed to a pagan author ; 
but recent criticism assigns it to Africanus.. (3) A 
letter to Origen relative to the Susanna Epistle ap- 
pended in the Septuagint to the Book of Daniel. 
The penetration that Africanus dispHys in pioving 
this letter to be a forgery has earned for him the 
reputation of a sound Bible critic. (4) A lettei to 
Aristides on the discrepancies in the genealogy of 
Jesus. In this letter also Africanus shows that he 
is well versed in Jewish liistoiy. (5) He may also 
have written a commentary on Daniel’s weeks of 


years. 

Bibliography : Fragments from Africanus have been collected 
in Galland. Bibliotheca Veterum Patrum, n., Venice, 1<81; 
Routh, Reliquice Sacrw , 2d ed., ii.; Migne, Patrologia 
Greece, x. et seq.i Veterum Mat hem atico ru m Opcrei, ed. 
M Thevenot Paris, 1603; Fabricius-Harles, Bibliotheca 
Greece? W 240-245; H.Gelzer, S. Jiilius Africanus, Leipsie, 
1880-85 ; Haruack, Gcsch. dcr Altchristlichen Litteratui , l. 
507, ii. 70 ct seq. q -rr_ 


SEAX. See Tunis. 


SFEJ, ABRAHAM: Rabbinical author; bom 
at Tunis in the early part of the eighteenth century; 
died at Amsterdam in 1784, while discharging the 
duties of collecting rabbi for the community of 
Jerusalem. Sfej left liis native city and settled in 
Jerusalem, sojourning for a time in Constantinople. 
He wrote a work entitled *’ 'Ene Abraham (Amstei- 
dam, 1784), a commentary on the “Yad ha-Haza- 
kali ” of Maimonides. 

Bibliography: Gazes, Notes Bihliogy'apluques, pp. 299-o01. 

D M. F r. 


-SFORNO : Italian family, many members of 
which distinguished themselves as rabbis and schol- 
ars. The most prominent of these were the fol- 


lowing: 

Hananeel ben Jacob Sforno : Talmudist ; lived 
at Bologna in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries; 
brother of Obadiali Sforno, who mentions him in the 
introduction to his commentary on the Pentateuch. 
Aresponsum of IlaiianeePs was inserted by Shab- 
bethai Baer in his “Be’er ‘Esliek,” § 55. 
bibliography : Furst, Bibl. Jud . iii. 31S ; Mortara, Indice. p. 

61 ; Mose, vi. 192. 

Israel Sforno: Talmudist; lived at Yiadano in 
the sixteenth century. A halakie decision of his is 
quoted in a manuscript collection of 260 responsa of 
the Italian rabbis (No. 235). 


Bibliography: Mortara, Indicc . p. 61. 

Jacob ben Obadiali Sforno : Venetian scholar 
of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Sliab- 
bethai Bass, and, after him, Wolf, attributed to 
Jacob a work entitled “Iggeret lia-Te'amim ” (Ven- 
ice, 1600), containing mystic explanations of the ac- 
cents. The correctness of the ascription is, how- 
ever, doubted by Steinsclmeider, who believes that 
this work is identical with one of the same title by 
Aaron Abraham ben Baruch. 


Bibliography 
Bibl. Uebr. i 


: Sliabbetliai Bass, Siftc YcsJicnim, s.y.: Wolf, 
. 1089; Steinsclmeider, Cat. Bocll. cols, ilb, L-dd. 


Nissim Isaac ben Judah Sforno : Rabbi at 
Mantua in the sixteenth century. He was the au- 
thor of an epistle on the Cuzari ” ; and a respon- 



THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


212 


Sforno 

Shabbat 


sum of bis is quoted in the above-mentioned collec- 
tion. 

Bibliography: Wolf, Bibl. Hcbr. 1 . 915; Mortara, Indice , 

p. 61. 

Obadiali ben Israel Sforno: Venetian Tal- 
mudist of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. 
He edited Menahem Azariah di Fano’s “ Ye min 
Adonai Romemah ” (Venice, n.d.); and a responsum 
of his is inserted in Di Fano’s collection of Responsa 
(Venice, n.d., p, 83). 

Obadiali ben Jacob Sforno: Italian exegete, 
philosopher, and physician; born at Cesena about 
1475 ; died at Bologna in 1550. After acquiring in his 
native town a thorough knowledge of Hebrew, rab- 
binical literature, mathematics, and philosophy, lie 
went to Rome to study medicine. There his great 
learning won for him a prominent place among 
scholars; and when Reuclilin was at Rome (1498- 
1500) and desired to perfect his knowledge of He- 
brew literature. Cardinal Domenico Grimani ad- 
vised him to apply to Obadiah. Equally high was 
Obadiali’s reputation as a casuist. Me'fr Iyatzenel- 
lenbogen consulted him on legal questions (Re- 
sponsa, p. 97, § 48), and Joseph Colon invoked his 
authority (Responsa, p. 96, No.-. 192, Sudilkov, 1834). 
At the request of Israel ben Jeliiel Ashkenazi, rabbi 
of Rome, Obadiah issued a decision in the case of 
Donina, daughter of Samuel Zarfati, the renowned 
physician of the pope. About 1525 Obadiah left 
Rome and led for some time a wandering life. From 
several letters of that epoch addressed to his brother 
Hananeel at Bologna it would appear that Obadiah 
was in poor circumstances. Finally lie settled at 
Bologna, where he founded a Talmudical school, 
which he conducted until his death. 

Obadiah was an indefatigable writer, chiefly in 
the field of Biblical exegesis. The characteristic 
features of his exegetical work are respect for the 
literal meaning of the text and a reluctance to enter- 
tain m} r stical interpretations. He possessed excel- 
lent judgment in the selection of explanations from 
the earlier exegetes, as Rashi, Ibn Ezra, RaSHBaM, 
and Nalimanides, and he veiy often gives original 

interpretations wliioli betray an extensive pLJloIog- 

ical knowledge. He wrote the following commen- 
taries: on the Pentateuch (Venice, 1567); op, Canticles 
and Ecclesiastes, that on the latter being dedicated 
to King Henry II. of France ( ib .) ; on tlie Psalms {ib. 
1586); “Mishpat Zedek,” on Job {ib. 1589); on tlie 
books of Jonah, Habakkuk, and Zecliariah, pub- 
lished with David ibn Hin’s “Likkute Sliosbannim ” 
(Amsterdam, 1724). He wrote also “ Kawwanat ha- 
Toiah,” prefixed to the Pentateuch commentary. 

Obadiali was active also in the domain of religious 
philosoph} 7 . In a work entitled “Or 4 Am mi m ” 
(Bologna, 1537) he endeavored to combat with Bib- 
lical arguments the theories of Aristotle on the eter- 
nity of matter, on God’s omniscience, and on the 
universality of the soul, as well as various other 
Aristotelian views that seemed to conflict with relig- 
ion. In the introduction Obadiali says that lie was 
induced to write his work by the fact that even so 
great a man as Maimonides had expressed the opin- 
ion that all the theories of Aristotle concerning the 
sublunary world are absolutely correct. Obadiah 
himself translated the “Or ‘Ammim ” into Latin and 


sent it to Henry II. of France, but it has never been 
published. Another work on religious philosophy 
by Obadiali is bis commentary on the sayings of the 
Fathers, published in the introduction to the Roman 
Mahzor (Bologna, 1540). 

Obadiah was also the author of the following 
works, still extant in manuscript: “Bi’ur le-Sefer 
Uklidas,” a paraphrase of the eight books of Euclid, 
translated from the Arabic (Biblioth&que Nationale, 
MS. No. 435); “ Derashot ” (Halberstam MSS., No. 
331); “Dikduk Leslion Tbri,” a Hebrew grammar. 

Bibliography: Ibn Yahya, Shalshclet ha-Kahbalah , p. 52, 
ed. Amsterdam; Gans, Zemali Daivul , i. 31a, ed. Offenbach ; 
Conforte, Kore ha-Dor'ot, p. 255; Rossi, Dizionario, p. 294; 
Wolf, Bibl. Hcbr. i. 939; Carmoly, Histoirc dcs Medccins 
Juifs , i. 147; Geiger, Johann Rcnchlin, pp. 37,105; Stein- 
schneider. Cat. Bodl. col. 2075 ; Griitz, Gesch. ix. 43 ; Vogel- 
stein and Rieger, Gesch. dcr J-udcn in Rom , pp. 77 et seq.; 
FinkeJ, Obadiah Sforno als Excget. 

Osheah ben Nissim Isaac Sforno: Rabbi at 
Mantua in the first half of the seventeenth century. 
A religious poem of his was inserted by Joseph 
Jedidiah Karmi in his “Kenaf Renanim.” 


Bibliography: Mortara, Indicc , p. 61. 


Solomon Samuel ben Nissim Israel Sforno : 
Rabbi at Asti, later at Venice; died in 1617. Sev- 
eral responsa of his were inserted by Jacob Heil- 
bronner in his “Nahalat Ya'akob” (Padua, 1622). 
Solomon left in manuscript commentaries on 
Psalms, Proverbs, Job, Daniel, the Megillot, Ezra, 
Nehemiali, and Chronicles. He edited the “Cu- 
zari” with the commentary of Judah Moscato (Ven- 
ice, 1594). On his death a funeral sermon was pro- 
nounced by Leon of Modena, who lauded him in the 
highest terms. 


Bibliography : Nepi-Ghirondi, Toledot Gedole Yisracl, p. 341 ; 

Mortara, Indice , p. 61; Fiirst, Bibl. Jud. iii. 318; Berliner, 

Luhot Ahanim , No. 261. 

s. ' I. Bit. 

SHAATNEZ : Fabric consisting of a 

mixture of wool and linen, the wearing of which is 
forbidden by the Mosaic law (Lev. xix. 19; Deut. 
xxii. 11). The Septuagint rendering is idfrhfiiov 
(something false, adulterated, or drossy). In the 
Coptic or Egyptian language “saslit” means 
“weave” and “uouz,” “ false ” : the compound 
”glia'at-nez,” tucrcrorc, sigmnca o. -miao Troon-o,” 

The Mishnali explains the word as the 

acrostic of three words, yife?, '1ft, JD (“carded,” 
“woven,” and “twisted”; Kil. ix. 8). 

The combining of various fabrics in one garment, 
like the interbreeding of different species of ani- 
mals, or the planting together of different kinds of 
seeds, is prohibited as being contrary to the laws of 
nature. The cabalisfcs regard such combination as 
a defiance of God, who established natural laws and 
gave each species its individuality. 

Maimonides bases the prohibition on the general 
law against imitating heathen customs: “Ye shall 
not walk in the manners of the nation, which I cast 
out before you ” (Lev. xx. 23), and 
Views of says, “The heathen priests adorned 
Mai- themselves with garments containing 
monides. vegetable and animal materials, while 
they held in their hand a seal of min- 
eral. This you will find written in their books” 
(“Moreh,” iii. 37). Other critics consider the pro- 
hibition of sha’atnez from a lij^gienic point of view, 



213 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Sforno 

Shabbat 


an d reason that the elements of wool and linen are 
diametrically opposed to each other, since the wool 
has an absorbing and shrinking nature while linen 
is resistant and non-shrinkable, these conflicting 
tendencies neutralizing each other and causing dis- 
order in connection with the effusion of perspiration 
from the body. 

It appears, however, that sha‘atnez was per- 
mitted in the case of the priest’s girdle, which was 
interwoven with purple, blue, and scarlet wool (Ex. 
xxxix. 29); it may be used also in the case of the 
purple and the blue cord entwined in the zizit, or 
the woolen zizit on a linen garment (Yeb. 4b, 5b), 
as the sacredness of the purpose is supposed to pro- 
tect against any evil effect. The phrase “ lo yah- 
o-eru ba-yaza‘ ” (“ they shall not gird themselves with 
any thing that eauseth sweat”; Ezek. xliv. 18) is 
interpreted in the Talmud to mean “they shall not 
gird themselves around the bent of the body, where 
sweat effuses most” (Zeb. 18b). Rabbi is of the 
opinion that the girdle of the ordinary priest was of 
sha'atnez ; R. Eleazar says it was of fine linen. The 
high priest wore a linen girdle on Yom Kip pur and 
a girdle of slia'atnez on all other days (Yoma 12b). 

By the Mosaic law sha'atnez is prohibited only 
after it has been carded, woven, and twisted, but the 
Rabbis prohibit it if it has been subjected to any one 
of these operations (Niddali 61b). Hence felt cloth, 
of mixed wool and linen, is forbidden (Kil. ix. 9). 
On the other hand, the Rabbis recognize only sheep’s 
wool as wool, the finest being that of lambs and 
rams (comp. II Kings iii. 4) ; they exclude camels’ 
hair, the fur of hares, and the wool of goats. If any 
of the excluded wools is mixed with sheep’s wool, 
or spun with it into thread, the character of the 
material is determined by the proportion of each. 
If the greater part of it is sheep’s wool, it is reckoned 
as wool; if the contrary, it is not so regarded, and 
may be mixed again with linen (Kil. ix. 1).. 

A woolen garment may he worn over a linen gai- 
ment, or vice versa, but they may uot be knotted or 
sewed together. Sha'atuez is prohibited only w hen 
worn as an ordinary garment, for the 
Ex- protection or benefit of the body (Sifra, 

eej>-fciou.al De-ut. 232), or for its. warmth 

Cases. 15a), but not if carried on the back aS 
a burden or as merchandise. Cush- 
ions and tapestry with which the bare body is 
not in touch do not come under the prohibition (Kil. 
ix. 2). To lie on slia‘atnez is permitted by the strict 
interpretation of the Mosaic law 7 , hut the Rabbis 
feared lest some part of the sha'atnez might fold 
over and touch part of the body ; hence the} r wentto 
the extreme of declaring that even if only the lowest 
of ten couch-covers is of slia'atncz one may not lie 
on them (Yoma 69a). Pillow's, if of a kind that 
leaves no likelihood of their folding over and touch- 
ing the body, are permitted to be of sha at.nez. Felt 
soles with heels are also permitted (Bezali 15a), be- 
cause they are stiff and do not w T arm the feet. 

In later times the Rabbis w 7 ere inclined to modify 
the law. Thus slm'atnez was permitted to be used 
in stiff hats (“Sefer lia-Hinnuk,” section “KiTeze,” 
No. 571). Silk resembling wool, and hemp resem- 
bling linen, which formerly were forbidden for ap- 
pearance sake” (Kil. ix. 3), were later permitted 


in combination with either wool or linen, because 
“we now know how to distinguish them.” Hempen 
thread w 7 as manufactured and permitted for use in 
sewing woolen clothing. 

A linen admixture is detected during the process of 
dyeing cloth, as wool absorbs the dye more readily 
than does linen (Niddali 61b). Wool is distinguished 
from linen by three tests— feeling, burning,^ and 
smelling; linen burns in aflame, w 7 hile wool singes 
and creates an unpleasant odor. There were special 
experts employed to detect sha f atnez ( Ha-Kaimel, 
i.. No. 40). 

The observance of the laws concerning sha'atnez 
was relaxed in the sixteenth century; and the Coun- 
cil of Fouu Lands found it necessary to enact (1607) 
a“takkanali” against sha‘atnez, especially warning 
women not to sew wmolen trails to linen dresses, nor 
to sew a velvet strip in front of the dress, as vel- 
vet had a linen back (Gratz, “ Gcscli.” vii. 36, Hebrew 
ed., Warsaw 7 , 1899). 


Bibliography : Maimonides, Yad , Kilayirn i, x.; Tur Ynreh 
K De'ah ; Slmlhan 'And u Yoreh De'ali, 298-304; Israel Lip- 
schiitz, Batte Kilayirn, appended to ^is / commentary on the 
Mislmah , section Zera im ; Ha-Maggid (1864) , vm.. Nos. 20, 
35; M. M. Saler, YaTkat Yizfoak, ii. 48a, Warsaw, 18o9. 




SHABABO (p?), JESHTJA ; Egyptian scribe 
and rabbi; lived in the last quarter of the seven- 
teenth century. His teachers w r ere Rabbis Abraham 
ha-Levi of Cairo and Joseph Nazir, who afterward 
became his father-in-law (see Joseph Nazir ben 
Hayyi.u Moses ha-Levi). The relation between 
teacher and pupil maybe inferred from the fact that 
Abraham ha-Levi included some dissertations of his 
pupil in his work “Ginnat Weradim.” The two 
men differed in opinion, and the pupil answered his 
teacher in “ Perah Shushan ” (Constantinople, 1782). 
Besides, he wrote “Sha'are Orah,” “Sha ‘are Torah,” 
and a large work in tw 7 o parts entitled “Sha'are 
Yeshu‘ah,” containing responsa. Shababo was for 
some time a sofer, but resigned this office from re- 
ligious motives when he was appointed dayyan of 


g ~tr a ~r~r A C u Sabbath : Treatise in the Mish- 
nali, Toseria, ana ootn Taimuasj acY-ottm 

rules and regulations for the Sabbath. The Scrip- 
tural passages that treat of the Sabbath and of the 
law r s for its observance, thus forming the exegetical 
basis of this treatise, are: Ex. xvi. 22 et seq.; xx. 
10; xxiii. 12; xxxiv. 21; xxxv, 2, 3; Num. xv. 32 
et seq . ; Deut. v. 14; Jer. xvii. 21 et seq . ; Amos viii. 
5; Neh. x. 81, xiii. 15 et seq. Shabbat is the first 
treatise in the mislinaic order Seder Mo‘ed, and 
is divided into twenty-four chapters, containing 138 
paragraphs in all. 

Ch. i. : Ways in which things may not be brought 
from a private domain (” reshut lia-yahid ”) to the 
public domain (“reshut ha-rabbim ”) 
Contents, and vice versa on the Sabbath (§ 1); 

things w 7 hich may not be done on Fri- 
day afternoon or by lamplight on Friday evening 
(§§ 2-3) ; rules adopted at the council in the upper 
chamber of Hananiali b. Hezekiali b. Gaiou (^4), 
additional particulars concerning things which may 
not be done on Friday (§§ 5-11). 


Shabbat 

Shabbat ha-Gadol 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


214 


Cli. ii. : Illumination on the Sabbatli, the kinds of 
oil which maybe used, and the materials which may 
serve as wicks (§§ 1-3) ; further details concerning 
lamps (§ 4) ; cases in which lamps may be extin- 
guished on the Sabbath (§ o); the three duties of 
women neglect of which may cost them their lives 
(§ 6); the three things of which the master of the 
house must remind his household at twilight on 
Friday evening (§ 7). 

Cli. iii. and iv. : Permitted and prohibited meth- 
ods in which food may be warmed or kept warm on 
the Sabbath; concerning things which are regarded 
as set apart (“ mukzeli ”) and which one is forbid- 
den to move on that da} r . 

Ch. v. : With what an animal may be led on the 
Sabbath (e.g., a halter), and what may be placed 
on it {e.g., a blanket), and what may'' not be placed 
on it, every object not requisite for the health or 
safety of the animal, or for guarding it, being re- 
garded as a burden, and it being forbidden to load 
a beast on that day. 

Ch. vi. : Garments which may be worn by men, 
women, and children, and those which may "not be 
worn; a discussion of the question whether weapons 
adorn a man, the majority of the sages deciding that 
they disgrace him who bears them, since they are 
implements of murder, inasmuch as, according to 
Isa. ii. 4, the ideal of the future is a time when the 
nations shall dwell in everlasting harmony and shall 
change their arms to implements of peace. 

Cli. vii. : The gradations, according to circum- 
stances, of the sin-offering for breaking the Sabbath; 
enumeration of the thirty- nine chief kinds of work 
which arc forbidden, namely, seven of agriculture, 
four of cooking, thirteen of tailoring, seven of 
butchering and tanning, two of writing and erasing, 
two of building and demolishing, two of kindling 
and extinguishing fires, one of the hammer-stroke 
(giving the finishing touch to a thing), and one of 
carrying an object from tlie reshut lia-yahid to the 
reshut ha-rabbim and vice versa. 

Ch. viii. : Determination of quantities in the case 
of various objects which render one guilty of a vio- 
lation of the Sabbath in carrying them on that day. 
In the last paragraph (§7) of this chapter Isa. xxx. 

14 is quoted as a text. 

Ch. ix. : Biblical verses cited as additional proofs 
or texts (§§ 1-4) ; further details concerning the quan- 
tities of many things that may not be carried on the 
Sabbath (§§ 5-7). 

Cli. x. : Concerning those eases in which one 
who transports an object is not guilty of violating 
the Sabbath 1-4); cases in which two persons 
who carry ail object together from one place to an- 
other are guilty, and those in which they are inno- 
cent ; on the transportation of a corpse or of a living 
man (£ 5): on the problem whether one who bites or 
cuts his nails or plucks out. his liair on the Sabbath 
is guilty of a violation of that day (§ 6). 

Ch. xi. : On throwing objects from one place to 
another, from one house across the street to another, 
from the land into the water and vice versa, or from 
a ship into the sea and vice versa. 

Ch. xii. : Concerning building, hammering, saw- 
ing, boring, weeding fields, felling trees, and gather- 
ing wood or greens (§§ 1-2) ; on writing two letters 


of the alphabet and of writing in general, together 
with the cases in which one by writing does not 
violate the Sabbath (§§ 3-6). 

Cli. xiii. : Concerning weaving, spinning, sew- 
ing, tearing, washing, dyeing, and hunting. 

Ch. xiv. : Cases in which hunting on the Sabbath 
does not render one guilty of violation of that day 
(§ 1); on the preparation of a solution of salt (§ 2); 
medicines and remedies permitted on the Sabbath, 
and those which are forbidden (§§ 3-4). 

Cli. xv. : The knots which may be tied on the 
Sabbath and those which may not be tied (§§ 1-2) ; 
on putting clothes away and on making beds (§ 3). 

Ch. xvi. : Incase a fire breaks out on the Sabbath, 
sacred writings and phylacteries (“fcefillin ”) may be 
rescued, as well as such food as is necessary for 
that clay ; non-Jews, but not Jews, may be allowed 
to extinguish the fire; blit a Jew may not urge a 
non- Jew to do any work for him on the Sabbath. 

Ch. xvi i, : Vessels which may be carried on the 
Sabbath ; blinds may be lowered on that day. 

Ch. xviii. : Things which may be moved on the 
Sabbath ; calves and the foals of asses maj 7 be led ; 
a woman may lead her child, though she may not 
carry it; cattle may be helped when about to give 
birth; and the Sabbath is not broken by assisting 
a woman in labor. 

Cli. xix. : Circumcision on the Sabbath; that day 
is not violated by a circumcision or by the necessary 
preparations for one, 

Cli. xx. : Wine may be strained and cattle fed on 
the Sabbath. 

Ch. xxi. : In what manner many objects, regarded 
as set apart, may be moved and put away (§§ 1-2); 
the clearing of the table (§ 3). 

Cli. xxii. ; On the preparation of food and drink 
on the Sabbath (§§ 1-4); bathing and anointing 
with oil on that day (§§ 5-6). 

Ch. xxiii. : Lending, raffling, and distributing 
food and drink on the Sabbath (§§ 1-2); preparations 
for the evening of the week-day which may be made 
on the Sabbath (§§ 3-4); the degree of care for the 
dead which is permissible.on the Sabbath (§ 5). 

Ch. xxiv. : On the case of a traveler overtaken by 
the Sabbath eve before he reaches a city (§ 1); the 
feeding of cattle (§§ 2-4) ; the fulfilment of vows on 
that day (§ 5). 

The catalogue and definition of various tasks, 
and the lists of garments, utensils, and ornameuts, 
as well as of materials for fuel and illumination, 
all detailed in the Mishnah, render it especially im- 
portant for the history of civilization. 

TlieTosefta is divided into eighteen chapters, and 
contains many important maxims and sayings be- 
sides additions to and amplifications 
The of the Mishnah. Particularly note- 
Tosefta. worthy is its enumeration, in ch. vi. 

and vii., of current customs, usages, 
and superstitions, some of them being regarded by 
the scholars as harmless and permissible, while 
others were forbidden as heathenish and pagan. 
Certain superstitious views and usages ma} r be men- 
tioned here. In beginning an undertaking the first 
part of the work should be done by some one deft 
of touch, as a sign that the completion of the task 
will not be arduous (vi. 3). When sparks fly from 



THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Shabbat _ ^ , 
Shabbat ha-Gadol 


the Are and fall on the ground it is a sign that guests c 
may be expected ( vi. 2). If a lien crows like a cock, s 
she must be stoned (vi. 5). If one turns bis shut l 

insideout when taking it oil, lie will dream at mglit. a 

If one kisses a coffin containing a corpse, he will see i 
the dead man in his dreams (vi. 7). If one puts a 
lamp or a candle on the ground, it angers the dead l 
(vi 2) If two persons walk together and some one 
comes between them, the friendship between the pair 
will be broken (vii. 12). u -r 

The following advice given by R. Eliezer b. I • 
Jose ha-Gclili in the Tosefta is also noteworthy : H 
a pious man beginnetli a journey which thou also i 
must make, strive thou to go with him; for good 
angels accompany him. But if a blasphemer begin- 
netli a iourney wliicli thou also must make, go thou 
before him or go thou after him, but beware lest 
thou be with him ; for Satan and evil .angels accom- 
nanv the blasphemer on his way” (xvii. 2-3). 

The Babylonian Gemara to this treatise, besides its 
explanations and discussions of the Mislmah, con- 
tains a large number of stones, Jeg- 
The ends, and historical accounts, as well 
Gemaras. as parables, aphorisms, and othei hag- 
gadic interpretations and utterances, 
of which a few may be cited : It is declared that 
theBook of Ezekiel would have been considered apoc- 
ryphal because of the many passages in it that con- 
tradict the Pentateuch, had not Hananiali ben Iieze- 
kiah (who outlined the scroll of fasting) taken pains 
to elucidate it and by bis interpretations and ex- 
planations succeeded in removing all the contra- 
dictions (13b). In like manner, the sages would 
have declared the books of Ecclesiastes and Prov- 
erbs apocryphal, since each of them contains pas- 
sages inconsistent with the other; but they suc- 
ceeded in interpreting those passages in such a 
manner as to explain away the contradictions (oOb). 

In 31b the origin of Hanukkali is described. v\ hen 
the Hasmoneans conquered the Syrians and puri- 
fied the Temple at Jerusalem, restoring the legal 
worship, they found only one small jar of oil sealed 
with the high priest’s seal and, therefore, ntually 
pure. It was apparently sufficient toi 
Origin of a single; day only ; but by a miracle it 
Ha- lasted for eight days, so that the Feast 
nuikah. of Hanukkali is celebrated for eight 
days. The mildness of Hillel, as con- 
trasted with the severity of Sbammai, is illustrated by 
several examples; and the saying of Hillel, to the 
effect that tlie entire Law is but a commentary on the 
fundamental principle of love to one’s fellow men, 
is cited (31a). Tlie repreliensibility of indecent con- 
versation and tlie severe punishment of those who 
indulge in it are set forth (33a). The story of R. 
Simeon b Yohai, who was forced to flee on account 
of bis criticisms of Roman institutions and who 
lived for twelve years in a cave, is given (33b). _lne 
hatred of the Jews felt by other nations is explained 
as a religious animosity dating from the time when 
the revelation on Sinai gave Israel a faith which 
differentiated it from other nations (89b). The le D 
end of the two angels who accompany the Jew 
from tlie synagogue to his home on Friday evening 
is related (119b). A few excellent examples are 
given to show bow men should judge their fellou 


creatures with gentleness, even though circum- 
stances are apparently against them (127b) ; also the 
parable to illustrate the purity of tlie soul (15~b), 
and the simile of the royal banquet, showing liow 
needful it is to be ever ready to appear before God. 

In tlie Yerushalmi the Gemara to cb. xxi.-xxiv. 
is no longer extant. T 

W. B. J ' Z - t\ 

SHABBAT HA-GADOL (“The Great Sab- 
bath”): The Sabbath preceding Passover. The 
designation “great” for this Sabbath is mentioned 
by Rashi (11th cent.), and is due to the great mir- 
acle of the Sabbatli that preceded tlie Exodus, as 
related in the Midrash. When God ordered the 
Israelites to prepare a lamb on tlie lOtli of Nisan for 
Passover (Ex. xii. 3) they feared tlie vengeance of 
tlie Egyptians, because tlie lamb was tlie Egyptian 
deity (ib. viii. 26). According to one version, tlie 
Egyptians fainted when they saw the lamb tied to 
tlie foot of tlie bed in the bouses of tlie Israelites 
(Pesikta Zutarti, Bo, xii. 6 [ed. Buber, p. 29a]): 
according to a second, they were paralyzed and 
could not prevent the lambs being sacrificed (Ex. 

3); and according to yet another, the first-born 
learning on tlie lOtli of Nisan that the lamb and 
the first-born, botli regarded as deities by the Egyp- 
tians, were to be sacrificed, urged tlieir parents to 
let tlie Israelites go and opposed the Egyptians for 
retarding the Exodus (Tos. to Slurb. 87b, «.«. iniSl); 
the lOtli of Nisan in question was a Sabbath (Seder 
•Olam R. V. ; Mek. p. 46b; Pesik R ed. Fried- 
mann, p. 78a). The author of . Slnbhole ha-Leket 
(13th cent.) adds the explauation that on this Sab- 
bath there is a “long” service in the forenoon, m 
which the lecturer explains the laws and regulations 
o-overning the coming Passover. In this sense the 
Sabbath preceding tlie other festivals are likewise 
“o-reat.” Abudarliam gives as another reason that 
the first commandment of the Almighty to the 
Israelites as a nation was given on the 10th ot 
Nisan which on that occasion fell on Sabbath. . 

Zunz thinks that the designation “great is ot 
Christian origin, copied from the Church Fathers, 
who called tlie Saturday before Easter * great, and 
that the Greek Jews, wlio probably first adopted this 
term, applied it only to the Sabbath falling on the 
14tli of Nisan and to no other Sabbath preceding 
Passover. A plausible explanation of the word is 
that by S. II. Sonnenschein, wlio bases its use on the 
. phrase “the great and dreadful day of the Loid 
> (Mai. iii. 23 [A. Y. iv. 5]), found in tlie liaftarali be- 
ginning “IVVarebali ” for the Sabbatli before Pass- 

- over But as tlie liaftarali, according to some au- 
, tliorities, is read only when the Sabbath fells on the 

14th of Nisan, it would appear that the tlieoij is 
t correct that originally such Sabbath only was rec- 
3 ognized as “great.” One authority thought the 
p word bvun (“great”) to be a corruption ot iTbn 
1 (“ I-Iaggadali ”), because tlie Haggadali is read on the 

a Sabbath in question. „ , . . 

h Tlie service of tlie “ Sliahant prayer of Shabbat 

- ha-Gadol includes “yozerot” (see Baer Abodat 
V Yisrael ’’ pp. 706-720) ; and tlie Haggadali, to tlie 
l paragraph beginning “ Rabban Gamaliel,” is recited 
e in the afternoon. Sliabbat lia-Gadol, together with 
,v Shabbat Sliibali, is tlie principal Sabbath; on these 


Shabbat Groy 
Shabbethai b. Meir 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


216 


days the rabbi in olden times lectured in the fore- 
noon to the people— especially to those that came 
from the neighboring villages to celebrate the holy 
day in the city— and acquainted them with the laws 
and customs of the approaching festival, while the 
maggid generally preached in the afternoon, relating 
the wonderful achievement of freedom from Egyp- 
tian bondage and the miracles of the Exodus. In 
later times the rabbi lectured and preached in the 
afternoon only, and usually made an effort to de- 
liver his most learned^ and pilpulistie discourse of 
the year. 



SHABBAT GOT : The Gentile employed in 
a Jewish household on the Sabbath-day to perform 
services which are religiously forbidden to Jews on 
that day. The Shabbat goy’s duty is to extinguish 
the lighted candles or lamps on Friday night, and 
make a fire in the oven or stove on Sabbath mornings 
during the cold weather. A poor woman (“Shab- 
bat goyah ”) often discharges these offices. The hire 
in olden times was a piece of liallah; in modern 
times, about 10 cents. 

According to strict Jewish law, a Jew is not al- 
lowed to employ a non-Jew to do work on the Sab- 
bath which is forbidden to a Jew. The rule of the 
Rabbis is “amirah le-goy shebut ” (i.e., “to bid a 
Gentile to perform work on the Sabbath is still a 
breach of the Sabbath law,” though not so flagrant 
as performing the work oneself) ; but under cer- 
tain circumstances the Rabbis allowed the employ- 
ment of non-Jews, especially to heat the oven on 
winter days in northern countries. 

Legendary literature contains many instances in 
which the Shabbat goy was replaced by a Golem. 
The latest story in which the Shabbat goy plays a 
role is that of K. L. Silman Franco, in Hebrew, in 
“ Ahiasaf, ” 5665 (1904-5). Maxim Gorki, the Rus- 
sian novelist, was once employed as a Shabbat goy 
by the Jewish colonists in the governments of Kher- 
son and Yekaterinoslav. 


Bibliography : 
p. 291. 

.T. 


Jacobs, in Jewish Year Boolu 5659 (1899), 
J. D. E. 


SHABBAT NAHAMTJ: First Sabbath after 
the Ninth of Ah; so called because the liaftarah be- 
gins with the words: “Nahamu, nahamu ‘ainmi ” =. 
“Comfort ye, comfort ye my people” (Isa. xl. 1). 
The custom of reading certain lessons from the Proph- 
ets independently of the sidrot on the three Sabbaths 
before and the seven immediately following this 
fast-day is apparently a very old one. The Pesikta 
generally assigned to Rab Kaliana (ed. Buber) enu- 
merates these ten haftarot in the same order in which 
they are now read every wliere; namely, Dibre (Jer. 
i.), ShimTi (ib. ii. ), Ekah (Isa. i. 21). Modern custom 
assigns to the third Sabbath the first part of the chap- 
ter, beginning with the word “Hazon”; hence the 
name of that Sabbath among the Ashkenazim is 
“Shabbat Hazon.” Maimonides (" Yad,” Tefillah, 
xiii. 19) assigns the first twenty verses of Isa. i. to the 


second Sabbath, and the remainder of the chapter 
to the third. Among the Sephardim this third Sab- 
bath is called “ Shabbat Ekah. ” 

All, however, agree that for the Sabbath folio wing 
the Ninth of Ab the fortieth chapter of Isaiah is the 
most suitable; and although, in the resume of this 
portion of his work, Maimonides suggests Jer. xxxii. 
16 as liaftarah for Wa’etliannau, he states that it is 
the custom of most people to read the consolations 
of Isaiah on the Sabbaths between the fast in Ab and 
Rosh ha-Shanah. These seven haftarot are : (1) Isa. 
xl. 1-26; (2) xlix. 14-li. 4; (3) Jiv. 11-lv. 6; (4) li. 
12-lii. 12; (5) liv. 1-11; (6) lx. ; (7) Ixi. 10-lxiii. 9. 
According to Maimonides, (5) and (6) change places. 
It sometimes happens that the third of these Sab- 
baths is also Rosh Hodesh Elul, in which case the 
usual liaftarah for Rosli Hodesh (Isa. Jxiv.) is read 
because it also speaks of consolation, and on the fifth 
Sabbath the liaftarah is extended to Isa. Iv. 6. In 
some congregations the order of these seven hafta- 
rot is never changed. 

Naturally, Shabbat Nahamu, being the first of 
these seven, is the most important and the most 
widely observed. Although no special celebration 
is connected with it, it is the Sabbath of pleasure. 
A bar mizwah ceremony that 'would in the ordinary 
course occur in the “three weeks ” is generally jmst- 
poned to it. Immanuel of Rome states (“ Mahberot, ” 
ix. ; xxii. 17, 35) that his countrymen celebrated the 
day by eating goose. 

In the order of sidrot, the Ten Commandments 
and the “Shema‘ ” are read on this day; and this 
I has given occasion for piyyutim in the German and 
Polish rituals. 

A - W. Wi. 

- SHABBAT SHTJBAH : The Sabbath between 
Rosh ha-Shanah and Yom Ivippur; so called from 
the first words of the liaftarah read on that day, 
“Sliubah Yisra’el ” = “Return, O Israel.” It is 
often called also “Shabbat Teshubah” (=“ Sab- 
bath of Repentance”), from the fact that it oc- 
curs within the ten days of penitence. Since, how- 
ever, all prayers referring to sin are omitted on this 
day, the title given at the head of this article is the 
more appropriate one. To the liaftarah (Hos. xiv. 2- 
end) are generally added the last three sentences of 
Micah ; and in the Polish ritual Joel ii. 15-27 is in- 
serted between these two passages. 

In the Middle Ages the Talmudic rule that the 
people should be instructed in the laws of the festi- 
val thirty days before its occurrence was generally 
disregarded, as far as sermons were concerned. 
Twice a year, however, the rabbi — not the maggid 
or preacher— delivered public addresses; namely, 
on the Sabbath before Passover, and on Shabbat 
Shubah. The discourse was naturally intended to 
be a call to repentance; but it often took the form 
of a discussion of some Talmudic dictum on the 
subject, and appealed more to the intellect of the 
learned than to the emotions of the common people. 
Both the German and Polish rituals contain piy- 
yutim calling upon Israel to return from sin and 
transgression. 

A - W. TV T r. 

SHABBETHAI B. ABRAHAM B. JOEL. 

See Donnolo. 



217 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Shabhat Goy 
Shabbethai b. Meir 


SHABBETHAI BE’ER (EONTTE) : Italian 
rabbi of the seventeenth century; author of “Be’er 
‘Esek ” (Venice, 1674), a collection of 112 responsa. 

Bibuography: Conforte, TCorc lia-Dorot, p. 43b ; Steinschnei- 
( ,er. Cat. BodLviL 2231. g. ^ 

SHABBETHAI BEN ISAAC (surnamed 
Sofer and Medakdek) : Talmudist and gramma- 
rian ; born at Lublin, Poland ; lived at Przemysl in the 
sixteenth and seventeenth centuries; teacher of the 
Talmudist and cabalist Hayyim Bochner. Shabbe- 
thai was the author of: “ Teshubah,” a responsum 
on the writing of the Tetragrammaton, addressed 
to jVIei'r Lublin and inserted in the “ Teshubot ha- 
Ge’onim ” edited by Holleschauer (Amsterdam, 1717) ; 

“ Nimaukim le-Sefer Malialak ” (Lublin, 1622; Ham- 
burg, 1788), annotations 
to the grammatical trea- 
tise “ Mahalak ” of Moses 
ben Joseph Kimhi, and 
to the glosses thereon by 
Elijah Levita; “Ilag- 
gahot ” (Dyhernfurtli, 

1690), grammatical an- 
notations to the prayer- 
book, with a critical in- 
troduction. He left in 
manuscript : “ Kontres 

Yesod lia-Lashon,” the 
rudiments of Hebrew 
grammar ; “ Kontres mi- 
Iliyyub Limmud Hok- 
mat ha-Dikduk,” on the 
obligation of studying ' 
grammar, demonstrated 
from the Targum, Mish- 
nah, Gemara, and Mid- 
rash, and from the Zohar, 

Sefer Yezirah, and other 
cabalistic works; “Ba- 
hure Hemed.” a defense 
of David Kimlii’s gram- 
mar “ Miklol ” against 
the criticisms of Elijah 
Levita; “Nimukim le- 
Sefer lia-Shorashim,” a 
defense of Kimhi’s He- 
brew dictionary against 
Levita. A poem by Shabbethai is prefixed to 
“Matteh Mosheli ” (Cracow, 1590-91), a work on 
the practical ritual laws by Moses ben Abraham 
Mat. 

Bibliography: De Rossi, Dizioimrin , p. 272; Luzzatto, Pro- 
Jcfjomcna , p. 33; Fiirst, Bihl. Jucl. iii. 120; Steinsclmeider, 
Cat. Bodl. col. 2243 ; idem, Jewish Literature , p. 240. 

T I. Br. 

SHABBETHAI JUDAH ISAAC BEN 
LEVI. See Judaii ibh Shabbethai. 
SHABBETHAI B. MEIR HA-KOHEN 

(SHaK): Russian Talmudist; born at Wilna 1621 ; 
died at Ilollescliau on the 1st of Adar (Rishon), 1662. 
In 1633 Ire entered the yeshibah of R. Joshua at 
Tyktizin, studying later at Cracow and Lublin. 
Returning to Wilna, lie married the daughter of R. 
Simeon Wolf b. Isaac Beni mus, and shortly after was 
appointed one of the assistants of R. Moses, author 


SliabbetLiai hen Men 


the criticisms of Elijah 


of “ Helkat Mehokek.” In 1646 he went to Cracow, 
and in the following year published his “Sifte. 
Kohen,” commentary on the Sliulhan ‘Aruk, Yoreli 
De‘ah, a work that was approved by eighteen of 
the greatest scholars of that generation. In 1648 
the communities of Russian Poland were devastated 
by Climielnicki, Shabbethai ha-Kohen being among 
the sufferers. About this time he published his 
“ Megillali ‘Afah.” After a short stay at Prague, 
where he had sought refugfe from the Cossack up- 
rising, he was called to the rabbinate of Dresin, and 
later to that of Holleschau, where he gained the in- 
timate friendship of Magister Valentini Yidricli 
of Leipsic. 

Shabbethai lia-Kolien was regarded by his con- 
temporaries as more than usually learned. He fre- 
quently contested the 
decisions of his prede- 
cessors, and followed an 
entirely new path in the 
interpretation of the Tal- 
mudic law. He made 
light, too, of the deci- 
sions of his contempo- 
raries, and thus drew 
on himself the enmity 
of some among them, 
including David b. 
Samuel ha-Levi, author 
of “Ture Zahab,” and 
Aaron Samuel Kaidano- 
ver, author of “Birkat 
ha-Zebah.” Neverthe- 
less, the majority of con- 
temporary scholars con- 
sidered his commentary, 
"Sifte Kohen,” as of the 
highest authority, and 
applied his decisions to 
actual cases as the final 
word of the Law. In 
addition to - his knowl- 
edge of the Talmudic 
law he was versed in the 
Cabala, which he used in 
explaining various pas- 
sages of the Bible. His 
mastery of Hebrew is evidenced by the selihot 
which he composed in commemoration of the 
Climielnicki tragedies. As a logician he stood, per- 
haps, first among the Talmudic scholars of his age. 

Shabbethai wrote the following works: “Sifte 
Kohen ” (referred to above) ; “ Selihot ” for the 20th 
of Siwan, in memory of those killed during the 
tragedy of 1648 (Amsterdam, 1651); “Sifte Kohen,” 
on Sliulhan ‘Aruk, Hoshen Mishpat (Amsterdam, 
1667); “Ha- Aruk,” a commentary on the Yoreli 
De‘ah (Berlin, 1667); “Nekuddot ha-Kesef,” criti- 
cism of the “Ture Zahab” of R. David ha-Levi 
of Lemberg (Frank fort-on-tlie-Oder, 1677) ; “ Tekafo 
Kohen,” general laws concerning “teku,” etc. 
(Frankfort-on -t-lie-Oder, 1677) ; “ Geburat Anashim,” 
on section 154 of the Sliulhan ‘Aruk, Eben ha- Ezer 
(Dessau, 1697) ; “Po‘el Zedek,” an arrangement of 
the 618 commandments of Maimonides (Jessnitz, 
17201 : a discourse upon the passage “ Kammali Ma‘a- 



ShabBethai ben Moses 
Shabbethai Zebi 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


218 


lot” in the ITaggadah (Presburg, 1S40; abbrevia- 
tion of “ Kerem Slielomoli ”). 

Bibliography : Kodak’s Jeschui'un , vol. vii.; B. Friedburg, 
Kctcr Kehunnah, Drohobycz, 1898; Griitz, Gesch. vol. x.; S. 
P. Rabbinowitz, Dibrc Yeme Yisrael , vol. viii., Warsaw, 1899 ; 
Jonah Hayyim Gurland, Lc-Korat ha-Gczcrot he- Yisrael, v. 
64, Cracow, 1892 ; Zedner, Cat. Hehr. Books Brit. Mus. p. 
693; Der Orient, 1847; M. Freudenthal, Aus tier Hcimath 
Mendelssohn's, p. 13, Berlin, 1900; Bikkure ha-Jttim, x. 43 ; 
Kokbe Yizhak, i. 78 ; Fuenn, Kirt/ah Ne'emanah , p. 77, Wil- 
na, 1S60. 

T. B. Fit. 

SHABBETHAI BEN MOSES : Ilalakist and 
liturgical poet; flourished at Rome in the first half 
of the eleventh century. Of his lialakie decisions 
only a few fragments are extant. After Solomon 
lia-Babli he was the first Hebrew poet of Rome; liis 
poems for Pesali are in the Roman Mahzor (in man- 
uscript) ; one of them, with his name in acrostic, be- 
gins “An'im hiddushe sliirim.” His “selihot ” also 
are extant in manuscript. One of them, beginning 
‘‘Re’eli zoneka,” has been translated by Zunz (“S. 
P.” p. 202). His sons Moses and Kalonymus are 
likewise known as liturgical poets (see Jew. Encyc. 
vii. 429). Shabbethai was president of the Jewish 
congregation. 

Bibliography: Griitz, Gesch. 1st ed., vi. 84; Michael, Or ha- 
Hayyim , No, 1184 ; Vogelstein and Rieger, Gesch. der Juden 
in Bom, i. 220, 354 ; Zunz, Literatur gesch. pp. 139 ct sea., 
244^ idem, notes to Asher’s ed. of Benjamin of Tudela, ii. 

V ' ' S. Max. 

SHABBETHAI BEN MOSES HA-KOHEN : 

Rabbi of Semecz (Semetcli), near Tikoczin, Russia, 
in the first lial f of the eighteenth century. He edited 
“ Min hat Kohen ” (Fiirth, 1741), a collection of no- 
vellrc to the Talmud by Abraham Broda, Zebi Ash- 
kenazi, and Jacob Kolicn Poppers (rabbi of Frank- 
fort-on-the-Main), to which lie added some of his 
own. 

Bibliography : Benjacob, Ozar ha-Sefarim, p. 342, No. 1533; 
Furst, Bibl. Jud. i. 133, s .v. Abraham Broda ; Steinsehnei- 
der, Cat- Bodl. col. 2247; Zedner, Cat. Hcbr. Books Bril. 
Mus. p. 694. 

D. S. Man. 

SHABBETHAI NAWAWI (UKUKJ) : Rabbi 
and scholar - of the end of the seventeenth century; 
lived in Rosetta OTETl), Egypt. He was a con- 
temporary of Abraham b. Mordecai ha-Levi, in 
whose “Ginnat Weradim” some of his responsa are 
included. Responsa by him are quoted in the 
“ Masse ’at Mosheli ” of Moses Israel and in Judah 
Zain’s “Sha'are Yeshu‘ah.” Azulai had in his pos- 
session the manuscripts of two of his lialakie and 
liaggadic works. 

Bibliography: Azulai, Shem ha-Gedolim, i. 160b. 

C. S. O. 

SHABBETHAI RAPHAEL : Sliabbethaian 
agitator of the seventeenth century; a native of 
Morea. About 1667 Shabbethai Raphael was in 
Italy, where lie assiduously preached and propa- 
gated the Sliabbethaian teaching; but when the 
conversion to Islam of the false Messiah became 
known Shabbethai Raphael betook himself to Ger- 
many. where, owing to the lack of rapid communi- 
cation between the Jews of different countries, he 
could carry on his impostures undisturbed for a 
time. There lie passed as a prophet, and committed 
acts which Judaism ordinarily considered crimes. 


In Sept., 1667, he went to Amsterdam, and there, 
too, made a substantial number of proselytes, even 
among the members of the Portuguese communi- 
ties; the German Jews also permitted him to preach 
in their synagogue. But when he pretended to be 
a prophet who was in direct communication with 
Elijah, lie was compelled by the Portuguese Jews 
to leave the city (Nov., 1667). At Hamburg he 
was violently opposed by Jacob Sasportas, and his 
flattery of the latter did not prevent his being har- 
assed there. He thereupon represented himself as a 
physician, and secured the protection of one of the 
burgomasters, whom lie had treated for the gout. 
Finally his true character became known, and in the 
beginning of the year 166S he was obliged to flee 
to Poland. 

Four years later Shabbethai appeared at Smyrna, 
where he commenced to gather about him the secret 
Shabbethaians. The rabbis, however, soon brought 
about his imprisonment, after which nothing was 
heard of him. 

Bibliography : Griitz, Gesch. 3d ed„ x. 225-226, 448. 

E. C. M. Sel. 

SHABBETHAI B. SOLOMON: Rabbi and 
scholar; lived at Rome in the second half of the 
thirteenth century. In the controversy regarding 
the study of philosophy in general, and of Maimon- 
ides’ “Moreh Nebukim” in particular, which arose 
between Hillel b. Samuel of Verona and Zerahiah b. 

I Isaac of Barcelona, Shabbethai sided with the latter, 
severely censuring Hillel. He was the author of 
“She’elot u-Teslmbot” and “Piske,” and devoted 
himself also to philosophy. 

Bibliography: Vogelstein and Rieger, Gesch. der Juden in 
Rom, i. 418-419; Steinsclineider, Hcbr. Bibl. xxi. 27-28; 
Zunz, in Geiger’s 7Fls\s. Zeit. Jiltl. Theol. iv. 190; idem , in 
Benjamin of Tudela, Itinerary, ii. 20, No. 34; Berliner’s 
Magazin , 1890 (Hebr. part, pp. 37-40); Ozar Nehmad, ii. 141, 
Vienna, 1857; Parma De Rossi MSS. iii., pp’. 114b, 115a; 
codex 1237, Nos. 11, 12, 13. 

w. B. s. O. 

SHABBETHAI ZEBI B. MORDECAI: 

Pseudo-Messiah and cabalist; founder of the Sliab- 
bethaian sect; bom on the Ninth of Ab (July 23, 
1626) at Smyrna; died, according to some, on the 
Day of Atonement (Sept. 30), 1676, at Dulcigno, a 
small town in Albania. He was of Spanish descent. 
His father (Mordecai) had been a poor poultry -dealer 
in the Morea. Later, when, in consequence of the 
war between Turkey and Venice under the sultan 
Ibrahim, Smyrna became the center of the trade in 
the Levant, Mordecai became the agent in that town 
of an English house, whose interests he guarded 
with strict honesty; and he acquired considerable 
wealth. 

In accordance with the prevailing custom of the 
Oriental Jews of that time, Shabbethai was destined 
by liis father for a Talmudist. In his early youth 
he attended the yeshibah under the veteran rabbi of 
Smyrna, Joseph Escaiw ; but lialakie and pilpnlistic 
studies did not appeal to his enthusi- 
Early astic and fanciful mind, nor did he 
Years. apparently attain any proficiency in 
the Talmud. On the other hand, mys- 
ticism and .the Cabala, in the prevailing style "of 
Isaac Luria, had a great fascination for him. Es- 
pecially did the practical Cabala, with its asceticism, 



219 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Shabbethai ben Moses 
Shabbethai ?obi 


and its mortification of the body— whereby its 
devotees claimed to be able to communicate with 
God and the angels, to predict tlie future, and to 
perform all sorts of miracles— appeal to urn In Ins 
boyhood lie liad inclined to a life of solitude. Ac- 
cording to custom, lie married early, but avoided 
intercourse with bis wife; so that slie applied for a 
divorce, which be willingly granted The same 
tinner happened with a second wife. Later, when 
he became more imbued with tlie fancies of tlie 
Cabala, be lost all mental equilibrium He imposed 
the severest mortifications on himself— bathed ne 


quen tly in ihe sea 
day— and lived 
constantly in a 
state of ecstasy. 

In connection 
with the prelim- 
inary causes, 
which, as far as 
they are known, 
may account for 
the fateful role 
which was sub- 
sequently as- 
sumed by Shab- 
bethai, another 
point should be 
mentioned here. 
During the first 
half of the seven- 
teenth century 
some extrava- 
gant notions of 
t he ne a r a p - 
p roach of the 
Messianic time, 
and more espe- 
cially of the re- 
demption of the 
Jews and’ their 
return to Jeru- 
salem, were set 
forth by Chris- 
tian writers and 
entertained by 
Jews and Chris- 
tians alike. The 
so-called apoca- 
lyptic year was 


even in winter; fasted day aftei 


them to his son, whom he almost deified because of 
his piety and cabalistic wisdom. 

Apart from this general Messianic theory, there 
was another computation, based on a presumably 
interpolated passage in the Zoliar and particularly 
popular among the Jews, according to which the 
. year 1648 was to he the year of Israel’s redemption 
by the Messiah. All these things so worked on the 
bewildered mind of Shabbethai as to lead him to 
conceive and partly carry out a plan which was of 
the gravest consequences for the whole of Jewry 
and whose effects are felt even at the present time: 
he decided to assume the role of the expected Mes- 
siah. Though 
only twenty -two 
years old, he 
dared (in the 
ominous year 
1648) to reveal 
himself at 
S m y r n a to a 
band of follow- 
ers (whom he 
had won over 
through his cab- 
alistic knowl- 
edge, his attract- 
ive appearance 
and personality, 
and his strange 
actions) as the 
true Messianic 
redeemer desig- 
nated by God 
to overthrow the 
governments of 
the nations and 
to restore Israel 
to Jerusalem. 
His mode of re- 
vealing his mis- 
sion was the pro- 
nouncing of the 
Tetr a gramma- 
ton in Hebrew, 
an act which 
was allowed 
only to the high 
priest in the 
Sanctuary on 



Sbabbetbai Zebi. 

(From an old print.) 


the year 1666. 
that Manasseli 


assigned by Christian authors to 
This belief was so predominant - 
b. Israel in bis letter to Cromwell and the Eng- 
lish Parliament did not hesitate to use it as a 
motive for his plea for the readmission of the Jews 
into England, remarking that tlie 
opinions of many Christians and mine 
do concur herein, that we both believe 
that the restoring time of our Nation 
into tlieir native country is very near 
at hand” (sec Gratz, “Gescli.”x., note 
3 pp xxix. el seq.). Shabbetlmi’s father, who as 
the agent of an English house was in constant touch 
with English people, must have frequently heard ol 
these expectations and, himself strongly inclined to 
believe them, must naturally have communicated 


Influence 
of English. 
Millena- 
rianism. 


the Day of Atonement. This was of great significance 
to those acquainted with rabbinical and especial ly 
cabalistic literature. How evei, Sliab- 
Claims hetliai’s authority at tlie age of twenty- 

Nfessiah- two did not reach far enough to gam 

ship. for him many adherents. Among the 

first of these to whom lie revealed his 
Messiah ship in the foregoing manner were Isaac Si 1- 
Yevra and Moaes Pinheivo, the latter a brotlier-in- aw 
of tlie Italian rabbi and cabalist Joseph Eugas. Shab- 
bethai remained for several years at Smyrna, lead- 
ing a pious, mystic life, and causing in the commu- 
nity many bickerings, the details of which are not 
known. The college of rabbis having at then head 
his teacher. Joseph Escapa. watched Shabbethai 
closely ; and when his Messianic pretensions became 



Shabbethai Zebi 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


220 . 


too bold they put him aud his followers under 
the ban. 

About the year 1651 (according to others, 1654; 
see Griitz, l.c. p. xxxii.) Shabbethai and his disciples 
were banished from Smyrna. Whither he betook 
himself is not quite certain. In 1653, or at the la- 
test 1658, he was in Constantinople, where he made 
the acquaintance of a preacher, Abkaiiam iia-Ya- 
kini (a disciple of Joseph di Trani and a man of 
great intelligence and high repute), who, either 
from selfish motives or from delight in notifica- 
tion, confirmed Shabbethai in his delusions. Ha- 
Yakini is said to have forged a manuscript in ar- 
chaic characters and in a style imitating the ancient 
apocalypses, aud which, as he alleged, bore testi- 
mony to Shabbetliai’s Messiahship. It was entitled 
“The Great Wisdom of 
Solomon ” and began : 

“I, Abraham, was confined 
in a cave* for forty yeai-s, aucl I 
wondered greatly that the time 
of miracles did not arrive. 

Then was heard a voice pro- 
claiming, 1 A son will be born in 
the year 53S6 [1626] to Morde- 
cai Zebi ; and be will be called 
Sbabbethai. He will bumble the 
great dragon; ... he, the true 
Messiah, will sit upon My 
[God’s] throne.’” 

With this document, 
which he appears to have 
accepted as an actual rev- 
elation, Shabbethai deter- 
mined to choose Salonica, 
at that time a ceuter of 
cabalists, as the field for 
his further operations. 

Here he boldly proclaimed 
himself as the Messiah, 
gaining many adherents. 

In order to impress his 
Messiahship upon the 
minds of his enthusiastic 
friends he indulged in all 
sorts of mystic juggleries ; 
e.g ., the celebration of his 
marriage as Son of God (“En Sof ”) with the Torah, 
preparing for this performance a solemn festival, to 
which lie invited his friends. The eon- 
In sequence was that the rabbis of Salo- 
Salonica. nica banished him from the city. The 
sources differ widely as to the route 
taken by him after this expulsion, Alexandria, Ath- 
ens, Constantinople, Jerusalem, Smyrna, and other 
places being mentioned as temporary centers of Ills 
impostures. Finally, however, after long wander- 
ings, he settled in Cairo, Egypt, where lie resided 
for about two years (1660-62). 

At that time there lived in Cairo a very wealthy 
and influential Jew named Raphael Joseph Halabi 
(— “ of Aleppo”), who held the high position of 
mint-master and tax-farmer under the Turkish gov- 
ernment-. Despite his riches and the external splen- 
dor which he displayed before the public, he con- 
tinued to lead privately an ascetic life, fasting, 
bathing, and frequently scourging his body at night. 


His great wealth he used most benevolently, sup- 
plying the needs of poor Talmudists and cabalists, 
fifty of whom permanently dined at his table. 
Shabbethai at once made the acquaintance of Ra- 
phael Joseph, who, being possessed by eccentric, 
mystic ideas', became one of the most zealous pro- 
mulgators of his Messianic plans. 

It seems, however, that Cairo did not appear to 
Shabbethai to be the proper place wherein to carry 
out his long-cherislied scheme. The apocalyptic 
year 1666 was approaching; and something had to 
be done to establish his Messiahship. He therefore 
left the Egyptian capital and betook himself to Jeru- 
salem, hoping that in the Holy City a miracle might 
happen to confirm his pretensions. Arriving there 
about 1663, he at first remained inactive, so as not 
to offend the c©nnnunit 3 r . 
He again resorted to his 
former practise of morti- 
fying the body by fre- 
quent fasting and other 
penances in order to gain 
the confidence of the peo- 
ple, who saw therein proofs 
of extraordinary piety. 
With great shrewdness he 
adopted also various 
means of an inoffensive 
character which helped 
him to endear himself to 
the credulous masses. Be- 
ing endowed with a very 
melodious voice, he used 
to sing psalms during 
the whole night, or at 
times even coarse Span- 
ish love-songs, to which 
he gave a mystic inter- 
pretation, attracting 
thereby crowds of ad- 
miring listeners. At other 
times he would pray at the 
graves of pious men and 
women and, as some of his 
followers reported, shed 
floods of tears, or he 
would distribute all sorts of sweetmeats to the chil- 
dren on the streets. Thus he gradually gathered 
around him a circle of adherents, who blindly placed 
their faith in him. 

At this juncture an unexpected incident brought 
him back to Cairo. The community of Jerusalem 
needed money in order to avert a calamity which 
greedy Turkish officials planned against it. Shab- 
bethai, known as the favorite of the rich Raphael 
Joseph Halabi, was chosen as the envoy of the 
distressed community; and he willingly undertook 
the task, as it gave him an opportunity to act as 
the deliverer of the Holy City. As soon as he ap- 
peared before Halabi he obtained from him the nec- 
essary sum, a success which gave him great prestige 
and offered the best prospects for his future Mes- 
sianic plans. His worshipers indeed dated his pub- 
lic career from this second journey to Cairo. 

Another circumstance assisted Shabbethai in the 
course of his second stay at Cairo. During the 



Shabbethai Zebi. 

(From Coenen’s “ Shabbethai Zebi," Amsterdam, 1669.) 



THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Shabbethai Zebi 


C [imielkicki massacres in Poland a 
! r \ named Sarah, about six years old, had been 
founS Christians and sent to a nunnery. After 
™ S confinement she escaped in a miraculous 

1 nv and was brought to Amsterdam, borne yeais 
W ay and was ^ ^ Legh()rn> where, ae- 

Marries cording to authentic reports, she led 
^Sarah. S an irregular life. Being of a very ec- 
centric disposition, she conceived the 

. . tint she was to become the bride of the Mes- 
1,0 w m was soon to appear. The report of this 
IT. reached Cairo; and Shabbetliai, always looking 
?’, something unusual and impressive, at once 






















a MKMaesm 


Shabbetliai Zebi Enthroned. 

(From the title-page of “ Tikkun ” Amsterdam, 1666.) 


seized upon the opportunity and claimed that sucl, 

a consort bad been P ™n.ed him n ad. earn. ^ ^ 

3Str«rib«^ was wedded to Shab- 
betliai in Halabi’s house. Through her a romantic, 
licentious element entered into Shabbetha. s cai eei • 
Her beauty and eccentricity gamed manJ 

new followers; and even her past lewd life v s 
looked upon as an additional confirmation of 1 * 
Messiahship, the prophet Hosea having been co 
manded to marry an unchaste woman. 

Equipped with Halabi’s money, possessed of a 
charming wife, and having many additional fol- 


lowers, Shabbetliai triumphantly returned to Pales- 
tine Passing through the city of Gaza, lie met a 
man who was to become very active in his subse- 
quent Messianic career. This wasLatumBenia- 
min Levi, known under the name of Ball an Ghaz- 
zati He became Shabbetliai’sright-liand man, and 
professed to he the risen Elijah, the precmar o Jthe 
Messiah. In 16G5 Gliazzati announced that tlie Mes- 
sianic age was to begin in the following year This 
revelation he proclaimed in writing far and wic e 
with many additional details to the efiect that the 
world would be conquered by him, 
Nathan the Elijah, without bloodshed; that 

Ghazzati. the Messiah would then lead hack the 

Ten Tribes to the Holy Land, riding 
on a lion with a seven-headed dragon in its jaws 
and similar fantasies. All these grotesque absurdi- 

ties received wide credence. 11,1 

The rabbis of the Holy City, however looked 
with much suspicion on Hie movement and threat- 
ened its followers with excommunication. Shah- 
bethai, realizing that Jerusalem was not a congema 
nlace in which to carry out his plans, leffc J 01 Lis 
native city, Smyrna, while Ids prophet Isathan, 
proclaimed that henceforth Gaza, and not Jerusalem, 
would be the sacred city. On Ins way fiom Jci usa 
lem to Smyrna, Shabbetliai was enthusiastically 
greeted in the large Asiatic community of Aleppo, 
and at Smyrna, which he reached in the autumn of 
1665 the greatest homage was paid to him. Fi- 
nally after some hesitation, he publicly declaiec 
himself as the expected Messiah (New-Yeai, 166o), 

the declaration was made in the synagogue w th t 

blowing of horns, and the multitude greeted him 
with “Lon^ live our Iving, our Messiah. 

The delirious joy of his followers knew no bounds 
Shabbetliai, assisted by his wife, now b ( ‘ can11 - . 

sole ruler of the community. In this 
Proclaimed capacity he used his power to crush 

Messiah, all opposition. For instance, lie c 

posed the old rabbi of Smyrna, Aaron 

Lapapa, and appointed in his place e dible 
vpxiste His popularity grew with mciecliDic 
rapidity as not only Jews, but Christians also 
spread^! is story far and wide. His mne ex end 
to all countries. Italy, Germany, and Holland had 
centers where the Messianic movement was ardent y 
nro nuVated; and the Jews of Hamburg and Am- 
Cr.n recei ved confirmation of the extraordinary 
f 'n o mV nn from trustworthy Christians. A 

wrote to Spinoza (“Spmozie Epistolje, No ). 

* All the world here is talking of a rumor of the re 
i 4 . . zxf iho Israelites ... to their own countij . 
s- . U1U Should the news he confirmed, it may bring 
is about a revolution in all things. tl ' 

? fo 

nS ^vrT Moses G It.axte. Moses Zacuto, and the above- 
tn- t-vu, luoses u a t^vtpktste Even the semi- 

■1 


Shabbetliai Zebi 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


222 


ports were spread in all communities, and were ac- 
cepted as truth even by otherwise dispassionate men, 
as, for instance, “ that in the north of Scotland a ship 
had appeared with silken sails and ropes, manned by 
sailors who spoke Hebrew. The flag bore the in- 
scription ‘ The Twelfe Tribes of Israel/ ” The com- 
munity of Avignon, France, prepared, therefore, to 
emigrate to the new kingdom in the spring of 1666 . 

The adherents of Shabbetliai, probably with his 
consent, even planned to abolish to a great extent 
the ritualistic observances, because. 
Spread of according to a tradition, in the Messi- 
Influence. anic time most of them were to lose 
their obligatory character. The first 
step toward the disintegration of traditional Judaism 
was the changing of the fast of the Tenth of Tebet 
to a day of feasting and rejoicing. Samuel Puimo, 



Sliabbetkai Zebi in festive Attire, 

(From an old print.) 


a man who entered Shabbetliai ’s service as secre- 
tary at the time when the latter left Jerusalem for j 
Smyrna, directed in the name of the Messiah the fol- j- 
lowing circular to the whole of Israel : 

“The first-begotten Son of God, Shabbetliai Zebi, Messiah and ! 
Redeemer of the people of Israel, to all the sons of Israel, Peace ! 
Since ye have been deemed worthy to behold the great clay and 
the fulfilment of God’s word by the Prophets, your lament and 
sorrow must be changed into joy, and your fasting into merri- 
ment ; for ye shall weep no more. Rejoice with song and mel- 
ody, and change the day formerly spent in sadness and sorrow 
into a day of jubilee, because I have appeared.” 

This message produced wild excitemeut and dissen- 
sion in the communities, as many of the pious ortho- 
dox rabbis, who had hitherto regarded the move- 
ment sympathetically, were shocked at these radical 
innovations. Solomon Algazt, a prominent Tal- 
mudist of Smyrna, and other members of the rabbin- 
ate, who opposed the abolition of the fast, narrowly 
escaped with their lives. 


At the beginning of the year 1666 Shabbetliai 
again left Smyrna for Constantinople, either because 
he was compelled to do so by the city 
In ^ authorities or because of a desire and 
Constant!- a hope that a miracle would happen 
nople. in the Turkish capital to fulfil the 
prophecy of Nathan Gliazzati, that 
Shabbetliai would place the sultan’s crown on his 
owii head. As soon as he reached the landing- 
place, however, he was arrested at the command of 
the grand vizier, Ahmad Kbprili, and cast into prison 
in chains. An under-pasha, commissioned to receive 
Shabbetliai on the ship, welcomed him with a vigor- 
ous box on the ear. When this official was asked 
later to explain his conduct, he attempted to exon- 
erate himself by blaming the Jews for having pro- 
claimed Shabbetliai as their Messiah against his own 
will. 

Shabbethai’s imprisonment, however, had no dis- 
couraging effect either on him or on his followers. 
On the contrary, the lenient treatment which he se- 
cured by means of bribes served rather to strengthen 

i y ^*5 Messianic delusions. In the meantime 

all sorts of fabulous reports concerning the miracu- 
lous deeds which the Messiah was performing in the 
Turkish capital were spread by Gliazzati and Primo 
among the Jews of Smyrna and in many other com- 
munities; and the expectations of the Jews were 
raised to a still higher pitch. 

After two months’ imprisonment in Constantino- 
ple, Shabbetliai was brought to the state prison in 
the castle of Abydos. Here he was treated very 
leniently, some of his friends even being allowed to 
accompany him. In consequence the Slmbbetlia- 
ians called that fortress “Migdal ‘Oz ” (Tower of 
Strength). As the day on which he was brought 
to Abydos was the day preceding Passover, lie slew 
a paschal lamb for himself and his followers and ate 
it with its fat, which was a violation of the Law. 

It is said that he pronounced over it the benediction 
“ Blessed he God who hath restored again that which 
was forbidden.” The immense sums sent to him by 
his rich adherents, the charms of the queenly Sarah, 
and the reverential admiration shown him even by 
the Turkish officials and the inhabitants of the place 
enabled Shabbetliai to display royal splendor in the 
castle of Abydos, accounts of which were exagger- 
ated and spread among Jews in Europe, Asia, and 
Africa. In some parts of Europe Jews began to un- 
roof their houses aud prepare for the 
At Abydos exodus. In almost all synagogues 
(“Mig-dal Shabbethai’s initials, “S. Z.,” were 
‘Oz”). posted; and prayers for him were in- 
serted in the following form: “Bless 
our Lord and King, the holy and righteous Shab- 
bethai Zebi, the Messiah of the God of Jacob.” In 
Hamburg the council introduced this custom of 
praying for Shabbetliai not only on Saturday, but 
also on Monday and Thursday; and unbelievers 
were compelled to remain in the synagogue and join 
in the prayer with a loud “Amen.” Shabbethai’s 
picture was printed together with that of King' 
David in most of the prayer-books; and his caba- 
! listic formulas and penances were embodied therein, 
j These and similar innovations caused great dissen- 
i sions in various communities. In Moravia the ex- 




THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Shabbethai Zebi. 


citement reached such a pitch that the government 
liad to interfere, while at Sale, Africa, the emir or- 
dered a persecution of the Jews. This state of affairs 
lasted three months (April to July), during which 
lime Shabbethai’s adherents busied themselves in 
sending forged letters to deceive their brethren in dis- 
tant communities. It was also during this period that 
Shabbetliai, in a general desire for innovations aim- 


country a prophet, Nehemiali lia-Kohen, had an- 
nounced the coming of the Messiah. Shabbetliai 
ordered the prophet to appear before 
Neffemiah. him (but see Jew. Excyc. ix. 212a, 
ha-Kolien. s.v. Neiiemiah iia-Koiien) ; and Nehe- 
miali obeyed, reaching Abydos after a 
journey of three months, in the beginning of Sept., 
1666. The conference between the two impostors 



jews or Salonica Doing Penance During the Shabbethai Zebi Agitation. 

(From “ Ketzer Gescliichte,” 1701, in the possession of George Alexander Koliut, New Tor .) 


ing at the abrogation of all laws and customs, trans- 
formed the fasts of the Seventeenth of Tamrnuz and 
the Ninth of Ah (his birthday) into feast-days ; and 
it is said that he contemplated even the abolition cf 
the Day of Atonement. . 

At this time an incident happened which resulted 
in discrediting Shabbetliars Messiahship. Two 
prominent Polish Talmudists from Lemberg, Galicia, 
-who were among the visitors of Shabbetliai in Ah}- 
dos, apprised him of the fact that in theii native 


ended in mutual dissatisfaction, and the fanatical. 
Sliabbethaians arc said to have contemplated the 
secret murder of the dangerous rival. Nehemiali, 
however, escaped to Constantinople, where he em- 
braced Mohammedanism and betrayed the treasona- 
ble desires of Shabbethai to the kaimakam, who m 
turn informed the sultan, Mohammed IY. At the 
command of Mohammed, Shabbethai was now taken 
from Abydos to Adrianople, where the sultan’s phy- 
sician, a former Jew, advised Shabbethai to embrace: 


Shabbethai Zebi 
Shadchan 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


224 


Islam as the only means of saving liis life. Shab- 
bethai realized the clanger of his situation and 
adopted the physician's advice. On the following 
day (Sept. 16, 1666; comp. Bitchier in 
Adopts “ Kau f man n Gedenkbuch,” p. 45B, 

Islam. note 2, Breslau, 1900), being brought 
before the sultan, he cast off his Jew- 
ish garb and put a Turkish turban on his head; and 
thus his conversion to Islam was accomplished. 


The effects of the pseudo-Messiah’s conversion on 
the Jewish communities were extremely dishearten- 
ing. Prominent rabbis who were believers in and 
followers of Shabbethai were prostrated by com- 
punction and shame. Among the masses of the 
people the greatest confusion reigned. In addition 
to the misery and disappointment from within, Mo- 
hammedans and Christians jeered at and scorned 
the credulous and duped Jews. The sultan even pur- 



SlIABBETHAI ZEBI A PRISONER AT ABYDOS- 
(From “ Ketzer Geschichte,” 1701, in the possession of George Alexander Kohut, New York.) 


The sultan was much pleased, and rewarded Shab- 
bethai by conferring on him the title (Malimed) 
“Effendi” and appointing him as his doorkeeper 
with a high salary. Sarah and a number of Shab- 
bethai’s followers also went over to Islam. To 
complete his acceptance of Mohammedanism, Shab- 
bethai was ordered to take an additional wife, a 
Mohammedan slave, which order he obeyed. Some 
days after his conversion he had the audacity to 
write to Smyrna: “ God has made me an Islimaeiite; 
He commanded, and it was done. The ninth day 
of my regeneration.” 


posed to exterminate all the adult Jews in his empire 
and to decree that all Jewish children should he 
brought up in Islam, also that fifty 
Disillu- prominent rabbis should be executed ; 
sion. and only the contrary advice of some 
of his counselors and of the sultana 
mother prevented these calamities. In spite of 
Shabbetliai’s shameful fiasco, however, many of his 
adherents still tenaciously clung to him, pretending 
that his conversion was a part of the Messianic 
scheme. This belief was further upheld and 
strengthened by false prophets like Ghazzati and 


225 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA. 


Shabbethai Zebi 
Shadchan 


Primo wlio were interested in maintaining the 
movement. In many communities the Seventeenth 
of Tammuz and the Ninth of Ab were still observed 
as feast-day sin spite of bans and excommunications. 

Meanwhile Shabbethai secretly continued his plots, 
playing a double game. At times lie would assume 
the role of a pious Mohammedan and revile Judaism , 
at others he would enter into relations with Jews as 
one of their own faith. Thus in March 668 ho 
gave out anew that he had been tilled with the Holy 
Spii it at Passover and had received a revelation, 
lie or one of his followers, published a mystic work 
addressed to the Jews in which the most fantastic 
notions were set forth, e.f/., that he was the true Re- 
deemer, in spite of his conversion, his object being 
to brino- over thousands of Mohammedans to Juda- 
ism. To the sultan lie said that his activity among 
the Jews was to bring them over to Islam. He 
therefore received permission to associate with his 
former coreligionists, and even to preach m then 
synagogues. He thus succeeded m bringing over a 
number of Mohammedans to his cabalistic views, 
and on the other hand, in converting many Jews to 
Islam, thus forming a Judam-Turkisli sect (see Don- 

met,) whose followers implicitly believed in linn. 

This double-dealing with Jews and Mohammed- 
ans however, could not last very long. Gradually 
theTurks tired of Shabbethai’s schemes. He was 
deprived of his salary, and banished from Adiia 
nople to Constantinople. In a village near the lattei 
citv he was one day surprised while singing psalms 
in a tent with Jews, whereupon the grand vizier 
ordered his banishment to Dulcigno, a small place 
in Albania, where lie died in loneliness and ob- 
scurity. 

RimioGRAPHY : N. Briill, Salihatai Zehi unci 

serf! i->3: A. 


xxii^efseq-^’of 'tlie numerous sources |iven may he 

mentioned: J acob M ’ ortar a 

srts# as w- 

frB^SrS- 

etc.; see above), Wilna. 

18 F 9 or the Shahhethaians in general : F.lkan N Adler Tc^ 

sisl Issss 

XI. — 15 


i 

NEHEMIAH; Prossnitz, LObelf.; Querido, Jacob^ ^ 

K. 

SHABTFOT. Sec Festivals; Pentecost. 

SHADCHAN (Heb. Shadkan) : Marriage-bro- 
ker. The verb “shadak” (“ meskaddekin ”), refer- 
riu g to the arrangements which two heads of families 
made between themselves for the marriage of their 

children, was used in Talmudical times (Shah. 150a). 
But the appellation “ shadchan ” for the marnage- 
broker, who undertakes, for a consideration, to bring 
the two families together and to assist m the for- 
mation of a union between them, does not appear m 
rabbinical literature until the thirteenth century • 

His legal status and the validity of his ckims for 
compensation were briefly discussed m OrZarua ■ 
by Isaac of Vienna in the first, half of the thirteenth . 
century, and more extensively m the Moidemi 
(in the last section of Baba gamma) about half a 
century later. The profession of the shadchan seems 
to have been old and well established at that period; 
and the usage of Austrian Jews, who did not re- 
ward the shadchan until after the marriage had taken 
place, is contrasted with that of the upper (Rhenis ) 
countries, where he was paid as soon •“ 
ested parties reached an agreement (Meir of Ro- 
thenburg Responsa, No. 498; see Beilmer, A 
dem Leben der Deutschen Juden im Mittelalter p. 

43 Berlin, 1900). The legal aspects of the shad- 
chan’s business are treated by all later codifieis o 
the Halakah and in numerous responsa, but there is 
no indication that he was known among the earlier 
medieval Sephardic Jews. 

The occupation of the shadchan was hi 0 hly 
suected and great rabbis like Jacob Molln and 
Jacob MAKGomoTH did not deem it beneath their 
dignity to engage in it (see Abrahams Jewish Life 
in the Middle Ages,” pp. 170-171, London 1896) 
His work was deemed of more importance than that 
of the ordinary “sarsur,” or broker, and was con- 
sidered entitled to more tlmn two per cent, or, w 
tlie contracting parties lived more than ten : miles 
apart, to more than three per cent, of the amount 
involved (usually the bride’s dowry) while the 
sarsur was entitled only to from one-half of one 
to one per cent (see the transcript of ordinances 
adopted by the Council of Four Lands, in Buber 
“Anshe Shem,” p. 225, Cracow, 1895; comp^ also 
« Orient, Lit." 1845, p. 310). See Makbiage Cebb- 

M °The business of theshadeban still flourishes' among 
tlie Jews of the Slavonic countries and among the 
Jews who emigrated from those countnes to the 
United States and elsewhere. Among the old-fas 
ioned Jews in the Old World almost all marnages 
are brought about with the assistance of a shadchan 
because itwould be considered immodest inayoung 
man to do bis own courting, and pride would not 



Shadehan 

Shalmaneser 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


226 


allow either family to make a direct advance to the 
other. Those who resort to his services in America 
usually give the additional reason that they are all 
“strangers ” there, and that they are therefore con- 
strained to utilize the knowledge and experience 
of an expert marriage-broker. The shad chan’s 
method of exaggerating to each side the advantages 
to be derived from the union which he proposes, 
and of praising the bride’s beauty and kindness, or 
the wealth and prominence of her parents, and the 
bridegroom’s learning, abilit} r , and other good qual- 
ities, is, with slight modifications, the same every- 
where. The most characteristically American addi- 
tion to his means of persuasion is probably the 
guaranty against a lawsuit for breach of promise of 
marriage, which would be likely to follow under 
certain circumstances if the prospective bridegroom 
should reject the girl who is recommended and in- 
troduced to him by the sliadchan. 

The shadclian and his occupation are favorite sub- 
jects for humorous description by Jewish and non- 


SHADRACH CjYTBO * Name given by the chief 
of the eunuchs to Hananiaii (Dan. i. 7 et passim). 
Various theories as to its etymology have been put 
forward, of which the most iikely(Delitzsch, “Liber 
Daniel, ”xii.) seems to be that the name is the Baby- 
lonian “ sliudur aku ” (= “ the command of the moon- 
god ”). 

E - 6 * n * M. Sel. 

SHAHAR ABAKKESHKA (“At morn I will 
seek Thee ”): Morning hymn written about 1050 by 
Solomon ibn Gabirol (Zunz, “ Literaturgescli.” p. 
188), whose name appears in an acrostic. It is 
quoted in the prayer-book of the Sephardim, and 
particularly among the “supplications” following 
the same author’s “Keter Malkut ” and preceding 
the regular morning service of the Day of Atone- 
ment. It is associated with a tune of Morisco ori- 
gin, which should be compared with the old melody 
of the same use for Lekaii Dodi, The transcrip- 
tion reproduces the rime and meter scheme of the 
Hebrew verses. 


SHAHAR ABAKKESHKA 

Andante moderate. 




A — 

— 


— i — '9- P- 

(si- 2 A — 5 


=-^r i— 

[ — 


^ r. jef s.=te— 


1. At morn Thy throne I seek, My Rock,... my 

2. Be - fore Thy bound - less might I stand.... with 

3. How dumb we mor - tals are! Our heart.... how 

4. Yet Thou wilt hear our praise For mer - cies 



For - 

tress 

bold, 

And ear - ]y 

praise 

my 

God, . 

awe 

un - 

told; 

For all my 

heart’s 

in 

tent. . 

un - 

con - 

troll’d! 

What strength have 

crea - 

tures 

frail . 

man - 

i - 

fold: 

While life to 

me 

He 

grants 



Nor late 

my 

song 

with - 

hold, . 

Be - fore 

Thee 

is 

un - 

rolled, 

Their long - 

ings 

to 

un - 

fold, . . 

My God 

shall 

be 

ex 

tolled, , 


Nor 

late 

my 

song 

with - hold. 

Be - 

fore 

Thee 

is 

un - rolled. 

Their 

long 

- ings 

to 

un - fold. 

My 

God 

shall 

be 

ex - tolled. 


J ewish writers. Isahshon , in Mapu \s “ Ayit Zabua‘, ” 
is said to be drawn from life. Zangwill describes 
the shadehan in “Children of the Ghetto.” One of 
I. M. Dick’s drollest Yiddish stories is entitled “Der 
Shadehan” (Wilna, 1874), while shorter descriptions 
of the same nature have appeared in numerous Jewish 
and non -Jewish periodicals in various languages. 


Bibliography: Allg. Zeit. des Jud. Ixvi., No. 89; Brainm, 
£rraham Mapu , p. 97. Piotrkow, 1900; Jew. Chrmi. Jan. 2, 
1903; (M und West, 1903, p. 479 (illustration); Pdhad Yiz- 
halz (for the Halakah on the subject). 

A - P. Wi. 


SHADDAI. See Names of God. 


Bibliography j Be Sola and Aguilar, Ancient Melodics', No.. 

» F. L. Cohen, Lyra Anglo-Judaica, i., No. 1, 
ib. 1891; Israel (London), 1900, p. 77. 

A - P. L. C. 


SHAKNA, SHALOM (commonly called Shak- 
na ben Joseph): Polish Talmudist; born about 
1510; died at Lublin Oct. 29, 1558. He was a pupil 
of Jacob Poliak, founder of the method of Talmudic 
study known as the Pilpul. By the year 1528 he 
had already become famous as a teacher, and hun- 
dreds flocked to Lublin to receive instruction at his 
yeshibah. Many of Ms pupils became recognized 
rabbinical authorities, among them being: Moses. 



227 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Shadehan 

Shalmaneser 


Tsserles of Cracow (Shakna's son-in-law); Moses j 
Heilprin, author of “ Zikron Mosheh ” ; Solomon hen | 
Judah, rabbi of Lublin; and Hayyim ben Bezaleel, i 
rabbi at Friedberg. 

Shakna on his death-bed, from motives of ex- 
treme modesty, enjoined his son R. Israel from print- 
ing any of his (Shakna’s) manuscripts. One of his 
writings, however, namely, the treatise “ Pesakim 
be-Tnyan Kiddusliin,” was edited by Moses, sod of 
the physician Samuel (Cracow, 1540 ?). 

uttutograpiiy: Gratz, Gesch. 3d ed., ix. 436; Fuenn .Ifiryah 
Bl Ne'criKmah , p. 52; B. Friedberg, Ncue auf demJudischen 
Friedhofin Krakau A.ufgef under e Grahsc/wVten, P- 4, 
idem, Gesch. clcr Hebraischcn Typngrap hie, 

6 • Nissenbaum, Le-Korob ha-1 ehudim be- Lublin, p. 1 , 
Halberstam, in Kobak’s Jeschlirun, v. 394. ^ ^ 

SHALAL (SHOLAL), ISAAC HA- 
KOHEN ; Head (“ nagid ”) of the community of 
Cairo, Egypt, in succession to his uncle Nathan ha- 
Kolien Shalal; died, according to Griitz (“ Gesch,” 
3d ed., ix. 496), at Jerusalem 1525. The appoint- 
ment of “dayyanim ” being one of his functions, he 
selected them from among deserving Spanish fugi- 
tives, and one of these appointments gave rise to 
much correspondence. He had made a vow that he 
would become a Nazarite, like Samson, if he were 
compelled to nominate a certain man. But as he 
could find no one more competent than the man re- 
ferred to, he regretted his vow; respousa on the 
subject were addressed to him by Elijah Mizrahi, 
Jacob Berab, and Jacob b. Habib. Isaac Shalal was 
the last nagid ; for Salim I. , having conquered Egypt, 
abolished the office. Isaac then (c. 1517) removed 
to Jerusalem. In 1514 the community of Jerusalem 
sent its statutes to him for his approbation, which 
he signed, together with his pupil David ibn Abi 
Zimra. See Jew. Encyc. v. 69a. 

Bibliography : Conforte, Kore ba^Dorot, p. 31b; Zunz, G. S. 

i. 180; Steinscbneider, m Ozar Nehmath n. 149 -Id^, Gratz, 
Gesch. 3d ed., ix. 17, 19, 25, 496 ; Azulai siiem. ia-GecioUm 
s.v. Davicl b. Zimra and Joseph Caro ; A. L. Framkm, A. ben 
She mu' cU PP- 1" et seq., Wilua, 1874. ^ 

SHALET (SHOLENT). Sue Cookery in 
Eastern Europe. 

SHALKOVICH, ABRAHAM LEIB. See 

Ben-Avigdor. 

SHALLUM.— Biblical Data: 1. King of Is- 
rael who dethroned Zechariah, the last of Jehu’s 
dynasty, and succeeded him. He was in turn de- 
throned by Menahem (II Kings xv. 10-16). 

2. Son of Josiah, King of Judah (Jer. xxii. 11). 
Probably the term is used merely as an epithet = 
“ the desired one”; hence I Chron. iii. 15 makes 
Shn.Hu m the fourth son of Josiah. 

3. Husband of Huldali, the prophetess (II Kings 

xxii. 14). T 

e. G. it. E. I. K. 

—In Rabbinical Literature : Even at the time 
of the prophet Elisha, Sliallum was one of the most 
eminent men (“mi-gedole lia-dor”) in the countiy. 
Yet he did not think it beneath his dignity to lend 
personal aid to the poor and the needy. It was one 
of his daily habits -to go outside the gates of the 
city in order that he might give water to thirsty 
wanderers. God rewarded him by endowing him 
and his wife Huldah with the gift of prophecy. An- 


other special reward was given him for his philan- 
thropy, for it is he who is referred to in II Kings 
xiii. 21, where one who was dead awoke to life after 
being cast into Elisha’s sepulcher and touching the 
prophet’s bones. A son was granted him, who 
became distinguished for exceeding piety— Hana- 
meel, Jeremiah’s cousin (Jer. xxxii. 7 ; Pirke K. El. 
xxxiii.). In Sifre, Ndm. 78 he is expressly desig- 
nated as a prophet, David Luria’s emendation of 
the passage in note 59 to the Pirke being, therefore, 
justified. Shallum and bis wife were descendants 
of Rahab by her marriage with Joshua (Sifre, l.c.\ 
Meg. 14b). 

w. b. -k* *** 

4. A Judaiiite (I Chron. ii. 40 et seq.). 

5. A descendant of Simeon {Lb. iv. 25). _ 

6. A high priest; son of Zadok ( ib . vi. 12-ld; 

Ezra vii. 12). 

7. A son of Naphtali (I Chron. vii. 13; “Shillem 
in Gen. xlvi. 24 and Hum. xxvi. 49). 

8. Ancestor of a family of gatekeepers of the 
sanctuary (I Chron. ix. 17 ; Ezra ii. 42 = Nell. vii. ^5). 

9. A Korahite gatekeeper (I Chron. ix. 19; 

“ Slielemiali,” ib. xxvi. 14; “Meslielemiah,” ib. xxvi. 
12 9) 

’ lb. Father of Jehizkiah, an Ephraimite chief (II 

Chron. xxviii. 12). . 

11 , 12. A porter (Ezra x. 24), and a son of Bam 
{ib. x. 42), both of whom took foreign wives. 

13. Uncle of Jeremiah from whom the prophet 
bought the field in Anathoth (Jer. xxxii. 7). 

14. The son of Halohesh (R. Y. “ Hallohesh” ) ; 
he was among those who helped to repair the wall 
of Jerusalem (Nell. iii. 12). 

15. Father of Maaseiah ; keeper of the threshold 
(Jer. xxxv. 4). 

16. Son of Col-hozeh (Nell. iii. 15). 

E. G. II. . S' L 

SHALMANESER ; Enemessar in 

Tobit i. 2, 18, 15; Salmanasar or Salmanassar 
in II Esd. xiii. 40); King of Assyria from 727 to 722 
b.c. ; successor, and possibly son, of Tiglath-pileser 
XIX, According to II Kings xvii. 3-6, be attacked 
Hoshea, King of Israel, and made him his vassal. 
Later Hoshea conspired with So (probably Sabako), 
King of Egypt, and did not send tbe customary 
tribute. Therefore the King of Assyria invaded 
Israel, put Hoshea in prison, attacked Samaria, and, 
after a siege of three years, took the city and carried 
Israel captive to Assyria. No records of Shalman- 
eser have been found among tlie Assyrian inscrip- 
tions. The Assyrian form of bis name is “ Shulma- 
nuasbarid ” ; and lie was the fourth king of Assyria 
who bore that name. According to the Babylonian 
Chronicle (Schrader, “K. B.” ii. 276), “he sat on the 
throne the 25th of Tebetu. The city Samara’m 
[— Samaria] he destroyed. In his fifth year he died. 
Five years had- lie reigned in Assyria. The As- 
syrian eponym canon gives the names of the epo- 
nyms for the five years of his reign, and states that 
military expeditions were undertaken in the third, 
fourth, and fifth years; but the destination of these 
is not given. Some of the standard lion-weights 
found at Kalah hear his name. 

Tiglath-pileser claims to have put Hoshea upon 
the throne, so that king’s vassalage began before 



Shalom 

Shamir 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


228 



i 

i 


Shalmaneser’s accession. Sargon, the successor of 
Shalmaneser, and apparently the founder of a new 
dynasty, in one of his inscriptions accuses Shal- 
maneser of having deprived the city of Asshurof its 
ancient rights. He claims also to have taken Sa- 
maria, which probably fell into the hands of the be- 
siegers about the time of or shortly after the death 
of Shalmaneser. The facts that this king had also 
invaded Philistia and that Sargon completed the 
subjugation of that country are probably referred 
to in Isa. xiv. 28-32 (II. P. Smith, “Old Testament 
History,” p. 241), 

Bibliography : McCurdy, History, Prophecy, and the Monu- 
ments , vol. i., sections 342-349 ; Schrader, C. I. O. T. 2d ed., 

Eng. transl., pp. 258-263; Good speed, Hint, of Babylonians 

a; nd Assyrians ; Rogers, Hist, of Babylonia and Assyria. 

J. J. F. McL. 

SHALOM, ABRAHAM BEN ISAAC BEN 
JUDAH BEN SAMUEL: Italian scholar and 
theologian ; died in 1492. In his “Newell Shalom ” 
(1574) he places Scriptural and Talmudic knowl- 
edge far above philosophy, although Ire admits that 
investigation is not only permissible, but necessary 
for the perfection of Scriptural knowledge. His 
translation of Marsilius Ingen us’ work on logic, to 
which he contributed a preface, was published by 
Jellinek (“Ha-Karmel,” vi. 12). According to De 
Rossi, he wrote a commentary on Al-Gliazali’s 
“ Natural Philosophy. ” 

Bibliography : Stemsehneider, ITebrclische Uebersetzungen , 
p. 469. 

E. c. J. L. S. 

SHALOM BEN JOSEPH SHABBEZI 

(Salim al-Shibzi) : Yemenite poet and cabalist ; 
flourished toward the end of the seventeenth century 
at Ta‘iz, a city ten days’ journey south of Sanaa. 
He was a weaver by trade, but occupied himself also 
with cabalistic literature, especially the Zohar and 
the “ Slii/ur Komah.” He wrote poems both in He- 
brew and in Arabic, many of his hymns having one 
half Of each verse in one language and the remain- 
ing half in the other. Most of the liturgical hymns 
recited by the Yemenite Jews on the Sabbath and 
on holy days, as may be seen from Neubauer, “ Cat. 
Bodl. Hebr. MSS.” No. 2377, were composed by 
Shalom. But, like Israel Najara, he wrote also 
many love-songs with a mystical tendency, some of 
which, in Hebrew, were published by Jacob Saphir 
in bis “Eben Sappir” (i. 82b-87b). David Giinz- 
burg published in the “Steinschneider Festschrift” 
(Hebrew part, pp. 95 et seq.) an Arabic dirge com- 
posed by Shalom in 1G87 on a catastrophe at the 
Yemenite town of Mauza*. This dirge, of the “mu- 
washshah ” class (a poem with double rimes), was 
taken by the editor from Shalom’s “Diwan,” then 
in his possession. It may be added that Shalom’s 
brother David and his son Simeon also were poets 
of mark. Poems by them are contained in the Bod- 
leian manuscript mentioned above. 

Shalom is considered as a saint by all the Yemenite 
Jews, and they attribute to him many miracles. 
His tomb at Ta‘iz, near which are a ritual bath 
(“mils well ”) and a prayer-house with a scroll of the 
Law written by Shalom himself, is reputed to have 
curative powers in regard to all diseases. Jacob 
Saphir declares that he saw other cabalistic works 
by Shalom, besides his “ Diwan.” 


Bibliography: Jacob Saphir, Eben Sappir , i. 67b, 82a et seq.; 
Steinschneider, Die Arabische Literatur der Juden , § 214. 
S. M. Sel. 

SHALOM OF VIENNA : Austrian rabbi; lived 
at Wiener-Ncustadt in the second half of the four- 
teenth century. He was distinguished for Tal- 
mudic learning, and was the first to receive the 
title “Morenu.” Like liis colleagues Mei'r ha-Levi 
and Abraham Klausner, rabbis at Vienna, he devoted 
himself to recording the religious customs (“min- 
hagim ”) of the Jewish communities. His collection 
is contained in the “Minhagim” of his pupil Jacob 
Molln. Another of his disciples, Isaac Tyrnau of 
Hungary, also made a compilation of minhagim. 

Bibliography: Azulai, Shem ha-Gedolim , i. 112; Griitz, 
Gesch. viii. 12; Michael, Or ha-flayyim , p. 498; Heilprin, 
Seder ha-Dorot , i. 233, 290. 

d. S. Man. 

SHAMGAR. — Biblical Data : One of the 
Judges; son of Anatli. He smote 600 Philistines 
Avith an ox-goad and saved Israel (Judges iii. 31). 
During liis judgeship so unsettled were the times 
that “the highways were unoccupied, and the trav- 
elers walked through byways ” (ib. v. 6). 

Critical View : In the song of Deborah 

(Judges v. 6) Shamgar is connected with the hour 
of Israel’s deepest humiliation. He was, therefore, 
probably not a judge, but a foreign oppressor of 
Israel. From the form of his name it has been con- 
jectured that he may have been a Ilittite (comp. 
“Sangar,” Hittite king of Carcliemisli in the ninth 
century b.o.); Moore, in “Jour. American Oriental 
Society ” (xix. 2, p. 160), shows reason for believing 
that he was the father of Sisera. 

Judges iii. 31, in which Shamgar is first men- 
tioned, is out of place, the whole verse being a late 
addition to the chapter. Oh. iv., the story of Jabin 
and Sisera, connects directly with the story of 
Ehud. Moreover, the introduction of the Philistines 
is suspicious, for they do not appear in Hebrew his- 
tory till shortly before the time of Saul. Moore has 
noted also that in a group of Greek manuscripts, 
and likewise in the Hexaplar Syriac, Armenian, and 
Slavonic versions, this verse is inserted after the 
account of the exploits of Samson, immediately fol- 
lowing Judges xvi. 31, in a form which proves that 
it was once a part of the Hebrew text. It was ob- 
served long ago that this exploit resembled the ex- 
ploits of David’s heroes (II Sam. xxi. 15-22, xxiii. 8 
et seq.), especially those of Shammali, son of Agee 
{ib. xxiii. 11 et seq.). Probabty an account similar 
to this last was first attached to Judges xvi. 31 ; then 
the name was in course of time corrupted to 
“Shamgar,” through the influence of cli. v. 6; and, 
lastly, the statement was transferred to eh. iii. 31, 
so that it might occur before the reference in ch. v. 

Bibliography: Moore, Judges , in International Critical 
Commentary , 1895, pp. 104 et seq.; Budde. Richter , in K. H. 
C. 1897, p. 32; Nowack, Richter , in his Handlmmmentar, 
1902, pp. 30 et seq.; Moore, Shamgar and Sisera , in Jour. 
American Oriental Society , xix. 2, pp. 159, 160. 
e. g. n. G. A. B. 

SHAMHAZAI(or Shamahzai, from “ Shamay- 
hazai” = seizer of the heaven): Name of a fallen 
angel. According to Targ. pseudo-Jonathan on Gen. 
vi. 4, “nefilim” (A. V. “giants”) denotes the two 
angels Shamhazai and his companion Uzzael or 



229 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Shalom 

Shamir 


-fzael, who fell from heaven and onj^ “in 

tliose days,” that is, at the time of the Flood. The 
lea-end of the fall of these two angels is narrated in 
ml, Irish as follows : When God became angry at the 
ehUike^of men because of -their idolatry in the time 
before the Flood, the two angels Slianfflazai and 
Si arose and said: “Lord of the world said we 
not. unto Thee at the foundation of the world, 

■ Man is not worthy that thou sliouldst he mindful of 
i ’ ? ” God-answered them : “ It is plain andmm- 
fest to me that if ye should dwell on earth evil 
nassion w'ould rule you, and ye would be still base 
than they.” Thereupon the angels besought per- 
mission to live among mankind and to hallow the 
name of God upon earth. This was granted taem , 
but when they had descended from heaven to eaitli, 
they could not restrain tlieir infatuation for the beau 
tiful daughters of men. Shamhazai became enarn 
ored of a maiden named Istar; but when he asl e 
her to return his love, she declared that she .vould 
do so only on condition that he reveal to her 
name of God (“Shem lia-Meforash ”), by which lie 
Ts able to ascend to heaven. When however he 
revealed tlio name to her, she uttered it, and at once 
ascended to the sky. The baffled Shamliazai married 
another woman; by her he had a son named | ja 
or Aliiyali, who became the father ot bihon 

^"when Shamliazai heard that God was about to 
brin cr the Flood upon the world, he was in agony 
for his children’s sake, and for penance suspended 
himself head downward from the sky, remaining 
in this position between heaven and earth (Midi. 
Abldr, in Talk., Gen. 44; Jellinek, B. H. iv. 

12 3ding to the Book of Enoch, Semyaza as 
Shamhazai is there called, did not descend « 

the name of God on earth, but fell together with 
Azael and his host of 200 angels, because of his 
iufatuation for the daughters ot men. He was 
therefore bound by Michael at the com ™ an . 
God, and lies in prison beneath the mountains, 

there he will remain until the day of ’ 

when punishment will be measured out to lnm and 
to his companions (ib. vi. 3 et seq., x. 10 e seq.). 

W. B. J ’ Z ’ L ' 


SHAMIR : Term designating a hard stone m the 
Targums, but in the Bible thrice (Jer. xvn. 1 ; Ezek. 
iii 9 • Zecli. vii. 12) connoting Adamant, a sub- 
stance harder than any stone and lienee used as a 
stylus (L5w, “Graphisclie Requisiten i. 181-183 
Leipsic, 1870; Cassel, “Schamir,” m “Denkscl iiftcn 
der Koniglichen Akademie der Wissenschaften m 
Erfurt ” p. 63, Erfurt, 1S56). In the post-Biblical 
literature of both Jews and Christians are found 
many legends concerning the sliaroir, its quality ot 
splitting the hardest substance being the property 
especially emphasized. . 

The Shamir was the seventh of the ien umrye 
created in the evening twilight of the first F. day 
(Ah. v.6; comp. Pes. 54a; Sifre, Deut. 35o, Melt., 
Beshallali, 5 [ed. Weiss, p. 59b; ed. Friedmann p. 
51a]), and it was followed, significantly enough by 
the creation of writing, the stylus, and the two tables 
nf stone. Its size was that of a grain of barley ; it was 


created after the 'six days of creation. Nothing was 
sufficiently hard to withstand it; when it was placed 
on stones they split in the manner in 
A Marvel which the leaves of a book open ; and 
of iron was broken by its mere presence. 
Creation. The shamir was wrapped for pres- 
ervation in spongy balls of wool and 
laid in a leaden box filled with barley bran. 

With the help , of this stone Moses engraved the 
names of the twelve tribes on the breastplate of 
the high priest, first writing on the stones with 
ink and then holding the shamir over them, where- 
upon the writing sank into the stones. With its aid. 
moreover, Solomon built the Temple without using 
any tool of iron (comp. I Kings vi. 7; Ex. xx. 2o. 
Tosef., Sotah, xv. 1 [ed. Zuckermandel, p. 321], bo- 
tah 48b • Yer. Sotah 24b). The shamir was expressly 

created’ for this latter purpose, since it ceased to 
exist after the destruction of the Temple (Sotah ix., 

10 Acconl f ing V to t one legend, an eagle brought the 
shamir from paradise to Solomon at the lattei s 
command (Tails- ii. 182), while another tradition 
runs as follows: When Solomon asked the Babb s 
how he could build the Temple without using tools 
of iron, they called ins attention to the shamir with 
which Moses had engraved the names of the tubes 
on the breastplate of the high priest, and advised 
him to command the demons under Ins sway to ob- 
tain it for him. Solomon accordingly summoned 
AsmodetjS, the prince of the demons, who told him 
that the shamir had been placed not in Ins charge, 
but in that of the Prince of the Sea; the prince en- 
trusted it only to the wood-grouse, in whose oath 
he confided. The wood-grouse used the shamir to 
cleave bare rocks so that he might plant seeds of 
trees in them and thus cause new vegetation to spiing 
up- hence the bird was called the Tock-splittei 
(N-i’lD -vi 3 ). The shamir was taken from the wood- 
grouse by the following ruse: Its nest was found 
and its young covered with white glass. The bud 
then brought the shamir and put it on the glass, 
which broke; at that moment Solomon’s emissary, 
who had concealed himself close by, frightened the 
bird so that it dropped the shamir, which was im- 
mediately seized and taken to Solomon. The wood- 
grouse killed itself because it had violated its oath 

(G This 8 last account is Babylonian in origin, and both 
language and content prove that it w-as a legend of 

S S the people rather than a tradition of the 

Folk- schools, as is the case with the stones 
Legends, mentioned above. There were, how- 
g ever, learned circles in Palestine which 

refused to credit the use of the shamir by Solomon 
(Mek Yitro, end). Others, however believed 
Et Solomon employed it in the bin drug of Ins 
palace but not in the construction of the Temple 
evidently taking exception to the magical element 
suv vested by a leaden box as a place of conceal- 
ment, for in magic brass is used to jbreakj enchan - 
ment and to drive away demons 
Sotah 24b). It was a miracle, on the Whe 1 kanO, 
and not magic if the Temple as niany believed, 
built itself (Pesik. K. 6. [ed. Friedmann p. 25a]). 
Oninion is divided concerning the natuie of the 


Shamir 

Shanghai 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


230 


- shamir. Jewish tradition unanimously declares it 
to be a small worm (Raslii, Pes. 54a, overlooked by 
Grunbaum [“Gesammelte Aufsiitze,” p. 82]; Mai- 
monides, commentary on Ab. 5, 6), this view having 
a textual basis. Cassel, on the other hand, consid- 
ered the shamir to be a powder of corundum, de- 
veloping his theory as follows: “ From the powdery 
emery was made a living creature of infinite minute- 
ness, regarded by r later authorities as a worm, al- 
though rabbinical tradition itself merely terms it 
‘shamir* without the addition of ‘worm’ or any 
other term ” (l.c. p. 69). This view, however, is 
rightly rejected by Low. According to another 
legend, the wood-grouse used a herb to burn or 
draw out a wooden nail (Lev. R. xxii. 4 and paral- 
lels), this herb being hidden by Simeon b. Halafta 
lest it should fall into the hands of thieves. A sim- 
ilar story is told by iElian of the hoopoe (“ Historia 
Aniinalium.” iii. 26; Cassel, l.c. p. 78; comp, other 
Oriental and classical parallels given by Bochart, 
Cassel, and Grunbaum). 

The tradition of the shamir was carried from the 
Jews to the Arabs (Grunbaum, “Neue Beitrage,” 
passim , especially p. 229); in Arabic tradition 
Solomon, under instructions from Gabriel, has re- 
course to a worm when he desires to bore through a 
pearl, and to a white worm when he 
Arab wishes to thread the onyx (Grlinbaum, 
Legends, lx. p. 218). The belief was still current 
in the Middle Ages, since it is found in 
the Cabala (Zohar, i. 74; see stoiy of Solomon in Jel- 
linek, “ B. H. ” ii. 86). According to the English ver- 
sion of the “ Gesta Romanorum ” (ed. Grasse, ii. 227), 
the emperor Diocletian enclosed in a glass case a 
3 r oung ostrich found in the forest and carried it to his 
palace. He was followed by the mother, who, that 
she might regain her young, brought in her beak on 
the third day a “tlmmare” (shamir), a worm, and 
dropped it on the glass, which was thus broken. Vin- 
cent of Beauvais, Gervase of Tilbury, and Albertus 
Magnus relate similar stories, and the last-named ex- 
pressly gives Jewish tradition as his source (Cassel, 
lx. pp. 50 ct seq., 77 et seq.). The other two writers, 
in the true spirit of medievalism, give a remarkable 
variant to the effect that the bird smeared the glass 
with the blood of the worm and so broke it. 


Bibliography : Bochart, Hicrmnieon , ii. 843, 842 et seq ; P 
Cassel, Schamir , in Benkschriftcn dcr Koniglichen Altade- 
mie dcr Wissenschaften in Erfurt. Erfurt, 1856: Lewvsohn, 
Zoolog ie des Talnvuds. § 500, Frankfort-on-tHe-Main, 1858; 
Kohut, Angclologie und DCimonologie, p. 82, Leipsic., 3866; 
idem, Completum , viii. 107; Levy, Neuhehr. WOr - 

terb. iv. 579; Grunbaum, in Z. D. M. G. xxxi. 204 et seq.'. 
idem, Gesammelte Aufsiitze. pp. 31-43, Berlin, 1901 ; idem, 
JSteuc Beitrage zur Semitischen Sagenbunde , pp. 211 et seq.. 
Leyden, 1893; Hamburger, R. B. T. ii. 1079-1080. 
w - L. B. 


SHAMMAI (called also Shammai ha-Zaken 
r = M the Elder ”]) : Scholar of the first century b.c. 
He was the most eminent contemporary and the 
halakic opponent of Hilled, and is almost invari- 
ably mentioned along with him. After Menahem 


the Essene had resigned the office of vice-president 
(“ab bet din”) of the Sanhedrin, Shammai was 
elected to it, Hillel being at the time president 
(“nasi ”; Hag. ii. 2). Shammai was undoubtedly a 
Palestinian, and lienee took an active part in all the 
political and religious complications of his native 
land. Of an irascible temperament and easily ex- 


cited,, he lacked the gentleness and tireless patience 
which so distinguished Hillel. Once, when a heathen 
came to him and asked to be converted to Judaism 
upon conditions which Shammai held to he impossi- 
ble, he drove the applicant away; whereas Hillel, 
by his gentle manner, succeeded in converting him 
(Shab. 31a). 

Nevertheless Shammai was in no wise a misan- 
thrope. He himself appears to have realized the 
disadvantages of his violent temper ; hence he recom- 
mended a friendly attitude toward all. I-Iis motto 
was: “Make the study of the Law thy chief occu- 
pation; speak little, but accomplish much; and re- 
ceive every man with a friendly countenance” (Ab. 
i. 15). He was modest even toward his pupils (B. B. 
134b; comp. Weiss, “Dor,” i. 163, note 1). 

In liis religious views Shammai was strict in the 
extreme. He wished to make his son, while still a 
child, conform to the law regarding fasting on the 
Day of Atonement ; and he was dissuaded from his 
purpose only' through the insistence of his friends 
(Yoma 77b). Once, when his daughter-in-law gave 
birth to a hoy on tbe Feast of Tabernacles, he broke 
through the roof of the chamber in which she lay in 
order to make a sukkah of it, so that his new-born 
grandchild might fulfil the religious obligation of 
the festival (Suk. 28a). Some of his sayings also 
indicate his strictness in the fulfilment of religious 
duties (comp. Bezah 16a). 

In Sifre, Dent. § 203 (ed. Friedmann, 111b) it is 
said that Shammai commented exegetically upon 
three passages of Scripture. These three examples 
of his exegesis are: (1) the interpretation of Deut. 
xx. 20 (Tosef., c Er. iii. 7); (2) that of II Sam. xii. 9 
(Kid. 43a); and (3) cither the interpretation of Lev. 
xi. 34, which is given anonymously in Si fra on the 
| passage, but which is the basis for Sliammai’s liala- 
kali transmitted in ‘Orlah ii. 5, or else the interpre- 
tation of Ex. xx. 8 (“ Remember tbe Sabbath ”), which 
is given in tbe Mekilta, Yitro, 7 (ed. Weiss, p. 76b) 
in the name of Eleazar b. Hauaniah, but which 
must have originated with Shammai, with whose 
custom of preparing for the Sabbath (Bezah lx.) it 
accords. 

Shammai founded a school of his own, which dif- 
fered fundamentally from that of Hillel (see Bet 
Hillel and Bet Shammai); and many of Sham- 
mai's sayings are probably embodied in those handed 
down in the name of his school. 

Bibliography: Gratz, Gcsch . iii. 213-214: Weiss, Dor. i. 163- 
164, 170-174; Bacher, Ag. Tan. i. 11-12; Frankel, Hode- 
getiea in Mischnam , pp. 39-40, Leipsio, 1859. 
w. b. J. Z. L. 

3HAMJYEAITES. See Bet IItllel and Bet 
Shammai. 

SHAMMASH (lit. “servant”): Communal and 
synagogal officer whose duties to some extent corre- 
spond with those of the verger and beadle. In Tal- 
mudical times he was called “hazzan ”; and then it 
was also a part of his duties to assist in reciting 
some of the prayers (see Jew. Encyc. vi. 284-285, 
s.v. Hazzan). But early in the Middle Ages the term 
“ shammash ” was already in vogue ; and Raslii almost 
always renders it for the Talinudical “hazzan.” 

In the quasi-autonomous Jewish communities of 
the Middle Ages the shammash was an officer of 



231 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Shamir 

Shanghai 


considerable power and responsibility. “ He assessed 
the members according to their means • • • a “ 
was a sort of permanent under-secietaiy-of- 
; t :, t ' e who governed while the parnas was supposed 
to nde” (Jacobs, “Jewish Year Book” for 56o8 
[1897-98], p. 262, London, 1897). He was the ovei 

seer of the synagogue and the executor of the sei - 
the Jewish tribunal (“ bet dm ”), in which 


mures of the jewisu \ r r , 

capacity he also inflicted corporal punishment on 
those whom the Jewish court con- 
Functions, drained to that penalty. In some lo 
calities it was part of Ins duty to an 
aounco every Saturday the results of lawsuits and 
to inform the community concerning propeities 
which were to be sold. He acted also as the public 
crier and, ascending to a high roof on Friday aftei- 
noon, notified the community, with a blast of the 
trumpet thrice repeated at long intervals, that work 
must cease. In later periods a wooden mallet was 
substituted for the sliofar or trumpet, and notice 
was given by rapping on the gates that it was time 
to prepare for attendance at the synagogue. The 
sham mash also made announcements m the edifice 
itself sometimes interrupting the prayers to do so. 

He carried invitations to private festivities, and re- 
minded members of the congregation of tlieir duties, 
such as leaving their hoots at home on the eve ot 
the Day of Atonement and observing certain mourn- 
ing rites on the Ninth of Ab in case it fell on the 

\i the large communities and in the Jewish cities 
which developed in Poland in tlie sixteenth and 
following centuries it naturally became impossible 
for the shammash to perform all the duties which 
were originally connected with hisoflice in the small 
communities of the Middle Ages; and many of 
them devolved upou subordinates or upon specia 
siiammasliim, while other services were relegated to 
men who no longer bore the title of shammash. 
Every synagogue in the Slavonic countries usually 
lias a shammash, who is merely an overseer and is 
assisted by an “ unter-shammasli,” the latter acting as 
lanitorof the building and performing such manual 
labor as sweeping tlio floors, cleaning the candle- 
sticks, etc. The synagogal shammash and his as- 
sistant have charge also of the ^lnirnn 
“pcrushim,” i.e., the unmarried and the mairied 
Tulmudical students who make the synagogue their 
home; and the influence of the shammash is exerted 
to procure “days” for the former, that is, to find 
seven households in each of which the poor student 
may be fed on one day in the week. A laige com- 
munity, however, has besides the " sclml-shani 
mash,” whose duties and privileges are confined 
to his own synagogue, one or moie 
“ stadt-sliammashim ” or city sham- 
mashim, who are under the immediate 
jurisdiction of the rabbi and the Ka- 
jial, or of the representatives and 
leaders of the entire communal organi- 
nation. The city shammash usually acts as sham- 
mash of the chief place of worship, and in very large 
communities, where there are often as many as eigh 
or ten city siiammasliim, each of them in turn f u fi s 
this duty for a certain time. 

The SeiiULKLOPFETt (one who calls the congrega 


tion to the synagogue by rapping on the gates with 
a wooden mallet), who is now disappearing even 
from the most backward communities, and who is 
only a memory in the larger cities of eastern Europe, 
and the “ better ” (inviter), who goes from house to 
house inviting tlie occupants to a marriage or a 
“ berit milali,” are two of tlie functionaries upon 
whom have devolved some of the duties of the sham- 
mash, but who have not inherited his title. There 
remains, however, the “bet din shammash,” or sham- 
mash of the Jewish court of dayyanim, who is the 
“ sheliali bet din” (messenger of. tlie court) ot lal- 
mudicai times, and whose office probably always had 
a separate existence, except in very 
The Bet small communities. There is also the 
Din Sham- shammash of the Hebra Kaddisha 
mash. (burial society), whose duties are 
analogous to those of a sexton. 

In the United States every Orthodox synagogue 
has its shammash, who performs most of the duties 
of the “ schul-shammash ” of the Old World. • He is 
as a rule better paid than bis confrere in Europe, 
and often lias much influence in congregational 
matters The office of bet din shammash is found 
to-day only in the large Jewish centers where rabbis 
establish a bet din on their own account. As there 
are no separate communal organizations foimmg 
municipalities in the United States, the office of city 
shammash does not exist in that country. 

In modem Jewish Reform temples the sexton per- 
forms all the duties of the original shammash which 
remain under the new arrangements. 

The term “shammash” is applied also to the can- 
dle by means of which the Haktjkkah lights aie 
lighted and which has a defined position in every 
well-constructed Hanukkah lamp. 


S chul - 
and Stadt- 
Sham- 
mash. 


s.v. Hazzan. p 

SHANGHAI : Chinese city. The first Jew who 
arrived there was Elias David Sassoon, who, about 
the year 1850, opened a branch in connection with 
his father’s Bombay house. Since that period Jews 
have gradually migrated from India to Shanghai, 
most of them being engaged from Bombay as clerks 
bv the firm of David Sassoon & Co. The commu- 
nity is composed mainly of Asiatic, German and 
Russian Jews, though there are a few of Austnan 
French, and Italian origin among them. Jews have 
undoubtedly taken a considerable part m de veloping 

trade in China, and several have served on the 
municipal councils, among them being S A^ Har- 
doon. partner in the firm of E. D. Sas 
Opium soon & Co., who had served on the 

Trade. French and English councils at the 

same time. During the early days ot 
Jewish settlement in Shanghai the trade in opium 
and Bombay cotton yarn was mainly m Jewish 
liciiids 

Early iu the seventies a hall was lured for pur- 
poses of worship ; now (1905) there are two smal syn- 
agogues iu Shanghai. One of these, the Beth El 
synagogue, is situated in Peking road, one of the 
principal thoroughfares m the English settleme , 
the other, tlie Sliearith Israel synagogue, is situated 



Shangi 

Sharon 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


232 


in Seward road, the best and busiest street in the 
American settlement. The latter synagogue was 
established about 1898 by D. E. J. Abraham. At 
present the German Jews form themselves into a 
congregation during the New -Year and Yom Kip- 
pur holy days, rent a place of worship, and em- 
ploy tlieir own hazzan. The community possesses a 
cemetery in Mohawk road, presented to it by David 
Sassoon. In Nov., 1898, a branch of the Anglo- 
Jewish Association was established at Shanghai. 

A Rescue Society was established in 1900 to open 
communications with the Jews of the orphan colony 
of K’ai-Fung-Foo, and in April, 1901, eight of the 
Chinese Jews arrived in Shanghai (see China). In 
Nov., 1902, it was resolved to form a Talmud Torah 
school, to be known as the Shanghai Jewish School. 
The Shanghai Zionist Association was established 
April 26, 1903, and was represented at the Sixth 
Zionist Congress, held at Basel. On Feb. 11, 1904, 
a Jewish Benevolent Fund was founded. A bi- 
weekly paper entitled “Israel’s Messenger” was 
established on April 22, 1904. The total population 
of the city is 620,000, of whom about 500 are Jews. 
J. ‘ N. E. B. E. 

SHANGI: Turkish family many members of 
which distinguished themselves as rabbis and 
scholars. 

Astruc ben David Shangi : Rabbi at Sofia, 
Bulgaria; died at Jerusalem at the beginning of the 
seventeenth century. A halakie decision of his 
is given by Hayyim Benveniste in liis “Sheyare 
Keneset ha-Gedolah ” on the Sliulhan ‘Aruk, Orali 
Hayyim, 174 (Smyrna, 1671; corap. Conforte, “Kore 
ha-Dorot,” 5lb). 

David Shangi : Rabbi at Constantinople at the 
end of the sixteenth century and at the beginning 
of the seventeenth. His scholarship and character 
were highly praised in the sermon delivered on his 
death by Isaac ibu Yega, who published it in his 
“Bet Ne’eman ” (1621). 

Eliezer ben Nissim Shangi : Rabbi at Con- 
stantinople in the seventeenth and eighteenth cen- 
turies. He was a prolific writer; hut most of his 
works -were destroyed by a fire in 1712. Those 
which have been published are: “ Hakdamah,” pref- 
ace to the responsa collection ‘“Edut be-Yehosef” 
of Joseph Almosnino (Constantinople, 1711); a re- 
sponsum inserted by Moses Shelton in his “Bene 
Mosheli ” {ib. 1712) ; “ Dat wa-Din ” {ib. 1726), in 
three parts: (1) sermons arranged in the order of the 
Sabbatical sections; (2) responsa; and (3) lialakic de- 
cisions of the author's brother, Jacob Shangi. 

Isaac ben Elhanan Shangi : Rabbi at Salonica ; 
died at Jerusalem in the first half of the eighteenth 
century. He was the author of: “Be’er Yizhak,” 
homilies on Genesis and Exodus, with thirty-two 
funeral sermons entitled “Be’er Behai,” published 
by I. Crispin at Salonica in 1735 ; “ Sefer Be’erot lia- 
Mayim ” {ib. 1755), responsa on the four Turim. 

Me'ir Shangi: Rabbi at Constantinople in the 
second half of the sixteenth century. He was the 
author of the preface to the “ Yefeh To’ar ” of Sam- 
uel Jafe (Venice, 1597). 

Bibliography: Azulai, Shem ha-Gedolim , s.v.; Steinschnei- 
der. Cat. Uadi, s.v.; Fiirst, Bihl. Jud. III.; Fuenn, Keneset 
Yisracl , pp. 160, 665. 

s. I. Bit. 


SHAPHAN : 1. Son of Azaliali and scribe of 
King Josiah. He received from Ililkiah, the high 
priest, the book of the Law which had been found 
in the Temple. Sliaphan was one of those sent by 
the king to the prophetess Huldah (II Kings xxii. ; 
II Cliron. xxxiv.). In Jer. xxxvi. 10-12 mention is 
made of the hall in which, in the reign of King Je- 
lioiakim, Shaphan's son officiated. 

2. Father of Ahikam, who was sent, with others, 
by King Josiah to the prophetess Huldah, and who 
subsequently saved Jeremiah from his persecu- 
tors (II Kings xxii. 12; II Cliron. xxxiv. 20; Jer. 
xxvi. 24). 

3. Father of Elasah, to whom Jeremiah gave a 
letter to the exiles in Babylon (Jer. xxix. 3). 

4. Father of Jaazaniali, who was one of the sev- 
enty men whom Ezekiel in his vision of the Temple 
saw sacrificing to idols (Ezek. viii. 11). 

E. G. ii. S. O. 

SHAPIRA, ISAIAH MEIB K AH AN A r 

Polish-German rabbi and author; born at Memel, 
Prussia, July 28, 1828; died at Czortkow, Galicia, 
Jau. 9, 1887. He is said to have been familiar at 
the age of thirteen with all the “sedarim” of both 
Talmudim and with a part of the “ poskim. ” About 
1845 he studied philosophy, mathematics, and as- 
tronomy, and as early as 1848 he wrote on ethics 
for different journals. Shapira engaged in business 
as a merchant ; but a fire destroyed all his belong- 
ings, and be was compelled to accept the rab- 
binate of Czortkow. Before assuming office, how- 
ever, he went to Lemberg to train himself in the 
necessary secular studies. He studied philosophy, 
ethics, and theology in the academy there for nine 
months, and was installed as rabbi in 1860. After 
two years a quarrel broke out between the two 
Hasidic sects in the town. Shapira interposing to 
make peace, the brunt of the dissension was turned 
against him and his inclination to secular education; 
and he was for a time even deprived of his livelihood. 
Peace was, however, soon restored. The last ten 
3 r ears of his life Shapira spent in retirement. 

Besides numerous contributions to different He- 
brew periodicals, he wrote: “Hakirat Reshit le- 
Yamim” (Lyck, 1872), on chronology and the calen- 
dar, in opposition to H. S. Slonimski; and “Sefer 
Zikkaron” (Eydtkuhnen, 1872), on the oral law, 
written in the form of a dialogue. 

Bibliography : Ha-Amf , iv. 78 ; Fuenn, Keneset Yisrael , ii. 
359 ; Ha-May gid, 1887, No. 3 ; Zeitlin, Bibl. Post-Mendels . 
p. 338. 

II. K. A. S. W. 

SHAPIRA, M. W. : Polish purveyor of spuri- 
ous antiquities; born about 1830; committed sui- 
cide at Rotterdam March 11, 1884. He appears to 
have been converted to Christianity at an early age, 
and to have then gone to Palestine, where he opened 
a store for the sale of local antiquities. After the 
discovery of the Moabite Stone he obtained, in 1872, 
a number of Moabite potteries, which were pur- 
chased by the Prussian government for 22,000 
thaler. These, however, were proved by Clermont- 
Ganneau to have been fabricated by one Salim al- 
Kari, a client of Shapira’s. This conclusion was 
confirmed by Kautzsch and Socin (“Aechtheit 
der Moabitischen Alterthumer,” Strasburg, 1876), 



233 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Skangi 

Sharon 


thou eli Bclilottmann and Kocli for some time upheld 
U .ei/authenticity. The matter was brought before 
p,.,,coian Landtag March 10. 187b. 

Shapira still continued to buy and sell antiquities 
.«d manuscripts, many of. the earliest Yemenite He- 
rel v manuscripts purchased by the Berlin Royal 
T ibraryaud the Britisli Museum being furnished by 

im In July, 1883. he offered for sale to the Brit- 
ish Museum, it is said for £1,000.000, a number of 
strips of leather bearing, in archaic Hebrew chaiac- 
tei/ matter similar to, but with many variations 
from, the speeches of Moses in the Book of Deutei- 
onomy. These he declared he had received Horn a 
Bedouin who had found them in a cave in Moab. 
Great interest was shown in these fragments wl ic 
were examined by C. D. Ginsbhrg, who published 
translations of them in the London “Times Aug 
i 17 and 22, 1883. Commissioned by the bientn 
government to investigate into the authenticity ^ of 
these writings, Clermont-Ganneau arrived in London 

Au"- 15 1883, and applied for permission to see them, 

whfch was refused by the British Museum authori- 
ties at the request of Shapira. Notwithstanding 
this, from an examination of the strips exhibited ^ 
the public, he was enabled to publish in the T- unes 
of Aug. 18 a convincing proof of their spurious na- 
ture The forger had taken the lower margin of some 
c oilsof the Law and written his variants of Deute 
ronomy upon them, but they still showed Paces of the 
stylus used to mark off the original columns, otei 
which the new writing extended without regard o 
them. Ginsburg shortly afterward reported to the 
British Museum that the document was spurious. 
KL then went to Amsterdam and Rotterdam in 
which latter city he committed suicide as sta e l 
above It was never definitely proved that lie him- 
self was the forger. The text of the fragments was 
published by Gutlie (“ Fragmente emer Lederliand- 
schrift,” Leipsic, 1884). 

M - Jv - Paris - 

1885. J. 


SHAPIRO, ARYEH LOB B. ISAAC: Po- 
lish rabbi and grammarian; bom 1701; died a 
Wilna April, 1761. He went to Wilna in his child- 
hood, and married a daughter of Mordecai b. Aznel, 
one of its prominent citizens. His Talmudical 
knowledge was extensive, and he studied also matl e- 
matics, grammar, and logic. In his younger days 
he corresponded with the Karaite scholar Solomon 
of Troki, author of “ Appiryon. ” In Ins later yeai s 
Shapiro was a dayyan and scribe of the community 
of Wilna. He was the author of a double commen- 
tary on Masseket Soferim, the two parts of which lie 
called respectively “Nalialat Ariel” and Me on 
Arayot"; they were published together with the 
text at Dyliernfurth in 1732. He wrote also Ke- 
buzat Kesef” (Zollriev, 1741), on Hebrew gram- 
mar. One of his response, dated 1754 is 
“Teshubat Shemu'el” by R. Samuel of Induia 
(Wilna, 1859). 

Bibliography : Fuen n K Iniah nl 

ii. ii. 


SHAPIRO, CONSTANTIN: Russian photog- 
rapher and Hebrew poet; born at Grodno, Russia^ 
1841; died in St. Petersburg March 23,1900 He 
obtained his early education in the yes nbot but at 
the same time, like the other Maskihm (see MaskiM 
of bis age, he studied secretly the Hebrew language 
and literature. He lived in a very fanatical circle, 
and was bitterly persecuted for striving after^eeu 

lar knowledge. Eventually he left his birthplace 
and went to St. Petersburg. There lie entered the 
Academy of Art; but after a short time he left it 
and learned photography. As a photographer 1 e 
published an album containing portraits of Russian 
writers and a collection of illustrations to Sapiski 
Sumashedshavo ” by Gogol. He began 
verses for the Hebrew papers and magazines m 1885. 

His first poem, “ Me-Hezyonot Bat Ynmn created . 

a very strong impression, and at once gained for him 
a place in the foremost rank of Hebrew poets. His 
subsequent poems are distinguished by the same 

characteristics— strength, lightness and simp } 

of diction. The best known of them are: Shire 
Yeshurun”; “Kinnor Yeshurun”; Amarti Yesli 
Li Tikwah,” a translation of Schiller’s ‘Resigna- 
tion” -and “Sodom,” an allegoric description of the 

Dr SS“«i I. — «»>•» . »“ “• «ss 

nevertheless not a very happy one. In SL Pete;^- 
burg he separated from his Jewish wife and, 
after accepting the Russian Orthodox reli ion, 
married a Russian. Till the end of his life, how- 
ever, ho remained at heart a Jew, kindly disposed 
toward his people. The discordance between his 
external position in Christian society, which caused 
Mm to be very often reminded of fata origin, and 
his internal life, which belonged to the persecuted 
people whom he had forsaken resulted m i much 
anguish, which was accentuated by the fact that 
his former coreligionists and friends blamed hi 
severely for his apostasy. These tortures he e - 
pressed in ardent verses, which are among the best 
lyric compositions in the Hebrew language. 
Bibliography: Brockbaus aud Efron, EvtziMopedioheski 
Slovak s.v. g g L r 

II. R. 


SHARON : Large plain of Palestine, witli an 
average elevation of between 280 and 300 feet above 
sea-level- bounded by Mount Carmel on the north, 
Jaffa on the south, the mountains of Gilboa on the 
east and the Mediterranean Sea on the v rest. Its 
principal rivers are the Nabr al-Zarka (Crocodile 
River) and the Nalir Mafjir (the Dead Rnei 
the Crusaders). The soil is fertile ; and the P'a> n > s 
still called “the garden of Palestine, clnetl} on a 
count of its red and white lilies and its anemones. 

The plain of Sharon was famous in Biblical times 
as a pastoral region (Isa. lxv. 10); .andsonieo 
David’s herds fed there (I Cliron. xxvn 29). Utter 
desolation of the country was implied by saying 
that Sharon was turned into a wilderness (Isa. xxxn 
9), although in the Messianic time it is lobe a fold 
for flocks (ib. lxv. 10). The poet dwells on the 
beauty of tlie flowers which blossom there abun- 
dant! j (ib. xxxv. 2): and the Shulamite m Cant ii. 
1 compares herself to the rose of Sharon (comp 
Rose). The comparison with Carmel (Isa. xxxv. 


Shatzkes 
Sheba, Q,ueen of 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


234 


seems to show that at one time there were groves in 
the plain. Josephus, indeed, speaks of a grove near 
Antipatris, while, like the Septuagint, he translates 
the word “Sharon ” by “oak-coppice” (“Ant.” xiv. 
13, §3; “B. J.”i. 13, §2). 

Another Sharon is mentioned by Eusebius (“ Ono- 
masticon ”) as lying between Mount Tabor and Ti- 
berias. To this Sharon the passage Cant. ii. 1 is 
sometimes referred ; but the phrase “ rose of Sharon ” 
was a proverbial one, and from Isa. xxxv. 1 et seq. it 
is evident that the rose there mentioned blossomed 
in the larger plain. The Talmud speaks of the 
wine produced in this latter Sharon (Men. viii. 2; 
Shab. 70a), while the prayer of the high priest on 
the Day of Atonement, “May God watch over the 
inhabitants of Sharon, lest they be buried in the 
ruins of their homes ” (Y er. Y oma v. 3), can refer only 
to those who resided in the eastern Sharon, since no 
earthquakes occurred in the western plain. The 
statement of Eusebius regarding a Sharon situated 
in Galilee is confirmed by the existence of the mod- 
ern Sarona. 

In Josh. xii. 18 the King of Sharon is enumerated 
among the thirty-one kings vanquished by the Israel- 
ites. The “ Sharon ” mentioned in I Cliron. v. 16 ap- 
pears to be the name of a city in the territory of 
Gad, 

Bibliography : Schwarz, Das Heiligc Land pp. 46-47, Frauk- 
fort-on-the-Main, 1S52; Neubauer, G. T. pp. 48 et seq.; Ritter, 
Palestine , iv. 265; Sepp, Jerusalem und das Heilige Land , i 
i. 23, 44 ; ii. 5 85 et seq. 

J. I. Be.— S. O. 

SHATZKES, MOSES AAEON : Russian He- 
brew author; born at Karlin 1825; died at Kiev 
Aug. 24, 1899. He received a general as well as a 
Hebrew education, and he devoted himself to lit- 
erature. His literary labors brought him little ma- 
terial benefit, however, and he was always in strait- 
ened circumstances. He spent the last twenty years 
of his life in Kiev. 

The most important work by Shatzkes is “Ha- 
Mafteah” (Warsaw, 1866-69), in which he applied 
modern methods of investigation to the allegorical 
sayings of the Talmud and Midrasli. This book at 
the time of its publication created a stir among the 
Orthodox Jews on account of its radical views, for 
it represented an innovation in the field of Hebrew 
literature. To Judseo-German readers Shatzkes is 
best known through his “ Y Bdislier Erev Pesacli,” a 
satirical sketch of Jewish life, which has been often 
republished. He wrote also “Hashkafah ‘al De- 
bar Sefer Iyyob ” (in “Ha-Asif,” ii. 241-261), on the 
religious philosophy of the Book of Job. He left 
a number of manuscripts in Hebrew and Judseo- 
German. 

Bibliography: Luah Ahiasaf , viii. 387; Ha-Meliz, 1809, No, 

187 ; Zeitlin, Bihl. Post-Mendels, p. ,339. 

H. K. A. S. W. 

SHAVING : The Mosaic law prohibits shaving 
the corners of the head and of the beard (Lev. xix. 
27), the priests being particularly enjoined not to 
desecrate their persons by violating the latter pro- 
hibition (ib. xxi. 5). The prophet says: “Neither 
shall they [the priests] shave their heads, nor suffer 
tlieir locks to grow long; they shall only poll their 
heads ” (Ezek. xliv. 20). The phrase “kasom yikse- 


mu ” (poll) is explained in the Talmud as meaning 
“clipped and artistically cut in the Lylian style, . 
the ends of the hair of one row reaching the roots 
of the next row.” The high priest had his hair 
treated thus every Friday; the ordinary priest, once 
in thirty days; and the king, every day (ib. ; Ta'an. 
17a). This mode of hair-cutting among the nobility 
probably distinguished them from the common peo- 
ple, whose heads were shaved entirely except the 
ends or ear-locks (“pe’ot”) and the ends of their 
beards; it was very expensive, and Ben Eleasah is 
said to have squandered a fortune by his endeavor 
to imitate it (Sanli. 22b). 

This Mosaic prohibition, like many others, was in- 
tended to counteract the influence on the Israelites of 
the heathen rites, “the ways of the Amorite.” Mai- 
monides says : “ The prohibition against rounding the 
corners of the head and marring the corners of the 
beard, such being the custom of idolatrous priests 
. . .” (“Moreli,” iii. 37). The custom of shaving the 
hair of the head with the exception of a central 
queue is still practised among the Chinese; and it 
would seem that it was against this style that the 
prohibition was directed, inasmuch as the Talmud 
defines the “rounding of the head ” thus: “to make 
the hair of the temples even with the hair behind the 
ears on a straight line with the forehead” (Mak. 
20b). The “ corners of the beard ” are defined as 
five ends; namely, two on each cheek, and one on 
the chin, called “ shibbolet ” = “ ear of corn ” (Shebu. 
3b; Mak. 20a, b). 

The prohibition of shaving applies only to the 
operation with a razor, but not to the removal of 
hair with scissors or by means of chemical depila- 
tories. 

For the purification of a leper, it was necessary 
to shave the hair of the entire body (Lev. xiv. 8). 
The Nazarite at the expiration of his period of sep- 
aration shaved the hair of his head (Num. vi. 9). 
The captive woman after her period of mourning 
was required to shave the hair of her head (Deut. 
xxi. 12), but in this case cutting of the hair is prob- 
abty referred to. 

Shaving the hair on certain parts of the body, 
which appears to have been the custom in the fif- 
teenth and sixteenth centuries, was forbidden to 
males in districts where this was a feminine habit, 
the prohibition being based on Deut. xxii. o (Shul- 
lian ‘Aruk, 182, 1). 

The observance of the law was generally relaxed 
in the western countries of Europe, especially 
among the Sephardim; and R. Jacob Emden con- 
sidered it impracticable to enforce the law when the 
majority of the common people were against it 
(“She’elat Ya‘abez,” i.. No. 80). In some places in 
eastern Europe the Hasidim still shave their heads, 
and leave only the pe’ot in long locks. 

See also Beard; Pe’ot. 

Bibliography : Maimonides, Tad , 1 Akhum , xi.; Tur and Shul- 
lian ‘ Aruk , Torch De'ah, 180, 181. 

A. J. D. E. 

SHE-HEHEYANU : The benediction “ Blessed 
be the Lord, our God, King of the Universe, who 
has kept us alive [“she-heheyanu ”] and sustained 
us and welcomed us to this season ” ; in actual usage 
the blessing begins with the words “She-lieheyanu,” 



235 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Shatzkes 
Skeka, Queen of 


the preceding clause being suppressed. The bene 
diction was originally recited on meeting a beloved 
one 'after a separation of more than thirty days or 
less than a year (after a longer period the benediction 
! ‘ Mcha/yel, ha-metim ” = “ Who revives! the 

dead ”);'on hearing good news in which one is per 
sonally concerned; also on acquiring and first ma- 
tin <r use of a new house, new utensils, new gai men , 
or new books. The benediction was omitted when 
one acquired trivial objects, except in the case of 
a pool man, who felt happy in their possession. 

In modern times the blessing is pronounced only on 
eating fruits for the first time in their respective 
seasons — especially on the second night of Rosh 1 lia- 
Shanah-being recited after t lie regular benediction. 

“ She heheyanu ” is recited after Kiddusli on the hist 
nidits of the festivals; at the blowing of the shofar 
on" Rosh ha-Shanah, at the lighting of the Hanuk- 
ka li candles, and the reading of the Scroll of Esther 
in public on Purim. 

rthtiographY: Ber. 54b, 58b, 59b: Maimqnides, I ad, Bera 
ShuJhan 'Aruk. Oral} Haw™, 22o. ^ ^ 

J. 

SHEAETIEE HEM. See Gracian, S 
tier (Hen). 

SHEAR- JASHUB : Son of the prophet Isaiah ; 

SO named by his father as a prophecy that God 
would restore the Remnant of His people that had 
been carried into captivity by Assyria. Isaiah took 
his son with him when he went to meet Ahaz and 
to exhort him to trust in God and not to despair of 
victory over Rezinof Damascus and Pekali of Isiael 
(Isa. vii. 1 et seq.). g q 

e. o. n. 

SHEBA. See Sabeans. 

SHEBA QUEEN OE : Monarch of a south- 
Arabian tribe, and contemporary with Solomon, 
whom she visited. The Queen of Sheba, hearing 
of the wisdom and wealth of Solomon, visited lnm 
at Jerusalem, accompanied by a brilliant retinue. 
There she found that his fame, great as it was, tell 
far short of the truth, and after ex- 
changing costly presents with him 
she returned to her own land, marvel 
ing at what she had seen and heard (I 
idngs x. 1-18). According to Jose- 
phus, she was the queen of Egypt and 
Ethiopia, and brought to Palestine the 
rst specimens of the balsam, which grew in the 
Ioly Land in the historian’s time ( Ant. vin. 
^ 5-6). The country over which she ruled is 
snail v supposed to have been the district of Saba in 
onthern Arabia, but despite thorough explorations 
iv recent travelers and scholars, no reference to any 
liieen of Sheba has been found in the numerous 
•abean inscriptions. R. Jonathan (c. 250 c.e.) as- 
erts that the phrase KUtTIWD does not refer to a 
lueen, but to a kingdom, and hence to a long, 
vhose contemporary is said to have been Job (B. 

These are all the known historical references to the 
nysterious Oriental princess, and neither of the two 
Talmuds contains any other allusions. The leg- 
aid s connected with her name seem, therefore, to 
have originated in Abyssinia, and especially in Ara 


In the 
Bible, 
Josephus, 
and the 
Talmud. 


bia both of which countries were rivals for her re- 
nown, and from them the traditions concerning her 
entered Jewish circles. The kings of 
Abvssin- Abyssinia trace their descent back to 
ian a certain Menelik, the reputed son of 
Lee-ends, the Queen of Sheba and Solomon 
(Ewald and Winer). The African 
traveler Hugucs le Roux claims to have discovered 
in an Abyssinian manuscript in the Geez dialect the 
earliest version of the story of Solomon and the 
Queen of Sheba, which had been known previously 
only through popular tradition f Deutsche Litera- 
turzeitung," 1904, col. 1826). The present (1905) 
ruler of Abyssinia, at the time of his victory over 
the forces of Italy, actually declared himself to be 
a descendant of the Judean lion. A study on the 
legend in question as it exists in the tradition of 
Axmn, a place of pilgrimage to the west of Adua, 
was published by Littmann in 1904. 

The Temanites, the inhabitants of Arabia Felix, 
have better grounds for claiming the Queen of 
Sheba, wdiom they have adorned with the rich im- 
agery of Oriental imagination. Solomon has become 
very popular among the Arabs through the tradi- 
tion which associates his name with hers, and this 
legend serves to introduce the story of Mohammed 
and the califs. Solomon commanded the Queen of 
Sheba to come to him as a subject, whereupon s e 
appeared before him (Koran, sura xxvn. 30-31, 45). 

1 Urn throne, which was renowned m 

Arabia. early Arabian legend, originally be- 
longed to this queen, who is called 
Bilkis in the commentaries on the Koran. She rec- 
ognized the throne, which had been disguised, and 
finally accepted the faith of Solomon. Imagination 
runs riot in this story, in which spirits, animals, and 
other creatures appear as the servants of the Jewish 
kin°- (ib. xx vii. 34; comp, also the other Arabic 
sources quoted by GrUnbaum, “Neue Beitriige zur 
Semitischen Sagenkunde,” pp. 211-221)- 

Jewdsli tradition lias many points in common wit l 
the Arabian legend. The story of the Queen of 
Sheba is found in detail in the Second Targum o 
Esther (literal translation of the greater portion by 
Grunbaum, l.c. pp. 211 et seq.). There, as m le 
Koran, it is the hoopoe that directed Solomon s a - 
tention to the country of Sheba and to its queen. 
The dust of that land xvas more precious than gold, 
and silver was like dirt in the streets; the trees da e 
from tlie Creation and the waters came from para- 
dise, whence came also the garlands which the peo- 
ple wore. The hoopoe carried Solomon s letter 
under its wing to the queen, who resided at Kitor. 
In the letter Solomon commanded her to appear e- 
fore him. otherwise his hosts of beasts birds spirits 
devils, and demons of the night would take the field 
ao-ainst her. In terror she consulted with her elders 
and princes, who, however, knew nothing of Solo- 
mon Notwithstanding their ignorance, she loaded 
her ships with costly woods, precious stones and 
pearls, and sent to Solomon 6,000 boys and girls, all 
born in the same hour, all ot the same be.gb and a^ 
pearance, and all clothed in purple. In the letter 
to Solomon which they bore with them, she declared 
that although the journey from Kitor to J eru ®^f" 
usually took seven years to accomplish, she would 


Sheba 

Shebna 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


236 


comply with his mandate and visit him within three 
years. He in his turn sent a 3*011 tU “ like the dawn ” 
to meet her, and on her arrival he re- 
Jewish ceived lier in a glass house. Think- 
Leg-ends. ing that Solomon was sitting in the 
water, she lifted up her skirt, where- 
upon he noticed hair on her feet, and said : “ Thy 
beauty is a woman’s beauty, but thy hair a man's 
hair; hair adorneth man, but disfiguretli woman.” 

The Queen of Sheba propounded to Solomon the 
following three riddles to test his wisdom: “ What 
is a well of wood, a pail of iron which draws up 
stones and pours out water?” Solomon answered, 
“ A tube of cosmetic. ” “ What is that which comes 

from the earth as dust, the food of which is dust, 
which is poured out like water, and which looketh 
toward the house ? ” Solomon answered, “ Naphtha. ” 
“ What is that which precedeth all, like a general ; 
which crieth loudly and bitterly ; the head of which 
is like a reed ; which is the gloiy of the rich and the 
shame of the poor, the glory of the dead and the 
shame of the living; the joy of the birds and the 
sorrow of the fishes? ” Solomon answered, “Flax.” 
Other riddles are quoted in the Midrash (Prov. ii. 
6; Yalk. ii., § 1085): “Seven depart, nine enter; two 
pour, one drinks. ” Solomon answered, “ Seven days 
of woman’s uncleanness, nine months of pregnancy : 
two breasts of the mother at which the’ child is. 
nourished.” “A woman saith unto her son, ‘ Thy 
father is my father, thy grandfather iny husband ; 
thou art my son; I am thy sister. * ” Solomon an- 
swered, “This mother is one of the daughters of 
Lot, who were with child by their father” (comp. 
Gen. xix.). Arabic tradition also tells of Solomon 
solving riddles and of other proofs of his wisdom, 
and contains in general most of the stories found in 
Jewish tradition (Grunbaum, l.c.). 

The story of the Queen of Sheba was current like- 
wise in Europe. Although legends regarding her 
are frequent in Jewish circles, the 
The Jews have derived their views of the 
Middle famous queen from the Christians, 

Ages. adding nothing of their own. The 

story of the queen has been dramatized 
in Goldmark’s well-known opera “The Queen of 
Sheba.” 

Bibliography: Winer, B. R. 3d ed., ii. 405; Ewald, Gesch. 

2d ed., iii. 362-364, Gottingen, 1853; Griinbainn, Neue Bci- 
tracie zur Semitischen Sagcnkunde, pp. 199, 211-221, Leyden, 
1893; Littmann, The Legend of the Queen of Sheba in the 
Tradition of Axum. Princeton, 1904; Grunwald, Mitthei- 
lunaen der GcselUchaft fllr Jildische Volkskunde , v. 10 (on 

tbe Jewish Middle .Ages). 

J. L. B. 

SHEBA ( KEHIliXiOT : Designation of the fol- 
lowing seven populous Jewish communities in the 
counties of Oedenburg (Sopron) and Wieselburg 
(Mosony), Hungary: (1) Eisenstadt (Hungarian, 
Kis-Marton); (2) Deutsch-Kreutz (Nemet-Keresz- 
tur; Judaeo-German, D^V); (3) Mattersdorf (Nagy 

Marton) ; (4) Lakenbach (Lakompak) ; (5) Kobersdorf 
(Kabold) : (6) Kittsee (Kopcseny); (7) Frauen- j 
kirclien (Boldogasszony), They enjoyed special 
privileges, and were among the most wealthy com- 
munities of Hungary from the end of the seven- 
teenth to the beginningof the nineteenth century, 
s. A. Bti. 


SHEBARIM. See Stiofail 

SHEBAT (A. Y. “Sebat Hebrew, Greek, 
Sapar; Assyrian, “ Shahatu ”) : Eleventh ecclesiastical 
and fifth civil month of the Jewish year (Zech. i. 7); 
I Mace, xvi.), corresponding to January-February, 
and always consisting of thirty days. The 1st of 
Shebat, according to the school of Shammai, or the 
15tli, according to the school of llillel, is the New- 
Year for Trees with respect to the tithe (R. II. i. 1). 
This month was chosen because most of the annual 
rains occur before Shebat ; so that the trees which 
blossom afterward are considered as belonging to 
another year (ib. 14a). As the school of Hi 11 el is the 
standard authority, the 15th of Shebat has continued 
to be observed as a semiholy day. When a com- 
munity institutes a fast for Mondays and Thurs- 
days, it must not be observed if one of those days 
falls on the 15th of Shebat (“Mordekai ” on R. H., 
beginning). 

There is a tradition that when a goose is killed in 
Shebat the sliohet must eat its heart; otherwise he 
will die. According to another tradition, a goose 
should not he eaten on the 8th of Shebat (Isscrles in 
Slmlhan ‘Aruk, Yoreh De‘ah, 11,4; Simeon Duran, 
“Tashbez,” No. 101). The reason given in the 
“ Sefer lia-Kanah ” is that in Shebat the demons 
prevail ; so that he who slaughters a goose in that 
nionth is likely to die himself (“Be’er Heteb” on 
Sliullian ‘Aruk, l.c.). 

Bibliography : Lampronti, Pahad Yizhak, s.v. tom;p : Schu- 
rer, Gesch. 3cl ed., i. 745. 

A * M. Sel. 

SHEBPIT (“ Seventh Year ” ; “ Year of Release”) : 
Treatise of the Mishnali, Tosefta, and Palestinian 
Talmud. It belongs to the order Zera‘im, in which 
it stands fifth, and is divided into ten chapters, con- 
taining eighty-nine paragraphs in all. According 
to the Law in the Pentateuch, every seventh year 
must be a Sabbath of rest for the land, during which 
neither fields may be sown nor vineyards pruned, 
while it is also forbidden to reap or gather for the 
purpose of gain the produce that grows “of its own 
accord,” which is to he eaten by the owner, his serv- 
ants, and his guests, as well as by the poor (Ex. 
xxiii. 10-11; Lev. xxv. 2-7). The Law further 
states that in this year, or, more accurately, at the 
end of it (Sifre, Dent. Ill [ed. Friedmann, p. 97a]), 
every creditor must release any loan made to his 
neighbor (Deut. xv. 1-3); so that on account of this 
requirement the seventh year bears the name “ shenat 
} ia-sli emi ttali ” (ye ar of release). Nine 

Contents, of the chapters of the treatise deal 
with the exact definition of the laws 
relating to the soil, while the tenth and last chapter 
contains the rules for the release of debts. 

Ch. i. : Concerning fields on which trees grow; 
what parcels of land are considered fields; and the 
length of time during which such lands maybe cul- 
tivated in the sixth year. 

Ch. ii. ; Concerning treeless fields; how long such 
lands may be cultivated, fertilized, and otherwise 
tilled in the year before the seventh year (§§ 1-3); 
liow late in the sixth year crops may be planted, 
and how long those already planted may be tended 
(§§4-6); concerning fields of rice and millet, and 



237 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Sheba 

Shebna 


those in which beans, onions, and gourds are planted 


(§§ 7 - 10 ). 


Cli. iii. : The time in the seventh year after which 
nrenaratory work in fields, such as fertilizing, fen- 
L and removal of stones, may be done ; concerning 
labor in a quarry and tearing down a wall, in both 
of which cases all appearance of work preparatory 
to cultivating the fields must be avoided. 

Oh iv • Concerning the clearing of stones, wood, 
and weeds from fields, this having formerly been 
permitted, although it was a sort of preparation 
for actual cultivation, while later it was foi bidden 
on the ground that it frequently led to transgression 
of the Law (§ 1) ; cases in which, as a punishment 
for preparatory work done in the seventh year the 
field may not bo sown even in the eighth year (g 2) , 
a Gentile should be encouraged when engaged m 
tilling the soil in the seventh year; not so a Jew 
(S3)- concerning cutting down and pruning trees 
(88 4-6 10) ; the time after which one may begin to 
eat what has grown in the fields in the seventh., 
year, and when one may take it home (§g 7-J). 

Cli. v. ; Observances necessary in the case of cer 
tain plants, such as white figs, arum, early onions, 
and madder (g§ 1-5); objects, such as agricultural 
implements, which may not be sold in i the seventh 
year, and those which may not be lent (gg b-J). _ 

Cli vi • Distinctions between the provinces with 
regard to the seventh year, togetlierwitli an account 
of the regions of Palestine which were settled by 
the first Hebrew colonies from Egypt, and those 
which were occupied by the Jews who came from 
Babylon under Ezra; details concerning Syria; for- 
bidden exports from and imports to the land ot 

I srae l. 

Ch * vii • General rules with regard to matters 
subject to the regulations of the seventh year; m 
connection with the prohibition against dealing m 
the produce of this year (§ 8), many other things are 
enumerated in which it is forbidden to trade. 

Ch. viiL : General regulations for the produce of 
the seventh year; How it may be sold without being 
measured, weighed, or counted; the course neces- 
sary in case the money received for the produce of 
the seventh year is spent in the purchase of land, 

cattle, or any other object. , 

Cli ix • Herbs which may be purchased m tHe 
seventh year from any one; use and removal of the 
produce of the seventh year, and .the division of the 
Holy Land with regard to removing such crops. . 

Cli x • Concerning release from debt ; debts winch 
fall due in the seventh year and those wind, do not; 
arrangements and form of the Prosbui. and cases 
in which it is invalid; the sages are well pleased 
with those who pay tlieir debts even though the 
year of release would cancel them; likewise those 
who, though not obliged to do so by law, refund a 
loan received from a proselyte, as well as all those 
who fulfil their obligations even in cases where they 
arc not legally bound to do so, receive the entire ap- 
probation of the Rabbis. . ... 

The Tosefta on this treatise is divided into eight, 
chapters, and contains elucidations of many mish- 
naic laws. Especially noteworthy is the statement 
in viii. 1 et seq. that in ancient times it was custom- 
ary to take the entire produce of the seventh year 


from its owner and to store it in the granary of 
the community, where it was divided eveiy Eriday 
among all the families according to their need. 

The Gemara of the Palestinian Talmud discusses 
and explains the halakot of the Mislmah, and con- 
tains, besides, liaggadic teachings and interesting 
accounts of events in the lives of many noteworthy 
men. Of these latter the following may serve as an 
example (85a): R. Abba bar Zebina worked in the 
shop of a Gentile tailor in Rome. One day his em- 
ployer set before him meat from an animal winch 
had not been slaughtered in the manner prescribed 
by the ritual, and threatened him with death should 
he decline to eat it. When, however, despite his 
threats, R. Abba would not touch the meat, the Ro- 
man admitted that he would have killed him had he 
eaten the meat, “for,” said he, “if one is a Jew, one 
should be a true Jew, and should observe the princi- 
ples of his religion.” J Z L 

SHEBNA rm&0 : Chamberlain of the 

king’s palace, the office being filled also by Jotham 
(II Kings xv. 5). Shebna may be identified with the 
officer designated as “ha-soken” (Isa. xxii. 15-19), 
probably a caretaker or steward (see Bloch, Eho- 
nizteches Glossar,” s.v. “ Zakan ”). 

The prophet censures Sliebna because he built tor 
himself a tomb in the upper part of the rock, per- 
haps near the royal tombs on Mount Zion. The be- 
ginning of Isaiah’s denunciation, “ What hast thou 
here ? And whom hast thou here ? ” has been consti ued 
as implying that Shebna was of alien birth. But 
probably the meaning implied is that Shebna was an 
upstart or intruder. His non-Israelitisli origin, how- 
ever, is indicated in the kind of punishment with 
which he is threatened: Ynwn will roll him like a 
ball into a country less mountainous than Canaan, 
but broad — referring to the wide plains of the Eu- 
phrates and Tigris. 

Shebna favored the political connection of the 
kingdom of Judah with Egypt; hence it is very 
probable that he was taken prisoner as an enemy 
of the Assyrians during an invasion of the lat- 
ter. The name “Shebna” itself points to a non- 
Israelitisli origin in the more northerly regions, either 
Phenicia or Syria; the same stem has been found 
by Levy in (“Siegel und Gemmen mit Ara- 

maischen, Phbnizisclien, Althebrfiisehen und Altsy- 
rischen Inschriften,” p. 40, Breslau, 1869). Probably 
Shebna had risen to office under King Ahaz, who 
favored foreign undertakings and connections. 

It lias been argued tliat tlae Sliebna to whom refer- 
ence is made above is not the same as that mentioned 
in the following passages: Isa. xxxvi. 3, 11, a*; 
xxxvii. 2; II Kings xviii. 18, 26, 37; xix. 2, m 
which, with the exception of II Kings xvm. 18. -6 
(where rmW occurs), the- name is uniformly written 
This Shebna, who is called “ sofer (scribe), 
is everywhere mentioned after Eliakim ; but in all 
likelihood he was identical with the office-holder 
censured by Isaiah. 

BIBLIOHRAPHT : R. Ktttek Hfthfflfommentar fiber rtte Bttcftcr 


l Kittel, HanaKnmmcniar imiw *<■»*> 
l der KOntdk'm'-. Marti, Kurzcr Handhom i,r,e;, ar ll her das 
Tturh Tesaici. 1900; Ad. Kampfeausen, Jsawh* Prophecy 
Concerning the Major-domo of King Hczehuih , m the 
American Journal of Theology , 1901, pp. 4d et seqr. 

E. G. H. 



Shebu'ot 

Shechem 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


238 


SHEBTHOT (“ Oatlis ”) : Treatise in the Mislmah, 
Tosefta, and both Talmuds, dealing chiefly with the 
various forms of the oath. In most of the editions 
it is the sixth treatise of the order Nezikin, and is 
divided into eight chapters, containing sixty-two 
paragraphs iu all. 

Cli. i. : In connection Avith the statement that 
oaths may he divided into two classes, which are 
again subdivided into four, other actions and condi- 
tions are enumerated which are similarly divided ; 
e.g., the perception of defilement, carrying from a 
private domain to the public domain 
Contents, on the Sabbath and A r ice versa, and 
the appearance of the different kinds 
of leprosy (§ 1) ; further details concerning the meth- 
od of recognizing uncleanness ; manner of effecting 
atonement, by various private or communal sacri- 
fices, for offenses committed eonsciousty or uncon- 
sciously in a state of uncleanness, or for other tres- 
passes against the Law (§§ 2-7). 

Ch. ii. : Further details relating to the perception 
of uncleanness ; the statement that a person Avho 
enters the Temple in a condition of uncleanness 
must offer a sacrifice, is supplemented by one to the 
effect that all the apartments subsequently added to 
the Temple must be regarded in this respect as the 
Temple proper; in connection therewith the cere- 
monial accompanying the enlargement of the Tem- 
ple and of the city is described. 

Ch. iii. : On the four kinds of oaths, and the dif- 
ference of opinion between R Ishmael and R Akiba 
in regard to this subject (§§ 1-5); if a person swears 
to fulfil or to disregard a religious duty, he is not 
bound to offer a sacrifice in the case of not fulfilling 
his vow (§ 6); concerning a thoughtless vow (“slie- 
bu‘at bittuy”) and a vain oath (“sliebiTat sliaw ”), 
e.g., when a person affirms an absurd statement by 
an oath, as that a stone is gold, or that he saw a 
camel fly through the air (§§ 7-8); violation of an 
oath(§ 9); the punishment for the intentional viola- 
tion of a thoughtless oath, and the sacrifice which 
must be offered in the case of an unintentional vio- 
lation (§ 10); the punishment for transgressing a 
vain oath (§11). 

Ch. iv. : Concerning the oath of the witness; if a 
person asks tAvo Avitnesses to testify in his favor be- 
fore the court, and they deny under oath that they 
can give testimony for him, then they are guilty of 
violating the Avitness’ oath (comp. Lev. v. 1); cases 
and persons to Avhom the Avitness’ oath applies; 
and forms under Avhicli the oath is administered to 
Avitnesses by the plaintiff, in order that they may be 
found guilty of breaking such oath in refusing to 
testify. 

Ch. v.: On the oath relating to a deposit (“ she- 
bu‘at ha-pikkadon ” ; comp. Lev. v. 21 et seq.), i.e., 
the oath taken in cases where objects have been 
Avrongfully or forcibly acquired or retained; the 
persons taking it; and the cases in which it is taken. 

Ch. A 7 i. : Concerning the oath administered by the 
judge; in civil cases the judge administers it to the 
defendant only if he partly confesses his guilt ; reg- 
ulations regarding this oath, the minimum of the 
claim, and the minimum of the defendant’s admis- 
sion ; in order that from the nature of a claim the 
defendant may be required to take the oath the 


plaintiff must be an adult of normal mind ; the claim 
must be definitely formulated, and may have refer- 
ence only to money, goods, or other movable ob- 
jects; no oath may be enforced in connection with a 
claim to. real estate, slaA^es, or bills of exchange, nor 
Avitli a claim on the part of the Sanctuary. 

Ch. vii. : The cases in which the plaintiff takes 
the oath, and wins his case on the strength of it, 
e.g., in the case of a hireling or storekeeper; other 
cases in Avliich the defendant may be suspected 
of swearing falsely; enumeration of the cases in 
which the defendant may be compelled to take the 
oath even in reference to indefinite claims; thus 
every trustee in charge of property may be com- 
pelled to take an oath to the effect that he has man- 
aged it faithfully and honestly; on an oath occa- 
sioned by another oath (“gilgul shebu'ah ”). 

Ch. viii. : The four kinds of Avardens (comp. Ex. 
xxii. 6-14): the unsalaried, the salaried, borrowers, 
and tenants. 

The Tosefta to this treatise is divided into six 
chapters, and contains some interesting moral max- 
ims, besides additions to the Mislmah. 

The R Eleazar b. Mattai says that it is un- 

Tosefta. pleasant for a person to behold a man 
commit crimes; but that a benefit is 
conferred upon a person if he is fortunate enough 
to behold a person perform noble deeds (iii. 4). 
A person avIio commits an act of unfaithfulness 
toAvard bis felloAV man Las thereby committed an 
act of unfaithfulness toAvard God. Every crime is 
a denial of God ; for the criminal avIio is about to 
I commit the crime denies that God has forbidden all 
unjust and immoral deeds (iii. 6). 

Both the Gemaras discuss and explain the con- 
tents of the Mislmah. The Babylonian Gemara con- 
tains in addition some interesting sentences and com- 
ments. Ps. xci. is designated as “ shir sliel pega ‘im ” 
or “nega'im ” (= “ the psalm of the plagues ” ; 15b). 
An interesting enumeration is given of the names 
of God occurring in the Bible which really do not 
designate God, and of other names Avliich must be 
referred to God, although, they apparently do not 
apply to Him. Thus “Adonai” iu 
The the story of Lot (Gen. xix. 18) desig- 
Gemaras. nates God, although it might seem 
that Lot \\ r as addressing the angels by 
this name (35b). In the story of Micali (Judges 
xvii., xviii.) all the divine names that occur must 
be referred to God, though according to R Eliezer 
only a feAv of them must be so referred. In the 
Song of Solomon the name “ Solomon ” designates 
God, except in one passage, Cant. viii. 12 et seq. 
NoteAvorthy is R Joshua’s comment on Judges xx. 
to the effect that the oracle spoke truly all three 
times, but that the people did not ask the first and 
second times whether they Avould be victorious 
against Benjamin, and that this was not promised 
to them (ib.). 

w. b. J. Z. L. 

SHECHEM! (D3G^ = “ shoulder ” or “ ridge ”) : 1 . 
City of central Palestine; called Sidiem in Gen. 
xii. 6, A. V. ; Shalem, according to some common- • 
tators, ib. xxxiii. 18; Sychem in Acts vii. 16; and 
Sychar in John iv. 5. Its situation is indicated as 
in Mount Ephraim in Josh, xx, 7 and I Kings xii. 



239 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Sliebn *ot 
Sbechem 


25* but from Judges ix. 7 it seems to have been 
immediately below Mount Gerizim, and it is there- 
fore placed by Josephus (“ Ant.” iv. 8, § 48) between 
Gerizim and Ebal. Sbechem is elsewhere stated to 
have been in the neighborhood of Dothan (Gen. 
xxxvii. et seq .), north of Sliiloh (Judges xxi. 19). 

The first mention of the place occurs in 
Earliest connection with Abraham, who, on his 
Mention, first migration to the land of Canaan, 
built an altar under the oak of Moreli 
on the site where later Sliechem was built (Gen. xii. 
6). At the time of Abraham the place, which could 
scarcely have been a city, was occupied by the 

Canaanites. # . 

Sbechem first appears as a city 1 " in the tune ot 
Jacob, who, after his meeting with Esau, encamped 
in front of it in the field which he bought for 100 
pieces of money from Hamor, the prince of the 
country (ib. xxxiii. 18-19). It was then inhabited 
by the Hivvites (ib.). Jacob’s arrival at Sbechem 
marked a very important period in its history ; for 
the defilement of Dinah, which took place there, re- 
sulted in the pillage of the city and the massacre of 
all the male inhabitants by Jacob’s sons (ib. xxxiv. 
2-29). This narrative shows also that Sliechem was 
at that time a commercial center, and rich in sheep, 
oxen, and asses. The oak-tree under which Abra- 
ham had built an altar still existed in the time of 
Jacob, who hid under it the images and the earrings 
of the Skechemites (ib. xxxv. 4). The surrounding 
territory afforded good pasturage; and therefore 
during Jacob’s stay at Hebron his sons drove their 
flocks to Sbechem (ib. xxxvii. 12 et seq.). Jacob had 
previously promised the city to Joseph (ib. xlviii. 22, 
Hebr.); and it was allotted by Joshua to Ephra- 
im, and Joseph’s remains were buried there. Aft- 
erward it was assigned to the Levites, becoming 
also a city of refuge (Josh. xx. 7, xxi. 20-21, 
xxiv. 32). 

After the conquest of Canaan, Sliechem became 
an important religious center. The two mountains, 
Gerizim and Ebal, between which the 
Religious city was situated, had been previously 

Center. designated as the places where the Le- 
vites should recite their blessings; and 
under Joshua this arrangement was carried into 
efl'ect (Deut. xxvii. 11 ; Josli. viii. 32-35). It was at 
Sliechem that Joshua drew up the statutes of the 
Mosaic religion and set up a stone as a monument 
in the temple of Ynwii under the oak-tree (Josh, 
xxiv. 1-28). Shortly before his death Joshua as- 
sembled at Sbechem the elders and judges of 
Israel, giving them his last recommendations and 
exhorting them to adhere to the cult of A hwii. 

After Gideon’s death the inhabitants of Sliechem, 
separating themselves from the commonwealth, 
elected Abimelecli as king, and solemnly inaugu- 
rated him in the temple under the oak-tree (Judges 
ix. 1-6). At the end of three years, however, they 
revolted and were all slain, the city being destroyed 
and sown with salt (ib. verses 23-45). It was re- 
stored later and regained its former importance ; for 
after Solomon’s death all the tribes of Israel assem- 
bled there to crown Relioboam. It was there that 
the ten tribes, whose demands were spurned by Re- 
koboam, renounced their allegiance to him and 


elected Jeroboam as king (I Kings xii. 1-20). The 
latter fortified Sliechem. and made it for a time his 
capital (ib. verse 25). From that time 
Capital no mention is made of the place. It 

of was most probably included in “the 

Jeroboam, cities of Samaria” which were con- 
quered by the Assyrian kings, and 
whose inhabitants, carried away into captivity, were 
replaced by colonists from other countries (comp. 

II Kings xvii. 5-6, 24; xviii. 9 et seq.). 

People of Sliechem, probably proselytes, are men- 
tioned as having been slain by Iskmael, the son of 
Nethaniali (.Ter. xii. 5), while on their w r ay to the 
Temple at Jerusalem, to which they were carrying 
gifts, not knowing that it had been destroyed. 
After the Exile, Sbechem became the religious capi- 
tal of the Samaritans, whose temple was on Mount 
Gerizim (comp. Joshua, Son of Siracli, i. 26). Thus 
Sbechem was to the Samaritans what Jerusalem was 
to the Jews; and its religious prominence was main- 
tained for nearly 200 years, when it was captured 
by John Hyrcanus .(129 B.C.), who destroyed the 
temple (Josephus, “Ant.” xiii. 9, § 1; idem, “B. 
J.” i. 2, § 6). Later, Alexander Jannoeus met with 
a crushing defeat near Sbechem (“Ant.” xiii. 14, 
§| 1-2; “ B. J.” i. 4, §§4-5). 

The place seems to have been completely des- 
troyed during the Jewish wars, and on its site an- 
other city was built by Vespasian (72 
Destroyed c.e.), to which he gave the name 
Under “ Neapolis ” (“ B. J.” iv. 8, § 1 ; Pliny, 

Vespasian. “Historia Naturalis,” v. 13, § 69); 

this was afterward changed by the 
Arabs to “Nablus.” The identification of Sliechem 
with Neapolis by Josephus and Pliny is supported 
by Num. R. xxiii. 14, which renders “Sbechem” by 
“ Neapolis ” Eusebius (“ Onomasticon,” s.t\ 

“ Sichem ”), however, places Neapolis in the vicinity 
of the site of Sliechem. On coins from Neapolis that 
city is called “ Flavia Neapolis ” (Eckliel, “ Doctrina 
Nummorum Veterum,” iii. 433 et passim). Both 
Josephus and Pliny declare that Sbechem or Neap- 
olis was called by the natives “ Mabortlia ” (MafiopOa) 
or “Mamortha.” This name is evidently a corrup- 
tion of the Aramean “ Mabarakta, ” or “ the blessed 
city,” so called by the Samaritans in opposition to 
Jerusalem, as they similarly term Mount Gerizim 
“the blessed mountain” in opposition to Mount 
Moriah, which they designate “the accursed moun- 
tain” (Gen. R. lxxxi. 3). Great hostility to the 
Jews was manifested by the Samaritan inhabitants 
of Neapolis. R. Ishmael ben Jose, who once passed 
Neapolis (D’^IS’O) order to go to Jerusalem to 
pray, relates that he was the object of their derision 
(Yer. ‘Ab. Zarah v. 4). 

Under the Roman emperors Neapolis became one 
of the most important cities of Palestine. Septimius 
Severus once deprived it of the “ j us civitatis, ” but he 
restored it later (Spartianus, “Vita Severi,” ch. ix.). 
Under Zeno (474) riots occurred in Neapolis between 
the Samaritans and the Christians. In 1184 the city 
was captured by the troops of Saladin. It has been 
remarked above that the name “Neapolis” was cor- 
rupted into “Nablus” by the Arabs; and the city has 
been generally known under the latter name since 
the Middle Ages. Its history is closely connected 



Shedim 

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THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


240 


with that of llie Samaritans. It may be added that 
the tomb of Joseph (comp. Josh. xxiv. 82) has al- 
ways been the chief object of attraction for visitors 
to Nablus. This fact is first men- 
Tomb tioned by Benjamin of Tudela (“Itin- 
of Joseph, emry, ” ed. Asher, pp. 82-88) — who, b} r 
the way, relates that in his time there 
were no Jews at Nablus — and after him by the 
French traveler R. Jacob, who was at Nablus in 
1258 (Carmoly, “ Itineraires,” p. 186). Isaac Helo 
(14th cent.) sa 3 r s (ib. p. 251) that people came from 
afar to Nablus to visit the tomb of Joseph and Ja- 
cob’s well, and that there were in the place few Jews, 
but many Samaritans. The author of the “ Yiliiis 
ha-Zaddikim ” (ib. p. 386) is more precise in placing 
Joseph’s tomb in the village of Al-Balatah, near 
Nablus, adding that visitors recite over the tomb 
Ps. Ixxvii., lxxx., and lxxxi. Fiually, the author 
of “ Yihus ha-Abot” (ib. p. 445) says that the village 
Al-Balatah, which contains Joseph’s tomb, is a Sab- 
bath-day’s journey (2,000 cubits) north of Nablus. 
Samuel b. Samson (id. p. 150), however, places Jo- 
seph’s tomb at Shiloh. Nablus at present has a 
population of about 24,000, including 170 Samari- 
tans and 150 Jews. 

Bibliography: Besides the sources mentioned in the article, 
Guerin, Samaria , i. 372 ei scq Neubauer. G. T. pp. 108 et 
seq,[ Robinson, Researches , iii. 96 et scq., 113 ct seq.; idem. 
Later Researches, p. 131; Schurer, Gesch.M ed., i. 50-51; 
Stanley, Sinai and Palestine , pp. 233 ct seq. 

2 . Son of Hamor, Prince of Shechem; Improba- 
bly derived his name from that town. He is partic- 
ularly known for his defilement of Dinah, Jacob’s 
daughter, which misdeed led to the destruction of 
his famity and the massacre of all the male inhab- 
itants of Shechem (Gen. xxxiv. 1-26). See Dinah; 
Hamok. 

3. Son of Gilead and grandson of Manasseh, and 
head of the family of Sheeliemites, according to 
Num. xx vi. 31 and Josh. xvii. 2. In I Chron. vii. 
19, however, he is said to have been the son of She- 
mida and, consequently, the grandson of Gilead. 

E. g. ii. M. Sel. 

SHEDIM. See Demonology. 

SHE ( EH NETSAR (“iDN‘1 ny&O : Thepizmon 
or responsory liyunn in the Selihot of the fast of 
the Seventeenth of Tammuz, the “ fast of the fourth 
month” in Zecli. viii. 19. It is signed with the 
acrostic Shelomoh (Ibn Gabirol; comp. Zunz, “Li- 
teraturgesch.” p. 412), and deals with the four dis- 
asters of which the fast is traditionally the anni- 
versary; viz. : (1) the breaking of the tw r o tablets of j 
the Law by Moses; (2) the cessation of the Temple 
daily offering: (3) the storming of the outer defenses 
of Jerusalem; and (4) the burning of the scroll of 
the Law by r Apostomus. For the traditional melody 
see Jew. Encyc. ix. 183, s.v. Music, Synagogal. 
a. F. L. C. 

SHE’ELOT U-TESHUBOT (“questions and 
answers,” or “interpellations and decisions ”)• .. The 
Hebrew designation for the “responsa prudentium,” 
connoting the written decisions and rulings given 
by eminent rabbis, teachers, or heads of academies 
to questions addressed to them in -writing. These 
responsa constitute a special class of Talmudic and 
rabbinical literature, which in form differs both 


from the commentaries and from the codifications 
of rabbinical Judaism, yet in content is similar to 
both. While the commentaries are devoted solely 
to the exegesis and hermeneutics of the Bible, the 
Mishnali, the Talmud, and the older codes, and 
while the codes themselves and the writings of the 
casuists contain the rules and regulations for all 
ordinary incidents of life, the responsa include both 
these types of literature. Many of the questions 
were theoretical in character, since they requested 
information concerning all departments of knowl- 
edge. The responsa accordingly contain rulings on 
the philosophy of religion, astronomy, mathematics, 
chronology, and geography, as well as interpreta- 
| tions of difficult passages in the Bible, the Mishnah, 
and the Talmud. The older responsa in particular 
are important for readings and emendations of the 
Mishnah and the Talmud, affording valuable mate- 
rial for textual criticism. The questions were for 
the most part, however, practical in nature, since 
they w T ere concerned with specific new contingencies 
for which no provision had been made in the codes, 
and the responsa thus supplement the literature of 
codification. 

While early Jewish literature can show but few 
historical works, many important notes on the history 
of Judaism have been introduced into the responsa 
undesignedly, and for this reason they hear the 
marks of truth. The responsa likewise contain 
invaluable material for general history, as many 
events are cursorily mentioned in them which are 
either noted obscurely or totally ignored by contem- 
porary historians, yet which illustrate and explain 
the conditions of the times. The responsa thus 
contribute much to a knowledge of the cultural cir- 
cumstances of the Jews and of the people among 
whom they have lived. From these questions based 
on the problems of daily life falls much light on 
the moral and social relations of the times, on occu- 
pations and on undertakings, on the household, on 
customs and on usages, on expressions of joy and of 
sorrow, on recreations and on games. The responsal 
literature covers a period of 1,700 years, but the re- 
sponsa of the first five centuries are not contained in 
special works, being scattered through the transac- 
tions and expositions of both the Talmudim. Works 
devoted especially to responsa first appear in the 
post-Talmudic period. Many responsa have been 
lost, but those which are extant number hundreds 
of thousands, the collections thereof being nearly a 
thousand. The most important of these works are 
listed in Ersch and Gruber, “Encyc.” xxvii. 453. 

The history of responsal literature may be divided 
into six periods, which resemble one another in so 
far as all are characterized b} r the same spirit of 
search for truth and knowledge of the Law, and 
in them all are expressed the same religiosity, the 
same rigid impartiality, the same unswerving sense 
of right, and the same conscientious- 
Six ness which gives a decision only after 
Periods, most thorough consideration. On the 
other hand, external circumstances, 
the spirit of the times, and the more or less strict 
methods of investigation give the responsa of vari- 
ous periods a peculiar degree of individuality. 
Neither responsa nor letters concerning specific 



241 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Shedim 

She’elot u-Teshubot 


legal questions are known before the conclusion of 
the Mishnah; indeed, it is doubtful whether any 
were written even at that period. The reason for 
this lies in the custom which then prevailed that no 
lialakah should be reduced to writing; and it may 
readily be seen from the following story that this 
prohibition or reluctance was extended to commu- 
nications of a legalistic nature. In the first half of 
the fourth century R. Dimiwent to Palestine, where 
he heard a new interpretation of the Mishnah. De- 
siring to communicate this exegesis to R. Joseph, 
the head of the Academy of Puinbedita, he said : “ If 
I could find any one to send the letters to Babylonia, 
I would include this interpretation in my message.” 
This remark of R Dimi’s was the occasion of a de- 
bate in the academy, and the question was raised 
how it would be possible to communicate exegetic 
decisions by means of letters, since it was forbid- 
den to reduce halakot to writing. The academy 
finally justified R Dimi by laying stress on the fact 
that in this instance it might have been a matter of 
a new and hitherto unknown interpretation, and in 
such a case it was allowable to commit even a legal 
subject to writing (Tern. 14a, b). It thus becomes 
evident that even when the prohibition or the reluc- 
tance against writing halakot became partially obso- 
lete, letters of a legal content might be written only_ 
in cases where halakot might likewise be reduced to 
writing. While the rule prevailed, therefore, that 
no halakot should be written, no communications of 
legalistic content were made by means of letters. 
Questions were always communicated orally, or pro- 
posed to the academy b} r a teacher, who transmitted 
the answer and the decision b} r word of mouth. The 
rarity of letters on legal problems in the tannaitic 
period may readily be seen from a passage in the 
Tosefta (Ter. ii. 18) which states that R Gamaliel 
secretly despatched a messenger with an answer to 
a question ; for if he desired to keep his decision 
secret, he would probably have sent a letter had 
such replies been customary at that time. 

In the tannaitic period statements, publications, 
contributions concerning the calendar, and notifica- 
tions were the only documents regularly committed 
to writing. On the other hand, it can not positively 
be asserted that no lialakic ruling whatsoever had 
been given in writing before the completion of the 
Mishnah: certain exceptions were doubtless made, 
exactly as lialakic notes were written in isolated in- 
stances (comp. Hor. 13b), although these sporadic 
decisions are no longer extant. Immediately after 
the completion of the' Mishnah, however, when the 
prohibition or reluctance against writing halakot 
had in great part 1 disappeared, the learned question 
and the elucidative responsum began to appear, 
traces being preserved in the Talmud. With the 
beginning of the third century these scholarly in- 
quiries frequently appear in letters' from Babylonia 
to Palestine. Thus Bab (Abba Arika) wrote a let- 
ter to R. Judah lia-Nasi I. concerning a certain legal 
regulation (Ket. 69a; Yer. Git. v. 3), receiving an 
answer which seems likewise to have been in epis- 
tolary form. Rabbi Johanan of Palestine carried 
on an active correspondence with Rab and Samuel, 
addressing the former in the words, “To our teacher 
and master in Babylonia,” but terming the latter 
XI.— 16 


simply “Our colleague.” From Samuel, moreover, 
he received thirty scrolls with questions and erudite 
discussions on dubious pathological symptoms in 
animals (Hul. 75b; comp. Tos. ad loc. 

Corre- s. v. “ Tresar ”). At a later period, like- 

spondence wise, the authorities in control of the 
Between Palestinian academies issued their ru- 
Babylonia lings in the form of letters which were 
and used as baraitot, being made the sub- 
Palestine. ject of citation and exegesis (Yer. 

Ned. v. 5). In this learned corre- 
spondence both in Babylonia and in Palestine the 
form usually employed was that of familiar verses of 
Scripture. Thus Mar ‘Ukban, who asked R, Eleazar 
whether he might lodge information against certain 
adversaries that punishment might be meted out to 
them, was answered in the words of Ps. xxxix. 1 
and xxxvii. 7 (Git. 7a), while another responsum to 
a question consisted of Hosea ix. 1 (ib . ; comp. Yer. 
Meg. iii. 2). This method may have been chosen to 
avoid, so far as possible, any direct violation of the 
prejudice against committing halakot to writing, 
since this reluctance had not yet been entirely out- 
grown. By the end of the third century the corre- 
spondence between Palestine and Babylonia had be- 
come more active, and the responsa sent in letters 
from the one to the other had become far more nu- 
merous. These rulings and responsa from Palestine 
seem to have been regarded as authoritative and de- 
manding obedience; and the threat was made to 
R. Judah ben Ezekiel, head of the Academy of Pum- 
bedita, that a letter would be brought from Palestine 
to annul his decision (B. B. 41b). Another teacher 
likewise protested against R. Judah’s ruling, and 
warned him that he also would produce a letter 
from Palestine to refute him (Sliebu. 48b), the same 
experience befalling Mar ‘Ukba (Sanli. 29a). In 
like manner, the frequent use in the Talmud of the 
phrase “shalhu mi- tarn ” (they sent from yonder, 
i.e ., from Palestine), presupposes letters containing 
such responsa, and proves that they were regard- 
ed as authoritative, since passages introduced by 
“ Shalhu mi-tam ” are generally employed in refu- 
ting rulings. Abin, who went from Babylonia to 
Palestine and instituted inquiries everywhere re- 
garding doctrines and opinions, wrote repeated epis- 
tles to Babylonia containing the results of his in- 
vestigations (Ket. 49b; B. B. 139a; B. M. 114a; Nid- 
dah 68a), these letters beginning with the formula, 
“ I asked my teachers concerning these matters, and 
they answered me in the name of their teachers.:” 
Many other rulings are found in the Talmud which 
are designated as sent by Abin, the method of transit 
apparently being by letter, although no direct state- 
ment on the subject is made. Further details on the 
form of the responsa and on the manner in which 
they were communicated may be gathered from the 
following examples: Tanhurn b. Papa sent R. Jose 
a request for information on two distinct problems 
concerning the purity of blood of two families in 
Alexandria. One case was decided unfavorably by 
R. Jose, who wrote as his reply the Biblical verse on 
incest (Deut. xxiii. 3), while he declared the purity 
of the second family to be unchanged. He then 
directed his pupil R. Mani to sign the responsum 
with him, which was done. R. Berechiah, on the 



She’elot u-Teshubot 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


242 


other hand, whom lie likewise requested to attach 
his name to his ruling, refused, but, changing his 
mind in the course of the day, he went to R. Jose to 
sign the responsuiu, which, however, had already 
been despatched (Yer. Kid. iii. 12). This story 
shows that often questions were settled by a single 
letter, as was later the case with the Geonim, who 
exchanged a series of responsa. The halakie replies 
and the decisions, moreover, were signed by pupils 
and colleagues, so that, strictly speaking, the re- 
sponsa were issued by a board. 

Other statements likewise exist in the Talmud 
regarding halakie matters which were discussed in 
written responsa, if the opening words may be taken 
as a criterion. In these responsa occurs the intro- 
ductory phrase “Hawn yod‘in” (take cognizance of ; 
R. II. 20a; Yer. Kid. ii. 5) or the honorific greet- 
ing, “Health and peace to thee, dear colleague” 
(Ket. 69a). In sending his query, one scholar mod- 
estly wrote: “I am not worthy that you should lay 
your doubts before me, . . . but the opinion of 
your pupil inclines thus. . (B. B. 165b). These 

formulas were probably used also in giving verbal 
decisions. The question itself, when communicated 
in writing, was introduced by the words: “May our 
teacher instruct us in this ” (Git. 66b). The responsa 
of the Talmudic period may be compared with the 
respousa of the Roman jurists and the epistles of 
the Christian patriarchs, while they are character- 
ized by pregnant brevity and rigid restriction to 
their subject-matter. It is impossible to trace in all 
its phases the development from these jejune Tal- 
mudic responsa to those of the geonic type, with 
their literary form and their discursiveness, for no 
responsuin has been preserved either of the saboraic 
or of the later amoraic period. From the second 
half of the fourth century all information regarding 
a learned correspondence is lacking ; but the matu- 
rity of style and of epistolary form which character- 
izes the responsa of even the earliest geonim in the 
middle of the eighth century, and which differenti- 
ates them so widely from the brief decisions of the 
Talmudic age, justifies the inference that between 
the former and the latter there had been many forms 
of transition, and that there had been a learned cor- 
respondence between teachers and pupils in the pe- 
riod extending from the end of the fourth to the 
beginning of the eighth century, although these let- 
ters have been lost. 

In the geonic period the elucidative letter and the 
scholarly responsum are characterized, as already 
noted, by a more developed and rounded literary 
style, conditioned and fostered by the revolution 
which had taken place in Jewish litera- 
Responsa ture. The Talmud had been defini- 

of the tively completed and was recognized 

Geonim. as authoritative, and, being commit- 
ted to writing, it was accessible to 
scholars, even though they lived far from the acade- 
mies, the seats of Talmudic learning. With an ac- 
curate knowledge of the Talmud and a correct 
interpretation of it, scholars might deduce for them- 
selves rulings for any of the specific cases which 
might present themselves. Even in instances in 
which the questioner was not versed in the Talmud 
and the responsum was required to give only a brief 


decision on the case under consideration, the ruling 
was not a mere “ yes ” or “ no, ” “ permitted ” or “ for- 
bidden.” “right” or “wrong,” but in the shortest 
responsa themselves it was generally the custom for 
the scholars who prepared them to cite a passage 
from the Talmud in support or proof of their deck 
sions, or to controvert any possible opposition on the 
basis of some other Talmudic passage by a refuta- 
tion of it and a correct exegesis of the section of the 
Talmud in question. In most instances, however, the 
questioner himself knew the Talmudic passage from 
which he might draw the ruling for any specific 
case, the problem being whether he was able to ap- 
ply this passage correctly. There were cases, on the 
other hand, in which he was either altogether igno- 
rant of the application, or made it falsely, thus 
reaching an erroneous conclusion. In such instances 
the respondent was required to give an explanation 
of the Talmudic passage in question and its correct 
application to the specific case, often proving the 
correctness of his decision by a comparison with an- 
other passage, and adding a refutation of any other 
possible interpretation. He was frequently obliged, 
moreover, to take into consideration any conse- 
quences which might result from his decision or ex- 
egesis, and was constrained many times to explain 
points which, strictly speaking, had not been asked 
specifically, although they were more or less closely 
related to the subject under discussion. Many of 
these questions have no practical contingencies for 
their basis, but are concerned with the correct com- 
prehension and explanation of certain passages of 
the Talmud, and the corresponding responsa are 
therefore restricted to detailed elucidations and fun- 
damental interpretations. In the main, therefore, the 
geonic responsa are scholarly treatises, although this, 
does not characterize them all to an equal degree, 
since in the course of the four centuries of the geonic 
period the responsum developed in form and char- 
acter, and was subjected to many changes. 

In the days of the earliest geonim the majority of 
the questions asked them were sent only from Baby- 
lonia and the neighboring lands, where the inhabit- 
ants were more or less acquainted with the Talmud 
and could, in case considerable portions of it were 
unintelligible to them, visit the academies in the- 
Kallali months to hear Talmudic interpretations and 
explanations. The questions which were submitted 
in writing were accordingly limited to one or more- 
specific cases, while the responsum to such a query 
gave in brief form the required ruling and a concise 
reason for it, together with a citation of an analogous. 
Talmudic instance (Judah Gaon, in “ Sha‘are Zedek,” 
iv. 4, 69, p. 71), and a refutation of any possible ob- 
jection (ib. iv. 5, 27, p. 76b). More discursive were 
the responsa of the later geonim after the first half 
of the ninth century, when questions began to be 
sent from more distant regions, where the inhabitants 
were less familiar with the Talmud, even if they 
possessed it, and were less able to visit the Baby- 
lonian academies, the only seats of Talmudic learn- 
ing. Talmudic difficulties were often the subject of 
these inquiries. Although a gaon (Sar Shalom, in 
“Tesliubot Geonim Kadmonim,” No. 46, p. 9) de- 
clared it difficult to write elucidations of perplexing; 
problems in many Talmudic passages, lie sought- 



243 


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nevertheless, to give sueli interpretations for entire 
treatises and themes in the Talmud. In like man- 
ner, even those responsa which were not sent to dis- 
tant lands assumed a discursive and prolix form, for 
though the questioner sought information only for 
a specific case and requested a Talmudic basis for it, 
the responsum was not restricted to the mere deci- 
sion which might he deduced from the Talmudic 
passage under consideration, but included the entire 
context as well. It thus frequently contained more 
than a simple basis and foundation for the ruling 
drawn from the Talmud, and discussed the subject 
under consideration in fullest detail and in ail its 
import, even though this had not been requested. 
More than this, other subjects which had but a slight 
bearing on the problem in question received tlieir 
quota of discussion (“Hemdah Genuzali,” No. 70, p. 
14b; “Sha‘are Zedek,” p. 22b); and the respondent 
added also the ruling which would have been given 
had the point at issue been slightly different from 
that on which information was requested ( ib . p. 46a). * 
The later geonim did not restrict themselves to the 
Mislmah and Talmud, but used the decisions and 
responsa of their predecessors, the elder geonim, 
whose sayings and traditions were generally re- 
garded as authoritative, although there were occa- 
sional exceptions, such as the assertion of Hai Gaon 
that the ruling of R. Natronai was incorrect (“Tora- 
tan shel Rishonim,” ii. 51, No. 3). These re- 
sponsa of the later geonim were, strictly speaking, 
disquisitions on Talmudic themes, and since a single 
letter often answered many questions, it frequently 
attained the compass of an entire book. The letters 
of the Geonim, which, for the most part, contained 
.replies to many problems, assumed a definite and 
official form. They began with the statement that 
the questions had been correctly received, read, and 
considered, and that the corresponding answers had 
been given in the presence of the gaon and with his 
approval. The introductory formula, used in the 
letters of the Geonim, may be illustrated by the fol- 
lowing example : “ Amram ben Sheshna, head of the 
academy of the city of Mehasya [Sura], to all schol- 
ars and their disciples and to those of our brethren 
of the house of Israel who dwell in Barcelona, and 
who are dear, beloved, and revered unto us, may 
their prosperity increase and wax great ! Receive ye 
greeting from us and from R. Zemah, the president 
of the court, from the heads of the Kallali [“reshe 
Kallali ”], from the authorized teacher, and from all 
other scholars and disciples of the academy, all of 
whom ever pray for your health, that God in His 
great mercy may have compassion on 
Mode of you. The questions which ye have 
Reply. laid before us we have caused to be 
read unto us, while the president of 
the court and the allufim and the other sages and 
disciples sat before us. We have studied them, and 
weighed all that is written in them, and with divine 
help have given to them the following answers” 
(“Teshubot ha-Geonim,” ed. Lyck, No. 56, p. 21). 
In other introductions are found the concluding 
words, “We commanded and directed that the an- 
swers to your questions be written you as we have 
perceived them with the help of God ” (Harkavy, 
“Teshubot ha-Geonim,” pp. 32, 76). This citation 


shows that there were regular secretaries who pre- 
pared the letters, and it is likewise clear that the 
judicial board and its president formulated the re- 
plies and then presented them to the gaon, who ap- 
proved and signed them if they were found cor- 
rect (comp. Harkavy, l.c. No. 198, p. 88). After 
this general introduction the various questions and 
their answ r ers were given in regular order in the 
letter. Each question was introduced by the phrase 
“ she-sha’altem ” ( = “ as to what ye have asked ”), and 
v 7 as then repeated, either word for word or in con- 
tent. The answer to each question then followed, 
either without any introductory phrase, or with the 
words, “ thus is it,” “ the answer to this question is,” 
“if the matter is as your letter of inquiry states, it 
seems to us as follows,” “we regard it thus,” “thus 
the sages say,” “thus have we learned from earlier 
sages,” “know ye,” or “thus hath Heaven revealed 
unto us,” which, however, is simply equivalent to 
the phrase “ with divine help we lin ve found. ” The 
answ T erwas frequently concluded with the formulas, 
“thus is the final decision” (“halakali”), “thus is 
the correct practise,” “ thus is the usage in the acad- 
emies,” or “such cases come daily before the acad- 
emies, and in them all we decide thus.” After all 
questions and tlieir answers had been given, the 
formal conclusion of the letter came. .Occasionally 
this was the brief phrase, “may Godv grantAs- To 
decide according to the Law*, and to teadli A(^qrding 
to valid decision” (Harkavy, l.c. No. '350, :p..> 179), 
but more frequently, especially when the letter was 
sent to foreign lands, it concluded with a blessing on 
him who had asked the question, such as, “may 
God reveal unto thee, oh, friend and colleague, and 
unto all the scholars and disciples of thy city, the 
Torah of wisdom and of understanding, and clothe 
you with a mantle of glory ” (Harkavy, l.c. No. 264, 
p. 135; comp, also No. 369, p. 185, and No. 344, 
p. 172). 

Geonic responsa are written in three languages, 
Hebrew, Aramaic, and Arabic, In the earliest period 
Aramaic, the language of the Gemara, prevailed ex- 
clusively, but in the middle of the ninth century 
Hebrew began to appear in the responsa side by side 
with it. This innovation was doubtless due, on the 
one hand, to the study and knowledge of Hebrew 
which spread through rabbinical circles as a result 
of the Karaite movement, and, on the other, to the 
fact that the rulings of the Geonim were thenceforth 
sent to distant lands, where the inhabitants were 
unfamiliar with Aramaic, so that it became neces- 
sary to write to them in Hebrew, the dialect of the 
Mislmah. When Arabic became the prevailing lan- 
guage of the Jews in the dominions of the califs, 
questions were frequently addressed to the Geonim 
in that tongue, whereupon the scholars of the acad- 
emies used the same language in reply, thus ac- 
counting for the mass of Arabic responsa. 

Some of the responsa that have survived are un- 
mutilated and in tlieir original form, 
Collections while others are extant only in ex- 
of Geonic tracts. The first collection appeared, 
Responsa. together with brief geonic rulings, at 
Constantinople in 1516 under the title 
“ Halakot Pesukot min ha-Geonim” (Brief Rulings 
of the Geonim), and in 1575 another corpus. 



She’elot u-Teshubot 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


244 


entitled “Slie’elot u-Teshubot me ha-Geonim,” was 
published in the same city. At Salonica in 1792 
Nissim ben Hayyim edited a collection of geonic re- 
sponsa under the title “ Sha‘are Zedek ” (Gates of 
J ustice), which contains 533 responsa arranged ac- 
cording to subject, and an index by the editor. For 
the majority of these responsa the name of the au- 
thor is cited, and many of them are reproduced in 
their original form with their Talmudic proofs and 
disquisitions. In 1858 another collection was pub- 
lished at Leipsic with the title “Slia'are Tesliubak,” 
ten years after David Cassel had issued his corpus, 
which was entitled “ Teslmbot Geouim Kadmoiiim ” 
(Responsa of the Earliest Geonim). A collection of 
responsa was published at Jerusalem in 1863 with 
the title “Hemdali Genuzah,” and in the following- 
year Jacob Mussafia edited his “ Tesliubot ha-Geo- 
nim” at Lyck, this being succeeded seven years later 
by Nahman Nathan Coronet's “ Tesliubot ha-Geo- 
nim ” (Vienna, 1871). In 1882 Hayyim M. Horowitz 
published at Frankfort-on-tlie-Main a number of ge- 
onic responsa under the title “Toratau shel Rish- 
onim ” (Responsa of the Earlier Authorities). The 
most important corpus of responsa, however, is that 
contained in a manuscript of the Royal Library of 
St. Petersburg and edited by Harkavy under the title 
“Teskubot ha-Geonim” (Berlin, 1885), which in- 
cludes many Arabic decisions, while numbers of the 
rulings still preserve the name of the questioner and 
the date of his inquiry. Yet another corpus of 
geonic responsa has been edited by Joel Muller 
in his “Tesliubot Geone Mizrah u-Ma‘arab” (Re- 
sponsa of the Geonim of the East and West), Berlin, 
1885. In addition to these collections, a number of 
geonic responsa have been published in other works, 
as in the “Ta‘am Zekenim ” of Eliezer Ashkenazi 
(Frankfort-on-tlie-Main, 1856) and the “Kebuzat 
Ilakamim ” of H. Warnheim (Vienna, 1867), as well 
as in the haiakic works of older authorities, such 
as the “ Ilalakot ” of Asheri, the responsa of Solo- 
mon b. Adret, and the responsa of Meir of Rothen- 
burg. The most recent collection is that edited by 
L. Ginzberg on the basis of genizah fragments and 
•entitled “ Genizah Studies ” (1905). 

As stated above, the responsa of the Geonim were 
by no means restricted to problems of legalism or 
ritualism, but in addition referred to all departments 
of human life and knowledge, treating of liturgic- 
al, theological, philosophical, exegetic, lexicograph- 
ical, archeological, and historical questions; and 
they likewise contain abundant material for a study 
of the conditions of the times in which they were writ- 
ten, and for the culture-history and the commercial 
relations of the Jews, as well as for a knowledge 
of the manners and customs then prevailing in 
Judaism. A few examples of brief geonic responsa 
may be cited as characteristic of the views and cus- 
toms of the times: “As to what ye have asked: 

‘ How is it with regard to the theft of non-Jewisli 
property in cases where it has not already been for- 
bidden as a desecration of the divine name? ’ thus is 
our ruling: The prohibition of theft has naught to 
do with desecration of the divine name, but is a 
clearly established law which forbids any theft 
whatever from a non-Jew. Desecration of the di- 
vine name is mentioned only in association with ob- 


jects which have been lost. According to R. Phine- 
has b. Jair, 4 Whensoever it leads to a desecration of 
the divine name, one is forbidden to appropriate 
anything which a non- Jew has lost.’ The vine said 
to have been abstracted from the garden of a Gen- 
tile by R. Aslii was evidently taken in return for 
compensation,” etc. (“Ska ‘are Zedek,” iv. 1, 6). 
“And as to what ye have asked: ‘After the burial 
of a corpse many wipe their hands on the ground,’ 
no such custom prevails among us. And as to what 
ye have heard : ‘ While returning from the ceme- 
tery many are wont to wash their hands before 
reaching the house and to sit down on the way; 
what is the reason for this?’ thus is our opinion: 
The washing of the hands is not obligatory, but 
where it is the custom one should wash them. The 
bidding of the sages that one must sit down seven 
times while returning from a corpse is intended to 
apply solely to the case in which one goes to the 
place of burial and returns from it, and solely for 
the kinsmen, and solely for the first day, and, above 
all, solely for those places where the usage is cus- 
tomary. The sevenfold repetition of sitting down 
is on account of the evil spirits which follow the re- 
turning mourners, that a demon may disappear each 
time the bereaved sit down ” {ib. iii. 4, 19-20). It is 
noteworthy, furthermore, that the famous Letter of 
Sherira Gaon, which is the chief legal source for the 
Talmudic and geonic periods, was a responsum of 
this character, sent in reply to the questions of an 
African community. 

During the entire geonic period the Babylonian 
schools were the chief centers of Jewish learning, 
and the Geonim, the heads of these schools, were 
recognized as the highest authorities in Talmudic 
matters. Even in the most distant lands the 
Jews looked upon these academies and their heads 
as once their ancestors had regarded the high court 
of the “Bet Din lia-Gadol, ” which had been rever- 
enced as the one place whence came valid instruction 
and whence rulings might be drawn. Despite the 
tremendous difficulties which hampered the irreg- 
ular communications of the period, the Jews who 
lived even in most distant countries sent their in- 
quiries concerning religion and law to these high offi- 
cials in Babylonia. In the latter cen- 
Rise of furies of the geonic period, from the 
Local middle of the tenth to the middle of 
Responsa. the eleventh, their supremacy suffered 
in proportion as the study of the Tal- 
mud received fostering care in other lands. The in- 
habitants of these regions gradually began to submit 
their doubts to the teachers and heads of the schools 
of their own countries, and soon, in view of the at- 
tendant expense and difficulty, entirely ceased des- 
patching their questions to the seat of the Geonim, so 
that during this period responsa of eminent rabbis 
of other lands appeared side by side with geonic ru- 
lings. To this class belong, for example, the respon- 
sa of R. Kalonymus of Lucca, contained in the col- 
lection “ Tesliubot Geonim Kadmonim, ” Berlin, 1848, 
Nos. 106-118, and of his son R. Meshullam (ib. 
Nos. 119-151; comp. Rapoport, Pref.), and the 
responsa of R. Gershom b. Judah of Ma} r ence ap- 
peared in the works of later authorities, especially in 
the collection of R. Meir of Rotkenburg (Nos. 5 



245 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Slie’elot u-Teshubot 


572, 847, 850, 8G2, 865, 928, 929) and in the “ Sefer 
lia-Yashar ” of R. Tam (Nos. 866, 899). Of the re- 
sponsa of R. Moses b. Enocli of Cordova only two 
have been preserved, in the collection “ Sliahire Ze- 
dek” (iii. 2, 21; iv. 1, 21), while his son R. Enoch 
cited another one by him ( ib . iv. 5, 9), the same col- 
lection including also the rulings of R. Joseph b. 
Isaac ibn Abitur, the contemporary and opponent 
of Rabbi Enoch of Cordova (ii. 28; iii. 1, 27; iv. 
4, 5, 6, 8, 21, 23, 42). A single rcsponsum of R. 
Samuel ha-Nagid of Cordova is contained at the 
end of the collection entitled “Pe’er ha-Dor,” while 
a number of rcsponsa of Ilananeel b. Hushiel 
of Kairwan have likewise been preserved. These 
responsa of non-geonic authorities from the latter 
part of the epoch of the Geonim form the transition 
from the geonic to the first rabbinical period, and 
they resemble the rulings of the Geonim both in form 
and in the introductory phrases, “as to what ye 
have asked,” “we have meditated on this ques- 
tion,” or “the answer to this question is, if the mat- 
ter is as your letter of inquiry states,” while the 
conclusion of the answer is followed by a brief 
greeting, “may your health be great,” or simply 
“and health unto you,” after which the letter is 
signed. The non-geonic responsa, however, were 
not dominated by the official style and the self-con- 
scious tone which characterized the geonic rulings. 
Decisions of this type are written in Hebrew, and 
contain many theoretical interpretations of Tal- 
mudic passages in addition to the rulings governing 
practical cases. The responsa of this period of 
transition may be represented by the following ru- 
ling of R, Ilananeel of Kairwan, cited from a manu- 
script by Berliner in his “ Migdal Hananel ” (Leip- 
sic, 1876, p. xix.): “As to what ye have asked, 
whether the Talmudic saying that it is better to let 
the children of Israel transgress laws unconsciously 
which they would transgress consciously were they 
fully instructed, be not contradictory to many pas- 
sages of Scripture, such as Lev. xix. 17, 4 Thou shall 
in any wise rebuke thy neighbor’; Ezek. xxxiii, 9, 
‘If thou warn the wicked of his way,’ etc.; and 
Prov. xxiv. 5, 4 But to them that rebuke him shall 
be delight,’ this is the answer: It is true that the 
children of Israel are commanded to rebuke one 
another and thus it is written in the prophets and in 
the sages, whether one man or a community be 
guilty of a transgression. If the violation of the 
words of the Torah is conscious, the transgressor 
must be warned, and, if necessary, be may be pun- 
ished, while, on the other hand, all efforts must be 
made to win him back to righteousness. If, how- 
ever, all t-liis is without avail, then ‘ thou hast de- 
livered thy soul ’ (Ezek. xxxiii. 9). In case the 
transgression is unconscious and there is reason to 
suppose that the children of Israel would obey if 
they were instructed, they must be warned and en- 
lightened concerning the teachings of the Law and 
the way of righteousness. It is otherwise, however, 
when what is forbidden is regarded as permitted, 
and when a prohibition is regularly taken with little 
seriousness on account of the assumption of the pres- 
ence of due precaution agaiust violation of the Law. 
Thus, on the eve of the Day of Atonement folk sit 
at meat in broad daylight, but their meal lasts until 


evening draws near. Those who eat intend to finish 
the meal in due time and wish to fix the proper 
moment arbitrarily. They say ‘It is still time,’ while 
darkness is approaching; and though we should 
warn them they would not listen. In such cases it 
is better for us to remain silent, and not to cause 
them to become guilty of conscious sin. This case 
is to be differentiated from one in which we see 
another transgress a law consciously, for then we are 
in duty bound to lift up our voices against him on 
the chance that he may harken to us.” 

The third period, or the first rabbinic epoch, 
comprises responsa of the teachers of the earlier 
Spanish and French schools in the eleventh and 
twelfth centuries. With the decline 
First of the gaonate in the first half of the 
Rabbinic eleventh century, the Jews of various 

Epoch. countries lost the central spiritual au- 
thorities wlio had hitherto given their 
decisions in doubtful problems. Thenceforth the ap- 
peal in religious and legal questions was to be made 
to the rabbinical authorities of one’s own or a neigh- 
boring country, so that inquiries sent during this 
period to Babylonia were rare and exceptional. The 
responsa of the epoch came from various countries, 
and from schools having different tendencies, thus 
showing the position and the type of spiritual life in 
general and of Talmudic learning in particular, since 
all these factors prevailed in the different countries at 
the time. Especially noteworthy is the divergence 
between the French and the Spanish school in the 
twelfth century, the second half of this period. Tiie 
questions were by no means restricted to practical 
problems, but many of them, in case the interpreta- 
tion of a halakic or haggadic passage in the Tal- 
mud was the subject of inquiry, were theoretical in 
nature. In their discussion of theoretical problems 
the responsa of the Spanish scholars are noteworthy 
for the u n trammeled scientific spirit which perme- 
ates them far more than is the case with those of the 
French school. Even in those responsa which are 
practical in bearing a distinction may be drawn be- 
tween the two schools. 

For the most part the rulings of this period re- 
ceive their basis or their confirmation from a passage 
in the Talmud, and in this motivation the difference 
between the French and the Spanish exegesis of the 
Talmud is clearly shown. The Spanish school was 
the more logical, and strove for brevity and lucidity 
in the deduction of its rulings from the Talmud, 
while the French school was more dialectic, and fre- 
quently gave full play to casuistry at the expense 
of clearness. The chief representative of the French 
school in the eleventh century was Solomon ben 
Isaac (Rashi), and many of his responsa have been 
preserved in the “Pardes ” and in the Vi try Mahzor. 
His decisions are written in Hebrew, without formu- 
las either of introduction or of conclusion, although 
an interesting phrase which is peculiar to him and was 
apparently invented by him occurs once, running as 
follows: “I, the undersigned, was asked whether 
. . . thus have I heard from my teachers, and thus 
is ni3 r own opinion likewise inclined, ...” the ru- 
ling being followed hy the signature “ Solomon b. 
Isaac,” without any concluding formula (Vi try Mah- 
zor, pp. 434-435). The leader of the Spanish school 



She’elot u-Teshubot 


THE JEWISH EH 0 Y CLOPEDI A 


246 


in the same century was Isaac Alfasi, who left many 
responsa, an entire collection being printed at Leg- 
horn in 1780, under the title “ She’elot u-Teshubot ha- 
RIF ” (= “ Isaac Alfasi ”). Tliese decisions were writ- 
ten in Arabic, and were translated into Hebrew at 
an early date, being extant only in this version. In 
his introduction Isaac Alfasi employed the same 
formulas as had been used by the Geonim, such as 
“know y r e,” “ I have meditated on this question, and 
the answer seems to me thus,” or “thus our opinion 
is inclined.” At the conclusion some brief greeting, 
such as “health to you, Isaac b. Jacob,” was em- 
ployed before the signature, which was frequently in- 
troduced by the formula, “I sign my name Isaac b. 
Jacob.” Such a responsum was apparently written 
by his secretary^, and the author was required simply 
to affix his own signature. Numerous other rulings 
have the concluding phrase, “ by me, Isaac b. Jacob,” 
a phrase which lie was apparently' the first to use. 
Many of the responsa of Alfasi are devoted to the 
interpretation of haggadic passages of the Talmud, 
and manifest the broad and lucid spirit of the Span- 
ish school. Here two brief examples only" can be 
cited. In responsum Ho. 13 lie declares that the 
strange story told of R. Banxaait in the Talmud 
(B. B. 58a) was not. a real occurrence, but merely 
a dream. The story of Bahbah bar bar Haua (ib. 
74a) that he had wandered into the desert and liad 
found the place where heaven and earth touch was 
interpreted by r Alfasi (responsum Ho. 314) as follows : 
According to a tradition a king of Alexandria had 
erected an observatory' in the desert, and had placed 
there a globe of the heavens and of the earth near 
each Other, thus affording a basis for the anecdote. 

The chief representatives of the French school of 
the twelfth century were Jacob Tam, Abraham b. 
David of Posquieres, and Eliezer b. Hathan of Ma- 
ycnce. The responsa of Rabbi Tam are contained 
in his “ Sefer ha-Yashar ” as well as in 
The French the works of other authorities, such as 

School. R. Meir of Rotlienburg and Mordecai. 

Tam's style was refined and poetic, 
and he often prefixed a versified introduction 
in praise of his questioner; in like manner his con- 
cluding formulas were flowing and sentimental, 
such as “My r love for thee is firm and fast founded 
in my heart; peace and health be on thee and on all 
of thine.” The responsa of Eliezer b, Hathan, con- 
tained in liis “Ebon lia-‘Ezer,” are partly r exegetic 
in character and partly devoted to practical deci- 
sions. Especially r interesting are his interpretations 
of Biblical passages, as that of Prov. xxx. 1-5 in re- 
sponsum Ho. 119, where he explains “ha-massa” as 
“hamasite,” and regards Agur as the descendant pf 
the Massa mentioned in Gen. xxv. 14. In his rulings 
lie often employed a form of introduction which laid 
stress on his own slight importance and on the great 
dignity of his questioner, such as. “but what do I 
know that thou knowest not?” “I know that thou 
needest me not,” or “although I am not worthy, 
y r et will I answer according to my’ seanty r knowl- 
edge,” his concluding formula being: “May r God 
illumine mine ey r es with Ilis wisdom. ” The responsa 
of Abraham b. David are included in the collection 
entitled “Tummat Yesharim” or “Temim De‘im” 
(Venice, 1622). Particularly' notew’orthy’ is his in- 


junction to submit to the governance of the laws of 
the land, basing his argument on the Talmudic say- 
ing: “The law of the land is valid” {ib. responsum 
Ho. 50). 

The chief representatives of the Spanish school in 
the twelfth century were Joseph ibn Migasand Mai- 
monides. The responsa of the former include both 
practical decisions and theoretical elucidations and 
explanations of difficult passages in the Mishnali and 
the Talmud, the first group being written in Arabic 
and later translated into Hebrew, while the greater 
portion of the second category was composed by" the 
author himself in the Talmudic Hebrew idiom. 
These rulings are contained in a collection entitled 
“She’elot u-Teshubot, . . . Yosef ha-Levi ibn 

Mi gas,” which was printed with the novellas of 
Hahmanides at Salonica in 1791, besides a number 
of responsa in the “Shittali Mekubbezet ” of Bezalel 
Ashkenazi. In responsum Ho. 204 he explains the 
various forms of symagogal poetry, such astlie“piy- 
yut, ” “ pizmon,” and “ kuklon.” Especially r striking 
is the remarkable circumstance mentioned by him in 
responsum Ho. 120 that the Jews of Andalusia buried 
their dead in their houses (probably gardens). The 
responsa of Maimonides, which were written in great 
part in Arabic, are contained in the collections enti- 
tled “ Pe’er ha-Dor ” (Lemberg, 1859) and “ Kobez Te- 
shubot lia-RaMBaM ” (Leipsic, 1859); the decisions 
in the former collection were translated by r Mordecai 
Tamma from Arabic into Hebrew in 1761, and pub- 
lished at Amsterdam. Tliese rulings contained brief 
decisions of problems of a ritual or legal content, 
as well as replies to inquiries concerning difficult 
passages in tlie author’s monumental “ Yad ” and 

elucidations of astronomical and chronological ques- 
tions (“Pe’er ha-Dor,” Hos. 43-44; “Kobez Teshu- 
bot lia-RaMBaM, ” Ho, 172). Among the responsa 
of Maimonides is one of special interest (“Iyobez 
Teslmbot lia-RaMBaM,” Ho. 160) concerning a Mo- 
hammedan prosely r te to Judaism, in which it was de- 
clared that Mohammedans were not to be regarded 
as heathens, since actual idolatry had vanished from 
among them, and although -they still retained many 
idolatrous customs, they" interpreted them differently, 
and believed in the unity" of God. Noteworthy like- 
wise is the responsum addressed to the scholars of 
Marseilles (ib. ii. 24-26), in which Maimonides de- 
monstrated the futility of astrology" and astrological 
reckonings. Yet another responsum is his “ Iggerot 
Teman,” which lie addressed to Yemen in reply" to 
a question of the South-Arabian scholar Jacob Al- 
Fayumi regarding a fanatic who had proclaimed 
himself the Messiah. In his responsa Maimonides is 
extremely" brief, and frequently dispenses altogether 
with formulas of introduction, although when he 
does employ" them they" are the same as those adopted 
by" liis predecessors and contemporaries, with the 
additional phrase “ by me, Moses b. Maimon.” The 
concluding formulas likewise are the same as those 
of his predecessors, although before liis signature 
the phrase “ we-katab ” (and this hath be written) 
frequently occurs. 

Tlie fourth period, or the second rabbinic epoch, 
includes responsa from the teachers of the later 
Spanish and French schools during the thirteenth 
and fourteenth centuries. In this period the dif- 



247 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


She’elot ■u.-Teshaibot 


ference between the Spanish and the Franco-Ger- 
nmn schools vanished so far as the responsa were 
concerned ; for, on the one hand, the 
Second scientific spirit of the Spanish school 
Rabbinic partially, entered the academies of 
Epoch. southern France, and, on the other 

hand, the dialecticism of the French 
rabbis steadily increased in influence in Spain, so 
that here as well as in France and Germany the same 
system was adopted for deciding questions and 
proving these rulings by the help of the Talmud. 
The chief representatives of the Spanish responsa in 
the thirteenth century were Nahmanides, R. Solo- 
mon b. Adret, and R. Nissim b. Reuben. Very 
few responsa by Nahmanides have been preserved; 
those which are extant arc contained in a work en- 
titled “ She‘elot u-Teshubot ” (Venice, 1523 ; Zolkiev, 
1798), in which are included in great part the 
responsa of Solomon b. Adret. The rulings of this 
scholar mark the climax in the development of re- 
sp on sal literature. To him came questions from the 
most distant communities, and he answered them all 
with marvelous lucidity and scholarship. His re- 
sponsa number about three thousand, aud in content 
are partly practical and partly devoted to exegesis, 
ethics, and religious philosophy. The exegetic ru- 
lings interpreted difficult passages of the Bible, the 
Talmud, and the works of older authors, while the 
practical responsa comprised decisions as to the rit- 
ual, civil and marital law, communal relations, and 
the contemporary political affairs of the Jews. The 
responsa of Solomon b. Adret fall into five, parts. 
The first part (Bologna, 1539; frequently reprinted) 
contains 1,255 responsa; part two, entitled Sefei 
Toledot ‘ Olam ” (Leghorn, 1654), contains 405 : part 
three {ib. 1778) contains 445; part four (Saloniea, 
1803) contains 330; and part five (Leghorn, 1805) 
contains 298. Other responsa by him are included 
in the “She’elot u-Teshubot.” A few examples of 
his decisions may be given. When asked concern- 
ing many discrepancies between the books of Chron- 
icles and the other books of the Bible, lie replied as 
follows (i., No. 12) : “ A change in phraseology with- 
out an alteration of meaning is not surprising. Even 
in the Pentateuch apparent discrepancies of this 
kind are found, so that one of the sons of Simeon is 
called Zoliar in Gen. xlvi. 10 and Ex. vi. 15, and 
Zerali in Num. xxvi. 13, but since both names sig- 
nifv ‘ magnificent,’ the double nomenclature is ex- 
plained.” In responsum No. 395 be describes his 
abolition of several superstitious customs, one of 
which was to kill an old cock, and to hang its head 
at the door on the occasion of the birth of a boy. 
Particularly noteworthy is responsum No. 548, in 
which be gives a decision regarding a marvelous 
child at Avila, who had originally been idiotic, but 
later frequently fell into trances during which lie 
composed works whose contents he declared had 
been communicated to him by an angel. 

The chief representative of the Ger- 
The man school in the thirteenth century 

German was R. Mei’r b. Barucli of Rothenburg. 

School. Like Solomon b. Adret, questions were 
addressed to him from all sides, and 
his replies were characterized by accuracy and 
directness. A large number of his responsa have 


been preserved, the oldest collection being the 
“ She’elot u-Teshubot” (Cremona, 1557) with 315 
responsa, while another corpus, which contained 
1,022 responsa, appeared under the same title at 
Prague in 1608. A collection of unedited responsa 
was issued at Lemberg in 1860, and in 1891 Moses 
BIocli published at Berlin a new corpus of unedited 
responsa of Mei'r of Rothenburg under the title 
“jSefer Sha'are Teshubot Maharam.” The special 
interest of Meir’s responsa is the picture which they 
give of the wretched condition of the German Jews 
of his time, and of their sufferings from the caprice 
of princes and from heavy taxation. His style is 
the stereotyped diction of the responsum of the 
period, each one being introduced by a greeting in 
praise of the questioner, and concluding with a 
greeting and with benedictions. The collections of 
the responsa of Mei'r of Rothenburg contain also the 
rulings of other older and contemporary rabbis of 
the Franco-German school. 

The principal representatives of the fourteenth 
century were Asher b. Jebiel and Isaac b. Slieshet 
Barfat. The responsa of the former, which are re- 
markable for their clearness, first appeared at Con- 
stantinople in 1517 under the title “ She’elot u-Teshu- 
bot,” while an enlarged edition was published at 
Venice in 1607 and again at Zolkiev in 1803. This 
collection of responsa is arranged according to 108 
subjects, each of which has a special chapter, called 
“ kelal,” while at the head of every rubric stands a 
resume of its contents and a numerical list of the 
responsa treating of each subject. This arrange- 
ment, however, was scarcely the work of R. Asher 
himself, but was made probably by one of his pupils, 
possibly by his sonR. Judah, who made certain ad- 
ditions. From the responsa of R. Asher may be 
gleaned many curious customs of the Spanish com- 
munities. To a question addressed to him from 
Burgos, Asher responded (No. 68, 10) that according 
to Talmudic law no arrests could be made for debt, 
even in cases where the debtor had pledged liis own 
person, although, on the other hand, he noted that 
it was the custom of the communities in Spain to 
imprison one who had failed to pay his quota of the 
royal tax until he should discharge his debt. 

The 518 responsa of Isaac b. Slieshet were pub- 
lished at Constantinople in 1546-47 as “ She’elot u- 
Teslmbot,” while a new corpus has recently been 
prepared by David Frenkl at Munkacs under the ti- 
tle “She’elot u-Teshubot lia-Ribash ha-Hadasbot.” 
These responsa contain many interesting disquisi- 
tions illustrative of the conditions of the times, in- 
cluding rulings on marriage and marital relations in 
the case of Jews who had been forcibly baptized, as 
well as other decisions relating to those who had 
been compelled to accept Christianity (e.g., Nos. 1, 
4, 6, V 12, 43). Especially interesting are the re- 
sponsa which describe the prevailing customs and 
regulations of the communities of the period, as in 
No. 158, which contains a noteworthy account of the 
usages observed in many places with regard to the 
seven days of mourning after the death of a kinsman. 

The fifth period, or the third rabbinic epoch, ex- 
tends from the fifteenth to the eighteenth century, 
and includes responsa of Italian. Turkish, German, 
and Polish rabbis. These rulings are totally differ- 



She’elot u-Teshubot 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


248 


ent from tliose of the previous periods in the nature 
of the problems presented, in the method of treat- 
ment, and in the arrangement of sub- 
Third ject - matter. In former times the 

Rabbinic questions had been devoted to many 
Epoch. departments of knowledge, both sa- 
cred and profane, being concerned 
with lialakic and exegetic themes as well as with 
ethical and philosophical problems, so that there w T as 
scarcely a subject of human activity or thought on 
which the responsa might not expatiate. In this 
fifth period, on the other hand, the responsa were 
restricted almost entirely to legal regulations, and 
since the pronouncement of judgment was regarded 
as a religious duty, and since in most countries 
the Jews were unwilling to submit to a non-Jew- 
isli court, legal questions formed a large part of 
the responsa. While the decisions of the earlier 
epochs had been so clear and lucid that the reader, 
if at all acquainted with the subject, could easily 
follow them and readily gain an accurate survey of 
the course of the argument and its result, the re- 
sponsa of this period had changed completely, for 
the pilpulistic methods which had been in vogue 
since the middle of the fifteenth century in the study 
of the Talmud and the halakic works forced their 
way into responsal literature as well. The responsa 
are remarkable for the liair-splitting dialectics which 
characterizes them and often robs them of lucidity, 
and awakens in the reader suspicion as to the cor- 
rectness of their decisions. In originality, more- 
over, the responsa of this period were inferior to 
their predecessors, for the most- characteristic ones 
were evoked by the persecutions and the wretched 
political status which resulted in bringing so much 
misery upon the Jews. 

These evils, however, were not entirely new, for 
even in the previous periods the same circumstances 
and distressing conditions had existed in greater or 
less degree — conversion to Mohammedanism or 
Christianity, the distribution of the heavy burdens 
laid on the Jews by princes, the extortion of large 
sums of money to avert threatening dangers, and the 
feeling of uncertainty produced by expulsions from 
home— all these had existed in times long past, so that 
the ancient responsa contained decisions for the most 
varied circumstances. With little difficulty an ana- 
logue might be found, and the determination of a 
point of contact with the older responsa was no hard . 
task. On the other hand, the responsa of this period 
are noteworthy for their erudition. Since the re- 
spondents now belonged to the “aharonim ” and no 
longer enjoyed the independence of the “rislionim,” 
they sought to base their rulings and decisions on 
the older authorities. The field had already been 
thoroughly worked, and the respondent was conse- 
quently obliged to have studied it in all its aspects, 
and to have made a careful search for the question 
propounded to him or one analogous to it, while, in 
case one was found, it was neeessaiy for him to 
search through the entire Talmudic and rabbinical 
literature to see whether his ruling was unimpeach- 
able in the eyes of the older scholars. The lack of 
originality in the responsa of this period, therefore, 
finds its compensation in depth of learning and ac- 
curacy of reproduction. In external arrangement, 


moreover, the decisions of this epoch are superior to 
their predecessors. In the older rulings systematic 
sequence was almost entirely lacking, but the re- 
sponsa of the new period had as models the “ Arba‘ 
Turim”of Jacob b. Aslicr and, after the sixteenth 
century, the “Shulhan ‘Aruk” of Joseph Oaro, so 
that many of the responsa were arranged according 
to these two works, while among the later scholars 
this practise became the rule. 

This period is likewise the richest in responsal 
literature, and it would be impossible to enumerate 
all the collections made within -it, so that it must 
suffice to mention the chief representatives of each 
cen tu vy and country. The most important German 
respondents of the fifteenth century were Israel Is- 
serlein and Israel Bruna. The collec- 
Israel tion of the responsa of the former is 
Isserlein. entitled “Tern mat ha-Deshen,” and 
comprises 354 decisions, which are im- 
portant as describing many characteristic features of 
the time. Several of them (Nos. 341-346) discuss 
the apportionment of the taxes and the assessments, 
while others are concerned with the attitude to be 
observed toward a repentant apostate (No. 198). 
Particularly interesting is the responsum (No. 197) 
devoted to the problem whether Jews might so dis- 
guise themselves as to escape recognition in coun- 
tries where they were absolutely forbidden toYeside. • 
The responsa of Israel Bruna,. entitled “She’elot’ 
u-Teshubot ” (Stettin, 1860), likewise contain many 
interesting allusions to contemporary conditions, as 
in the case of No. 71, which discusses the problem 
whether the Jews might attend races. In Italy the 
chief representatives of the fifteenth century were 
Joseph Colon and Judah Minz. Especially impor- 
tant in the responsal literature of this century 
were the Turkish rabbis, among whom the chief 
were Jacob Berab, Levi b. Habib, Elijah Mizrahi, 
and Moses Alashkar. The most interesting of tiie 
responsa of Levi b. Habib (printed at Venice in 1560) 
are Nos. 8 (p. 16a), treating of the belief in the trans- 
migration of souls (“gilgul”), and 144 (pp. 249 et 
seq.), on the chronological determination of the Sab- 
batical year and the year of jubilee. Among the 
responsa of Elijah Mizrahi special stress may be 
laid on the decisions (Nos. 13-15, 53) governing the 
authorization of communal institutions and ordi- 
nances, as well as those determining the validity of . 
the regulations of the congregation, while those re- 
sponsa are also important which define the attitude 
of the Babbinite Jews toward the Karaites (Nos. 57- 
58). The most noteworthy responsa of Moses Alash- 
kar (printed at Sabbionetta in 1554) are tliose which 
discuss the problem whether a converted Jew may 
be compelled by means of the provincial court to 
give his Jewish wife a bill of divorce according to 
Jewish procedure (No. 75, pp. 136b-137a), and the 
question of the covering of the head and the conceal- 
ment of the hair in the case of a married woman 
(No. 35, pp. 94 ei seq.). In the fifteenth century 
but one Polish rabbi, Shalom Shekna, of the latter 
part of this period, is known to have left responsa, 
while in the following century, ou the other hand, 
responsal literature is represented almost exclusively 
by the Polish and the Turkish rabbis, Germany having 
practically no respondent of prominence and Italy 



249 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


She’elot u-Teshubot 


only a few. The chief Polish representatives of the 
sixteenth century were Moses Isserles, Solomon 
Luria, anti Me'ir Lublin; the responsa of these 
scliolars throw a flood of light on the condition of 
the Jews of the period, who evidently took high 
rank in Poland and were not unfamiliar with mili- 
tary arts, since they offered their services to the duke 
or to the prince on the outbreak of a war (comp, 
responsum. No. 43 of Me’ir Lublin). The chief 
Turkish respondents of this period were Joseph Caro, 
Joseph ibn Leb, Samuel of Modena, and David abi 
Zimra. Of the responsa of the last-named, which are 
contained in several collections and which are char- 
acterized by lucidity and strict logic, one (iv. 92) 
may be noted as especially interesting in that it dis- 
cusses the problem whether a Jew is permitted to 
abjure his religion and accept Islam when threatened 
with death. Abi Zimra considers the question in 
detail, and determines the cases in which a Jew may 
thus save his life and the contingencies in which he 
should rather choose death. The only important 
Italian respondent of the sixteenth century was Men- 
ahem Azariah da Fano, whose responsa were edited 
at Dyhernfurtli in 1788. 

In the seventeenth century rabbis of various coun- 
tries prepared responsa, but the Polish scholars were 
in the great majority. The chief German represent- 
ative of responsal literature was Jair Havyim Bach- 
arach, the author of a collection of responsa entitled 
“ Ha w wot Ya’ir. ” Among the Italian respondents the 
most important was Samuel Aboab, whose decisions 
appeared at Venice in 1702 under the title “Debar 
Shemu’el, ” while of the Turkish authorities the most 
prominent w T ere Joseph b. Moses di Trani (MaHaRIT) 
and Jacob Alfandari, whose responsa, entitled “Muz- 
zal me-Esh,” were published at Constantinople in 
1718. The principal Polish rabbis of the seven- 
teenth century who wrote responsa were Aaron 
Samuel Kaidauover and Menahem Mendel Kroch- 
mal. The decisions of the former, which were pub- 
lished at Frankfort-on-the-Main in 1683 under the 
title “Emunat Shemu’el,” afford a glimpse of the 
wretched plight of the German Jews of the time, 
and tell of the oppression and persecution which 
were their lot. The responsa of Menahem Mendel 
Krochmal appeared posthumously ; they were edited 
by his son under the title “Zemali Zedek ” (Amster- 
dam, 1775). The most noteworthy of his rulings is 
one (No. 2) in which he decided in favor of universal 
suffrage in the community, making no distinction 
between rich and poor, taxed and untaxed, learned 
and ignorant, but giving all an equal share in the 
choice of the rabbi, the dayyan, and the president. 

In the eighteenth century, in like manner, the 
rabbis of various countries contributed to responsal 
literature, but the most important were still the 
Polish scholars. The chief representative of Ger- 
many was Jacob Emden, "whose re- 
Tlie Polish, sponsa form the collection entitled 

School. “ She’elot Ya'abcz ” (2 parts, Lemberg, 
1884), the most interesting being one 
(i., No. 46) which discusses the problem whether a 
Homan or an Italian convert to Judaism might marry 
a Jewess, since the Romans w T ere regarded as Edom- 
ites, and Edomitic proselytes were forbidden by 
Deut. xxiii, 8-9 to form family tics with the Jews 


before the third generation of the former. The prin- 
cipal Italian respondent of the eighteenth century 
was Samson Morpurgo, whose posthumous decisions 
were edited by his son Moses Hayyim Shabbethai 
under the title “ Shemesli Zedakah” (Venice, 1743). 
The most important Turkish rabbi in this field was 
Jonah Nabon, whose responsa were published at 
Constantinople in 1748, as the “Nehpah ba-Eesef.” 
Among the Polish scholars who prepared responsa 
may be mentioned Me'ir Eisenstadt and Ezekiel Lan- 
dau. Particularly interesting in the collection of 
the former, which is entitled “Panim Me’irot,” is 
one (ii., No. 152) in which he stigmatizes as pre- 
sumptuous arrogance the practise of ostentatiously 
wearing "white garments in the fashion of the cab- 
alists, "while the general custom was to wear black 
clothing. The collection of responsa by Ezekiel 
Landau, known as “Noda‘ bi-Yehudah,” was highly 
esteemed by rabbis and Talmudic scholars, being 
distinguished both for its strictly logical discussion 
and for its independence with regard to the rulings 
of later authorities as contrasted with its adherence 
to the writings of earlier scholars (“kadmonim ”). 

In their formulas of introduction and conclusion 
the responsa of this period show little deviation from 
those of previous centuries. They generally begin 
with an apostrophe which eulogizes the fame and 
the glory of the questioner, this portion being fre- 
quently written in verse, and the responsum often 
concludes with the phrase, “ what my scant} r "wis- 
dom hath given me I have written thee,” or, “what 
ha tli seemed right according to my scanty wisdom, 
I have written tliee,” the decision then ending with 
a greeting. In some responsa the date is written at 
the beginning and in others at the close. 

The sixth period, or the fourth rabbinic epoch, 
comprises the responsa issued in various countries 
from the beginning of the nineteenth century to the 
present. As regards the “teslnibot,” or responsa 
proper, this period is identical with the preceding, 
both in external form and in the method of discussion, 
but the great factor which differenti- 
Fonrtb ates this century from those before it 
Rabbinic lies in the questions which evoked the 
Epoch. responsa. In foregoing centuries the 
decisions, in so far as they were in- 
tended to be practical, were based on questions 
taken from real life. The responsa of the nine- 
teenth century, however, aud especially those of 
the latter half of it, were evoked for the most part 
by problems which "were merely hypothetical. . Im- 
pelled by a desire for notoriety, the questioner 
evolved a problem which could occur seldom or 
never in real life, and which consequently found 
no solution in the older responsa or codes, so that a 
question "was asked which was apparently new and 
thitherto undecided. Yet in this period as in the 
others many responsa deal with problems taken from 
actual experience. This is especially true, of deci- 
sions evoked by many great inventions which have 
wrought sweeping changes in the relations of life in 
general, or by changes in the conditions of the Jews 
in different countries, or by movements within Ju- 
daism itself; e.g., those of Reformed aud national 
Judaism and Zionism. Only a few examples can be 
cited here. In a responsum (“ Hatam Sofer, Grab Hay- 



She’elot u-Teshubot 
Sheepfold 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


250 


yim,” No. 2S) Moses So for discussed the problem 
whether the ** birnah ” (almeinar) might be removed 
from the center and placed near the Ark, as is now 
the case in all Reform and even in many Orthodox 
synagogues, but which was then interdicted as an 
innovation. In another responsum (ib. “Torch 
De‘ah,”No. 128) he debated whether a Jewish sculp- 
tor was permitted by his religion to carve human 
figures. The movements for the reform of Judaism 
evoked many respousa in reply to questions con- 
cerning the location of the birnah, organ accompani- 
ments, the covering of the head in the synagogue, 
the seating of men and women together, and prayers 
in the vernacular. Among the collections of such 
responsa written in opposition to Reform ma 3 r be 
mentioned the “Eleh Dibre ha-Berit ” (Amsterdam, 
1819), by Moses Sofer, Akiba Eger, and others, pro- 
testing against prayers in the vernacular and against 
the use of the organ on the Sabbath ; the “ Zeror ha- 
Hayyim ” of Abraham b. Aryeh Lob, rabbi at Em- 
den (id. 1820); the “Torat ha-Kena’ot” (ib. 1845), a 
collection of letters and responsa controverting the 
resolutions of the rabbinical conference at Bruns- 
wick; and the “Meholat ha-Mahanayim,” by Israel 
David Margolies-Schlesinger-Jaife (Presburg, 1859). 

In a responsum Joseph Saul Nathanson discussed 
the problem of the transfer of a corpse from one 
place of burial to another (“Sho’el u-Meshib,” i., No. 
281). In another responsum (ib. iii., No. 873) he re- 
plied in Hie affirmative to a question sent him from 
New lurk asking whether a Protestant church 
might be changed into a synagogue. Isaac Schmel- 
kes passed judgment (“Bet-Yizliak,” i., Przemysl, 
1901, No. 29) on the question of civil marriage, 
which is permitted by the laws of Hungary between 
Jews and non-Jews, and he debated also (ib. ii., 
Przemysl, 1895, No. 31) whether electric lights may 
be used for Han uk kali, and (ib. No. 58) whether the 
telephone or the phonograph may be used on the 
Sabbath. The Jewish colonization of Palestine in 
recent times has been the occasion of many re- 
sponsa on questions connected witli agriculture and 
horticulture in the Holy Land, including the prob- 
lems of the cessation of all labor in the fields during 
the Sabbatical year and the use of etrogs from the 
Jewish colony of Palestine. 

In addition to the collections of responsa already 
mentioned, the following may be noted as the most 
important examples of responsal literature in the 
nineteenth century: the “Hesed Je-Abraham” of 
Abraham Te’omim (Lemberg, 189S), the “Ketab 
Sofer ” of Abraham Samuel Benjamin So fer (Pres- 
burg, 1873-84), and the “Be’cr Yizhak” of Isaac El- 
hamm Spektor (Konigsberg, n.d.). 

Bibliography : Responsal 1 iterature as a whole has as yet found 
no literary historian ; single periods have been discussed while 
others have been entirely neglected, the works on these sepa- 
rate epochs including: Joel Muller, Brief c unci Bcspoimen 
aus der Voryaonaisclicn Jildischen Litcratur , Berlin, 1S86 • 
idem, Einleitung in die Respomen der Balnjlnnischen Ge- 
onen, ib. 1891 ; Zacharias Frankel, Entumrf ei'ner Gescliichtc 
der Liferatur der Nachfalmiulischen Besponscn, Breslau 
I 860 . The responsa by European and American rabbis to 
problems arising in America are summarized by J. D. Eisen- 
stem. fhe Development of Jewish Casuistic Literature in 
America , Baltimore, 1905. 

w - J. Z. L. 

SHEEP . — Biblical Data : The most usual 
terms for the sheep are “ seh ” and “ kebes ” (“ keseb ”) .- 


“kar” (Dent, xxxii. 14; Isa. Iviii. 7) denotes the 
young lamb in pasture; “teleh ” (Isa. xl. 11 etal.), 
the suckling lamb; “ayil,” the ram; “rahel,” the 
ewe. In the Aramaic portions of the Old Testament 
the term “emer” occurs (Ezra vii. 17), which term 
is found also in the cognate languages. The word 
“zou ” is used collectively for small cattle, including 
sheep and goats. 

The important place held by the sheep in the hus- 
bandry of Palestine is shown by the hundreds of 
Biblical references to it. It is the first animal distin- 
guished by name (Gen. iv. 4). In patriarchal times 
sheep formed the chief part of the 
Uses of the flocks and herds and the principal 

Sheep. source of wealth (comp. Gen. xii. 16, 
xxiv. do etal . ; Ex. ii. 16). The exist- 
ence of large numbers of sheep is referred to t hrough- 
out the Biblical narrative (comp. Num. xxxi. 32; 
Josh. vi. 21 ; I Sam. xiv. 32, x v. 3, xxvii, 9 ; Job i. 3 ; 

I Chron. v. 21). Even kings did not disdain to he 
breeders of sheep (II Kings iii. 4; I Chron. xxvii. 31; 

II Chron. xxvi. 10, xxxii. 29; comp. Eccl. ii. 7). 

The uses of the sheep were manifold. Its flesh, 



Palestinian Sheep, with Cart Supporting Tail. 


vi. 4); the ewe’s milk also was consumed (Deut. 
xxxii. 14). The shofar was made of the horn of the 
ram (Josh. vi. 4), which was used also as a recepta- 
cle for oil, etc. (I Sam. xvi. 1). The skin served as 
covering for tents (Ex. xxvi. 14), and probably as 
clothing (Heb. xi. 37). But it was chiefly for its 
wool that the sheep was valued (Deut. xviii. 4; 
Prov. xxvii. 23, 26; xxxi. 13; Job xxxi. 19), and 
sheep-shearing was the occasion of a festival (Gen. 
xxxviii. 12; 1 Sam. xxv. 2; II Sam. xiii. 23). The 
white wool of Damascus is especially mentioned 
(Ezek. xxvii. 18). 

The sheep was preeminently the animal for sacri- 
fice (Gen. iv. 4; Lev. i. 10 et passim; I Kings viii. 
5; II Chron. xv. 11). The morning and evening of- 
fering in the Sanctuary consisted of a yearling lamb 
(Ex. xxix. 38; Num. xxviii. 1). 

The plain east of the Jordan, and Ammon, Moab, 
Gilead, Bashan, Carmel, and Sharon were particu- 
larly devoted to sheep pasture (Num. xxxii. 4; Isa. 
lxv. 10; Micali vii. 14; II Kings iii. 4). Arabia also 
was rich in sheep (Isa. lx. 7; Ezek. xxvii. 21; II 
Chron. xvii. 11). 



251 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


She’elot u-Teshubot 
Sheepfold 


The sheep now most common in Palestine is the 
broad-tailed variety, characterized by a deposit of fat 
in the tail (“alyali”; comp. Ex. xxix. 22; Lev. iii. 
9 € t ul.). In northern Palestine a horned variety 
similar to the merino is found. Sheep are still 
abundant east of the Jordan. 

Flock and shepherd are often used figuratively 
in reference to the people and their leaders (Num. 
xxvii 17; I Kings xxii. 17; Ezek. xxxiv. 17, xxxix. 
18; Zecli. xi. 7; Ps. xlix. 15, cxix. 176). The ram 
is also the emblem of one of the great monarchies 
(Dan. viii. 3). The patience and meekness of the 
lamb are alluded to in Isa. liii. 7, Jer. xi. 19, and 
Ps. xliv. 12, 23 (A. Y. 11, 22). 


a field ” (Hul. 84a, b). The most valuable part of 
the sheep is its wool, and great pains were taken 
in the care of it (Shab. 6b; Hul. 137a). Sheep bear- 
ing fine wool were protected by covers to keep the 
wool clean (Shab. 54a). Shorn sheep wore on the 
forehead a sponge or a piece of woolen cloth satu- 
rated in oil as a protection against cold (ib.). Of the 
ram, the horns were made into wund-instruments, the 
hollow thigh-bones into flutes, the large intestine into 
lute-strings, and the small intestine into harp-strings ; 
while from its wool were made the pomegranates in 
the garment of the high priest, against which the 
striking of small golden bells produced a tinkling 
sound (comp. Ex. xxviii. 33-35). Hence the adage: 


I 

X 



Palestinian Sheep and Shepherd. 

(From a photograph by the American colony at Jerusalem.) 


In Rabbinical Literature : A number of ad- 
ditional terms for the sheep are used in the Talmud; 
e.g., fcOD'K (Kcr. 28b et al.), (K. H. 26a). In the 

first month of the second year the sheep is called 
Tpu, KOPYD'ID (Paralii. 3). The ram is called 
also D^m “Dt ( u the male of the ewes”; Yeb. 
121b), and in the plural '“D'H (Hul. 39b) ; while to the 
great ram the term tfiTU is applied (Shab. 18b). 
DHiny (properly, “ lie-goats ”) occurs sometimes for 
sheep in general (Hul. S4a). The wild ram is *“Dn 
( ,k ram of the field ” ; IIul. 80a). Sheep carrying their 
heavy tails on little wagons are mentioned (Shab. 
54b). 

The high estimation in which sheep are held in 
tlie Talmud is illustrated by the advice: “Sell thy 
field to buy sheep, but do not sell thy sheep to buy 


I “ The ram alive produces only one sound ; dead, seven 
sounds” (Kin. 25a). The sheep conceives, as a rule, 
when it is two years old, and its period of gestation 
is five months. It copulates with the goat (Bek. 
19b). In parturition the young comes forth with the 
lips first, not with the ears, as does the goat (Bek. 
85a). To aid the sheep in parturition pieces of cloth 
dipped in oil and warmed were bound on its fore- 
head and belly (Shab. 54b). To fatten female sheep 
their udders were bound up so as to prevent the 
formation of milk (Shab. 54a). The best sheep were 
those of Hebron (Sotah 34b). 

Bibliography: Tristram, Nat. Hist. p. 133: Lewysohn .Zoolo- 
yic lies Talmud s, p. 118. 

E. G. H. I- lVL * L. 

SHEEPFOLD. See Shephebd. 


Shefawam 

Shebitah 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


252 


SHEFABJAM (DjTlDfcy ; called by the Arabic 
geographers Shefa‘ram; modern name, Shefa 
‘Amr) : Place in Palestine, three hours distant from 
Haifa, governed by a mudir. In the second century 
it served as a refuge for the Sanhedrin (see TJsha). 
Nothing is known of the early history of its Jewish 
community, which was probably dispersed by the 
many conquerors that from time to time invaded 
Palestine, Sliefar'am is not mentioned by any trav- 
eler, either Jewish or Gentile, since it is not on the 
highway to Haifa, nor on that from Acre to Tiberias 
or Safed. 

About 1741 or 1742 a large number of Palestinian 
Jews settled at Shefar‘am, encouraged by Rabbi 
Ilayyim Abulafia of Smyrna, who established a com- 
munity at Tiberias also. The Jews of Shefar'am 
were at first employed in agriculture, but as the gov- 
ernment oppressed them with taxes, the}' left Uieir 
farms and engaged in commerce. The local author- 
ities gave the lands to the Druses, but when these 
refused to pay the taxes the lands were taken away 
from them and restored to the Jews. The latter, 
though engaged in business also, cultivate some 
acres of land and raise olives. 

In a total population of 1,345 inhabitants there 
were in Shefar'am in 1901 seven Jewish families ag- 
gregating forty-five individuals. Among them are 
three haberdashers and dealers in dry-goods, one 
greengrocer, one oculist, one druggist, and an offi- 
cial who combines the functions of hazzan, sholiet, 
moliel, and teacher. Shefar'am possesses a school 
subsidized by the Alliance Israelite Universelle, a 
small synagogue, a bath for women (“ mikweli ”), 
and an abandoned synagogue, several centuries old, 
which contains ancient scrolls of the Law. 

^ Luah Erez Yisrael, Jerusalem, 

D * M. Fr. 

SHEFELAH. See Palestine. 

SHEFTALLi (SHEFTAIL) : American family, 
well known in Georgia, members of which are at 
present living in Savannah. 

Benjamin Sheftall : American merchant ; born 
in England at the beginning of the eighteenth cen- 
tury ; died at Savannah. He was one of forty immi- 
grants who arrived at Savannah in July, 1733. H e 
left two sons, Levi and Mordedai. Benjamin com- 
menced the well-known ‘‘Sheftall manuscript,” 
completed by his son Mordecai, in which the immi- 
gration of the Jews to Georgia in 1733 is described. 

He was known for his antislavery views, and was 
one of the founders of the Union Society of Savan- 
nah. His eldest son, Levi, was a merchant in Sa- 
vannah, and held, like his father, a leading place in 
the affairs of the Jewish congregation. 

A * F. T. H. 

Mordecai Sheftall : American soldier, and pa- 
triot in the Revolutionary war; born at Savannah, 
Ga., 1735 ; died there 1797. He was one of the first 
white children born in tlie colony, being; a son of 
Benjamin Sheftall, who arrived in Savannah shortly 
after Oglethorpe, and whose name is mentioned 
in. the first deed of Georgia. Mordecai received a 
fair education, and, on attaining manhood, became a 


prominent merchant. Long before the Revolution lie 
was a member of the well-known Union Society. 
For several years the only Jewish place of wor- 
ship in Savannah was a room fitted up by him in 
his own house, where services were held until about 
1774. In 1773 he deeded a piece of land to his 
coreligionists for the purpose of erecting a syna- 
gogue; but the project was abandoned owing -to 
the excitement preceding the troubles with Great 
Britain. 

From the very outbreak of the Revolution Shef- 
tall was prominently identified with the American 
cause. He became chairman of “the Parochial 
Committee,” organized to regulate the internal af- 
faiis of Savannah, and composed of patriots opposed 
to the royal government. As chairman of this rebel 
committee be was subsequently denounced and per- 
secuted by the British. In 1777 Sheftall was ap- 
pointed commissary-general to the troops of Georgia 
and to the Continental troops also ; in October of the 
following year he became “Deputy Commissary of 
Issues in South Carolina and Georgia ”; and lie'fig- 
ured as a staff -officer in the- Continental line of the 
Georgia brigade during the war. When the British 
attacked Savannah in 1778, Sheftall not only took 
an active part in its defense, but lie also advanced 
considerable sums of money for the American cause. 
After the city had been taken he was captured, but 
lie resisted all inducements to give up the cause of 
liberty ; as a result he suffered severely from perse- 
cution on the part of the British, and was placed on 
board a prison-ship. It was probably during this 
captivity, part of which was spent in the West 
Indies, that he wrote the details of his imprisonment 
in a journal, which seems to have been subsequently 
published under the title “Capture of Mordecai 
Sheftall, Deputy Commissary-General of Issues,” 
etc. Excerpts from this work are giveu iu White's 
“Historical Collections of Georgia,” 
Imprison- iu which Sheftall’s captivity is graph - 
ment. ically described. The British appear 
to have spoken of Sheftall as “a very 
great rebel.” Georgia historians point with pride 
to his successful efforts during this dark period in 
preserving the Union Society, which is still one of 
Savannah's representative organizations. With the 
aid of three fellow prisoners who were among the 
leading patriots of the colony, the meetings of the 
society were regularly held and its anniversaries 
celebrated, Sheftall being chosen president. When, 
in 1825, Lafayette laid the corner-stone of the Pu- 
laski monument at Savannah, there was deposited 
therein, among other precious relics, “a piece of 
the oak-tree from Sunbury, Liberty county, Georgia, 
under which in 1779 the charter of the Union Society 
was preserved; and Mr. Mordecai Sheftall, then a 
prisoner of war, was elected president.” 

In 1780 Sheftall figured as a witness at the court 
martial of Major-General Howe, who, in the course 
of his successful defense, remarked: “Mr. Sheftall 
is an honest man, and from the testimony of such I 
know that I have nothing to fear.” Shef tail's name 
appears near the head of the list in the “Disqualify- 
ing Act” passed by the British in 1780, in which it 
is associated with those of the foremost patriots of 
Georgia, he being described as “ Chairman of Rebel 



253 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Shefar‘am 

Shebitah 


Parochial Committee. ” In 1783 he appears at Phil- 
adelphia, which was then the haven for patriot ref- 
ugees, as one of the founders of the Mickve Israel 
congregation. In the following year he, in com- 
mon with other officers, received a grant of land in 
what was called “The Georgia Continental Estab- 
lishment,” in token of his services during the war. 
He subsequently figures as one of the incorporators 
of the Union Society (1786) ; and his name is also 
closely associated with the early history of free- 
masonry in the United States. 

After the Revolution Slieftall was one of the fore- 
most reorganizers of the Savannah congregation ; 
and he was largely instrumental in securing the first 
enclosed Jewish burial-ground in that city. The 
records of Congress show that Sheftall subsequently 
made efforts to recover some of the money he had 
advanced to the American cause. The documents 
connected with this case are quite numerous; but, 
though the claim was favorably reported, the money 
has not been paid to the heirs. 

A. L. Hu. 

Moses Sheftall: Son of Mordecai Sheftall; born 
in Savannah Oct. 12, 1796. He practised as a phy- 
sician in his native town and was elected twice to 
the state legislature. He was also a judge of the 
county court. 

Sheftall Sheftall: Son of Mordecai Sheftall; 
captured by the British while acting as deputy com- 
missioner in the Revolutionary war and sent as pris- 
oner to the West Indies. 


Bibliography: Markens, The Hebrews in America , pp. 49- 
f)0 New York, 1888; Daly, The Settlement of the Jews in 
North America , pp. 67-76, New York, 1893 ; Publ. Am.Jew. 
Hist. Soc. i. 8, 24, 86 et seq.l ii.47; m. 88, llo;.iv. 9^-99 ; ix.62; 
x. 69-95 (where it is mentioned that the diary of Benjamin 
Sheftall is in the possession of Sally Sheftall of Savannah); 
xii. 44, 47, 54, 56, 163; Cyrus Adler, in Menorah Monthly , 

F. T. H. 

SHEHITAH : The ritual slaughtering of ani- 
mals. While the practise that prevailed among the 
nations of antiquity other than the Hebrews,, of 
cutting off a limb from a living animal and eating 
it, is condemned in several passages in the Bible (see 
Cruelty to Animals; Dietary Laws), no definite 
mode of slaughter is prescribed. In connection with 
the preparation of an animal for sacrifice the term 
“sliahat”is used (Lev. i. 5, 11; iii. 2, 8, 13); but 
this denotes merely that the animal is to be killed, 
and not how it is to be slaughtered. 
Origin Tra- There can be but little doubt, how- 
ditional. ever, that in slaughtering the sacrifi- 
cial animals the priests followed some 
uniform mode akin to that which was later adopted 


by all Israel and which is known as “shehitali ” (see 
Sifre to Deut. xii. 21). Speculating on the etymology 
of the words “sliahat” and “zabah,” the Rabbis en- 
deavored thereby to establish on a Scriptural basis 
the law that an animal should be slaughtered by 
cutting the throat (Hul. 27a). The current opinion, 
however, was that all the laws of shehitali were 
given orally to Moses by God {ib. 28a, based on Deut. 
xii. 21). One opinion is to the effect that Moses was 
commanded concerning the shehitali of mammals 
only, and not concerning that of birds, the latter, 
therefore, being merely a rabbinic institution (ib. 
27b, 28a), 


The laws of shehitali apply only to mammals and 
birds, not to fishes and locusts (ib. 27b, based on 
Num. xi. 22). The latter, however, should not be 
eaten alive (Sliulhan ‘Aruk, Yoreh De‘ah, 13, 1, 
Isserles’ gloss). The young found in an animal 
which has been duly slaughtered may be eaten 
without the carrying out of the usual form of sliehi- 
tah, provided it did not “step on the ground,” i.e., 
if it is used for food soon after being found in its 
mother’s womb (Hul. 74a). 

The slaughtering of animals is entrusted only to 
persons versed in the Law and skilled in their work. 
Shehitali may not be performed by the following: 
a deaf-mute, idiot, or minor (ib. 2a); one who is 
intoxicated (Yoreli De‘ali, 1, 8, and Isserles’ gloss); 

an old man whose hands tremble, it 
Q,ualifica- being apprehended that he may press 
tions of the knife against the throat of the 
ShoRatim. animal instead of gently moving it 
forward and backward (comp. “Be'er 
Heteb” and “Pit-lie Teshubah,” on Yoreh De'ah, 
1,5); a non-Jew, even though not an idolater (Hul. 
13a, b); a Jew who spitefully transgresses the laws 
of Judaism (“mumar le-hak‘is”; Yoreh De‘ali, 2, 5; 
see. Heresy). Some authorities considered women 
incompetent to perform sliehitah (Tos. to Hul. 
2a, s.v. “Ha-kol ” ; Yoreh De‘ah, 1, 1, Isserles' 
gloss), an opinion that came to be generally ac- 
cepted. 

At the present time the custom is to allow no one 
to slaughter unless he has passed a rigid examina- 
tion before a competent authority in all the laws of 
shehitali and of Terefah, especially those pertain- 
ing *to tlie examination of the lungs, and has received 
a written certificate (“kabbalah”) of his knowledge 
of such laws, of his expertness iu examining the 
knife, and of his skill in slaughtering. Even after 
he has received sucli a certificate and has been per- 
mitted to slaughter animals, the shohet is enjoined 
to review the laws of sliehitah occasionally (at least 
every thirty days), so that he may remain well 
versed in them (ib. 1,1, Isserles' gloss). 

The length of the knife (“hallaf”) with which 
sliehitah is performed must be twice the width of 
the throat of the animal about to be slaughtered, the 
maximum length being fourteen fingerbreadtlis (ty. 

8, Isserles’ gloss). The knife must be 
The Knife, sharp, smooth, and without any per- 
ceptible notch ; and it must be thor- 
oughly examined before tlie slaughtering, by pass- 
ing first the finger and then tlie finger-nail over its 
edge and both sides (Hul. 17b). It should be simi- 
larly examined after the slaughtering; and if a 
notch in it should then be found tlie animal becomes 
ritually unfit for food (ib. 10a). It is customary for 
the shohet to occasionally submit bis knife to the 
rabbi for examination (ib. 18a). In Yoreh De‘ah, 18, 
17. the opinion is expressed that this examination is 
no longer necessary, since only pious and learned 
men are now appointed as sliohatim. The custom, 
however, still prevails. Before slaughtering, the 
following blessing is pronounced: “Blessed art 
Thou . . . who sanctified us with His command- 
ments and commanded us concerning slaughtering.” 
In case many animals are to he slaughtered at the 
same time one blessing is sufficient. After the bless- 



Sh.ehi.tah. 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


254 


ing has been pronounced no irrelevant conversation 
is permitted (Hul. 86b; Yoreli De'ali, 19). 

The act of slaughtering proper consists in cutting 
through the windpipe and the gullet in mammals, 
or either of these in birds. If the greater part of 
both these organs is cut through (or, 
The in birds, the greater part of either). 
Process, the animal is considered ritually 
slaughtered (Hul. 27a). The veins 
along both sides of the neck of a bird must be 
pierced at the time of slaughtering (ib . ; Yoreli Dc'ah, 
21, 22). The many details of shehitali were sum- 


(3) “ Haladali ” (digging). The knife must be 
drawn over the throat. If it is placed between the 
windpipe and the gullet, or under the skin, or under 
a cloth liung over the neck of the animal, so that 
any part of the knife is not visible while shohitah 
is being performed, although the slaughtering is 
otherwise correctly executed, the animal is unfit for 
food (ib. 24, 7-11). 

(4) “Hagramali” (slipping). The limits within 
which the knife may be inserted are from the large 
ring in the windpipe to the top of the upper lobe 
of the lungs when inflate:!, and the corresponding 



German Jewish Slaughtering-Yard of the Early Eighteenth Century. 

(From Kirchner, “ Jiidisches Ceremoniel,” 1726.) 


marized by the Rabbis under the following five laws, 
which were supposed by them to have been deliv- 
ered by God to Moses (Hul. 9b): 

(1) “ Shehiyah ” (dekgy). There should be no delay 
or interruption while the slaughtering is being per- 
formed. The knife should be kept in continuous 
motion, forward and backward, until the organs are 
cut through. A delay of even one moment makes the 
animal unfit for food (“ nebelah ” ; Yoreli De £ ab, 23). 

(2) “ Derasah ” (pressing). The knife must be 
drawn gently across the throat, without any undue 
exertion on the part of the sliohet. It is therefore 
forbidden to lay one’s finger on the blade while 
slaughtering, as the least pressure renders the ani- 
mal unfit for food (ib. 24, 1-6). 


length of the pharynx (ib. 20). Slaughtering by the 
insertion of the knife in any part above or below 
these limits is called “hagramali,” and renders the 
animal unfit for food {ib. 24, 12-14). 

(5) “ ‘Ikkur ” (tearing). If either the windpipe or 
the gullet is torn out or removed from its regular 
position during the slaughtering, the animal becomes 
unfit for food. If this has happened while the ani- 
mal was yet alive, the latter is not regarded as 
“ nebelah, ” and its eggs or milk may be used for food ; 
but the animal itself can not become ritually fit for 
food through slaughtering (ib. 24, 15-20). 

Soon after shehitali the sholiet must examine the 
throat of the animal and ascertain whether the wind- 
pipe and the gullet are cut through according to the 


German Jewish Slaughtering-Yard of the Eighteenth Century. 

(From Bodeuschalz, “ Kircbliche Verfassung,” 17-18,) 


Shein 

Shekel 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


256 


requirements of the Law (Hul. 9a ; ^ oreli De all, 
25). In the case of birds and of permitted wild 
beasts, some of the blood shed in the course of 
sliehitali must be covered with earth or ashes (Lev. 
xvii. 13), the following benediction being first pro- 
nounced : “ Blessed art Thou . . . who sanctified us 
with His commandments and commanded us to 
cover blood with earth ” (Hul. vi; Yoreh De‘ah, 28). 
For the prohibition against slaughtering an animal 
and its young on the same day, see Cruelty to 
Animals. 


lished under the auspices of the St. Petersburg 
Academy of Sciences. He was the author also of 
“ Velikorus v Svoikli Pyesnyaldi, Obryadakh, i Pr.,” 
which was one of his last works. 


Bibliography: J Vycdclm, Aug. 20, 1900, No. 34, p. 1146; JYo- 
voyc Vrcmya , Aug. 26, 1900, No. 8 <99, p. 3. 


SHEITEL. See Wig. 


SHEKALIM : Treatise of the Mishnali, the To- 
sefta, and the Jerusalem Talmud, dealing with the 
half-shekel tax which was imposed for defraying the 


Bibliography : Maimonides, Yad, Shcliitah, i.-iv., xiv.; Shul- 
han Arulu Yoreh De'alh 1-28; Hamburger, R. B. T.n 
s.v. Schlachten ; Weiehman, Das Schachten, Leipsic, 1899 , 

Wiener, JDie JU.dische.n Spciseoe&etze, pp. 244 -2o». Breslau. 


1899. 
W. B. 


J. H. G. 


expenses of the Temple service (comp. Ex. xxx. 12 
et seq. ; Nell. x. 33); also with the other institutions 

of tile Temple at Jerusalem. In most of the Mish- 

nah editions the treatise is the fourth in the order 



Slaughtering-Knives. 

(.In the possession of Maurice Herrmann, New York.) 


SHEIIST, PAVEL VASILYEVICH : Bussian 
ethnographer; horn in 1826; died at Riga Aug. 14, 
1900. He studied at the University of Moscow, and 
after conversion to Protestantism he became in the 
fifties a teacher of Russian in the district school of 
Tula and later in the school of Yasnaya Polyana, es- 
tablished by Count Leo Tolstoi. Deeply interested 
in the language and customs of his country, lie de- 
voted himself to the study of Russian folk-lore, and 
notwithstanding the fact that he was crippled he 
visited numerous villages and hamlets in various 
parts of the country, collecting songs and stories 
from the peasants. 

Sliein’s most important work Avas “Bytovaya i 
Semeinaya Zhizn Byelo-Russi v Obryadakh i Pyes- 
nyakh ” (St. Petersburg, 1890), which was pub- 


Mo‘ed, and is divided into eight chapters, contain- 
ing fifty-one sections in all. 

Ch. i. : Concerning-the method of calling for pay- 
ment of the tax on the first day of the twelfth 
month, Adar ; public works undertaken on the fif- 
teenth of Adar; on that day the money-changers set 
up their tables in Jerusalem for the purpose of ex- 
changing foreign moneys for the coin in which the 
tax was payable; on the twenty-fifth of Adar the 
changers set up their tables in the Temple itself, 
on the last-mentioned date also they 
Contents : began to take pledges from those per- 
Ch.. i.-iii. sons who had not paid the tax, no 
pledges being exacted from the priests, 
although they were obliged to pay the tax, and 
committed a sin in refusing to do so ; women, slaves, 



257 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Shein 

Shekel 


and minors were not required to pay the tax, 
though their money was accepted if they offered it: 
the tax was not accepted from pagans and Samari- 
tans. even if they wished to pay it; cases in which 
a small sum was paid in addition to the half-shekel. 

‘ Ch. ii. : Concerning the changing of the shekalim 
into gold coin, in order to transport the money more 
easily to Jerusalem; the boxes placed in the Temple 
and throughout the province, into which every per- 
son dropped his half-shekel; cases in which the 
money was lost or stolen en route to Jerusalem; 
cases in which a person paid his tax with conse- 
crated money; the different kinds of coin in which 
the tax was paid at different times during the Sec- 
ond Temple ; ways of -using money collected, for cer- 
tain purposes. 

Ch. iii. : Concerning the three days of the year on 
which the gold coin handed in was taken from the 
treasury and placed in three baskets, from which it 
was subsequently taken for the purchase of the sac- 
rifices; manner of removing this money from the 
treasury so that the persons engaged in the work 
might in no wise be suspected of theft ; manner of 
marking, either with Hebrew or with Greek letters, 
the three baskets in which the money was placed. 

Ch. iv. : Relating to the things purchased with 
the money taken from the treasury, and what was 
done with the money remaining there; regula- 
tions for disposing of the remnants of 
Ch. iv.-viii. other dedicated objects (§§ 1-5) ; man- 
ner of disposing of objects suitable for 
sacrifices, which were included in property that a 
person had left to the Temple (§§ 6-8); manner of 
determining once in thirty days the price of the 
wine, oil, and meal needed in the Sanctuary (§ 9). 

Ch. v.: Enumeration of the fifteen offices con- 
nected with the Sanctuary, and the names of the 
heads of these offices; the four checks or counters 
representing the measures used in the different sac- 
rifices; the sacrificer requiring wine, oil, and meal 
for his sacrifice went to the keeper of these checks, 
and received one on payment- of the requisite sum ; 
with this check lie went to the keeper in charge of 
the ingredients of the sacrifice, who gave him wliat 
he needed for his offering; subsequent treatment of 
the checks; the two apartments in the Temple in 
which gifts were placed; one of them was called 
“secret chamber,” because the names of the donors 
as well as those of the poor who received relief from 
such gifts were kept secret. 

Ch. vi. : Occurrence of the number thirteen in 
connection with the Sanctuary; the thirteen jars, 
thirteen tables, and thirteen obeisances made in 
thirteen different places therein; where the Ark of 
the Covenant was concealed ; once a priest in doing 
some work noticed that a certain part of the floor 
was different from the rest ; when lie mentioned the 
fact to his colleagues, he was immediately stricken 
dead, whereupon the} r perceived that the Ark was 
concealed below that portion. 

Ch. vii. : Regulations regarding the disposal of 
money, meat, or cattle found in the Sanctuary at 
Jerusalem or in the vicinity of that city ; seven reg- 
ulations issued by the court (“bet din ”) in reference 
to sacrifices and to dedicated objects. 

Ch. viii. : Regulations regarding the cleanness or 
XT. — 17 


unclean ness of saliva, and of vessels and slaughtering- 
knives found in Jerusalem ; purification of the cur- 
tain of the Temple when defiled in any way ; value 
of the curtain before the Sanctuary ; the half-shekel 
tax and the offering of the firstlings of the fruit 
ceased with the destruction of the Temple. 

The Tosefta on this treatise is divided into three 
chapters, and contains many interesting additions 
and supplements to the Mishnali. Noteworthy is 
the discussion of the question whether the Ark of 
the Covenant was taken to Babylon or 

Tosefta whether it was concealed in the ground 
and below the spot where it had stood in 

Gemara. the Sanctuary (ii. 18) ; regulation re- 
garding the time of apprenticeship 

Wllicll tlie 3L.evites w ere veqaxix-ecl to serve in order 

to become qualified to enter into the Temple service 
(iii. 26). 

The Babylonian Talmud having no Gemara to 
this treatise, the Palestinian Gemara is printed in 
the editions. The latter contains, besides com- 
ments on the Mishnah, many sentences and liaggadic 
interpretations, as well as legends and myths. Some 
of the sentences may be quoted here . “ The pious 
and the sages need no monuments; for their wise 
sayings and noble deeds commemorate them forever 
in the minds of men ” (ii. 7). “If the sentence of a 
dead sage is repeated, his lips move in the grave” 
(i.e., he speaks though no longer living; ib.). 
“When David was about to build tlie Temple, God 
asked him, ‘ For what is the Temple intended? For 
the purpose of bringing sacrifices to Me there? I 
prefer the exercise of right and justice to all sacri- 
fices * ” (Prov. xxi. 3) (ib.). “R. Men* said; ^Who- 

ever lives in Palestine, speaks Hebrew, observes the 
laws of purification, and reads the “Shema‘” every 
morning aud evening is sure of participating in tlie 
future life ’ ” (iii. o, end). There is also an interest- 
ing criticism of persons who spend large sums in 
erecting buildings for academies, though this money, 
might be employed to better advantage in aiding 
the students (v. 15, end). 

W. 3?. J L. 

SHEKANZIB • Small town near Ne- 

liardea, in Persia, perhaps identical with Al-Zib on 
the Tigris, and possibly with tfnB’T (‘Er. 64a, MS. 
reading). According to M. K. 28b, its women were 
noted for the beautiful songs of mourning which 
they sang at burials. Rabbi Judah lia-Nasi refused 
to allow" his children to live there because it was a 
town of mockers (Pcs. 112b); but Rab Nahman 
married a woman of Shekanzib (Yeb. 37b). Slierira 
Gaon states in liis letter (in Neubauer, “M. J. C.” i. 
29) that Rabba bar Abulia fled to that town when 
Papa ben Nazar captured Neliardea. 

Bibliography: Levy, Neuhebr . Wurierb. iv. 554; Neubauer, 

G. T. p. 363. g 0 

SHEKEL 6p5*0 : Name of (1) a weight and of 
(2) a silver coin in use among tlie Hebrews. 

1. Weight : It has long been admitted that the 
Israelites derived their system of weights and coins 
from the Babylonians, and both peoples divided the 
talent (n^D) into 60 minas (HID), each mina consist- 
ing of 60 shekels, so that the talent contained 
3,600 shekels. This division into 3,600 shekels is 



Shekel 

Shekinah 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


258 


generally supposed to be implied in Ezek. xlv. 12 
(comp. Riehm, “Handwbrterbucli,” p. 509), but tlie 
inference is incorrect, for the passage is almost cer- 
tainly corrupt (comp. Smend, Cornill, and Kriitz- 
schrnar, ad loc.). In fact, it actually states that the 
mina contained 50 shekels, which would make the 
talent equal to 8,000 shekels, so that a mina equals 
81S.6 grams, and a talent equals 49.11 kilograms. 
A similar talent is found among other peoples, for 
the Greeks and Persians likewise divided the mina 
into 50 shekels, while the division of the talent into 
60 minas was universal. This division into 50 is evi- 
dently a consequence of the conflict of the decimal 
and the sexagesimal system, the Egyptian influ- 
ence making itself felt side by side with the Baby- 
lonian. 

It may possibly be inferred from Ezek. xlv. 12 
that in the exilic period and the time which imme- 
diately preceded it the division of the mina into 50 
shekels became customary among the Jews, and that 
this was simultaneous with the division of the shekel 
into 20 gerahs (nil), since this coin is mentioned 
only in Ezekiel and in the Pentateuch (Ex. xxx. 13; 
Lev. xxvii. 25; Num. iii. 47). In the pre-exilic 
period lialf-sliekels (yp3) and quarter-shekels are 
mentioned, while in the Pentateuch the Temple tax 
was determined according to the “shekel of the 
sanctuary,” which was equal to 20 gerahs. The 
meaning of the phrase “ shekel of the sanctuary ” 
is uncertain, but at all events there is no justifica- 
tion for the rabbinical assumption that in addition 
to it there was also a common shekel of one-half its 
value, for there are no references whatever to the 
latter. It is possible, however, that the “shekel of 
the sanctuary ” may be contrasted with the smaller 
silver shekel, and that it may have received its name 
from the fact that the standard weight was kept in 
the Temple. 

2. Coin: The shekel was the unit of coinage as 
well as of weight, and the pieces of metal which 
served for currency were either fractions or multi- 
ples of the standard shekel. As already noted, the 
struggle of the Egyptian decimal and the Babylo- 
nian sexagesimal system for supremacy was espe- 
cially evident in the gold and silver weights, and 
the fact that the mina of 50 shekels became the 
standard was probably due to Plienician influence. 
The gold shekel was originally of the weigh t of the 
mina, and the silver shekel, which was intended to 
correspond in value to the gold one, should conse- 
quently have been = | of the weight of the 

mina, since the ratio between gold and silver had 
gradually become as 40 to 8. Since this shekel could 
not have been commonly used as currency, however, 
a demand arose for a smaller coin of practical size, 
which might be made either b}' dividing the silver 
equivalent of the gold shekel into ten parts, thus 
giving a silver shekel of = T \ of the weight of 
the mina, or by dividing the silver equivalent into 
fifteen parts, giving a silver shekel of ~j- 5 = T §~ 

of the weight of the mina. When the decimal sys- 
tem had become established the gold and the silver 
mina each were reckoned at 50 of these shekels. 
Hence there were (1) the Babylonian silver mina, 
equal to of the weight of the mina, and (2) 


the Plienician silver mina, equal to = 440 __ 2 o 
of the weight of the mina. 

In the original Babylonian silver currency the 
silver shekel was divided into thirds, sixths, and 
twelfths, while in the Plienician currency it was di- 
vided into halves, fourths, and eighths. These Phe- 
nician silver shekels were current among the Jews 
also, as is shown by the fact that the same division 
is found among them, a quarter of a shekel beino- 
mentioned in I Sam. ix. 8, wliile a half-shekel is 
mentioned as the Temple tax in the Pentateuch. The 
extant shekels of the Maccabean period vary be- 
tween 14.50 and 14.65 grams, and are thus equiva- 
lent to T | T of the great “common ” Babylonian mina 
—14. 55 grams. The mina was equivalent, therefore, 
to 725.5 grams, and the talent to 43.659 kilograms! 
The Babylonian shekel, which was equal to - 1 / of 
the weight of the mina, was introduced in the Persian 
time, for Nehemiah fixed the Temple tax at a third 
of a shekel. This Persian monetary system was 
based on the small mina, its unit being the siglos, 
which was equal to one-lialf of the Babylonian 
shekel, its ratio to the Jewish shekel being 3 to 8. 
It was considered the hundredth instead of the fif- 
tieth part of the mina, and weighed between 5.61 
and 5.73 grams, while the mina weighed between 
565 and 573 grams, and the talent between 33,660 
and 34. 380 kilograms. 

In the Maccabean period the Plienician silver 
shekel was again current, the Temple tax once more 
being a half-shekel (Matt. xvii. 24-27, R, V.). See 
Numismatics. 


Bl ^L 0GRA l!i Y : F * Lehmann, Zeitschrift ftir Ethnologic , 

I8S9, pp. 3*2 ct seq.; Sitzun'gsberichte der ArchUnloqischen 
Gcsellschaft , 1888, pp. 23 ct seq .; 1893, pp. 6 et seq .; L. Herz- 
feld, Metrologische Voruntcrsuclmngen zu einer Gesch. 
des lhrliischen, Respective Mtjildischcn Handels, Leipsic, 
1803 ; F. de Saulcy, Numismatique de la Terre Salute , Paris, 
1875; F. W. Madden, Coins of the Jeivs, London, 1881; Th. 
Reinach, Lcs Mommies Juives , in R. E. J. xv. (published 
separately. Paris, 1888); Ad. Erdmann, Kurze Uehersieht 
liber die Miinzgcschichte Palastinas, in Z. D. P. V. ii. 75 
et seq. 

E. G. II. W. N. 


SHEKINAH .lit. “the dwelling”): The 

majestic presence or manifestation of God which 
has descended to “ dwell ” among men. Like Memra 
(= “ word ” ; “ logos ”) and “ Yekara ” (i.e., “ Kabod ” 
= “ glory ”), the term was used by the Rabbis in place 
of “ God ” where the anthropomorphic expressions 
of the Bible were no longer regarded as proper (see 
Anthropomorphism). The word itself is taken 
from such passages as speak of God dwelling 
either in the Tabernacle or among the people of 
Israel (see Ex, xxv. 8, xxix. 45-46; Num, v. 3, 
xxxv. 34; I Kings vi. 13; Ezek. xliii. 9; Zecli. ii. 14 
[A. Y. 10]). Occasionally the name of God is spo- 
ken of as descending (Deut. xii. 11; xiv. 23; xvi. 
6, 11; xxvi. 2; Neh. i. 9). It is especially said that 
God dwells in Jerusalem (Zecli. viii. 3; Ps. exxxv. 
21; I Cliron. xxiii. 25), on Mount Zion (Isa. viii. 
18; Joel iv. [A. V. iii.] 17, 21; Ps. xv. 1, Ixxiv. 
2), and in the Temple itself (Ezek. xliii. 7). Allu- 
sion is made also to “him that dwelt in the hush” 
(Deut. xxxiii. 16, rfl)D 'ODty); and it is said that 
“the glory of the Lord abode upon Mount Sinai 5 ’ 
(Ex. xxiv. 16). The term “Shekinah,” which is 
Hebrew, whereas “Memra” and “Y T ekara” are Ara- 
maic, took the place of the latter two in Talmud 



259 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Shekel 

Shekinah 


and Midrash, and thus absorbed the meaning which 
they have in the Targum, where they almost exclu- 
sively occur. Nevertheless the word “Shekinah” 
occurs most frequently in the Aramaic versions, 
since they were intended for the people and were 
actually read to them, and since precautions had 
therefore to be taken against possible misunder- 
standings in regard to the conception of God. The 
word “dwell” in the Hebrew text is 

In the accordingly rendered in the Targu- 
Targumim. mini by the phrase “ let the Shekinali 
rest” (e.g., Ex. xxv. 8; xxix. 45, 46; 
Num. v. 3, xxxv. 84; Deut. xxxii. 10 [ R . Y. “he 
compassed him about”]; Ps. lxxiv. 2). Onkelos 
translates “Elohirn” in Gen. ix. 27 by “Shekinah”; 
and wherever the person, the dwelling, or the re- 
moteness of God is mentioned, he paraphrases by the 
same word (Num. xiv. 14, 42; xvi. 3; xxxv. 34; 
Deut. i. 42, iii. 24, iv. 39, vi. 15, vii. 21, xxiii. 16, 
xxxi. 17); so too, wherever the Name occurs, he 
substitutes for it the term “Shekinah” (Deut. 
xii. 5, 11, 21), and “presence” or “ face ” is trans- 
lated the same way (Ex. xxxiii. 14-15; Num. vi. 
25; Deut. xxxi. 17—18 ; see Maybaum, “Antliropo- 
morphien, ” etc. , pp. 52-54). Targ. pseudo-J onathan 
and Yeruslialmi adopt a like system, as in Ps. xvi. 
8, lx xxix. 47, Lam. ii. 19, and Cant. vi. 1 ( ib . pp. 
64 ct seq .). Where the text states that God dwells 
in the Temple above the cherubim (as in Hab. ii. 
20; I Sam. iv. 4; II Sam. vi. 2; I Kings viii. 12, 
13; xiv. 21 ; Ps. lxxiv. 2), or that God has been seen 
(Isa. vi. 6 et seq . ; Ex. iii. 6; Ezek. i. 1; Lev. ix. 4), 
the Yeruslialmi has “ Shekinah ” ; and even where it 
describes God as abiding in heaven, the same word 
is used (Isa. xxxiii. 5 ; Deut. iii. 24, iv. 39). This 
statement holds true also of allusions to His remote- 
ness or to the hiding of His face (Hos. v. 6; Isa. 
viii. 17, xiv. 15; Hastings, “Diet. Bible,” iv. 488b). 
The Temple is called the “ house of the Shekinah ” 
(Targ. Onk. to Deut. xii. 5; Ps. xlix. 15, cviii. 8): 
and the term likewise occurs in connection with 
“glory” (“yekara”; Ruth ii. 12; Cant. iii. 6, iv. 6, 
v. 6; Ps. xliv. 25, lxviii. 19, cxv. 16; Jer. xix. 18) 
and with “holiness” (Cant. i. 10, ii. 2, iii. 2, vi. 1; 
Ps. lxxiv. 12, lxxxvi. 3). 

Since the Shekinah is light, those passages of 
the Apocrypha and New Testament which mention 
radiance, and in which the Greek 

In the text reads doi-a, refer to the Shekinah, 
Apocrypha there being no other Greek equivalent 
and New for the word. Thus, according to Luke 
Testament, ii. 9, “the glory of the Lord [Jo£« 
K vpiov] shone round about them ” 
(comp. II Peter i. 17; Epli. i. 6; II Cor. iv. 6); and 
it is supposed that in John i. 14 and Rev. xxi. 3 the 
words <JK?/vovv and gktjvt] were expressly selected as 
implying the Shekinah. The idea that God d^vells 
in man and that man is His temple (e.g., Col. ii. 9; 
II Cor. vi. 16; John xiv. 23) is merely a more real- 
istic conception of the resting of the Shekinali on 
man. 

Maimonides (“Moreli,” i. 28 [Munk’s translation, 
“Guide des Egares,” i. 58, 73, 88, 286, 288; iii. 43, 
93]: Maybaum, l.c. pp. 5, 34) regarded the Sheki- 
nah, like the Memra, the Yekara, and the Logos, as 
a distinct entity, and as a light created to be an in- 


termediary between God and the world ; while Nah- 
mariides (Maybaum, l.c.), on the other hand, con- 
sidered it the essence of God as manifested in a 
distinct form. So in more modem times Gfrorer 
saw in “Shekinah,” “Memra,” and “ Yekara” inde- 
pendent entities which, in that they were mediators, 
were the origin of the Logos idea; while Maybaum, 
who was followed by Hamburger, regarded the 
Shekinah merely as an expression for the various 
relations of God to the world, and as 
Nature of intended to represent: (1) the dwell- 
the ing of God in the midst of Israel; (2) 
Shekinali. His omnipresence; (3) His personal 
presence, etc. (Maybaum, l.c. pp. 51- 
54). That the Shekinali was not an intermediary is 
shown by the Targum to Ex. xxxiii. 15, xxxiv. 9 
(Maybaum, l.c. pp. 5, 34), where the term “She- 
kinah” is used instead of “God.” The word often 
occurs, however, in connections where it can not be 
identical with “God,” e.g., in passages which de- 
clare that “the Shekinah rests,” or, more explicit^, 
that “God allows His Shekinah to rest,” on such 
a one. In short: in the great majority of cases 
“Shekinah” designates “God”; but the frequent 
use of the word has caused other ideas to be associ- 
ated with it, which can best be understood from 
citations. In this connection the statements of the 
Talmud and Midrash are more characteristic than 
those of the Targumim, because they were sponta- 
neous and were not made with reference to the text 
of the Bible. The Shekinali is frequently mentioned, 
even in the very oldest portions ; and it is wholly 
unjustifiable to differentiate the Talmudic concep- 
tion thereof from the Targumie, as has been at- 
tempted by Weber, although absolute consistency 
is observed neither in Targum, nor in Talmud and 
Midrash, since different persons have expressed their 
views therein. 

Jose (c. 150) says: “The Shekinah never came 
down to earth, nor did Moses and Elijah ever ascend 
to heaven, since it is said. Ps. cxv. 16: 4 The heaven, 
even the heavens, are the Lord’s: but the earth hath 
he given to the children of men ’ ” (Suk. 5a, above). 
The Shekinah is here identical with Yhwh. This 
view was, however, challenged even in the Talmud. 
Ab. R. N. xxxviii. says : “ The Shekinah descended 
to earth, or will have descended, ten times (as to 
the tenth see Scliechter’s note. Recension A, ad loc.) : 
to the garden of Eden (Gen. iii. 8) ; when the Tower 
of Babel was built (ib. xi. 5); to Sodom (ib. xxi.); 
to Eg} r pt. (Ex. iii. 8): to the Red Sea (II Sam. xxii. 
10) ; upon Sinai (Ex. xix. 10) ; in the pillar of cloud 
(Num. xi. 25); to the Sanctuary (Ezek. xliv. 2) ; and 
it will again descend at the time of Gog and Magog 
(Zech. xiv. 4). The Shekinah ap- 
Appear- peared also in the burning bush (Ex. 
ances of R. ii.), and it was everywhere (B. B. 

the 25a). Two arks came up out of Egypt 
Shekinah. with Israel: one containing the Sheki- 
nah, and the other the body of Joseph 
(Sotali 13a). Canaan was the only land worthy of 
the Shekinah, which rested in the territory of Ben- 
jamin (Mek.,ed. Friedmann, p. 31a; Zeb. 54b); the 
counfay beyond the Jordan was not worthy thereof 
(Num. R. vii.I. Although the Shekinah was en- 
throned in heaven, it observed aDd scrutinized man- 



Shekinah 

Shem 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


260 


kind (Ex. R. ii.). The Tabernacle was erected in 
order that the Shekinah might dwell on earth (Num. 
R. xii. ) ; and it actually entered the Holy of Holies 
(Sanli. 103b). Wheresoever the Israelites went in 
exile the Shekinah accompanied them; and when 
they were redeemed it likewise was released (Meg. 
29a; see also R. II. 3a: B. K. 25a : Zeb. 118b; Sotali 
5a; Shab. 67a). 

The Shekinah was one of the five things lacking 
in the Second Temple (Targ. to Hag. i. 8; Yer. 
Ta‘an. 65a, and parallel passages). Shunning the 
Gentiles, it rested solely among the 
Those on Israelites (Shab. 22b), and even there 
Whom the only when they numbered at least 
Shekinah 2,002 myriads (Ber. 7a; Yeb. 64a; B. 

Rested. B. lob; comp. Sanli. 105b), confining 
itself solely r to those of this multitude 
who were of pure and therefore aristocratic lineage 
(I£id. 70b) and who were wise, brave, wealthy', and 
tall (Shab. 92a; comp. Ned. 38a); but even for 
such it would not descend into an atmosphere of 
sadness (Shab. 30b and parallel passages), since 
there can be no sorrow in the presence of God (Hag. 
5b) ; nor should one pray in a sorrowful frame of 
mind (Ber. 31a). 

The polemic attitude which the conception of 
the Shekinah betrays toward the founder and the 
ideal of Christianity is unmistakable. The Shekinah 
rested upon the priests even if they were unclean 
(Yoma 56b); and if it was lacking, none approached 
them for an oracle (ib. 75b). Prominent doctors of 
the Law were considered worthy of the Shekinah, 
but both their generation (t.e., their contemporaries) 
and their place of residence (i.e., in a foreign land) 
deprived them of its presence (Suk. 28a; B. B. 
60a ; Sotali 48b ; M. K. 25a). In all these statements 
the Shekinah is identical with the HoW Spirit. It 
was received by thirty-six pious persons (Suk. 4ob), 
a number which recalls the thirty -six nomes of 
Egypt and their gods. The Shekinah was also be- 
lieved to be a protection, as is still the case in the 
night prayer: “on my four sides four angels, and 
above myr head the Shekinah of God 55 (comp. Kid. 
31a). The Shekinah is found at the head of the 
sick (Shab. 12b) and at the right hand of man 
(Targ. to Ps. xvi. 8). Pharaoh’s daughter saw it at 
the side of Moses (Sotali 11a; comp. Targ. to Judges 
vi. 13), and it spoke with the prophet Jonah twice 
(Zeb. 9Sa), with Adam, with the serpent (Bek. 8a; 
Shab. 87a; Pes. 87b et passim'), and with others. 

Unsullied thoughts and pious deeds render one 
worthy of the Shekinah, which is present when two 
are engaged with the Torah (Ab. iii. 
To Whom 3), when ten pray (Ber. 6a; Ab. 3, 9), 
Does the and when the mysticism of the Mek- 
Shekinah kabah is explained (Hag. 14b); aud 
Appear P it is likewise attracted by the stud}' of 
the Law at night (Tamid 32b); the 
reading of the “Shema‘ 55 (Shab. 57a): prayer (B. B. 
22a); hospitality (Shab. 127a; Sauh. 103b); benev- 
olence (B. B. 10a); chastity’ (Derek Erez i.); peace 
and faithfulness in married life (Sotali 17a); and 
similar deeds and qualities (Ket. 111a: Ber. 67a: 
AIen. 43b: Sanli. 42b; Yer. Hag', i. et ytctssivn). Sins. 

on the other hand, cause the Shekinah to depart (Targ 
to Isa. lvii. 7 : Jer. xxxiii. 5 et passim). It inspires cor- | 


rect judgment in upright judges (Sanli. 7a), while 
unrighteous magistrates cause -it to depart (Shab. 
139a). It appeared on the day on which the Taber- 
nacle was first erected (Num. R. xiii.). Before the 
Israelites sinned the Shekinah rested on every one; 
but when they' did evil it disappeared (Sotali 3b). 
In like manner it departed from David when he be- 
came leprous (Sanli. 107a). Among the transgres- 
sions which have this result are the shedding of 
blood (Yoma 84b) and idolatry (Meg. 15b; others 
are cited in Sotali 42a ; Kallaii, end ; Ber. 5b, 27b ; 
Shab. 33a; and Sanli. 106a). Whosoever sins in se- 
cret or walks with a proud and haughty bearing 
“crowds out the feet of the Sliekinali” (Hag. 16a; 
Ber. 43b ; comp. ib. 59a). 

The Hellenists, botii Jews and Gentiles, charac- 
terized the god of the Jews as unseen, and trans- 
lated the Tetkaghammatox by “ invisible ” ( aoparog ). 
In like manner Hag. 5b declares that “ God sees, but 
is not seen, 57 although was rendered by 66*a 
(“ glory ”), even in the Septuagint (Deissmann, “ IIcl- 
lenisirung des Semitisclien Monotheismus," p. 5). 
According to this view, the Shekinah appeared as 
physical light; so that Targ. to Num. vi. 2 says, 

“ Yirwn shall cause His Shekinah to shine for thee. 55 
A Gentile asked the patriarch Gamaliel ( c . 100); 
“Thou sayest that wherever ten are gathered to- 
gether the Sliekinali appears ; how many are there ? 55 
Gamaliel answered: “As' the sun, which is but one 
of the countless servants of God, giveth light to all 
the world, so in a much greater degree doth the 
Shekinah 55 (Sanli. 39a). The emperor (Hadrian) said 
to Rabbi Joshua b. Hananiali, “ I desire greatly to 
see tliy God. 55 J oshua requested him to stand facing 
the brilliant summer sun, and said, 
The She- “Gaze upon it. 55 The emperor said, 

kinah “I can not. 55 “Then, 55 said Joshua, 
as Light, “if thou art not able to look upon a 
servant of God, how much less may- 
est thou gaze upon the Shekinah ? 55 (Hul. 60a). Rab 
Sliesliet ( c . 300) was blind, and could not perceive 
when the Sliekinali appeared in the Sliaf we-Yatib 
synagogue of Neliardea, where it rested when it 
was not in the synagogue at Huzal. In the former 
synagogue Samuel and Levi heard the sound of its 
approach and fled (Meg. 29a). The Sliekinali tin- 
kled like a bell (Sotali 9b), while the Holy Spirit also 
manifested itself to human senses in light and sound. 
The Holy Spirit liad the form of a "dove, and the 
Shekinah had wings. Thus lie who acknowledged 
God took refuge under the wings of the Sliekinali 
(Shab. 31a; Sanli. 96a); and Moses when dead lay’ in 
its pinions (Si fro, Deufc. 355; Sotali 13b; Targumic 
passages in Maybaum, l.c. p. 65). The saints enjoy 
the light of the Shekinah in heaven (Ber. 17a, 64a; 
Shab. 30a ; B. B. 10a). 


Bibliography : Lexicons of Buxtorf, Levy, and Kohut ; Her- 
zog-Plitt, Real-Encyc. s.v. Schedrina : Hastings, Diet. Bible , 
iv. 4S7-489; Hamburger, B. B. T. ii. 566, 1080-1082; Luzzatto, 
Oh eh Ger , Vienna, 1830; Bahr, Syinholik ties Mnsaischeti 
CiiUas , 2d ed„ i. 471 et seq.; Gfrorer, Get eh. cles Urdiristen- 
thums , i. 272-352; Maybaum, Anthropomorphicn . . . mil 
Besomlerer Berlldtsiditigung tier . . . Schcdiintha , Bres- 
lau, 1870: Taylor, Sayings of the Jewish Fathers , 3d ed., p. 
43; Weber, Jliclische Theologie. 2d ed.. Leipsic, 1897. rndex; 
Dalman, Die IVorte Jcsn. i... Leipsic. 1898; Bousset ■, Religion 
ties Wudenthums im JSTett-Textanientlichen Zeitalter , pp. 309 
et seq.. 340. Berlin. 1903 : Davidson. Old Testament Prophecy. 
pp. 148, 220, Edinburgh, 1903. 

x. L. B. 



261 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Shekinah 

Shem 


SHELA : Babylonian teacher of the latter part 
of the tanuaitie and tlie beginning of the amoraic 
period; head of the school (“ sidra”) at Nehardea 
(Yoma* 20a ; Letter of Slierira Gaon, in Neubauer, 
U M. J. C-” i- 28). When Abba Arika (Rab) visited 
Babylon, he once officiated as an expounder (amora) 
for R. She la at his public lectures (Yoma l.c.). The 
sdiool at Nehardea was named in honor of Shela ; 
and its scholars were accordingly known as “ Debe 
R. Shela.” 

With the exception of a mishnaic interpretation 
(Yoma 20a), none of Simla’s teachings is known, 
although some of the sayings of his pupils, the Debe 
R. Shela, are mentioned in the Talmud (Pcs. 39b; 
R. II. 23b; Git. 52b; Kid. 43a). 


Bibliography: Weiss, 
Rishnnim, ii. 223-225 ; 
W. 13. 


J3or, ill. 746-747 : Halevy, Dorot ha- 
Bacher, A<j. Bab. A mor , p. 35. 

J. Z. L. 


SHELAH : Youngest son of Judah by the daugh- 
ter of the Canaanite Sliuali; born in Cliezib in the 
shcphelah of J udah. His extreme youth at the time 
of the death of his brother Onan was the ostensible 
excuse alleged by his father for the refusal to permit 
him to marry his sister-in-law Tamar (Gen. xxxviii. 
5-12). Slielali became the ancestor of many families 
(I Chron. iv. 21-23), as had been betokened, accord- 
ing to rabbinical interpretation, by his name (Gen. 
R. Ixxxv. 5). 

w. b. J- -k* 


SHELIAH ZIBBUR : Congregational messen- 
ger or deputy or agent. During the time of the 
Second Temple it was the priest who represented 
the congregation in offering the sacrifice, and who, 
before the close of the service, pronounced the 
priestly benediction. Similarly the high priest on 
the Day of Atonement, after having confessed his 
own sins and those of his house, offered the confes- 
sion of sins and the prayer of atonement for the 
whole people. When the Synagogue substituted 
prayers for the sacrifices, the function of the priest 
was assumed by the sheliah zibbur. He offered the 
prayers for all while the congregation listened in 
silence; and its participation in the service con- 
sisted in responding “ Amen ” after every benediction 
(Rashi on Suk. 38b). For this reason he was called 
“karoba,” i.e., “be who offers” (Yer. Ber. i. 3c; Lev. 
R.’ XX.; Comp. Yer. Ber. iv. 8b). The function of 
the sheliah zibbur was regarded as a most honorable 
one, and it was delegated only to the worthiest men 
of the congregation. In Talmudic times such dis- 
tinguished men as R. Akiba, R. Eliezer, R. Alexan- 
der and R. Eleazar b. Simeon acted in this capacity. 

The term Hazzax was not used for the sheliah 
zihlmr until the sixth century, when the reading 
of prayers before the congregation became a profes- 
sion to which a salary was attached. Since that time 
more attention has been often paid to the sweetness 
or pleasantness of the reader’s voice than to his su- 
perior character, dignity, and scholarship. 

a. M. Lax. 


SHEM.— Biblical Data : The eldest of Noah's 
sons, according to the position and sequence of the 
names wherever all three are mentioned together; 
e.f/., “and ISToali begat Shem, Ham, and Japlietli ” 
(Gen. v. 32). In the table of nations in Gen. x., how- 


ever, Shem and his posterity are placed last, prob- 
ably because the compiler of that record expected to 
trace his descendants far down into history, while 
those of the other two sons were confined to early 
ages. Shem’s prominence among the peoples of pre- 
Cliristian times may be partially suggested by the 
etlmo-geographical table of Gen. x. For descend- 
ants see Semites. 

e. g. ii. I. M. P. 

In Rabbinical Literature : Although Shem 

is unanimously declared by the Rabbis to have been 
the youngest son of Noah (comp. Japhetii in Rab- 
binical Literature), yet he is always named first, 
being the most important of the three brothers. In- 
deed, he was born circumcised ; he was the ancestor 
of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; he was priest and 
prophet; and he was one of the eight righteous who 
are mentioned twice in Gen. xi. 10 and who were 
allotted a portion both in this world and in the 
world to come (Sanh. 69b; Tan., Yelammedenu, 
Noah; Midr. lia-Gadol on Gen. ix. 18, xi. 10, ed. 
Schechter, cols. 142, 186). Shem is styled “the 
great one ” (“ Shem rabba ” ; Sanh. 108b). Accord- 
ing to Gen. R. xxx. 6, it was Shem who offered the 
sacrifices on the altar after Noah came out of the 
ark (comp. Gen. viii. 20), as the latter, having been 
crippled by the lion (see Noah in Rabbinical Lit- 
erature), was unfit for the priestly office. Noah 
gave to Shem the priestly garments 
The Most which he had inherited from Adam 
Important (Num. R. iv. 6). Shem is extolled by 
Son the Rabbis for his filial devotion in 
of Noah, covering his father’s nakedness (Gen. 

ix. 23). Although his brother Japheth 
assisted in this praiseworthy act, it was Shem who 
suggested and began it, his brother not arriving on. 
the scene until Shem was already on his way with 
the garment. Therefore Noah, in blessing these 
two sons (ib. verse 27), declared, so the Rabbis 
think, that the Shekinah was to dwell only in the 
tents of Shem (Yoma 10a; Tan., Noah, 21; Gen. R. 
xxxvii. 9; comp. Jubilees, vii. 9, where it is said 
that the garment was Shem’s). Shem’s reward for 
this deed is seen in the fact that the Jews, his de- 
scendants, cover themselves with the tallit and phy- 
lacteries, and remained untouched when the As- 
syrians, who also were descendants of Shem, were 
destroyed by an angel in the time of Hezekiah 
(Tan., Yelammedenu, l.c. ; Ex. R. xviii. 5). 

The Rabbis identify Shem with Melcliizedek, 
King of Salem, who is termed “a priest of the Most 
High,” and who came to meet Abraham after the 
latter had defeated the four kings led by Cliedor- 
laomer (Gen. xi v. 18-20). According to this account, 
Shem, as a priest, came to Jerusalem (with which 
Salem is identified by the Rabbis), of which city he 
became king, it being the proper place for the estab- 
lishment of the cult of Yhwh. He went to meet 
Abraham to show him that he was not angry with 
him for having killed the Elamites, his descendants 
(Midi*. Agadah on Gen. l.c.). Shem, however, for- 
feited the priesthood by mentioning in his blessing 
Abraham’s name before that of God, so that God 
took his office from him and gave it to Abraham 
(jNed. 32U; Pirke R. El. xxvii.). According to the 
Midrasli Agadali ( l.c .), Sliem Himself asked God to 



Shem 

Shem ha-Meforash. 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


262 


give the priesthood to Abraham, as he, in his pro- 
phetic capacity, knew that lie (Shem) would have 
no children eligible for the sacerdotal office. Con- 
trary to the Pirke R. El. and Gen. R. (xliii. 10), the 
Midrash Agadah explains that it was Shem who 
gave tithes to Abraham, showing that he recognized 
him as priest (see Gen. R. xliii. 7). The Rabbis 
point out that in certain cases Shem ranked as the 
equal of Abraham; so that the latter was afraid 
lest Shem might be angry at him for having slain 
the Elamites and might curse him (Gen. R. xliv. 8; 
Tan., Lek Leka, 19). In another instance God 
made a compromise between Shem and 
Legends. Abraham, namely, with regard to the 
name of the Holy City, the place of the 
Temple, which Abraham had called “Jireh” (Gen. 
xxli. 14; see Jeiiovah-jireh) and which Shem 
had called “Salem.” God united both names; and 
thus arose the name “Jerusalem ” (Gen. R. lvi. 16). 

Shem is supposed by the Rabbis to have estab- 
lished a school (“ bet lia-midrash ”) in which the 
Torah was studied, and among the pupils of which 
was Jacob. Later, Shem was joined by Eber; and 
the school was called after both of them. Besides, 
the school was the seat of a regular bet din which 
promulgated the laws current in those times. Thus 
Esau was afraid to kill Jacob, lest he should be con- 
demned by the bet din of Shem and Eber. The bet 
din of Shem proclaimed the prohibition of and the 
punishment for adultery; and according to this law 
Judah condemned Tamar to be burned (‘Ab. Zarali 
36b; Gen. R. Ixiii. 7, lxvii. 8). Shem’s bet din was 
one of the three in which the presence of the Slieki- 
nah was manifested (Mak. 23b). At Abraham’s death 
Shem and Eber marched before his bier ; and they 
indicated the place that was suitable for his burial 
(Gen. R. Ixii. 6, according to the emendation of 
the text in Talk., Gen. 110). At the division of 
the earth among the three sons of Noah, Shem’s 
lot consisted of twentj r -six countries, thirty-three 
islands, twenty-six out of seventy-two languages, 
and six out of sixteen scripts. Thus Shem took one 
script more than either of his two brothers; and this 
was the Hebrew script, in which the Torah was 
written. The other five were Egjqitian, Libyan, 
Assyrian, Chaldean, and Gutazaki (Guzarati ?) 
(Midr. ha-Gadol on Gen. x. 32, col. 182). 
w. 13. M. Sel. 

Critical View : Shem is not an individual, in 

the sense that one person by that name came forth 
with his father and brothers from the ark, and had 
a share in the scene described in Gen. ix. 18-27. 
Neither does the name in itself suggest geographical 
or racial entities. It recalls more probably some 
ethnic deity that had become the “ heros eponymus ” 
of liis worshipers. As it now occurs, the name has 
no theophorous character; but it has been suggested 
that “Shem” must be considered a corruption or 
abbreviation of a name similar to Sliemu’el (see 
Samuel), the element “Shem” meaning “son” in 
the combination. This suggestion — though none of 
the critics seems to have noticed it — receives a strong 
degree of probability from the blessing spoken over 
Sliem (ib. verse 26). There is no doubt that the 
pointing of the text is incorrect. Budde proposes 
to omit the 'nta (which Gratz would read “ohole” 


= “ tents”), and then vocalize: “Beruk Yiiwh 
Shem” =“ Shem is blessed of Yiiwh. ” This would 
at once place this “ blessing ” in the category, 
so numerously represented in Genesis, of name 
oracles. From the oracle the name is readily recon- 
structed as “Shemaiah ” or “Shemu’el,” the “Elohe 
Shem” in the text indicating the latter possibility. 

These oracles are always the primary elements • 
from which the legend in which they are found em- 
bedded is a development. That Japheth also orig- 
inally had a theophorous form is indicated in the 
oracle spoken concerning him (Gen. ix. 27 ; comp, 
the name ^IDD). It is plain that Canaan should not 
appear in this group. Ilam is the brother of Shem ; 
and it was he who committed the unseemly deed. 
The substitution of Canaan for Ham is secondary. 
The curse upon him (Canaan) displays the temper 
of the centuries when Yiiwh and Baal were strug- 
gling for the ascendency (see Elijah). As Shem 
represents Yiiwh, he is proclaimed the master, while 
Canaan is doomed to servitude. As Israel is the 
people of Yiiwir, Shem(yahu), i.e., “the son [of 
■ Yhwh],” naturally must be Israel’s progenitor. In 
substance this is also the explanation of those schol- 
ars who reject the suggestion that “Shem” is a 
name like “ Shemu’el. ” Tlie} r read into “ Shem ” the 
signification of “prominence,” “mastership.” The 
people descended from Shem is thus the master peo- 
ple destined to “ lord it ” over Canaan, the slave peo- 
ple committing such dire atrocities as are hidden in 
the legend of Noah’s exposure. According to Budde, 
Japlietli — which name means “ beauty ” — represents 
the Plienicians, while Canaan, signifying “lowness,” 

“ vulgarity,” represents the aboriginal population of 
Palestine. Thus this triad would result: lordship 
(Shem), beauty (Japheth), and meanness (Canaan). 

In the table given in Gen. x. 1-xi. 9 Shem is re- 
corded as the father of five sons, among whom are 
named some that are not Semites. This catalogue, 
however, is geographical and not ethnic. In this 
list of Shem’s descendants (ib. x.) verses 22 and 23 
are assigned to P, verse 24 to R, and verses 25-30 to 
J. In the last-mentioned passage the tendency to 
connect Shem and Eber is patent. See Semites. 

E. G. II. 

SHEM HA-MEFORASH (Hebrew, 
EniDDn): Ancient taiinaitic name of the Tetragram- 
maton. The exact meaning of the term is somewhat 
obscure; but since the Tetragrammaton is called 
also “Shem lia-Meyuhad” (nnVDH Dfcy), it maybe 
assumed that “meyuliad” is used elsewhere in 
the terminology of the tannaitic schools as a syn- 
onym for “ meforasli,” both words designating some- 
thing which is distinguished by a characteristic sign 
from other objects of its kind (see Baclier, “ Die 
Aelteste Terminologie der Judischen Schriftausle- 
gung,” p. 71). In connection with “ shem ” (— “ the 
name [of God]”), both terms mean also “ preeminent.” 
“Shem ha-Meforash,” therefore, denotes the name 
of God which differs from all the other names ap- 
plied to Him, and is, consequently, the excellent 
name, the Tetragrammaton. In the old exegesis of 
Num. vi. 27 (“ my name ”) one version (Sifre ad loc.) 
has “Shem ha-Meforash”; the other (Sotali 38a), 
“Sliem lia^^uhad.” Further explanations of the 
term are given by the authorities cited in the bibli- 



263 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


SHem 

Shem ha-Meforash 


oo-rapliy of this article. In the tannaitic halakah, 
in the first place, tliis designation of the Tetragram- 
maton is found, as already stated, in 
Meaning of the note on Num. vi. 27, while the 
Term. Mishnah (Sotah vii. 6; Tamid vii. 2) 
says, in conformity with this interpre- 
tation- “In the ' Sanctuary the name of God [in the 
three blessings, Num. vi. 24-26] is to be pronounced 
in the Priestly Benediction as it is written [niPP] ; 
but outside the Sanctuary it must be given the para- 
phrastic pronunciation ['ntf].” The high priest 
spoke the name of God on the Bay of Atonement 
in his recitation of Lev. xvi. 30 during the confes- 
sion of sins; and when the priests and the people 
in the great liall heard him utter the “Sliem ka- 
Mef orash, ” they prostrated themselves and glorified 
God, saying: “ Praised be the glorious name of His 
kingdom for ever and ever ” (Yoma vi. 2). When a 
very young priest, the well-known tanna Tarfon 
witnessed this ceremony ; and he declares that the 
high priest uttered the holy name of God so that his 
voice was merged in the song of the priests (Lei. 
Yoma 40d, below; Kid. 71a; Eccl. R. iii. 11), al- 
though it was believed that when, at this point in 
the ritual, the priest pronounced the name of God 
he was heard as far as Jericho (Tamid iii. 7 ; comp. 
Yoma 39b). Tarfon’s account, that the voice of the 
high priest was drowned by the song of the other 
priests, also confirms the synchronous statement 
(Yer. Y r oma 40b) that in former times the high 
priest uttered the Name with a loud voice, but that 
subsequently, when immorality had become more 
and more prevalent, be lowered liis 
Mode of voice lest tlie Name should be heard by 
Utterance, those unworthy to bear it. The misli- 
nali (Berakot, end) mentions also an 
utterance of the Tetragrammaton outside the Sanc- 
tuary which was permitted and even commanded, 
saying that “it was ordained that the name of God 
should be used in the ordinary forms of greeting, 
which were the same as those exchanged between 
Boaz and the reapers [Butli ii. 2], or the salutation of 
the angel to Gideon [Judges vi. 12].” According to 
Griitz (“Gescli.” 2d ed., iv. 458), this injunction was 
given at the time of the Bar Kokba war, and the 
greeting, which contained the Tetragrammaton in- 
stead of the word “Adonai” (=“Lord”), was the 
shibboleth which distinguished the Jew's from the 
Judceo-Christians, who regarded Jesus also as Lord. 
A haggadist of the third century, Abba bar Kaliana, 
states (Midr. Teb. on Ps. xxxvi., end) that “two 
generations used the Shem lia-Meforasli, the men Oi 
the Great Synagogue and those of the period of the 
1 shemad ’ [the Hadrianic persecution].” According 
to Sanh. vii. 5, actual blasphemy is committed only 
viien the blasphemer really pronounces the Tetra- 
grammaton (“Shem lia-Meyuliad ” : comp. Sifra, 
Emor, xix. [ed. Weiss, p. 104d]). 

These details indicate that the long-sanctioned 
dread of uttering the Shem ha-Meforasli was by no 
means without exceptions, and that the correct pro- 
nunciation was not unknown. Abba Saul (2d cent.) 
condemned the profanation of the Tetragrammaton 
by classing those “ that speak the Name according 
to its letters ” (nirP) with those who have no part in 
the future world (Sanh. x. 1); and according to ‘Ab. 


Zarah 17b, one of the martyrs of Hadrian’s time, 
Hananiah b. Teradion, w T as burned at the stake be- 
cause lie so uttered the Name. A Palestinian amora 
of the third century (Mana the Elder) exemplified 
the apothegm of Abba Saul (Yer. Sanh. 28b, above) 
by the statement, “ as, for instance, the Samaritans 
who swear ” ; he meant thereby that in their oaths 
the Samaritans pronounce the Tetragrammaton ex- 
actly as it is written. According to Theodoret, the 
Greek Church father, who flourished in the fifth 
century, they gave it tlie sound of Ta/3e (see Low, 
“Gesammelte Schriften,” i. 193). 

The Sliem lia-Meforash as an object of the esoteric 
knowledge of scholars appears in the statement of 
Johanan (Kid. 71a): “Once each week the sages 
give their pupils the Four-Lettered Name.” A tan- 
naitic passage in Yer. Yoma 40d, however, says: 

“ In former times tlie Name was taught to all ; but 
w 7 lien immorality increased it was reserved for the 
pious,” although this statement refers, according to 
the baraita in Kid. 71a, to teaching the Twelve-Let- 
tered Name to tlie priests. It is related that in the 
fourth century the well-known haggadist Phinelias 
b. Hama refused tlie offer of a physician (or of a man 
by tlie name of Assi) of Sepphoris to “ teacli him tlie 
Name ” (Y T er. Yoma 40d), while another scholar of 
the same century offered to “ transmit the Name ” to 
the amora R. Hanina of Sepplioris, although this 
was not done (fA). The curious anecdote is also 
told ( ib .) that Samuel (a Babylonian amora of the 
third century) heard a Persian curse his son by using 
the Tetragrammaton (according to Eccl. R. iii. 11, 
however, it was a Persian woman who cursed her 
son). This story assumes that the Gentile had man- 
aged to obtain a knowledge of the Shem ha-Mefo- 
rasli, which was used like a magic formula (see 
Blau, “ Das Altjudiscke Zauberwesen,” p. 129). 

Tlie earliest instance of the dread of pronouncing 
tlie Tetragrammaton, and of the use of the par- 
aphrasis “Adonai” instead, is found 
Objections in the Septuagint rendering of Kvpioc 
to Pro- = “Lord.” The Samaritans read 
nouncing- the Four-Lettered Name as “ fehema, 
the Tetra- tlie Aramaic equivalent of DCPn (“ the 
gram- Name”), which, even without the 
maton. qualifying word, connotes tlie Shem 
ha-Meforasli in the language of the 
Tannaim, as in the maxim of Abba Saul cited above. 
According to Josephus’ paraphrase of Ex. iii., 
“ God declared to liim [Moses] His holy name, which 
had never been discovered to man before; concern- 
ing which it is not lawful for me to say any more ” 
(“ Ant.” ii. 12, § 4). When Aquila made his Bible 
translation, which, in tlie spirit of Akiba s Biblical 
exegesis, adheres to tlie text with extreme ligidity, 
he could not follow the Septuagint, Kvpioc being 
only a free paraphrase of the name of God. Since, 
therefore, lie could not give an exact rendering lie 
introduced the word bodily into his translation, wil- 
ting it mill, a form which is found in the Hexa- 
plar manuscripts of the Septuagint and is the repre- 
sentation in the Greek alphabet of the letters of MbT 
read from left to right (see Swete, “ Introduction to 
the Old Testament in Greek,” p. 30; Nestle, m 
“Z. D. M. G.” xxxii. 468, 500, 506). 

The prohibition against pronouncing the Tetra- 



Shem ha-Meforash 
Shem-Tob 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


264 


grammaton as written was based on Ex. iii. 15 b}' 
Abina, a Babylonian amora, wlio paraphrased the 
last, words of that passage as follows: “‘lam not 
read.’ says God, ‘as I am written; I am written 
with “yod,” “he” [miY], and prononneed with 
“alef,” “dalet” ['yitf] ’ ” (see Kid. 71a; Pes. 50a). 
This seems to be an old tannaitic midrasli on Ex. iv. 
15. to which Jacob bar Aha alludes in Yer. Sanli. 28b, 
above. In like manner the words (Ex. l.c.) and 
D^/n (Eccl. iii. 11) were explained as referring to 
the non-utterance of the Tetragrammaton. In his 
interpretation of the latter passage, Aliabah b. Ze‘era 
(4th cent.) says as follows: “Men slay one another 
— so saitli God — even by pronouncing the paraphra- 
sis of the Divine Name; what would they do if I 
should teach them the Shem ha-Meforash?” The 
miraculous power of this word, which was some- 
times fatal in its might (see Zunz, “ S. P.” p. 145), is 
mentioned as early as the tannaitic haggadah. Thus, 
R Nehemiah says that Moses killed the Egyptian 
(Ex. ii. 14) by pronouncing “the Name” over him 
(Lev. R xxxii. ; Ex. R ii.); and lie also answered 
the question to Ps. cxiv. 2 [A. V. 3], “What did the 
sea behold ? ” with the words, “ It beheld the Shem 
ha-Meforash graven on Aaron’s staff, and fled” 
(Pesik, 140a; Midr, Hallel, in Jellinek, “B, II,” v, 
95). In a liaggadic passage which occurs in several 
places, Simeon ben Yohai, another pupil of Akiba, 
mentions an ornament given to the Israelites at Alt. 
Sinai on which the Shem ha-Meforash was engraved 
(Cant. R i. 4 et passim ; see Baclier, “Ag. Tan.” ii. 
IIS), while a chain and a ring on which were in- 
scribed the Name are mentioned in the 
Not Read legend of Solomon and Asmodeus (Git. 
as Written. 68b). The “ weapons of war ” men- 
tioned in Jer. xxi. 4 are the Tetragram- 
maton (Midr. Teh. on Ps. xxxvi., end); and Pirke 
R El. xxxviii., end, states that Ezra, Zerubbabel, 
and Joshua pronounced the great ban on the Samar- 
itans by means of the “ mystery of the Shem ha- 
Meforash.” According to Midr. Shemu’el xv. the 
scholars explained the words in Ex. iv. 28 as mean- 
ing that Moses revealed the Four-Lettered Name to 
Aaron. Phinehas b. Jair, one of the last tannaim, 
asked the question: “Why are the prayers of Israel 
not heard?” and answered it, according to Joshua 
b. Levi, thus: “Because they know not the myster- 
ies of the Shem ha-Meforash ” (Pesik. R 14.); but, 
according to Eleazar b. Pedat, the expression “ hal- 
leluyali ” (Ps. cxiii. 1 and frequently elsewhere) 
implies that God will be praised by His full name 
not in this world, but in the world to come (Midr. 
Teh. on Ps. cxiii. ; comp. ‘Er. 18b). In interpreting 
“and his name one” (Zech. xiv. 9), Nahman b. Isaac, 
a Babylonian amora of the fourth century, said 
(Pes. 50a): “The future world is not like this world. 
Here the name of God is written mrp and read LHN; 
there it is also read rpnv’ The view that prayer is 
more effectual if the name of God is pronounced in 
it as it is written caused the scholars of Kairwan to 
address a question in the eleventh century to Ilai 
Gaon with reference to the pronunciation of the 
Shem ha-Meforash, to which he answered that it 
might not be uttered at all outside the Hoty Land 
(Hai Gaon, “Ta‘am Zekenim,” p. 55; see Low, “Ge- 
sammelte Schriften,” i. 204). 


From the earliest times the Tetragrammaton has 
been an extremely important element in Jewish 
mysticism. According to the “Sefer Hanok” (in 
Jellinek, “B. II.” ii. 117), it was Hillel who trans- 
mitted the name of God to the generations after Ezra, 
while Abbalm and Ze‘era (3d and 4tli 
In tlie cents.) and the “ men of faith ” (“ anslie 
Cabala. emunah ”) are mentioned as possessing 
this knowledge after Hillel. There 
are several other names, in addition to the Tetra- 
grammaton, which are designated according to 
the number of their letters, as the Twelve-Lettered 
and the Forty-two Lettered Name (see Kid. 71a; 
Baclier, “Ag. Bab. Amor.” pp. 17 et seq.), and the 
Seventy-two Lettered Name (see Lev. R xxiii. ; 
Gen. R xliv.). The view became current that the 
high priest uttered on the Day of Atonement the 
Forty-two Lettered Name (Hai Gaon, l.c.), and it 
appears from two remarks of Rashi (on Sank. 60a 
and on ‘Er. 18b) that there was a general belief that 
the Forty-two Lettered Name was represented by 
the Shem ha-Meforash. Maimonides opposed this 
idea with the express statement that niPP was the 
Shem lia-Meforasli (“ Yad,” Yesode lia-Torali, vi. 2; 
ib. Tefillah, xiv. 10; idem, “Moreh,” i. 62). 

Among the earlier examples of the belief in the 
supernatural power of the Name may be men- 
tioned the Chronicle of Ahimaaz (“Sefer Yuhasin,” 
ed. Neubauer, in “M. J. 0.” ii. Ill et seq.; comp. 
“R. E. J.” xxxii. 147 et seq.), and the story related 
by Benjamin of Tudela that David Alroi completed 
a journey of twenty-one days in a single day by 
means of the Shem ha-Meforash (“Massa‘ot,” etc., 
ed. Grunhut, p. 74). 

The Jewish philosophers of religion who discuss 
the Tetragrammaton include Judah ha-Levi (“Cn- 
zari,” iv. 1-3; see Kaufmann, “Gesch. der Attribu- 
tenlelire,” pp. 165 et seq.; Baclier, “Die Bibelexe- 
gese der Jiidischen Religionsphilosophen,” p. 122), 
Abraham ibn Ezra (excursus in his commentaiy 
on Ex. iii. 15 et passim; see D. Rosin in “Monats- 
schrift,” 1898, xlii. 156 et seq.), and Maimonides 
(“Moreh,” i. 61; see Kaufmann, l.c. pp. 467 et seq. 
Baclier, “ Die Bibelexegese Moses Mai muni's,” pp. 
62 et seq.). See also Ba‘al Siiem; Names of God; 
Tetragrammaton. 

Bibliography: M. Grimbaum, Ueber Shem Hamm cpliorascii, 
in Z. D. 3/. G. xxxix., xl. (= Gesammelte Aiifsatze zur 
Sprcich - unci Sayenlmnde, pp. 238-434); L. Low \ Die Aus- 
sprachc dcs Vicrbuchstahiyen Gottcsnamcns , in Gesam- 
meltc Schriften , i. 187-212; E. Nestle, Jacob von Edessa 
liber den Scliem Hammephorasch , etc., in Z. D. M. G. 
xxxii. 465-508 ; Fiirst, Scliem Hammephorasli, ib. xxxiii. 297- 
300: A. Nager, Ueber Scliem Ham ephor ctsch, ib. xxxiv. 
162-167; D. Oppenheim, Ueber die Bedeutuny der T Yurie 
irwiQDn dc\ in Monatsschrift , xviii. 545; D. Cassel, Nodi 
Etwas liber Eniscn otp, ib. xix. 73; W. Baclier, Einc Kcue 
Erldaruny filr cniocn db\ ib. xx. 382; A. Sidon, Sens et 
Oriyine du Scliem Hamephorctscli , in It. E. J. xvii. 239 ; W. 
Baclier, Lc Scliem Hammephorasch , etc., ib. xviii. 290; A. 
Geiger, Urschrift. pp. 263 et seq.; Zunz, 8. P. pp. 144 ct seq.; 
L. Blau, Has Altjlldische Zauberwescn , pp. 124 ct seq. 

TV. B. 

SHEM-TOB BEN ABRAHAM IBN GAON r 

Spanish Talmudist and cabalist; born at Soria, 
Spain, 1283; died, probably in Palestine, after 1330. 
From his genealogy given in the preface to his 
“ Keter Sliem-Tob,” Azulai (“ Shem ha-Gedolim.” ii., 
s.v. “Keter Shem-Tob”) concluded that “Gaon” 
must have been the proper name of one of Shem- 
Tob’s ancestors. Zunz (in his “Zeitschrift fur die 



265 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Shem ha-Meforash 
Shem-Tob 


Wissenschaffc des Judentliums,” p. 137) and Geiger 
(“jud. Zeit.” v. 397), however, suppose “Gaon” to 
be the Hebrew transliteration of “ Jaen,” indicating 
that Shem-Tob ’s family originally came from that 
Spanish city. After he had studied Talmud under 
Solomon b. Adret and Cabala under Isaac b. Todros 
(RIBaT. which is the abbreviation, Conforte de- 
clares in his “Kore ha-Dorot,” p. 24b, 
Settles in of “R. Joseph b. Tobiah ”), Shem-Tob 
Safed. betook himself to Palestine in the hope 
of finding in the Holy Land a more 
suitable place for cabalistic meditation. Pie so- 
journed for some time in Jerusalem, and then set- 
tled at Safed. 

At Safed Shem-Tob wrote the following works, 
of which only the first two have been published: 
(1) “Migdal ‘Oz,” a commentary on Maimonides’ 
“ Yad ” ; in this he defends Maimonides against the 
strictures of Abraham b. David. The part covering 
the first volume of the “Yad ” was printed with the 
text at Constantinople in 1509; and parts of other 
volumes, also with the text, at Venice in 1524. Cer- 
tain rabbis, Gedaliah ibn Yahya (“Shalslielet lia- 
Kabbalah,” p. 45b, Amsterdam, 1697) among them, 
ascribe the “Migdal ‘Oz” to Yom-Tob b. Abraham 
(RITPA). (2) “ Keter Shem-Tob ” (Leghorn, 1839). 
(3) “Badde ha- Aron u-Migdal Hanan’el,” a cabalistic 
work in five parts, finished in the month of Iyyar, 
1325, and named by Shem-Tob after his traveling 
companion, Hananeel b. Azkara, who died before 
reaching his destination. (4) Supercommentary on 
Abulafia’s “Ginnat Bitan,” a cabalistic commentary 
on Genesis. (5) Commentary on Saadia Bekor Slior’s 
cabalistic poem, which lie quotes in bis “Badde lia- 
Aron.” (6) “Sefer lia-Pe’er,” cabalistic treatise on 
phylacteries. De Bossi (Parma MS. No. 68, 8) de- 
clares the author's name to be doubtful, since tlie 
manuscript is anonymous ; but Assemani (“ Catalogue 
of Hebrew MSS. in the Vatican Library,” No. 235) 
concludes that its author was Shem-Tob of Soria. 
(7) “Zibhe Zedek” and (8) “Posh ha-Slialisliim,” 
mentioned in the “Badde ha- Aron,” while in his 
“ Keter Shem-Tob ” (section “ Yesode lia-Torah,” ch. 
i.) Shem-Tob speaks in general terms of liis “other 
works.” 

The “ Iveter Shem-Tob ” is a supercommentary on 
and continuation of Nalimanides’ commentary (par- 
ticularly on tlie cabalistic part) on the Pentateuch, 
from whose interpretations those of 
His “Ke- Shem-Tob differ in many places, 
ter Shem- Shem-Tob says in his preface that at 
Tob.” first he liad entitled his work “Sitre 
Setarim,” and that lie then revised it 
and gave it the title “Keter Shem-Tob,” the work 
having been compfieted at Safed in 1315. Isaac b. 
Samuel of Acre, in his “Me’irat ‘Enayim,” violently 
attacks the “Keter Shem-Tob,” saying that most of 
the author’s theories are not those of the older caba- 
lists, but are simply his own inventions. This work 
is printed at the end of Judah Ivoriat’s “ Ma’or wa- 
Shemesh ” (Leghorn, 1839), where it is entitled “Pe- 
rush Sodot lia-Torah ” ; and the preface has been 
published in Jeliiel Ashkenazi’s “Hekal Adonai ” 
(Venice, n.d.) under the title “Perusli Likkutim.” 

In a manuscript containing piyyntim of various 
liturgists there is one written by a Shem-Tob b. 


Abraham, whom L. Dukes (“Orient, Lit.” vi. 147 et 
seq.) supposes to be identical with the subject of this 
article. But Dukes seems to have distinguished be- 
tween Shem-Tob b. Abraham and Shem-Tob of 
Soria, tlie author of the “Sefer lia-Pe’er.” Outlie 
other hand, Conforte (l.e.), confusing Shem-Tob b. 
Abraham with Shem-Tob Ardotial, wrongly ascribes 
to the former the “ widdui ” (confession) recited on 
Yom Kippur in the Musaf prayer. 

Tlie following works are erroneously attributed 
to Shem-Tob b. Abraliam ibn Gaon by Wolf (“Bibl. 
Ilebr.” iii., JNo. 2152) and by other bibliographers: 
“Keter Sliem-Tob” (Venice, 1601), a collection of 
sermons, and “ Ma’amar Mordekai ” (Constantinople, 
1585), a commentary on Esther, the author of both 
works being Shem-Tob Melammed ; also a cabalistic 
treatise by an unknown author on tlie crowns (“tag- 
gin ”) of the letters. 

Bibliography : Carmoly, Itinemires , pp. 312-313 ; Fiirst, Bibl. 
Jud. lii. 265; Gratz, Gcscli. 3d ed., vii. 281; Landauer, in 
Orient. Lit. vi. 226; De Bossi, Dizionario , ii. 123; Stein- 
sebneider. Cat . Bodl. cols. 2520 et seq.; idem, Jewish Litera- 
ture , p. 110. 

K. M. Sel. 

SHEM-TOB DE CARRION. See Santob 
(Siiem-Tob) de Cabbiox. 

SHEM-TOB BEN ISAAC OF TORTOSA 

(known also as Babi ha-Tortosi) : Spanish scholar 
and physician of the thirteenth century ; born at Tor- 
tosa 1196. He engaged in commerce, and his busi- 
ness necessitated his traveling much both by sea and 
by land. Being once at Acre, lie was reminded by its 
rabbi of his insufficient knowledge of the Jewish re- 
ligion ; and he left the city (1226), resolving to aban- 
don commerce and to devote himself exclusively to 
rabbinical and scientific studies. He 
Abandons first studied at Barcelona under Isaac 
Commerce b. Meslrallam ; then he devoted liim- 
for self to medicine; and after twenty 
Rabbinics, years’ study he became, as will be 
seen below, a skilful physician. He 
lived afterward in Montpellier, Prance, but chiefly 
at Marseilles, where he practised his profession. 

Sliem-Tob’s first work was his Hebrew transla- 
tion, under the title of “Bi’ur Sefer ha-Nefesh,” of 
Averroes’ middle commentary on Aristotle’s “De 
Anima.” In tlie month of Elul, 1254, at the age of 
fifty-eight, he began the translation into Hebrew of 
Al-Zalirawi’s “Kitab al-Tasrif,” a medical work in 
thirty books. He finished it at Marseilles in the 
month of Nisan, 125S, entitling it “ Sefer ha-Shim- 
musli.” This translation is preceded by a long in- 
troduction, which forms a treatise in itself, and in 
which lie deals with man as composed of four ele- 
ments, and with the relation between diseases and the 
four seasons of tlie year. According to the super- 
stitions of his time, he believed in the influence of 
the planets on man; and accordingly an entire 
treatise deals with astrology. His translation was 
undertaken with the view of spreading 
Translates medical science among tlie Jews, so 
f 4 Kitab al- that they might not be dependent on 
Tasrif.” Christian physicians (comp. ‘Ab. 

Zarali ii. 2). The translation is not lit- 
eral; and in this Shem-Tob departed from the 
method of the earlier translators. As to tlie various 



• Shem - 3?ob 
Slienia* Koli 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


266 


names of diseases and medicaments, Shem-Tob em- 
ploys all that he could find in the Bible and in Tal- 
mudic literature. Others he explains in a glossary. 
He also gives directions to physicians on the treat- 
ment of patients and the preparation of medicaments. 

In 1264 Sliem-Tob translated into Hebrew Al- 
Kazi’s “ Al-Mansuri,” a work in ten treatises which 
that author had dedicated to Al-Mansur. Sliem-Tob 
states that he also transliterated many Arabic med- 
ical works in Hebrew characters in order that Jews 
might be able to read them. According to De Castro 
(“ Biblioteca Espanola,”i. 231), Sliem-Tob of Tortosa 
was the author also of the “Pardes Rhnmonim,” 
which is generally attributed to Sliem-Tob b. Isaac 
ibn Shaprut. De Castro concludes this from the 
date 1267, which is given in the Escorial manuscript 
of the work in question and which is a century earlier 
than the time of Shem-Tob ibn Shaprut. 


Bibliography : Carmoly, Histoire cJcs MedecinsJuifs , pp. 78- 
80: Fiirst, Bibl, Jud. iii. 259 (where Shem-Tob of Tortosa is 
confused with Shem-Tob ibn Shaprut); Munk, in B. E. J. v. 
256 ct seq.; Renan-Neubauer, Lcs Rabbin* Mangaix, p. o92 ; 
De Rossi, Dizionario , ii. 124; Parma De jlassi Mb. No. 
347 ; Steinschneider, Cat. Bodl. cols. 2549-2oo L ; idem. Hear, 
lichen*, pp. 148, 725, 741 ct seq.; idem, Jewish Literature . 
pp. 308 (No. 83), 878. _ T 

f M, Sel. 


SHEM-TOB (BEN JOSEPH) IBN SHEM- 
TOB. See Ibn Siiem-Tob, Shem-Tob (ben 

JOSEl’II ?), 

SHEM-TOB IBN PALaUERA. See Fala- 

QUEBA (PALQUERA), SlIEM-TOB BEN JOSEPH. 

SHEMA‘ : Initial word of the verse, or chap- 
ter, recited as the confession of the Jewish faith. 
Originally, the “ Shema 4 ” consisted only of the one 
verse, Deut. vi, 4 (see Suk. 42a; Ber. 13b); the reg- 
ular “ Shema 1 ” in the liturgy, however, consists of 
three portions: Deut. vi. 4-9, xi. 13-21, and Num. 
xv. 37-41. The first verse, “Hear, O Israel: the 
Lord our God is one Lord,” has ever been regarded 
as the confession of belief in the One God. The 
first of the three portions of the “ Sliema‘ ” contains 
the command to love God with heart, soul, and 
might; to remember all commandments and instruct 
the children therein; to recite the words of God 
when retiring or rising; to hind those words on the 
arm and the head, and to inscribe them on the door- 
posts and on the city gates. The second portion 
contains the promise of reward for the fulfilment of 
the laws, and the threat of punishment for their 
transgression, with a repetition of the contents of 
the first portion. The third portion contains the 
law concerning the zizit, as a reminder that all the 
laws of God are to be obeyed, as a warning against 
following the evil inclinations of' the heart., and, 
finally, in remembrance of the exodus from Egypt. 
The commandment to read the “Shema 4 ” twice 
daily is ascribed by Josephus to Moses (“Ant.” iv. 
8), and it has always been regarded as a divine com- 
mandment (see, however, Sifre, Dent. 31 [ed. Fried- 
mann, p. 72b, note 17]). 

The reading of the “Shema 4 ” morning and eve- 
ning is spoken of in the Mislmah (Ber. 
“ Shema 4 55 i. 1-2) as a matter of course, and rests 
Ritual. upon the interpretation of "pDKQ 
“jftlpll (“when thou liest down, and 
when thou risest up”; Deut. vi. 7). The school of 
Shammai takes it literally, saying that the evening 


“Shema 4 ” shall be read in a reclining or resting pos- 
ture, and that the morning “Shema 4 ” shall be read 
standing ; the school of Hillel asserts that it refers 
not to the posture, but to the times of reclining and 
rising. The time for reading the evening “ Shema 4 ” 
begins with twilight and ends four hours after, ac- 
cording to R. Eliezer, or at midnight, according to 
the “ hakamim ” (the majority of rabbis) ; or it lasts 
till the rise of the morning star, according to R. 
Gamaliel (Ber. i. 1-3). This difference of opinion rests 
on the interpretation of “lying down,” as to whether 
it means the regular or the latest hour of retiring, 
or the whole time during which people usually 
sleep — that is, all night. Similarly, the time of 
reading the morning “Shema 4 ” is fixed by the haka- 
mim to begin at daybreak, when there is sufficient 
light to distinguish between purple and white, or to 
recognize a person, after a short acquaintance, at 
a distance of four ells, and to last until the sun’s 
rays are seen. R. Joshua, however, extends the 
time until three hours of daylight have passed, be- 
cause princes -and men of leisure do not rise till 
then (?A). Queen Helen of Adiabene fixed a gold 
candelabrum in front of tlie Temple, which reflected 
the first rays of the sun and thus indicated the time 
of reciting the “ Shema 4 ” (Yoma 37b). 

The benedictions preceding and following the 
“ Shema 4 ” (Ber. i. 4) are credited to the members of 
the Great Assembly. They are of Essene origin (see 
Rapoport in his biography of Kalir), and were first 
instituted in the Temple liturgy (comp. Tamid v, 1). 

The composition of the “Shema 4 ” it- 

Accom- self developed gradually. R. Judah 

panying b. Zabida, in explaining why the por- 
Bene- tion regarding zizit was incorpora- 

dictions. ted, says that the Rabbis had pro- 
posed to add the chapter of Balak 
(referring especially to Num. xxiii. 18-24), but that 
they finally decided not to do so, because they 
thought the “ Shema 4 ” already sufficiently long, and 
they did not care to overburden the congregation 
(Ber. 12b). 

According to tlie Talmud, the reading of the 
“ Shema 4 ” morning and evening fulfils the com- 
mandment “Thou shalt meditate therein day and 
night” (Josh. i. 8; Men. 99b). As soon as a child 
begins to speak liis father is directed to teach him 
the verse “Moses commanded us a law, even the 
inheritance of the congregation of Jacob” (Deut. 
xxxiii. 4), and teach him to read the “Shema 4 ” 
(Suk. 42a). The reciting of the first verse of the 
“Sliema 4 ” is called the “acceptance of the yoke of 
the kingship of God” (Ber. ii. 5). Judah lia-Nasi, 
being preoccupied with his studies, put his hand 
over his eyes and repeated the first verse in silence 
(Ber. 13a). 

The response “Baruk Shem” (“Praised be the 
name of His glorified kingdom forever and ever”) 
is ascribed to the patriarch Jacob by R. Joshua b. 
Levi, who says: “Jacob, just before he died, was 
about to reveal the 4 end of days ’ to his children, 
when the Shekinali suddenly turned away from him. 
Jacob feared that perhaps some one of liis children 
was unworthy. But they all exclaimed, 4 Hear, O 
Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is One,’ by 
which they meant, 4 In God we are all one ’ ; where- 



267 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Shein - Tob 
Shema‘ KLoli 


I 

« 


I 






upon Jacob responded, ‘Barak Shem * ” (Pes. 56a; 
comp. Gen. R. xcviii.). ; , 

The first verse of the “ Shema c ” Is recited aloud, 
first by the hazzan and then by the congregation, 
which responds with “Baruk Shem” 
Cabalistic in silence. Only on Yom Kippur is 
Views. this response said aloud (comp. Zohar, 
Terumah, p. 138b). The remainder 
of the “ Shema‘ ” is read in silence. This custom 
was approved b} r R. Hai Gaon and R. Solomon b. 
Ad ret (Moses b. Isaac Alashkar, Responsa, N o, 10, 
Sabbionetta, 1553) ; it is the Ashkenazic custom ; but 
the Sephardim recite aloud the whole of the “ Slie- 
ma‘ ” except the “Baruk Shem.” Pronouncing the 
evening “Shema 4 ,” however, is not obligatory, 
though it is meritorious. The evening “ Shema* ” is 
based on the verse “ Commune with your own heart 
upon your bed ” (Ps. i v. 4). R. Isaac said : “ Whoever 
reads the ‘ Shema 4 ’ on his couch is as one that de- 
fends himself with a two-edged sword. ” “ Let them 
sing aloud upon their beds ... a two-edged sword 
in "their hand ” (Ps. cxlix. 5-6). Rabina said: 
41 Though one that is affrighted [in the night-time] 
sees nothing himself, his star [guardian angel] sees 
the apparition ; his recourse is to read the ‘ Shema 4 ’ ” 
(Meg. 3a). 

The Zohar, with reference to Num. xxviii. 24, 
says, “ One shall, before lying down, sanctify the 
High Name with the ‘ Shema 4 Yisrael * ” (Zohar, Ba- 
lak, p. 211a). R. Simeon b. Yohai said the “She- 
ma 4 ” preserves Israel from a foe. It was the battle- 
cry of the priest in calling Israel to arms against an 
enemy (Deut. xx. 3 ; Sotah 42a). It is the last word 


of the dying in his confession of faith. It was on 
the lips of those who suffered and Tvere tortured for 
the sake of the Law. R. Akiba patiently endured 
while his flesh was being torn with iron combs, and 
died reciting the “Shema 4 .” He pronounced the 
last word of the sentence, “Ehad” (one)' with his 
last breath (Ber. 61b). During every persecu- 
tion and massacre, from the time of the Inquisition 
to the slaughter of Kishinef, “ Shema 4 Yisrael ” 
have been the last words on the lips of the dying. 
“Shema 4 Yisrael” is the password by which one 
Jew recognizes another in every part of the world. 
Eldad the Danite, in describing the wars which his 
tribe had waged with its Gentile neighbors, said that 
on the flag of the tribe was inscribed the words 
“Shema 4 Yisrael” (Jellinek, “B. H.” iii. 9; A. Ep- 
stein, “Eldad ha-Dani.” pp. 26, 27, Presburg, 1891). 
See Prayer. 

Bibliography: Maimonides, Tad, KerVat Sh&ma\ i.-iv.; 
Shulhan-Aruh , Orah gayyim, 58-88, 235-236, 239; Lewy- 
soiin,' Mekore Minliacjim , § 87; Landshuth, Seder BikKur 
Holim , Introduction, § 17. _ _ _ 

k. J. D. E. 


SHEMA* KOLI (“Hear my voice”): Opening 
hymn of the services on the eve of Atonement in the 
Sephardic ritual, preceding Kol Nidre. It con- 
sists of twenty-nine distichs based on the peniten-. 
tial formula of the Mishnali (Ta‘an. ii. 1), “May He 
who answered the Patriarchs . . . answer us.” 
It is the most ancient complete rimed piyyut, and is 
attributed to Hai ben Shertra (Landshutli, “ ‘Am- 
mude lia- 4 Abodah,” p. 62; Zunz, “Literaturgesch.” 
p. 187). 

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Shemaiah 
Sliemini ‘Azeret 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


268 


the scale “nawa ” (from G to G in the modern scale 
of Bb major) of the Perso-Arab musical system 
(comp. Land, “La Gamine Arabe,” p.- 38, note 3). 
To the same melod}' also are sung the introductory 
piyyutim “ Elohe al tedineni ” (by Isaac ben Levi ben 
Saul of Lucena of the eleventh century) and “ Adouai 
negdeka” (by Judah ha-Levi) before “Nislimat” on 
the mornings of New- Year and Atonement respect- 
ively. After the fashion of the old Peninsular melo- 
dies, the short strain is melismatieally introduced 
by the hazzan, and then repeated for every distich, 
with scant consideration for the phrasing of the 
text, as many times as may be necessary (comp. 
Adonai Bekol Siiofar), until the chant closes 
with a calando passage. 

Bibliography: De Sola and Aguilar, Ancient Melodies, No. 

32, London, 1857 ; Jessurun, Book of Prayer of the Spanish 

and Portuguese Jews , vol. iii.. Appendix, London, 1904. 

a. F. L. C. 

SHEMAIAH : Prophet in the reign of Relio- 
boam. He was commissioned to dissuade the king 
from waging war against the Northern Kingdom 
after its revolt, because it was the will of God that 
Israel should form an independent state (I Kings 
xii. 22-24; II Chron. xi. 2). His second and last ap- 
pearance in the prophetic role was on the occasion 
of the invasion of Judah and the siege of Jerusalem 
by Shishak, King of Egypt. His message was that 
as the princes of Israel had humbled themselves the 
wrath of God for their idolatry should not be poured 
out upon Jerusalem by the hand of Shishak (II 
Chron. xiii. 7). 

e. o. n, I. Br. 

SHEMAIAH (SAMAIAS, SAME AS): Leader 
of the Pharisees in the first century b.c. ; president 
of the Sanhedrin before and during the reign of 
Herod. He and his colleague Abtalion are termed 
in Pes. G6a the “gedole ha-dor” (the great men of 
the age), and lb. 70a " darshanim ” (exegetes). Griitz 
has shown (“Gesch.” iii. 171) that neither Shemaiah 
nor Abtalion was of Gentile descent, although both 
were Alexandrians. Of the political life of She- 
maiah only one incident is reported. When Herod 
on his own responsibility had put to death the leader 
of the national party in Galilee, Hyrcamis permitted 
the Sanhedrin to cite him before the tribunal. Herod 
appeared, but in royal purple robes, whereat 
the members of the Sanhedrin lost courage. Only 
Shemaiah was brave enough to say: “He who is 
summoned here on a capital charge appears like one 
who would order us to execution straightway if we 
should pronounce him guilty. Yet I can blame him 
less than you and the king, since ye permit such a 
travesty of j ustice. Know then that he before whom 
ye now tremble will some day deliver you to the 
executioner. ” This tradition is found twice, in Jose- 
phus, “Ant.” xiv. 9, §4, and Sanh. 19, where the 
name is altered (comp. Gratz, “Gesch.” iii. 711). 

Of the private life of Shemaiah almost nothing is 
known, except that he was a pupil of Judah ben 
Tabbai. According to Ah. i. 10, his favorite maxim 
was, “Love handicraft, shun power, and make for 
thyself no friends of worldly might. ” This apo- 
thegm, like those of his colleague Abtalion, is sig- 
nificant of the misery of the entire period. 


Bibliography: Josephus, Ant. xiv.-xv.; Gratz, Gesch. iii. 
171-207, and note 1G; Scbtirer, Gesch. i. 348, 349, 399; ii. 202, 
205, 355, 358. 

J. S. O. 

SHEMAIAH B. SIMEON ZEBI (called also 
Segal) : Scholar of the seventeenth century, of 
whose life no other details arc known than that he 
was the author of “Mazref la-Hokmah ” (Amster- 
dam, 1765), a list of the 613 commandments, each 
being described in eight words beginning with t he 
initials or which are probably an 

abbreviation of “Morenu Shemaiah Levi Yihye” 
(Amsterdam, 1765). 

Bibliography: Benjacob, Ozar ha-Sefarim , p. 3G4; Lmvy, 
Catalogue of JJebraica anil Jndaica in the Library of the 
Corporation of the City of London, y. 143; Zedner, Cat. 
Hchr. Boohs Brit. Mus. p. 696. 

W. B. S. O. 

SHEMAIAH OF SOISSONS (called also She- 
maiah ha-Shoshani) : Scholar of the twelfth cen- 
tury ; a pupil of Raslii. He was the author of the 
following works : (1) “Sodot” or “Midrash,” notes 
on the construction of the Tabernacle as described in 
Ex. xxr.-xxvi. It was edited on the basis of the 
Munich manuscript by Berliner in “ Monatsschrift,” 
1864, pp. 224 et seq. (2) An exegesis of Deut. xiii., 
in manuscript. (3) Commentary on the Mahzor, also 
in manuscript. (4) Glosses on the Pentateuch. (5) 
Commentary on the Song of Solomon. He is often 
erroneously identified with Shemaiah of Troyes. 

Bibliography : Gedaliah ibn Yaliya, Shalshclel ha-Kahhalah, 
ed. Amsterdam, p. 38b; Conform, Kore ha-Dorot. p. 18a; 
Azulai, Shcm ha-Gedolim, p. 83a; Zunz, Z. G. p. 70: idem, 
Bitus, p. 201 ; Dukes, in Liter aturhlatt, v. 232; Geiprer, Par- 
schandatha, p. 20, note; Gross, Gallia Jndaica, p. 048. 

W. B. S. O. 

SHEMAIAH OF TROYES : Tosafist of the 
early part of the twelfth century” ; a pupil of Rashi; 
probably the father-in-law of Samuel b. Me’fr. He 
appears as a tosafist in Ber. 13a, 25b; Pes. 114a; 
Ket. 61a; Kid. 26b, and is mentioned as a casuist 
by Judah Sir Leon on Ber. lib. In “Haggahot 
Maimoniyyot,” to “Tefillah ” (cli. vii.), “Simeon ” is 
apparently a copyist’s error for “Shemaiah,” the 
true reading. Shemaiah was probably the author 
of a “Sefer ha-Likkutim,” while the “Sefer lia-Par- 
des” of Rashi as it exists to-day seems likewise to 
be a compilation made b} r Shemaiah from the orig- 
inal “Sefer lia-Pardes ” and “ Sefer lia-Orah.” His 
“Perush,” a commentaiy on the treatise Middot, 
was printed in the Talmud of 1522. 

Bibliography: Berliner, in Steinschneider, Hchr. Bihl. xi. 77 
et seep ; Gross, Gallia Jndaica , pp. 179, 196, 227 et seq., 509; 
Zunz, Z. G. pp. 56, 64 ; Benjacob, Debar im ‘ Attihim , ii. 8 ; Ge- 
daliah ibn Yahya, Shalshelct ha-Kahhalah , ed'. Amsterdam, 
p. 38b ; S. Epstein, in Monatsschrift, 1897, xli. 257-263, 296-312. 
E. C. S. O. 

SHEMANA (SEMANA) : Scholarly and prom- 
inent family of Tunis. 

Samuel b. Joseph Shemana : Rabbi of Tunis, 
whose family subsequent^ settled at Susa. He 
wrote “Keren Zebi” (Leghorn, 1835), a commentary 
on the “ Sefer Karnayim ” of Aaron of Carden a. 

Solomon Shemana : Father of the alcaide Nis- 
sim Shemana ; died at Tunis in the beginning of 
the nineteenth century. He wrote “ Shoresh Yislmi,” 
consisting of a commentaiy on the treatises Bekorot 
and Kiddusliin, and notes to various treatises of the 
Talmud, to the Yad lia-Hazakah, and to the “Moreh 



269 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Shemaiah 
Shemini ‘Azeret 


Rebukim,” as well as a discussion of the treatise 
‘Erubin, written in collaboration with Moses Berda. 
Tlie book was printed posthumously at the expense 
of Solomon’s brother Isaac Ilai Shemana (2 parts, 
Leghorn, 1809). 

Solomon Shemana : Son of Samuel Shemana, 
and father of Joseph Shemana. He was the au- 
thor of “Bigde Shesh,” which treated of the first 
three ritual codices, especially Yoreh De‘ali and 
Eben ha-‘Ezei\ published by liis grandson at Leg- 
horn in 1866. His other works— “ ‘Ammude Shesh,” 
on. treatises of the Talmud ; “ Bet ha-Melek, on the 
Yad ha-Hazakah; and “Ivetonet Shesh,” notes to 
the Talmud— still remain in manuscript. 

Solomon Shemana: Patron of Jewish learning; 
died at Tunis in 1882 ; cousin of the above-mentioned 
Nissim Shemana, and, like him, alcaide and tax- 
collector. He published: “ Sefer Shoresh Yishai” 
(Leghorn, 1809), notes to passages of the Bible and 
t.he°Talmud, together with some Hebrew poems; 
and “Mo hide Adonai” (id. 1878), relating to the 
calendar and the festivals. 


Bnu loruiAPiiY : D. Gazes, Notes Bihliogi'aphiques , pp. 28<- 
;>98 ; Zertner, Cat. Hcbr. Books Brit. Mus. p. 096. 

q M. K. 


SHEMARIAH BEN ELHANAN : Head of 
the yeshibah of Cairo, Egypt, about the end of the 
tenth century. Abraham b, David (“Sefer ha-Kab- 
halali,” in Neubauer, “M. J. C.” i. 68) relates that 
Ibn Rumahis (or Ibn Demahin), an Arab admiral, 
had captured four scholars who were voyaging from 
Bari to Sebaste to collect money for the maintenance 
of the great school in Babylonia (“ liakuasat kallali ”), 
and that one of the four was called Shemariali b. 
Ellianan. Shemariali was sold by his captor at Al- 
exandria, where he was afterward ransomed by rich 
Jews. 

Shemariali then went to Cairo, where he founded 
a flourishing school. As to the native place of the 
captured scholars, the general opinion, more partic- 
ularly with regard to Shemariali, is that the four 
were Babylonians, I. II. Weiss (“Dor,” iv. 265, note 
2) being the only authority who assigns them to 
Italy. David Kaufmann (in Berliner’s “Magazin,” 
v. 70-75) thinks they came from Pumbedita. This 
opinion, at least with regard to Shemariali b. Ellia- 
nan, is confirmed by a fragment of a responsum 
(published by Neubauer in “ J. Q. R.” vi. 222-228) 
apparently addressed by Slierira Gaou to Jacob b. 
Nissim at Kairwan (see Halberstam, ib. p. 596), in 
which Shemariali is spoken of as the head of the 
yeshibah of Nehardea and as a high authority in 
rabbinics. Later, also, when Shemariali was the 
head of the yeshibah of Cairo, he was consulted by 
many rabbis from distant countries ; and Seliecliter 
has published (in “ J. Q. R.” x. 644-648) a long letter 
addressed to Shemariali by Husliiel of Kairwan, who, 
according to Abraham b. David (l.c.), was captured 
with Shemariali, and another letter, by an unknown 
rabbi, also addressed to Shemariali (“ J. Q. R.” xiv. 
492-497). 

Bibliography: Besides the sources mentioned, Griitz, Gesch. 

v., note 21, ii.; Harkavy, Teshubot Ixa-Ge'onim , p. 2. 

W. n. M. Sel. 


SHEMARIAH B. MORDECAI (called also 
Shemariali of Speyer) : German tosafist of the 


first half of the twelfth century; pupil of the tosa- 
fist Isaac b. Asher. He was considered an espe- 
cially'' eminent authority on religious rites (“ba‘ai 
ma‘asim”), and seems to have written “poskim” 
(decisions) ; no less a person than Jacob b. Mei'r Tam 
consulted him on a difficult question (“Or Zarua‘ ” 
on B. B, 199). 

Those of Shemariali’ s pupils most deserving men- 
tion are Judah b. Kalonymus b. Mei'r, author of 
“ Yiliuse Tannaim wa-Amoraim,” and Judah b. 
Kalonymus, father of Eleazar of Worms. The 
former usually calls him “ mori ha-yashish ” (my aged 
teacher), which seems to indicate that Shemariali 
died at an advanced age. It is, however, not true 
that Eleazar of Worms also was his pupil, as has 
been asserted by some. 

Bibliography: Epstein, Das Talmudische Lexicon , in Mo- 
vatssclirifU xxxix. 453-454 (also printed separately); Koim, 
Mardochai h. Hilleh p. 152. 

w. B. L. G- 

SHEMARIAH OF NEGROPONT. See 

IlUtITI, SlIEMAEIAH. 

SHEMINI ‘AZERET: Eighth day of Sukkot, 

“ ‘azeret ” being the name given to it in Lev. xxiii. 
36; Num. xxix. 35; Nell. viii. 18; II Chron. vii. 9. 
The eighth day of Sukkot is not mentioned in Deut. 
xvi., and is found only in those parts of the Bible 
known as the Priestly Code. Like “ ‘azarali ” (Amos 
v. 21 ; Isa. i. 13; Joel i. 14), “ ‘azeret” denotes “day 
of assembly,” from “‘azar” = “to hold back” or 
“keep in”; heuce also the name “‘azeret” given 
to the seventh clay of Pesah (Deut. xvi. 8). Owing, 
however, to the fact that both the eighth day of 
Sukkot and tlie seventh day of Pesah are called 
“‘azeret,” tlie name was taken to mean “the closing 
festival.” 

During the time of the Second Temple, Sliebu‘ot 
received the specific name of “ ‘Azarta ” (Josephus, 
“Ant.” iii. 10, § 6; Pes. 42b, 68b), said to signify 
“the closing feast” of Passover (see Pesik. 193a). 
Commenting upon this fact, the Rabbis say (ib.): 
“The closing feast of Sukkot ought rightly to have 
been, like that of Pesah, on tlie fiftieth day; but, 
in order not to force tiie people to make another 
journey to Jerusalem in the rainy season, God fixed 
it as early as the eighth day.” Another comment 
upon the name “ ‘azeret ” is as follows (ib.) : “ When- 
ever the people of Israel assemble in the houses of 
worship and instruction, God ‘keeps in’ His She- 
kinah with them.” For the meaning of “‘azar” 
Judges xiii. 15 is referred to. This is further illus- 
trated by the following similitude (ib.) : “A kiug 
gives to" a large circle of friends a banquet which 
fasts seven days. When these have expired he says 
to his son; ‘ During these days of feasting we have 
had little opportunity of enjoying each other’s com- 
pany. Tarry [“be kept back” == “he‘azer”] a day 
longer, that we may rejoice while holding a simple 
feast together.’ So God speaks to Israel thus: 
* During the seven days the Sukkot feast with its 
seventy bullocks for sacrifice was meaut for the 
seventy nations [see Nations and Languages] of 
the world. Let this eighth day be a simple feast 
with one bullock and one ram as a sacrifice to ex- 
press thy unique relation to Me’” (comp. Num. 

I xxix. 35-37). K- 



Shemittah 
Shemoiieh ‘Esreh 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


270 


The peculiarities of Sliemini ‘ Azeret in the liturgy 
are the following : 

1. It bears the name given above, with the word 
“hag” (feast) either inserted between its parts or 
added at the end. It is thus distinguished from 
Sukkot. 

2. In the “ Kiddush ” at the evening meal thanks 
are given for having reached this season (“zeman”). 
This is not done on the seventh day of the Passover. 

3. Hallel is read unabridged. Many persons eat in 
the “ sukkali ” or booth, but no one recites the bene- 
diction over the command to sit therein (Suk.47a). 

4. The Book of Ecclesiastes is deemed the proper 
reading for the day, professedly on account of the 
words (xi, 2) “give a share to. seven, even to eight” 
thtrein contained. In the German liturgy phrases 
from this book are worked into the “ piyyutim ” for 
the day. 

5. The reading from the Pentateuch (first scroll) 
embraces the list of festivals given in Deuteronomy, 
closing with xvi. 17, though this day is not men- 
tioned therein. It begins at xiv. 22 — in some con- 
gregations only on the Sabbath, in which case it 
begins on week-days at xv. 19. In Palestine, where 
since the influx of the exiles from Spain are observed 
the one-year cycle and single feast-days, the closing 
lesson of the Pentateuch is read, followed by Gen. 
i. i-ii. 3; that is, the lessons which during exile be- 
long to Simhat Torah. Prom the second scroll 
Num. xxix. 35-87 is read; the prophetic lesson is I 
Kings viii. 54-66. 

6. In the German ritual a memorial service for the 
dead is added (see Hazkarat Neshamot). 

7. The winter, or, in Mishnah phrase, the “rainy ” 
season, begins with the additional prayer of this day 
(see Geshem). 

x. L. N. D. 

SHEMITTAH. See Sabbatical Year and 
Jubilee. 

SHEMONEH ‘ESREH: Collection of bene- 
dictions forming the second — the Shema* being the 
first — important section of the daily prayers at the 
morning (•“ Shaliarit ”), afternoon (“ Minhali ”), and 
evening (“‘Arbit”) services, as well as of the addi- 
tional (Musaf) service on Sabbaths and holy days. 

laterally, tlie name means -‘eighteen ” ; and. its wide 

use shows that at the time it came into vogue the 
benedictions (“berakot”) comprised in the prayer 
must have numbered eighteen, though in reality as 
fixed in the versions recited in the synagogues they 
number nineteen. As the prayer par excellence, it is 
designated as the “Tefillah” (prayer), while among 
the Sephardic Jews it is known as the “ ‘Amidah,” 
i.e., the prayer which the worshiper is commanded 
to recite standing (see also Zohar, i. 105). The 
eighteen — now nineteen — benedictions, according to 
their content and character, are readily grouped as 
follows: (1) three blessings of praise (“ Shebahim,” 
Nos. i., ii., iii.); (2) twelve (now tliir- 
The Three teen) petitions (“ Bakkashot,” Nos. iv.- 

G-roups. xv. [xvi.]), and (3) three concluding 
ones of thanks (“ Hoda’ot, ” Nos. xvi. 
[x vii.], xviii., and xix.). The first three and the last 
three constitute, so to speak, the permanent stock, 
used at every service; while the middle group varies 
on Sabbath, New Moons, and holy days from the for- | 


mula for week-days. The construction of the “ Slie- 
moneh ‘Esreli ” complies with the rabbinical injunc- 
tion that in every prayer tlie praises of God must 
precede private petitions (‘ Ab. Zarah 6), as the fol- 
lowing comment shows: “Iu the first three [niJIKWl] 
man is like a slave chanting the praise of his master ; 
in the middle sections he is a servant peti- 

tioning for his compensation from his employer ; in 
the last three [filJJ'nhX] lie is the servant who, hav- 
ing received his wages, takes leave of his master ” 
(Ber. 34a). 

No. i. of the first group is designated (R. H. iv. 5) 
as “ Abot ” = “ patriarchs, ” because the Patriarchs 
are mentioned, and tlie love of (or for) them is ex- 
pressly emphasized therein. Translated, it reads as 
follows : 

“ Blessed toe Thou, 0 Lord, our God and God of our fathers, 
God of Abratoam, God of Isaac, and God of Jacob, the great, the 
mighty, and the fearful God— God Most High— who bestowest 
goodly kindnesses, and art the Creator [“ Koneb,” which signifies 
primarily “ Creator 11 and then “ Owner ”] of all, and remem- 
toerest the love of [or for] the Fathers and bringest a redeemer 
for their children’s children for the sake of [His] Thy name in 
love. King, Helper, Savior, and Shield ; blessed be Thou, Shield 
of Abraham ” (see Dembitz, “ Jewish Services in the Synagogue 
and Home,” pp. 112 ct seq.). 

No. ii. has the name “Geburot” (R. II. iv. 5) = 
“powers,” because it addresses God as the “Ba‘ai 
Geburot” and recites His powers, i.e., the resur- 
rection of the dead and the sustentation of the 
living (comp. Gen. R. xiii.). It is called also “Te- 
hiyyat ha-Metim ” = “ the resurrection of the dead.” 
Rain is considered as great a manifestation of power 
as the resurrection of the dead (Ta‘an. 2a) ; lienee in 
winter a line referring to the descent of rain (Ber. 
33a) is inserted in this benediction. The eulogy 
runs as follows : 

“ Thou art mighty forever, O Lord [ lt Adonai,” not the Tetra- 
grammaton] : Thou resurrectest the dead ; art great to save. 
Sustaining the living in loving-kindness, resurrecting the dead 
in abundant mercies, Thou supportest the falling, and healest 
the sick, and settest free the captives, and keepest [fulflllest] Thy 
[His] faith to them that sleep in the dust. Who is like Thee, 
master of mighty deeds [= owner of the powers over life and 
death], and who may be compared unto Thee ? King sending 
death and reviving again and causing salvation to sprout forth. 
Thou art surely believed to resurrect the dead. Blessed be 
Thou, O Lord, who revivest the dead.” 

^STo. iii. is known as “ Keduslisliat lia-Sliem ” = 

“the sanctification of the Name.” It is very short, 
though the variants are numerous (see below). It 
reads as follows: 

“ Thou art holy and Thy name is holy, and the holy ones praise 
Thee every day. Selab. Blessed be Thou, 0 Lord, the holy God.” 

At public worship, when tlie precentor, or, as lie is 
known iu Hebrew, the Siieliaii Zibbur (messen- 
ger or deputy of the congregation), repeats the 
prayer aloud, tlie preceding benediction (N o. iii. ), with 
the exception of the concluding sentence, “Blessed 
be Thou,” etc., is replaced by tlie Kedusiisiiah. 

In work-day services the Shemoiieh ‘Esreh con- 
tinues with Group 2 (“ Bakkashot ”), supplications 
referring to the needs of Israel (Sifre, 
The Inter- Wezot ha-Berakah, ed. Friedmann, p. 
mediate 142b). 

Blessings. No. iv., known, from its opening 
words, as “ AttahHonen,” or, with ref- 
erence to its content — a petition for understanding 
— as “Binah ” (Meg. 17b), sometimes also as “Birkat 


271 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Shemittah 
Shemoneh ‘Esreh. 


Hokmah ” (on account of the word “hokmali,” now 
omitted, which occurred in the first phrase) and as 
“Birkat lia-Hol ” = “ work-day benediction ” (Ber. 
33a), reads as follows : 

'piiou graciously vouchsafes! knowledge to man and teaehest 
mortals understanding : vouchsafe unto us from Thee knowl- 
edge, understanding, and intelligence. Blessed be Thou, 0 
Lord] who vouchsafest knowledge.” 

No. v. is known as “ Tesliubah ” = “ return ” (Meg. 
17b): 

•• Lead us back, our Father, to Thy Torah ; bring us near, our 
Kino- to Thy service, and cause us to return in perfect repent- 
ance before Thee. Blessed be Thou, O Lord, who acceptest re- 
pentance.” 

No. vi. is the “Selihah,” the prayer for forgive- 
ness (Meg. 17b) : 

“ Forgive us, our Father, for we have sinned ; pardon us, our 
King for we have transgressed : for Thou pardonesfc and for- 
gives!. Blessed be Thou, 0 Gracious One, who multiplies! for- 
giveness.” 

No. vii. is styled “Birkat ha-Ge’ullali,” the bene- 
diction ending with “Go’el” = “Redeemer” (Meg. 
17b): 

“ Look but upon our affliction and fight our fight and redeem 
us speedily for the sake of Thy name : for Thou art a strong 
redeemer. Blessed art Thou, O Lord, the Redeemer of Israel.” 

No. viii. is the “ Birkat ha-Holim ” (‘Ab. Zarah 8a), 
or “Refu’ah” (Meg. 17b), tiie prayer for the sick 
or for recovery : 

Heal us and we shall be healed ; help us and we shall be 
helped : for Thou art our joy. Cause Thou to rise up full heal- 
ings for all our wounds : for Thou, God King, art a true and 
merciful physician : blessed he Thou, O Lord, who healest the 
sick of His people Israel.” 

No. ix. is the “Birkat lia-Shanim ” (Meg. 17b), the 
petition that the year may be fruitful : 

“ Bless for us, 0 Lord our God, this year and all kinds of its 
yield for [our] good; and shower down [in winter, “dew and 
rain for ”] a blessing upon the face of the earth : fulfil us of Thy 
bounty and bless this our year that it be as the good years. 
Blessed be Thou, 0 Lord, who blessest the years.” 

No. x. is the benediction in regard to the “ Kibbuz 
Galuyot,” the gathering of the Jews of the Diaspora 
(Meg. 17b): 

“ Blow the great trumpet [see Shofar] for our liberation, and 
lift a banner to gather our exiles, and gather us into one body 

from the four corners of the earth : blessed, be Thou, O Lord. 

who gatherest the dispersed of Thy this] people Israel.-* 

No. xi. is the “Birkat ha-Din,” the petition for jus- 
tice (Meg. 17b) : 

“ Restore our judges as of yore, and our counselors as in the 
beginning, and remove from us grief and sighing. Reign Thou 
over us, O Lord, alone in loving-kindness and mercy, and estab- 
lish our innocence by the judgment. Blessed be Thou, O Lord 
the King, who lovest righteousness and justice.” 

No. xii. is the “Birkat ha-Minim”or “lia-Zad- 
dukim” (Ber. 28b: Meg. 17b; Yer. 
The Birkat Ber. iv.). the prayer against heretics 
ha-Minim. and Sadducees (and traducers, inform- 
ers, and traitors): 

“ May no hope be left to the slanderers; but may wickedness 
perish as iii a moment; may all Thine enemies be soon cut off, 
and do Thou speedily uproot the haughty and shatter and hum- 
ble them speedily in our days. Blessed he Thou, 0 Lord, who 
strikest down enemies and humblest the haughty ” (Dembitz. 
Lc. p. 133). 

No. xiii. is a prayer in behalf of the “Zaddikim ' 7 
= “pious” (Meg. 17b): 


“ May Thy mercies, 0 Lord our God, he stirred over the right- 
eous and over the pious and over the elder-s of Thy people, the 
House of Israel, and over the remnant of their scribes, and over 
the righteous proselytes, and over us, and bestow a goodly re- 
ward upon them who truly confide in Thy name ; and assign us 
our portion with them forever ; and may we not come to shame 
for that we have trusted in Thee. Blessed he Thou, 0 Lord, 
support and reliance for the righteous.” 

No. xiv. is a prayer in behalf of Jerusalem : 

“ To Jerusalem Thy city return Thou in mercy and dwell in 
her midst as Thou hast spoken, and build her speedily in our 
days as an everlasting structure and soon establish there the 
throne of David. Blessed be Thou, 0 Lord, the builder of Jeru- 
salem.” 

No. xv. begins with “ Et Zemali Dawid ” (Meg. 
18a), and is so entitled. It is a prayer for the 
rise of David's sprout, i.e., the Messianic king. At 
one time it must have formed part of the preceding 
benediction (see below). It reads : 

“ The sprout of David Thy servant speedily cause Thou to 
sprout up ; and his horn do Thou uplift through Thy victorious 
salvation ; for Thy salvation we are hoping every day. Blessed 
be Thou, O Lord, who causest the horn of salvation to sprout 
forth.” 

No. xvi. is denominated simply “ Tefillah ” = 
“prayer” (Meg. 18a). It is a supplication that the 
preceding prayers may be answered: 

“ Hear our voice, O Lord our God, spare and have mercy on 
us, aud accept in mercy and favor our prayer. For a God that 
heareth prayers and supplications art Thou. From before Thee, 
O our King, do not turn us away empty-handed. For Thou 
hearest the prayer of Thy people Israel in mercy. Blessed he 
Thou, 0 Lord, who hearest prayer.” 

No. xvii. is termed the “ * Abodali ” = “ sacrificial 
service” (Ber. 29b; Shah. 24a; R. H. 12a; Meg. 18a; 
Sotah 38b: Tamid 32b): 

“ Be pleased, O Lord our God, with Thy people Israel and 
their prayer, and return [i.c., reestablish] the sacrificial service 
to the altar of Thy House, and the fire-offerings of Israel and 
their prayer [offered] in love accept Thou with favor, and may 
the sacrificial service of Israel Thy people he ever acceptable 
to Thee. And may our eyes behold Thy merciful return to Zion. 
Blessed be Thou who restorest Thy [His] Shekinah to Zion,” 

No. xviii. is the “Hoda’ah” =a “confession ” or 
“ thanksgiving ” (Meg. 18a ; Ber. 29a, 34a ; Shah. 24a ; 
Sotali 68b; see also Articles of Faith): 

“ We acknowledge to Thee, 0 Lord, that Thou art our God as 
Thou wast the God of our fathers, forever and ever. Rock of 
our life. Shield of our help. Thou art immutable from age to age. 
We thank Thee and utter Thy praise, for our lives that are [de- 
livered over] into Tiay hands and for our souls that are entrusted 
tO Thee ; and for Thy miracles that; are [%vrouglit] witti us every 

day and for Thy marvelously [marvels and] kind deeds that are 
of every time ; evening and morning and noon- 

C oncluding; tide. Thou art [the] good, for Thy mercies are 
Bene- endless : Thou art [the] merciful, for Thy kind- 

dictions. nesses never are complete : from everlasting 
we have hoped in Thee. And for all these 
things may Thy name be blessed and exalted always and for- 
evermore. " And all the living will give thanks unto Thee and 
praise Thy great name in truth, God, our salvation and help. 
Selah. Blessed be Thou, 0 Lord, Thy name is good, and to Thee 
it is meet to give thanks.” 

After this at public prayer in the morning the 
priestly blessing is added. 

No. xix., however, is a resume of this blessing. 
The benediction exists in various forms, the fuller 
one being used (in the German ritual) in tlie morn- 
ing service alone (Meg. 18a), as follows: 

“ Bestow peace, happiness, and blessing, grace, loving-kind- 
ness, and mercy upon us and upon all Israel Thy people : bless 
us, our Father, even all of us, by the light of Thy countenance, 
for by this light of Thy countenance Thou gavest us, 0 Lord 
our God, the law of life, loving-kindness, and righteousness, 



Shemoneh ‘Esreh 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


272 


and blessing and mercy, life and peace. May it be good in 
Thine eyes to bless Thy people Israel in every time and at every 
hour with Thy peace. Blessed be Thou, O Lord, who blessest 
Thy [His] people Israel with peace.” 

Tlie shorter form reads thus : 

“ Mayest Thou bestow much peace upon Thy people Israel for- 
ever. For Thou art the immutable King, the Master unto all 
peace. May it be good in Thine eyes to bless ” (and so forth as 
in the preceding form). 

For the Sabbath, the middle supplications are re- 
placed by one, so that the Sabbath “ Tehllali ” is 
composed of seven benedictions. This one speaks 
of the sanctity of the day (Ber. 29a; Yer. Ber. iv. 
3). It consists of an introductory portion, which on 
Sabbath has four different forms for the four 
services, and another short portion, which is con- 
stant: 

“ Our God and God of our fathers ! be pleased with our rest; 
sanctify us by Thy commandments, give us a share in Thy law, 
satiate us of Thy bounty, and gladden us in Thy salvation ; and 
cleanse our hearts to serve Thee in truth : let ns inherit, 0 Lord 
our God, in love and favor, Thy holy Sabbath, and may Israel, 
who hallows [loves] Thy name, rest thereon. Blessed be Thou, 
0 Lord, who sanctiflest the Sabbath.” 

On Sabbath -eve after the congregation lias read 
the “ Tefillah ” silently, the reader repeats aloud the 
so-called “Me-‘En Sheba*,” or summary (Ber. 29, 
57b; Pes. 104a$ of the seven blessings (Sliab. 24b; 
Baslii ad loc.). The reason given for this is the fear 
lest by tarrying too long or alone in the synagogue 
on the eve of the Sabbath the worshiper may come 
to harm at t he hands of evil spirits. This abstract 
opens like No. i., using, however, the words “Crea- 
tor [Owner] of heaven and earth ” where No. i. has 
“Creator of all,” and omitting those immediately 
preceding “ bestowest goodly kindnesses.” The con- 
gregation then continues: 

“Shield of the fathers by His word, reviving the dead by His 
command, the holy God to whom none is like; who eauseth His 
people to rest on His holy Sabbath-day, for in them He took de- 
light to cause them to rest. Before Him we shall worship in 
reverence and fear. We shall render thanks to His name on 
every day constantly in the manner of the benedictions. God 
of the ‘acknowledgments,’ Lord of ‘ Peace,’ \\ho saiictifleth the 
Sabbath and blesseth the seventh [day] and eauseth the people 
who are filled with Sabbath delight to rest as a memorial of the 
work in the beginning [Creation].” 

Then the reader concludes with the “Rezeh,” the 
middle Sabbath eulogy. 

On festivals (even when coincident with the Sab- 
bath) this “Sanctification of the Day” is made up 
of several sections, the first of which is constant 
and reads as follows: 

“ Thou hast chosen us from all the nations, hast loved ns and 
wast pleased with us ; Thou hast lifted us above all tongues, 
and hast hallowed us by Thy commandments, and hast brought 
us, 0 our King, to Thy service, and hast pronounced over us 
Thy great and holy name.” 

Then follows a paragraph naming the special festi- 
val and its special character, and, if the Sabbath co- 
incides therewith, it is mentioned before the feast. 
For Passover the wording is as follows: 

“ And Thou hast given us, 0 Lord our God, in love [Sabbaths 
for rest,] set times and seasons for joy, [this 
Variations Sabbath-day, the day of our rest, and] this dew 
on Festivals, of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the sea- 
son of our deliverance , a holy convocation, a 
memorial of the exodus from Egypt.” 

For the other festivals the respective changes in 
the phrase printed above in italics are the following: 


“ this day of the Feast of Weeks— the day when our Torah was 
given”; “this day of the Feast of Booths -the day of our glad- 
ness”; “this eighth day, the concluding day of the feast— the 
day of our gladness “ this Day of Memorial, a day of alarm- 
sound [shofar-blowiiig ; i.c., on Rosh ha-Sbanah] “ this Day 
of Atonement for forgiveness and atonement, and to pardon 
thereon all our iniquities.” 

On New Moons and on the middle days of Pesah 
or Sukkot, as well as on the holy days, the “ Ya‘a- 
lch we-yabo ” (— “Rise and come”) is inserted in 
the “‘Abodah,” the name of the day appearing in 
each case in its proper place. The Sabbath is never 
referred to in this prayer, and it forms part of every 
service save the additional or Musaf : 

“ Our God and God of our fathers ! may the remembrance 
of ourselves and our fathers, and of Thy anointed servant the 
son of David, and of Thy holy city Jerusalem, and of all Israel 
Thy people, rise and come [hence the name of the prayer], tie 
seen, heard, etc., before Thee on this day , , , for deliverance, 
happiness, life, and peace; remember us thereon, 0 Lord our 
God, for happiness, visit us for blessings, save us unto life, and 
with words of help and mercy spare and favor us, show us 
mercy ! Save us, for to Thee our eyes are turned. Thou art 
the gracious and merciful God and King.” 

In the final part of the benediction appears an intro- 
ductory petition on the three joyous festivals: 

“ Let us receive, 0 Lord our God, the blessings of Thy ap- 
pointed times for life and peace, for gladness and joy, where \vi tli 
Thou in Thy favor hast promised to bless us.” (Then follows 
the “ Rezeh ” [see above], with such variations from the Sabbath 
formula as : “ in gladness and joy ” for “ in love and favor ” ; 
“rejoice” for “rest”; and “Israel and Thy ” or “the holy 
seasons ” for “ the Sabbath.”) 

On Rosh ha-Shanah a prayer for the coming of the 
kingdom of heaven is added at the close of this ben- 
ediction (for its text see the prayer-books and Dem- 
bitz, Lc. p. 145). On the Day of Atonement the pe- 
tition solicits pardon for sins (Dembitz, Lc. p. 14G). 
A Hard ala ir is inserted on Saturday night in the 
“Sanctification of the Day ” when a festival — and 
this can never happen with the Day of Atonement 
—falls on a Sunday. The form in use is somewhat 
longer than that given*in the Talmud, where it is 
called “ a pearl ” on account of its sentiment (Ber. 33b ; 
Bezah 17a). Insertions are made in the six constant 
benedictions on certain occasions, as follows: During 
the ten days of Teslmbali, i. e . , the first ten days of 
Tishri, in No. i., after “in love” is inserted “Re- 
member us for life, 0 King who delightest in life, 
and inscribe us into the book of life; for Thy sake, 
O God of life ” ; in No. ii. , after “sal- 
insertions. vatiou to sprout forth,” “Who is like 
Thee, Father of mercies, who remem- 
berest His [Thy] creatures unto life in mercy? ” ; in 
No. iff., “holy King,” in place of “lioly God” at 
the close; in No. xviii., before the concluding para- 
graph, “ O inscribe for a happy life all the sons of 
Thy covenant”; in No. xix., before the end, “May 
we be remembered and inscribed in the book of life, 
of blessing, of peace, and of good sustenance, we 
and all Thy people, the whole house of Israel, yea, 
for happy life and for peace ” ; and the close (in the 
German ritual) is changed to “Blessed be Thou, 0 
Lord, who makest peace.” In the “Neilali” (con- 
cluding) service for the Day of Atonement, “in- 
scribe” is changed to “seal.” On the two “solemn 
days” (“Yaniim Noraffm”) a petition for the king- 
dom of heaven is inserted in No. iii. (see the trans- 
lation in Dembitz, lx. p. 122), and the concluding 


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Shemoneh ‘Esreh 


phrase of this eulogy also is changed: “Thou art 
f ,. ml Thy name is fearful, aud there is no God 
hesidesTliee, as it is written [Isa. v. 16], ‘The Lord 
God is exalted in judgment, and the Holy God is 
sanctified in righteousness.’ Blessed be Thou, O 
Lord, the Holy King.” In fall and winter, in No 11 ., 
ftcr the words “ Thou resurrectest the dead and art 
'.rent to save ” is inserted the words : “ Tliou causest 
the' wind to blow and the rain to descend. ” On New 
Moons and middle days, except in the Musaf, the 
“ Ya'aleh we-yabo ’’ (see above) is inserted in the 
•“Abodah” before “bring back.” On Hanukkali 
and Purim special thanks are inserted in No. xvm. 
after the words “ from everlasting we have hoped in 
Thee ” These narrate the wonderful occurrences 
which the day recalls. On fast-days, after No. vi. 
a special supplication is recited, beginning with 
“Answer us, O Lord, answer us”; and in No. vii., 
the prayer for the sick, one desirous of remembering 
a sick person interpolates a brief Aehi Razon ( 
May it be Thy will ”) to that effect. On the Ninth 
of Ab in the Minhali service a supplication is intro- 
duced into No. xv. for the consolation of those that 
mourn for Zion. In No. xvi., as well as in the Min- 
hah and the silent prayer, the fast-day appeal might 
be inserted. 

The “ Hoda’ah ” (No. xviii.) lias a second version, 
styled the “Modim de-Babbanan ” and reading as 
follows: 

11 We confess this before Thee that Tliou art immutable, God 
our G0(1 and the God of our fathers, the God of all flesh. Our 
Creator, the Creator of all iu the beginning: [we offer] bene- 
dictions and thanksgivings unto Thy name, the great and holy 
One, because Thou hast kept us alive and preserved us. tven 
so’do Thou Keep us alive and preserve us, aud gather togethei 
our exiles to Thy holy courts to keep thy statutes and to do Thy 
will and to serve Thee with a fully devoted heart, for which we 
render thanks unto Thee. Blessed be the God of the thanks- 
givings.” 

As 'the title suggests, this is an anthology of various 
thanksgiving prayers composed by the Rabbis 
(Sotah 9a). The close is not found in the Talmud- 
ieal passage cited, nor does it appear in the Sid 
dur” of Rab Annum or in the formula given by 
Maimonides and others; hut it is taken fiom Tei. 
Bcr. i. 7. A somewhat different opening, “ We con- 
fess and how down and kneel,” is preserved in the 

Roman Malizor. 

Before the priestly blessing (originally in the 
morning service, but now iu the additional service, 
and in the Minhali service on the Ninth of Ab or 
on any other public fast-day), whenever “the 
priests’” (“kohanim”) are expected to recite the 
priestly blessing (see Dokan), the leader reads in 
the “ ‘Abodah ” : 

“May our supplication he pleasing in Thy sight like burnt 
offering and sacrifice. 0 Thou Merciful Being, in Thy great 
mercy restore Thy Shekinah to Zion and the order of service to 
Jerusalem. May our eyes behold Thy return to Zion in mercy, 
and there we shall serve Thee in awe, as in the days of old and 
in former years” (comp. Mai. ii. 2). 

He then ends the benediction as usual and reads the 
“ Modim ” as well as the introduction to the priestly 
blessing (see Blessing, Pkiestly): 

a Our God and God of our fathers, bless us with the blessing 
which, tripartite ill the Torah, was written by the hands of 
Moses, Thy servant, and was spoken by Aaron and his sons the 
priests, Thy holy people, as follows [at this point the priests 
say aloud] : “ Blessed be Tliou, 0 Eternal our God, King of the 

XI.— 18 


universe, who hast .sanctified us with the sacredness of Aaron 
and hast commanded us in love to bless Thy (His) people Israel.” 

Thereupon they intone the blessing after the leader, 
word for word : 

“ ‘ May the Eternal bless thee and keep thee. 

‘ May the Eternal let His countenance shine upon thee and 
be gracious unto thee. 

‘May the Eternal lift up His countenance toward thee and 
give thee peace.’ ” 

After each section the people usually answer, “ Ken 
yelii razon!” (= “May such be [Thy] will! ”); but 
when tiie kohanim perform this function (on the 
holy days) those present answer, “Amen.” On the 
morning of the Ninth of Ab the kohanim may 
not pronounce the blessing, nor may the precentor 
read it. 

The “ Shemoneh ‘Esreh ” is first prayed silently by 
the congregation and then repeated by the reader 
aloud. In attitude of body and in the holding of 
the hands devotion is to be expressed 
Mode (see Sliulhan ‘Aruk, Orah Hayyim, 
of Prayer. 95 et seq.). Interruptions are to be 
strictly avoided (ib. 104). In places 
and situations where there is grave danger of 
interruptions, a shorter form is permissible com- 
prising the first three and the last three benedictions 
and between them only the “Attah Honen,” the 
petition for understanding (No. iv.-; Orah Hayyim, 
110 ). 

The “Shemoneh ‘Esreh” is prefaced by the verse 
“ O Eternal, open my lips, and my mouth shall pro- 
claim Thy praise ” (Ps. li. 17 ; see Ber. 4b). At one 
time two other Biblical passages (Ps. lxv. 3 and 
Deut. xxxii. 3) were recited, one before and the 
other after the verse now retained. But this was 
considered to break the connection between the 
“ GeTillah ” (the preceding eulogy, the last in the 
“ Shema‘ ” ending with “ Ga’al Yisrael ”) and the 
« Tefillah ” ; and such an interruption was deemed 
inadmissible, as even an “Amen” was not to be 
spoken before the words “ O Eternal, open my lips,” 
in order that this verse might be considered to be- 
long to the preceding “ GeTillah ” and to form with 
it a “long GeTillah” (KrpnK r&fcO; Orah Hayyim, 
HI; and the Tut, lc.). A discussion arose among 
the’ later “Posekim” whether this injunction was 
applicable to Sabbaths and holy days or only to 
work-days. In the additional and Minhali services 
more verses might be spoken after the Sliema 
and before and after the “Tefillah.” The custom 
has gradually developed of reciting at the conclu- 
sion of the latter the supplication with which Mar, 
the son of Rabina, used to conclude his prayer 
(Ber. 17a): 

“ My God, keep my tongue and my lips from speaking deceit, 
and to them that curse me let me [Hebr. “ my soul ”1 be silent, 
and me [my soul] be like dust to all. Open ray heart in Thy 
Torah, and after [in] Thy commandments let me [my soul] pur- 
sue. As for those that think evil of [against] me speedily thwart 
their counsel and destroy their plots. Do [this] for Thy name s 
sake, do this for Thy right hand's sake, do this for the sake ^of 
Thy holiness, do this for the sake of Thy Torah, ihat Thy be- 
loved ones may rejoice, let Thy right hand bring on help [sal- 
vation] and answer me. [For the formula here given begin- 
ning with “ Do this,” another one was used expressive of the 
wish that the Temple might be rebuilt, that the Messiah might 
come, that God’s people might he ransomed, and that His con- 
gregation might be gladdened. The angels also were invoked ; 
and the appeal was summed up : “Do it for Thy sake, if not for 



Shemoneh ‘Esreh 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


274 


ours. 11 ] May the words of my mouth and the meditations of 
my heart be acceptable in Thy sight, 0 Eternal, my rock and 
my redeemer. 11 

At these words, three steps backward were taken 
(see Orah Hayyim, l.c. 123), and then this was re- 
cited : 

“ He who maketh peace in the heights, He will establish peace 
upon us and upon all Israel, and thereupon say ye ‘Amen. 1 11 

Then followed a final phrase praying* for the re- 
building of the Temple so that Israel might sacrifice 
again, to the sweet gratification of 
The God as of yore. The worshiper was 
Concluding bidden to remain at the place whither 

Section, his three backward steps had brought 
him for the space of time which would 
be required for traversing a space of four ells, or, if 
at public prayer-service, until the precentor, in the 
loud repetition, intoned the “Kedushsliali.” 

In the “Tefillah ” for the additional service the 
constant parts are always retained. On Rosh ha- 
Shanali there are three middle benedictions (accord- 
ing to R. H. iv. 5; comp. Ta‘an. ii. 3 for fast-days): 
(1) “Fathers”; (2) “Powers”; (3) “Holiness of the 
Name” with addition of the “Kingdoms”; (4) 

“ Sanctifications of the Day, ” the shofar being blown ; 

(5) “Remembrances” (with shofar); (6) “Sliofarot” 
(the shofar is blown); (7) “‘Abodah”; (8) “Ho- 
da’ot”; (9) Blessings of the kolianim. According 
to R. Akiba, “Kingdoms,” i.e., verses recognizing 
God as king, must always go with “Blowings”; 
therefore he rearranges the benedictions as follows: 
(1), (2), (3) “Holiness”; (4) “ Sanctifications ” and 
“Kingdoms” (with blasts of the shofar); (5) “Re- 
membrances,” i.e., verses in which God is shown to 
be mindful of mankind and of Israel (with blasts); 

(6) “Sliofarot,” i.e.y verses in which the shofar is 
named literally or figuratively; (7), (8), and (9). 
On Sabbaths and holy days there is only one middle 
benediction, an enlarged “Sanctification of the 
Day.” The last part is modified on New Moon. If 
New Moou falls on a week-day, there is, of course, 
no “Sanctification of the Day”; but there is a 
special benediction, the introduction consisting of 
regrets for the cessation of the sacrifices, and the 
principal part of it being a petition for the blessing 
of the New Moon : 

“ Our God and God of our fathers, renew for us this month for 
happiness and blessing [Amen], for joy and gladness [Amen], 
for salvation and comfort [Amen], for provision and sustenance 
[Amen], for life and peace [Amen], for pardon of sin and for- 
giveness of transgression [Amen]. 11 

According to the German ritual, when Sabbath and 
New Moon coincide, the “ Sanctification of the Day ” 
is omitted ; but a somewhat more impressive prayer 
is recited, referring to God’s creation of the world. 
His completion thereof on the seventh day. His 
choice of Israel, and His appointment of Sabbaths 
for rest and New Moons for atonement; declaring 
that exile is the punishment for sins of the fathers; 
and supplicating for the restoration of Israel. 

On an ordinary Sabbath the middle benediction, 
in a labored acrostic composition in the inverted 
order of the alphabet, recalls the sacrifices ordained 
for the Sabbath, and petitions for restoration in order 
that Israel may once more offer the sacrifices as pre- 
scribed, the prayer concluding witli an exaltation of 
the Sabbath. In the festival liturgy the request for 


the restoring of the sacrificial service emphasizes still 
more the idea that the Exile was caused by “our 
sins ” (“ umi-pene hata’enu ”) : 

“ On account of our sins have we been exiled from our coun- 
try and removed from our land, and we are no longer nble [to 
go up and appear and] to worship and perform our duty before 
Thee in the House of Thy choice,” etc. 

On the three pilgrim festivals another supplication 
for the rebuilding of the Temple is added to the 
foregoing, with quotation of the Pen tateu dial in- 
junction (Deut. xvi. 16, 17) regarding appearance 
before God on those days. 

The additional for the middle days (the work- 
days) of Pesah and Sukkot is the same as that for 
the feasts proper, and is read even on the Sabbath. 
The following are some of the more important 
variants in the different rituals: 
Variants in In No. v. (“Lead us back, our 
the Father,” etc.) Saadia, Maimonides, 
Rituals, and the Italian Malizor read “Lead 
us back, our Father, to Thy Torah, 
through our clinging to Thy commandments , and bring 
us near,” etc. 

The Sephardim shorten the last benediction in 
the evening and morning services of the Ninth of 
Ab to this brief phrasing: 

■ v Tliou who makesfc peace, bless Thy people Israel with much 
strength and peace, for Thou art the Lord of peace. Blessed be 
Thou, 0 Eternal, maker of peace.” 

In No. ix. (the benediction for the year) the 
words “dew and rain ” are inserted during the term 
from the sixtieth da} r after the autumnal equinox 
to Passover, The Sephardic ritual has two distinct 
versions: one for the season when dew is asked for, 
and the other when rain is expected. The former 
has this form : 

“Bless us, 0 our Father, in all the work of our hands, and 
bless our year with gracious, blessed, and kindly dews : be its 
outcome life, plenty, and peace as in the good years, for Thou, 0 
Eternal, art good and doest good and blessest the years. Blessed 
be Thou, 0 Eternal, who blessest the years.” 

In the rainy season (in winter) the phraseology is 
changed to read : 

“ Bless upon us, 0 Eternal' our God, this year and all kinds 
of its produce for goodness, and bestow dew and rain for bless- 
ing on all the face of the earth ; and make abundant the face of 
the world and fulfil the whole of Thy goodness. Fill our hands 
with Thy blessings and the richness of the gifts of Thy hands. 
Preserve and save this year from all evil and from all kinds of 
destroyers and from all sorts of punishments : and establish for 
it good hope and as its outcome peace. Spare it and have mercy 
upon it and all of its harvest and its fruits, and bless it with 
rains of favor, blessing, and generosity; and let its issue be life, 
plenty, and peace as in the blessed good years ; for Thou, 0 
Eternal ” (etc., as in the form given above for the season of 
the dew). 

In No. xiii. the Sephardic ritual introduces before 
“the elders” the phrase “and on the remnant of 
Thy people, the house of Israel,” while in some edi- 
tions these words are entirely omitted, and before the 
conclusion this sentence is inserted : “on Thy great 
loving-kindness in truth do we rely for support.” 

No. xiv. among the Sephardim reads: 

“ [Thou wilt] dwell in the midst of Jerusalem, Thy city, as 
Thou hast spoken [promised], and the throne of David Thy serv- 
ant speedily in its midst [Thou wilt] establish, and build it an 
everlasting building soon in our days. Blessed be Thou, 0 Eter- 
nal, who buildest Jerusalem.” 

This reading is that of Maimonides, while the Ash- 
kenazim adopted that of Rab Am ram. 



275 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Shemoneh ‘Esreh. 


In No. xvi. God is addressed as “Ab lia-Rahman” 

- “ the Merciful Father.” Before tbe conclusion is 
inserted “ Be gracious unto us and answer us and 
hear our prayer, for Thou liearest the prayer of every 
mouth ” (the “ ‘Aruk,” under py, gives this reading: 
“Full of mercy art Thou. Blessed be Thou who 
liearest prayer”). In the “Rezeli” (No. xvii.) the 
text differs somewhat: “Be pleased . . . with Thy 
people Israel [as in the German ritual] and to their 
prayer give heed”— a reading presented by Mai- 
monides also. Furthermore, the word “ meherah ” 
(= “speedily”) is introduced as qualifying the ex- 
pected answer to the prayer and the offerings. 
Amram has this adverb; but MaHaRIL objects to 
its insertion. . . . ' 

Verbal changes, not materially affecting the mean- 
ing occur also in the “ Ya'aleli we-Yabo ” (for New 
Moons, etc.). But before “May our eyes behold” 
the Sephardim insert “and Thou in Thy great mercy 
[“wilt” or “dost”] take delight in us and show us 
favor,” while Saadia Gaon adds before the conclusion 
(“Blessed be,” etc.): “and Thou wilt take delight 
in us as of yore.” 

Slight verbal modifications are found also in the 
Sephardic “Hoda’ali”; e.g. % “and they [the living] ] 
shall praise and bless Thy great name in truth for- ! 
ever; for good [is] the God, our help and our aid, 
Selah, the God, the Good.” Abudarliam quotes, 

“ and Thy name be exalted constantly and forever 
and aye”; while Saadia’s version reads: “on ac- 
count of all, be Thou blessed and exalted; for Thou 
art the Only One in the universe, and there is none 
besides Thee.” The Roman Malizor inserts before 
“and for all these” the following: “Thou hast not 
put us to shame, O Eternal our God, and Thou 
hast not hidden Thy face from us. ” And so in the 
final benediction — for which the Sephardim always 
use the formula beginning with “Sim slialom,” never 
that with “Shalom rab” — among the blessings 
asked for is included that for “much strength,” 
one not found in the German ritual. Maimonides 
and Amram likewise do not use the formula be- 
ginning with the words “Shalom rab.” Following 
Amram, Saadia, and Maimonides, the Sephardim 
read : “ Torah and life, love and kindness” where the 
German ritual presents the construct case: “Torah 
of life and love of kindness.” 

Moreover, in the Sephardic ritual a number of 
individual petitions are admitted in various benedic- 
tions, which is not the case in the Ashkenazic. In 
the introduction to the “Sanctification of the Bay 
(benediction No. iv.) for the Sabbath the Sephardim 
add on Friday evening lines which the Ashkenazim 
include only in the additional service 
In the In- (see Dembitz J.c. p. 141). Forthemid- 
termediate die benediction of the Musaf the Seph- 
Blessings. ardim have a simpler form ( ib . p. 149). 

While the Germans quote in the prayer 
the language of the Pentateuch in reference to the 
sacrifices, the Sephardim omit it. In praying for 
the new month the Portuguese ritual adds: “May 
this mouth he the last of all our troubles, a begin- 
ning of our redemption.” (For differences in the 
Musaf for Sabbath and New Moon see Bembitz. 
l.c . p. 153.) 

In the Vitry Malizor’s reading the conjunction 


“ waw ” is frequently dropped, much to the im- 
provement of the diction. In benediction No. ii. 
God is addressed as “Mazmiali Lanu Yeshu’ah,” 
“causing salvation to sprout forth ‘for us 7 ” ; while 
in No. iii. the prefixing of the definite article to the 
adjective gives the context a new significance, viz., 
not “Thy name is holy,” but “Tliy name is ‘the 
Holy One.’” In No. iv. the word “liokmah” is 
presented in addition to “binah” and “de‘ah, "i.e., 
“understanding, knowledge, wisdom, and reason.” 
In No. vi. the Vitry Malizor lias “a God good and 
forgiving art Thou” instead of “pardoning and 
forgiving,” thus conforming with the readings of 
Amram, Maimonides, and the Roman Malizor. 

In No. viii. after “ our wounds ” follows “ our sick- 
nesses.” In No. x. for “ Blow the great sliofar ” this 
version reads “ Gather us from the four corners of all 
the earth into our land” which is found also in the 
Sephardic ritual and in Amram and Maimonides. 

No. xv. is presented as in the Sephardic form (see 
above), but with the addition: 

“And may our prayers be sweet before Tliee like the burnt 
offering and like the sacrifice. 0 be merciful, in Thy great 
mercies bring back Thy Shekinali to Zion and rearrange the 
sacrificial service for Jerusalem, and do Thou in mercy have 
yearnings for us and be pleased with us. And may our eyes 
bebold Thy return to Zion in mercy as of yore.” 

So, also, Saadia: “and Thou wilt be pleased with 
us as of yore.” The “ Modim ” is given in an abbre- 
viated form; and in the last benediction the words 
“ on every day ” are inserted before “ at all times. 

A great variety of readings is preserved in tlie 
case of benediction No. iii. In the Roman Malizor 
the phraseology is: “From generation to generation 
we shall proclaim God King, for He alone is exalted 
and holy ; and Thy praise, O our God, shall not de- 
part from our mouth forever and aye, for a God 
great and holy art Thou. Blessed he Thou. O Etei- 
nal, the holy God.” This is also Amram’s language ; 
but in Saadia’s ritual is presented: “Thou art. holy 
and Thy name is holy, and Thy memorial [“ zeker ”] 
is holy, and Tliy throne is holy, and the holy ones 
every day will praise Thee, Selah. Blessed^ he 
Thou, God, the Holy One.” Maimonides confirms 
this version, though lie omits the words “Thy me- 
morial is holy . . . and Thy throne is I 10 I 3 . In 
Sifre, Deut. 343 this benediction is quoted as “Holy 
art Thou and aw’e-inspiring Thy name,” which is 
the Ashkenazic reading for Rosli ha-Sliaiiah and the 
Bay of Atonement. 

No. vii., “ Tefillat Ta‘anit,” the prayer for fast- 
days (Ta'an. lib, 13b), has come down in various 
recensions. In the “ ‘Aruk,” under hp. the reading 
is as follows: 

“ Answer us, our Father, answer us in this time and distress 
of ours, for we are in great trouble. 0 do not hide Thyself from 
our supplication, for Thou answerest in time of trouble and 
tribulation, as it is written, ‘and they cried unto Yinvn m their 
need and from their tribulations did He save them. 1 ^ Blessed be 
Thou. O Eternal, who answerest in time of trouble. 

The formula given by Maimonides differs from this, 
as it does from those in vogue among the Ashke- 
nazim and the Sephardim respectively, which in turn 
disagree with each other. Maimonides has this 
reading : 

“ Answer us, O our Father, answer us on the fast-day of our 
affliction, for we are in great distress. Do not hide Thy face 



^Shemoneh ‘Esreh 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


276 


I’rom us, and do not shut Thine ear from hearing our petition, 
and he near unto our cry. Before we call, do Thou answer; 
we speak, do Thou hear like the word in which it is spoken : 
" and it shall be before they will call I shall answer; while still 
they are speaking I shall hear.’ For Thou dost hear the prayer 
of every mouth. Blessed be Thou, 0 Eternal, who hearest 
prayer.” 

When, however, the reader repeated the prayer 
aloud, between vii. and viii., on reaching “for Thou 
dost hear, ” etc., he substituted “Tliou art a God 
answering in time of trouble, ransoming and saving 
in all time of trouble and tribulation" Blessed be 
Thou, O Eternal, who answerest in time of trouble.” 
The Sephardic recension has the following: 

'•Answer us, O our Father, answer us on this fast-day of af- 
fliction ; for we are in great distress. Do not turn to our wick- 
edness, and do not hide, 0 our King, from our supplication. Be, 
0 be, near to our cry before we call unto Thee. Thou, yea 
Thou, wilt answer; we shall speak, Thou, yea Thou, wilt hear, 
according to the word which was spoken ; ‘ It shall be before 
they will call I shall answer; while still they are speaking I 
shall hear.’ For Thou art a God ransoming and helping 
and answering and showing mercy in all time of trouble and 
distress.” 

The German ritual adds: “do not hide Thy face 
from us ” ; and again : “ May Thy loving-kindness be 
[shown] to console us. ” 

The petition for healing (No. viii.) appears with 
altered expressions in the Sephardic ritual, the 
words for “healing” being the unusual “arukah” 
and “marpe.” Again, “our sicknesses” takes the 
place of “our sores or wounds.” So, also, in Mai- 
monides’ ritual, which moreover after the added 
“and all our pains” has “for a God [omitting 
•‘King’’] healing, merciful, and trustworthy art 
Thou.” . 

On the whole the language of the eighteen (nine- 
teen) benedictions is Biblical, and in phraseology is 
more especially similar to that of the Psalms. The 
following analysis may indicate the Biblical pas- 
sages underlying the “ Tefillah ” : 

Benediction No. i. : “Blessed be Tliou, our God 
and the God of our fathers, the God of Abraham, 
Isaac, and Jacob ” recalls Ex. iii. 15 
Biblical (comp. Mek., Bo, 16). “The high 

Sources. God,” Gen. xiv. 19. God “great, 

mighty, and awe-inspiring,” Deut. x. 

17 (comp; Ber. 33b; Sotah 69b). “Creator of all,” 
Gen. xiv. 19. “Bringing a redeemer,” Isa, lix. 20. 

“ Shield of Abraham,” Ps. vii. 11; xviii. 3, 36; 
Ixxxiv. 10; Gen. xv. 1. 

No. ii. : “Supportest the falling,” Ps. cxlv. 14. 

“ Dealest the sick, ” Ex. xv. 26. “ Settest free the cap- 
ti ves,” Ps. cxlvi. 7. “ Keepest his faith ” = “ keep- 

oth truth forever, ” ib. cxlvi. 6 (comp. Dan. xii. 2). 

“ Killing and reviving,” I Bam. ii. 6. 

No. iii. : “ Tliou art holy,” Ps. xxii. 4. “ The holy 

ones,” ib. xvi. 3. “[TJiej r shall] praise Thee ” = 
sing the “Hallel” phrase, which is a technical 
Psalm term and hence followed by Selaii. 

No. iv. : “ Tliou graciously vouchsafest” is a typ- 
ical Psalm idiom, the corresponding verb occur- 
ring perhaps more than 100 times in the psalter. 
“Understanding,” Isa. xxix. 23; Jer. iii. 15; Ps. 
xciv. 10. 

No. v.: “Repentance,” Isa. vi. 10, 13; Iv. 7. 

No. vi. : “Pardon,” ib. Iv. 7. 

No. vii.: “Behold our distress,” Ps. ix. 14, xxv. 


18, cix. 153. “Fight our fight,” ib. xxxv. 1, xliii. 
1, lx xiv. 22. “And redeem us,” ib. cix. 154 (comp. 
Lam. iii. 58). 

No. viii.: “Heal,” Jer. xvii. 14 (comp. ib. xxx. 
17). Maimonides’ reading, “all of our sicknesses,” is 
based on Ps. ciii. 3. 

No. ix. : Compare ib. Ixv. 5, 12; ciii. 5; Jer. 
xxxi. 14. 

No. x. : “Gather our exiles,” Isa. xi. 12, xxvii. 
13, xliii. 5, xiv. 20, lx. 9; Jer. Ii. 27; Dent, xxx. 4; 
Mic. iv. 6; Ps. cxlvii. 2. 

No. xi. : “ Reestablish our judges, ” Isa. i. 26. “ In 

loving-ldudness and mercy,” Hos. ii. 21. “King 
who lovest righteousness and justice,” Ps. xxxiih 

5, xcix. 4; Isa. Ixi. 8 (comp, also Isa. xxxv. 10, li. 
11; Ps. cxlvi, 10). 

No. xii. : The expression “ zedim ” is a very famil- 
iar one of almost technical significance in the 
“ Psalms of the poor ” (for other expressions com- 
pare Ps. lxxxi. 15; Isa. xxv. 5). 

No. xiii. : For some of the words of this benedic- 
tion compare Jer. xxxi. 20; Isa. lxiii. 15; Ps. xxii. 

6, xxv. 2, Ixxi. 5, cxliii. 8; Eccl. vi. 9. 

No. xiv.: Zech. viii. 3: Ps. cxlvii. 2, lxxxix. 36- 
37, cxxii. 5. 

No. xv. : Hos. iii. 5; Isa. lvi. 7; Ps. 1. 23, cxii. 9; 
Gen. xlix. 18; Ps. lxxxix. 4, 18, 21, 26; xxv. 5; 
Ezek. xxix. 21, xxxiv. 23; Ps. cxxxii. 17; Jer.’ 

! xxiii. 5, xxxiii. 15; Ps. cxxxii. 10. 

No. xvi. : Ps. Ixv. 3. 

No. xvii. : Mic. iv. 11. 

No. xviii.: I Cliron. xxix. 13; II Sam. xxii. 36; 
Ps. lxxix. 13; Lam. iii. 22; Ps. xxxviii. 6 (on the 
strength of which was. printed the emendation 
“ Ha-Mufkadot ” for the “Ha-Pekudot ”) ; Jer. x. 6. 

No. xix. : Ps, xxix. 10; Num. vi. 27; Mic. vi. 8; 
Ps. cix. 165, cxxv. 5. 

While in the main the language is Biblical, yet 
some use is made of mislmaic words; for example, 

“ teshubali, ” as denoting “ repentance, ” and the hif ‘il 
“liasheb”have a sjmonym, “we-ha- 
Mishnaic hazir” (in No. v.), in which sense the 
Phra- root is not found in Biblical Hebrew, 
seology. The expression “rnehal” (vocalized 
“ mehol ”) is altogether mislmaic 
(Yoma vii. 1; Ket. 17a; Ber. 28a; Shah. 30a; Ta‘an. 
20b ; Sanh. 107a). “ Nissim, ” for “ wonders, ” “ mira- 
cles,” has a significance which the Biblical word 
“ nes ” does not possess (Ab. v. ; Ber. ix. 1 ; Nid- 
dah 31a). So also the term “sha'ali,” an adapta- 
tion from the Aramaic, occurs as the equivalent 
of the Hebrew “ rega‘ *’ = “ moment ” (secondarily, 

“ hour ”). “ Pelctat soferim ” is a rabbinical designa- 
tion (Meg. Ta‘an. xii. ; Yer. Ta‘an. 66a), while 
herut ” = “ freedom ” is another late Hebrew term. . 
“ Gere ha-zedek ” is the late technical term for Prose- 
lytes. 

The language of the “Tefillah ” would thus point 
to the mislmaic period, both before and after the 
destruction of the Temple, as the probable time of 
its composition and compilation. That the Mislmah 
fails to record the text or to give other definite and 
coherent directions concerning the prayer except 
sporadically, indicates that when the Mishnah was 
finally compiled the benedictions were so well known 
that it was unnecessary to prescribe their text and 



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ShemonefL ‘Esreh 


content (Maimonides on Men. iv.lb, quoted by Elbo- 
wn, “Gesch. des Achtzelingebetes”), although the 
aversion to making piuyer a matter of ligoi and 
fixed formula may perhaps have had a part in the 
neglect of the Mishnali. That this aversion con- 
liiiued keen down to a comparatively late period is 
evidenced by the protests of R. Eliezer (Ber. 28a) 
and R. Simeon ben Yoliai (Ab. ii. 13). R. Jose held 
that one should include something new in one’s 
prayer every day (Yer. Ber. 8b), a principle said to 
have been carried into practise by R. Eleazar and 
R. Abbahu (ib.). Prayer was not to be read as one 
would read a letter (ib.). 

While the Mishnali seems to have known the gen- 
eral content and sequence of the benedictions, much 
latitude prevailed as regards personal deviations in 
phraseology, at all events; so that men’s learning or 
the reverse could be judged by the maunei in which 
they worded the benedictions (Tos. to Ber. i. 7). 

Prayers were not reduced to writing (Shab. 115b ; 
Yer. Shab. 15c). Not until the times of the Masse- 
ket Soferim were written prayer-man- 
Preserved uals in existence (see Zunz, “Ritus,” 
by p. 11). Hence the necessity of resort- 
Memory. ing to mnemonic verses in order to 
prevent too much variety — a method 
employed even by very late authorities. For in- 
stance, the “ Tur ” gives the verse Isa. vi. 3, contain- 
ing fourteen words, as a reminder that benediction | 
No. iii. contains the same number of words. For 
No. iv., Ex. xxviii. 3 is the reminder that only 
seventeen words (excluding “hokmah ”) are admis- 
sible. The number of words in No. v., namely, 
fifteen, is recalled by the similar number of words 
in Isa. lv. 7 or ib. vi. 13, which proves the correct- 
ness of the German text. 

The “ Kol Bo ” states that No. vii. has eight- 
een words, as has the verse Ex. xvi. 25; and this 
would justify the insertion of the word ‘*Na” (JO), 
which appears in some versions. The “Rojteali,” 
however, reports only seventeen words, as in the 
German version. No. viii. has twenty-seven words, 
corresponding to the same number in Ex. xvh 26 
or in the verse concerning circumcision (Gen. xvii.), 
or to the twenty-seven letters of Prov. iv. 22 or Ps. 
ciii. 3. This list of correspondences in the number 
of words or letters, invoked by the very late author- 
ities to settle disputed readings, might be extended, 
as such analogy is assigned to almost every bene- 
diction (see Baer’s commentary in his “Seder ‘Abo- 
dat Israel,” pp. 89 et seq.). 

The earlier Talmudic teachers resorted to simi- 
lar aids in order to fix the number of the benedic- 
tions contained in the “ Tefillali. ” The 
Choice of choice of eighteen is certainly a mere 
the accident ; for at one time the collection 
Number contained less, and at another more, 
Eighteen, than that number. The fact that such 
mnemonic verses came into vogue sug- 
gests that originally the number of the benedictions 
was not definitely fixed; while the popularity of 
the verses fixing the number as eighteen is prob- 
ably caused by the continued designation of the 
prayer as the “Shemoneli ‘Esreh,” though it now 
has nineteen benedictions (according to “J. Q. R.” 
xiv. 585, the Yemen “Siddur” has the superscrip- 


tion “Nineteen Benedictions”). Eighteen corre- 
sponds to the eighteen times God’s name is men- 
tioned in Ps. xxix. (Yer. Ber. 8a, above; Lev. R. i.), 
which psalm, nevertheless, seems to indicate the 
number of benedictions as nineteen (see Elbogen, 
l.c. ; “Monatsscbrift,” 1902, p. 353). Another mne- 
monic reference, based upon the number of times the 
names of the three Patriarchs occur together in the 
Pentateuch (Gen. R. lxix.), is resorted to, and points 
to the fact that at one time seventeen benedictions 
onty were counted. 

Other bases of computations of the number eight- 
een are: (1) the eighteen times God’s name is re- 
ferred to in the “ Shema' ” ; (2) the eighteen great 
hollows in the spinal column (Ber. 2Sb) ; (3) the 
eighteen psalms at the beginning of the Book of 
Psalms (i.-ii. being really only i. ; Yer. Ber. iv.) ; (4) 
the eighteen “commands” which are in thepericope 
“Pekude” (Ex. xxxviii. 21 et seq.); (5) the eighteen 
names of Yiiwii in Miriam’s song by the sea (Ex. 
xv.). These mnemonic references suggest the fact 
that originally the number was not eighteen ; other- 
wise the pains taken to associate this number with 
other eighteens would be inexplicable. 

The Talmud names Simeon lia-Pakoli as the editor 
of the collection in the academy of R. Gamaliel II. 

at Jabneh (Ber. 28b). But this can 
History of not mean that the benedictions were 
the unknown before that date ; for in other 

Prayer. passages the “Shemoneli ‘Esreh” is 
traced to the “ first wise men ” (D'D3 n 
D\31^&nn; Sifre, Deut. 343), and again to “120 
elders and among these a number of prophets” 
(Meg, 17b). This latter opinion harmonizes with 
the usual assumption that the “ men of the Great 
Synagogue ” arranged and instituted the prayer serv- 
ices (Ber. 33a). In order to remove the discrepancies 
between the latter and the former assignment of edi- 
torship, the Talmud takes refuge in the explanation 
that the prayers had fallen into disuse, and that 
Gamaliel reinstituted them (Meg. 18a). 

The historical kernel in these conflicting reports 
seems to be the indubitable fact that the benedic- 
tions date from the earliest days of the Pharisaic 
Synagogue. They were at first spontaneous out- 
growths of the efforts to establish the Pharisaic Syn- 
agogue in opposition to, or at least in correspond- 
ence with, the Sadducean Temple service. This is 
apparent from the haggadic endeavor to conned the 
stated times of prayer with the sacrificial routine of 
the Temple, the morning and the afternoon “Tefil- 
lah ” recalling the constant offerings (Ber. 26b; Gen. 
R. lxviii.), while for the evening “Tefillah” re- 
course was had to artificial comparison with the 
sacrificial portions consumed on the altar during the 
night. In certain other homilies the fixation of the 
day’s periods for the three “Tefillot ” is represented 
as being in harmony with the daily course of the 
sun (Gen. R. lxviii. ; R. Samuel bar Naliman, in 
Yer. Ber. iv.). Again, the Patriarchs are credited 
with having devised this tripartite scheme (Ber. 
26b ; Abraham = morning ; Isaac — afternoon ; Jacob 
— evening). Han. vi. 11 is the proof that this sys- 
tem of praying three times a day was recognized in 
the Maccabean era. Gradually both the hours for 
the “ Tefillali ” and the formulas thereof acquired 



Shemoneh ‘Esreh 


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278 


gi eater regularity, though much uncertainty as 
to content, sequence, and phraseology continued 
to prevail. R. Gamaliel II. undertook finally both 
to fix definitely the public service and to regulate 
private devotion. He directed Simeon ha-Pakoli to 
edit the benedictions— probably in the order they 
had already acquired— and made it a 
Edited by duty, incumbent on every one, to re- 
G-amaliel cite the prayer three times daily. Un- 
IL der Gamaliel, also, another paragraph, 
directed against the traitors in the 
household of Israel, was added, thus making the 
number eighteen (Ber. iv. 3; see Griitz, “Gescli.” 3d 
ed.,iv. 3 Qetseq.). 

Old material is thus preserved in the eighteen 
benedictions as arranged and edited by the school of 
Gamaliel II. The primitive form of most of them 
was undoubtedly much simpler. J. Derenbourg (in 
“R. E. J.” xiv. 26 et seq.) makes two facts appear 
plausible : 

(1) While recited in the Temple, the original con- 
clusion of benedictions was “Blessed be Thou, O 
Eternal, God of Israel from eternity to eternity ” (Ber. 
ix. 5; Geiger, in “ Iverem Hemed,” v. 102; idem] 
“Lehr- undLesebuch zur Sprache der Mischnali,” ii. 

2; “ He-Haluz,” vii. 88), emphasizing the “ other eter- 
nity or world ” denied by heretics. Prom this is de- 
rived the usual designation of God as “King of the 
v oi Id, not found, strange to say, in the eighteen 
benedictions — a circumstance that attracted the at- 
tention . ol. the Rabbis (Ber. 29a). This omission 
might indicate that the bulk of the benedictions 
leceived something like their present form under 
the supremacy of the Romans, who did not tolerate 
the declaration “God is king.” More likely is 
the explanation that the omission was for the pur- 
pose of avoiding the misconstruction that God ruled 
only over this world. In the Rosh lia-Shanah 
prayer the thought of God’s rulership is all the 
more strongly emphasized ; and this fact suggests 
that the Rosh ha-bhanah interpolations are posterior 
to the controversies with the Jewish heretics and 
the Romans, but not to the time when Christianity’s 
Messianic theology had to be answered by affirma- 
tions of the Jewish teaching that God alone is 
king. The word wherever found in the text, 
is a later insertion. So also is the phrase rQnfcQ = 

“in love,” which also carries an anti-Pauline point 
(see Epistle of Paul to the Romans). 

(2) In the middle, non-constant benedictions (Nos. 
iv.-xvi.) there is a uniform structure; namely, they 
contain two parallel sticlioi and a third preceding 
the “Blessed be” of the “sealing” (as the Rabbis 
call it) of the benediction; for example, in No. iv. 
are: (1) “Thou graciously vouchsafest knowledge 
to man ” = (2) “ and teacliest mortals understand- 
ing 77 ; and (3) “ Vouchsafe unto us from Thee knowl- 
edge, understanding, and intelligence.” By this 
test the later enlargements are easily separated from 
the original stock. 

In the “sealing ” formula, too, later amplifications 
are found. It was always composed of two words 
and no more, as in Nos. vii., ix. , xiv,, and xvi. of 
the present text ; so No. vi. originally read 

m?Db; No. viii. , and the others simi- 

larly; 


The abstracts of the benedictions (Ber. 29a) 
which R. Joshua (ib. 28b) recommended, and Rah 
and Samuel explained, so that the last-named has 
come to be considered as the author of a resume of 
this kind (ib, 29a), indicate that pri- 
The marily the longer eulogies were at 
Abstracts, least not popular. Abaye (4th cent.) 

lound the fondness for these abstracts 
so strong that lie pronounced a curse upon those 
who should use them (ib.). In the time of R. Akiba 
the knowledge of the eighteen benedictions was not 
yet universal; for he advised that one who was 
familiar with the prayer should recite it, and that 
one who was not might discharge his duty by re- 
citing a resume (ib. 28b). In dangerous places a 
very brief formula was, according to R. Joshua 
substituted: “Help, O Eternal, Thy people, the 
remnant of Israel. May their needs at all the part- 
ings of the roads be before Thee. Blessed be Thou, 
O Lord, who hearest prayer ” (Ber. iv. 3). The fol- 
lowing brief prayer, attributed to R. Eliezer, is for 
use in places where wild animals and robbers may 
be prowling about: “Thy will be done in heaven 
above, and bestow ease of mind upon them that fear 
Thee [on earth] below, and what is good in Thine 
eyes execute. Blessed be Thou, 0 Eternal, who 
hearest prayer ” (ib. 29b). R. Joshua recommended 
this formula: “Hear the cry of Thy people Israel, 
and do speedily according to their petition. Blessed 
be Thou, O Eternal, who hearest prayer.” R. Elie- 
zer, the son of R. Zadok, virtually repeated the pre- 
ceding, with merely the substitution of a synonym 
for “cry.” Others used this form: “The needs of 
Thy people Israel are many, and their knowledge is 
scarce [limited]. May it be a pleasure from before 
Thee, O Eternal, our God, to vouchsafe unto each 
sufficiency of sustenance and to each and every one 
enough to satisfy his wants. Blessed be Thou, 0 
Eternal, who hearest prayer ” ( ib . ). This last form 
came to be officially favored (ib.). 

That, even after the “Tefillah ” had been fixed as 
containing eighteen (nineteen) benedictions, the tend- 
ency to enlarge and embellish their content re- 
mained strong, may be inferred from the admoni- 
tion not to exaggerate further God’s praises (Meg. 
18a); or, as R. Johanan has it: “ Whoever exagger- 
ates the laudations of the Hoty One — praised be Tie * 
—will be uprooted from the world ” (ib.). R. Hanina 
took occasion to reprove very severety a reader who 
added attribute to attribute while addressing the 
Deity. If the “men of the Great Synagogue ” had 
not inserted the qualifications “great, mighty and 
awe-inspiring,” none would dare repeat them (Meg, 
25a, Bei. 33b; see Agnosticism). Provisions were 
made to silence readers who should indulge their 
fancy by introducing innovations (Ber. 33b), espe- 
cially such as were regarded with suspicion as evin- 
cing heretical leanings. 

The abstracts, however, throw light on what 
may have been the number of the benedictions be- 
fore Gamaliel fixed it at eighteen by addition of the 
petition for the punishment of traitors (“ wela-mal- 
shinim ). The Babylonian Talmud lias preserved 
one version; Yerushalmi, another (or two: a longer 
and a briefer form, of wliicli the fragments have been 
combined ; see J. Derenbourg in “ R. E. J.” xiv. 32). 



279 


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Shemoneh ‘Esreh. 


These abstracts, known as the “Habinenu” from 
their first word, were intended to replace benedic- 
tions Nos. iv.-xvi. The Babylonian text reads as 
follows: 

-Give us understanding, 0 Eternal, our God, to know Thy 
wivs and circumcise our, hearts to, .fear Thee ; and do Ihou pai- 
on us that we may be redeemed. And remove from us bodily 
us with the fertility of Thy land ; and our dis- 
{ 01ies from the four corners of the earth do Ihou gather 
together * and they that go astray against the knowledge of Thee 
S he fudged; and upon the evil-doers do Thou lift up Thy 
hand • but may the righteous rejoice in the building of Thy citj, 
Tiid intherefoundingof Thy Temple, and in the sprouting up 
of a horn unto David Thy servant, andm the preparing of a light 
n>r lessees son, Thy Messiah. Before we call Thou wilt answer. 
Blessed be Thou, 0 Eternal, who nearest prayer” (Ber. 29a). 

An examination of tlie phraseology establishes the 
concordance of this abstract and the “Shemoneh 
‘Esreli ” as in the prayer-books. 

The Palestinian text (Yer. Ber. iv.) reveals tbe 
contraction of two blessings into one. “ Give us un- 
derstanding, O Eternal, our God [= No. iv.], and 
be pleased with our repentance [=v.]; pardon 
us, 0 our Redeemer [vi.-vii.], and lieal our side 
i — viii.], bless our years with dews of blessing [ix.] , 
for the dispersed Thou wilt gather [x.], they who 
err against Thee to be [will be] judged [xi.]; but 
upon the evil-doers thou wilt lay Thy hand [xii.], 
and they who trust in Thee will rejoice [xiii.] in the 
rebuilding of Thy city and in the restoration of 
Thy sanctuary [xiv.]. Before we call Thou wilt 
answer [xvi.]. Blessed be Thou, O Eternal, who 
an sw crest prayer.” From this it appears that No. 
xv. 0‘the sprout of David”) is omitted; it was not 
regarded as an independent benediction, but formed 
part of the one preceding. According to this, sev- 
enteen was the number of benedictions without the 
“ Birk at ha-Zaddukim.” That this was tlie case 
originally is evidenced by other facts. In Yer. Ber. 
iv. 5, R. II. iv. 6, Midi*. Teh. toPs. xxix. (ed. Buber, 
p. 232), and Midr. Shemu’el R. xxvi. 

The the “ sealing ” of benediction No. xiv. 
Fifteenth is quoted as “Blessed he Thou, O 

Bene- Eternal, the God of David, and the 

diction. builder of Jerusalem,” indicating that 
Nos. xiv, and xv. formed only one 
benediction. In support of this is the notation of 
what now is No. xvi, as No. xv. (Yer. Bei. ii. 4, 
Gen. R. xlix,). Again : (1) In Yer. Ber. ii. 4, iv. 8, and 
Ta‘an. ii, 2, tlie Tosef., Ber. iii. 25 is quoted as report- 
ing the inclusion of the “ David ” benediction in that 
concerning the rebuilding of Jerusalem. (2) In the 
account by Yer. Ber.'4d of the order in which the 
benedictions follow each other, the benediction con- 
cerning David is not mentioned. (3) In man} 7, of 
Kalir’s compositions— still used in tlie Italian ritual 
—for Purim, IIosliaTia Kabbah, the {Seventeenth of 
Tainmuz, and the Tenth of Tcbct, in which he fol- 
lows the sequence of the “Tefillah,” this No. xv. 
is not found (Rapoport, in “Bikkure lia-Tttim, x., 
notes 28, 33). Additional indications that Nos. xiv. 
and xv. were originally one are found in “ Halakot 
Gedolot ” (Ber, vi,), “Sefer ha-Eshkol” (“Tefillah,” 
etc., ed. Auerbach, p. 20), and Midr. Lekali Tob on 
Deut. iii. 28. 

But in Babylon this contraction was deemed im- 
proper. The question, put into the mouth of David 
{Sank. 107a), why God is called the God of Abraham 


but not the God of David, suggests the elimination 
of “ Elohe Dawid ” from benediction No. xiv. In 
Babylon Nos. xiv. and xv. were counted as two dis- 
tinct blessings. But this division seems to have 
been later than the introduction of tbe prayer 
against the traitors by Gamaliel (see Pes. 107a, 117b ; 
Tan., Wayera [ed. Buber, p. 42]: “in Babel they re- 
cite nineteen”), though Rapoport (“‘Erek Millin,” 
p. 228b), Muller (“Hillufim,” p. 47), and others hold, 
to the contrary, that the contraction (in Palestine) of 
Nos. xiv. and xv. was a contrivance to retain the. 
traditional number eighteen, which had been eiir 
larged by the addition of one under Gamaliel II. 
Which of the two views is the more plausible it is 
difficult to decide. 

At all events, the sequence in the existing qxa 
rangement is logical. The midrasliic explanation 
connects it with events in the lives of the Patriarchs/ 
When Abraham was saved the angels recited the 
“Blessed be Thou . . . shield of Abraham ” (No. i, ; 
Pirke K. El. xxvii.j; when Isaac was saved by the 
substitution of the ram they chanted “ . . . reviving 
the dead” (No. ii. ; Pirke R. El. xxxi.); when Jacob 
touched the gate of heaven they in- 
Haggadic toned “ . . . the holy God ” (No. iii. ; 
Explana- Pirke R. El. xxxv.); and when Plia- 
tion of raoh raised Joseph to the dignity of 
Sequence, viceroy and Gabriel came to teach him 
tlie seventy languages, tlie angels re- 
cited . . vouchsafing knowledge” (No. iv. * 
comp. Pirke R. El. ix., where Moses calls forth tlie 
benediction by receiving the knowledge of God’s in- 
effable name). No. v. was spoken over Reuben and 
Billiali (or when Manasseli the king repented; ib. 
xliii.). No. vi. refers to Judah and Tamar ; No. vii. to 

Israel’s deliverance from Egypt; No. viii. was first 
sung at Abraham’s recovery, through Raphael’s 
treatment, from the pain of circumcision; No. ix, re- 
fers to Isaac’s planting and plowing; No. x. to 
Jacob’s reunion with bis family in Egypt; No. xi. 
to Israel’s receiving the Law (“ Mislipatim ”) ; No. 
xii. to Egypt’s undoing in tlie Red Sea; No. xiii. to 
Joseph’s tender closing of Jacob’s eyes; No. xiv. to 
Solomon’s building of the Temple; No. xv. to 
Israel’s salvation at the Red Sea; No, xvi. to Israel’s 
distress and ever-present help; No. xvii. to the es- 
tablishment of the Tabernacle (“ Sliekinah ”) ; No. 
xviii. to Solomon’s bringing the Ark into the inner 
sanctuary; No. xix. to tlie Israelites’ conquest of 
the land after which they had peace. 

Why No. iv. follows upon No, iii. is explained in 
Meg. 17b by a reference to Isa. xxix. 23; why the 
“ Tesliubah ” immediately succeeds the “Binah,” by 
a reference to Isa. vi. 10. Again, upon the “ Teshu- 
bah” repentance, follows the “Selihali,” pardon, 
in keeping with Isa. Iv. 7. The “ Ge’ullah,” redemp- 
tion, should be tbe seventh benediction (Meg. 17b) 
because redemption will take place on tbe seventh 
day, or rather, as stated by the “Cuzarr’ and the 
“Tur,” because the result of forgiveness is redemp- 
tion. ’ No. viii. treats of healing because the eighth 
ilav is for circumcision (Meg. 17b). No. x. follows 
No. ix. so as to harmonize with Ezek. xxxvi. 8 (Meg. 
17b) soon as tlie dispersed (No. x.) are gathered, 
iud^ment (No. xi.) will be visited on the evil-doers 
us stated in Isa. i. 26 (Meg. 17b); and when this has 



Shemoneh. ‘Esreh 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


280 


taken place all treason (No. xii.) will eease (Ber. 
28b ; Meg - . 17b; Yer. Ber. iv.). As the traitors are 
mentioned, the righteous (No. xiii.) naturally are 
suggested: and their triumph is assured by the 
downfall of the wicked (Ps. Ixx. 11; Meg. l.c.). 
The immediate outcome of this triumph is the resur- 
rection of Jerusalem (No. xiv . ; Ps. cxxii. 6; Meg. 
Lc.) and the reenthronement of David’s house (No. 
xv. ; Hos. iii. 5 ; Isa. lvi. 7 ; Ps. 1. 23 ; Meg. 18a). The 
connection between the last benediction and the 
priestly blessing is established (Meg. 18a) by Num 
vi. 27 and Ps. xxix. 11. 

The last three benedictions seem to be the oldest of 
the collection. The names of Nos. xvii. and xviii. 

(“ ‘Abodah ” and “Hoda’ah”) occur 
Th,e Age of in the liturgy for the high priest for the 
the Da}' of Atonement as described in the 
Concluding Mishnah ( Yoma vii. 1). It goes with- 
Bene- out saying that parts of the present 
dictions, text of No. xvii. could not have been 
used before the destruction of the 
Temple. But in Yer. Yoma 44b is given a conclu- 
ding formula almost identical with that now used on 
holy days when the blessing is recited by the ko- 
hanim (TQJDl KYJ in Yer. Sotali 22a, and 

in the commentary of R. Hananeel on Yoma l.c ., the 
reading is: TOT! while in the 

Uoda. all ” the ending is almost as now, 
iimn? — "Thou, the one to whom it Is good to <dve 
thanks.” The last threeand tlie first three blessings 
were included in tbe daily prayer of tbe priests 
(Tamid iv., v. 1; see Grata, l.c. 2d ed., ii. 187, note 
4). Zunz (“G. V.” 2d ed., p. 380) would assign 
these to the days of the high priest Simeon. These 
six are also mentioned by name in an old mishnah 
(R. II. iv. 5). . This would support the assumption 
that the motive of the early Synagogue was anti- 
sacerdotal. The very prayers used in the Temple 
service by the high priest in tlie most solemn func- 
tion were taken over into the Synagogue "with the 
implication that this “ 'Abodah” was as effective as 
was the sacerdotal ritual. The function of blessing 
the people the Pharisees would not and could not 
arrogate unto themselves. Instead they adopted or 
composed tlie “Sim Shalom,” known as the “Birkat 
Kohanim” (priestly blessing), and therefore equiv- 
alent to the “lifting up of the priest’s hands” (for 
these terms see Maimonides and RaBaD on Tamid 
v. 1; and Ta'an. iv. 1; Tamid vii. 2; Ber, v. 4) 
The affinity, noticed by Loeb (in “R. E. J.” xix. 17)’ 
of tbe “Shemoneh ‘Esreli ” with the “psalms of the 
poor” is in keeping with the Pharisaic-Hasidie em- 
phasis of the benedictions. The “ pious 
Th.e and poor ” of the Psalms were theideal 
u Psalms types which the Pharisees sought to 
of imitate. The palpable emphasis of 
the Poor.” No. ii. on tlie resurrection (hence one 
of its names, “Tehiyyat ha-Metim”; 
Ber. v. 2; Ta‘an. 2a) confirms this theory. The ex- 
pressions used in this blessing are Biblical (see Loeb 
in R. E. J.” xix.). The doctrine of the resurrec- 
tion is intimately connected with Pharisaic national- 
ism. Tbe anti-Sadducean protest in this benediction 
is evident. 

Of tlie middle benedictions, No. ix., the blessing 
.for the year, discloses a situation such as prevailed 


before tbe disruption of the state, when agriculture 
was the chief occupation of the Jews. It must for 
this reason be credited with being one of the oldest 
parts of the “Tefillah.” Nos. iv. and xvi. are not 
specific in content. The latter is a good summary 
of the petitions (comp, that of the high priest in 
Yoma 70a and Yer. Yoma 44b), while No. iv., more 
than any other, is characteristic of a religion i u 
which understanding is considered essential to -piety. 
The importance of this petition was recognized at; 
an early date. R. Judali ha-Nasi desired to have it 
used on the Sabbath as well as on week-days (Yer. 
Ber. v. 2: “if no understanding, whence prayer? ”). 
This passion for knowledge also was characteristic 
of Pharisaism. The prayer for the sick may perhaps 
likewise be assigned among tlie older portions (sec 
Elbogen, l.c. p. 341). 

In its earlier composition, then, the “Tefillah ” 
seems to have comprised Nos. i., ii., iii,, iv., viii., 
xiv., xvii., xviii., and xix. Tlie other benedictions 
are altogether of a national content. None of them 
may be assigned to a date before tlie Maccabean era, 
while for many a later one is suggested by the con- 
tent. . But the prayer found in Ecclus. (Siracli) 
xxxvi. should be kept in mind, as it proves that 
prayers for Jerusalem, and even for the Temple, 
were not unusual while both were still standing! 

meanin - of the prayer against enemies 
is peiDaps also apparent in tills cliapter: 

Veise 1. Save us, God of all, and lift up Thy fear upon all 
the nations.” . 

Veise 2. “ Swing* on high the hand against the strange people 
and let them behold Thy might.” 

Verse 3. “ As before their eyes Thou wert proved the Holy 
One in us, so before our eyes be Thou glorified in them.” 

Verse 4. “ And they shall know as we do know that there is 
no God besides Thee.” 

Verse 5. “ Renew signs and repeat miraculous deeds. Lift 
up in glory hand and right arm.” 

V erse 6. “ Summon wrath and pour out glowing anger. Hurl 
back the adversary and humiliate the enemy.” 

Verse 7. “Gather all the tribes of Jacob and do Thou cause 
them to inherit as of old.” 

Verse 8. “ Make glad the people called by Thy name Israel 
Thou namedst the first-born.” 

Verse 9. “ Have mercy on Thy holy city, Jerusalem, the place 
of Thy dwelling.” 

Verse 10. “Fill Zion with Thy splendor and with Thvfflorv 
Thy Temple.” 

Verse 11. “ Hear the prayer of Thy servants like the blessing 
of Aaron upon Thy people.” 

This lias tlie appearance of being an epitome of 
tlie “Tefillah ” as known in tbe clays of Ben Sira. 

Verse 1 : “ God of all ” recalls benediction No. i., whilelb Is the 
key-note of the prayer for Rosh ha-Shanah. 

Verse 2 contains the word nnm = bene- 
Analogries diction No. ii. 

in Sirach. Verse 3 is a summary of the “ Kedush^ha^V 
= benediction No. iii. 

Verse 4 explains the knowledge asked for in No. iv. 

Verse 6 accounts for the petition against the enemy, No. xii 
Verse 7 is the prayer for the exiles. No. x. 

Verse 8 is the content of the prayer iii behalf of the pious, 

No. xiii. 

Verse 9 is the prayer for Jerusalem, No. xiv. 

Verse 10 recalls No. xvii. 

Verse 11 is clearly related to both Nos. xvi. and xix. 

Another line begins “ Hasten the end-time,” which may, by 
its Messianic implication, suggest benediction No. xv. (“ the 
sprout of David ”) . 

If tliis construction of Ben Sira’s prayer is admis- 
sible, many of tbe benedictions must be assigned to 
tbe Maccabean era, tliougli most scholars have re- 



281 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Shemoneh 'Esreh 


garded them as posterior to the destruction of the 
Temple. The verse marked o, indeed, seems to be a 
commentary on benediction No. xi. It begins with 
the word £Hn, and thus suggests the verse: “Lead 
us back to Thee and we shall return, renew our days 
as of yore ” (Lam. v. 21, Hebr.). Instead of for the 
“judges..” Ben Sira prays for the reestablishment of 
God’s “ judgments,” in open allusion to the Exodus 
(Ex. xii. 12; Num. xxxiii. 4; Ezek. xxv. II, from 
which verse he borrows the name “ Moab ” as a desig- 
nation of the enemy in the prayer). It is probable 
that the reading of No. xi. as now given is a later 
reconstruction of a petition with the implications of 
the Ecclesiasticus paraphrase. This explanation will 
obviate the many objections raised against the cur- 
rent opinions ; e.g. , that under Homan or other foreign 
rule the Jews would hardly have been permitted to 
cast reflections on the courts of their masters. The 
Maccabean period seems to furnish adequate back- 
ground for the national petitions, though the ex- 
periences of the Roman war and the subsequent dis^ 
asters may have heightened the coloring in many 
details. 

The history of the petition against enemies may 
serve to illustrate the development of the sev- 
eral component parts of the “ Tefillah ” in keeping 
with provocations and changed condi- 

Petition tions. The verses of Ecclesiasticus 

AgaiXlS-fc make it certain tliat tlaeSyrian oppress- 

Enemies. ors were the first against whom this 
outcry of the poor, oppressed victims 
of tyranny was directed. As the Syrians were 
aided by the apostates, the “zedim,” these were also 
embraced in the imprecatory appeal; The prayer 
was in fact designated even in later days as rD"D 
qvjj ypyixb, a petition to humiliate - the arrogant 
(“zedim”; Yer. Ber. ii. 3, iv. 2). A century later 
the Sadducees furnished the type, hencoit came to 
be designated as the “Birkat ka-Zaddukim” (but 
“Zaddukim” may in this connection be merely a 
euphemism for “ Minim ”; Yer. Ber. iv. 3; Ber. 28b). 
Under Gamaliel II. it was invoked against here- 
tics, traitors, and traducers: the “minim” and the 
“ posh'im,” or, as Maimonides reads, the Apikoresim 
(see also his commentary on Sanh. x. 1, and “ Yad,” 
Tesliubah, iii. 6-8). The latter were the freethink- 
ers; the former, the Judseo-Christians. These had 
brought much trouble into the camp of faithful 
Israel; they disputed with the Rabbis; even R. 
Gamaliel had often to controvert them (see “ He- 
Haluz,” vii. 81 et seq.); they involved the Jews in 
difficulties with the Roman government (Tosef., 
IIul. ii. 24); they denounced the Jews to the au- 
thorities (hence “ minim ” and nmDDn, R- H. 18a ; 
Tos. to Sanh. xiii. ; ‘Olam R. iii.; comp. Joel, 
“Blicke in die Religionsgescliiclite,” i. 33 et seq.; 
Gutmann, in “ Monatsschrift,” 1898, p. 344). 

R. Gamaliel revitalized the prayer originally di- 
rected against the Syrians and their sympathizers 
(so also Loeb, Weiss, and Hoffmann; Elbogen [l.c. 
p. 357] rejects this view in favor of the assumption 
that the original composition of the prayer was due 
to Gamaliel), his purpose being to test those sus- 
pected of being minim (Tan., Wayikra, ed^ Buber, 
p. 2a; Yer. Ber. v. 4). The editorship is ascribed 
to Samuel the Younger (Ber. 28a), who, however, is 


reported to have forgotten its form the very next 
year. According to Yer. Ber. v. 3 he merely omitted 
some part of the prayer; and, as he was not under 
suspicion of heresy, the omission was overlooked. 

The above account seems to suggest that this 
“ new ” (revised) addition to the benedictions was not 
admitted at once and without some opposition. The 
prayer has undergone since the days of Gamaliel 
many textual changes, as the variety 
M odifica- of versions extant evidences. “ Kol 
- tions in Bo” gives the number of the words 

“ Birkat contained therein as thirty- two, which 

ha-Minim.” agrees with none of the extant recen- 
sions. The prayer furnished the tra- 
ducers of Judaism and the Jews a ready weapon of 
attack {e.g., Wagenseil ; see “ Sefer Nizzalion,”p. 848). 
In the Mahzor of Salonica it begins with the word 
“La-meslmmmadim ” (see Oral; Hayyim,118), as it 
does in the Roman Mahzor (see also “ Kesef Mishneh, 
Tefillah,” at the beginning of ii.). “Meshummad” 
designates a Jew who apostatizes (Ramban on Ex. 
xii. 43 gives an incorrect identification, as does. 
Parhou, s.v. yjeO or is lax in bis religious duties 
(‘Er. 69a; Hul. oa; Sanh. 27a; Hor. lla;Targ. Onk. 
to Ex. xii. 43; Mek., Bo, 15; Git. 45a, in the uncen- 
sored editions; the censored have “Mumar ”). The 
prayer is not inspired, however, by hatred toward 
non-Jews; nevertheless, in order to ebviate hostile 

misconstructions, the text was modified. Original^ 
the opening words were “ La-zecUm uia-mmim,” and, 

the conclusion had “maknia 1 zedim” (see “Sefer 
ha-Eshkol ” and “ Shibboie ha-Leket ”). The change 
of the beginning into “La-meshummadim ” is old 
(Zunz, “ G. V. ” 2d ed. , p. 380). Another emendation 
was “ We-la-poslPim ” {idem, “Ritus,” p. 39), which 
readily gave way to the colorless “ We-la-malsliinim ” 
(in the German ritual among others). For “ minim ” 
was substituted the expression “all doers of in- 
iquity”; but the Sephardim retained “minim,” while 
Maimonides has “ Epicureans.” In the older versions 
the continuation is; “and all the enemies of Thy 
people,” or, in Amnun Gaon’s “ Siddur,” “ all our en- 
emies”; but this is modified in the German and Ro- 
man into “and they all,” while Maimonides omits the 
clause altogether. Finally, there was mention >of the 
“ kingdom of arrogance ” (“ zadon ”) = the Roman 
empire. For this Amram presents “the doers of 
‘zadon/ ” which at last was turned into “zedim,” 
thus reverting to the earliest expression. The con- 
clusion is either “ who breakest the enemies ” (Midr. 
Teh.) or “humiliates the arrogant” (Amram); in 
the former phrase Saadia and Maimonides replace 
the noun “enemies” by “evil-doers.” 

According to Zunz, the seventh benediction looks 
like a duplication and is superfluous; at all events 
it is misplaced. There is some probability that it 
originally formed part of the liturgy for the fast- 
days, when 18 + 6 benedictions constituted the “Te- 
fillah” (Ta‘an. ii. 2); for in specifying the additional 
benedictions the Mishnah enumerates seven, not 
six {ib. ii. 4). The first of the seven enumerated is 
identical with the one contained in the “Shemoneh 
‘Esreh ” as No. vii. Most likely when Israel's dis- 
tress became constant this petition for help was 
gradually made a part of the daily liturgy. 

~ As the prevailing use of the plural shows, the 



Shemoneh ‘Esreh. 
Shephatiah 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


282 


“ Shemoneh ‘Esreh ” was first intended as a prayer 
in behalf of the congregation, which listened 
in silence and at certain points 
Method of bowed with the reader (Tos. to Ber. i. 

Recital. 9). By joining the precentor in read- 
ing aloud, one became notorious (ib.). 
At the conclusion of every benediction the congre- 
gants, while in t-lie Temple, said “Amen,” probably 
because the Tetragrammaton was pronounced ; the 
response was “Blessed be the name; the glory of 
His kingdom [endureth] forever and aye” (Tos. to 
Ber. vii. 22; Ta‘an. 16b). Gradually, after R. Gama- 
liel, it came to be the custom that every man softly 
read the “Tefillah” for himself, instead of merely 
listening to the reader’s recitation of it; only 
for one not familiar enough with the 

prayer was the older practise held permissible.; 
Then, in order to give the reader time to go over the 
“Tefillah” first for himself, silent praying b} r all 
was allowed to precede the audible recitation by the 
reader (see Sotah 40a; Yer. Ber. i. 8). In Babylon 
this became the rule, but in Palestine the “Tefillah ” 
was read aloud by the congregation (Miiller, “Hil- 
lufim,” No. 43; Zunz, “Ritus,” p. 83). Formerly 
the reader would not ascend (or descend to) the 
rostrum before beginning the loud (second) recital 
(Elbogen, l.c. p. 431). Familiarity with the con- 
tents and revereutial recital of the benedictions was 
insisted on in a reader (Bacher, in “ J. Q. R.” xiv, 
586), that those who were ignorant might by listen- 
ing to him discharge their duty. Maimonides abro- 
gated the repetition of the “Tefillah” (Zunz, l.c. p. 
55) for the congregation at Cairo, though not in his 
“ Yad ” (see “ Yad,” Tefillin, ix. 2 et seq.). In the eve- 
ning service, attendance at which was by some not re- 
garded as obligatory (Weiss, “Dor,”ii.76; Ber. 27b), 
the “ Tefillah ” was not repeated aloud ; and as a rule 
only- eighteen Biblical verses, to take the place of 
the eighteen benedictions, were read (see L. Loew 
in “Monatsschrift,” 1884, pp. 112 et seq.; “Sliib- 
bole ha-Leket,” ed. Buber, p. 21; SeMaG, command 
No. 19). 

According to “ Shibbole ha-Leket ” (ed. Buber, p. 
9), some prefaced the “Tefillah” by the verse Ps. 
Ixv. 3, while in Constantine “Welm Rahum” rvas 
recited as an introduction (Zunz, “Ritus,” p. 52). 
At the end, after Mar bar Rabina’s “My God keep 
my tongue ” (Ber. 17a), during the Middle Ages was 
added “do on account of Thy name,” etc.; then to 
this, Ps. xix. 15; and, still later, the phrase “He 
who established peace,” etc. (“Shibbole ha-Leket,” 
p. 18). In the Roman ritual the “Elohai Nezor” 
(Ber. 17a) is missing (Zunz, l.c. p. 79). 

In the Reform liturgies, in benediction No. i. 
“go’el ” is changed to “ ge’ullali ” (redemption). In 
No. ii. the resurrection is replaced by “sustaining 
in life the whole ” and by “ redeeming the soul of His 
servants from death.” The prayers for Jerusalem, 
for the reestablishment of the sacrifices, and fort-lie 
corning of the Messiah are omitted, as is also the 
petition against the enemies of Israel (comp. “ Pro- 
tokolle der Zweiten Rabbinerversammlung,” pp. 104 
etseq., Frankfort-on-the-Main, 1845). 

Bibliography : Zunz, G. V. Jsted., pp. 367-369; Delitzscb, Zur 
, Geschichtc drr JVaUschen Pnesie , 1836. pp. 191-193 ; Herzfeld, 
Gesch. dcs Votkcs Tsract. iii. 200-204; Bickell. Messc imd 


Pascha , 1872, pp. 65, 66, 71-73 ; Hamburger, JR. B. T. Ii. 1092- 
1099 ; Enoch, JJas Achtzehngebet nach Sprache , 1886 ; De- 
renbourg, in R.E. J. xiv. (1887) 26-32; Loeb, Lcs Dix-huii 
Benedictions , in R. E. J. xix. (1889) 137-166 ; Levi, Lcs JDix- 
huit Benedictions , in JFt. E. J. xxxii. (1896) 161-178; xxxiii. 
(1896) 142 et seq.; G aster, Targum zu Shemoneh Esreh , in 
Monatsschrift, xxxix. 79-90 ; Gollancz, in Kohut Memorial 
Volume, pp. 186-197, Berlin, 1897; Schurer, Gesch. 3d ed., ii. 
460 et seq:; Elbogen, Die Gesch. des Achtzchngcbets, in Mo- 
natssclmfti 1902. 

. E. G. ii. 

SHE-RtOT RABBAH. See Midbasu IIagga- 
dahY '• ' J - 

SHEOL (^lNSy) : Hebrew word of uncertain ety- 
mology (see, Sheol, Critical Yiew), a synonym of 
“bor” (pit), “ abaddon ” and “shaliat” (pit or de- 
struction), and. perhaps also of “ tehom ” (abyss). — 
Biblical Data ; It connotes the place where those 
that had died were believed to be congregated. 
Jacob, refusing to be comforted at the supposed 
death of Joseph, exclaims: “I shall go down to my 
son a mourner unto Sheol ” (Gen. xxxvii. 36, Ilebr. ; 
comp. ib. xlii. 38; xliv. 29, 31). Sheol is underneath 
the earth (Isa. vii. 11, lvii. 9; Ezek. xxxi. 14; Ps. 
Ixxxvi. 13; Ecclus. [Sirach] li. 6; comp. Enoch,, 
xvii. 6, “ toward the setting of the sun”); hence it 
is designated as JYftnn (Deut. xxxii. 22; Ps. Ixxxvi. 
13) or nmnn (Ps. lxxxviii. 7; Lam. iii. 55; Ezek. 
xxvi. 20, xxxii. 24). It is very deep (Prov. ix. 18; 
Isa. lvii, 9); and it marks the point at the greatest 
possible distance from heaven (Job xi. 8; Amosix. 
2; Ps. cxxxix. 8). The dead descend or are made 
to go down into it ; the revived ascend or are brought 
and lifted up from it (I Sam. ii. 6; Job vii. 9; Ps. 
xxx. 4; Isa. xiv. 11, 15). Sometimes the living are 
hurled into Sheol before, they would naturally have 
been, claimed by it- (Prov. i. 12; Num. xvi. 33; Ps. 
lv. 16, Ixiii. 10), in which cases the earth is described 
as “opening her mouth” (Num. xvi. 

Position 30). Sheol is spoken of as a land (Job 
and Form. x. 21, 22); but ordinarily it is a place 
with gates (ib. xvii. 16; xxxviii. 17; 
Isa. xxxviii. 10; Ps. ix. 14), and seems to have 
been viewed as divided into compartments (Prov. 
vii. 27), with “farthest corners” (Isa. xiv. 15; Ezek. 
xxxii. 23, Hebr. ; R. V. “ uttermost parts of the pit ”), 
one beneath the other (see Jew. Encyc. v. 217, s.v. 
Eschatology). Here the dead meet (Ezek. xxxii. ; 
Isa. xiv. ; Job xxx. 23) without distinction of rank 
or condition — the rich and the poor, the pious and 
the wicked, the. old and the young, the master and 
the slave — if the description in Job iii. refers, as most 
likely it does, to Sheol. The dead continue after a 
fashion their earthly life. Jacob would mourn there 
(Gen. xxxvii. 35, xlii. 38); David abides there in 
peace (I Kings ii. 6) ; the warriors have their weap- 
ons with them (Ezek. xxxii. 27), yet they are mere 
shadows (“repliaim”; Isa. xiv. 9, xxvi. J 4 ; Ps. 
lxxxviii. 5, A. Y. “a man that hath no strength ”). 
The dead merely exist without knowledge or feeling 
(Job xiv. 13; Eccl: ix. 5). Silence reigns supreme; 
and oblivion is the lot of them that enter therein 
(Ps. lxxxviii. 13, xciv. 17; Eccl. ix. 10). Hence it 
is known also as “ Dumah,” the abode of silence (Ps. 
vi. 6, xxx. 10, xciv. 17, cxv. 17) ; and there God is 
not praised (ib. cxv. 17; Isa. xxxviii. 15). Still, on 
certain extraordinary occasions the dwellers in 
Sheol are credited with the gift of making known 



283 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Shemoneh ‘Esreh 
Shephatiah 


tlieir feelings of rejoicing at the downfall of the 
enemy (Isa. xiv. 9, 10). Sleep is their usual lot 
/jer. li. 39; Isa. xxvi. 14; Job xiv. 12). Sheol is a 
horrible, dreary, dark, disorderly land (Job x. 21, 
22); yet it is the appointed house for all the living 
(ib xxx. 23). Return from Sheol is not expected 
(II Sam’ xii. 23; Job vii. 9, 10; x. 21; xiv. 7 et seq . ; 
xvi. 22; Ecclus. [Sirach] xxxviii. 21); it is de- 
scribed as man’s eternal house (Eccl. xii. 5). It is 
“dust” (Ps. xxx. 10; lienee in the Suemoneii 
‘Eskeii, in benediction No. ii., the dead are described 
as “ sleepers in the dust ”)• God’s rulership over it is 
recognized (Amos ix. 2; Hos. xiii. 14; 

God Dent, xxxii. 22; I Sam. ii. 6 [Isa. vii. 

Its Ruler. 11?]; Prov. xv. 11). Hence He has 
the power to save the pious therefrom 
{Ps. xvi. 10, xlix. 16, the text of which latter pas- 
sage, however, is recognized as corrupt). Yet Sheol 
is* never satiated (Prov. xxx. 20); she “makes 
wide her soul,” i.e., increases her desire (Isa. v. 14) 
and capacity. In these passages Sheol is personi- 
fied ; it is described also as a pasture for sheep with 
death as the shepherd (Ps. xlix. 15). From Sheol 
Samuel is cited by the witch of En-dor (I Sam. 
xxviii. 3 et seq.). As a rule Sheol will not give up 
its own. They are held captive with ropes. This 
seems to be the original idea underlying the phrase 
(II Sam. xxii. 6; Ps. xviii. 6; R. V., 
verse 5, “the cords of Sheol”) and of the other ex- 
pression, nVD (Ps- cxvi. 3; R. Y. “and the 

pains of Sheol ”) ; for they certainly imply restraint 
or capture. Sheol is used as a simile for “ jealousy ” 
(Cant. viii. 7). For the post-Biblieal development of 
the ideas involved see Eschatology. 

Critical View: The word “Sheol” was for 

some time regarded as an Ass 3 r ro-Babylonian loan- 
word, “ Shu’alu,” having the assumed meaning 
“the place whither the dead are cited or bidden,” 
or “ the place where the dead are ingathered.” De- 
litzsch, who in his earlier works advanced this view, 
lias now abandoned it ; at least in his dictionary the 
word is not given. The non-existence of “ Shu’alu ” 
has been all along maintained by Jensen (“Kos- 
mologie,” p. 223), and recently again by Zimmern 
(in Schrader, “K. A. T.” 3d ed., p. 636, note 4) even 
against Jastrow’s explanation (in 

Ety- “Am. Jour. Semit; Lang.” xiv. 165- 
mology. 170) that “slia’al” = “to consult an 
oracle,” or “ to cite the dead ” for this 
purpose, whence the name of the place where the 
dead are. The connection between tlie Hebrew 
“Sheol” and the Assyro- Babylonian “shillan” 
(west), which Jensen proposed instead (in “Zeit- 
sclirift fur Assyriologie,” v. 131, xv. 243), does not 
appear to be acceptable. Zimmern (l.c.) suggests 
“shilu ” (— “a sort of chamber”) as the proper As- 
syrian source of the Hebrew word. On the other 
hand, it is certain that most of the ideas covered by 
the Hebrew “Sheol” are expressed also in the As- 
sy ro-Baby Ionian descriptions of the state of tlie 
dead, found in the myths concerning Islitar’s de- 
scent into Hades, concerning Nergal and Ereshkigal 
(see Jensen in Schrader, “K. B.” vi., part 1, pp. 74- 
79) and in the Gilgamesh epic (tablets ii. and xii ; 
comp, also Craig, “Religious Texts,” i. 79; King, 
“Magic,” No. 53). 


This realm of tlie dead is in the earth (“ erzitu ” — 
pK; comp. Job x. 21, 22), the gateway being in the 
west. It is the “ land without return. ” It is a dark 
place filled with dust (see Sheol, Biblical Data); 
but it contains a palace for the divine ruler of this 
shadow-realm (comp. Job xviii. 13, 14). Seven gates 
guard successively the approach to this laud, at the 
first of which is a watchman. A stream of water 
flows through Sheol (comp. Enoch, xvii. 6, xxii. 9; 
Luke xvi. 24; Ps. xviii. 5; II Sam. xxii. 5). 

The question arises whether the Biblical concept 
is borrowed from the Assyrians or is an independent 
development from elements common to both and 
found in many primitive religions. Though most of 
the passages in which mention is made of Sheol or its 
synonyms are of exilic or post-exilic 
Origin times, the latter view, according to 
of Biblical which the Biblical concept of Sheol 
Concept, represents an independent evolution, 
is the more probable. It reverts to 
primitive animistic conceits. With the body in tlie 
grave remains connected the soul (as in dreams) : the 
dead buried in family graves continue to have com- 
munion (comp. Jer. xxxi. 15). Sheol is practically 
a family grave on a large scale. Graves were pro- 
tected by gates and bolts; therefore Sheol was like- 
wise similarly guarded. The separate compartments 
are devised for the separate clans, septs, and families, 
national and blood distinctions continuing in effect 
after death. That Sheol is described as subterra- 
nean is but an application of the custom of hewing 
out of the rocks passages, leading downward, for 
burial purposes. 

Bibliography: Stade, Ueher die A. T. Vorstellungen vom 
Zustande nach rtem Tode, Leipsie, 1877; Idem, Gesch.des 
Volkes Israel , i. 418 et seq.; idem, BiUische Tlieologie des 
A. T. pp. 183 et seq., Tubingen, 1905 ; F. Schwally, Das Leben 
nach dem Tode , Giessen, 1892; A. Bertholet, Die Israeli- 
tischen Vorstellungen vow Zustande nach dem Tode , Frei- 
burg, 1899; G. Beer, Dev Biblische Hades , Tubingen, 19p2; 
idem, in Guttie, Kurzes BWclwOrterhucl), s.v. Holle; Zim- 
mern, in K. A. T. 3d ed., ii. 641, 642, Berlin, 1903 (where the 
Assyrian literature is given). _ ^ „ 

E. G. H. 

SHEPHATIAH ; Name of several persons men- 
tioned in the Old Testament. 1. Son of David and 
Abital; their fifth child. He was born while his 
father was still reigning at Hebron (II Sam. iii. 4; 
I Chron. iii. 3). 2. A Harupliite, and one of the 

guard of thirty who joined David at Ziklag (ib. xii. 
5). 3. Son of Maachali and commander of the 

fighting men of the tribe of Simeon during the reign 
of David (ib. xxvii. 16). 4. Son of Reuel, of the 
tribe of Benjamin; a member of a family long resi- 
dent at Jerusalem (ib. ix. 8). 5. Ancestor of the 

372 persons who returned from the Exile to Jerusa- 
lem under Zerubbabel (Ezra ii. 4; Neh. vii. 9). 6. 

Probably the youngest soil of King Jehoshaphat, 
and brother of King Jelioram (II Chron. xxi. 2). 7. 

Ancestor of Zebadiah, the son of Michael ; he, with 
eighty members of his tribe, accompanied Ezra to 
Jerusalem (Ezra viii. 8). 8. One of the servants of 

Solomon; his descendants returned to Jerusalem 
with Zerubbabel (Ezra ii. 57 ; Neh. vii. 59). 9. Son 

of Mahalaleel, and descendant of Perez, of the tribe 
of Judah, whose great-great-grandson was chosen 
by lot to dwell in Jerusalem when Neliemiah rebuilt 
the city (Neh. xi. 4). 10. Son of Mattan and an 



Shepherd 

Sheshet 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


284 


official of Zedekiali ; lie induced the king to order 
Jeremiah imprisoned because of his alleged sedi- 
tious addresses (Jer. xxxviii. 1). 

k. g. h. S. 0. 

SHEPHERD : In the early days of settlement 
in Palestine the chief occupation of the Israelites 
was that of shepherding. Traces of the importance 
of this occupation arc found through the Old Testa- 
ment. The shepherd’s function was to lead the 
flocks of sheep to the pasture and the stream (Ps. 
xxiii. 2), and protect them from wild beasts (I Sam. 
xii. 24) and robbers (Job i. 14 etseq.), in which lat- 
ter task he was sometimes assisted by a sheep-dog 
(Job xxx. 1). At night the shepherds kept watch, 
sometimes in the open air (Nah. iii. IS), and at other 
times in the shepherd’s tent (Isa. xxxviii. 12) or 
in a special stone tower (Gen. xxxv. 21). At times 
he would collect the sheep in caves (I Sam. xxiv. 
3), or in sheepfolds built of stones (Judges v. 16; 
Zepli. ii. 6); and a lamb that had fallen sick or be- 
come lame he would carry in his bosom (Isa. xl. 11). 

The shepherd generally Avore a single garment 
(Jer. xliii. 12), clad in which he Avalked forth at the 
head of his flock (John x. 4), carryinghis shepherd’s 
bag or Avallet; his Aveapons Avere a stall* and a sling 
(Gen. xxxii. 10; I Sam. xvii. 40). When agricul- 
ture became the prominent industry of the country, 
the shepherd, instead of being independent, Avas 
generally hired by a farmer, avIio paid him Avages in 
kind (Gen. xxx. 2S), or sometimes in money (Zech. 
xi. 13). The number of sheep returned to the mas- 
ter’s fold Avas checked by being made to pass under 
the shepherd’s stall' (Jer. xxxiii. 13; Ezek. xx. 37). 
As farming increased in importance, the shepherd 
became less respected, just as in Egypt, Avhere 
he Avas regarded “as an abomination” (Gen. xlvi. 
34). In Talmudic times it Avas even declared that a 
shepherd Avas inca pable of bearing witness, owing 
to his habit of encroaching upon other persons’ pas- 
tures (Sanh. 25a). 

E. C. J. 

SHERIRA B. HALTIN' A (usually known as 
Sherira G-aon) : Gaon of Pumbedita; born about 
900; died about 1000 (Abraham ibn Baud, “Sefer 
ka-Kabbalak,” in Neubauer, “ M. J. C.” i. 66-67). 
He Avas the descendant, both on his father’s and his 
mother s side, of prominent families, several mem- 
bers of which had occupied the gaonate. One of 
his ancestors was Kabbah b. Abulia, who himself be- 
longed to the family of the exilarch. Sherira boasted 
that his genealogy could be traced back to the pre- 
Bostanaian branch of that family, which, he claimed, 
on account of the deterioration of the exilarch ate had 
renounced its claims thereto, preferring instead the 
scholar s life (Letter of Sherira Gaon, in Neubauer, 
lx. 23, 33). The seal of his family was a lion, 
Avhicli Avas said to have been the emblem of the 
Judean kings (Ibn Daud, l.c.). 

Sherira officiated first as chief judge; subse- 
quently, in tlie year 968, lie Avas elected gaon of the 
Academy of Pumbedita, soon after which lie ap- 
pointed his son chief judge in his place (Sherira, l.c. 
i. 41). Slierira’s gaonate lasted for thirty years, and 
he then resigned that office on account of his ad- 
vanced age, appointing his son Hai a-s his successor 


(Ibn Daud, l.c.). Being maliciously denounced by 
enemies to the calif Al-Kadir, though the nature of 
the accusation is unknown, he and liis son Hai Avere 
imprisoned and deprived of their property, eA r en of 
the necessaries of life. Sherira in consequence fell 
ill of grief, dying soon after at the age of 100 years 
(Ibn Daud, l.c., according to Weiss’s emendation iu 
“ Dor,” v. 174). As director of the academy he sought 
to reach pupils both near and far, and many of his 
responsa have been preserved in tlie geonic collec- 
tions and in tlie works containing tlie earlier de- 
cisions. His responsa are similar to the geonic re- 
sponsa in general, a majority of them dealing with 
questions of religious practise, though some of them 
contain expositions and comments on passages of 
the Talmud and the Misliuali. Indeed, his literary 
activity was confined to Talmudic and to related 
subjects. He Avas not greatly interested in Arabic 
literature, although he knew enough 
His Arabic to be able to write in that lan- 
Responsa. guage those of bis decisions that Avere 
addressed to communities in Moham- 
medan countries. Generally lie preferred to use 
Hebrew or Aramaic for that purpose. Sherira avus 
noted for the nobility and seriousness of liis char- 
acter. As a judge be endeavored to arrive at the 
exact facts of a case and to render his decisions in 
strict conformity Avitli the LaAv. In deciding prac- 
tical questions he adopted the more rigorous view, 
following the letter of the Talmud with the purpose 
of upholding and emphasizing its authority against 
the attacks of the Karaites. He frequently formu- 
lates in his responsa rules Avhicli are highly im- 
portant for the correct interpretation of the Talmud. 
For instance, he declares that the term “mizwali” 
designates in some passages a command that may 
not be broken with impunity, but in other pas- 
sages denotes merely an admonition Avitli Avliich 
it would be commendable to comply, but Avhich 
may be disregarded without fear of punishment 
(“ Tesbubot Ge’one Mizrali u-Ma‘arab,” No. 141, in 
“Bet Talmud, ” iv. 351). 

Sherira Avas a student of cabalistic mysticism ; he 
believed that the mystical works “Shi* ur Komah” 
and “ Hekalot ” represented ancient traditions, orig- 
inating Avitli R. Ishmael and R. Akiba. He says in 
a responsum (“Sha c are Teshubah,” No. 122) that the 
passage in “Shi‘ur Komah ” ascribing human organs 
to God embodies profound mysteries, but must not 
be taken literally. Sherira Avrote a work on the 
Talmud, under the title “ Megillat Setarim. ” In this 
work he seems to have discussed tlie importance of 
the Haggadah(Aboab, introduction to “ Menorat ha- 
Ma’or ”) ; but the portion of the Avork containing his 
opinions on this subject has been lost. 

Sherira lias become famous by a letter of bis ad- 
dressed to the community of Ivairwan, which letter 
is the chief source for the history of the Talmudic, 
post-Talmudic, and geonic periods. Jacob b. Nissim 
of Kairwan addressed, in the name of bis commu- 
nity, a number of questions of historical interest to 
Sherira, inquiring especially into the origin of the 
Mishnah and the sequence of the redactions, the ori- 
gin of the Tosefta, and tlie sequence of tlie Tal- 
mudic, post-Talmudic, and geonic authorities. She- 
rira clearly and lucidly answers all these questions.. 



285 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Shepherd 

Sheshet 


throwing light upon many obscure passages of Jew- 
ish history- This historical responsum, which is 
composed half in Aramaic and half in 
His Hebrew, reveals Sherira as a true 
Circular chronicler, with all the dryness and 
Letter. accuracy of such a writer, though his 
opinions on the princes of the Exile be- 
longing to the branch of Bostanai, as well as on 
some of his contemporaries, are not entirely unprej- 
udiced. This letter is included in the Ahimaaz 
Chronicle, but it lias also been edited from manu- 
scripts by B. Goldberg, in “Hofes Matmonim ” 
(Berlin, 1845) and under the title “Iggeret Bab 
Sherira Gaon” (Mayence, 1873); also by J. Waller- 
stein, under the title “Sherirae Epistola,” with a 
Latin translation and notes (Breslau, 1861). The 
host edition of this letter is that by Adolf Neu- 
bauer, in “Medieval Jewish Chronicles” (Oxford, 
1887). Another letter by Sherira, also addressed 'to 
Jacob b. Nissim of Kairwan (included iu the 
“‘Aruk,” s.v. “ Abaja ”), deals with the various titles 
given to the Talmudic sages, as “Raban,” “Rabbi,” 
“Rab,”and “Mar,” and explains why some sages 
are simply mentioned by their names, without the 
addition of any titles. 


Bibliography: Weiss, Dor, iv. 160-174; Griitz, Gesch. v. 320- 
323; Halevy, Dorot ha-Rishonim, iii. 280; Azulai, Sherri ha- 
Gedolim. 

w. B. J. Z. L. 


SHESHBAZZAR (Assyrian [Winekler], “Sha- 
mash-[a] bal-usur” or [E. Meyer] “Sin-[?] usur”): 
Prince of Judah, at the head of the first Jew 7 s that 
returned to Jerusalem after the Exile. In 539-538 
b.c. Cyrus granted the exiles permission to return. 
At once a question must have arisen as to the 
legitimate successor of the last king, Johoiachin. 
Slieslibazzar must have been entitled to the succes- 
sion if he w r as, as Meyer supposes, identical with the 
Shenazar mentioned in I Chron. iii. 18 as a son of 
the late monarch. 

On arrival at Jerusalem, Slieslibazzar seems to 
have become involved in controversies with the con- 
servative party. Zimmern concludes from Dan. ix. 
25-27 (since no other sources before the time of 
Ezra are available) that Cambyses on his campaign 
against Egypt took Jerusalem, but dealt leniently 
with it, removing Sheshbazzar in some way of 
which no details are given. Recent scholars have 
given up the attempt to identify this ruler with 
Zerubbabel, as was done by YVellhausen. 

The following facts in regard to Sheshbazzar 
maybe stated definitely: he is called “prince” in 
Ezra i. 8; at the command of Cyrus, the Persian 
oflidal Mitliredath delivered to him the sacred ves- 
sels of the Temple which Nebuchadnezzar had car- 
ried away, all these things being taken back to 
Jerusalem {ib. v. 16); Zerubbabel refers in the reign 
of Darius to the permission which Cyrus had given 
Sheshbazzar {ib. v. 13-14). 

Bibliography: Selirader, K. A. T. 3d ed., p. 270 et passim ; 
Eduard Meyer, Entstehunu cics Judenthums, pp. 73 ct seq., 
Halle, 1898; Welllmusen, I. J. G. 2d ed., pp. 154 et seq.i 
Winekler, A1 tori cut alische Forschungen , ii. 430, 440. 

E. g. ii. S. O. 


SEESHET ; Babylonian amoraof the third gen- 
eration; colleague of R. Nahrnan bar Jacob, with 
whom he had frequent arguments concerning ques- 


tions of religious law 7 . His teacher’s name is not 
definitely known; but Sheshet was an auditor at 
Huna’s lectures (Yeb. 64b; Ket. 69a). It is cer- 
tain that he was not a pupil of Rab, since say- 
ings of Abba Arika which did not please him 
were criticized by him w T ith a disre- 
Relations spect which he would not have shown 

to Rab. toward his own teacher. Concerning 
many of Rab’s sayings, Sheshet as- 
serted that “lie must have spoken thus when he 
w 7 as asleep” (Yeb. 24b and parallels; comp, also 
Niddali 69a). 

Sheshet lived first at Nehardea, where he used to 
study iu the synagogue Shaf we-Yatib (Meg. 29a), 
going thence to Mahuza (Ned. 78a, b; B. B. 121a), 
and later to Shillie, w r here lie founded an academy 
(Letter of Sherira Gaon, in Neubauer, “M. J. C.” i. 
29). He w 7 as feeble in body (Pes. 108a), but had, 
uevertheless, an iron w r ill and great energy (Men. 
95b); and although be was blind he was compen- 
sated by a very retentive memory, for he knew by 
heart the entire body of tannaitic tradition, as well 
as its amoraic interpretations (Shebu. 41b). He 
hired a scholar (“tanna”) acquainted with the 
Mislinah and the Baraita to read them to him 
(Sanh. 86a ; Hor. 9a). 

R. Hisda, w 7 hen he met Sheshet, used to tremble at 
the wealth of baraitot and maxims w r hich the latter 
quoted (‘Er. 67a). Sheshet also transmitted many 
sayings of the older tannaim, especially of R. Elea- 
zar b. Azariah (Mak. 23a; Pes. 118a). In his teach- 
ing he always took tradition as his basis; and for 
every question laid before him for decision besought 
a mislinah or baraita from which he might deduce 
the solution of the problem, his extensive knowl- 
edge of these branches of literature alw T ays enabling 
him to find the passage he required (Zeb. 96b). His 
usual answer to a question w r as: “We have learned 
it in the Mislinah or in a baraita ” (B. M. 90a ; Yoma 
48b). When he had presented some sentence to the 
attention of his pupils, he used to ask immediately, 
“Whence have I this?” and w r ould then add a 
mislinah or a baraita from which he had derived the 
decision in question (Ket. 68a; comp. Yeb. 85a, 
58a). 

In addition to bis learning and his knowledge of 
tradition, Sheshet possessed much acuteness, and 
knew 7 how 7 to deduce conclusions from the teachings 
of tradition (Men. 95b, according toRaslii’s explana- 
tion); thus iu connection with his application of 
Eccl. vii. 11, Rami b. Hama said of liim: “It is 
good w r lien one possesses a keen understanding in 
addition to the inheritance of tradition ” (Bek. 52b 
and Rasbi ad loc.). He w 7 as not so subtle, however, 
as his colleague R. Hisda (‘Er. 67a); and lie appears 
to have been averse in general 1o the casuistry in 
vogue in the Academy of Pumbedita. 
Objects to When he heard any one make a quib- 
Ouibbling'. bling objection lie used to observe 
sarcastically: “Art thou not from 
Pumbedita, where they draw an elephant through 
the eye of a needle?” (B. M. 3Sb). Sheshet w\as on 
friendly terms with R. Hisda; and the pair respected 
each other highly (Ber. 47b; Meg. 2Sb), traveled 
in company (Ber. 30a), and w 7 ere together at the 
exilareh’s (Git. 67b-68a). 



Shoshet 

Shield 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


286 


Sheshet devoted much time to Biblical exegesis; 
and whenever he recapitulated his studies, as was 
his custom at the end of eveiy thirty days, he used to 
say: “.Rejoice, my soul! rejoice, my soul! For thy 
sake have I read the Holy Scriptures; and for thy 
sake have I studied the Mishnali and the baraitot ” 
(Pes. 68b). He took comparatively little interest, on 
the other hand, in the Ilaggadah ; and he himself 
acknowledged his shortcoming in this respect, say- 
ing : “ I can not dispute with Hana on the Ilaggadah ” 
(Suk. 52b, and Ihishi ad loc.\ Some 
His of his haggadic interpretations of Bib- 
Haggadah. lical passages, referring for the most 
part to studies of the Law, have been 
preserved. Thus, he interpreted Prov. xi. 25 as im- 
plying that whoever teaches in this world will have 
the good fortune to teach in the world to come also 
(Sanh. 92a); .and in Shah. 63a he explains Prov. iii. 
16 as meaning that whosoever studies in the right 


the answer; “The earthly kingdom is like unto the 
heaventy; God’s appearance, however, is announced 
in I Kings xix. 12-13 by a deep silence ” (Ber. 58a). 

Bibliography : Heilprin, Seder ha-Dornt , ii. 379-381; Weiss 
Dor, iii. 181-182; Griitz, (Jcsch. iv. 299-300; Bacher, A(j. Bali' 
Amor. pp. 70-79. 

W. B. • J. Z. L. 

SHESHET BEHVEHISTE. SccBenvenistk. 

SHETADLAN (lit. “persuader”): Representa- 
tive of the Jewish community in Germany during 
the Middle Ages, and in Russia almost to the pres- 
ent day. When the government issued a decree 
against the Jews of any particular locality, the lat- 
ter would send their shetadlan to the seat of admin- 
istration to endeavor to have the legislation modi- 
fied. Thus the Council of Four Lands would send 
several shetadlanim under these circumstances to 
Wilna (see Jew. Encyc. iv. 306, s.i\ Counctl of Four 
Lands). The shetadlanim were allowed a certain 



English Jewish Shetar, Dated 1230. 

(In the British Museum.) 


manner receives as his reward length of days in ad- 
dition to riches and honor, but that he who studies 
in a fashion not altogether unimpeachable receives 
riches and honor without length of days. He fre- 
quently elucidated Biblical passages by the appli- 
cation of well-known proverbs (Ber. 32a ; Sanh. 105a). 

Sheshet, who, as stated above, was blind, once 
mingled with a crowd waiting to see the entry of 
the king. A heretic, probably an adherent of Mani- 
clieism, against which Sheshet polemized (comp. 
Bacher, “Ag. Bab. Amor.” p. 78, note 12), taunted 
him with the remark that lie certainly would not be 
able to see the king. Sheshet, however, put the 
heretic to shame by recognizing, despite his blind- 
ness, when the instant of the king’s appearance 
was at hand. When the unbeliever, in his astonish- 
ment, asked Sheshet how he knew it, lie received 


laxity with regard to the observance of Jewish law, 
the principle being that those who were “near to the 
government ” might transgress even Biblical prohibi- 
tions, because they might save life thereby (M. JaJTe, 
“ Lebusli Yoreh De‘ah,” § 178, 2). In this way the 
shetadlan corresponded somewhat to the syndic of a 
municipality, who was in most, cases the richest per- 
son in the community, and would thus have a per- 
sonal interest in reducing its taxation as much as 
possible. 

A certificate published in “Ha-Zefirali” (1887, p. 
881) indicates the kind of work required of ashetad- 
lan. It was granted to Nissim ben Judah of Czeka- 
nowski by the Council of Four Lands, sitting at 
Yaroslav in 1730, and empowered him to attend local 
councils at Warsaw and Grodno and arrange for the 
distribution of the government taxes each year till 


287 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Sheshet 

Shield 


the next meeting of the council. As recompense he 
received his passport and eight Polish gulden per 
week from the council treasury. 

Among shetadlanim may be mentioned N. Ginz- 
burg, appointed provincial shetadlan of Wilna in 
160*7, and Shabbethai and Isaac, of Lublin in 1707 
(Nisenbaum, “Lublin,” p. 88). At Posen are found 
the names of Abraham, 1690, Baruch, 1699, and 
Jacob, 1786 (Perles, “Juden in Posen”); in Pinsk, 
Ary eh Leb Meiles acted from 1784 till 1807; while 
Elijah Moses Meiles was shetadlan of Wilna in the 
time of the Wilna Gaon. At St. Petersburg Nalium 
Eiwkin acted as shetadlan in 1886. A similar office 
is found to have been held in Alsace by Lippmann 
Moyses Bergheim (“ Univers Israelite, ” Feb. 6, 1808), 
and in Ilalberstadt by Meyer Grunsman, 1674 (Auer- 
bach, “Gescli. der Juden in Ilalberstadt,” p. 33). 
See Court Jew ; Prague. 

Bibliography: Ha-Yam, ii. (1887), No. 185; Levinsohn, Par- 

nasim be-Y-isracl , Warsaw, 1899. 

8. J- 

SHETAH (“ deed ” ; plural, Shetarot) : For the 
conditions under which these were drawn up in an- 
cient times see 'Deed. In medieval times the same 
principles were carried out, but as the deeds with 
which Jews were concerned were chiefly those dc- 


SHIBBOLETH (n^OS?) : Word occurring in 
different passages of the Bible, sometimes in the 
singular form, sometimes in the plural, and 

once in the status constructus, It means 

“flood” (Isa. xxvii. 12; Ps. Ixix. 3. 16) or “car of 
corn” (Job xxiv. 24; Gen. xli. 5, 6; Isa. xvii. 5; 
Eu tli ii. 2) or “branch” (Zecli. iv. 12). 

The main interest in this word centers in its use 
in Judges xii. 6, in which passage any other word 
beginning with “ sli ” would have served as well 
(Kimhi supposes that other words were actually 
used, “shibboleth” being but a typical instance; 
see G. F. Moore, “Commentary on Judges,” p. 308). 

After the Gileadites had defeated the men of 
Ephraim, the conquerors took possession of the fords 
of the Jordan, with the view of cutting off the re- 
treat of the fleeing Ephraimites. When a fugitive 
came to the ford and said, “Let me cross,” he was 
asked, “Art thou an Ephraimite? ” If he answered 
“ No, ” the Gileadites put him to a test. “ Say ‘ Shib- 
boleth, ’ ” they demanded; and if he pronounced the 
word “Sibboletli,” this at once betrayed him as an 
enemy. It is su pposed that different dialects existed 
among the various tribes of Israel, for which sup- 
position there is a clear indication in the Ephraimitic 
pronunciation of “sh”; and the rarity of similar 



English Jewish Shktar, Dated 1280. 

(In the British Museum.) 


termining the indebtedness to them of Christian bor- 
rowers, they were mostly accompanied by a Latin 
translation, which adopted the common forms of the 
various chancelleries. Both in England and in Ger- 
. many many of these bilingual deeds existed. The 
Latin form is generally known as the “starrum,” 
derived from the Hebrew term. It has been con- 
jectured that the Star Chamber at Westminster was 
so named because it was the repository of the 
“starra ” of the English pre-expulsion Jews. 

For the most part in England the deeds acknowl- 
edging indebtedness were called in Latin “chartae,” 
or, later, “chirographs” — a sort of parchment 
tally. The term “star” was mainly restricted to 
the receipt rendered by a Jew when he had been 
paid. The common forms for contracts, or slietarot, 
were collected by Judah ben Barzillai of Barcelona 
about the beginning of the twelfth century, and 
were published under the title of “Sefer lia-Sheta- 
rot ” (Berlin, 1898). For specimens of English sheta- 
rot see Jacobs, “Jews of Angevin England” (pp. 58, 
76-77), and Honiger, “ Judensclireinsbucli ” (Fron- 
tispiece). J. 

SHIB 4 AH. See Mourning. 


examples in the literature is accounted for on the 
ground that all passed through the hands of Judaic 
editors. Nevertheless instances are extant of the 
interchange of letters, such as in Amos vii. 9, where 
fcHs used for v (see Geiger, “ Nachgelassene Schrif- 
ten,” ii. 45). See Samek ; Shin. 

E. G. II. S. H. 

SHIELD : Like most peoples of antiquity, the 
Israelites used two kinds of shields— a large one 
which covered the whole body aud was carried by 
the heavy-armed infantry, and a small, oavSily man- 
aged one, carried by the light-armed troops. The 
former was called “ zinnali ” ; it served to protect the 
spearmen (I Chron. xii. 8, 24, 34; II Chron. xiv. 8, 
xxv. 5). The men of the tribes of Judah and Naph- 
tali were armed with such shields, together with 
spears. Prominent warriors and leaders had their 
shields carried before them by special bearers (I Sam- 
xvii. 7, 41). The zinnali served the Psalmist as a 
figurative expression of the protecting favor of God 
(Ps. v. 13 et al.). 

The small shield was called “magen,” and was 
carried by the bowmen and light troops (I Chron. v. 
18; II Chron. xiv. 8, xvii. 17), as well as by the king 


SMeld of David 
Shiloh 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


288 


(Ps. xlvii. 10, Ixxxix. 19). That the difference in 
size between the two kinds of shields was very- 
great is seen from I Kings x. 16^ seg. and II Chron. 
ix. 15 et seg., according to which twice as much gold 
was required to cover the one as the other. 

The Old Testament gives no details as to the 
forms of the two shields. The Egyptian large shield 
was nearly as high as a man, rather broad, cut 
straight at the bottom, and pointed like an arch at 
the top. The common small shield was also straight 
at the bottom, but toward the top it was somewhat 
broader and ended in a curve, the points of which 
were higher. than the center. Among the Assyrians 
many different forms were in use at different times. 
Some were in the shape of a somewhat long, arched 
tetragon; others were rounded at the top; while 
still others were large, circular, and convex. 
Whatever the shape, each had on the inner side a 
handle by which it was held; and frequently it had 
a boss on the outer side. When not in use it could be 


rhythm of a form of lyric; and, since “sliagah.” 
means “to wander, go astray, reel,” “shiggayon ” is 
said to be the term for a ditliyrambic poem filled 
with passionate feeling. This explanation lacks 
support, however; and it is entirely impossible to 
explain why this designation should have been ap- 
plied to Ps. vii., which is by no means unique 
among the Psalms. Although the meter in verses 
2 to 6 and 13 to 18 differs from that of verses 7 to 
12, this is due to the fact that the psalm is a com- 
bination of two poems which were originally sepa- 
rate compositions (comp. Duliin ad loc.). In view 
of those circumstances it must be admitted that no 
satisfactory explanation of the term “ shiggayon ” 
lias yet been found. 

E. G. H. W. N. 

SHXL A OF KEF Alt TAMARTA : Palestin- 
ian amora of the third century. In Palestinian 
sources lie is called only by his personal name, but 
in the Babylonian Talmud the name of his home 



Shields Depicted on Assyrian Monuments, 

(From Ball, “ Light from the East.”) 


carried over the shoulder by means of a strap which 
passed around the neck. 

Shields were usually made of wood, wickerwork, 
or leather. The larger kinds demanded a light ma- 
terial, which is spoken of as very inflammable (Ezek. 
xxxix. 9). The leather was rubbed with oil to keep 
it pliant (II Sam. i. 21; Isa. xxi. 5). Shields plated 
with metal were also used. Those used on spectac- 
ular and formal occasions were, as mentioned above, 
plated with gold (I Kings x. 16 et seg.). 

e. g. ii. I. Be. 

SHIELD OF DAVID. See Mag ex Dawid. 

SHIGGAYON (jVJjy): Term used as the super- 
scription of Ps. vii. 1, and, in the form of 

Hab. iii. 1, although the Septuagint evidently reads 
(comp. Ps. lxi. 1). Aquila, Symmachus, The- 
odotion, and Jerome regarded the word as synony- 
mous with (Ps. xix. 13), Raslii and tlie Mid- 

rash adopting a similar view in speaking of “David’s 
trespass.” This traditional interpretation of the 
Synagogue can not be correct., however; and “shig- 
gayon ” must probably be classed with such super- 
scriptions as “ mizmor ” and “ maskil.” 

Ewald, Rodiger, Delitzsch, and others, following 
earlier exegetes, think that the term denotes the 


in Judea is always added, in order to distinguish 
him from an older Babylonian amora who bore the 
same name. 

Shila was accustomed to deliver public haggadic 
lectures, and be is mentioned only in connection with 
the Haggadah ; yet he seems to have been active in 
the field of Halakah also (Niddah 26a), although no 
lialakic sayings of his have been preserved. The 
greater portion of his Biblical exegesis, so far as ex- 
tant, is taken from these discourses, each of which 
is prefaced by the formula : “ R, Shila has preached ” 
(Meg. 18a, b; Sotah 35a; Cant. R. viii. 9). Other 
liaggadot of his are found in Midr. Teh. to Ps. 
Ixxx. 7, and Tan., Mishpatim, 8 (ed. Buber, p. 43a). 

Bibliography : Heilprin, Seder ha-Dnrot, ii. 347 ; Bncher, Ag. 

Pal. Amor. iii. 621-623. 

w. B. J. Z. L. 

SHILOAH (r6a>) : Locality mentioned in the 
Old Testament as “ the waters of Sbiloah” (Isa. viii. 
6) and “the pool of Siloali” (Nell. iii. 15). Jose- 
phus writes the word EtAwd, 2 lau&c, and EiAwd/z, 
while the Arabic name is ‘Ain Silwan. The pool 
was surrounded by the royal gardens on the south, 
and part of it belonged to the fortress of Jerusalem, 
while the spring which fed it was at the entrance to 
the Tyropceon vallej' dividing the upper from the 


289 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Shield of David 
Shiloh 


l ayer city. Probably as early as the reign of Solo- 
mon water was brought from this spriDg to a tank 
in the valley of Kidron, in order to irrigate the royal 
wardens south of the city, although the site of this 
reservoir, which Josephus calls ‘-.Solomon’s pool 
j » v _ 4 ( | 2), is no longer known. A conduit, 
in which was discovered the Siloam inscription, led 
l0 it from the Fountain of the Virgin (‘Ain Situ 
Maryam), and through the outer part of the Mo- 
riah to a pool in the Tyropceon valley; and it 
w-is probably to this conduit that Isaiah alluded 
in” speaking of the “ waters of Sliiloah that go 




Fountain op Shiloah (Siloam). 

(From a photograph by Bonfils.) 


when the stream grew less in volume. He therefore 
had the orifice made smaller, whereupon the original 
quantity again appeared (Yalkut Sliim‘oni, ii. 285, 
ed. Wilna, 1898). 

Before Sliiloali was connected with tlie pool it 
may have been called “ Gihon ” ; for the 1 argum of 
Jonathan renders the “ Gihon ” of I Kings i. 33, 38 by 
“ Shiloah ” ; the two places were furthermore identi- 
fied by Tlieodoret (“Qumstiones,” ii.), as they are 
also byBurckliardt (“Travels in Syria and the Holy 
Land,” v. 461) and by Isaac Helo (Tobler, “Jeru- 
salem,” ii. 62). See Siloam Inscription. 


softly.” At tlie present time (1905) tlie reservoir 
of Shiloah is 53 feet long, 18 feet wide, and 19 feet 

deep. § 

According to the Talmud, the spring of tlie pool 
is exactly in the center of the Holy Land (Zabim i. 
5) ; and owing to its peculiar ebb and Aoav it lias al- 
ways been popularly regarded as an arm of the 
sea. After the service in the Temple on the eighth 
day of the Feast of Tabernacles, Solomon and the 
people desceuded to the pool, from which water was 
drawn and poured upon tlie altar (Suk. v. 1). When, 
moreover, the priests were obliged to eat large quan- 
tities of sacred meat, they drank of the water of 
Sliiloali to aid digestion (Ab. 1L N, xxxv.). King 
Ilezekiali liad the opening, which was not largei 
than a coin, enlarged, that the water might flow 
more freely; but the work had scarcely been done 
XI— 19 


ibliograpiiv : Schwarz, Palestine., 1850, pp. 240-241, Phila- 
dplnhi*!* Neubauer G. T. pp. 145-147: Sepp, Das Deihqe 
Lcmd, i. 107, 228, 328, 335, 696, Schaffliausen, 1873 ; Robinson, 
Palestine , i. 341, 493, 501-505, London, 1S41; Josephus, B.J. 
fi IB * 9 . v 4 S 2* 6 § 1 ; 12, § 2; vi. 8, § 5 ; Guthe, m Z. D. 
M. G. xxxvi. 725-750’; Socin, in Z. D. P. V. iii. 547 etseqA 
Kautzsch, ib. iv. 120 ct seq., 261 et seq. ; Guthe, ih. n . ~o0 
et seq. a 


SHILOH (n^^ or originally, p^BL* comp. 

City of Ephraim, where were placed, after 
the settlement in Palestine, the Ark and the sanc- 
tuary of Yirsvn at which tlie family of Eli offici- 
ated (1 Sam. i. 3 ct passim, iii. 1 ct seq.). As the Ark 
was not taken back to Shiloh when it was recovered 
from the Philistines, who liad held it for some time, 
and as the sons of Eli officiated in the sanctuary of 
Nob iu the reign of Saul, it may be assumed that 
the sanctuary of Shiloli was destroyed during the 


Shimei 

Shir ha-Shirim 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


290 


war with the Philistines (comp. Jer. xvii. 12, 14; 
xxvi. G, 9). According to the Priestly Code’ the 
tabernacle was set up at Shiloh (Josh, xviii. 1), which 
consequently became the religious center for the 
entire people, where the land was allotted and where 

t 1 ° < -‘ 0 ' 1 g I 'Cg-ar,ion assembled ^Josh. xviii. & &t. -sey., 

xxii. 12; Judges xxi. 12). From there the women 
were carried oil b} r the Benjamites during the au- 
tumn festival. Subsequently Sliiloli is mentioned 
ouly as the home of the prophet Aliijah (I Kings 
xi. 29 et al.). It is described in Judges xxi. 19 as 
being “on the north side of Beth-el, on the east side 
of the highway that goetli up from Beth-el to 
Shechem, and on the south of Lebonali,” while ac 
cording to Eusebius it was 15 kilometers from She 
chem. All these descriptions apply to the modern 
Sailun, 18 kilometers south of Nablus, with ancient 
rock tombs and a pool in a hollow cut into the rock. 
In the blessing of Jacob (Gen. xlix. 10) there is a 
reference to Shiloh, interpreted as promising the 
kingdom to Judah until the expected Messiah had 
come. The better rendering (see Kohler, “Der 
Segen Jacobs ”) is “as long as [pilgrims] come to 
Shiloh,” that is, while the sanctuary is established 
there. But see Adolf Posnanski, “Shiloh : Ein Bei- 
triige zur Geseh. der Messiaslehre ” (Leipsic, 1904) 
k. o. ii. I, be. 

SHIMEI OjjdbO— 1. Biblical Data; Benja- 
mite of Bahuriin, son of Gera, “a man of the family 
of the house of Saul” (II Sam. xvi. 5-14, xix. 16- 
23; I Kings ii. 8-9, 36-46). He is mentioned as one 
of David’s tormentors during his flight before Absa- 
lom, and as imploring and winning David’s forgive- 
ness when the latter returned. David, however, in 
his dying charge to Solomon, bade him avenge the 
insult (I Kings ii. 1-9). Without sufficient reason, 
this last passage has been regarded by Wellhausen, 
Stade, and others as unhistorical. 

R - G - ir - J. F. McL. 


In Rabbinical Literature: When Shimei 

cursed David (II Sam. xvi. 5 et seq.) he used the 
most insulting names, taunting him, moreover, with 
his Moabite descent and with his adultery with 
Bath-sheba (Shab. 105a). He later besought David’s 
forgiveness, however (II Sam. xix. 17-21), and ad- 
dressed him as follows : “ The brothers of Joseph did 
bim iujuiy, but Joseph returned good for evil. Be 
thou as Joseph, and recompense me with good, 
though I dealt evilly with thee. It was not I alone 
but all Israel that entreated thee ill. They now 
await my fate, and if thou forgivest me, they will 
come and make peace with thee and surrender them- 
selves to thee ” (Yalk. ii. 151). Shimei afterward 
became Solomon’s instructor, and restrained him 
from marrying the daughter of Pharaoh, so that she 
did not become the wife of the King of Israel until 
after his teacher’s death (Midr. Teh. to Ps iii 1* 
Bor. 8a). 

w - B - J. Z. L. 

2. Second son of Gershon and grandson of Levi 
(Ex. vi. 17; Num. iii. 18; I Oliron. vi. 17). The 
family of the Shimeites, as a branch of the tribe of 
Levi, is mentioned in Nmn. iii. 18. 21; I Oliron. 
xxiii. 7, 10, 11 (“Shimei” in verse 9 is evidently a 
scribal error); and in Zech. xii. 13. 


3. Name of a number of persons about whom 
little or nothing is known: friend -of David 

(I Kings i. 8) ; a brother of David, called also Sbam- 
mah, Shimeah, and Shimea (I Sam. xvi. 9, xvii 
IS; II Sam. xiii. 8, xxi. 21; I Chron. ii. 13 xx 7 /. 

one of bolomon’s prefects, over the district of Ecu! 

jamin (I Kings iv. 18); a grandson of Simeon, who 
is described as the father of many sons and daugli- 
ters, and whose clan dwelt in southern Palestine (I 
Chron. iv. 26, 27); a grandson of Jecouiah and 
brother of Zerubbabel (I Chron. iii. 19); a Reubenite 
(I Chron. v. 4); Levites (I Chron. vi. 29, 42; xxv 
17; II Chron. xxix. 14; xxxi. 12, 13); a Benjamite 
chief (I Chron. viii. 21, R. V. ;comp. ib. v. 13); “the 
Ramatliite,” one of David’s officers (I Chron. xxvii, 
27); a Levite and other Israelites whom Ezra re- 
quired to put away their foreign wives (Ezra x. 28 
33, 38); grandfather of Mordecai (Esth. ii. 5). 
E * G - 11 - v. J. F. JVIcL. 

SHIN (£>>): Twenty-first letter of the Hebrew 
alphabet. Its name appears to be connected with 
slien ” = ‘tooth” (see Alphabet). - The-sigm^ 
represents two sounds: (1) a dental surd sibilant (in- 
dicated by a point on ttys, left horn, and called 
“sin ”), identical with the English surd “s”; and (2) 
a labial surd (marked by a point on the right horn 
^), identical with the English “ sh. ” The distinction 
in sound between “sin” and “samck” is not clear. 
“Shin” interchanges with “sin,” and both these 
(in corresponding Aramaic and Arabic words) with 
dentals and spirants. “ Shin ” occurs rarely as a for- 
mative element, as in the verb-form “ shaf *el.” As a 
numeral (in the later period) it lias the value of 300 
T - I. Bit. 


SHINAR Biblical Data : Name for 

Babylonia occurring eight times in the Old Testa- 
ment. In Gen. x. 10 the beginning of Nimrod’s 
kingdom is said to have been “Babel, and Erecli, 
and Accad, and Calneli, in the land of Shinar.” In 
Gen. xi. 2, Shinar is the site of the tower of Babel; 
in Gen. xiv. 1, 9, the home of Amraphel, now gen- 
erally identified with Hammurabi ; in Dan. i. 1, the 
home of Nebuchadnezzar. The other passages in 
which the name is mentioned (Josh. vii. 21 ; Isa. xi. 
11; Zech. v. 11) add no further information. 

Critical View : It is clear from Gen. x. 10 (J) 

that Shinar was the Hebrew name of a land which 
included both Babylon and Erecli, «.<?., both northern 
and southern Babylonia. Gen. xiv. 1, if Amraphel 
is identical with Hammurabi, also proves that Shinar 
included northern Babylonia. This fact lias made 
it difficult for scholars to agree upon the origin, of 
the name. (1) Lenormant (“Etudes Accadieimes,” 
1873, i. 27) equates with “Sumir,” the old 

Babylonian name for southern Babylonia, supposing 
a more primitive form, “Sungir,” which lie believes 
had survived in “ Singara ” in northern Mesopotamia. 
Jensen (“Zeif. fur Keilsehrlftforschung,” ii. 419 ) and 
Hommel (in Hastings, “ Diet. Bible,” i, 224b) hold to 
this general view, but suggest varying and difficult; 
etymologies. Since 1873 new material has strength- 
ened this identification. I 11 the inscriptions of Ur- 
Nina (De Sarzec, “ Decouvertes en Chaldee,” pi. 4), 
Girsu, the name of a city that afterward formed part; 
of Shirpurla, is spelled “Su-sir ” or “Sun-gir.”' 



391 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Shimei 

Shir ha-Shirim 


While Rogers (“History of Babylonia and Assyria,” 
1900, i. 205) is. content simply to follow Lenormant. 
Radau (“Early Babylonian History,” 1900, pp. 216 
e.t seq.) makes a successful linguistic argument for 
tiie identity of botli Samir and Shinar with Sungir. 

(2) Sayce rejects tills derivation of tlae name 

(“Proc.Soc.Bibl. Arch.” 1896, xviii. 173 et seq.; 
“Patriarchal Palestine,” 1895, pp. 67 et seq.) because 
“ Sumir ” in the cuneiform inscriptions always des- 
ignates southern Babylonia only. He identifies 
Shinar with Sanliar of the El-Amarna tablets (comp. 
Schrader, “K. B.” v.. Nos. 25, 49), which is the 
Sangara of the Asiatic conquests of Tliotlimes III. 
(comp. W. Max Muller, “ Asien und Europa,” 1893, 
p. 279). Sayce does not explain how the use of this 
uarne was enlarged to denote southern Mesopotamia, 
[t would seem much more simple to explain how 
“ Sumir,” in the common phrase “ Sumir and Accad ” 
(by which all Babylonia was designated), was adopt- 
ed by a foreign people as the name of the whole 
country. 

(8) The view of Cheyne (Cheyue and Black, 
w Encyc. Bibl.”), that “Shinar” is a corruption of 
“Geshur,” is a conjecture iu which few scholars can 


concur. 


Bibliography: hi addition to the literature already cited, 
Holzinger, Genesis , in K. H. C. 1898, p. 99 : Gunkel, Genesis, 
inNowack, Hand-Kommentar, pp. 80 
ti. G. II. 


SHINNTJY HA-SHEM : The custom of chan- 
ging a person’s name, as a tribute to his achieve- 
ments, or as a sign that his condition will be im- 
proved, or particularly as an aid to his recovery 
from illness. Abram’s name was changed to “ Abra- 
ham ” = “the father of many nations” (Gen. xvii. 
4), and that of Sarai (“my princess”) to “Sarah” (a 
priucess, in general); Jacob's name was changed to 
“Israel” = “a mighty prince” ( ib . xxxii. 28); Pha- 
raoh called Joseph “ Zaphnatli-paaneah ” (= “the re- 
vealer of secrets”; £5. xli. 45); Ptoses changed the 
name of Iloshca to “ Jehoshua” (- “ Yawn saves”; 
Num. xiii. 16) ; Solomon was called by Nathan “ Jed- 
idiah” (God’s beloved) “because of the Lord” (II 
Sam. xii. 25). Pharaoh-uechoh appointed Eliakim 
king of Jerusalem and changed his name to “ Jehoi- 
akim ” (= “the Lord’s confirmed ” ; II Kings xxiii. 
84); the King of Babylon made Mattaniah king 
of Jerusalem and called him “Zedekiah” (=“tlie 
Lord’s right man”; ib. xxiv. 17); and the names 
of Daniel and his comrades were changed to Chal- 
daic ones (Dan. i. 7). Isaiah predicted that Jerusa- 
lem would be called by a new name, “Heplizi-bali ” 
(= “My delight is in her” ; Isa. lxii. 4). 

The names of wicked persons were a curse in the 
commiuiity ; and the righteous were called “by an- 
other name ” (ib. lx v. 15) ; i.e., the idea prevailed that 
the name of a wicked person exerted an influence 
on the moral character and destiny of any person 
who adopted it, and consequently that a inan might 
be judged by the name he bore (Ber. 7a). For this 
reason Rabbenu Tam corrected the text in the Tal- 
mud from “Absalom” to “Abislialom,” and from 
“Shebua” (the Jerusalemite) to “Sliakna” (&OD&? 
for because Shebua was wicked (see Isa. 

xxii. 15-19; Tos. to Ket. 104a Is.v. to Shab. 

12a 0.?\ fconcy], and to Yoma 38b [s.v. nS'I])* 


The change of name as a cure for illness is derived 
from the Talmud: “Four things annul the decree 
that seals a person’s fate; namely, 
As a Cure alms, prayer, change of name, and 
for change of deeds” (R. H. 16b). R. 

Illness. Judali lie-.EIa.sicl (1 3tli cent. } sa3 r S if Olie 

IS dangerously SICK Ins name siiaii be 
changed, which may reverse the decree (“Sefer 
Hasidim,” No. 245). R. Perez claims, that the 
change of name for the benefit of a jiatient is in con- 
formity with a takkanah of the Geonim (“Bet 
Yosef” on Tur Eben lia-‘Ezer, § 129; R. Jeroham, 

“ Toledot Adam we-Hawah,” i., § 28 [ed. Kopys, 
1808, p. 182]). The new name for the patient is 
selected from the Bible, the first name that appears 
on a given page being adopted. R. Israel Bruna 
in his responsa (No. 101) protested against the 
adoption of the name of a wicked person when such 
was the first found, and ordered it to be passed over 
for the first righteous one, citing “ The memory of 
the just is blessed: but the name of the wicked 
shall perish ” (Prov. x. 7). 

The underlying principle in changing the name of 
one who is ill is the assumption that the former 
name, under which the divine decree was issued, 
becomes non-existent, and that, when a new name 
is given him, he becomes another person, in regard 
to whom the decree has no force. Iu a later period 
the original name was retained and another" added 
to it, usually one signifying the recovery of the 
patient. The most popular additional names were 
“ Hayyim ” (life), “Shalom” (peace), “Raphael” 
(God heals), “Azriel” (God helps), or some other 
name, selected from the Bible. 

The additional name is usually given in the syna- 
gogue when the scroll is taken out of the Ark and 
unrolled, the first righteous name that is read being 
selected; the formula of prayer is as follows: 

“When the Righteous Judgment has already decreed death 
from illness, hehold, our saintly rabbis said: Three things 
annul the decree ; and one of them is chan- 
The ging the name of the patient. We therefore, in 

Formula, conformity with their advice, have changed 
the name of [mention here the former name] 
to the name of [mention the adopted name], who is now an- 
other person. The decree shall not have any force with re- 
gard to him. Together with the change in name, so shall His 
decree be reversed from justice to mercy, from death to life, 
from illness to perfect health for [mention adopted name]. In 
the name of all the sacred names mentioned in this Sefer Torah, 
and in the name of the angels, the messengers of all healing 
and salvation, O Lord, send speedily a perfect cure to [adopted 
name], that his days and years maybe prolonged in happiness, 
in goodness, and in peace, for ever and ever. Amen, Selah.” 


Bibliography: Kerem Hemed , iv. 127, 128; Levinsohn, JSIc- 
/core Mini i ctaim, § 81 Landshuth, Seder Bikkur Hohm, In- 
troduction, § 7, also p. 23. t Tk t? 




SHIP, SHIP-BTJIIiDER, AND SHIPPING. 

See Navigation. 

SHIR HA-SHIRIM (CANTICLES) KAB- 
BAH : Haggadic mid rash on Canticles, quoted by 
Kashi under the title “ Midrash Shir ha-Shirim ” (com- 
mentary on Cant. iv. 1, viii. 11). It is called also 
Agadat Hazita, from its initial word “IJazita” 
(R, Nathan, in the ‘“Aruk,” s.v. or MidrasH 

Hazita (Nahmanides, commentary on Ex. iv. 28; 
Simon Duran, “Taslibaz,” part iii., No. 37). Simon 



Shir ha-Shirim 
Shirah Hadashah 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


292 


Duran, in quoting this midrash, sa 3 T s that it is a 
Palestinian haggadic collection (*&.)- This undoubt- 
edly correct view is supported by 
Composed a number of circumstances. The 
in sources which it uses directly are 
Palestine. Palestinian. No direct borrowing 
from the Babylonian Talmud ap- 
pears, and, although it contains many interpreta- 
tions and comments found in this source, most of 
them vary greatly in form, the agreement being 
confined to their contents. This agreement, more- 
over, may be explained on the ground that the com- 
ments and interpretations in question are very old, 
and were included both in the Babylonian Talmud 
and in the Palestinian sources used by the redactor 
of the Shir ha-Sliirim midrasli (see below; comp, also 
Theodor, “Zur Composition. der Agadischen Homi- 
lien,” in “Monatsschrift,” 1879, p. 343). 

The date of composition of this midrash can not 
be exactly determined. Canticles was interpreted 
haggadically at a very early time, and certain rules 
for this haggadic interpretation were formulated, as, 
for instance, the rule adopted by Judah ben Ila‘i 
(Cant. R. i. 12, ii. 4) and the rule (in Slieb. 35b) for 
the interpretation of the name for Solomon used in 
Canticles. Upon these rules are based the interpreta- 
tions of the verses of Canticles which are contained in 
the Seder ‘Olam, in the Sifra, and, with especial fre- 
quency, in the Sifre and the Mekilta, as well as in 
the Talmud, which has an exegesis for almost every 
verse of the book. The majority of the interpreta- 
tions in the last-named work were taken from public 
lectures on Canticles, or from various haggadah col- 
lections (comp. ‘Er. 21b). Some scholars (Weiss, 
“Dor,” iii. 263-264; and Jellinek, in a letter to Theo- 
dor, reprinted in “Monatsschrift,” 1879, pp. 237 
seq.), moreover, have assumed a direct connection 
between such ancient discourses and the present 
Canticles Rabbali, regarding this midrash as an old 
collection of these discourses, increased by various 
later additions. 

Jellinek thinks il.c.) that there were several hag- 
gadic midrasliim to Canticles, each of which inter- 
preted the book differently, one referring it to the 
exodus from Egypt, another to the revelations on 
Mt. Sinai, and a third to the Tabernacle or the Tem- 
ple ; and that all these midrasliim were then com- 
bined into one work, which, with various additions, 
forms the present Shir ha-Shirim Rab- 
A bah. This midrash is, according to 
Combined Jellinek, older than the Pesikta de- 
Work. Rab Kaliana, which, he holds, has bor- 
rowed entire passages from it. The- 
odor has shown, however, that it was composed at 
a later date than the Pesikta de-Rab Kaliana, from 
which it has borrowed entire passages. The author 
of Shir ha-Shirim Rabbali, intending to compile a 
running midrash on Canticles, took the comments 
on the several verses from the sources which he had 
at hand, and the changes and transpositions which 
he made are similar to those made by the redactor 
of the Talk lit; in fact the midrasli is similar in many 
ways to' a yalkut. This method of redaction ex- 
plains the great difference in tlie length and the 
character of the several comments; and it ex- 
plains also the fact that the same comments are 


repeated two or three times for the same or similar 
verses. 

Besides the Jerusalem Talmud (which was the 
chief source) and the Pesikta de-Rab Kaliana, the 
direct sources used by the redactor are Genesis 
Rabbali and Leviticus Rabbali. The material bor- 
rowed from these sources constitutes a large part of 
the midrasli; and it throws a light also on the redac- 
tor’s method. The remainder of the midrasli must 
have originated in midrasliic collections which are no 
longer extant, and from which the redactor borrowed 
all the comments that are found also in 
The the Seder ‘01am, the Sifra, the Sifre, 
Sources, and the Mekilta, since it is not prob- 
able that he borrowed from these ear- 
lier midrasliim. The midrasli is older than Pesikta 
Rabbati, since the latter borrowed passages directly 
from it. As the Pesikta Rabbati was composed about 
845 c.e., Shir ha-Shirim Rabbali must have been 
composed about the end of the eighth century. The 
midrasli has been edited and commented together 
with the other Rabbot, and has been edited sepa- 
rately and supplied with a commentary, entitled 
“ Kanfe Yonah,” by Baruch Etelsohn (Warsaw, 
1876). 


Bibliography: Zunz, G. V. pp. 274-276, Frankfort-on-the- 
Main, 1892; J. Theodor, Zur Composition c lev Agaclischen 
Homilicn , in Monatsschrift , 1879, pp. 337-35U, 408-418, 455- 
462 ; 1880, pp. 19-23 ; Weiss, Dor , iii. 263-264. 


w. b. J. Z. L. 

SHIR HA-SHIRIM (CANTICLES) ZUTA : 

Midrasli, or, rather, homiletic commentary, on Can- 
ticles; referred to in the various Yalkutim and by 
the ancient Biblical commentators as “ Midrasli Shir 
ha-Shirim,” or “ Agadat Shir ha-Shirim.” Recently 
the De Rossi Manuscript No. 541, at Parma, was 
discovered by S. Buber to contain, among other 
things, midraskim on four of the five “megillot”: 
Canticles, Ruth, Lamentations, and Ecclesiastes; 
these he published (Berlin, 1894) under the title of 
“ Midrash Zuta, ” to distinguish them from the “ Mid- 
rash Rabbali.” At the same time the midrasli to 
Canticles only was published by S. Schecliter, under 
the title “Agadat Shir lia-Shirim” (“J. Q. R.” vi.- 
viii. ; reprinted, Cambridge, 1896). Shir ha-Shirim 
Zuta, or Agadat Shir ha-Shirim, does not at all re- 
semble Shir ha-Shirim Rabbali, or Midrasli Hazita. 
The former is an uneven homiletic commentary on 
the whole text, and does not contain any proems; 
some verses are treated at length, while others are 
dismissed very briefly, sometimes only one word 
being discussed. 


Although the two collections contain a few par- 
allels, the Shir ha-Shirim Rabbali does not contain 
those numerous liaggadot which especially distin- 
guish the second collection. In this latter they oc- 
cur in the first verse of the first chapter, in the fourth 
verse of the same chapter, in the fifth verse of the 
same chapter (a long homily on Char- 
Character- ity), and in verses 2 and 6 of the fifth 
istics. chapter (Messianic interpretations). 

The Messianic liaggadot may be de- 
rived from the Pirke Rabbi Eli‘ezer; the name of 
R. Eleazar (or Eliezer) quoted in the part on Cant, 
v. 2, as well as the ascription of a Messianic apoca- 
lypse to Simeon b. Shetali, is in support of this 
supposition. Other passages are found in the Baby- 



293 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Shir ha-Shirim . 
Shirah. Hadashah 


Ionian Talmud, the Pesiktot, the Midrasli Rabbot, 
the Mekilta, and the Abot de-Rabbi Natan. 

Agadat Shir ha-Shirim is mainly quoted by 
Simeon Kara, in liis “Yalkut ShinToni,” and by 
Maeliir b. Abba Mari, in his “Yalkut lia-Makiri.” 
The former used this midrash as a basis for his 
Yalkut on Canticles, but he quotes it also in his Yal- 
kut on the other Biblical books. The name ‘Pesikta 
Rabbati ” has been applied, in the Yalkut, to the 
Shir ha-Shirim Rabbah (called sometimes “Midrasli 
Hazita ”), while this midrasli is always referred to as 
••Midrasli Shir ha-Shirim.” Simeon Kara may have 
applied this name to the Shir ha-Shirim Rabbah 
because the two works were bound together; on 
the other hand, the occurrence of the name may be 
due to an error of the copyist. This midrash is 
quoted in the Yalkut, as has been said above, in 
reference to other books {e.g., Lev. 475; Josh. 23; 
Isa. 288; el al). It was frequently used also by 
Machir b. Abba Mari, who quotes it nineteen times 
under the title of “Ilaggadat Shir lia-bhiiim, 
in liis “Yalkut ha-Makiri,” on Isaiah 

Name. alone (published by 1. Spira, Berlin, 
1893). It is quoted also by other an- 
cient authorities. Judah b. Barzilai, in his commen- 
tary on the “Sefer Yezirah” (p. 128, Berlin, 1885), 
refers to it as “ Agadta Shir ha-Shirim,” and quotes 
it in regard to the seventy eulogistic names given by 
God to'* Israel. Further, Nalimanides (in “ Torat ha- 
Adam,” p. 102c) cites it as “Midrasli Shir ha-Slii- 
rim ” ; so does his pupil Azriel, in the commentary 
on Canticles generally ascribed to Kalimanides him- 
self; Abraham, the son of Maimonides (see Neu- 
bauer, “Kobe? ‘Al Yad,” iv. 63, Berlin, 1888), calls 
it “ Agadat Shir ha-Shirim ” ; Recanati, in his com- 
mentary on the Pentateuch (on Bella aloteka), cites 
the same passage quoted by J udah b. Barzilai. 

It may be added that passages of this midrasli are 
found in Eleazar b. TobialTs “Lekah Tob ” and 
Isaac ibu SaliulalTs “Mashal lia-Kadmoni.” Al- 
though these do not mention the name of this mid- 
rash, Sckecliter supposes that they probably used 


ancient homiletic commentaries, among others the 
Agadat Sliir lia-Shirim. Buber supposes that this 
mid rash lias been shortened by the copyists, for 
R. Hillel, in his commentary on Sifre (see Fried- 
mann, notes to Sifre, Num. 139), quotes from a 
Midrasli Shir lia-Shirim, a passage which is found 
neither in the Shir ha-Shirim Rabbah nor in the Shir 
ha-Sliirim Zuta. Nor is the passage quoted from 
the Midrash Shir ha-Shirim by Menahem Zioni (“ Ziy- 
yuni,” p. 57c, Cremona, 1581) found in this midrash. 
Scliechter endeavors to prove that the pav} r etan 
Solomon b. Judah lia-Babli, of the tenth century, 
had this midrash before him, and wove several pas- 
sages from it into liis piyyutim. Accepting this 
theory, Scliechter thinks that it was composed not 
later than the middle of the tenth century ; he like- 
wise points out resemblances to the various Mes- 
sianic and eschatological midrasliim published by 
Jellinek (“B. II.” vols. i.-vi.), and especially to the 
“Perek R. Yosliiyahu ” (“B. H.” vi. 112 et seq.), and 
holds that a date still earlier might be ascribed to 
this midrasli, namely, the first half of the ninth cen- 
tury. But considering that the Pirke Rabbi Eli‘e- 
zer, which was composed about the middle of the 
ninth century, is one of the sources of the Agadat 
Shir ha-Shirim, so early a date must be rejected. 


Bibliography: S. Buber, in the introduction to bis edition of 
tbe Midrash Zuta ; S. Scbecbter, Aggadat Shir ha-Shimm, 
Cambridge, 1896. - , r ,, 

av. b. M. Sel. 


SHIRAH HADASHAH (“ A new song sang 
the redeemed ”) : A passage which illustrates the in- 
fluence of the Midrash on the development of syna- 
gogal music. The Biblical prescription of circum- 
cision as a qualification for partaking of the paschal 
lamb (Ex. xii. 43, 48) led the ancient expositors 
(comp. Ex. R. xix.) to point to the rite of the cove- 
nant as the initial step of that loyal acknowledg- 
ment of divine sovereignty which culminated in the 
song at the sea (Ex. xvi. 18). In the spirit of the 
Midrash, Judah ha-Levi’s “ge’ullah” hymn “Yom 
le-Yabbasliali ” (comp. Zunz, “Literaturgesch.” p. 


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205), for the seventh day of Passover, the anniver- 
sary of the passing through the Red Sea, sings of 
circumcision in connection with the song of Moses. 
Accordingly, as throughout the Middle Ages and 
down to recent times circumcision took place in the 
synagogue (see illustration in Jew. Encyc. v. 129), 
this hymn was chanted during the morning service 
preceding the ceremony, particularly on the Sab- 
ha th. 


During the same service the “ mokel, ” or operato 
if present in the synagogue, as a special honor wf 

allowed to lead an antiplional chant, the alternai 

verses being recited by the congregation, froi 
the. point where the words “ And Thou didst mat 


[lit. “cut 77 ] a covenant 77 (Neh. ix. 8) occur to the 
end of the passage Ex. xiv. 30-xv. 18, which imme- 
diately follows. In these practises originated in the 
eighteenth century a special jubilant intonation for 
the hazzan, who sang in festal tone the sentences 
immediately preceding the ‘“Amklali” (see Sue- 
moneh ‘Esreii) from the words “Shirah hadashali,” 
where the passage already chanted by the mohel and 


alluded to in Judah ha-Levi’s hymn is again briefly 
quoted. 

The transcription herewith presents the festal 
melody in the London tradition. The more elabo- 
rate version peculiar to Berlin is given in Marksokn 
and Wolf, “ Auswakl Alter Hebraisclier Synagogal- 
Melodieen , ” No. 26, Leipsic, 1875, without, how- 
ever, reference to the occasions when it was sung. 

a- F. L. C. 

SHIRAH, PEREK (PIRKE) : Chapter of 
song and praise to God by heavenly and earthly 
bodies, and by plants and dumb creatures. It is 
composed of Scriptural verses, one or two for each 

creature enumerated; and it is divided, according 
to subjects, into six parts, one for each of the six 
week-days, though the whole chapter is repeated 
every day at the morning prayer, except on Sab- 
bath, when the “Shir lia-Yihud” is substituted. 
The reciting of “Perek Shirah,” however, is not 
obligatory, and is not observed generally, except by 
very pious Israelites. 

“Perek Shirah,” as is shown in part by the strange 



295 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Shirah Hadashah 
Shirah, Pere^ 


Dames of tlie birds mentioned therein, is evidently 
an ancient baraita, which lias been more or less 
modified in the course of time. There are unmis- 
takable traces of it in the Talmud, though it is not 
specifically referred to. The Talmud mentions that 
•m G a g of an unclean fowl is forbidden by tlie 
Mosaic law, and quotes “bat ha-ya‘anah ” (“ the 
daughter, or issue, of the fowl”; Lev. xi. 16). 
This interpretation is disputed by counter-quoting, 
'Hie beasts in the field shall honor me, the dragons 
and the owls ” (“ u-benot yahinah ” ; Isa. xliii. 20), and 
it is argued : “ Surely an egg ean not be classed among 
those that may say the 4 Shirali * l ” (Hul. 64b). 

It. Isaac Nappalia asserted that the crushing de- 
feat of Sennacherib’s army before Jerusalem was 
due to the shirali of the beasts of the field, to whose 
voices the Almighty opened the cars of tlie Assyr- 
ians “At the noise of the tumult the people fled; 
at the lifting up of thyself [by the recitation of the 
“ Shirali”] the nations were scattered” (Isa. xxxiii. 

3. Sanh. 95b). In I Sam. vi. 12, referring to tlie 
kine that drew the cart in which the 
Perhaps holy Ark was conveyed from the 
Referred to country of the Philistines, R. Meir 
in the interprets “ wa - yislisharnah ” (they 
Talmud, look the straight way) as “they [tlie 
kine] sang the ‘ Shirali ’ ” ; according 
to one rabbi, it was Psalm xcviii. ; while R. Isaac 
Nappalia puts into their mouths verses in classical 
Hebrew (‘ Ab. Zarali 24b). R. Eleazar and R. Simeon 
assert that the ears of grain say their shirali in the 
month of Nisan : “ The valleys also are covered over 
with corn; they shout for joy, they also sing” (Ps. 
Ixv. 14 [A. Y. 18] ; R. II. 8a). R. Mana b. Tanlium 
could determine the time of day when the waters of 
the Great Sea (the Mediterranean) rendered praise 
to their Creator, for they are then sweet (Yer. ‘Ab. 
Zarali ii. 8). In Josh. x. 18 the words “wa-yiddom 
ha-shemesli ” (“ And tlie sun stood still, and the moon 
stayed”) are interpreted, “The sun ceased to say the 
‘Shirali’” (comp. “ wa-yiddom” = “ was silent” ; 
Lev. x. 8), for Joshua replaced tlieir shirali by his 
own (‘Ab. Zarali 25a, Raslii). 

Evidence of the existence of “Perch Shirali” in 
the geonic period is given by the Karaite Solomon 
b. Jeruham, the contemporary of Saadia Gaon (892- 
942). Salomon, in his commentary on Ps. cxix. 51, 
criticizes the Talmudic rabbis for their “invention 
in attributing the “ Shirali ” to the ass, and quotes 
from I Chron. xxix. 11 (Pinskcr, “Likkute Kadmo- 
niyyot,” Appendix, p. 184). The tosaflsts quote 
tlie geonic responsa, asserting that tlie Palestinians 
recite Kedushshah only on the Sabbath, to take the 
place of the shirali of the living creatines in tlie 
Merkabah and of tlie six-winged angels: the latter 
have one w r ing for each week-day, but none for the 
Sabbatli ; and when tlie Sabbath ar- 
Early ri ves the angels plead that tney- na^e no 

References. wing for that day. But the Almighty 
assures them that there is another 
wing, which recites the “ Shirali ” : “ From the utter- 
most part [“ kenaf ” = “ wing "] of tlie earth have 
we heard songs” (Isa. xxiv. 16; Tos. Sanh. 87b). 

The ascription of the shirali to dumb animals is 
explained in one of two ways: the first is that tlieii 
angels (each creature has a special guardian angel, 


or “ mazzal ” [constellation], above) speak for them; 
the second is that the “ Shirali ” is in the hearts of 
the creatures, and represents wliat they would say 
if they could speak (Tos. ‘Ab. Zarali 17a; see com- 
mentary on “En Ya‘akob,” ib.). 

Joseph Albo (1380-1444) highly values “Perek 
Shirali,” and explains why the Rabbis asserted that 
every one who recited it daily would become a mem- 
ber of the world to come ” ; he regarded the sayings 
as wise and excellent, as tending to elevate man s 
moral conduct: “Who teacheth us from the beasts 
of the earth, and maketh 11s wiser from the fowls of 
heaven” (Job xxxv. 11, Hebr.). R. Johanan said: 
“If these things were not prescribed iii the Torah, 
we could learn decency from the cat; the ant would 
preach against robbery, and the dove against incest” 
(‘Er. 100b). Albo quotes the shirali of the ant: 

“ Who givetli food to all flesh : for his mercy endur- 
eth for ever” (Ps. cxxxvi. 25). From this, he says, 
each may learn to be content with his lot, to he in- 
dustrious and saving, like the ant. The shirali of 
the dove teaches that “in the clefts of the rocks” 
(Cant. ii. 14) one may find examples of true love and 
virtue (“Tkkarim,” iii. 1). 

Tlie preface to “Perek Shirah,” which declares 
that every one who recites it daily is sure to be a 
“ben ‘olam ha-ba” (an inhabitant of the world to 
come), is credited in certain editions to R. Eliezer 
tlie Great, and also to Rabbi. In another edition 
these names are omitted. The preface 
The is probably erroneously copied from 
Preface. R. Joshua b. Levi: “Whosoever re- 
cites the ‘ Shirah * in this world is en 
titled to recite it in the world to come” (Sanh. 91b; 
comp. Tan., Zaw)-in which “Shirah,” however, 
refers to the shirah of Moses at the Red Sea, and 
not to “ Pereli Shirah.” 

Another preface to “Perelj: Shirah” consists of 
the midrash concerning King David and the frog. 
David, on completing bis Book of Psalms, is said to 
have boasted of his beautiful hymns; whereupon a 
frog appeared and exclaimed : “ Do not he so proud ; 
indeed, I sing more beautifully than thou” (Yalk., 
Ps. 889). 

“Perek Shirah” ends with the “Song of the 
Dogs,” to which is appended the following midrash: 
R. Joshua, a disciple of R. Banina b. Dosa, fasted 
eighty-five days, imploring a divine explanation 
of the shirah of the dogs. “Is it possible,” he 
argued, “ that the greedy dogs, ‘ which can never 
have enough ’ [Isa. lvi. 11], shall he honoied by 
being permitted to say the ‘ Shirah ’ ? ” An angel 
then said : “ R. Joshua, why this long fasting V This 
is the decree of the Almighty, the secret of which 
has been revealed only to Habakkuk, but which I 
will now reveal to thee, since tliou art a disciple of 
a great man: The dogs are thus privileged for the 

reason that against tlie children of Israel in Egypt 

there did ‘not a dog move his tongue ' ps*. n- 
Furthermore, the dog’s excrement is used in tan- 
nin 0, parchment for the Sefer Torah, phylacteries, 
and mezuzot. Finally, pay heed to the pi 0 verb, 
‘ Whoso keepetli his mouth and his tongue kcepeth 
his soul from troubles’” (Prov. xxi. 28; Yalk., 

Ex. 187). ^ . 

R. Isaac Luria recognized the worth of Perek 



Shirah, Perek 
Shittim 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


298 


Sliirah ” from a cabalistic standpoint (Azulai, “Sliem 
ha-Gedolim,” ii., No. 147). Moses b. Joseph di 
Trani, in his “Bet Eloliim,” credits King David with 
the authorship of “Perek Shirah.” Trani’s com- 
mentary on it comprises the third part 
In the of his “Slia‘ar ha-Tkkarim” (Venice, 
Cabala. 157b). Other commentaries on it 
are: “Mesapperim Teliillot,” by Ha- 
naniali Jagliel of Moncilisi; “ Sifte Renanot, ” by his 
son Gamaliel of Norzi (Mantua, 1661); “Siah Yiz- 
hak ” and “Sha'ar Shimeon,” by the brothers Isaac 
and Simeon b. Meir (Venice, 1664); “Sedeh Bokim,” 
by Joseph Darshan of Posen (Frank fort-on-the- 
Main, 1679) ; “ Sha‘ar ha-Shamayim, ” by Isaiah Ilur- 
witz (Amsterdam, 1717); “Pi Eliyaliu,” by Elijah 
Deutsch, who credits “ Perek Shirah ” to David and 
Solomon (Altona, 1735); “‘Abodat Mikdasli,” by 
Menahem de Lonzano (Leghorn, 1767); “Likkute 
Amarim,” by Abraham ben Israel of Brody (Zol- 
kiev, 1802); “Kenaf Renanim,” by Enoch Zundel 
Lnria (Krotoscliin, 1842): “Tub Ta‘am,” by S. J. 
Abramowitscli (Jitomir, 1875). 

# The various editions of “Perek Shirah” differ a 
little in the order followed and in the quotations 
given. The following list is from Baer’s siddur, 

“ ‘Abodat Yisrael ” (p. 547, Rodelheim, 1868). 


I the first and second calls he repeats Ps. xxiv. 7, 8 , 

1 and 9, 10; in the third, “Arise, ye righteous, to stud}' 
the Law, and win double compensation in the world 
to come”; in the fourth, Gen. xlix. 18; in the fifth 
Prov. vi. 9; in the sixth, Prov. xx. 13; in the sev- 
enth, Ps. cxix. 126. In other editions the cock’s 
calls are limited to four. To understand the appli- 
cation of many of the quotations it is necessary’ to 
consult the ingenious explanations of the com- 
mentaries noted above. 

w. B. J. D. E. 

SHIRAZ: City of Persia; capital of the prov- 
ince of Fars. It was founded by Mohammed, 
brother of Al-Hajjaj, in the year 74 of the Hegira 
(= 693 c.E.). According to traditions current in 
Persia, Jews settled at Shiraz at an early period, 
but the exact date is not known. In the twelfth 
century there were, according to Benjamin of 
Tudela (“Itinerary,” ed. Asher, i. 82), 10,000 Jews 
in the city. Chardin, who visited Shiraz in the 
second half of the seventeenth century, says (“ Voy- 
ages en Perse,” pp. 446-447) that the Jews there 
were employed in the manufacture of wine for Euro- 
pean companies which had bought the privilege of 
wine-making. He adds that the Jews, in common 


“Perek Siiiraii.” 


8 . 

9. 

10 . 

11 . 

12 . 

13. 

14. 

15. 

16. 

17. 

18. 

19. 

20. 
21 . 
22 
5a 

24. 


26. 

27. 

28. 
29. 


Creatures. 


I. 


Heavens.. 

Earth 

Hay 

Night 

Sun 


Moon ... 
Stars . . . 


Higher clouds . 
Lower clouds. . 
Mist, nebula... 

Lightning 

Wind 


Dew 

Rain 

Water.. .. . ....... 

Springs 

Rivers 

Seas. 

Leviathan 

Sea-monsters 

Fishes 

Gan k Eden 

Ge-hinnom 

Wilderness 

Fields 


Scriptural 

Quotations.* 


II. 


Vegetables Ps. Ixv. 11. 

Ears of wheat Ps. cxxx. 1. 

Ears of barley | Ps. cii. 1. 

Other grain i Ps. Ixv. 14. 


Ps. xix. 2; Isa. 

xxiv. 16. 

Ps. xxiv. 1. 

Ps. xix. 3. 

Ps. xcii. 3. 

Hab. iii. 11; Isa. 
lx. 1. 

Ps. civ. 19. 

Dan. xii. 3; Nell, 
ix. 6. 

Job xxx vii. 11. 
Jer. x. 13. 

Ps. xviii. 12. 

Ps. xcvii. 4. 

Jer. x. 12; Isa. 

xliii. 6. 

Hos. xiv. 6. 

Ps. lxviii. 10. 

Jer. x. 10. 

Ps. lxxxvii. 7. 

Ps. xcviii. 8. 

Ps. xciii. 4. 

Ps. exviii. 1. 

Ps. cxlviii. 7. 

Ps. xxix. 3. 

Cant. iv. 16. 

Ps. evii. 9. 

Isa. xxxv. 1. 

Prov. iii. 19. 


Creatures. 


Trees 

Vine 

Fig-tree 

Pomegranate 

Palm-tree 

Apple-tree 


III. 

Reptiles 

Reptiles, rams 

Frogs 

Snake 

Scorpion 

Mole 

Cat 

Rat 

Lizard 

Fly 


Spider 

Ant 

Locust 

Bird of the vineyard 

IV. 

Cock 

Hen 

Dove 


Scriptural 

Quotations. 


Goose 

Wild goose 

Eagle 

Stork 

Gier-eagle 

Raven 


Ps. xcvi. 12, 13. 
Isa. Ixv. 8. 
Prov. xxvii. 18. 
Cant. vi. 3. 

Ps. xcii. 13. 
Cant. ii. 3. 


Ps. civ. 31. 

Ps. cxlix. 2. 

Ps. cxiii. 2. 

Ps. cxlv. 14. 

Ps. cxlv. 9. 

Ps. cl. 6. 

Ob. i. 4. 

Ps. xxx. 2. 

Ps. lviii. 9. 

Isa. xl. 6, 8 ; lvii, 
19. 

Ps. cl. 5. 

Ps. exxxvi. 25. 
Isa. xxv. 1. 

Ps. cxxi. 1. 


Prov. vi. 9. 

Ps. exxxvi. 25. 
Cant. ii. 14; Isa, 
xxxviii. 4. 

Ps, cv. 2. 

Isa. xl. 3; Jer. 

xvii. 7. 

Ps. lix. 6. 

Isa. xl. 2. 

Zech. x. 8. 

Job xlviii. 41. 


Creatures. 


Starling 

Parrot 

Swallow 

Bird 

Bird in arid country] 
Hunting-bird] 
(“zappi ”). 
Ravenous bird (“ta- 
sk”). 

Young poultry 
(“pargiyyot”). 

Y. 

Clean small cattle. 
Clean large cattle. 
Unclean small cat- 
tle. 

Unclean large cat- 
tle. 

Ox 

Hare 

Horse 

Ass 

Mule 

Camel 


VI. 

Animals .. . 
Elephant . . 

Lion 

Bear 

Wolf 

Fox 

Deer, or steed. . 
Dog 


* Chapters and verses are quoted according to the divisions of the Hebrew Bible. 


Scriptural 

Quotations. 


Isa. Ixi. 9. 

Ps. xxxiii. 2. 
Ps. xxx. 13. 

Ps. lxxxiv. 4. 
Ps. xcvii. 11. 
Isa. xxvi. 4. 

Ps. cxxi. 2. 

Ps. cxxxviii. 4, 


Ex. xv. 11. 

Ps. lxxxi. 2. 

Ps. exxv. 4. 

Ps. cxxviii. 2. 

Ex. xv. 1, 2. 

Ps. lix. 17. 

Ps. cxxiii. 2. 

I Chron. xxix. 11. 
Ps. cxxxviii. 4. 
Jer. xxv. 30. 


Ps. cxix. 68. 
Ps. xcii. 6. 
Isa. xlii. 13. 
Isa. xlii. 1. 
Ex. xxii. 8. 
Jer. xxii. 13. 
Ps. xxxiii. 1. 
Ps. xcv. 6. 


Every quotation is preceded by the formula: 
“The . . . says.” In a few cases several verses are 
quoted continuously. The cock’s shirah is divided 
into seven calls, with a curious preface, as follows: 
“When the Almighty visits the righteous in Gan 
•'Eden, the trees there drop aromatic spices and sing 
praises. Then the cock rises also to praise.” In 


with the other non-Islamic inhabitants, enjoyed re- 
ligious liberty. 

Nevertheless, as is shown by the poems of Babai 
(Hebrew MS. No. 1356, in the BibliothSque Natio- 
nal, Paris), the Jews of Shiraz have always suffered 
under the same persecutions as the Jewish inhabit- 
ants of other Persian towns, particularly in the 



297 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Shirah, Perak 
Shittim 


beginning of the eighteenth century under the first 
kings of the Afghan dynasty. In the nineteenth 
century most of the Jews of Shiraz were gold- 
workers or storekeepers; and their number was esti- 
mated in 1807-9 by Dupre (“Voyage en Perse,” ii. 
9 Paris, 1819) at 400 families. In 1850 Benjamin 
II. found at Shiraz 500 Jews and nine synagogues, 
the chief rabbi being Mulley Israel. Twenty years 
previously (1880), according to the same author, 
there had been in Shiraz 8,000 Jews, but, on account 
of terrible persecutions, 2,500 of them embraced 


Islam. . . _ 

The Jews at this time were mere toys in the hands 
of the capricious viziers. A few months before 
Benjamin’s arrival the vizier had imprisoned Mul- 
ley Elijah, the chief rabbi of Shiraz, leaving him the 
alternative of paying a heavy fine or embracing 
Islam. The amount of the fine being too large for 
him to pay, Elijah consented to become a Moslem; 
but he asked for time in which to prepare himself 
for the new religion. But at the expiration of this 
period he refused to accept the new faith, where- 
upon he was thrown into a dungeon and subjected 
to severe floggings. Fortunately, in the course of 
the civil war then in progress, the victorious rebels 
set free all the prisoners; and Elijah escaped to 
Bagdad. Benjamin states also that almost all of the 
converted Jews were Moslems by profession only, 
and that secretly they condemned Islam. This is 
confirmed by the missionary Henry A. Stern, who 
visited Shiraz in Jan., 1849. He says that all the 
silk-merchants in the Wakil bazaar were proselytes, 
but that, on being pressed by him, they confessed 
their belief in Moses and their contempt for Islam. 
Stern describes the condition of the Shiraz Jews as 
miserable in the extreme. He says, with a touch of 
partiality peculiar to missionaries : “ Their domestic 
life differs little from that of their neighbors. . Early 
marriages are the chief source of their miseiable 
condition. Their occupations are generally mean 
and sordid, such as hawking, telling fortunes, wri- 


ting fictitious amulets, and keeping secret taverns, 
the" latter being their main support.” 

Bibliography: Besides the sources mentioned in the article, 
Benjamin II., Mas'e Yisrciel, pp. 82-84, Lyck, lbo9; Rater, 
Ercllmnde , viii. 852 ; Stern, Dawmngsof Light in the Last, 
pp. 121 et seq., London, 1854. 

SHISHAK (SHESHONK I.) : The first king 
of the twenty-second dynasty of Egypt. His grand- 
father, Sheshonk, descendant of a Libyan soldier, 
married a royal princess of Egypt. His father, 
Namaroti, chief of the Mashauasha, held in addi- 
tion several religious offices. He himself, the il- 
lustrious Shisliak of I Kings (xiv. 25-28) and II 
Chronicles (xii. 2, 9-11), before he had ascended the 
throne, was recognized as king and prince of princes, 
and had conferred on him the command of all the 
Libyan troops. He was officially in rank next 
to the sovereign. Through shrewdly arranged do 
mestie alliances for his sons, and other intrigues, 
he soon succeeded to the throne, as the founder of the 
Bubastite dynasty (Maspcro, “ Struggle of the Ha 
tions,” pp. 769 et seq.). 

Shisliak ’s acquaintance with Jeroboam, a fugitive 
from Solomon, and with Hadad of Edom doubtless 
called his attention to the critical political conditions 


in the little Palestinian buffer state and its neigh- 
bors. As soon as the great Solomon (some think a 
vassal of Egypt) had passed away, there were signs 
of disintegration. Hadad had already returned ; and 
Jeroboam, now domestically allied with the royal 
family of Egypt, made his way to the disaffected 
subjects in the north. The disruption of the king- 
dom had violently taken place, and Jeroboam, 
Egypt’s friend, had become sovereign over, the se- 
ceding tribes of the north. Shisliak thereupon in- 
vaded Palestine in the fifth year of Relioboam, 
King of Judah. Jerusalem seems to have been, 
according to the Books of Kings, his objective. 
He sacked the king’s palace and the royal build- 
ings, and the Temple, His withdrawal seems to 
have been permanent. From his own records, in- 
scribed on the walls of Luxor, by the side of those 
of Rameses II., it appears that in this campaign 
he took 156 places. Megiddo is the northernmost 
point reported, and such places as Rabbath, Taa- 
nach, Mahanaim, Gibeou, Betli-horon, Aijalon, Mig- 
dol, and Sliocho are mentioned. This list of names 
shows that Shisliak must have plundered cities sit- 
uated in both the Southern and Northern Kingdoms, 
and that probably he made this campaign for plun- 
der, as well as for the prevention of the unification 
of all Palestinian peoples under one central power, 
although it has been claimed that he was prompted 
thereto either at the suggestion or invitation of 
Jeroboam to conquer his own foe in the south, or 
simply by the desire to subdue unconquered Canaan- 
itisli cities. There is no further hint as to his re- 
lation to the Hebrews. 


SHISKES, SAUL B. JUDAH LOB ; Polish 
rabbinical scholar; died in Wilna, at an advanced 
age, March 28, 1797. He is chiefly known as the 
author of “Sliebil lia-Yashar,” on Alfasi, only the 
first part of which has been published (Wilna, 1889). 
Shiskes acknowledges in the preface that he was as- 
sisted in his work by Solomon, the younger brother 
of Hayyim of Volozliin, who annotated it and con- 
tributed to some extent to it. Saul had a son named 
Zebi, who died in 1771, aged twenty-two. 
Bibliography : Fuenn, Kinjah Ne’emanah , pp. 166-167, lYil- 


SHITTAH-TREE. See Acacia. 

SHITTIM ; Valley north of the Dead Sea on the 
left bank of the Jordan, in which the children of 
Israel, before tlieir entry into the Promised Land, 
cohabited with the daughters of Moab and Midian. 
The Arabic name of the valley is Wady Sitti Ma- 
ryam, or Wady al-Kar. According to the Biblical 
reports, it was in this valley that the Israelites ^eie 
detained by a plague which raged until the guilty 
Israelites had been hanged, and until Zimri, the son 
of Salu, who had committed immoralities with a 
Midianitisli woman, had been slain by Phinehas, the 
grandson of Aaron (Hum. xxv.). It was from this 
valley, furthermore, that Joshua, somewhat later, 
sent out the two spies to Jericho (Josh. ii. 1) and 
the Israelites went forward to the Jordan (Josh iii. 
1). The prophet Micali (vi. 5) depicts the ingrati- 
tude of Israel toward Yhwh by recalling what hap- 



Shittim-Wood 
Shneor Zalman 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


298 


penerl at Shittiin, and Joel (iii. 18) prophesies that, 
the fountain which comes forth from the Temple 
shall water the valley of Shittim. Driver, in “Bible 
for Schools and Colleges,” explains the place men- 
tioned in II Sam. xv. 23 as being identical with the 
Kidron, in proof of tins' assertion quoting Ezek. 
xlvii. 1-12 and Zech. xiv. 8, in which merely the 
“nalial ” is mentioned. 

According to Yalkut Shim'oni and Num. R. 
xxv. 1, the Shittim River is identical with the river 
whose waters deprave those who drink them and 
from which the Sodomites had drunk. With ref- 
erence to the transgression of Israel it is called “Sit- 
tim” (that which leads to crime) instead of “Shit 
tim ” (the acacia), 

e. g. h. S. O. 


SHITTIM!- WOOD. See Acacia. 

SHI‘UR KOMAH: Esoteric work on the di- 
mensions of the body of God and of His several 
members. It exists apparently only in fragments, 
tlm largest, which often has been taken to be the 
entire work, being included in the“Sefer Raziel.” 
These measurements are ascribed to R. Ishmael, the 
Hermes Trismegistus of this and similar nvystioism, 
who received them secretly from Metatron, the an- 
gel of the Presence. ‘The following translation of se- 
lected passages may serve to give an idea of the 
work : 

“ What are the measurements of God, who is hid- 
den from all creatures? The soles of His feetfill the 
entire world, according to Isa. Ixvi. 1, and their 
height is 3 myriad times 1,000 parasangs; the right 
foot is called 4 parsimya atar ratatat,’ 
Contents, and the left ‘agtamon. ’ The distance 
between the sole and the ankle is 1,000 
myriads and 500 parasangs.” The size of the other 
members,, the knees, thighs, hips, and neck, are 
equally gigantic, and n^stical names are given to 
them also. Seventy names arc enumerated as writ- 
ten on His heart. The description of the trunk is 
followed by that of the head, beard, face, nose, and 
tongue, which reaches from one end of the universe 
to. the other. Divine names are inscribed also on 
His forehead, chiefly in groups of between two and 
flve letters combined from the Tetragrammaton. 
The eye is described in detail; then the shoulders, 
arms, Angers, and toes. A second set of measure- 
ments of the nose, Angers, and other parts, however, 
gives the impression that the work is not altogether 
perfect in its arrangement (“Sefer Raziel,” ed. 
Amsterdam, pp, 37b-38a). R. Ishmael said; “When 
I came and told these things to R. Akiba, lie 
said to me; ‘Whoso knoweth the measurements 
of this our Creator and the hymn of praise to God, 
who is hidden from all creatures, may be assured 
that he will share in the world to come, that the 
bliss of the future life will make him rejoice even 
on earth, and that his days will be prolonged, 
yet only if he repeateth them daity, like a misli- 
nah 3 ” (ib. • see also Bloch, “ Gesch. der Entwicke- 
lung der Kabbala und der Jiidischen Religionsphi- 
losophie,” Treves, 1894). The following passage, 
wJlich conveys the same thought in simpler form’ 
is found in “Raziel ” (p. 37a), in “ Hekalot Rabbati” 
(ed. Jerusalem, xi. 1), and in .Tellinek B. IT.” hi. 91 ; 


the relation between the two recensions is dis- 
cussed by Gaster in “ Monatsscbrift, ” xxxvii. 216): 
“Above the seat of the throne there are 118 myriads, 
iind below it there are likewise 118 myriads; His 
[God’s] height is 237 myriad times 1,000 parasangs; 
the distance between His right arm and His left is 
77 myriads, and between His right eyeball and 
His left 30 myriads; the skull upon His head is o 
myriads, and His crowns 60 myriads.” 

In a discussion of the age and the sources of this 
work a sharp distinction must he drawn between its 
present form and its previous contents. It was known 
under the name of “Slii‘ur Komah ” even before the 
time of Saadia, since Solomon b. Yeru- 
Age and ham (b. 886), Bishop Agobard of Lyons 
Sources. ( c . 820), and an Anglo-Saxon work of 

the eighth century (“Monatsscbrift,” 
viii. and xxxvii.; Zunz, “ Literaturgescli.” p. 606) 
mention it. It was known also in later times, for 
Sherira Gaon and Maimonides studied it, apparently 
to their mystification, the latter declaring it to he 
a forgery. The book, therefore, was redacted in its 
present form by the eighth century at the latest. It 
belongs to the mysticism of the Merkabaii, and 
thus falls in the same category as the Hekalot, the 
Metatron-Enoch, and the Alphabet of R. Akiba. 
Which of these works was the original is a problem 
that defies solution. 

On historical grounds, Zunz, Griitz, Jellinek, and 
Bloch assign the “Shi‘ur Komali” to the geo nic 
period, and in harmony with this Griitz sought to 
trace it to Mohammedanism, finding its source 
among the Mushabbihites. It may be assumed, how- 
ever, that the ancient mysticism of tlie Throne- 
Chariot, which .flourished ‘as early as the first cen- 
tury, did not disappear, but was transmitted from 
generation to generation, and finally, like other 
esotericisms, received literary recognition. As a 
matter of fact, the “Shi‘ur Komah” shows traces of 
ancient Gnosticism, and Gaster is probably correct 
in assigning it to a time preceding the Geonim, this 
view being shared by Kohler and Ginzberg (Jew. 
Encyc. i. 624, s.v. Anthropomorphism, and iii. 462, 
s.v. Cabala). Gaster declares of the “Shi‘ur Ko- 
mah,” a previously unknown passage of which ’he 
published (“Monatsscbrift,” xxxvii. 224 et seq.), that 
it “derives its origin from the theory of the world 
expressed both in the system of Valentinus and 
Marcus and iu the mystical apocalypses and pseud- 
epigrapha of the last century before and the first 
century after the common era. ” As magic and mys- 
ticism are not easily destroyed, it is highly improb- 
able that the tannaitic esotericism perished, and it 
would therefore seem that it merely suffered some 
transformation; it may therefore be inferred that in 
essence the “ShiTir Komah,” like kindred works, 
originated in antiquity. See Gnosticism. 

BmLJOGRxrHY •. Zunz, G. V. 2 d ed., pp. 176 (note F),418 (note 
A L LUeraturpcsch. p. 606; Griitz, in Monatsscbrift, 
y. ln - 103-115, 140-153; L. Low, Gesammcltc Schriften , 
n - 49 f B H vl, p. xxxii.; Gaster, Moimtssehrift , 

xxxvii. 1<9-I8. r ), 213-230; Eisemnenger, Ent cl cclft.cs Jvclcn- 
thum, i., beginning (quotation of two passages of the Shi'nr 
Komah , with a translation). 

w * L. B. 

SHKLOV : Town in the government of Moghi- 
lef, Russia; situated on the right hank of the 
Dnieper. Jews settled there at an early period, 



299 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Shittim-Wood 
Shneor Zalman 


probably in the beginning of the sixteenth century. 

}is location on Hie boundary-line between Russia 
1U1( ] Poland often subjected Shklov to the devasta- 
tes of war, and the Jews, who constituted the 
<r renter • part of the population, were generally the 
greatest sufferers. In 1655 the town was destroyed 
by the Cossacks ; in 1708 it was sacked by the Swedes 
under (general LOwenhaupt ; and in 1812 it was in- 
vaded and pillaged by Napoleon’s army. 

The Jews of Shklov at the present time (1905) 
number about 12,000, or nearly 88 per cent of the 
total population. The city has two synagogues, 
twenty-seven Jewish prayer-houses, a government 
school for Jewish children, a Jewish hospital, and a 
number of other educational and charitable institu- 
tions. The Jews carry on an extensive trade in 
■wheat and other merchandise. 

IUn moor a pity : Entzihl npedicii esiki Slovar ; Geograficcsko- 
Statteticlieslci Sloven 1 Rnss&skoi Imperii, vol. v. . 

ji J. (jrO. 

SHKLOVSKI, ISAAC VLADIMIROVICH : 

Russian journalist; born at Yelisavetgmd in I860. 
He was educated at the gymnasium of his native 
town, and at the age of sixteen began to contribute . 
poems and prose articles to Soutli-Russian period- 
icals. In 1886 lie was charged with being a revolu- 
tionist, and was banished to Sredne Kolymsk in the 
province of Yakutsk, where he remained until 1892. 
There he studied the life of the Yakuts and the lan- 
guages of some of the native tribes. His ethno- 
graphic and beiletristic sketches were published in 
the “Odesskiya Novosti” and in “Russkiya Vyeclo- 
mosti,” a Moscow liberal daily. Shklovski is the au- 
thor of “Nakraiuem Syevero-Vostokve ” (St, Peters- 
burg, 1895), a work in Russian on northeastern 
Siberia, a French translation of which appeared in 
the following year. Since 1896 be has been the Lon- 
don correspondent of the “Russldya Vyedomosti.” 

s. M. R. 

SHKUD: Russian town in the government of 
Kovno, situated at the confluence of the rivers Bor- 
tava and Liwba. The earliest written information re- 
garding the Jews in Shkud is found in their “ pinkes,” 
which begins with the year 1725. No mention is 
made in it of the various persecutions which the 
Jews of that place had endured, but some references 
are made to the martyrs of the community. Thus, 
under the above date, among the elders is mentioned 
a certain Solomon, son of the “ martyr ” Joshua ; and 
under 1753, another Solomon, son of the “martyr” 
Slicbah. From time to time the town w T as vis- 
ited by the representatives of the central kahal, 
who looked into the affairs of the town, and even 
a mu ted assistance if necessary. I11 one instance the 
chief of the Shkud kahal, Rabbi Mikel, was arrested 
because the community could not pay tbe 1,000 
guilders it owed; the representatives of the cen- 
tral kahal, however, immediately ransomed him. 
The Jews of Shkud have always taken a keen in- 
terest in external Jewish affairs. In 1739 an appeal 
was made in behalf of the Jews residing in Pales- 
tine, to which the community of Shkud generously 
responded. 

Among the many prominent rabbis of Shkud was 
Joseph Katzenellenbogen, who came from Brest- 


Litovsk. Shkud has a population of over 3,000, the 
majority of whom are Jews. 

Bibliography : TSntziklapedlcheski Slovar ; Ha-Asif , vi. 125. 
g J. Go. 

SHNEOR ZALMAN BEN BARUCH 

(known also as Zalman Ladier) : Leader of the 
rational Hasidim called “HaBaD” (acrostic formed 
from “Hokmah,” “Binali,” “De‘ali ” = “ Wisdom,” 
“Understanding,” “Knowledge”); born at Liozna, 
government of Moghilef, in 1747 ; died at P} r en, near 
Kursk, and interred at 
Gadiyoch, government 
of Poltava, Dec. 28, 

1812. Little is known 
of that part of Shneor 
Zalman’s life which 
preceded his conver- 
sion to Hasidism. Dis- 
tinguishing himself as 
a Talmudist -while still 
a youth, he, although 
his parents were very 
poor, wed d e d the 
daughter of a wealthy 
resident of Vitebsk, 
tbe marriage enabling 
him to devote himself 
entirely to study. Be- 
sides Talmudic and 
rabbinical lore, be acquired a fair knowledge of 
mathematics, astronomy, philosophy, and Cabala. 

Being of a dreamy and speculative 

Convert nature, be became an adept in Lu- 
to ria’s system of Cabala, and as such 
Hasidism, conceived a fervent admiration for 

Baer of Meseritz, at that time the rep- 
resentative of the system. For twelve years he 
lived in Baer’s house, and took an active pait in the 
propagation of Hasidism. 

In 1772 the struggle between rabbinical Ortho- 
doxy and the adherents of the new sect began, in 
which conflict Shneor Zalman became prominent. 
Together with Mendel of Vitebsk he was sent by 
Baer to Wilna to allay the anger of Elijah Gaon, 
who had launched a ban against the Hasidim. Un- 
fortunately Slineor Zalman and his colleague failed 
to obtain a hearing from the gaon ; and the struggle 
between the contending parties, from which the fu- 
ture leader of the “HaBaD ” was to suffer so cruelly, 
became more bitter. On tbe death of Baer the Hasi- 
dim of White Russia and Lithuania looked upon 
Shneor Zalman as their leader; but from motives of 
modesty he kept in the background until the depar- 
ture of Mendel of Vitebsk to Jerusalem. He then re- 
turned to his native place, Liozna, and assumed the 
leadership. More learned than Baer, he endeavoied 
to place Hasidism on a scientific basis, and advo- 
cated both in his works and in his sermons an intel- 
ligent and not a blind faith, requiring from liis fol- 
lowers a certain mental preparation. In his system 
the “zaddik ” appeared as a mere teacher and not as 
a miracle- worker. Being himself an eminent Tal- 
mudist, Shneor Zalman did not depiecate the stud} 
of the Talmud as was then the tendency of the lead- 
ers of Hasidism in the south, and his followers, who 
assumed the name "HaBaD,” always stood on a 



Shneor Zalman. 



Shneor Zalman 
Sliofar 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


300 


liigher plane of intellectual development than did 
the followers of the latter. However, fearing lest 
in the course of time his followers might assimilate 
with the rabbinical Orthodox, he devised new means 
of withdrawing them from the authority of the rab- 
bis. For example, he composed a new Shulhan 
‘Aruk, introduced a new ritual, recommended special 
prayer-houses, and made other innovations. This 
exasperated the Orthodox, and Shneor Zalman was 
included among the twenty- two representatives of 
Hasidism who were denounced to the government 
as being dangerous agitators and teachers of heresy. 

In consequence of this denunciation 
Denounced Slmeor Zalman was arrested at Liozna 
to the Gov- about the end of 1797 and conveyed 

eminent, in chains to St. Petersburg. For three 
months he remained imprisoned in a 
fortress and was then subjected to an examination 
by a secret commission. Ultimately he was released 
by order of Paul I. 

As was to have been expected, his imprisonment 
won for him the halo of a martyr; and on his 
release his position was considerably strengthened. 
Two years later he was again transported to St. 
Petersburg, upon the further denunciation of his 
antagonists, particularly of Abigdor, formerly rabbi 
of Pinsk. Immediately after the accession to the 
throne of Alexander I., however, Shneor Zalman 
was released, and was given full liberty to proclaim 
his religious teachings, which the government con- 
sidered to be utterly harmless. In 1812, in conse- 
quence of the French invasion, he fled from the 
government of Moghilef, intending to go to that of 
Poltava, but died on the way in a small village near 
Kursk. His descendants, who assumed the family 
name of Shneorssolm, are still the spiritual leaders 
of the Hasidim of White Russia known as those of 
Lyubavicli. 

Shneor Zalman was a prolific writer; but onty a 
few of his works have been published. These are: 

“Tanya,” or “Likkute Amarim,” in 
His Works, two parts, the first containing a scien- 
tific ex position of Hasidism, the second, 
also entitled “Sha‘ar ha-Yihud welia - Emunah,” 
giving a mystical explanation of the “Shema‘ ” (Sla- 
vuta, 1796; Zolkiev, 1799; with a pastoral letter en- 
titled “ Iggeret lia-Kodesli,” Zolkiev, 1805); “Shul- 
han ‘Aruk ” (5 vols., Shklov), a religious code based 
on the “ Tu rim ” and other poskim; “Seder Tefil- 
lot” (2 vols., Kopust, 1816; Shklov, n.d.), a prayer- 
book with a cabalistic commentary ; “ Torah Or ” 
(Kopust, 1837), homilies on Genesis and Exodus; 
“Likkute Torah” (Jitomir, 1848), homilies on the 
three other books of the Pentateuch and on Lamenta- 
tions, Esther, and Canticles, with sermons for New- 
Year, the Day of Atonement, and the eighth day of 
the Feast of Tabernacles; “Hilkot Talmud Torah ” 
(Lemberg, n.d.), on the study of the Law. 

Bibliography : Jellinek, Knntres ha-Rambam, p. 37; Gratz, 
£hn $ 1 ’ iQQQ Ha-Shahar , vi. 97 et seq.; Dubnow, in Vos- 

/f/jori, 1S88, No. 3, pp. 3i et seq .; Hayyim Melr, Bet BahbL 
? Q ~!? y< ? ev ’ 19 9§ : Rodkinsohn, Tojedot ‘Ammudc HctBaD 
iuenn, Kcneset YUracl , p. 331. 

E - c * I. Br. 


SHOBACH (-pi&iL written Shophach in 
I Chron. xix. 16-18) ; Captain of the army of Had- 
arezer, King of Aram, who was defeated' and slain 


by David at Ilelam (II Sam. x. 16-18). Accord- 
ing to Sotah viii., Shobach was as famous for big 
strength as Goliath, and the Ammonites, as allies of 
Aram, expected through him to be led to victory; 
but his defeat brought defeat also on them. The 
Talmudic Haggadali likewise dwells on the fame of 
Shobach. The two forms of his name are explained 
by Rah and Samuel: one says that his real name was 
Shopliach, and that he was called Shobach because 
he had the figure of a dove r cot (“sliobak”); the 
other, that his real name was Shobach, and that he 
was called Shophach (— “ the melter ”) because lie 
looked so fierce and terrible that those who saw 
him “ melted ” away from mere fright. 

Shobach is made the special subject of popular 
legend in the Samaritan Book of Joshua (ch. xxvi.- 
xxxvii.). He appears there as the son of Hainan, 
King of the Persians, whom Joshua, the son of Nun,’ 
had slain together with various other kings. Bein^ 
very powerful and wealthy, Shobach concluded 
friendships with many kings of the surrounding 
countries, inciting them to join him in a war against 
Joshua to avenge his father’s death. He made alli- 
ances with the Canaanites, the Armenians (Ara- 
means ?), the kings of Sidon and Kaimun (Yokneam) 
near Mount Carmel, and with the son of Japheth 
the. Giant, who possessed miraculous weapons in- 
herited from his grandfather Noah. Before they went 
to war these allied monarchs scuta letter to Joshua 
informing him that they numbered thirty-six kings, 
each with 60,000 horsemen and countless foot sol- 
diers, ready to make war on him, and that Ben 
Japheth, the giant who was able to kill 1,000 men 
with one stroke of his thunderbolt of steel, was with 
them. The messenger, who returned 
In t he with an answer from Joshua in which 

Samaritan the latter recounted all the victories he 
Book had achieved, related all the mirac- 
of Joshua, ulous things he had seen at Joshua’s 
royal residence, and made the king and 
people tremble with fear. The mother of Shobach, 
who was a great magician, then resorted to witch- 
craft and, with the aid of her host of sorcerers, built 
seven walls of iron around Joshua and his army as 
soon as they liad encamped for battle. 

In his perplexity Joshua, by means of a dove, sent 
a letter to his cousin Nabih (mi — “ the shouter”; 
comp. Num. xxxii. 42, “Nobah ”), king of the two 
and one-half tribes on the east of the Jordan, ask- 
ing him to come to his assistance. Nabih forthwith 
gave utterance to a shout that was heard through- 
out the lands and to the end of the heavens ; and im- 
mediately there appeared an innumerable host of 
horsemen and other soldiers, with whom lie went to 
the assistance of Joshua. Shobach ’s mother saw a 
star which forebode no good for her son and warned 
him ; but in his rage he killed her, and then, putting 
on his armor and taking his bow and arrows, went 
forth to engage Nabih in single combat. “ What 
is the matter with thee, Nabih, that thou barkest?” 
lie asked derisively. Whereupon Nabih replied : “ I 
am the son of Gilead, the son of Makir, the son of 
Manasseh, the son of Joseph, the descendant of 
Abraham, who slew the kings of Babylonia; and so 
shall I kill thee.” Shobach then said: “I am the 
son of Hainan, the son of Put, the son of Ham, the 



301 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Shneor Zalman 
Shofar 


son of Noali. Stand before me and I shall shoot 
iirst.” To this Nabih replied: “Do so.” There- 
upon Shobach shot three arrows in succession ; but, 
although he had never missed his mark before, he 
toiled to hit Nabih. When Shobach turned to flee, 
Nabih shot an arrow, which, first rising heaven- 
ward, fell upon the head of Shobach, then pierced 
his belly and that of his horse, and finally plunged 
into the earth to a depth of twelve cubits. Imme- 
diately thereafter a fountain gushed forth, which is 
called “The Fountain of the Arrow” to this day. 
When the Israelites saw this miracle, they shouted, 

« There is no power besides God ” ; and the walls en- 
circling Joshua and his army fell at the sound of 
trumpets blown by the priests (comp, the extract 
from the Samaritan Chronicle printed by Samuel 
Shullam in his edition of the “Sefer Yuhasin” by 
Abraham Zaeuto, who refers to a Jewish midrasli, 
‘‘Liber Yuhasin” [ed, Filipowski, 1857, ii. 60-61]; 
also Ivirchheim, “Karme Shomeron,” 1851, p. 55). 

e. g. ii. 

SHOE : For the greater part, among the ancient 
Hebrews, the shoe consisted merely of a sole of 
leather or, less often, of wood, supported around the 
ankles by leather bands (see Sandals); but it is 
probable that Jewesses, even at an early date, wore 
more elaborate footgear, covering the entire foot 
(see Judith xvi. 11 ; Cant. vii. 1 ; Fzek. xvi. 10), It 
was part of the duty of a bridegroom to supply three 
pairs of these during the year (Ket. 64a et al.), 
one for each of the three, chief festivals. There is 
evidence that shoes were of somewhat recent intro- 
duction ; hence in solemn moments they were dis- 
carded, as in the theophany of Ex. iii, 5, while 
priests in general performed their offices without 
shoes. Similarly, in mourning, the bereaved re- 
moved their shoes (II Sam. xv. 30; Ezek. xxiv. 17, 
23 ; Isa. xx. 2) ; this custom has continued to the pres- 
ent day. On the other hand, at the Passover meal 
the Israelites were commanded to have their shoes 
on in readiness for starting (Ex. xii. 11). For the 
ceremony of halizah a peculiar form of shoe is still 
used (see Halizah, illustrations). Some of the Tal- 
mudic rabbis w r ere shoemakers, or rather sandal- 
makers, among them Johanan ha-Sandalar. A shoe- 
maker was permitted to take a shoe off the last 
during Hoi lia-Mo‘ed (the middle days of the festi- 
vals), hut not to put it back again (Yeb. 2a). As 
articles of necessity, shoes were regarded as moie 
important than the beams of a house, but not than 
food (Shah. 129a). In modern times it is customary 
to remove, or go without, leather shoes on the Day 
of Atonement, and to wear slippers instead ; the 
custom is mentioned in Yoma (viii. 1). 


Bibliography: Bymeus, Dc CalccisHebrccorum , mlJgolmi, 
Thesaurus^ vol. xxix., cols. 573-6/0; Winer, B. ft.; Biull, 
Trachten der Juden, passim; A. Kohn, in Geiger s Hiss. 
Zeit. Jit d. Theol. iv. 165-176. 


SHOFAR ("1D1&0- — Biblical Data : The ancient 
ritual horn of Israel, representing, next to the ‘Ugab 
or reeds, the oldest surviving form of wrind-instru- 
ment. As a rule “ shofar ” is incorrectly translated 
“trumpet” or “cornet”; its etymology shows it 
to signify either “tuba” (comp. Jastrow, “Diet.”) 
or, more accurately, “ clarion ” (comp. Gesenius. 
“Diet.” ed. Oxford). It is mentioned frequently 


in the Bible, from Exodus to Zechariah, and through- 
out the Talmud and later Hebrew literature. It 
was the voice of a shofar, “exceeding loud,” issu- 
ing from the thick cloud on Sinai that made all in 
the camp tremble (Ex. xix. 16, xx. 18) ; and for this 
reason, while other musical instruments were in each 
age constructed according to the most advanced con- 
temporary practise (comp. ‘Ar. 10b), the trumpet 
family itself being represented by the long, straight 
silver “hazozerali,” the shofar has never varied in 
structure from its prehistoric simplicity and crudity. 

In the Pentateuch the use of the shofar is pre- 
scribed for the announcement of the New Moon and 
solemn feasts (Num. x. 10; Ps. lxxxi. 4), as also for 
proclaiming the year of release (Lev. xxv. 9). The 
first day of the seventh month (Tishri) is especially 
termed “a memorial of blowing” (Lev. xxiii. 24), 
or “a day of blowing ” (Num. xxix. 1), the shofar; 
and the modern use of the instrument survives espe- 
cially in this connection. In earlier days it was em- 
ployed also in other religious ceremonials, as pro- 
cessions (II Sam. v. 15; I Chron. xv. 28), or in the 
orchestra as an accompaniment to the 
Use and song of praise (Ps. xcviii. 6; comp. ib. 
Pattern, xlvii. 5). More frequently it was used 
as the signal-horn of war, like the sil- 
ver trumpets mentioned in Num. x. 9 (see Josh. vi. 
4; Judges iii. 27; vii. 16, 20; I Sam. xiii. 3). 
a, F. L. C. 

In Post-Biblical Times : The Mosaic law 

providing for the first day of the seventh month (1st 
of Tishri = Bosh lia-Shanah) a.“ zikron teru‘ah ” (me- 
morial of blowing; Lev. xxiii. 24) and a “yom 
ter u ‘all ” (day of blowing; Num. xxix. 1) is tra- 
ditionally interpreted by the Rabbis as referring to 
the ceremony of sounding the shofar. The shofar 
in the Temple -was generally associated with the 
trumpet; and both instruments were used together 
on various occasions. On New-Y ear’s Day the prin- 
cipal ceremony was conducted with the shofar, which 
instrument was placed in the center with a trumpet 
on either side; it was the liorn of a 
In the wild goat and straight in shape, be- 
Temple. ing ornamented with gold at the 
mouthpiece. On fast-days the princi- 
pal ceremony was conducted with the trumpets in 
the center and with a shofar on either side. On 
those occasions the shofarot were rams' horns curved 
in shape and ornamented with silver at the mouth- 
pieces. On Yom Kippur of the jubilee jeai^the 
ceremony was performed "with the shofar as on New- 
Year's Day. R. Judah, however, declares that the 
shofar of Rosh ha-Shanah was of ram’s horn (and 
curved); that of the jubilee, of the horn of the 
wild goat (R, H. iii. 3) ; while R. Levi thought it 
proper that the shofar of ram’s horn of a curved 
shape should be used for Rosh ha-Shanah and Yom 
Kippur (jubilee year), and that the straight-shaped 
shofar of the horn of the wild goat should be used 
on other occasions. The curved shofar is symbolic 
of the contrite heart repenting on the most solemn 
days of Rosh ha-Shanah and Yom Kippur (comp. 
ib. 26b; Yer. ib.). R. Abbaliu thought that a shofar 
of ram's horn was used on Rosh ha-Shanah in order 
to call to mind the ‘ Akedaii incident connected with 
the ram (Gen, xxii. 13; R. H. 16a). The shofar, 



Shofar 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


302 


however, may be the horn of any other clean ani- 
mal, except that of a cow or calf, which would he 
a reminder of the golden calf incident (ib. 26a). A 
rent or hole in the shofar affecting the sound ren- 
ders it unfit for ceremonial use. A shofar may not 
be painted in colors, but it may be carved with 
artistic designs (Shulhan ‘Aruk, Orah Hayyim, 586, 
17, note). W omen and minors are exempt from the 
command to hear the shofar-blowiug, but they never- 
theless usually attend the ceremonj". 

The “ teki'ali” and “ teru'ali” mentioned in the Bible 
were respectively bass and treble. The teki'ah was 
a plain deep sound ending abruptly; the teriTak, a 
trill between two teki‘ahs. These three sounds, con- 
stituting a bar of music, were rendered three times: 
first in honor of theocracy, or “ malkiyot ” (kingdom) ; 
then to recall the ‘Akedali and to cause the congre- 
gation to be remembered before God, or “ zikronot ” 
(remembrances) ; a third time to comply with the pre- 
cept regarding the 
shofar. Ten ap- 
propriate verses 
from the Bible 
were recited at 
each repetition, 
which ended with 
a benediction (R. 

H. 16a). Doubt, 
however, arose as 
to the sound of 
the teru'ah. On- 
Ijtelos translates 
“ t e r u ‘ a h ” as 
“yabbaba but 
the Talmud is 
uncertain whether 
it means an outcry 
(“ yelalah ”) or a 
moaning (“geni- 
hah”) sound. The 
former was sup- 
posed to be com- 
posed of three con- 
nected short 

sounds ; the latter, of nine very short notes divided 
into three disconnected or broken sounds (“sheba- 
rim ”). The duration of the teriYah is equal to that 
of the shebarim; and theteki‘ah is half the length 
of either (R. H. iv. 9). This doubt as to the nature 
of the real teru‘ah, whether it was simply an out- 
cry or a moan, or both, necessitated 

The two repetitions to make sure of secur- 
Sounds. ing the correct sound, the following 
formula, consisting of ten sounds, 
resulting : teki'ah, shebarim-teru'ali, teki'ah ; teki‘ah, 
shebarim, teki‘ah ; teki‘ah, teru'ah, teki‘ah. This for- 
mula was repeated twice, making thirty sounds for 
the series. The last tekPali was prolonged and was 
called “ teki'ah gedolah ” = the “ long teki‘ah.” This 
series of thirty sounds was repeated twice, making 
ninety sounds in all. The trebling of the series was 
based on the mention of teru'ah three times in con- 
nection with the seventh month (Lev. xxiii. 24, xxv. 

9; Nu in. xxix. 1), and also on the above-mentioned 
division into malkiyot, zikronot, and shofarot. In 
addition a single formula of ten sounds is rendered 


at the close of the service, making a total of 100 
sounds. Thus the original three sounds, constituting 
a musical bar, were increased to 100 at the New- 
Year’s Day ceremony. 

The general term for the sounds is “ teki'ot. ” The 
first series of teki'ot is rendered after the liaftarah, 
and is known as “teki'ot di-meyushshab ” (sitting 
series) in contradistinction to the “teki‘ot de-me- 
‘ummad ” (standing series) rendered at the “ ‘Aini- 
dah ” (standing prayer). There are many variations 
in the division of the series and placing them in the 
“ ‘Amidali. ” R. Amram Gaon in his “Siddur” (p. 
45b) gives the first line, T. S.-Tr. T. (- teki‘ah’ 
shebarim- teru ‘all, teki‘ah), three times for malkiyot; 
the second line, T. S. T., three times for zikronot- 
and the third line, T. Tr. T., three times for sho- 
farot. Rabbenu Tam introduced the custom of 
giving the first line, T. S.-Tr. T., three times for 
either malkiyot, zikronot, or shofarot (Tos. to R. II. 

38b, s.v. *V2W). 
In the Sephardic 
and west-Germau 
rituals the notes 
are rendered ac- 
cording to the 
scheme of Am- 
ram Gaon, while 
in east-European 
countries themin- 
hag of Rabbenu 
Tam is followed. 
Other congrega- 
tions render the 
first, second, and 
third lines in con- 
secutive order for 
the three divisions 
of the “ ‘Amidali. w 

The expert 
who blows the 
teki'ot is named 
“ ba‘altokea‘”(the 
sounder of the 
shofar), and the 
prompter who calls off the sounds is termed “iriak- 
ri ‘-” The following is the order of teki'ot for liosh 
liaSlianali: 

The ba‘al tokea* prepares himself for his task of 
blowing the shofar for the congregation and says: 

“I am prepared to fulfil God’s com- 
In the mand to blow the shofar, as is pre- 
Liturgy. scribed in the Torah, k a day of blow- 
ing unto you. ’ ” Then he recites the 
benediction: “Praised be the Lord our God, the 
Kiug of the Universe, who sanctified us with His 
precepts and commanded us to hear the sound of the 
shofar,” and adds the Siie-Heiieyanu. The con- 
gregation answers “ Amen. ” Then follow the thirty 
teki'ot, after which the hazzau recites the verse: 
“Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound; 
they walk, O Lord, in the light of thy countenance ” 
(Ps. Ixxxix. 16, R. V.). The congregation repeats 
this and says “ Asiire.” In the Musaf “ ‘Amidah ” 
by the hazzau the series of thirty teki‘ot is rendered 
as described above. After Musaf or, in some con- 
gregations, after ‘Alenu, the thirty teki'ot are 



(In the Great Synagogue, Aldgate, London.) 




SHOFAKS. 

1. Used by Beni-Israel of Bombay. 2, 3, 7. In the Great Synagogue, Aldgate, London. 4. From Bagdad, eighteenth century. 
5, 6, 9. in the United States National Museum, Washington. 8. With carved Hebrew inscription (after Wetzstein) . 10. Alleged 
to belong to the pre-expulsion period (1290) of English Jews. 11. In the possession of Mrs. E. F. Aaron, New York. 12. In 
the possession of the late A. L. Cohen, London. 13. In the possession of F. L. Cohen, Sydney, N. S. W . 




Shofar 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


304 


repeated. After Adon ‘Olam the formula of ten 
teki'ot closes the service. 

This order is repeated on the second day of Posh 
lia-Shanali. If the first day falls on Sabbath (the 
second da}' never falls on that day), the shofar- 
blowing is dispensed with, and the words “day of 
blowing” throughout the liturgy are changed to 
“memorial of blowing.” The reason given for the 
omission of the shofar ceremony on Sabbath is the 
apprehension lest the ba‘al toke‘a might carry his 
shofar in public premises to an expert for instruc- 
tion, the carrying of articles from private into pub- 
lic premises being forbidden on the Sabbath though 
permitted on a holy day. However, where there 
was an ordained bet din, such as the Sanhedrin in 
Jerusalem in the Temple period, when strict disci- 
pline prevailed, the sliofar-blo wing continued on the 
Sabbath-day. Even after the second day of Rosli 
lia-Shanali was introduced, R. Jolianan b. Zakkai, 
under whom there was a regular bet din at Jabneli, 
permitted the blowing of the shofar on Sabbath 
(R. H. iv. 1, 2). Later, however, the practise was 
discontinued; but it appears that Alfasi, in the 
twelfth century, still permitted it under his bet din 
(Abudarham, ed. Venice, 1566, p. 100a). 

The addition, originally a substitution, of the three 
flourishes sounded in the additional service was due 
to R. Simeon ben Gamaliel II., who in the middle 
of the second century prescribed the sounding of a 
flourish at the close of each section of that service. 
It seems that the sounds were taken by the Roman 
authorities in Palestine for military signals (they 
may have resembled the calls of the imperial forces); 
for troops were sent to the synagogues in the early 
morning to prevent any martial exercises; and 
many Jews were put to the sword before an explana- 
tion could be given. In succeeding years the flour- 
ishes were delayed until the congregations had been 
for some time assembled and were obviously occu- 
pied in religions exercises only (R. II. S2b). The 
sounding was eventually restored to its proper place 

in the morning service (the “sitting series”), but 
the additional flourishes (the “ standing series ”) were 
also retained. 

Many reasons are assigned for the ceremony of 
sliofar-blo wing. Saadia Gaon (892-942) gives ten. 
The Cabala emphasizes the significance of the sho- 
far and the teki‘ot. Thus a certain midrasli, citing 
“Blessed is the people that know 

In the the joyful sound ” (= “ ter u ‘all”; Ps. 
Cabala. lxxxix. 15), asks: “Do other peoples 
not know the joyful sound? Have 
they not many kinds of coronets, buccina, and salpi- 
din [= cra/intcLf] ? ” and then answers : “ But the Isra- 
elites know how to serenade their Creator with the 
ter u ‘ah ” (Pesik., ed. Buber, p. 152a). The Zohar 
dwells on the word “know” as signifying in this 
midrash passage a secret knowledge and mysticism. 
The shofar represents the windpipe or the spiritual 
part of the body alongside the gullet, through which 
the food or the earthly part passes. The sound of 
the shofar awakens the Higher Mercy = “ Rahamim” 
(Zohar, Emor, p. 99b, and Pinellas, p. 282a). The 
object of the second and third series of teki‘ot is to 
bewilder and stagger Satan (R. II. 16b), who, at first 
imagining that the Jews are merely complying with 


the Law, is surprised by the second blowing, think- 
ing perhaps that the Messiah is coming, and finally 
is dumfounded, expecting the Resurrection, with 
which his power will finally cease. 

It is the custom to blow one teki‘ah every day 
during the month of Elul except on the day prece- 
ding Rosh lia-Shanali (Orali Hayyim, 581). This is a 
later innovation. The author of “Shibbole ha-Le- 
ket” (13tli cent.) quotes (§ 282; ed. Buber, p. 182b) 
a midrasli and Pirke R. El. to the effect that on New 
Moon of the month of Elul, Moses ascended Mount 
Sinai to obtain the tablets of the Law for the second 
time, and that the shofar proclaimed this fact in 
order that the Israelites might not be again misled. 
Thenceforth the shofar was sounded annually on the 
eve of New Moon Day in Elul to commemorate the 
event, showing that originally the shofar was blown 
only on the first night of Elul (Vitry Malizor, p. 361). 

The Ne‘ilaii service ou Torn Ivippur is ended 
with a single teki‘ali. The Sephardim blow four 
calls: teki‘ali, sliebarim, teru‘ali, teki'ali. This is 
not obligatory, but is a reminiscence 
At End of of the shofar- blowing in the year of 

Yom jubilee in the pre-exilic period (ib. p. 

Kippur 395). 

and Other The shofar w r as used also to arouse 

Uses. the people to repentance on fast-days 
(Ta‘an. i. 6), which custom is still ob- 
served in Jerusalem in times of drought. The shofar 
has been from the most remote time the instrument 
by which an excommunication has been proclaimed. 
It is claimed that Barak used 400 sliofars to excom- 
municate Meroz (Judges v. 23; M. K. 16a). The 
shofar v r as used at the announcement of a prohibi- 
tion or a permission by the Rabbis (Niddah 40a). 
Among the paraphernalia of the bet din of R. Huna 
were: a rod to keep order; a strap for “malltot”; a 
sandal for “ halizah ” ; and a shofar for excommunica- 
tion (Sank. 7b; see Rashi ad loc.). The shofar w r as 
sounded at funerals (M. K. 27b); and it was blown 

also when tlie ordained bet din announced tlae ap- 

pearance of the new moon (Niddali 38a ; see Rashi 
ad loc . ). 

On Friday afternoon six shofarot wrnre blovm at 
short intervals. At the first teki'ah the laborers in 
the field ceased work ; at the second the stores closed 
and city labor ceased ; and the third tefcfah v>as a 
signal to light the Sabbath candles. Then after a 
short pause the shofar sounded teki'ah, teru‘ah, 
teki‘ah, and Sabbath set in (Shab. 35b). 

Bibliography: Maimonides, Yad, Shofar , i.-iii.; Slndhan 
1 Aruh , Orah Hayyim, 585-590; Cyrus’ Adler, in Jour, of 
American Oriental Society , Oct., 1889, p.clxxi.; Dembitz, 
Jeioish Services in Synagogue and Home, pp. 319-822. 

A. H. J. D. E. 

In regard to the form of the modern shofar, the 
particular kind of curve which it presents is re- 
garded as immaterial. It may be gradual, as in Fig. 

12 in the accompanying illustration, although this 
shape is rarely met with. Among the Sephardim 
the shape preferred is the natural spiral 
Forms of of the ovine horn (generally favored 
Modern by Orientals), as in Fig. 4, an example 
Shofar. of the eighteenth century from Bag- 
dad. The instrument from Aden (Fig. 

1) is made from the horn of an African koodoo 
( Strepsiceros kudu), retaining its natural curve. The 



305 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Sliofar 


Ashkenazim prefer the simpler lituus shape (well 
known to the Romans, and used for their cavalry 
trumpet, being made of bronze), with the natural 
jlntn ess of the horn accentuated by paring. Two 
shofarot found in England and believed to be an- 
cient— one unearthed under the foundations of an 
old house in Leadenliall street, London (see “ Cat. 
An (do- Jew. Hist. Exh.” Ho. 2); the other recovered 
from the Thames, off Vauxliall, together with a 
straight trumpet of ox-horn, at a spot which has 
yielded Celtic and Roman relics also (see “Jew. 
Chron.” Eeb. 6, 1903)— differ in no way from an 
average modern sliofar of the lituus shape, save in 
having been less pared down, and so possessing 
o-reater thickness and weight. 

The- inferior limit of length is about six inches 
(comp. Shulhan ‘Aruk, Orali Hayyim, 586, 10) ; but 
the instrument varies from eight to thirty inches in 
length (the horn of the koodoo is four feet long), 
the majority of examples averaging fourteen or fif- 
teen inches, like the two middle horns of the illus- 
tration. 

There were those who sounded the sliofar for its 
music (R. H. 83b) ; but the Rabbis found it neces- 
sary to make provision for one who could not finish 
the series of calls (Orali Hayyim, 585, 3), and for in- 
complete sounds, since the manipulation of the horn 
is of a very rough and empiric character. The em- 
bouchure, or mouthpiece, in particular, follows no 
standard in shape or size ; and there exist horns which 
even the most skilful executant can sound only in 
certain positions, and then only with particular ten- 
sions of the lips. After the tip of the horn has been 
removed a roughly cylindrical bore of very narrow 
section is gouged down to the natural hollow. The 
exterior is then made smooth by scraping; and the 
horn, after being softened by soaking in hot water, 
is gradually brought to the desired shape. The in- 
terior having been trimmed and smoothed, the broad 

end is cvit level, 0.11(1 USU<xlly Cfll’V fid cllOJQg tllC GdgGS 

in a rough coronet. Tiie exterior is aomeames oma- 
mented with carving, either geometric or including 
an inscription (comp. Fig. 3 in the illustration). 
The mouthpiece is formed by forcibly expanding 
the heated out edge of the tip, or narrow end, con- 
siderable skill being necessary to overcome the 
tendency of the softened horn to split and so to 
spoil tiie sliofar. ■ A conoid of more or less or al 
base outline is arrived at; and, the edges hav- 


ing been rubbed smooth, the instrument is com- 
plete. 

The traditional preference for the lituus or ch shape 
is due to the type of bore of the sliofar classing it 
as a member of the trumpet, rather than the bugle, 
family. Its shrill and incisive tones similarly define 
its character. The notes producible on any wind- 
instrument vary- according to the division of the con- 
tained column of air into aliquot lengths, dependent 
on the particular tension of the player’s 
Variability vibrating lips. Modern brass instru- 
of ments consist of a tube of considerable 
the Sounds, length, perfectly smooth and sym- 
metrical, and are sounded through a 
regular mouthpiece of constant proportions. The 
sliofar is a short tube, always somewhat rough and 
irregular internally, and it is sounded through a 
mouthpiece of indefinite shape. Hence no two sho- 
farot necessarily produce notes of the same pitch, or 
same position in the harmonic series. Indeed, shofarot 
usually produce only two, or possibly three— very 
rarely four— sounds of their series, as against the five 
obtainable with the bugle or the ten with the trumpet. 
Of eleven shofarot examined together by the writer, 
the varying pitch covered six different keys. Five 
sounded the interval of the fifth (d : s) ; four, that of the 
octave (d : d');one, that of the fourth (s : d ) ;and one 
— the clearest in tone and easiest to manipulate that 
of the sixth (s :m'). Of three which happened to be 
pitched alike, in the key of A, one sounded E :E' 
(third and sixth partials of the harmonic range), an- 
other A :E' (fourth and sixth partials), and the last 
E : A (third and fourth partials). But 
Notes and while the two notes may thus differ. 
Signals, two forms of sounding them in succes- 
sion have been recognized from time 
immemorial. When, however, the sliofar and the 
silver trumpets were sounded together in the Tem- 
ple they were not necessarily tuned in unison ; but 
the ancient ear listened for the rhythm and figure of 

tiie sounding r:\tliev than for its actual UOtfiS. £1 dlS- 

tinction now to he noticed In some military cans 
differing in tune according as set for the trumpet 
or for the bugle. Hence the confused tradition, 
mentioned above, concerning the middle “call” of 
the three which together constitute a “flourish.” 

On a shofar sounding the interval of the fifth and 
pitched in the key of G the shofar-calls would be 
as follows: 


SHOFAR-CALLS 



XI.— 20 



Shofar, The 
Shofet Kol ha-Arez 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


306 


SEPHARDIM. 


Teki'ah. 


/ 




Shebarim. 


f. 


II 


TertPah. 


Great TertPah. 
f ad lib. 

ill 

'if 


— 1 1 ! 

-J 

— | 1 

— # 



Attempts at noting the traditional calls aim, like 
the early notations alike of tlie church plain-song 
and of the synagogue Cantillation, 
Early at representing their duration and 
Notation, outline only, by means of strokes of 
particular length and shape. Such 
neumes arc to be found in the “Siddur” of R. 
Am ram (ed. Warsaw, 1865, p. 45b), in a late four- 
teenth-century manuscript (Codex Shem, No. 74, in 
the Parma Library), and in Juan de Gara’s small 
Mahzor (p. 190, Venice, 15S7). The Parma nota- 
tion, entitled in the manuscript in question “Simani 
Noti,” is reproduced in Sulzer, “Shir Ziyyon ” ii. 
153, as follows: 


Teki‘ah Tern 'ah Shebarim Teki’ah 

i i ™ i 

Bibliography: C Adler, in Proc. United Slates National 
Museum, xvi. 287-o()l ; Idem, Report United States Na ■ 
tional Museum, 1892, pp. 437-450; 1890, p. 976; b\ L Cohen 
Jew- c [\V on ' Sept. 8, 1893, p. 11 ; Sept. 28, 1894, p. 17; Sept! 
1, 1899, p. 2o ; Sept. 13, 1901, p. 16. H 

A * F. L. C. 

SHOFAR, THE. See Periodicals. 

SHOFET. See Judge. 


SHOFET KOL HA-AREZ (“Judge of all the 
earth ”): Important Pizmon of six verses, each end- 
ing with a phrase from Hum. xxviii. 23. Being 
signed with the acrostic “Shelornoh,” it is often 
ascribed to Solomon ibn Gabirol; but by Zunz 
(“ Literaturgesch.” p. 312) it is attributed to Solo- 
mon bar Abun, the younger. The hymn and its 
traditional tune are alike given places of honor in 
both the northern and southern rituals. With the 
Ashkenazim, who utilize only the first five verses, 
the hymn is the chief poem in tlie Selihot for 
the day preceding New- Year, and again in those 
of the morning service for the Day of Atonement. 
On both occasions it is differentiated from all other 
selihot by the special declamation, to the solemn peni- 
tential melody (see Ashre iia-'Am), of the applica- 
ble Scriptural texts which immediately precede it. 
In the German order of selihot, when another hymn 
is substituted on Sabbath morning, such hymn is 
still sung to tlie tune of “ Shofet.” With the Seph- 
ardim it precedes the “Nishmat” in the morning 
service for New-Year. 


Its melody is chanted in the Spanish rituals, to 
different passages of solemn importance in tlie peni- 
tential services— chiefly such as are recited by tlie 


hazzau alone — almost as often as the frequently- 
repeated melody of “Le-nm‘anka” (for which see 
Adonai Bekol Siiofak) is sung to the congrega- 
tionalhymns. It is thus used for the special reshut 
“ Oli ilah,” which ushers in the Atonement additional 
service, and in some lines of tradition for the ‘Abo- 
daii as well. On New-Year it is similarly used to 
precede the additional service; and, in Italy, for 
‘Alenu as well as universally for tlie first utter- 
ance of the tli rice-repeated prayer (“ Ha-Yom Ilarat 
‘Olam”) which follows the sounding of tlie Sitofar. 

Thus, alike by Ashkenazim and by Sephardim, 
the ancient melody for this liymn is regarded as one 
of the most important associated with the Ten Days 
of Repentance. It exists in several variants— an 
evidence merely of its age. Tlie Ashkenazic ml 
Sephardic forms differ very considerably in detail, 
betraying respectively a distinct German or Arab in- 
fluence, with a corresponding modification of struc- 
ture. Each usage, again, differs within itself accord- 
ing to local tradition. The variants of Amsterdam 
(De Sola, “Sacred Melodies,” No. 27, London, 1857) 
and of Leghorn (Consolo, “ Libro dei Cant.i dTsraele,” 
No. 308, Florence, 1892) are by no means in agree- 
ment in detail. Four forms, two Polish and two 
German, are presented by Baer (“Ba‘al Tefillali,” 
No. 1426, Frank fort-on-tbe-Main, 1S83). The link 
is supplied by the Italian tradition, which utilizes 
the characteristic Sephardic form for the initial 
verse, and approximates closely to the Ashkenazic 
in those that follow. Benedetto Marcello in his 
“ Parafrasi Sopra li Salmi,” published between 1724 
and 1727, uses as a theme for Ps. xxi. (Vulgate num- 
bering = Ps. xx. in the Hebrew) another variant, 
which, however, is close to one of the German forms 
of the melody. Four of the most characteristic vari- 
ants— Spanish-Duteh (probably the original), Ital- 
ian, German (that used by Marcello), and Polish- 
are given in the accompanying transcription. 

A - F. L. C. 

SHOHAM. See Bdellium. 

SHOHET : One empowered to perform the rit- 
ual slaughter of cattle and poultry. In the Biblical 
writings there is no statement to the effect that any 
individual was specially appointed to fulfil this 
function; but it would seem that the expressions 
“ shah at J and “malak” justify the inference that 
there were certain rules which governed slauglitcr- 
111 I 11 Hul. i. it is stated that every male adult, 

unless mentally incapacitated, may officiate as slio- 
het; while tlie Tosefta to this same passage allows 
women, and even Samaritans, to act in this capac- 



Ashkenazic. 












3 










311 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Shofet Kol ha-Arez 
Shomron Kol Titten 


jjy The Baraita, however, restricts the office to 
oucwho is “mumheh,” i.e., skilled in the proper 
handling of the knife and recognized as proficient m 
the laws governing liis office. 

The Talmudic regulations for slaughtering re- 
mained unchanged until the sixteenth century. 
Then, however, Joseph Caro in the Shulhan ‘Aruk 
(Torch Derail, 1, 1) forbade women to act as slaugh- 
terers, perhaps because they might faint while per- 
forming the duty. In his opinion, furthermore, this 
ruling wasin accordance with a “ minliag ” (custom); 
and in Israel minhagim frequently abrogated tradi- 
tional legal rights. Moses Isserles confines the right 
of acting as shohet to those who have already 
slaughtered at least three times in the presence of a 
rabbi ; and he further states it to have been a minliag 
that, to be entitled to office, the slaughterer must 
possess a “ cabala.” Even such a man, according to 
Jacob Weil (wlio bases bis statement on the authority 
of Shalom Klausner), must frequently repeat the. 
laws governing his function, that he may not foiget 
them. 

The slioliet is not required, however, to know 
every detaii of the rules, provided he can distinguish 
between clean and unclean animals (Tur, Yoreli 
Dc'ah, 1, 1), although Moses Isserles expressly re- 
quires him to be a Talmudic scholar, as is almost 
universally the case in the East.. The shohet is 
bound by the following prohibitions: lie must not 
be addicted to tlie use of liquor (Shulhan ‘Aruk, 
Yoreli Dc'ah, 1, 8) ; he must never have been accused 
of having discharged his duties indifferently (ib. 1, 
14); he must not be a wanton transgressor of tlie 
Law (“mumar lebak'is”); and lie must never have 
openly desecrated the Sabbath (ib. 1, 5). 

In the smaller cities the restrictions are still more 
severe; but it is frequently the case, especially in 
modern Occidental communities, that tlie shohet 
discharges other functions besides liis own, such as 
those of hazzan and reader. The government of 


Hanover formerly prohibited the shohet fiom acting 
as a teacher (“ Allg. Zeit. des Jud.” 1844, p. 155); 
but this rule has been abolished. In Poland, ac- 
cording to Hirscli Heller (“Bet Hillel, p. 116, Mun- 
kaes, 1898), the shohet appointed by the administra- 
ting rabbi must be confirmed by the “ Wunderrabbi 
before lie is entitled to act in his official capacity. 
Among the most authoritative modern manuals for 
sliohetim are Frankel’s “Zibhe Razon, By buck, 
1861 ; and J. H. Caro’s “Das Judisehe Rituale beim 
Schlachten,” Leipsic, 1867. 

a. S - °- 

SHOMER ZIYYON HA-ffE’EMAH . See 

P Kit I O U 1 C A 1 >S. 

SHOMRON KOL TITTEN: Dramatic elegy 
by Solomon ibn Gabirol, sung at the conclusion of 
the order of Kinot according to the Polish ritual, at 
botli the evening and morning services of the Fast 
of Ab, and appended as a private meditation to the 
order of the Sephardim for the Fast of Tebet. The 
first verse is a quatrain, while the others are ex- 
tended to thrice that length. Samaria and Jerusalem 
are presented as two faithless sisteis (Ezck. xxiii. 4) 
now overwhelmed with contrition ; and in the second 
and third verses they in turn bewail their lapses and 
the punishment visited upon them. In the fourth 
verse the poet supplicates pity for them, and prays 
for the return of their Lord to them in forgiveness 
(for an English paraphrase of the whole of the elegy 
see 41 Israel,” iii. 80, London, 1899). 

The poem is sung in the Polish, North-German, 
and English liturgy to an expressive traditional 
melody, the closing strain of which is based on the 
lament to which the kinot are intoned on the Fast of 
Ab among the Ashkenazim. But it bears a stiiking 
similarity also to the Sephardic melodies bi ought 
from Spain before 1492 (comp. Mizmok Shir le- 
Yom ha-Shabbat), in tbe structure and tonality .of 
this closing strain, in the outline of the initial 


SHOMRON KOL TITTEN 




p Andantino dqlente. 






±pt 


Hear Sa - ma - ri-a cry: 


“Now my sins have found me; 


ad lib. 






O' 




= 3 = 




Chil - dren ex - iled 
c?'es. 


far, None are left 

/ 


a - round me.” 


P 

S 




S >bs 
dim. 


0 - ho 


bah: 


“Shat - tered are my halls”; 


raH 


ITNIL 








I 


“Left me hath my God,” 


Weep - ing Zi - on 


calls. 



Shophach 

Shroud 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


312 


phrases (comp. Ha-Mabdil), ancl especially in the 
manner, so characteristic of the Sephardic ritual, 
in which these initial phrases are repeated many 
times in the longer verses, until the closing strain 
can at last be utilized for the final distich (comp. 
Adonai Bekol Siiofau). 

A - F. L. C. 


SHOPHACH. See Siiobacii. 

SHOWBREAD (D\DSn Dr6).— Biblical Data : 

Twelve cakes, with two-tentlis of an ephali in 
each, and baked of fine flour, which were ranged 
in two rows (or piles) on the “pure” table that 
stood before Ynwn and remained ex- 
Compo- posed to view for a week. A better 
sition and term than “ sliowbread ” is the mar- 
Pres- ginal reading of the Revised Version 
entation. — “ presence-bread ” (Ex. xxv. 30), for 
this offering was required to be con- 
stantly before or in the presence of Ynwn. ’ Each 
Sabbath fresh cakes replaced the old, which then 
belonged to the priests, who were required to eat 
them in a holy place, since the bread was holy. 
Upon the rows of cakes cups of frankincense were 
placed ; this frankincense constituted the “ azkarah, ” 
or memorial, and was offered upon the altar to 
liiwir (Lev. xxiv. 4-9). According to I Cliron. 
ix. 32, the sons of the Kohathites had charge of 
the baking and setting in order of the “ bread of the 
row,” as the Hebrew describes it. It would thus 
seem, that the preparing of these cakes involved 
certain information which was kept as a secret 
by this priestly set. Mention is made of the show- 
bread in the story of David’s adventure at Nob. 
Ahimelek, the priest, at David’s request, gave him 
the “holy” bread, that is, the stale loaves that had 
been taken away and replaced by “hot” ones (I 
Sam. xxi. 4-6; comp. Matt. xii. 4; Luke vi. 4). In 
Solomon’s Temple provision was made for the proper 
exhibition of the loaves (I Kings vii. 48; comp. II 
Chron. iv. 19, xiii. 11 ). Though not explicitly stated 
to be so, these cakes were most probably unleav- 
ened. It is true they were not offered upon the 
altar, from which leaven was scrupulously excluded 
(Lev. ii. 11) ; but, as most holy, they were carried into 
and exposed in the inner sanctuary, and therefore 
the supposition that the use of leaven in them was 
prohibited carries a high degree of probability. 

The foregoing rather scanty data from the Biblical 
sources are confirmed and complemented by infor- 
mation vouchsafed by Josephus. The cakes were 
provided out of the common charge; 
In they were without leaven, and con- 
Josephus. tained twenty-four tenths of a “ deal ” 
of flour. Two heaps were baked the 
da}^ before the Sabbath, and on the morning of the 
Sabbath weie brought into the holy place, where 
they weie set upon the holy table, six in a heap, one 
loaf leaning against another. On the top of each 
heap two golden cups of frankincense were placed; 
they remained there till the next Sabbath, when the 
fiesh loaves were brought and the old loaves were 
given to the priests for their own consumption. 
The frankincense was burned in the sacred lire, and 
a new supply was placed upon the fresh loaves 
(“Ant.” ill 10, § 7). 


“ — In Rabbinical Literature : Rabbinical tradi- 
tion has preserved specific details concerning the 
preparation of the showbread. The cakes were 
kneaded separately (Men. xi. 1), but they were 
baked two at a time. To give them the required 
shape different forms — according to Maimonides, of 
gold — were used: one form for the cakes while thev 
were still dough, another while they were in the 
oven, and a third after they were baked, in order to 
prevent their being broken or spoiled ( ib . ; see Sifrato 
Lev. xxiv. 5-9; Maimonides, “Yad,” Tamid, v. 8). 
According to some authorities, the kneading and 
heaping were done outside, the baking inside, the 
Sanctum } r a distinction for w liich the commentaries 
fail to assign a reason {ib. v. 7; Men. xi. 2; see Ber- 
tinoro and Lipmann Heller)— and, the Sabbath prohi- 
bition not being suspended on account of the show- 
bread, the baking took place, as Josephus reports, on 
Friday (see“ Yad,” l.c. v. 10), but according toothers, 
all preparations were carried on in the Temple court ; 
according to others, in the house of Pagi, a suburb 
where the priests who knew the secret of the prep- 
aration may have lived. Maimonides’ explanation 
is that this district, while not in, was very near, the 
courtyard. 

According to the Mislmah (Men. xi. 4; “Yad,” l.c. 
v. 9), the cakes had the following dimensions: ten 
fingers (Maimonides gives “ palms ”) in 
Rabbinical length, five in breadth, and rims, or 
Traditions, upturned “horns,” of seven fingers in 
length. The incense was put into two 
cups, a handful into each (ib. v. 2). These cups 
were called “bezikin,” and had flat bottoms, or 
rims, so that they could be placed on the table 
(Josef., Men. xi.). The new bread was carried in 
by four priests, while two bore the two cups of in- 
cense. J'hey were preceded by four other priests, 
two to remove the old loaves and two to take up 
the two cups containing the incense. Those that 
carried the new bread went to the north end of the 
table, facing toward the south; those that had pre- 
ceded them went to the south end, facing the north. 
While the latter were removing the old bresid, the 
former were depositing the new, so that the show- 
bread was, in fact, always before the Lord (“Yad,” 
l.c. v. 4; Men. 99b). The cakes that had been re- 
moved were placed on a golden table in the hall; 
then the incense in the cups was burned, after which 
the cakes were divided. When Yom Kippur hap- 
pened to fall on the Sabbath, this division was de- 
layed until evening (“Yad,” l.c. v. 5). The cakes, 
molded in squares, were piled one above the other; 
hollow golden tubes conducted air between them, 
and each pile was supported by two golden, fork- 
shaped supports attached to the table (Men. 94b, 
96a; “Yad,” l.c. v. 2). 

The Biblical descriptions of the table of the show- 
bread make no mention of such provisions to admit 
the air or hold the bread in position. The table was 
placed in the northern part of the 
The Table, Sanctuary, opposite the candlestick 
(Ex. xx vi. 35), with the altar of in- 
cense between them. The Septuagint states that this 
table was of massive gold, but the Hebrew (Ex. 
xxv., xxx vii.) that it was of acacia wood, two ells, 
long, one ell broad, and one and one-half ells high,. 



313 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Shophach. 

Shroud 


covered with pure gold, and with a border of gold 
around the top. The feet seem to have been en- 
closed, and to this ring-like enclosure were fastened 
four gold rings, through which the rods (made of 
acacia-wood and covered with gold) were passed 
when the table was carried. When on the march 
the table was covered with a purplish-blue cloth, 
upon which were placed the loaves and the vessels; 
over the whole was spread a scarlet cloth, and on 
top of this the skin of a seal (Hum. iv. 7, 8). Only 
one table was found in the various sanctuaries, 
though II Chron. iv. 8 reports that ten tables 
were in the Hekal. The table of the show bread 
was taken from the Second Temple by Antiochus 
Epiphanes (I Macc. i. 28), but it was replaced by 
another under Judas Maccabeus (I Macc. iv. 49). 

Among the vessels enumerated as belonging to the 
table of the showbread are “ke'arot” (dishes, or, 
probably, the “forms” in which the cakes were 
baked) and “kappot” (hand -like bowls). These 
were the “bezikin” for the incense, “ kesawot ” 
(oTTovikia) for the wine-libations, and “ menakkiyyot ” 
(probably dippers). But according to the Jerusalem 
and Samaritan Targumim, the kesawot were in- 
tended to cover the loaves. 

The dimensions given in the Mishnah for the table 
are the same as those given for the loaves— ten hand- 
breadtlis long and five wide, the loaves being laid 
across the table. B. Akiba, however, disagreed 
with these figures. According to him, the table had a ^ 
length of twelve liandbreadtlis and a width of six, 
an interval remaining between the two piles, in 
which, according to Abba Saul, the cups of incense 
were placed. These dimensions are difficult to rec- 
oncile with the Biblical assumption that the loaves 
rested without support on the table (Men. xi. 5). 
The Mishnah gives the number of ventilating-tubes 
mentioned above as twenty-eight, fourteen for each 
heap. According to the statement that they were 
like the half of a hollow pipe, they must have been 
open on top. The Gemara (Men. 97) constructs from 
these data the following description of the table: 

The four fork-like supports were let into the floor, 
two at each end of the table. They extended above 
the table, and between them, above the table, four- 
teen tubes, closed at one end, were fastened, forming 
a grate-like receptacle for the loaves. The lowest 
cake of each heap rested on the table ; each of the 
next four rested on three tubes; the two upper 
cakes on two tubes. On the Arch of Titus the table 
of the showbread shows no such attachment (comp. 
Josephus, “B. J.” v. 5, § 5; “Ant.” iii. 6, § 6). 

Critical View : The Pentateuclial passages in 

which reference is made to the showbread belong, 
without exception, to the Priestly Code. It would 
be unwarranted, however, on this score to hold the 
offering to have been a late innovation, due to 
Babylonian influences. The episode in David’s visit 
to the old sanctuary at Nob proves the antiquity of 
the practise (I Sam. xxi. 1 et seq.). Ahimelek’s 
scruples lest the men had not kept aloof from 
women and the assurance of David that they were in 
a state of sexual purity suggest the original mean- 
ing of the rite as a sacrificial meal, partaken of by 
the deity in common with his devotees, who, in 
order to make tryst with their god, must be in 


such a state of purity (comp. Ex. xix. 10-11, 15). 
Hence the bread is not burned, but the incense is, 
wiiich also is an indication that the rite has de- 
scended from remote antiquity (Stade, “Biblisclie 
Theoiogie des Alten Testaments,” 1905, i. 168). Stade 
connects it with the ancient cult of the Ark (lb.), the 
food of the deity being placed before him, ready 
for consumption whenever he chose to make his- 
appearance. 

The Hebrew 7 custom has developed probably inde- 
pendently of a similar custom in Babylon, both 
starting, however, from the same root idea, which 
is found among other races and in other religions, 
(comp. Isa. lxv. 11; Jer. vii. 18, xliv. 17 et seq.’, 
Baruch vi. 26; comp, the instance of the Roman 
lectisternium). The Babylonians offered to the 
gods various kinds of cakes or bread (*‘ akalu ”), 
which they laid before them on tables, generally in 
sets of twelve or multiples of twelve. These cakes, 
were required to be sweet (i.e., unleavened), and 
were baked from wh eaten flour. Even the Hebrew 
name “leliem lia-panim” has its exact counterpart 
in the Assyrian “akal panu” (Zimmern, in Schra- 
der’s “Iv. A. T.” ii. 600). The number “twelve,” 
which is so prominent in the showbread rite, lias 
aBvays borne mysterious religious significance (see 
Zimmern, l.e. p. 629). 

Bibliography : B. Baentsctu Ezoclus-Leviticus , p. 419, Got- 
tingen, 1900; Riehm, Handworterbucli , ii. 1405 et seq. 

tT . E. G. H. 

SHRIMSKI, SAMUEL EDWARD; New 

Zealand politician; born at Posen, Prussia, 1828; 
died at Auckland, New Zealand, June 25, 1902. In. 
1847 be went to London, where he became a mer- 
chant; in 1S59 he emigrated to Melbourne, Victoria;, 
and in 1861 he went to New Zealand, in which col- 
ony he was one of the early settlers. At Oamaru he 
was appointed government land-auctioneer. 

Engaging in local and general politics, Shrimski 
was elected mayor of Oamaru on successive occa- 
sions, and was also a prominent member of educa- 
tional and philanthropic institutions. In 1875 he 
was elected to the House of Representatives as. 
member for Oamaru ; he was reelected three times ; 
and in 1885 he was appointed life member of the 
Legislative Council, or Upper House of Parliament. 
He held the offices of chairman of the educational 
board of North Otago, treasurer of the hospital 
board, and vice-president of the Otago branch of 
the Anglo-Jewisli Association. 

Bibliography: Jew. Chron. Aug. 1, 1902 ; Jewish Year Booh, 

5661 (1901). q L 

SHROUD (pT“Dn) • Kobe in which the dead are 
arrayed for burial. The shroud is made of white 
linen cloth (“sadin,”the aiv66v of the New Testa- 
ment; see Matt, xxvii. 59), which is cut and sewed 
together with large stitches ; the ends of the thread 
are left unknotted, the garment being intended to 
last only until the body has decayed. As a general 
rule, however, several garments are used instead 
of a single shroud ; in the case of a man these are a 
cap (in the form of a miter), breeches, shirt, an over- 
garment somewhat similar to a surplice, and a gir- 
dle. For a woman, an apron with strings replaces; 
the breeches and the girdle, and the cap is flat. To 



Shroud 

Shuskan 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


314 


a prominent man’s attire is added the tallit he wore 
at prayers, but with the fringes removed or cut. 
The shroud, as being a garment for the dead and 
not for the living, is not subject to the law con- 
cerning mixed material (= “sha‘atnez Kil. ix. 4). 

Prior to the destruction of the Second Temple, 
the Jews were buried in the garments they were 
wont to wear during life. When the. woman of En - 
dor saw the prophet Samuel rise from the grave he 
was covered with a mantle (I Sam. xxviii. 14), the 
same he had worn when living (Lev. R. xxvi. 7). The 
poor, however, were probably swathed like the Egyp- 
tian dead, as the term “ takrikin ” seems to indi- 
cate. Later the attire of the corpse became more 
elaborate. The rich grew very extravagant in this 
respect, securing fanciful and costly garments, and 
establishing 1 a, custom which became a burden upon 
mourners of tlie middle «.«<! poorer classes, who could 

ill endure tlie expense and yet desired to show the 
highest respect for their dead. This caused It. 
Gamaliel, about fifty years after the destruction of 
the Temple, to inaugurate the custom of using a 
simple linen shroud for rich and poor alike (M. K. 
27b). 

One who dies as a result of an act of violence, or 
in consequence of loss of blood, or a woman who 
dies in 'confinement, must be buried in the bloody 
garments worn at the time of death, and not 
in a shroud. This custom is based on the view 
that the last drops of blood, the loss of which is the 
immediate cause of death, are part of the body, and 
as such require burial; and since they can not be 
removed from the garments, these must go into the 
grave. But one who is killed by drowning or hang- 
ing, without loss of blood, is buried in the usual 
way, as is also one who is injured, loses blood, but 
partially recovers, though he dies later as a result 
of the injury (Shullian ‘Aruk, Yoreh De‘ali, 364). 
Even where the corpse is buried with the garments 
it' is covered with a white sheet (ib.). 

The shroud is figuratively termed “ zewada ” (pro- 
vision for a journey ; Ket. 67b) ; and by many it was 
prepared during their own lifetime, before ill health 
and age had overtaken them (Men. 41a; see Raslii). 
Several reasons are advanced for this (“Shelali,” p. 
145a, Amsterdam, 1698). See also Burial; Sar- 
genes. 

Bibliography: Modena, Ma'ahcir Yabbok, ii. 32, iii. 13; 
Lewysolm, Mckorc Minhagim , p. S5 ; Landshuth, Seder Bik- 
kur Hnlim, Introduction, §23, Berlin, 1867. 

A. J. D. E. 

SHULAMITE (R. V. Shulammite ; Greek, 
howa/iiTic ) : Principal character in tlie Song of Songs 
(A. Y. Song of Solomon), although mentioned there 
in one passage only (vii. 1 [A. V. vi. 13]). Accord- 
ing to tlie opinion of some modern critics, the Shu- 
lamite was the bride of a shepherd ; but her beauty 
kindled in Solomon a violent passion, and lie en- 
deavored to win her for his harem. As to the ety- 
mology of the name, it would seem that it means 
“a native of Shulem,” which place, according to 
Eusebius (“ Onomasticou,” ,9.??.), is identical with 
Siiune.u. This view is supported by the Greek 
version (see above), which evidently was made from 
a Hebrew text having JYDW instead of 
On the theory that the term “Shulamite” is equiva- 


lent to “ Sliunammite, ” some critics have gone so far 
as to identify the Shulamite with Abjshag, who 
after David’s death became prominent in the court 
of Jerusalem (see Song of Songs). 

J- M. Sel. 

SHULHAN ARUK. See Caro, Joseph. 

SHULL AM, SAMUEL: Jewish physician and 
historian; nourished in the second half of the six- 
teenth century. He was of Spanish descent, and 
after an adventurous life went to Constantinople, 
where he was supported by Kiera (Esther), who 
stood high in favor at the court of the sultan. At 
her expense he published, but with many omissions, 
Zacuto’s “ Yuhasin ” (Constantinople, 1566), to which 
lie added the Arabic chronology of the dynasties by 
the S3 r rmc historian Gregory bar Hebr/Eus, sup- 

plcmented it Tm-U5slx History. His own work. -He 

published also: a Hebrew translation of Josephus’ 
44 Contra Apionem ” ; the Letter of Sherira Gaou ; and 
the account of Nathan the Babylonian of the last 
geonim. Shullam omitted Zacuto’s report .upon the 
expulsion of tlie Jews from Spain, because be him- 
self intended to write a full history of the persecu- 
tions, a task that was accomplished by his contem- 
porary Joseph lia-Kohen in his “ *Emek ha-Baka.” 

Bibliography: Grutz, Gesch. 2d ed., ix. 403-401; Weiss, Dor, 
v. 03-94. 

D - S. Man. 

SHULMAN, NAPHTALI HERZ : Russian 
Hebrew author; born at Stary By chow; died at 
Amsterdam about 1830. He edited Mussafia’s “ Zeker 
Rab” (Shklov, 1797), with an index of the words to 
be found in tlie Bible, a translation of them into Ju- 
dseo-Gcrmao, and grammatical notes; and “Shir we- 
Hallel ” (in Hebrew, Russian, and German ; Wilna, 
1806), hymn sung by the Jews of Wilna on the birth- 
day of the grand duchess Elizabeth Alexandrowna, 
Nov. 19, 1806. 

Bibliography: Zeitlin, Bibl. Post-Mendels, p. 355. 
n. R. A. S. W. 

SHUMAN, ABRAHAM ? American merchant 
and philanthropist; born in Prussia May 31, 1839. 
While still a child he accompanied his parents to the 
United States. The family settled in Newburgh, 
N. Y., where } r oung Shuman, when not at school, 
worked on a farm, until he was thirteen years old, 
at which age he entered the clothing business. In 
1859 be went to Boston and began business for him- 
self at the corner of Washington and Vernon streets, 
Roxbury ; and a few years afterward lie entered into 
partnership with John Phillips, under the firm name 
of Phillips & Shuman (later A. Shuman & Co.). It 
was the pioneer firm in the United States in the 
manufacture and wholesaling of children’s clothing. 

Shuman is connected with many of the leading in- 
stitutions of Boston. He is the first vice-president of 
the Boston Merchants’ Association, a member of the 
boards of directors of the Colonial National Bank 
and the United States Trust Compan} 7- , president 
of the board of directors of tlie Boston City Hospital 
(which has attained its present magnitude and repu- 
tation under his administration), a trustee of Tlie Ben- 
jamin Franklin Fund, a member of tlie Ancient and 
Honorable Artillery Company and of many social 



815 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Shroud 

Shushan 


clubs, and one of the founders of the United Hebrew 
Benevolent Association of Boston, of which for six- 
teen years he was a director. He is likewise one of 
the founders and presidents of the Elysium Club. 

A G. Mo. 

SHUMLA: City of Bulgaria. According to 
local tradition there was not a Jew at Sliumla 
until about 1780; but in that year a pasha of Adri- 
anople, having been appointed military governor of 
the city, brought with his regiment a Jewish phy- 
sician of Adrianople, known as Kiamal or Hakim- 
Bash i, but whose real name was Hayyim Aaron 
Ashkenazi. This man, being a pious Jew, asked the 
pasha to permit him to send for a sliohet and for 
some Jewish families from Adrianople. He re- 
ceived the desired permission, and later on other 
Jews from 'Pra'vacly, TSasgr-atl, anci Viddin joined 

the first immigrants. With the authorization of 
the pasha this group of families lived in some 
buildings standing in the middle of a large court, 
which thus formed a ghetto, the doors of which were 
dosed every evening. A small synagogue was soon 
built within the enclosure. According to a tomb- 
stone in the cemetery, which tradition has made 
sacred, the first rabbi of the community was a cer- 
tain Hay Fayo of Bosnia. Kiamal enjoyed many 
privileges and exercised great influence over the 
pasha. His descendants are still living at Sliumla, 
and some of them practise medicine there. 

The local synagogue was reconstructed in 1858. 
As Slmmla was spared by the victors during the 
Turco-Russiau war of 1876-78, the Jews there of- 
fered shelter to their coreligionists of other cities. 

Some of the given names of the Sliumla Jews are 
curious, e.g . : “Bitousclie” for Shabbetliai; “Mer- 
cousch ” for Mercado; “Bischko” for Preciado; 
“Boucco” for Belior; “ Ilacco ” for Isaac; “ Men- 
dousch ” for Miriam; “Istrug” for Astruc; and 
“Moreno ” (the brown). Some of the family names 
seem inexplicable, as “Yulzari,” “BahsL” etc. 

The most prominent families of the city are those 
of Judah Behar Israel and Isliak Behar Aron. The 
chief rabbis of Shumla in the nineteenth century were 
the following; Raphael Joseph Galimidi (1881-86); 
Shabbetliai Farhi (1886-58); Mattitliiali Surinam 
(1858-72); Hayyim Franco of Rhodes (1872-73); 
Jacob Estrumsa (1873-S4). Since the last-named, 
Sliumla lias bad no spiritual chief, the liazzanof the 
synagogue filling at the same time the offices of 
chief rabbi and judge. The management of. the 
affairs of the community is in the hands of a syna- 
gogal committee whose election must be approved 
by the minister of public worship. 

Sliumla possesses the following philanthropic 
societies: ‘Ozer Dallim, founded in 1875, for the sup- 
ply of fuel in winter to the poor; Esperanza, a 
ladies’ society for the relief of public misery in eases 
of catastrophe ; and Bikkur Holim, for tlie provision 
of medical aid, medicine, and burial for the poor; 
likewise Aguddat Yeladim, a reading society; and 
La Fourmi or Anemala, a mutual-aid society for 
Jewish working men. There are, besides the syna- 
gogue, two schools of the Alliance Israelite Univer- 
selle (120 boys and 110 girls). 

The Jews of Shumla at present (1905) number 200 


families in a total population of about 22,000 (11,000 
Mohammedans and 10,000 Orthodox Bulgarians). 

In common with all the Jews of Bulgaria, those 
of Sliumla perform military service. During the 
Bulgaro-Servian war the Jew's of Sliumla served in 
the ranks of tlie local militia, and several of them 
were decorated with the military medal. Of the two 
Jewish officers in the Bulgarian army, the sublieu- 
tenant Moreno Grassiani is a native of Shumla. 

6> M. Fr. 

SHUHRABI, SHELOMO SALEM: Hakam 
of the Beni-Israel community of Bombay; born at 
Cochin at tlie end of the eighteenth century; died 
at Bombay April 17, 1856. Whileon a voyage from 
Cochin to Bombay with his maternal grandfather, 
Meyer Serfadi, about 1836, he was wrecked and 
found by Jacob Aaron Sanker, a Beni-Israel soldier, 

who secured fox- lxim ern ploy merit as a o o k. bi n dev. 

Sliurrabi showed considerable knowledge of Jewish 
lore, and, being able to cantiilate the service attract- 
ively, was appointed reader of tlie new synagogue at 
a salary of 100 rupees (850) per annum ; and as such 
he instructed the Beni-Israel in the traditions of their 
faith. He obtained great influence with the Beni- 
Israel; and through his efforts new synagogues were 
founded in Bombay, Alibag, Revdanda, and Pan- 
well. To Sliurrabi, with David Raliabi and Samuel 
Divekar, may be ascribed the chief influence in 
keeping the Beni-Israel true to their faith. 

Bibliography: H. Samuel. Sltetch of the Beni-Israel , pp. 

21 -23. j. 

SHUSHAN (Susa; Hebrew, “Shushan,” or 
“ Shushan lia-Birali” [Shushan the Palace] ; Assyrian, 

“ Sushan ” ; Elamitic," Shushin,” “ Sliushun ” ; Greek, 

: Zovaav , Zorna): Ancient capital of Susiana or Elam, 
and the winter residence of the kings of Persia ; situ- 
ated between the Choaspcs (modern Ab-i Kerkhah) 
and the Eukeus (tlie “ Ulai” of Dan. viii. 2; modern 
Sliaur), fifteen miles southeast of Dizful. The city 
was a very ancient one, and is mentioned under the 
name of Sis or Sisa in Babylonian inscriptions as early 
as 2400 b.c. In 640, during the reign of Assurbauipal 
Shushan came under Babylonian control ; but it was 
captured by tlie Persians under Cyrus the Great, who 
made it tlie seat of government. The rise of Baby- 
lon under Alexander the Great and his successors 
reduced the importance of Susa. It was razed after 
a revolt, but was rebuilt by Sapor II. (809-879 c.e.) 
under the name of Iranslialir Sliapur; and it was 
still able to offer a stubborn resistance to the Arab 
invasion in 645. 

The circumference of Shushan during its prime 
seems to have been about six or seven miles, and on 
the right bank of the Ulai stood a temple or observa- 
tory, whose remains are now called Tell-i Sulaiman 
(“ Hill of Solomon ”), and other structures. The ruins 
of tlie Persian palace, excavated by Williams aud 
Loftus, and, more recently, by Dieulafoy and his 
wife, cover about 300 acres on three platforms. To 
the southwest are the remains of a semicircular cita- 
del, and across a ravine to the north is a platform 
containing the ruins of the “Hall of Audience or 
“Throne Room,” while a long terrace to the east 
was the site of the palace and the harem. 

In the Bible, Susa or Shushan is mentioned once 



Shush an 
Siberia 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


316 


in Nehemiah (i 1), and once in Daniel (viii. 2), while 
the scene of the Book of Esther is laid in the city 
(Esth. i. 2, 5; in 5, 8; lii. 15 ; iv. S, 16; viii. 14; ix. 
6, 11-15, 18; Apoer. Esth. i. 2, although all these 
references are too vague to determine whether the 
“palace” [B. V. alternative reading, “castle”]. bore 
any resemblance to the royal structure as it actually 
existed). The association of Daniel with “Shushan 
the palace ” has an added interest on account of the 
single occurrence of the word instf (“ palace ”) in 
Dan. xi. 45, which, like its Syriac equivalent “afa- 
dana, ” is almost certainly a loan-word from the Old 
Persian “apadana.” The tradition of Daniel’s resi- 
dence at Shushan has caused a structure of the Mo- 
hammedan period at the foot of the citadel to he 
called the tomb of Daniel (see Daniel, To. mu op). 

The Book of Jubilees (viii, 1) reconstructs an epon- 
ymous ancestry for Shushan, which it terms “the 
daughter of Elam.” According to the Pahlavi 
“Slnitroiha-i Erau,” Shushan was founded by Slio- 
shan-dukht or Gas\ r an-dukht, the Jewish queen of 
Yezdegerd I., a statement which may mean that she 
established a Jewish colony there (see Jew. Encyc. 
ix, 465a, s.v. Paiilavi Literature). 

E - G - h. L. PI. G. 

According to the Talmud, on the eastern gate of 
the Temple at Jerusalem was a representation of 
Shushan the palace (Mid. i. 3; comp. Kelim xvii. 
9), variously explained by two Babylonian amoraim 
in the third century (Men. 98a) as an emblem -of 
servitude to the Persian kings and as a token of 
gratitude. This gate is believed by Grata (“ Gescli. ” 
ii. 103) to be identical with the “king’s gate” men- 
tioned in I Chron. ix. 18. The Babylonian schools 
of the amoraic period cite the two cities of Shush 
aud Shuslitri among the places to which the ten 
tribes were exiled (Sanh. 94a). Curiously enough, 
both these names are given to Susa in modern Per- 
sian, although it is uncertain whether they were ap- 
plied to the city as early as the third and fourth 
centuries, or whether the Talmud refers to two sep- 
arate localities at or near the ancient Susa. 

The province of which Susa was the capital is 
mentioned especially as “Be-Huza ” (Khuzistan); 
and some of the amoraim are surnamed “Huza’ali” 
(Git. 7a; Ta'an. 22a; Pes. 9a; comp. Sliab. 51b; 
Ta‘an. 21b; Ket. Soa). Saadia, following an Arabic 
chronicle of the geouic period (possibly written by 
the gaon himself; Neubauer, “M. J. C.” ii. 92; 
comp. “R. E. J.” xxxii. 143), identifies Elam (Gen.’ 
x. 22) with Khuzistan. Benjamin of Tudela in the 
twelfth century describes Khuzistan as a large 
province, although one not densely populated; and 
among its ruins were the remains of Shushan the 
palace. Pethahiah of Regensburg found only two 
Jews in Susa, and at present (1905) there are but 
7,000 in the entire province; they have fourteen 
synagogues, one behind the tomb of Daniel. 

Bibliography: Loftus, Travels and Researches in Chalricea 
and Smiana, London, 1857 ; Curzon, Persia and the Persian 
Question, ib. 1892: De Morgan, DHeyation en Perse , i.. 
Pans, 1900; Jane Dieulafoy, A Suse. ib. 1888; Marcel Dieu- 
lafoy, L Acropole de Sasc, lb. 1890-92; Billerbeck, Susa , 
-omin, iotitVi 

W. B. 

SHTJSHAN’ (SITS A) PURIIVE : Name given to 
the day which follows Purim— l.e., to the loth of 


Adar, on which day, according to the Book of Es- 
ther (ix. 18), the Purim festival is held in Shushan 
As a matter of fact, the 15th of Adar is Purim day 
not only at Shushan, but at all large, walled cities 
(see Meg. 2a, b concerning the time when it became 
necessary to surround cities with walls), as is clearly 
indicated in Esth. ix. 19, 21; but as Shushan is di- 
rectly referred to, while the cities surrounded with 
walls are only vaguely indicated, the day is called 
“Shushan Purim.” It would seem also from the 
same passage and from verses 27 and 28 that both 
the 14th and 15th of Adar were observed as festi- 
val days in Shushan and in all other walled cities; 
but the Rabbis explain (Meg. l.c.) that on one day 
the festival was observed in unwalled cities and on 
the other in Shushan and other walled places. Al- 
though, in fact, the 14th of Adar is not celebrated 
by the Jews of Shushan nor the loth by the Jews of 
unwalled cities, yet the observance of certain rabbinic 
regulations reminds Jews living in unwalled places 
of the Shushan Purim. Thus on the 15th one must 
not mourn over the dead nor fast; that part of the 
morning prayer called “ Tahanun ” must be omitted ; 
and the meal must be more elaborate than on ordi- 
nary days (Shulhan ‘Aruk, Orali Hayyim, 696, 3). 

J - M. Sel. 

SHUSSLOWITZ, JUDAH BSE : Russian 
scholar; lived at Shklov in the nineteenth century. 
He was the author of “Ozar ha-Shemot,”a concord- 
ance of the proper names found in the Bible, form- 
ing a supplement to the general Biblical concord- 
ance published at Wilna in 1878; and of “Massoret 
lia-Keri’ali ” (Warsaw, 1888), a Masoretic and gram- 
matical manual for the public reader of the Law. 
Bibliography : Zeitlin, Bibl. PosUMendels. p. 356. 
n - I. Bn. 

SHYLOCK: Character in Shakespeare’s play 
“The Merchant of Venice.” Shylock is represented 
as making a wager with Antonio , a merchant of 
Venice, setting the return of a loan of 3,000 ducats 
against a pound of flesh to be forfeited by Antonio 
if he fails to return the money from his own re- 
sources by a certain date. Antonio fails to meet his 
bond, and Shylock , who in the meantime had lost 
his daughter Jessica by her elopement with a Chris- 
tian, insists on the forfeit; thereupon Portia . the 
affianced wife of a friend of Jessica’s lover, inter- 
venes in the guise of a lawyer, and declares the bond 
forfeited because it would be impossible to extract 
a pound of flesh without drawing blood, which is 
not mentioned in the contract, and also because the 
intention of the contract was equivalent to design 
upon a Venetian citizen’s life. This latter crime 
being, in Venice, punishable by death, the doge 
remits the punishment only on condition of Shylock 
becoming a Christian and surrendering half liis for- 
tune to Antonio. 

Shakespeare appears to have taken the plot from 
a ballad entitled “Ser Gernutus the Jew,” or from 
an English version of Giovanni Flo- 
Earlier rentino’s “ II Pecorone, ” written about 
Forms of 1378. The story appeared in earlier 
the Story, forms than either of these, however. 

the earliest in which the creditor is 
a Jew being the English “Cursor Mundi,” written 
about the end of the thirteenth century. In this 



317 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Sh.ush.an 

Siberia 


version it is connected with the finding of the cross 
1)V Queen Helena, who forgives the Jew for his 
cruelty on condition of his pointing out the true site 
of the crucifixion. With a non- Jew as principal 
character the story appears even earlier, namely, in 
the Sindbad series; here it occurs as the tale of the 
fourth wise master in the “Seven Wise Masters of 
home,” in which the servant of a knight lends the 
lat ter 100 marks in order that lie may once more try 
his fortune with his lady-love, on condition that if 
he does not repay the sum the servant shall receive 
the right to remove a certain amount of flesh from 
his master’s body. He is foiled by the decision of 
the king that he must not remove more or less than 
the specified quantity. In the early English version 
of the “ Gesta Romanorum ” the condition by which 
the forfeit is evaded is that the cruel creditor shall 
not take a drop of blood. So in the German and 
Latin versions, though iu none of these is the cruel 
creditor a Jew ; and so, too, in similar stories which 
are told in Persia (F. Godwin, “The Persian Moon- 
slice, ” p. 8). In one form of the story the cruel 
creditor is a Christian, Paolo Mari Sechi , and the 
debtor a Jew, JSansone Gcneda , the latter of whom bet 
a pound of flesh that Drake had not taken the city 
of Santo Domingo, in Haiti, in 1585. The Jew 
lost, and, Sechi demanding the forfeit, the matter 
was put before Sixtus V., who condemned both 
persons to the galleys, which they could escape only 
by each paying 3,000 scudi. This story was told by 
Loti (“Vita de Sixto Quinto,” Venice, 1587) eight 
years later than the first appearance of a play on the 
subject called “The Jew,” and it is generally con- 
sidered that the story is simply a fable introduced 
by Loti into the second edition of his work. 

In Nov., 1879, Frederick Hawkins, in an article in 
“The Theater,” suggested that “The Merchant of 
Venice ” was connected with the state trial of Dr. 
Rodrigo Lopez; and Sidney Lee, in Feb., 1880, in 
“The Gentleman’s Magazine,” pointed out the sim- 
ilarity of the play with the incidents of the plot. 
The chief enemy of Lopez, like Shylock 1 s , was 
named Antonio. Henslow recorded that lie had 
• brought out in August, three months 
Historical after the execution of Lopez, a “ Vene- 
Basis. syon comedey ” which is probably iden- 
tical with “ The Merchant of Venice ” ; 
and in the autumn of 1584 there were many repeti- 
tions of a play called “ The Jew,” as well as of Mar- 
lowe's “ Rich Jew of Malta ” (see Baii abas). It has 
been conjectured that the public interest taken in 
the trial induced Shakespeare to revise and rewrite 
l he play referred to by Gosson in 1579 as relating to 
a cruel and usurious Jew, which was itself derived 
from a story in the ballad referred to above and in 
“11 Pecorone.” Some of the traits in Shylock may 
be due to the influence of Marlowe, hut Shylock was 
much more human than Bar abas, since he was in- 
fluenced by grief at the action of his daughter as 
well as at the loss of a prized ring which lie had 
once given to his wife, and was made still more re- 
sentful by the business competition of Antonio. 

In the early traditions of the English stage Shy- 
Jock was played as a comic character, but Edmund 
Kean made it a serious one, and he has been followed 
in (his reading by Sir Henry Irving. It lias been 


played with some force in Yiddish by Jacob 
Adler. 

Bibliography : Israel Davidson, Shylock and Barahas (re- 
printed from the Seivancc Review , No. 3); Furness, Mer- 
chant of Venice , pp. 287-314, 395-399, Philadelphia, 1888; 
Griitz, Shylock in der Sage im Drama vnd in der Gc- 
schichtG. Krotoschin, 1899 ; David Philipson, The Jew in Eng- 
lish Fiction , Cincinnati, 1903; L. Weiss, Talmudic and 
Other Legends in English Fiction , New York, 1899. 

J. 

SPA (kjpd), LEON JUDAH AEYEH (NASH 
AL DIN): Physician in Constantinople, and a 
friend of Jewish science; lived before 1683. He 
translated Judah ha-Levi’s “Cuzari” and Baliya’s 
“ Hobot ba-Lebabot ” from Arabic into Latin, which 
his friend Jacob Roman intended to print together 
with the Hebrew translation and the Arabic text. 
He was on friendly terms with Anton Leger, chap- 
lain of the Dutch embassy in Constantinople, 
through whom he recommended his friend Roman 
(in a letter written in Latin and dated Dec., 1633) to 
Johannes Buxtorf, Junior, of Basel. He had cor- 
responded with Buxtorf at an earlier date. When 
Rakoczy I., Prince of Transylvania, in 1639 ap- 
pointed Si‘a to be his court physician, the latter 
left Constantinople, discarding Judaism at the same 
time, as Buxtorf wrote to Professor Hottinger at 
Zurich (Aug. 11, 1641). 

Bibliography: Buxtorf, Bibliotheca Rabbinica, p. 174; Wolf, 
Bibl. Hchr. iii. 1355f (where the name is wrongly given as 
m-CD): Carmoly, Histoire dcs Mrdecins Juifs , p. 189 (who 
says that Si‘a did not come from Flanders to Constantinople); 

R. E. J. viii. 85 et aeg. 

S. M. K. 

SIBBECHAI : Captain under David who came 
from the town of Shushan, near Ephrath-Bethlehem. 
He distinguished himself by overcoming a Philis- 
tine giant (II Sam. xxi. 18; I Chron. xx. 4). He is 
mentioned also in I Chron. xi. 39, xxvii. 11, as one 
of the thirty valiant followers of David. He may 
be the Mebunnai of II Sam. xxiii. 27. 
e. g. it. F. I. N. 

SIBERIA: Russian territoiy in northern Asia, 
extending from the Ural Mountains to the Pacific 
Ocean, and from the Arctic Sea to the Chinese fron- 
tier, with a total population (1903) of 6,276,226, in- 
cluding 81,380 Jews. As a place of banishment for 
Russian prisoners Siberia acquired its first Jewish 
settlers in the seventeenth century in those banished 
thither as criminals, among whom there were many 
whose only crime consisted in their being Jews. 
When steps were taken in 1829 to diminish the 
number of Jews in Courland and Livonia, it was 
proposed among other measures to deport to Siberia 
those Jews who failed to register in some community 
by a specified time (see Coubland). The Jews thus 
deported were followed by their families and friends, 
and the authorities did not apparently object to the 
latter’s establishing themselves in Siberia. In the 
course of time, however, the Jewish question was 
brought forward there also. In the early thirties 
of the nineteenth century a question was raised in 
the Senate, in the case of Berkowitz and Kamencr, 
for the purpose of ascertaining whether Jews de- 
ported to Siberia, and tlieir children who accom- 
panied them, were entitled to avail themselves cf 
the gild privileges. The committee of ministers to 
whom the case was referred resolved that it was 



Siberia 

Sibyl 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


318 


legal for Berko witz and Kamener to register in the 
merchant gild; blit “in order to prevent too great 
an increase of Jewish merchants to the injury of the 
natives,” it was resolved that the case of every Jew 
wishing to secure a trade license be presented to the 
minister of finance for decision at his discretion. 
Tins resolution was approved by the czar, March 3, 
1834 (“ Vtoroye Polnoye Sobraniye Zakonov ” ix 
'No. 6875). ^ ’ ‘ ’’ 

_ 011 the other hand, Nicholas I. intended to estab- 
lish Jewish agricultural colonies in Siberia; and he 
even issued an order calling for the assignment of 
land for this purpose in the governments of Tobolsk 
and Omsk (1836). The Jews, especially those from 
Courland, were quite eager to settle 

Ukase in Siberia, but the plan was suddenty 
of Jan. 5, abandoned, and by a ukase dated Jan. 

1837 . 5, 1837, the czar ordered that the set- 

tlement of Jews there should be dis- 
continued. . The issuing of this ukase was largely 
due to the influence of the adjutant-general, Count 
Benkendorf, and of the minister of the interior. Count 
Bludov; the latter, though he had officially advo- 
cated the establishment of Jews in Siberia, had pri- 
vately opposed the measure. Nicholas I. came to 
the conclusion that the settlement of a large number 
of Jews in Siberia would result in economic injury 
to the native population, and he suggested, as the 
most effective remedy, “the enrolment among the 
military cantonists of all the children of Jews de- 
ported for settlement in Siberia.” Inquiries made at 
that time showed that in the governments of To- 
bolsk, Tomsk, and Yeniseisk there were eighteen 
Jewish merchants and 659 Jewish artisans, -while 
there were thirteen Jewish settlers in the territory 
of Omsk. The regulations finally adopted by 
Bludov specified, among other provisions, that the 
transfer of Jewish settlers to Siberia should be posi- 
tively and permanently prohibited; that the lands 
assigned for new Jewish colonies in the government 
of Tobolsk and in the territory of Omsk should be 
used for other purposes; that prospective Jewish 
settlers already on their way to Siberia should be 
sent elsewhere; that Jews liable to banishment to 
Siberia were, if under thirty-five, to be pressed iuto 
military service, if between thirty-five and forty to 
be sent to the workhouse, and if over forty to be 
deported to special settlements in the remote regions 
of Siberia, namely, in the territories of Yakutsk and 
Transbaikalia. The Jews sentenced to hard labor in 
the mines were to be settled in the same regions at 
the expiration of their terms. Jews who had come 
to Siberia in order to join their relatives were to be 
given the alternative of returning to their former 
homes or of joining their coreligionists in the new 
Russian colonies. On tlieir refusal to accept either, 
they were to be deported to the remote parts of 
Siberia. Male children under eighteen of Jewish 
settlers were to be registered among the military 
Cantonists (“Vtoroye Polnoye Sobraniye Zako- 
nov,” xii,, No. 10,242). 

Meanwhile thirty-six Jewish settlers from the 
governments of Moghilef and Byelostok arrived in 
the territory of Omsk, and their status became the 
subject of much official correspondence. Bludov 

reported tlie matter to I s ? icholas X. , who decided tliat 


it would be “unjust to transfer these Jews again,” 
and ordered that they be given the choice of removal 
to the government of Kherson or of 
Status remaining in Siberia under the regu- 
of Siberian lations adopted for the Jews already 
Jews. established there. From a document 
of subsequent date it appears that 
thirty-two of these Jews preferred to remain in 
Siberia, while four asked to be sent back to their old 
homes. After this, and until the death of Nicholas 
I., the government endeavored in various ways to 
discourage the settlement of Jews in the territory. 

During, the reign of Alexander II. several Jews, 
not convicts, were given permission to settle in 
Siberia, but notwithstanding this permission those 
who established themselves there were subjected 
to much oppression by the local administrators, 
who interpreted the law according to their own 
desires. Thus Jewish artisans, to whom.. the law 
of the empire permitted unrestricted residence while 
they were actively engaged in the pursuit of their 
trades, were frequently compelled to remain in the 
Siberian settlements where they happened to be reg- 
istered, and were not allowed to leave even when 
unable to earn a livelihood there (see “Klironika 
Voskhoda,” 1889, No. 9). 

“ A general review of the government enactments 
concerning the Jews naturally leads to the question,” 
says Mysh in 1889, “ why the honest Jew 7 who is not 
a member of the privileged classes is forbidden to 
breathe the air of Siberia, -while various criminals 
and their descendants, although Jeivs, may not only 
live in Siberia while serving their terms, but may 
settle there permanently, and enjoy full civic rights, 
even though forbidden to engage in the liquor 
trade. At the same time, thanks to the laws con- 
cerning the Pale of Settlement, aii} r Jew within 
the Pale who, on account of over- 
Anomalous crowding and the fierce competition of 
Position, his coreligionists, suffers from pov- 
erty, and who wishes to escape from 
liis unfortunate position, and to remove with his 
family be3 7 ond the Pale, will find only one way open 
to him, namely, to commit some crime. . It will then 
become possible for him to remove with his family 
to Siberia at the government’s expense, and become 
there a full-fledged member of the local population.” 

Under Alexander III. and Nicholas II. official dis- 
crimination against the Jews of Siberia became more 
pionounced. Trims the council of the government 
of Tobolsk decided that the domicil of a Jew regis- 
tered in a Siberian community is not Siberia at large, 
but only the place of his registration, and lienee 
such a Jew, if not a registered artisan, lias not the 
right to move from one Siberian government to an- 
other, nor even to transfer his residence from one 
settlement to another in the same government. The 
Siberian administrations -were supported in this ru- 
liug by the imperial Senate, and thereby many Sibe- 
rian Jew 7 s have been placed in the position of serfs 
practical^ attached to the localitj 7- where they hap- 
pen to reside; in many instances they have been 
deprived of the means of gaining a livelihood. 

Regulations of a similar nature were adopted in 
1899 by the governor-general of Transbaikalia. Ac- 

cordmg to these, “ -Tows n re forbidden to reside in 



319 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Siberia 

Sibyl 


the boundary-zone adjoining the Chinese frontier. 
Only those Jews who lived there prior to the ukase 
of June 12, 1860, are permitted to remain in the 
place of their registration. The banished Jews and 
their descendants have no right to move freely from 
place to place in Siberia, but may apply to the gov- 
ernor-general for permission to do so ” ( u Kiironika 
Yoskhoda,” 1900, No. 2, p. 10). These regulations 
are everywhere enforced with great severity and 
arbitrariness by the local administrations, much suf- 
fering being inflicted upon the Jewish residents of 
Siberia (ib. Nos. 42, 70; “Die Welt,” 1902, No. 48). 

According to the census of 1897, the Jews in 
Siberia numbered 84,477 (18,483 males, and 15,994 
females), distributed as follows: 


Districts. 

Number of 1 
Jews. 

Percentage of 
Jews to Total 
Population. 

Amur 

394 

0.33 

Yeniseisk . . . . 

5,730 

1.00 

Transbaikalia 

7,550 

1.18 

Irkutsk 

8,239 

1.60 

Primorskaya . 

1,59 L 

0,72 

Sakhalin 

127 

0.45 


Districts. 

Number of 
Jews. 

Percentage of 
Jews to Total 
Population. 

Tobolsk 

2.453 

0.17 

Tomsk 

7,696 

0.40 

Yakutsk 

697 

0.26 

Totals 

34,477 

0.68 


Bibliography: Vaskhod, 1887, ix.; ib. lbS9, vii.; FosJJtod, 
Ncdyclnaya Khrnnika Voxkhoda, 188/, Iso. 40; Mysh, 
Buko'dofTsivo K Zakonam o Ycvreyakh, 2cl eel. 

t J. G. L. 


SIBLONOT : Talmudic term for gifts presented 
to a bride by the bridegroom or by the parents. 
According to some authorities, the word is derived 
from the Greek av/i/3o?uiv, which means “ gift or pay- 
ment made in token of something” (Kohut, “ Aruch 
Completum,” s.v.), while, according to others, it is the 
plural form of “sebel” (=“load”), the synonym 
of which, “ massah ” (load), also assumes in the plural 
(“massot”) the meaning of “presents” (Jastrow, 
“Diet.” s.v. p^nD). Doubt was expressed by some 
Talmudic authorities as to whether the term “sib- 
lonot ” employed in the Mishnah and in the Gemara 
designated all gifts to a bride or only the first gift 
(“ Leket lia-Kemah ” on Eben ha-‘Ezer, p. 129). 

The rabbinical legislation made provisions with 
regard to siblonot in case of death or divorce after 
betrothal and before marriage. Siblonot consisting 
of garments or other things used b} r the bride while 
still in her father’s house, and which might be worn 
out before the marriage, need not be returned; those 
of jewelry or ornaments must be returned; while 
those of food or drink must be returned only if 
the bridegroom has not partaken of a meal to the 
value of one dinar in the house of his father-in-law. 
In the case of a divorce occasioned by the woman’s 
refusal to marry, even the smallest article must be 
returned (B. B. ix. 6; Shulhan ‘Aruk, Eben ha- 
‘Ezer, 50). 

Siblonot were considered as “ nikse melug ” (the 
property of plucking); and the husband was enti- 
tled to all the fruits and profits thereof, although 
he was not held responsible for their loss or deteri- 
oration (Isaac ben Sheshet, “She’elot u-Teshubot.,” 
§ 101 ; Solomon ben Adret, “Tesliubot lia-Rashba,” 
^ 900 ). TYavid ibu Abi Zimra discusses the ques- 


tion whether siblonot given by the bridegroom’s 
father and returned after the death of the latter, on 
the dissolution of the marriage belong to the bride- 
groom alone or to him and his brothers jointly 
(“Tesliubot ha-Radbaz,” £ 151). 

E. c. k Br. 

SIBYL : Woman who prophesied, while in a 
state of frenzy, under the supposed inspiration of a 
deity. In the Jewish sense of persons who felt 
themselves spiritually impelled to speak to the peo- 
ple in the name of God, prophets were unknown 
to the ancient Greeks and Romans, among whom 
prophecy was limited to the deliverances of the 
sibyls (Gipvllai). The ancient sources differ as to 
the" number and nativity of these sibyls. Plato 
speaks of only one sibyl, while Aristotle and Aris- 
tophanes mention several, and Yarro (in Lactantius, 
“Divinarum Iustitutionem,” i. 6) enumerates ten, 
including a number from the East. 
Number. The most interesting list from the 
Jewish point of view, however, is that 
of Pausanias, who enumerates the following four 
sibyls (x. 12): the Libyan sibyl; Herophile, the 
sibyl of Marpessus or Erytlirse (said to have proph- 
esied both in Asia Minor and at Delphi, and therefore 
frequently mentioned under various other names); 
Demo of Cumse, the chief sibyl of Roman history; 
and the Hebrew sibyl, Sabbe of Palestine (knp.wn 
also as the Babylonian or Egyptian sibyl). AJate 
source, the “Clironicon Pascliale,” which was com- 
posed in the sixth centuiy of the common era, enu- 
merates twelve sibyls (ed. Bonn, 108, p. 201), and 
expressly terms one of them the “ Hebrew ” sibyl, 
the same designation being used by Suidas and other 
late authors. 

The scanty references in these ancient sources 
clearly imply that the sibyls were native to the East; 
and this is confirmed by their common designation. 
Although Yarro gives a Greek etymology for the 
word (gwc = BeSg povV.a, whence Gifiv/.Xa = 6eo- 
ftob/j), “ the counsel of god ”), and modern philolo- 
gists derive it from an ancient Italian dialect (see 
“ Rheinisches Museum,” i. 110 et seq.), the arguments 
are not convincing. Since Lactantius expressly 
says ( l.c .) that the sibyl is a native of Babylon, the 
name is probably Semitic in origin. The word may 
be resolved into the two components “sib ” + “il," 
thus denoting “ the ancient of god ” ( Krauss, in 
“Byzantinische Zeit.” xi. 122), especially as great 
age is one of the sibylline characteristics. The He- 
brew sibyl is identical, moreover, according to Pau- 
sanias and Suidas (s.v. with the sibyl of 

Babylon, and the name “ Sabbe ” consequently repre- 
sents the Aramaic “saba ”(=“old”), inasmuch as 
the sibyl is the personification of old age. Suidas 
gives the form “ Sambethe ” instead of “ Sabbe ” ; this 
fs to he explained by the fact that the Hebrew sibyl 
was supposed in the Byzantine period to be men- 
tioned in the Biblical list of nations, and that hence 
“ Seba ” and “ Sabtechali ” (Gen. x. 7 and I Cliron. 
i. 9) came to he, in slightly Hellenized forms, 
two equivalent designations for the Hebrew sibyl 
(Krauss, l.c.). 

The connection of the sibyl with Biblical person- 
ages appears also in a statement found in the extant 
collection of the Sibylline Books to the effect that 



Sibyl 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


320 


she asserted herself to belong to the sixth genera- 
tion of man and to be descended from Noah (i. 298), 
while in another passage she termed herself a vir- 
gin of the blood of Noah (iii. 827). On account 
of these statements the Erythnean pagan sibyl was 
likewise said to be descended from the sixth gener- 
ation after the Flood (Eusebius, “Con- 
Connection stantini Oratio ad S. Coe turn,” xviii.). 
with Bib- The Hebrew sibyl was alleged also to 
lical Per- have been the wife of one of Noah’s 
sonages. sons, and consequently to have been 
saved in the ark (Plato’s “Phmdrus,” 
p. 244b, note). It was generally said, however, and 
with greater show of right, that she belonged to the 
race of the blessed Noah (prologue to the Sibyl lines), 
which statement agrees with her names Saba and 
Sambethe. Epiphanius regarded her as the daughter 
of Noah himself, or even of Eve (“Ad versus Ila?- 
reses,” vi,, xxvi. 1). The Jewish sibyl, however, 
deliberately falsified her genealogy, for it was an 
accepted tradition that the old pagan sibyl was a 
native of Babylon, while the Jewish sibyl was held 
to be the daughter of the ancient Chaldean his- 
torian Berosns (pseudo-Justin, “Cohort, ad Gneeos,” 
xxx vii, ; comp. Pausanias, x. 12; Moses of Cliorene, 
i. 6), The Jewish sibyl, then, was regarded as 
a very ancient personage who perpetuated the wis- 
dom of the past, and the traditions concerning her 
may consequently be compared with the Jewish 
legends of Enoch and of Asher’s daughter Serah. 

All these legends arose after the ascription of 
Jewish prophecies to the sibyl. The Hellenistic 
Jews, especially those of Alexandria, were in con- 
formity with the spirit of their time when they 
clothed their sayings in Gentile garb, for only thus 
could they hope to gain an audience. For the 
sibylline prophecies were intended primarily for the 
pagans, although the intention was rather to con- 
vict them of sin and to glorify Judaism by contrast 
with them than to convert them. The medium of 
verse was chosen, moreover, as being the commonly 
accepted vehicle of prophecy at Delphi, as well as in 
the oracles of Orpheus and Cassandra, in the magic 
papyri, and especially of the pagan sibyl. But 
the clumsy hexameters and the awkward sentences 
did not satisfy the refined tastes of the Greco -Roman 
world, and Heraclitus, the sage of Ephesus, himself 
declared that the sibyl uttered unrimed and uncouth 
words with raving mouth, even though her broken 
speech was regarded as the stammering of ecstasy, 
since she was merely the frail vessel of the divine 
spirit. In the extant collection of the 
Hebraic Jewish oracles the sibyl often com- 
Tendencies plains that she is exhausted by the 
in Hellenic mighty spirit of the Lord, but that she 
Garb. is compelled by His command to con- 
tinue her utterances. She is, however, 
full}' conscious of her divine mission, which is to 
be “the light of the heathen,” “preparing the path 
for man.” She circulates the divine code of ethics, 
and explains the ancient history of the Jews to the 
Gentiles, whom she familiarizes with monotheism, 
retaining some of llie concepts of Greek mythology 
merely to lend some degree of familiarity to her in- 
struction. She lashes the wickedness of the heathen, 
describes the impending divine judgment and the 


coming Messianic period, and dwells on the sublime 
mission of the Jewish people, for whom is reserved 
a future of splendor and sanctity, despite the shame 
which has been its lot. Special stress is laid on the 
most attractive ethical laws of Judaism, since these 
alone could be used for a successful propaganda 
among the Gentiles. 

Yet the sibylline poems are far from being such 
cosmopolitan compositions as is the work of the 
Pseudo-Piiocylides. They are, on the contrary, 
essentially national and nomistic in so far as they 
arc Jewish. Even the Messianic time is inconceiv- 
able without the Temple, sacrificial worship, and 
the Law. Despite this the pagan Greeks are nowhere 
urged to observe the Law; they are asked merely 
to lead moral lives and to recognize the one God. 
Although the sibyl addresses all peoples, the Syr- 
ians, Britons, Gauls, and the nations of the Isles, she 
especially exhorts the people of Hellas, knowing 
that it will be well with all the human race if this 
people with its grand culture will combine its own 
virtues with the pure religion of Judaism. 

“ Of centuries fifteen have passed away 
Since o’er the Greeks those haughty tyrants ruled 
Who first taught evil unto mortal man, 

And made false gods for them that now are dead, 

Whereby ye learned to think but vanity ” (iii. 551-555). 

These lines deserve special attention, for they in- 
dicate the philosophical point of view of the author. 
According to the sibyl, whose attitude was subse- 
quent}} 7 shared by the Christian apologists, pagan- 
ism originated when mankind revolted from God 
and undertook to build the Tower of Babel, aban- 
doning the worship of the true God for idolatry and 
renouncing God and His law, which, “in a certain 
sense,” had existed even before Moses. The princes 
of Greece had been the chief agents in tlie'i n t rod no- 
tion and dissemination of idolatry, and the conver- 
sion of the heathen meant, therefore, simply a return 
to the God of Israel and to His law, which had been 
wickedly abandoned in ages past (Friedlitnder, 

“ Apologetik,” p. 44). A Hungarian philologist has 
correctly summarized this view in the single phrase: 
“The Jewish sibyl states the case cuhemeristieally” 
(G. Nemethy, “ Piiilologiai Kozlony,” xxi. 1-5; 
comp, idem, “Euhemcri Reliquiae,” Budapest, 1889), 
Judaism could, indeed, be successfully defended by 
recourse to the euhemeristic theory of the Greek 
pantheon. 

Nascent Christianity could find no better aid for 
its apologetics than the sibylline poems, and it is 
due to this fact that the utterances of the Jewish 
sibyl have been preserved inconsiderable fragments, 
while the words of the pagan sibyl have been al- 
most entirely lost, although it must be 
Christian admitted that the fragments of the 
Sibyls. latter which have escaped destruction 
are more pithy, poetic, and valuable 
than the Jewish portion. Christianity has not only 
preserved these poems, but lias added to them, so 
that the sibylline utterances in their present form 
are a mixture of Jewish and Christian elements, im- 
posing upon criticism the task of separating them. 
The difficulty of the problem is increased by the 
fact that the text of the fragments is very imperfect, 
uncertain, and full of errors. 



321 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Sibyl 


The evidence thus far accessible shows that a 
sibylline poem of considerable extent was first put 
in circulation by Alexandrian Jews in tlie second 
century b.c., and that compositions of this nature 
continued to be published until late in the imperial 
period. These productions always availed them- 
selves of the latest events, the frequent convulsions 
in the Homan empire furnishing rich material for 
new visions, which deeply affected Judaism and 
renewed its hopes for the future. The Christian 
compositions of this type covered a much longer 
period of time, stray poems being written even in 
the Middle Ages. The Christian sibylline verses 
may easily be recognized when they contain proph- 
ecies referring to Jesus or when they are couched in 
decided antinomistic and occasionally anti- Jewish 
language. Some of them, however, bear none of 
these marks of a Christian origin, and have been 
so completely incorporated with the Jewish por- 
tion that the two elements can not readily be sepa- 
rated. 

When the prologue to the Sibydlines was written, 
in the fifth or sixth century, by a Byzantine author, 
they had been cast into almost their final form, al- 
though they were then somewhat shorter. They 
were little read at Byzantium in the Middle Ages, 
since the Byzantines had their own sibylline oracles, 
both in verse and in prose, while the West produced 
a different kind of oracle, written in Latin, and 
modeled on the sayings of the sibyl of Ery tline. 

In the period of the Renaissance the ancient poetic 
oracles were again read eagerly, although they were 
not printed until a late date. The first edition was 
issued by Xystus Betuleius (Sixtus 

History. Birken) of Augsburg, in eight books 
(Basel, 1545), and created a sensation 
in the world of scholarship ; Castalio of Basel pub- 
lished a Latin versed translation of the Sibyllines in 
1546. Better manuscripts were used by Johannes 
Osopoeus (Johannes Koch), 'whose edition appeared 
at Paris in 1596, The next edition was that in Gal- 
landi’s “Bibliotheca Veterum Patrum” (Venice, 
1765, 1788), but it was not until the nineteenth cen- 
tury that editions of scholarly accuracy appeared. 
In 1817 a fourteenth book was edited, from a manu- 
script at Milan (Codex Ambrosianus), by Angelo 
Mai, who, eleven years later, published books xi.- 
xiv., from a Vatican manuscript. Better texts also 
became available for the parts previously published. 
The two editions published by tlie French scholar 
Charles Alexandre in 1841-56 and 1809 are mas- 
terly from a historical, critical, and exegetical point 
of view. Other noteworthy editions are those by 
Alois Rzacli (Vienna, 1S91) and Johann Geffken 
(Leipsic, 1902), both of whom have elucidated tlie 
Siby Hines in numerous other studies. Without go- 
ing into textual details, a brief resume may here be 
given of the results of the literary criticism of these 
poems, since the Christian and tlie Jewish elements 
must be distinguished from each other. Although 
definite results are impossible, there is a certain con- 
sensus in scholarly opinion, which may he epito- 
mized as follows, on the authority of Schiirer and 
Ilarnack : 

Tlie origin of books i. and ii. is doubtful. De- 
chent and Friedlieb have designated passages of 
XI. -21 


considerable length in both as Jewish in origin, al- 
though, according to Scliurer, most scholars regard 
them as Christian. Harnack more rea- 
Analysis. sonably considers them as based on a 
Jewish original influenced by Chris- 
tian revision. In harmony with this theory, i. 1- 
323, which constitutes the nucleus of the hook, con- 
tains no Christian elements, while i. 324-400, imme- 
diately following, is not only distinctly Christian, 
but is even openly anti-Jewisli. In book ii. the 
Jewish part of book i. is continued, but the sibyl, 
passing by former ages, deals directly with the last 
generation; only verses 34-55 are Christian. Verses 
56-148 are a didactic poem taken from pseudo- 
Phocylides, and tlie passage beginning with verse 
154 is, on the whole, a Jewish eschatology mingled 
with Stoic conceptions, though it may contain some 
Christian elements. 

Book iii. is undoubtedly the most valuable of the 
entire collection. According to Bleek, it is, at least 
in its main portion (verses 97-807), the work of an 
Alexandrian Jew, who may have flourished in the 
Maeeabean period (170-160 b.c.). Other critics assign 
it to tlie year 140 or 124 b.c., though, with the ex- 
ception of Alexandre, who ascribes verses 295-488 
to a Christian author, they agree in regarding it as 
an ancient Jewish poem. The poem, which is by 
no means uniform, may be divided into three parts: 

( 1 ) verses 97-294; (2) verses 295-488; (3) verses 499- 
807. 

( 1 ) Verses 97-294 describe the building of the 
Tower of Babel and the dispersion of the peoples; 
this event is ascribed to the quarrel among the 
three kings Kronos, Titan, and Japetus, Biblical 
material and Greek mythology being indiscrimi- 
nately mingled. The poet surveys the successive 
rules of the Egyptians, Persians, Medes, Ethio- 
pians, Assyrians, Babylonians, Macedonians, Ptol- 
emies, and Romans, the last-named being still a 
republic, for it is designated as “many-headed” 

(7 zoTimpavog), All these governmen ts are 
The Third succeeded by the peaceful rule of the 
Sibylline, people of God, who once before bad 
been great and mighty under Solo- 
mon. After tlie seventh Hellenic king, Ptolemy 
VII. (Physcon) of Egypt, the people of God will 
again be in the ascendent, and will rule mankind. 
This passage is followed by an account of tlie his- 
tory and the characteristics of Israel. 

( 2 ) Verses 295-488 comprise denunciations and 
warnings regarding Babylon, Egypt, Gog and Ma- 
gog, Libya, Syria (under the Seleucids), Phrygia, 
Troy (with a noteworthy polemic against Homer), 
Lycia, Cyprus, and Italy. This portion was evi- 
dently written in the second century, although some 
details do not agree with actual history. In the 
description of the Syrian kings, Antiochus Epipli- 
anes, his son Eupator. the latter’s assassin, Deme- 
trius I., and the succeeding rulers down to Tryplio, 
are clearly recognizable. 

(3) Verses 499-807 also contain denunciations of 
the Gentiles, which contrast sharply with the prom- 
ises for Israel and the announcement of the last 
judgment; this section, too, includes an allusion to 
the seventh Ptolemy. The Christian elements which 
some critics have sought to find in this passage may 



Sibyl 

Sicarii 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


322 


be interpreted differently. Verse 785, “Be glad, O 
virgin [/cop//], and rejoice,” refers to Jerusalem, in 
which God shall dwell, according to Zecli. ii. 10. 
The sibyl again refers to Jerusalem in verses 260 et 
*eq . which may be compared with viii. 324, “Be 
glad, thou holy daughter of Zion.” This purely 
Biblical phraseology has not always been correctly 
interpreted by the editors; thus Geffken emended 
the received text in iii. 355 and viii. 75 because he 
did not perceive that the phrases “daughter of 
Rome” and “native of Rome” refer to the city of 
Rome itself. In verse 776 the reading should be, 
as was recognized by Alexandre, vabv Qsolo (“tem- 
ple of God ”), in allusion to Isa. lvi. 7, instead of 
viov Qsolo (“son of God ”). 

This internal evidence is supported b 3 r external 
evidence, for the sibyl’s version of the stoiy of the 
building of the Tower of Babel and the battle of the 
sons of Kronos with the Titans was quoted also l)} 7 
Alexander Polyhistor in the name of the sibyl, and 
Josephus likewise knew it (“Ant.” i. 4, £3). The 
majority of the quotations from the Sibylline Books 
found in patristic literature are taken from the third 
book. 

The two fragments, containing eighty -four verses, 
found in Theophilus (“Ad Autolycum,”ii. 36) have 
been separated from the Sibylline Books in their 
present form, although, according to Lactantius, 
they seem originally to have formed the prologue. 
They are evident ly a genuine product of Jewish 
sibylline literature, and glorify in inspired speech 
the monotheism of Judaism, while denouncing the 
folly and the abominations of pagan idolatry. 
Verses 36-92, now placed at the beginning of book 
iii., may be dated with some degree of certainty. 
Tbe words “ When Rome shall rule also over Egypt ” 
(verse 46) indicate Rome’s assumption of rulersliip 
over Egypt as very recent; there are also allusions 
to the triumvirs and to Cleopatra. Under this 
queen the Jewish author hoped for the advent of 
the Messianic kingdom; he therefore must have 
composed his work between 40 and 31 b.c. The 
reference to the “ Sebastenians ” in verse 63 is fre- 
quently regarded as an allusion to the Samaritans, 
and the poem is accordingly assigned an earlier 
date, or the lines in question are explained as inter- 
polations. The name may refer, however, to the 
Romans, who were so known in Palestine (see 
Sebastus). 

The third book concludes with an epilogue (SOS- 
828), in which the sibyl explains her nature. The 
Greeks erroneously suppose her to be the Erythraean 
prophetess, but she is in reality a native of Babylon 
and a daughter of Noah. These verses may be in- 
terpolations, although there is a possibility that they 
are genuine. 

Book iv. is far more unified. In the name of the 
true God the sibyl predicts the events that will 
take place from the first to the tenth generation of 
man. This division of history into ten periods 
(comp. ii. 15) is very important, for it served as a 
model for the medieval chroniclers, such as pseudo- 
Metliodius; Hebrew analogues also exist. All na- 
tions, great and small, pass in review before the 
poet, who follows the example of the Bible in finding 
omens in the names of cities and countries according 


to their etymology. Thus, Samos shall be covered 
by sand (aftpoc), he declares, and Delos shall disap- 
pear (aSjjXog; comp. Micali i. 10 and Zeph. ii. 4). He 
even alludes to the destruction of Jerusalem by the 
Romans (115-127), declaring that the eruption of 
Vesuvius in 79 b.c. was a punishment for it (ISO- 
136); and he shares the view of his contemporaries 
in regard to Nero’s flight across the Euphrates and 
his speedy return (117-124 and 137-139). These data 
show that the author lived about 80 c.e. The entire 
poem is Jewish in spirit, and there is no reason to 
regard it as a Christian product. The attacks upon 
animal sacrifices were directed only against the Gen- 
tiles, and have nothing to do with Essenisin. The 
baptism which the pagans are invited to accept 
(165) is the Jewish baptism of proselytes; the pas- 
sage is modeled, moreover, on Isa. i. 16. 

Book v., one of the best of the entire collection, 
consists of several Jewish passages and brief Chris- 
tian additions. The number of peoples and coun- 
tries enumerated by the author exceeds 
The Fifth those in the other poems. The lamen- 
Sibylline. tations and hopes he utters clearly 
show that the historic background in 
each is a different one, as Zalm correctly states. 
The poet wrote shortly after the destruction of Jeru- 
salem by Titus, and, influenced by this catastrophe, 
he predicted the downfall also of the temple of 
Onias in Egypt. Then follow the Messianic pre- 
diction and the description of the last judgment. 
This portion seems to include verses 111—178, 200- 
205, 228-246, 361-433, and 484-531. About 120 C.E., 
in the beginning of the reign of Hadrian, who is des- 
ignated, like the other rulers, merely by the initials 
of his name, another Judseo-Egyptian poet proph- 
esied, eulogizing the emperor as the best and most 
excellent of men, and apparently expecting that he 
would rebuild the Temple. The poet mourns over 
the Egyptians and other nations, all of whom deserve 
punishment because they worship animals and are 
idolaters (52-110). In another passage (179-213) 
he laments again over Egypt, and over the Afri- 
can districts of Barka, .Syene, Gyrene, and Ethiopia, 
following this section with the judgment of Corinth 
(214-227). He anticipates, with great felicity, the 
liberation of the Jews from the Hellenic dominion and 
the conversion of the Gentiles (247-360; a Christian 
passage, 256-259, in praise of Jesus, is interpolated). 
Verses 434-483 render the judgment of Babylon. 

About 150 C.E. a Christian redactor seems to have 
combined all these passages, adding Christian mat- 
ter. Harnack ascribes the remarkable eulogy of 
Hadrian, whom no Jew could extol, to a Christian; 
but in general the Christian elements here can not 
be definitely distinguished from (he Jewish. 

Books vi., vii., and viii. are usually regarded as 
Christian in origin. Book vi. is a short hymn to 
Jesus, with denunciations of Israel, which is called 
a country like Sodom (21). In book vii. also Jesus 
is glorified; the author of this poem lived in the 
Christian era, after the establishment of the Parthian 
empire. Book viii. is still more openly Christian, 
and includes the famous poem in acrostics to “Jesus 
Christ, the Redeemer, the crucified Son.” 

The recently discovered books xi.-xiv. (ix. and x. 
are missing) are, on the whole, Christian in charac- 



333 


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Sibyl 

Sicarii 


ter, as is clear from historical analysis rather than 
from positive statements. Book xi., however, is 
probably Jewish in origin. Although 
Recently the Church Fathers do not quote these 
Discovered books, this does not imply that they 
Sibyllines, were- composed at a late date; they 
remain uncited because the religious 
thought they express is unimportant, and their Mes- 
sianic-apocalyptic elements are entirely conventional. 

Book xi. narrates the history of the world from 
the Flood, and alludes to the founding of Rome, the 
siege of Troy (the sibyl here asserts that Homer 
borrowed from her), Alexander the Great, and the 
Diadochi, tracing the course of history up to the 
time of Cleopatra and Julius Osar. The religious 
element, especially of the Messianic type, is unim- 
portant. The author seems to have been an Alex- 
andrian. The book contains no Christian elements 
whatever. 

Book xii. continues the Roman history, giving the 
numerical values of the initials in the names of 
the emperors down to Alexander Severus; that the 
immediate successors of Septimius Severus are 
omitted may possibly be due to a lacuna in the text. 
A religious element appears in the statement that 
the divine Logos appeared on earth during the reign 
of the first Roman emperor (30 and 232)— evident- 
ly a Christian statement. Vespasian, however, is 
termed, in the Jewish sense, the “ destroyer of the 
pious,” while Hadrian, on the contrary, is eulogized. 

Book xiii., which has no religious elements, con- 
tinues the history of the Roman emperors from Max- 
iminus to Aurelian, who will subdue the monsters, 
the thirty tyrants. There are references also to 
Philippus, to the Persian wars, and to Alexandria as 
the granary of Rome. 

Book xiv. differs from the preceding books in that 
the allusions to the emperors are too obscure to ad- 
mit of identification, while alleged historical events 
do not correspond with the authenticated data. 
The poet apparently followed his own imagination. 
He seems to have been chiefly interested in Asia 
.Minor, from which it may be inferred that he was a 
Jew or a Christian from that region. The book con- 
tains no religious elements whatever, although the 
author gives his work a Messianic conclusion, pro- 
claiming that during the last generation of the 
Latins, Rome will enjoy a period of felicity under 
the government of God Himself, while in the coun- 
tries of the East, including Egypt, a holy people 
will live in peace, after all wrongs have been righted. 

No allusion to the sibyl, and no traces of her in- 
fluence, are found in medieval Jewish literature, 
beyond the cursory mention by Abraham Zacuto, 
in the sixteenth century, of the legendary Roman 
sibyl who went with her books to Tarquin (“Yu- 
hasin,” ed. London, p. 239a); this legend is referred 
to by Jehiel Heilprin (“Seder ha-Dorot,” i. 110b, 
Warsaw, 1891) and David Gans (“Zemali Daw id,” 
ii. 8b, Otfenbach, 1768). The Byzantine historians 
Georgius Monaclius, Cedrenus, and Glycas turned 
tbe Biblical Queen of Sheba into a sibyl (Krauss, in 
“Byzantiuische Zeit.” xi. 120), and Zacuto alludes 
to her (l.c. p. 237a) under the name of Nicaulis or 
Nicaula. In medieval Christian art this sibyl Ni- 
caula is a conventional figure, and is regarded as 


hostile to the Synagogue. Christian theology em- 
ployed the sibylline oracles in polemics against 
Judaism, the well-known formula for this being 
“Teste David cum Sibylla.” New texts were con- 
tinually produced by medieval prophecy, such as the 
sayings of the Tiburtine sibyl (edited by E. Sacker, 
Ilalle-on -the-Saale, 1898), who predicted death and 
destruction for many peoples, and gave forewarning 
of the persecution of the Jews under Heracli us, in 
the manner of the ancient sibyls (Krauss, l.c. ix. 
202-203), The sibylline literature, then, merges into 
apocalyptic literature. Similar in nature are the 
pseudo-Methodius, the Judseo-Persian and Coptic 
apocalypses of Daniel, and the Ethiopian sibyl (R. 
Basset, “Les Apocryphes Ethiopiens,” x. 19, Paris, 
1900). 


Bibliography : History and Textual Criticism : Friedlieb, Dc 
Codieihus Sibyllinorum Manusci-iptis , Breslau, 1847 ; Volk- 
mann, Dc Oraculis Sibyllini s, Leipsic, 1853; idem. Specimen 
Nonce Sibyllinorum Edition is, ib. 1854; idem, Lectiones 
Sibyllince, Pyritz, 1861. A number of works by Meineke, Lud- 
.wiefa, Nauck, Mendelssohn, Rzach, Burescb, Wirth, Thiel, and 
others, are cited in Schurer, Gesch. 3d ed., iii. 448-449. 

Editions: Friedlieb, Die Sihyllinischcn Weissagungen . . . 
mit Metrischer Deutscher TJebersetzung , Leipsic, 1852; the 
various editions by Betuleius, Castalio, Gallandi, Alexandre, 
Rzach, and Geffken, 

Historico-Critical Studies: The earlier bibliography is given 
by Fabriciusin Bibliotheca Grceca, ed. Harles, i. 227-290, and 
by Alexandre in his first edition, ii. 2, 71-82; Bleek. Ueher 
die Entstehung und Zusammensetzung der . . . Sibyllini- 
schcn Orahel , in Theol. Zeit. i. 0819), ii. (1820) ; Hilgenfeld, 
Die JUdische A pokalyvtik. Leipsic, 1857 ; Ewald, in Ahhand- 
lungen der Gbit. Gesellschaft der Wisscnschajten , 1858 and 
1859; Mona teach rifts 1859, pp. 241-261; Badt. Dc Oraculis 
Sibyllinis a Judceis Composite s, Breslau, 1S69; idem, Ur- 
sprung , Inhalt und Text (les Viertcn Bitches der Sibylli- 
nischen Orahel , ib. 1878; Miibsam. Die JUdische Sibylle , Vi- 
enna, 1864; Decbent, Ucber das Erste , Ziceitc. und Elfte 
Buch der Sibyllinischen Weissagungen , Frankfort-on-the- 
Main, 1873; idem, in Zeit. filr Kirchengesch. 1878, ii. 481- 
509; Drummond, The Jewish Messiah, pp. 10-17 ; S. A. Hirsch, 
The Jewish Sibylline Oracles , in J. Q. R. 1890, ii. 406-429: 
Bouchd-Leclerc, Histoire de la Divination dans VAntiquite . 
ii. 199-214, Paris, 1880; Friedliinder, La Sibylle Juive , in R. 
E.J. 1894, xxix. 383-196; idem, Gesch. derJiidischenApola- 
getih , pp. 31-54, Zurich, 1903; Gelbbaus, Apologie cles Judcn - 
thums , pp. 65-68, Vienna, 1896; Febr, Studia in Oracida Si- 
hyllina , Upsala, 1S93 ; Migne, Diction na ire ties Apocryphes, 
ii‘. 931-936; Bousset, Der Antichrist, Gottingen, 1895; idem. 
Die Beziehungender Aeltesten Jildischen Sibyllezur Chal- 
dilisehen Sibylle , in Zeit. filr Neutcstamentliche IVissen- 
schaft , iii. 23-49; Gruppe, Die Gricchischen Culte und 
Mythen, i. 677, Leipsic, 1887 ; Schurer, Gesch. 3d ed., iii. 421- 
450; Harnaek, Gesch. der Allchristlichen Lilteratur bis 
Eusebius , i. 861-863, ii. 581-589, Leipsic. 1893 ; E. Oldenburger, 
De Oraculmum Sibyllinorum Elocutione. Rostock, 1904; I. 
Geffken, in Nachrichten der GOtt. Gclehrt. Gesellschaft , 
1900, pp. 88-102; idem, in Texte und Untcrsuchnngcn by 
Gebhardt and Harnaek, 1901 ; Th. Zahn, in Zeit. f Ur Kirch - 
liche WissenschafU 1886; H. Lewy, in Philologus , 1S98, 
lvii. 350. 

Translations and Extracts: Gutsebmid, Klein e Schviften , 
pp. 221-278, Leipsic, 1893; Winter and Wiinsche, Die J Udische 
Litteratur, i. 59-63; Zockler, Die Apnkryphcn des Altai 
Testaments , pp. 477-484, Munich, 1901 ; Blass, in Kautzsch, 
Apnkryphcn , ii. 177-217; Geffken, in Henneke, IS cutest a- 
mentliche Apokryphen, pp. 318-345, Tubingen, 1904. 

G. S. K R. 


SICARII (Greek, oiKapcoi = “ assassins, ” “dag- 
germen ”) : Term applied, in the decades immediately 
preceding the destruction of Jerusalem, to the Jewish 
Zealots who attempted to expel the Romans and 
their partizans from the country, even resorting to 
murder to attain their object. Under their cloaks 
they concealed “sicte,” or small daggers, whence 
they received their name; and at popular assem- 
blies, especially during the pilgrimage to the Tem- 
ple mount, they stabbed their enemies, or, in other 
words, those who were friendly to the Romans, 
lamenting ostentatiously after the deed, and thus 
escaping detection (Josephus, “Ant.” xx. 8, § 10; 



Sichel 

Sicily 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


324 


idem, “B. J.” ii. 13, § 3). Although Felix had 
cleared the country of the so-called “robbers,” their 
place was taken by the Sicarii, who were not so 
easily to be suppressed. The high priest Jonatlian 
was assassinated by them at the instigation of Felix, 
who did not hesitate to make use of the Sicarii in 
this way. During the procurafcorship of Cumanus 
they killed an imperial servant on the open high- 
way near Beth-lioron, an act which resulted in lam- 
entable consequences. 

Festus himself had to contend with the Sicarii; 
but Albinus, in return for money and other presents, 
left them in peace, and even convicted Sicarii were 
released on promising to spare their opponents. On 
one occasion they kidnaped the secretary of Eieazar, 
governor of the Temple, but liberated him in ex- 
change for ten of their comrades (“Ant.” xx. 9, § 3). 
At the beginning of the war against the Homans, 
the Sicarii, with the help of other Zealots, gained 
secret access to Jerusalem, where they committed 
atrocious acts. Their leaders, including Mena- 
hem b. Jair, Eleazar b. Jair, and Bar Giora, 
were among the important figures of this war; 
and they held possession of the fortress of Masada 
until it was taken by the Homans. 

In Latin “siearius ” is a common term for an as- 
sassin, as in the title of the law promulgated b} r 
Sulla, the “Lex Cornelia de Sicariis”; and the word 
PP'Hp'D has the same general meaning in the Mishnah 
(Bik. i. 2, ii. 3; Git. v. 6; Maksh. i. 6). The Mish- 
nah mentions a “sikarikon ” law enacting that title 
to a piece of property held by a “ robber ” may be 
taken in case it lias been first purchased from the 
owner and then from the “robber” (such being the 
meaning of the word in this passage), but not vice 
versa. 

Bibliography : Griitz, Gesch. 4th ed., iii. 432 ; Seburer, Gesch. 
3d ed., i. 574. On the “sikarikon” law : Gratz, in Jahreshe- 
richt , Breslau, JS!)2; Rosenthal, in Manats, thrift, 1893; 
Krauss, in Buzantinische Zcitschrift , ii. 511: idem, Behn- 
wOvtev , ii. 392. 

S. Kr. 

SICHEL, JTJXES : French oculist; born at 
Frankfort-on-the-Main 1802; died at Paris Nov. 14, 
1868. He studied medicine at Berlin (M.D. 1825), 
and took a postgraduate course at Paris. In 1836 
he established in the latter city an ophthalmic clinic 
for free consultations, and he became one of the 
most popular of Parisian oculists. 

Of SichcTs works the following (all published in 
Paris) may be mentioned: “Propositions Generates 
sur rOphthalmologie” (1833); “Memoireset Obser- 
vations sur la Choroidite ” (1836); “Traitede I'OpIi- 
thalmie, la Cataracte, et 1’Amaurose” (1837); 
“Iconographie Ophthalmologique” (1852-56); and 
“Nouveau Hecueil de Pierres Sigillaires d’Oculistes 
Romains ” (1867). 

Bibliography : Vapereau, Dictionnaire des Coyitempnrains. 
s. J. Ka. 

SICHEL, NATHANEEL: German painter; 
born at Maycnce Jan. 8, 1843. He studied in 
Munich at the Royal Academy of Art (1859-62) 
under Julius Schrader. In 1863 his picture en- 
titled “Joseph Explains the Dreams of Pharaoh” 
won him a scholarship which enabled him to visit 
Italy and to remain in Rome for two years. Before 


proceeding thither he passed a year in Paris, where 
he painted a portrait of the Countess of Ernaudes, 
which was exhibited in the Salon of 1865. During 
his sojourn in Rome (1866-68) he painted the his- 
torical pictures “Leave-Taking of Maria Stuart,” 
from Melville’s “Francesca di Rimini and Paulo 
Maiatesta”; and “Don Carlos Taken Prisoner by 
Philip II.” In 1869 Sichel returned to Germany, 
where he devoted himself to portrait-painting. Of 
Ills more important works maybe mentioned: “The 
Beggar of the Pont des Arts ” ; “ The Theban Wom- 
an”; “The Girl from Afar”; “Oriental Dancing 
Girl”; “La Favorita”; “Fatme”; and “Gliis- 
monda. ” 

Bibliography : Das Geistige Berlin , 1897, pp. 500-501. 

S. 

SICILY : Large island in the Mediterranean Sea, 
southwest of Italy, to which it belongs and from 
which it is separated by the Strait of Messina. The 
earliest trace of Jews in Sicily dates from the end of 
the sixth century, when, at the request of the Sicil- 
I ian Jews, the Roman community complained to 
| the pope of the cruelty of the Christians toward the 
Jews of the island. Thereupon Gregory the Great 
ordered the restitution of stolen property or its 
full monetary value, and strictly prohibited bap- 
tism by force. Nothing further is heard of Sicil- 
ian Jews until the eleventh century, with the excep- 
tion of a story of Jewish fanatics corrupting the 
morals of women in Catania. Jew.-, of Naro are 
mentioned in a patent of King Roger I., dating from 
the year 1094. Frederick II. endeavored to save the 
Jews in Sicily from persecution during the Crusades 
by the decrees of 1210 and 1224, in which he placed 
the Jews under ecclesiastical jurisdiction and 
ordered that no difference be made between their 
treatment and that of others. 

The council held at Piazza on Oct. 20, 1296, was 
of great importance for the Jews. Among other 
enactments it decreed that a Christian might not 
be treated by a Jewish physician, and 
Council of that any breach of this order would 
Piazza. entail severe punishment for both. On 
May 22, 1827, ecclesiastical govern- 
ment was abolished in certain cities, including 
Mazzara. The old custom of compelling Jews to clean 
both public and private stables on certain days of the 
year was abolished by Louis in a patent of protection 
dated Nov. 23, 1847. The external decoration of 
synagogues was prohibited by Frederick III, on Oct. 
12, 1366; in consequence of this law old synagogues 
that had already been decorated were pulled down. 
The wearing of a special badge was ordered by 
the same monarch on Dec. 25, 1369. The badge 
consisted of a piece of red material, not smaller than 
the largest royal seal; men were required to wear 
it under the chin, and women on the breast. The 
communities of Marsala and Syracuse, however, 
obtained certain concessions. The former, on April 
18, 1375, received permission to build a new syna- 
gogue; the latter was freed from ecclesiastical ju- 
risdiction and received the right to appeal to the 
royal tribunal in difficult legal cases. 

Under Martin V., of Aragon, who showed favor 
to the Jews in several instances, conditions under- 
went little change. The monk Julian, as royal com- 



325 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Sichel 

Sicily 


missioned was ordered in 1892 to confine the Jews 
to ghettos. In tlie summer of the same year severe 
persecutions broke out in San Giuliano, Catania, 
and Sj^racuse; man} r Jews fell victims, 
Persecu- and every Sunday especially the Jews 

tions in those cities were in deadly fear of 
of 1392 . fresh cruelties. Martin finally was 
induced to issue a decree, July. 11, 
1392, ordering the punishment of those who had 
taken part in the disturbances. In the following 
year strict decrees were directed against private 
ceremonies. Thus, on May 12, 1398, the Jews were 
forbidden to use any decorations in connection with 
funerals; except in unusual cases, when silk was 
permitted, the coffin might be covered with a woolen 
pall only. In Marsala the Jgavs were compelled to 
take part in the festival services at Christmas and 
on St. Stephen’s Day, and were then followed home 
by the mob and stoned on the way. At the begin- 
ning of the fifteenth century oppression had in- 
creased to such an extent that in 1402 the Jews of 
Marsala presented an appeal to the king, in which 
they asked for: (1) exemption from compulsory 
menial services; (2) the reduction of their taxes to 
one-eleventh of the total taxation, since the Jews 
were only one-eleventh of the population; (3) the 
hearing of their civil suits b} r the royal chief judge, 
and of their religious cases by the inquisitor; (4) the 
delivery of fiags only to the superintendent of the 
royal castle, not to others; (5) the reopening of the 
women’s bath, which had been closed under Andrea 
Chiaramonte. This appeal was granted on Dec. 6 
following. 

In comparison with other Jewish communities of 
Europe, the Sicilians were happily situated. They 
even owned a considerable amount of property, since 
thirteen of their communities were able, in 1413, to 
lend the infante Don Juan 487 ounces of gold. This 
was repaid on Dec. 24, 1415; in the same year, how- 
ever, the Jewish community of Yizzini was expelled 
by Queen Blanca, and it was never permitted to 
return. 

Under Alfonso V. (1416-56) the Jews remained 
comparatively unmolested. The first event recorded 
as seriously affecting them in this reign was a decree 
of Feb. 5, 1428, ordering the Jewish 
Under communities throughout Sicily to at- 
Alfonso V. tend conversionist sermons. A large 
deputation, however, bearing a large 
sum of money, appeared before the king at Naples, 
with the result that, on Jan. 1, 1430, the decree was 
repealed. The rise to influence of Capistrano, the 
Sicilian monk, occurred in the reign of Alfonso V. 
The result of his inflammatory sermons in Sicily 
was that a certain Giacomo Sciarei was appointed 
to investigate the charges of usury aud other wick- 
ednesses made against the Jews. In spite of the 
negative result of this investigation the Jews were 
made to pay a fine of 2,000 ounces of gold. One 
of tlio last decrees of Alfonso was that prohibiting 
emigration to the Hoty Land. Some Jews from 
Africa who were bold enough to attempt it were 
made to pay a line of 1,000 ounces of gold. 

The end of the fifteenth century was distin- 
guished in Sicily, as elsewhere, by persecutions 
of the Jews resulting from accusations of desecrating 


the host and Of imirdering Boys. Especially 

severe were those in Modica (1474), Noto and Cal- 
tagirone (1475), and Syracuse (1487). The tide of 
misfortune continued to rise. During the prayer- 
week before the Christmas of 1491 a procession 
was passing through the streets of Castiglione; 
an arm of the crucifix was broken by a stone, 
thrown, it was said, by the rabbi Biton from the 
open window of his dwelling; the rabbi was at once 
killed by the two brothers Crise, who then betook 
themselves to Spain for protection. They were 
highly praised by Ferdinand the Catholic, and, when 
asked what reward they desired for their deed, they 
requested the expulsion of the Jews 
Decree of from the whole of Sicily. 

Expulsion. When the decree of banishment, 
dated March 31, 1492, reached Sicily, 
there were over 100,000 Jews living in the island, 
in the fifty-two different places named in the fol- 
lowing table: 


Town. 

Jews First 
Mentioned. 

Aderno 

14th cent. | 

Agosta 

1428 

Alcamo 

14th cent. 

Alcasa 

3478 

Alieata 

3435 

Bivona 

14th cent. 

Caccamo 

1453 

Calata Bellota — 

1454 

Cnltagirone 

1428 

Caltanisetta — I 

14th cent. 

Camarata f 

Carleone 

1428 

Castiglione. ...... 

1491 

Castrogiovanni ... 

1400 

Castronuovo 

1428 

Castro-Reale 

1415 

Catania 

Cefalu j 

1368 

Cimueina f 

Geraei ) 

14th cent. 

Girgentt 

Giuliana 1 

Lentini ) 

590 

14th cent. 

Marsala 

1375 

Mazzara 

1327 

Messina 

(see art.) 


Town. 


Jews First 
Mentioned. 


Militello 

Mineo 

Modica 

Naro 

Nicosia 

Noto... 

Palazzuolo 

Palermo 

Paterno — .... \ 
Piana del Greci i 

Piazza 

Polizzi 

Ragusa 

Regalbuto 

Salemi 

San Giuliano 

San Mareomo — 

Santa Lucia 

Savoca 

Sciacca 

Syracuse 

Taormina 

Termini 

Trapani 

Vizzini 


lltn cent. 
I486 
1390 
1474 
3094 
3428 
3395 

14th cent, 
(see art.) 

14th cent. 

3428 

1393 

3394 

1478 

1428 

1298 

1450 

1415 

1428 

1295 

878 

3415 

1428 

1365 

1415 


Ferdinand’s decree was proclaimed in each town 
with a blare of trumpets; the Jews were ordered to 
pay all their debts, both to the towns and to private 
citizens, before their departure. Three months’ 
grace, to which forty days were added, was given 
them to prepare for their exile; after that time 
any Jew found in the island was to be liable to tbe 
penalty of death. On June 9 they were forbidden to 
depart secretly, sell their possessions, or conceal any 
property; on June 18 tbe carrying of weapons was 
prohibited ; their valuables were appraised by royal 
officials on behalf of the state, packed in boxes, and 
given into the care of wealthy Christians. On Aug. 
13 came the order to be ready to depart; the follow- 
ing articles might he taken : one dress, a mattress, 
a blanket of wool or serge, a pair of used sheets, a 
few provisions, besides three taros as traveling 
money. After numerous appeals, the date of de- 
parture was postponed to Dec. 18, and later, after 
a payment of 5,000 gulden, to Jan. 12, 1493. The 
departure actually occurred on Dec. 31, 1492.. 

The exiles sought refuge in Apulia, Calabria, and 
Naples. When Charles VIII. conquered Naples in 



Sicily 

Sidon 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


326 


1494, a serious disease, known as “French fly,” 
broke out in that region. The responsibility for 
this being fixed upon the Jews, they were ac- 
cordingly driven out of Naples. They then 
sought refuge in Turkish territory, and settled 
chiefly in Constantinople, Damascus, Salonica, and 
Cairo. In a proclamation of Feb. 8, 1740, contain- 
ing thirt 3 r -sevcn paragraphs, the Jews were for- 
mally invited to return; a few came, but, feeling 
their lives insecure, they soon went back to Turkey. 

In spite of many adverse royal decrees, and of 
frequent popular persecutions, in no other state did 
the Jews of the Middle Ages enjoy such freedom 
and independence as in Sicily. It was the policy of 
the rulers to allow the heterogeneous nationalities 
thrown together upon the island an autonomous 
government, in which, however, the 
Taxation. Jews did not share. Besides general 
state taxes, the Jews were required to 
pay an annual capitation-tax of a quarter of an ounce 
of gold, called “agostale” (those who failed in this 
payment were 
placed under 
ban by the com- 
munity itself, 
according to a 
decree of Sept. 

4, 1004); and one 
Roman paolo or 
one forty -eighth 
of an ounce of 
gold per head 
every year (after 
1224) to the In- 
quisitor for his 
traveling ex- 
penses. They 
were required 
furthermore to 
supply flags for 
the royal castles 
and standards 
for the galleys 
(only Syracuse 
was exempt 
from the levy) 
and to clean the 
royal castles and palaces. The capitation-tax of the 
Sicilian Jews in the fifteenth century amounted 
on an average to 123:f ounces of gold per year. The 
Jews of Syracuse were obliged in addition to con- 
tribute an ounce of gold daily toward the expenses of 
the royal table. The community of Mazzara paid 
the bishop from 2.} to 5 pounds of pepper annually. 

Among the civil disabilities of the Jews it should 
be mentioned that they might not testifj' against a 
Christian before a court, though neither might a 
Christian testify against a Jew; and Jews might 
not have Christian slaves, though they were per- 
mitted to own real estate. 

The internal administration of the communities in 
the larger cities was conducted by a number of offi- 
cials. There were twelve presidents (“ proti ”), three 
of whom administered affairs for three months, and 
were then succeeded by the next three. The six 
“ auditori di conti ” had charge of the treasury of the 


community, A board of twelve members, the “do- 
dici,” or “dodici nomini probi,” reviewed the deci- 
sions of the “proti.” The “conser- 
Comnmnal vatori degli atti ” was composed of 
Or- several scholars, and had charge of the 
ganizatiort. archives. The nine “sogetti” appor- 
tioned the taxes among the individual 
members of the community. Besides these there were 
a “ percettori ” (tax-collector), the “ sindachi ” (pub- 
lic syndics and charity administrators), and a “ balio, w 
or “guvernadore,” an executive officer. The relig- 
ious administration was vested in the following offi- 
cers: the “ dienchelele ” (^3 pT), chief judge, or 
chief district rabbi (this office was in existence from 
1405 to 1425, the appointment being in the hands of 
the king); the “ manigliore, ” or “sacristano,” who 
was the guardian of the synagogue and was ap- 
pointed by the “ proti ” ; the “ idubi, ” public comma - 
nal scribes, who drew up documents of marriage and 
divorce; the “limosinieri,” special officers for distrib- 
uting alms; the “giudici spiritual, ” consisting of 

the “ proti ” and 
the rabbi, who 
watched over re- 
ligious observ- 
ances in general. 
The prayer- 
leaders and 
ritual slaugh- 
terers were 
called “presby- 
ters”; the syna- 
gogue itself, 
“meskita” (Ar- 
abic). 

The personal 
names adopted 
b y the Jews 
were often local 
in origin, or 
were Latinized 
Jewish names, 
as Angelo, Do- 
nato, Beuedic- 
tus (= Baruch). 
Gauden (= Sim- 
liali). The in- 
timacy between the Jews and some of their Christian 
fellow citizens is shown, for instance, b}^ the fact 
that in Castrogiovanni a Christian acted as godfather 
at the circumcision of a Jewish boy. 

The Jews were the chief representatives of com- 
merce and industry. They were very active in 
financial transactions, and excelled 
Occupa- also in agriculture; the grove of date- 
tions. palms near Fa vara was planted by 
them, while their farming near Gerbi 
was very successful. That they applied themselves 
also to all kinds of manual labor may be gathered 
from the protest raised by the Sicilians at the de- 
parture of the Jews. At the time of their expulsion 
many Sicilians stood on the roofs and galleries of 
their houses to bid them farewell. 

Bibliography: LaLumia, GU Ebrei Siciliani im, Palermo. 
1S70; B. G. Lagurnina, Cndice Diplnmaticn dei Giudei di 
Sicilia , ib. 1885, 1890; Giovanni de Giovanni, ISEhraismo 
della Sicilia , Palermo, 1748; I. V. Bozzo, Note Storiche- 





327 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Sicily 

Sidon 


Wrilinnc del Secnlo XIV. ib. 1882; R. Starrabba, Anedr 
Zunz, Z. G. pp. 484-534; Gudemann, 
Gescli. pp. 2(38-299, Vienna, 1888; BvnlVs Jahrb. yi. V.f.f 
sro * Brull, in Popular- Wissenxchaftliche Monalshlutter, 
S’ Nos. 8, 9; Gudemann, in Ha-Axif, ii 232-335; .Leone 
Luzziilto, in II VcsxiUn IxradWco , xxvi. 2bb, xxxm. 146, 
xxxv. 247; De Lattes, ib. xxii. 342. 

* y b. u. 


SICK, VISITING THE (Hebrew, “ bikknr 
bolim ”): To visit the sick in order to show them 
sympathy, cheer them, and aid and relieve them in 
their suffering is declared by the Rabbis to be a 
duty incumbent upon every Jew, even if the sick 
one is a Gentile (Git. 6ta). While there exists no 
special command in the written law concerning 
this act of benevolence, the Rabbis found allusions 
to it in several passages of the Pentateuch. Thus, 
“Ye shall walk after the Lord your God” (Deut. 
xiii. 4) means, say the Rabbis, “Imitate God; as 
He visits the sick — c.y., in the case of Abraham 
(Gen. xviii. 1, so interpreted by the Rabbis) so 
do thou also visit the sick ” (Sotali 14a; Gen. R. 
viii., end); when it is said, “Show them the w T ay 
wherein they must walk ” (Ex. xviii. 20), the duty 
of visiting the sick is referred to (B. M. 30b; comp. 
Tar o’. Yer. acl loc.); and likewise when it is said 
(Gen. xviii. 29), “He [Abraham] will command his 
children and his household after him, and they shall 
keep the way of the Lord, to do righteousness’ 
([Hebr.]; Gen. R. xlix. 7). The haberim, or Hasi- 
dic associations, made the performance of this duty 
a special obligation ; and therefore the visiting of 
the sick is enumerated in Matt. xxv. 86 among the 
various forms of charity. In the Shulhan Aiuk, 
Yoreh De'ali, a whole chapter is devoted to the com- 
mand concerning such visitations; and in many 
Jewish communities there existed, and still exist, 
Bikkur Holim societies, whose particular object is 
to visit and care for the sick. See Charity. 

K. 


SID, SIDI (Arabic, “lord,” “noble”): Common 
family name among Eastern Jews, borne by several 
rabbinical authors. 

Abraham Moses Sid : Servian rabbinical, au- 
thor; born at Nisli 1842; died there 1876. He wrote 
many works, of which the only ones printed are 
the following ; “Tasheb Enosh ” (Salonica, 1869), a 
work on ethics in thirty chapters; “ Hippazon Pesah ” 
(ib. 1870), on the Passover laws; “Kezir Hittim” 
(ib. 1870), commentary on the Book of Ruth. 

The library of the synagogue of Nisli contains 
four manuscript works by Sid; “Toslieb Teliillot, 
“Erez Dagan,” “Kab lm-Kemah,” and ‘“Abodat 
Abraham.” 

Judah Sid: Bulgarian' rabbinical author of the 
latter part of the eighteenth century ; born at Dub- 
i) jc%a ; died at Philippopolis, where lie was president 
of the tribunal and chief rabbi during the Ottoman 
rule. 1-Ie was the author of “ Ot Emet ” (Salonica, 
1799), on the rules which arc to be observed in tlie 
reading of the weekly lessons of the Law, and of 
“ Ner Mizwali ” (ib. 1810). a commentary on tlie Pen- 
tateueb. 

Biruografiiy : Hazan, Ha-Ma l alot li-Shelomoh , pp. 7, 47, 

Samuel ben Sid (called also Sidillo) : Rabbin- 
ical author, wlio emigrated from Spain to Cairo in 
1492. His eloquence and presence of mind once 


saved tlie Jewish community from a general mas- 
sacre with which it was threatened by tlie gover- 
nor, Ahmed-Pasii A ; and in commemoration of this 
event be instituted on Adar 28, 1524, tlie Cairo 
Purim (see Purims, Special). He was the author 
of the “Kelale Sliemu’el,” inserted in the collection 
“Tummat Yesharim” (Venice, 1622). 

Bibliography : Azulai, Shem ha-Gedolim , p. 124. 

D M. Fb. 

SIDDIM, VALE OF ; The etymology of “ Sid- 
dim” is uncertain (see G. A. Smith, “ Historical Geog. 
of the Holy Land,” p. 503), though Targ. Onl*. 
renders it “ vale of fields.” It is mentioned in Gen. 
xiv. 3, 8, 10, verse 3 identifying it with the Dead Sea 
—a geological impossibility, inasmuch as the Dead 
Sea was in existence long before Abraham’s time 
(“Z. D. P. V.” 1896, pp. 1-59; 1898, pp. 65-83); 
hence this verse is generally rejected as a late gloss. 
Hommel (“Die Altisraelitische Ueberlieferung,” p. 
164) describes the place as a region rich in asphalt, 
and which, as a result of some natural convulsion, 
was flooded by the waters of the Dead Sea. It is 
famed as the meeting-place of the confederation 
against Chedorlaomer. 

K G. H. E- L N - 


SIDDUR. See Prayer-Books. 

SIDON. See Zidon. 

SIDON, SIMON; Hungarian rabbi and author; 
born at Nadas Jan. 23, 1815; died at Tyrnau Dec. 
18 1891. His father came from Kanitz in Moravia, 
wherefore he signed himself “ Simeon pip,” in which 
the latter name was misread by Steinsclmeider (“ Cat. 
Bodl.” col. 2612) as “ Konitz,” and by Low (“Lebens- 
alter,” p. 92) as “ Kunitz.” He studied at the yeshi- 
bab of Moses Sofer, and on settling in his native city 
opened a yesliibali there. In 1845 he was elected 
rabbi of Cziffer, Hungary, and in 1856 of Tyrnau, 
which latter position be liekl until his death. Strictly 
conservative, he was tolerant of modern idea3, and 
in 1860 he sent his son to the seminary of Breslau, 
although lie encountered considerable opposition for 
doing so. 

Sidon wrote “ Ot Berit ” (Presburg, 1850), on the 
laws governing circumcision, proselytes, and the 
redemption of tlie first-born ; and “ Shebet ShinTon * 
(Vienna, 1884-88), a work in three parts, tlie .first 
part containing notes on Voreli De ab and Eben 
lia-‘Ezer; the second, sermons delivered on special 
occasions; and tlie third, novelise on various treatises 
of the Talmud. He also edited Manoaii ben Ja- 
cob’s ritual work “Sefer lia-Manoali,” to which 
he wrote a commentary entitled “Bet Menuhah.” 
After his death appeared liis commentary on the 
Pesah Haggadah (Munkacs, 1901), edited by M. Stein 
under tlie title “ Shebet Sliim‘on.” 

One of Sidon ’s sons, Adolf Sidon (born at Nadas 
Jan. 5, 1843), received liis early instruction in bis 
father’s yesliibali, and in that of Judah Aszod at Szer- 
dahely. In I860 he went to Breslau, where lie was 
graduated eight years later as rabbi aud Bh.D. He 
was a member of the Jewish Congress of 1868-69 (see 
Jew. Encyc. vi. 502b, s.v. Hungary); in 1870 lie 
was elected rabbi of Simand, county of Arad; and 
in 1873 lie was called to the rabbinate of \ersecz, 



Sidra 

Siesby 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


328 


which position ho still (1905) holds. He is also a 
member of the board of examiners of the rabbinical 
seminary at Budapest, and a frequent contributor 
to Jewish periodicals. 

Another son, Igmatz Sidon, is a lawyer in Buda- 
pest. 

SIDRA : Term, the original meaning of which 
is “order” or “arrangement,” frequently used in 
both Talmuds to denote a section of the Bible read 
either in the synagogue or in the school. In the 
statement “Bab read a sidra before Rabbi” (Yuma 
87a), Rashi explains “sidra ” as meaning a section of 
the Prophets or the Hagiographa. That the term 
was applied to the part of the Bible read in the syn- 
agogue in the prayer-service is indicated in Yer. 
Ta‘au. i. 04c. But there no special division of the 
Bible is indicated, while in Shah. 11Gb it is said that 
in Nehardea the people used to read a sidra of the 
Hagiographa in the Minhah service of the Sabbath. 
Later the term entered into the usage of the Ash- 
kenazim to denote the weekly lesson of the Penta- 
teuch, just as “ parashah ” is used by the Sephardim. 
It may be added that in both Talmuds “ sidra ” often 
carries the meaning of “school,” particularly a 
school in which sections of the Bible read and 
interpreted (Yer. Ber. iii. 6b; Yer. Bezali i. 60e et 
passim). 

Bibliography : Levy, Xenhebr. WOrtcrb. 

A - M. Sel. 

The following is a list of the sidrot (according to 
the Sephardim, parashiyyot), arranged according to 
the annual and the triennial cycle. In the former, 
which is nowadays universally followed, the sidrot 
have special names, and are here numbered with 
Roman numerals; each of them includes a group of 
the smaller sidrot of the triennial cycle, which are 
numbered in the table with Arabic figures. The 
group of the triennial cycle and the corresponding 
sidra of the one-year cycle are not always exactly 
conterminous, however; in such instances attention 
is called to the difference by means of an asterisk. 
The list of the triennial sidrot is given from 
a Yemen manuscript, as indicated in Ginsburg’s 
Masoretic Bible. According to the Masorali, these 
should number 154, or, according to the Masseket 

1T ° ; fncz they amount to 

167. Rapoport (“Hahkot Kedem,”p. 11) suggests 
that the 175 readings covered three and one-half 
years, so that the Law was read through twice iu a 
Sabbath of years. 

•Bibliography: Ginsburg’s Massoretic Bible , London, 1894 • 
Ginzburg s \ Introduction to the Bible , iv. 32-33, ib. 1897 : 
Buchler, 2//e Reading of the Law and Prophets in a Tri- 
ennial Cycle , in J. Q. R . y. 420-468. 


Sidrot. 

Sidrot. 

Annual 

Cycle. 

Triennial 

Cycle. 

Annual 

Cycle. 

Triennial 

Cycle. 

1. 

Bereshit 
(Gen. i. 1- 
vi. 8) 

1. Gen. i. 1-ii. .*{ 

2. ii. 4-iii. 21 

3. kk iii. 22-1 v. 
20 

4. Gen. v. 1-vi. 8 

II. 

Noah 

(Gen. vi. 9- 
xi. 32) 

5. Gen. vi. 9-vii. 
24 

6‘. Gen. viii. 1-14 

7. “ viii. 15-ix. 
17 

8. Gen. ix. 18-x. 

32 

9. Gen. xi. 1-32 


Sidrot. 

J Sidrot. 

Annual 

Cycle. 

Triennial 

Cycle. 

Annual 

Cycle. 

Triennial 

Cycle. 

III. 

Lek Lek 
(Gen. xii. 
xvii. 27) 

10. Gen. xii. 1-xii 

i 18 

1- 11. Gen. xiv. 1-24 

12. “ xv. 1-21 

13. 44 xvi. 1- 
xvii. 27 

XVI. 
Beshallal 
(Ex. xiii. l; 
xvii. 16) 

57. Ex. xiv. 15- 

xvi. 3 

58. Ex. xvi. 4-27 
>9. 44 xvi. 28- 

xvii. 10 


XVII. 

60. Ex. xviii. ]- 

xix. 5 

61. Ex. xix. 6-xx. 

23* 

IV. 

Wayera 
(Gen. xvii 

14. Gen.xviii. 1-33 

15. " xix. 1-38 

i. 16. “ xx. 1-18 

Yitro 
(Ex. xviii 
1— xx. 26) 

1-xxii. 24 

) 17. 44 xxi. 1-34 

18. 44 xxii. 1-19 

19. “ xxii. 20- 

xxlii. 20 * 

XVIII. 
tMisbpatin 
(Ex. xxi. 1 
xxiv. 18) 

62. Ex. xxi. 1-xxii. 
23 

- 63. Ex. xxii. 24- 
xxiii. 19 

V. 

Hayye Sa 
rah 

(Gen. xxii 
L-xxv. 18) 

20. Gen. xxiv. 1-41 

21. 44 xxiv. 42-67 

22. 44 xxv. 1-18 

. 


64. Ex. xxiii. 20- 
xxiv. 1.8 

XIX. 
Tern mail 
(Ex. xxv. 1- 
xx vii. 19) 

65. Ex. xxv. 1-40 

66. kk xxvi. 1-30 
- 67. 44 xxvi. 31- 

VI. 

Toledot 
(Gen. xxv 
19-xxYiii, 
9) 

123. Gen. xxv. 19- 
1 xx vi. 35 

24. Gen. xxvii. 1- 

27 

25. Gen. xxvii. 28- 

xxvii. 19 

XX. 

Tezawvveh 
(Ex. xxvii. 
20-xxx. 10) 

|6S. Ex. xxvii. 20- 
xxviii. 43 

69. Ex. xxix. 1-40 

70. kk xxx. 1-38* 

xxviii. 9 

XXI. 

Ki Tissa 
(Ex. xxx. 
11-xxxiv. 
35) 

71. Ex. xxxi. 1- 

VII. 

Wayeze 
(Gen. 
xxviii. 10- 
xxxii. 3) 

26. Gen. xxviii. 10- 

xxix. 30 

27. Gen. xxix. 31- 

xxx. 21 

28. Gen. xxx. 22- 

xxxi. 2 

29. Gen. xxxi. 3- 

xxxii. 3 

xxxii. 14 

72. Ex. xxxii. 15- 

xxx iii. 23 

73. Ex. xxxi v. 1-26 

74. “ xxxiv. 27- 
xxxv. 29* 


XXII. 
Wayakhel 
(Ex. xxxv. 
1-xxxviii. 
20) 

75. Ex. xxxv. 30- 

xxxvi. 38 

76. Ex. xxxvii. 1- 

xxxviii. 20 

VIII. 

Wayisblah 
(Gen. xxxii. 
4-xxxvi. 43) 

30. Gen. xxxii. 4- 

xxxiii. 18 

31. Gen. xxx iii. 

19-xxxv. 8 

32. Gen. xxxv. 9- 

xxxvi. 43 

XXIII. 

Pekude 

(Ex. 

xxxviii. 21- 

77. Ex. xxxviii. 21- 

xxxix. 32 

78. Ex. xxxix. 33- 

xl. 38 

IX. 

33. Gen. xxxvii. 1- 

xl. 38) 

Wayesheb 
(Gen. 
xxxvii. 1- 
xl. 23) 

36 

34. Gen. xxx viii. 

1-30 

35. Gen. xxxix. 1- 

23 

XXIV. 
Wayikra 
(Lev. i. 1- 
v. 26) 

79. Lev. i. 1-iii. 17 

80. “ iv. 1-35 

81. 44 v. 1-vi. 
11* 


36. Gen. xl. 1-23 

XXV. 

Zaw 

(Lev. vi. 1- I 
viii. 36) 

82. Lev. vi. 12-vii. 

X. 

Mikkez 
(Gen.'xli' 1- 
xliv. 17) 

37. Gen. xii. 1-87 

3S. 44 xii. 3S-xlii.* 
17 

38 

83. Lev. viii. 1-x. 

7 * 

39. Gen. xlii. 1S- 

xliii. 13 

40. Gen. xliii. 14- 

xliv. 17 

XXVI. ! 
Shernini J 
(Lev. ix. 1- 
xi. 47) 

34. Lev. x. 8-20 

35. 44 xi. 1-47 

XI. 

Wayiggash 
(Gen. xliv. • 
18-xlvii. 27) 

41. Gen. xliv. 18- 

xlvi. 27 

42. Gen. xlvi, 28- 

xlvii. 31* 

Tazria 4 
(Lev. xii. 1- t 
xiii. 59) 

5G. Lev. xii. X— xiii. 

28 

17. Lev. xiii. 29-59 



XXVIII. F 
Mezora 4 < c 
(Lev. xiv. 1- st 
xv. 33) S 


XII. 
Wayehi 
(Gen. xlvii. < 
28-1. 26) 4 

13. Gen. xlviii. 1- 

22 

14. Gen. xlix. 1-26 
to. 44 xlix. 27- 

1.26 

i8. Lev. xiv. 1-32 
>9. kk xiv. 33-57 

10. 44 xv. 1-24 

11. 44 xv. 25- 

xvi. 34 * 


V Y TY 

92. Lev. xvii. 1-16 

93. “ xviii. 1-30 

XIII. 4 

Shemot 4 
(Ex. i. 1- 4 
vi. 1) 4 

t6. Ex. i. 1-22 

7. “ ii. 1-25 

8. 44 iii. J-iv.17 

9. k4 iv. 18- vi. 1 

AAIa, 

A bare Mot 1 
(Lev. xvi. 1- 
xviii. 30) 

XXX. ! 

f)4. Lev. xix. 1-22 
)5. k4 xix. 23- 
xx. 27 

XIV. 5 

Wa’eni 5 
(Ex. vi. 2- 

0. Ex. vi.2-vii. 7 , 

1. 44 vii. 8— viii. 1 

15 

Kedoshim ! 
[ Lev. xix. 1- 
XX. 27) 

LO 

S' 

>5 

2. Ex. viii. 16-ix. 

So 

XXXI. 1 

Emor 

'Lev. xxi. 1- t 
xxiv. 23) 

c 

8 

)6. Lev. xxi. 1- 
xxii. 16 

XV. o 

Ho 5 

(Ex. x. i- r> 
xiii. 16) 51 

1. Ex. x. 1-29 ( 

1. 44 xi. 1-xii. 2S 

1. 11 xii. 29-51 

3. 44 xiii. 1-xiv. 

14* 

17. Lev. xxii. 37- 
xxiii. 8 

>8. Lev. xxiii. 9- 
44 

19. Lev. xxiv. 1- 
xxv. 13 * 



329 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Sidra 

Siesby 


Sidrot. 

Sidrot. 

Annual 

Cycle. 

Triennial 

Cycle. 

Annual 

Cycle. 

Triennial 

Cycle. 

XXXII. 
Beliar 
(Lev. xxv. 
1-xxvi. 2) 

LOO. Lev. xxv. 14- 
34 

L01. Lev. xxv. 35- 
xxvi. 2 

XLIV. 
Debarim 
(Deut. i. 1- i 
iii. 22) 

137. Deut! i. 1-ii. 1 

138. “ ii. 2-30 

L39. “ ii. 31-iii. 

22 

XXXIII. 
Belmkkotai 
(Lev. xxvi. 
3-xxvii. 34:) 

L02. Lev. xxvi. 3- 
46 

L03. Lev. xxvii. 1- 
34 

XLV. 

Wa’etha- 

nan 

(Deut. iii. 
23-vii. 11) 

140. Deut. iii. 23- 

iv. 24 

141. Deut. iv. 25-40 

L42. “ iv. 41- 

vi. 3 

143. Deut. vi. 4- 

vii. 11 

XXXIV. 
Bemidbar 
(Num. i. 1- 
iv. 20) 

104. Num. i. 1-54 

105. “ ii. 1-34 
LUO. “ iii. 1-iv. 

16 

107. Num.iv.17-v. 
10* 

XLVI. 
‘Ekeb 
(Deut. vii. 
12-xi. 25) 

144. Deut. vii. 12- 

viii. 20 

145. Deut. ix. 1-29 

146. “ x. 1-xi. 9 

147. “ xi. 10- 
xii. 19* 

XXXV. 
Naso 
(Num. iv. 
21— vii- 89) 

108. Num. v. 11-31 

109. “ vi. 1-21 
L10. “ vi. 22- 

vii. 47 

111. Nuin. vii. 48- 
89 

XLVII. 
Re’eh 
(Deut. xi. 
26-xvi. 17) 

148. Deut. xii. 20- 

xiii. 1 

149. Deut. xiii. 2- 

19 

150. Deut. xiv. 1- 

xv. 6 

151. Deut. xv. 7- 

xvi. 17 

XXXVI. 
Bella k alo- 
teka 

(Num. viii. 
1-xii. 10) 

112. Num. viii. 1- 

ix.23 

113. Num. x. 1-xi. 

15 

114. Num. xi. 16-22 

115. “ xi.23-xii. 

16 

XLVIII. 
Shofetim 
(Deut. xvi. 
18-xxi. 9) 

152. Deut. xvi. 18- 

xvii. 13 

153. Deut. xvii. 14- 

xviii. 12 

154. Deut. xviii. 

13-xx. 9 

155. Deut. xx. 10- 

xxi. 9 

XXXVII. 
Slielali 
(Num. xiii. 
1-xv. 41) 

116. Num. xiii. 1- 

xiv. 10 

117. Num. xiv. 11- 

45 

118. Num. xv. 1-41 

XXXVIII. 

ICorali 
(Niim. xvi. 
l-x\'iii. 32) 

119. Num. xvi. 1- 

xvii. 15 

120, Num. xvii. 16- 

xviii- 32 

XLIX. 

Ki Teze 
(Deut. xxi. 
10-xxv. 19) 

156. Deut. xxi. 10- 

xxii. 5 

157. Deut. xxii. 6- 

xxiii. 9 

158. Deut. xxiii. 

10-21 

159. Deut. xxiii. 

22-xxiv. 18 

160. Dent. xxiv. 

19-xxv. 19 

XXXIX. 
Hukkat 
(NumVxix. 
1-xxii. 1) 

121. Num. xix. 1- 

xx. 13 

122. Num. xx. 14- 

xxii. 1 

XL. 
Baiak 
(Num. xxii. 
2- xxv. 9) 

123. Num. xxii. 2- 

xxiii. 9 

124. Num. xxiii. 

10-xxiv. 25 

125. Num. xxv. 1-9 

L. 

Ki Tabo 
(Dent. xxvi. 
1-xxix. 8) 

161. Deut. xxvi. 1- 

xxvii. 26 

162. Deut. xxviii. 

1-xxix- 8 

XLI. 
Pinehas 
(Num. 'xxv. 
10-xxx. 1) 

126. Num. xxv. 10- 

xxvi. 51 

127. Num. xxvi. 

52-xxvii. 14 

128. Num. xxvii. 

15-xxviii. 25 

129. Num. xxviii. 

^6-xxx. X 

LI. 

Nizzabim 
(Deut. xxix. 
9-xxx. 20) 

163. Deut. xxix. 9- 

xxx. 10 

164. Deut.xxx.il- 

xxxi. 13* 

lAI- 

Wayelek 
(Deut. xxxi. 
1-30) 

165- Deut. xxxi. 
14-30 

XLII. 
Mattot 
(Num."xxx. 
2-xxxii. 42) 

130. Num. xxx. 2- 
17 

. 131. Num. xxxi. 1- 
24 

132. Num. xxxi. 

25-54 

133. Num. xxxii. 

1-42 

LIII. 
Ha’azinu 
(Deut. 
xxxii. 1-52) 

166. Deut. xxxii. 
1-52 

XLI II. 
Masse ‘e 
(Num. 
xxxiii. 1- 
xxxvi. 13) 

134. Num. xxxiii. 

1-56 

135. Num. xxxiv. 

1-xxxv. 8 

136. Num. xxxv. 

9-xxxvi. 13 

LIV. 

Wezot ha- 
Berakali 
(Deut. 
xxxiii. 1- 
xxxiv. 12) 

167. Deut. xxxiii. 
1-xxxiv. 12 


I. G. D. 


SIEBENBERGER, ISAAC BEN DAVID: 

Russian Hebraist; died at Warsaw April 2, 1879. 
He occupied liimself especially with apocryphal lit- 
erature, his translations into Hebrew and Judseo- 
German including the following : “ Hayye Tobiyali ” 
(Warsaw, 1839), a translation of the Book of Tobit: 


“ Megillat Yeliudit” (ib. 1840), the Book of Judith 
and other narratives; “Sefer Baruk ” ( ib . 1841), the 
Book of Baruch and the prayers of Manasseh -and 
of Daniel’s three companions; and “Sifre Makka- 
bi” (ib. 1843), the Books of the Maccabees. To all 
these translations he added Hebrew commentaries 
and introductions. 

Siebenberger further published “Ma'gal Yashar ” 
(ib. 1843), an elementary course in Hebrew, with 
Hebrew and Judtuo- German texts, and containing 
an outline of Hebrew grammar, as well as narratives 
and fables; and “Ozar ha-Shorasliim ha-Kelali ” (ib.' 
1846-62), a Hebrew-German dictionary with a vocab- 
ulary containing all the words of the Bible and the 
Mishnah. 

Bibliography : Zeitlin, Bihl. Post-Mertdels. pp. 360-361. 

M. Sel. 

SIEGED, HENRY; American merchant ; born 
at Eubigheim, Germany, March 17, 1852. At the 
age of fifteen he emigrated to the United States and 
entered on a commercial career, being employed as 
a clerk by various firms in Washington, D. C., 
Parkersburg, W. Va., and Lawrenceburg, Pa. In 
1876 he founded the firm of Siegel, Hartsfield & Go., 
and ten years later the great department store of the 
Siegel Cooper Company, both in Chicago. A branch 
of the latter company was established in New. York 
in 1896. In 1902 Siegel bought the Simpson Craw- 
ford Company in New York, and the Schlesinger and 
Mayer Company in Chicago ; in the same year he 
took up his residence in New York city. Siegel is 
also president of the 14th Street Store in New York 
city. 

Bibliography : American Jewish Year Boo/f, 5665, p. 186. 

A. F. T. H. 

SIEGFRIED, KARL: German Protestant the- 
ologian; born at Magdeburg Jan. 22, 1830; died at 
Jena Jan. 9, 1903. In 1875 he became professor of 
theology at the University of Jena, $nd in 1892 re- 
ceived the title of “ Gelieimer-Kirclienrat. ” 

Of Siegfried’s works the following are of spe- 
cial interest to the Jewish world: “Spinoza als 
Kritikcr und Ausleger des Alten Testaments ” (Ber- 
lin, 1867); “ Philo von Alexandria ” (Jena, 1S75), one 
of the standard works on the subject, dealing also 
with the influence of the Ilaggadah on Philo ; “ Lelir- 

buclx der jS'euliebraiselie.n Spraclie xincl LitteratlH* ” 

(Carlsrulie, 1SS4), in collaboration wita* Stracu, Sieg- 
fried contributing the grammatical part; “Die His- 
torische und Theologisclie Betrachtung des Alten 
Testaments” (Frankfort-on-tlie-Main, 1890); “He- 
braisches Worterbucli zura Alten Testament ” (Leip- 
sic, 1893), in collaboration with Stade; “The Book 
of Job” (ib. 1893), in Haupt’s Polychrome Bible. 
To Nowack’s “ Handkoininentar zum Alten Testa- 
ment ” Siegfried contributed the commentaries on 
Ecclesiastes, the Song of Solomon, Ezra, Nehemiah, 
and Esther. 

Bibliography: Brockliaus, Ko nversat ians-Lexiho n. 

T F. T. H. 

SIESBY, GOTTLIEB: Danish poet and editor ; 
horn in Copenhagen May 4, 1803; died there Nov. 
28, 1884; brother of Oskar Siesby. His first publi- 
cation was a collection of poems entitled Ljiiske 
Forsog,” which appeared in Copenhagen in 1826. 



Siesby 

Sifra 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


330 


Later he published “ Poetisk-Politisk Nytaarsgave” 
and “ Auekdot-Almanak,” two humorous poetical 
works, and in 1834 an opera entitled “Robinson,” 
which was produced at the Royal Theater. 

In 1847 Siesby became coeditor of Ed ward Moyer’s 
periodical “ Flyveposten,” which he later purchased. 
He was not successful in this venture; and in 1870 
•the “Flyveposten ” ceased to appear. 

s. F. C. 

SIESBY, OSKAR; Danish philologist; born 
in Ebeltoft, Jutland, July 19, 1883; brother of Gott- 
lieb Siesby. He graduated from the University of 
Copenhagen (B.A. 1850), and then took up the study 
of philology, passing in 1856 the historieo-philo- 
logical examination for teachers. In 1853 he was 
appointed teacher of Latin and Greek at the Yon 
Westenske Institut in Copenhagen, where he re- 
mained till 1893. 

In 1871 Siesby was appointed lecturer in classical 
philology at his alma mater, which office he held 
until 1876, when he refused reappointment. In 
1882 lie was appointed privat-docent in philology 
at the same university. 

Siesby ’s literary activity has been neither varied 
nor extensive. He has written some grammatical 
and semasiological treatises which have appeared 
in “ Filologisk Tidsskrift, ” in “ Dania,” and in “ Opus- 
cula Philologica ad Madvigium Missa.” 

Bibliography : C. F. Brieka, Danxlc Bwgransk Lexicon: 
Unwersitetsprogram til Reformatiomfeateh , Copenhagen’ 

s * F. C. 

SIFRA: Halakic midrash to Leviticus. It is 
frequently quoted in the Talmud, and the study of 
it followed that of the Mishnali, as appears from 
Tanhuma, quoted in “Or Zarua‘,” i. 7b. Like Le- 
viticus itself, the mid rash is occasionally called 

* Torat Kohanim” (Kid. 33a; Sanli. 103b; Cant. R. 
vi. 8), and in two passages also “Sifra debe Rab” 
(Ber. lib, 18b). According to Lekah Tob (sec- 
tion IV), this latter title was applied originally to 
the third book of the Pentateuch because Leviticus 
was the first book studied in the elementary school, 
and it was subsequently extended to the midrash ; 
but this explanation is contradicted by analogous ex- 
pressions such as “ Sifre debe Rab ” and, in a broader 
sense, “ketubot debe Rab” (Yer. Ket. 26c) and 

* teki'ata debe Rab ” (Yer. 'Ab. Zarah 39c). It is 
true, Maimonides, in the introduction to his “Yad 
ha-Hazakah,’ and others, quoted by Friedmann, in 
the introduction to his edition of the Mekilta (p. 
xx vi, , Vienna, 1870), have declared that the title 
“Sifra debe Rab ” indicates Rab as the author of the 
Sifra; and this opinion Weiss, in the introduction 
to liis Sifra edition (p. iv.), attempts to support. 
His proofs are not conclusive, however; neither, it 
must be confessed, are the opposing arguments of 
Fiiedmann ( l.c . pp. xvi. cl scq.), who tries to show 
that the expression “ Sifra debe Rab ” does not refer to 
the midrash under discussion. The question as to au- 
thorship has been correctly answered by Malbim,who 
proves in the introduction to his Sifra edition that R. 
Hiyya was the redactor of the Sifra. There are no less 
than thirty-nine passages in Yeruslialmi and the mid- 
rashim in which expositions found also in the Sifra 
are quoted in the name of R. Hiyva (comp, the list j 


in Hoffmann, “Zur Einieitungdie Ilalachischen Micl- 
raschim,” p, 22, to which Yer. Sliab. 2d and Ket. 28<j 
must be added, according to Levy in “Ein Wort ” 
etc., p. 1, note 1); and the fact that no tannaim 
subsequent to Rabbi are mentioned in the Sifra sup- 
ports the view that the book was composed during 
the time of that scholar. The omission from the 
Sifra of some interpretations of Leviticus which are 
elsewhere quoted in the name of R, Hiyya can not 
be taken as proving the contrary (compVthe list in 
Hoffmann, l.c. p. 24, and Yoma 4a; Hul. 141b; 
Levy, l.c.); nor does the fact that Hiyya himself is 
mentioned in the Sifra offer any difficulty. Indeed, 
as Hoffmann shows (l.c. p. 25), in the three passages 
in which it can with certainty be said that the ref- 
erence is to R. Hiyya, namely, Wayikra, Nedabah, v. 
5, vi, 3, and Mezora‘, ii. 10, Hiyya himself, in refer- 
ring to preceding interpretations, indicates that he 
is the editor. It is perhaps doubtful whether Hoff- 
mann is correct in comparing the above-mentioned 
passages, or the final remark of R. Joshua in Kin- 
nim, with Mid. ii. 5. But even if Hoffmann’s view 
does not seem acceptable, it is not necessary to infer 
that Rab was the editor of the Sifra; for he may 
merely have added the passages in question, just as 
he seems to have made an addition to Sifra xii. 2/ 
following Niddali 24b (comp. Weiss in Sifra ad loc . ; 
also Epstein [“ Mi-Kadmoniyyot ha-Yehudim,” p. 
53, note 1], who holds that in some passages Rab is 
meant by “aherim” and “we-yesh omerim”). Nor 
is Hiyya’s authorship controverted by various con- 
tradictions presented by individual passages in the 
Sifra as compared with the Tosefla, which latter 
also is ascribed to him; e.g., Sifra, Kedoshim, vi. 8, 
compared with Tosef., Mak. iv. 14 (see below). If 
it be assumed that Hiyya is the au- 
Author- thor, the title “ Sifra debe Rab ” is to 
ship. be explained as indicating that Sifra 
was among the midrashim which were 
accepted by Rab’s school and which thereby came 
into general use. The name is differently explained 
by Hoffmann (l.c. pp. 12 el seq .), who, on the basis 
of Hul. 66a and in conformity with Rashi ad loc., 
takes “be Rab” to mean “school” in general, and 
who accordingly differentiates between “Tanna 
debe Rab” and “Tanna debe R. Ishmael,” i.c. t be- 
tween the midrashim of R. Akiba’s school, which, 
being decisive for the Halakah, were generally stud- 
ied, and those of R. Islimael’s school, which were not 
intended for general use, though they were studied 
by some and were consulted occasionally, as was 
the case with other midrash collections which are 
quoted only rarely. Hoffmann himself admits, 
however, that the expression “de-bet Rab ” in Yeru- 
shalmi certainly indicates Rab’s school ; so that it is 
in any case doubtful whether a different usage is to 
be assumed in the case of Babli. 

As regards the sources of Sifra, it is said in the 
well-known passage Sanh, 86a (which must be com- 
pared with ‘Er. 96b and the parallel passages men- 
tioned there), “Setam Sifra R. Yehudah.” That the 
Sifra belongs to R. Akiba’s school, as the above- 
mentioned passage in Sanhedrin indicates, is shown 
by the principles of exposition contained in the 
Sifra;. e -0" where the same expression oc- 

curs in two different laws the phrase need not 



331 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Siesby 

Sifra 


| )e « rnufneli ” (pleonastic) in one of them in order 
to permit of its being used for “gezerali ska wall ” 
(argument from analogy); the double use of the 
expression being explained in accordance with 
tlie principles of “ribbui u-mi‘ut” and “kelal u- 
perat.” Certain peculiarities of phraseology are 
likcAvise noteworthy: ^3' replaces 'OH yfrW # or 
tlie plirases usually found in the Mekilta 
(once’ in Sanli. 4b, a passage beginning fcOpK 
is cited as coming from the Sifra, while as a matter 
of fact the Sifra [Tazri.V, ii. 2] lias Vo’) ; comp, fur- 
ther idi^> ib’dj dni, nano mo nrs 'ai, ‘lva xn. 
T1N3 1’NO "ahmONJ^ &30 nKV' i'SO '3 V, and for 
further details sec Hoffmann, l.c. p. 81. 

Traces of It, Judah’s influence are less evident. 
The fact that the views expressed in some “seta- 
mot” may he proved to agree with It. Judah’s 
views has little significance ; e.g., Sifra, Ahare, 5, 
beginning, compared with Men. 27b; ib. Kedoskim, 
viii. 1, with Yeb. 46a (where It. Simeon further- 
more seems to have read '"l in tlie Sifre) and Ke- 
dosliim, vii. 8, with Tosef., Kid. i. 4. Such setamot 
may be opposed by others that contradict It. Judah’s 
views; e.g., Sifra, Nog. ii. 1, compared with It. Ju- 
dah in Neg. ii. 1; Sifra, Neg. x. 8, compared with 
Th Judah, Neg. x. 10; comp, also Tos. Niddah 28b, 
.<?,?}. -pjft kit All this, however, is no reason for 
attacking the above-mentioned assumption that the 
Sifra in its principal parts is a midrask of It. Ju- 
dah’s. Hoffmann remarks {l.c. p. 26) not incorrectly 
that Sifra, Nedabah, iv. 12 agrees with the views of 
It. Eliezer (Men. 26a), whose decision j 
Sources. B. J udali frequently accepts as handed 
down by his own father, R Ila‘i, a 
pupil of It. Eliezer (comp. Men, 18a and Yoma 89a 
]et passim). Similarly, Sifra, Emor, xvii. 4 et seq. 
agrees with It. Eliezer ’s view (Suk. 48a). Aside 
from It. Judah’s midrasli, R Hiyya may have used 
also It. Simeon’s midrash (comp. Hoifmannk, l.c. p. 
27), although some of the passages mentioned there 
(as, e.g., the comparison of Sifra, Nedabah, vi. 9 with 
Sifre, Deut. 78; Sifra, Nega'im, i. 9-10 with Sifre, 
Deut. 218; Sifra, Behukkotai, viii. 2 with Sifre, 
Dent. 124) seem to prove little. More doubtful is 
the relation to It. Ishmael’s midrash ; and in this 
connection must be considered t-lie question whether 
the citation of certain explanations of Leviticus 
introduced by the formula '*”*} '21 ton and actually 
found in Sifra is not in part due to confusion 
(comp. Hoffmann, l.c . ; Levy, l.c. p. 28, note 2, and 
tlie interesting remark from Azulai quoted there). 

But to It. Ishmael’s school undoubtedly belong 
the later additions to “ ‘Arayot,” which, according to 
Hag. i. 1 and Yer. lb, were not publicly taught in 
It. Akiba’s school; i.e. t Ahare, xiii. 8-15; Kedo- 
shim, ix. 1-7, xi. 14 (ed. Weiss), and finally, of 
course, the so-called “Baraita de- Rabbi Yislima‘el ” 
(beginning). The so-called “Mekilta 
Additions de-Mil lu’im ” or “ Aggadat Millu’im ” 
by R. to Lev. viii. 1-10 is similarly to be 
Ishmael’s distinguished from tlie remainder of 
School. the Sifra. It exists in two recensions, 
of which tlie second, covering mislina- 
yot 14-16 and 29-end, is cited by Baslii as “Baraita 
ha-Nosefet ‘al Torat Kohanim she-Lanu.” The tan- 


naim quoted most frequently in Sifra are It. Akiba 
and bis pupils, also B. Eliezer, R Islimael, It. Jose 
lia-Gelili, Babbi, and less often B. Jose, bar Judah, It. 
Eleazar bar B. Simeon, and B. Simeon b. Eleazar. 

Tlie Sifra was divided, according to an old arrange- 
ment, into nine “ dibbirrim ” and eighty “paraskiy- 
yot ” or smaller sections (“Halakot Gedolot,” end; 
Num. B. xviii. ; Kid. 88a can not be cited in proof, 
because B. Simeon b. Babbi can hardly have taught 
Hiyya’s Sifra). As 'it exists to-day it is divided into 
fourteen larger sections and again into smaller pera- 
kim, parasliiyyot, and misknayot. As the commen- 
tators point out, it varies frequently from tlie Sifra 
which the Talmudic authors knew (comp. Sifra. 

Emor, xiii. 1 and Men. 77b; Sifra, Ke- 
The doshim, ii. 5 and Hub 137a; Sifra, Ho- 
Present bah, xiii. 6 and B. K. 104b): furtker- 

Text. more, entire passages known to the 
authors ofBabJi, as, e.g., Yoma 41a, are 
missing in the present Sifra, and, on the other hand, 
there are probably passages in the present Sifra 
which were not known to Babli (comp. Hoffmann, 
l.c. pp. 33, 85). Tlie Sifra frequently agrees with 
the Palestinian rather than with the Babylonian 
tradition; e.g., Sifra, Nedabah, xii. 2 (comp. Men. 
57b); zb. xiv. 6 (comp. Hul. 49b); Sifra, Emor, ix. 8 
(comp. Hul. 101b); and Tosef., Sliek. i. 7 likewise 
agrees with the Sifra. In the few cases where 
the agreement is with Babli (Sifra, Emor, vii. 2 
as compared with Men. 73b; similarly Tosef., Ker. 
ii. 16) it must not be assumed that the text of the 
Sifra was emended in agreement with Babli, but 
that it represents the original version; e.g., in 
Sifra, Kedoskim, viii, 1 DSHWD is noj; a later emen- 
dation for jrtNft according to Yeb. 47a, as Weiss (ad 
loc.) assumes, but represents rather the original read- 
ing. Babli, as compared with Yeruslialmi, cites Sifra 
less accurately, sometimes abbreviating and some- 
times amplifying it ; e.g., !Kid. 57b, which is the am- 
plification of Sifra, Nedabah, xvii. 8; Sheb. 26b, 
which is a shortened (and therefore unintelligible) 
version of Sifra, Hobah, ix. 2; and Zeb. 93b, which 
is to be compared with Sifra, Zaw, vi. 6. Babli oc- 
casionally makes use, in reference to the Sifra, of the 
rule “mi she-shanali zu lo shanak zu ” (i.e., the as- 
signing of different parts of one lialakah to different 
authorities), as in Sheb. 13a, Sotak 16a, but un- 
necessarily, since it is possible to harmonize the ap- 
parently conflicting sentences and thereby show 
that they may be assigned to the same authority. 

Many errors have crept into the text through the 
practise of repeating one and the same midrash in 
similar passages; e.g., Sifra to v. 3 and xxii. 5 
(comp. Weiss, “ Einleitung,” etc., p. v., note 1, 
though the passage quoted by Weiss does not be- 
long here; comp. Git. 49b); NJnnX is found 

in Sifra, Nega‘im, ii. 10. 

The editions of the Sifra are as follows: Venice, 
1545; with commentary by BABaD, Constantinople, 
1552: with “Korban Aharon,” Venice, 1609; with 
the same commentary, Dessau, 1742; with commen- 
tary byBapoport, Wilna, 1S45; with commentary 
by Judah Jeliicl, Lemberg, 184S; with commentary 
by Malbim, Bucharest, 1S60; With commentary .by 
BABaD and “ Massoret ha-Talmud ” by I. H. Weiss, 
Vienna, 186.2; with commentary by Samson of Sens 



Sifre 

Sifre Zu£a 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


332 


and notes by MaHRID, Warsaw, I860. A Latin 
translation is given in Ugolini, “Thesaurus,” xiv. 

^rn L rp? R ^ PII T *, ^Pftein, Mi-Kadmoniyyot lia-Yehudim , pp. 
oO 56; Frankel, Darke ha-Mishnah , pp. 807 et scq.; idem, 
m Monatsschrift , 3854, pp. 387-897, 453-461 ; Geiger, Jud. 
ZcU. xi. 50-60; Hoffmann. Zur Rhihiihnm in cHp. 


zcH. xi. 50-60 ; Hoffmann, Zur Einleitung in die Bala- 
chiseli en Midrasch im , pp. 20 et seq.; Joel, Notizen zum 
Si^/ie Daniel :Etivasiiher die Bucher Sifra und Sifre , 
jBresla 11 , IS *8 ; Weiss, Gcsch. dev Jiidisclien Tradition , ii. 
~ol efc seq.; Zunz, Cr. T r . pp. 49 et seq. 

C. M. H. 

SIFUE (known also as Sifre debe Rab) : Mid- 
rash to Numbers and Deuteronomy (for the title “ Si- 
fre debe Rab” seeR. Ilananeel on Sheb. 37b, Alfasi 
on Pes. x. s and Rashi on Hos. ii. 1 ; it occurs likewise 
in Male. 9b, where, as Berliner says in his edition of 
Rashi, p. 372, N13M is an error for '1302; comp. 

Aruk,” s.v. In regard to the reference in 

Sanli. 86a concerning the Sifre of R. Simeon see Me- 
kilta de-Rabbi Shim*on; the question has like- 
wise been raised whether, in view of the well-known 
close relation that existed between the school of R. 
Simeon and that of R. Ishmael (Yoma 59a; Zeb. 53b, 
119b; 5ul. 69b), the words ]Tvj 1.1^1 apply 

to R. Simeon’s Siire in the same degree as to the 
other works mentioned in this Talmudic passage 
(Levy, “ Ueber Einige Fragments aus der Mischnah 
des Abba Saul,” p. 11, note 15). Such questions, 
however, are unimportant in reference to the Sifre 
now extant; for tins work is certainly not identical 
with the Talmudic Sifre; and, on closer investiga- 
tion, it is found to be not a uniform work, but one 
composed of parts which did not originally belong 
together. Frankel in his “ Darke ha-Mishnah ” (pt 
319) drew attention to the difference between that 
portion of the Sifre which refers to Numbers and 
that which refers to Deuteronomy, 

A . though, curiously enough, he misun- 
Composite derstood this difference and conse- 
Work. quently arrived at false conclusions. 

Hoffmann has correctly defined the re- 
lation between the two in his “Zur Einleitung in die 
Halacliisclien Midraschim,” pp. 52 etseg. The Sifre 
to Numbers is evidenttya midrash which originated 
in R. Simeon’s school, and which has all the pecu- 
liarities and characteristics of such a work. It fol- 
lows the same principles of exposition as does the 
Mekilta ; the same group of tannaim appears ; and the 
same technical terms are employed (see Mekilta ; 
to the examples there given may be added nty \33D 
TJD 121 bv V2V12, Num. viii., for which the Sifra 
to Lev. xxi. 12 uses the expression qij HD TJir6). 
There are also many material points of similarity 
with the Mekilta: thus Sifre 2 agrees literally with 
Mek., Mishpatim, 6; Sifre 65 with Mek., Bo, 5; 
Sifre 71 with ib. 15; Sifre 142 with zb. 5. The hag- 
gadic portions likewise contain many parallel pas- 
sages (comp, the collation in Hoffmann, l.c. p. 54, 
though Sifre 64 and Mek., Beshallah, 1 should not 
be included, since these two passages disagree on 
one point). 

It is an especially noteworthy fact that the ex- 
planation in Sifre, Num. 7 of the law regarding a 
woman charged with adultery corresponds with a 
view expressed by R. Ishmael, and also with the pre- 
scribed halakah, according to which, one witness 
being sufficient to convict, the water-test is not nec- 
essary. The explanation given in the Sifre to Num- 


bers thus contradicts the explanation in Sotah 31a 
and in Sifre, Deut. 188. The view expressed in 
Babli is curious: it cites (Sotah 2a and 31 b) the ex- 
planation of the Sifre to Numbers, and adds there- 
to: N M rvi in m rv6 nn &oDm i^\ 

iYHDK, whereas the deduction should read to the 
contrary, rims? nrvn nn nn inn. Babli,’ 
which evidently does not know R. IslimaePs view" 
tries to interpret the baraita in the sense of the pre- 
scribed halakah. But the baraita must in fact be 
interpreted in the opposite sense, namely, as follow- 
ing the view of R. Ishmael, who, because 1]) always 
implies “two,” as appears from Yer. Sotah 20d, de- 
mands also in the case of a woman charged with 
adultery two witnesses of the alleged crime. The 
passage introduced by the phrase DDD (Sifre 
161) likewise echoes R. IslimaePs views; and 
the same is true of Sifre 21 as compared with 
Sifre 7. The beginning of Sifre 7 appears to be, 
strangely enough, an anonymous halakah express- 
ing the opposite opinion (comp. Yer. Sotah 16b), 
though this also may at need be harmonized with 
R. Islimael’s view. Sifre 39 likewise, follows R. 
IslimaePs view, according to IIul. 49a. These and 
other less cogent reasons seem to indicate that the 
Sifre to Numbers originated in R. IslimaePs school, 
though this does not exclude the assumption that 
the editor in addition borrowed much from R. 
Simeon’s midrash (comp. Hoffmann, l.c . p. 54) and 
other less-known midrashim. 

Among the tannaim appearing in the Sifre to 
Numbers are: R. Ishmael and his pupils R. Josiah 
and R. Jonathan ; R. Nathan ; Abba 
Authori- Hamm (citing R. Eliezer) ; R. Eliezer; 
ties Quoted. R. Akiba and his pupils R. Simeon 
and R. J udali ; and, less frequently, R. 
Meir anti R. Jose. Rabbi also is often mentioned 
here, as in other midrashic works, and finally R. 
Judah b. Bathyra (Betera), who, as Hoffmann says, 
is more frequently mentioned in midrashic works 
from R. IslimaePs school than in any others. A 
sentence of the amora Samuel b. Nahmani is quoted 
once (No. 73). 

The Sifre to Deuteronomy is of an entirely differ- 
ent nature. The main portion (Nos. 53-303), lialakic 
in character, is preceded and followed by haggadie 
parts; and it lias all the characteristics of a inidrash 
from the school of R. Akiba. The principles under- 
lying the exposition are the same as those in Sifra. 
The term “niufneh ” in the application of the prin- 
ciple gezerah shawah” occurs only once, and is to 
be regarded as a later addition. The technical terms 
are largely the same in both midrashim, different 
terms being found only here and there in the Sifre. 
Moreover, the group of tannaim is different from 
that of the Mekilta. Those frequently mentioned 
in the latter, namely, R. Josiah, Ik Jonathan, R. 
Nathan, and R. Isaac, are mentioned rarely in the 
Sifre; and even then their names arc evidently later 
additions. Many passages quoted as 
Interpola- being anon 3 r mous correspond with R. 
tions, Akiba ’s views: e,.g Deut. 270 with 
Yeb. 52b; ib. 95 with SanJi. 45b; ib. 

269 with Yer. Git. 49b; ib. 2S0 with Yer. Sanh. 2lc. 
Similarly, some lialakic differences between the Sifre 
and the Mekilta may be pointed out: Sifre, Deut. 



333 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Sifre 

Sifre Zuta 


123 differs from Mek., Mislipatim, 1; ib. 122 from 
Mek. f Mislipatim, 2, which latter reproduces R. 
Islirnael’s view (comp. Hoffmann, l.c. pp. 68, 69). 
All these points indicate that the Sifre to Deute- 
ronomy originated in R. Akiba’s school ; and, as sev- 
eral anonymous passages may be cited to express 
the views of R. Simeon, this midrash may with a 
fair degree of certainty be ascribed to him. Such 
anonymous passages are found in Sifre 72-74, sev- 
eral sections of which Mak. 17a identifies as R. 
Simeon’s interpretations. The same appears to be 
the case in Sifre 94, compared with Sanh. 112a; 
ib. 103 with Kid. 57a; ib. 121 • with Sanh. 46b. 
Sifre 166, and perhaps also 165, likewise coi re- 
spond with R. Simeon’s views (comp. Hul. 136b; 
Tosef., Hul. ix. 2, x. 1); while in Sifre 303 the ex- 
planation of NDOS UBD 'mjD *6. and the omis- 
sion of DHDDt also imply an agreement therewith 
(comp. Yeb. 73b and Bik. ii. 2). 

There are, however, some exceptions to the rule ; 
e n Sifre 110 compared with ib. 281 and B. M. 115a; 
ii 219 with Sanh. 45b (the last-cited passage, how- 
ever may also be so interpreted as to harmonize 
with R. Simeon’s opinion). Sifre 230 likewise con- 
tradicts R, Simeon’s view, according to Kil. yn. 7. 
But, since it has not been claimed that the Sifre to 
Deuteronomy represents R. Simeon’s midrash in its 
original form, these few exceptions prove nothing. 
The editor certainly drew upon other midrashic 
works besides R. Simeon’s midrash, especially upon 
that of R. Islimael, as appears from a comparison 
with Mekilta to Deuteronomy (see Hoffmann in 
“ Hildeslieimer- J ubelschrif t, ” p. 91), as well as from 
the fact that several passages introduced by Mil 
s'S f 1 occur in the Sifre (e.g., 71 and 75 computed 
with Yeb. 73; ib. 229 with Shab. 32a; ib. 237 with 
Yer. Ket. 28c). Sifre 107, however, by no means cor- 
responds with the passage ^ ’OH in Yer. ‘Er. 20c 
(Hoffmann, “Zur Einleitung,” etc., p. 67), but ex- 
presses just the opposite view. Sifre, Deut. 171, s.v. 
corresponds perhaps .with Meg. 2oa, s.v. 
and Sifre 104 with the view of R. Islimael 
in Mek., Mislipatim, 201, according to the correct 
reading of Yalkut, which has ^ instead of w'-i. R 
thus appears that the editor introduces the mid- 
rashim from R. Islmiael’s midrash with the phrase 
Hoffmann (l.c. p. 70) concludes from Pes. 
68a and 71a that the editors of the Babylonian Tal- 
mud possessed the Sifre in another edition than 
the present one, which he takes to be 
Used in the a Palestinian edition. But the former 
Talmud, passage indicates merely that the Amo- 

i-oim nnpnRinnallv had not memorized 


the baraitot perfectly, an instance of inaccuracy 
with regard to the Sifre being evident in Hul. 74a 

(comp. Tos. adloc ., s.v. ^n?)- 
It may be said in general of the Sifre to Numbers 
and also of that to Deuteronomy that they are de- 
fective in many passages, and that the Amoraim 
probably possessed more trustworthy copies (comp. 
Hoffmann, l.c. pp. 53, 68). Even Rashi and the 
Lokali Tob quote from the Sifre passages which 
are no longer extant (comp. “ Griitz J ubelschrift, 
p 4 notes 5, 7-10). While the middle, lialakie 
portion of the Sifre to Deutronomy belongs to 
Akiba’s school, the liaggadie portions preceding 


and following it seem to come from works of R. Ish- 
mael’s school. This appears clearly in the first part, 
which shows many formal and material similarities 
with the Meldlta. In regard to the latter portion, 
it may he said that Sifre, Deut. 344 reproduces R. 
Islimael’ s view on the question at issue (comp. B. 
K. 113a). As for the lialakie midrash, it may be 
said that, in contradistinction to the liaggadie part, 
the collector used, aside from R. Ishmael’s midrash, 
that of R. Simeon (comp, Sifre 28 with Lev. R. 
i.; ib. 37 with Gen. R. Ixxxv. ; ib. 40 with Lev. R. 
xxxv. ; ib. 47 with Gen. R. xii. ; ib. 336 with Gen. 
R. Ixxxii. : ib. 313 with Tan., ed. Buber, p. 72). 

The final redaction of the Sifre must have been 
undertaken in the time of the Amoraim, since some 
of them, e.g., R. Bannai and R. Jose b. Hanina, aie 
mentioned therein. Both the Sifre to Numbers and 
that to Deuteronomy are divided into sections. The 
earliest extant edition of the Sifre is that of Venice, 
1545. Other editions are: Hamburg, 1789; Sulz- 
baeli, 1802; with commentary by David Pardo, 
Salonica, 1804 ; with commentary by Abraham Lich- 
tenstein (DimK jnr). part i., Dyhernfurth, 1811; 
part ii., Rad will, 1820; ed. Friedmann, Vienna, 1864- 
A translation of the Sifre is found in Ugolini, 
“Thesaurus,” vol. xv. 

Bibliography : Blau, in Steinschneider Festschrift . pp. 21- 
40; Epstein, Mi-Kadmmpyot 

Frankel, Darke ha-Mishnalu PP-J09 , ^ H off 
thrift dd 434-450; idem. Jiul. Zeit. 18b6, pp. , bLon 
mann, Zur Einleitung in die Fata chische i 
nn r \i fit wn 06 et sear. Pick, in Stacies Zeitschi \ft. tboo, 
pp*. 101-121 ; Weiss, Zur Gescl lichte der Jlidischen Tra- 
dition. n -TIT TT 


SIFKE ZUTA (“The Small Sifre”): A peculiar 
midrasli to Numbers, of especial interest for the 
study of the Halakali. Its authenticity is wrongly 
questioned by AVeiss (“ ZurGescli. der Jiidisclien Tra- 
dition,” ii. 23S). Medieval authors mention it under 
the titles “Sifre shel Panim Aherim” and “Wi- 
Yeshallehu Zuta”; and to distinguish from it the 
well-known Sifre, “ Or Zarua' ” (ii. 22) calls the lat- 
ter “Sifre Rabbati.” The Sifre Zuta has not been 
preserved; and, as appears from a remark of Abra- 
ham Baksat, it was no longer extant at the time in 
which he wrote his supercommentary on Rashi 
(comp. Brull, “Der Kleine Sifre,” in “Griitz Jubel- 
sclirift,” p. 184). Earlier authors, however, knew 
and occasionally quoted it, as, e.g., R. Samson of 
Bens iu his commentary on the mishnaic orders 
Zera‘im and Tohorot. Numerous fragments are 
found in Yalkut ShinVoni to Numbers, winch Brull 
(1 c )lias collated (corrections and additions by Hoff- 
mann, “Zur Einleitung in die Halachischen Mid- 
rascliim,” p. 60). Quotations arc found also in Num. 
R. to Naso, as Epstein (“Mi-Kadmoniyyot ha A ehu- 
dim ” p 71) lias pointed out. The “Mekilta to 
Numbers ” frequently quoted by Maimonides in his 
“ Sefer La-Mi? wot” is nothing else 
Quoted in than the Sifre Zuta; for all his quota- 
tlie “Sefer lions may be identified among the frag- 
L.a- ments of the Sifre contained in the 
Mizwot ” Yalkut SliinToni, with the exception 
of a passage in Slioresh It referring to 
a Biblical section, for which, as Hoffmann shows (l.c. 
p 59 ) by a comparison with the “‘Aruk,' lalkut 
SliinToni has not quoted the Sifre. 



Sifre Zuta 
Silas 


THE JEWISH ENC Y CLOPEDJ A 


334 


From the 
School of 
R. Akiba. 


• frequently drew upon the Sifre Zuta 

in is ad ha-Hazakali ” also ; and other medieval 
authors who occasionally quoted it are mentioned 
by Brull (l.c. pp. ISO et seq.). The Midrash ha- 
tradol to Numbers quotes the larger part of the Sifre 
~. u - • aut * ht } s recently become a source of informa- 
tion concerning the latter. Konigsberger bas begun 
to edit the bifre Zuta on tlie basis of the extracts in 
they id rash ha-Gadol and Valkut Shim'oni, though 
he has not as yet proceeded further than the first 
sections. A small fragment of the Sifre has been 
published by Sehechter in “ J. Q. R.” v j. 656-663. 

lbe Sifre Zuta belongs to R. Akiba’s school, as is 
indicated by the method of exposition; e.g., that of 
the double expressions in Num. xxxv. 21; of the 
partitive Jo, ib. xv. 19; and of the 1, 
zb. v. 2; the phrase min nxi is ex- 
plained as in Sifra, Zavv.ii. 1, and the 
term mJO as in Sifra, Emor, vii. S 
„ . (®- c - = nB>J?n XP). There are also other 
points of similarity with the Sifra (Hoffmann, l.c. 
p. bJ): e.g., the terminology in part, as nm&y iriN 

ami wn n &n, D -u no vxbi a/thoujh 

theie aie some unusual expressions, as uwn ivi'i 

(= -? n ^ * 1S (= aipo £ao), mos (= n). 

Imthermore, some of the views expressed in the 
biire Zuta correspond with views known to be II. 
Akiba’s, asm v. 14, with which comp. Sotah 3a; and 
in y. lo, with which comp. Sifre, Num. 8. The mid- 
rash may be assigned to R. Simeon rather than to R 
Judah, as is done in the case of the Sifra, although 
perhaps some of the anonymous halakot, as v. 15 
(comp. Ned. 35b) and xv. 4 (comp. Men. 104b) ex- 
press the views of the latter. R. Simeon’s author- 
, p IS indicated by the fact that lie is mentioned 
least often in the midrash, and that of the later tan- 
nann R, Eleazar b. Simeon is mentioned a few times. 

There are still other indications pointing to 
Simeon s authorship, as, for example, the enumera 
tion of the positive and negative commandments 
which is said to be a characteristic of the Sifre to 
Deuteronomy, this midrash also being ascribed to 
Simeon. Further evidence is presented by the cor- 
respondence of various liaiakot with R. Simeon’s 
views. Aside from the passages quoted by Hoff- 
mann (l.c. p. 65), some of which represent Simeon’s 
views more exactly than others— the parallel be- 
tween v. 7 and Mek., Miskpatim, 15 is doubtful, on 
account of tile different readings in the Mekilta— still 
others must be taken into account; e.g., Sifre Zuta 
v. 21 compared with Tosef., Sbeb. iii. 7; vi. 20, with 
Aazir 46a (comp. Konigsberger, “Der Kieine Sifre ” 
p. 14b, note 63, and p. 24, note 128); and, what is 
especially characteristic, the reason for the law 
under consideration (mpl RDJ1D) is inquired into, 
as my. 15 and xix. 16 (comp. Tosef., Slieb. i. 7- 
Ter. Nazir 56b). The well-known reference of tlie 
Talmud, Ey -l n2D DDD (Sank. 86a), may therefore 
apply to Sifre Zuta, iu which, furthermore, there 
are several exegetical uoteson passages of Numbers 
mentioned m the TaJmud, but wliicli are not found 
in the larger Sifre (comp. Hoffmann, l.c. pp. 56 el 

^ aCt tbat tlie ® I '^ re Zuta to v - 27 contra- 
diets R. Simeon’s view in Sotali 19a shows merely 
tiat the editor drew also upon other midrashim, 
including, perhaps, that of R. Eliezer b. Jacob and 


that of R. Ishmael (comp. Sifre Zuta to Num 
xxxv. 21 with Ycr. Mak. old). Noteworthy arc 
the terms flTDK = b"n and « N> ^ 

are known to have been used by Eliezer b. Jacob 
(Zeb. Jib, according to the correct reading; Sifre 
Deut. 195; comp. Hoffmann, l.c. p. 65, note 1- 
Konigsberger, l.c. p. 5, note 7). The fact that Rabbi 

!i,'r 0t ,i nle « t 0nC v leads IIoJI ' maiJU Hie conclusion 
that the Sifre Zuta was not edited by a pupil 0 f 

ltabbi. borne tannaim are mentioned therein whose 
names are not found elsewhere; e.g., Simeon ben 
JNehunyon and Papyas of Ono. 

studied Zu * a ^ UOt yct becu fcilorou gbly 


Bibliograph v : Besides the authorities quoted in the text , 
; 9: lbJb ? vim 329-^; Epstein, in R.E.J. 


Bacher, in J. 

Zuriz, T. V. ZeT. d^Jud.' im%o.u\ 

B - C. M. II. 

SIFRONI B. ISRAEL. See Stokno. 

SIFTE YESHENIM. See Bass, Shabbethai. 
SIGWI ARINGEN . See Hoiienzollekn. 

SIGN . See Mihacpk. 

SIGNATURE : Usually a writer inscribes liis 
name at the end of a writing as a certification of 
authorship or as an indication that lie accepts the 
sponsorship of the writing; but it does not appear 
that this was tlie custom of tlie ancient Hebrews 
in the case of literary productions the author’s name 
appeared at tlie beginning: “The Proverbs of Solo- 
mon the son of David”; “The vision of Isaiah the 
son of Amoz”; etc. Generally the full name, in- 
cluding that of the father, is given ; sometimes the 
single name. The end of tlie Second Book of 
Psalms reads, “The prayers of David the son of 
Jesse are ended ” (ixxii. 20); but this seems to be 
tlie statement of a compiler, for in tlie separate 
psalms ascribed to David iris name appears at the 
head. The words of Job are ended,” at the close 
ot his last and longest speech (xxxi. 40), is not his. 
signature ; for Job, in the book heuring ins name is 
not treated as its author. 

. edicts of kings and other great civil author- 

lties, m Babylonia and Persia, for example, the name 
. aad titles likewise appear at tlie begin- 

Edicts and ning, not at tlie end, as is seen in many 
Letters, well-preserved inscriptions. Ezra i 

«mi • , J? beffins Ule decrec of King Cyrus, 
Thus saitb Cyrus king of Persia.” Later in the 
same book rescripts of this king are given only in 
substance without superscription or subscription. 

1 be Book of Ezra gives also the contents of letters 
written by some Samaritans to tlie Persian king, 
but without showing where the names of the writers 
were p aced. Similarly, only the substance is given 
of the letter that was sent by the hand of Uriah to 
Joab (II Sam. xi. 15), and of the Syrian king’s letter 
about Naaman (II Kings v. 6). Of the still existing 
El-Amarna letters that were written in Palestine be- 
fore its conquest by the Israelites, those addressed 
to the King of Egypt begin. “To my Lord tlie King 
says now ._ . . thy servant.” Other letters begin 
with the writer’s name followed by “ saith, ” and con- 
tain no signature at the end. This is true likewise 
of the epistles of the New Testament, written in a 
much later age. 



$35 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Sifre Zuta. 
Silas 


Contracts among the ancient Hebrews appear to 
have been authenticated by a seal. The word 44 ho- 
Uim” (seal) appears in Gen. xxxviii. 18; the patri- , 
arch Judah seems to have carried a seal suspended 
as though from a watch-guard. The use of seals 
points to written contracts, but it shows also that 
the inability to write was common among the well- 
to-do classes. The word appears elsewhere in the 
Bible, and the use and purpose of the seal must 
have been well known. The word for seal-ring 
(“tabba'ut ”) is found only in connection with the 
edicts of foreign kings. But the Bible, in ref ei 1 in g 
to written contracts (< e.g to the deed for land in 
Jcr. xxxii.), never speaks of the signature or the 
seal of the grantor or obligor, though it speaks of 
the attesting witnesses. 

The Babylonian contract tablets throw much light 
on the subject. Many of them bear the impress of 

seal, and the verb 44 to seal ” is in some of them used 
in the sense of 14 conveying ” or “ assuring.” Simple 
acknowledgments of debt are m some cases signed 
at the end ; but nearly all the tablets are attested by 
two or more witnesses, and this attestation seems to 
have given force to the contract contained in the 
body of the tablet. The Talmudic view is that the 
privileged contract known as the “shetar 7 (see 
Deed) draws all its force from its attestation by 
two witnesses, which is called “sealing” (Git. i. 1). 
A signature by the party to be bound is not needed ; 
and there is no hint in regard to wax or auy other 
seal. An unsealed written contract (“ ketab yad ”) 
may be proved against the maker by its handwri- 
ting or otherwise; but his name sometimes appears 
at the beginning or in the middle. Long after Tal- 
mudic times it became the custom (at least in Chris- 
tian countries) for the' obligor (especially in a Ke- 
tubati) to sign his name before the attestation of 
the witnesses; but this was not deemed essential. 


SIHIN ; Large and populous city in the terri- 
tory of the tribe of Zebulon, near Sepphoris. After 
the destruction of Jerusalem it lost its importance, 
and was thenceforth called merely Kefar Sihin. 
Josephus refers once (“B. J.” ii. 20, § 6) to Sogane, 
near Sepphoris, and in another passage to the plain of 
Asohis, likewise near Sepphoris (ib. i. 4, § 2), both of 
which may he identical with the Talmudic Sihin. 
In the Talmud the city is mentioned under different 
names. In Sliab. 120b the vessels made at Kefai 
Sihin are said to be equal to metal vessels in dura- 
bility, and Shab. 121a mentions a conflagration in 
the house of Joseph b. Simai at Sihin. At the end 
of the treatise Yebamot mention is made of Johanan 
b. Jonah of Kefar Sihya. 44 Kefar Sihon ” occurs in 
Gen. R. xii. 


Bibliography : Schwarz, Palestine , p. 176, Philadelphia, 1850; 
Bosenmiiller, Morgenland , iii. 148; Neubauer, G . i. p.^0 8. 

j. o* 


SIHON— Biblical Data : Amoritic king of the 
east-Jordan country, whose kingdom extended from 
the Arnon in the south to the Jabbok in the north, 
and from the Jordan in the "west to the desert in 
the east (Num. xxi. 24; Judges xi. 22). According 
to Josh. xii. 8 and xiii. 27, the Desert of Arabah, be- 
tween the Jabbok and the Sea of Galilee, was in- 


cluded in Sihon’s territory. His capital was Hesh- 
bon, which lie bad captured from the King of Moab 
(Num. xxi. 26). He was also the suzerain of Midian, 
the five Midianitish kings, finally slain by the Israel- 
ites (Num. xxxi. 8), being his vassals (Josh. xiii. 21). 
When the Israelites asked Sihon for permission to 
pass through his territory, lie refused them, and col- 
lected an army at Jaliaz, where he was defeated and 
slain by the invaders (Num. xxi. 21-25; Josh. xiii. 
21; Judges xi. 19-22), who took possession of his 
kingdom. Sihon, like Og, King of Baslian, was con- 
sidered a great and mighty monarch (Ps. cxxxvi. 


In Rabbinical Literature: Sihon was the 

brother of Og, and both were grandsons of the fallen 
angel Shamhazai (Niddaii 61a). He resembled Og 
in stature and bravery (Midr. Agadab, Hukkat, ed„ 
Buber, p. 130a), and was identical with Arad the 
Canaanite (Num. xxi. 1), being called “Sihon” be- 
cause he was like the foals in the deseit foi swift- 
ness. He was termed also 44 the Canaanite ” after 
his realm (R. II. 3a, where JJM should .be read 
on the basis of Num. xxi. 1), wbicb included 
all Canaan ; as lie was monarch of the land he had 
vassal kings who paid him tribute. When the Israel- 
ites asked permission to pass through his territory 
to enter Canaan, he said it was only to resist their at- 
tacks upon the Canaanite kings that he was in the 
land (Tan., Hukkat, 52 [ed. Buber, p. 65a]). 

If Sihon had retained his troops in the vari- 
ous cities of his realm, the Israelites would have 
been able to take them only with difficulty; but 
God caused the king to collect his whole army in 
his capital, and thus enabled the Israelites to con- 
quer (ib.), although the city was so well fortified 
that Sihon had not been able to capture it from the 
King of Moab until he had called upon Balaam to 
curse the beleaguered army (Midr. Agadab, l.c.). 
Sihon could be vanquished only after God had sub- 
jugated his guardian angel to Moses (Yelammedenu, 
quoted in Yalk,, Num. 764). 


SILAS: 1. A Jew r who made himself tyrant of 
Lysias, a district of the Lebanon. Pompey subju- 
gated him, together with other petty rulers, on his 
march to Palestine in 63 b.c. (Josephus, 4 * Ant. 77 xiv. 
3 § 2) 

’ 2 . Friend of Agrippa I., whose early years of 
misery he shared, and who showed his gratitude by 
appointing bis old. comrade general of bis troops. 
w T hen be became king (Josephus, “Ant.” xviii. 6, § 1 ; 
xix.6, § 3). Silas then took many liberties, how- 
ever, continually reminding the king of his past 
sufferings that he might emphasize his own loyalty, 
so that Agrippa was obliged to send him to his own 
country as a prisoner (ib. xix. 7, § 1). In honor of 
his birthday the king once more received Silas into 
favor, and invited him to be bis guest; but as Silas 
continued to iusult the king he was again impris- 
oned (ib.). He w T as later murdered, as if at the 
king’s command, by Helkias, who was appaiently 
Silas’ successor in office (ib. 8, ^3). 

Bibliography: Gratz, Gesch. 4th ed., iii. 349; Schiirer, Gesch. 

3d ed., i. 555. 



Silberman 

Silesia 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


336 


3. Babylonian soldier in the array of Agrippall., 
but who deserted to the Jews on the outbreak of 
the war. He fought side by side with the kinsmen 
of the princely house of Adiabene, with Monobaz 
and Cenedeus and with Niger, and, like them, dis- 
tinguished himself by his bravery in the battles with 
Cestius Callus (Josephus, “B. J.” ii. 19, § 2). He 
seems to have risen quickly from the ranks; for he 
was one of the leaders of the Jews in the disastrous 
attack upon Aslikelon, which was badly planned 
and rashly executed, and in which he himself met 
his death (ib. iii. 2, §2). 

4. Confidant of Josephus, b\ r whom he was ap- 
pointed commander of Tiberias. John of Giscala, 
the avowed enemy of the historian, was about to 
incite the citizens of Tiberias to revolt against Jose- 
phus, when the latter was informed of the plot by 
a messenger from Silas, and he immediately hurried 
to the city (Josephus, “Vita,” § 17; in this passage 
Josephus speaks as if he had previously mentioned 
Silas, but no further information is given, even in 
“B, J.” ii. 21, § 6). 

G * S. Kb. 

SILBERMAN, ELIEZER LIPMAN : Ger- 
man rabbi and Hebrew journalist; born in Ivonigs- 
berg, Prussia, Sept. 7, 1819; died in Lyck, Prussia, 
Mai cli 15, 1SS2. His parents were Russians who 
settled in Konigsberg when Jews were admitted to 
that city during the Napoleonic wars. Upon the 
death of his father (1823) Eliezer was brought up 
by his mother’s family in Crottingen, government 
of Kovno, Russia, but upon attaining his majority 
he returned to Prussia and settled as slioliet and rabbi 
in Lyck, where in 1856 he founded “ITa-Maggid,” 
the first weekly newspaper in the Hebrew language. 
He was instrumental also in organizing (1864) and 
conducting the society known as Mekize Nirdamim 
In the editing of “Ha-Maggid ” as well as in the 
management of the affairs of the Mekize Nirda- 
mim, Silberman was ably assisted by his associate 
David Gordon, who at Silberman’s death suc- 
ceeded to the editorship. 

Silberman, who was the actual founder of Hebrew 
journalism, received the honorary degree of Ph D 
from the University of Leipsic as a reward for his 
activity in the field of Hebrew letters. Besides his 
contributions to “ Ha-Maggid, ” which include a 
series of autobiographical sketches, he published 
“ Kadmut ha-Yehudim Ncged Appion ” (Lyck, 1858), 
which contains Samuel Shullam’s translation of Jo- 
sephus’ “Contra Apionem,” with notes by Israel 
Bohmer and E. L. Silberman; and Solomon ibn 
Gabirol’s “ Goren Nakon ” (ib. 1859), to which, also 
he added editorial notes. 


and contributed to the “Leipziger Tagblatt,” the 
“Deutsche Allgemeine Zeitung,” and the “Fremd 
enblatt, ” also editing the weekly “ Dramaturgische 
Blatter ” in collaboration with Htrakoschand Taube 
Returning to Hungary in 1870, he became editor of 
the “Temesvarer Zeitung”; seven years later he 
went to Budapest, where he contributed to the 
“Pester Lloyd ” and to the “Neue Pester Journal.” 

Silbersteiu’s philosophical work “Die Bibel der 
Natur” (1877), which was translated into En°ji s h 
by Bradlaugh, created a sensation, and was "sup- 
pressed in Russia. His other works include: “Ka- 
tharsis des Aristoteles,” “Pliilosophische Briefe an 
eine Frau,” “ Dichtkunst des Aristoteles,” and 
“Strategic der Liebe” (in verse). In addition he 
translated from the Hungarian man} 7, works b\ r 
Jokai, Mikszath, Bartok, and Beniczky-Bajza; and 
also wrote a novel entitled “Egy Pesti Don Juan ” 
(1878). His collected works appeared (1894-96) 
in six volumes: four in German, and two in Hun- 
garian. 

Bibliography: Pallas Lex. 

S * L. V. 

SILBERSTEIN, MICHAEL; German rabbi; 
born at Witzenhausen, Hesse-Nassau, Nov. 21, 
1884, educated m Ins native town, in Hanover, at 
the Jewish Theological Seminary of Breslau (rabbi, 
1859), and at the University of Berlin (Pb.D. I860)! 
He was successively rabbi at Lyck, East Prussia 
(1860-68); Buttenhausen, Wurttemberg (1868-74) * 
and Miihringen (1874-84) ; since 1S84 he has officiated 
at Wiesbaden. He was a member of the Wurttem- 
berg assembly of delegates which met in 1869 for 
the purpose of drafting a new law for the Jewish 
communities of that kingdom. In 1882 he officiated 
at the funeral of the poet Berthold Auerbach (see 
Worte am Grabe Berthold Auerbach’s,” Breslau 
1882). 

Of Silberstein’s works the following may be men- 
tioned: “ Gelegenheitsprcdigten ” (Breslau, 1870); 
“Moses Mendelssohn” (Esslingen, 1872); “DieSo- 
ciale Frage und die Mosaisclie Gesetzgebung ” (ib. 
1873); “Unsere Alliancen” (ib. 1883); “Gabriel 
Riesser” (Wiesbaden, 1886); “Leitfaden fur den 
Israelitischen Religionsunterricht ” (ib. 1889); “Ein- 
leitende Ideen zur Geschicbte der Juden und des 
Juden turns” (ib. 1891); “Die Israeli tiselie Religions- 
schule in Ihrer Geschichtlichen Entwickelung ” (ib. 
1891) , and Wolf Breidenbach und die Aufhebung 
des Leibzolls in Deutschland ” (ib. 1S91). He has 
written also several articles for the Jewish as well 
as for the general press. 

s ‘ F. T. II. 


Bibliography : Ha-Magrjhl , v. 19, Nos. 1 et sea. (autol 
ovraphy); Fuenn, A cne.scb Yisrcicl. p 123 W-irsnw iqr 
Z eiclin, BIN. Post-Mendels, p. m2 P ‘ Warbaw ’ 188 

s * P. Wi. 


SILBERSTEIN (OTVOS), ADOLF; Hun- 
garian art critic and writer; born at Budapest July 
1, 1845; died there Jan. 12, 1899. After graduating 
from the gymnasium of his native city he studied 
philosophy and medicine at the University of Leip- 
sic comparative philology at Berlin, and history 
and political economy at Heidelberg (Ph.D. Leip- 
sic, 1866). He then devoted himself to journalism, 


SILBERSTEIN, SOLOMON : American philo- 
sophical writer; born at Kovno, Russia, March 10, 
1845. Educated privately, he received the rabbin- 
ical diploma in 1864, and officiated from 1867 to 
1868 as rabbi at Dershunisok, in the government of 
Kovno. Later he emigrated to the United States 
and settled in New York city. 

Silbeistein is the author of the following works: 
“Geiui^ ‘Enayim,” 1881; “Ila-Dat wcha-Torah,” 
1887; “The Universe and Its Evolution,” 1891; 
“Mezi’ut Yehowah weha-‘01am,” 1893; “General 
Laws of Nature,” 1894; “The Disclosures of the 



337 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Siltoerman. 

Silesia 


Universal Mysteries,” 1896; “The Jewish Problem 
and Theology in General,” 1904. 

Bibliography: The American Jewish Year Borilt , 5665 
<1904-5). j- rp IT 

SILESIA: Province of Prussia, formerly of 
Austria. Unreliable accounts date the first settle- 
ment of Jews in Silesia as early as the eleventh 
century, when, it is said, a synagogue in Altendorf, 
near Ratibor, was transformed into a church (1060), 
Untrustworthy also are the reports of Jewish perse- 
cutions in Leobschutz and Glatz in 1163, and of 
contributions by the Jews of Bunzlaii in 1190 to- 
ward the erection of the city walls, although the 
dale of the establishment of the first Jewish com- 
munity in this province must be placed some time 
in the twelfth century. The principal Jewish set- 
tlements during .this and the next century 
were at Breslau, Lowenburg, Bunzlaii, Schweid- 
ifitz, Beuthen, Glogau, Troppau, Munsterburg, and 
Nimptsch. Many of the first Jewish settlers were 
very poor ; the Slavonic language was used bj r them, 
and the offices of rabbi, teacher, and prayer-leader 
were held by one man. They were either fugitives 
from the Crusaders, or immigrants from Bohemia 
and Poland. Their occupations were chiefly ped- 
dling and agriculture; some among them, however, 
owned estates, and the villages of Tynice and 
Sokohrice were at that time owned by Jews. 

The Jews of Silesia suffered much during the 
reign of Duke Henry I., who undertook a cru- 
sade against the Prussians. About the same time 
(latter part of the 12tli cent.) a con- 
Early En- flag-ration destroyed part of Breslau ; 
actments. the Jews were charged with origi- 
nating it, and were again made to suf- 
fer. Their condition became still worse when 
Bishop Lorenz imposed upon them not only the 
Lejbzoll, but also tithes (1226). The general 
spread of German civilization brought prosperity to 
the country, and when this caused an increased de- 
mand for money, the Jews monopolized the busi- 
ness of money-lending. The growth of the commu- 
nities of Silesia consequent upon the constant influx 
of German Jews aroused the displeasure of the ec- 
clesiastical authorities. A provincial synod held 
in Breslau Feb. 9, 1267, accordingly issued strict 
enactments against the Jews, of which the follow- 
ing are especially noteworthy: (1) Jews aud Chris- 
tians were forbidden to associate at the dance-halls, 
in the inns, or at the baths; (2) Jews were enjoined 
to wear a special cap when appearing in public; (3) 
a ditch or a fence was to separate the dwelling of a 
Jew from that of Ins Christian neighbor; (4) Chris- 
tian nurses or day-laborers were forbidden to stay 
at night with their Jewish employers: (5) Jews 
were prohibited from dealing in provisions, espe- 
cially in meat, “in order that they might not poison 
their Christian customers ” ; (6) Jews were ordered to 
keep their doors and windows closed on the occa- 
sion of every Christian procession; (7) only one 
Jewish house of worship was allowed in each town. 

These laws, however, were not long to remain 
valid, for when Duke Henry IV. succeeded to 
the rulership, he issued (1270) an order regulating 
the status of the Jews which closely followed one 
XL— 22 


issued for Poland by Ladislaus— itself copied from 
the Austrian privilege of 1244 — and which contained 
the following chief clauses: (1) in legal matters the 
Jews shall be under the sole jurisdiction of the duke ; 
(2) their vocations shall include only the trade 
in money, and the lending of money on pledges, 
notes, deeds, and live stock; (3) they 
The Privi- shall he assured of safety for their 
lege persons, and their movable property 
of 1270. shall he secure to them; (4) they shall 
be accorded the same treatment as 
other subjects; (5) the} 5, shall not be accused of 
using human blood. These regulations were later 
confirmed by Duke Boiko I. of Sclnveidnitz (1295), 
and by Duke Henry III. of Glogau (1299). 

Upon the division of Silesia into ten dukedoms 
these privileges were not revoked ; but the different 
cities and churches began to issue independent en- 
actments controlling the Jews. Thus, in 1285, Glo- 
gau was granted the right to pass judgment upon 
Jews taken in the act of committing crimes. In 1315 
the several cities laid claim to the Jewish poll- and 
land-taxes, and their claims were granted. The be- 
ginning of the fourteenth century was marked by 
many acts of persecution against the Jews of Silesia; 
and in 1315 autos da fe were held in Breslau, 
Sclnveidnitz, and Neisse. In spite of the hatred 
borne toward them, however, Jews in all the 
larger towns acquired houses and real estate ; and 
as their property was generally situated in the same 
quarter, ghettos were naturally formed, centering 
about the chief synagogue, which in most cities 
served as a school also. In Breslau there were three 
synagogues, located in different parts of the city; 
the oldest existing synagogue dates back to the 
fourteenth century, and is situated in the present 
Ursalinerstrasse; another was located in the Rohr- 
gasse, and was mentioned as early as 
Synagogues 1349, when it was known as the Neue 
of Judenscliul. In 1351 the third syna- 

Breslau. gogue is mentioned as being located 
in the Gerbergasse. The rabbi was 
known as the “bishop of the Jews,” and his salary 
consisted of voluntary contributions; the first rabbi 
in Silesia probably was R. Isaac, who held also the 
title of “ Morenu ” (Zunz, “Z. G.” p. 205). Ceme- 
teries existed only in Breslau, Glatz, Glogau, Gor- 
litz, Liegnitz, Neisse, Sclnveidnitz, and Troppau; 
the one in Breslau was in existence as early as 1246. 
During the thirteenth century the Jews were al- 
lowed to charge interest at the rate of from 10 to 124 
percent for loans on real estate; during the four- 
teenth century the rate was from 144 to 18 per ceDt. 

When John of Bohemia took over the government 
of Silesia (1327) he confirmed the old privileges of 
the Jews. On account of the enormous debts owed 
by him and his son Charles IV., however, these 
rulers found themselves compelled to sell to the 
cities the right of bailiwick, whereby the Jews 
came entirely under the power of the municipal 
ijovernments. There were eighteen Jewish com- 
munities over which the cities exercised this right. 
By the sacrifice of large sums of money these com- 
munities succeeded in purchasing from the king 
their liberty, and likewise exemption from all taxa- 
tion, with the exception of a poll-tax, for a period 



Silesia 

Siloam Inscription 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


338 


of ten years. After the lapse of one } r ear, liow- 
evei, the cities were empowered to levy new 
taxes on the Jews. In 1845 the king permitted the 
Jewish cemeteries to be violated in order that the 
tombstones might be used for building purposes. A 
year before the appearauce of the Black Death 
(1347), which, however, spared Silesia, Charles IY. 
placed the Jewish communities under the jurisdic- 
tion of the municipal councils again; in the same 
3 eai the Flagellant movement caused Jewish perse- 
cutions in Gorlitz, Glatz, and Ober-Glogau. 

The Bieslau communit} r suffered severely when a 
conflagration which took place on Ma 3 r 28, 1349, was 
laid at the door of the Jews. Sixty heads of families 
were murdered, and their property 

Breslau was divided between the city and the 
Fires of king, the former securing the real es- 
1349 and late and the two sjmagogues, the lat- 
1360. ter the cemetery and all" outstanding 
claims. The king issued an order on 
Feb. 21, 1350, with regard to the punishment of the 
murderers; but it was left to the option of the city r 
officials how they were to proceed against them. 
In the same } r ear the cities were given the ri«ht of 
granting or refusing admission to the Jews within 
their limits. This introduced an era of unrest for 
tlie Milesian Jews, although incidental]}- it was the 
cause of the growth of the communities in the larger 
cities, especialty in Breslau, where 100 families were 
admitted. Tlie only business which they were al- 
lowed to follow was that of money-lending. On July 
25, I860, Breslau was again the scene of a conflagra- 
tion, the result of which was that some of the Jews 
were slain and the remainder expelled. Two years 
later persecutions took place in Brieg, Gulirau, Lbw- 
enberg, and Neisse. Most of the fugitives from 
these places sought refuge in Schweidnitz, where 
Boiko II. was duke. This ruler renewed the old 
privileges, and the community prospered, although 
tlie fact that tlie Jews were excluded from the gilds 
heie also restricted them to money-lending. 

The chief representatives of the Jews during the 
reigns of Boiko II. and his widow Agues were the 
Jews’ “bishop,” Oser, his father-in-law Lazar, and 
David Falken. The duchess later appointed a com- 
mittee of four members, called “Die Viere,” who 
acted as the representatives of all the Jews in 
the duchy. About this time Duke John of Upper 
Lusitania, which also belonged to Silesia, expelled 
the Jews from Gorlitz, and the S} 7 nagogue of that 
town was transformed into the Chapel of the Holy 
Bod}'. Besides the places already mentioned, Jew- 
ish communities were established during the four- 
teenth century in the following towns: Goldberg 
ILiynau, Namslau, Neumarkt, Strelilen, Hirschber 0 * 
Trebnitz, Stricgau, Potsclikan, Grollkaii, Olilau’ 
Jauer, Ratibor, Reiclienbaeli, Ivosel, Pieisketscliam 
and Op pel n. 

Tlie beginning of tlie flfteentli century again saw 
tlie Jews overtaken by misfortune. In 1401 they 
were accused of desecrating- the host, and were ex- 
pelled from Brieg, Glogau, and Striegau. During 
the Hussite war, and the factional strifes which fol- 
lowed, they could free themselves from danger 
only by sacrificing large sums of money. In Bres- 
lau the Jews had been readmitted by the end of the 


fourteenth century, and in Ratibor they had sue 
ceeded in freeing themselves from the ceremony of 
taking an oath while standing in bare feet on a pig’s 
iiide. I lie Breslau Jews liad also received the fol 
lowing privileges: (1) exemption from all taxation 
with the exception of the yearly tax- 
The Jews' (2) religious liberty; (8) security for 
Oath. person and property ; (4) protection at 
religious ceremonies; (o) exemption 
from fire-duty, with the exception of the payment 
of one mark in cases where the fire had been caused 
b}' them. When, however. King Sigismund went 
to Breslau, in 1420, preaching a crusade against 
Hussites and heretics, a great number of Jews were 
robbed and murdered. 

Liegnitz was at that time the only duchy in which 
the Jews were permitted to engage in other occu- 
pations than mone} 7 -lending, and even there the 
duchess Elizabeth soon issued au order (1447) restrict- 
ing them to the latter calling. Tlie Jews of Breslau 
had in the meantime prospered; they were granted 
anew the use of the Olilau cemeteiy, and they had 
reorganized tlieir community after tlie pattern of 
that of Schweidnitz. Then, in tlie year 1458, came 
Capistrano, whose' inflammatory speeches brought 
much misfortune upon tlie Silesian communities. °In 
Breslau lie incited the mob to such an extent that 
there was brought against tlie Jews a charge of hav- 
ing purchased nine hosts from a peasant and hav- 
ing pierced them until blood flowed. In addition to 
this, a converted Jewess accused lier former corelig- 
ionists of having thrown consecrated wafers into 
the fire. The town council referred the case to King 
Ladislaus, who ordered the guilty ones to be burned 
at the stake (June, 1453), all children over seven to 
be baptized, and the remainder of tlie Jews to be ex- 
pelled. On Aug. 18 of the same year seventeen 
Jews were burned at the stake in Schweidnitz also. 

In 1455 a second expulsion from Breslau took place, 
at the command of Ladislaus ; and two years later 
the king granted Schweidnitz the right to exclude 
Jews; the city exercised this prerogative until re- 
cently. Similar rights were given to Glogau in 
1480, Glatz in 1492, and Oels in 1505. Glogau re- 
ceived the right because Duke John, by the sale of 
the pioperty ol the Jews, hoped to raise an amount 
of money which lie needed. 

Of new settlements during the sixteenth century 
may be mentioned those of Kanth, Frankenstein, 
Kieuzburg, Pitschen, Oels, Beutlien, Krossen, and 
Polish Wartenberg. The number of tlie Jews here- 
after decreased so greatly that during the whole of 
the following century the taxes paid 
In the b} r all the communities throughout 
Sixteenth Silesia amounted to only 100 gulden, 
Century, although every native Jew over ten 
3 r ears of age and under twenty paid 
one gulden, and over twenty, two gulden, while 
every foreign Jew paid one gulden. Several perse- 
cutions took place in the sixteenth century. Tlie 
Jews were expelled from Frankenstein in 1508, 
their synagogue being destroyed ; in 1580 this town 
received the right of excluding Jews. In Lcob- 
schiitz the Jews were accused, in 1543, of the 
murder of a Christian child, and, although not con- 
victed. they were expelled. In 1563 all Jews were 



339 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Silesia 

Siloam Inscription 


banished from Oppeln. In 1582 Rudolph II. issued 
an order entirely expelling from Silesia the few 
Jews that were left. They were ordered to leave 
with their wives and children, hut were permitted 
j o dispose first of their landed property, and to take 
with them all their movable goods. The Jews 
evaded this edict by leaving the cities and seeking 
refuge in the country, placing themselves under the 
protection of the cloisters. 

The general financial troubles caused by the 
Thirty Years’ war proved favorable to the Silesian 
jews, and in 1630 the authorities of Breslau even 
requested Jew's to settle in that city, aftei a similai 
request had been made in the preceding year in 
Glogau. Through their intercourse with the Jew- 
ish merchants of Poland, the Silesian Jews soon 
monopolized the entire Eastern trade, and in 1689 
the imperial treasurer found himself compelled to 
request the magistrate of Breslau to expel the Jews, 
against which request, however, the city protested. 

In 1701 a Jew of Breslau was requested to report as 
to whether the Jews at any time had had a public 
synagogue in the city, and as to whether tlieii 
prayers contained any blasphemy against Jesus. The 
answer was that the Jews read from the books of 
Moses, that they held their divine services in private 
rooms, and that there were ten such rooms in the 
city, with a total of 140 worshipers. In the course of 
the eighteenth century the Jewish taxes were farmed 
to a Jew, which resulted in so great an influx of 
Jews into Breslau that the city requested the em- 
peror to expel them. The emperor granted the re- 
quest on July 28, 1738, and on Dec. 
Conceit- 9, following, they left the cit) r . Dui- 
tration in ing the first occupation of Silesia by 
Breslau. Frederick the Great (1744) Jews were 
again officially readmitted . Frederick , 
however, issued, on May 6, 1746, a law banishing all j 
Jews from Silesia, excepting twelve families which 
were granted permission to stay in Breslau. When, 
in 1749, thirty-six Jews were killed by the explosion 
of a gunpowder tower, it was necessary to take 
their corpses to Dybernfurth, Krotoschin, Lissa, and 
Zulz, because the cemetery at Breslau had not yet 
been opened. The law of Frederick the Gieat was 
evaded in many ways. First the Jews leccived 
permission to stay longer than three days in Glo- 
gau, Auras, and Dyliernfurtli ; and aflerwaid they 
were admitted to Hundsfeld and Festenbergon pay- 
ment of twelve thalers each. Their permanent 
stay in any one city was permitted under the terms 
•• Tolerirte liber das Reglement,” “ Fixeutristen,” 
and “ Tagesgroscben Entricli tender.” 

Especially remarkable was the growth of the 
Breslau community. The twelve families originally 
allowed there were augmented by steady immi- 
gration, and the community grew from 300 to 3,000 ; 
the Ziilz, Lissa, Krotoschin, and Glogau schools 
flourished anew in the city. The Mendelssolmian 
movement found adherents there, while it was con- 
demned in other parts. Thus in Kio- 
Growth. of toscliin the writings of Mendelssohn 

Breslau, were pu t under the ban on New-Year’s 

day, 1787, by R. Lobusch ben Mor- 
deeai. After the visit to Breslau of Frederick 
William II. (1786) the chief representatives of the 


community planned to reorganize the internal as 
well as the external affairs of the Silesian Jews. 
Among the more prominent men who took part in 
this work were Simon Hirscli, Lippman Meier, and 
Zimmermann, royal controller and assessor of the 
Jewish community of Breslau, who, in 1791, pub-, 
fished in Breslau a “Gescliiclite und Verfassung der 
Juden in Herzogtlmm Sclilesien.” Zimmermann, 
together with the prorector of the Elisabeth Gym- 
nasium, likewise founded the Jewish Wilhelm- 
sehule, which was opened on March 15. 1791, and 
was not closed until 1848. Special mention should 
he made of Jonas Frankel, who left, among other 
philanthropic legacies, one for the founding of the 
rabbinical seminary. 

The following is a fist of Silesian “Landesrab- 
biner”: Naplitali lia-Kohen (1712-16); Samuel ben 
Naplitali (1716-22); Hayyim Jonali Te’omim (1722- 
1727) ; Baruch b. Reuben Gomperz (1733-54) ; Jo- 
seph Jonas Frankel (1754-93) ; Jeremiah Low Berliner 
(1793-99) ; Lewin Saul Frankel (1800-7) ; Aaron Kar- 
funkel (1807-16); Abraham hen Gedaliah Tiktin 
(1816-20). 

The Prussian province of Silesia numbers (1905) 
47,593 Jews in a total population of 4,668,405. 
It is divided into two districts, those of Breslau 
(with Liegnitz) and Oppeln. The former has thirty- 
six Jewish communities, of which the following are 
the most important: Breslau — 18,440 Jews, 11 sj'n- 
agogues, 37 educational societies, and 23 charitable 
societies. Glogau— 780 Jews, 13 charitable socie- 
ties, and 28 institutions. Gorlitz — 650^ Jews and 
7 benevolent societies. Liegnitz 1,085 Je^s and 
3 societies. 

Tlie district of Oppeln lias twenty-five communi- 
ties, including: Beuthen— 3,260 Jews, a Jewish 
primary school supported by the city, a religious 
school, 13 charitable societies, and 4 institutions. 
Gleiwitz — 2,106 Jews and 10 societies. Katto- 
witz— 2,500 Jews and 6 societies. Myslowitz— 
1,050 Jews, 7 societies, and 66 legacies. Ratibor— 
1,150 Jews and 7 societies. Zabrze— 1,200 Jews 
and 4 societies. 


Bibliography: Die ^usiveisunadci mis S zi }^ re^h 

Jah re 15S2, in Brail’s Jahrh JS& PP- 48-o0, ZwGmmi. 
der Juclen in Sclilesien , m Jucl.Lit ;. 188* vp. , 

Ginsberg, Gesch. der Juden m Breslau von Ihiei Aicdej - 
lassunn bis zuni Jtfeucstcn ZciU vol. i.; 1 olkskalcndei fw 
Isracliten auf das Ja.hr 5605 , pp. 5-23 ; Oelsner, Zuv Gesch. 
der Juden in Sclilesien . in Jahrbuch des Deutschen I olks- 
kalender flir Israelitciu 1862, pp. S3- S9 _ (ed. Liebermnnn, 
Brieg: contains registers of over 21 Silesian cities); Hebe? 
c lie Juden in Beuthen. m Orient, Lit. 1848, ho . M , Brann, 
Gesch ties Schlesischen Landcsrciblnnatcs , m Gidtz Jubel - 
sehrift, pp. 2JS-278, Breslau, 1887; idem, Gesch. der Jn den 
in Sclilesien his U37, Breslau, 1901 et seq M. 

Die Erstcn Emaneipationsbcstrcbungen clet Juden in 
Breslau , Breslau, n.d. „ ^ 


SILOAM INSCRIPTION : The inscription on 
the Siloam conduit : the earliest long ancient He- 
brew inscription that has been found at Jerusalem 
—one may even say in Palestine— and so far the 
only really important one. It commemorates the 
digging of the waterway, which was an event in the 
history of Jerusalem and is mentioned more than 
once in the Bible. The city of Jerusalem is almost 
entirely surrounded by two deep valleys which unite 
to tlie southeast of tlie city, namely, the valley of 
Jehosliaphat on the east, and that generally ldenti- 



Siloam Inscription 
Silva 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


340 


fied with Ge-liimiom, or the valley of the sons of 
Hinnom, on the west and the south. Between these 
two valle3 r s .is the Tyropoeon, a depression now al- 
most tilled in, which begins in the center of Jerusa- 
lem, and extends to the point where the two valleys 
join, separating the upper city from the hill on 
which the Temple stood. The space between the 
Lyropceon and the valley of Jehoshaphat is called 
Ophcl, and is in the form of a spur projecting 
ton aid the south, and bounded on the north by the 
wall of Haram ahSliarif. At the foot of thcHaram 
is the spring now called “The Yirgin’s Spring,” the 
water from which traverses the whole length of the 
hill of Ophel from north to south in a subterranean 
channel and empties into the Pool of Siloam, whence 
it is drawn to irrigate the gardens on the slopes of 
Jerusalem. On the right wall of this conduit, about 
live or six meters from the Pool of Siloam, the in- 


noted in the case of the letters y y 3, i?, p, fj' to 
the latter, in the case of 1 ; the most marked differ- 
ences from both occur in the letters 1, n, D, y While 
the tops of the letters are angular, the tails are l on o< 
and curved, thus presenting a characteristically 
more cursive appearance; this style of script is 
that of a people which had written much for o- eiK .,._ 
ations. 

The language of the inscription is pure Hebrew 
and its general sense is clear; indeed, if the first line 
liad not been mutilated there would be hardly a sin- 
gle doubtful word. The translation, resulting from 
the combined efforts of various scholars, is as follows; 

Line 1. . . . the piercing. . . . And this is the history of the 
digging. When ... 

2. the pickaxes one against the other. And when there were 
only three cubits more to cut through, the men were heard 

3. calling from one side to the other; [foil there was zedali 
m the rock, on the right and on the left. And on tiie day of the 






VK ♦ bp 
n 


♦ nspft ♦ * 0*7 * nvr ♦ nn ♦ mpjn 
. sny . n»x . vbv . umi . w ^ ^ , [nin 
D'3i ;»'» . n-a . ,-iit . mn . -o', ijn . t, K . ^ 
X * ,ni * * ! ni * 1jn ‘ ^ • w . Dam-7 ttn . nap; 

- 0 * rt8R * ^ R1 * B'fiKaa . 'nanan . bs . si-ien . . era n 

IsJasnn , 6>io . , nan . nai . n\n . nak , n 

Tuk Siloam Inscription, with Transcription. 

(From Benzinger, ** Hebrafselie Archaologie.”) 


scription in question was found, the base of the 
letters being on a level with the water. Sayce, who 
has done more than anyone else to bring this in- 
scription to light, gives the curious story of its dis- 
covery in “ Records of the Past ” (New Series, i. 168- 
175, London., 1888; see also Ph. Berger in “Journal 
des Dehats,” April 16, 1882). The inscription was 
broken in an attempt made to steal it; but the frag- 
ments are now in the museum at Constantinople ; and 
fiom casts that have been taken, copies of which 
aie in x axis, London, and Berlin, it has been possible 
to gain an exact idea of its arrangement and to de- 
cipher it almost entirely. 

The inscription occupies the lower part of a 
sunken, rectangular cartouche 50 cm. high and 66 
cm. broad, the upper portion of which. 
Descrip- 2/ cm. high, is left blank. It consists 
tion. of six lines of remarkably distinct let- 
tering, the words being separated from 
each other by points. The script is similar to that 
found in the Moabite and various Phenician in- 
scriptions; particular resemblance to the former is 


1. piercing the workmen struck each to meet the other, pickax 
against pickax. And there flowed 

5. the waters from the spring to the pool for a space of ;'(K) 
cubits. And [100] 

6, cubits was the height over the head of the workmen. 

For a detailed account of the work of decipher- 
ment see the references in Lidzbarski, “ Ilandbuch 
dor Nordsemitisclien Epigraphik,” p. 489. 

Tiie noteworthy point in the narrative supplied 
by the inscription is that the work was carried on 
from both ends. A11 account of a similar work has 
been preserved in a Latin inscription of Lambeze 
(“ C. I. L.” 2728). At Lambeze, however, the two 
gangs of men did not meet ; it was suddenly dis- 
covered that more than the breadth of the mountain 
had been cut through ; and the engineer who had 
prepared the plans had to step in and bring the work 
to a conclusion. The workmen at Jerusalem were 
more successful in meeting each other, although they 
made many trials in groping toward the meeting- 
place, as the work on the waterway still shows. 
Robinson, who guessed at the manner in which the 
work was carried on, remarks : “ Since then the state- 



341 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Siloam Inscription 
Silva 


ments of Captain Conder liave shown that toward 
the center of the watenvay two blind alleys may be 
seen, which correspond to the place where the two 
yangs met.” These facts agree very well with the 
Text of the inscription. This, as interpreted by 
Joseph Halevy, seems to distinguish 
The Work three stages in the construction : the 
Described, first corresponds to the matter related 
in line 1 ; at the second the workmen 
talk with one another; and at the last stage theii 
pickaxes meet and the last of the rock is removed. 
The only obscure point that remains is the meaning 
of the word “ zedah ” in line 3. This word does not 
occur in the vocabulary of the Bible. It has been 
compared with the Arabic “ zada ” (— “ to aim cor- 
rectly, 44 to enter a hole ”); and in any ease it seems 
to refer not to a peculiarity of the rock, but to the 
work accomplished b3 r the men. 

Clermont-Ganneau has brought forward an in- 
genious hypothesis in regard to the blank upper 
part of the cartouche; lie concluded that it had 
been reserved for the date, or rather for a sym- 
bolical picture, which for some reason or other 
was not supplied. However, in all known inscrip- 
tions the writers began at the beginning, and the 
introductory formula was carved first and not after- 
ward; and as regards the symbolical picture, repre- 
sentations in this style occur so seldom in Palestine, 
and arc so little in conformity with Jewish custom, 
Unit its existence must not be assumed arbitrarily. 

It is not easy to explain the choice of place foi 
die inscription. One might have expected to find j 
it either at the entrance of the waterway or at 
the point where the two gangs of men met; hut in- 
stead it was engraved in an obscure position five or 
six meters from the end. It might be assumed, in 
explanation, that the tunnel was originally longer, 
and that the inscription was in fact at the point of 
junction. But this hypothesis involves such topo- 
graphical difficulties that it is best to set it aside. 
The first word of the inscription might have fur- 
nished a clue ; but as it has been obliterated, one can 
only guess at the reason for its obscure position. 

The digging of a subterranean way more than 500 
meters long was in every respect a great underta- 
king. As to the epoch and for what 
Date of reason it was undertaken the insciip- 
the Work, tion leaves one entirely in the dark: 

commemorating a great work of public 
utility, it mentions neither the originators nor the 
date. Fortunately the Bible gives more information 
on the subject than the inscription.. II Kings xx. 
20, commemorating the act s of Hezekiah, relates how 
that king “made a pool [“berekah ”] and a conduit., 
and brought water into the city ” ; and this work is 
referred to in II Cliron. xxxii. 30 also. It seems, 
however, that the aqueduct of Siloam existed before 
the time of Hezekiah. A prophecy of Isaiah, pro- 
nounced in the days of King Ahaz, is especially chai- 
acteristic in this connection. The prophet (Isa. viii. 
G), reproaching the people for their infidelity, com- 
pares the paternal government of the kings of Judah 
to a brook of softly flowing water, in contrast to the 
mailed hand of the Assyrian conquerors: “Foras- 
much as this people refuseth the waters of. Shiloah 
that go softly . . . the Euphrates . . . shall pass 


through Judah.” “Shiloah” as a common noun 
corresponds exactly to the word “emissary”; and 
“the waters” of which Isaiah speaks are none othei 
than those of the conduit in question. Robinson, 
indeed, remarked on the slow and almost impeicep- 
tible course of the water in the tunnel. The word 
used by the prophet for designating the water's flow 
(q^n) is the same as that found in the inscription. 
When taken in this sense the words of the prophet 
acquire a special meaning, and indicate tlieappioxi- 
matc date of the digging of the channel. The con- 
duit and the inscription of Siloam belong doubtless 
to the period of Ahaz and Hezekiah, which was 
marked everywhere by great works, especially as ie- 
gaixls the water-supply of Jerusalem, a matter of ex- 
treme importance in case of siege. And for this 
reason, doubtless, a subterranean way was con- 
structed under the hill of Ophel, instead of an open 
one encircling the city on the east. 

There are still other opinions regarding the date 
and the inscription. As no mention whatever is 
made of the existence of the kingdom, it has been 
assumed that the date of the digging lies within the 
period of the Maccabees. But as the inscriptions on 
earlier stones conform in their lettering to that of 
the Biloam inscription, the conclusions advanced 
above seem to be confirmed. It is therefore proba- 
ble that here is a specimen of the style of writing 
employed by Isaiah and the Greater Prophets; and 
the importance of this discovery must be evident to 


all scholars. 

Bibliography: Driver, Text of Scwnnel* pp. 14 etscq.( with 
facsimile transcription, and translation); Weir, Shoot -Hp- 
tvMftlic Hebrew Text of the Old Testammt ; Entmg, m 
Gesenius-K amzsch, Hehr. Grom.- Socin, in Z D. P.V. iv : ; 
idem, Die Siloah lnschrifU Freiburg, 1899 ; Lidzbarski, 
Handtmch der Nordsemitischen Epwraphik, 189b, C. 
Wilson, in Hastings, Diet. Bible , iv. ol6b. 

35. G. II. , * ’ J5E * 

SILVA, ANTONIO JOSE DA : Portuguese 
poet; horn in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, May S, 1705; 
died at the stake in Lisbon Oct. 19, 1739; son of 
Joao Mendcs da Silva. He was educated at the 
universities of Lisbon and Coimbra (B.D. 1726). 
On Aug. 8, 1726, he was arraigned before the tribu- 
nal of "the Inquisition for writing satirical, poems 
and for observing the Mosaic laws; an inquiry was 
instituted ; and he was tortured so cruelly that he 
was unable to sign his name. At an auto da fe held 
Oct. 13, 1726, he was pronounced penitent. He 
continued, however, to practise his old religion in se- 
cret; and his enemies, envious of his growing fame 
as a poet, accused him of relapsing and of irreverence 
toward the Holy Office. On Oct. 5, 1737, he and 
his wife were imprisoned, his property was at- 
tached, and a number of spies, disguised as prison- 
ers were engaged to watch him. His wife was ie- 
leased on Feb. 28, 1738, but was arraigned anew on 
March 15, and sentenced to do penance for relaps- 
ing. She died Oct, 10, 1739, at the age of twenty- 
seven (according to some authorities she survived 
her husband several months). At a secret session, 
held March 11 of that year, Da Silva was denounced 
as a heretic, and his goods were confiscated. Re- 
peated efforts were made to save him by distin- 
guished statesmen and poets, even King John V. in- 
terceding for him; but all proved fruitless, and. as 
stated above, on Oct. 19, 1739, he was publicly 



Silva 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


342 


burned, his family being compelled to attend the 
auto. Tlie same evening one of his popular oper- 
ettas was produced at tlie theater in Lisbon. 

Da Silva, who has been frequently styled “ the 
Portuguese Plautus,” was a very prolific and versa- 
tile poet ; and his comedies were popularly called 
“operas do Judeu.” They were performed at the 
Bairro Alto between 1733 and 1738, and met with 
marked success. Ferdinand Wolf has given a care- 
ful analysis of Da Silva’s activity; and, though the 
literature bearing upon him is quite extensive, this 
still remains the best attempt at an appreciation of 
his literary importance. Until the end of the eight- 
eenth cent myall of his compositions were published 
anonymously for fear of the Inquisition ; and it was 
long before he was credited with the authorship of 
his many poems, dramas, and comedies. Many of 
his dramas give his name acrostically, after the fash- 
ion of the Jewish liturgical poets; but Yarnhagen 
(“Florilegio da Poesia Brazileira,” i. 201-236, Lis- 
bon, 1850) has pointed out that numerous spurious 
compositions also are attributed to him. 


Among Da Silva’s most noted works are the fol- 
lowing: “ YidadeD. Quijotede la Mancha “Eso- 
paida, ou Vida de Esopo”; “Os Encantos de Me- 
dea”; “Amphitryao, ou Jupiter e Alcmena”; 
“Labyrintho de Creta”; “As Guerras do Alecrim e 
Mangerona”; “ Variedadesde Protheo” ; “Precipicio 
de Faetonte”; and “O Diabinlio a Mao Furada.” 
Numerous unpublished pieces are mentioned by 
Varnhagen; and one or two have recently been 
discovered and printed. Ferdinand Denis in his 
“Chefs d’CEuvre du Theatre Portugais ” (pp. 365- 
496, Paris, 1S23) gives liberal extracts, with a 
Freucli translation, from the “Vida de D, Quijote ” ; 
and Wolf likewise gives selections from Da Silva’s 
various compositions. His collected works appeared 
in 1744, 1747, 1753, 1759, 1787, and 1792. Da Silva 
is the subject also of several laudatoiy epic poems 
and dramas, one or two of which were composed by 
Brazilian compatriots. 

Bibliography .* G. A. Kohut, Bibliography of Works Bela- 
two to Antonin Jose da Silva and Bibliography of Don 
Antonio's Compositions, in Puhl. Am. Jew. Hist . Soc. No. 
iv M pp. 181-87 ; idem. Martyrs of the Inquisition in South 
America lb. pp. Lfo-loO, 174-181 ; Kayserling, Bibl, Esp.- 
PorL-Jud. p. 101; Ferdinand Wolf, Don Antonio Jose da 
schrift 1880 a ’\xix° tt n w a lc L Jose da Silva , in Monats- 

s - G. A. K. 

SILVA, FRANCISCO MALDONADO DE : 

Peruvian physician, controversial writer, and mar- 
tyr ; born in San Miguel, province of Tucuman, 
Peru, about 1592; burned at the stake in Lima Jan. 
23, 1639. His father, Diego Nunez de Silva, and his 
brother, Diego de Silva, were Neo-Christians, and 
had been “reconciled ” by the Inquisition March 13, 
1605. According to his own testimony, his mother. 
Dona Alaonsa Maldonado, and all her ancestors 
were Christians. 

Francisco was christened and baptized in San 
Miguel; he attended mass up to his eighteenth year : 
and otherwise he was a devout Catholic, until, on a 
visit to his father at Callao, he chanced to read the 
“ Scrutiuium Scripturarum ” of Paul Burgos (Man- 
tua, 1474 et seq.). His father, who was a “licen- 
tiate,” then encouraged him to study the Bible, and 
confessed his secret adherence to the Mosaic faith. 


Thereupon Francisco, too, became a believing Jew, 
though outwardly observing all the ceremoniesof the 
Catholic Church. So zealous had he in a short time 
become that he used every endeavor to convert to 
Judaism his sister, Doha Isabel de Maldonado, a fer- 
vent Christian. She confided the secret 
Converged of her brother’s real professions to her 
from spinster sister, Dona Felipa de Maldo- 
Catholi- nado, who, appearing one day “in the 
cism to robes of the Society of Jesus ” before 
Judaism, the Inquisition, denounced Francisco 
as a Judaizing heretic. On the strength 
of this evidence his arrest was ordered on Dec. 12, 
1626; but he was not apprehended until April 29,' 
1627. From the moment of his imprisonment a 
monk was detailed to reason with him, and to try to 
leclaim him. Together they searched Scripture: 
but the attempt to win him back failed. 

Francisco was then transferred to another prison, 
and a second church dignitary, “learned in the law,” 
was charged with the same task, but he argued in 
vain. Francisco remained obdurate, and declared 
he was a believing Jew: “I care not if the whole 
world knows it. Let them come and burn me. 
They do not die who die thus, for God the Eternal 
keeps them ever ali vc ; and I will proclaim this cheer- 
fully at the stake.” He refused to eat bacon, fasted 
forty days at a time in the expectation of the Mes- 
siah’s advent, rigidly observed the Sabbath, and 
studied the Bible and commentaries on it in Hebrew 
and Latin. Secreted about his person lie had a Jew- 
ish prayer-book ; and he quoted lengthy passages in 
the original at the numerous hearings before the 
tribunal. Further testimony showed that, in the 
absence of Dona Isabel Otanez, his wife, he bad cir- 
cumcised himself in his lodgings in Santiago de 
Chile with a pair of scissors, and that, being a skilled 
surgeon by profession, he had healed himself with 
the white of eggs and with ointments. He imposed 
all manner of penance upon himself, and faithfully 
kept the Jewish feasts and fasts. Eager to convert 
his sister, lie wrote for her use a commentary on the 
Bible, which he translated into Spanish ; and in reply 
to her threatening taunts he exclaimed: “And if I 
had a thousand lives, I would gladly lose them in 
the service of the living God.” 

A number of theologians, professors of the uni- 
versity', and high churchmen, “ the most learned in 
the kingdom,” were ordered by the judges to ar- 
gue with Francisco concerning tiie foundations of be- 
lief and the “fallacies” of Judaism ; but after a long 
series of disputations (fifteen in all), 
Attempts extending over a period of nearly 
to Reclaim twelve years (1627-38), “instituted,” 
Him. so reads the official charge, “ more for 
the reason of making an arrogant ex- 
hibition of liis genius and sophistry than because of 
a desire to embrace the holy Catholic faith,” the at- 
tempt to reclaim him was abandoned. During all 
these years he diligently “itemized his score against 
the religion of Christ,” by composing treatises and 
commentaries, “in duodecimo and quarto, ” in Span- 
ish and Latin, “written in very small, beautiful 
characters, and sewn together with such dexterity 
that they looked like pamphlets from a bookstore, 
having been written with ink made of coals and 



343 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Silva 


with the crooked leg of a lien.” One of these tiac 
consisted of 100 and the other of more than 103 

sheets; the title of a third being on translation lhe 

Star of the Jews, by His Other Name Silva, Unde- 
serving of the God of Israel.” All these writings 
were duly confiscated by the tribunal, though, a 
several hearings, Francisco begged piteously that 
tUey bc restored to him. On Jan. 26, 1633, he was 
sentenced to be surrendered to the secular arm. 

At this juncture a dramatic incident occuiied. 
Though enfeebled bv a fast of eighty days and con- 
sumed by religious zeal, Francisco contrived toswmg 
himself through an opening in liis cell by means of 
a rope made of maize-stalks, which had served him i 
for bread. He did not attempt to escape, but boldly 
entered two other cells, where several wealthy and 
influential citizens) of Lima, charged with Judaizing, 
were confined pending trial. He converted two 
Catholics to Judaism, and supplied them witn let- 
ters of recommendation to the syna- 
Converts gogue- wardens in Dome. _ His work 
Fellow must have been very effective ; for the 
Prisoners, judges particularly lamented the 
prosetytizing heresy in the dungeons 
of the holy and blessed Tribunal,” caused by Fran- 
cisco’s attempt. As one of its results, on Aug. 11, 
1635 a wholesale seizure of Lima s foremost Portu 
gueso merchants took place, most of whom were im 
prisoned for Judaizing. At the auto celebrated on 
Jan. 23, 1639, the most costly and resplendent in the 
annals of Peru, eleven “ judaizantes ” marched to the 
funeral pyre. All, clad in saubenitos, earned green 
crosses, except the obstinate Francisco, who, a 
mere bundle of bones,” pale and emaciated, with the 
long hair and beard of a Nazante, and with his 
controversial tracts bound around his neck, ex- 
claimed as lie perished in the flames: "Tins is the 
will of the Lord. I shall see the God of Israel face 
to f <1CC. ” 

B ,BLioG R xrHY:I|iaeC ; waoso • 

S ‘Sos iai ot s^fi i Medin'a. HMoria del Trim- 

SfoSSKSi deSilM, in PM. Am. Jew. Hist. Soe. No. 11, 
1903, pp. 163-179. q ]£ 

A. 


SILVA, HEZEKIAH: Jewish author; born at 
Leghorn in 1659; died at Jerusalem in 1698; sou-m- 
law of the dayyan Mordeeai Befael Malachi. About 
1679 he left his native city for Jerusalem, where lie 
attended the yeshibali of Moses Gax-ante, and ten 
years later he was sent to Europe to collect funds 
for Jerusalem. In 1691 he was in Amsterdam and 
began the printing of his work Pen Hadasli a 
commentary on the Torch De‘ah. He remained in 
that city for a year. Five years later lie was again 
at Jerusalem, his movements in the interim being 
unknown. He took a decided interest in tlie con- 
troversy of Moses Hagiz against Vega, but his 
death cut short his activity in behalf of the former. 

The freedom with which Silva discussed halakic 
problems brought the ban of the rabbis of Cairo upon 
liis “ Peri Hadash,” but it was afterward removed 
by Abraham Levi, although the two men, spin 
tually akin, were personally unacquainted. 1 ms 
work of Silva’s was supplemented by a second and 
a third part, both edited by his son David, and bear- 


in o* the approbation of the chief authorities of the 
time (Amsterdam, 1706-80). Silva was likewise the 
autlioi;of the “Mayim Hayyim,” containing a collec- 
tion of notes on Talmudic treatises, together with re- 
sponsa and a portion of the “ Yad” of Maimonides. 
Silva expressly states that he was a teacher at Jeru- 
salem, not a rabbi, but despite this statement Luncz 
claims that he was chief rabbi of Jerusalem and 
that he died in 1740. 

Ririiography: Azulai, Shem ha-Gednlim ; Griitz, Gesclux. 
320 ; Luncz, Yemshalayim , i. 120 ; Furst, Bibl. Jud. m. 3 
324; Steinsebneider, Cat. Bodl. col. 84o. q r ^ 

SILVA, JOAO MENDES DA: Brazilian poet 
and attorney; bom in Bio de Janeiro 1656; died at 
Lisbon Jan. 9, 1736. He took his degree in law at 
the University of Coimbra, and, upon liis return to 
Brazil, married Louren^a Coutinho, who was sev- 
eral times arraigned by the Inquisition in Portugal 
for relapsing into Judaism. She was “reconciled 
at an auto celebrated July 9, 1713, and condemned 
to “carcere a arbitrio ” at another auto, held Oct. 
18 1739, one day before the martyrdom of her 
youno-est sou, Antonio Jose da Silva. She is said 
to have died three months after liis execution. Joao 
Mendes, after the arrest of liis wife by the spies of 
the Holy Office, followed her to Portugal, where he 
resumed work in his profession, practising law con- 
jointly with his son Antonio, until the latter was 
seized and imprisoned on Aug. 8, 1726. 

Da Silva was the author of the following poetical 
works, now lost (the titles being preserved by Ma- 
chado) : “ Officio da Cruz” (translation in verse) ; Fa- 
bula de Leandro e Ero ” (in octaves) ; “ Poeina Lyn- 
co ; Christiaos ” ; and translation of a hymn inscribed 
to St. Barbara. It is said by the critic Feidinand 
Wolf that Joao chose these themes either effectually 
to hide liis Jewish antecedents, or to give evidence 
of loyalty to the new faith. Because of his zeal as 
a professing Christian (though he was really a Ma- 
rano), lie was the ouly member of ins family who 
was spared by the Inquisition. He had three sons. 

BuuiOGRtPiiv: Barbosa Machado. Bibliotheca Lusitana-. iv. 
iq; -Ferdinand Wolf. A titonin Jose da Stlra, pp. o-0, Vienna, 
A Sriii Publ. Am. Jew. Hist. S«c. No. iv ? PP- 
136-138 177-178* .7. M. de Macedo, Brazilian Biographical 
Annual, pp. 441-142, Rio de Janeiro, 1S76. K 

s. 


SILVA, LUCIES FLAVIUS: Governor of 
Judea in 73; consul in 81. He accomplished the 
difficult task of taking the fortress of Masada from 
the Sicarii. See Procurators. 

Bibliography: Scliurer, Gcsc/t. 3d ed., i. 644 ; Prosopograplna 
Imperii Romani , ii. 7o. g. 

G. 

SILVA, SAMUEL DA : Physician of Portu- 
o-uese birth who lived in Amsterdam in the begin- 
ning of the seventeenth century. He is known es- 
pecially through Ids energetic proceedings against 
Uriel da Costa. Before the latter’s ‘•Examination 
of the Pharisaic Tradition” had appeared in punt, 
Silva, who had had an opportunity to read part 
of it in manuscript, issued a booklet in Portuguese 
against its author (Amsterdam, 1623). This pam- 
phlet, copies of which arc now very rare, was writ- 
ten at the direction of the foremost members of the 
young community of Spanish-Povtuguese Jews in 



Silver 

Simeon 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


344 


Amsterdam; and it appeared under the title “Tra- 
tado da Immortalidade da Alma . . . em QueTam- 
bem se Mostra a Ignorancia de Certo Contrariador 
de Nosso Tempo, Que Entre Outros Muytos Erros 
Deu Neste Delirio de Ter Para si e Publiear Que 
a Alma do Ilomem Acaba Juntamente com o Cor- 
po. 55 It is an able treatise on the subject discussed, 
and alludes to Da Costa only by bis first name : 44 1 
now come to thee, tliou blind and incapable Uriel.” 
Tom years previous to the publication of this pam- 
phlet Samuel da Silva made a Spanish translation of 
Moses Maimonides’ tract on repentance, which ap- 
peared under the title “Tratado de la Tesuvali o 
Contricion, Traduz. Palabra por Palabra de Len- 
gua Hebrayca en Espanol ” (Amsterdam, 1613). 

Bibliography: De Rossi-Hamberger, Hist. Wbrterb. n. 29G- 
Wolf, Bibl. Hebr. iii. 1115: Kayserling, Gesch. tier Juclcn 
m Portugal , p. 288 ; idem, Bibl. Esp.-Port.-Jud. p. 102 

M. K. 


SILVER. See Metals. 

SILVERMAN , JOSEPH: American rabbi; 
born at Cincinnati, Ohio, Aug. 25, I860. Educated 
at the high school, the university (A.B. 1883), and 
the Hebrew Union College (rabbi, 1884) of his na- 
tive town, he became rabbi successively at Dallas, 
Texas (1884), and Galveston, Texas (1885); since 
1888 he has been rabbi at the Temple Emanu-El in 
New York city, until 1899 as assistant to Gustav 
Gottlieil, 

Silverman was president of the Central Confer 
ence of American Rabbis from 1900 to 1903; and 
since the latter year he has been vice-president of 
the New York Board of Jewish Ministers. He is 
also a member of the board of governors of the He- 
brew Union College of Cincinnati, and the organizer 
of the Emanu-El Brotherhood. In 1892, and again 
in 1904, he delivered the opening prayer in the 
House of Representatives at Washington. 

Silverman is the author of a “Catechism” (Gal- 
veston, Texas, 1885); and he has contributed articles 
to the Jewish periodicals. 

Bibliography: American Jewish Year Book, 1901. 

A - F. T. H. 

SILVERSMITH. See Goldsmiths and Sil- 
versmiths. 

SILVEYRA (SILVEIRA), ABRAHAM 
(DIEGO) GOMES : Poet and preacher; long resi- 
dent in various French and Dutch towns, finally 
settling at Amsterdam. He was a member of the 
Academy of Poets founded by D. Manuel de Bel- 
monte in 1676, and was the author of a collection of 
Sermones ” containing six homilies on various 
texts of the Bible and a funeral oration on Rachel 
de Pinto. His “Entretenimientos Gustosos o Dia- 
logos Burlescos Entre un J udio, Turco, Reformado y 
Catolico ” and his “ Dissertaciones Sobre el Mesias,” 
which he translated from the French, are extant in 
manuscript. 

Bibliography: Kayserling, Bibl, Esp.-Port.-Jud. pp. 102 ct 
seq.\ Catalogue de . . . FeuM. D. Henriques de Castro, p. 
08, Amsterdam, n.d. 

s - M. K. 

SILVEYRA, MIGTJEL DE : Spanish poet; 
born in Celorico, Portugal, in the last third of the six- 
teenth century ; died at Naples in 1638. He studied 


philosophy at Coimbra, and jurisprudence, medi- 
cine, and mathematics at Salamanca; and for twenty 
years lectured at the Spanish court on different 
branches of science and on poetry. At an ad- 
vanced age he went to Naples with his patron 
Ramon Philip de Guzman, Duke of Medina de la 
Torres, and here his great heroic poem 44 El Macabeo, 
Poe ma Ileroico en Octavos” appeared (1638; 2d cd! 
Madrid, 1731). Silveyra, who was a relative of 
Thomas de Pinedo, has been placed among the Jew- 
ish poets by Daniel Levidc Barrios, .while Diezcand 
Ticknor doubt if he was ever a professing Jew. An- 
tonio Enriques Gomez, in the prologue to his 
“Samson Nazareno,” classes Silveyra with such 
poets as Camoens, while others, on account of his 
grandiloquent style, value him but little. Silveyra 
is said to have translated into Spanish Pedro Ma- 
teo's version of “ Yidade Elio Sedano ” (Barcelona 
1621). 

Bibliography: Barbosa Machado, Bibliotheca Liisilana, iii 
480 ct scq.\ Velasques-Dieze, Gesch. dor Spanischen Diehi- 
kunsUp. 39p; Ticknor, History of Spanish Literature , ii. 
4ol ; Rios, Estudios Sobre los Judins de Kspaua , np. 556 et 
seq.; Don Levi de Barrios, Relacion de los Poetas , p. 37. 

s - M. K. 

SIMA (SAMA) : Babylonian amora of the lat- 
ter half of the fourth and of the beginning of the 
fifth century; son of Rah Aslii. He is known 
through halakic questions which he addressed to 
his father (Ket. 33b, 69a; Zeb. 19b, 24a; Men. 25a; 
B. K. 18a). According to Rashi’s commentary on’ 
Ket. 69a, he died before his father ; that is, before 
427 (see, however, Heilprin, “Seder lia-Dorot” p. 
297a). 

S. O. 

SIMCHOWXTZ, SAMUEL: Russian' rabbin- 
ical writer; born in the beginning of the nineteenth 
century ; died at Slutzk March, 1896. He possessed 
a thorough rabbinical knowledge, and at the same 
time was well versed in modern literature. Nu- 
merous essays from his pen appeared in the “Peters- 
burger Herold. ” In 1866 he was invited to the 
Orthodox rabbinate of Vienna, but lie refused this, 
call as well as one received two years later to War- 
saw. Many of his Talmudic novella}, as well 
as responsa bearing on the ritual codices, are extant 
in manuscript. In 1894 lie was a member of the- 
great rabbinical synod held in St. Petersburg. 

Bibliography : \Aliiasaf, 1896, p. 305; Fuenn, Keneset, 11s- 
rael, 1888, m. 220. 

E - c. s. O. 

SIMEON (ppDI^).— Biblical Data: Second 
son of Jacob by Leah, and progenitor of one of the- 
tribes of Israel; bornatPadan-aram. In Gen. xxix. 

83 the origin of the name is given: “ God hath 
heard that I am hated ” (R. V.). Various etymolog- 
ical theories have been advanced, of which those of 
Furst and Redslob may be mentioned. The former 
(“Hebraisclies Handworterbuch ”) explains the name 
as meaning “the famous one”; the latter (“Die 
Alttestamentliclieu Namen,” p. 93) compares it to 
an Arabic word meaning “bondmen.” Simeon was 
prominent in two incidents: He was associated with 
his brother Levi in the massacre of the Shecliemites 
in revenge for the defilement of Dinah, for which 
act he was rebuked by Jacob (Gen. xxxiv. 25 et- 



345 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Silver 

Simeon 


,<>» ) • and lie was taken by Joseph as a hostage and 
imprisoned until his brothers had returned with Ben- 
amin (Gen. xlii. 24 et «?.). The reason that Joseph 
selected Simeon may have been tliat the lattei "as 
the eldest after Reuben, who was spared by Joseph 
in return for his interference on Josephs behalf 
many years before (Gen. xxxvii. 21-22; comp 
“I in Apocryphal and Rabbinical 
ture). Simeon had six sons, all of whom migrated 
to Egypt (Gen. xlvi. 3. 10). M Sel . 

’’ in Apocryphal and Rabbinical Litera- 
ture : Simeon was born on the twenty-first day of 

the tenth month (Tebet) of the year Sm ate the 
Creation (Book of Jubilees xxvm. 18; Midi. TatUbe, 
in Epstein, “ Mi-Kadmoniyyot lia-Tehudnn, p. 
xxii.) 1 His name is interpreted as meaning he 
who listens to the words of God ” (Gen R. . 
or, according to another authority (i i • < a ’ 

to Gem xxix. 33), it is composed of ]iy DB> (- ™ el e 
is sin ”), Leah alluding under this name to Zimri, the 
Simeonite prince who sinned with the Midiauite 
woman (comp. Num. xxv. 6, 14). Referring to the 
narrative of the destruction of the Sliecheimtes bj 
Simeon and Levi (Gen. xxxiv. 2o et seq.), the Setei 
h” Yashar” brings Simeon into still greater promi- 
nence. When Hamor asked Dmah s hand foi his 
son Shechem, Simeon and Levi, to outwit lnm, ie- 
plied that some delay was necessary in order to con- 
sult their grandfather Isaac about the mattei . Af tei 
Hamor had gone it was Simeon who advised Ins 
brothers to require the circumcision of all the men 
of Shechem. and by this means place at t lien, 

mercy (“Sefer ha-Yasliar, section Wayishlah, 


i)2ll. JJtlilll'-JI II, AV«v/* Z ,1 

escaped circumcision; and Simeon, who was then 
only thirteen years old (Gen. R. lxxx. 9), had to fight 
against them as well as against the women of 
the city. Owing to his extraordinary strength, 
he and Levi slew all the men and captured eighty 
five young women, one of whom, named Bonah, 
Simeon married (“Sefer lia-Yashar, l.e. p. 54a> 
Simeon was prominent also m the wai 
His against the Canaanites desciibed in 
Strength, the Midrasli Wayissa'u and at greater 
length in the “Sefer lia-Yasliar” (see 
Judah in Rabbinical Literature). He is always 
represented as having a particularly powerful voice ; 

and it is said that once, in the brunt of a battle, 
when he shouted, the enemy fled in terror at the 
sound (“Sefer lia-Yashar,” l.e. p. 61a). _ 

The Rabbis cite Simeon as the most implacable 
antagonist of Joseph. In Test, Patr., Simeon, 
where Simeon is stated to have been very strong and 
fearless, it is likewise said that he was of a vei} 
envious character. He was thus filled with spite 
against Joseph for the particular love borne to 
him by Jacob; and he intended to kill him Ac 
cording to the “ Sefer lia-Yasliar ” (“ Wayesheb, p. 
67a), it was Simeon who said : “ Behold, this di eamei 
cometh. Come now therefore, and let us slay him 
(Gen xxxvii 19-20; comp. Targ. pseudo-Jonathan 
ad locX The Rabbis hold that it was Simeon too 
who cast Joseph into the pit, and that lie aftei waid 
ordered that stones, be thrown therein (Gen. K. 
lxxxiv. 15; Tan., Wayesheb, 13). Later, when a 


Leghorn, 1870). However, many of tlie men 


dispute concerning Joseph arose between the broth- 
ers and tlie Midianitus (see Joseph in Rabbinical 
Literature), Simeon distinguished himself by ins 
heroism. On this occasion he again made use ot Ins 
terrible voice, in such a way that the earth began to 
quake and the Midianites, frightened and prostra- 
ting themselves on the ground, consented to arrange 
tlie matter amicably (“ Sefer lia-Tt aslmr, l.e. p. 68a). 

In the Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs (l.e.), 
however, it is stated that Simeon was not present 
at the sale of Joseph, having gone to Shechem But 
for five months he was furiously angry with Judah 
for having sold Joseph to the Midianites, and thus 
allowed him to remain alive. As a punishment 
for his inhuman conduct toward Joseph, Simeon s 
rfo-ht hand withered for seven days; Simeon then 
acknowledged his wrong-doing and exhibited pen- 
itence, whereupon his hand was healed Aecoi 1- 
ing to one authority, after the sale of J° se Pb 
Simeon married his sister Dinah, who at the destruc- 
tion of the Shechemites would not leave her sedu- 
cer’s house until Simeon had sworn to make her his 
wife. She bore to Simeon his sixth son, Sliaul, who 
is styled in Gen. xlvi. 10 “the son of a Canaamtish 
woman ” (Gen. R. lxxx. 10). The “Sefer lia-Yashar 
a c p 75a) states that- Sliaul was Simeon s son by 
Bonah, while by Dinah were born to him the first 
five sons enumerated in Gen. l.e. 

The Rabbis give two reasons win Simeon ^\a& 
chosen by Joseph foraliostage(see Simeon Biblical 
Data): (1) Joseph desired to pnn- 
Wh-V isli Simeon for ha ving thrown him into 
Joseph’s the pit ; and (2) lie wished to separate 
Hostage. Simeon from Levi, lest they togetliei 
might destroy Egypt as they had des- 
troyed Shechem (Gen. R. xci. 6). Simeon natu- 
rally was not willing to go to prison; and when 
at Joseph’s call, seventy mighty Egyptians ap- 
proached to take him by force, he uttered a crj so 
terrible that they became frightened and ran _a . y 
It was Manasseh, Joseph’s son, who subdued Sn mum 
and led him to prison (“ Sefer ha-1 ashai , section 
“ Mikkez ” p 86a). The Testament of the Twelve 
pSS. (Simeon, 4), h.,e,e, contomab y to 
statement that Simeon repented declares that he 


statement tmiu 

recognized the justice of his punishment, and did not 
complain, but went willingly to prison. Contiaiy 
to the foregoing account of Simeon s extraoidina 
strength, the Rabbis declare that he was not one ot 
the stronger of Jacob’s sons; and they state that he 
was one of the five brothers brought by Joseph befoie 
Pliaraoli (Gen. xlvii. 2; Gen. R. xcv. o). 

Simeon died at tlie age of 120, seventy-five yeare 
after Jacob and his children went to Egypt an 
hence three years before Reuben’s death (See O an 
Zuta ; Midr. Tadslie l.e . ; “ Sefer ha-Y ashai , sec 
tion “Shemot,” p. 103a; Test Patr Simeon, b. 
but this statement conflicts with Num. R. - - • 

which relates that Simeon was the head of fhe Pat - 
archs after Reuben’s death; see Reuben in Rab 

BINICAL AND APOCRYPHAL LITERATURE « ‘ 

in Gen P c. 12 that the remains of all the Patii 

archs were enclosed in coffins and taken to the lane o 

Canaan by tlie Israelites at the time of the Exodus 
But the Testament of the Twelve Pat.nmchs ( • ■■) 
declaius that Simeon’s remains, which had been put 



Simeon 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


346 


into a coffin of imperishable wood, were secretly 
brought to Hebron at the time of the Egyptian war. 

w. b. M. Sel. 

SIMEON, TRIBE OF.— Biblical Data : This 
tribe traces its descent from Simeon, second son of 
Jacob by Leah. He was the brother of Levi and 
Dinah, according to Gen. xxxvi. 25, xlix. 5, but 
elsewhere (ib. xxx. 1-9, xlvi. 8-15) it is stated that 
he had five full brothers. How many sisters he had 
is not related (ib. xxxvii. 35, xlvi. 7). Simeon and 
Reuben are mentioned together in Gen. xlviii. 5; and 
in Judges i. 3 Simeon is styled brother of Judah. 

In company with Levi, Simeon attacked Shechem 
(Gen. xxxiv.), for which act he was cursed by 
Jacob with dispersion among the tribes (ib. xlix. 
5-7). In the Dinah stoiy Simeon is connected with 
the district of Shechem; but in the geographical 
lists (Josh. xix. 1-9; I Chron. iv. 24-33) he is con- 
nected with the southern country and associated 
with Judah, with whom he made common cause in 
the conquest of Palestine also (Judges i.). At the 
first enumeration (Num. i. 23) the tribe counted 
59,300 members; at the second (ib. xxvi. 14) it num- 
bered only 22,200. The Chronicler in I Chron. xii. 
25 mentions the tribe as being large in the time of 
David; in another passage (ib. iv. 27) he acknowl- 
edges its feebleness. The lists of the clans of 
Simeon are given in Gen. xlvi. 10 and Ex. vi. 15. 
A different list appears in I Chron. iv. 24 et seq., 
which is practically identical with another in Num. 
xxvi. 12-14. The towns belonging to Simeon are 
mentioned in Josh. xix. 2-6 and, with some devia- 
tions. in I Chron. iv. 28 et zcq. In Josh. xv. 26-32. 
42 all these places are reckoned as belonging to 
Judah; and to the same tribe are elsewhere as- 
cribed such cities as Ziklag (I Sam. xvii. 6), Hor- 
mali (ib. xxx. 30), and Beer-slieba (I Kings xix. 3). 

The Chronicler has an account of movements of 
the tribe, containing several statements the relation 
of which to one another is not clear. According to 
I Chron. iv. 38-40, certain Simeonites pushed down 
to the district of Gedor in search of pasture for their 
sheep. According to verse 41 of the same chapter 
(R. V.), these men “came in the days of Hezekiali ” 
and “smote their tents, and the Meunim that were 
found there, and destroyed them utterly . . ./and 
dwelt in their stead.” According to verses 42 and 
43, some of them (500 men with four leaders) went 
to Mount Seir, smote those who were left of the 
fugitive Amalekites, and settled there. 

E. G. ir. c. L. 

In Rabbinical Literature : The Dinah story 

is told in the Book of Jubilees (xxxiv. 2-8) in a dif- 
ferent way (comp. Charles ad loc. and the literature 
cited by him). In the Midrash it is said that all the 
tribes had intermarried in Egypt, except Reuben, 
Simeon, aud Levi, which neither intermarried nor 
worshiped idols (Num. R. xiii. 8 and parallel pas- 
sages). With reference to Gen. xlix. 7, the Midrash 
states that in the affair with Zimri (Num. xxv. 1-9) 
there tell of the tribe of Simeon 24,000 men, whose 
widows were scattered among the other tribes. All 
the beggars and elementary-school teachers were of 
the tribe of Simeon (Gen. R. xcviii. 5, xcix. 7; Num. 

R. xxi. 8). The majority of the mixed multitude 
that had come out of Egypt with Israel intermar- 


ried with the tribe of Simeon (comp. Cliefetz. “Sefer 
Midrash Abot,” s.v. “ Simeon ”). Eldad ha-Dani re- 
lates that the tribe of Simeon and the half-tribe of 
Manasseh lived in the land of the Chaldeans (another 
version says in the land of the Chazars), a six-month 
journey from Jerusalem. They were the largest 
among the tribes, and took tribute from twenty- 
five kings, some of whom were Arabians. In an 
apocryphal midrasli (nplP non jKDpy) the following 
passage occurs: “In the twelfth year of Hezekiah, 
Sennacherib took Judah and Simeon captive. Hav- 
ing learned of the rebellion of the Ethiopians, lie 
took them with him to Ethiopia, where they re- 
mained behiud the Dark Mountains. When the 
Chazars adopted Judaism Simeon joined them. A 
part of the Falaslias are said to claim descent from 
the tribe of Simeon” (“ Ha-Shiloah,” ix. 360). 
w. b. . C. L. 

Critical View : To the positive data noted 

above it must be added that Simeon is nowhere 
mentioned as a component part of the kingdom of 
Judah and that his name occurs neither in Judges 
iv., v., nor in Deut. xxxiii., whence it would ap- 
pear that Simeon was not always counted as a 
tribe. In the last-cited chapter, indeed, some man- 
uscripts of the Septuagint. insert the name of Simeon 
in verse 6b (compare the twentieth rule in the Ba- 
raita of the thirty-two rules of R. Eliezer b. Jose 
ha-Gelili). This, however, may be a deliberate 
correction unsupported by Hebrew manuscripts. 
Other solutions of the difficulty have been proposed 
by Koliler (“Dcr Segen Jacob’s,” p. 5) and by Griitz 
(“Gescli.” 2d ed., i. 468), and have been accepted 
with modifications by Heilprin (“The Historical 
Poetry of the Ancient Hebrews,” i. 113; comp, 
llalevy in “Journal Asiatique,” 1897a, pp. 329- 
331) and Bacon (“Triple Tradition of the Exodus,” 
p 270). Because of the unnatural shortness of the 
blessing of Judah, and the character of Levi’s 
blessing, which seems too warlike for a non-secu- 
lar tribe, Kohler conjectures that in the chapter 
of Deuteronomy cited, verse 7 has fallen out of its 
place and should follow verse 10; so that verses 7- 
11 would form the blessing of Judah. Griitz boldly 
substitutes “ Simeon ” for “ Judah ” in verse 7, which 
is approved by Heilprin and Bacon as far as verse 7a 
is concerned, while at the same time they change the 
order of the verses as proposed by Kohler. Later 
commentators, however, consider such changes un- 
warranted (comp. Driver ad loc.). 

Many attempts have beeu made to connect Sim- 
eon with Ishmael and Massa, and with the founders 
of Mecca, the establishment of Saul’s kingdom, etc. 
All that seems certain, to judge from the foregoing 
data and from the fact that a prominent subclan is 
called ** Sliau 1, the son of a Canaanitish woman,” is 
that the tribe of Simeon was of mixed origin and 
was at an early date fused with Judah. 

Bibliography : Graf, Der Stamm Simeon ; idem, Gescli. dev 
Biichcr des Alten Testaments , p. 221 ; Kuenen, Gesammelte 
Abhandlungen , p. 255 ; Wellhausen, Composition des Hexa- 
tcuclds , 2d ed., pp. 312, 353; idem, Israelitische und Jildische 
GescMchte , 3d ed., p. 35; Graetz, Hist, i.; comp. Index, s.v.; 
Kifcfcel, Hist, of the Hebrews, ii. 69 ; commentaries of Delitzscli, 
Dillmann, Gunkel, and Holzinger on Genesis, and of I)ill- 
mann. Driver, Steuernagel, and Berthelot on Deuteronomy ; 
also Moore on Judges, pp. 12, 36, 240 ; Hastings, Diet. Bible ; 
Cheyne and Black, Encyc. Bibl. s.v. 
e. g. h. C. L. 



347 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Simeon 


SIMEON: Tanna of the first generation; brother 
of Azariah ami uncle of Eleazar ben Azanah. He 
is mentioned only once in the Mishnah, m Zeb_i. 2, 
where a saying of his has been preserved He s 
named after his brother Azanah, who r\as a mei 
Xmt and who paid Simeon’s living expenses m 

order’ that he might pursue undisturbed the study 

of the Law. .. 

Bibliography : Heilprin, Seder ha-Doiot. n. 36~.^ ^ ^ 

W. B. 

SIMEON I. : Sou of Hillel and father of Gama- 
liel I Nothing is known of him except Ins name 
and the fact that he was the successor of Hillel as 
president of the Sanhedrin (Shab. loa). ^ L 
\V. B. . 

SIMEON II. (BEN GAMALIEL I.) ^ Presi- 
dent of the Great Sanhedrin at Jerusalem in the last 
two decades before , the destruction of the Temp - 
Not merely a scholar, but a man of resolu ion an 
courage also, he was one of the leaders lll the )ev0 ' t 
against the Romans. Although he was the chief of 
the Pharisees during the revolt, he did not hesitate 
S make common cause with the Sadducean former 
X priest Anan. Even his adversary Josephus 
n raises him, saying that Simeon was a circumspect 
and energetic man, who would have earned the 
‘revolt to a successful conclusion if his coungci had 
),een consistently followed (Josephus, Vi ta, «)• 

s ,“™. t. Gamaliel died b.toe tta “ 

duelled; lie is said to have been executed bj the 
Romans (Sem. viii.), though this statement lacks lus- 

Little 'is > known of his activity as a teacher of the 
Law! though it may be assumed that he followed the 
liberal interpretations ot Ins grandfathei Hillel. tit 

held that no rules and regulations should be inipo^d 

imon the people which they were unable to follow 
(Tosef Sanli. ii. 13). Once, when poultry was 
very dear at Jerusalem, so that the women obliged 
to bring their offering of doves were hardly able to 
bear the great expense, Simeon issued a decree per- 
mitting a^voman who ordinarily would be obhg 
to offer five pairs of doves to offer only out pan , n 

thic rlocree the price declined to one- 
consequence of tins ciccicciuu p 

fourth (Ker. i. 7). No other lialakot by him ha c 

been preserved, although probably many of 1 is 

l ahlric sentences are included in those ot the 

“Bet Hillel ” His rule of life was; “All my days 

1 have grown up among sages, and I have found 

that there is nothing better than sdenee, anc ia e 

who talks much gives rise to sin. Not inteipreta, 
(.ion and study but work is the most virtuous thing 

190-191 ; Gratz, Gesch. m. 4.0. j z L. 

W. B. 

sstivt-EON fBEN GAMALIEL II.) : Tanna of 

s s; 

rim Bm n Kok?rwar broke* out, but when that for- 

i»k« b, . 1,0 

escape the massacre (Git. 58a, botah , • - 

83a) On the restoration of the college at Ls < , 
Simeon was elected its president, this dignity bem 0 
Sowed upon him not only because he was a de- 


scendant of the house of Hillel but in recognition 
of his personal worth and influence. There w 
many children in ids family, one-half of whom were 
instructed in the Torah, and the other half in Greek 
philosophy («'A). Simeon himself seems to have 
been trained in Greek philosophy ; this probably ac- 
counts for his declaring later that the Scriptures 
mio-lit he written only in the original text and in 
Greek (Meg. 91>; i. 8; Ter. Meg. 71c). Simeon ap- 
, 3ea ,. s to have studied natural science as well, for 
some of liis sayings betray a scientific knowledge 
of the nature of plants and animals, 
•Wide while others concern the anatomy of 
Knowl- the human body and the means o 
edsre. avoiding or of curing disease (Ber. 2oa, 

S 40a; Shab. 78a, 128b; Yeb. 80b; Ket. 

59b, 110b). It is not known wbo were hfa te ?J’ e " 
in the Halakali ; he transmits sayings o R J JJ 
b Ilai (Tosef., Ivelim. B. K. v. 4), of L. lle 
iTosef B. M. iv. 15; Ket. vi. 10), and of R. Jose 
b Halafta (Tosef.. Deni. iii. 12; Tos. Toll. xi. 16). 
The last-named was honored asa teacher by Simeon 
who addressed questions fo lum and put many of 
his decisions into practise (buk. 26a; Tosef., Dem, 

"'"During Simeon’s patriarchate the Jews were har- 
ried by daily persecutions and oppressions. In re- 
gard to these Simeon observes; “ 0ul . 
knew suffering only from a distance, but we have 
been surrounded by it for so many days. 7®“* a “* 
cycles that we are more justified than they in be- 
comimr impatient ” (Cant R. iii- 8). ' " ere we as 

of yore, to inscribe upon a memorial scroll om suf- 
ferings and our occasional deliverances theief 
we should not. find room for all (Shab. lob). 

Jewish internal affairs were more firmly organized 
bv Simeon b. Gamaliel, and the patriarchate attained 
under him a degree ot honor previously uoknowm 
While formerly only two peisons, tie < 
tie ab bit din, presided over the college, Simeon 

established the additional office of hakam, null au- 
thority equal to that of the others appointing R. 
M eir to the new office. In order, howeve , to dis- 
tin"uish between the dignity of the patriaiehal office 
anc? that attaching to the offices °f * ie a ^ et 
•mil the hakam, Simeon issued an oidei to the effect 
tint the honors formerly bestowed alike upon the 
m and the ab bet din were Henceforth to be re- 
served for tlie patriarch (nasi), while minor honois 

wire !o be accorded the ab bet din and the hakam. 

Rv this rulinv Simeon incurred the enmity of . 
K the takam, and of R. Nathan, the ab bet dm 
IHor 13b) Simeon liad made this aiiangem , 
iot from personal motives, but in order to increase 
the authority of tlie college over which the nasi 
presided, anil to promote due 

Tin nersonal humility is evidenced by Ins say in s 
to Ms son -Ridali, as well as by the latter a saymgs 

11 VLSi Stacon inclined 

interpretation ot tlie la s > 

As avoided adding to the difficulties at- 



Simeon 

Simeon b. Halafta 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


348 


gressions, Simeon declared it. permissible, saying 
that “fear should not be admitted as a factor in 
a decision” (Shab. 13a, 40b, 147b; Yoma 77b 
B. M. 69b; Bek. 24a; Pes. 10b). Of his hala 


kic opinions about, thirty relating to the Sabbath 
regulations and fifteen referring to the seventh year 
(“shebi fit ”) have been preserved, in nearly all of 

which the liberality of views is evident, He always 
took into consideration the common usage, and lie 
often maintained that the ultimate decision must fol 
low common tradition (Ket. vi. 4; B. TNI. vii. 1;B. B 
x. 1). The habits of the individual must also be con 
sidered (Ta an. 30a). In his regulations regarding 
the legal relations of man and wife he made it an 
invariable rule to protect the rights and the dignity 
of the latter in preference to those of the forme] 
(Ket. v. o, vii. 9, xiii. 10). He endeavored to pro- 
tect the slaves and secure to them certain rights 
(Git. 12b, 37b, 40b). The weal of the community 
is more important than the interests and rights of 
the individual, and the latter must be sacrificed to 
the former (Ket. 52b ; Git. 37b). He especially strove 
to maintain the authority of the magistrates; ac- 
cording to his opinion the decisions of a court of 
law must be upheld, even though a slight error lias 
been made ; otherwise its dignity would suffer (Ket. 
xi. 5). 

Simeon’s decisions are mostly founded on sound 
common sense and an intimate acquaintance with 
the subjects treated, and, with three exceptions (B. 
B. 173b; Git. 74b; Sanli. 31a), his views, as set 
forth in the Mishnah, have been accepted as valid 
(Git. 75a). He often cites the conditions of the past, 
which he learned probably from the traditions of 
his house, and which are highly important for the 
knowledge of older customs and habits. He speaks 
of the earlier festive celebrations in Jerusalem on 
the Fifteenth of Ab and on the Day of Atonement 
(Ta‘an. iv. 8); of the customs followed there at 
meals when guests were present (Tosef., Ber. iv. 9 
et seq.)\ of the work on the pools of Siloali (‘Ar. lb); 
of the nature of the marriage contract (Tosef., 
Sanh. vii. 1) and the bill of divorce (Tosef. Git’ 
ix. 13). 

Several of Simeon’s liaggadic sayings and deci- 
sions also have been preserved. “The moral and 
social constitution of the world rests 
As on three principles— truth, justice, 
Haggadist. and peace” (Abot i. 18). “Great is 
peace, for Aaron the priest became 
famous only because he sought peace” (“perek lia 
shalom”; comp. Mai. ii. 6). “Justice must be ae 
corded to non- Jews as to Jews; the former should 
have the option of seeking judgment before either a 
Jewish or a pagan court” (Sifre, Deut. 16 [ed. 
Friedmann, p. 68b]). Simeon praised the .Samari- 
tans for observing more strictly than did the Israel- 
ites such commandments of the Torah as they 
recognized (Kid. 76a). The Scripture is in man}' 
places to be understood figuratively and not iiter- 
ally (Sifre, Deut. 25 [ed. Friedmann, p. 70a]). “It 
is unnecessary to erect monuments to the pious; 
their sayings will preserve their memories” (Yen 
Shek. 47a; Gen. R. Ixxxii. 11). 

Bibliography: Heiiprin, Seder ha-Dnrot, ii. 38S-370; Frankel 
Hodegetica in Mischnam, pp. 178-185; Weiss, Dor, ii. 171- 


177; Briill, Einleitmig i-n die Mischna, i. 203-209; Ph HlorUi 
JfonaUvchrifU 1804, pp. 81-97, 121-133; Gratz, Gcsch. iv 
l/o, 18/ -189; Bacher, A g. Tan. ii. 322-334. 

w - JJ - J. Z. L. 

SIMEON B. ABBA; Palestinian amora of the 
third generation ; pupil of Hanina b. Hama, who es- 
teemed liim hisjlily. unci of Jobauan, wiio would 

have been glad to ordain him (Sanh. 14a). Simeon’s 
family came originally from Babylonia ; Simeon him- 
self lived in Palestine in such great poverty that his 
teacher Johanan applied to him the saying of Keel, 
ix. 11, “Bread is not to the wise ” (Hebr. ; Yer. Bik. 
65d). On the advice of his teacher Hanina lie mar- 
ried, successively, the two daughters of Mar Samuel, 
the head of the school of Nehardea, who had been 
taken to Palestine as prisoners (Ket. 23a). Both of 
them, however, died a short time after their mar- 
riage (Yer. Ket. ii. 26a). When Simeon desired to 
travel abroad, and requested bis teacher Hanina to 
give him a letter of recommendation, the latter dis- 
suaded him from his project, declaring, “ To-morrow 
I shall go to thy father’s, where they will reproach 
me, saying, ‘ We had a worthy scion in the land of 
Israel, and thou hast allowed him to go to another 
country ’ ” (Yer. M. K. 81c). 

After the death of Hanina, and while Johanan 
was still living, Simeon left Palestine and settled 
in Damascus. But after Johanau’s death, Abbalm 
wrote to Simeon at Damascus and persuaded him to 
return to Palestine (Yer. Bik. 68d). According to 
one tradition, Simeon was a grave-digger in Sep- 
phoris. In this occupation, which involved the col- 
lecting of bones from old graves, lie evolved the 
peculiar idea that lie could tell by the appearance 
of a bone what the person to whom it had belonged 
had been accustomed to drink : black bones belonged 
to persons who had been accustomed to drink cold 
water, red bones to wine-drinkers, while white bones 
showed that their owners had drunk warm water 
(Gen. R. lxxxix. 2). 

Simeon transmitted sayings of his teachers Ha- 
nina and Johanan, also of Joshua b. Levi and Sim- 
eon b. Lakish. Many of his own liaggadic say- 
ings have been preserved. One of them runs: 

“ There are two kinds of acts of love, that of partici- 
pation in a wedding ceremony, and that of partici- 
pation in a funeral. When two occur together, and 
thou hast an opportunity to attend one, but not 
both, and dost not know which to choose, be taught 
by the words of Solomon, who said, ‘ It is better to 
go to the bouse of mourning than to go to the house 
of feasting ’ ” (Eccl. vii. 2; Tan., Wayishlah. 23 red. 
Buber, p. 88a]). 

Bibliography: Bacher, Ag. Pal. Amor. ii. 201-204. 
w- B - J. Z. L. 

SIMEON B. ABSALOM; Amora the period 
of whose activity is not known. Only two liag- 
gadic sentences by him have been preserved. One, on 
J udges iv. 5, declares that Deborah sat under a palm- 
tree instead of in her house, in order to escape any 
possible suspicion (Meg. 14a). The other explains 
why David, when fleeing from Absalom, composed 
a “mizmor” or psalm (Ps. iii.) and not a “kinah” 
or lament (Ber. 7b). 

Bibliography: Bacher, Ag. Pal. Amor. iii. 775. 

W. B. J. Z. L. 



349 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Simeon 
Simeon b. 


SIMEON B. ‘AKASHYAH: Tanna of the 
ireneration. Only one of his haggadic sen- 
t cnees lias been preserved, namely, that explaining 
To 1 Nil 12 20, in which he declares that coarse and 
uneducated persons lose in intelligence as they grow 
old, while scholars become moie mtelli 0 eti 

advancing yeai*s (Kin. iii- 6). 

Bibliography: Heilprln, Seder iio-Uorot, n- ^ ^ 

SIMEON, AKIBA BAER. Sec Aktba Baer. 

SIMEON B. BOETHUS : The first high priest 
() f the family of Boetlms in the Temple of Jenisa- 
i„ He was a native of Alexandria He owed s 
appointment as high priest to his .daughter Mari- 
anne, who captivated Herod by her beauty, the : kin ? 
advancing lie father in office in order to give Ma - 
amne a certain rank when he made her his wife 
'When Herod subsequently put away this second 
Mariamnc, Simeon was deposed from the liigh-pnest- 
hood. 

Bibliography: Griitz, Gcsch. iii. 223-23o. j z L. 

W. B. 

SIMEON HA-DARSHAN. See Kayyara, 
Simeon. 

SIMEON B. ELEAZAB: Tanna of the fourth 
generation ; probably a son of R. Eleazavb. Sliamnuia . 
K « nf U. Me'ir. wnose sentences, both 


on ; prouiiuij — 

He was a pupil of R. Meir, whose senteuces, both 
halakic and haggadic, he transmitted (Huh & . j. • 
104.. . ‘Er 29a). The following anecdote, 1 elated of 
him shows how he strove for perfection a charac- 
teristic which is evidenced in his ethical sentences 
also- Once, on returning in a very joyful moo 
from the academy to his native city, he met nn ex- 
ceedingly ugly man who saluted him. Simeon did 
'lot return the greeting, and even mocked the man 
011 account of his ugliness. When, liowevei, the 
man said to him, “ Go and tell the Master, who cre- 
ated me how ugly His handiwork is,” Simeon, pel 
reiving that he had sinned, fell on Ins knees and 
,e.-ed the man’s pardon. As the latter would not 
forgive him. Simeon followed him until they came 
near to the fauna's native city, when' the 
came out to meet him, greeting him ™ptcttntyas 
rabbi. The man thereupon said to them, If th,s ‘ 
rabbi may there be few like liim in Israel, and to d 
them wliat had occurred ; lie, however, foigar e 
eon when the people begged him to (1os "’ 
went the same day to the school and a su 

mon, exhorting all the people to be P hahtehke a 
reed and not unbending like a cedai (T<i an. - < . . 

wliere the preferable reading has bimon b Elea 
zar ” ; see Rabbinowitz, “ Van* Lectiones, ad loc . , 

A Simei hke his teacher U MeVr, engaged hi 
polemic discussions with the Samaritans who d^ 
nied the resurrection, proving to them that it "as 
taught by the Bible, namely, by Nun. * £ 
(Sifre, Num. 112 [cd. Eriedmami p. odb] . In the 
Halakah, Simeon appears most fieq uuitlj < 
opponent of K. Judah lia-Nasi I Simeon foimu- 
lated an excgetic rule for the interpretation of 
those passages in the Bible in which points ai e ; placed 
over certain letters or entire words in col ' fo1 ^ 
with a tradition which was even then sanctions . 


If the letters without points exceed in number 
those punctuated the exposition must he based on 
the former; but if the reverse be true, the letters 
with points must be interpreted (Gen. R. xlvm. 1/, 
comp Talmudic Hermeneutics). 

Many haggadic sentences by Simeon have been 
preserved, including the following: “He who is 
prompted by love to perform ethical and religious 
acts is greater than he wbo is prompted to tliem b} 
fear” (lotah 31a). “When the old people say, 
‘Tear down,’ and the young people say, Build, 
listen to the old and not to the young ; for the tear - 
iug down of the old people is building, and the 
building of the young people is tearing dow n, < ^ 
the story of Rehoboam, the sou of Solomon, teaches 
! (Meg 31b) “ There are two kinds of friends: one 

1 that reproves you, and the other that praises you. 

Love him who reproves you, and hate him who 
praises you; for the former leads you « the futwe 
life while the latter leads you out of the '« 

( Ah’. R. N. xxix. ). “ The sentence ‘ Thou shalt love 

Ihy neighbor as thyself: I am the Lord [Lev. xia. 
181 was uttered with a great oath; meaning ‘I. the 
Eternal One have created him. If thou lovest him, 
fwflUnrS reward thee for it; and if thou Invest 
him not, then I am the judge ready to pumsh (Ab. 

R N xvi.l. “ Three things the left hand shall ward 
off while the right hand draws them on, namely, 
(Sotah47a). -H.j. you 
ever seen an animal that is obliged a 

trade or that must painfully support itself? T et 
animals were created for tlie purpose of seiving 
man while man was created to serve hi* Cieatoi. 
Should not, therefore, man, rather than the ani- 
mals, he able to support liimself without toi • 
Man however, has deteriorated in his i'oi "s, < 
therefore in his nature, and has been deprived o 

his nourishment ” (Kid. iv. 13). 

Some line parables by Simeon have also been pic- 
served (Ab. R. N. i., vi.; Melt., Yitro, Bahodesh, o 
[ed. Weiss, p. 74a]). 

Borol ii. 870 ; Bacher, A(l. Tan. n. 422-436. ^ ^ L 


SIMEON B. EZRON Qnvn) : One of the prin- 
cipals in the war of the Jews against the Romans in 
the year 66 of the common era, and a paitizan of t 
S„ tl,o Zealots. Eleazar t». S.m.oo, He 
of noble descent (Josephus, B. J. v. 1, fe-A 

may be identical with Simeon b_Annos, who also s 

mentioned in connection with Eleazai {ib. 6, § ; )> 
and thus with Simeon b. Ari to whose bravery Jose- 
phus alludes (ib. vi. 1, § 8; ^ 6). 


BAB GIOBA. See 


S. Kr. 
Bar Giora, 


SIMEON 

Simon. , . 

SIMEON B. HALAFTA : One of the teachers 

of Ui. trau sition perM Oetryeea “jt 
Hie Arnoraim. He was a friend of WJ-a. a “ a } s 
mentioned several times as 
regard to haggadic sentences (Lain. R. 
xi Ted Buber, p. 98b], xxv. [p. 164a]). He uvea 
at ‘Eu-Tina, a locality near Sepplions, and occasion- 
ally visited the patriarch R. J udah I. at the latte 
place. He was a pupil of R. Judali, and lived m such 



Simeon b. Halafta 
Simeon ben Joseph 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


350 


indigence that the patriarch often relieved him 
(Ruth R. v. 7); His advancing age obliged him to 
discontinue his visits to Judah; and when the 
latter inquired into the eause of his absence he gave 
as a reason his debilit}' (Shab. 152a). He was highly 
respected. Once when lie took leave of Judah 
the patriarch ordered his son to ask Simeon for a 
blessing, and Simeon responded with the words : 
“God grant that you will neither cause shame to 
others nor be shamed by others. ” As the patriarch’s 
son took this blessing to be a mere empty phrase, 
his father reminded him that God had once blessed 
Israel with these same words (M. Iv. 9b, according 
to the correct reading of Rabbinowitz in “Dikduke 
Soferim ”). The honor in which Simeon b. Halafta 
was held also appears from Hanina’s remark that lie 
(Hanina) merited a hale old age in view of his visits 
to the aged Simeon b. Halafta; on his journeys 
from Tiberias to Sepphoris Hanina had been wont to 
make a detour to ‘En-Tina in order to visit Simeon 
(Yer. Ta‘an. 68a). 

Various legends are connected with the person 
of Simeon b. Halafta. Once, on returning from 
Sepphoris to ‘En-Tina lie met the angel 

. His of death, who said to him in the course 

Career. of conversation that he had no power 

over persons who were like Simeon, 
since on account of their good deeds God often pro- 
longs their span of life(Deut. R. ix. 1). On another 
occasion, when in danger of being torn by lions, 
Simeon was miraculously saved (Sanli. 59b). Once a 
precious stone is said to have been sent to him from 
heaven in a miraculous way (Ruth R. iii. 4; comp. 
Perles in “Monatssehrift,” 1873, pp. 27 et xcq.). 
Many stories are told of his observations and ex- 
periments in zoology, and he was designated by the 
epithet “ ‘askan ” = “ the busy one ” or “ the experi- 
menter.” He is said to have saved the life of a hen 
by attaching a reed to her dislocated liip-bone: and 
he made new feathers grow on another hen which 
had lost her feathers (Hul. 57b). Still other experi- 
ments by him are recounted ( ib . ; Lev. R. xxii.). 

Simeon b. Halafta is rarely mentioned in the liala- 
kie tradition, but very frequently in the ITaggadali, 
in which he is especially noted for the parables 
which he employed in his Scriptural exegesis. Some 
of these may be mentioned here. He explains the 
regulation (Ex. xii. 43 et seq.) that circumcision 
should precede participation in the Feast of Pesah 
by the following parable: “A king gave a banquet, 
commanding that only those guests who wore his 
badge should be admitted. So God 
His instituted a banquet in celebration of 
Hagg-adah. the deliverance from Egyptian bond- 
age, commanding that only those 
should partake of it who bore on their bodies the seal 
of Abraham ” (Ex. R. xix. 6). The following is a 
parable on the relation between God and Israel: “A 
king took to wife a matron who brought two p re- 
cions stones as her marriage portion ; and lie gave her 
in addition two other gems. When the woman lost 
the si ones she had brought, he took away those which 
he had given to her; but when she found her own 
again, the king gave back those of his gift, and had 
all the gems made into a crown for her. Similarly 
Israel brought the precious stones ‘justice’ and 


‘ right,’ which it had received from Abraham [Gen. 
xviii. 19 (A. V. “justice and judgment ”)], into the 
covenant which it made with God. God gave in 
addition two other precious stones, ‘merey ’ [Dent, 
vii. 12] and ‘compassion’ [Dent. xiii. 18]. When 
Israel lost justice and right [Amos vi. 12] God took 
away mercy and compassion [Yer. xvi. 5]. When 
Israel again produces what it has lost [Isa, i. 27] 
God will also restore what He has taken away [Lsa. 
liv. 10], the four precious stones together becoming 
a crown for Israel ” (comp. IIos. ii. 21 ; Dent R. iii. 

Other Scriptural explanations by Simeon are not 
expressed in parables. For instance, he applies Prow 
xviii. 7, “A fool’s mouth is his destruction,” to the 
words of the builders of the Tower of Babel (Gen. 
xi. 4; Gen. R. x.xxviii. 11). The ladder which Jacob 
beheld in his vision (Gen. xxviii. 12), and which 
stood on earth and reached to heaven, indicated to 
him those of liis descendants who would be engulfed 
in the earth, namely, Koniliand his followers (Num. 
xvi. 32), and also Moses, who was to aseend to heaven 
(Ex. xxiv. 1 ; Tan.., Wayyeze, ed. Buber, p. 75a). The 
following sentences l:y Simeon may be mentioned 
here: “Since the fist of hypocrisy has become all- 
powerful, judgment lias become perverted; the 
good deeds of the individual are destroyed; and no 
man may say to another, ‘ My merits are greater than 
thine’” (Sotah 41b). “All the future bliss, the 
blessings, and the comfortings which the Prophets, 
have beheld, apply to the penitent, while the sen- 
tence [Isa, lxiv. 3, Hebr.] ‘ neither hath the e^ye seen, 
O God, besides thee, what he hath prepared for him 
that waitetli for him ’ applies to the person who 
has never tasted sin” (Eecl. R. i. 8). His sentence 
in praise of peace was included in the Mislmah 
(‘Ukzin iii. 12): “God has found no better vessel 
than peace to hold the blessing to be given to Is- 
rael, as it is written (Ps. xxix. 11): ‘ The Lord giveth 
strength unto his people; the Lord will bless his 
people with peace.’ ” 

Bibliography: Heilprin, Seder ha-Dorot, ii. 364-365, Warsaw, 
18S2; Frankel, Mcho , p. 128b, Breslau, 1870: Bacber. Au, 
Tan. ii. 530-536. 

w. B. J. Z. L. 

SIMEON HE-HASID (= “the Pious”): Tan- 
na; period of activity, unknown. He is not men- 
tioned in the Mislmah ; and only one liaggadic sen- 
tence of his has been preserved, in a baraita. It 
refers to Job xxii., and states that the 974 generations 
which should have been added to the 26 which were 
created before the revelation of the Law on Mount 
Sinai were distributed among the generations created 
subsequently, and that tlie} r constitute the insolent 
who are found in every age (Hag. 13b, 14a). 
w. ii. ’ J. Z. L. 

SIMEON B. ISAAC B. ABUN (called also 
Simeon the Great) : Prominent expounder of the 
Law and one of the most important liturgical wri- 
ters of the tenth and eleventh centuries. He was 
a native of Mayence and a contemporary of R. Gcr- 
sliom Mo’or ha-Golah. He received a written com- 
munication from Meshullam b. Kalonymus (Zunz, 
“Literaturgescli.” p. 111). Among his pupils were 
Eleazar b. Isaac, who was a relative of his, and 
Yakar, the father of R. Jacob b. Yakar. He is to be 
distinguished from R. Simeon, Rashi’s maternal 



351 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Simeon b. Halafta 
Simeon ben Joseph 


uncle, since the latter appears to have been a pupi 
of 11. Gershom (comp. Hasln’s commentaiy i • 
85 b and on ‘Er. 42b). R. Simeon the Great bad the 
reputation of being a miracle-worker ; and it is said 
of him in the Vi try Mahzor (ed. Horowitz, p. o64, 
Berlin, 1889) and in the “Shibbole ba-Leket (e . 
Buber’ p. 26) that be possessed great skill as such. 

Vn o d rad tion relates that in bis bouse be bad 
hanging on the wall three wonderful mirrors in 
which he could see the past and the future; also 

that after his death a spring bubbled up at the 1 

of bis grave (Jellinek, “B. II.” v. 148). He had a 
son Elhanan, who, tradition relates, was torn when 
a child from bis parents, was brought up a Chris- 
tian, and later became pope under the name i ± 

Simeon wasaman of influence and used bis power 
for the benefit of bis coreligionists It 'va^a d Uiat 
he spent bis life in behalf of the Jews, and that be 

succeeded in preventing malicious persecutions fiom 
cdming upon them and in abolishing laws unfavor- 
able to them; also that bis learning was a bglit to 
tlie Jews of the Diaspora (Zunz, l.e.). Of his activ 
ity as an expounder of the Law but little is known. 
On the other hand, most of bis liturgical poems 
have been preserved and are widely known. 

I-Iis works consist of festal compositions anc 
nenitential prayers and Sabbatli-day pieces. The 
first include pocms for the New-Year, for Passover 
did for tlm Feast of Weeks, and were recited 
throughout France and German y. His pcmtential 
n ravel's were known as far as Poland and Ita j. 
His 3 liturgical pieces for tlie Sabbath were also 
widely cfrcnlatld, among them the table l.ymn 
“ Barulc Adonai Yom Yom.” A few liturgical pieces 
have been wrongly ascribed to linn (Zunz, l.c. p. 

4 THY Ill— llo. -r n 


eut persons) , 

teraturgcscli, pp. Ill-no. J Z L 

W. 33. 

SIMEON B. JAKIM : Palestinian amora of tlie 
third generation; pupil of R. Jol.anan to whom lie 
often addressed scholarly questions (lei. Oilal i. 
CM- Yer B. B. 161)), and contemporary of K. kht- 
zer.’ He was a prominent teacher and was i consul- 
cred an important authority (ler. Sanli. 21d) To 
wether with R. Eliezer lie is mentioned in tlie Baby- 
lonian Talmud also, although under tlie name Simeon 
b. Eliakim (Ket. 50b). 

Frantel. Mebo lia-Ycruslialmu p. 129a. 

J. L. Jj. 


Bacber “Ag. Pal. Amor.” i. 121). “One against 
whose ancestry no reproach can be brought should 
not be given charge of a congregation because it is 
well to S be able to say to one entrusted with such a 
charge, if be becomes proud, ‘ Look behind thee, 
and see whence thou comest ’ ” (Yoma l.e.). Bettei 
that a letter of tlie Torah should be put aside than 
that God’s name should be publicly profaned O eb. 
79a) A few examples of Simeon s method of lialakic 
exegesis occur in Sukkah (27a) and Baba Mezi a 
(22b). 

Bibliography : BacBer L , Pal. Amor. .. 119-123; Hellprln, 
Seder ha-Dorot, n. 3<o-o/4. j £. L. 

SIMEON B. JOSE B. LEKONYA; Tanna 
of tlie fourth generation ; contemporary of _R. Judah 
ha- Nasi I He was tlie brother-in-law of Eleazai b. 
Simeon whose son be educated and instructed in 
the Torali (B. M. 85a). Only a few of ^ halakic 
sentences have been preserved (Bek. 38b , Y ei. ires. 
33b) He gave as a reason for the thirty-nine m 
of work forbidden on the Sabbath that the word 
“ melakah ” (work) occurs thirty-nine times in tlie 
To aMShab 49b) but this enumeration is inexact, 
since the word occurs oftener-indeed, Simeon seems 
to have disregarded purposely some passages m 
making bis list. Among bis liaggadic sentences the 
following is especially interesting, as indicating the 
indestructibility of Judaism ; “ In tios workl ls. ael s 

gr s 'A 

upon the stone, wo to the pot.’ Thus whoever 
seeks to trouble Israel will not be allowed to go un- 
punished " (Estli. R. vii. on in. 6). 

Bibliography : Heilprm, Sder ba-Dorot.U. 372-373, Waisaw, 
1882; Bacher, A(j. fan. n. 4Sb-4bJ. j ^ ^ 

33. 


Bibliography 
W. B 


SIMEON B. JEHOZADAK: Palestinian amora 
of tlie first generation ; probably tlie teacher of Jo- 
lnnnn who lias transmitted several lialakic saynngs 
of his (R. H- 84b ; Yoma43b; ‘Ab. Zarah 47a; Ned. 
45a- Niddali 10b; Ta’an. 28b). Simeon lived to be 
verv old, and wlien he died Yannai and Jolianan 
followed bis remains to the : grave (Yer.N < 56a . 
Simeon b. Jehozadak was a liaggadist also, and sei 
(.ml of his liaggadic sayings have been preseived, 

handed down almost without exception by Johanam 

“A scholar who does not avenge insults but who 
harbors resentment like Nahash.IHng of the Am- 
monites, is no true scholar (Toma > 


SIMEON BEN JOSEPH OF LHNEL : Tal- 
mudist of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. 
His Provencal name was En Duran. He u as a 
native of Perpignan, and lived successively at Mont- 

nellier atLund.and, after the banishment of e 

Tews iii 1806, at Aix. He is known chiefly lot the 
Sve part be took in the Abba Mari controversy as 

a Excepting three' letters (Neubauer, “Cat. Bodl. 
t -3 hv jSfo 280), no writing of Simeon s is 

toow. Tl« «5t of !hc letters, emtiiled "S-ta 
La-Mislipat," was addressed to Me’in of Per I’lgaa". 

who was invited by Abba Mari to sign tlie excom- 
munication launched against the stud. of d ?2 s . 
onliv but declined to do so. Abba Man, dissatis 

fled, 3 commissioned his lieutenant Sbneon to answei 

him and expound the grievances of the o.thodo- 

•ZSStt f.W.e«t" (B.r«», m 

The second letter is addressed to Solomon ben Ac i e , 
Sin- him to declare that the excommunication 
ao-ainst the students of philosophy does not apply 
to the “ Moreli Nehukim,” as Ins adversaries assei ted. 
The thiiYUetter is addressed to one of his relatives 



Simeon b. Judah 
Simeon the Just 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


352 


nt Perpignan. It was written after the banishment 
of the Jews of France, and Simeon bewails in it the 
fate of the Jewish communities of Lunel, Beziers, 
and Narbonne. 

Bibliography: Minim t Kcna'ot, Nos. 23, 90; Renan. Less 
Ram ins Frangais , pp. 095 et scq.\ Gross, Gallia Judaica, 

w. n. I. Bn. 

SIMEON B. JUDAH: Tanna of the fourth 
generation; a native of Kefar ‘ Ik os (comp, on this 
name II. Hildesheimer, “Beitrage zur Geographie 
Palastinas, ” pp. 12, 81, Berlin, 1886). He is men- 
tioned almost exclusively as a transmitter of the 
sentences of Simeon b. Yoliai. Two of his own exe- 
getic sentences also have been handed down. To 
Ex. xiv. 15, “Wherefore criest thou unto me?” he 
says that the cry of the Israelites for aid had pre- 
ceded that of Moses (Mek., Beshallali, iii. [ed. Weiss, 
p. 3ob]). In Deut. xxxii. 6 is to be derived 

from p (= “foundation,” “basis,” or “means”): 
“ He placed thee upon thy foundation ” (Sifre, Deut. 
309 [ed. Friedmann, p. 134a]). In another sentence 
of his that has been preserved mention is made of 
a certain place in Galilee in which were said to be 
leprous stones, i.e., stones from a house infected 
with leprosy (Tosef., Neg. vi, 1). 

Bibliography: Heilprin, Seder ha-Dorot , ii. 371, Warsaw, 
1882; Frankel, Hodegetica in Mischnam, p, 199; Brul 1, Ein- 
leitung in die Mischna , xi. 232 ct seq.; Baeher, Aq. Tan . ii. 
392. 

W. b. J. Z. L. 

SIMEON B. JUDAH LC)B PEISER. See 

Peisek. 

SIMEON BEN JUDAH HA-NASI I. : One 

of the teachers during the transition period be- 
tween the Tannaim and the Amoraim, He was the 
younger son of Judah, and although far more learned 
than his brother Gamaliel, his father had intended 
that he should become hakam only, while Gamaliel 
was to be Judah’s successor as “nasi” (Ket. 103b). 
Simeon was particularly friendly with R.Hiyya, with 
whom he once undertook a journey (Gen. R. lxxix. 
8), and with Bar Kappara, who was one of his fel- 
low students (M. K, 16a; Ber. 13b). He surpassed 
both of these in halakic as well as in haggadie ex- 
egesis, If. Iliyya learned from him the exposition 
of a part of the Psalms; Bar Kappara, a part of the 
halakic mid rash to Leviticus. It therefore annoyed 
Simeon that both refused to do him honor (Kid. 
33a). His father called him “ the light of Israel ” 
(‘Ar. 10a ; Men. 88b), and he was very kind-hearted 
(B. B. 8a) and candid (id. 164b). He did not ap- 
prove his grandfather’s and his father’s habit of ci- 
ting the sayings of R. MeYr without mentioning the 
latter’s name. 

Simeon introduced many emendations into the 
text of the Mishnah, according to readings which he 
had heard from his father, as, for example, B. M. 
iii. 1, and f Ab. Zarah iv. 1, where, in the Mishnah 
to the Palestinian Talmud, his readings have been 
preserved (comp. B. M. 44a : ‘Ab. Zarah 52b). One 
of Simeon’s sayings, also, has been preserved in 
the Mislmali (Mak. iii. 15) ; in it he contends that if 
man is rewarded for abstaining from tlie drinking 
of blood, for which he has no natural craving, his 
reward ought to be much greater for abstaining 


from robbeiy and fornication, to which lie has an 
inborn inclination. 

Bibliography: Heilprin, Seder ha-Dorot, ii. 372, Warsaw 
1882. ’ 
w. B. . J. Z. L. 

SIMEON THE JUST (pHSH . High 

priest. He is identical either witli Simeon I. (310- 
291 or 300-270 n.c.), son of Onias 1,, and grandson 
of Jaddua, or with Simeon II. (219-199 
Confusion n.c.), son of Onias II. Many state- 
as to ments concerning him are variously 
Identity, ascribed by scholars to four different 
persons who bore the same surname; 
e.g., to Simeon I, by Friiukel and Gratz ; to Simeon 
II. by Krochmal and Brull; to Simon Maccabeus by 
Low ; and to Simeon the son of Gamaliel by Weiss. 

About no other high priest does such a mixture of 
fact and fiction center, the Talmud, Josephus, and 
the Second Book of Maccabees all containing ac- 
counts of him, 1-Ie was termed “the Just” either 
because of the piety of his life and his benevo- 
lence toward his compatriots (Josephus, “Ant.” xii. 
2, § 5), or because lie took thought for his people 
(Ecclus. [Siracli] 1. 4). He was deeply interested 
both in the spiritual and in the material develop- 
ment of the nation. Thus, according to Ecclus. 
(Siracli) 1, 1-14, he rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem, 
which had been torn down by Ptolemy Soter, and 
repaired tlie damage done to tlie Temple, raising 
the foundation-walls of its court and enlarging the 
cistern therein so that it was like a pool (that these 
statements can apply only to Simeon I. is shown 
by Griitz, and they agree, moreover, with the Tal- 
mudic accounts of Simeon’s undertakings). 

When Alexander the Great marched through Pal- 
estine in the year 333, Simeon the Just, according 
to the legend, dressed in his eight priestly robes 
went to Kefar Saba (Antipatris) to meet him (Yoma 
69a), although Josephus (l.e. xi. 8, § 4) states 
that Alexander himself came to Jerusalem (but see 
Jew. Encyc. i. 341b, vii. 51b). The legend further 
declares that as soon as the Macedonian saw the 
high priest, he descended from his chariot and 
bowed respectfully before him. When Alexander’s 
courtiers criticized his act, lie replied that it had 
been intentional, since be had had a vision in which 
lie had seen the high priest, who had predicted his 
victory. Alexander demanded that a statue of him- 
self be placed in the Temple; but the high priest ex- 
plained to him that this was impossible, promising 
him instead that all the sons born of priests in that 
year should be named Alexander and that the Seleu- 
cidan era should he introduced (Lev. B. xiii., end; 
Pesik. R., section “Parali ”). This story appears to 
be identical with III Macc. ii., where Seleucus (Kas- 
galgas) is mentioned (Sotah 33a; Yer. Sotah ix, 3; 
Cant. R. 38c; Tosef., Sotah, xiii.). During the ad- 
ministration of Simeon the Just the Red Heifer is 
said to have been burned twice, and he therefore 
built two wooden bridges from the Temple mount 
to the Mount of Olives (Parali iii. 6; Yer. Shek. 
iv. 2). 

Simeon occupied a position intermediate between 
the Hasmoneans and the Hellenists, while, as he 
himself boasted, lie was an opponent of the Naza- 
rites and ate of the sacrifice offered by one of that sect 



Simeon b. Judah. 
Simeon the Just 


353 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


only on a single occasion. Once a youth with flow- 
in c lmir came to him and wished to have Ins head 
b shorn. When asked liis motive, the 

His youth replied that he had seen his 
Position, own face reflected in a spring and it 
had pleased him so that he feared lest 
his heauty might become an idol to him. He there- 
fore wished to offer up his hair to God, and Simeon 
then partook of the sin-offering which he brought 
( Naz . 4b; Ned. 9b; Yer. Ned. 36d; Tosef., Naz. 

iv. ; Yer. Naz. i. 7). . 

During Simeon’s administration seven miracles 
are said to liave taken place. A blessing rested (1) 
on the offering of the first-fruits, (2) on the two 
sacrificial loaves, and (8) on the loaves of show- 


ushered him into the Holy of Holies and then had 
escorted him out. This time, however, the appari- 
tion had been clothed in black and had conducted 
him in, but had not led him out — a sign that that 
year was to be his last. He is said to have died 
seven days later (Yoma 39b; Tosef., Sotali, xv. ; 
Yer. Yoma v. 1). 

Simeon the J ust is called one of the last members 
of the Great Synagogue, but it is no longer possi- 
ble to determine which of the four who bore this 
name was really the last. 

The personality of Simeon the Just, whose chief 
maxim was “ The world exists through three things: 
the Law, worship, and beneficence” (Ab. i. 2), and 
the high esteem in which he was held, are shown 



Traditional Tomb of Simeon the Just. 

(From Clermout-Ganneau. “ Archeological Researches in Palestine.”) 


bread, in that, although each priest received a por- 
tion no larger than an olive, he ate and was satiated 
without even consuming the whole of it; (4) the 
lot cast for God (see Lev. xvi. 8) always came 
into the risrlit hand; (5) the red thread around the 
neck of the ram invariably became while on the Hay 
of Atonement; (6) the light in the Temple never 
failed; and (7) the fire on the altar required hut lit- 
tle wood to keep it burning (Yoma 89b ; Men. 109b; 
Yer. Toma vi. 3). Simeon is said to have lield oifice 
for forty years (Yoma 9a; Yer. Yoma 
Length, of i. 1, v. 2; Lev. R. xxi.). On a certain 
Tenure. Day of Atonement- he came from the 
Holy of Holies in a melancholy mood, 
and when asked the reason, he replied that on every 
Day of Atonement a figure clothed in white had 
NT.— 23 


a poem in Ecclus. (Sirach) 1., which compares 
n, at the moment of his exit from the Holy of Ho- 
lies, to the sun, moon, and stars, and to 
;iegy by the most magnificent plants. This 
;en Sira, poem appeared with certain changes 
in the ritual of the evening service for 
s Day of Atonement, where it begins with the words 
m HD nDK; a translation of it is given in Gratz, 
Resell.” ii. 239 , and in Hamburger, K. 13. 1- 
1. After Simeon’s death men ceased to utter 
e Tetkagbammaton aloud (Yoma 80b; Tosef - 

itali, xiii.). 



Simeon Kahira 
Simeon b. Menasya 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


354 , 


Oesch. dcs Vnlkcs Jisracl , L 189* 194, 196, 200, 201, 374-378, 
40S; ii. 147, 148, 245, 557 ; Ewald, Gesch . iii., part ii., note 310 ; 
He-Haluz , viii. 2 ; Frankel, in Monatsschrift , i. 208 efc seg., 
410 et seq.; idem, HodegcUcain Mischnam, pp. 29, 30, Leip- 
sic, 1859 ; Geiger, Urschrift , p. 476; Weiss, Zttr Gesch. dev 
JUdischen Tradition , i. 82-87, Vienna, 1871; Derenbourg, 
Histoire de la Palestine , pp. 46-47; Low, Gesammelte 
Schriften , 1889, i. 399-449 ; Hamburger, JS./i.T.pp. 1115-1119; 
Heilprin, Seder ha-Dornt , pp. 137a-138b, Warsaw, 1889; 
Brull, illebo ha-Mishnah, pp. 11-14, Frankfort-on-the-Main, 
1876; Griitz, Gesch. ii. 221, 235, et passim ; Monatsschrift, 
1857, pp. 45-56 ; Schiirer, Gesch. i. 183 ; ii. 352, 355 et seq.; iii. 

. 159. 

W. B. S. O. 

SIMEON KAHIRA. See Kayyaba, Simeon. 

SIMEON BAR KAPPARA. See Bau Kap- 
pa II A. 

. SIMEON KARA. See Kara. 

SIMEON OF KITRON : Tanna of whom only 
one liaggadic saying lias been preserved. This is 
to the effect that it was on account of the bones of 
Joseph, which the Israelites brought with them out 
of Egypt, that the sea opened before them (Mek., 
Besballah, 3 [cd. Weiss, p. 35b]). 

Bibliography: Heilprin, Seder ha-Dorot , ii. 378; Baeber, 
Aq. Tan. ii. 560. 

w. B. J. Z. L, 

SIMEON B. LAKISH (called also Resh La- 
&isli) : One of the two most prominent Palestinian 
amoraim of the second generation (the other being 
his brother-in-law and halakic opponent R. Johanan) ; 
born c. 200 ; died e. 275. Nothing is known of his an- 
cestry except his. father’s name. According to Griitz 
(“Gesch.” v. 240), his birthplace was Bostra, east of 
the Jordan; yet even from early youth he appears 
to have lived in Sepphoris, where he studied with 
R. Johanan. Like the latter, he ascribed his knowl- 
edge of the Torah to his good fortune in having 
been privileged to see the patriarch Judah ha-Nasi 
(Yer, Ber. G3a). According to Halevy (“Dorot ha- 
Rishonhn ”), he was a pupil of R. Judah Nesiah 
(grandson of Rabbi), in whose name 
His he transmits many sayings, Bacher 
Teachers, supposes that he was a pupil of Bar 
Kappara, since lie often hands down 
sayings in his name (“ Ag. Pal. Amor.” i. 340). He 
appears also to have attended the seminary of R. 
Hoshaiah, whom he cites (Kid. 80a; Me‘i. 7b; Bek. 
13a), questions (Yeb. 57a), and calls the “father of 
the Mishnali” (Yer. B. K. 4c). 

Many stories are told of Simeon’s gigantic strength 
and of his corpulence. He was accustomed to lie 
on the hard ground, saying, “My fat is my cush- 
ion ” (Git. 47a). Under the stress of unfavorable 
circumstances he gave up the study of the Torah 
and sought to support himself by a worldly calling. 
He sold himself to the managers of a circus (“ludii,” 

“ ludiarii ”), where he could make use of his great 
bodily strength, but where also he was compelled to 
risk liis life continually in combats with wild beasts 
(ib.). From this low estate he was brought back to 
his studies by R. Johanan. It is said that the latter 
saw him bathing in the Jordan, and was so over- 
come by his beauty that at one bound he was beside 
him in the water. “ Thy strength would be more 
appropriate for studying the Law, ” said R. Johanan ; 
“And thy beauty for women,” answered Resli 
Lakish. Thereupon R. Johanan said, “If thou wilt 
turn again to thy studies I will give thee to wife 


my sister, who is still more beautiful.” Resh 
Lakish agreed, and R. Johanan led him back to a 
life of study (B. M. 84a). R. Johanan might be 
called a teacher of R. Simeon b. Lakish (Hul. 139a; 
Ber. 31a) ; but the latter, through his extraordinary 
talent and his exhaustless diligence, soon attained 
so complete a knowledge of the Law that he stood 
on an equal footing with R. Johanan. 

Relations They are designated as “ the two great 

with. R. authorities” (Yer. Ber. 12c). While 

Johanan. R. Johanan was still in Sepphoris, 
teaching at the same time as Hanina, 
Simeon b. Lakish stood on an equality with him and 
enjoyed equal rights as a member of the school and 
council (Yer. Sanli. 18c; Yer. Niddah ii. 50b). 

When R. Johanan went to Tiberias and founded an 
academy there, Simeon accompanied him and took 
the second position in the school (comp. B. If, 117a). 
He exceeded even R. Johanan in acuteness, and the 
latter himself admitted that his right hand was miss- 
ing when R. Simeon was not present (Yer. Sanh. ii. 
19d, 20a). “When he discussed halakic questionsit 
was as if he were uprooting mountains and rubbing 
them together, ” says ‘Ula of him (Sanh. 24a). R. 
Johanan was often compelled by Simeon’s logic to 
surrender his own opinion and accept that of Simeon 
(Yer. Yoma38a), and even to act in accordance with 
the latter’s views (Yer. ‘Er. 18c). Yet it is said in 
praise of R. Simeon that all his objections to R. 
Johanan ’s conclusions were founded on the Mishnali, 
and that with him i_t was not a question of showing 
himself to be in the right, but of securing a clear 
and well-established decision, and that when he 
could find no support for his opinion he was not 
ashamed to abandon it (Yer. Git. iii. 44d). lie had 
a strong love of truth and an unusually: courageous 
way of saying what he thought. He even declared 
to the patriarch Judah Nesiah that fear of the lat- 
ter would never induce him to keep back God’s word 
or any opinion derived from it (Yer. Sanh. 20a) ; and 
once he ventured to convey a veiled rebuke to the 
patriarch for avarice (Gen. R. lxxviii. 16). Neither 
did he hesitate to revoke decisions of his colleagues, 
including R. Johanan, even -when action had al- 
ready been taken in accordance with 
His Inde- those decisions (Yer. Ket. 32d, 37a; 
pendence of B. B. 16b ; Ket. 54b, 84b). On one 
Judgment, occasion, when R. Johanan presented 
a halakic demonstration before R. 
Yannai, and the latter praised him for it, Simeon 
boldly declared, “In spite of R. Yannai’s great 
praise, R. Jolianan's opinion is not correct” (Yer. 
Sotah ii. 18b). He would defend his views fear- 
lessly before the whole faculty (Kid. 44a), and 
sometimes he ventured to give a decision that con- 
flicted with the Mishnali (Yer, Ter. vii. 44c; Yer. 
Hag. iii. 79c). Nevertheless, his opinions, when 
they differed from those of R. Johanan, were not 
recognized as valid, except in three cases mentioned 
in the Babylonian Talmud (Yeb. 36a). 

No one equaled Simeon ben Lakisli in diligence 
and eagerness to learn. It was his custom regularly 
to repeat a section from the Mishnah forty times 
(Ta‘an. 8a) ; he boasted that even R. Iliyya, who was 
renowned for his diligence, was no more diligent than 
lie (Yer. Ket. xii. 3). In order to urge his pupils to- 



355 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Simeon lEahira 
Simeon b. Menasya 


continual industry, lie often quoted a proverb which 
he ascribed to the Torah: “If thou leavest me one 
day I shall leave thee for two ” (Y er. Ber. ix. 14d). 
His conscientiousness and delicately balanced sense 
of honor are also celebrated. He avoided association 
with people of whose probity he was not fully con- 
vinced; lienee the testimony of any one allowed to 
associate with Simeon b. Lakish was accredited even 
in the absence of witnesses (Yoma 9a). Simeon 
ben Lakish was faithful to his friends, and was ever 
ready to render them active assistance'. This is shown 
by the way in which, at the risk of his own life, he 
rescued R. Assi, who had been imprisoned and was 
regarded as practically dead by his colleagues (Yer. 
Ter. 46b). Once his vigorous interference saved R. 
Johanan’s property from injury (ib,). 

The independence which Simeon ben Lakish man- 
ifested in the discussion of halakic questions was 
equally pronounced in his treatment of haggadic 
matters. In liaggadali, also, he held a prominent 
position, and advanced many original 

His and independent views which struck 
Haggadot. his contemporaries with amazement 
and which did not win respect until 
later. His haggadot include exegetical and liomi- 
letical interpretations of the Scriptures; observa- 
tions concerning Biblical characters and stories ; say- 
ings concerning the Commandments, prayer, the 
study of the Law, God, the angels, Creation, Israel, 
and Rome, Messianic and eschatological subjects, 
as well as other dicta aud proverbs. Some of 
his haggadic sentences are as follows: “Should 
the sous of Israel find rest with the people among 
whom they are scattered, they would lose their 
desire to return to Palestine, the land of their 
fathers ” (Lam. R. i. 3). “ Israel is dear to God, and 

He takes no pleasure iu any one that utters calum- 
nies against Israel ” (Cant. R. i. 6). “ The proselyte, 

however, is dearer to God than was Israel when it 
was gathered together at Sinai, because Israel would 
not have received the Law of God without the mir- 
acles of its revelation, whereas the prosel 3 7 te, with- 
out seeing a single miracle, has consecrated himself 
to God and accepted the kingdom of heaven” (Tan., 
Lek Leka, ed. Buber, p. 32a). “The world exists 
only by virtue of the breath which comes from the 
mouths of school-children. The instruction of the 
young should not be interrupted, even by the build- 
ing of a sanctuary ” (Shab. 119b). “The words of 
the Torah can be remembered only by one who 
sacrifices himself for the sake of stud) r ing them ” 
(Ber. 63b; Shah. 83b). “Israel took the names of 
the angels from the Babylonians dur- 
Examples ing the period of the Exile, because 

of His Isaiah [vi. 6] speaks only of 4 one of 
Exegesis, the seraphim, ’ without calling him by 
name ; whereas Daniel names the angels 
Michael and Gabriel” (Yer. R. H. 56d). “ Jobnever 

actually existed ; he is only the imaginary hero of 
the poem, the invention of the poet” (Yer. Sotali 
20d). 

Simeon ben Lakish’s haggadali is especially rich 
in maxims and proverbs: “No man commits a sin,” 
says Simeon, “unless struck by momentaiy in- 
sanity” (Sotah 3a). “ Adorn instruct] thy self 

first ; afterward adorn others ” (B. M. 107b). “ Greater 


is he that lends than he that gives alms; hut he that 
aids by taking part in a business undertaking is 
greater than either” (Shab. 63a). “Do not live in 
the neighborhood of an ignorant man who is pious” 
(ib.). “ Who commits the sin of adultery only with 

the eyes is an adulterer” (Lev. R. xxiii. 12; comp, 
a similar statement in Matt, v, 28). 

In his haggadot Simeon frequently makes use of 
similes, some of which recall the days when he won 
a livelihood in the circus. In general, he spoke un- 
reservedly of that time; yet an allusion to his ear- 
lier calling made by his colleague and brother-in- 
law R. Johanan wounded him so deeply that he 
became ill and died. This happened as follows: 
On one occasion there was a dispute as to the time 
when the different kinds of knives and weapons 
might he considered to have been first perfected. 
The opinion of Simeon ben Lakish diffeied fi om 
that of R. Johanan, whereupon the latter remarked, 
“A robber knows his own tools” (B. M. 84a). R. 
Johanan alluded to Simeon’s life as a gladiator, in 
which a knowledge of sharp weapons was a matter 
of course. This speech of R. Johanan’s not only 
caused the illness and death of Simeon b. Lakish, 
but it had also a disastrous influence on his reputa- 
tion. The saying, which was certainly used figur- 
tively, was taken literally by many later scholars, 
and the opinion became current that Simeon had been 
a robber, or even a robber chief, in his younger days, 
an opinion "which found expression in Pirke Rabbi 
Eli'ezer (xliii.). Yet nowhere 'is there the slight- 
est authority for such a statement (comp. Weiss, 
“ Dor,” iii. 84, and Baclier, l.c. i. 344, note 5). R. Jo- 
hanan was in despair at the death of Simeon, and 
it is said that he kept calling, “ Where is Bar Le- 
kisha, where is Bar Lekisha?” He soon followed 
Simeon to the grave (B. M. 84a). 


Bibliography: Bacher, Ag. Pal. Amor.i. 

Mebo , pp. 129b-130a; Gratz, Gesch. 3d ed., iv. 240-242, 
Halevy, Dorot ha^Rishonim, n-lo9a-164a ;Heilprin, Seder 
hctr-DoroU li- 374-376, Warsaw, 18S3; Weiss, Dor, in. 80-85. 




SIMEON B. MENASYA: Tanna of the fourth 
generation, and contemporary of R. Judah ha-Nasi 
I., with whom he engaged in a halakic discussion 
(Bezali 21a). He and Jose b. Meshullam formed a so- 
ciety called “ Kehala Kaddislia ” (the Holy Commu- 
nity), because its members devoted one-third of the 
day to the study of the Torah, oue-third to prayer, 
and the remaining third to work (Yer. Ma'as.Bheni 
53d; Eccl. R. ix. 9). Simeon b. Menasya is not 
mentioned in the Mishnah, his sentence in Hag. ii. 
7 being a later addition ; but some halakic sentences 
by him have been preserved elsewhere (Tosef., 
Kelim, B. B. iv. 10; Zeb. 94a, 97). 

A larger number of his haggadic sentences have 
comedown, including the following: Referring to 
Ps. xliv. 23, he says, “It is not possible for one to 
be killed every da} 7 ; but God reckons the life of the 
pious as though they died a martyr’s death daily ” 
(Sifre, Deut. 32 [ed. Friedmann, p. 73a]). Prov. 
xvii. 14, he says, contains a rule for a judge desirous 
of effecting a compromise between two contending 
parties. Before the judge has heard the statements 
of both parties, or before he has made up his mind 
as to the nature of his decision, he may set aside the 



Simeon of Mizpah 
Simeon ben Shetah. 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


356 


Law and call upon the parties to settle the matter 
amicably. Afterward, however, lie may not do so, 
but must decide according to the Law (Sanh. 6b). 
“ Canticles was inspired* by the Holy Ghost, while 
Ecclesiastes expresses merely the wisdom of Solo- 
mon ” (Tosef., Yad. ii. 14). Especially noteworthy 
is Simeon’s interpretation of Ex. xxxi. 14, “Ye 
shall keep the Sabbath therefore; for it is holy unto 
you.” “The words ‘unto you,’” he says, “imply 
that the Sabbath is given to you, and that you are 
not given to the Sabbath” (Mek., Ki Tissa [ed. 
Weiss, p. 109b] ; comp. Markii. 27, where Jesus says, 
“The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for 
the Sabbath ”). 

Bibliography : Heilprin, Seder ha-Dorot, ii. 271-272: Frankel, 
Hodegctica in MUclmam , p. 202; Brull, Einleitung in die 
Mischna, i. 239-340; Baeher, Ag. Tan. ii. 489-494. 

W. b. J. Z. L. 


SIMEON OF MIZPAH ; Tanna of the first 
generation; contemporary of R. Gamaliel I., to- 
gether with whom he went to the bet din in the hall 
of hewn stone in order to learn a decision regarding 
the corner of the field (“ pe’ah ” ; Pe’ah ii. 6). He is 
said to have made a collection of halakot referring 
to the services in the Temple on the Day of Atone- 
ment (“Seder Yoma”; Yoma 14b). 
w. b. J. Z. L. 


SIMEON BEN NANOS ; Tanna of the second 
generation; contemporary of R. Ishmael and lb 
Akiba, with whom he often engaged in lialakic dis- 
cussions. He is often mentioned merely by the 
name “Ben Nanos.” He acquired a high reputa- 
tion on account of his intimate knowledge of Jew- 
ish civil jurisprudence; and R. Ishmael said that 
whoever wished to occupy himself with the study 
of this branch of the Law ought to learn from 
Simeon b. Nanos (B, B. x. 8). Several of Simeon’s 
sayings bearing on civil law have been preserved 
(B. B. vii. 3, x. 8; Sheb. vii. 5), as well as some of 
his opinions on other lialakic subjects (Bik. iii. 9; 
Shab. xvi. 5; ‘Er. x. 15; Git. viii. 10; Men. iv. 3). 
Neither the names of his teachers nor those of his 
pupils are known. 


Bibliography: Frankel, Hodegctica in Misehnam , p. 129* 
Brull, Einleitung in die Mischna , i. 132-133 ; Weiss, Dor, ii. 
123 ; Heilprin, Seder ha-Dorot, ii. 363. 

w. B. J. Z. L. 


SIMEON B. NETHANEEL : Tanna of the 
first generation; pupil, of R. Johanan b. Zakkai 
(Ab. ii. 8), and son-in-law of R. Gamaliel I. (Tosef., 
‘ Ab. Zurab, iii. 10). He belonged to a noble priestly 
family; and liis teacher, R. Johanan b. Zakkai, 
praised him for his piety and his fear of sinning 
(Ab. l.c.). Simeon held that the most important 
habit to be acquired by man is that of cai*efully 
considering the consequences of each one of his 
deeds; while the worst practise, which a person 
should be careful to shun, is that of not paying 
one’s debts (Ab. ii. 9). No halakot by Simeon 
have been preserved; but the following sentence, 
indicating liis great piety, has been handed down: 
“Never neglect to recite the ‘ Shema‘ 1 and the daily 
prayer; and when thou prayest beg mercy of God 
and be careful to commit no deed of which thine 
own conscience may accuse thee ” (Ab. ii. 13). 


Bibliography: Heilprin, Seder ha-Dorot , ii. 361; Frankel 
Hodegctica in Misehnam, pp. 90-91; Bri'ill, Einleitung in 
. die Mischna , i. 87. 

W. b. J. Z. L. 

SIMEON HA-PAKOLI (^lpSn) : Tanna of 
the second generation ; contemporary of R. Gamaliel 
II. at Jabneh. He arranged the eighteen benedic- 
tions of the daily prayer (Shemoneti ‘Esueii) in the 
sequence in which they have been handed down 
(Ber. 28a). The name “ Pakoli ” is said to have been 
derived from Simeon’s occupation, which was that 
of a dealer in flax and wool (Raslii on Ber. 18a). 
Nothing further is known concerning him. 

Bibliography: Heilprin, Seder ha-Dorot , ii. 361 ; Brull, Ein- 
leitung in die Mischna , pp. 97-98. 
w. b. J. Z. L. 

SIMEON B. PAZZI : Palestinian amora of the 
third generation. In Palestine he was called merely 
“Simon,” this being the Greek form of his Hebrew 
name “Shim‘on,” but in Babylon he was generally 
called by his full name, Shim‘on b. Pazzi. Accord- 
ing to the tosafot (B. B. 149a, s.v. y\), “Pazzi” 
was his mother’s name; but according to “Yu- 
hasin, and Frankel (“Mebo,” 121a), it was 
a masculine proper name, and, therefore, designated 
Simeon’s father. According to Baclier, “Pazzi” 
was a family name which several other Palestinian 
I amoraim bore. The Pazzi family, which lived at 
Tiberias, the seat of the patriarch, was highly re T 
speeted; and Simeon, so far as is known, was its 
most important member. Later be lived' in the 
south (Yer. Bezah 60c), and was the pupil of Joshua 
b. Levi; but he held friendly intercourse with the 
authorities of the school of Tiberias, e.g Eleazar b. 
Pedat, Abbahu, and Ammi. Simeon lived for a 
time at Babylon, also, in the house of the exilarch'. 
Here Ze‘era requested him not to allow the abuses 
committed by the exilarcliate to pass unrepreheuded, 
even though liis reproof should prove ineffective 
(Shab. 5oa). In Babylon he delivered haggadic lec- 
tures, some sentences of which have been preserved 
in Babli (Pes. 56a; Sotah 41b; ‘Ab. Zarah 18a). 

Simeon was considered a lialakic authority also. 
Rabbabb. Nalimani was informed by his brothers in 
Palestine of a lialakic decision in which Isaac, Sim- 
eon, and Oshaya concurred, this Simeon being taken 
to be Simeon b. Pazzi (Ket. 111b). Certain instruc- 
tions which Simeon gave to the computers of the cal- 
endar have been preserved. He enjoined them to ob- 
serve that as a rule neither the feast of the blowing 
of the shofar (New-Year) nor that of the willow (the 
seventh day of the Feast of Tabernacles) should fall 
on the Sabbath, but when necessary that one or the 
other should be set upon that day, the former rather 
than the latter should be chosen (Yer. Suk. 54b). 

Simeon occupies an important position among his 
contemporaries, chiefly in the field of theHaggadah, 
both independent and transmitted. He handed down 
an unusually large number of sentences by his teacher 
Joshua b. Levi, of whose haggadot 
His he is the principal transmitter. But 
Haggadah. he handed down also lialakic sentences 
by Joshua (Hul. 45a). lie further- 
more transmitted halakot of Johanan, Simeon b. La- 
kisli, Hanina, Jose b. Hanina, Samuel b. Nahnmn, 
Simeon b. Abba, and Bar Kappara (comp. Bacher, 



357 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Simeon of Mizpah 
Simeon ben Shetah 


“Ag. Tan.” ii. 438, note 6). His own liaggadot 
contain exegetic and homiletic interpretations and 
comments, including parables, sentences, and max- 
ims on God, the world, prayer, the stud} r of the 
Law, Israel, and Rome. 

The following are examples of Simeon’s hagga- 
dot : “ When God was about to create the first man 
He consulted with His attendant angels, of whom 
some were for and some against the proposed crea- 
tion: ‘Mercy and truth are opposed to each other: 
benevolence and peace have taken up arms againsl 
each other’ [Ps. lxxxv. 11, Hebr,]. Mercy said. 
‘Man shall be created; for he will perform works 
of mercy.’ Truth said, ‘He shall not be created; 
for lie is full of deceit.’ Benevolence said, ‘He 
shall be created ; for he will do good works. * Peace 
said, ‘ He shall not be created ; for he is filled with 
dissension.’ Then God took Truth and threw her 
to the ground [Dan. viii. 12]. But the angels said, 

‘ Why, OLord of the world, dost thou thus dishonor 
Truth ? Cause her to spring out of the earth ’ ” (Ps. 
lxxxv. 12; Gen. R. viii. 5). Simeon explains the 
word W v )> employed in Gen. ii. 7 in narrating the 
creation of man, as if it were composed of the two 
words “wai” and “yezer” or “ 3 ^ozer.” “It, there- 
fore, implies,” he says, “the complaint of man wa- 
vering between the sensual and the divine: ‘ Wo to 
me because of my impulses [“ yezer ”] ; wo to me 
because of my Creator [“ yozer ”] * ” (Per. 61a ; ‘Er. 
18a). The sentence “but Abraham stood yet before 
the Lord ” (Gen. xviii. 22) is, according to Simeon, 
an emendation of the scribes, the orig- 
His inal having read, “The Eternal stood 
Exegesis, yet before Abraham ” (Gen. R. xlix. 

12). The prophecies of Beeri, Hosea’s 
father, consisted of two verses only ; and since these 
were not sufficient to form a separate book, they 
were included in the Book of Isaiah, being the 
verses Isa. viii. 19-20 (Lev. R. vi. 6). “When the 
patriarch Jacob was about to reveal the Messianic 
time to liis children [Gen. xlix. 1], the presence of 
God departed from him, whereupon he said: ‘Has 
an unworthy child sprung from me, as Ishmael 
sprang from my grandfather 'Abraham, and as Esau 
from my father Jacob V In answer his sons ex- 
claimed, ‘ “ Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God is one 
Lord ” [Dent. vi. 5] ; as only one God is in thy heart, 
so only one God is in ours. ’ Jacob then said, ‘ Praised 
be the name of the glory of His kingdom for ever 
and ever ’ ” (Pes. 56a, according to the reading in 
Rabbinowitz, “ Variae Lectiones,” ad be.). “Pliine- 
has is called in Judges ii. 1 the angel of the Lord 
because his face shone like a torch when the Holy 
Ghost was resting upon him ” (Lev. R. i. 1). “The 
Dardanoi [Romans] are designated by t-lie term 
‘ Dodanim ' [Gen. x. 4] or ‘ Rodanim ’ [I Chron. i. 7, 
Hebr.]. The first of these terms connotes the people 
as the cousins of Israel ; the second, as its oppressors ” 
(Gen. R. xxxvii. 1). “Wherever a story in Scrip- 
ture begins with the words ‘After the death of . . . 
it came to pass,' it refers to a retrogression, to a 
discontinuance of something that the deceased had 
brought about; e.g., after Moses’ death [Josh. i. 1] 
the manifestations of mercy [the well, the manna, 
and the protecting clouds] ceased ; after the death 
of Joshua [Judges i. 1] Israel was again attacked by 


the remnant of the native population; and after 
Saul’s death [II Sam. i. 1] the Philistines again 
entered the country” (Gen. R. lxii. 7). 

Bibliography: Heilprin, Seder ha-Dorot, 11. 377; Bacher, 

Ag. Pal. Amor. ii. 437-474. 

W. J5. • J. Z. L. 

SIMEON THE PIOUS. See Simeon tig- 
Hasid. 

SIMEON BEN SAMUEL : Philosopher and 
cabalist of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries; 
of French or German birth. He was the author of 
a work entitled “Adam Sikli,” or “Hadrat Kodesli” 
(Freiburg ? 1560), a philosophical and theological 
treatise on the Decalogue, the thirteen attributes of 
God (“shelosh ‘esreh middot ”), and the thirteen arti- 
cles of faith, with a commentary entitled “Gilla- 
yon.” It is followed by a cabalistic meditation in 
the form of a prayer (“tehinnah ”). This work was 
written in 1400. One of his reasons for calling it 
“Hadrat Kodesli ” is that the numerical value of the 
letters of its title, added to 7, the number of letters 
in the title, is equivalent to the numerical value of 
HD 1 p Extracts of the work 

were given by llottinger in his “ Grammatiea Qua- 
tuor Linguarum ” (Heidelberg 1658), and by Wolf 
in his “ Dissertatio ele Libro DLDD ” (Gera, 17 1 6) ; 

in the latter they are accompanied by a Latin trans- 
lation. 

Bibliography: Fiirst, Bihl. Jud. iii. 336; Steinschneider, Cat . 

Bodl. col. 2620: Wunderbar, in Orient , Lit . viii. 195. 

e. c. M. Set,. 

SIMEON BEN SAMUEL OF JOINVILLE : 

French tosafist and Biblical commentator of the 
thirteenth century. He is once referred to, errone- 
ously, as Samson b. Samuel (“Sefer ba-Mordekai,” 
B. B. ix., No. 639) and once as Shemaiah (“ Haggaliot 
Maimuniyyot” to Ishshut xxiv.). Simeon was a pupil 
of Isaac b. Samuel ha-Zaken (Mei'r of Rothenburg, 
Responsa, No. 76) and the teacher of Eliezer b. Joel 
ha-Levi (“ Sefer ha-Mordekai,” Kid. iii., No. 530). 
As a tosafist he is generally quoted as Simeon of 
Joinville, or Simeon b. Samuel, but is sometimes re- 
ferred to merely as Simeon (Tos. ‘Er. 28b et passim). 
As a Biblical commentator be is quoted by Isaac b. 
Judah in his “Pa'neah Raza ” (section “Mattofc”). 

Bibliography: Gross, Gallia Judaica, p. 255; Kohn, Mar do- 

that h. Hill cl , p. 155. 

e. c. M. Set,. 

SIMEON BEN HA-SEGAN (called also sim- 
ply Ha-Segan) : Tanna of the second generation. 
Some halakic sayings of his have been preserved in 
the Mishnah, all of which have been transmitted by 
Simeon ben Gamaliel (Shek. viii. 5; Ket. ii. 8; Men. 
xi. 9). He is perhaps identical with Simeon ben 
Kahana, in whose name Simeon ben Gamaliel also 
transmits halakic sayings (Tosef., Parah, xi. 6). 

Bibliography: Heilprin, Seder ha-Dornt , ii. 362; Frankel, 

Hodegetica in Mischnam , p. 100; Briill, Einlcitung indie 

Mischna •, i. 95-96 ; Bacher, Ag. Tan. ii. 324. note 4. 

w. it. J. Z. L. 

SIMEON BEN SHETAH: Teacher of the Law 
and president of the Sanhedrin during the reigns of 
Alexander Jannteus and his successor, Queen Alex- 
andra (Salome). Simeon was a brother of the queen 
(Ber. 48a), and on this account was closely connected 
witli the court, enjoying the favor of Alexander. 


Simeon ben Shetah 
Simeon ben TTohai' 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


358 


During the reign of this ruler the Sanhedrin con- 
sisted almost entirely of Sadducees, Simeon being 
the only Pharisee; nevertheless lie succeeded in 
ousting the Sadducean members and in replacing 
them with Pharisees (Meg. Ta c an. x.). Having ac- 
complished this, Simeon recalled from Alexandria 
the Pharisees who had been compelled to seek refuge 
there during the reign of John Ilyrcanus, among 
these fugitives being Joshua b. Pe- 
Vicissi- rahyah, the former president- of the 
tudes Under college (Sotah 47a, ed. Amsterdam; 
Alexander comp, also Ycr. Sanli. 23c and Hag. 
Jannaeus. 4 Id). Joshua was elected president 
anew, and Simeon assumed the office 
of vice-president (“ab bet din”; see Weiss, “Dor,” 
i. 135, note 1). Upon the death of Joshua, Simeon 
became president, and Judah ben Tabbai vice- 
president. 

The attitude of Alexander Jan nteus toward the 
Pharisees, however, soon underwent a change; and 
they were again compelled to flee, even Simeon him- 
self being obliged to go into hiding (Ber. 48a; a dif- 
ferent reason for Simeon’s flight is, however, given 
in Yer. Naz. 54b). About this time certain Par- 
thian envoys came to Alexander’s court and were 
invited to the king’s table, where they noticed the 
absence of Simeon, by whose wisdom they had prof- 
ited at previous visits. Upon the king’s assurance 
that he would do the fugitive no harm, the queen 
caused her brother to return to the court. Upon his 
reappearance Simeon took his place between the 
royal couple with a show of self-consciousness 
winch surprised the king; whereupon Simeon re- 
marked, “The wisdom which I serve grants me 
equal rank with kings ” (Yer. Naz. 54b; Ber. 48a). 

After his return Simeon enjoyed the king’s favor, 
and when, upon the latter’s death, Queen Alexandra 
succeeded to the rulersliip, Simeon and his party, 
the Pharisees, obtained great influence. Together 
with his colleague, Judah ben Tabbai, 
Activity Simeon began to supersede the Saddu- 
Under cean teachings and to reestablish the 
Alexandra, authority of the Pharisaic interpre- 
tation of the Law. He is therefore 
justly called “the restorer of the Law,” who “lias 
given back to the crown of learning its former 
brightness” (Kid. 66a). Simeon discarded the penal 
code which the Sadducees had introduced as a sup- 
plement to the Biblical code (Meg. Ta'an. iv.); 
and almost all the teachings and principles intro- 
duced by him arc aimed against the Sadducean in- 
terpretation of the Law. Of Simeon’s enactments 
two were of especial importance. One consisted in 
the restriction of divorces, which were then of fre- 
quent occurrence. Simeon arranged that the hus- 
band might use the prescribed marriage gift (“ketu- 
bah”) in his business, but that bis entire fortune 
should be held liable for it (Ycr. Ket. viii. 32c). In- 
asmuch as a husband of small means could ill afford 
to withdraw a sum of money from 
Founded his business, Simeon’s ruling tended 
Popular to check hasty di vorees. The other im- 
Schools. portant. act referred to the instruction 
of the young. Up to Simeon’s time 
there were no schools in Judea, and the instruction 
of children was, according to Biblical precepts, left 


to their fathers. Simeon ordered that schools be 
established in the larger cities in which the young 
might receive instruction in the Holy Scriptures as 
well as in the traditional knowledge of the Law 
(Yer. Ket. he.). 

Simeon was exceedingly strict in legal matters. 
Upon one occasion he sentenced to death eighty 
women in Aslikelon who had been convicted of 
sorcery. The relatives of these women, tilled w ith 
a desire for revenge, brought false witnesses against 
Simeon’s son, whom they accused of a crime which 
involved capital punishment; and as a result 
of this charge he w r as sentenced to death. On 
the Avay to the place of execution the son protested 
his innocence in so pathetic a manner that even the 
witnesses were moved to admit the falsity of their 
testimonj'. When the judges were about to liberate 
the condemned man he called their attention to the 
fact that, according to the Law, a witness must not 
be believed when he withdraws a former state- 
ment, and lie said to his father, “If you desire that 
the welfare of Israel shall be strengthened by thy 
hand, then consider me as a beam on 
His Son’s which you may tread without regret” 
Death. (Yer. Sanh. 23b). The execution then 
proceeded. This sad event was proba- 
bly the reason why Simeon issued a warning that 
witnesses should always be carefully cross-ques- 
tioned (Ab. i. 9). 

Simeon’s fairness toward non-Jews is illustrated 
by the following narrative: Simeon lived in humble 
circumstances, supporting himself and bis family by 
conducting a small business in linen goods. Once 
his pupils presented him with an ass which they had 
purchased from an Arab. On the neck of the ani- 
mal they found a costly jewel, wiicreupon they joy- 
ously told their master that he might now cease 
toiling since the proceeds from the jew 7 el w’ould 
make him wealthy. Simeon, however, replied that 
the Arab had sold them the ass only, and not the 
jewel; and he returned the gem to. the Arab, who 
exclaimed, “ Praised he the God of Simeon ben She- 
tali!” (Yer. B. M. ii. 8c: Dent. R. iii. 5). 

Bibliography: Landau, in MonattischrifU 1853, pp, 107-122, 
177-180; Weiss, Dor, i. 134 et-acq.; Heilprin, Seder ha-Dorot , 
ii. 360; Gratz, Gexch. iii.. Index. 

W. B. ^ J. Z. L. 

SIMEON SHEZTJRI : Tanna of the second 
generation and pupil of R. Tarfon (Men. 31a ; Tosef., 
Demai, v. 22). He was called “Shezuri” after his 
native place, Sliizur, which is probably identical 
with Saijur, west of Kafr ‘Anan (comp. Neubauer, 
“ G. T.” p. 278). Simeon’s tomb is said to be in the 
vicinity of this place (Schwarz, “Tcbu’at ha-Arez,” 
p. 101). A few halakio sentences by him have been 
preserved in the Mislinali (Demai iv. 1; Sheb. ii. 8; 
Git. vi. 5; PIul. iv. 5; Ker. iv. 3; Kelim xviii. 1; 
Toll, iii, 2; Tebul Yom iv. 5); and the lialakic 
practise follows his opinion (Men. 30b; Hub 75b). 
Another noteworthy sentence by him also has been 
preserved (Naz. 45b). 

Bibliography: Heilprin, Seder ha-Dorot, ii. 365, Warsaw, 
1882; Frankel, Hodcgctica in Mi set in am, pp. 131-132: Brlill, 
Einleitimg in die Mischna , i. 138. 
w. b. J. Z. U 

SIMEON OF SHIKMONA: Tanna of th* 
second generation and pupil of Akiba. He was a 



359 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Simeon ben Shetah 
Simeon ben Yohai 


native of Sliikniona, a locality in tlie vicinity of Mt. 
Carmel (sen Neubauer; “ G. T.”p. 197). ' Only three 
sentences of his, exegetic ones, have been preserved. 
They were transmitted by his fellow pupil R. Hidka ; 
and all of them express the principle that good and 
evil are brought about through the respective agen- 
cies of good and of evil persons. Thus the Sabbath- 
breaker mentioned in Num. xv. 32 was the cause 
of the law relating to the punishment for desecrating 
the Sabbath (Sifre, Num. 114 [ed. Friedmann, p. 
34a]); the pious questioners described in Num. ix. 

7 were the cause of the law concerning the Pesah 
Slicni (Sifre, Num. (38 [ed. Friedmann, p. 17b]); and 
the demand of the daughters of Zelopheliad led to 
the enunciation of the law relating to the inheritance 

of property (Sifre, Num. 133 [ed. Friedmann, p. 49b]). 

Bibliography: Heilprin, Oerter ha-Dorot, p. 364 ; Bacher, Ag. 
Tan. i. 445-440. y 

W. B. 

SIMEON- B. TARFON : Tanna of tbe second 
veneration. Four exegetic sentences by him have 
been preserved: (1) “Ex. x.xii. 11, ‘Then shall an 
oath of the Lord be between them,’ means that 
Hie person taking the oath and.the one who causes 
him to do so are alike responsible if perjury is 
proved.” (2) “Ex. xx. 10 should be read ‘ tan’if ’ = 

‘ to contribute to the commission of adultery ’ ; and 
(he interdiction applies also to the furnishing of op- 
portunity for adultery.” (3) “In Dent. i. 27 [Hebr.] 
the word ‘ wa-temgenu,’ which should be explained 
as Notabikon, means: ‘You spied out and dese- 
crated God’s dwelling among you/” (4) “InDeut. ] 
i. 7 the Euphrates is called ‘ the great river ’ [al- j 
though it is not really such] because it is the bound- 
ary river of Palestine, according to the proverb, 
‘Approach the anointed, and you yourself will smell 
of ointment 5 ” (Sheb. 47b). 

Bibliography: Frank el, Hodegeliea hi MLschnam, p. 137 ; 
Bucher. Ag. Tan. i. 447-448. „ T 

w. ii. 3. L. L. 

SIMEON OF TEMAN : Tanna of tbe second 
veneration. He disputed with R. Akiba on a hala- 
kic sentence deduced from Ex. xxi. 18 (Tosef., 
Sanh. xii. 3: B. K. 90b). He was in collegial rela- 
tions with R. Judah b. Baba (Be?ah 21a; Tosef., 
Bezah, ii. 6). Some of his lialakic sentences are in- 
cluded in the Mishnah (Yeb. iv. 13; Ta‘an. iii. 7; 
Yad. i. 3) ; and a haggadie sentence by him also has 
been preserved, to the effect that God’s intervention 
in dividing* the sea at the time of the Exodus was 
deserved by Israel because of the covenant of the 
circumcision (Mek., Beshallah, iii. [ed. Weiss, p. 
3ob]). 

Bibliography : Heilprin, Seder ha-Dorot , ii. 362-oG*A B arsaw, 
1882; Frankel, Hodegeliea in Misetmam, p. 13< ; . Brulj, 
Einleitung in die 3 Fisclma , i. 149: Bacher, Ag. dan. i- 
444-445. ’ r 7 T 

W. B. ’L ^ 

SIMEON B. YANNAI : Palestinian araora of 
the third century. He transmits a lialakic saying 
of his lather’s which lie had received from his sister, 
who had heard it uttered (Yer. Shab. 14b, 15d) ; Some 
of Simeon’s haggadie explanations of Scriptural 
passages are extant, of which the following may be 
mentioned: On tbe passage in Ps. xii. 5, “now will 
I arise, ” he remarks: “ As long as J erusalem remains 
enveloped in ashes the might of God will not arise: 


but w T hen tbe day arrives on which Jerusalem shall 
shake oft the -dust [Isa. Iii. 2J, then God will be 
4 raised up out of His lioly habitation ’ ” (Zech. ii. 17 
[A. Y. 13] ; Gen. R. lxxv. 1). On Ps. cvi. Ibetseq. he 
says : “ The people had decided to elect as their lead- 
ers Dathan and Abiram instead of Moses and Aaron 
[Num. xiv. 4], with the result that the earth opened 
and swallowed up Dathan and covered the com- 
pany of Abiram” (Midr. Teh. to Ps. cvi. 5 [ed. 
Buber, p. 228a]). 

Bibliography: Frank e.. Meho, p. 129a; Bacher, Ag. Pal. 
Amor. iii. 623-624. , ~ T 


W. B. J. Z,. ±J. 

SIMEON BEN YOHAI : Tanna of tbe second 
century; supposed author of the Zohar; born in 
Galilee; died, according to tradition, at Meron, on 
the 18th of Iyyar (= Lagbe-‘Omer). In the Baraita, 
Midrasli, and Geraara his name occurs either as Sim- 
eon or as Simeon ben Yohai, but in the Mishnah, 
with the exception of Hag. i. 7, he is always quoted 
as R. Simeon. He was one of the principal pupils 
of Akiba, under whom he studied thirteen years at 
Bene-Berak (Lev. R. xxi. 7 et al.). It would seem, 
from Ber. 28a, that Simeon had previously studied 
at Jabneli, under Gamaliel II. and 
Pupil of Joshua b. Hananiah, and that lie was 

Akiba. the cause of the quarrel that broke 
out between these two chiefs. But 
considering that about forty-five years later, when 
Akiba was thrown into prison, Simeon’s father was 
still alive (see below), and that Simeon insisted upon 
Akiba’s teaching him even in prison, Frankel 
(“Darke lia-Mishnah,” p. 168) thinks Ber. 28a is 
spurious. Simeon’s acuteness was tested and rec- 
ognized by Akiba when he first came to him ; of all 
his pupils Akiba ordained onl} r Mei’r and Simeon. 
Conscious of Ills own merit, Simeon felt hurt at 
being ranked after Mei’r, and Akiba w 7 as compelled 
to soothe him with soft Avoids (Yer. Ter. 46b; Yer. 
Sanli. i. 19a). During Akiba’s lifetime Simeon was 
found occasionally at Sidon, where be seems to have 
shown great independence in his lialakic decisions. 

The following incident of Simeon’s stay at Sidon, 
illustrating both his wit and his piety, may be men- 
tioned; A man and his wife, who, though they had 
been married ten years, had no children, appeared 
before Simeon at Sidon to secure a divorce. Observ- 
ing that they loved each other, and not being able 
to°ref use a request which was in agreement with rab- 
binical law, Simeon told them that as their wedding 
was marked by a feast they should mark their sep- 
aration in the same way. The result was that both 
changed their minds, and, owing to Simeon’s prayer, 
God gr anfccd them a child (Pesik. xxii. 147a; Cant. 
R. i. 4). Simeon often returned to Akiba, and once 
lie conveyed a message to him from liis fellow pupil 
Hanina ben Hakinai (Niddah 52b ; Tosef., Niddali, 
vi. 6). 

Simeon’s love for his great teacher was profound. 
When Akiba was thrown into prison by Hadrian, 
Simeon, probably through the influence of his father, 
who was in favor at tbe court of Rome, found a 
way to -enter the prison. He still insisted upon 
Akiba’s teaching him, and when the latter refused, 
Simeon jestingly threatened to tell his father, Yohai, 
who would cause Akiba to be punished more severely 


Simeon ben Yobai 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


860 


(Pes. 113a). After Akiba’s death Simeon was again 
ordained, with four other pupils of Akiba’s, by 
Judah b. Baba (Sanli. 14a). 

The persecution of the Jews under Hadrian in- 
spired Simeon with a different opinion of the Romans 
than that held by his father. On more than one 
occasion Simeon manifested his anfi- 
Anti- Roman feeling. When, at a meeting 
Roman between Simeon and his former fel- 
Feeling. low pupils at Uslia, probably about a 
year and a half after Akiba’s death (c. 
126), Judah ben Ila'i spoke in praise of the Roman 
government, Simeon replied that the institutions 
which seemed so praiseworthy to Judah were for 
the benefit of the Romans only, to facilitate the 
carrying out of their wicked designs. Simeon’s 
words were carried by Judah b. Gerim, one of his 
own pupils, to the Roman governor, who sentenced 
Simeon to deatli (according to Gratz, this governor 
was Varus, who ruled under Antoninus Pius, and 
the event took place about 161). Simeon was com- 
pelled to seek refuge in a cavern, where he remained 
thirteen years, till the emperor, possibly Hadrian, 
died (Yer. Sheb. ix. 8Sd; Shab. 38b; Pesik. 88b; 
Gen. R. lxxix. 6; Eecl. R. x. S; Esth. R. i. 9).' Two 
different accounts of Simeon’s stay in the cavern and 
of his movements after leaving it are given in Shab- 
by (l.c.) and in the five other sources just mentioned. 
The latter, of which Yer. Slieb. ix. 3Sd seems to be 
the most authentic, relate, with some variations, 
that Simeon, accompanied by his son Eleazar (in 
Yer. Slieb. Simeon alone), liid himself in a cavern 
near Gadara, where they stayed thirteen years, liv- 
mg on dates and the fruit of the carob-tree, their 
whole bodies thus becoming covered witli erup- 
tions. One day, seeing that a bird had repeatedly 
escaped the net set for it Ity a hunter, Simeon and 
his son were encouraged to leave the cavern, taking 
the escape of the bird as an omen that God would 
not forsake them. When outside the cavern, they 
heard a “bat kol ” say, “Ye are [singular in Yer. 
Sheb.] free”; they accordingly went their way. 
Simeon 1 lien bathed in the warm springs of Tiberias, 
which rid him of the disease contracted in the cav- 
ern, and lie showed his gratitude to the town in 
the following manner; 

Tiberias had been built by Herod Antipas on 
a site where there were many tombs (Josephus, 
“Ant.” xviii. 2, § 3), the exact locations of which 
had been lost, The town therefore had been re- 
garded as unclean. Resolving to remove the cause 
of the uncleanness, Simeon planted lupines in all 
suspected places; wherever they did not take root he 
knew that a tomb was underneath. The bodies 
were then exhumed and removed, and 
His the town pronounced clean. To an- 
Miracles. noy and discredit Simeon, a certain 
Samaritan secretly replaced one of the 
bodies. But Simeon learned through the power of 
the Holy Ghost what the Samaritan had done, anti 
said, ‘Let what is above go down, and what is 
below come up.” The Samaritan was entombed* 
and a schoolmaster of Magdala (hut comp. Buber, 
note 180, to Pesik. x. 90a), who mocked Simeon for 
his declaration, was turned into a heap of bones. 
According to the version, in Shab. 1 . c., Simeon and 


Eleazar hid in a cavern, whereupon a carob-tree and 
a spring miraculously appeared there. In order to 
spare their garments they sat naked in the sand, in 
consequence of which their skin became covered 
with scabs. At the end of twelve years the prophet 
Elijah announced to them the death of the emperor, 
and the consequent annulment of the sentence of 
death against them. When they came forth Simeon 
observed people occupied with agricultural pursuits 
to the neglect of the Torah, and, being angered there- 
by, smote them by his glances. A bat kol then or- 
dered him to return to the cavern, where he and 
Eleazar remained twelve months longer, at the end 
of which time they were ordered by a bat kol to come 
forth. When they did so, Simeon was met by his son- 
in-la w Phinelias b. Jair (comp., however, Zacuto, 

“ 1 uhasin, ” ed. Filipowski, p. 46), who wept at see- 
ing him in such a miserable state. But Simeon told 
him that he ought to rejoice, for during the thir- 
teen years’ stay in the cavern his knowledge of the 
Torah had been much increased. Simeon then, in 
gratitude for the miracle that had been wrought for 
him, undertook the purification of Tiberias. He 
threw some lupines into the ground, whereupon the 
bodies came to the surface at various places, which 
were then marked as tombs. Not only was the man 
who mocked at Simeon’s announcement of the puri- 
fication of Tiberias turned into a heap of bones, 
but also Simeon’s pupil and delator, Judah b. Gerim! 

It appears that Simeon settled afterward at 
Heron, the valley in front of which place was 
filled, at Simeon’s command, witli gold dinars (Tan., 
Pekude, 7; Ex. R. lii. 3; comp, Yer. Ber. ix. 13d; 

Pesik. x. 87b; Gen. R. xxxv. 2). On 
School the other hand, it is said that Simeon 
at Tekoa. established a nourishing school at 

Tekoa, among the pupils of which 
was Judah I. (Tosef., ‘Er. viii. [v.] 6; Shab. 147b). 

It lias been shown by Gratz that this Tekoa evi- 
dently was in Galilee, and hence must not be identi- 
fied with tlie Biblical Tekoa, which was in the terri- 
tory of Judah (II Chron. xi. 6). Bacher(“ Ag. Tail.” 
ii. 76) endeavors to show that Tekoa and Meron 
were one and the same place. 

As the last important event in Simeon’s life it is 
recorded that, accompanied by Eleazar b. Jose,, he 
was sent to Romo with a petition to the emperor for 
the abolition of the decree against the three main 
observances of the Jewish religion, and that his mis- 
sion was successful (Me‘i. 17b). The reason Simeon 
was chosen for this mission is stated (ib.) to have been 
that he was known as a man in whose favor mira- 
cles often were wrought. At Rome, too, Simeon’s 
success was due to a miracle, for while on the way 
he was met by the demon Ben Temalion, who offered 
his assistance. According to agreement, the demon 
entered into the emperor’s daughter, and Simeon 
exorcised it when he arrived at the Roman court. 
The emperor, then took Simeon into his treasure- 
house, leaving him to choose his own reward. Sim- 
eon found there the vexatious decree, which he took 
away and tore into pieces (comp. “Tefillot R. Shi- 
mon b. Yohai” in Jellinek, “B. II.” iv. 117 et wq. t 
wlieie, instead of “Ben Temalion,” “ Asmodeus ” oc- 
cui s). Ibis legend, the origin of which apparently is 
non -Jewish, lias been the subject of discussion by 



361 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Simeon ben Yohai 


modern scholars. Israel Levi (in “ R. E. J.” viii. 200 
et seq.) thinks it is a variation of the legend, found in 
the “Acta Apostolorum Apocrypha” (cd. Tischen- 
dorf, pp. 246 etseq.), of the apostle Bartholomew ex- 
orcising a demon that had taken possession of the 
daughter of Polymnius, the King of India. Israel 
Levi’s opinion was approved by Joseph Halevy 
(in “ R. E. J. ” x. 60 et seq.). Baelier (ib. xxxv. 285 et 
seq.) thinks there is another Christian legend which 
corresponds more closely to the Talmudic narrative, 
namely, that narrated by Simeon Metaplirastes in 
“Acta Sanctorum” (vol. ix., Oct. 22, 1896), accord- 
ing to which Abercius exorcised a demon from Lu- 
cilla, the daughter of Marcus Aurelius. 

Simeon is stated to have said that whatever might 
be the number of persons deserving to enter 


Berakot, Hallah, Ta £ anit, Nedarim, Tamid, and Mid- 
dot. He greatly valued the teaching of his master 
Akiba, and he is reported to have 
His recommended his pupils to follow his 
Halakot. own system of interpretation (“mid- 
dot”) because it was derived from 
that of Akiba (Git. 67a). But this itself shows 
that Simeon did not follow his teacher in every 
point; indeed, as is shown below, he often differed 
from Akiba, declaring his own interpretations to be 
the better (Sifre, Deut. 31 ; R. II. 18b). He was inde- 
pendent in his halakic decisions, and did not refrain 
from criticizing the tannaim of the preceding genera- 
tions (comp. Tosef., Oh. iii. 8, xv. 11). He and 
Joseb. Halafta were generally of the same opinion; 
but sometimes Simeon sided with Meir (Kelim iii. 



Traditional Tomb of Simeon ben Yohai During a Pilgrimage. 

(From a photograph.) 


heaven he and his son were certainly of that num- 
ber, so that if there were only two, these were 
himself and his son (Suk. 45b; Sanh. 97b; comp. 
Shah. 38b). He is also credited with saying that, 
united with his son and Jotham, King of Judah, he 
would be able to free the world from judgment 
(Suk. l.c . ; comp. Yer. Ber. ix. 18d and Gen. R. 
xxxv. 3 [where Simeon mentions Abraham and the 
prophet Ahijah of Shiloh, instead of his son and 
Jotham]). Thus, on account of his exceptional 
piety and continual study of the Law, Simeon was 
considered as one of those whose merit preserves the 
world, and therefore during his life the rainbow was 
never seen, that promise of God’s forbearance not 
being needed (Yer. Ber, l.c.). 

Simeon’s halakot are very numerous; they are 
met with in all the treatises of the Talmud except 


5; Me £ i. 11a). Like the other pupils of Akiba, who, 
wishing to perpetuate the latter’s teaching, system- 
atized it in the foundation of the Mishnah(R. Men ), 
Tosef ta(R. Nehemiah), and Sifra (R. Judah), Sim- 
eon is credited with The authorship of the SiFitu 
(Sanh. 86a) aud of the Mekilta de-Rabbi Shim‘on. 
the former work being a halakic midrash to Num- 
bers and Deuteronomy, the latter a similar midrash 
to Exodus. 

Tiie particular characteristic of Simeon’s teaching 
was that whether in a halakah or in a haggadic in- 
terpretation of a Biblical command, he endeavored to 
find the underlying reason therefor (B. M. 115a et 
at.). This often resulted in a material modification of 
the command in question. From many instances 
the following may be taken: In the prohibition 
against taking a widow’s raiment in pledge (Deut. 


Simeon ben Yobai 
Simhah of Rome 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


362 


xxiv. 17) it was Judali b. Ila'i’s opinion that no dif- 
ference is to be made between a rich and a poor 
widow. But Simeon gives the reason for such a pro- 
hibition, which was that if such a pledge were taken 
it would be necessary to return it every evening 
/comp. Ex. xxii. 25-26), and going to the widow’s 
home every morning and evening might compro- 
mise her reputation; consequently, he declares, the 
prohibition applies only in the ease of a poor widow, 
since one who is rich would not need to have the 
garment returned in the evening (B. M. lx.). 

Simeon’s name was widely identified with this 
halakic principle of interpretation, and his teacher 
Akiba approved of it; therefore his contemporaries 
often applied to him when they wished to know the 
reason for certain lialakot (Tosef., Zeb. i. 8). Sim- 
eon also divided the oral law into numbered groups, 
of which fifteen are preserved in the Talmud. He 
especially favored the system of giving general rules, 
of which there area great number (Bik. iii. 10 ; Zeb. 

1 19b ct al.). All this shows that he was systematic, 
and that he had the power of expressing himself 
clearly (Sheb. ii. 8; ‘Er. 104b). He was dogmatic 
in his halakic decisions, blit where there was a 
doubt as to which of two courses should be fol- 
lowed, and the Rabbis adopted a compromise, he 
admitted the legality of either course (Yeb. iii. 9). 
He differed from Akiba in that he did not think that 
particles like “et,” “gam,” and others contain in 
themselves indications of lialakot (Men. lib) ; but in 
many instances he showed that he was opposed to 
R. Ishmael’s opinion that the Torah speaks as men 
do and that seemingly pleonastic words can never 
serve as the basis for deducing new laws (Sifrc, 
Re ’eh, 119; R. II. 8 b; Zeb. 108b ct al.). 

Simeon is very prominent also in the Haggadah, 
and his utterances are numerous in both Talmuds. 
Many of his sayings bear on the study of the Torah, 
which, according to him, should be the main ob- 
ject of man’s life. Notwithstanding the stress lie 
laid on the importance of prayer, and particularly on 
the reading of the “Sliema\” he declared that one 

must not. for the sake of either, interriipt the study 

of the Torah (Ycr. Hag. ii. 77a). “There are three 
crowns,” he says, “ the first being that of the Torah ” 
(Ab. iv. 13); he completes his sentence with the 
words, “But the crown of a good name mounts 
above them all,” showing that, in addition to study- 
ing the Law, one must execute the commands by 
which he can acquire a good name. The Torah, 
also, is one of the three good gifts which God gave 
to Israel and which can not be preserved without 
suifering (Mek., Yitro, Bahodesh, 10; Sifre, Deut. 
32; Ber. 5a). But recognizing the difficulty of oc- 
cupying oneself with the study of the Torah and of 
providing a livelihood at the same time, Simeon 
said that the Torah was given only for those who 
ate the manna or 1 lie priestly meals (Mek., Beshal- 
lah, Wayehi, 1, Wayassa‘, 2). He declared also that 
had he been on Mount Sinai when God delivered the 
Torah to Israel, lie would have requested two 
mouths for man, one to be used exclusively as a 
means for repeating and thus learning the Torah. 
But then he added, “IIow great also would be the 
evil done by delators [“moserim”] with two 
mouths!” /Ycr. Shah. i. 3a. b: Ycr. Ber. i. 3b), 


Among Simeon’s many other utterances may be 
mentioned those with regard to repentance, and 
some of liis ethical sayings. “ So great is the power 
of repentance that a man who has been during his 
lifetime very wicked [“raslia‘ gamur”], if lie repent 
toward the end, is considered a perfectly righteous 
man ” (Tosef., Kid. i. 14; Kid. 40b; Cant. R. v. 16). 

He was particularly severe against 
His haughtiness, which, he declared, is 

Ethical like idolatry (Sotah 4b), and against 
Views. publicly shaming one’s neighbor: 

“ One should rather throw himself iuto 
a burning furnace than slmme a neighbor in public” 
(Ber. 43b). He denounced tlio crimes of usury, de- 
ceitful dealing, and disturbing domestic peace (Yer. 
B. M. lOd; B. M. 58b; Lev. R. ix.). His animosity 
toward the Gentiles generally and toward feminine 
superstition is expressed in the following utterance: 
“ The best of the heathen merits death ; the best of 
serpents should have its head crushed ; and the most 
pious of women is prone to sorcery” (Yer. Kid. iv. 
66c; Massck. Soferim xv. 10; comp. Mek., Beshal- 
lah, Wayehi, 1, and Tan., Way era, 20). His hos- 
tility to the Romans, mentioned above, is expressed 
also in liis maxims; thus, alluding probably to the 
Parthian war which broke out in the time of An- 
toninus Pius, lie said: “If thou hast seen a Per- 
sian [Parthian] horse tied in Palestine, then hope for 
the arrival of the Messiah” (Cant. R. viii. 10: Lam. 
R. i. 13), 

R. Simeon combined with his rationalism in liala- 
kali a strange mysticism in liis haggadic teachings, 
as well as in liis practise. He spoke of a magic 
sword, on which the Name was inscribed, being 
given by God to Moses on Sinai (Midr. Teh. to Ps. 
xc. 2; comp. ib. to Ps. xxxvi. 8; Gen. R. xxxv.); 
and lie ascribed all kinds of miraculous powers to 
Moses (Me‘i. 17b; Sanh. 97b). After his death he 
appeared to the saints in their visions (B. M. 84b; 
Ket. 77b; Sanh. 98a). Thus his name became con- 
nected with nyystic lore, and he became a chief au- 
thority for the cabalists ; for this reason the Zohar 

first appeared under the name of Mid rash de-Babbi 
Sliim'oii Ben Yolicii (seo zouak). There exist, be- 
sides, two apocryphal midrashim ascribed to this tan- 
na (published by Jellinek, “B. II.” iii. 78<tfwv/.,iv.ll7 
etseq.). The first is entitled “Nistarot de-R. Sliini'on 
b. Yoliai”; the second, “Tefillat R. Shim'on b.Yo- 
hai”; both of them bear ou tlio Messianic time, but 
the second is more complete. The main point of 
these midrashim is that while Simeon was hidden in 
the cavern, lie fasted forty days and prayed to God 
to rescue Israel from such persecutions. Then Meta- 
tron revealed to him the future, announcing the 
various Mohammedan rulers, the last one of whom 
would perish at the hands of the Messiah. As in 
similar Messianic apociypha, the chief characters 
are Armilus and the three Messiahs — Messiah b. 
Joseph, Messiah b. Ephraim, and Messiah b. David. 

As to the festival cal led “Hillulade-Rabbi Shim ‘on 
ben Yoliai,” which is celebrated on Simeon’s sup- 
posed tomb at Meron, on the 18th of Iyyar, see 
‘ Omer, Lag re- ; Pilgrimage. 

Bibliography: Banner, A g. Tan. ii. 70 et seq.; Briill, Metro 
ha-Mtehnah, pp. 185 et seq.; Frankel, Darke ha^Mislmah, 
pp. 168 etseq.; Griitz, Gesch. 3d ed., iv. 180 ct seq note 20: 
(Jrunhufc, l'n Magyar Zshlb Szcnilc, xvii. 68; T-Ieilprin, Seder 



363 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Simeon ben Yohai 
Rim bah of Rome 


ha-Dorot. ii.: Joel, in Monatsschrift , v. 365 et seq., 401 ct seq.; 
Kaminka, In Ha-Melte, xxiX., Nos. 75, 77; Paucher, in Ha~ 
Isif iv. 120; Weiss, Z)or, ii. 157 et seq.; Moses Komtz, Ben 
johdi, Budapest, 1815; Louis Lewin, Rabbi Simon ben 
Jochai , Frankfort-on-the-Main, 1893. 

j' M. oEL. 


SIMEON B. ZABDAI (ZEBID) : Palestinian 
amoraof the third century; teacher of the son of 
Assi (Yer. Shah. 9a). A few of his interpretations 
of Scriptural passages have been preserved. Refer- 
ring to II Chron. xx.w, he assigns as the reason for 
the postponed Passover feast under King Heze- 
kiah the fact that the skull of the Jebusite Oman 
had been found under the altar (Yer. Pes. 36c; 
Yer. Sotah 20b : Yer. Ned. 39d). Another explana- 
tion of his, relating to II Chron. xxx. 19, is reported 
together with the contradictory explanation of 
Samuel b. Nahnian (Yer. Pcs. lx.). Two other of 
his explanations refer to sayings of Hanina (Yer. 
Sotah 21 d) and of Simeon b. Lakish (ib. 22a). Sim- 
eon’s observations concerning t lie future world, in 
reference* to Keel. ii. 1, “This also is vanity,” are 
differently given by ITezekiali and Jonah respect- 
ively. Hezekiah’s version is: “ What thou learnest 
of the Torah in this world is vain compared with 
what thou wilt learn in the next; for in the future 
world there will be no forgetting what has been 
learned”; Jonah’s reads: “What a man sees of 
prosperity in this world is as nothing compared 
with that of the next; for in this world the owner 
of property dies and leaves it to another, while of 
the future world it is said [Isa. lxv. 22], “They 
shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not 
plant, and another eat ’ ” (Eccl. R. to ii. 1). 

At Simeon’s death two prominent men, Levi and 
i tela, delivered orations (Yer. Ber. 5e ; Yer. Hor. 48b ; 
Eccl. R. to v. 11). 

Biultograpity : Frankel, Melm. p. 1 18a, b ; Baoher, Aq. Pal. 

Amor. iii. 624-625. 

W. E. J. Li . 

SIMEON Z ARE ATI. See Zarfatt. 

SIMEON B. ZEMAH DURAN. See Duran. 

SUvrEOKriTES. See Si>tEOX, Tuilti: OF. 


On May 14, 1905, a riot occurred at Simferopol 
in which no less than 140 stores belonging to Jews 
were destroyed by fire. 

Bibliography *. Keneset ha-Geclolah , 1900, No. 1, p. 32 ; Geo- 

graphwheshn-Statisticheshi Slnvar ; Rossiskoy Imperii , 

1873, iv.; Entziklopeclicheski Slovar , 1900, xxix. 

.t J . G o . 

SIMHAH (EREUDEMANN) EPHRAIM 
BEN GERSHON BEN SIMEON BEN ISAIAH 
HA-KOHEN : Rabbi in Belgrade ; born about 
1622; died 1669. He succeeded bis teacher Judah 
Lerma as rabbi at Belgrade, and wrote a preface 
to the latter’s “Peletat Bet Yehudah” (Yenice, 
1647). 

In 1657 Simhah published at Yenice his “ Sefer 
Shemot,” on the orthography of Hebrew personal 
names as well as of the names of places and rivers 
in Asia and Europe. In 1660 he was made rabbi at 
Budapest, but he retained the rabbinate only two 
months, as he learned that Uri Shraga Feisch, rabbi 
at Vienna, had, in 1655, excommunicated those 
rabbis of Buda (Ofen) who bad relatives living there. 
Since Simhah’s relatives were among the most prom- 
inent inhabitants of the city, he withdrew to Bel- 
grade, where he remained until his death. 

Bibliography: Buchler, History of the Jews in Budapest 

(in Hungarian), Budapest, 1901. 

E. C. A- I3U. 

SIMHAH B. GERSHOM HA - KOHEN 
PORT RAPA. See Rapa (Portrapa), Simhah 

BEN GERSHOM HA-KOIIEN. 

SIMHAH B. ISAAC B. KALONYMUS 
HA-KOHEN : One of the Worms Jews who were 
killed by the pilgrims of the First Crusade on May 
25, 1096. When his father. Mar Isaac, and his.se ven 
brothers had been slain by the Crusaders, Simhah 
declared he would not die without having avenged 
their deaths. Pretending willingness to accept 
baptism, lie was taken for that purpose to the 
church. When, however, the sacrament was about 
to be administered to him, he drew a knife which 
he had secreted in his garments, and stabbed the 
nephew of the bishop, whereupon he was slain in 

the edifice as lie lind anticipated. 


SIMFEROPOL : City in the government of Tau- 
rida, Russia. In the beginning of the nineteenth 
century it had a considerable Jewish community, 
and at present Jews constitute one-fourtli of a total 
population of about 50.000. 

The Jews of Simferopol are divided into three 
classes; Mitnaggedim, Hasidim, and the so-called 
Krimehaks. Of the city’s nine synagogues and 
prayer-houses seven belong to the Mitnaggedim, 
while the Hasidim and the Ivrimchaks have one 
each. There are three Jewish schools: a Russian 
elementary school and two Talmud Torahs. Of 
the latter, one is supported by the. city; the other, 
which was founded in 1875, by private donations. 
The Talmud Torah supported by the city has five 
teachers and about eighty pupils, while the other 
has two teachers and about fifty pupils. A hospi- 
tal was founded in Simferopol by Gabriel Jacob 
Gunzbukg in 1845. In 1887 the Jews organized a 
home for the aged, and a house of refuge in which 
travelers and non-resident poor are given temporary 
lodging and maintenance. 


Bibliography: Zunz. S. P- p. 20: Griitz, Gesch. vi. 88. 

c; J. Z. L. 

SIMHAH, ISAAC BEN MOSES. See Luzki, 
Simhaii Isaac ben Moses. 

SIMHAH OF ROME : Scholar and rabbi of 
the Roman community in the last quarter of the 
thirteenth century, lie was given an open letter by 
the communit} r and sent out to find Maimonides 
commentary on the Mishnali and bring it back with 
him. He traveled through Provence and Catalonia 
without meeting with any success. At Barcelona 
he applied for assistance to Solomon ben Adret, who 
gave him a further letter of recommendation . After 
a prolonged search he found iu Huesca the commen- 
tary on the first three orders, and shortly afterward 
the Arabic original of the commentary on the first 
five orders. The latter was thereupon translated 
into Hebrew by several scholars (1296-98), and 
Simhah returned with it to Rome, after having en- 
countered various dangers on his journey. He ap- 
pears to have written some books also, although, 



Simhah b. Samuel 
Simmlein 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


364 


with the exception of certain fragments in “Shib- 
bole ha-Leket,” nothing written by him has been 
preserved. 

Bibliography ; Vogelstein and Rieger, Gesch. der Juden in 

limn , pp. 154, 205. 

J- S. 0. 

SIMHAH B. SAMUEL OF SPEYER : Ger- 
man tosafist of the thirteenth century. Neither the 
year of his birth nor that of his death is known. 
He took part in the rabbinical synod held at Ma- 
yence in Tammuz (July), 1223, being one of the sign- 
ers of the decrees and regulations issued by that 
body (comp. Moses Minz, Responsa, No. 202). He 
was a nephew of the director (“parnas”) Kalony- 
mus, a pupil of R. Eliezer of Metz, and a colleague 
of Eliezer b. Joel ha-Levi. 

Simhah was the author of the following works: 
(1) commentary on the treatise Horayot, quoted in 
Tos. llor. 4b, s.v. “Keri”; (2) tosafot and novella 
on the Talmud; (3) “ Seder ‘Olam,” a work divided 
into paragraphs and containing decisions, comments 
on Talmudic passages, and regulations for relig- 
ious practise; quoted in “Haggaliot Maimoniyyot,” 
on Isliut, vi. 14 and Tefillah, ix. (all the responsa 
and decisions which the earlier authors quote in the 
name of R. Simhah were probably taken from this 
work); (4) “Tikkun Shetarot,” on agreements and 
documents; quoted in “Haggaliot Maimoniyyot,” 
on Gerushin, iv. 12; (5) sections (“slie‘arim ”) on 
the regulations referring to the benedictions ; quoted 
in the same "work, on Berakot, viii. Aside from 
these works decisions and responsa by Simhah are 
mentioned in the responsa collection of R. Mei'r of 
Rotlienburg (Nos. 573, 927, 931, 932) and in the 
works of several older authors. 


Bibliography: Zunz, Literaturgesch. pp. 809-311 : Michael 

Or ha-Hai/yim, Nos. 12, 15. 

s - J. Z. L. 

SIMHAH B. SAMUEL OF YITRY ; French 
Talmudist of the eleventh, and twelfth centuries; 
died in 1105. He was a pupil of Rashi and the 
compiler of the Yitry Malizor OnD v ) lUnD), which 
contains decisions and rules concerning religious 
practise, besides responsa by Rashi and other author- 
ities, both contemporary and earlier. The work is 
cited as early as the twelfth century in R. Jacob 
Tam s “ Sefer ha-Yashar ” (No. 620) as having 
been compiled by Simhah ; and the sources from 
which the compiler took his material— the “Seder 
Rab ‘Amram,” the “Halakot Gedolot,”and others— 
also are mentioned. R. Isaac the Elder, a grandson 
of Simhah, also refers (responsum No. 835, in “Mor- 
dekai,” on M. K.) to the Vitry Mahzor compiled 
by his grandfather. Various additions were after- 
ward made to this mahzor, a large 
Compiles proportion of which, designated by 
the Vitry the letter n (= “tosafot”), are by R. 

Mahzor. Isaac b. Dorbolo (Durbal). The latter 
often appends his name to such addi- 
tions; and in one place he says plainly: “These ex- 
planations were added by me, Isaac b. Dorbolo; but 
the following is from the Mahzor of R. Simhah of 
Vitry himself” (Vitry Mahzor, p. 244). Other ad- 
ditions are by Abraham b. Nathan Yarhi, author of 
“Ha-Manhig,” and are designated by the letters 
pK, bis initials. 


Three manuscripts of the Vitry Mahzor are ex- 
tant, the oldest of which, according to Berliner in 
his additions to Hurwitz’s introduction to the Vitry 
Mahzor (p. 172), is that in Reggio. It contains the Vi- 
try Mahzor proper without any additions. A second 
manuscript, in the Bodleian Library, Oxford (Neu- 
bauer, “Cat. Bodl. Ilebr. MSS.” No. 1100), is said 
to have marginal annotations by Eleazar b. Judah, 
author of the “Sefer ha-Rokeali ” (Michael, “Or ha- 
Hayyim,” No. 1214). The third manuscript is in 
the British Museum (Cod; Add. Nos. 27,200 and 
27,201), and contains still other additions; this 
manuscript served as a basis for 8, 
Extant Hurwitz’s edition of the Vitry Mahzor 

Manu- published by the Mekize Nirdamim 
scripts of Society (Berlin, 1893). The edition is 
the very faulty, as the editor used no 
Mahzor. critical judgment in his work ; instead 
of the original treatises it contains 
some from the “Sefer lia-Terumali ” of Baruch b. 
Isaac and from the “Eshkol” of RABaD (Vitry 
Mahzor, pp. 752 et seq.). 

The Vitry Mahzor contains many prayers and 
liturgical poems (“ piyyutim ”), which are distrib- 
uted throughout the work. Besides these scattered 
poems the British Museum manuscript has (pp. 239- 
260) a collection of piyyu$im which was published 
by Brody under the title “Kontres ha-Piyyutim” 
(Berlin, 1894). In the published edition of* this 
Mahzor there is also a commentary on the Pesah 
Ilaggadah, which, however, does not 
Additions agree with that by R. Simhah b. Sam- 
to uel of Vitry printed at Wiina in 1886. 
the Mahzor The latter commentary, which agrees 
Proper. with the one cited by Abudarliam as 
being found in the Vitry Mahzor, was 
taken from a manuscript of that mahzor— probably 
from the parchmeut copy owned by Abraham, son 
of Elijah, gaon of Wiina (“Rab Pehilim,” p. 19), 
although no particular manuscript is mentioned in 
the Wiina edition itself. 

! There is also in the published edition of the Vitry 
Mahzor a commentary ‘ on the Pirke Abot. This 
commentary is found in the British Museum manu- 
script, but in neither of the others. It is really a 
commentary by Jacob b. Samson, the pupil of Rashi 
(concerning whom comp. Schechter, “Einleitung 
zu Abot desR. Natan,” p. ix.), amplified in the pres- 
ent Mahzor. Many midrasliic sayings, which are 
cited as such in the Vitry Mahzor, have been pre- 
served in that work alone. Thus the passage cited 
(p. 332) from the Midrasli Tehillim is no longer 
found in the present midrash of that. name. Like- 
wise there are found in the Vitry Mahzor citations 
from the Palestinian Talmud which are lacking in 
the existing editions of the latter. 

Bi 2F? gra ^? y : S * Hunvitz, Einleitung und Register znm 
Malizor Vitpi. with additions by A. Berliner. Berlin, 189(5- 
189; : A. Epstein, m Mnnatsschrift , 1897, pp. ‘308-307; idem, 
jjjlk E.J. 1897, pp. 308-313; Michael, Or ha-Hajwim , No. 

w - B - J. Z. L. 

SIMHAT TORAH (“The Rejoici ng over the 
Law ”): Name given to the second day of SnEMiNr 
Azeret ; it falls on the 23d of Tisliri and closes the 
Feast of Sukkot. The name was not used until a 
relatively late time. In the Talmud (Meg. 31a), 



365 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Simhah b. Samuel 
Simznlein 


where the haftarali for this feast-day is given, it is 
called simply the second day of Shemini ‘Azeret; 
and it is so designated in the prayer for the day. 
The name “ Simliat Torah ” came into use after the 
introduction of the one-year cycle for the reading of 
the Law, and was due to the fact that the reading was 
hnished on this day (see Zunz, “Ritus,” pp. 86, 87). 

In the ninth century the assignment of a new 
haffcarah, Josh, i., to this feast is mentioned (“ Seder 
Rab ‘Amram,” i. 52a). The prayer 
Post- “Asher bi-gelal abot,” the lines of 
Biblical which begin with the successive let- 
Origin. ters of the alphabet, was already in 
use in that century, and Saadia Gaon 
forbade its recitation beyond the line beginning 
with the letter since the remainder contained ir- 
relevant matter {ib.). In the fourteenth century the 
reading of Genesis was begun immediately upon the 
completion of Deuteronomy, the reason assigned 
being, according to Jacob b. Asher (Tur Oral] Hay- 



Throwing Cakes to Children on Simliat Torah. 

(From Leusden, “ Philologus Hebrioo-Miitus,” Utrecht, 1657.) 


yira, 669), that Satan might not say the Jews had 
hnished the reading of the Torah and were unwill- 
ing to begin anew. In southern countries it then 
became the general practise to take out all the scrolls 
of the Law from the Ark on the morning of the feast 
and to repeat a separate hymn for each scroll. In 
northern countries it became customary about the 
same period for those who had finished the reading 
of Deuteronomy and had begun Genesis to make 
generous gifts of money to the synagogue, after 
which the wealthier members of the community 
gave a dinner to friends and acquaintances. By the 
end of the fifteenth century it was usual, though 
scarcely a universal practise, for the children to tear 
down and burn the Sukkot booths on Sirnhat Torah 
(Joseph Colon, Responsa, No. 26); and shortly after- 


ward the Rabbis permitted dancing in the synagogue 
at this festival {ib.). 

In the sixteenth century the practise of taking 
out the scrolls and of filing solemnly around the 
almemar on the night of the 22d of Tishri became 
customary; and on the same evening, after the pro- 
cession, the passages Deut. xxxiii. 1-29, Gen. i. 
1-ii. 3, and Num. xxix. 3c~39 were read from three 
different scrolls, after which the leader took a scroll 
in Ills hand, chanting, among other hymns, the one 
beginning “ Hitkabbezu mal’akim zeh el zeh.” In 
Poland, however, it was the custom merely to sell 
to the members of the congregation on the 22d of 
Tishri the privilege of executing various functions 
during the services on Sabbaths and at festivals, 
the purchasers being called up to the Law, and a 
blessing being pronounced upon them (“mi she- 
berak ”). On the morning of the 23d of Tishri every 
member of the congregation read from the Torah, 
the passage Deut. xxxiii. 1-29 being repeated as 
many times as was necessary for this purpose; then 
the children were called up to the Law ; and after 
the leader had read a few sentences, he recited with 
them the verse Gen. xlviii. 16. The member who 
had bought the privilege of completing the reading 
of the Law with Deut. xxxiv. 1-12 then stepped 
forward; he received the name of 
Hatan To- “hatan Torah” and was summoned 
rah. with the prayer “ Me-reshut ha-El lia- 
Gadol.” After him came the member 
who was to recommence the reading with Gen. i. 1- 
ii. 3. He was summoned with the prayer “ Me-re- 
shut meromam,”and was called “hatan Bereshit.” 
The service was concluded by the Maftir; and the 
scrolls were then replaced (Moses Isserles, “Darke 
Mosheli,” on Asheri, Tur Orah Hayyim, 669; see 
also Bridegroom of the Law). Even the dis- 
tribution of fruits to children on this festival is 
traced back to an ancient custom (“Be’er He teb',” 
fid loo.). In the eighteenth century the custom of 
firing salutes as a sign of rejoicing was also insti- 
tuted ( ib .). 

In general, the ritual as here described has, been 
preserved unchanged by Orthodox congregations; 
and the ceremony of filing around the almemar with 
the scrolls takes place not only on the evening of 
the 22d and on the morning of the 23d of Tishri, but 
also on the evening of the 21st of that month, as a 
sort of preparatory celebration. In this procession 
the children carry small flags with the colors of the 
country in which they live, or tiny banners with the 
inscription “Sisu we-simhu be-simhat Torah,” or 
else small torches or candles. After each circuit has 
been completed the single scrolls are given to other 
members of the congregation in order that every one 
may participate in the ceremony, which is frequently 
prolonged until after midnight. 

Bibliography : De Sola. Tlw Festival Prayers, vol. vi., Lon- 
don, 1897; \Y. Rosenau, Jewish Ceremonial Institutions 

and Customs , pp. 100-102, Baltimore, 1903. 

w. b. S. O. 

SIMMLEIN OF HALBERSTADT ; German 
Talmudist; rabbi at Halberstadt from 1620 to 1650. 
The period of his activity was practically coexten- 
sive with that of the Thirty Years’ war, which was 
especially disastrous to the Jews. At Halberstadt, 


Simmons 
Simon Cephas 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


366 


where the war caused much hardship, the already 
sufficiently hard lot of the Jews was further embit- 
tered by the hostility of the Diet. In those troubled 
times R. Simmlein often risked his life iu the inter- 
est of his community, and as the government of 
the city frequently changed, he had the difficult 
task o c gaining the favor of the contending parties. 
In this he apparently succeeded, for he seems to 
have been well received both by the Bishop of Hal- 
berstadt, Leopold Wilhelm, Archduke of Austria, 
and by the Swedish governors who subsequently 
ruled the city. He succeeded in preserving the 
community from many misfortunes. He also spent 
his own fortune freely in the relief of his people; 
his house was always open to others, and formed a 
home and school for poor orphans. 

Bibliography: Auerbach, Gesch. der Gemeinde Halbcr- 

stadt. p. 22. 

W. B A. Pe. 

SIMMONS, LAURENCE MARK: English 
rabbi; born in Loudon 1852; died at Manchester 
April 5, 1900. He was educated at the City of Lon- 
don School, proceeding in 1873 to the Rabbinical 
Seminary at Breslau to complete bis studies. He 
held the degrees of B.A. (London University) and 
LL.B. (Victoria University, Manchester). Iu 1877 
he accepted a call as minister to the Manchester Con- 
gregation of British Jews at the Park Place Syna- 
gogue. 

Simmons was a diligent student and a frequent 
contributor to the “Jewish Quarterly Review” and 
other periodicals. He reprinted from the “ Review ” 
Maimun ben Joseph’s “Iggeret ha-Shemad ” (Lon- 
don, 1893). He married a daughter of Professor 
Herzfeld of Brunswick, Germany. 

Bibliography: Jew. Citron. April 6 and 13, 1900; Jew. 

World , April 13, 1900. 

j. G. L. 

SIMON (SIMHAH) CALIMANI. See Cali- 
mani, Simhah (Simon) ben Abraham. 

SIMON CEPHAS (better known as PETER) : 
The first of the Twelve Apostles; the chief disciple 
of Jesus and head of the early Church. His life 
became at an early stage the subject of popular 
legends, which extended even to his name. Besides 
the name of Simon, which had come into use in 
place of the Biblical “ Simeon,” he had, in accordance 
with the custom of the time, the second name of 
“ Kaiplia ” (Aramaic equivalent for “ rock ” ; whence 
the Latin “ Petrus, ” from “ petra ” — “ rock ”). As 
legend would have it afterward, Jesus gave him 
this second name to signify that upon him, as upon 
a rock, his church should be built (Luke vi. 14; 
Matt. xvi. 18; John i. 42; Mark iii. 12 significantly 
omits the reason; comp. Midi'. Yalk. i. 766 on Num. 
xxiii. 9: “Upon Abraham as top of the rocks God 
said I shall build my kingdom ”). Simon, the son 
of Jonah (John i. 42; Matt. xvi. 17), was, like his 
brother Andrew, a fisherman of Capernaum, or of 
Bethsaida near by (John i. 44), on the Lake of Gen- 
nesaret in Galilee. 

According to John i. 35-42, Jesus, at the time of 
his own baptism in the Jordan by John the Baptist, 
met the two brothers as disciples of John, and 
afterward bade them follow him to Galilee. Ac- 
cording to the synoptic Gospels, which slightly dif- 


fer from one another (Matt. iv. 18-22; Mark i. 16-20; 
Luke v. 1-11), Jesus met them on the Lake of Gali- 
lee at the beginning of bis career, while they were 
casting nets from their boats, and told them to fol- 
low him and become “ fishers of men.” The house 
of Peter in Capernaum is represented by the synoptic 
Gospels as the starting-point and center of Jesus' 
activity 7 . Peter’s mother-in-law is the first person 
mentioned as having been cured by Jesus, and to 
Peter’s house all the sick and demoniacs wore 
brought in the evening of the Sabbath to be healed 
(Mark i. 29-34 and parallels). “Simon and they 
that were with him followed” Jesus thence through- 
out Galilee (Mark i. 36-39). and the latter, on his 
return, again stayed in Peter’s house, aud ever after- 
ward did there his work of healing in Capernaum 
(Markii. 1, 15; iii. 20; ix. 33). Peter is the favorite 
disciple, who is always found at the side of Jesus 
(ib. v. 37; ix. 2; xiv. 33, 54), and who is foremost 
in addressing him or acting for him (ib. ix. 5, xiv 

29- 31; Luke viii. 45, xii. 41, xxii. 8). 

As the main reason, however, for the prominence 
(Matt. x. 2) and, afterward, the primateship ac- 
corded to Peter, the fact is stated that. 
He in answer to Jesus’ question, “Whom 
Pronounces say ye that I am,” he, alone of all the 
Jesus the disciples, declared him to be the Mes- 
Messiah. siah, “the anointed of God” (Matt. 

xvi. 13-20; Luke ix. 18-21; Mark 
viii. 27-30) ; and, according to Matthew, the “ keys 
of the kingdom of heaven,” with the power of Bind- 
ing and Loosing, were given to him by 7 Jesus on 
that occasion. The real history underlying this 
legend is that Peter is mentioned by Paul (I Cor. 
xv. 5) and in older traditions (Mark xvi. 7; John 
xxi. 1-21; comp. Matt, xxviii. 16; Luke xxiv. 12, 
34) as the first among the disciples who “saw” the 
departed Christ. On the other hand, while Jesus 
was alive Peter is represented as having encoun- 
tered severe rebukes from his master for his lack of 
faith and his false zeal, as well as for his listlessness, 
for his antagonistic attitude at first, and for his cow- 
ardly fear at the critical hour (Mark viii. 32, xiv. 

30- 42, 54-72; Luke xxii. 31 ; John xviii. 

As a matter of fact, Peter early became as much an 
object of popular legend as did Jesus his master. 
Thus, in Matt. xiv. 22-33 Peter walks on the water 
in the same manner as Jesus does (the original legend 
is found in John xxi. 1-24; comp. Luke v. 3-9); in 
the transfiguration story (Matt. xvii. 1-8) he stands 
out prominently 7 ; and he plays the chief role in the 
story of the coin found iu the fish’s mouth (Matt. 
xvii. 24-27). Both Matthew (xv. 15, xvii. 21) and 
Luke (viii. 25, xxii. 8), representing the older tradi- 
tion, put him in the foreground, while the Pauline 
and Johannean traditions pushed him more and more 
into the background (John xiii. 24, xxi. 21, e/5 at.). 

While the acts recorded of Peter (in Acts i. 15, 
ii. 14 et seq., iii. 1-11, iv. 8 at seq., v. 29 et se(j. r 
viii. 14 et seq ., ix. 32, x. 1-xi. 18, xv. 
Head of 4 et seq.) can not claim historical cliar- 
the acter, the fact can not be questioned 
Church, that lie occupied the position of head 
of the Church of Jerusalem. As 
such, with his authority as the foremost disciple of 
Jesus, he exerted a determining influence upon the 



367 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Simmons 
Simon Cephas 


character and organization of the Church; so much 
so that the Judseo-Christians in Corinth called them- 
selves, in opposition to the church Paul had organ- 
ized there, the church “of Cephas” (I Cor. i. 12). 
At the same time he was regarded only as one of 
the Twelve Apostles (Acts i. 14, ii. 14, v. 2, vi. 2), 
and in their name he speaks (Acts iv. 8, 19; v. 2, 29) 
in defense of the Church and hurls forth his anath- 
emas against the transgressors (Acts viii. 20), the 
Holy Spirit always prompting his speeches and his 
acts. But he was also sent forth as a missionary 
through the land of Judea and Samaria ( ib . viii. 14, 
ix. 32, x. 9), where many stories circulated among 
the people of the supernatural cures lie performed, of 
his miraculous escapes from prison (ib. iii., ix., xii.), 
and of conversions of Gentiles: these could hardly 
have been inventions of the writer of the Acts. 
Prom I Cor. ix. 5 it may he learned that he, like other 
apostles, used to travel wi tli his wife on his missionary 
journeys while he was supported by the Church. 

Regarding the encounter of Peter with Simon 
Magus (Acts viii. 14-25) see Simon Magus. The 
story of the conversion of Cornelius, the Roman 
centurion in Cresarea (Acts x. 1-45), iu anticipation 
of which Peter was told in a vision to partake of 
the food of the heathen in order to win him to a 
belief in Christ, seems to indicate an early split in 
the Judreo-Christian Church rather than an intention 
on the part of the writer to identify Paulinism with 
that Church. It was probably indepeudently of 
Paul that the question arose among the Judivo- 
Christians as to whether certain concessions to the 
proselytes of the gate were not advisable in the 
interest of the Church propaganda. Both the tradi- 
tional and the progressive currents of thought in the 
Church find expression in the Cornelius story on the 
one hand, and, on the other, in the rather mythical 
account of the apostolic council presided over by 
James, the leader of the conservative side, in which 
Peter appears as the prime mover (Acts xv. 7 etseq.), 
and by which the observance of the Noachian laws is 
insisted upon as the condition of admitting proselytes. 

The representation of Peter found in the Clemen- 
tine writings, especially in those parts based upon 
older sources (the “ Kerygma Petri ” [ ? ] ; see bibliog- 
raphy in Herzog-Hauck, “Real-Encyc.”s.fl. “Clem- 
entinen ”), is quite different from that given in the 
Acts. The speeches of Peter in Acts iii. 13-26 and 
elsewhere are animated by the same 
A Jewish, spirit of hostility to the Jews which 
Teacher, pervades the Gospels (see* New Tes- 
According’ t ament) ; the Peter of the Clemen- 
to the Clem- tiues is, in speech and mode of living, 
entines. a Jew. He departs from Judaism only 
in that lie recognizes in the crucified 
Jesus the “Prophet” predicted by Moses (Deut. 
xviii. 15), and through whom sacrifice was abolished 
and baptism substituted therefor ( u Recognitiones,” i. 
36-39, 43, 50), and through whom the heavenly Jeru- 
salem was to be brought dowu as a habitation of 
the saints (ib. 51). He lays all possible stress upon 
the Law, while the Prophets are secondaiy (ib. 6S). 
On the other hand, he calls Paul “an enemy ” of the 
Church, who acted iu the interests of the high priest 
while pursuing the faithful, and who, in his f my, 
while he was hastening to Damascus with the ex- 


pectation of seizing Peter, came near killing James, 
the brother of Jesus. Iu his dispute with the high 
priest Caiaplias, who finds special fault with “the 
good tidings for the poor” brought by Jesus, he ad- 
mits that he is himself hut “an unlearned fisherman 
and rustic ” (ib. 61-62). He declares the object of 
baptism to be the remission of sins (“Homilies,” vii. 
8, xi. 19, 26-29). The articles of his faith are 
the worship of God as the Maker of heaven and 
earth, belief in the True Prophet (Jesus), and love 
eoupled with practical benevolence (“Recogni- 
tiones,” iii. 66; comp. “Homilies,” vii. 8), “We 
worship one God, the Maker of the Universe, and 
observe His law, by which we are commanded first 
to worship Him and reverence His name [comp. ib. 
xvii. 7] ; and then to honor our parents and to pre- 
serve chastity and uprightness” (“Recognitiones/ 5 
vii. 29). But he is especially insistent on the pro- 
hibition against eating with the Gentiles, unless 
they be baptized, and on “abstaining from the table 
of devils,” that is, from food offered to idols and from 
dead carcasses, from animals suffocated or torn by 
wild beasts, and from blood. He insists also upon 
washing after every pollution, and upon the observ- 
ance of the Levitical purifications by both sexes 
(“Homilies,” vii. 8, viii. 28, xiii. 4; comp. “Recog- 
nitiones,” iv. 36). 

It is also of interest to note his declaration that 
the greatest commandment is “fear the Lord thy 
God . . . and serve Him ” (Deut. x. 12). and to 
observe the harmony between his 
Peter teaching and that of the Jewish Di- 
and Paul, dache and Didascalia: “As you 
would not like to be murdered your- 
self, nor to have your wife commit adultery, nor to 
have your thiugs stolen from you, so do not these 
things to others” (“Homilies,” vii. 4, xvii. 7). In 
the original “Preaching of Peter,” thirty, or sixty, 
or one hundred commandments for the Jewish con- 
verts are singled out (comp. Hul. 92a; Midr. Teh. to 
Ps. ii. 5; Gen. R. xcviii. 14). “Man is the true image 
of God” (uot Christ only!); “The pure soul bears 
His likeness”; “therefore we must honor God’s 
image by offering food to the hungry and clothing 
to the naked, caring for the sick, sheltering the 
stranger, visiting him who is in prison, and afford- 
ing the needy all the help we can” (“Homilies,” 
xi. 4, xvii. 7). Accordingly, Peter acts in regard to 
food, prayers, fasts, and ablutions exactly as does a 
pious Jew or Essene (“Recognitiones,” i. 19; ii. 19, 
72; v. 36). Many similar passages show the close- 
relation of this teaching, attributed to Peter, to that 
of the rabbinical schools. 

Little value can, according to this, be attached to 
Gal. ii. 9 (a spurious epistle; see Saul, of Taksus), 
where Peter is charged by Paul with hypocrisy. 
That a disagreement in certain matters arose be- 
tween the two disciples is certain ; but whether it 
was Peter or Paul who was inconsistent and waver- 
ing still remains a matter of dispute. 

According to the Clementines, Peter sta} r ed at 
Ccesarea a long time, and then went, by w'ay of 
Tripolis, to Rome. In John xxi. 19 his martyrdom 
is predicted to him by Jesus (comp. I Epistle of 
Clement of Rome, v.). Regarding his stay in Rome, 
reliance must be placed upon Eusebius (“Hist. 



Simon Cephas 
Simon, Sir John 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


368 


EccJ.” ii. 1; comp. iii. 39, 15); certainly the account 
of his meeting Philo (ib. ii. 17) and Paul in Rome is 
mythical. 

According to the testimony of Papias (Eusebius, 
Lc . ), Peter was not able to write expositions of his 
system of faith ; the epistles that bear 
His Sup- his name are products of the second 
posed century. The First Epistle, addressed 
Writing's, to the (Pauline) churches of Asia, 
betrays the style and influence of 
the Pauline school; it was written during the 
persecutions of the Christians in the East in the sec- 
ond century, and, judging from iv. 3, the writer 
was a converted Gentile, not a born Jew. Possibly 
the whole epistle is based upon an older Juda?o- 
Christian document (ii. 1 1— iii. 16, v. 1-12) that ad- 
dressed its monitions to “the strangers and sojourn- 
ers ” (ii. 1 1 ; comp. i. 1). The epistle claims to have 
been written in Rome (v. 12). The Second Epistle, 
which shows in iii. 1 its dependence upon the 
First, and an acquaintance with apocalyptic liter- 
ature, is a strong arraignment of the abuses of the 
Church due to Gnostic libertinism preached in some 
of the Pauline churches (i. 16, ii. 1-2, iii. 14-18); 
at the same time it endeavors to reconcile Paul’s 
teachings with Peter’s (iii. 15). 

The so-called Gospel of Peter, of which frag- 
ments were found in Akhmym, Upper Egypt, in 
the year 1886-87 (see Ilarnack, “ Bruchstiickc dcs 
Evangelium und der Apocalypse des Petrus,” 1893; 
Zahn, * Das Evangelium des Petrus,” 1893), is of 
peculiar interest to the Jewish reader, inasmuch as, 
to judge from the fragments containing the story of 
the crucifixion, the whole is a product of fierce 
hatred toward the Jews, even to a greater extent 
than is the Fourth Gospel. Peter the Jew was made 
the mouthpiece of the Church at a time when hos- 
tility to his kinsmen had become tbe distinction of 
the orthodox Christian. 

The Apocalypse of Peter, a fragment of which 
was found at Akhmym together with the frag- 
ments of the Gospel of Peter, has been identified by 
Ilarnack (l.c,) with the one known to Clement of 
Alexandria (“Eclogi,” 41, 48, 49) and other Church 

Fathers. It seems to have drawn its 
The Apoca- material from a similar Jewish apoca- 
lypse lypse (see Kohler, “ Pre-Talmudic 
of Peter. Haggadah,” in “J. Q. R.” vii. 605). 

It shows no traces of Jew-hatred. In it 
Peter speaks as having, with the other apostles, had 
intercourse with the departed Jesus on the moun- 
tain, and as having been shown by him the reward 
of the just in Paradise and the punishment of the 
wicked in Gehenna. Among those subjected to 
great torture by fire and by scourging are mentioned 
“those that made idols of wood for themselves and 
worshiped them instead of God”; also the usurers, 
the rich that fail to aid the needy, and those K who 
have forsaken the way of God.” The excruciating 
pains which the wicked suffer wrest from them the 
confession; “ O God, Thy judgment is righteous” 
(ed. Ilarnack, Lc. pp. 25, 33, 34). The whole work 
furnishes proof that its writer was still under Jew- 
ish influence, if be did not, indeed, simply take his 
material from a Jewish apocalypse and adapt it to 
the new creed. • K. 


SIMON, GUSTAV : German surgeon ; born at 
Darmstadt May 30, 1824; died at Heidelberg Aug. 
28, 1876. He studied at Heidelberg and Giessen 
(M.D. 1848). From 1848 to 1861 be was a surgeon of 
the Hessian army, residing at Darmstadt, where he 
practised among the poor. During a postgraduate 
course in Paris in 1851-52 he became acquainted 
with Jobert, whose method of operation in cases of 
fistula of the bladder was improved upon by Simon. 
The latter was very successful also in resection of 
the hip-bone and extirpation of the kidneys. 

In 1861 Simon became assistant professor, and six 
months later professor, of surgery at the University 
of Rostock. During the war between Austria and 
Prussia in 1866 be was chief of a military hospital 
in Berlin. In 1867 lie became professor of surgery 
in the University of Heidelberg, where lie remained 
until liis death. During the Franco-Prussian war 
lie served as surgeon-general of the reserves of 
Baden. 

Of his many works the following may be men- 
tioned: “Ueber die Heilung der Blasenscheiden- 
fisteln ” (Giessen, 1854); “Ueber die Operation der 
Blasensclieidenfisteln Durch die Blutige Nath und 
Bemerk ungen liber die Heilung der Fisteln, Spalten 
und Defecte Welclie an Andern Korpertlieilen Vor- 
kommeu ” (Rostock, 1862) ; “ Ckirurgie der Nieren ” 
(2 vols., Stuttgart, 1871 and 1876). Simon contrib- 
uted many essays to the medical journals, especially 
on his methods of operation. 

Bibliography : Hirscln, Bing. Lex.; Pagel, Biog. Lex. 

s. F. T. H. 

SIMON, JEAN HENRI : Belgian engraver 
and soldier; born at Brussels Oct. 28, 1752; died 
there March 12, 1834. He was a son of the en- 
graver Jacob Simon, under whom he learned his 
trade. AV lien not quite fifteen years of age lie was 
appointed engraver to Prince Charles of Lorraine, 
In 1775 he removed to Paris, where he became en- 
graver to the Duke of Orleans (Chartres), with a 
yearly salary of 200 thaler. He soon became en : 
graver to the king, which position he held until 
1792. 

At the beginning of the wars of the French re- 
public, Simon commanded a company under Gen- 
eral Dumouriez. The battles of Anderleclit and 
Boucar, in both of which, he was wounded, won 
him the rank of lieutenant-colonel. Returning to 
Paris, as a follower of Dumouriez he was accused 
of treason when the latter went over to the enemy, 
but he succeeded in proving himself innocent. He 
next went to Spain, where he became engraver to 
the court, but was soon recalled to Paris as teacher 
of engraving at tbe institute for deaf-mutes. After 
being banished for a short period, he was recalled 
and became engraver to the empress Josephine. 
In 1813 he rejoined the army, and served as colonel 
of a regiment of lancers in the first corps of the 
francs-eclaireurs of the department of the Seine; 
Discharged on half-pay in 1814, he took no promi- 
nent part in the campaign of 1815, and in 1816 lie 
went to Brussels, where he passed the rest of his life. 

Simon was an excellent engraver; he executed en- 
gravings on precious stones, some of which were mis- 
taken for real antiques and were sold to the Empress 
of Russia. He likewise etched on copper, and his 



369 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Simon Cephas 
Simon, Sir J ohn 


portraits of noted men of the Netherlands especially 
deserve mention. He also published “L* Armorial 
General de TEmpire,” of which only vols. i. and 
ii. appeared, under the patronage of the empress 
Josephine. Among his pupils were Dubois, Paul, 
Verger, Lalondre, and liis own son Simon. 

Bibliography: Allgemeine Zeitung dcs Judentliiims, 1S41, 
pp. 094 et scq 710 et scq. ■ 

g. F. T. H. 

SIMON, SIR JOHN ; English sergeant at law 
and politician ; born in Jamaica Dec. 9, 1818; died 
in London June 24, 1897. He was descended on the 
maternal side from the Orobios (see Castro fam- 
ily). In 1833 he was sent to England to continue 
his education at a general school in Liverpool, and 
lie studied Hebrew by himself with the view of 
becoming a rabbi, his object being to initiate a re- 

1 i g i o u s reform 
movement. His 
father, however, re- 
fused his consent to 
Simon’s plans. 

Simon w r as grad- 
uated from the Uni- 
versity of London 
in 1841 ; was called 
to the bar at the 
Middle Temple in 
1842; and was the 
first Jew to practise 
at the common-law 
bar. Sir Francis 
Goldsriiid, who had 
preceded him, prac- 
tising at the chan- 
ce^ bar. Simon 
married in 1843 Ra- 
chel, fifth daughter of S. K. Salaman of London, 
and sister of the musical composer Charles Sala- 
man, Later she was the author of “ Records and 
Reflections.” 

Simon spent the first two years of his married life 
in Jamaica, where he at once commenced to practise 
his profession in Spanish Town, then the seat of 
government. He left the island in 1845 because the 
climate injured his wife’s health, and within a few 
years of their return to England he 
Early became a successful leader of the 
Career. northern circuit, and soon won distinc- 
tion in the superior courts in London. 
In 1858 he was second counsel in the state trial 
arising out of tlieOrsini conspiracy; and he success- 
fully defended Dr. Bernard, who was charged with 
complicity in the attempted assassination of Napo- 
leon III. In the same year Simon acted as assist- 
ant to the judges of county courts, thus being the 
first English Jew who exercised the functions of a 
judge. In 1864 he was created a- serjeant at law 
(a legal and social rank known as the “ Order of 
the Coif”), and lie was one of the last survivors of 
this order. The degree of serjeant at law carried 
with it the dignity of a commissioner of assize; and 
in this capacity Simon again performed the func- 
tions of a j udge. He repeatedly occupied the bench 
in Manchester and Liverpool, and presided at the 
City of London Court. In Jan., 1868, Simon re- 
XI.— 24 


ceived from the crown a patent of precedence grant- 
ing him the additional rank of queen’s counsel, an 
exceptional distinction. 

Simon was elected to Parliament in Nov., 1868, 
from the borough of Dewsbury in the West Riding 
of Yorkshire. He was reelected in 1874, 1880, 1885, 
and 1886, and sat continuously for twenty years, 
retiring in Nov., 1888, owing to failing health. 
Although he had not a single Jewish elector in his 
constituency, he was regarded as the “ Member for 
Jewry.” 

In the House of Commons Simon exercised con- 
siderable influence with regard to the amendment of 
the judicature, the alteration of the law which regu- 
lated the trial of election petitions being due to his 
initiative. The resolution adopted Feb. 23, 1875, 
calling for the appointment of two judges instead 
of one to conduct such trials, was also the result of 
his activity. Simon was knighted in 1886. 

Before the British Parliament was open to Jews, 
Simon stood in the front rank of those who fought for 
their civil and political emancipation. That battle 
won, he availed himself of every op- 
Work for portunity to vindicate the cause of op- 

Jewish. pressed and persecuted Jewstlirough- 
Emancipa- out the world. Again and again he 
tion. caused blue books relating to the condi- 
tion of the Jews in Rumania, Morocco, 
Russia, and Servia to be laid before Parliament ; and 
after the death of Sir Francis Goldsmid, M.P. (1878), 
he became the recognized champion of his race be- 
fore Parliament and the British public. When the 
knowledge reached England of the persecution of 
the Jews in Russia in 1881 and 1882 Simon conceived 
and carried into effect the idea of securing a protest 
from the entire English people. Within three w T eeks 
he had so aroused the feelings of the public men 
to whom he had personally submitted the issues, 
that a requisition, signed by the highest representa- 
tives in England, %vas presented to the lord mayor ; 
and a meeting was convened on Feb. 1, 1882 (see 
Mansion House and Guildhall Meetings). The 
only Jewish speakers at this meeting were the pres- 
ent Lord Rothschild (then Sir Nathaniel de Roths- 
child, M.P.) and Sergeant Simon, who respectively 
moved and seconded the vote of thanks to the lord 
mayor. Similar meetings were convened in no 
less than forty -two cities and towns of England, 
Scotland, and Irelaud under the presidency of the 
local mayors; and a protest from the University of 
Oxford, signed by the vice-chancellor, the heads of 
colleges, the leading professors, and hundreds of 
graduates, was addressed to the chief rabbi. 

In 1890, when the persecutions in Russia were 
renewed, Simon, who was then in somewhat fail- 
ing health, took similar steps through the instru- 
mentality of his son, Oswald John Simon (born 
1855; educated at Balliol College, Oxford; member 
of the Russo-Jewish Committee and author of 
“World and Cloister” and “Faith and Experi- 
ence ”). In accordance with Sir John’s plan a sec- 
ond requisition, signed by all the surviving signers 
of the first one, and by many others, was presented 
to the lord mayor, and a meeting was held at the 
Guildhall on Dec. 10, 1890, which was no less suc- 
cessful than the first one. 




Simon, Joseph 
Simon Magus 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


370 


Simon was one of the founders of the Anglo- Jew- 
ish Association, which was formed in London in 1871 
to cooperate with the Alliance Israelite Universelle 
of Paris. He was identified with the Reform Syna- 
gogue of London from its inception in 1842. 

Bibliography : Jew. Citron, and Jew. World , June 26, 1S97 ; 

Diet. National Biography . 

J. 

SIMON, JOSEPH : American lawyer and poli- 
tician ; born at Eeclitheim, Hesse, Feb. 7, 1851. He 
accompanied his parents to Portland, Ore,, in 1857, 
when he was but six years of age. He was 
educated in the public schools of Portland, was 
admitted to the bar in 1872, and is now (1905) a 
member of the law firm of Dolph, Malloiy, Simon, 
& Gearin. He early developed a capacity for poli- 
tics, In 1877 lie was elected a member of the cit} r 
council of Portland, and in 1880, 1884, and 1886 
he was chosen chairman of the Republican state 
committee of Oregon. From 1880 to 1900 he repre- 
sented Multnomah county, in the Oregon state sen- 
ate; and he was elected president thereof at five 
different sessions. He was a delegate to the Repub- 
lican national conventions that met at Minneapolis 
in 1892 and at Philadelphia in 1900, and served as 
a member of the Republican national committee 
from 1892 to 1896. For many years he was presi- 
dent of the police commission of the city of Port- 
land. A vacancy occurring in Oregon’s senatorial 
representation at Washington, Simon was, in 1898, 
elected to the United States Senate for the term end- 
ing March 3, 1903. 

Bibliography: American Jewish Year Boolu 5665 (1904-5). 

a. F. T. H. 

SIMON, JOSEPH ; Chief of the bureau of the 
Progressive communities of Hungary, and reporter 
on Jewish affairs in the Hungarian Ministry of Pub- 
lic Worship; born at Kapolcs, county of Zala, June 
24, 1844; studied law at Budapest. He represented 
the district of Tapolcza at the Jewish Congress of 
1868 and was elected its secretary ; and at its con- 
clusion he became secretary of the national commit- 
tee, and three years later was appointed to a similar 
position in the national bureau. Since then he has 
been one of the leaders of the Hungarian Jews. As 
first secretary of the national committee, Simon, 
until he retired in 1904 owing to ill health, con- 
ducted the affairs of that portion of the Hungarian 
Jewry which was organized according to the 
statutes of the Jewish Congress of 1868. He has 
rendered special service in connection with the 
establishment and administration of the Landes- 
babbinersciiule (of whose board of governors he 
has been secretary since the institution’s foundation 
in 1877) and various other institutions. In 1883 he 
organized the defense in the Tisza Eszlaii case. 
Simon has the title of “Koniglicher Rath.” 

s. L. Y. 

SIMON THE JUST. See Simeon the Just. 

SIMON MACCABEUS : Hasmonean prince and 
high priest; died 135 b.c. ; second son of Mattathias. 
In I Macc. ii. 3 he is called Thassi; in Josephus, 

“ Ant.” xii. 6, § 31, Thatis (with the variant Mat- 
thes). The meanings of these names are obscure. 
His father, when dying, praised him as a man of 


counsel, and exhorted his four brothers to heed his 
advice. Simon justified his father’s high opinion of 
him, and proved himself uniformly sagacious and 
circumspect. Even during the lifetime of his broth- 
ers Judah and Jonathan, Simon took a prominent 
part in the war of liberation waged against the 
Syrians: he succored the hard-pressed Jews; in Gali- 
lee; avenged, in conjunction with Jonathan, the 
death of his brother John ; and fought successfully 
against Bacchides (I Macc. v. 17, 23; ix. 37-42, 65- 
68; “Ant,” xii. 8, § 2; xiii, 1, §§ 4-5), 

The successes of the Jews rendered it expedi- 
ent for the pretenders to the throne of Syria to show 
them special favor, and therefore Antioclms YI. ap- 
pointed Simon strategus, or military commander, of 
the coast region from the Ladder of 
Strategus. Tyre to Egypt. As strategus Simon 
conquered the cities of Beth-zur and 
Joppa, garrisoning them with Jewish troops, and 
built the fortress of Adida in the plain (I Macc. xi. 
53, 65; xii. 33, 38; “Ant.” xiii. 5, §§ 4, 6, 10; 6, § 5). 

After the capture of Jonathan, Simon was elected 
leader (yyobfievog) by the people, assembled at Jeru- 
salem ; he at once completed the fortification of the 
capital, and made Joppa secure by expelling its Gen- 
tile inhabitants and filling it with Jews (I Macc. 
xiii. 8, 10, 11; “Ant,” xiii. 6, § 4). At Hadid he 
blocked the advance of the treacherous Trypho, who 
was attempting to enter the country and seize the 
throne of Syria. Since Trypho could gain nothing by 
force, he craftily demanded a ransom for Jonathan 
and the surrender of Jonathan’s sons as hostages. 
Although Simon was fully aware that Trypho would 
deceive him, he acceded to both demands, so that 
the people might see that he had done everything 
possible for his brother. Jonathan was nevertheless 
treacherously assassinated, and the hostages were not 
returned. Simon thus became the sole leader of the 
people. He had Jonathan’s remains buried with 
honor at Modin, where he subsequently erected a 
monument to him (I Macc. xiii. 25-30 ; “ Ant. ” xiii. 
6 , § 5 ). 

As the opponent of Trypho, Simon had every rea- 
son to side with Demetrius II., to whom he sent a 
deputation requesting freedom from taxation for the 
country. The fact that his request Avas granted 
implied the recognition of the political independ- 
ence of Judea. “Thus the yoke of the heathen was 
taken away from Israel in the hundred and seven- 
tieth year” of the Seleucid era (143-142 b.c,; I 
Macc. xiii. 41; Josephus, “Ant.” xiii. 6, § 6), The 
statement, found in a rabbinical work (Meg. Ta‘an. 

§ 2), that Judah and Jerusalem were released from 
the payment of the “crown tax ” (G-ktyavog) on Iyyar 
27 may refer to this event. The Jews then introduced 
a new era, dating all their instruments and contracts 
according to the years of Simon. The independence 
of Simon may be indicated also by the coins which he 
minted, for many Jewish shekels and half-shekels, 
bear in Old Hebrew characters the inscription “ Holy 
Jerusalem,” and are dated variously “ the yearl,” 
“2,” “3,” “4,” or “5,” these dates being referred 
by many scholars to the era of Simon. But it is 
strange that there are no coins, so far as known, 
of the years 6 and 7, although Simon was ruling 
then. These coins, which are somewhat crude and 



371 


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Simon, Joseph 
Simon Magus 


primitive, are differentiated from other Maccabean 
coins by the absence of the name of the ruling 
prince (see illustrations in Jew. En- 
Coins. cyc. , s.v. Numismatics) ; it is therefore 
not certain that they were struck by 
Simon, and Sclitirer is particularly disinclined to 
ascribe them to his reign (“Gesch.” 3d ed., i. 243, 
701 et seq.). 

Simon was still confronted with the task of secur- 
ing his position in the country. He therefore laid 
siege to the old and powerful city of Gazara and 
captured it, after which he expelled the pagan in- 
habitants, removed the idols from the houses, puri- 
fied the city, and “ placed such men there as would 
keep the Law ” (I Macc. xiii. 43-48; comp. xiv. 34; 
‘‘Ant.” xiii. 6, §7; Strabo, p. 759). He then at- 
tacked the last bulwark of the Syrians in Judea, the 
Acka of Jerusalem, which was taken on the 23d day 
of the second month, 142 n.c., and entered by the 
.lews chanting hymns of thanksgiving to the sound 
of harps, and bearing palm-branclies (I Macc. 
xiii. 49-52; comp. xiv. 7,36, 37; “Ant.” l.c.). Mer- 
ited punishment was visited on the Hellenists (called 
“children of the Acra” in Meg. Ta‘an. § 2), both in 
the capital and throughout the country. In this 
connection, although the actual work was probably 
done at a later time, Josephus speaks (“Ant.” l.c . ; 
comp. “13. J.” v. 4, § 1) of the laborious demolition 
of the citadel, which took three years. It is hardly 
likely that the fortifications were permitted during 
this time to command the Temple, yet they must 
have remained standing, for Simon is said to have 
garrisoned them (I Macc. xiv. 37; comp. xv. 28). 
At the same time he placed his son John, who re- 
sided at Gazara, in charge of a portion of the army 
(ib. xiii. 53). 

The country now enjoyed a lasting peace, and 
the author of the First Book of Maccabees (xiv. 8- 
15) describes the felicity of the people 

Alliance in glowing colors, adhering closely to 
with Rome, the accounts of the blessings promised 
in the Bible, and carefully including 
Simon’s services to religion. He then speaks of the 
honor shown the Jewish people by other nations, 
declaring (xiv. 16-19) that the Homans renewed their 
friendship with the Jews on their own initiative 
(although this is improbable), and that the Spartans, 
at the request of the Jews, made a documentary 
declaration of their friendship (xiv. 20-23). Will- 
rich regards this record as spurious, like others of 
a similar nature. The statement (xiv. 24) that Simon 
sought to win the favor of the Romans by rich gifts 
through the agency of Numenius is apparently in- 
correct, for the friendship of Rome has already been 
noted in a previous passage. An alliance (“ami- 
citia ”) between tlie Romans and the Jews is, how- 
ever, mentioned in other sources (Justin, “Apolo- 
gia,” xxx vi. 3, § 9). 

The high esteem in which Simon was held by 
foreign powers impelled the people to show their 
appreciation of him, and on Elul IS, 
Hereditary 141 b.c., the assembly of the priests. 

Prince. the people, the leaders of the people, 
and the elders of the land resolved 
that Simon should be the high priest, strategus, and 
ethnarch of the Jews, “ forever, until there should 


arise a faithful prophet ” (I Macc. xiv. 41). By this 
phrase they probably intended to imply that the time 
would come when the spirit of prophecy would 
again appear in Israel, enabling them to learn the 
will of God; or they may have meant to express 
their conviction that the prophet Elijah would an- 
nounce the Messiah, who would belong to the house 
of David, and in that case there could, of course, 
be no ruler but him. This resolution was inscribed 
upon brass tablets and set up in tlie court of the 
Temple. According to Willrich, this record can not 
have been quoted in tlie original text of the Macca- 
bees, since the inscription states that Simon sent his 
deputation to Rome before be was recognized by 
Demetrius, and regards the Roman alliance as the 
motive for this confirmation, whereas xiv. 3 asserts 
that Demetrius was taken prisoner by the Partliians 
before the embassy went to Rome; furthermore, 
Numenius is said (xv. 15) to have returned in 139- 
138, when Antiochus Sidetes was already on the 
throne. Whether the inscription is authentic or not, 
it is at least certain that Simon bequeathed his dig- 
nities to his children, and thus became the founder 
of tlie Hasmonean dynasty. 

Once more Simon became involved in tlie Syrian 
imbroglio. Antiochus VII. (Sidetes), the brother 
of the captive Demetrius, attempted 
War to seize the throne of Syria; in a letter 
with, the written at Rhodes, before, he landed on 
Syrians, the Asiatic coast, he, cap firmed Simon 
in all the privileges: granted him by 
jDrevious kings, especially in tlie prerogative of coin- 
age (I Macc. xv. 1-9), although this was apparently 
a mere sanction of the actual state of affairs. But 
as soon as Antiochus felt secure from Trypho he 
changed liis attitude. At the siege of Dora lie rejected 
the reenforcements sent by Simon, and demanded 
either that Simon should surrender Joppa, Gazara, 
and the Acra, which, he alleged, had been wrong- 
fully taken by the Jews, or that he should pay an 
indemnity of one thousand talents. The result was 
a war in which the Syrians under Cendebeus were 
defeated by Simon’s sons Judah and John (136 b.c.). 

The age of Simon had led him to entrust this war 
to his sons, but the hope which lie may have cher- 
ished, that in his old age at least he would be able 
to enjoy the reward of his deeds; was doomed to 
disappointment. In 135 b.c. Simon, the last of the 
Maccabean brothers, died by violence. According 
to his custom, he was traveling through the country 
holding court, when, in the fortress of Docus, near 
Jericlio, he and his sons Mattathias and Judah were 
slain by his son-in-law Ptolcmeus at a banquet pre- 
pared by the last-mentioned (I Macc. xvi. 11-17; 
“Ant.” xiii. 7, § 4). The seven short years of his 
reign prepared tlie way for the events of the follow- 
ing one hundred years. He was succeeded by his 
son John Hyrcanus I. 

Bibliography: Winer, B. R.; Griitz, Gesch. 4th ed., iii. 50- 
63 ; Sehiirer, Gescll. M ed., i. 241-255 ; Wellhausen, I. J. G. 4th 
ed., pp. 272-274: Schlatter, Zur Topographic und Gesch. 
PaUistinas , pp. 1 et seq.; Willrich, Juden und Griechen vor 
der Mahkahaischcn Erhebung , pp. 69-70, Gottingen, 1895. 

G. S. Kb. 

SIMON MAGUS : A personage frequently men- 
tioned in the history of primitive Christianity. Ac- 
cording to Acts viii. 9-23, he was greatly feared 



Simon Magus 
Simon, liady Rachel 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


37% 


throughout Samaria on account of his magic pow- 
ers ; but he permitted himself to be baptized, and 
wished to purchase the gift of the Holy Ghost, 
being cursed by Peter for this presumptuousness. 
In spite of the definiteness of the statements regard- 
ing him, the historicity of Simon has been doubted 
b} r many critics, especially by Baur and his school, 
who held that he was a caricature of the “Apostle 
of the Gentiles.” Such a view must, however, be 
regarded as a grave critical aberration (Harnack, 
“ Dogmengeschichte,” 1st ed., i. 179, note 1). 

The early Christian Clementine “ Reeognitiones ” 
(vii.-x.) represent Simon as a Jewish magician in- 
stead of a Samaritan, stating that he was a member 
of a Jewish household in Caesarea, and that, when 
pursued by Peter, he tied to Judea. Mention is made, 
moreover, of a magician named Simon who lived 
in this very city of Ciesarea about the year 40 of the 
common era (Joseplius, “Ant.” xx. 7, § 2); so that 
some scholars consider the two to he identical (ITil- 
genfeld, “ Ketzergescliichte,” p. 170; Albert, “Die 
Ersten Fiinfzelm Jahre der Christlichen Kirche,” 
p. 114, Munster, 1900; Waitz, in “Zeitschrift fur 
Neutestamentliclie Wissenschaft,” v. 128). This 
view can hardly be correct, however, although the no- 
tice, like other similar ones, serves to show that there 
were such magicians even among the Jews. The 
most reliable sources, including Justin Martyr, who 
was a Samaritan by birth, call Simon a native of 
Ctesarea; and, in harmony with this statement, the 
same authorities regard him as a pupil of Dositheus, 
the Samaritan lieresiarch (but see Dositheus). 
Simon was, furthermore, regarded by all the Church 
Fathers as the great heretic from whose school and 
teaching sprang all the later motley heresies of 
Christianity ; and inasmuch as his system contained 
Gnostic teaching, Gnosticism itself was ascribed to 
him, and a Gnostic figure was seen in his alleged 
wife Helena. 

In reality, however, Simon seems at first to have 
asserted merety that lie was a Messiah, though later 
he claimed that, lie was a god. The 

Claims following passage of Irenseus (“ Adv. 

Messiah- Haereses,” i. 28, § 1) clearly defines 
ship. his teaching: “ He was worshiped by 
many as a god, and seemed to himself 
to be one ; for among the Jews he appeared as the Son 
[thus identifying himself with Jesus], in Samaria as 
the Father, and among other peoples as the Holy 
Ghost” (comp. “ Pliilosophumena,” vi. 19; Tertul- 
lian, “ De Amina, ”xxxiv. ; Epiphanius, “Panarium,” 
xxi. 1 ; “ Acta Petri et Pauli,” in Lipsius, “ xlpocrypli- 
ische Apostelgescliieliten und Apostellegenden,” ii., 
part 1, pp. 30, 301). Simon is also said to have com- 
manded that a grave be dug for him, from which he 
was to arise in three days ; but this, it is declared, he 
did not do (“Pliilosophumena,” quoted as from Hip- 
polytus, vi. 20). These traits characterize him as 
the Christ of the Samaritans, and at the same time 
show him as a most striking antithesis to the Christ 
of the Christians. If, as is stated, besides declaring 
that God is unknowable and is not the creator of the 
world, but inexpressible, ineffable, and self-created 
(avroyhetilov ; “ Constitutiones Apostoliese,” vi. 10, in 
Migne, “ Paferologia Grgeca,” i. 933), he taught that 
He is not the father of Christ, his teaching diverges 


widely from the Christian doctrine, although it must 
be borne in mind that this statement is at variance 
with all other accounts. 

In their opposition to Christianity the Jews may 
have felt a certain sympathy with the teachings of 
Simon, thus accounting for the legends 
Favored by which term them his disciples. When, 
the Jews, in his flight from Peter, Simon went 
to Home and wished to prove liis di- 
vinity by ftying through the air, the Jews are said 
to have been his partizans; and when lie feli 
wounded to the earth, and was taken to Aricia, a 
small town near Rome where his grave is yet shown, 
Jews are alleged to have escorted him thither; and 
their descendants lived there until 1600. A later 
authority declares that the aerial battle with Peter 
took place on a Sabbath on which the faithful were 
holding a “proseuche” (synagogal assembly) and 
keeping- a fast especially on account of tlioir teacher 
Simon (Glycas, “Annales,” ed. Bonn, i. 236, 439). 
While it is true that the Christians were as yet little 
differentiated from the Jews, and that the “faith- 
ful” might equally well have been Christians, yet 
the fast (the Romans believed that the Jews fasted 
on the Sabbath), i.e., the rest from work, is character- 
istically Jewish. The story of this flight to Rome, 
whether legendary or historic, must have been well 
known to the Jews, since the remarkable “Toledot 
Yeshu” tells of a similar aerial battle that took 
place between Jesus and the champion of the Jews 
(Krauss, “Das Leben Jesu nach Jiidischen Quel- 
len,” p. 179 et passim ) ; and this same legend shows 
that the Jews regarded Simon as one of their own 
number. The fall of Simon Magus was customarily 
represented by the Byzantines in their illustrations 
of Psalm li. = Ilebr. lii. (Strzygowski, “Bilder ties 
Griechischen Pliysiologus,” p. 89, Leipsic, 1889). 
Zacuto (“Yuhasin,” ed. London, p. 244) also men- 
tions Simon Magus; and his name occurs in a 
Samaritan chronicle recently published (“R. E. J.” 
xlv. 230). 

k. - S. Kr. 

Simon Magus was the founder of a Gnostic sect. 
In Acts viii. 9-18 he is represented as having been 
held in awe by the Samaritans as the manifestation 
of the hidden power of God, and as being called by 
them “ The Great One.” He is said to have allowed 
himself to be baptized by the apostle Philip; but, 
owing to his greediness, he relapsed into sorcery. 
While this story is legendary, Justin relates (“Apo- 
logia,” i. 26, 56) that he was born in Gitta, a Samar- 
itan village, and that he traveled together with a 
woman named Helena, whom he declared to be the 
“First Intelligence,” he himself claiming to be the 
first manifestation of the hidden power of God. He 
went to Rome and performed miracles before the 
emperor Claudius; and the people erected statues 
to him. The legendary character of this story has 
been proved by the fact that the statue said to have 
been erected to him with the inscription “ Semoni 
Sancto Deo Fidio ” has been discovered, and it 
proves to have been dedicated to an ancient Roman 
deity. 

More authentic facts regarding Simon Magus are 
contained in Hippolytus’ “Refutatio Heresiarum,” 
vi. 7-20, where extracts are given from a work 



373 


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Simon Magus 
Simon, Lady Rachel 


ascribed to Simon and entitled “ The Great Revela- 
tion.” In this work an elaborate Gnostic system of 
the emanation of the Deity is presented, describing 
the unfolding of the world in six pairs, male and 
female, in the upper and lower regions, among 
which also the sun and the moon (“Selene”) play a 
part and in which he himself is “the standing one; 
lie who stands, has stood, and will stand.” His 
stay at Rome, where he attracted attention by his 
miracles, and his contest with Peter are mentioned 
in this work and in all the patristic writings of the 
early ceuturies. He is said to have had a celestial 
chariot upon which he was seen flying through the 
air. He could not, however, withstand the superior 
magic powers of Peter, and fell from the chariot, 
breaking his legs (Syriac “ Didascalia,” i. 18; Arno- 
bius, “Contra Gentes,” ii. 12). He raised the souls 
of prophets from Hades (Tertullian, “De Amina,” 
xxxiv). 

The most elaborate legendary story is told of him, 
especially with reference to his contest with Peter, in 

the Clementine writings, where there is an occasional 
blending of the character and utterances of Simon 
Magus with those of Paul. Certain characteristic 
expressions, however, are found there which point 
to historic facts. He calls himself the manifested 
power of the great hidden Deity (“ Hel Kisai ” = 
“Elkesai” in Gnostic lore; “Recoguitiones,” i. 72, 
ii. 87; comp, “the one who will stand [abide] for- 
ever”; “Recognitiones,” ii. 7, iii. 11; “Homilies,” 
ii. 24); his spouse Helena (or Selene = “the Moon ”) 
is the mother Wisdom, one with the highest Deity, 
who came down to earth under that name (“Recog- 
nitiones,” ii. 8-9, 39; “Homilies,” ii. 23). 

The existence of the sect of Simonians called after 
Simon and related to the other Samaritan sect called 
after Dositheus, certainly proves the historicity of 
liis existence against the critics who declare him to 
be a fictitious person and “Simon” to be the pseu- 
donym of Paul. It is remarkable, moreover, that a 
magician by the name of Simon is mentioned by 
Josephus as having lived at the very same time as 
Simon Magus of the Church literature. Felix, ap- 
pointed governor of Judea by the emperor Claudius 
between the years 52 and 60, had fallen in love with 
Drusilla, sister of King Agrippa and wife of King 
Azizus of Emesa; and he sent Simon, a Jew born in 
Cyprus and a friend of his who was known for his 
magical skill, to use iucantations (compare the love 
incantation in Deissman’s “Bibelstudien,” 1895, p. 
21, and Blau, “Das Altjudische Zaubenvesen,” 1898, 
pp. 96-117) to alienate her affection from her husband 
and to turn it to Felix. In this way the governor 
succeeded iu obtaining Drusilla’s consent to marry 
him (“Ant.” xx. 7, § 2). The only, difficulty in 
identifying this Simon with the other lies in the 
statement of Josephus that the magician was born 
in Cyprus. The charges brought against the sect 
of the Simonians are of such a nature as would point 
<o seductions brought about by witchcraft as 
well as by Gnostic teachings leading to sexual im- 
purity. 

Bibliography: Fabricius, Codex Apocrgphus Novi Testa- 
ments ii. 411; Hilgenfeld, Kctzcrgcsch. dcs Urchristen- 
thums , pp. 163-180, Leipsic, 1884; Hastings, Diet. Bible , iv. 
520 ; Lugano, Lc Mcmori.e Leggendarie di Simon Mayo, in 
Nuovo Bullet i no di Arclieologia Cristimia , vi. 56, Rome, 


1900; H. Waitz, Simon Magus in dev Altchristlichen Lite - 
ratur , in Zeitschrift filr die Neutestamentliclie Wissen- 
schaft , 1904, v. 121-143; Harnack, Gcsch. der Altchristlichen 
Literatur bis Eusebius , i. 153 ct seq., Leipsic, 1893. 

K. 

SIMON, MORITZ ALEXANDER: German 
banker and philanthropist; born at Hanover Nov. 
27, 1837 ; died there 1905. Educated at his native 
town, he became associated there with the banking- 
house of Ezechiel Simon. Later he spent some years 
in New York, and, upon returning to Hanover, 
founded the banking-house of Moritz Alexander 
Simon. In New York, Simon had become acquainted 
with the misery of the poor Jewish immigrants from 
eastern Europe, and he contributed to the funds of 
the organizations founded in the eighties for the 
purpose of assisting the Rumanian Jews. Having 
come to the conclusion that the so-called Jewish 
question was a social one, which might partially 
be solved by educating the younger generation to 
become artisans and farmers, he opened in 1893 
the Israelitische Erzieliungsanstalt at Alalem, a 
small place near Hanover. The aim of this school 
is to educate its pupils in “agriculture and hand- 
icraft — means of living from which the Jews, 
through the circumstances of time and condition, 
have been excluded for centuries. ...” The pupils 
are divided into two sections: children between six 
and fourteen years of age, and apprentices between 
fourteen and seventeen ; in the first department the 
children receive a common-school education together 
with instruction in horticulture, wood-working, 
and in the making of pasteboard boxes. The second 
department gives instruction in various trades. 
Up to the present (1905) the institution has trained 
about 170 gardeners, artisans, and teachers, who are 
employed not only in Germany but also in Russia, 
Rumania, Galicia, Palestine, and America. Simon 
bequeathed $750,000 to the “Erziehungsanstalt.” 

Bibliography: W. Liebmann, in Ostuiul West , March, 1905, 
pp. 198 et seq. (with illustrations).. 

s. F. T. H. 

SIMON, OSKAR : German dermatologist ; bom 
at Berlin Jan. 2, 1845; died at Breslau March 2, 
1882. Educated in his native city (M.D. 1868), he 
took a postgraduate course at the University of 
Yienna. During the Franco-Prussian war he saw 
active service as assistant surgeon. In 1871 he re- 
turned to Yienna, but in tlie following year settled 
in Berlin, where he became privat-docent. Six years 
later (1878) lie was appointed professor of dermatol- 
ogy at the University of Breslau and chief physi- 
cian at the Allerlieiligen Hospital. 

Of Simon’s works the following may be men- 
tioned: “Die Localisation der Hautkrauklieiten, 
Histologisch und Kliniscli Bearbeitet,” Berlin, 1S73; 
“Ueber das Molluscum Contagiosum,” ib. 1876; 
“Ueber Prurigo und die Beliandlung Derselben mit 
Pilocarpin,” ib. 1879 ; “Ueber Balanopostlio-Myko- 
sis,” ib. 1881. 

Bibliography: Pagel, Biog. Lex. 
s. F. T. H, 

SIMON, LADY RACHEL : English author- 
ess: born in London Aug. 1, 1823; died there July 
7, 1899; daughter of Simeon K. Salaman and. Alice 
Cowen. She grew up amid the intellectual and re- 
fined surroundings of a home which was the rendez- 



Simon, Richard 
Simonson 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


374 


vous of many distinguished people. On July 12, 
1843, she was married to John Simon, LL.B. A 
woman of striking individuality. Lady Simon kept 
from her seventeenth year a diary of “Records and 
Reflections,” from which she, in 1893, published a 
selection covering a period of fifty years, from 1840 
to 1890. She wrote also a work on the Psalms, en- 
titled “Beside the Still Waters.” 

Lady Simon’s son Oswald John Simon (born in 
London in 1855) is a communal worker and author. 
Of his works may be mentioned “The World and 
the Cloister,” a novel; and “Faith and Experience,” 
a volume of essays and sermons. 

Bibliography : Jew. Chron . ancl Jew. JVoi'ld , July 14, 1S99. 

J. G. L. 

SIMON, RICHARD : French scholar and Ori- 
entalist; born at Dieppe Mny 13, 1638; died there 
April 21, 1721. After studying at the Sorbonne he 
joined the Congregation of the Oratory, in the 
library of which he studied Oriental works and 
manuscripts. When a certain Jew was condemned 
to the pyre at Metz on a blood accusation, Simon 
wrote a strong opinion in protest (1670). He trans- 
lated Leon of Modena’s “Historia dei Riti Ebraici,” 
etc. (1674), and wrote “ Comparison des Ceremonies 
des Juifs et de la Discipline de l’Eglise ” (1681). His 
chief work, however, was his “Ilistoire Critique du 
Vieux Testament ” (1678), practically the first intro- 
duction to the Old Testament written. It dealt 
with the hooks of the Old Testament as if they were 
ordinary writings, and by this means aroused the 
enmity of Bossuet and the Port Royal, through 
whose influence the whole edition of 1,300 copies 
was seized and destroyed and Simon was expelled 
from the Oratory (May 21, 1678). Notwithstanding 
the destruction of his hook, several pirated editions 
appeared in Holland. Simon wrote several pam- 
phlets defending his views against the attacks of 
contemporary writers, such as Vossius, Spanheim, 
Jurien, Colomies, Le Clerc, and others. 

Bibliography: La Grande Encyclopedic. 

T. ' J. 

SIMON (SIMEDL, SIMONCINO) OF 
TRENT : Child victim of an alleged ritual murder 
by the Jews of Trent. He was the son of Andreas 
Unverdosben, a cobbler, or tanner, in Trent, and 
was born Nov. 26, 1472. 

The harmonious relations between the Christians 
and the Jews in Trent liad excited the anger of tlie 
semidemented Franciscan friar Bernardinus of Fel- 
tre, who was a soil of a notorious enemy of the 
Jews. In his Lenten sermons (1475) he endeavored 
to incite the people against them, but instead 
provoked displeasure on the part of the Christians. 

Then he predicted that at the next 
The Disap- Jewish Passover a ritual murder would 
pearance occur. In accordance with this pro- 
of Simon, diction, the child Simon, twenty-eight 
months old, disappeared on March 
23, 1475. Bernardinus of Feltre, Johannes Scliweizer 
(a neighbor of the Jews), and, at last, the excited 
people themselves declared that the child would be 
found among the Jews; but a careful search through 
the Jewish quarter, ordered by Bishop Hinderbach 


and executed by the podesta of Trent, Johann Sala, 
proved fruitless. 

On the eve of Easter Monday, March 26, some 
Jews noticed the body of a child in the river, near 
the house of one of their number named Samuel. 
Without a moment’s delay three of them, Tobias (a 
physician), Samuel, and Angelus, hastened to notify 
the bishop, hut were not admitted to ids presence. 
The podesta, however, visited the house of Samuel, 
took possession of the child’s body, and ordered the 
arrest of those present — Samuel, Angelus, Tobias, 
Israel, Bonaventura, Toaff, and a second Bonaven- 
tura (the cook). After a medical examination of the 
body it was stated that death was the result of vio- 
lence, not of accidental drowning. A baptized Jew, 
Johann of Feltre, who had been a prisoner for several 
years for theft, seized the apparent opportunity to 
shorten the term of his imprisonment by declaring 
that the Jews use the blood of Christians for ritual 
purposes at the Passover. On the strength of this 
allegation all the members of the Jewish community, 
women and children included, were arrested. The 
proceedings against them began on March 28. The 
accused pleaded not guilty, and denounced two men ; 
Johannes Scliweizer, who had access to the river 
flowing by Samuel’s house and who for a long time 
had been an enemy of the Jews; and the German 
tailor Enzelin. Johannes Scliweizer and his wife 
were arrested, but proved an alibi as regards the 
23d of March, though only for the daytime; they 
were finally liberated from prison in a “ miraculous ” 
manner. 

Then began days and nights of torture for the 
Jews, in which numerous methods of compelling 
“ confession ” were tried. For a long time the suf- 
ferers remained steadfast and faithful ; 

Torture but after weeks of torture had weak- 
Suffered by ened the will, they “confessed” in the 
the Jews, exact words dictated by their clerical 
tormentors and assassins. These abom- 
inable practises caused Duke Sigmund and others to 
intercede and stop the proceedings (April 21). But 
the persecutions were resumed on June 5, and were 
maintained until the Jew Moses, aged eighty years, 
after terrible tortures and persistent denials, like- 
wise “confessed.” Toward the end of June (21-23) 
eight of the wealthiest Jews, after receiving baptism, 
were put to death, some being burned at the stake 
and the rest, beheaded. 

But the cruelty of the proceedings had aroused 
general indignation. Pope Sixtus IV., alarmed for 
the reputation of the Church, commanded Bishop 
Hinderbach on Aug. 3 to again suspend proceedings, 
until the arrival of the papal commissary, Bishop 
Giambattista deiSindiciof Ventimiglia, who* jointly 
with the Bishop of Trent, would conduct the inves- 
tigation. The papal agent had been fully instructed 
beforehand; after making an investigation, lie de- 
nied the martyrdom of the child Simon and disputed 
the occurrence of a miracle at his grave. Sixtus 
IV. had already anticipated this denial in his encyc- 
lical of Oct. 10, 1475. The commissary uncovered the 
tissue of lies, but when lie demanded the immediate 
release of the Jews he was denounced by the bishop 
and assailed by the mob, being compelled to with- 
draw to Roveredo. Thence, fortified by his instruc- 



375 


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Simon, Richard 
Simonsen 


tions, he summoned the bishop and the podesta to 
answer for their conduct* Instead of appearing, 
Bishop Hinderbacli answered by a cir- 
Investiga- cular, directed to all churchmen, de- 
tion by scribing the martyrdom of Simon, 
the Papal justifying his own share in the pro- 
Envoy. ceedings, and denouncing the work of 
the Bishop of Ventimiglia as “ corrup- 
tani inquisitionem.” While the papal commissary 
was taking Enzelin, the supposed actual murderer, 
a prisoner to Koine for trial, the Bishop of Trent 
and the podesta continued their proceedings against 
the Jews, several of whom they executed (Dec. 2, 
1475; Jan. 13 and 16, 1476). 

The Bishop of Ventimiglia reported to Rome that, 
as the result of careful investigations, he found the 
Jews innocent, that Simon had been killed by Chris- 
tians with the intention of ruining the Jews, and 
that Bishop Hinderbacli had planned to enrich him- 
self by confiscating the estates of those executed. 
Sixtus IV. then appointed a commission of six car- 
dinals to investigate the two proceedings. The 
head of the commission being an intimate friend of 
Bernardinus of Feltre, the result was a foregone con- 
clusion, especially since the whole Catholic Church 
would have been involved in the condemnation of 
the Bishop of Trent. Accordingly, in the decree of 
June 20, 1478, “Facit nos pietas,” Sixtus IV. de- 
clared the proceedings against the Jews in Trent to 
be “rite et recte factum.” Both Bernardinus of 
Feltre and Simon of Trent are said to have been 
canonized by Gregory XIII., about a century later, 
the former as a prophet, and the latter as a martyr. 

Bibliograpiit: Gcsch. des zu Trient Ermordetcn Christen- 
kindest , Trent, 1475; Pass in Beati Simonis Pueri Tridentini 
a Per M is Jucleis Nuper Occisi ; Rclat io dc Simone Puern 
Trident ino , 1475 ; Hermann Schindeleyp, Histnria Simonis 
Pueri , 1477; Joann Calpburirius ancl Raphael Zovenzonius, 
Dc Bcato Simone Pucro cb Marty re, etc., 1482; Dr.J. Eck, 
Ain JndcnbUchleins Verlcgung , 1541; Acta Sanctomim , 

iii. 495-502 ; Raynaldus, Ann ales Ecclesiast ics ad Annum 
lU 7 o ; Joseph lia-Kolien, ‘ Emek ha^Baka, 1S58, pp. 63 et 
seg.; Pincio, Annali Overo Chroniehe di Trento , 104S, book 

iv. ; (Bouelli) , DisscrtazioniApologctichc sul Martyrio del 

S. Simone da Trento nclV Anno lklh degli Ebrei Ucciso , 
3747 ; Flamin. Cornelius, Dc Cultu S. Simonis Pueri Tn- 
dentini et Marty ris, 1748 ; Bonelli, Collectanea in Judcvos B. 
Simonis Trhlentini Pueri Intcrcmptorcs , 1765, in Mon. 
Eccl. Trid, iii. 2, 421-463; Luzzatto, Israelitische Annalen, 
ii. 353; CiviltdCattoliea,xi. 8, 9; ltohling, Meine Antwortcn 
an die Rabbincr , 1883, pp. 58-78; Desportes, Lcs Must eves du 
Sang chez lesJuifs , 1890, pp. 132 et secy. Erler, DieJuden des 
Mittelalters (in Vering’s Archie f llr Katholisches Kirchen- 
rccht, xliv. 33 ct-seq.); Deckert,S£u RitualmordAktcnmiissig 
Naehgewiesen, 1893 ; idem, Vier Tiroler Kinder : Opfer des 
Chassidischcn Fanatismus, 1893, pp. 1-72 ; M. Stern,.7 ildische 
Prcssc, 1892, Nos. 14 and 15 ; Strack, Das Blut , 1900,_pp. J2b 
cl seq .; Scherer, Rcchtsvci'hctltnisse dev Jitden. pp. 5987599, 
j. A. Ta. 

SIMONIAS (modern name, Samuniyyah) : A 
city in Galilee, about two hours southwest of Sep- 
plioris. In the Talmud (Yer. Meg. 70a) it is identi- 
fied with the Shimron of Josh. xi. 1, xii. 20, xix. 
15, a name which had already been replaced in all 
passages of the Scptuagint by Zv/wAv, whence the 
“Simonias ” of the Greek period. Josephus calls 
the place a village, and states that while there he 
was attacked at night by the Roman decirri ou Ebu- 
tius, who was forced to withdraw, however, with- 
out success, since his cavalry could not be used in 
that locality (“ Vita,” § 24). The genuine Jewish 
spirit of the inhabitants is shown by the story that 
once when the patriarch Judah I. passed through 


tlieir city, they asked him to send a scholar to in- 
struct them (Gen. R. lxxxi. 2; Yer. Yeb. 18a). The 
name of the city occurs also elsewhere (Niddah 24b ; 
Mek. on Deut. in “ Ilildesheimer Jubelschrift,” p. 
30), and in the Middle Ages it is mentioned by 
Estori Farhi (“ Kaftor wa-Ferali,” cli. xi.). 

Bibliography: Robinson, Researches , iii. 439; Zunz, G. S. 
ii. 293; Neubauer, G. T. p.' 189; Boettger, Topografisch- 
Historisches Lexikan zu den Schriftcn des Flavius Jose- 
phus, p. 232 ; Buhl, Geographie des Alten Pdliistina, p. 215. 

j. S. Kb. 

SIMONS, DAVID: Dutch jurist; born at The 
Hague Nov. 3, 1860. He studied law at the Uni- 
versity of Leyden (J.U.D, 1883), and then estab- 
lished himself as a lawyer in Amsterdam. In 1897 
he was appointed professor of penal law at the Uni- 
versity of Utrecht. He is the author of: “ De Vrij- 
heid van Drukpers in Verbandmetliet Wetboek van 
Strafrecht” (his doctor’s dissertation, for which 
he was awarded the university gold medal, 1882); 
“Beknopte Handleiding tot het Wetboek van Straf- 
vordering” (3d ed. 1901, Haarlem); “Leerboek van 
het Nederlandsclie Strafrecht” (vol. i., Groningen, 
1904). 

Simons is associate editor of the department of 
theories on the “ Tijdschrift voor Strafrecht,” and, 
since July, 1902, editor-in-chief of the “Weekblad 
van het Recht. ” 

Bibliography: Onze Hoogleeraren (with portrait); Holland- 
sche Revue , 1903. _ 

s. E. Sl. 

SIMONSEN, DAVID JACOB : Danish rabbi 
and author ; born in Copenhagen March 17, 1853. He 
studied at the Von Westenske Institut in his native 
city, at the same time receiving private instruction 
in Talmudics and Hebrew literature. In 1874 he 
was awarded a prize for a treatise on Arabic philol- 
ogy. From 1874 to 1879 he studied at the rabbin- 
ical seminary at Breslau ; and on passing his exam- 
ination he received offers of tutorships successively 
at the Breslau and Ramsgate seminaries, which 
he declined. A few weeks before he was called to 
Copenhagen as assistant to Chief Rabbi Wolff, being 
the first Danish-born rabbi of the Copenhagen con- 
gregation. At Wolff’s death (1891) Simonsen was 
unanimously chosen his successor as chief rabbi of 
Denmark; he resigned his office in 1902, on which 
occasion King Christian IX. conferred upon him the 
honorary title of professor. He is a member of the 
executive board of the Alliance Israelite Universelle. 

Simonsen is a prolific contributor to Danish and 
foreign Jewish periodicals. In 18S9 he published 
in Danish and in French a study of sculptures and 
inscriptions from Palmyra, belonging to Dr. Jacob- 
sen’s famous collection at the Ny Carlsberg Gly- 
potliek in Copenhagen. 

Bibliography: C. F. Bricka, Danslc Biografisk- Lexicon. 

s. F. C. 

SIMONSEN, JOSEPH DEVIN : Danish ju- 
rist; bom in Copenhagen Dec. 26, 1814; died there 
June 21, 1886. He was graduated from the Uni- 
versity of Copenhagen (Candidatus Juris) in 1837, 
and in 1851 was admitted to the bar of the superior 
court. He soon demonstrated a profound knowl- 
edge of the most intricate matters of law, and his 
legal opinions were generally quoted as authorita- 



Simonyi 

Sin 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


376 


tivc. In 1859 Simonsen was elected vice-president 
of the Society of Danish Lawyers; and from 1848 
till his death he officiated as legal counselor of the 
Jewish congregation of Copenhagen. 

Bibliography : C. F. Bricka, Dansk Biografisk Lexicon. 

p. F. C. 

SIMONYI, SIGMUND : Hungarian linguist ; 
born at Veszprim Jan. 1. 1853; studied at Eszter- 
gom, Budapest, Leipsic, Berlin, and Paris; he has 
embraced Christianity. In 1877 he became lecturer, 
in 1885 assistant professor, and in 1889 professor, at 
the University of Budapest. The Hungarian Acad- 
emy of Sciences elected him a corresponding mem- 
ber in 1879 and a regular member in 1898; he is a 
member also of the Ugro-Finnic Society of Helsing- 
fors. He is a voluminous writer, and has contrib- 
uted largely to the development of Hungarian phi- 
lology, both by his works and by the influence which 
he has exercised for a generation upon the students 
of philology at the University of Budapest. 

Simonyi has published the following works: 
w Antibarbarus ” (1879), on foreign words in Hun- 
garian ; “ A Magyar Kotoszok ” (8 vols., 1881-88), on 
Hungarian conjunctions; “A Magyar Hatarozok ” 
(2 vols,, 1888), on Hungarian adverbs; w A Magyar 
Nyelv ” (2 vols., also in German, 1897), on the Hun- 
garian language; “ Magyar Nyelvtorteneti Szotiir” 
(3 vols.), a historical dictionary of the Hungarian 
language; “Hemet es Magyar Szolasok ” (1895), 
on Teutonisms and Magyarisms ; and (in collabora- 
tion with Balassa) a German-Hungarian dictionary 
(1899). He has also translated the works of Max 
Muller and Cox. 

' Bibliography : Pallas Lex. 

8. L. Y. 

SIMS ON. See Samson. 

SIMSON, MARTIN EDUARD VON : Ger- 
man jurist and statesman; born Nov. 10, 1810, at 
Konigsberg, East Prussia; died at Berlin May 22, 
1899. Educated at the universities of Konigsberg 
(LL.D. 1829), Berlin, and 
Bonn, and at the Ecole de 
Droit, Paris, he became pri- 
vat-docentat the university 
of his native town in 1881; 
he was appointed assistant 
professor in 1833 and pro- 
fessor of Boman law in 1836, 
serving also as judge. In 
1846 he received the title of 
“ Bat ” at the higher court. 
He took an active part in 
the turbulent political life 
of his time, and in 1848 
was sent as deputy from 
Konigsberg to the Nation- 
al Congress of Frankfort. 
He was elected secretary of tills body at its first 
meeting, later became its vice-president, and on 
Dec. 19 was chosen as president, in which office he 
showed great skill in controlling an assembfy made 
up of men animated by vastly diverse political 
ideas. As president of the congress he was also 
chairman of the deputation selected to offer the 


crown of the German empire to King Frederick 
William IY. of Prussia. 

Resigning from the congress in May, 1849, Simson 
was in the same year elected to the lower house of 
the German Parliament, in which he was an adherent 
of the Constitutional party. In 1850 he presided 
over the congress at Erfurt. From 1852 to 1859 he 
took no part in politics, but in the latter year he 
again became a member of the Prussian lower house, 
over which he. presided in 1860 and 1861. In 1860 
he was appointed vice-president and in 1869 presi- 
dent of the higher court of Frank fort-on-the-Oder. 
A member of the North-German Congress from its 
opening, Simson was elected its first president in 
1867, and in that capacity lie offered the crown of 
Germany to William I. of Prussia in 1870. He was 
elected a member of the first German Beiclistag and 
became its president, from which position he retired 
in 1874 on account of failing health, declining re- 
election in 1877. In 1879 he was appointed first 
president of the German Supreme Court in Leipsic; 
in 1888 he received the decoration of the Black 
Eagle of Prussia and was ennobled. In 1892 he re- 
tired to private life. 

Simson became a Christian when very young. 
He was the author of “Gescliichte des Konigsberger 
Ober-Tribunals.” 

Bibliography; Meyers Konvcrsations-Lexikon; Brochhaus - 
Konvc r satin m-Lexikon. 

S. F. T. II. 

SIMUNA (SEMONA) : Sabora of the second 
generation (Halevy, “Dorot ha-Bislionim,” iii. 26); 
principal of the Academy of Pumbedita (520-540) 
while B. ‘Ena was filling a similar position at Sura. 
According to Griitz, these two scholars committed 
the Talmud to writing; but no further details are 
known concerning Simuna. 

Bibliography: Letter of Sherira Gaon, in Neuhauer, M.J. C. 
i. 34 : Gratz, Gesch. v. 7, 8 ; Weiss, Dor, iv. 6. 
w. b. J. Z. L. 

SIN : Under the Jewish theocracy, wilful disre- 
gard of the positive, or wilful infraction of the 
negative, commands of God as proclaimed by Moses 
and interpreted by the Rabbis; it thus includes 
crimes against God and crimes against societ 3 r or an 
individual member thereof. This article is con- 
fined, as far as possible, to the former class. Of the 
three kinds of sin embraced in this division, the light- 
est is the “liet,” “hatta’ah,” or “liattat ” (lit. “ fault, ” 
“shortcoming,” “misstep”), an infraction of a com- 
mand committed in ignorance of the existence or 
meaning of that command (“ be-shogeg ”). The sec- 
ond kind is the “‘awon,” a breach of a minor com- 
mandment committed with a full knowledge of the 
existence and nature of that commandment (“be- 
mezid ”). The gravest kind is the “peslia c ” or 
“mered,” a presumptuous and rebellious act against 
God; or a “ resha‘,” such an act committed with a 
wicked intention. These three degrees are men- 
tioned by the Psalmist (cvi. 6): “We have sinned 
[“hata’nu”], . . . we have committed iniquity 
[“he-‘ewinu ”], we have done wickedly [“hirsha‘- 
nu ”] ” (comp. I Kings viii. 47 ; Dan. ix. 5). 

The confession of sin by the high priest in the 
Holy of Holies on Yom Kippur followed the order 
here given— “het,” ‘“awon,” “peslia‘ ” (Yoma 36b). 




377 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Simonyi 

Sin 


These three classes are subdivided under the terms 
“ ‘asham ” (guilt), a sin which is later repented ; 

“ina‘al,” “me‘ilali” (sacrilege); “tif- 
Various lah ” (vice, depravity) : “ ‘amal ” (enor- 
Sins. mity, corruption); and “aw on” (hei- 
nous crime, atrocity). The word “ re- 
glia' ” is generally used to express the idea of ill 
conduct, viciousness, criminality. The Talmudic 
word “ £ aberah ” carries the idea of trespass, trans- 
gression, and includes both sin and crime. 

The motive ascribed as underlying the prohibi- 
tion against sin is the benefit of man. Sin defiles 
the body and corrupts the mind; it is a perver- 
sion and distortion of the principles of nature; it 
creates disorder and confusion in society ; it brings 
mischief, misery, and trouble into communal life. 
Man, not God, reaps the benefit of obedience to 
God’s laws: “If thou sinnest, what doest thou 
against him? . . . Thy wickedness may hurt a man 
as thou art ” (Job xxxv. 6, 8). 

Man is responsible for sin because he is endowed 
with free will (“ beliirah ”) ; yet lie is by nature 
frail, and the tendency of the mind is to evil: “For 
the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his 
youth” (Gen. viii. 21; Yoma 20a; Sanli. 105a). 

Therefore God in His mercy allowed 
Original man to repent and be forgiven. Jew- 
Sin. ish theologians are divided in regard 
to the cause of this so-called “orig- 
inal sin ” ; some teach that it was due to Adam’s 
yielding to temptation in eating of the forbidden 
fruit and has been inherited by his descendants : the 
majority, however, do not hold Adam responsible for 
the sins of mankind. The Zohar pictures Adam as 
receiving all the departed souls at his resting-place 
in the cave of Maclipelali and inquiring of each soul 
the reason of its presence, whereupon the soul la- 
ments: “ Wo unto me l thou art the cause of my de- 
parture from the world. ” Adam answers : “ Verily, 
I have transgressed one precept and was punished : 
but see how many precepts and commandments of 
the Lord thou hast transgressed ! ” R. Jose said 
that every soul, before departing, visits Adam, 
and is convinced that it must blame its own 
wickedness, for there is no death "without sin 
(Zohar, Beresliit, 57b). R. Hanina b. Dosa said: 
“ It is not the wild ass that kills ; it is sin that causes 
death ” (Ber. 33a). On the other hand, it is main- 
tained that at least four persons — Benjamin, Am- 
ram, Jesse, and Chileab— died without having com- 
mitted any sin and merely as the result of Adam’s 
weakness in yielding to the temptation of the ser- 
pent. To uphold the view of the majority, R. Ammi 
quoted the Scripture to show that sin causes pain 
and death: “I visit their transgression with the 
rod and their iniquity with stripes ” (Ps. xxxix. 33) ; 
“ The soul that sinneth, it shall die ” (Ezek. xviii. 4). 
This verse is in contrast to another: “All things 
come alike to all : there is apparent one event to 
the righteous, and to the wicked” (Eccl. ix. 2; 
comp. Shab. 55a, b); but these two verses may per- 
haps be reconciled through others which declare 
“ There is no man that sinnetli not ” (I Kings viii. 
40); “For there is not a just man upon earth, that 
doetli good, and sinneth not” (Eccl. vii. 20; see 
Sanli. 105a). 


Some of the Rabbis, while disclaiming the influ- 
ence of Adam’s sin, made the sin of the golden calf 
(“ the cloven foot ”) a hereditary one, 
The affecting twenty-four generations, till 
Golden the final destruction of the Jewish 
Calf. state in the time of King Hezeldah : 

“In the day when I visit, I will visit 
their sin upon them” (Ex. xxxii. 34; Sanh. 102a; 
comp. ‘Ab. Zarali 4b). Moses “was numbered with 
the transgressors ” of the generation in the wilder- 
ness, “ and he bare the sin of many ” who partici- 
pated in the worship of the golden calf (Sotali 14a, 
in reference to Isa. liii. 12). 

There is a difference between the sin of the whole 
people and the sin of the individual. A communal 
or national sin is the more severely punished as an 
example to other peoples, that they may be deterred 
from similar wickedness. For this reason public 
sins ought to be exposed, while the sins of individ- 
uals should rather be concealed (‘Ab. Zarali 5a; 
comp. Yoma 86b). Rab thought to explain the ap- 
parently contradictory verses, “Blessed is he . . . 
whose sin is covered” (Ps. xxxii. 1) and “He that 
coveretli his sins shall not prosper ” (Prov. xxviii. 
13), by distinguishing between the confession of a 
known and the confession of an unknown sin. R. 
Nahman distinguishes between a sin against God 
and a sin against man: the latter must be confessed 
openly (Yoma 86b). R. Kabana said the man is in- 
solent who recounts his sins (Ber. 34b). The enu- 
meration of sins included in the “ * A1 Het ” is per- 
mitted only on the ground that they are of a general 
character, concerning the public as a unit ; and every 
individual recites it as part of that unit, using the 
plural “We have sinned.” In strictness, private 
sins must be confessed to God in silence. 

The earliest Biblical conception of what consti- 
tuted sin is illustrated by the story of Adam’s pun- 
ishment, which was due to his failure to obey the 
divine will and his revolt against the 
What divine government. The catastrophe 

Constitutes of the Flood was a punishment for 
Sin. man’s demoralization and corruption, 

his violence and immorality (see Gen. 
vi. 11, 12). The builders of the Tower of Babel re- 
volted against divine government, and were dis- 
persed (see Gen. xi. 1-9). Sodom and Gomorrah 
were destroyed for their heinous crimes: “The 
men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before 
the Lord exceedingly ” (Gen. xiii. 13): they were 
“wicked” in civil matters, “sinners” in blas- 
phemy “ exceedingly,” with full appreciation of the 
enormity of tlieir sins (Sanli. 109a). The Egyp- 
tians were punished for the sin of enslaving the 
Israelites, and for not heeding the command of God 
to release them. The most serious sin of the Israel- 
ites was the worship of the golden calf, contrary to 
God’s commandments delivered from Sinai. Korali 
rebelled against the authority of Moses, and of the 
Levites, priests by the choice of God. The Canaan- 
ites practised incest and immorality : “ For they com- 
mitted all these things, and therefore I abhorred 
them ” (Lev. xx. 28) ; “ But for the wickedness of 
these nations the Lord thy God doth drive them out 
from before thee” (Deut. ix. 5). 

The principal sins for which the Israelites forfeited 



Sin 

Sin-Offering- 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


378 


their national existence were idolatry, immorality, 
judicial corruption and deception (comp. Isa. i. 21- 
23), desecration of the Sabbath (comp. Jer. xvii. 21- 
27), and non-observance of tlie law relating to the 
release of servants after six years’ service (comp. 
Jer. xxxiv. 1G); citing “Arise ye and depart; for 
this is not your rest: because it is polluted, it shall 
destroy you” (Micali ii. 10), the Midrash says, 
“ God would not have hastened the destruction of 
Jerusalem for any transgression other than fornica- 
tion.” The Ten Tribes were exiled for the same 
cause (Num. R. ix. 4). The shedding of innocent 
blood was the cause of the destruction of the Tem- 
ple (Sliab. 33a) ; though other reasons are given in 
Sliab. 119b. 

In the post-exilic period the inclination toward 
idolatry was eradicated, and the disposition toward 
fornication was weakened (Yoma G9L>). The list of 
sins in the confession of Yom Kippur 

‘Al Het,” gives an idea of the rabbinical concep- 
tion of sin. Tlie “ ‘Al Het ” was ex- 
tended from the simple formula in the Talmud 
(Yoma 87b) to that of the Geonim, which includes 
the Asjiamnu, ‘Al Het, and “ ‘Al Hata’im ” (“Seder 
R. ‘Amram,” p. 48a; see also Altai Gaon, “She’eltot,” 
§ 1G7). The “Ashamnu” is in alphabetical order 
and enumerates the following sins : “ trespass, treach- 
ery, slander, presumptuousness, violence, lying, 
scoffing, rebellion, blasphemy, oppression, extreme 
wickedness, corruption.” The “ ‘Al Het ” qualifies 
man’s sins and makes him ask forgiveness for the 
sins which have been committed against God “either 
(1) by compulsion or (2) voluntarily, (3) unwittingly 
or (4) with knowledge, (5) in private or (6) in pub- 
lic, (7) presumptuously or (8) without intent. ” The 
“ ‘Al Hata’im ” classifies sins as those “ for which we 
were obliged to bring a trespass-offering, ... a 
burnt offering, . . . a sin-offering; for the sins for 
which we were obliged to suffer the peualty of re- 
ceiving stripes, becoming childless, being extirpated 
or killed by deatli from heaven, four modes of death 
by bet din ” (“Seder P. ‘Amram,” Le.). The single 
alphabetical list of the “‘Al Hot” was formulated 
later; it is mentioned lyy Maimonides, and is found 
almost entire in the present “Minhag Sefarad.” The 
double alphabetical list of the “‘Al Het,” as found 
in the “Minhag Ashkenaz,” dates probably from 
the thirteenth century (comp, tlie Yitry Mahzor, 
pp. 390-391, and the prayer-book and Mali z or for the 
Day of Atonement). 

Jewish theology does not admit that there is an 
unpardonable sin. Tlie Mishnah says that sins are 
expiated (1) b}' sacrifice, (2) by repentance at death 
or on Yom Kippur, (3) in the case of the lighter 
transgressions of the positive or negative precepts, 
by repentance at any time. If one persists in 
sinning, depending upon receiving pardon through 
subsequent repentance, e.g., at Yom Kippur, his sins 
are not forgiven. AtYom Kippur, only 
Every Sin sius between man and God, not sins be- 

Par- tween man and bis neighbor, are ex- 
donable. piated (Yoma viii. 8, 9). The graver 
sins, according to Rabbi, are apostasy, 
heretical interpretation of the Torah, and non-cir- 
cumcision (Yoma SGa). The atonement for sins be- 
tween a man and his neighbor is an ample apology 


(Yoma 85b; see Atonement). Repetition of the 
same sin may be forgiven once, twice, or even 
thrice, but not a fourth time: “For three transgres- 
sions of Moab [I will forgive], and for four, I will 
not turn away the punishment thereof ” (Amos ii. 
1); “Lo, all these things worketh God oftentimes 
[Hebr. “ twice and three times ”] with man, to bring 
back bis soul from the pit” (Job xxxiii. 29, 30; 
Yoma 86b). 

There are also lighter sins that are not punish- 
able, but nevertheless staiu the character of the most 
pious and righteous man ; for iustauce, the sin of not 
pleading for mercy for a neighbor, if in position to 
do so; as Samuel said, “God forbid that I should 
siu against tlie Lord in ceasing to pray for you ” 
(I Sam. xii. 23 ; Ber. 12b). The Nazarite committed 
a siu in avoiding the moderate use of wine; the 
learned man sins by fasting instead of studying 
(Ta‘an. lib). Small sins are generally overlooked 
in punishment: “I will search Jerusalem with can- 
dles, aud punish the men ” (Zeph. i. 12): not by day- 
light, nor with the torch, hut with candles, so as not 
to detect venial sius (Pes. 7b). R. Simeon b. Lakisli, 
however, cites “The iniquity of my lieels shall com- 
pass me about” (Ps. xlix. 5) to prove that even 
“ small sins that man tramples with his heels will 
surround him on the day of judgment” (‘Ab. Zarah 
18a). “Be heedful of a light precept as of a grave 
one ” (Ab. ii. 1). Ben ‘Azzai said, “Run to do even 
a slight precept, and flee from [even a slight] traus- 
! gression ” (Ab. iv. 2). Sometimes one may be justi- 
fied in committing in private a sin that would, if 
committed in public, expose the name of God to 
disgrace (“liillul ha-sliem”; Kid. 40a). 

The responsibility for sins against Judaism rests 
forever upon the Jew. Apostasy does not relieve 
him from responsibility in this respect; “Once a 
Jew, always a Jew.” “Israel bath sinned” (Josh, 
vii. 11) is cited by R. Abba bar Zabdai to prove that 
though he “sinned.” yet he remains an Israelite 
(Sanli. 43b). The responsibility of the 
Responsi- anointed high priest is the greatest; 

bility next is that of the representatives of 
for Sin. all Israel ; and finally that of the ruler 
of a faction of Jews. These represent- 
atives require each a special sacrifice in accordance 
with their degree of responsibility (comp. Lev. iv, 

3, 13, 22; Hor. iii, 1). The bullock sacrificed for 
the anointed priest and that for tlie people are to be 
burned outside of tlie camp as “a sin-offering of tlie 
congregation as a symbol of the vanishing glory 
of the congregation in consequence of its sins 
'(Yer. Ta‘an. ii. 5). “ Whosoever is in a position to 

prevent sins being committed by the members of his 
household, but refrains from doing so, becomes 
liable for their sins. The same rule applies to the 
governor of a town, or even of a whole countiy” 
(Shab. 54b). R. Sheshet said, “ One is not justified 
in committing even a slight sin in order to prevent 
a graver sin by his neighbor” (Sliab. 4a). One is 
responsible, however, only for his action, not for 
liis evil thought, except in the case of idolatry; 
“That I may take the house of Israel in their own 
heart, because they are all estranged from me 
through their idols” (Ezek. xiv. 5; Kid. 39b). 

As with Cain, sin leaves its mark upon the face of 



379 


TITE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Sin-Offering- 


fclie sinner: “The show of their countenance doth 
witness against them ”(Isa. iii. 9). The cabalist can 
detect any sinner by observing his forehead (Zohar, 
Lev., Ahare Mot, p. 75b). Sin dulls the heart and 
blunts the understanding (Yoma 39a; Talk. 545, 
after Lev. xi. 43). R. Jolianan said, “Were it not 
for sin, there would be no need for the books of the 
Prophets, as Israel would have been satisfied with 
the Pentateuch and the Book of Joshua” (Ned. 22b). 
Before Israel had sinned, the Sliekinah rested upon 
it: “For the Lord thy God walked in the midst 
of thy camp.” But sin caused the Sliekinah to re- 
tire to a distance, “ That he see no unclean thing in 
thee, and turn away from tliee ” (Dent, xxiii. 14; 
Sotah 3b). Sin besets the path even of the right- 
eous, which explains Jacob’s fear of Esau (see 
Gen. xxxii. 7); while David said, “I lmd fainted, 
unless 1 had believed to see the goodness of the Lord 
In the land of the living” (Ps. xxvii. 13; Ber. 4a). 
The repetition of a sin makes it appear to the 
sinner a license (Yoma 86b). For this reason the 
punishment of one who steals an ox or a sheep and 
kills it or sells it is to restore it fourfold (see Ex. 
xxi. 37 [A. Y. xxii. 1]), the purpose being to uproot 
the disposition to repeat an evil action (B. Iy. 67b). 

As a safeguard against sin, Rabbi advised, “Know 
what is above thee — an eya that sees, an ear that 
listens, and a record of all thy deeds.” Gamaliel 
taught that the study of the Torah combined with 
some worldly occupation makes one forget to sin, 
but that the study of the Torah alone 

How without some manual labor increases 
to Prevent the tendency thereto (Ab. ii. 1, 2). R. 

Sin. Hanina b. Dosa said, “Whose fear of 
sin precedes his wisdom, his learning 
will endure; but where learning precedes the fear 
of sin, the learning will not endure” (Ab. iii. 11); 
“ One who controls his passion once and twice will 
find it easy to control the third time ” ; “ A way is 
left open for the sinner, and one who is willing to 
lead a pure life is helped.” R. Jolianan said that 
one who has passed most of liis life without sin is 
sure to end it so, for “He will keep the feet of the 
saints” (I Sam. ii. 9; Yoma 38b). R. Eleazar held 
that residence in the Holy Laud tends to prevent 
sin: “The people that dwell therein shall be for- 
given their iniquity ” (Isa. xxxiii. 24; Ket. Ilia). 
He who leads others to do good will be saved from 
doing evil himself. On the other hand, one who 
leads others to do evil will not be given an oppor- 
tunity to repent. Thus the righteous will meet in 
Gan ‘Eden those whom he has led to do right, and 
the sinner will meet in Gehinnom those whom he 
has misled (Yoma 87a). Anger and excitement are 
incentives to sin: “A furious man aboundeth in 
transgression” (Prov. xxix. 22; Ned. 22b). “Re- 
frain from becoming excited, and tliou wilt not sin ; 
refrain from becoming drunk, and thou wilt not sin ” 
{Ber. 29b). One must always consider bis good 
and evil deeds as evenly balanced : he will then ap- 
preciate the danger of committing even one sin, 
which would lower the scale on the wrong side. 
Nay, perhaps the whole world is evenly balanced, 
needing onl 3 r onesin to outweigh all the good there- 
in: “One sinner destroyed much good” (Eccl. ix. 
18; Kid. 40b). 


Another safeguard against sin is Prayer: “O 
lead us not into the power of sin, or of transgres- 
sion, or of iniquity, or of temptation ; . . . let- not 
the evil inclination have sway over ns,” are the intro- 
ductory words of the morning prayer. 
Prayer The silent Yom Kippur “‘Amidali” 
Against ends, “ O may it he Thy will, 0 Lord 
Sin. my God, and God of my fathers, that 
I may sin no more ; and as to the sins I 
have committed, purge them away in Thine abound- 
ing mere}'.” Other formulas are found in Beralcot 
(16b, 17a, 60b). See Adam; Atonement ; Com- 
mandment; Confession of Sin; Devotional 
Literature ; Punishment. 

Bibliography: Johannes Hehn, Siindeuncl Erlusung nach 
Bibliseher uiul Bahylnnischer jLnschaaung , Leipsic, 1903; 
Justus Koberle, Siinclc unci Gnade im Religifisen Leben des 
Volkcs Israel bis auf Christum , Munich, 1905. 

j. J. D. E. 

SIN (pD) *• 1* Egyptian cit} r mentioned in Ezek. 
xxx. 15 et seq. ; probably the ancient frontier for- 
tress of Pelusium (so cited in Jerome); the modern 
Farama or Tine. 

2. Desert on the Sinaitic Peninsula, situated “ be- 
tween Elim and Sinai” (Ex. xvi. 1, xvii. 1; Num. 
xxxiii. 12). It was a camping-place of the Israel- 
ites in tlieir wanderings. See also Zin. 
e. g. ii. I* Be. 

SIN. See Shin. 

SIN-OFFERING.— Biblical Data : The sin- 
offering proper is a sacrifice consisting of either a 
beast or a fowl and offered on tlie altar to atone for 
a sin committed unwittingly. The rules concerning 
the sin-offering are as follows; If theaDointed priest 
or the whole congregation commits a sin through 
ignorance, the sin-offering is a young bullock with- 
out blemish. Should the ruler so sin, his offering is 
a male kid without blemish. But wiien a private 
individual sins, liis offering must be either a female 
kid or a female lamb without blemish, or, if be is 
too poor to provide one of these, a turtle-dove. 

Sin-offerings were brought on other occasions also. 
On the Day of Atonement the high priest inaugu- 
rated the festival with two sin-offerings— a bullock 
as bis own offering, and a male kid for the congre- 
gation. The flesh of these was not eaten, but after 
the fat had been removed the carcasses were burned 
outside the camp (Lev. xvi. 3, o, 10-11, 25, 27). 
A woman, after the days of her purification had 
been fulfilled, was required to bring a dove for a 
sin-offering, in addition to a burnt offering. A 
leper, on the day of liis cleansing, was required to 
bring, besides other offerings, a female lamb or, if 
he were too poor, a dove for a sin-offering (Lev. xii. 
6; xiv. 10, 19, 22). 

Sin-offerings formed a part of inaugural and dedi- 
catory ceremonies. Thus, when Aaron and his sons 
were inaugurated into the priesthood, one of the 
sacrifices was a sin-offering consisting of a bullock, 
the flesh of which w*as burned outside the camp 
(Ex. xxix. 1, 10-14; Lev. viii. 14-17). Eight days 
later Aaron brought a calf, and the Israelites brought 
a small kid, as sin-offerings (Lev. ix. 2-10). At the 
dedication of the altar each of the twelve princes 
offered a male kid (Num. vii. 16 et passim). The 
sacrifices of those who returned from captivity with. 
Ezra included tw r elve lie-goats (Ezra viii. 35). 



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380 


The ritual of the sin-offering was as follows : If the 
victim were a quadruped, the offerer confessed his 
sins over the head of the victim and slew it himself 
(comp. Lev. iv, 4, 15, 24, 29). The place of slaughter 
was on the north side of the altar (comp. ib. i. 11 and 
ib . iv. 19 [A. Y. 25]). The priest took some of the 
blood and sprinkled it before the veil (ib. iv. 5 [6]), 
or, on the Day of Atonement, before the mercy-seat 
(ib. xvi. 15); this he did seven times, and then 
smeared some on the horns of the altar. The re- 
mainder of the blood was poured out at the base 
of the altar of burnt offering. The internal fat 
of the animal, with the caul, liver, 
Ritual of and kidneys, was burned upon the 
the Sin- altar of burnt offering. In early 
Offering, times the flesh belonged to the priests 
(comp. Hos. iv. 8 and Lev. vi. 22 
[29]), though it was sacrosanct, making every- 
thing which touched it holy, and might be eaten by 
priests alone. The law of Lev. iv. prescribed that 
the flesh, together with the hide, head, legs, viscera, 
and dung, should be burned outside the Temple. 
The blood was so holy that an earthen vessel which 
touched it was to be broken, and . a brazen vessel 
scoured (ib. vi. 21 [28]). 

When the victim was a bird the priest pinched off 
its head with his thumb-nail (ib. v. S; but see Jew. 
Encyc. x. 619b, s. v. Sacrifice), and sprinkled its 
blood without dividing the carcass. A second bird 
was offered as a burnt sacrifice. When an offering of 
fine flour was made, the priest burned a handful 
of it on the altar and retained the rest for himself 
(ib. v. 11-13). 

•T. G. A. B.— M. Sel. 

Critical View : The sin-offering (flNDH) was 

an ancient sacrifice. In the later ritual it is asso- 
ciated with the Burnt Offering (ni>y) and the 
Guilt-Offering (Dt^N). An early reference to it 
occurs in Hos. iv. 8. In Ezekiel’s proposed recon- 
struction of the cultus the sin-offering had for its ob- 
jects: (1) the consecration of the altar (Ezek. xliii. 
19 et seq.); (2) the annual cleansing of the sanc- 
tuary (ib. xlv. 18-20); (3) a part of the preparation 
for the Passover (ib. xlv. 22); and (4) preparation 
for the festivals of the New Moon, etc. (ib. xlv. 15 
et seq.). In the first three cases the offering con- 
sisted of a bullock, and in the last of lambs. Eze- 
kiel provided also a table in the north porch of the 
Temple where the sin-offering might be slain or 
eaten (ib. xl. 39), and one on the south side where it 
might be laid or eaten (Ezek. xlii. 13). In accordance 
with the use of the sin-offering in the consecration 
of the altar, a late supplementary priestly narrative 
relates that when the altar of the Tabernacle was 
dedicated a sin-offering was brought for each of the 
twelve tribes. Iii this case the victims were lie- 
goats (comp. Nu m. vii. 16, 22, et passim). 

Somewhat akin to the use of the sin-offering in 
these cases of consecration is its use in the Levitical 
ritual in ceremonies of purification. 

In i.e in the removal of a taboo. Sev- 
Levitical oral of these taboos are connected with 
Ritual. sexual matters, or mysterious diseases. 

Of these may be noted; (1) cases of 
gonorrhea (Lev. xv. 14, 15), in which the offering was 
a t urtle-dove or a young pigeon; (2) cases of menor- 


rhagia (ib. xv. 29, 30), when also the offering was a 
turtle-dove or a young pigeon; (3) purification after 
childbirth (ib. xii. 6), the offering being again a tur- 
tle-dove or a young pigeon ; (4) it formed a part of 
the ritual of a leper who had recovered (ib. xiv. 19), 
the victim in this case being a ewe lamb (comp. ib. 
v. 10). With these may be classed (5) the use of the 
sin-offering as part of the ritual by which a Naza- 
rite’s vow was discharged (Num. vi. 14), the victim 
in this case being a ewe lamb a year old. Evi- 
dently the sin-offering in the first four of these cases 
was offered as a recognition of the mysterious or 
supernatural character of sexual secretions, child- 
birth, and leprosy. While the vow of the Nazarite 
is not really in the same class, yet he also became 
taboo by virtue of his consecration to the Deity, 
symbolized by the great length of his hair. 

The cases thus far considered have their origin in 
very primitive thought. A more advanced concep- 
tion may be looked for in cases where 
Primitive the sin-offering is associated with 

Origin. atonement for the nation. In this con- 
nection the Day of Atonement comes 
under consideration (Lev. xvi.), on which the high 
priest offered a bullock as a sin-offering for himself 
and for his house. This was done apparently that the 
priest might not be slain while performing public 
duty ; it had, therefore, a nat ional significance. Two 
lie-goats were then selected as a sin-offering for the 
congregation. One of these was selected by lot for 
Yiiwii; the remaining one was for Azazel. The 
priest then killed the bullock, took the blood to- 
gether with incense, entered into the Holy Place, and 
sprinkled the blood on the east side of ihe mercy- 
seat and “ before the mercy -seat ” seven times, “ that 
he die not. ” The blood of the goat that was Yirwir’s 
was brought in and sprinkled in like manner, “to 
make atonement for the holy place, because of the 
uncleanness of the children of Israel, and because 
of their transgressions, even all their sins.” The 
high priest then confessed the sins of the people 
over the head of the live goat, and it was driven 
away into the wilderness where Azazel might catch 
it. Azazel appears to have been a wilderness 
demon (comp. Ethiopian Book of Enoch, viii. 1 ; x. 

4, 8 ct seq . ). * 

Akin to the sin-offering of the high priest on the 
Day of Atonement was the offering prescribed in 
one of the latest laws (Lev. iv. 3-12) and which an 
anointed priest was obliged to offer if he had sinned 
so as to bring guilt on the congregation. This of- 
fering also consisted of a bullock. The same law 
provided that, if the whole people sinned unwit- 
tingly, they should bring, when the sin was known, 
a young bullock for a sin-offering (ib. iv. 13-21). 
These sin-offerings, like those of the Day of Atone- 
ment, were of a national character. That which the- 
same law (ib. iv. 22-26) prescribed for the ruler may 
have partaken of the same public nature, because of 
the prominence of the ruler; but this is not stated, 
and the offering may have been a purely personal 
one. The victim was in this case a lie-goat. 

In Lev. iv. the laws descend finally to the indi- 
vidual. If one of the common people sinned unwit- 
tingly (verses 27-32). lie was to offer a female goat 
or a ewe lamb as a sin-offering. The offenses which 



381 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Sin-Offering 
Sinai, Mount 


demanded a sin-offering are detailed in Lev. v. 1-6. 
Tliev are for the most part of a non-moral nature, 
such as contact with a dead body, with 
Offenses an unclean reptile, or with an unclean 
Expiated, discharge from a human being; but 
two of them have more of a moral 


character. These latter are (1) cases where a man 
permits injustice by withholding information (ib. 
verse 1), and (2) cases of rash though ignorant 
swearing to that which turns out to be false (ib. 
verse 4). A noticeable feature of Lev. iv. and v. is 
that the expense of the sacrifice is graded according 
to the dignity or wealth of the offender. Thus in 
oh. iv. the offering may be a bullock, a he-goat, a 
she-goat, or a ewe lamb, while in cli. v. it may be a 
she-goat, a ewe lamb, a turtle-dove, a young pigeon, 
or the tenth part of an ephali of fine flour (comp. ib. 

verses 6, 7, 11). . ., 

It is clear that the sin-offering was not primarily 
an offering for real sins, but for the unconscious 
violation of mere taboos. It was demanded in the 
case of actual sins only sporadically, and then only 
to a slight degree. There is an exception to this 
in the ritual of the Day of Atonement; but the woids 
in' Lev. xvi. 16 which make the sin-offering cover 
real sins are probably of late date. 


Bibliography : W. R. Smith, Rel. of Sem. 2d ed., PP- 344-3av, 
Loudon 1904; Baentsch, Exodus-Leviticus-Numeru m No- 
wack’s Hcind-Kommentar, pp. 373 et seq ., Gottingen, 1903. 

_ „ ft A. B. 


SINAI. See Periodicals. 

SINAI, MOUNT.— Biblical Data : Mountain 
situated in the desert of Sinai, famous for its con- 
nection with the promulgation of the Law by God 
through Moses (Ex. xix. 1-xx. 18). The general 
opinion of modern scholars is that the name binai 
is derived from the name of the Babylonian moon- 
god Sin. Mount Sinai is often referred to as “the 
mountain ” (that is, the mountain par excellence), 
“the mountain of Eloliim” (Hebr.), and “the moun- 
tain of Yiiwii” (Ilebr.; Ex. iii. 1, iv. 27, xviii. 5, 
xix. 2, et passim ; Num. x. 3d), and in many othei 
passages it is called “ Horeb ” (Ex. iii. 1 ; Deut. i. 2 et 
passim). The Biblical text, indeed, seems to indicate 
that this last was its proper name, while “ Sinai ” 
was applied to the desert. According to one theory, 
Sinai and Horeb are the names of two eminences 
belonging to the same range; if this be so the lange 
became prominent in the history of the Hebrews 
some time before the promulgation of the Law. 
When Moses led the flocks of his father-in-law to 
the desert and came “to the mountain of God, even 
to Horeb,” an angel appeared to him from a fla- 
ming bush, and then God Himself spoke to Moses, 
telling him that where he stood was 
Mount holy ground, thus foreshadowing the 
Horeb. great event that was to occur there. 

From that mountain God persuaded 
Moses to go to Pharaoh and deliver the Israelites 
from his yoke. After the Exodus, when the Israel- 
ites who had encamped at Rephidim were suffering 
with thirst, Moses, by command of God, smote water 
from a rock in Horeb (Ex. xvii. 6). 

Having encamped before Mount Sinai, the Israel- 
ites were told that from this mountain they would 
receive the' commandments of God, and that they 


would hear His very voice. They were commanded 
to give three days to preparation for that solemnity, 
for on the third day God would come down on the 
mountain in sight of all the people. Moses set a 
boundary up to which they might go, and they 
were prohibited under penalty of death from even 
touching the mountain. On the third day the 
mountain was enveloped in a cloud ; it quaked and 
was filled with smoke as God descended upon it, 
while lightning-flashes shot forth, and the roar of 
thunder mingled with the peals of trumpets. Then 
Moses appeared upon it and promulgated the Ten 
Commandments, after which God instructed him in 
many of the laws which form a part of the Penta- 
teuch (Ex. xix. 1-xxiii. 33). Later, Moses, Aaron, 
Hadab, Abihu, and seventy elders of Israel went to- 
gether up the mountain, where they saw the God of 
Israel. Mount Sinai was then enveloped in a cloud 
for six days, while on its summit, fire, the emblem of 
God, was seen burning. On the seventh day Moses 
was commanded by God to ascend the. mountain to 
receive the tables of the Law ; he remained there 
forty days and nights (Ex. xxiv. 9-10, 16-18). . The 
Song of Moses refers to the solemn promulgation of 
the Law on Mount Sinai (Deut. xxxiii. 2); so does the 
Song of Deborah (Judges v.), which declares that the 
“earth trembled,” the “heavens dropped, the clouds 
also dropped water,” and the “mountains melted 
(comp. Ps. lxviii. ff, 17). 

Horeb reappears later as the place to which Elijah 
escaped after Jezebel had massacred the prophets of 

Yhwii (I Kings xix. 8 et seq.). 

j M. Sel. 

In Rabbinical Literature : The Rabbis con- 
sider “Sinai ” and “Horeb ” to be two names of the 
same mountain, which had besides three other names : 
(1) “Har lia-Elohim ” (= “ the mountain of God”), 
the Israelites having received there the knowledge 
of the divinity of God; (2) “Har Bashan,” the lat- 
ter word being interpreted as though it were 4 be- 
shen ” (= 11 with the teeth ”), that is to say, mankind 
through the virtue of this mountain obtains its 
sustenance; and (3) “Har Gabnunim ” (= “a moun- 
tain pure as cheese ”). The names Horeb ^ and 
“Sinai” are interpreted to mean, respectively, “the 
mountain of the sword, ” because through this moun- 
tain the Sanhedrin acquired the right to sentence a 
man to capital punishment, and “ hostility, *’ inas- 
much as the mountain was hostile to the heathen 
(Ex. R. ii. 6). Shab. S9a, b gives the following four 
additional names of Sinai: “Zin,” “Kadesh,” Ke- 
domot,” and “Paran,” but declares that its original 
name was “Horeb” (comp. Midr. 

Different Abkir, quoted in Yalk., Ex. 169); 

Names. according to Pirke R. El. xli., it ac- 
quired the name “Sinai” only after 
God had appeared to Moses in the bush ( seueli , 
comp. Sinai, Biblical Data). 

Jacob’s dream is an allegorical allusion to Sinai 
(Gen. xxviii. 12), “ladder” being interpreted as 
meaning the mountain. It is also supposed by the 
Rabbis that the well near which Jacob met Rachel 
(ib. xxix. 2) symbolizes Mount Sinai. Mount Sinai 
and Moses had been predestined from the days of 
Creation to meet each other; and therefore the 
former, when Moses led his father-in-law’s flocks to- 



Sinai, Mount 
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THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


380 


ward it (Ex. iii. 1), moved from its foundation and 
Aveut to nieet liim. It stopped only when Moses 

was xipon it j and. botli manifested great joj at tlie 

meeting. Moreover, Moses recognized that it was 
the mount of God on seeing that birds hovered over 
but did not alight upon it. According to another 
authority, the birds fell at Moses 5 feet (Yalkut Be’u- 
beni, Sliemot, quoting the Zoliar). 

Sinai, however, acquired its greatest importance 
through the promulgation of the Law. God’s de- 
scent upon the mountain was the sixth of His de- 
scents from heaven (Pirke R. El. xiv.). He had 
previously measured all the mountains, and His* 
choice fell on Sinai because it was lower than the 
others. Then the other mountains, particularly 
Tabor and Carmel, began to dispute among them- 
selves, each claiming that it ought to be the place 
of the delivery of the Torah. God, however, said 
to them: ‘‘Do not dispute; 3 r ou are all unworthy of 
this occasion, as idols have been placed upon all of 
you except Sinai” (Sotali 5a; Mek., Yitro, Baho- 
desh, 4; Gen. E. xeix. 1; Lev. E. xiii. 2; Hum. E. 
xiii. 5). Eef erring to Ex. xix. 17, Mek., lx. 3 con- 
cludes that the mountain was tom from its founda- 
tion and that the Israelites were placed just under 
it (but see Sliab. lx.). The mountain was not veiy 
large, and when God descended upon it He was 
accompanied by 22, 000 companies of archangels and 
by an equal number of chariots simi- 
Scene of lar to that seen by Ezekiel. Godthere- 
th.e Law- fore ordered the mountain to extend 

giving*. itself, so as to be capable of receiving 
such a host (Tan., Zaw, 16). In order 
to reconcile Ex. xix. 20 (where it is said that God 
descended upon the mountain) with ib. xx. 22 (which 
declares that God spoke to the Israelites from 
heaven), the Eabbis hold that God lowered the 
heavens and spread them on Sinai (Mek., lx. 4). A 
similar statement occurs in Pirke E. El. xli., namely, 
•that the mountain was removed from its foundation 
and that the heavens were rent asunder, the sum- 
mit of the mountain extending into the opening. 
Moses, while standing on Sinai,, could thus see 
everything that was going on in the heavens. 

Since that time Mount Sinai has become synony- 
mous with holiness (Yalk., Ps. 785). Sinai and 
Moriah are the two sacred mountains, through whose 
virtue the world exists (Midi*. Teh. to Ps. lxxxvii.). 
After the arrival of the Messiah, God will bring 
Sinai, Carmel, and Tabor together, and will build 
the Temple on them; and all three will sing in 
chorus His praises (Yalk., Isa. 391, quoting the Pe- 
seta, Midr. Teh. Lc.). Eabbah bar bar Hana re- 
lates that while he was traveling in the desert an 
Arab showed him Mount Sinai. It was encompassed 
by a scorpion which had its head raised ; and Eabbah 
heard a Bat Kol cry : ‘‘Wo is me for having sworn t 
For who can now make my oath of no effect? ” (B 
B. 74a). 

w - B * . M. Sel. 

Critical View : Modern scholars differ widely 
as to the exact geographical position of Mount Sinai. 

It is generally thought to be situated in the middle 
of the Sinaitic Peninsula, which apparently acquired 
its name from the mountain. But there bj-a whole 
group of mountains there, known to ; the Arabs ,as 


Jabal al-Tur, as it was to Idrisi (ed. Jaubert, p. 332) 
and Abu al-Pida (Hudson, “ Geographic Yeteris 

Sex-ip tores AJixiores,” iii. 74, Oxford, 1712); and it 

appears from Niebuhr (“ Description de PArabie,” 
p. 200) that this group is still occasionally called 
Tur Sinai, just as it was by Ibn Haukal (ed. Ouse- 
ley, p. 29). According to the statement of Josephus 
(*‘ Ant.” iii. 5, § 1) that the Law was promulgated 
from the highest mountain in that country, the 
scene must have occurred on the peak now known 
as Mount Catherine. But the opinion of the na- 
tives is that the Biblical Sinai is identical with the 
peak now called Jabal Musa (Mountain of Moses), 
which is north of Mount Catherine, Other scholars' 
again, think that the scene must be placed on the 
Eas al-Safsafali (= “peak of the willow-tree ”), the 
highest peak of the supposed Horeb, as at the foot 
of that peak there is a plain large enough for a camp. 

But Gratz (“ Monatssclirif t, ” xxvii. 337 et seq.) 
and, later, Sayce (“Imperial and Asiatic Quarterly 
Be view,” 1893, vi. 149 et seq.)h ave concluded that 
the Biblical Sinai must not be looked for at all in the 
so-called Sinaitic Peninsula. It may he noted, by 
the way, that this appellation is not ancient; it 
was not known in the time of Josephus, who de- 
scribed Mount Sinai simply as situated in Arabia 
Petrosa. Von Gall(“ Altisraelitische Kultuslittten,” 
p. 15) considers that originally Horeb and Sinai 
were the names of two distinct peaks, that Horeb was 
in the Sinaitic Peninsula, and Sinai in Midian, and 
that the identification of the two mountains is a post- 
exilic mistake (comp. Mai. iii. 22 ; Ps. cvi. 19). Von 
Gall’s assertion, however, is not approved by critics 
like Holzinger and Sayce. 

By comparing Num. xxxiii. 8-10 with Deut. 
i. 1 it is to be concluded that Sinai was between 
the Gulf of ‘Akabali and Paran. According to this 
theory, Sinai-Horeb was either a part of Mount 
Seir or it was not far west of it, and Deut. 
xxxiii. 2, as well as Judges v. 4-5, favors the former 
supposition. The whole region now denominated 
the Sinaitic Peninsula -was then under Egyptian 
control and strongly garrisoned. Baker Green iden- 
tified Sinai with Mount Hor, which forms a part of 
Mount Seir, and Beke identified it with Jabal al- 
Nur (= “mountain of light”), at the northern end 
of the Gulf of ‘Akabali. 

It is evident that, long before the promulgation 
of the Law, Mount Sinai was one of the sacred places 
in which one of the local Semitic divinities had been 
worshiped. This is clearly indicated in Ex. iii. 5: 
the ground was hoty, for it was Yiiwii’s special 
dwelling-place. The expression “and brought you 
unto myself ” (Ex. xix. 4) means that Yinvn brought 
the Israelites to His mountain. The two names of 
Sinai and Horeb, meaning respectively “ moon ” and 
“sun,” are of a cosmological nature. According to 
the higher critics, the “ mountain of Yinvn ” is called 
“Sinai ” in J (Ex. xix. 11, xxxiv. 4) and P (Ex. xvi. 

1; xxiv. 16; xxxiv. 28,32; Lev. xxv. 1, xxvi. 46, 
xxvii. 34). On the other hand, in E, the earlier 
source, Iloreb is the seat of Yinvn (Ex. iii. 1, xvii. 

6, xxxiii. 6; in the last-cited passage the words 
.“from Mount Horeb” belong to verse 9); and so in 
D, as throughout Deuteronomy, with the exception 
of Deut. xxxiii. 2, which is not Deuteronomic and 



383 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Sinai, Mount 
Singapore 


which is parallel to Judges v. 3 et seq. The wilder- 
ness of Sinai is mentioned only in P (Ex. xix. 11 ct 


.seq. : Lev. vii. 3S : JSTum. i. 1, 19). 

The oUject of E is -to Show tlia-t before tile Exodus 

the Israelites were heathen until Yinvii revealed 
Himself from His mountain to Moses (Ex. iii. 9-14). 
In E, Jethro is not the priest of Midian, but is con- 
nected with the worship of Ymvn of Horeb. On 
the other hand, J makes Jethro the prince of Midian, 
and omits all the expressions used by E tending to 
connect the cult of Yiiwii with the older cult. 

Bibliography : W. R. Smith, Bel. of Scm. pp. 110-111 : Robin- 
son Researches , i. 140, 158, 178-177; Stanley, & mat and Pal- 
estine, pp. 29 ct seq.; Winer, B. R. ^ 


SINAITIC COMMANDMENTS; Halakot 
designated in the Mishnah and the Talmudim as 
•* haiakot le-Moslieli mi-Sinai,” i.e., as having been 
transmitted from Moses on Mt. Sinai. There are, 
however, many halakot so designated which did not 
originate with Moses and which do not even refer to 
ancient traditions. With regard to several of these 
the Talmud itself often makes it clear that the phrase 
« from Moses on Mt. Sinai” is not to be taken lit- 
erally. R. Akiba once recited a sentence to his 
pupils, saying it was a “ halakah le-Moslieli mi- 
Sinai.” The Talmud, however, adds immediately 
that Akiba said this only to sharpen the intellect of 
his pupils (Niddah 45a). In like manner R. Dimi 
cpiotes a saying which he designates as “halakah 
le-Moskcli mi-Sinai”; and here the Talmud adds 
that in Palestine no one acts according to the rule 
given in this saying (Pes. 110b). R. Eliezer quotes 
in the Mishnah (Yad. iv. 3) a saying which had been 
transmitted to him by Johanan ben Zakkai, who, in 
turn, had heard it from his own teacher, the last- 
named having designated it as originating with 
Moses on Mt. Sinai. Doubts as to the genuineness 
of this alleged Sinaitic saying are, however, ex- 
pressed (comp, the mishnaic commentaries on Yad. 
ad loc,). 

Also elsewhere in the Talmud may be found 
sentences which, though designated as “halakot le- 
Moslieli mi-Sinai,” are, nevertheless, made the sub- 
jects of disputations — a procedure in contradic- 
tion with the ideas of tradition. It is said of many 
decisions designated as Sinaitic that in earlier times 
they had been disputed and invalidated (comp. Jair 
Ilayyim Bacliaracli, “Hawwot Yair,” No. 192). It 
may therefore be safely assumed that the designa- 
tion “ halakah le-Moslieli mi-Sinai ” was never in- 
terpreted literally. Many old halakot of unknown 
origin were designated in good faith as Sinaitic ; but 
in the cases of many other halakot, according to Asher 
b. Jehiel, the phrase “halakah le-Moslieli mi-Sinai” 
was used merely to emphasize the fact that “ these 
regulations are as clear and lucid as if they had been 
made known to Moses on Mt. Sinai.” Every crite- 
rion is, however, lacking which might make it pos- 
sible to distinguish those decisions which realty rest 
on reliable traditions from those which are merely 
so-called “Sinaitic” laws (see Oral Law; Takka- 

N AH). 

Bibliography : Isaac Lampronti, Pahad Yizhak< s.v. Bala- 

hah Ic-Mashch mi-Sinai ; Isaac Samuel Reggio, Belunat ha - 

Kabbalah, pp. 107-127, Goritz, 1852. _ _ _ 

j. J . L. L. 


SINDABAR. See Sixdead. 


SINDBAD ; Collection of tales on the wiles of 
women, the enveloping action of which deals with the 

attempt of a stepmother on tlie life of an Indian 

prince. His seven masters defer the evil day of his 
execution by telling tales of tlie wiles of women, 
somewhat after the fashion of the “ Arabian Nights. 
The original, according to Benfey, was an Indian 
story-book, the chief tale of which was founded on 
a story of the life of Asoka ; and the original name 
of the hero was probably Siddhapati. It is likely 
that the book passed through the same stages from 
India to the West as “Barlaam and Josaphat” and 
“ Kalilah wa-Dimnah ” ; namely, translation from 
the Indian into Zend, and from that into either 
Syriac or Arabic, and then into the European lan- 
guages. The Hebrew translation known as “ Mislile 
Sindabar” is attributed to a certain Babbi Joel, but 
probably owing to a confusion with the translator 
of the “ Kalilaln ” It first appeared at the end of the 
“Chronicle of Moses” (Constantinople, 1516), which 
was reprinted at Venice (1544 and 1605), and which 
exists in several manuscripts. A fuller edition was 
published by Paulus Cassel under the title “ Mischle 
Sindbad, Secundus Syntipas” (Berlin, 1888). A 
nominal second edition appeared in 1891. 

The Hebrew version contains four stories not em- 
bodied in any of the others: one told by the step- 
mother about Absalom; another, “Tlie Death of 
Absalom,” told by the sixth vizier; and two, “The 
Disguise” and “The Three Hunchbacks,” by the 
seventh vizier ; the last-named story appears to be 
truncated, but is found in the Western versions in 
full. None of these appears in the western European 
translation, so that no importance can be attributed 
to tlieir presence in the Hebrew version. The hook 
was translated into German by H. Sengelmann, and 
into French by E. Carmoly (“Revue Orientale,” 
1844; published separately under the title of “Para- 
bles de Sandabar,” 1849). A popular Arabic trans- 
lation of the Hebrew version was published at Leg- 
horn in 1868. 

It is assumed that the title “Sindabar” has arisen 
from the confusion between 1 and *?, but a like con- 
fusion might have existed in the Arabic original, 
in tlie script of which language tlie same similarity 
of letters occurs. The Hebrew version must have 
been written before 1316, at which date it is quoted 
in the “ Iggeret Ba‘ale Hayyim ” of Kalonymus ben 
Kalonymus, and also in the Hebrew version of the 
“Kalilah wa-Dimnah.” 


Bibliography: Stemselmeider, Hebr. Uebeis. _PP. S8<-89~, 
idem, in Hebr. Bibl. xiii.-xiv.; Comparetti, The Book of 
Sindihad , pp. 64-67, London, 1882; Clouston, The Book of 


Sindibad , pp. 284-2S8, London, 1884. 


SINGAPORE : Capital and seaport of the Brit- 
ish dependency of Singapore. Jews commenced to 
settle in Singapore in 1840. For a number of years 
their services were held in a rented house near tlie 
business quarter, in a street since known as Syna- 
gogue street. About 1877 the community purchased 
ground in a more convenient situation and built on 
it tlie synagogue Magbain Aboth, which was conse- 
crated April 4, 1878. It is attended by both Seph- 
ardic and Ashkenazic J ews. A second and larger 



Singer 

Sinig-aglia 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


384 


synagogue, known as Chaised-El, was built in 1904, 
by Manasseli Meyer, one of the heads of the com- 
munity. The present (the second) burial-ground of 
the community was purchased in 1902. The Tal- 
mud Torah has a roll of about fifty pupils. The 
most prominent Jewish firms deal largely in opium, 
rice, and gunny -bags, and the business of most of the 
Ashkenazim consists chiefly in liquor-dealing, hotel- 
keeping, and the selling of furniture. The total 
population of Singapore is 160,000; this includes 
about 700 Jews, mostly Sephardic and Ashkenazic, 
the former having come from Bagdad and India, 
and the latter from Germany. 

J. N. E. B. E. 

SINGER, EDMUND: Hungarian violinist; 
born at Totis, Hungary, Oct. 14, 1S31; pupil suc- 
cessively of Ellinger, Ridley Kolme, and Joseph 
Bohm (violin), and of Preyer (composition); from 
1844 to 1846 he studied at the Paris Conservatoire. 
In the latter year he was appointed concert-master 
and solo violinist at the Stadttheater, Budapest; 
and from 1S51 to 1854 he made most successful 
tours through Europe. 

In 1854, upon the recommendation of Liszt, 
Singer was appointed concert-master at Weimar, 
where he remained until 1861. Since then he has 
been concert-master at Stuttgart, and teacher at the 
Conservatorium in that city. His compositions in- 
clude: “Morceaux de Salon,” “Airs Varies,” fan- 
tasias, etc. 

Bibliography : Ehrlich, Famous Violinists , Past ancl Pres- 
ent ; Baker, Biog. Diet, of Musicians. 

s. J. So. 

SINGER, ISIDOR : Austrian economist ; born 
in Budapest Jan. 16, 1857; removed to Vienna with 
his parents in 1861. He studied mathematics and 
astronomy at the University of Vienna; and after 
taking a course in jurisprudence at Gratz returned 
to the Vienna University, where he took up the study 
of national economy, being graduated as LL.D. on 
March 14, 1881. He was admitted to the Vienna 
bar, but soon decided to devote his entire time to the 
study of political economy, and from 1882 to 1884 he 
traveled extensively in order to study the social posi- 
tion of the working classes in northeastern Bohemia. 
The results of his investigations he published in 
Leipsic in 1885 under the title “ Untersuchungen 
fiber die Socialen Verliiiltnisse des Nord-Oestliehen 
Bohmen: Ein Beitrag zur Methode Social-Statis- 
tischer Untersuchungen.” In the same year he was 
appointed privat-docent in statistics by the Univer- 
sity of Vienna, and six years later (1891) he received 
the title of professor. During this period (1885-91) 
Singer published in Vienna a brochure on the social 
conditions in eastern Asia, and a book on migration. 
The trend of his thoughts on these subjects under- 
went a change after a three years’ visit to the United 
States (1893-96). The impressions collected there 
and in England, especially regarding the great 
powers of the public press, caused him, upon his 
return, to establish, together with Heinrich Kanner, 
“Die Zeit,” an independent, politico-economic, and 
literary weekly. The growing popularity of this 
periodical among all classes caused him to change it 
into a daily (1902), and to enlarge its scope, 
s. E. J. 


SINGER, ISIDORE: Austrian author and edi- 
tor, and originator of The Jewish Encyclopedia; 
born in Weisskirchen, Moravia, Nov. 10, 1859; 
educated in the high schools of Ungarisch-Hradisch, 
Kremsier, and Troppau and at the universities of 
Vienna (Ph.D. 1S84) and Berlin. In 1884 he founded 
the “ Allgemeine O ester reichisclie Literaturzeitung,” 
which he edited and published in Vienna, discon- 
tinuing it on receiving the appointment of secretary 
‘ and librarian to Count Alexandre Fouclierde Oareil, 
French ambassador at Vienna (1887). He accom- 
panied the ambassador to Paris, and there became 
attached to the press bureau of the French Foreign 
Office. Later he founded and became editor-in-chief 
of “La Vraie Parole” (1893-94), a journal which was 
launched to counteract Edouard Drumont’s anti- 
Semitic sheet “La Libre Parole.” In 1891 Singer 
went to Italy and sojourned for a time in Rome. 
He returned to Paris, and in 1S95 went to New York 
for the purpose of publishing “ The Encyclopedia of 
the History and Mental Evolution of the Jewish 
Race.” This title was subsequently changed to 
“The Jewish Encyclopedia” (see Jew'. Encyc. i., 
Pref., p. xix.). 

Of Singer’s writings the following may be men- 
tioned: “Berlin, Wien und der Antisemitismus,” 
1882; “Presse und Judenthum,” 1882; “Sollendie 
Juden Christen Werden? ” (1884), to which Ernest 
Renan contributed a prefatory letter; “Briefe 
Berfihmter Cliristlicher Zeitgenossen fiber die Ju- 
denfrage, ” 1884 ; “ Die Beiden Elektren— Humanisti- 
sclie Bildung und der Klassische LFnterrickt,” 1884; 
“Auf dem Grabe Meiner Mutter” (1888; translated 
into Hebrew by Solomon Fuchs) ; “ Le Prestige de 
la France, ” 1889 ; “ La Question Juive, ” 1893 ; “ Anar- 
chie et Antisemitisme,” 1894; and “Der Juden 
Kampf urns Recht,” 1902. Singer has also edited 
“ Russia at the Bar of the American People ” (New 
York, 1904), a memorial of the events in Kishinef. 

Bibliography: Who's Who in America , 1904-5; Who's 

Who (English ed.), 1905; The American Jewish Tear Book, 

1904r-5; It. Brainin, in Ha-Dor , 1901, No. 36; Eisenstadfc, IJakme 

Yisracl hc-Amcrika , pp. 47, 48, New York, 1903. 

a. F. H. V. 

SINGER, JOSEF: Austrian cantor; born in 
Galicia Oct. 15, 1S42. His father, an itinerant haz- 
zan, destined him for a theatrical career, but the 
boy evinced an inclination for study, and after ta- 
king a four-year course at the Conservatorium at 
Prague he accepted a position as cantor in Beuthen, 
Prussian Silesia. In 1873 he was called to Nurem- 
berg as “ Oberkantor, ” and in 1881, when Salomon 
Sulzer retired from active service, Singer succeeded 
him as chief cantor of the Wiener Cultusgemeinde, 
which position he still (1905) occupies. 

Singer, who is an ardent student and investigator 
in the domain of synagogal music, is the author of 
“Die Tonarten des Traditionellen Synagogenge- 
sanges im Verlialtniss zu den Kirchentonarten und 
den Tonarten der Vorchristliclien Musikperiode ” 
(Vienna, 1886, ed. E. Wetzler), a critical study of 
the forms of melodious intonation (see Hazzanut). 
He has published also numerous articles in “DerJfi- 
dische Kantor” (Bromberg) and in the “Oester- 
reicliisch-Ungarische Kantoren-Zeitung ” (Vienna); 
of his contributions to the latter periodical may be 



385 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Singrer 

Smig-agrlia 


mentioned “Biograpliien Bertihmter Pachgenossen 
Aelterer Periode” (1881-82) and “Ueber Entwicke- 
lung des Synagogengesanges ” (1883-00). 

<?. A. Kai. 

SINGER, MAXIMILIAN: Austrian bota- 
nist, zoologist, and author; born at Leipnik Feb. 0, 
1857 (Pli.D. Vienna, 1883). lie made a special of 
botany and zoology and published a number of 
articles on these subjects in the “Wiener Land- 
wirthschaftliche Zeitung” and the “Landwirth- 
schafts-Zeitung.” 

In addition to liis labors in these fields. Singer lias 
written the following works: “Junius Brutus,” 
drama, 1879; “Der Friedensengel,” drama, 1891; 
“Die Schuld der Vilter,” drama, 1896; and the li- 
bretti of: “Esther,” 1885; “Jose Galeano,” 1891, 
music by Julius Stern; “Der Schwur,” 1892, music 
by Wilhelm Reich; and “Der Weise von Cordova,” 
music by Oskar Strauss; “Es War Einmal . . . 
1899. 

Bibliography : Das Geistige Wien, i. 526, ii. 449. 

s. E. Ms. 

SINGER, PAUL: German Social Democrat 
and deputy; born in Berlin Jan. 16, 1844. After 
having attended the real-school of his native city 
lie entered upon a commercial career, and in 1869 
established a cloak-factory, with his brother as part- 
ner. The business was successful ; and he amassed 
a considerable fortune. Interesting himself in poli- 
tics, and becoming absorbed in the study of the con- 
ditions of the laboring classes, he affiliated with 
the Social -Democratic party, and soon became, be- 
side Rebel and Liebknecht, one of its recognized and 
Tespected leaders. In 1884 he w r as elected a member 
of the Reichstag from the fourth electoral district of 
Berlin, which returns usually a larger Social-Demo- 
cratic vote than any other district in Germany. He 
at once took a prominent part in the Reichstag de- 
liberations, as well as in the councils of his party, 
and acquired skill as a debater and parliamentarian. 
His entrance into political life was almost contem- 
poraneous with the rigorous enforcement of harsh 
measures against the Socialists, whose organization 
had acquired great strength during its twenty years 
of existence. Many Socialists were expelled from 
the country; and Singer contributed 5,000 marks 
toward the maintenance of their families. He him- 
self was the subject of an order of expulsion in 
1886; but the order was soon rescinded. One of 
the most notable of his parliamentary addresses is 
a reply to Eugen Richter, the leader of the “Frei- 
sinnige Partei ” (Liberal party), who, in the session 
of 1897, introduced in the Reichstag a measure for 
the revision of the factory laws. 

Singer is distinguished for his public charities. 
He was one of the chief founders of the Refuge for 
the Homeless, a large aud very important institu- 
tion in Berlin, which provides shelter for all who 
seek it. On one occasion the chief of the Beilin 
police sought to make use of the refuge for detective 
purposes, officers entcriug it in search of suspicious 
characters. On learning this, Singer brought the 
matter before the board of managers, which gave 
him full powers to deal with the question. When 
the chief of police realized that Singer was prepared, 
XI.— 25 


as the only alternative, to close the institution, he 
gave a positive promise to discontinue the surveil- 
lance. 

Bibliography: Stegman and Hugo, Handlmch des Socialis- 
mvs, p. 750, Zurich, 1897 ; Edwin A. Curley, Social Demo- 
crats in the Reichstag , in Harper's Magazine , Ixxi. 843-349. 
s. M. Co. 

SINGER, SAMUEL: Philologist; born in Vi- 
enna Jul3 r 12, 1860; educated at the gymnasium and 
university of his native city (LL.D. 1884; Ph.D. 
1885). In 1891 he became privat-docent at the Uni- 
versity of Bern, in 1S96 assistant professor, and in 
1905 professor of medieval German language and 
literature. 

Singer is theautliorof: “Deutsche Volksbiicher,” 
1888, in collaboration with Bachmann ; “ Ulrich von 
dem Tiirlin,” 1893; “Apollonius von Tyrus,” 1895; 
“Bemerknngen zu Wolfram von Eschenbach,” 
1898; “Die Mittelhocbdeiitsclie Schrift-Sprache, ” 
1900; and “Die Deutsche Kultur im Spiegel des 
Bedeutungslebn worts,” 1903. 
s. F. T. H. 

SIN ER, SIMEON : English rabbi ; born in 
London 848. He was educated at Jews’ College, 
received his rabbinical diploma in 1890, and has oc- 
cupied successively the positions of head master of 
Jews’ College School, and minister of the Borough 
New Synagogue and of the New West End Syna- 
gogue. He is a member of the committee of the 
Jewish Education Board and of the council of Jews* 
College, president of the Jewish Ministers’ Union, 
and honorary secretary of the Jewish Provincial 
Ministers’ Fund; and he is regarded as the fore- 
most representative of progressive Orthodoxy in 
the Anglo-Jewisli community. 

Singer is editor and translator of the “Author- 
ized Daily Prayer-Book,” and joint editor, with 
Prof. S. Schechter, of “Talmudical Fragments in 
the Bodleian Library” (1896). He has published 
also sermons in the Jewish press, and has read liter- 
ary papers before several learned bodies. 

Bibliography: Jewish Tear Booh, 1905. 

j. G. L. 

SINGER AND BASS. See Music, Synagogal. 

SINIGAGLIA : Italian family from Sinigaglia ; 
later settled in Scandiano, where Solomon Jedi- 
diah Sinigaglia (“Bet Talmud,” iii. 205) w T as rabbi 
and“mohel”in 1639. Later lie went to Modena. 
The principal members of the family and their 
genealogical tree are as follows : 

Solomon Jedidiah 

l 

(1) Abraham Vita 
(5) Solomon Jedidiali 


(2) Abraham Vita (4) Moses Elijah 

1. Abraham Vita Sinigaglia : Rabbi of Mo- 
dena in the first half of the eighteenth century; died 
at an early age. He was a pupil of Menahem of 
Cracow and of Ephraim Colieu. He w^rote: (1) 
“Dibre ha-Yamim,” a diary, the first volume of 
which comprised the years 1722-31, aud the second 
1732-33 ; (2) novelise on. the Mislmah (Berakot, 1719- 



Sinim 

Sippurim 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


386 


1721; Sliabbat and Hullin, 1726; Makkot and Baba 
Kamma, 1729; ‘Abodali Zarah, 1730; Pesahim and 
Sukkah, 1732). 

2. Abraham Vita Sinigaglia : Rabbi; born at 
Modena in the eighteenth century ; died there in the 
following century ; grandson of the preceding. He 
pursued his studies under his father, Solomon Jedi- 
diah (No. 5), and Ishmael Cohen. He left numerous 
unpublished novelhe. 

3. Jacob Samson Shabbethai Sinigaglia: 
Rabbinical author; born in Ancona; died in Siui- 
gaglia 1840; son of Raphael Issachar Sinigaglia. 
He was a pupil of Abraham Israel, rabbi of Ancona, 
and was the author of: preface to the sermons 
(“Sehuldat Mi? wall ”) of Daniel Term, rabbi at Flor- 
ence (Venice, 1791) ; “Sliabbat shel Mi” (Leghorn, 
1807), Talmudic novelise; “Ya‘akob Le-Hok,” com- 
mentary on the “ Hok le-Yisrael” by Jacob Baruk 
(ib. 1807); “Abir Ya'akob ” (Pisa, 1811), Talmudic 
novella?; “Nezir Shiinslion ” (ib. 1813); “Mattat 
Eloliim” ( ib . 1821); “Mattan ba-Seter” (Leghorn, 
1843) ; “Meged Shamayim ” (ib. 1844), responsa. He 
left, besides, the following manuscript works: 
“Kashya Sefa,” responsa; “Leshon Limmudim”; 
“ Shomer Sliabbat” ; and “Midbar Zin.” 

4. Moses Elijah Sinigaglia : Rabbi of Mo- 
dena; born in that city 1763; died there 1849; a 
pupil of liis father, Solomon Jedidiali Sinigaglia 
(No. 5), and of Ishmael Cohen, He taught for fifty 
years in Modena, and toward the end of his life was 
appointed rabbi of that place. He left in manu- 
script forty-two sermons and novella?, besides re- 
sponsa, some of which were included in the responsa 
collection of Elishama MeYr Padovani. 

5. Solomon Jedidiah Sinigaglia ; Rabbi of 
Modena in the eighteenth century; born and died in 
that city. He was the teacher of Elishama MeYr 
Padovani, and was also the author of a number of 
Hebrew poems, some published and others unpub- 
lished, several of which are contained in the “Tik- 
kun Hazot” (Leghorn, 1800). He left in manu- 
script also a grammatical treatise, sermons, and 
responsa. 

Bibliography: Fi'irst, BUY. Jud. iii. 339-340; Nepi-Gbirondi, 

Tnlednt Gcdolc YisraeU pp. 34, 48,228,330, 341; Mortara, In- 
dice. p. 62. 

s. u. c. 

SINIM. See Chika. 

SINZHEIM, JOSEPH DAVID : First rabbi 
of Strasburg; born in 1745; died at Paris Feb. 11, 
1812; son of R. Isaac Sinzheim of Treves and 
brother-in-law of Herz Oerfbeer. He was the 
most learned and prominent member of the As- 
sembly of Notables convened b 3 r Napoleon I. on 
May 30, 1806. The task of answering the questions 
laid before the assembly l) 3 r the imperial commis- 
sioner was entrusted to Sinzheim, who fulfilled his 
duties ( J uly 30- Aug. 3, 1806) to the satisfaction of 
the assembly as well as of the commissioner and 
even of Napoleon himself. The German sermon 
which he delivered in the synagogue of Paris in 
honor of the emperor’s birtlufciy, on Aug. 15, also 
strengthened Napoleon’s favorable opinion of the 
Jews, who received the imperial promise that 
their rights as French citizens should not be with- 
drawn. 


On Feb. 9, 1807, four days after the Assembly of 
Notables was dissolved, the Great Sanhedrin was 
convened; its chairman 
(“nasi”), appointed by 
the minister of the in- 
terior, was Sinzheim, 
who had probably sug- 
gested the assembty, 
having been frequently 
consulted by the impe- 
rial commissioner. The 
cousistorial constitution, 
provided by the decree 
of March 17, 1808, 
opened a new field of 
activity for Sinzheim, 
who was elected chair- 
man of the Central Con- 
sistoiy. He was re- 
garded as the foremost 
French Talmudist of his 
time, and was the author 
of the “Yad Dawid,” of which only a portion has 
appeared in print (Offenbach, 1799), 

Bibliography: Biographical notes in the Yad Dawid ; Car- 
i Orientate , ii. 340 ; Griitz, Gcsch. xi. 277 et seq.. 



Joseph David Sinzheim. 


moly. Revue 
286 et seq., 297, 309. 
S. 


E. N. 


SIPPAI : Philistine giant, one of the sons of 
Rapha (A. V. “the giant”); slain at Gezer by Sib- 
bechai the Hushatliite, one of David’s warriors (I 
Cliron. xx. 4). In the parallel passage, II Sam. 
xxi. 18, he is called “Sapli,” and the place of his 
death is given as Gob, 

e. G. ir, M. Sel. 

SIPPURIM (MA { ASIYYOT), HASIDIC ; 

Stories, legends, or tales related by, or of, the Hasidic 
“rebbes ” (rabbis)— the “zaddikim,” or “kedoshim,” 
as they are sometimes called; or, in Judaeo-Ger- 
man, the “gute Yiden.” These sippurim are to 
be distinguished from those which relate to heroes, 
scholars, or saints, and which belong to Jewish 
biography, history, or fiction (comp. Wolf Pas- 
cheles, “Sippurim,” 6 vols., Prague, 1864-70). The 
Hasidic sippurim were never intended as mere nar- 
ratives; as the “sihat hullin ” (the secular conversa- 
tion of the learned) tlie3 r have rather a deeper object 

in view. Tliey are divided, into two classes. One 

class consists of fiction, sippurim elaborated in tlie 
imagination of their authors, and used as parables to 
impress upon Israel the Hasidic religious concep- 
tions; these were generally related by the rebbes 
themselves. The second chassis composed of sippu- 
rim supposed to be based on facts, or of incidents in 
the lives of the rebbes; these their disciples and fol- 
lowers related in praise of their masters, whom they 
almost worshiped. Relating these incidents consti- 
tuted in itself a meritorious act, as much so as study- 
ing the Law or reciting the Psalms, or even as offer- 
ing up “ bikkurim ” and sacrifices to the Lord. 

To make the sippur more mystical and affecting, 
the rebbe would not explain its moral, but would 
leave it to bis listeners for later discussion and de- 
bate, each time making a different comment to suit 
particular circumstances and conditions. He would 
discuss the sippur from every side — its merits, 



387 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Sinim 

Sippurim 


meaning, purpose, and its effect upon followers and 
opponents (“ mitnaggedim ”). These stories were not 
told from the pulpit, but at the gathering of the 
Hasidim at the third of the Sabbath meals (“sha- 
Josh sc'uddot ”), between “ Minhali ” and “ Mabirib ” ; 
. at the meal after “Ilabdalah,” at the closing of Sab- 
bath, and at every gathering of Hasidim when the 
rebbe was not presiding at the table. The stories 
were related in connection with the “ Hasidic Torah,” 
a term used to distinguish Hasidic from other inter- 
pretations of the Bible or the Midrash. 

The Hasidic sippurim, of both kinds, made their 
first appearance in type almost simultaneously, about 
1814, with the “Sippure Ma‘asiyyot ” collected 
by Nathan b. Naphtali Herz of Lem- 
Printed . berg (or Nemirov), and credited to R. 
Sippurim. Nall man b. Sim hah, grandson of Israel 
b. Eliezer Ba‘al Shem-Tob (BeSHT), 
and with the “Shibhe BeSHT ” of Dob Baer b. 
Samuel Sholiet. The place of publication of the 
former work is not given ; the latter appeared at 
Kopys in 1814, and at Berdycliev in 1815. “ Sippure 
Ma'asiyyot” has, below the Hebrew text, a Judteo- 
German translation, and contains also an intro- 
duction and notes in Hebrew. It was republished 
many times, the latest edition at Warsaw in 1902. 
If contains the following stories; “The Lost Prin- 
cess”; “The King and the Kaiser”; “The Wise 
Man ” ; “ Miracles ” ; “ The King and the Wise Man ” ; 
“The Rabbi and the Only Son ”; “The Conquering 
King”; “The Wise and the Simpleton”; “Berger 
and the Poor Man”; “The Prince and the Slave’s 
Son Exchanged”; “The Ba^l-Tefillah ” ; “Seven 
Sclmorrers.” In the introduction it is explained 
that the “Princess” represents the Shekinali, or 
Judaism, that the “King” is God, etc., and that 
these “wonderful, fearful, and terrible” stories con- 
tain great moral lessons, which should compel the 
listener or reader to repent in his heart and to mend 
Ins ways. 

The stories are full of supernormal incidents, and 
of fancies of “lezim” (ghosts), witches, and the 
“Sam” (Saniael, Satan); there are grand palaces, 
immense riches, stores of jewels, a gold mountain, 
and a great diamond from which, when any one 
looks at it, human figures creep out. The heroes 
are generally kings or princes, while the heroines, 
-who are always veiled, are invariably princesses 
and the most beautiful creatures on earth. The 
food of even the ordinary mortal is tit fora king, 
and is cooked by tire issuing from a subterranean 
channel connected with a fire-mountain ; and birds 
hover over the hearth to make or extinguish with 
l heir wings the fire for cooking. A sleep lasting 
seventy years is frequently described as overtaking 
one of the characters, who is awakened only by a 
thrilling story. In “ Maggid Sihot ” (date and place 
() f publication not given) the author of the “Sip- 
pure Ma‘asiyyot ” collected the sayings, stories, and 
incidents connected with the journey to Palestine 
°f the rebbe Nahman. 

The stories in “Shibhe BeSIIT” bear the true 
Hasidic traits of the Ba‘al-Shem, his successor Baer 
cf Meseritz, and others. The rebbes were all mira- 
cle-workers. exorcising bad spirits, healing diseases, 
removing sterility, and never failing to give good 


advice, inspired, perhaps, by a “kemia‘” (amulet); 
sometimes they gave a “segullah ” (remedy), or of- 
fered special prayer for “ children, life, 
Folk-Tale and maintenance.” The prophetic rev- 
Features. elation (“hitgallut ”) of the rebbe is 
described, also the Biblical character 
whom he represents through a transfer of personal- 
ity. The rebbe would sometimes be a “ro’eliwe- 
eno nir’eli ” (one who is present but invisible). 

There is a strong suspicion that the name given as 
that of the author of the “ Sippure Ma'asiyyot ” is a 
pseudonym, and that it was used by one who, under 
the pretense of being a Hasid, passed off as genuine 
parables of the rebbes a collection of stories from 
Oriental sources, which he flavored with character- 
istic Hasidic expressions, and thereby secured as 
readers large numbers of the Hasidim, especially 
women, for whom the translation was made, and 
who were easily led to regard the stories as indubi- 
tably Hasidic. The author of “ Shibhe BeSHT ” un- 
doubtedly was actuated by these motives ; but he had 
also another object in view— to conceal an elaborate 
sarcasm at the expense of the whole Hasidic system 
of theology, which was strenuously opposed by the 
followers of the Wilna gaon. So well was this 
latter purpose achieved that a majority of the Hasi- 
dim implicitly believed the stories, though they are 
of the most exaggerated kind, and were disavowed 
by the more learned Hasidim as ridiculous. The 
mingling of Hasidic Hebrew with Judaeo-German 
idioms, in which these stories abound, strengthens 
the suspicion of the author’s sincerity. 

Joseph Perl, in his “Megalleh Temirin ” (Vienna, 
1819), 151 Hasidic letters containing many con- 
nected stories, is not so guarded. His exaggerated 
style and the anti-Hasidic ending of the story be- 
tray him, though it is asserted that for a long time, 
under the pseudonym of “Obadiah ben Pethaliiah,” 
it was accepted by many as a genuine Hasidic work. 

Perhaps the most interesting of these sippurim 
is “Shibhe lia*Rab,” relating to Rebbe Senior Zal- 
man of Lodi, or Liozna (1747-1812), 
“Shibhe the author of “Rab Shulhan ‘Aruk ” 
ha-Rab.” and “ Tanya.” The “ Shibhe ha-Rab ” 
was edited by Abraham Hcrschel 
Drucker (Lemberg, 1845 ?). Rebbe Zalman was a 
disciple of Baer of Meseritz, and was arrested as 
a __ “revolutionary ” suspect in St. Petersburg in 
r « 9S, tlie arrest being' tiie result of tbe maclii nations 

of the disciples of the gaon of Wilna, who were 
combating Hasidic Judaism. The arrest caused 
consternation among the Hasidim, wlio collected a 
large fund for the “ransom” of their zaddik. It is 
asserted that Czar Paul I. personally examined the 
prisoner, who managed to rescue from the enemy his 
correspondence with his followers, and that finally 
he miraculously triumphed over the mitnaggedim. 
The day of liis triumph has been observed as a holi- 
day ever since among the Hasidim. 

Another story told of Rebbe Zalman is that, in the 
Napoleonic invasion of Russia in 1812, fearing the 
growth of heresies as a result of a French victory, 
he prayed for the success of the Russian arms, while 
Rebbe Shelomo of Karlin prayed for the triumph of 
France. Rosli ha-Shanah approaching, each antici- 
pated miraculous support through the medium of 



Sirach 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


388 


the “ teki'at shofar.” The followers of t-lie oppo- 
sing rebbes predicted that the prayers of whichever 
rebbe blew the shofar first on Rosh ha-Shanah 
would be granted. Rebbe Zalman blew first, and 
Rebbe Slielomo knew that he had been defeated di- 
rectty he grasped his shofar. Rebbe Zalman was 
in constant, communication with the Russian com- 
mander (who would not move without his advice), 
and had sworn by his tallit and phylacteries that 
the French would be defeated at Moscow ; and so it 
happened. 

The Judam-Gennan translation of “Shibhe 
BeSHT ” was published in various editions, inclu- 
ding those under the titles “Kelial Hasidim ” (Lem- 
berg) and “Sippure Ma'asiyyot” (Warsaw, 1881); 
some of these editions contain a few stories of later 
rebbes. Another series of Hasidic stories credited to 
BeSHT, “ *Adat Zaddikim,” in Hebrew and Judmo- 
German, was composed by Michael Levi Frumkin 
(Lemberg, 1805). There are also the “ Seder lia-Dorot 
he-Hadash,” sket ches of the disciples of BeSHT (part 
i. contains a Hasidic bibliography of eighty-three 
works), and “Tggeret ha-Kodesh,” relating to the 
experiences of the rebbe Mendel of Vitebsk in the 
Holy Land. Separate stories, in pamphlet form, of 
each rebbe appeared from time to time, as those of 
the rebbe Lob Sarah’s, of the rebbe of Ruzhin, 
and of the rebbe of Sandigura. These sippnrim are 
most widely distributed in Podolia, Volliynia, Ru- 
mania, Galicia, and Russian Poland ; the centers of 
publication are Lemberg and Warsaw. A unique 
contribution to the Hasidic sippnrim is “The Rabbi 
of Liszka,” in English, by Anthony P. Slutzker 
(New York, 1901). " See Ba‘al Suem-Tob, Israel 
b. Eliezer; Folk -Tales; Hasidim. 

j. ' J. D. E. 

SIRACH, THE WISDOM OF JESUS THE 
SON OF (Hebrew, Hokmat ben Sira; Latin, 
Ecclesiasticus) : Among the books of the Greek 
Bible is one entitled Sochla T qaov Yiov Ztpax (Codices 
Sinaiticus and Alexandrinus) or simply 'Zo&ta let pax 
(Codex Vatican us). The Greek Church Fathers called 
it also “ The All-Virtuous Wisdom” (Tlavaperog Sofia ; 
Eusebius, “ Chrouicou,” ed. Schoenc, ii. 122; 'II Tiara - 
psrog; Jerome, Commentary on Dan. ix.)or “The 
Mentor ” (T1 aifiayayog ; Clemen t of Alexandria, “ Pseda- 
gogus,” ii. 10, 99, 101, 109); while the Latin Church 
Fathers, beginning with Cyprian (“ Testimonial ii. 
1; iii. 1, 85, 51, 95, et passim), termed it “Ecclesias- 
ticus.” All these names testify to the high esteem 
in which the book was held in Christian circles. 
The Jews, who never admitted its eanonicity, called 
it during the Talmudic period the “Book of Ben 
Sira ” (Hag. 13a; Niddah 161) ; Ber. lib; et passim) or 
the “Books of Ben Sira” (XTD p nSD; Yer. Sanh. 
28a; Tosef., Yad. ii. 13; possibly a scribal error; 
comp, the parallel passage of Eccl. R. xii. 11), and 
a Hebrew" copy in the possession 

Names. of Jerome was entitled “Parabolae” 
(= d'^d). However, the fact that 
the verses of this work cited in the Midrash are prece- 
ded by the word “ Maslial ” or “ Matla” does not prove 
that such was the title of the book, but simply that 
these verses had come to be accepted as proverbs 
(contrary to the view of Ryssel in Kautzsch. “ Apo- 
kryphen,” p. 232. where lie attributes to Levi the 


opinion expressed b}" Blau in “R. E. J.” xxxv. 22). 
Nor is it possible to draw any inference from the 
fact that Saadi a calls the book in Arabic “Iii tab 
al-Adab”; for he certainly did not give this appel- 
lation (which he had no reason to translate) as the 
title, but, contrary to the opinion of Harkavy (“Stu- 
dien und Mittheilungen,” v. 200) and Blau (lc.\ 
merely as a description of the contents of the book. 
The Syriac name is “Hekmata de-Bar Sira” = “The 
Wisdom of Bar Sira.” 

The author, who, alone of all Old Testament and 
Apocryphal writers, signed his work, is called in the 
Greek text (1. 27) “Jesus the son of Sirach of Jeru- 
salem.” The oldest manuscripts (Vaticanus, Sinai- 
ticus, Alexandrinus, Venetus) add to Setpax the 
name ’E /iEa±ap or ’E?i ea^apol, an error for ’E ?i£a%apov } 
probably tbe name of his grandfather. The copy 
owned by Saadia (Harkavy, l.c. p. 150) had: pyw 
RYD p Yy^R p p = “ Simon, son of Jesus, son 
of Eleazar ben Sira”; and a similar reading occurs in 
the Hebrew" manuscript B, which will be discussed 
below. By interchanging the positions of the names 
“Simon ” and “Jesus,” the same reading is obtained 
as in the other manuscripts. The correctness of the 
name “ Simon ” is confirmed by the Syriac version, 
which has RYDR in RnpriCH pjW13 = “ Jesus, 
sou of Simon, surnamed Bar Asira.” The discrep- 
ancy between the tw r o readings “Bar 

Author. Asira ” and “ Bar Sira ” is a noteworthy 
one, “ Asira ” (= “ prisoner ”) being a 
popular etymology of “Sira.” The evidence seems 
to show" that the author’s name was Jesus, son of Si- 
mon, son of Eleazar ben Sira. 

Every attempt to identify this writer with some 
member of the high-priestly family has proved a 
failure, the only basis for the supposition that Ben 
Sira was a priest being due to a scribal error; for 
while the Sinaitic manuscript reads e?,ea^apotepsvao- 
ao?,v/i£ir/jc, this is, beyond all question, a scribal er- 
ror, and should be emended to eAea^apoiepoGohjfiEiTjjg 
(see R*). According to the Greek version, though 
not according to the Syriac, the author traveled ex- 
tensively (xxxiv. 11) and was frequently in danger 
of death ( ib . verse 12). In the hymn of ch. Ii. he 
speaks of the perils of all sorts from which God had 
delivered him, although this is probably only a 
poetic theme in imitation of the Psalms. Tlie cal- 
umnies to which he rvas exposed in the presence of 
a certain king, supposed to be one of the Lagi, are 
mentioned only in tlie Greek version, being ignored 
both in the Syriac and in the Hebrew" text. The 
only fact known with certainty is that Ben Sira was 
a scholar, and a scribe thoroughly versed in the 
Law, and especially in the “Books of Wisdom.” 
He was not, however, a rabbi, nor w T as lie a phy- 
sician, as has been conjectured (see especially 
xxxviii. 24 et seq ., xlix. 1—5, and the introduction by 
his grandson). 

The approximate date of the redaction of the 
book and the period of its author’s literary activity 
are somewhat less doubtful. ‘ The Greek translator 
states in his preface that he urns the grandson of the 
author, and that lie came to Egypt in the thirty- 
eighth year of the reign of Euergetes, an epithet 
borne by only tw 7 o of tlie Lagi, Ptolemy TIL (247- 
222 is. c.) and Ptolemy VII. (sometimes reckoned 



389 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Sirach 


IX.). The former monarch can not be intended in 
this passage; for liis reign lasted only twenty-five 
years. The latter ascended the throne in the year 
170, together with his brother Philometor; but he 
soon became sole ruler of Gyrene, and from 146 to 
117 held sway over till Egypt, although he dated 
his reign from the year in which lie 
Date. received the crown (i.c., from 170). 

The translator must, therefore, have 
gone to Egypt in 132, and if the average length 
of two generations be reckoned Ben Sira’s date must 
fall in the first third of the second century. The 
result of this reckoning is confirmed by the fact 
that the author evidently lived before the per- 
secution of Antioch us in 168, since he does not 
allude to it. Another argument is commonly re- 
lied on. In eh. 1. Ben Sira eulogizes a high priest 
named Simon, son of Jolianan (Onias in G), this 
laudation being apparently an expression of the 
admiration aroused by actual sight of the object 
of liis praise. There were, however, a number of 
high priests named Simon b. Onias, one of whom 
exercised his functions from 300 to 287, and another 
from 226 to 199. The Simon b. Jolianan mentioned 
here can only be the second of the name ; and as 
the passage seems to have been written after the 
high priest’s death (1. 1-3), the date of its composi- 
tion coincides approximately with the period men- 
tioned above (190-170). The work is in reality a 
collection of maxims written at various times — a 
fact which also explains its frequent repetitions and 
contradictions. 

Attempts have indeed been made to refute these 
arguments. According to Josephus, Simon I., the 
Just (300-287), was the only high priest whom Ben 
Sira could thus have extolled, aud the book would 
accordingly be a century older; as to the number 
38, it might refer to the age of the translator when 
he arrived in Egypt. Indeed, the word TraTrirog does 
not necessarily mean “grandfather”; it may mean 
also “remote ancestor.” This, it has been held, 
would account for the translator’s frequent mis- 
comprehension of Ben Sira’s words, which would be 
very strange had lie actually been the author’s grand- 
son. All these quibbles, however, which it would be 
idle again to refute, have been definitely abandoned. 

Ecclesiasticus closely resembles Proverbs, except 
that, unlike the latter, it is the work of a single 
author, not an anthology of maxims drawn from 
various sources. Some, it is true, have denied Ben 
Sira the authorship of the apothegms, and have re- 
garded him as a mere compiler, basing their argu- 
ments on his own words: “And I myself, the last, I 
set myself to watch, like him that gleaueth grapes 
after the vintage” (xxxlii. 16). This, however, is 
probably a simple expression of modesty. Tlie fre- 
quent repetitions and even contradictions only prove 
that Ben Sira, like all moralists, did not compose 
the entire work at one time; moreover, the unity 
of the book, taken as a whole, is remarkable. 

The Book of Ecclesiasticus is a collection of moral 
counsels and maxims, often utilitarian in character 
and for the most part secular, although religious 
apothegms occasionally occur. They are applicable 
to all conditions of life : to parents and children, to 
husbauds and wives, to the young, to masters, to 


friends, to the rich, and to the poor. Many of them 
are rules of courtesy and politeness: and a still 
greater number contain advice and instruction as to 
the duties of man toward himself and others, espe- 
cially the poor, as well as toward so- 
Contents. ciety and the state, and most of all 
toward God. These precepts are ar- 
ranged in verses, which are grouped according to 
tlieir outward form in case their content is not in- 
trinsically coherent. The sections are preceded by 
eulogies of wisdom which serve as introductions and 
mark the divisions into which the collection falls. 

Wisdom, in Ben Sira’s view, is synonymous with 
the fear of God, and sometimes is confounded in his 
mind with the Mosaic law. It is essentially prac- 
tical, being a routine knowledge; and it would be 
vain to seek to find in it any hypostasis, since mys- 
ticism is utterly opposed to the author’s thought. 
The maxims are expressed in exact formulas, and 
are illustrated by striking images. They show a 
profound knowledge of the human heart, the disil- 
lusionment of experience, a fraternal sympathy with 
the poor aud the oppressed, and an unconquerable 
distrust of women. Throughout the work are scat- 
tered pure and elevated thoughts; and the whole is 
dominated by a sincere, enlightened piety — what is 
now called a liberalism of ideas. As in Ecclesiastes, 
two opposing tendencies war in the author: the 
faith aud tlie morality of olden times, which are 
stronger than all argument, and an Epicureanism of 
modern date. Occasionally Ben Sira digresses to 
attack theories which lie considers dangerous; for 
example, the doctrines that divine mercy blots out 
all sin; that man lias no freedom of will; and 
that Gocl is indifferent to the actions of mankind, 
and does not reward virtue. Some of the refuta- 
tions of these views are developed at considerable 
length. Through these moralistic chapters runs the 
prayer of Israel imploring God to gather together 
His scattered children, to bring to fulfilment the 
predictions of the Prophets, and to have mercy 
upon His Temple and His people. Tlie book con- 
cludes with a justification of the Divinity, whose 
wisdom and greatness are revealed in all His works 
(hence is inserted a description of the beauties of 
creation), and also in tlie history of Israel ; this form 
of sacred history, however, is little more than a 
panegyric on the priests, terminating in an enthusi- 
astic delineation of tlie high priest Simon ben Onias. 
These chapters are completed by the author’s signa- 
ture, and are followed by two hymns, the latter ap- 
parently a sort of alphabetical acrostic. 

The Wisdom of Jesus marks an epoch in the liis- 
toiy of Jewish thought, on account both of what it 
teaches and of wliat it silently ignores. While the 
author advocates the offering of the prescribed sac- 
rifices and the veneration of priests, he condemns 
all hypocrisy and urges the union of the outward 
practise of religion with a pure con- 
importance science and with the doing of charity. 

for the However, he never mentions the 
History of dietary laws, which are set forth at 
Thought, great length in Daniel and Tobit, and 
especially in Judith. In like manner, 
while he awaits tlie return of Elijah to reassemble 
the tribes of the past and to reconcile the fathers 



Sirach 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


390 


with the children, and while he prays for the coming 
of a time which can be called Messianic, though 
without a Messiah — when Jerusalem and the Temple 
shall be restored to the divine favor and Israel de- 
livered forever from the dominion of the stranger — 
he never alludes to a Messiah who will be the son 
of David; on the contrary, he asserts that the house 
of David has rendered itself unworthy 7 of the divine 
favor, since of all the kings. of Judah three alone 
remained faithful to God. God indeed made a sol- 
emn compact with the race of David; but it was 
one that differed widely from that into which He 
entered with Aaron, and which alone was to endure 
for eternity. Ben Sira never speaks of the resurrec- 
tion of the dead nor of the immortality of the soul, 
but, on the contrary, declares that in Sheol there 
will be no joy, wherefore man should taste delight 
in this world in so far as it is compatible with an 
upright life. 

The view has been expressed that this work, early 
in date as it is, bears traces of Hellenic influence. 
The author, in his travels, may possibly have come 
in contact with Greek civilization, since he speaks 
of foreign poets and moralists whose fame was 
spread abroad. The customs which lie describes are 
taken from Greek rather than from 
Possible Hebrew society'; thus he mentions 
Traces of banquets accompanied by r brilliant 
Hellenic conversation, at which musical instru- 
Influence. incuts were heard, and over which 
presided “ the masters [of the feasts] ” ; 
and the .customs of the Sybarites also aroused his 
interest.. The fatalistic philosophers whose opin- 
ions lie contests were doubtless the Stoics; and the 
philosophical discussions instituted by r him were in- 
novations and probably 7 borrowed. His criticisms 
of skeptics and would-be thinkers are further evi- 
dences of his knowledge of Hellenism ; and some of 
his views find close analogues in Euripides. Not 
only 7 does he share characteristic ideas with the 
Greek tragedians and moralists, but he even lias the 
same taste for certain common topics, such as false 
friendship, the uncertainty of happiness, and espe- 
cially the faults of women. The impression of 
Greek influence is strengthened by 7 the presence of a 
polish quite foreign to Hebrew literature. The au- 
thor composes his aphorisms with care; he makes 
his transitions with skill ; and he inserts the titles of 
chapters, such as “ Concerning Shame, ” “Proper De- 
portment at Table,” and “The Hymn of the Patri- 
archs ” ; and the signing of his own name in full is 
a usage theretofore absolutely 7 unknown. 

The exclusion of Ecclesiasticus from the Hebrew 
canon was due in part to this imitation of the 
Greeks and these literary 7 affectations. According 
to P. Akiba (Yer. Sanh. 28a), those who have no 
part in the world to come include the readers of 
foreign works, such as the books of Ben Sira; while 
Tosef., Yad. ii. 13 merely states that the writings 
of Ben Sira do not defile the hands, or, in other 
words, that they 7 are uncanonical, so that they 7 are 
ranked with the works of “ minim ” (heretics). 
Eccl. R. xii. 11, which is based on Yer. Sanh. 28a, 
contains a prohibition against having this work in 
one’s house. R. Joseph, a Babydonian rabbi of the 
fourth century 7 , in commenting on the view of R. 


Akiba, adds, “It is also forbidden to read the works 
of Ben Sira ” (Sanh. 100c), although this prohibition, 
judging from the remainder of the passage, may 
have been restricted to reading in public. In his 
questions to R. Joseph (ib.), R. Abaye indicated 
some of the reasons for the exclusion of Ecclesiasti- 
cus from the canon. 

“Why 7 this prohibition?” he asked. “Is it on 
account of such and such verses?” With the ex- 
ception of two verses written in Aramaic and which 
are not by Ben Sira at all, all of R. Abaye’s citations 
are distinctly 7 frivolous, being those relating to the 
anxiety 7 caused by 7 a y r oimg girl before and after her 
marriage, the uselessness of repining, and the danger 
of introducing strangers too freely 7 into one’s home. 
Abaye then condemns the misanthropy 7 , misogyny, 
and Epicureanism of the author. To Ben Sira’s 
Epicurean tendency 7 must be attributed his denial 
of a future life, and, perhaps, also his pre-Sadducean 
spirit of reverence for the priesthood, with which the 
jmuegyric on his brethren is animated. 

Curiously enough, the book retained its popular- 
ity among the Jews despite its exclusion from the 
canon. It was cited at a very 7 early 7 
Popularity period : the Book of Tobit reproduces 

Among a number of passages word for word; 
the Jews, while the Book of Enoch (Charles, 
“The Book of the Secrets of Enoch,” 
p. 96; Index, p. i.), the Psalms of Solomon (Ryle 
and James, “The Psalms of Solomon,” pp. Ixiii. et 
seq.), and even the Talmud, the Midrashim, the 
Derek Erez, and similar productions show decided 
traces of its influence. AVitli the last-named work 
it has many points in common ; and it is frequently 
quoted in the Talmud; passages from it are intro- 
duced by 7 the formula reserved for the Biblical wri- 
tings (Hag. 12a; Niddah 10b; Yer. Ber. 11c); and 
one verse is even referred to as if it belonged to the 
Hagiographa (B. K. 92a). It is cited by name in 
Sanh. 100b (=Yeb. 63c), where also a series of 
verses from it is given ; and single verses appear in 
the following treatises and other works: Yer. Ber. 
lib; Yer. Hag. 77c; Yer. Ta £ an. 66d; Hag*. 13a; 
Niddah 16b; Gen. R. viii., x\, Ixxiii. ; Lev. II 
xxxiii. ; Tan., Wayishlali, 8; ib. Mikkez, 10; ib. 
Hukkat, 1 ; a midrasliic passage preserved in the 
“Shibbole ha-Leket,” ed. Buber, p. 23a; “Pirke 
de-Rabbenu lia-Kadosh,” ed. Sclionblum, 14a; 
Earaita Kallah (ed. Coronel, 7c, and in the Wilna 
edition of the Talmud). It is cited also by R. Nis- 
sim (“Sefer Ma'asiyyot ha-Hakamim welm Hibbur 
Yafeli melia-Yeshii'ah ”), and especially 7 by Saadia 
in the preface to his “ Sefer ha-Galui ” (Ilarkavy, 
l.c.). In his commentary on the “ Sefer Yezirali ” 
the latter author quotes verbatim two verses of 
Ben Sira, although he attributes them to one Elea- 
zar b. Irai, of whom nothing is known. In an- 
other part of this work (p. 178) he cites the same 
text, again attributing it to that author. This is 
the more remarkable since Saadia speaks of Ben 
Sira in his introduction, and cites no less than seven 
of his maxims. The “ Sefer ben Irai ” contained also 
passages (two of them copied by Saadia) not found 
in Ecclesiasticus, and which were totally 7 dissimilar 
to it both in form and in content. As Saadia him- 
self says : “ The book of Ben Sira is a work on ethics, 







Sirach 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


392 


similar in form to Proverbs, while that of Ben Irai 
is a book of Wisdom, bearing an external resem- 
blance to Ecclesiastes.” The “Seler ben Irai” was 
probably a collection of maxims and sayings taken 
from various sources. 

Quotations from Ben Sira without mention of his 
name are found also in the “ Mibhar ha-Peninim,” at- 
tributed to Solomon ibn Gabirol (for citations of this 
type see Zunz, “ G. V.” p. 110; Beifmaun, in “ Ha- 
Asif,” iii. 271; Schechter, in “J. Q. B.” iii. 682; 
Neubauer and Cowley, in their edition of Eeelesias- 
ticus, pp. xix. ct seq. [certain of their comparisons 
must be discarded] ; the commentaries of Schechter 
and Levi, especially on the Derek Erez; Levi, in 
“R. E. J.” xliv. 291). The popularity of Ecclesias- 
t-icus among the Jews of the Talmudic period is 
shown by the citation of a number of verses in Ara- 
maic, with an allusion to Ben Sira, which proves 
that it must have been translated into that dialect, 
this Aramaic collection being subsequently enriched 
with numerous additional aphorisms in that lan- 
guage (Sank. 100b = Yeb. 63b). The Baraita Kallah 
even restricts its citations from Ben Sira to Aramaic 
verses which are not found in Ecclesiasticus. An- 
other proof of his popularity is found in the two 
alphabets ascribed to him (see Ben SritA, Alphabet 
of), especially the second, in which he is the hero 
of a series of marvelous events. 

The Book of Ecclesiasticus has been honored still 
more highly among the Christians, being cited in 
the Epistle of James (Edersheim, in Wace, “Apoc- 
rypha,” p. 21), the Didache (iv. 5), and the Epistle 
of Barnabas (xix. 9), while Clement 
Popularity of Alexandria and Origen quote from 
Among it repeatedly, as from a ypa<p?i, or holy 
Christians, book. In the Western Church, Cyprian 
frequently appeals to it in his “Testi- 
monia,” as does Ambrose in the greater number of 
his writings. In like manner the Catalogue of Chel- 
tenham, Damasus I., the Councils of Hippo (393) 
and Carthage (397), Pope Innocent I., the second 
Council of Carthage (419), and Augustine all regard 
it as a canonical book. This is contraiy, however, 
to the opinions of the Council of Laodicea, of Je- 
rome, and of Rutiniis of Aquileia, which authori- 
ties rank it among the ecclesiastical books. It was 
finally declared canonical by the Council of Trent; 
and the favor with which the Church has always 
regarded it has preserved it in its entirety. 

Until recent years Ecclesiasticus was known only 
from the Greek and Syriac versions — the sources of 
all other translations— and from the Hebrew quota- 
tions already mentioned. At present the greater 
part of the original is known. In 1896 Agnes Smith 
Lewis and Margaret Dunlop Gibson brought from 
tlie East a sheet of parchment covered with com- 
paratively antiquated Hebrew characters. At Cam- 
bridge this was shown toS. Schechter, 
Discovery who recognized in it Ecclus. (Sirach) 
of He- xxxix. 15-xl. 7, and who published 
brew Frag- the decipherment, which was by no 
ments. means easy. Almost simultaneously 
Sayce presented to the Bodleian Li- 
brary, Oxford, a collection of fragments of Hebrew 
and Arabic manuscripts, among which Neubauer 
and Cowley found nine leaves of the same volume 


to which the Lewis-Gibson leaf bad belonged, and 
following immediately after i t. These various fra fo- 
ments having come from tlie Genizau at Cairo, 
Schechter at once went to that city, and obtained 
the necessary authority to examine the contents 
of the collection, with the result that he found not 
only the final portion of the manuscript, but also 
xxx. 11, xxxii. lb-xxxiii. 3, xxxv. 9-xxxvi. 21, and 
xxxvii. 27-xxxviii. 27. Two additional fragments 
of tlie same manuscript, called B by Schechter, and 
containing xxxi. 12-31 and xxxvi. 24-xxxvii. 26, 
have been secured by the British Museum. A 
second manuscript (A) was found by the same 
scholar in the collection brought by him from 
Egypt, containing iii. 6-xvi. 26, with a hiatus 
from vii. 29 to xi. 34, the missing pages of which 
subsequently came into the possession of Elkan 
Adler. A fresh discovery was made when the re- 
maining contents of the genizah were offered for 
sale, and Israel Levi secured a leaf from a third 
copy (C), containing xxxvi. 24-xxxviii. 1. This 
fragment is especially valuable, since it serves as 
a check on the manuscript B, which likewise includes 
these verses. Tlie importance of this discovery is 
shown below. Finally, Schechter, Gaster, and Levi 
found in consignments from tlie same genizah the 
following fragments of an anthology of the Wisdom 
of Jesus: iv. 23b, 30-31; v. 4-8, 9-13; vi. 18-19, 28, 
35; vii. 1, 4, 6, 17, 20-21, 23-25; xviii. 30-31; xix. 
1-2; xx. 4-6, 12 (V); xxv. 7c, 8c, 8a, 12, 16-23; 
xxvi. 1-2; xxxvi. 16; xxxvii. 19, 22, 24, 26. 

There are, therefore, now in existence: ( a ) in one 
manuscript: iii. 6-16, 26; xviii. 30-31; xix. 1-2; xx. 
4-6, 12 (?) ; xxv. 7c, 8c, 8a, 12, 16-23; xxvi. 1-2; 
xx vii. 5-6, 16; xxx. 11-xxxiii. 3; xxxv. 9-xxxviii. 
27; xxxix. 15-li. 30; (b) in two manuscripts: iv. 
23b, 30-31; v. 4-8, 9-13; vi. 18-19, 28, 35; vii. 1, 4, 
6, 17, 20-21, 23-25; xxxvi. 16, 29-31; xxxvii. com- 
plete; xxxviii. 1; (c) in three manuscripts: xxxvii. 
19, 22, 24, 26. 

These manuscripts contain also some passages 
that are lacking in the translations, including a 
psalm fifteen lines in ’length inserted after li. 12. 

Manuscript A: 18 X 11 cm. ; 28 lines per page. 
The verses are generally marked by a double point;. 

and certain ones are punctuated and 
Manu- accented, thus confirming certain 

scripts. statements of Saadia. “Matres lecti- 

onis” abound. Tlie scribe lias been 
guilty of the grossest errors, in addition to ab- 
breviating some verses and omitting others. 

Manuscript C: 16 X 13 cm. Certain words, 
and entire verses are vocalized and accented; the 
script shows cursive tendencies, although of an 
early type. In the margin is given a variant verse 
which represents the original text, corrupted even 
in the days of Ben Sira’s grandson. 

Manuscript D : 143 X 100 mm. ; 12 lines per 
page. The text is often preferable to that of A, and 
offers variants agreeing with the Greek version,, 
while the readings of A correspond to the Syriac. 

Manuscript B : 19 X 17 . cm. ; 22 lines per page. 
This is the most curious and interesting of all, as it 
contains certain peculiarities which are probably 
unique among all known Hebrew manuscripts. 
The lines are written with a stylus, as in the Torah 



393 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Sirach. 


scrolls; and, as in some copies of Proverbs and tLe 
Book of Job, a space is left between the hemistielis 
of each verse, so that the pages are divided into two 
columns ; and the “ sof pasuk ” is placed at the end of 
the verse. This corroborates Saadia’s assertion that 
the book of Ben Sira resembled Proverbs in its divi- 
sion into chapters and verses. The chapters are some- 
times indicated by the initial letter Q (= ttpD'Q)and 
sometimes by a blank space. The most remarkable 
peculiarity consists in the chapter headings or titles, 
such as "1D1D (“Instruction as to Shame”), 

1*1 rp urb “ID1D (“Rules for Proper Deportment 
at Table”), and HUK rat? (“Hymn of the Pa- 
triarchs”), although in the Greek version these ru- 
brics were regarded as scribal interpolations. An- 
other noteworthy feature of this manuscript is its 
marginal Masorali, containing variants, some of 
which represent differences merely in orthography, 
while others are in synonyms or even words with 
totally different meanings. These glosses are the 
work of a Persian Jew, who in several marginal 
notes in Persian stated that he had used two 
manuscripts in addition to his principal one. Such 
care is indicative of the esteem in which Ben 
Sira’s text was held. The marginal readings pre- 
sent an interesting problem. As a rule, the body of 
the text corresponds to the Greek version, and the 
glosses in the margin to the Syriac; but occasionally 
the reverse is the case. 

Prof. S. Margoliouth, noticing the decadent char- 
acter of the language, the number of rabbinisms, 
and the derivatives from the Arabic and Aramaic, 
regarded the Hebrew text as a reconstruction of the 
lost original on the basis of the Greek and Syriac 
versions, the variants representing dif- 
Originality ferent attempts at retranslation. The 
of the He- discovery of manuscript C, however, 
brew Frag- disproved this hypothesis, since this 
merits. manuscript reproduces with exactness 
the greater part of the variants of B, 
even when they are obviously false, while the tran- 
scriber of this latter manuscript discharged his task 
with such scrupulous care that he even recorded 
variants which were meaningless. If, therefore, 
the difference between the text and the marginal 
glosses corresponds to the difference between the 
two translations, this only shows that there were 
two recensions of the original. It is clear, more- 
over, that these fragments are not the work of some 
medieval scholar, but are more or less perfect copies 
of the Hebrew text, as a single example will show. 
Inxxxii. 22 the Hebrew version has *]]YnnK3 
For the latter word the Syriac text substitutes 
(— “ thy way ”), which the context shows to be 
faulty, the reading being due to a confusion of 
‘■jmnN with Trims. The Greek version reads 
“ thy children,” the meaning attributed to rmns iu 
several passages of the Bible. But had the Jewish 
scribe used the Greek version, he would never have 
found beneath rtiv tskvcjv oqv the Hebrew ^ rmns , 
the correctness of which is attested by the Syriac. 
There are numerous examples of a similar nature. 

Although Margoliou til’s theory must be rejected 
as a whole, certain details indicate that both A and 
B are derived from a copy characterized by interpo- 


lations due to a retranslation from Syriac into He- 
brew. In a number of passages the same verse is 
given in two distinct renderings, one of which 
usually corresponds to the Syriac, even when this 
text represents merely a faulty or biased translation 
of the original. These verses, moreover, in their 
conformity to the Syriac, become at times sc mean- 
ingless that they can be explained only as incorrect 
translations from that language. Such suspicious 
passages are characterized by a comparatively mod- 
ern style and language, by a commonplace phrase- 
ology, and by a break in the parallelism which is 
affected by Ecclesiasticus. It may therefore he 
safely concluded that these doublets are merely ad- 
ditions made to render the Syriac version more in- 
telligible. The same statement holds true of certain 
textual emendations made by the glossarist. In this, 
however, there is nothing strange, since it is a well- 
known fact that the Jews of certain sections were 
familiar with Syriac, as is shown by the quotations 
made by Nalnnanides from the Wisdom of Solomon, 
from Judith, and from Bel and the Dragon, and also 
by the introduction of the Peshitta of Proverbs into- 
the Targum of the Ilagiographa. 

But the glossarist did not restrict himself to these 
slight additions and moditi cations, for he added 
to his copy a translation of the final hymn, basing - 
this version also on the S 3 r riac. This canticle, as 
Bickell has clearly shown, is an alphabetical acros- 
tic, which may still be traced in the Syriac version, 
on account of the similarity between 
The Final that language and Hebrew. There 

Hymn. arc lacunse, however, in the Syriac 
text which are supplied in the Greek, 
even though these passages are lacking in the He- 
brew. In the Hebrew some traces of the acrostic re- 
main in cases where the Syriac was translatable 
only by a Hebrew” word beginning with the same 
letter; but elsewhere all vestiges of it have disap- 
peared. The Syriac version, moreover, shows evi- 
dences of corruptions and innovations, which are 
reproduced by the Hebrew. The Syriac occasion- 
ally corresponds to the Greek, but tends toward a 
confusion of sense which eventually alters the mean- 
ing, these modifications being also reproduced in 
the Hebrew text. The hymn, which follows the 
Syriac version closely throughout, is evidently a re- 
translation from the latter. These opinions have 
been championed especially by Israel Levi, and are 
accepted by Ryssel and other scholars, although 
they are not universally held. 

The Hebrew version contains an entire canticle 
which does not appear in either the Greek or the 
Syriac text. This, however, is of doubtful authen- 
ticity, although one may cite in its favor the sentence 
“ o give thanks unto Him that chose the sons of 
Zadok to be priests,” alluding to the pre-Maccabean 
high priests who were descended from Zadok; 
while another possible argument is furnished by the 
absence of any reference to ideas essentially Phari- 
saic, such as the resurrection of the body. Against 
the genuineness of the psalm may be urged: (1) its 
omission in tbe versions; (2) the sentence “O give 
thanks unto Him that maketh the horn of the house 
of David to bud,” which is directly opposed in sen- 
timent to ch. xxx vi. and to the entire “ Hymn of the 



Sirach 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


394 


Patriarchs” ; and (3) the remarkable similarity of the 
liynm to the “Shemoneli ‘Esreh” together with the 
prayers which precede and follow the “Shema‘.” 
The question has not yet been definitely settled. 

Despite the corrections and interpolations men- 
tioned, however, the originalty of the text in these 
fragments of Ben Sira can not be denied. Besides 
l lie fact that many scholars deii 3 r the existence of 


evidences of the existence of two separate edi- 
tions written by Ben Sira himself. It is self-evi- 
dent, moreover, that Ecclesiasticus has undergone 
some alterations at the hands of scribes, but it 
would have been strange indeed if this book alone 
should have wholly" escaped the common lot of such 
writings. No more conclusive proof could be 
found, were am r necessary, of the fidelity of the lle- 





Manuscript Fragment from Bex Sira, Containing xxxvii. 

(From the Cairo genizah collection in Cambridge University, England.) 


any interpolations, there are portions in which it is 
easy" to recognize the author’s hand ; for lie has a 
characteristic technique, style, vocab- 
Critical ulary, and syntax which are evident 
Value of the in all the versions. It may safely be 
Hebrew said that in the main the work of Ben 
Text. Sira has been preserved just as it left 
his bands, while the chief variant 
marginal readings recorded in the fragments and 
confirmed by the translations may be regarded as 


brew version than its frequent agreement, in cita- 
tions from the Bible, with the text on which the 
Septuagint is based rather than with the Masorali, 
as in the case of I Sam. xii. 3 as compared with 
Ecclus. (Sirach) xlvi. 19, or Isa. xxxviii. 17 with 
Ecclus. (Sirach) 1. 2. 

Even before the discovery of these fragments the 
Book of Ecclesiasticus was regarded as a unique 
document of priceless value ; but the account which 
it gives of the status of the Bible in its author’s day 



395 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Siraeh 


lias gained additional importance, now. that the 
greater part of the original itself is known. The 
« Hymn of the Patriarchs,” which has been preserved 
in its entirety, shows that the canon of the Law 
and of the Prophets was closed, as the 
Importance author’s grandson expressly states. 

for the The Prophets were arranged in the 
History of order generally adopted in the Hebrew 
the Bible. Bible, as follows: Joshua, Judges, 
Samuel, Kings (“ Nebi’im Bishonim ”), 
Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the Twelve Minor 
Prophets (“ Nebi’im Aharonim”) ; and the expression 
“ the Twelve Prophets” was sanctioned by usage. 
The greater portion of the Ilagiographa was already 
considered canonical, including the Psalms attributed 
nominally to David, Proverbs, Job (theGieek tians- 
lator has made a gross blunder here), and possibly 
the Song of Solomon, Nehcmiah, and Chronicles. 
The author’s silence regarding some of the other 
Ilagiographa proves nothing; since lie intended, as 
has°already been said, to eulogize the priesthood in 
this section, aud all who were not included in his 
scheme were passed over without notice. 

In addition to this statistical information, Ben Sira 
furnishes other points of interest. The frequency 
witli which he avails himself of Job and Proverbs 
proves that both these books had been long in cir- 
culation, although the divergence between the origi- 
nal and his quotation is very great. Furthermore, 
the labored attempt to imitate the literary style pre- 
viously affected in didactic poetry was a failure, 
and radical changes had been introduced even as 
early as the time of the author. While he still | 
availed himself of parallelism and employed verses 
symmetrically divided into two liemisticlis, lie intro- 
duced into this work on wisdom concepts thitherto 
excluded, such as allusions to sacred history and 
exhortations to fulfil the duty of religious worship. 
Mention lias already been made of literary innova- 
tions which characterize the work. It is no less 
significant that the diction employed is essentially 
imitative, being a mixture of Biblical centos and 
reminiscences, yet marking a stage unattained by 
any analogous work. Still untouched by Hellen- 
isms, the lexicography is characterized by rabbin- 
isms and derivatives from the Aramaic and the 
Arabic. The style is decadent, showing a curi- 
ous mixture of prolixity and conciseness, daring 
constructions, the repetition of certain . figures, 
imitation, and false elegance, side by side with 
felicity of phraseology and imagery. These quali- 
ties denote a period when spontaneity and original- 
ity were replaced by pedantry, conventionality, and 
artificiality. Henceforth a thorough knowledge of 
Ecclesiasticus will be indispensable for any who 
wish to study the analogous portions of the Bible, 
although it has thus far been impossible to deter- 
mine the relation of Ecclesiastes and Ecclesiasticus 
from a mere comparison of the two books, despite 
their frequent points of contact. 

It is self-evident that the Hebrew fragments will 
aid in the reconstruction of the original of those poi- 
tions for which no basal text lias yet been found. 
These fragments, moreover, reveal the relative value 
. of the Greek and Syriac texts, the two versions 
based on the Hebrew original. 


The Greek text, as noted above, is the work of 
the author’s grandson, who went to Egypt in 132. 

A prologue to the “ Synopsis ” of Atlia- 
The Greek nasius gives his name as Jesus; but 
Version, this passage is spurious. Although 
the translator may have gone to Egypt 
in 132, it does not necessarily follow that lie entered 
upon liis work in that year; indeed he himself says 
that he spent some time there before beginning 
his task. The theory has been advanced that he 
did not begin it until 116, since kiri (“in the rime 
of ”), which he uses in connection with Ptolemy Euer- 
getes, is employed only alter the death of the mon- 
arch whose name it precedes (Deissmaim, in “The- 
ologische Literaturzeitung,” 1904, p. 5JS); but the 
incorrectness of this deduction has been demon- 
strated by Schiirer. The translator, in the intro- 
duction, requests the indulgence of His readers, a 
precaution not without justification, since liisiendci- 
ing leaves much to be desired, sometimes straining 
the meaning of the text, and again containing class 
blunders, so that the text must be freed from the 
numerous errors of the scribes before it can be faiily 
judged (see Levi, u L’Ecclesiastique,” p. xl.). 

The Hebrew version shows that the Greek manu- 
script which has best preserved the wording of the 
original is No. 248 of Holmes and Parsons, which 
was used in the Complutensian Polyglot. Yet even 
after a rigid purification of the text, Ben Sira con- 
tains manv blunders, due to o verhasty reading (Levi, 
l.c. pp. xliii. et seq.), While the translator generally 
adhered closely to the original, lie sometimes added 
comments of his own, but seldom abridged, al- 
though lie occasionally slurred over a passage in 
which the imagery was too bold or the anthropo- 
morphism too glaring. Moreover, he frequently 
substituted for the translation of one verse another 
already given for a passage of similar content. The 
version used by him was not always identical with 
that contained in the Hebrew fragments. Some- 
times he has verses which are missing in the He- 
brew ; but many of those mentioned by Fritzsche in 
his notes are found in the fragments. A levision 
of the Greek text is attested by the quotations in the 
« Psndagogus ” of Clement of Alexandria. 

An accident has disarranged the pages of the 
parent manuscript of all the copies thus far^ known, 
two sheets, containing respectively xxx. 25-xxxiii. 
13a and xxxiii. 13b-xxxvi. 16b, having been inter- 
changed. The I tala and the Armenian versions, 
however, avoided the error. The conjectural res- 
toration of the order of the chapters . should be 
made, according to Byssel, on the basis of manu- 
script No. 248, which also avoided this inversion. 
On the Greek manuscripts and their individual and 
o-eneral value as regards the history of this version, 
see Ryssel in Kautzsch, “ Apokryplien,” i. 244 et 
seq . It may be said that the Greek version offers 
the most reliable material for the reconstruction of 
those portions of the original which have not yet 
been discovered. 

As Jerome liiinself says, the Latin version con- 
tained in the Yulgate is not his work, but was the 
one generally used in the African churches during 
the first half of the third century (see Tliielmann in 
“ Archiv fur Lateinisclie Lexicograpliie und Gram- 



Sirach 

Sisera 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


396 


matik,” viii.-ix.); and the truth of this statement is 
proved beyond question by the quotations of Cyp 
rian. This text. is characterized by a 
The Vetus number of interpolations of a biased 
Latina. trend, although it is in general a sla- 
vish and sometimes awkward transla- 
tion from the Greek (comp. Herkeune, “De Veteris 
Latini Ecclesiastici Capitibus i.-xliii.” Leipsic, 
1899); but it also contains deviations from the Greek 
which can be explained onty on the h 3 ^ po thesis of a 
Hebrew original. These divergences are correc- 
tions made on the basis of a Hebrew manuscript of 
the same recension as B and C, which were taken 
from a text that had already become corrupt. Such 
changes were made, therefore, prior to the third cen. 
tury. The corrections peculiar to the Itala are at- 
tested by the quotations of Cyprian, and may have 
been derived from a Greek manuscript taken to 
Africa. They may be divided into two groups: 
cases in which the corresponding passage" of the 
Hebrew is placed beside the ordinary text of the 
Greek, aud passages in which the Hebrew rendering 
is substituted for the Greek reading (comp. Levi, l.c . , 
introduction to part ii. , and Herkenne, l.c.). After 
eh. xliv. the Vulgate and the Itala coincide. The 
other versions based upon the Greek are the Syriac 
Hexaplar, edited by Ceriani (“Codex Syro-Hexa 
plaris Ambrosian us Pliotolithograpliice Editus,” 
Milan, 1874); the Coptic (Sahidic), edited by La- 
garde (“ gEgyptiaca,” Gottingen, 1883; see Peters, 
“Die Sahidisch-Koptische Uebersetzung des Bucks 
Ecclesiasticus auf Ihren Wahren Werthfiir die Text 
kritik Untersuclit,” in Bardeuhewer, “Biblische Stu- 
dien,” 1898, iii. 3) ; the Ethiopic, edited by Dillmann 
(“Biblia Veteris Testamenti iEthiopica, ” 1894, v.); 
and the Armenian, sometimes used to verify the 

i-ea.eLiii<£ of tha Greek. 

While the Syriac version does not possess the im- 
portance of the Greek, it is equally useful in the 
reconstruction of the Hebrew on which it was di- 
rectly based, as has been clearljr shown by the dis- 
covery of the fragments. As a rule the translator 
understood his text ; but his blunders are innumer- 
able, even making allowance for scribal errors, which 
are not infrequent. Unfortunately, 
Syriac his copy was incomplete, so that his 
Version, version contains numerous lacunae, 
one of which (xliii. 1 - 10 ) was filled by 
a passage borrowed from the Syriac Hexaplar. This 
entire translation is a puzzle. In some chapters it 
follows the original exactly, in others it is little 
more than a paraphrase, or even a mere epitome. 

In places the translation shows very few errors, in 
others it betrays total ignorance of the meaning of 
the text. It is possible that the Syriac version was 
the work of several translators. Some of its repeti- 
tions and corrections betray a Christian bias; and 
it even bears traces of a revision based 011 the Greek. 

As already noted, it contains many variants which 
the Hebrew fragments show to represent the original 
readings. Despite its numerous defects, it is a valua- 
ble check upon the Greek text, even where it diverges 
widely, except in passages where it becomes fantas- 
tic. It therefore deserves to be carefully studied 
with the assistance of the commentaries on it and 
the citations from it by Syriac authors, as has been 


done for the glosses of Bar llebrams by Katz in his 
“ Seholieii des Gregorius Abulfaragius Bar He bra us 
zum Weislieitsbuehe des Josua ben Sira” (Halle 
1892). The Arabic translation included in the Lon- 
don Polyglot, and based upon the Syriac version is 
likewise a valuable adjunct to the “apparatus 
critieus.” 

Bibliography : Editions of the Hebrew text, in chronoloLnV-u 
order: Scbech ter, Ecclesiasticus xxxix. 15-xl. S , in Exnos i- 
tni y I t.n ics. July, 1896, pp. 1-15: Cowley and Neubauer, The 
Orujuml Hebrew oj a Portion of Ecclesiasticus ( xxxix. 15 - 
fhx.U). lo a ether with the' Early Versions and an Emu 
hsb Translation , Followed by the Quotations from Ben 
Eirain Rabbinical Literature , Oxford, 1897; Halevy Etude 
surlaPartie dii Tcxte Hebreu de V EccUsiastique Recem- 

%V l U J T U [xx £ x ’ 1 ?- xlix - Rev. Sem. v. 148, 

1J3, 3S3; Smend ,Das Hcbraisehc Fragment der Weisheit 
des Jesus Sirach, m Abhandlungeii der Gottinger Gcsell- 


laSiyjesse de Jesus, Fils de Sira. Tcxte Original Hebreu 
Traduit ct Cammente , in Bihliotheque de VEcole des Haatcs 
¥ u ^\ beiences Rejig iemes, x.. No. i., Paris, 1897 (part ii., 
ib. 19(H); Schlatter, Das Neugef widen e Hebriiische Stuck 
des Sirach, G uterslohe, 1897; Kohn, same text, in TJa-Shi - 
,H. 42-4S U83-140. ,321-325, 517-520; Scliechter, Omlzlih 

<>•!: «■ 197; 


m n - ■ r r, XI H'. orw. VII. 4514 - 452 o; juargoli- 
outh. The Ongiual Hebrew of Ecclesiasticus xvri 12-31 
at id xxx vi. 22-xxxvii. 20, in J. Q. R. xli. 3-83; Scliechter, A 
Further Fragment of Ben Sira [ iv.23-v. 13, xxv.S-xxvl 2] 
/b. pp. 4y6-46o ; Adler, Some Missing Fragments of Ben 
~ 9 ’ X11 ’ D’ dx pp. 466-480; Levi. Fragments de 
Deux Nouveaux ManvscrUs I-lebrcnx de V EccUsiastique 

if X A V 1^~ XX £ V11 A V v !* xxviii - 35 ; vii. 1 . 4 , o, 17 , 20 - 
21, ~3-~o], in h. E J. , xl. 1-30 ; Gaster, A New Fragment of 
Ben Sim [xvm. 31-33; xix. 1-2; xx. 5-7; xxvii. 19. 22, 24, 26 * 
xx * PVfa/’ 9* ,jS3 -J02; Ecclesiasticus : The Frag- 

ments Hitherto Recovered of the Hebrew Text, in Fae- 
^byidge and Oxford, 1901 ; Sehlogel, Ecclesiasticus 
xxxix. L-xlix. 10 , Ope Art is Critical et Metrical in Formam 
Onginalem Redactus , 1901 ; Kiiabenbauer, Commentariusin 
Ecclcsiasticum cum Appendice : Tcxtus Ecclesiastici Hc- 
Secundum Fragmcnta Nuper Repcrla 
cum Notts ct Vers tone Littcrali Latina. Paris, 1902; Peters, 
Der Jiingst IT iederavfgef unden e Hebriiische Text des 
Buches Ecclesiasticus, etc., Freiburg 1902; Strack, Die 

Jlln Wicdcrue- 
^ eipsic ’ T/ie Hebrew TexUifTlic Booltcf 

Ecclesiasticus, Edited with Brief Notes and a Selected 
Glossary Leyden, 1904, in Semitic Study Scries, ed. Gott- 
beil and Jastrow, iii.; La Sainte Bible Pohfglotlc , ed. Vigu- 

S X Vli 0 y ^^ aris h ] ?° 4; . Pet -, ere ' Liber lesu FilH Sirach 
sive Ecclesiasticus Hebraice Secundum Codices Nuper Re- 
pert ns, Vocalibus Adornatus Addita Versionc Latina cum 
Glossarw Hcbraico- Latino , Freibur<r, 1905. 

On the question of the originality of the book : Margoliouth, 

‘ Original Hebrew ” of Ecclesiasticus , 
London, 1899; Bacher, in J. Q. R. xii. 97-108; idem, in Ex- 
pository limes, xi. 563; Bickell, in IF. Z. K. M. xiii. 251- 
2o6; Halevy, in Rev. Sem. vhi. 78-88; Konig, in Expository 
Tipies, x. ol2, op4 ; xi. 31, 69, 139-140, 170-176, 234-235; idem, 
Die Qngmahtdt des Nculich Entdccktcn Hcbraischen SC 
rachtextes Tubingen, 1900; idem, in Neue Kirchliche ZeU 
tung, xi. 60 fai ; idem, in Thcologische Rundschau, iii. 19; 
idem, m Evangelische Kirchen-Zeitung, Ixxiv. 289-292; 
Levi, m R. E. J. xxxix. 1-15, xl. 1-30; Margoliouth, in Ex- 
pository Times , xi. 90-92, 191, 427-429, 521 ; xif. 45, 95, et pas- 
ffS‘\o} ys ^ e h ll i. T}ieol ° iJlsche btudien und Kritihen, lxxv. 

a Expository Times, xi. 140-142, 382, 

5 ?? ij Seibie, lb. 127, 363, 378, 440, 494, 550 ; Tyler, in J. Q. R. 
xu. 000-562. v 

Studies on the Hebrew text, exclusive of the editions and 
commentaries mentioned above : Bacher, in J. Q. R. \ x . 543- 
562, xm 2/2-290 idem, in Slade’s Zeitschri.ft, xx. 308 ; idem, 
iQ-/i7n x l* Blau ' M*- XXXV. 25-29 ; Buchler, ib. xxxviii. 
W.i 0; P ha 3 es ^ lb - xl. 31-36; Cheyne, in J. Q. R. x. 13, xii. 

’ 9,owley, fb. xii. 109-111 ; Cowley and Neubauer, ib. ix. 563- 
o67 ; Frankel, iu Monatsschrift, xlii. 380-384, xliii. 481-484* 

isjhliTO-PY' in 7? R 1 r vhi . c .... 


ix.ob/-5/2; Halevy .in Journal Asuitiquc,m7,x.u0l : Herz, 
in J. Q. R. x. 719-424; Hogg, iu Expositor, 1897, pp. 262-266* 
idem, m American Journal of Theology, i. 777-786: Houts- 
? a -\ n ir } Tijdschrift. xxxiv. 329-354; Jouon, in 

Zeitschrift fur Kathol ische Theologie, xxvii. 583 ct seq .; 

lo9-162; idem, in Monatsschrift, 
xi. 337 34°’ kaytzsch, in Theologische Studien und Kriti- 
kxn lxxi 1 35' 199 ; Krauss, in J. Q. R. xi. 1.56-158; Landauer, 
m Zcitschrift fUr Assyriologie , xii. 393-395 ; Levi, in R. E. J. 



397 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Sirach 

Sisera 


xxxiv. 1-50, 294-296; xxxv. 29-47 ; xxxvii. 210-31. ; xxxix. 1- 
15, 177-190; xl. 253-257; xlii. 269; xliv. 291-2.14; xlvu. 12. 
idem, in X Q. 11. xlii. 1-17, 331 ; Margolis, in Stades Zeit- 
schrift, xxi. 271 ; Margolloutli, in Atlieriwuni, Julj , 

162; M&hineau, in EtucUs l^xym. tol-4n, Ixxxi wmdeke 



205-26 L, 647 -4xU ; bcncciiiei, in o . xi. ai*. ««« 
in Z. D. M. G. liii. 669-682; Smend, in L heqlogische JLitaa- 
turzcitung, 1897, pp. 161, 265; Steiniger, in Stride s 
lefiri/l, xxi. 143; Strauss, ia Schwcizeritvlie meolooi ache 
Hr i tuna xvii. 65-80; Taylor, m J. Q. R - x. ^‘0-488 < \ v ‘ . 7 

474, 604-626 ; xvii. 238-239 ; idem, in Journal of rhcqtogjcal 
Studies, i. 571-583; Touzard, in Revue Bihhquc. vi. 

547-573: vii.33 58; ix. 45-67, 525-503. . . 

Principal editions of tlie Greek text : Fritzsclie 
runhi Veter is Testamcnli Greece, Leipsic, 18/ 1 ,Holines and 
Parsons, Fehts Testamentum Gnecumvum Varn a Lectimn- 
Irns iv?: Oxford, 1827; Swete, The Old Testament in Ch e eK 
ii., Cambridge, 1891 . Of the Syriac text : nt 
tcris Testament! ApocrypnSynacc, 

Codex Syro-Hexaptaris Ambrosumus Photol d harp apMcc 
Eclitus Milan, 1874. On the other translations derived from 
the Greek: Peters, Der Jilngst Wiedcraufgefuii dene He- 
hritisdie Text des Buchcs Ecdesiasticus, pp. 3d et - 
Herkenne, Dc Veter is Latini Ecclesiastici C apitilnis i- 
xliii. Leipsic, 1899; Ilyssel, in Kautzsch, Apokryphen, i. 

Chief general commentaries : Fritzsclie, Die IT eisheit Jesus 
Siraclds Erhltlrt nnd Ucbevsctzt {Exegetischcs Handbuch 
zutel Awfanivhen), Leipsic. 1859; Edersheim, in Wace, 
Apocrypha , ii..’ London, 1888; Ryssel, in lvautzsch, Apolay- 

^Special studies (following Sol.iirer’s list) = «|«rer, PjiHn, M. 
18-52, Stuttgart, 1831; DiUine, Geschichthche 
der Jlidisch-AUxa ndrinisdicn 

150, Halle, 1834; Winer, Do Utrvtmue bit acid a JEUM,Et 
innffpn 1832’ Zunz, G. V. pp. 100-105 (2d ed., pp. ino-inL 
Ewald,’ Ueber das GriechisdieSpyiichlmchJesm 
Sir adds, in Jahrhiicher der Biblisdien *l}?^n*chaJLm. 


?25-140 Bmch! 'weisheitstehre der Rebraer, pp. 266 319. 
■Strasburg 1851; Horowitz, Das Buch Jesus Sirach, Bieslau, 
1865; Moritet, Etude du Livre de Jesus, F'k Moidmiban 
Point de Vue Critique, Dogmatiquc et Ritual , Montmiban, 
1870: (Stz, ifi Monatsschrift, 1872 
Glaubens- und Sittenlchre des 

hero- 1874* Seligmann, Das Buch dei Washed des Jesus s>i 
radiin Seinein Verhiiltnisszu den Sa7omon. Spruchen \md 
Seiner Histovischen Bcdeutung, ^a- 

AlDhabetisches Lied Jesus Sir adds, m ZeitschuftflL Ka- 
tholische Thealoqie. 1882, pp. 319-333; Drummond, P/mIoJw- 
devus 1888 i 144-155; Margolioutb, An Essay on fhc Place 
Literature, Oxford, 1890; idem. 

The Juanauanc CCT<rt .Are »■•»-«= ,,j- in £/>»•_ 

1890. mi. 295-320, 381-391 ; Bois, Essai ttUV Jes Origujcsacjo, 


i»au; series, jv»»Lts v.f . r ^ 7? 

in R. E. J. xxxv. 48-64 ; Krauss, Rotes on by) act ) , in J. Q.L • 
xi 150; Muller, Stroplienhauund Pcspoiisioii, \ ienna, 1898. 
Gn^er Die Bcdcutuna der Spruchc Jcsu hen Sira fiu die 
Datierung des Althehraischcn ^prnr/j/ inches, ^^rsi^e. 

1904; comp, also Schurer, Gcsch. ,n - , 5 ' 'o-^Qin piiSence 
A pocruphes de r Auden Testament, pp. 2< 1-310, Florence, 
im ; Toy, in Cheyne and Black, Encyc. BihL s *v- ^cdcs?n, - 
x — i ot!„ . Nestle, Sirach, in Hastings. Diet. Binic. 

I. L. 


Sec Ben Shia, Alpha 


SIHKES, JOEL B. SAMUEL: Polish rabbi ; 
born at Lublin in 1561 ; died at Cracow, 1640. At 
the age of fourteen be was sent to the yeshibah of 
Solomon ben Judah. After remaining there some 
time be went to Brest-Litovsk, where be attended 
the yesbibali of R. Phoebus. While still a youth be 
was invited to the rabbinate of Pruszany, near 
Slonim. Later be occupied the rabbinates of Lnb- 
kow, Lublin, Miedzyboz, Beldza, Szydlowka, and 
finally Brest-Litovsk and Cracow, succeeding in 
each of tlie two last-mentioned places bis teacher R. 
Phoebus. He was an adherent of the Cabala and an 
opponent of both pilpul and philosophy. 

Sirkes wrote: “Mesbib Nefesh,” commentary on 
the Book of Ruth (Lublin, 1616); “Bay it Hadash,” 
commentary on the “ Arba‘ all Turim ” of Jacob ben 
Aslier (Cracow, 1631-40); “ Sbe‘elotu-TesbubotBayit 
Hadash” (Frankfort, 1697); “Sbe’elot u-Teshubot 
Bet Hadash ha Hadashot” (Koretz, 1785); “Hag- 
galiot,” on all tlie tractates of the Babylonian Tal- 
mud;’ and “ Rosh,” first published, from a manu- 
script, in the Warsaw (1860) edition of the Talmud, 
and included in almost every subsequent edition 

thereof. , 

In the “ Bayit Hadash ” the evident intention of the 
author is to present and elucidate the fundamental 
principles of the Law as recorded in the Mishnali, 
tlie Babylonian and Jerusalem Talmuds, and the 
chief codes. 


Lens and Sirach 

T. 

SIRACH, PSEUDO 

BET OF. 

SIRIIXO, SOLOMON : Spanish Talmudist of 
tlie fifteen tli and sixteenth centuries. He was one 
of tlie exiles of 1492, and settled at Safed. where lie 
held a discussion with Jacob Berab over a decision 
concerning meat (Samuel of Modena, Responsa, ISo. 
42). He is mentioned also by Bezaleel Ashkenazi. 

Sirillo was the author of a commentary on the 
order Zera'im and the treatise Shekalim of tlie Jeru- 
salem Talmud. He compiled also a Gemara to tlie 
Mishnali of the treatise ‘Eduyot. by gathering the 
passages scattered in the Talmud anil adding there- 
to a commentary of his own; both are quoted in 
Solomon Adeni’s “ Meleket Shelomoh.” Smllo s 
commentaiy on Berakot was printed in M. Le 1 
mann’s edition of this treatise (Berlin, 1874). 
Bibliography: Azulai, Shan I'a-GcdnliniL 170; Con forte. 

Korc ha-Dnrot, p. 32b; Furst, BihL Jnd. m. A*. 

W. B. U bET " 


Uprlin 1891 : H.W. ltaDDmovua, xidum/i/ 
if 9, Lyek, 1875 ; B. Friedberg. Gesdi. dvr Hd*r. Tupograplne 
in Krakau, p. 27, Cracow, 1900; idem , t EpitapTuen von Gi ab- 
steinen des Israclitisehen Friedho/es zu Krakau, 
Biographischen Skizzen, p. 14, ^ohobycz, 1894 . Ch. N. Dem- 
bitzer, Kelilat l r ofi, part n., p. 18b, Cracow, 1893. B. Katz, 
Le-JKorot ha-Ychudim , Berlin, 1899. 

SISERA: General of the army of King Jabin of 
Hazor. According to Judges iv. 9 et seq he inva- 

ClCCl tll« northern part of -Txxdea ill tllG tilll G of Deb- 
orah, the prophetess and judge. Upon Deuoran s 
order Barak took 10,000 men and went out to meet 
Sisera, going as far as the river of Kishon. Sisera 
suffered defeat, and while Barak pursued the enemy 
as far as“Harosheth of the Gentiles,” Sisera fled 
alone and on foot. Arrived at the settlement of the 
Kenites, who, according to legend, were the de- 
scendants of Jethro, he was invited . by a Kemte 
woman named Jael, wife of Heber, into her tent. 
Sisera accepted the invitation and asked for water, 
but instead she gave him milk. When Sisera had 
fallen asleep, Jael took a hammer and drove a 
“nail,” or tent-pin, into his temple. 

The position of Sisera’s army is not specifically 
mentioned in Judges v. 19, where the battle is said 
to have taken place at Taanacli by the waters of 
Meo-iddo The identity of Sisera has not yet been 
established (see M. Muller, “Asien und Europa 
p 832* Budde, “ Die Bucher Richter und Samuel '). 

According to the Midrash (Yalkut ShinToni on 
Judges iv. 3), Sisera hitherto had conquered every 
country against which he had fought. IIis voice 
was so strong that when he called loudly the most 
solid wall would shake and the wildest animal 
would fall dead. Deborah was the only one who 
could withstand his voice and whom it did not 
cause to stir from her place.. Sisera caught hsli 



Sisterhoods 

Skeptic 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


398 


enough in liis beard when bathing in the Kishon to 
provision his whole army. According to the same 
source (lii., end), thirty-one kings followed Sisera 
merely for the opportunity of drinking, or otherwise 
using, the waters of Israel. The descendants of 
Sisera, according to Git. 57b, were teachers of the 
young in Jerusalem. See Deborah; Jael. 

J- S. 0. 

SISTERHOODS OF PERSONAL SERV- 
ICE : Associations of female charity -workers who 
devote time to the care of the. needy and the 
distressed. A sermon delivered by Dr. Gustav 
Gottlicil in 18S7, in Temple Emanu-El, New York 
city, was the direct cause of the founding of a be- 
nevolent society on principles different from those 
that had previously prevailed. Its leading features 
were expressed in the name adopted — Sisterhood of 
Personal Service. The work contemplated was to 
be done b} r the members themselves. Every sister 
was to devote a certain portion of her time to a defi- 
nite task, and attend to it personally, the chief object 
being to overcome the estrangement of one class 
of the Jewish population from another and to bring 
together the well-to-do and the poor, in the relation, 
not of patron and dependent, but of friend and 
friend. 

The example set by the Emanu-El Sisterhood has 
been followed by congregation after congregation, 
until almost every organized place of worship in 
the upper portion of New York city has a part of 
its communal work in charge of such a sister- 
hood. These sisterhoods thus endeavor to com- 
bine settlement- work with organized relief in the 
home. 

The following departments of work are carried on 
by each sisterhood, the several departments being 
superintended by a guide and a vice-guide: distinct- 
ively charitable work (including outdoor relief) 
through its staff of volunteer friendly 
Classes of visitors; religious schools; industrial 
Work. and cooking schools ; day-nurseries, and 
kindergartens for children between 
three and'six years of age whose mothers are obliged 
to work away from home during the day; employ, 
ment bureaus for a class of applicants physically un- 
fit for hard labor and without knowledge of a trade 
or business fand workrooms where various trades 
are taught to unskilled women. In addition to 
these, there have been founded social clubs and cul- 
ture classes for young women employed during the 
day, and afternoon clubs and classes of all kinds, in- 
cluding school-children’s classes for vocal and in- 
strumental music. The women of the sisterhoods 
have become volunteer agents, and assist the pro- 
bation officers appointed by the juvenile court in 
making complete investigations of delinquent chil- 
dren’s characters and home surroundings; and, by 
keeping a close watch during the period of proba- 
tion, they have been the means of saving many a 
child from commitment. The aim of all sisterhoods 
is to educate and elevate those beneficiaries witli 
whom they come in contact, and to improve their 
physical condition to such an extent that charity 
will not be needed. 

Settlement houses, or “ homes,” likewise are being 
established. The Emanu-El Sisterhood, whose home 


is situated at 81$ East 82d street, was the pioneer in 
this development. 

Inevitably, the many sisterhoods came in touch 
one with another in their various fields of activity, 
with t-hc result that a union was suggested, the out- 
come of which was the Federation of Sisterhoods 
organized in 1896, and composed of delegates from 
all the existing sisterhoods, which cooperate, as 
agents, with the United Hebrew Chari- 
Spread of ties. The monthly meetings of the 
the Federation are the most active and in- 
Principle. fluential of all agencies in the intro- 
duction of advanced ideas of philan- 
thropy. At these meetings all cases of distress that 
have been investigated during the month are re- 
ported, and many useful facts are brought to light. 
With this interchange of information it is almost 
impossible for fraudulent persons to impose on any 
of the affiliated societies. A great step in advance 
was made when, through the Federation, the city of 
New York was divided into districts, one being as- 
signed to each sisterhood. 

By this limitation of area each sisterhood acquired 
a thorough knowledge of its neighborhood, and it 
rendered possible the individual treatment of each 
dependent family. 

Two other cities in the United States have sister- 
hoods organized along the same lines as those of 
New York: San Francisco (Emanu-El 
Outside Sisterhood for Personal Service; or- 
New York, ganized 1892) and St. Louis (Temple 
Israel Sisterhood). 

The Emanu-El Sisterhood of New York city has 
closely adhered, from its inception, to the original 
plan of its founder. Dr. Gustav Gottheil, and has 
no membership dues, depending entirely upon vol- 
untary contributions for its support. It has not, 
since its establishment, drawn upon the funds of the 
United Hebrew Charities for any of its expenditures. 
Since 1904 the Beth-El Sisterhood likewise has de- 
f rayed all its expenses. The average membership 
of the New York sisterhoods is about 6,000, and the 
total amount expended for relief during 1903-4 was 
$75,000. 

J. II. B. E. 

SIWAN (jVD): Third ecclesiastical and ninth 
civil month. It has thirty days, and coincides, ap- 
proximately, with the Roman month of June. On 
Siwan 8, 4, and 5 (n^H = “ the three 

days of the bounds ”) are commemorated the three 
days’ preparation preceding the receiving of the 
Law on Mount Sinai. These days, with Lag be- 
‘Omer and Rosh Hodcsh, are distinguished from 
other days of Sefiraii in that marriages may be 
celebrated on them. On Siwan 6 and 7 the Feast of 
Weeks (Shebu‘ot) is celebrated. In the Talmud the 
6th is called the New- Year of the Two Loaves (R. 

H. 7b). The Megillat Ta'anit gives the following 
fast-days: Siwan 23, in commemoration of the sus- 
pension, during the reign of Jeroboam, of the send- 
ing of the first-fruits to Jerusalem; Siwan 25, in 
commemoration of the martyrdom of Simeon ben 
Gamaliel. Samuel ben Elisha, and Hanina Segan ha- 
lve Irani m ; Siwan 27, the anniversary of the burning 
of Hananiah ben Teradion at the stake. 
a. 


I. Br. 



399 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Sisterhoods 

Skeptic 


SIXTUS SENENSIS: Italian convert to 
Christianity and anti -Talmudic agitator; born at 
Sienna (whence liis name) in 1520; died in 1569. 
\fter his conversion Sixtus entered the Franciscan 
order, but soon after, being charged with heterodoxy, 
lie was sentenced to death at the stake. Caidinal 
Michele Ghislieri, later Pope Pius V., recognizing 
in Sixtus one who might be useful to him, rescued 
him from death and helped him to enter the Domin- 
ican order. At the command of Paul IV., Sixtus 
and another convert, Philip Moro, traveled about 
the Papal States preaching in the synagogues and 
inciting the mob against the Jews wherever the lat- 
ter resisted the exhortations to embrace Christian- 
ity. In April, 1559, Sixtus, with another Domini- 
can monk, went to Cremona to burn the Talmud, 
declaring that it contained only anti-Christian wri- 
tings. Yet he spared the Zohar and restrained the 
Spanish soldiers from destroying it with the Talmud, 
hoping that the Jews might be induced by means of 
this cabalistic work to embrace Christianity. Be- 
sides homilies and mathematical writings, Sixtus 
was the author of the “Bibliotheca Sancta (Venice, 
1566), a Latin work in eight books, treating of the 
divisions and authority of the Bible; it contains an 
alphabetical index and an alphabetical list of lab- 
binical interpreters of the Bible. 

Bibliography : Gratz, Gesch. 3d e<L, ix, 358-^ 

velle Biographic Generate; Wolf. Bihl. iioi. 

g * M. Sel. 


SIYYUM : The formal ceremonial act of com- 
pleting the writing of a scroll of the Law, or the 
formal conclusion of the study of a division ( mas- 
sekta”) of the Mislmah or Talmud. In the former 
case the ceremony is called siyyum ha-Sefer ; in 
the latter, siyyum massekta. The siyyum ha- 
Sefer is celebrated by the one for whom the scroll is 
written, or by whom the scroll is donated to the 
synagogue. The last eight verses are generally left 
unwritten, or are written merely in outline letters, 
so that the invited guests may complete the scroll 
Each guest is called byname to the almcmar and 
given the honor of writing a letter. If possible, 
he chooses the initial letter of his name. A blessing 
for the owner of the scroll and for the writer of 
the letter follows, the latter usually offering a 
donation to the synagogue, or, in some cases, toward 
the expenses of the celebration. Psalms appropriate 
to the occasion are chanted, accompanied by music; 
after which cake and wine are served to the guests 


assembled. . , 

The siyyum massekta is celebrated in the bet ha- 
midrash' or at the yeshibali, by the student, or stu- 
dents, who invite guests to participate in their 
joy. A feast usually follows, which is called “ se- 
‘uddat mizwah” (feast of merit). 

The origiu of the custom is found in the Talmud. 
Abaye was proud of the fact that whenever a 
pupil finished a massekta he made it the occasion 
of a holiday for his students (Shab. 118b); appar- 
ently he himself defrayed the expense of the cole- 
bration. R. Eleazar said, “ One should make a feast 
on completing the Torah” (Cant. R. i. 9). The fact 
is specifically mentioned that R. Papa and R. Huna 
were absent" from the siyyum of Raba(B. B. 22a; 
see Raslii ad loc .). Since the feast is consideied a 


feast of merit,” R. Jacob Molln (d. 1425) allowed 
meat and wine at the feast of those who celebrated 
a siyyum massekta during the first nine days of 
Ab, although feasting is otherwise prohibited on 
those days, the mourning period for the destruc- 
tion of Jerusalem (“Sefer Maliaril,” p. 32b, War- 
saw, 1874). R. Moses Minz (loth cent.) advises (Re- 
sponsa, ed. Prague, 1827), “ One should await an 
opportune time to prepare a feast for the completion 
of a massekta.” 

The siyyum is made by mourners a cause for 
avoiding fasting on a Jaiiuzeit. The siyyum ex- 
empts also the first-born from fasting on the day pre- 
ceding Passover (see Shulhan ‘Aruk, Orah Hay- 
yim, 551, 10; Yoreh De‘ak, 246, 26). The siyyum 
of the massekta is read by the scholar who has just 
completed its study, except in a yeshibali, when 
it is read by the principal. A discourse of a 
liaggadic or pilpulistic character is interwoven with 
the reading, all students present partaking in the 
discussion. After this all recite the Hadian, as 
follows (the Masseket Berakot being supposed to be 
the one that has just been completed): 


“ Many returns [“ hadran ”] from us to thee and from thee to 
us Masseket Berakot. Our thoughts he with thee, and thy 
thoughts he with us, Masseket Berakot. May we not be forgot- 
ten by thee, nor thou he forgotten by us, Masseket Berakot, nei- 
ther in this world nor in the world to come.” 

This is repeated three times. The Aramaic lan- 
guage and the peculiar style indicate that the foi- 
mula is ancient. It dates probably from the geonic 
period. Then follows : “ May it be Thy will, 0 Lord, 
our God, and God of our fathers, that Thy Torah be 
our art in this world, and so be with us in the world 
to come.” The ten sons of R. Papa are then enumer- 
ated— Hanina, Rami, Xaliman, Ahai, Abba Mari, 
Rafram, Rakish, Surhab, Adda, Darn (their names, 
if recited, are supposed to help against forget- 
fulness). Xext follows: “Make pleasant for us, O 
Lord, our God, the word of Thy Law in our mouth 
and in the mouth of Thy people Israel, so that we, 
and our children, and the children of the house of 
Israel, may all know Thy Name and learn Thy 
Law. [Ps. cxix. 12, 80, 93, 99 are cited here.] 
Amen, amen, amen, selah, forever. We thank 
Thee, O Lord, our God, and God of our fathers, 
for appointing our lots among the scliolais of 
the bet lia-midrash, and not among idlers,” etc. 
(Ber. 28b). The principal celebrant recites: May 
it be Thy will, 0 Lord, my God, that as Thou 
hast aided me to complete Masseket Berakot, 
so mayest Thou aid me to commence and complete 
other treatises and books. Aid me to learn and to 
teach, to observe, to do, and to keep all the words 
of the teaching of Thy Law, in love. May the 
merit of all the Tannaim, and Amoraim, and the 
scholars [herein mentioned] be with me and with 
my children ; that the Torali shall never depart from 
rny mouth and the mouths of my children and my 
posterity,” etc. This is followed by “Kaddisli di- 
Rahanan.” 

Bibliography : Levensohn, 3Xe7core Minlicujim , § 100, Beilin, 

To. * E ; 

SKEPTIC : In a specific sense, one who remains 
in a state of doubt, declaring all .positive truth, re- 



Skeptic 

Slander 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


400 


Das Hohelied cler Skepsis” (see, further, Paul 
Haupt’s“ Koheleth oder Weltschmerz in cler Bibel,” 
1905). Friedrich Delitzscli, in “Das Bucli Hiob” 
(p. 17), calls Ecclesiastes “ Das Hohelied des Pessi- 
misms,” but he might as well have called it “the 
Song of Skepticism.” 

Jewish skepticism was always chiefly concerned 
with the moral government of the world. The great 
problem of life, with “its righteous ones suffering 
wo, and its wicked ones enjoying good fortune,” 
which puzzled the mind of Jeremiah (Jer. xii. 1), 
and Moses also, according to the Rabbis (Ber. 7a),' 
and which finds striking expression in the Psalms 
(Ps. Ixxiii.), created skeptics in Talmudic as well 
as in earlier times. According to Kid. 29b and Yer. 
Hag. ii. 77b. Elisha ben Abuyali became a skeptic 
as a consequence of seeing a person meet with a 
fatal accident at the very moment when he was ful- 
filling the two divine commandments for the observ- 
ance of which Scripture holds out the promise of a 
long life (Deut. v. 1G, xxii. 7). 

The rationalistic era of Mohammedanism produced 
skeptics among the Jews of the time of Saadia, 
such as was Hiwi al-Balktu, whose criticism 
tended to undermine the belief in revelation. 
The “Emunot we-De'ot” was written by Saadia, 
as he says in the preface, because of the many 
doubters who were to be convinced of the truth; 
and Maimonides, in the introduction to his “Mo- 
reh,” states that lie wrote that work as a guide 
for those perplexed by doubt. With all these Jew- 


ish thinkers doubt is not a sin, but an error that may 
reveal the pathway to the higher philosophical 
truth. 

A remarkable type of skeptic was produced by 
the sixteenth century in Uriel Acosta, who, amidst 
life of restless searching after truth, denied the 
the soul and the divine revelation. 
His excommunication by the Amsterdam authorities 
was inspired by fear of the Christian Church rather 
than by traditional practise. Another such was 
Leon of Modena, who, complaining that “ the thinker 
is tortured by doubt,- whereas the blind believer en- 
j°3 s peace of mind, and bliss in the world to come” 
(see Ari Nohem, quoted by Griitz, “Gesch.” 8d ed., 
x. 130), arrived through skepticism at a liberal in- 
terpretation of traditional Judaism (see S. Stern, 

“ Der Kampf des Rabhiners Gegen den Talmud im 
xviii. Jahrhundert, ” 1902). See Agnosticism. 

K. 

Hungarian scholar; 
lived in the middle of the nineteenth century. He 
devoted himself to teaching and became the princi- 
pal of the Jewish school which had been founded at 
Arad by Aaron Chorin, whom he assisted in arous- 
ing in that community a desire for secular knowl- 
edge. Skreinkawas the author of: “Analytische 
Elementarlehre der Rabbinisch-Mosaischen Religion, 
der Biblischen Gesch. und der Sittenlehre” (2d ed.' 
Arad, 1846) ; “ Beitragezur Entwickelungsgeschichte 
der Judisclieu Dogmen und des Jiidischen Kultus” 
(Vienna, 1861). In addition to these works Skreinka 
contributed various essays to Jewish scientific peri- 
odicals, the most important of which were: “Ueber 

Ivabbala ” (in “ Orient, 
Versuch einer Erltlu- 
terung Melirerer Dunkeler Stellen im Buche Daniel, 
mit Bcsonderer Bezieliung auf das 11. ICap.” (in 
“Monatssclirift,” 1855, pp. 454, et seq.). 

Br ff LI .? ( f ; RAPHY : Ben Chananja, yi. 138 ; Ffirst, Bihl. Jud. 

111. oil. 

I. Bn. 

SKUTECZKY, DAMIAHUS : Hungarian 
genre and portrait painter; bom at Kis-Gyor Feb. 

9, 1850. After he had studied at the Kunstaka- 
demie under Geiger, a state scholarship enabled him 
to go to Italy, where he settled at Venice. He 
had already acquired a reputation through his scenes 
from Venetian life when he attracted general atten- 
tion by his “Evil Tongues,” exhibited at the Vienna 
Exposition. In 1885 he returned to Hungary. He 
lives alternately at Budapest and Neusohl. His 
best-known paintings are: “ Intcressante Marchen 
“S. Modernes Paris” (in the collection of the em- 
peror Francis Joseph): “ Das Schmeizen des Kup- 
fers”; “ Tagliches Brod”; “Andacht” (purchased 
by the government for the Kunstliistorisches Mu- 
seum); and “Schadenfreude” (in the National Mu- 
seum). Skuteczky has devoted himself to the 
history and theory of art also, studying especially 
the technique of the Renaissance. 
s - L. V. 

SLANDER : False and malicious defamation of 
anothei s reputation anti character, tending to dis- 
grace him in the eyes of the community. The 
spreading of evil reports in order to injure a repu- 
table name is punishable by a fine and an assessment 


ligious or philosophical, to be unattainable to man. 
Ibis t} r pe of skeptic can scared}* be found in Ju- 
daism. However bold the Jewish philosophers of 
the Middle Ages were in their research or critical 
in their analytic methods, they never so distrusted 
human reason as to deny it the power, as the Greek 
skeptics did. to arrive at any positive knowledge or 
truth. Nor did the Jewish mystics attempt, as did 
Christian theologians, to build up a system of faith 
upon skepticism — that is, upon the assumption that 
reason is incapable of grasping any truth. Seer and 
sage alike appealed to reason to substantiate and 
verify the postulates of faith (Isa. xl. 26; Job xii. 7). 
The passage “The Lord is a God of knowledge” (I 
Sam. ii. 3) is interpreted by the Rabbis by the re- 
mark, Great is knowledge which leads from God 
to God” (Her. 33a). 

> Inasmuch, however, as doubt is a necessary transi- 
tion from a lower stage of faith or of knowledge to 
a higher one, skeptics, in the sense of men wres- 
tling with doubt, have found a certain recognition 
and a place of honor in Biblical literature. In a 
work by E. J. Dillon, entitled “The Skeptics of 
the Old Testament ” (London, 1895), it has been well 
pointed out that the authors of the Book of Job, of 
Ecclesiastes, and of the Words of Agur, the Son of 
Jakeh (Prov. xxx.), were skeptics, but the original 
compositions were so interpolated and remodeled as 
to make the skeptical points no longer noticeable. 
All three contain bold arraignments of divine justice 
and providence. As to the author of Ecclesiastes 
compare E. H. Plumptre’s edition (in “Cambridge 
Bible for Schools”): “He was almost driven back 
upon the formula of the skepticism of Pyrrho, ‘Who 
knows? ’ ” (p. 49). Heinrich Heine called the book 


immortality of 


SKREINKA, LAZAR: 


das Gnostisclie Princip in der 
Lit.” 1846, pp. 312 etseq.); “ 
















Slander 

Slaves and Slavery 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


402 


for damages. The “ mozi’ shem ra £ ” (one who invents 
an evil reputation) is to be distinguished from the 
“mesapper leslion lia-ra* ” (one who speaks with an 
evil tongue; see Calumny). The latter makes 
malicious but true statements, with the intention of 
exposing the subject of them to public hatred, 
contempt, or ridicule, which offense is prohibited 
but is not punishable by fine and an award for 
damages (Maimonides, “Yad,” De‘ot, vii. 2). 

The Hebrew terms “ ‘alilot debarim ” (occasions of 
speech) and “mozi’ shem ra‘ ” occur in connection 
with the Mosaic law which provides that if a hus- 
band questions the virginity of his newly married 
wife and it is found that he has done so without 
reasonable cause, he shall be punished with stripes 
and shall be compelled to pay a fine 
Against a of one hundred silver shekels to her 
Wife. father. The husband also loses the 
right of divorce (Deut. xxii. 13-21). If 
the wife lias no father living, the fine is payable to her 
(*‘ Yad,” Na‘arali Betulah, iii. 1). Both the accusa- 
tion and the refutation are allowed only when sup- 
ported by competent evidence. The phrase “ They 
shall spread the cloth before the elders ” is inter- 
preted in the Talmud to mean that the matter shall 
be thoroughly investigated before the bet din (Ket. 
46a). The punishment by a fine was considered 
unique (“hiddusli ”) in this case, the offense being 
by word, and not by deed (Yer. Ket. iii. 1). This 
law became obsolete after the destruction of the 
Temple, when the Mosaic laws concerning capital 
punishment and fines ceased to be operative. 

Rabbinical enactments against slander were very 
stringent. One shall forgive an insult by a fellow 
man when the latter asks forgiveness in public, ex- 
cept if he is a mozi 5 shem ra‘ (Yer. B. K. viii. 7). 
The question of civii liability for slander is’ discussed 
by the authorities, some of them citing R. Jose 
b. Hanina, who said, “Abuse in words is exempt 
from any liability” (B. K 91a); but this may not 
include slander. The geonic “ takkanah ” excom- 
municated the slanderer until lie had rendered an 
acceptable apology (Shullian ‘Aruk, Hoshen Mish- 
pat, 1, 1). Israel Isserlein, however, dismissed a 
civil suit brought, by a hazzan who alleged he had 
been discharged through the false report of a slan- 
derer, because it was not shown that he had been dis- 
charged immediately as a consequence of the slan- 
der. Isserlein nevertheless decided that the bet din 
might fine the defendant, and even excommunicate 
him until he had apologized and satisfied the hazzan 
(" Terumat ha-Deshen,” No. 307). Asheri quotes 
The prevailing custom “of checking the tongues of 
slanderers by a fine, in accordance with the offense 
and circumstances,” and he advises the bet din to 
act in every case (Asheri, Responsa, rule 101, § 9). 
R. Benjamin Zeeb rules that persons who slander 
by word of mouth or in writing are not to be for- 
given until after they have made apologies satis- 
factory to the person or persons slandered (Re- 
spousa, No. 240). 

The punishment imposed upon one who defames 
a woman’s character is that he shall fast three days 
— two successive Mondays and the intervening 
Thursday— sitting barefooted in front of the syna- 
gogue, and shall from the almemar and before the 


congregation implore the forgiveness of the one 
slandered (“Be’er ha-Golali,” on Hoshen Mishpat 
420). 

To slander the dead is a grievous sin, forbidden 
in the strongest terms by the Geonim (Shullian 
‘Aruk, Orah Hayvim, 606, 3). This sin can be ex- 
piated only by a fast of many days' duration, by 
long repentance, and by payment of a suitable fine 
imposed by the bet din. In addition, the slanderer 
must beg the forgiveness of the dead at the grave; 
should this be at a distance he may send a sub- 
stitute (Hoshen Mishpat, 420, 38; Benjamin Zeeb, 
Responsa, No. 247). 

w. b. J. D. E. 

SLAVE-TRADE : Trading in slaves was per- 
mitted by all ancient and medieval legislations; 
even Christian Europe allowed it down to the thir- 
teenth century. At an early stage traffic in Jewish 
slaves was forbidden to Jews, but there appears to 
have been no restrictions in law or sentiment against 
the purchase and sale of heathen slaves (see Slaves). 
With the dispersion of the nations in Europe, and 
the conflicts arising from the divergence of creed 
between the Allans and the Catholics in Spain, op- 
portunity was given to the Jews, who were equally 
hated and equally licensed, to supply both with 
slaves. Pope Gelasius (492) permitted Jews to in- 
troduce slaves, if they were heathen, from Gaul into 
Italy. At the time of Pope Gregory the Great (590- 
604) Jews had become the chief traders in this class 
| of traffic. He objected to the Jews holding Chris- 
tian slaves (“Epist.” ix. 109) because lie feared that 
they would be converted to Judaism (ib. iv. 21); and 
he wrote to the Bishop of Naples that the Jews dealt 
in Christian slaves which they bought in the Gallic 
territories (ib. ix. 36). It has been suggested by Ja- 
cobs that the British slaves who had been brought 
to the Roman market, attracting Gregory's attention 
to the need of Christianizing England, were in the 
hands of Jewish slave-dealers (“Jews of Angevin 
England,” p. 5). 

With the rise of Islam large opportunities were 
afforded to the Jews to supply Moslem slaves to 
the Christian world, and Christian slaves to that of 
Islam; and Ibn Khordadhbeh in the ninth century 
describes two routes by which Jewish slave-deai- 
ers carried such slaves from West to East and 
from East to West (see Commerce). According to 
Abraham ibn Ya‘kub, Byzantine Jews regularly 
purchased Slavs at Prague to be sold as slaves. 
Louis tlie Fair granted charters to Jews visiting his 
kingdom, permitting them to possess and sell slaves, 
provided the latter had not been baptized ; three of 
these charters are still extant. Agobard claimed that, 
notwithstanding this provision, the Jews kept Chris- 
tians as slaves, citing the instance of a Christian 
refugee from Cordova who declared that his corelig- 
ionists were frequently sold, as he had been, to the 
Moors. Many, indeed, of the Spanish Jews owed 
their wealth to the trade in Slavonian slaves brought 
from Andalusia (Gratz, “Gesch.” vii.). Similarly, 
the Jews of Verdun, about the year 949, purchased 
slaves in their neighborhood and sold them in Spain 
(Aronius, “Regesten,” No. 127). 

The Church repeatedly protested against the 
sale of Christians to Jews, the first protest occurring 


403 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Slander 

Slaves and Slavery 


as early as 588. At tlie third council of Orleans a 
decree was passed that Jews must not possess Chris- 
tian servants or slaves, a prohibition which was re- 
peated over and over again at different councils — 
as at Orleans (541), Paris (633), Toledo (fourth coun- 
cil, 633), Szabolcs (1092), Ghent (1112), Narbonne 
(1227), Beziers (1246). After this time the need of 
such a prohibition seems to have dis- 
Jewish. appeared. Thus, at Marseilles, in the 
Slave- thirteenth century, there were only 
Trading two cases of Jewish, as against seven 
Opposed, of Christian, slave-traders (“R E. J.” 

xvi.). It was part of St. Benedict’s 
rule that Christian slaves were not to serve Jews 
(Aronius, “ Regesten,” No. 114). Despite the Church 
rule, many Christians trafficked with the Jews in 
slaves, and the Church dignitaries of Bavaria even 
recognized this traffic by insisting on the Jews and 
other merchants paying toll for slaves (ib. No. 122). 
The Margrave of Meissen sold many of Iris subjects 
to Jews, and complaints were raised against him 
by the emperor Henry on that score (ib. No. 141). 
It became a part of Christian duty to ransom slaves, 
and St. Adalbert gave up the Prague bishopric be- 
cause he could not free all the slaves of Jews, while 
the countess Judith of Ladislaus paid ransom-money 
for some Jewish slaves the day before her death 
(1085). Still, the Carlovingian emperors granted 
permission for Jews to hold slaves without their be- 
ing baptized, and so ipso facto manumitted. Such 
permission was given, for instance, to Judah ibu 
Kalonymus and his associates at Speyer, and, about 
1090, to Jews of Worms. In 1100 Jews paid a tax 
of 4 pence for each slave held by them at Coblenz. 

Protests were frequently made against the Jews 
circumcising their slaves. It seems that they de- 
voted considerable attention to proselytizing them, 
and it was to the interest of slaves to become Jews, 
because they could not then be resold. It would 
appear, however, that Jews were more stringent 
about the circumcision of slaves in the sixteenth 
eeuturv than they were in the tenth (Abrahams, 
“Jewish Life in the Middle Ages,” p. 99), though 
this applies only to Mohammedan countries, where 
Jews were allowed to own only Christian slaves. 
A slave who was taken to the Holy Land became 
ipso facto free as soon as he touched the soil (“Re- 
sponsa of Geonim,” section 12). 

BiHuofiRAPHY: Abrahams, Jewish Life in the 31 iridic Ages, 
pp. 99-101. 

s. J • 

SLAVES AND SLAVERY : The Hebrew 
word “ ‘ebed ” really means “ slave ” ; but the Eng- 
lish Bible renders it “servant” (a) where the word 
is used figuratively, pious men being “servants of 
the Lord” (Isa. xx. 3), and courtiers “servants of 
the king ” (Jer. xxxvii. 2) ; and (b) in passages which 
refer to Hebrew bondmen, whose condition is far 
above that of slavery (Ex. xxi. 2-7). Where real 
slaves are referred to, the English versions generally 
use “ bondman ” for “ ‘ebed,” and “bondwoman ” or 
“ bondmaid ” f-or the corresponding feminines (Lev. 
xxv. 49). 

Biblical Data : The duty of treating the He- 
brew servant and handmaid otherwise than as slaves, 
and above all their retention in service for a limited 


time only, was deemed by the lawgiver of such im- 
portance that the subject was put uexfc to the Deca- 
logue at the very head of civil legislation (Ex. xxi. 
2-11). ' It is treated in its legal bearings also (Lev. 
xxv. 39-54; Deut. xv. 12-18). The prophet Jere- 
miah (Jer. xxxiv. 8-24) denounces the 
Treatment permanent enslavement of Hebrew 
of Hebrew men and women by their masters as 
Bondmen, the gravest of national sins, for which 
the kingdom of Judah forfeits all claim 
to God’s mercy, and justly sinks into ruin and exile. 
While the above-cited passages breathe a common 
spirit of humanity and brotherhood, they seem to 
conflict with one another in several points which the 
sages of the Mishnah contrive to reconcile. 

The only cause mentioned in the Pentateuch for 
selling a man into bondage without his consent is 
Iiis inability to make due restoration for goods stolen 
(Ex. xxii. 2) ; but from II Kings iv. 1-7 it is seen 
that in the kingdom of Israel the sons of an insolvent 
deceased debtor were sold for the father’s debts, and 
from Isa. iv. 1 that in the kingdom of Judah the 
debtor was forced to sell his children to appease liis 
creditors. This usage was not supported by the 
Law, unless the passage in Leviticus which speaks 
of “thy brother,” when lie “waxes poor” and “is 
sold to thee,” refers to asale for debt; or unless the 
critics are right in ascribing to the laws as now 
found a later origin thanMdiat of Elisha, or even of 
Deutero-Isaiah. 

In Rabbinical Literature : The following 

account is drawn mainly from Maimonides’ ^ ad 
lia-Hazakali : 

The Hebrew servant referred to in the Torah is of 
two classes: (1) lie whom the court has sold without 
his consent; and (2) he who has willingly sold him- 
self. The court may sell a man for theft only, as 
noted above. A man may sell himself (Lev. xxv. 
39) because of extreme poverty, after all his means 
are exhausted ; lie should not sell himself as long as 
any means are left to him. He should not sell him- 
self to a woman, nor to a convert, nor to a Gentile. 
Should he do so, however, even if he sells himself 
to a heathen temple, the sale is valid ; but it then 
becomes the duty not only of his kinsmen, but of all 
Israelites, to redeem him, lest lie become “swallowed 
up ” in heathendom. The sale of a Hebrew into 
bondage should be made privately, not from an 
auction-block, nor even from the sidewalk,, where 
other slaves are sold. 

The Hebrew servant, Scripture says (Lev. xxv. 
43), must not be treated with rigor. This was held 
to mean that no needless work must be imposed on 
him for the purpose of keeping him 
Am o un t of under discipline; nor. as Maimonides 
Work thinks, any unlimited task such as 
Required, might be imposed by the command: 

“ Work on till I come ! ” Nor must he 
be put to bondman’s work (ib. verse 39), i.e., to any 
humiliating task, such as only slaves perform: and, 
if practicable, he should he set to the same trade 
in which he was engaged while a freeman. 

Whether sold under judgment of a court or vol- 
untarily, the Hebrew servant, if lie runs away and 
is recaptured, must make good the time of liis ab- 
sence, unless the jubilee supervenes, when under 



Slaves and Slavery 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


404 


any circumstances lie is released. When lie becomes 
sick, and thus unable to work, if the time lost is al- 
together less than four years, none of the time of sick- 
ness is charged against the servant; but, ’if it is 
more than four years, he must make it up. If the 
sickness does not disable him for light work (such 
as work with the needle), even if he is sick for the 
whole six years of the term of a sold servant, if 
counts toward his freedom. However, i f the Hebrew 
servant will not do his duty, as a good hireling 
would do it, lie may, by way of discipline, be put 
to servile work. The master of a Hebrew bondman 
(or a bondmaid) must place him on an equality with 
himself in meat and drink, in lodging and in bed- 
clothes, and must act toward him in a brotherly 
manner ; for Scripture always speaks of him as “ thy 
brother.” Hence it was said (Kid. 20a): “Whoever 
buys a Hebrew servant buys a master for himself.” 

Either kind of servant is entitled to redeem him- 
self by paying his master a portion of the original 
purchase price proportionate to the 
Self-Re- number of years still unexpired ; thus 
demption if he was bought for ninety shekels 
Possible, for a term of six years, the master 
must allow him to go upon the pay- 
ment of fifteen shekels for every year still remaining 
of this term. 

In estimating this proportion a reduction is to be 
made if the servant shall have become sickly or 
weakened in body so as to be worth less than at 
first, but no increase if in the meantime he shall 
have become stronger or more skilful. When the 
man has sold himself to a Gentile, however, it is Ills 
duty to buy himself free in halves, so to speak. If 
he succeeds iu redeeming the first half of himself at 
a reduction, and then becomes healthy and strong, 
the redemption price of the second half must be 
estimated oil the basis of the original price (Kid. 
20b). 

While the man sold into service is bound for a 
term of six years, the man who sells himself volun- 
tarily binds himself for a term longer than six years, 
generally ten or twenty. While the 
Differences former may not. be sold to a non- 
Between Israelite (not even to a convert), the 
the Two latter may sell himself to an Israelite, 
Kinds. to a convert, to a denizen (“ger 
toshab”), or even to the “root of the 
family of a stranger,” that is, to a Gentile (see 
above). But under all circumstances, if within 
the power of Israel's laws, he becomes free, like 
every other Hebrew servant, in the year of jubilee. 

The man sold by the court may live with a Ca- 
naanite bondwoman whom his master assigns to 
him (Ex. xxi. 4); but the self-sold servant may not. 
The former may extend the period of his servitude 
by having his right ear pierced by his master at the 
door or door-post, after which he must serve “ for- 
ever,” that is, to the jubilee; the latter may not ex- 
tend his term of service, and his ear is not pierced. 
The former, after his ear is pierced, has another 
possibility of freedom. The text says “he shall 
serve him ” (his master); by taking this literally, he 
“acquires himself” or becomes free by the death of 
his master (see Kid. i. 2: Baraita, id. 14b). 

Within the six years, or within the time for which 


a man has sold himself, the Hebrew servant is not 
freed by the death of the master (if an Israelite) 
if the latter leaves a son, but need not serve a 
daughter or other surviving heirs. When a man 
is sold by the court, the master is hound to furnish 
such a servant’s wife with food ; he having, it seems, 
the right to her services, which hitherto belonged 
to her husband (Kid. 22a). 

According to tradition, a Hebrew female may not 
be sold by the court for theft, nor may she sell 
lierself; she may be sold for a bondmaid (“amah ”) 
only in the one way shown in Ex. xxi. 7: “When 
a man sells his daughter for a bondmaid” (A. V. 
“maid servant”). The father has this power over 
his daughter only while she is a minor, that is, less 
than twelve years of age, or at least 
The while she does not bear the signs of 
Hebrew puberty; and he should use his right 
Bondmaid, only in the extreme of poverty, and 
then as the last resort before selling 
himself. The sale becomes complete by the delivery 
of money or money’s worth, or through a deed 
(“shetar”) written in the father’s name. The girl 
remains in service at most six years, like a mail 
servant. If the jubilee arrives before the expiration 
of this term she is discharged by virture of that 
fact; or if the master dies, though he leaves a son, 

I she goes free. She may also obtain her freedom by 
1 redemption at a reduced price, as explained above, 
or by a deed of emancipation given to her by her 
master. All this is implied in the words of the 
text (Deut. xv., Hebr.), “Thou shalt do likewise to 
thy bondmaid,” But over and above all these 
paths to liberty she has another: as soon as her 
signs of puberty appear the master must marry 
her or must betroth her to his son, or must send 
lier free. In case of marriage she stands as a wife 
on the same footing as any freewoman in Israel. 
By the very words of the text in Exodus the 
master is forbidden to sell her to an outsider (lit. 
“to a foreign people”), either as a worker or as 
a wife. 

In conclusion, it may be said of Hebrew man serv- 
ants and bondmaids that, unlike Canaanite servants, 
they do not become free by reason of an assault on 
the part of the master which results in the loss of an 
e} r e or a tooth ; but, as shown under Assault and 
Battery, in such a case the master is liable to tliem 
in an action for damages. 

According to Deut. xv., whoever dismisses his 
Hebrew man servant or maid servant must not send 
either of them away empty-handed, but must pro- 
vide a parting gift. This law, however, does not 
apply to the following: a man who 
The has sold himself ; a servant sold by the 
Parting* court, who hastens liis freedom by 
Gift. redeeming himself at a price reduced 
by lapse of time; one who has run 
away from his master, and who while at large has be- 
come free through the jubilee. A baraita (Kid. 17a) 
fixes the value of the gift at thirty shekels (this 
being the average value of three cited in as many 
opinions); and it should be made “from tliy flock, 
thy thrashing-floor, and thy wine-press,” i.e., in 
products, the visible blessing of God. not in money 
or in clothing. The literal meaning of the verb used 



405 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Slaves and Slavery 


in reference to this parting gift in the text seems 
to be “to hang round the neck.” 

The Israelite is permitted by Lev. xxv. 44-46 to 
buy bondmen and bondwomen (in the true sense of 
the word) from among the surrounding nations, or 
from the strangers dwelling in his land, and from 
the descendants of these born in the land; the “in- 
dwelling” stranger being distinguished from the 
stranger who lives under the same law as the Israel- 
ite. Such bondmen or bondwomen become a pos- 
session, and are inherited by children 
Foreign- like other property. But the law limits 

Born the absolute power of the master. If 
Bondmen, he strikes his bondman or bondwoman 
so as to cause the loss of an eye or a i 
tooth, lie or she goes free. If he smites liim-or 
her so as to cause death on the same day, the deed 
is avenged as a murder; but not when death ensues 
on a subsequent day (Ex. xxi. 20, 21, 26, 27). An- 
other alleviation of bondage is the law (Deut. xxiii. 
16, 17) forbidding the return of a fugitive slave to 
his master by those among whom he seeks shelter. 
The religious status of bondmen owned by Israel- 
ites is well defined by the Scriptures, which make 
them an integral part of the community. The males, 
though of foreign blood, whether bought for money, 
or “born in the bouse,” are to be circumcised 
(Gen. xvii. 27; Ex. xii. 44), and when circumcised 
are to be admitted to eat of the Passover meal (ib.). 
Likewise the bondmen or bondwomen of a priest 
may eat of his holy meats (Lev. xxii. 11). Neither 
bondmen nor bondwomen are to be required to work 
on the Sabbath (Ex. xx. 10); indeed, the opportu- 
nity for the “son of thy handmaid” to have a 
•‘breathing-space” (A. Y. “may be refreshed”) is 
mentioned as one of the great motives for the insti- 
tution of the Sabbath (Ex. xxiii. 12). 

In the Mishnali the bondman and bondwoman 
not of Hebrew blood are called briefly “ Carman - 
it os.” They arc said to be bound, like women, by 
all the negative commandments, and 
Canaanite by affirmative commandments not ap- 
Bondmen plying to stated times only. In the 

of 'the marriage laws, of course, they occupy 

Talmud, a wholly different position from Israel - 

ites proper. Yet they are at least a 
subordinate part of the Jewish community; and 
not only are the males circumcised, but both males 
and females are received into the fold. Hence it is 
forbidden to sell a bondman or bondwoman to a 
Gentile (Git. iv. 6), as he or she might thereby be 
driven into apostasy ; but a transfer of the bond- 
man’s services for a short time, or with a reserva- 
tion of Sabbaths and festivals, is perhaps lawful 
(Git. 46b). If a sale not thus restricted is carried 
into effect, the master will be compelled to redeem 
the slave even at tenfold the price received and to 
manumit him; and if a master borrows from a 
Gentile and offers his slave as a pledge which is to 
be forfeited to the lender in the case of non-payment 
at a specified time, the slave becomes free at once 
(Git. 42a). 

It is unlawful to carry or to sell a Canaanite bond- 
man from the Holy Land to another country (ib. iv. 
6) ; and a man who acquires a slave in violation of 
this prohibition must manumit him. A difficult 


question once arose as the result of the marriage of 
a man residing in Babylonia to a Palestinian woman 
owning bondmen whom they took to his house 
(ib. 44b), there being doubt as to whom the penalty 
of the manumission of the bondmen should fall. 
“Syria” and even Acre (Acco) in Pliilistia were, as 



Manumission of a Slave, Dated Cairo, 1087. 


(From the Cairo genfeah.) 

regards the prohibition, considered as outside of 
the Holy Land ; and a Samaritan was considered a 
Gentile. The law in Deuteronomy against deliver- 
ing up a fugitive slave is construed as applying to 
one who flees from a place outside of the Holy 
Land into it (Git. 45a), which construction fits in 


Slaves and Slavery 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


406 


very well with the words of the text. But the 
servant should give to the master a bond for his 
value. Should the master refuse to manumit the 
fugitive by deed, the court would simply protect 
the former bondman in his refusal to serve him. 

As under other systems of law in which slavery 
is recognized, the bondman or bondwoman may not 
acquire or own any property. What 

May ^Tot lie Uriels or wiurt is given to liim liy 

Own others (except to serve as price fox- iiis 
Property, manumission) becomes at once the 
property of his master ; and if he is in- 
j tired in body, the damages must be paid to the 
master. He may not marry an Israelite woman, nor 
may a slave woman be married to a free Israelite; 
hence the rule adopted at the instance of the school 
of Shammai, that the master of a half -emancipated 
slave is compelled to manumit him (taking his bond 
for tlie other half) ; otherwise the man might not 
lawfully enter into any marriage (Git. iv. 5). 

The law as to eye and tooth is extended to all 
“main limbs that do not come back,” e.g., ears, fin- 
gers, toes, nose, or male genitals; but is limited by 
some technical exceptions, as where the bondman 
belongs to part-owners, or to a husband in right of 
his wife. As the manumission works as a penalty 
on the master, it may be imposed by a court of or- 
dained judges only, and upon tlie testimony of wit- 
nesses— not upon admission or confession, says Mai- 
monides; but his glossarist (Joseph Caro, in “Kesef 
Mishneh ”) points out that if the bondman is able, 
even for a moment, to justify his freedom, no court 
will take it from him. The child of a Canaanitc 
bondwoman by an Israelite, even by her master, is 
a bondman or bondwoman. When manumitted, a 
Canaanitc bondman or bondwoman becomes a “con- 
vert of righteousness,” and as such undergoes a sec- 
ond “baptism.” 

Where the master gives a free woman in marriage 
to his bondman, or puts phylacteries on him, or 
causes him to read three verses from the Torah in 
public, his action is understood as freeing him, and 
he should give him a deed of manumission. Ac- 
cording to the majority opinion, however, if the 
master goes through a form of betrothal with a 
bondwoman, the ceremony is of no significance un- 
less he has previously manumitted her (Git. 40a). 

Maimonides, at the close of his section on bondmen, 
declares that the Israelite should treat his slaves 
humanely, following the rules which Job imposed 
upon himself (Job xxxi. 12, 14); and he claims that 
cruelty is found only among idolatrous nations, not 
among the seed of Abraham. 

According to the strict words of the text (Lev. 
xxv. 46), an Israelite should transmit his foreign 
bondmen as a heritage to bis children. Though 
recognizing this principle (so thinks 
Formal Maimonides), the sages approved 
Manumis- manumissions made for any religious 
sion. purpose, even so slight a one as that 
of completing the number of ten men 
required for the celebration of public worship 
(“ Yad,” ‘Abadim, ix. 6); and. they decided almost 
every doubt in favor of freedom. 

A Canaanite bondman (or bondwoman) “ acquires 
himself ” (Kid. i. 3) either by money — which money 


he may pay himself to the master, but which must 
be given him by others for the purpose — or through 
a deed of manumission, even at the instance of 
others; for, according to the better opinion, free- 
dom is deemed to be a boon, and may be conferred 
upon him without bis consent. When he becomes 
free by loss of “eye or tooth,” the master is com- 
pelled to write a deed of manumission. The neces- 
sity for a document is drawn from the words “her 

freedom lisxs not Ixeen given to her ” (Lev. x ix. 20, 

Hebr.), ?.<?., given in a tangible form. Still where 
the master says b} r word of mouth that he has freed 
liis bondman, lie is not allowed to repudiate his own 
words, but is compelled to execute a deed (Git. 40b). 

When the master delivers to a third person a deed 
of manumission, declaring “hereby N. N. becomes 
free,” it becomes effective at once; but if be hands 
the deed to another with the request to deliver it to 
the bondman, it does not take effect unless it is 
delivered within tlie master’s lifetime. 

What is said above of money is true of money’s 
worth which the master accepts from another as 
the price of tlie bondman’s freedom; but words 
(except as an admission of a past act) are ineffectual. 

The deed of manumission must sever the relation 
of master and bondman entirely; if it reserves any 
of the master’s rights it is invalid. But where the 
bondman’s freedom is bought with money, he will 
become half free when only half the price agreed 
upon has been paid. Words in tlie future tense, 
e.g., “I shall manumit,” are ineffectual. As far as 
the deed effects the bondman’s freedom, its mere 
production by him is prima facie proof; but in order 
to operate upon property given to him by the mas- 
ter, it must be established by tlie subscribing wit- 
nesses. Where the bondman denies tlie master’s 
assertion that lie lias given him a deed of manumis- 
sion (a thing within the bondman’s knowledge), he 
does not go free. But where the master says in gen- 
eral terms “I have manumitted him,” the bondman’s 
denial is immaterial; for the manumission might 
have been executed in bis absence (Git. 40b). 

A will or gift “mortis causa” does not of itself 
work a manumission ; but tlie heirs will be com- 
pelled to carry out in a formal deed the testator’s 
or donor’s wishes. Likewise, if a dying man ex- 
presses a desire that his bondwoman shall have “ a 
good time ” (lit. “ a cool spirit ”), the heirs will be held 
to treat her accordingly. For these regulations Mai- 
monidesandhisfollowersgivenoTalmudicauthority. 

The Sliulhan ‘Aruk, being of a later date, and 
having been written rather for practise than for the- 
ory, shows more fully than Maimonides’ code how 
the old law on the subject of bondmen 
Decay of and bondwomen liad fallen into decay. 

the There must be no Hebrew servant, 
Old Law. except in times when a jubilee is 
lawfully kept (‘Ar. 29a); for he is 
entitled to its benefit. But where a Gentile govern- 
ment demands a tribute from all- Israelites, and sub- 
jects those who are delinquent to servitude under 
those who pay their share, an Israelite may thus ac- 
quire the services of a fellow Israelite; and-similarly 
with Jewish prisoners of war, though as to these 
the duty of ransoming exists. At the first acquisi- 
tion of an adult Gentile bondman b} r an Israelite 



407 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Slaves and Slavery 


owner, the Talmud teaches that the bondman should 
he consulted with respect to becoming circumcised, 
and that, if lie persistently refuses during a space of 
twelve months to undergo the rite, the owner 
should return him to the Gentile . owner. It seems 
that to circumcise and convert him against his 
will is of no avail. But later authorities (especially 
in Christian countries ; see ReMA’s gloss on Shulhan 
‘Aruk, Yoreli De‘ali, 267, 4) assert that the Israelite, 
in purchasing the bondman, may specially contract 

non to introduce liirrx into .Judaism; and tllilt K DOW 
and here ” sucll a contract would Toe presumed in. all 

cases, because Jews are not permitted to make con- 
verts. In the same spirit it has been said that where 
a man owns a bondwoman who is not yet con- 
verted into Judaism, nobody must convert her with- 
out the owner’s consent; for to do so is an injury, 
first, because lie can not thereafter sell her to a Gen- 
tile/ and, secondly, because she may not do any 
work for him on the Sahhatli. j 

Ever since the Diaspora wealthy Jews have owned 
non -Je wish slaves wherever slaveiy was recognized 
by law. As soon as it became optional whether 
bondmen or bondwomen should be circumcised and 
converted into Jewish bondage, generally they 
were not thus received. Under older decisions 
(“ Yad,” .‘Abadim, v. 5) the Biblical rule that the 
bondman or bondwoman becomes free by the loss of 
“eye or tooth” is applied only to those received 
into the Jewish fold; hence though the lack of wit- 
nesses and of ordained judges might he overcome, 
this path to freedom was shut off by the absence 
of bondmen and bondwomen to whom it applied. 

The position is taken by the later authorities that 
in buying a. slave under a Gentile government, the 
Israelite acquires only the services, but not the 
body, unless the law of the kingdom permits him to 
buy the latter also. The Hebrew servant not being 
an object for trade, nothing can be said about the 
sale or gift of such a person. How title to a Canaan- 
itc bondman passes has been shown under Aliena- 
tion ; that the sale of bondmen does not fall under the 
rules of “ona’ali” has been indicated under On a 5 ail 
See also Debelicts for ownerless bondmen. 
Bibliography : Ydd^Abadim ; Shulhan Aruh\ Torch Defalt % 

Ml. T 'V' T’k 

W. B. L. Is. I). 

Freedmen : In the Bible instances of the free- 
ing of slaves of both sexes are found; and the word 
“hofshi” with its derivatives is there used (Ex. xxi. 

5 - Lev. xix. 20). The incident at the close of the 
period of the First Temple, mentioned by Jeremiah 
(xxxiv. 9), has some significance (see above). 

Not until the Greek and Roman period, however, 
does the emancipation of slaves attain, as an institu- 
tion, any importance for the Jews. According to a 
not wholly reliable authority, most of the Jews cap- 
tured by Ptolemy I., Lagi (322-307 b.c.), were taken 
to Egypt, where they were ransomed by his son, 
Ptolemy II., Philadelphus (285-247), for a consider- 
able sum and set free (Aristeas Letter, ed. W end- 
land, § 22). Josephus remarks that the 
, Egypt. slaves’ fidelity to their masters was 
especially appreciated (“Ant.” xii. 1, 
§ 1). Indeed, that may always have been a reason 
for freeing the Jewish slave, since as a freedman lie 


could be the more useful to his former master and to 
the country he dwelt in. Philo gives another rea- 
son : Speaking of the Jews settled in Rome, who 
came there mostly as prisoners of war, he says they 
were set free because, owing to their unwillingness 
to break the laws of their fathers, they were un- 
serviceable (“Legatio ad Caium,” § 23 [ed. Man- 
gey, ii. 568]). Most of them were probably freed by 
Julius Csesar, who was specially friendly to the 
Jews (comp. Tacitus, “Annales,” ii. 85; Suetonius, 

“ Tiberius, ” § 36). Caesar owed money to a freed- 

man (Suetonius, “Oaesai*.” §2); atlfl this frPPflm an 

was in all probability a Jew (mm, m iel 
viii. 33, note 1). The historian Josephus was also a 
freedman. 

In Rome, as may be seen from the tombstone in- 
scriptions, a great many Jews had Gentile names of 
aristocratic families, from which it may be con- 
cluded that they were freedmen of those families. 
Among them were Claudius Aster, a freedman of 
the Claudius family (see Jew. Encyc. ix. 475b, s.v. 
Paleogbapiiy), and Claudius Jose. The names 
of emperors borne by Jewish freedmen in Rome in- 
cluded Julius Flavius, Ulpius, iElius,’ 
Rome. Antoninus, Aurelius, Severus, Con- 
stantius, Juliauus, Domitianus, Faus- 
tinus, and Valerius. The names of noble families 
used by these freedmen include : riSmilius, Lucre- 
tius, Marcellus, Marcius, Quiutiiius, Sempronius, 
Tullius (Vogelstein and Rieger, “Gescli. der Juden 
in Rom,” i. 60). Still, many who bore these names 
may have been born Romans, since Jews, even 
without being slaves, frequently assumed names 
of noble families; for instance, the Alababchs as- 
sumed the name of the Julii. The proselyte Clem- 
ent of Rome is supposed to have been a freedman, 
or a son of Flavius Clemens, a freedman (Light- 
foot, “Clement of Rome,” p. 61). Names of Jew- 
ish freedmen in Delphi also are known (Schlirer, 
“Gesch.” 3d ed., iff. 27). 

The Synagogue of the Libertines in Jerusalem is 
referred to in Acts vi. 9. Since, however, four syna- 
gogues named after cities and countries are men- 
° tioned in the same sentence, it has been 

Synagoga thought that the fifth also was prob- 
Liber- ably named after a place ; and Blass, 
tinorum. in consequence, reads Aifivarivuv in- 
stead of Aifiep-huv. But even in mod- 
ern times John Patrick (in Hastings, “Diet. Bible,” 
iii. 110) holds that the Libertines were freedmen in 
the Roman sense of the term, and that they were 
mainly descendants of those Jews who had been 
taken as prisoners to Rome by Pompey in 63 b. c. 
and there sold as slaves. On the other hand, it was 
long ago pointed out that had the author of the 
Acts of the Apostles really intended to speak of 
freedmen he would have used the Greek instead of 
the Latin word. Accordingly, “Libertines” would 
seem to be only the name of a people (Gerdes, “ De 
Synagoga Li her tinorum,” 1738). The Hellenistic 
Diaspora numbered among its members the rhetori- 
cian C^eciltus of Calacte and the chronographer 
Thallus, a Samaritan, who were both freedmen. 
Instances of Jews freeing their slaves are also met 
with. Rufina, directress of the synagogue in 
Smyrna, built a tomb for her freedmen (“R. E. J.” 



Sloxnan 

Slonimski 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


408 


vii. 161-166). Several inscriptions on the Bosporus 
and in Pontus show that the freeing of slaves was a 
religious duty on the part of the Jews (Levy, in 
“ Jahrbucli fur Geschichte der Juden,” ii. 223). 

The Rabbis often speak of freed slaves, meaning 
heathen, of course. The prayer at the offering of 
the first-fruits might not be recited by freedmen 
(Ma‘as. Sh. v. 14). Documents concerning the free- 
ing of slaves are often mentioned (“ shetar sliihrur ”). 
If such documents were drawn up by heathen mag- 
istrates, they were recognized (Tosef . , 

In the Git. i. 4). A certain Bati b. Tobiah 

Talmud, was too proud to accept a patent of 
freedom (Kid. 70b). Halakie questions 
arose in connection with the freedwoman Karkemit 
(‘Edu}". v. 6) and withTobi, R. Gamaliel’s freedman. 
In the Talmud, moreover, the freeing of slaves ac- 
cording to the Roman law is discussed (“ Masseket 
‘Abadan,” ed. Kirchheim, iii. 30; see Krauss, “ Lelm- 
worter,” i. 267). 

S. Km 

SLOMAN, CHARLES : English composer, and 
singer of comic songs; born about 1808; died in 
London July 21, 1870. He composed “Sacred 
Strains and Hymns ” (Loudon, I860), and a number 
of songs, among which may be mentioned “ Charm- 
ing Sue,” “Daughter of Israel,” “Daughters of 
Salem,” “Maiden of Sunny Cashmere,” “Maid of 
Judah,” “Pilgrim of Erin,” “Promised Land,” and 
“ Social Bricks.” 

Bibliography : Brown and Stratton, Biography of Musician*. 

J. G. L. 

SLOMAN, HENRY : English actor ; born in 
Rochester, England. 1793; died there Aug., 1873. 
He was a favorite comedian during Glossop’s man- 
agement of the Coburg Theatre, and he gained 
celebrity in the character of Watty Wagstajf in “Ed- 
ward the Black Prince.” About 1834 he became, 
in conjunction with his brother Charles, the propri- 
etor of Rochester Theatre. 

Bibliography: Jew. Chron. Au<r. 22, ] 873. 

.T. G. L. 

SLONIK, BENJAMIN AARON B. ABRA- 
HAM : Polish Talmudist; born about 1550; died 
after 1619. His signature appears invariably as 
“Benjamin Aaron ben Abraham the last 

name in which Steinschneider (“Cat. Bodl.” col. 
786) reads “Salnik” or “Slonik,” and Wolf (“Bibl. 
Hebr.” i. 245) derives from “ Thessalonica.. ” On 
the title-page of tlie Italian translation of Slo- 
nik ’s book on the duties of women he is called 
“Benjamin of NnNYin,” which is the usual Hebrew 
transliteration for “Grodno,” and which Wolf and 
after him Michael (“ Or ha-PIayyim,” No. 282) falsely 
interpret as the family name “Meardono,” thus ma- 
king of the one author two, a Benjamin of Salonica 
and a Benjamin Meardono. It is difficult to say 
whether the Italian translator chose the name 
“ Grodno ” as that of the capital of the principality 
to which Slonik belonged or whether Benjamin 
resided there, being called Slonik after his birth- 
place. 

Slonik was a disciple of Solomon Luria, Moses 
Isscrles, and Nathan Spiro. Toward the end of 


his life, as he himself declares in his responsa, 
he was almost blind, as well as destitute and 
in poor health. Two of his sons, Abraham, 
rabbi of Brest-Litovsk, and Jakel, also were fa- 
mous Talmudists. The former edited his fathers 
responsa, with his notes. Ezekiel Katzenellenbogen 
proudly claims descent from Benjamin Slonik. 

Slonik was the author of the following works: (1) 
“Mas’at Binyamin” (Cracow, 1632; Metz, 1776), a 
collection of responsa. (2) “Seder Mizwot Nashim, 
Ein Schon Frauenbiichlein,” in Yiddish, on the 
three chief religious duties of women. This book, 
which became very popular, was printed many 
times (Cracow, 1577, 1585; Basel, 1602; Ilanau, 
1627; Amsterdam, 1645; Dessau, 1699; Frankfort- 
on-the-Main, 1714; Fiirth, 1776; n.p. 1795; trans- 
lated into Italian by Isaac ben Elhanan Heilbronn 
[erroneously called “ Alpron” by Bartolocci], 1614, 
and repeatedly edited, Padua, 1625; Venice, 1652 
and 1710). (3 and 4) Two other books that he men- 
tions, respectively on halizah and on the calendar 
(“ ‘Ibronot”), have not been preserved. 

Slonik’s principles show few individual features, 
but exhibit merely the typical religious orthodoxy 
of his age. Thus he says that one who does not 
wrap himself in the tallit, but merely wears it roiled 
round his neck, has not fulfilled the Law. He de- 
cides also that one who has fasted on the Sabbath in 
order to avert the consequences of an evil dream 
(see Fast) may not consider fasting on the next day, 
if it happens to be the Seventeenth of Tammuz, : a 
sufficient expiation of the desecration of the Sab- 
bath, but must fast on Monday also. 

Bibliography : Bartolocci, Bihlioteca Rabbinica Magna, i. 
672; Wolf, Bibl. Hebr. i. 245; Orient , Lit. ix. 377; Stein- 
schneider, Cat. Bodl. col. 786; idem, Hebr. Bibl. 1879, pp. 
82 ctseq.; Fuenn, Kcneset Y Israel, p. 172; Michael, Or ha- 
lf ay yim, pp. 274,282; Nissenbaum, Lc-Korot ha-Ychudim 
be-Lublin , p. 21, Lublin, 1900. 

D. 

SLONIM : District town in the government of 
Grodno, Russia; it became part of Lithuania in 
1316. Jews probably lived in Slonim under Grand 
Duke Gedimin and his followers, although the first 
documentary evidence that a Jewish community ey? 
isted there dates back only to 1551, when mention 
is made of a community which was exempted froin 
the special tax called “scherebschisna.” In 1556 
Abram Mayerovich, a Jew of Slonim, is mentioned 
as plaintiff in a lawsuit against the estate- owner 
Martin Petrashkevich, the court deciding in favor 
of Abram. In 1558 the monopoly of brewing and 
selling beer in the city of Slonim was acquired by 
the Jew Abram Palam, who agreed to build the 
breweries at his own expense, and to pay an annual 
license of 30 kop grosclien. In 1559 David May- 
erovich, another Jew of Slonim, won liis suit of 
35 grosclien against the boyar Zh.uk Patzevich. 
Seven years later Aaron Gankevicli, a Jew of 
Grodno, lodged a complaint in the district court of 
Slonim against, the sheriff of the estate-holder Pa- 
luski, and his accomplices, who had assaulted and 
wuuiuled the complainant while he was visiting 
the JeAvs of Slonim as representative of his landlord, 
Khodkevich of Wilna. In the same year (1566) the 
landlord of Slonim, Pavel Irikovich, bound his 
heirs to pay his debts of 8 kop grosclien to the Jew 



409 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Sloman 

Slonimski 


Esko, and 2£ kop groschen to the Jew Gosliko. A 
Jew of Brest, Samuel Yuditch, farmed tlie taxes of 
Slonim in the following 3 r ear, and is mentioned as 
claimant in 1570 against the estate-owner Alik- 
liailo Stoiderev of Slonim for 5 kop and 12 
groschen. 

Two Jews of Slonim, Mayer Abramovich and 
Hessel Mordukliovich, were charged in 1583 with 
having tortured the prisoner Yasili Ivanovich, who 
was accused of having murdered the Jews Yakub 
Ileimelovich and Hersh Davidovich. In the books 
of the custom-house of Brest-Litovsk for 1583 Jewish 
merchants of Slonim are mentioned among the ex- 
porters of merchandise to Lublin. 

The Jewish community of Slonim began to pros- 
per in the second half of the eighteenth century, 
when Hetman Michael Oginski became the elder 
of the town and built, there a palace, a theater, 
and many other buildings, established a printing- 
ollice, and laid the founda- 
tion of the Oginski Canal, 
which developed trade and 
industry by connecting 
the River Sliara with the 
Dnieper. In 1795 Slonim 
became the .capital of the 
government of the same 
name, but in the following 
year it became a district 
town, and since 1801 it lias 
been part of the govern- 
ment of Grodno. Slonim 
has the usual charitable 
institutions, likewise sev- 
en synagogues and many 
prayer - houses. Among 
the rabbis who have offici- 
ated there may be men- 
tioned Judah Low ben 
Moses lia-Levi Edel and 
Joshua Isaac ben Jeliiel 
Schapiro (died there Dec. 

3, 1872). The present 
(1905) rabbi is Judah Vier- 
nikowski. Among other 
prominent Slonim Jews 
of the nineteenth century 
may be mentioned Abraham Samuel Tenzer, Ilirscli 
Arkin, Hillel Lipstein, Mordecai Rosenblum, Mor- 
decai Samuel Weinikov, Eleazar Klaczko, Mendel 
Miller, Hayyim Pomeranz, Market Sliershcvski, 
Noah Blostein, Isaac Elikowitz, Joshua Hesliel Ho- 
rodisch, and Asher Edelsteiu. 

According to the census of 1897, tlie city of Slonim 
had a total population of 15,893, of whom about 
10,588 were Jews; the population of the district was 
213,611, including about 21,000 Jews. 

Bibliography: Regestu i Nail pi si. s.v.; Russko-Ycvreiski 

Aihhiv , vol. ii.. Nos. 87, 260, 261; Suvalski, Kcneset ha-Gc- 

ilalalu P. 70, Warsaw, 1879. 

n. n. J. G. L. 

SLONIMSKI, HAYYIM SELIG : Russian 
author, scientist, and inventor; born in Byelostok 
March 31, 1810; died in Warsaw May 15, 1904. 
Slonimski was the first to teach the Jews in eastern 
Europe popular science through the medium of the 


Hebrew language, into which he introduced a vocab- 
ulary of technical terms created partly by himself. 

His strict conservatism in religious matters gained 
for liis teachings the implicit confidence of his read- 
ers, and enabled him to overcome the prevailing ap- 
prehension that religious principles were in danger 
of being sacrificed in the interests of science. 

Slonimski distinguished himself also as an in- 
ventor. In 1842 he perfected a calculating-machine, 
which he exhibited before the St. 

Popular Petersburg Academ} r of Sciences and 
Scientist, for which lie received the Demidoff 
prize of 2,500 rubles. In 1853 be in- 
vented a chemical process for plating iron vessels 
with lead, and in 1856 an electrochemical device for 
sending quadruple telegrams. The system of mul- 
tiple telegraphy perfected by Thomson (now Lord 
Kelvin) in 1858 was based on Slonimski’s discovery. 

Slonimski wrote several articles in Russian and 
German for the scientific 
magazines, but bis main 
purpose was to reach- a 
class of Jews’ who knew 
no other language than 
Hebrew. Accordingly, -he 
established in 1862 at War- 
saw the Hebrew weekly 
“Ha-Zefirali,” which was 
the first Hebrew organ 
devoted mainly to scien- 
tific subjects. After an 
existence of six months 
the publication of this 
paper was discontinued 
owing to Slonimski ’s ap- 
pointment as principal of 
the rabbinical seminary in 
Jitomir and as govern- 
ment censor of Hebrew 
books, positions which he 
held till the seminary was 
closed by the Russian 
government twelve years 
later. Slonimski re- 
sumed the publication 
of “ Ha-Zefirak ” at Bei- 
lin in 1874, the place 
of publication being changed in Sept., 1875, to 
Warsaw. 

In deciding certain scientific questions connected 
with Jewish matters, Slonimski at times found him- 
self at variance with other Jewish scholars. Thus, 
despite his conservatism, he admitted that an error 
of four days’ excess had crept into the Jewish cal- 
endar cycle as compared with the true solar cycle; 
in this view he was opposed especially by Perles, 
the controversy being carried on for thirty years. 
Slonimski likewise discussed the question of the so- 
called “Jewish date-line” for deciding on which 
days the Sabbath and holy days should be observed 
by Jews, in the Far East and in Australasia. He 
argued that for them the line must be fixed not from 
Greenwich, but from Jerusalem, the center of the 
earth according to the Talmud. This calculation 
would make the dividing line pass between China 
and Japan, the former with the Philippines being 



Hayyim Selig Slonimski. 



Slonimski 

Small and Large Letters 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


410 


included in the Far East, and the latter in the West. 
See Meridian Date. 

Slonimski ’s publications include the following 
works: “Mosede Hokmali,” on the fundamental 
principles of higher algebra (Wilna, Grodno, 1834); 
“ Sefer Kukba di-Sliebit,” essays on the Halley comet 
{which appeared in 1835-36) and on astronomy in 
general (Wilna, 1835); “Toledot ha-Shamayim,” on 
astronomy and optics (Warsaw, 1838); “ Yesode ha 
Tbbur,” on the Jewish calendar S 3 r stem and its his- 
tory, with tables (ib. 1852); “Mezi’ut ha-Nefesli 
we-Kiyyumah,” a defense, based on science, of the 
immortality of the soul (ib. 1852); “Ot Zikkaron,” 
a biographical sketch of Alexander von Humboldt 
(Rerlin, 1858). All these works appeared in sec- 
ond, third, or fourth editions and were extensively 
read. Slouimski likewise published many articles 
in the Hebrew magazines; some of the most im- 
portant ones from “Ha-Zefirah” and “Ha-Kar- 
mel” were edited by J, L. Sossnitz and published 
under the title “Ma’amare Hokmali” (Warsaw, 
1891). 


Bibliography: Fuenn, Keneset Yisrctcl , pp. 360-304; Kohut, 
Berilhmte Israel it ische Manner uvd Frauen, p. -50 ; Zelt- 
lin, Bibl. Post-Mendels, pp. 365-307 ; Eisenstein, in New Era, 
Illustrated Magazine, July, 1904; Ha-Dor , 1904, pp. 57-60 
(Nos. 1-2). 

s. J. D. E. 

SLONIMSKI, LEONID ZINOVYEVICH : 

Russian publicist; born in 1852; son of Hayyim 
Selig Slonimski. At the age of twenty he began 
contributing sociological and legal articles to various 
Russian journals, and since 1882 he has been a perma- 
nent contributor to the “ Vyestnik Yevropy. ” Some 
of his articles express his opposition to the fiscal 
policy which tends by artificialuneaus to further the 
enrichment of capitalists to the injury of agricultur- 
ists and laborers. He is an opponent also of the 
teachings of Ivarl Marx and his followers. 

Slonimski’s writings include: “Umstveunoye 
Razstroistvo, evo Znacheniye v Pravye Grazh- 
danskoi i Ugolovuoi” (St. Petersburg, 1879); “Po- 
zemelnaya Sobstvennost s Tochki Zryeniya Budush- 
chavo Grazhdanskavo Ulozheniva ” (ib. 1885) ; “ Os- 
novnyye Yoprosy Politiki” (ib. 1889); “Oklirana 
Krestyanskavo Zemle vIad 3 T eiliya i Neobkhodimyya 
Zakonodatelny}^ Reformy ” (ib. 1892); and“Ekono- 
miclieskoye Uchen^ye Karla Marksa ” (ib. 1898). A 
collection of some of his articles on Marx has ap- 
peared in German translation. 
h. it. S. Hu. 


SLOUSCHZ, DAVID SOLOMON; Russian 
rabbi and preacher; born at Odessa Sept. 11, 1852. 
Having received an elemental^ education in his na- 
tive town, Slouschz at the age of fourteen went to 
Minsk, and studied in the yesliibah there for two 
years. Then he perfected himself in rabbinics in 
the well-known \mshibah of Volozhin, and at the 

a S« of ninet ee» w iL s ordained rabbi l>v ISTaplitali 

Hirsch Berlin, head of the 3 'eshibali of Yolozliin. 
After staying for some time at Kherson, where he 
occupied himself with the study of Hebrew gram- 
mar, lie was (1879) appointed preacher in one of the 
synagogues of Odessa, and two years later was made 
rabbi of the congregation in that part of Odessa 
known as Molclovanka. Slouschz is also a political 


Zionist, and for nine years he was a member of the 
central committee of the Chovevei Zion. 

Slouschz is the author of “Reshit Dawid ” (War- 
saw, 1881), responsa and sermons. Many of his ser- 
mons have been published separately, in pamphlet 
form. JEIe is a contributor to various Hebrew peri- 
odicals. 

Bibliography : Sokolow, Sefer ZikRaron , pp. 79-80. 

s. M. Sel. 

SLOUSCHZ, NAHUM : Russian Hebrew lit- 
terateur; born at Odessa Nov., 1872. He was edu- 
cated at the common school of his native city, and, 
in rabbinics, by his father. When only nineteen 
years of age he was sent to Palestine by the Cho- 
vevei Zion Societ} r of Odessa, to found, if possible, 
a colony in the Hol} r Laud. He was not successful 
and returned home. In 1896 he traveled through 
Austria and Lithuania, and then went to Eg 3 r pt and 
again to Palestine. . • 

While quite 3 r ouDg Slouschz had contributed to 
Hebrew and Russian journals. Holding Zionistic 
ideas, lie became an ardent follower of Herzl when 
the latter inaugurated the Zionist movement; and 
branches "were established b} r Slouschz in Odessa 
and other parts of southern Russia. He wrote much 
on the Jewish question and took part in the second 
congress at Basel both as delegate and as corre- 
spondent. 

In 1898 he studied belles-lettres and philosophy at 
the UniversUy of Geneva, again showing his interest 
in Zionism by founding together with others the 
Swiss Federation of Zionists. In 1900 he went to 
Paris, where he studied Oriental languages. He 
earned a livelihood as correspondent of several pa- 
pers, among which were “Ha-Meliz” and “Ha- 
Zefirah.” In 1902 he was appointed teacher at the 
normal school in Auteuil, and in 1903 lie graduated 
as doctor of the Universe of Paris, his thesis be- 
ing “La Renaissance de la Litterature Hebrai'que” 
(Paris, 1903). In 1904 he became lecturer on Neo- 
Hebraic literature at the same university. 

Besides his contributions to the journals, he pub- 
lished-: “Mali Ya‘aseh ha-Adam we-lo Yeheteh” 
(Jerusalem, 1890) and “ Ila-Osher me-Ayin Yim- 
maze” (ib. 1892), both being translations of works 
b # y Paolo Montegazza; “Massa‘ be-Lita” (ib. 1898); 
“Kobe? Sippurim” (Warsaw, 1899), a translation of 
some of Zola's novels; “Keneset lia-Gedolali ” (ib. 
1899); “ Massa‘ be-Mizrayim ” (ib. 1900); “Ha-Kon- 
gres ha-Ziyyoni ha-Rebi‘i” (ib. 1901), on the con- 
gress of Zionists; “Emil Zola Hayyaw u-Sefaraw ” 
(ib. 1901); “Ketabim Nibharim” (7 vols., ib. 1904- 
1905), selections from Guy de Maupassant, translated 
into Hebrew and including a monograph on that 
author by Slouschz. 

ii. n. F. T. H. 

SLUCKI, DAVID : Hebrew scholar of Warsaw ; 
died tii ere between 1870 and 1880. Besides his edi- 
tion Of Dcivul Franco Mendes’ “ Gemul ‘Atalyah ” 

(Warsaw, 1860) and of Pappenheim’s “Agadat 
Arba‘ Kosot ” (ib. 1863), to both of which works he 
added notes of his own, he edited the “Megillat 
Antiokus ” (ib. 1863), using as a basis therefor Fili- 
powski’s edition of 1851, and adding to it an intro- 
duction and notes. 



411 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Slonimski 

Small and Large Letters 


Shield’s chief production, however, was the “ Hok 
mat Yisrael,” a collection of Jewish religio-philo- 
sopliical works in eight parts, provided with his crit- 
ical notes. Part i. (Warsaw, 1863) contains Bedersi’s 
"Behinat ‘Olam,” Ibn Gabirol’s “Mibliar ha-Peni- 
ihm,” and Maimonides’ “ Shemonah Perakim ” ; part 
ii. (Leipsic, 1804), Saadia’s “Emunot we De‘ot,” to 
which the editor prefixed Saadia’s biography, besides 
writing a commentary on the work; parts iii.-vih. 
(Warsaw, 1865-71), the “Bi’ur Millot lia-Higgayon ” 
of Maimonides with Comtino’s commentary (edited 
for the first time); the “Ruah Hen ” of Ibn Tibbou 
with an index by the editor; Judah ha-Levi's 
“ Cuzari,” to which he added a commentary and to 
which lie prefixed a pamphlet entitled “Kiryat 
Befer” and containing an index of the authors 
quoted in the work, a history of the Chazars, and a 
biography of Judah ha-Levi; and finally Bahya’s 
“Hobot ha-Lebabot,” together with various addi- 
tions to the same. 

Bibliography: Zeitlin, Bibh Post-Mendeh. pp. 367-369. 

a. M. Sel. 

SMALL AND LARGE LETTERS : There 
are about 100 abnormal letters in the Masoretic text 
of the Bible— many of them in the Pentateuch— 
which were always copied by the scribes, and 
appear also in the printed editions. Among these 
letters are: the “waw keti‘a” (t; bisected waw) in 
the word (“peace”; Num. xxv. 12); the final 
41 mem” in the word n3"lD^ (“increase”; Isa. ix. 6 
[A. V. 7]); the inverted “nun” (C) in nine passages 
(Num. x. 35, 36; Ps. evii. 23-28, 40); and the Sub- 
tended Letters. The principal division of these 
abnormal letters is into small (“ ze‘ira ”) and large 
(“rabbati*) letters, as indicated in the lists which 
are given below. The former appear to belong to 
an older Masorali than that which provides for the 
large letters, and should be classed with the “kero” 
and “ ketib.” 

The large letters are used mainly to call attention 
to certain Talmudic and midrashic homilies and cita- 
tions, or as guards against errors. References to 
them in Masseket Soferim ix. read substantially as 
follows. 

(1) The letters of the first word of Genesis, “Bere- 
shit ” (In the beginning), must be spaced (“ stretched ” 
= “ peshutin ” ; according to the Ma- 
in sorah, only the “ bet ” is large). 

Masseket (2) The “waw” in the word “ga- 

Soferim. lion” (belly; Lev. xi. 42) must be 
raised (“erect ” = “zakuf”), because 
it is the middle letter of the Pentateuch (comp. 
Kid. 30a). 

(3) The word “ wa-yisliliat ” (And he slew; Lev. 
viii. 23) must he spaced, as it is the beginning of 
the middle verse of the Pentateuch (the Masorali 
designates the dividing verse as ib. 8, but does not 
indicate that any change is to be introduced in the 

form or spacing of tlie letters). 

(4) “Shema‘ ” (hear; Deut. vi. 4) must be placed 
at the beginning of the line, and all its letters must 
be spaced ; “ chad ” (one), the last word of the same 
verse, must be placed at the end of the line (the Ma- 
sovah has the “ ‘ayin ” of “Shema* ” and the “dalet” 
of “chad ” large). 


(5) The “lamed” in the word “ wa-yashlikem ” 
(and he cast them; ib. xxix. 27) must be large 
(“ long ” — “ ‘aruk ”). 

(6) The letter “he” in “ha la-Ynwn” (“the 
Lord”; ib. xxxii. 6) must be spaced more than any 
other “lie,” as “ha” is here a separate word (comp. 
Yer. Meg. i. : “ The ‘ he ’ must be below the shoulder 
of the ‘lamed’”: also Ex. R. xxiv. : “The ‘he’ is 
written below the * lamed. ’ ” The Masorah has a 
large “ he ” as indicating the beginning of a separate 
word). 

(7) The “yod ” of the word “teslii ” (thou art un- 
mindful; ib. IS) must be smaller (“katan”) than 
any other “ yod ” in the Scriptures. 

(8) The “yod ” of “yigdal” (be great; Num. xiv. 
17) must be larger (“gadol”) than any other “yod” 
in the Pentateuch (Yalk., Num. 743, 945). 

(9) The last word in the Pentateuch, “Yisrael,” 
must be spaced and the “ lamed ” made higher than 
in any other place -where this letter occurs (the 
Masorah has no changes). 

The references in Talmud and Midrash which are 
probably the bases of these abnormalities are as 
follows : (1) Citing “ For in Y H the Lord created the 
worlds” (Isa. xxvi. 4, Hebr.), R. Judah b. Ila‘i said: 
“By the letters ‘ yod ’ [Y] and ‘he ' [H] this world 
and the world to come were created — the former by 
the ‘ lie,’ as it is written Dfcnnm [“when they were 
created,” Gen. ii. 4]” (Men. 29b); hence the letter 
“lie ” is small here, indicating this world. (2) Citing 
“ And when she saw him that he was a goodly child ” 
(21D ; Ex. ii. 2), R. MeiT said: “ ‘ Tob ’ [“good”] was 
his name” (Ex. R. i. ; Yalk., Ex. 106). (3) “And 

the Lord called unto Moses” (Kip’ 1 !; Lev. i. 1); 
“wa-yikra” is written here with a small “alef,” to 
emphasize its contrast with “wa-yikkar” in the 
verse “ God met Balaam ” ; Num. 

References xxiii. 4); the former indicates a 
in Talmud familiar call used by loved ones, but 
and the latter refers to an accidental meet- 

Midrash. ing, difference being thus expressed 
between the call of God" to a Jewish 
prophet (Moses) and His call to a non-Jewish 
prophet (Balaam ; Lev. B. i.). (4) “ And Caleb stilled 
the people ” (om ; Num. xiii. 30). He used diplo- 
macy in quieting them, as he feared they might not 
heed his advice (see Sotali35a; Yalk., Num. 743); 
and the use of the large D symbolically denotes 
the way in which Caleb quieted the people. (5) 
“ Hear , 0 Israel . . . one God ” (Deut. vi. 4). Who- 
soever prolongs the word “eliad” [one] in reciting 
the “ Shema* ” prayer, his days and years shall be pro- 
longed— especially if he prolongs the letter “ dalet ” 
(Ber. 13b). The emphasis on the “dalet” (i) is in- 
tended to distinguish it from the “ resh ” (i), which 
resembles it, and which would change the reading 
to “aher” (another)— in this case a blasphemous 
expression. (6) Proverbs (^^D) begins with a large 
“ mem ” — which has the numerical value of forty — 
because it is claimed that Solomon, like Moses, fasted 

■forty clays before penetrating- to tlie secret ' of 

the Torah. According to another explanation, the 
“ mem ” is the center of the alphabet, as the heart is 
the center of the body, tlie fountain of all wisdom, 
as revealed in Solomon’s Proverbs (Yalk., Prov. 929). 
(7) The large “waw” in “Vajezatlia” («nPB Estli. 



Small and Large Letters 
Smolenskin 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


412 


i x. 9) is accounted for by the fact that all of Ha- 
man’s ten children were hanged on one large cross 
resembling the “waw” (1; l 7 alk., Prov. 1059). The 
“ zayin ” in the same name is small, probably to in- 
dicate that Yajezatha was the } r oungest son. 

Other large letters were intended to guard against 
possible errors; for instance, in the passage “when 
the cattle were feeble” (sptDymi; Gen. xxx. 42) final 
“pe” (P)) is written large in order that it may not be 
mistaken for a final “nun ” (}) and the word be read 
J'ttynm (comp, vrvy in Job xxi. 24). The Septu- 
agint translation, based on the second version, is 
“whenever the cattle happened to bring forth.” 

The large letters in the words “ ha-ke-zonah ” (Gen. 
xxxiv. 31), “ ha-la- Y iiw n ” (Deut. xxxii. G), and “ ha- 
le- ‘olamim ” (Ps. Ixxvii. 8) are probably meant 
to divide the root from the two preformatives. 
Some books begin with large letters, e.g., Genesis, 
Proverbs, and Chronicles; perhaps originally these 
were divided into separate compilations, each begin- 
ning with a large letter. The large “mem ” in “ ma 
tobu” (Num. xxiv. 5) is probably meant to mark 
the beginning of the column as designated by the 
Masorah. 

Aslieri, author of the “Turim,” gives in his anno- 
tations to the Pentateuch hypothetical reasons— 
some of them far-fetched— for the small letters. He 
says, for instance: “The small ‘kaf’ of nJ"D3^1, in 
the verse ‘Abraham came to mourn for Sarah and to 
weep for her,’ indicates that Abraham really cried 
but little, since Sarah died in a ripe old age. The 
small ‘kof ’ [=100] in Tl¥p, in the verse ‘ Rehekah 
said to Isaac: I am weary of life ’ [Gen. xxvii. 46], 
indicates the height of the Temple, 100 cubits. Re- 
bekali in her prophetic vision saw that the Tem- 
ple would be destroyed, and therefore she became 
weary of life.” 

See also Scholl of the Law ; Suspended Let- 
ters; Tag gin. 

Small Letters. 


Passage. 

Hebrew Word. 

Translation. 

i Hebrew 

1 Letter. 

Gen. ii. 4 

DSnrpa 

created 

! 

i he 

Gen. xxiii. 2 

nrpx>i 

weep 

kaf 

Gen. xxvii. 46 

wp 

weary 

kof 

Ex. xxxii. 25 

DrPDfO 

enemies 

*kof 

Lev. i. 1 

*np') 

call 

alef 

Lev. vi. 2 

mpi= 

burning 

mem 

Num. xxv. 11 

Dnj'D 

Phinebas 

yod 

Deut. ix. 24 

D'HD- 

rebellious 

lirst mem 

Deut. xxxii. 18. . . 

'&n 

unmindful 

yod 

II Sain. xxi. 19... . 


Jaare 

resh 

II Kings xvii. 31.. 

>ra: 

Nibhaz 

zayin 

Isa. xliv. 14 


ash (tree) 

final min 

Jer. xiv. 2 

nnvA 

cry 

zade 

Jer. xxxix. 13 


Nebushazhan 

final nun 

Nah. i. 3 

nsion 

whirlwind 

saraek 

Ps. xxiv. 5 


vain 

waw 

Prov. xvi. 28 

irul 

whisperer 

final nun 

Prov. xxviii. 17.. . 

D*N 

man 

da let 

Prov. xxx. 15 

2,n 

give 

bet 

Job vii. 5 

V'A 

clods 

gimel 

Job xvi. 14 

na 

breach 

final zade 

Lam. i. 12 


nothing 

lamed 





— 

Passage. 

Hebrew word, 

Translation. 

Hebrew 

Letter. 

Lam. ii. 9 


sunk 

tet 

Lam. iii. 35 

nirf> 

subvert 

‘ayin 

Esth. ix. 7 


Parshandatlni 

t taw 

Esth. ix. 7 

Knatna 

Parmashta 

shin 

Esth. ix. 9 

xm'i 1 

Vajezatlia 

zayin 

Dan. vi. 20 

tnansfca 

very early 

first pe 

Large Letters. 

Passage. 

Hebrew Word. 

Translation. 

Hebrew 

Letter. 

Gen. i. 1 

rosLX-O 

beginning 

bet 

Gen. xxx. 42 


feeble 

* final pe . 

Gen. xxxiv. 31.... 

rmbn 

harlot 

* zayin . 

Gen. 1. 23 


j third j 
■J genera- >■ 

* final meat 



' tion ) 


Ex. ii. 2 

aiD 

good 

* tet 

Ex. xxxiv. 7 


keeping 

nun 

Ex. xxxiv. 14 


other 

resh 

Lev. xi. 30 

ns«3^m 

lizard 

* lamed 

Lev. xi. 42 

flm 

belly 

waw 

Lev. xiii. 33 

nSHnm 

shaven 

gimel 

Num. xiii. 31 

Dnn 

stilled 

* samek 

Num. xiv. 17 


be great 

yod 

Num. xxiv. 5 

n£ 

how 

*inem 

Num. xxvii. 5 

; 

cause 

final nu it 

Deut. vi. 4 

yoty : 

hear 

‘ayin 

Deut. vi. 4 

*7nN 

one 

da let 

Deut. xviii. 13 

o'cn 

perfect 

* taw 

Deut. xxix.27 


cast them 

lamed 

Deut. xxxii. 4.... 

-n^n 

rock 

* zade 

Deut. xxxii. 0 

mm Si 

Lord 

first h« • 

Josh. xiv. 11 

tod 

strength 

first kaf 

Isa. lvi. 10. 

idV 

watchman 

zade ; 

Mai. iii. 22 

nsT 

remember 

zayin 

Ps. Ixxvii. 8 

D'D?v?n 

forever 

* he 

Ps. lxxx. 15 

n.Oi 

vineyard 

kaf 

Ps. lxxxiv. 4 

IP 

nest 

kof 

Prov. i. 1 


proverbs 

mem 

Job ix. 34 


rod 

tet 

Cant. i. 1 


song 

shin 

Ruth iii. 13 . ... 

O'S 

tarry 

good 

•^mm 

Eccl. vii. 1 


tet 

Eccl. xii. 13 

*pD 

conclusion 

samek 

Esth. i. 6 

mn 

white 

liet- 

Esth. ix. 9 

Nni'1 

Vajezatha 

waw 

Esth. ix. 29 

3 main 

wrote 

first taw 

Dan. vi. 20 

jnSisiw 

dawn. 

second pe 

I Cbron. i. 1 

a-itf 

Adam 

alef 


* Letters marked thus are in dispute. Comp, variations in 
“Oklah we-Oklah,” §§ 82, 83, 84, ed. Frensdorf, pp. 88, 80, and 
Introduction, p. 25, Hanover, 1864. Other variations are given 
in Ginsburcr’s Bible. 

T. ' J. D. E. 

SMOL VON DERENBURCH (SAMUEL 
OF DERENBURG) : Court banker to the arch- 
bishops of Magdeburg in the fourteenth century ; 
died after Oct. 5, 1382. In some of his financial 
transactions he was assisted by two of his brother's, 
Marquard and Ephraim. On Nov. 28, 1347, Arch- 
bishop Otto acknowledged the receipt from the 
town council of Brunswick of the sum of 300 marks 
which it had promised to pay on the following 



413 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Small and Largre Letters 
Smolenskin 


Easter, and assigned it to the brothers Smol, Mar- 
q.uard, and Ephraim of Dernenburch, and to three 
citizens of Magdeburg. In a document dated Oct. 
24, 1364, Smol, together with Hermann von Wer- 
berge (provost of the cathedral) and others, testified 
that Prince Waldemar I. of Anhalt had failed to at- 
tend a meeting at Barby which had been arranged 
between him and Archbishop Dietrich of Magde- 
burg, The clever Jewish financier w T as also a mem- 
ber of the commission appointed to decide the 
controversy which had arisen between Archbishop 
Dietrich, and the city of Halle on account of the 
appointment of a superintendent of a salt-mine 
(document of Feb. 27, 1365). In a record of March 
22, -1366, he appears, together with three knights, 
on the bond of the Archbishop of Magdeburg; and 
he also aided the counts and nobles who brought 
about the reconciliation between that prelate and 
the. nobleman Hans von Iladmersleben. Smol en- 
joyed the favor of Archbishop Peter of Magdeburg 
as well, and when the latter took the Jews of Mag- 
deburg under liis jurisdiction on April 21, 1372, the 
patent of protection expressly stated that Smol 
and his children were excepted, since they enjoyed 
special privileges. This action on the part of the 
archbishop was reproved by Pope Gregory XI. in a 
letter dated at Avignon June 15, 1372, especially as 
the court banker was said to have established a syna- 
gogue in a building at Salince (Gross Salze) which 
had formerly been used as a chapel. 

Bibliography: Mmiatsschrift , 1904, pp. 457 et seq . 

s. A. Lew. 

SMOLENSK : Capital of the government of 
Smolensk, Russia; situated on the Dnieper, 250 
miles west-southwest of Moscow. Jews resided 
there as early as 1489, for a letter of that date from 
Grand Duke Ivan Vassilivich to King Casimir con- 
tains a complaint that the Jewish customs collectors 
Shemyak, Novav, and David had extorted the sum 
of 63 rubles from Ignat Verblud, a merchant. In 
all probability Jews went to Smolensk in the be- 
ginning of the fifteenth century, when Prince Yitoft 
of Lithuania captured the city (1404) and granted 
it. the Madgeburg Rights and other privileges. In 
1514 the city Avas taken by the Russians, but it was 
recovered by the Poles in 1611; after that time it 
alternately belonged to the Russians, the Poles, and 
the Lithuanians, and as a consequence the Jewdsli 
inhabitants suffered greatly. In 1654 Smolensk 
was finally annexed to Russia, and after being de- 
prived of its privileges it gradually lost its impor- 
tance. Even now (1905) it contains very few indus- 
tries, and its export trade is insignificant. In 1899 
the city had a total population of 56,389, of which 
number 4,567 — or 8.1 per cent — were Jews. 

It is worthy of notice that the Jewish population 
of Smolensk, instead of increasing, has diminished 
since 1896, when the Jews numbered 4,651. This 
can be accounted for by the restrictive legislation 
relating to the residence of the Jews outside the 
Pale of Settlement. There are at present in Smo- 
lensk two synagogues and five liadarim. 

Bibliography : Regesty iJS r cidpisi , p. i.: E n tziMopedi ch esk i 
Slovar. 

is* c. J. Go. 


SMOLENSKIN, PETER (PEREZ) BEN 
MOSES): Russian wri ter; born at Monastyrshchi- 
na, government of Moghilef, Feb. 25, 1842; died 
at Meran, Austria, Feb. 1, 1885. At the age of ten 
Smolenskin lost his father, and the support of the 
small family devolved 
upon his mother. At 
eleven Smolenskin be- 
gan to attend the yeslii- 
bah of Shklov, where lie 
studied for five years, 
and, aided by his brother 
Leon, managed to ac- 
quire, undetected, a 
knowledge of the Rus- 
sian language. But be- 
ing at last discovered 
reading profane litera- 
ture, he began to be 
persecuted by the Mit- 
naggedim, the represent- 
atives of ultra-Conservative Judaism. Finding 
his further stay at Shklov impossible, he went to 
Lyubavieh, provided with a letter of introduction 
to R. Mendel, the Hasidic rabbi there, with whom 
he stayed for a few months, until, dis- 
At gusted with the intrigues of the Hasi- 
Moghilef dim, he went to Moghilef; there he 
and earned a livelihood as a synagogal 

Odessa, singer and by preaching in a bet lia- 
midrasli. From Moghilef, in 1862, lie 
went to Odessa, and, while teaching Hebrew, took 
lessons in modern languages and in music. In 
1867 he published in “ Ha-Meliz ” an essay on 
Meir Letteris’ work entitled “Elislia hen Abuyah,” 
reproaching the author with having failed to grasp 
the meaning of Goethe’s “Faust.” 

Smolenskin’s ambition was to become editor of a 
Hebrew' periodical, and with this aim in view he left 
Russia. After a visit to Germany he went to Prague, 
where he found Rapoport dying. His elegy on Rapo- 
port’s death v r as published (Prague, 1867) under the 
title “Kiniin wa-Hegeli,” with a German translation. 
Smolenskin then (1868) resolved to go to Vienna to 
study philosophy, and in order to maintain himself 
while studying lie acquired the calling of a shohet 
(slaughterer). Compelled, however, to surrender his 
intention of entering the university, he found em- 
ployment as corrector in the Hebrew department 
of Georg Brog’s printing establishment, and through 
the help of Solomon Rubin was able to begin the 
publication of “ Ha-Shaliar. ” His sole purpose no w 
was to fight the tendency toward obscurantism in 
Judaism, to arouse in the heart of Jewish youth the 
sense of Jewish nationalism and a love for the He- 
brew language, Smolenskin became afterward the 
manager of Brog’s printing-house, and assisted in 
various ways in the publication of Kohut’s “ Aruch 
Completion, ” which w*as printed under his super- 
vision. When Isaac Hirscli Weiss criticized the 
work in “Bet Talmud” (i. 286-288, 317-324), 
Smolenskin published in its defense a long article 
entitled “Mishpat ha-Shofet” (“Ha-Shaliar,” x. 257 
et seq., reprinted in book form under the title “Mish- 
pat ha-‘Ashukim ”). In 1874, when the persecution 
of the Jews in Rumania became known in Vienna, 



Peter Smolenskin. 



Smolenskin 

Smyrna 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


414 


he was sent to the scene of trouble by the Alliance 
Israelite Universelle to ascertain the conditions, and 
in his report he proposed the establishment of 
schools in which the Rumanian language, history, 
and literature should be taught. His school plan, 
however, failed. In Feb., 1878, he began the issue 
of a popular Hebrew weekly entitled “ Ha-Mabbit,” 
which expired with its twenty-sixth number. 

About 1880 Smolenskin began to be interested in 
the colonization of Palestine. On seeing that the 
Alliance was opposed to this rnove- 
Coloniza- meat, encouraging instead emigration 
tion. to America, he published in “Ha-Sha- 
har” (x. .511-530) a violent attack 
upon that society, and even endeavored to effect 
the establishment of a Palestinian society. Failing- 
in this, he joined Laurence Olipliant, through whom 
he hoped to secure the intervention of European 
powers in favor of the Jews. 

Smolenskin’s style of writing was unique. While 
he was a purist, endeavoring to model his Hebrew 
as nearly as possible after that of the Prophets, he 
did not heap up purely Biblical expressions, as did 
writers of the older school. He was, besides, a 
clever narrator, depicting his characters with the 
skill of an artist. It is no wonder, therefore, that 
Ins writings were read far and wide, and aroused 
in their readers the Hebrew national sentiment. The 
following is a list of his works: “Ila-Gemul” 
(Odessa, 1807), describing the attitude of the Jews 
in Warsaw during the Polish revolt of 1863 (adapted 
from Ilerzberg-FrilnkePs “ Polnisclie Juden ”) ; “ Ha- 
To‘eh be- Darke ha-Ilayvim” (Vienna, 1868-70); 
“ Simhat Ilanef ” (ib. 1872) ; “ ‘Am ‘Olam ” (lb. 1873); 
“Mishpat u-Zedakali >J (lb. 1873), a critical review of 
Gnitz’s “Shir ha-Shirim ” and Ilerzberg’s “Die J u- 
dischen Familienpapiere ” ; “ Ga‘on we-Slieber ” (lb. 

1874), a novel describing the financial 
Works. crisis at Vienna in 1873; “Iyeburat 
Hamor” (ib. 1874), a work picturing 
the social life of the Russian Jews (Russian trausl. by 
Mordecai Kalian, “ Osliimoye Pogrebenie,” in “ Razs- 
vyet,” 1881); “Gemul Yesharim” (3 vols., ib. 1876) 
and “Ha-Yerushshah ” (3 vols., ib. 1878-84), two 
novels descriptive of Jewish life; “Nekam Berit” 
(lb. 1884), a sketch of contemporary Jewish culture. 

The “ Simhat Ilanef,” although printed after “ Ha- 
To‘eh,” was nevertheless written before it. Smo- 
lenskin, who was ii Biblical enthusiast, argued in 
this work- that “ Hamlet ” and “ Faust 77 eclio respect- 
ively Ecclesiastes and the Book of Job. His “Ila- 
To'eh bc-Darke ha-IIayyim ” consisted originally of 
only three volumes, but in the second edition (1876) 
a fourth volume was added. This work is in real- 
ity a long series of independent narratives; it shows 
how its hero, Joseph the Orphan , passed through 
different stages of misery from childhood to matu- 
rity. In fact, it is his own biography, modeled after 
Dickens’ “David Copperfield,” but more compre- 
hensive. While this work is undoubtedly the most 
graphic one written b.y Smolenskin, his “ ‘Am 
‘Olam,” in which he expounded his nationalistic 
ideas and his Messianic views, is no less impor- 
tant. He contends that the Jews are not only a 
religious sect, but that they are a nation, and that it 
is toward nationality they should strive. The “ ‘Am 


‘Olam ” is the first Hebrew book in which the Mes- 
sianic idea is entirely freed' from the religious ele- 
ment. The Messianic era, he argues, will be that 
in which the Jews will have achieved political and 
moral emancipation. He declaims against fanati- 
cism, but at the same time he exhorts the Jews to 
consider themselves a nation. He also refutes the 
theory of Mendelssohn, who declared that Judaism 
is nothing more than a religious confession; and 
against this theory he wrote a series of articles in 
“Ila-Sliahar,” under the title “ ‘Et la-TVat.” 

Bibliography: Bemfeld, in JTa-Maogid , xxix., No, 8; 
Brain in, in Ma-SUiloali , iii. 244, 434, 521 ; idem, Perez b. 
Mosheh Smolenskin , Warsaw, 1890; M. Kalian, in Kcnescl 
Y Israel, i. 249 et seqp Levysohn, in Ha-Matnjid, xxix., No. 
10; H. S. Slonimski, in Ha-Zefirah, xii. 86 ; N. Slouschz, Let, 
Renaissance de la Litterature Hehrdique , pp. 177 etseq 
Paris, 1903; A. Zederbauni, in Ha-Mcliz, xxv. 1 35; Zeitlin, 
Bibl. Post-Mendels, pp. 309 ct scq. 
s. M. Sel. 

-SMYRNA : Seaport of Asia Minor, in the Tur- 
kish vilayet of Aidin. The city had a Jewish pop- 
ulation as early as the time of the martyrdom of 
Polycarp in the second century, although there is uo 
further mention of Jews thereuntil 1605, despite the 
fact that the neighboring towns had communities 
even before the Spanish expulsion. The refugees 
from Spain did not go directly to Smyrna in a body, 
but settled there gradually, their numbers being 
augmented by their coreligionists from Angora, 
Janina, Crete, Corfu, and (more recently) Russia. 
During Ihe Greek revolution, on the other hand, 
many Jews removed to Turkey in Europe. 

The congregation of Smyrna was founded by 
Joseph Escapa, the first chief rabbi, in 1631; 
it was the center of all the communities of Asia 



Jewish Quarter of Smyrna. 

(From a. photograph.) 


Minor and preserved almost the cm tire body of their 
rabbinical responsa until the city was destroyed by 
fire in 1841, although even then some responsa and 
copies of communal laws were saved. In 1772 every 
synagogue in Smyrna was burned, and for twenty- 
eight years the Jews of the city had no place of wor- 
ship. In the course of time, however, other syna- 
gogues were built, among them the Talmud Torah 
Synagogue, destroyed in 1838. Three years later 
there swept through the Jewish quarter a fire that 
left in ashes all the synagogues with the exception 


415 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Smolenskiu 

Smyrna 


of the Shalom. Three Jewish quarters and a por- 
tion of the Christian quarter were devastated by 
fire in 1881, 1,500 Jewish houses being destroyed 
and 5,000 Jews being rendered homeless. About 
forty houses were burned in 1903. Seismic disturb- 
ances are frequent, and the city lias been entirely 
destroyed by earthquakes no less than six times,' the 
most disastrous occurring in 1688, in which, accord- 
ing to the “Welo Od EIa w of Elijah Cohen (Smyr- 
na, 1853), 400 Jews, including the chief 

Disasters, rabbi, Aaron ben Ilayyiin, were killed. 

Smyrna had ten epidemics of cholera 
between 1770 and 1865, and in the latter year the 
daily Jewish death-rate varied from five to twenty-, 
while on one day it rose to 100, In 1892 the plague 
broke out in the city, when, as on many other oc- 
casions of distress, the community was aided by the 
government and 
by the Protes- 
tant missions. 

This scourge lias 
swept the city 
repeatedly, and 
various infec- 
tious diseases oc- 
casionally rav- 
age its unhealth- 
ful and over- 
crowded ghetto. 

The charge of 
ritual murder 
lias been brought 
against the Jews 
of Smyrna sev- 
eral times, nota- 
bly in the latter 
part of the eight- 
eenth century, 
a!ml in 1864, 

1872, 1874, 1876, 

1888, and 1901, 
all these accusa- 
tions being re- 
futed. The most 
important of 
these charges were made in 1872 and 1901. In 
the former year the body of a Greek child was found 
in a small stream in the Armenian quarter, and the 
Greeks in revenge, after murdering a Jew and a 
Jewess, attacked the ghetto, which was defended by 
the inhabitants until the arrival of the police. On 
March 9, 1901, a young Greek named Anesli ICalio- 
pulos suddenly disappeared, and, all search for him 
proving fruitless, the Greeks thereupon prepared to 
attack the Jews. Kianiil Pasha, the governor-gen- 
eral, at once called out the garrison and the police, 
while many of the Jewish population armed them- 
selves for defense. A conflict ensued during which 
several Greeks were wounded, and in tlie confu- 
sion Kaliopulos was found in a dazed condition. 

The Jews of Smyrna have been important figures 
in the city’s history . In the seventeenth century, as 
dragomans for European merchants, several of them 
held the key to the commerce of Smyrna, and in 
view of their large profit paid a heavier tax to the 
community tliau did the Jewish merchants them- 


selves. Many J ews still occupy similar positions with 
the various consulates and banking-houses. In 1718 
Moses Soncino was controller of the 
Occupa- custom-house; Moses Arditi was gov- 
tions. ernmental treasurer in 1812. In 1852 
Jacob Gabai and later Danon, Samuel 
Segura, and Isaac Pasha were members of the mu- 
nicipal council, and Johanan Cohen was dragoman 
for the governor- general. Among tlie present (1905) 
municipal officers may be mentioned Jacob Effendi 
Saul, in the bureau of political affairs; Jacob do 
Vidas, censor; Nissim Levy, member of the adminis- . 
trative board; Toledano, member of the board of 
health: and Danon, city physician. The municipal 
courts always include Jewish members; Nissim 
Strugo has served repeatedly as a member of official 
committees, and Hayyim Polaco has held the presi- 

dency of the 
Smyrna cliam- 
berof commerce. 
Several Jews of 
Smyrna have 
also won distinc- 
tion abroad, 
a m ong the m 
David Leon, a 
Parisian finan- 
cier. 

Since the sev- 
enteenth cen- 
tury there have 
been many Jew- 
ish physicians in 
the cit} r ; these 
include Bchor 
Strugo, Azariali 
Strugo, Abra- 
li a m Castro, 
and Angelino, 
plague special- 
ists; as well as. 
Fano Pasclia, a 
military surgeon 
and president of 
the Jewish hos- 
pital. The Jews of Smyrna entered the Euro- 
pean trade in 1744; recently their commerce has 
declined, although they still export cereals, figs, 
raisins, scammony, opium, oil, hides, carpets, lico- 
rice, ore, and beans. The manufacture of clothing 
and that of carpets are important industries, several 
factories being maintained in the eit} r . 

Literature on exclusively rabbinical subjects has 
been extensively fostered, and more than 300 vol- 
umes have been issued from the presses of Smyrna. 
The first printing-press was established there in 
1660, and four are still in operation. The earliest 
Jewish paper was the “Puerta del Oriente,” which 
was founded by Pinclierle in 1846; of the five peri- 
odicals subsequently founded, three — “La Buena 
Esperanza,” “El Novelista,” and “ El Messerret ” — 
are still published. 

About 1690 Solomon of Ciavcs, a rich Dutch mer- 
chant, arrived at Smyrna: later he built the syna- 
gogue which bears tlie name of Bikkur Holim, and he 
also purchased the Jewish quarter called Yebesh. 



Interior of tke Principal Synagogue at Smyrna. 

(From a photograph.) 


Smyrna 

Snail 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


416 


Moses Soncino, who lias already been mentioned, 
built the synagogue which bears his mime, taking as 
his model the Smyrniot mosque Iiissar Jami\ other 
members of his family also rendered important 
services to the community. In 1839 the two broth- 
ers Clielebi and Menaliem Hajez rebuilt the Talmud 
Torah Synagogue, while Johanan Cohen took the 
initiative in founding a lazaretto containing 156 
small houses for the poor. 

The city contains ten synagogues and eight prayer- 
houses. Of the synagogues the oldest is the Portu- 
guese, which was in existence in 1710, closely fol- 
lowed by the Maliazike Torah (1722), the Bikkur 
Holim (1734), and the Algazi (1728). The other 
synagogues are the Shalom (1800), the 
Syna- Talmud Torah (rebuilt in 1838), the 

gogues. ‘Ez Hayyim (repaired in 1851), the Bet 
Lewi (1S98), and the Sengnora and 
Forasteros, both of unknown date. The sacred 
scrolls at Smyrna number 150. While numerous 
yeshi hot former- 
ly existed in the 
city, the great 
majority of 
them have dis- 
appeared, and 
those’ which re- 
main have but 
a scanty attend- 
ance. Smyrna 
has had three 
Jewish cemeter- 
ies. Of the first 
all traces have 
disap p eared, 
while the second 
is a large field 
containing no 
monuments of 
value for chron- 
ological data. 

The third ceme- 
tery, which is 
situated outside 
the city, dates 
from 1886; there is likewise a small burying-ground 
at Burnabat, near Smyrna, which is five years older. 

The intellectual status of the Jewish community, 
except as regards candidates for the rabbinate, was 
formerly very low ; but in 1847 Abraham Enriquez 
founded a Talmud Torah, which was enlarged in 
1871 and which now (1905) accommodates 500 chil- 
dren. In 1878 the Alliance Israelite Universelle 
founded a school for boys, followed in the next year 
by one for girls, while a public school was estab- 
lished in 1898; none of these institutions has, how- 
ever, proved altogether successful. In 1903 Baron 
Edmond de Rothschild presented 70,000 francs for 
the construction of a new Talmud Torah. In addi- 
tion. many Jewish pupils are educated in the Catho- 
lic and Protestant institutions of the city. 

The social condition of the Jews, as compared 
with adherents of other creeds, has been one of much 
vicissitude in Smyrna. According to the archives 
found in the Orthodox Greek community, and dated 
March 17, 1781, the Greeks, Jews, and Armenians 


were required to pay their taxes to the treasury of 
the Greek community that it might remit them to 
the government, while according to the “ ‘Abodat 
Massa” the Jewish community paid the Greeks 
150,000 piasters to discharge its debt. In the 
course of time the condition of the Jews improved 
greatly and is now excellent. 

A Jewish hospital was maintained by the Roths- 
childs of Vienna after the year 1840, although one 
had been established in the city about thirty-five 
years before. This Rothschild infirmary, which 
superseded the older institution, was later enlarged ; 
but since the community did not add to the an- 
nual subvention of 15,000 piasters, the baron, who 
for several years bad borne the entire expense, aban- 
doned the institution, which then resumed its old 
name of “The Jewish Hospital.” There are in 
Smyrna numerous benevolent societies, the principal 
being as follows: the Bikkur Holim and the Bikkur 
Holim slid Nasliim, which serve as a hebra kaddisha ; 

the Kuppat Re- 
liizah and the 
He brat Lewa- 
yali, both de- 
voted to render- 
ing honors to the 
dead ; the He- 
bra Ke dosha 
shel Kebarim, 
which keeps the 
cemetery in 
good order; the 
Emet wa-Zedck, 
which assists im- 
poverished fam- 
ilies in time of 
mourning ; the 
‘Ozer Dallim 
(originally 
called G a b - 
ba’e Zedakah), 
founded by Be- 
hor Danon iu 
1879 as the first 
institution of its 
kind in Turkey, and reestablished in 1883 and 
1894, its purpose being the support of 260 pau- 
per families, among which it distributes small sums 
every Frida}' ; tlie Haknasat Orehim, which provides 
for needy strangers; the Hayyat ‘Aniyyeka, which 
cares for the pauper sick ; the Malhish ‘ Arummitn 
aud the Nashim Zadkaniyyot, which clothe the chil- 
dren of the poor; the Midrash Slielomoh, the Magen 
Dawid, and the Or ha-Hayyim, which read the 
Psalms on Sabbaths, applying their income to the 
support of the poor; and the Molmr u-Mattan, which 
dowers indigent girls. 

Among the benefactors of the Jewish community 
of Smyrna maybe mentioned: Alexander Sidi, who 
purchased the cemetery of Burnabat in 1881 ; Moses 
b. Gliayyat; Hayyim Argi and liis wife ; Jacob Me- 
lamed ; Nissim Levy ; Abraham Pardo ; the Baron and 
Baroness de Hirseh : and Baron Edmond de Roths- 
child. Belior Danon has been the radical reformer 
of Smyrna, and the initiator of the establishment of 
the Rothschild hospital and of the society called 



Jewish Girls of Smyrna. 

(From a photograph.) 



417 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Smyrna 

Snail 


‘Ozer Dallim, and Nissim Crespin has been a prime 
mover in the foundation of tlie schools of the Alli- 
ance Israelite Universelle at Smyrna. Among the 
famous Jews who have visited the city maybe men- 
tioned Moses Montefiore and his wife, as well as the 
Laron Edmond de Rothschild. In 1879 the society 
Gemilufc Hasadim was authorized to establish a lot- 
tery from which the Talmud Torah and the school 
of the Alliance Israelite Universelle derived much 
profit. The abuse of its privileges, however, led to 
the suppression of the lottery, although in 1903 a 
new one was organized for the benefit of the hospital 
and the Talmud Torah, and is still in existence. 

One of the misfortunes of the Oriental Jewish com- 
munity is the rabbinical problem arising from per- 
sonal intrigues on the part of the leading men, and 
sometimes of the rabbis themselves. Soon after the 
establishment of the communit}' of Smyrna in 1631, 
Azariah Joshua Ashkenazi was elected as the col- 
league of the chief rabbi Joseph Es- 

Disputes capa. The next chief rabbi, Hayyim 
of Rabbis. Benveniste, became the sole head of 
the community, but, being opposed by 
a portion of the congregation, he was imprisoned by 
the governor; Aaron Lapapa thereupon received a 
call from Magnesia, thus becoming the head of the 
opposition. In 1639 a quarrel broke out between the 
community and the people, which was ended only 
on the intervention of Chief Rabbi Fresco of Con- 
stantinople. In 1886 the chief rabbi Hayyim Pa- 
lacci became involved in various quarrels with 
the members of the community, and the chief rab- 
binate of Constantinople sent R. Samuel Danon to 
arbitrate. He proved incompetent, however, and 
Palacci finally went to the synagogue, opened the 
Ark, sat on the floor, fasted, and wept. By a curi- 



Jewish Hawkers of Smyrna. 

(From a photograph.) 


oils coincidence a severe earthquake occurred a few 
moments later, and the people, interpreting this 
as a mark of divine judgment, ceased all hostility 
against their rabbi. After Palacci’s death the chief 
rabbi of Magnesia, Joseph Hakim, was chosen as 
the head of the Jewish community of Smyrna, but 
his incompetency finally resulted in his supersession 
hy Abraham Palacci, whose election was ratified by 
the government in 18T0. On his death in 1899 the 
community was again divided into two hostile 
camps, one faction desiring the election of Solomon 
Palacci, and the other wishing to have no more rab- 
XI.— 27 


bis of his family. All efforts to settle the dispute 
have proved vain, and Joseph Ben-Senor, the chief 
rabbi finally chosen, is not recognized by the govern- 
ment. Thispartizan strife has resulted in the custom 
of frequently having two chief rabbis simultaneous- 
ly, the list being as follows : Joseph Escapa and Aza- 
riah Joshua Ashkenazi; Hayyim Benveniste and 
Aaron Lapapa ; Solomon Levi and Jacob ibn Na'iin ; 
Solomon Levi and Israel Benveniste; Elijah Cohen; 
Abraham Ben-Ezra and Jacob Saul; Hayyim Moda'i 
and Isaac Mayo; Hayyim David Abulafia; Jacob 



Jewish Porter of Smyrna. 

(From a photograph.) 


Albagli; Joseph Hazan and Isaac Mayo; Solomon 
Ben-Ezra; Isaac Navarro; David Amado; Joshua 
Abraham Judah; Yom-Tob Danon; Hayyim Pa- 
lacci; Joseph Hakim; Abraham Palacci; and the 
present non-official chief rabbi Joseph Ben-Seiior. 

The Jews form a considerable part of the popu- 
lation in twelve wards of Smyrna, and are numer- 
ous also in the suburbs of Burnabat, Bunar Baslii, 
Alay Bey, and Cordelio. The community, which 
now (1905) numbers 25,500 out of a total population 
of 201,000, is governed by a chief rabbi and two 
councils, the one clerical and the other lay ; the de- 
cisions of the councils are binding on the chief rabbi, 
who forms the bond of union between the govern- 
ment and the community. 

‘ A. Ga. 

SNAIL : Rendering given in the English ver- 
sions for “sliabbelul,” which occurs only in Ps. Iviii. 
9 (A. Y. 8). An equivalent rendering is given by 


Sneezing- 

Socialism 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


418 


the Tar gum and the Talmud; the Septuagint and 
Vulgate give “wax.” The idea of melting away, 
expressed in the passage referred to, may have 
arisen from the trail of slime which this mollusk 
leaves behind as it crawls, or from its retirement, 
or “melting away,” into cracks and crevices. 
There are numerous and various mollusks in Syria 
and Palestine. For “hornet” (Lev. xi. 80), which 
the Authorized Version renders by “snail,” see 
Lizard. 

The shabbelul serves as a cure for boils (Shab. 
77b). Of the hornet it is said that at birth it is of 
the size of a lentil. Other conchy lia are com- 
prised under the name of “ halazon ” (see Sanli. Ola) ; 
‘Ab. Zarah 28b). The “ melting away ” of the snail 
on its walk is referred to in M. K. 6b. In the egg 
of the snail the white is not separated from the yolk 
(‘Ab. Zarah 40a). 

Bibliography: Tristram, Nat. Hist. p. 268; Lew y soli n, Zo~ 

ologie des Talmuds, p. 279. 

E. G. II. 1- M. O. 

SNEEZING. See Asusa. 

SNOWMAN, ISAAC; English artist; born in 
London 1874; educated at the City of London 
School. In 1890 he entered the Royal Academy 
School, where he gained a free medal, and afterward 
a scholarship in the Institution of British Artists. 
He joined the Maccabean pilgrimage to Pales- 
tine in 1897, and lie lias shown his interest in Jew- 
ish matters by his drawings “A Difficult Passage 
in the Talmud” and “The Blessing of Sabbath 
Lights,” as well as by liis “ Early Morning Prayer in 
the Synagogue. ” Of his paintings, which have been 
devoted mainly to portraits and domestic views, 
“Children’s Voices” (1901) attracted a great deal of 
attention, and “ The Bride ” (1904) has become very 
popular. He has exhibited also a study of “ Sarda- 
napalus,” as well as “The Wailing-Place at Jerusa- 
lem ” and “The Proclamation of Joseph as Ruler of 
Egypt.” 

Bibliography: The New Era Illustrated Magazine, New 

York, Jan., 1905 ; Jexcish Year Booh , 5665 (1904-a). 

J . 

SOAVE, MOSES: Italian Hebraist; born in 
Venice March 28, 1820; died there Nov. 27, 1882. 
He supported himself as a private tutor iu Venetian 
Jewish families, and collected a library containing 
many rare and valuable works. Two years before 
his death he gave up teaching, and devoted himself 
entirely to study. In addition to numerous articles 
which appeared in Italian Jewish periodicals lie 
wrote biographies of Sara Copia Sullam, Amatus 
Lusitanus, Abraham de Balmes. Shabbethai Don-, 
nolo, and Leon de Modena. He was, besides, the 
editor of Isacco Israelita’s “Guida dei Medici” 
(“Manliig ha-Rofe’im ”), translated from an old He- 
brew manuscript (Venice, 1861) ; and wrote “ Dei 
Soncino, Celebri Tipografi Italiani nel Secoli XV.- 
XVI.” (Venice, 1878). 

s. U. C. 

SOBERNHEIM, JOSEPH FRIEDRICH : 

German physician and author of medical works; 
horn at Konigsberg in 1803; died at Berlin Jan. 80, 
1846. He published at Berlin, where he had settled 
as a physician, a number of medical treatises, of 
which the following is a . list in the chronological 


order of their publication: “Beliandlung der Krank- 
lieiten des Mensclien” (1888-36), a German translation 
of the Latin work of Von Frank; “ Aligemeine Gc- 
sundheitslekre fur Alle Stande ” (1834) ; “ Handbuch 
der Arzeneimittellehre in Tabellarisclier Form” 
(1836), afterward revised and reedited several times; 
“ DeiitsehlandsHeilquelleninPliysikalischer, Cliem- 
ischer und Tlierapeutischer Beziehung” (1836); 
“Praktisclie Diagnostic der Inneren Krankheiten” 
(1837); “Handbuch der Praktisclien Toxicologic” 
(1838), in collaboration with Fr. Simon; “Specielle 
Patliologie und Therapie ” (1889-40), adapted from 
the Latin work of Von Frank; “Tabulae Pharma- 
cologies Usui Medico-Practico Diets ” (1843) ; and 
“Elemente der Allgemeinen Physiologie ” (1844). 

Bibliography : Fiirst, Bibl . Jud. iii. 347 ; Oettinger, Muni - 

teur ties Dates, s.v. 

g . M. Sel. 

SOBIESKI, JOHN. See John Sobjeski. 

SOBORTEN : Town in Bohemia, whose commu- 
nity is probably one of the oldest in the province. 
The community of .Soborten includes parts of the 
Teplitz, Dux, and Ivarlitz districts. The synagogue 
has a tower, with a clock, and two lamps respect- 
ively bearing the dates 1553 and 1654. For a time 
the cemetery at Soborten was used as a burial-place 
by the community of Dresden. Many gravestones 
bear the inscription “Mi-Geresh Prag,” marking the 
graves of Jews who were driven from Prague, some 
of whom died as martyrs. Until 1848 the Jews of 
Soborten were confined to the ghetto— the Juden- 
gasse, as it is still called. For some time the com- 
munity formed a part of the Leitmeritz district 
rabbinate, but in 1883 it gained independence and 
elected as its rabbi Hayyim (Heinrich) Galandauer 
(author of “ Der Sociaiismus im Bibel und Talmud ”). 
Soborten has a Jewish population of 150. 
s. H. Ga. 

SOBOTNIKI. See Subbotniki. 

SOBROMONTE, TREVINO DE. See Tre- 
vino. 

SOCIALISM : Theory of civil polity which ad- 
vocates public collective ownership, production, 
and distribution. Jews have been prominently 
identified with the modern Socialist movement from 
its veiy inception. The small circle of the first dis- 
ciples of Saint-Simon in the third decade of the nine- 
teenth century numbered among its members two 
Jewish young men of Portuguese origin, the broth- 
ers Isaac and Emile Pereire. A generation later, 
when the apostles of Saint-Simonism had distin- 
guished themselves in various fields of science and 
industry, the Pereire brothers won fame and fortune 
as the builders of the first French railway, and be- 
came the leading bankers and financiers of the sec- 
ond empire. 

Paris in the thirties and forties was the intellec- 
tual capital of Europe. “Young Germany” was, 
after the Napoleonic wars, under the 
Relation to sway of French democratic ideas. 

Saint- The Socialist theory was regarded as 
Simonism. an application of the principles of 
democracy to the industrial organiza- 
tion of society; and it was but natural that it should 
soon enlist the sympathies of the numerous German 



419 THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA Sneezing 

Socialism 

refugees who in those days made Paris their head- industrial tendencies of the time. Industrial evolu- 
quarters. Karl Ludwig Borne notes in his “Briefe tion thus being held to be independent of current 
aus Pans,” though in a somewhat light vein, the opinions, it follows that no opposition is able to 
appearance of the Saiut-Simonists in the advanced prevent the transformation of modem society on 
intellectual circles of Pints. socialistic lines. J 

The educated German Jews, who were still suffer- It is evident that this adaptation of the tlieolo"-- 
iug under legal disabilities and social discrimination, ical dogma of predestination to sociology must beget 
were active in the Democratic movement of their much the same confidence in Socialist believers as 
day. The spread of the socialistic faith among the was inspired by the teachings of Mohammed in 
German colony at Paris was therefore bound to con- Arab warriors. It is only in recent years that'dissent- 
vert Jew and Gentile alike. Two of those early ing views have gained currency within the Socialist 
Jewish converts, Karl Marx and Ferdinand Las- fold. The movement for revision of the accepted 
salub, were to become commanding figures in the creed is led by another German Jew, Eduard Bern- 
history of socialism : one as the father of scientific stein, at present a member of the German imperial 
socialism, the other as the founder of the German Parliament. 

Socialist party. Marx, the son of a Jewish lawyer Social Democracy as a political movement in Ger- 
of Treves, numbered among his ancestors many many began with Ferdinand Lassalle, who in 1844 
famous rabbis. The chapters on the theory of value went to Paris, where he came under 

in his principal work, “Das Kapital,” suggest by Ferdinand the influence of the Socialists In 
their subtle analysis an inherited Talmudical bent, Lassalle. 1848 he worked on the staff of Karl 
though his own education was uninfluenced by Marx’s “Neue Rheinische Zeitung ” 

Jewish studies, the family having been converted He took an active part in the revolutionary agitation 
to the Lutheran Church during his early childhood, of that year; and during the reactionary period 
In 1842 lie became editor of the “Rheinische Zei- which followed he devoted his time to scientific 
tung ” at Cologne ; but after a short existence the research. 

journal ivas suppressed by the Prussian govern- Socialism in Germany in the middle of the nine- 
mont. Deprived of his newspaper, Marx joined the teenth century was an academic theory which ap- 
German colony at Paris, and undertook the publica- pealed to a college-bred middle-class audience with 
tion of a Democratic magazine, “Deutsch-Frauzo- a sprinkling of self-taught working men. When 
sische Jahrbdcher, ” which was to be smuggled into Lassalle actively identified himself with the move- 
Germany and circulated in defiance of the censor, ment in 1862, he directed it into the channels of 
He was then a young man of twenty-five, with a practical politics, conducting his campaign of edu- 
miud trained in Hegelian philosophy aud deepty cation upon the issue of manhood suffrage. His 
absorbed in political problems; but he had as yet brilliancy as a popular orator, coupled with great 
given little thought to economics. The controver- learning, made his propagandic tour a series of 
sies of the Socialists with the old school of Demo- personal triumphs. He organized the Allgemeiner 
crats, as well as the dissensions among the divergent Deutscher Arbeiterverein (General Labor Union of 
socialistic schools, directed his attention to the study Germany), of which lie became the first president, 
of political economy. The outcome of these studies The aims of the association were to secure manhood 
was his “ Manifest der Kommunistischen Partci” suffrage and government credit for the establishment 
("Manifesto of the Communist Party ”), written on of cooperative industries. Lassalle was fatally 
the eve of the Paris revolution of 1848 in collabora- wounded in a duel and died on Aug. 31, 1864; but 
tion with Friedrich Eugels; in it Marx laid down the Social Democratic agitation still grew, even in 
the foundation of his theory. He was one of the spite of factional dissensions. In 1867, upon the 
charter members and leaders of the International creation of the North German Federation, Prince 
M oi king Men s Association, which was organized Bismarck introduced manhood suffrage for the elec- 
in London in 1864, and he framed its declaration tion of the members of the popular branch of the 
of principles. In 1867 he published the first volume new federal Parliament. Seven years later the two 
of his life-work, “Das Kapital,” which has been warring Socialist factions, the “Lassalleaner” and 
aptly called “the Bible of modern Socialism.” This the “Eisenaclier,” united, becoming the Social 
was to be followed by three other Democratic party". 

Karl Marx, volumes; but his work was cut short . The repeal of the legal disabilities of the Jews in 
by his death (March 14, 1883). Two Germany^ has removed the incentive to radicalism 
posthumous volumes were published by Engels, among them. On the other hand, the political de- 
Marx’s lifelong friend and literary executor. velopment of Germany lias made a 

The essence of Marx’s theory, which won for it Recent place for its middle class (“Biirger- 
the name “scientific socialism,” as distinguished Attitude, tliu in ”) among the ruling classes. As 
from the “ Utopian socialism ” of his precursors, is the majority of the German Jews be- 

tbo principle of social evolution. While Utopian long to the middle class, the cause for persistent op- 
socialism sets before mankind an ethical ideal of a jjosition to the government has disappeared : and the 
perfect society, and hopes for its ultimate accept- Jews now divide on party lines like all other citizens, 
ance by virtue of its inherent beauty, Marx main- Still there are a number of Jews prominent in the 
tarns that the industrial evolution of capitalistic so- councils of the Social Democratic party; the most 
ciety leads toward socialism, regardless of its ethical notable examples being Paul Singer, a retired cloth- 
merits, and that, moreover, this industrial process ing manufacturer, for many years a Social Demo- 
molds ethical standards in consonance with the cratic leader in the imperial Parliament, and Dr. 



Socialism 

Societies 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


420 


Victor Adler, the acknowledged leader of the Aus- 
trian Social Democracy. 

While in Germany socialism has attracted individ- 
ual Jews, in Russia it has become a movement of 
the Jewish masses. During the reign of Alexander 
II. the high schools and universities were thrown 
open to Jews. All classes, rich and poor alike, 
eagerly embraced the educational opportunities 
thus offered; and in the eighth decade of the nine- 
teenth century Jews contributed a large contingent 
of the students. As in Germany, education quick- 
ened their resentment of legal discrimination against 
their race. This was the time when the universities 
became the hotbeds of socialistic agitation: the 
Socialists preached and practised the doctrine of 
equal rights, without distinction of race or creed ; 
and the Jewish student, welcomed as a social equal, 
began to feel like one of the Russian people. As a 
natural consequence, numbers of Jewish students 
threw themselves into the Russian socialistic and 
revolutionary movement. The anti-Jewish riots of 
the next decade produced a strong reaction against 
this socialistic sentiment ; furthermore the wave of 
emigration to the United States carried away many 
Jewish Socialists, while others joined the ranks of 
the Palestinians (the forerunners of the Zionists). 
Anti-Semitism made rapid progress among univer- 
sity students; and even the populist faction of the 
Socialists (“Narodniki ”) fell under its influence. 

The revival of socialistic agitation in the nineties 
found a fruitful field among the Jewish working 
men and women in the Pale of Settlement. In 1S97 
was organized the Jtidisclier Arbeiter-Bund von 
Littauen und Polen (Jewish Labor Federation of 
Lithuania and Poland), which grew rapidly in 
spite of persecution, and soon became the strongest 
and best-organized body of Socialist 
The working men in Russia. The organ - 

Arbeiter- ization and growth of the Bund have 
Bund. been among the principal causes of 
the recent revulsion of Russian public 
sentiment in favor of the Jews. Formerly the indi- 
vidual Jewish Socialists counted as Jews only in so 

fs xx- as tliey offered another justification for til e ail ti- 

Semitic policy of the government ; while with the 
revolutionary Socialists they passed as Russians, and 
as such reflected no credit upon the J ewish race. The 
Bund made its appearance as a distinctively Jew- 
ish organization, and demanded recognition for the 
Jewish working class. The newspaper-reading Rus- 
sian public outside the Pale had been convinced by 
the anti-Semitic press that the Jews were a race of 
parasites, and that there was no laboring class 
among them; the existence of the Bund was in itself 
the most conclusive refutation of this charge. 

The Bund marks a new departure in the progress- 
ive movement among the Jews. Heretofore assimi- 
lation with the dominant race has been the first 
article of faith with all Liberal and Democratic 
Jews. The Bund, on the contrary, asserts the 
claims of the Jewish people as a distinct nationality. 
It takes for its model Austria with her polyglot 
population, where the principal Slavonic tribes, the 
Poles, the Ruthenians, and the Bohemians, are con- 
tending, not without success, for linguistic auton- 
omy, as distinguished from territorial autonomy. 


The advocacy of this principle by the Bund lias 
brought it into conflict with the cosmopolitan tend- 
ency of the Socialist movement. It is contended 
by the opponents of the Bund that its policy creates 
division within the Socialist ranks. It must he 
noted, however, that the Bund addresses itself to 
those classes of the Jewish people which under the 
existing social conditions rarely, if ever, come into 
contact with other races. At the same time all other 
Russian and Polish Socialist organizations still con- 
tain a large and influential Jewish membership. 

The Jewish exodus from Russia drafted to the 
United States large numbers of Socialists, mostly 
college and university students, who 
In must be reckoned among the pioneers 
the United of the Socialist parties in America. 

States. Their main field of activity was the 
ghetto. But the masses of Jewish 
workmen and tradesmen who were educated by this 
propaganda scattered throughout the country in 
pursuit of employment or business opportunities 
and became “ the pedlers of socialism ” among their 
shopinatcs and neighbors. The city of Haverhill, 
Mass., which elected the first Socialist mayor in the 
United States, is a notable example of the prosely- 
tizing work of Russo-Jewish Socialists. The Rus- 
sian Jews themselves have contributed their quota 
to the rank and file, as well as to the leaders, of the 
American Socialist parties. One of the prominent 
national leaders is Morris Hillquit, a young Russo- 
Jewish attorney in New York, author of “The 
History of Socialism in the United States” (New 
York, ‘1903). 

The Jewish Socialist movement in America has 
created a Socialist literature in the Yiddish language. 
The first attempt to present socialism to the Jews in 
their own language was made in 1S74, when two 
young Russian Jews, Aaron Liebermaxx (d. 1880) 
and M. Winclievsky, published in Vienna a small 
magazine entitled “Ila-Emet.” It addressed itself 
to the intellectual class of the Russian Jews— the 
Maskilim — and was printed in Hebrew, their lit- 
erary language. This publication, however, was 
sliort-lived. 

Socialist- papers in ~XTiclclislx wei’e then established. 

(in the early eighties), first in London, and later 
in New York ; the New York daily “ Vorwiirts ” now 
has a large circulation and has recently moved into 
its own building. A monthly magazine, “ Die Zu- 
kunft,” likewise published in New York, is popular- 
izing scientific socialism among advanced Yiddish 
readers. 

j. I. A. II. 

SOCIETE DES ETUDES JUIVES : Society 
for the study of Jewish history and literature, and 
especially of the history and literature of the Jews 
of France; its headquarters are in Paris. ' It was 
founded in 1880, chiefly through the efforts of Baron 
James Edouard de Rothschild, Isidore Loeb, Arsene 
Darmesteter, Charles Nettcr, and especially Chief 
Rabbi Zadoc Kahn. In harmony with its purpose, 
it publishes the quarterly “Revue des Etudes 
Juives” as well as works bearing on Jewish sub- 
jects, grants subventions for books of that character, 
and organizes public lectures. The society is com- 
posed of corporate members, who pay a minimum 



421 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Socialism 

Societies 


annual fee of 25 francs; of life-members, who pay a 
minimum initiation fee of 400 francs; and of charter 
members, the minimum entrance-fee for whom is 
1,000 francs; both the latter classes being exempt 
from all annual dues. The organization received 
official recognition in a decree dated Dec. 6, 1896, and 
is consequently empowered to accept legacies and 
donations. Its annual revenue is about 13,000 
francs. Since its foundation Israel Levi has been 
secretary of its editorial board. 

The works published by the society are strictly 
scientific in character. The list of contributors con- 
tains the names of Leon Bardinet, Cagnat, Abraham 
Cahen, Arsene and James Darmcsteter, Joseph Der- 
enbourg, Rubens Duval, II. Graetz, H. Gross, S. 
Halberstam, Joseph Halevy, Zadoc Kalm, David 
Ivaufmann, Meyer Kayserling, Alexander Kohut, 
Francois Lenormant, Isidore Loeb, Immanuel Low, 
Simeon Luce, Marco Mortara, Adolf Neubauer, 
Jules Oppert, Ernest Renan, Ulysse Robert, 3Ioritz 
Steinsclmeider, and Maurice Yernes. The chief 
contributors at the present time (1905) are: Elkan 
N. Adler, Wilhelm Bacher, Ludwig Blau, A. Biich- 
ler, Abraham Epstein, Ignaz Goldziher, Baron David 
Gttnzburg, A. Harkavy, M. Lambert, Israel Levi, 
S. Poznanski, M. Schwab, and Solomon and Theo- 
dore Reinach. 

In addition to the “Revue,” which has reached its 
fiftieth volume, and the “ Annuaires ” of the first four 
years, the society has published: “Tables du Calen- 
drier Juif Depuis l’Ere Chretienne Jusqu’au Dix- 
Huitieme Siecle avec la Concordance dcs Dates 
J uives et des Dates Cliretiennes ” ; “ La Litterature 
des Pair vres dans le Bible,” by Isidore Loeb ; “Gallia 
Judaica,” by H. Gross; “Textes d* Auteurs Grecset 
Romains Relatifs au JudaYsme,” by Theodore Rei- 
nach ; and the complete works of Flavius Josephus, 
translated into French under the supervision of The- 
odore Reinach (vol. i. , “ Antiquites Judaiques,” i.-v. , 
by Weill; iii. , “Antiquites Judaiques,” xi.-xv., by 
Clmmpnard ; vii., parti., “Contre Apion,” by Blum). 

The society is preparing a French translation of 
the works of Philo, a corpus of inscriptions, another 
of laws relating to the Jews, and a register of docu- 
ments referring to tlie Jews in Prance. For tlie 
scries of public lectures which it has organized, it 

lias secured the cooperation of Anatole Leroy - 
Beaulieu, . Ernest Renan, Gaston Paris, Maspero, 
Diculafoy, Cagnat, Baron Carra de Vaux, filbert 
aud Jean Reville, Victor Berard, Guillaume Guizot, 
and others. 

s- I. L. 

SOCIETIES, LEARNED : Nearly every Jew- 
ish community possessed, or still possesses, various 
societies aiming to propagate Jewish learning. 
There have been societies for the study of the Talmud 
(“hebrali slias”), of the Mishnah (“liebrali mislma- 
yot”), and of other works of less importance, such 
as “‘En Ya‘akob, ” “Hayye Adam,” etc. To the 
l.iebrah slias belonged those Jews who were versed in 
Talmud ; to the hebrali mislmayot, those whose Tal- 
mutlical training was more limited; and to the other 
hob rot, the rest of the people. The members of each 
society usually devoted a couple of hours daity to 
die study in common of their respective subjects. 

In some communities, however, the members of the 


hebrali slias did not study the Talmud in common, 
but each member had one or more Talmudical trea- 
tises allotted to him, the study of which he was re- 
quired to complete during the ensuing twelvemonth ; 
so that among the members the whole Talmud 
might be finished within the year. The eve of Pass- 
over was usually fixed for the celebration of the 
completion of this study. 

All these societies, however, were mainly of a re- 
ligious character; and their scope of activity was 
limited to the religious branches of Jewish lit- 
erature, excluding all subjects not directly related 
to the ceremonial laws and public worship. Even the 
study of the Bible, with the exception of the Penta- 
teuch, was neglected. But under Mendelssohn’s 
influence a learned society properly so-called was 
founded in 1783 at Konigsberg by Isaac Eucliel and 
Mendel Bresslau. It was called “Hebrat Doreshe 
Leslion ‘Eber,” or Me*assefm, after the name 
of the Hebrew periodical “Ha-Meassef” published 
by its members. This periodical contained Hebrew 
poems, literary compositions, and essays both on rab- 
binical and on secular subjects. After a period of 
about twenty years the society ceased to exist. Under 
the guidance of E. Gans, L. Zunz, and others, a new 
society was founded in 1823 at Berlin having for its 
name “ Verein fur Cultur und Wissen- 
The Verein schaft des Judenthums. ” Its aim was 
fur Cultur. to unite modern culture with ancient 
Judaism; aud for this purpose it pub- 
lished a periodical in German, devoted to scientific 
essays on various subjects. Among the members of 
this society were Heinrich Heine, Moses Moser, and 
many others who subsequently occupied prominent 
positions in the German literary and scientific world. 
However, the Verein had a very short existence; it 
dissolved soon after the publication of the first num- 
ber of its “ Zeitsclirift, ” which, although its German, 
according to Heinrich Heine, left much to be desired 
(“Briefe,” ed. Ivarpeles, p. 117), contained many ex- 
cellent articles, notably that of Zunz on Raslii. 

A much longer existence was enjoyed by a .society 
for the promotion of Jewish literature founded in 
1855 by Ludwig Pliilippson at Leipsic under the 
name Ixstitut zur Forderuxg der Israeliti- 

SGTIE>, IiTTErtA-TUR, It; exlstecl for eighteen, years, 

and during this period published, in German, about 
eighty” works of Jewish history, science, poetry, fic- 
tion, and biography. Here may be mentioned, 
though not strictly a learned society, an interna- 
tional association, founded in Germany in 1864 un- 
der the name“3Iekize Nirdamim,” for the publica- 
tion of old Hebrew books and manuscripts. It was 
established first at Lyck, under the direction of Rabbi 
Nathan Adler, Sir Moses Montefiore, and Joseph 
Zedner (London), Albert Colin (Paris), S. D. Luz- 
zatto (Padua), 31. Sachs (Berlin), Eliezer Lipman Sil- 
bermann (Lyck), and 31. Strascliun (Wilna). It was 
later reorganized at Berlin (18S5) under the supervi- 
sion of Abraham Berliner (Berlin), 3Ioses Ehrenreich 
(Rome), J. Derenbourg and David 

Mekize Ginsburg (Paris), S. J. Halberstam 
Nirdamim. (Bielitz), A. Harkavy (St. Petersburg), 
31. Jastrow (Philadelphia), David 
Kaufmann (Budapest), and 31. Strascliun (3Vilna). 
Up to the present year (1905) this society has 


Societies 

Society 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


422 


published forty- two ancient works. In 1885 the 
Deutsch - Israelitischer Gemeindebund founded the 
Historische Commission for the collection of ma- 
terial relating to the history of the Jews in Germany. 
This commission, which is still in existence, has 
published several important works and it like- 
wise established the “Zeitschrift fur Geschiolite 
der Juden in Deutschland,” which was edited by 
Ludwig Geiger (5 vols., Berlin, 1886-92). In 1897 
Max Grunwald founded at Hamburg the Gesell- 
schaft fur Judische Volkskunde, the aim of which 
is to propagate, by periodical publications (entitled 
“ Mittheilungen ”), the study of ecclesiastical art and 
folk-lore. Fifteen issues o*f these “ Mittheilungen ” 
have appeared up to the present. 

There are very few Jewish learned societies in Aus- 
tria. Besides the various academic associations, 
which are rather of a national than of a learned 
character, only two are of importance; namely, the 
Israelitischer Literaturverein Mendelssohn, founded 
at Vienna in 1S94, the aim of which is to promote 
Jewish learning by means of lectures and the publi- 
cation of scientific works,- and the Gesellscliaft fur 
Sammlung und Conservirung von Kunst- und His- 
torisclien Denkmalern des Judentliums, founded at 
’Vienna in 1893. The results of the activity of the 
latter society are given in au annual publication 
entitled “ Jaliresbericlit. ” 

Amsterdam in the eighteenth century possessed 
many societies for the promotion of Jewish learning. 
Among them were : Keter Torah; Torah Or; lesiba 
de 3 os Pintos; Meirat ‘Enayim, called also Yesiba 
Amstelodama; and Tif’eret. Bahurim or Yesiba 
Quinta. A similar society to that of the Me’assefim 
in Germany was founded in the last years of that 
century under the name “To'elet.” 

Austria, Like its German prototype, the To‘elet 

Holland, enriched Jewish literature with many 
and volumes of Hebrew poems and essays. 

France. In 1888 the Dutch teachers united and 
formed the Society Aciiawa, which 
publishes under the same title a monthly magazine 
devoted chiefly to pedagogy. 

An important society for the promotion of Jewish 
learning was founded in France in 1880, the Societe 
des Etudes Juives. Its first president was Baron 
James Edouard de Rothschild, who, by a large sub- 
vention, placed it on a satisfactory financial footing. 
Besides the quarterly publication of the “Revue 
des Etudes Juives,” which is one of .the most valu- 
able of the scientific periodicals in the whole of Jew- 
ish journalism, the society has given financial assist- 
ance to authors in the publication of their works. 
It has also published at its own expense many valu- 
able contributions to Jewish science, among which 
the most important is the “Gallia Jiulaica” of 
Heinrich Gross. The international society known 
as “Alliance Israelite Universelle” may to a certain 
extent be counted among learned societies, the last, 
item of its program being “the encouragement of 
publications contributing to the emancipation or 
elevation of the Jews.” Besides a certain number 
of works devoted principally to Jewish statistics and 
the defense of Judaism, which the Alliance has pub- 
lished at its own expense, it has lent its support to 
all learned works of interest to Jews. 


In its short existence the Hebrew Literature Soci- 
ety of London rendered great service to Jewish learn- 
ing. Under the editorship of A. Loewy it published 
a certain number of Jewish works, among which 
was the first volume of the English translation of 
the “Moreli Nebukim,” made by M. Friedlander. 
From the Anglo-Jewish Historical Exhibition held 
in London in 18S7— in connection with which there 
were published three volumes bearing 
England, on Anglo-Jewish history — grew The 
Historical Society of England, founded 
in 1893. This society has issued four volumes of 
transactions and has published a work on Manasseh 
hen Israel by Lucien Wolf and, conjointly with the 
Selden Society, a volume of “Select Pleas from the 
Jewish Exchequer.” In 1902 a new society, the 
Union of Jewish Literary Societies, came into ex- 
istence. Its objects are: the diffusion of knowl- 
edge of Jewish literature, history, and sociology; 
the coordination of the work of literary societies in 
general; the formation of new literary societies ; the 
encouragement of the literary activity of Jewish 
social clubs; the establishment of means by which 
the literary efforts of societies may be organized and 
utilized in common; the provision of literary mate- 
rial and guidance for members of the society desirous 
of preparing lectures; the encouragement of inter- 
society meetings and debates; the promotion of 
popular Jewish publications; the organization of 
summer meetings for Jewish studies; and the estab- 
lishment of a circulating library containing works 
on Jewish history and literature. 

An association which exercises a great civilizing 
influence is the Society for the Promotion of 
Culture Among the Jews of Russia, which was 
founded in 1863. Its objects are: to spread the 
knowledge of the Russian language 
Russia. among the Jews; to publish and to 
assist others in publishing useful 
works and periodicals in Russian as well as in He- 
brew ; and to support the young who are devoting 
themselves to the study of the sciences. During the 
first twenty years of its existence it was regarded by 
the public with indifference, and the number of its 
members and consequently its income were very 
limited ; but with the enactment of the restrictive 
laws which excluded the Jews from educational 
establishments, its influence began to grow ; and its 
services are now universally recognized. 

The first Jewish learned association in the New 
World was the American Jewish Publication Soci- 
ety, founded at Philadelphia in 1845 by Isaac Leeser. 
During the six years of its existence it published 
under the title “Jewish Miscellany ” fourteen works 
on Jewish matters. In 1851 the building in which 
were stored the slates and books belonging to the 
society was destroyed by fire, and the society there- 
upon ceased to exist. It was succeeded by another 
association, bearing the same name, founded at New 
York in 1873. Its publication committee consisted 
of Gustav Gottlieil, Moses Mielziner, 
America. F. do Sola Mendcs, Marcus Jastrow, 
and Moritz Ellinger. As its first pub- 
lication the societ} 7 issued in 1873 the fourth volume 
of Griitz’s “Geschichte der Juden,” translated into 
English by James K. Gutheim of New Orleans. In 



423 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Societies 

Society 


1875 two volumes were issued: (1) “Jewish Family 
Papers ; Letters of a Missionary,” by “ Gustav Mein- 
harclt” (William' Herzberg), translated into English 
by F. dc Sola Mendes; and (3) “Hebrew Character- 
istics,” miscellaneous papers from the German, trans- 
lated by Albert PI. Louis. In 1873, owing to the com- 
mercial depression which followed the financial panic 
of that year, the society w r as dissolved. A new as- 
sociation for the publication and dissemination of 
literary, scientific, and religious works was founded 
under the name “Jewish Publication Sociefy of 
America,” at a convention held in Philadelphia in 
1888. Its members now (1905) number about 5,000, 
and as a rule it issues four or five publications 
yearfy. Of these the most note worth have, been : 
“History of the Jews” (the English edition of 
Gratz’s “ Gescliichte der Juden ”) ; “ Studies in Juda- 
ism,” by Solomon Schechter; “Jewish Life in the 
Middle Ages,” by Israel Abrahams ; and the “Ethics 
of Judaism,” by Lazarus. 

In 1892 was founded the Americau Jewish His- 
torical Society, the objects of which are the collec- 
tion and preservation of material bearing upon the 
history of the Jews in America. The society meets 
annually for the transaction of business and for the 
reading of papers which form the subjects of the 
publications of the association. In 1895 was founded 
in New T York the Ohole Shem Association to pro- 
mote and foster the study of Hebrew and other 
Semitic languages and to encourage the study of 
Jewish history and literature. Since its organiza- 
tion the association has inaugurated a series of lec- 
tures in Hebrew, German, and English. In 1895 
and 1896 it published a Hebrew monthly entitled 
“Ner lia-Ma‘arabi ” ; in 1901, “Ha-Modia‘ le-Hoda- 
sliim ” ; and for 1904 it issued an annual entitled 
“ Yalkut Mahirabi.” 

j. ' ' I. Br. 

SOCIETY OF AMERICAN CANTORS: 

Founded by Alois Kaiser in Baltimore, Md., May 
14, 1895. Its object is the elevation of the cantor’s 
profession, the furtherance of cohesion among its 
members, and the improvement of musical services 
in the S 3 r nagogue. While its membership is open 
to all, it is in fact an association of cantors of 
both Conservative and Reform congregations. The 
society selected ^ind arranged the music for the 
“Union Hymnal,” published by the Central Con- 
ference of American Rabbis in 1897. On the oc- 
casion of the hundredth anniversaiy of Solomon 
Sulzer’s birthday (1904) the society published a Fri- 
day evening service, with music, selected from 
Sulzer’s “Shir Ziyyon.” On March 22, 1904 it held 
a memorial service in New York cify in honor of 
the same event, at which addresses were delivered. 

BtHLioGRAPiiY : American Jewish Year-Book; Report of 
the Society of American Cantors for 190k. 

a. A. Kai. 

SOCIETY FOR THE PROMOTION OF 
CULTURE AMONG THE JEWS OF RUSSIA 

(Hebrew title, Marbe [or Mefize] Haskalah be- 
Yisrael) : Sociefy founded at St. Petersburg in 
Dec., 1868, by some of the most prominent Russian 
Jews, e.g., Joseph Yozel Giinzburg, who became 
president; his son Horace Giinzburg, first vice-pres- 
ident; Rabbi A. Neumann, second vice-president; 


Leon Rosenthal, treasurer; Abraham Brodski; I. 
Brodski ; and others. The aim of the sociefy as set 
forth in its constitution is as follows: 

“ To promote culture among the Russian Jews and to infuse 
into them love therefor. To this end the society will endeavor 
to spread the knowledge of the Russian lan- 
Objects. guage among them ; it will publish and assist 
others in publishing useful works and journals 
in Russian, as well as in Hebrew, that will aid in carrying out 
the purposes of the society; and it will, further, assist the 
young in devoting themselves to the pursuit of knowledge and 
of the sciences” (Constitution, § 1). 

The idea of establishing such a sociefy in Russia 
ma 3 r have been suggested b 3 r the Alliance Israelite 
Universelle, which was founded in 1860. The time 
was rij:>e for such an organization in Russia, inas- 
much as the awakening of the Jews of that coun- 
try to their cultural needs was in progress. There 
were, however, some drawbacks, on account of which 
the societ 3 r was unable to cany out its program in 
its entiret 3 r . Its scope of activity was necessarify 
limited b 3 r the disabilities of the Russian Jews; and 
there was, moreover, a lack of interest on the part of 
the intellectual Jews themselves, the greater number 
of whom strove to shake themselves free from ever 3 r - 
thing Jewish. The societ 3 r thus had to struggle on 
for some time and to satisfy its ambition with minor 
achievements. For several 3 r ears the number of its 
members was less than 250, and in 1880 it was not 
quite 850; the annual income was less than 12,000 
rubles. From that 3 -ear onward, however, the in- 
terest in the sociefy increased. The anti-Jewisli 
riots, on the one hand, and the restrictions imposed 
b 3 r the government, on the other, impelled the Rus- 
sian Jews to trust to self-help and to take thence- 
forth more interest in their own institutions. In the 
next year (1880) the society inaugurated a branch, 
with a special fund, for the promotion of agricul- 
ture and industry among the Russian 
Branch Jews. The number of its members 
Societies, increased to 552, and its 3 r early in- 
come was more than doubled (28,246 
rubles). But here, again, the attitude of the Rus- 
sian government toward the Jews checked the so- 
ciety’s operations, the prohibition against Jews en- 
gaging in agriculture having become more strin- 
gent with the accession of Alexander III., thus de- 
feating the object of the new agricultural section. 
In the other brancliOvS, however, the activify of the 
sociefy was considerable, the report of its twentieth 
anniversaiy (1884) showing an expenditure from the 
foundation of the society of 78.788 rubles for the 
support of students at universities, academies, and 
industrial institutions, and for the maintenance of 
private and public schools; in addition 35,556 ru- 
bles were expended iu connection with useful pub- 
lications issued b 3 " the sociefy itself or on its initia- 
tive. At the same time, a greater interest, in Hebrew 
literature began to manifest itself among the mem- 
bers, and a special fund for its promotion was voted 
in 1884. 

The operations of the sociefy have since extended 
far be 3 r ond St. Petersburg. As earfy as 1865 a 
branch had been founded at Odessa, which issued 
and maintained the newspaper “Den.” Other 
branches were later established at Moscow, Riga, and 
several other cities; but the most effective work has 


Sodom 

Sofer 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


424: 


been done by the Odessa branch. The chief lines of 
the society's activity are the following: (1) assist- 
ance of Jewish students at the Russian universities ; 

(2) maintenance of general and indus- 
Chief Lines trial schools for Jewish children ; (3) 
of aid to Jewish libraries; (4) encour- 
Activity. agement of Jewish authors and pub- 
lication of works (in Hebrew and 
Russian) pertaining to Judaism, prizes being offered 
for the same; and (5) promotion of a knowledge of 
Jewish science by series of lectures, particularly in 
St. Petersburg. 

Unfortunately the society has to struggle for ex- 
istence. Its educational work is being rendered less 
important in proportion as education progresses 
among the Russian Jews generally. Moreover, the 
society having been founded at a time when the 
idea of assimilation with the Russians was prevalent 
among the cultured Jews, and having, more or less, 
retained this spirit, it has now to face an internal 
conflict with the Jewish national tendencies that 
have recently been awakened in Russian Jewry, and 
with which many of the members of the society are 
strongly imbued. 

Bibliography: Leon Rosentbal, Toledot Hein at Marbc 
Hashalah he - Yisrael, St. Petersburg, 1885 - 90; H a -Sim- 
ilar, vi. 589 et seq ., vii. 337 et seq.. ix. 629-631, xi. 60-63 ; J-Ja- 
Sliiloali* v\\. 557; viii. 91, 369; ix. 275,366 et seq.; x. 89 et 
seq.; xii. 471 ; xiii. 280 ; Ha-Maggid . 1864, Nos. 25, 26, 28, 30; 
1865, Nos. 24, 26 ; Kcnesct Yisrael , 1886, pp. xxvii. et seq.; 
Ha-Dor . i., Nos. 5, 7, 9, 22, 23, 25. 

II. R. A, S. W. 

SODOM : First city of Pentapolis, the others be- 
ing Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim, and Zoar, all situ- 
ated in the vale of Siddim (Gen. xiv. 3), either in 
the present plain of Sabkliali or farther north, in the 
southern Seccudes between the peninsula of Al-Lisan 
and the Sabkhah. 

Biblical Data : God had announced His deter- 
mination to destroy these cities because of their 
wickedness, but promised Abraham to spare Sodom 
if as few as ten of its inhabitants should be found 
righteous (ib. xviii. 20-32). Abraham, however, 
failed to find even ten righteous in Sodom, and Yiiwn 
thereupon rained fire and brimstone upon the entire 
Pentapolis and overthrew it (ib. xix. 24-26). This 
event appears to have occurred in the twenty -sec- 
ond century b.c. According to the hypothesis of 
Blankenburg (“ Entstehung und Gescli. des Todten 
Meeres,” Leipsic, 1896), the catastrophe was in the 
nature of a sudden sinkageof the valley of the Dead 
Sea, producing chasms which engulfed the cities. 
'Whenever it happened, the disaster must have been 
terrible; and it produced such an impression that 
the Prophets often refer to Pentapolis or to Sodom in 
describing dire misfortunes (Isa. i. 9, xiii. 19; Jer. 
xxiii. 14, xlix. 18; Amos iv. 11; Zeph. ii. 9). The 
destruction of these cities is described In similar 
terms by Josephus (“B. J.” iv. S, § 4) and in the 
Koran (sura liv.). In the account of the battle of 
the kings of the vale of Siddim the names of those 
rulers are given as follows: “Bera of Sodom, Birslia 
of Gomorrah, Shinab of Admah, Shemeber of Ze- 
boiim, and the king of Bela or Zoar. 

In Rabbinical Literature ; The Talmud, like 

the Bible, ascribes the fate of Sodom and the other 
cities of Pentapolis to the wickedness of their inhab- 
itants ; and when the sins of the people of Jerusalem 


are enumerated, on the basis of Ezek. xvi. 48-50, the 
attempt is made to show them less heinous than those 
of the inhabitants of Sodom (Sank. 104b). There were 
four judges in Sodom (ib. 109b), named respectively 
Sliakkarai (“ liar ”), Shakrarai (“habitual liar ”), Zay- 
yafa (“deceiver”), and Mazle Dina (“perverter of 
the Law ”). In Sodom every one who gave bread 
and water to the poor was condemned to death by 
fire (Yalk., Gen. S3). Two girls, one poor and the 
other rich, went to a well; and the former gave the 
latter her jug of water, receiving in return a vessel 
containing bread. When this became known, both 
were burned alive (ib.). In the Midrash (ib. 84) the 
judges are called Kaz Shekel* (= “ greatest liar”), 
Rab Slicker (= “ master of lies”), Rab Nabal (— 
“master of turpitude”), Rab Masteli Din (= “chief 
perverter of the Law ”), and Kelapandar (probably = 
“ forger ”). Pentapolis existed only fifty-two years ; 
and during the last twenty-two of them God brought 
earthquakes and other misfortunes upon it that it 
might repent. It refused to do so, however, and was 
destroyed (ib. 83). The inhabitants of the cities of the 
plain worshiped the sun and the moon. If destruc- 
tion had come upon them by day, they would have 
said that the moon would have helped them; if by 
night, they would have declared that the sun would 
have been their aid ; wherefore they were destroyed 
early in the morning, when both the sun and the 
moon were shining. This happened on the sixteenth 
of Nisan. 

According to the “Sefer ha-Yasliar,” a man en- 
tered Sodom riding on an ass, and as he had no 
lodging he was received by a resident of the place. 
On preparing to depart he missed his colored cover 
and the cord by which it had been tied to the ani- 
mal's back. When he asked his host about the 
matter, he received the answer that lie had only 
dreamed of a cover, but that the vision was of good 
omen, since the cover meant that lie would possess 
large vineyards, and the cord indicated that his life 
would be prolonged. The stranger protested ; but 
he was dragged before the tribunal and sentenced 
to pa} 7 four silver shekels. The names of the j udges, 
according to this account, were: Sarak in Sodom, 
Sarkar in Gomorrah, Zabuak in Admah, and Manon 
in Zeboiim (ib. 24-27). For the other stories related 
in the “ Sefer ha-Yasliar ” see Eliezek and Lot. 

Bibliography: Sepp, Jerusalem und das Heilige Land, pp. 

707, 813, Schaffhausen, 1873; Cheyne, Encyc. Bibl.; Herzog- 

Hauck, Rcal-Encye. xiv. 1904, s.v. Palestine. 

J. S. 0. 

SOEIRA, SAMUEL ABRAVANEL (known 
also as Samuel ben Israel) : Son of Manasseh ben 
Israel (Abravanel Soeira being the maiden name of 
Manasseh ’s wife); born in Amsterdam 1625; died in 
London Sept., 1657. In 1654, in behalf of his father, 
he accompanied his uncle Manuel Martinez Dor- 
mido to England for the purpose of presenting a 
petition to Oliver Cromwell for the readmission of 
Jews to England. On this occasion he is said to 
have received from the University of Oxford the 
degree of doctor of philosophy and medicine in 
acknowledgment of his scientific attainments. The 
text of his supposed diploma, signed by Chancellor 
John Owen and Professor Clayton, has been re- 
produced by Koenen in his “ Gescliiedenisder Joden 



425 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Sodom 

Sofer 


in Nederland ” (p. 440), but Dr. Griffith, keeper of 
the archives of the university, has attempted to 
prove that the document is spurious, and this 
opinion is expressed also by Dr. A. Neubauer in an 
article published in Boest’s “Letterbode.” In May, 
1655, Samuel returned to Amsterdam to persuade his 
father to go to England and personally lay his case 
before Cromwell. Manasseli ben Israel arrived in 
London in October, accompanied by his son, who 
died during their stay in that city. In accordance 
with Samuel’s dying wish, Manasseh ben Israel con- 
veyed his son’s corpse back to Holland for burial, 
and he himself died on Nov. 20, 1657, before reach- 
ing his home at Middelburg, Zealand. 

Bibliography : Lucien Wolf, Menasseli hen Israel's Mission 

to Oliver Cromwell ; H. Adler, A Homage to Menasseli hen 

Israel , in Transactions of Jew. Hist. Soc. of England , i. 

34, 39, 44, 48-54 ; M. Kayserling, Life of Menasseli b. Israel , 

in Miscellany of Hebrew Literature , 2d series. 

J. I. Co. 

SOEST (Latin, Susatum): Cityin the province 
of Westphalia, Prussia. As early as the middle of 
the thirteenth century Jews of Soest are mentioned, 
e.cj., Meyer and his wife, Betzel, who resided in 
Cologne from 1248 to 1255 (Honiger, “DasJuden- 
schreinsbucli der Laurenzpfarre zu Koln,” Nos. 38, 
40, 56, 73, Berlin, 1888). The Jews of the city were 
obliged to. pay 8 marks annually to the Archbishop 
of Cologne (Seibertz, “Urkundenbucli fur West- 
falen,” i. 484, 621), and it may be assumed that 
their number was large as long as they were under 
his protection, despite the terrible persecution from 
which they suffered at the time of the Black Death 
in 1349 (Salfeld, “ Marty rologium,” pp. 84 [Hebr.], 
2SG [German]). At a later time, however, when 
the control over the Jews became a municipal privi- 
lege, the council watched with great vigilance to 
prevent more than two Jewish families from living 
in the city. 

In 1510 several Jews who were passing through 
Soest were imprisoned ; at the petition of Meister 
Solomon, a local Jewish physician, they were, how- 
ever, released after taking an oath to abjure all 
vengeance, and after the baptism of Saul, one of 
their number. After this incident the council en- ■ 
acted that the physician, his daughter, and his serv- 
ant should wear yellow badges. In 1541 the Jews 
Nathan and Bernd were authorized to remain in 
Soest for a period of ten years, in consideration of 
the immediate payment of 100 gulden (gold) and an 
annual tribute of 10 gulden; and in 1554 the permis- 
sion was extended for a similar period on the 
payment of 300 thaler. They were enjoined, how- 
ever, not to engage in the butcher’s trade, and they 
were forbidden to charge within the city limits a 
higher weekly interest than 6 verings (14 pfennigs) 
per gulden, or 3 verings (f pfennig) per mark (=r 
274 per cent). In 1566 Nathan was expelled from 
the city as he had remained after having been noti- 
fied that his permit had expired, and also because he 
was suspected of having circulated spurious coin. 
In the middle of the sixteenth century a Jewish 
physician named Meister Benedictus entered the 
service of the city of Soest, being obliged, in consid- 
eration of free lodgings, and exemption from all 
municipal taxes and services to which other Jews 
were liable, to maintain in his dwelling at the cost 


of a hundred gulden (gold) an apothecary’s store. 
When he left the city in 1545 lie received a nota- 
ble testimonial from the city council. In 1652 the 
council of Soest assigned to Abraham Selke, for use 
as a burying -ground, a place in front of the Grand- 
weger Thor which “ from olden times was called the 
Jewish cemeter}'.” 

Thirteen years later (1665) the Elector of Branden- 
burg forbade the city to exercise any further control 
over the Jews, claiming that the latter stood under 
the sovereign’s immediate protection. On Oct. o, 
1689, the Jewish physician Solomon Gumpertz, who 
apparently had remained in Soest after the expira- 
tion of his safe-conduct, was ordered by the coun- 
cil to leave the city within twenty -four hours ; but 
when his house was entered by soldiers on the fol- 
lowing day, the government at Cleves took his part, 
and issued a manifesto, dated Nov. 9 of the same 
year, enacting that he should “ remain undisturbed 
in the practise of medicine.” In 1697 Abraham 
Meyer, a Jew of Soest, attended the fair at Leipsic 
(“Monatsselirift,” 1901, p. 507); and the names of 
Siisskind and his wife, Zipporah, who were likewise 
residents of the city, occur in the genealogical table 
of the Geldern family (Kaufmann, “Aus Heinrich 
Heine's Ahnensaal,” p. 29S). As the residence of 
the president of the high consistory, L. L. Helhvitz, 
who had gone thither from Werl (Zunz, “G. V.” 1st 
ed., 1852, p. 465), Soest became the chief center of 
the ritualistic Beform movement during the nine- 
teenth century. 

At present (1905) the Jewish community of Soest 
numbers about 300, and has a social club and a 
public school. 

Bibliography: Aronius, Regcsten, Nos. 607, 608. 650, 663: 
Zeitsehrift filr die Gesch. der Juden in Deutschland, iii. 
243 ; Gierse, Die Geschichte der Juden in Westfalen , Naum- 
burg, 1878; Wiener, in Rahmer’s J lid. Lit.-Blatt , 1879, viii., 
No. 2, p. S; Vogeler, in Zeitsehrift des Vereins filr die 
Geschichte von Soest und der Horde, 1881-1882, pp. 69 et 
seq.; 18S2-1883, pp. 5, 7, 9, 13 et seq.; Kohut, Geschichte der 
Deutschen Juden, pp. 219, 267, 838 (note); Hellwitz, Die 
Organisation der Isi’aeliten in Deutschland, Magdeburg, 
1819; Die Deborah, 1902. p. 50; Statistisches Jahrbuch des 
Dcutscli-Israclitischcn Gemeindebundes, 1903, pp. 60 et seq, 
d. A. Lew. 

SOF PASTJK. See Accents in Hebrew. 
SOFER. See Scribes. 

SOFER, ABRAHAM, See Niederlander, 
Abraiiam ben Ephraim. 

SOFER, HAYYIM BENT MORDECAI 
EPHRAIM FISCHL : Hungarian rabbi ; born at 
Presburg Sept. 29. 1821 ; died at Pesth June 28, 1886. 
He studied at Presburg and at Ungvar, where he at- 
tended the celebrated yeshibot of Hatam Sofer and 
Mei'r Ash (MeYr Eisenstadter). In 1844 he went to 
Mattersdorf, where he taught bahurim; and in 1852 
he was chosen rabbi at Gybmore. Seven years later 
(1859) be became rabbi at Sajo Szt. Peter, w hence 
he removed in 1868 to Munkacs. In 1879 he was 
chosen rabbi of the Orthodox congregation in Pesth, 
where he officiated until his death. 

Sofer was the author of the following works: 
“Peles Havyim” (Presburg, 1854) ; “Mahane Hay- 
yim” (4 vols., 2 editions), a collection of responsa; 
“Hillul Sliabbat” (Sajo Szt. Peter); and “Ivol, So- 
fer,” a commentary on the Mishnali. He left two 
works in manuscript, “Dibre Slia‘are Hayyim ‘al 


Sofer 

Sofei’im 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


426 


Torah” and “Slia‘are Hayyim ‘al Tehillim,” which 
were published by his son. Hayyim Sofer was 
buried in Presburg. 

s. L. Y. 

SOFER, MOSES. See Schreiber, Moses b. 
Samuel. 

SOFERIM (“Scribes”): Talmudic treatise deal- 
ing especially with the rules relating to the prepara- 
tion of the lioh' books, as well as with the regulations 
for the reading of the Law. It belongs to the so- 
called “ smaller treatises,” a term applied to about fif- 
teen works in rabbinical literature, each containing 
all the important material bearing on 
Position a single subject. While they are mish- 
Among the naic in form and are called “trea- 
“ Smaller tises,” the topics discussed in them 
Treatises.” are arranged more systematically ; for 
thej r are eminently practical in pur- 
pose, being, in a certain sense, the first manuals in 
which the data scattered through prolix sources have 
been collected in a brief and comprehensive form. 
Ancient authorities mention especially seven such 
treatises, which are doubtless the earliest ones; and 
among these the tractate containing the rules on the 
writing of the “ books ” occupies a particularly prom- 
inent place on account of the importance of its con- 
tents. The name as well as the form of the smaller 
treatises indicates that they originated In the period 
of oral tradition which was dominated by the Talmud 
and the Midrash; so that these treatises are doubt- 
less of great antiquity, some of them having been 
compiled in their main outlines before even the final 
redaction of the Talmud in the sixth century. This 
theory holds good with regard to the treatise Sefer 
Torah also, to which the treatise Soferim bears an 
especially close relation. 

Soferim consists of twenty-one chapters, contain- 
ing 225 paragraphs (“ halakot ”) in all. The contents 
may be summarized as follows: 

Ch. i. : On parchment and other writing-material; 
language and translation of the Scriptures; the 
Septuagint; persons who are qualified to prepare 
hooks; leaves and pages; open and closed para- 
graphs. Ch. ii. *. Spaces between letters, words, lines, 
pages, and books; space-lines; number of columns 
to the leaf, and lines to the column; width and 
height of the scrolls; rollers; sewing; mending; final 
letters. Oh. iii. : Writing several books on a single 
scroll; verse-marks in the scroll of the Law; super- 
scriptions; palimpsests; procedure in regard to in- 
correctly written scrolls; rolling and unrolling; 
manner of rolling and reading; respectful handling 
of the scroll of the Law ; careful use of food as a 
gift of God. Ch. iv. : The names of God aud the 
interdiction against erasing them ; Masorctic enumer- 
ation of such names; the sinfulness of profanely 
using any of them. Oh. v. : Sacrosanct writing of 
the names of God; scribal errors in such and in 
the lines of the sacred scroll ; the Divine Name on 
vessels and utensils; preservation of 
Contents : scrolls and other writings which have 
Ch. i.-ix. become useless; use of loaned wri- 
tings. Ch. vi. : Points and the C in the 
Torah; textual variations in the ancient scrolls used 
in the Temple at Jerusalem; Maso retie textual and 


orthographical, variants. Ch. vii. ; Masoretie com- 
bination of the “kere” and “ketib.” Ch. viii.: 
Textual variants in Ps. xviii. and II Sam. xxii., and 
in Isa. xxxvi.-xxxix. and II Kings xviii. -xx. Oh. 
ix. : Capital letters in the Torah; written words 
for which others must be substituted in read- 
ing; passages which are neither read nor trans- 
lated. 

Ch. x. : General regulations for reading; number 
of readers; number of persons requisite for public 
religious functions; “ kaddisli ” and “ bareku.” Ch. 
xi.: Order of reading and of the translations to ho 
read ; errors in reading the Torah. Ch. xii. : Method 
of reading the curses, the songs, and the Decalogue; 
lesson at the New Moon of Hanukkah; mode of 
writing the songs in Ex. xv.. Judges v., and Deut. 
xxxii. , as well as the order of reading the last-named. 
Ch. xiii. : Method of writing the Hagiographa in 
general and the scroll of Esther in particular; bene- 
dictions in connection with the Maftir and the 
reading of the Torah. Ch. xiv. : Benediction on 
| reading the Hagiographa in general and the scroll 
of Esther in particular; liturgical observances pref- 
atory to the reading; persons authorized to read 
and to officiate as liazzanim; individuals qualified to 
read the scroll of Esther; reading the other smaller 
scrolls; sanctity of the scroll of the LaAV; phylac- 
teries and mezuzot. Ch. xv. : Sanctity of other re- 
ligious writings ; di versity of the rabbinical sciences ; 
occupations to be taught to children. Ch. xvi.: 
Value of the study of the Torah; the Haggadali; 
manifold interpretations; scholarship of the ancient 
teachers; sections of the Pentateuch; chapters of 
the Psalms ; the Trisagion. Ch. x vii. : 
Ch. x.-xxi. General regulations on the sections 
prescribed for the festivals; assistants 
at the sacrifice and their prayers ; lessons and psalms 
for New Moon. Ch. xviii.: Daily and festival 
psalms ; order of praj'er for the anniversary of the 
destruction of Jerusalem ; observances for the Day 
of Atonement. Ch. xix. : Further regulations re- 
garding the psalms for festivals ; formulasof prayer 
for the festivals; eulogy on announcing the new 
moon; benedictions for weddings and funerals. Ch. 
xx. : Eulogy on first beholding the new moon ; light- 
ing the Hanukkah lamp ; benedictions and lesson 
for Hanukkah; the Trisagion at festivals; “Hallel.” 
Ch. xxi. : Nisan, the month of rejoicing; the Feast 
of Purim and its observances; the benedictions of 
the Torah and the Megillah at Purim ; Haggadali of 
the Patriarchs (Muller, “Masseket Soferim,” etc., 
pp. 37 ct seq.). 

According to Zunz (“G. V.” 2d ed., p. 100), “the 
little work is now badly disarranged, as is shown by 
the confusion of the two principal themes [?’.<?., the 
preparation of the scrolls, and the ritual of lessons 
and prayers],- and the position and character of the 
haggadali,” a statement which he defends as fol- 
lows: “Rules for writing and for the Masorah are 
found in i. 1-6, 9-14; ii. ; iii. 1-9, 10a, 11, 12, 13 (in 
part), 14-16; iv.-viii. ; ix. 1-7; xii. 8b, 9-12; xiii. 
1-4, 6a, 7; xv. 1-5; xvii. 1; synagogal ritual in ix. 
8-11; x.; xi. ; xii. 1-7, 8a; xiii. 5, 8-14; xiv.; xv. 
12, end; xvii. 2-11; xviii. -xx. ; xxi. 3 —8 ; liagga- 
dah ini. 7-8; iii. 10b, 13 (in part); xiii. 6b, 10; xvi. 
l-ll, 12a; xxi. 9 ” (ib. notes a, b). Zunz likewise 



427 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Sofer 

Soferim 


shows the relationship existing between this work 
.and later haggadot. 

This lack of system, however, is not the result of 
careless copying or other negligence, but is due to the 
nature of the treatise’s redaction; for it is a compos- 
ite of at least three works, and the systematic order 
of the earlier part has evidently been disarranged by 
interpolations. In its present form the treatise is 
intended more for the readers and hazzanim than 
for the scribes: it is in great part confined to rit- 
ual precepts, although it must be borne in mind 
that the same person doubtless combined the func- 
tions of scribe and reader. 

Soferim may be divided into three main divisions: 
i.-v., vi.-ix., and x.-xxi., the last of which is subdi- 
vided into two sections, x.-xv. and xvi. 2-xxi. The 
treatise derives its name from its first main division 
(ch. i.-v.), which treats of writing 
Divisions, scrolls of the Law, thus conforming 
to the ancient custom of naming 
.a work according .to its initial contents (comp. 
Blau, “Zur Einleitung in die Ileilige Sclirift,” 
pp. 31 et seq., Strasburg, 1894). This first part is 
the earliest component of the work, and is extant 
also as an independent “smaller treatise,” entitled 
“ Masseket Sefer Torah ” (edited by Kirchheim) ; in 
this form it is a systematic work, but as incorpora- 
ted in Soferim, although its division into chapters 
and paragraphs has been retained, its order has been 
disarranged by interpolations. A comparison of the 
two texts shows in an instructive way how ancient 
Jewish works developed in the course of time. The 
small treatise Sefarim, edited by Sehonblum, is not 
earlier, as he assumes, but is later, than the Masse- 
ket Sefer Torah, from which it is an extract. The 
name “ Sefarim ” ( = “ books ”) is merely the plural of 
“sefer,” designating the Torah as “the book” par 
excellence. 

Chapters vi. to ix. constitute a separate part, con 
taining Masoretic rules for writing, the first four 
paragraphs of ch. vi. and some passages of ch. ix. 
being of early date. This portion was undoubtedly 
.added by Mason tes of Tiberias; and the main por- 
tion of the modern Masorali, which also contains 
the passages in question, likewise originated in the 
same school. The first two parts of Soferim are 
.acknowledged to be Palestinian, and were intended 
for the scribes; the last three lialakot are a kind of 
appendix relating to the reading of certain words 
and passages. 

The third division is chiefly devoted to rules 
concerning the order of the lessons, together with 
liturgical regulations. It is not a uniform composi- 
tion, although the first section (ch. x.-xv.) is con- 
cerned almost entirely with the sequence of the 
lessons, while the remaining part (ch. xvi.-xxi.) 
-contains liturgical regulations. The contents of 
xvi. 1 apparently form the conclusion of the por- 
tion of the work which precedes it. The third 
part of Soferim is likewise Palestinian in origin, 
as is shown by its sources; nor is this view contra- 
dicted by the phrases “our teacher in Palestine” 
(mjJD, x. 8) and “ the men of Palestine and Baby- 
lonia” (x., end; xiii. 10), since either a Palestinian 
or a Babylonian might have used such expressions, 
although these passages may be interpolations. 


The second section of the last portion (xvi. 2- 
xxi.) was added latest of all. It contains passages 
from the Babylonian Talmud, mentioning the 
“ teachers of the land of Israel ” (no longer as 

in xxi. 1) in xvii. 4, and speaking of the Nazarenes 
= Christians) in xvii. 6, while a passage from 
Pirke R. Eli'ezer (xvii., end) is cited on the authority 
of R. Eliezer b. Hyrcanus (ib. xix. 22). These pecu- 
liarities indicate that its date is relatively recent, 
even though these last passages are in the main also 
Palestinian in origin, as is shown by the use of the 
name “Nazarene.” The customs of Jerusalem are 
also mentioned (xviii. 5, xxi. 6) in a way which in- 
dicates an acquaintance with them and points to an 
author who may have been from Tiberias, but was 
not from Jerusalem. The names of the school, 
teachers, and countries also confirm this view. Hai 
Gaon knew nothing of the liturgical observance 
mentioned in xix. 11 (Muller, l.c. p. 277, note 67); 
and the controversy regarding the mode of reading 
(xxi. 7) is taken from Yer.Ta'an. iv. 3, end, and Meg. 
iv. 2, not from Babli, where (Meg. 22a) Rab and 
Samuel discuss the same question. Along passage 
is furthermore cited from Yerushalmi; and such 
an intimate knowledge of this Talmud and so de- 
cided a preference for it can be ascribed only to a 
Palestinian. It is likewise characteristic of a Pal- 
estinian origin that the Babylonian amora Joseph 
is designated as “Rabbi,” and not as “ Bab ” (xiii. 
7) ; and the assumption that there are weekly sec- 
tions which do not contain twenty-one verses (xi. 
4) applies only to the triennial cycle of the Palestin- 
ians. The hypothesis that Soferim is based on 
Palestinian sources (comp. xiii. 3-4 with Yer. Meg. 
74b, below) agrees with the ancient tradition (Nah- 
manides and others) that all the small treatises are 
Palestinian in origin (“ Orient,” 1851, p. 218); and 
modern scholars, with the exception of Weiss, also 
accept this view (Bapoport, in “Kerem Hemed,” 
vi. 247; Zunz, “G. V.” 2d ed., p. 322; Steinsclmei- 
der, “ J iidische Literatur, ” pp. 369 et seq . , and Malter ’s 
Hebrew translation, “Sifrut Yisrael,” p. 44, War- 
saw, 1897 ; Kirchheim, preface to his edition of Mas- 
seket Soferim; Brull's “ Jalirb.” i. 4). There were 
scholars in Palestine even after the final redaction 
of Yerushalmi (Zunz, l.c. p. 322, note a); and the 
Bible was still the chief subject of study. 

The evidence of all these facts makes it very 
probable that this treatise was finally redacted about 
the middle of the eighth centuiy, an assumption 
which is supported b} r the statement 
Date of of B. Asher (c. 1300, in the “Hilkot 
Com- Sefer Torah ”) that Soferim was com- 
position. posed at a late date. At that period 
written prayer-books were doubtless 
in existence and were probably produced by the 
scribes, who combined the offices of communal haz- 
zan and reader. It was but natural, therefore, that 
in treatises intended for the scribes all the regula- 
tions should be collected which concerned books, the 
Masorali, and the liturgy. It is practically certain 
that few copies of the Talmud were made at that 
time, and those without special rules; consequently 
no allusions to them are found in Soferim. 

The fact that no sources are given for a number 
of the regulations in the first part points to an early 



Soferim 

Sokolow 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


428 


date of composition (comp. i. 3, 13; ii. 4, 6, 8; iii. 4, 
6-9a, 10-1 2a; iv. 4, 5, 8, 9; v. 1, 2; in i. 7, also, Mul- 
ler cites no authority; comp., however, Shab. 115a 
and Meg. 18a, and see Blau, l.c. pp. 70 ctseq.). Simi- 
larly, in the third part (x.-xxi.), which is later, no 
sources are assigned for a number of halakot (xv. 3 
may, however, be based on Yer. Shab. 15c, 25); so 
that care must be taken not to assign the compila- 
tion of this longest portion to too recent a date. 
Both the form and the content of those passages in 
which authorities are not mentioned point to a Pal- 
estinian origin ; they may have been derived from 
the lost portions of Yeruslialmi and various mid- 
rashic works, which, indeed, they may be regarded 
as in part replacing. Only certain interpolations, 
as well as the haggadic passage at the end of the 
treatise (or, in several manuscripts, at its begin- 
ning), may have been added much later. The di- 
vision of the last part into sections (“ perakim ”) 
seems to have been intended to secure a uniform 
size for the several sections; for xvi. 1 belongs to 
the end of xv., and xix. 1 to the end of xviii., their 
separation being due to external reasons. 

As the substance of the treatise has been incor- 
porated in later works on orthography, tlieMasorah, 
and the liturgy, only a few points peculiar to it need 
be mentioned here. In i. 13 occurs the maxim “He 
who can not read is not allowed to write.” Custo- 
dians seem to be mentioned in ii. 12 (based on Yer. 
Meg. i. 9; comp, the Vitry Mahzor, p. 689, note). 
The first notice in Jewish literature of the co- 
dex in contradistinction to the scroll occurs in iii. 

6 (comp, the Vitry Mahzor, p. 691), a passage 
which is to be translated as follows: “Only in a 
codex [may the Torah, the Prophets, and the Hagiog- 
rapha be combined]; in a scroll the Torah and 
the Prophets must be kept sepa- 
Peculiari- rate ” ; while the following section de- 
ties of the scribes a scroll of the Law as being 
Treatise, divided into verses (doubtless by means 
of blank spaces), or as having the 
initial portion of its verses pointed. Among the an- 
cients the beginning (“ resli pasuk”) of a verse rather 
than the end (“ sof pasuk”) was emphasized, since the 
former was important mnemonically. There were 
scribes, therefore, who marked the initial of the 
verse, although there is no trace of such points in 
the present Masorali and system of accentuation. 

The earliest passage referring to “ dyed leather ” 
(parchment) is iii. 13, although it is possible, in view 
of ii. 10, that originally CW'nV nnijn stood in place 
of D'ym rvnijn. Even if that be true, however, this 
is still the first reference to colored parchment for 
synagogal scrolls; for nothing else could.be implied 
by these words in the received reading. The skin 
of game was a favorite writing-material; so that 
while it was forbidden to use half leather and half 
parchment, half leather and half skin of game were 
allowable (ii, 10). It was forbidden, moreover, to 
cut the edges of books (v. 14). A scribal term 
which does not occur elsewhere is found in v. 1, 2 
variant reading nt3ro). There were gener- 
ally seventy-two lines to the column in a scroll of 
the Law (xii. 1). The passage xiii. 1 refers to the 
stichic writing of the Psalms, Job, and Proverbs; 
and the remark “ A good scribe will note ” shows 


that the passage was written at a time when this, 
detail was no longer generally observed (comp. 
Muller, ad loc., and the Vitry Mahzor, p. 704). 

Soferim is the first work to distinguish between the 
three grades of inspiration in the Bible (xviii. 3, end), 
namely, that of Torah (the Law), of Cabala (tradition 
of the holy prophets), and of Hagiographa (words of 
holiness). 

Bibliography : Vitry Mahzor , ed. Hurwitz, pp. 686-717, Ber- 
lin, 1889-93; Wilna (Romm) edition of the Talmud [Sofe- 
rim as an appendix to "Ah. Zarah with variants and com- 
mentaries) ; BriiU’s Jahrh. i. 1 et scq . ; Joel, Bliche in die 
ReUgionsgcschwhte zu Anfang des Zwciten Christlichen 
Jahrhunderts : I. Der Talmudund die Griechische Sprache , 
part i., pp. 1 et sec/., Breslau, 1880 (on the Greek translation 
in Soferim, i. 8); Kirchheim, Karme Shomcron, Frankfort- 
on-the-Main, 1S51; Muller , Massckct Soferim , der Talmud- 
ische Trahtat der Schreiber: eine Einleitung in das Stu- 
dium der AUhehr disci ten Graphilc , der Masora, uhd der 
Altjiidisclien Liturgie , Vienna, 1878; Schiinblum, Sheloshah 
Sefarim Niftahim , Lemberg, 1877 ; Weiss, Dor , ii. 244 et 
scq. t iv. 20, 34b ; unz, G. V. pp. 95, 100 et seq., 322, note b. 

w. b. L. B. 

SOFIA (the Triaditza of the Byzantine Greeks* 
and the Sredec of the Slavs) : Capital of Bulgaria, 
350 miles from Constantinople. The city had Jew- 
ish inhabitants before the ninth century; and this, 
community was joined in 811 by coreligionists- 
among the 30,000 prisoners whom the Bulgarian 
czar Ivrum brought with him on his return from an. 
expedition against Thessaly, while a number of Jew- 
ish emigrants from the Byzantine empire volunta- 
rily settled in Sofia in 967. In 1360 some Jews from 
the south of Germany established themselves in the- 
I city, and their number was augmented seven years, 
later by Jews driven from Hungary. When Murad 
I. seized Sofia, about 13S9, he found four syna- 
gogues, belonging respectively to the Byzantines, 
(“kalial de los Gregos”), the Ashkenazim, the 
“Francos,” or Italian Jews (especially those of Ven- 
ice), and the native Jews. According to local state- 
ments, a Macedonian and a Maltese sjmagogue,. 
founded at dates as yet unascertained, existed in 
Sofia up to the middle of the nineteenth century. 

Early in the fifteenth century Joseph Satan was- 
rabbi in Sofia, and some time before the immigration 
of the Spanish Jews the city had a yesliibali whose- 
instructors included a chief rabbi, Meir ha-Levi. In 
1492 a number of Spanish Jews, chiefly from Cas- 
tile and Aragon, settled at Sofia, where they founded 
the Sephardic s}magogue. In the second half of the- 
sixteenth centuiy Joseph Albo (1570) was chief rabbi 
of the city; in the seventeenth century the post 
was filled by several rabbis, two of whom, Hayyim 
Meborak Galipapa and Abraham Farlii, are men- 
tioned in letters of approbation. In 1666, during- 
the incumbency of Abraham Farhi, the false Mes- 
siah Shabbetliai Zebi sent a letter from the prison 
of Ab 3 r dos, inviting his “brethren of Sofia ” to cele- 
brate the Hintli of Ab, the anniversary of his birth, 
as a da}^ of festivity and rejoicing. After the con- 
version of Shabbetliai his follower and successor, 
Nathan de Gaza, took refuge in Sofia, where he died, 
liis body being interred at Uskub. 

Issacliar Abulafia and Reuben Beliar Jacob were- 
chief rabbis of Sofia toward the close of the eight- 
eenth century. Issachar Abulafia (1770) was a son 
of the famous chief rabbi Hayyim Abulafia, the- 
founder of the new community of Tiberias. Reuben 
Beliar Jacob, called from Sofia to Safed, was sue- 



429 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Soferim 

Sokolow 


ceeded by Abraham Ventura (about 1806). At the 
end of the eighteenth century the director of the 
yeshibah was Samuel Conforte, the author of the 
“ Kol ShemiTel ” (Salonica, 1787). The present 
(1905) occupant of the rabbinate is R. Ehrenpreis, 
who succeeded Moritz Grunwald. 

Many trials befell the Sofia community in the 
nineteenth century. Had it not been for the inter- 
vention of the governor the entire Jewish popula- 
tion would have been massacred in 1863, because 
three Jews who had been forcibly converted to 
•Christianity had returned to their former religion. 
During the Turko-Russian war, less than fifteen 
years later, the city of Sofia was fired by the Turks 
when they evacuated the city, and was saved only 
by a volunteer fire-brigade formed by the Jews of 
both sexes. The Italian consul, Positano, publicly 
acknowledged the services of the Jews on this 
occasion. 

At the time of the treaty of Berlin, 1878, the Jews 
of Sofia declared their sympathy with Bulgaria, and 
a regime of liberty shortly began for them. In 
1880 Prince Alexander of Battenberg appointed 
Gabriel Almosnino chief rabbi of Bulgaria, and in 
the following year two Jews of Sofia, Abraham 
Beliar David and Mordecai Behar Hayyim, were 
•elected members of the municipal council. Not- 
withstanding this, at Easter in 1884 and again in 
1885 accusations of ritual murder were brought 
against the Jews, although the falsity of the charges 
was quickly discovered. In 1890 the municipality 
of Sofia granted to the poor of the city some land 
in Outch-Bounar, one of the suburbs; three hun- 
dred Jewish families were benefited by this con- 
cession. 

Sofia is the seat of the chief rabbinate of Bulgaria 
.and of the Central Consistory. The Alliance Israe- 
lite Universelle supports three schools — two for 
boys (Boo pupils) and one for girls (459 pupils). 
There are also five small synagogues of recent 
foundation, and several batte midrashot. One of 
these synagogues belongs exclusively to the Ash- 
kenazim, of whom there are about fifty families. 
Except for an old cemetery, in which a few ancient 
inscriptions are still legible, Sofia has no permanent 
memorial of its remote Jewish past. 

Several Jews of Sofia fill public offices: Albert 
•Caleb is minister of foreign affairs ; Albert Behar is 
translator for the minister of finances; and Boueos 
Baruk is secretary and interpreter for the French 
legation. Boris Schatz, a Jew of Russian extrac- 
tion, has won a high reputation as a sculptor; one 
of his works, “Mattathias Maccabeus,” is in the gal- 
lery of Prince Ferdinand of Bulgaria. Two Judceo- 
Spanish journals are published at Sofia — “LaVer- 
dad” and “El Eco Judaico,” the hitter being a 
semimonthly bulletin and the organ of the Central 
Consistory. There are several benevolent and edu- 
cational societies there, including the Zionist Soci- 
ety, the Women’s Society, and the students 7 society 
Ila-Shahar, 

Though there are several wealthy Jewish families 
in Sofia, the majority of the Jews there are very 
poor, more so than those of any other part of Bul- 
garia, Since 1887 a charitable society for the pur- 
pose of aiding poor Jewish youths through ap- 


prenticeships to various trades has been in operation, 
under the control of the Alliance Israelite Univer- 
selle. 

The population of Sofia is 67,920, including 7,000 
Jews. 

Bibliography : Anuar Penetru Israelite 1888, vol. xi.; Con- 

forte, Kol Shemu'el , Salonica, 1787 ; Franco, Histoire des 

Israelites de V Empire Ottoman; Bulletin All. Isr. 1877, 

1881, 1884-90; Bianconi, Cartes Commerciales : La Bul- 

garie , Paris, pp. 10-13. 

D. M. Eb. 

SOKOLOW, NAHUM B. JOSEPH SAM- 
UEL : Russian journalist ; born in Wishograd, gov- 
ernment of Piock, Russian Poland, Jan. 10, 1859. 
His father, a descendant of Nathan Shapira, author 
of “Megalleli ‘Amukkot,” removed to Piock about 
1865, where Nahum received the usual Jewish edu- 
cation. He made rapid progress in his studies, and 
at the age of ten was known as a prodigy of learn- 
ing and ability. Destined to become a rabbi, he 
studied under the supervision of his uncle, rabbi 
of Lubieh, and of several other Talmudists, devoting 
part of his time to the study of the medieval Jewish 
philosophers, Neo -Hebrew literature, and modern 
languages. In 1876 he married, and remained for 
five years with his wife’s parents in Makow, con- 
tinuing his studies. In 1880 he removed to Warsaw, 
where he became (1884) assistant editor and (1885) 
associate editor of Hayyim Selig Slonimski’s Ha- 
Zefirah. Owing to Slonimski’s advanced age, the 
editing and management of the newspaper, which 
became a daily in 1886, devolved entirely upon 
Sokolow, who became its sole editor and proprietor 
after Slonimski’s death, 

Sokolow began to write for Hebrew periodicals 
at an early age, and is probably the most prolific 
contributor to the Hebrew press of this generation. 
His earlier productions appeared in “Ha-Maggid,” 
“Ha-Meliz,” “ Ha-Karmel,” and other journals, but 
since about 1885 he lias written, in Hebrew, almost 
exclusively for “Ha-Zefirah.” He is the author of 
“Mezuke Erez,” on geography (Warsaw, 1878); 
“ Sin’at ‘Olam le-‘Am ‘Olam,” on the development 
of Jew-hatred (ib. 18S2); “Zaddik we-Nishgab,” 
historical novel, in which R. Yom-Tob Lipmann 
Heller is the hero (ib. 1SS2); “Torat Sefat Anglit,” 
a primer for self-instruction in English (ib. 1882) ; 
“Erez Hemdah,” geography of Palestine, with a 
resume of Oliphant’s “Land of Gilead” (ib. 1885). 

Sokolow was the founder and editor of the year- 
book Ha-Asif, and of its successor, the “Sefer ha- 
Sbanali,” which appeared in Warsaw from 1899 to 

1902. He edited the “Sefer Zikkaron” (Warsaw, 
1890), a biographical dictionary of contemporary 
Jewish writers, which appeared as a supplement to 
“ Ha-Asif ” ; and “ Toledot Sifrut Yisrael,” a Hebrew 
translation of Ivarpeles’ “Gesch. der Jiidischen Lit- 
teratur” (ib. 1SS8-91). After Peltix’s death, in 
1896, Sokolow succeeded him as editor of the Polish 
weekly “Izraelita.” Sokolow came to be regarded 
as the foremost Hebrew journalist in Russia. In 

1903, twenty-five years having elapsed since the 
publication of his first work, a literary celebration 
was held in his honor, and was made memorable 
bv the publication, in the following year, of a jubi- 
lee book, “Sefer ha-Yobcl.” to which numerous 
scholars contributed important articles, and of 



Sola, De 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


430' 


“Ketabim Nibliarim,” a collection of sketches and 
ai tides written by Sokolow for various periodicals. 



-^enstadt, Dor Rabbanaw wc-Sofcraw , iii. 
x? 00 * 1 J? em ; l u Jcwish Gazette , xxviii., No. 52; 

Zeitlin, Bibl. Post-JiJenclelts. pp. 373-374. 

s - P. Wr. 

SOLA, DE: Sephardic famity. According to 
family tradition, its earliest known members lived in 
Toledo and Navarre in the eighth and ninth cen- 
turies. After having risen to high distinction in 
Navarre, largely through the merits of one of its 
members, Baruch ben Ishac ibn Daud (Don Barto- 
lome), the family gravitated again to Andalusia, and 
produced a number of eminent men in Cordova in 
the tenth century, when that city, under the sway 
of the Ommiad califs, had become the center of 
wealth and culture. It flourished also in Seville, 
where a number of its members enjo} r ed the favor 
of the Ommiad rulers, and in Luceua, where they 
intei inai l'ied with the Ibn Ghayyats (or Ibn Giats). 
The irruption of the Almohades caused them to re- 
move to Tudela in 1146, and during the century 
which followed they were successively in Navarre, 
Castile, and Aragon. They seem to have adopted 
the surname of De Sola toward the latter part of 
tile twelfth centuiy, only tlieir Hebrew names ap- 
pearing before that period. The name is said to 
have had its origin in an estate they possessed in 
northern Spain. During the thirteenth and first 
half of the fourteenth 
century the De Solas 
were in Aragon and 
Castile, and attained to 
high rank. The perse- 
cutions of the second 
half of the fourteenth 
century drove them to 
Granada. Here they 
remained till the edict 
of 1492 banished them 
from Spain. Members 
of the family were then 
scattered in many di- 
rections. Two broth - 
ers, Isaac de Sola and 
Baruch de Sola, crossed to Portugal, but perse- 
cution forced the elder brother, Isaac, almost imme- 
diately to seek refuge elsewhere. After suffering 
many vicissitudes in various countries Isaac’s de^ 
scendants settled in Holland early in the seventeenth 
century. ' Here they resided and prospered for sev- 
eial geneiations. But Baruch, the younger brother, 
finding the life of his wife endangered by the hard- 
ships endured, was forced to remain in Portugal, and 
avoided further persecution by professing to be a 
Marano. His family became largely interested in 
various enterprises then developing in the Portu- 
guese Indies, but ultimately it rejoined relatives 
m Holland, where the children were trained in 
theii ancestral faith. The connections which tliev 
had established with the Portuguese Maranos were, 
however, long maintained, and led some of the 
members of the family to occasionally risk visits 
to Lisbon and the Portuguese colonies in the pursuit 
of their enterprises, notwithstanding the dangers of 
the Inquisition. But early in the eighteenth cen- 


Arms of the De Sola Family. 


tury, when David de Sola, the head of the elder 
branch, and his family, under assumed names, 
reached Lisbon, he was seized and tortured by the 
Inquisition, and later his youngest two sons suffered 
death at an auto da fe. In 1749 his eldest son, 
Aaron, effected his escape from Portugal with his. 
wife, five sons (David, Isaac, Jacob, Benjamin, and 
Abraham), and a daughter, and returned to Holland. 
Tlieir first act was to openly avow their unshaken 
adherence to the faith of their forefathers. The de- 
scendants of the eldest son, David, have lived suc- 
cessivety in Holland, England, and Canada. The 
second and third .sons, Isaac and Jacob, went to 
Curacao, and their descendants are yet on that 
island and in the United States and other parts of 
America. 

The accompanying pedigree shows the various 
branches and chief members of the De Sola family, 
the numbers in parentheses corresponding to those 
given in the text. 

1. Don Bartolome (Baruch ben Ishac ibn 
Daud) : Styled a “ nasi ” ; progenitor of the De Sola, 
family ; is said to have occupied a high office of state 
in Navarre in the ninth century. 

2. Shalom ibrn. Daud: Descendant of DonBar- 
tolome (IN o. 1) ; lived in Cordova in tne tentli century. 

Through the friendship of Hasdai ibn Shaprut he 
enjoyed the favor of the calif Abd al-Raliman III. 
He was appointed a day y an of the community of 
Cordova. 

3 - Aaron ben Shalom ibn Daud: Son of 
Shalom (No. 2) ; born in the second quarter of the 
tenth century ; was a physician in Cordova. He is 
said to have been lecturer at the college of medicine 
established in that city by Al-Hakam II. 

. 4 - Michael ibn Daud: Descendant in the male 
line of Aaron ben Shalom (No. 3); born in Seville 
’ about 1025. He was a physician and naturalist, 
and wrote a work, no longer extant, on the medicinal 
properties of plants. 

5. Menahem ben Michael: Eldest son of 
Michael ibn Daud (No. 4); lived in Seville and at- 
tained to a political position of responsibility at the 
court of King Al-MiTtamid in the second half of the 
eleventh century. 

6. Hai ben Michael: Second son of Michael 
ibn Daud (No. 4); born in Seville about the middle 
of the eleventh century; lived in Lucena, where 
he devoted himself to philosophy and theology. 

He married Miriam, a daughter of Isaac ben Judah 
ibn Gliayyat (or ibn Giat), and sister of Judah 
ibn Gliay # yat, who influenced his studies; and he 
ei D° 3 r ed the advantage of close association with 
Alfasi. Into his circle came also the young Judah 
ha-Levi, then a student at the Lucena college. Hai 
is said to have been the author of some writings on 
the Talmud and of a work on philosophy. He 
wrote also a brief commentary on the Megillot. 

He had four sons, Michael, Isaac, Enoch, and 
Joseph, who lived in Lucena and Cordova until the 
invasion of the Almohades caused them to go to 
Tudela in 1146. 

7. Enoch ben Hai: Third son of Hai (No. 6); 
born at Lucena at the end of the eleventh centuiy. 

He was the author of a. work on astronomy. He 
died at Tudela, where he had acted as day y an. 




(1) Don Bartolome (B 


(3) Aaron ben 


(5) Menahem ben Michael (second half eleventh century) 


(8) Isaac ben Elij 


(9) David de 
b. end twelfth centur 


(12) Don Baruch (Stole 



(18) DaviS Sc 
b. 1670), m.® I 


(20) David de Sola 
(b. 1727 ; d. 1797), 
m. Sarah Jessurun d’Oliveira 
of Amsterdam 
(d. 1808) 

i 


(19) Aaron de Sola 
(b. close seventeenth century); 
fled from Lisbon 1749 


(27) Isaac de Sola 
(b. 1728) 


(21) Aaron de Sola 
(b. 1770; d. 1821), 
m. Sarah, daughter of 
Isaac Namias Torres, in 1793 
(d. 1817) 


Moses de Sola 
(b. 1772) 


Isaac de Sola 
(b. 1774) 

David de Sola 
(b. Amsterdam) 


Aaron de Sola 

(settled in the Island of St. 

| Croix, Danish W. Indies) 

Samuel de Sola | 

(b. 1776) j j 

J Q Isaac de Sola, two 

(h?Ainsterdam) m. Zipporah Hobeb others 


Judah de Sola 

I 


(29) General Juan 
(Isaac) de Sola 
(b. 1795 : d. 1860) 



other daughter 
(d. in infancy) 


(22) David de Aaron de Sola 
(b. 1796; d. 1860), 
m. Rica Meldola, daughter 
of Haham Raphael Meldola, 1819 
(d. 1866) 


Sarah Aaron de Sola, 

(b 1799) m. Esther Levy 

(resided in New Orleans) 


(28) Benjamin de Sola, 
m. Grace de Pinna 
(issue) 


Sarah Stella Rosetta Aaron de Jael (23) Abraham de Sola Isa^ Raphael 
(b. 1820) (h. 1821) (b. 1822, (b. 1824) kta&IB (h.1827; (h.1828; 

d * 1895) (d. 1898) d. 1865) d. 1833) 


Isaac Raphael Eliza Jacob Maria Esther ^nette 
de Sola de Sola (b. 1830) de Sola (b. 1833) lb. lb*) 


(b. 1832; 
d. young) 


(25) Meldola de Sola 
(b. 1853), 
m. Katherine 
Samuel 1897 
(issue) 

J. 


Rachel 
(b. 1855 ; 
d. 1886), 
m. H. Asher 
(issue) 


Joseph de Sola 
(b. 1857 ; 
d. 1904) 


(26) Clarence Isaac de Sola 
(b. 1858), 
m. Belle Maud 
Goldsmith in 1901 
(issue) 


Gershom 
de Sola 
(b. 1860; 
d. 1902) 


Rica 
(b. 1862), 
m. L. P. Mendes 
(issue) 


Sarah 
(b. 1865; 
d. 1870) 


San 

(b. 1866; liV 


Pedigree of t» 


„ b en isliac ibn Daud) (lived in ninth century) 
mDaud (tenth century) 

lom ibn pa ud (b. second quarter tenth century) 
Dii Daud (b. c. 102o) 


1 (middle of eleventh century), married Miriam, daughter of Isaac ibn Giafc 


Solomon ben Michael 


h (b. end eleventh century) 


u Daud de Sola (d. 1216) 


(grandson); 
l Judith Benvemste 


(10) Abraham de Sola (brother) (thirteenth century) 


(11) Aaron Enrique de Sola (brother) 
(d. Salamanca 1280) 


Sola (grandson) 


tolome) de Sola (b. close thirteenth century) 
de Sola (fourteenth century) 
e Sola (grandson : b. 1420) 


(13) Solomon de Sola (first half fourteenth century) 


Sola (b. 1459); banished Spain 1492 


(16) Baruch de Sola (Bartolomeu) 
(b. 1461); had issue. 
Descendants, after living in Portugal, 
settled in Holland. 


eSola (great-grandson ; b. c. 1595); settled in Holland 


Sola (grandson ; 
i (Hannah) Alvarez 


two others ; 
suffered death at 
auto da fe 


(32) Isaac de Sola (grandson) 
(b. 1675; d. 1734) 

(33) Abraham de Sola 
(d. 1753), 

m. his cousin Abigail 


Samuel (Zerahiah V) de Sola 

I 


(34) Raphael Samuel Mendes de Sola Joseph Mendes de Sola others 


(30) Jacob de Sola 
(b. 1730 in Lisbon), 
m. Leah Jessurun Henriquez 


<31) Benjamin de Sola 
(b. 1735; d. 1816) 


Abraham de Sola 
(b. 1739 in Lisbon ; 
lived in Amsterdam) 


Benjamin 
de Sola 
1 

Isaac de Sola 

i 

Juena, 
in. Captain 
Lopez 


Elias de Sola, 
in. MissiFurtado 
(d. in London 1811) 


Joshua de Sola Benjai 

(b. Curasao 1774 ; (lived 

d. 1839). . T . 

m. (1) Esther Monsanto ; (2) Hannah Abinan de Lima 


Benjamin de Sola Abigail 
(lived in Holland) 


Jacob de Sola ,1'eab 

(b. Curasao 1800; d. 1867), (b. 1801) 

m. Leah C. Henriquez 


Haim de Sola Benjamin de Sola seven Elia* ?e Sola 

(b. Curasao 1810: lb. 1818; d. 1882), daughters (b. 

d. St. Thomas 1830) m. Hetty Abmam m. Sarah Senior 

de Lima 


anmel Julia 

jgf. «>• 1&2) 

ititj),’ 

inima 

Henry 

de Sola 

n South Africa) 


Joshua de 
Sola 

(b. 1828), 
in. Abi- 
gail C. 
Hen- 
riquez 
(issue) 


Haim 
Solomon 
de Sola 


Benjamin Samuel 
de Sola de Sola 
(b. 1837), (b. 1844), 


Samuel 8 others 
de Sola (no issue) 


(b. 1832) m.Rosal- m, Leah m.Rosal- 


m. Sarah 
A. de 
Lima 
(issue) 


vina 

Jessurun 

(issue) 


Joshua 
Francis 
de Sola 
(b. 1863; 
d. 1894) 


Jacob Anita 
Charles (b. 1866), 
de Sola m. Ernest 
(b. 1865), Luria 

m. Leah, (issue) 

daugh- 
ter of 
H. S. de 
Sola 


Benjamin 
Edward 
de Sola 
(h. 1867), 
m. Bea- 
trice Myer 
(issue) 


Harry Frederick 
de Sola de Sola 
(b. 1S69), (b. 1871), 
m. Do- m. Elea- 


r E Sola Family. 


C. I. DE S. 



431 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Sola, De 


8. Isaac ben Elijah ibn Baud de Sola : Grand- 
son of Enoch ben Hai (No. 7); born in the middle 
of the twelfth century. Isaac de Sola was a rabbi 
and one of the heads of the Jewish communities of 
Navarre. He was also a commentator and poet, 
and made Hebrew renderings of Arabic poems. He 
died 1216. 

9 . David de Sola : Grandson of Isaac ibn Daud 
de Sola (No. 8); born about the close of the twelfth 
century; lived in Barcelona. He was a man of 
learning and wealth, and by his munificence greatly 
encouraged Hebrew scholarship in his native city. 
Family traditions mention him as the author of a 
work on the Mekilta and of several theological 
writings. He married Judith Benveniste. During 
the second half of the thirteenth century some of 
his relatives settled in Narbonne, Montpellier, and 
other parts of southern France, but his descendants 
in the main line continued in Spain. 

10. Abraham de Sola (usually styled Abra- 
ham of Aragon) ; Lived in the thirteenth cen- 
tury ; a brother of David de Sola (No. 9). He was 
a distinguished physician, and was employed by 
Alphonse, Count of Poitou and Toulouse, brother of 
Louis IN. of France. 

11. Aaron Enriqne de Sola: Lived in the 
thirteenth century, and was a brother of David (No. 
9) and of Abraham (No. 10); died at Salamanca 
1280. He devoted his life to the study of science, 
and is said to have written works on astronomy and 
mathematics. His earlier years were spent at Bar- 
celona and Saragossa, but later he went to Toledo 
at the invitation of Alfonso X. of Castile, el Sabio. 

12. Don Baruch (Bartolome) de Sola : Great- 
grandson of David de Sola (No. 9). Don Baruch 
was born at the close of the thirteenth century, 
either at Barcelona or at Saragossa. Family tradi- 
tion records that he won distinction fighting as a 
knight under the infante Alfonso, afterward Al- 
fonso, IY. of Aragon. He took part in the war 
against the Shepherds, 1320-22, and in the war in 
Sardinia, 1325-30. He was accorded noble rank by 
the king. After the death of Alfonso IV. he went 
to Toledo, where he died. His son, Jacob Al- 
fonso, lived in Toledo for a while, but outbreaks 
of intolerance caused him to remove to Granada 
with his family. 

13. Solomon de Sola: Flourished during the 
first half of the fourteenth century. He was a son 
of the Jacob de Sola who was a great-grandson of 
David (No. 9), and was a brother of Don Baruch 
(No. 12). He was a physician at Saragossa and also 
a rabbinical scholar. 

14. Elijah de Sola : Born in Granada 1420 ; was 
a grandson of Jacob Alfonso de Sola, the son of 
Don Baruch (Bartolome) (No. 12). He was a rabbi 
and wrote lectures on Hebrew grammar. 

15. Isaac de Sola : Son of Elijah (No. 14) ; born 
in GVanada in 1459. He took part in the de- 
fense of his native city, and left it on its fall. The 
expulsion of the Jews from Spain in 1492 drove 
him to Portugal. His descendants took up their 
abode in Holland a century later. Among his chil- 
dren was a son named Gabriel, referred to below. 

1G. Baruch de Sola (Bartolomeu) : Younger 
brother of Isaac de Sola (No. 15); bom at Granada 


1461. On the expulsion of the Jews from Spain in 
1492 he. went to Portugal. (For his connection wi th 
the family history see introduction.) 

17. Carlos de Sola (Hebrew pnenomen vari- 
ously stated): Born about 1595; great-grandson of 
Gabriel de Sola, the son of Isaac de Sola (No. 15). 
He went to Holland in the first half of the seven- 
teenth century. He was the writer of a family 
chronicle (in manuscript). 

18. David de Sola: Grandson of Carlos de 
Sola (No. 17); born about 1670. His youth was 
spent chiefly in Holland, although it is uncertain 
whether he was horn there. Through his cousins, 
the descendants of Baruch (No. 16), he became asso- 
ciated with some of the Maranos of Portugal in 
extensive mercantile transactions, being interested 
with them in ships engaged in Portuguese and Dutch 
commerce, whereby he attained to a position of con- 
siderable affluence. He visited Lisbon apparently 
more than once, and took up temporary residence 
there, passing as a Marano, usually under the name 
of Bartolomeu, in a vain attempt to allay the sus- 
picions of the Inquisition. Arrested on a charge of 
secret adherence to Judaism, he was subjected to* 
the horrors of the torture chamber. But nothing 
could be wrung from him, and eventually he was 
released. Broken in health by the awful suffer- 
ings he had undergone, he died soon afterward. 

19. Aaron de Sola: Son of David de Sola (No. 

18) ; bom about the close of the seventeenth cen- 
tury. He was in Portugal as a Marano under an 
assumed name when his father was tortured by the 
Inquisition. His position became yet more perilous 
when two of his brothers, likewise living under 
assumed names, were ferreted out by the officers 
of the Inquisition as relapsed Jews, and after 
cruel sufferings met death at an auto da fe in 
Lisbon. After some years of extreme danger Aaron 
succeeded in escaping from Portugal on a British 
ship in 1749. Landing in London, he and his family 
at once openly proclaimed their fidelity to Judaism. 
From London they went to Holland, and here Aaron 
de Sola spent his latter days. From his six chil- 
dren are descended the several branches of the De 
Sola family of to-day. His son Abraham, who was 
born 1737 or 1739, took an active part in administer- 
ing the affairs of the Jewish educational and char- 
itable institutions of Amsterdam. Aaron’s daughter 
Rachel, born 1732, married a Cohen in Holland, 
and her children assumed the name of Cohen-de 
Solla. Among her descendants w T as Henri Cohen- 
de Solla, the musician ; born 1837 ; died in London 
1904. 

The line of David, the eldest son, is as follows: 

20. David de Sola : Son of Aaron de Sola (No. 

19) ; born in Lisbon in 1727 ; died in 1797 ; fled from 
that city with his parents in 1749 and settled in Hol- 
land. He wu-ote a number of addresses and essays on 
religious subjects, and a volume of poems. He was. 
married to Sarah Jessurun d’ Oliveira of Amsterdam, 
who survived him ten years, and by wiiom he had 
four sons: Aaron (No. 21), Moses, Isaac, and 
Samuel. 

21. Aaron de Sola: Son of David de Sola (No. 

20) ; born in Amsterdam in 1770; died in that city 
in 1821. He w T as a Talmudist, and his name ap- 



Sola, De 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


432 


pears in the family papers as the writer of a work 
on chronology. 

22. David de Aaron de Sola : Minister and 
author; born at Amsterdam 1790 ; died at Shad- 
well, near London, 1860; son of Aaron de Sola (No. 
21). When but eleven years of age he entered as a 
student the bet ha-midrash of his native city, and 
after a course of nine years received his rabbinical, 
diploma. In 1818 he was elected one of the minis- 
ters of the Bevis Marks Congregation, London. De 
Sola’s addresses before the Society for the Cultiva- 
tion of Hebrew Literature 
led the Mahamad to ap- 
point him to deliver dis- 
courses in the vernacular, 
and on March 26, 1831, he 
preached the first sermon 
in English ever heard 
within the walls of Bevis 
Marks Synagogue. His 
discourses were subse- 
quently published by the 
Mahamad. In 1829 he is- 
sued his first work, “The 
Blessings ” ; and in 1836 he 
published his “ Translation 
of the Forms of Prayer 
According to the Custom 
of the Spanish and Portu- 
guese Jews,” in six volumes, of which a second edi- 
tion was issued in 1852. This translation formed the 
basis for several subsequent ones. 

In 1837 De Sola published “The Proper Names in 
Scripture”; about the same time he wrote “Moses 
the Prophet, Moses Maimonides, and Moses Mendels- 
sohn ” ; and in 1838 “ Notes on Basnage and Milman’s 
History of the Jews.” In 1839, collaborating with 
M. J. Baphall, he translated eighteen treatises of the 
Mishnah. The work had a strange fate, for, the 
manuscript having reached the hands of a member 
of the Burton Street Synagogue, it was published in 
1812, without the permission of the authors, be- 
fore it had been revised or corrected for the press, 
and with an anonymous preface expressing views 
entirely opposed to those of De Sola and Baphall. 

In 1840 De Sola, conjointly with M. J. Baphall, 
began the publication of an English translation of 
the Scriptures, together with a commentary. Only 
the first volume, “ Genesis,” was published, in 1844. 

De Sola was instrumental in organizing the Asso- 
ciation for the Promotion of Jewish Literature and 
other societies of a similar character. In 1857 he 
published “The Ancient Melodies of the Spanish and 
Portuguese Jews,” including a historical account 
of the poets, poetry, and melodies of the Sephardic 
liturgy. In the notation of the melodies he was 
assisted by Emanuel Aguilar, the composer. In 
1860 De Sola translated into English, in four vol- 
umes, the festival prayers according to the custom 
of the German and Polish Jews. 

Besides his works in English, De Sola wrote in 
Hebrew, German, and Dutch. • He contributed fre- 
quently between 1836 and 1845 to the “ Allgemeine 
Zeitung des Judenthums ” and to “Der Orient,” and 
published in German “A Biography of Ephraim 
Luzzato ” and a “ Biography of Distinguished Israel- 


ites in England.” His chief w r ork in Dutch was his 
“Biography of Isaac Samuel Beggio,” published in 
1855 and afterward translated into English. 

David de Sola was married in 1819 to Bica Mel- 
dola, the eldest daughter of Haliam Iiaphael Mel- 
dola, by whom he had six sons and nine daugh- 
ters. One daughter, Jael, married Solomon Belais, 
son of Babbi Abraham Belais, at one time treas- 
urer to the Bey of Tunis, and another, Eliza, mar- 
ried Bev. Abraham Pereira Mendes, and was the 
mother of Dr. Frederick de Sola Mendes and of Dr. 
Hemy Pereira Mendes. Of the other daughters five 
married in London. 

J. 0. I. de S. 

23. Abraham de Sola: Babbi, author, Orien- 
talist, scientist, and communal leader; born in 
London, England, Sept. 

18, 1825; died in New 
York June 5, 1882. He 
was the second son of 
David de Aaron de Sola 
(No. 22) and of Bica Mel- 
dola. Having received a 
thorough training in Jew- 
ish theology, he early ac- 
quired a profound knowl- 
edge of Semitic languages 
and literature. In 1846 he 
was elected minister of the 
congregation of Spanish 
and Portuguese Jews of 
Montreal, Canada, and he 
arrived in that city early 
in 1847. 

In 1848 De Sola was appointed lecturer, and in 
1853 professor, of Hebrew and Oriental literature at 
McGill University, Montreal, and he eventually be- 
came the senior professor of its faculty of arts. 
He was president of the Natural History Society 
for several years, and addressed its members fre- 
quently on those branches of scientific investiga- 
tion which came within its province. The degree 
of LL.D. was conferred upon him in 1858 by Mc- 
Gill University. This was probably the first instance 
of a Jew attaining that honor in an English-speak- 
ing country. 

In 1872, by invitation of President Grant’s admin- 
istration, De Sola opened the United States Congress 
with prayer. The event was of significance, as De, 
Sola was a British subject, and this was the first 
indication of a more friendly feeling between the 
United States and Great Britain after the dangerously 
strained relations that had been caused by the re- 
cently adjusted “Alabama Claims.” Mr. Gladstone, 
then premier, as well as Sir Edward Thornton, the 
British ambassador at Washington, extended the 
thanks of the British government to De Sola. 

Abraham de Sola frequentty visited the United 
States, and, through his pulpit addresses and nu- 
merous contributions to the press, became recognized 
there as one of the most powerful leaders of Ortho- 
doxy, at a time when the struggle between the 
Orthodox and Beform wings of the community was 
at an acute stage. He was intimately associated 
witli Isaac Leeser, Samuel Myer Isaacs, Bernhard 
Illowy, J. J. Lyons, and other upholders of Jewish 



David de Aaron de Sola. 



Abraham de Sola. 



433 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Sola, De 


tradition, and on the death of Leeser was invited to 
become successor to his pulpit ; but this and many 
similar offers lie declined. For twenty years he 
was a constant contributor to Leeser’g “Occident,” 
and after the latter’s death he purchased the copy- 
rights and stereotype plates of his works and con- 
tinued their publication. 

The following is a list of Abraham de Sola’s chief 
literary works : 

1848. Scripture Zoology. 

1852. The Mosaic Cosmogony. 

1852. The Cosmography of Peritsol. 

1852. A Commentary on Samuel Hannagid’s Introduction to the 

Talmud. 

1853. Behemoth Hatemeoth. 

1854. The Jewish Calendar System (conjointly with Rev. J. J. 

Lyons). 

1857. Philological Studies in Hebrew and Aramaic. 

1858. Scripture Botany. 

1860. The Employment of Anaesthetics in Connection with Jew- 

ish. Law. 

1861. The Sanatory Institutions of the Hebrews. Part i. (parts 

ii. and iii. appeared the following year). 

1864. Biography of David Aaron de Sola. 

1869. Life of Shabbethai Tsevi. 

1870. History of the Jews of Poland. 

1871. History of the Jews of France. 

1874. Hebrew Numismatics. 

1878. New Edition of the Forms of Prayer of the Spanish and 
Portuguese Jews, with English translation, based on the 
versions of David Aaron de Sola and Isaac Leeser. 

1880. Life of Saadia Ha-Gaon. 

Abraham de Sola also contributed actively to the 
Jewish press, a large number of articles by him ap- 
pearing in “The Voice of Jacob,” “The Asmonean,” 
“The British-American Journal,” and other contem- 
porary Jewish journals. His articles on Sir William 
Sawson’a “ Arcliaia,” “Dawn of Life,” and “Origin 
of the World ” are specially noteworthy. He also 
edited and republished English’s “ Grounds of Chris- 
tianity ” and a number of educational works. J. 

24. Samuel de Sola : Born in London in 1839 ; 
died there 1866; the youngest son of David de 
Aaron , de Sola (No. 22). In 1863 he was elected 
to succeed his father as minister of the Be vis Marks 
Congregation. He composed a large number of mel- 
odies for the synagogue and home, which were 
widely adopted. 

J - C. I. de S. 

25. Aaron David Meldola de Sola: Canadian 
rabbi ; born in Montreal May 22, 1853 ; eldest son of 
Abraham de Sola (No. 23). His theological studies 
were pursued chiefly under the direction of his 
father, whose assistant he became in 1876. Meldola 
de Sola’s election as his father’s successor in 1882 
checked the movement for Reform in his own syna- 
gogue. 

In 1898 he was appointed the first vice-president 
of the Orthodox Convention in New York, and he 
was one of the committee of three that drew up its 
“ Declaration of Principles. ” At the conventions held 
in 1900 and 1903 he was elected first vice-president of 
the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of the 
United States and Canada, and chairman of the Com- 
mittee on Presentations of Judaism. Iu the latter 
capacity he issued in 1902 a protest against the Cen- 
tral Conference of American Rabbis for discussing 
the transfer of the Sabbath to the first day of the 
week. De Sola has written voluminously in the 
Jewish press in defense of Orthodoxy. 

XI. -28 


26. Clarence Isaac de Sola: Third son of 
Abraham de Sola (No. 23); born at Montreal, 
Canada, Aug-. 15, 1858. He has taken an active 
part in . the Zionist movement since its inception, and 
was largely instrumental in establishing it in Can- 
ada. He held the presidency of the Federation of 
Zionist Societies of Canada from 1899 to 1905, was 
elected member of the Actions Committee at the 
Fourth Congress, London, 1900, and at subsequent 
congresses, and is a Canadian trustee of the Jewish 
Colonial Trust. 

Since 1887 he has been managing director of the 
Comptoir Belgo-Canadien, the steel and construction 
trust of Belgium, and in that capacity he has con- 
structed a number of Canada’s public works, in- 
cluding many railway and highway bridges. ; His 
close association with the development of Belgium’s 
industrial relations with Canada led to his appoint- 
ment as Belgian consul at Montreal in 1905. 

J. 

The following are the members of the younger 
branches descended from Aaron de Sola (No. 19) : 

27. Isaac de Sola: Second son of Aaron de 
Sola (No. 19); born in Lisbon in 1728, and fled 
from that city to Holland with his parents in 1749. 
He settled in Curasao and became largely engaged 

| in the West-Indian trade. His descendants live 
mainly in the West Indies and the United States. 

28. Benjamin de Sola: Grandson of the eldest 
son of Isaac de Sola (No. 27). He resided in the 
Southern States at the time of the Civil war, and, 
joining the Confederate army, acquitted himself 
with credit in a number of engagements. 

29. General Juan (Isaac) de Sola: Born 
about 1795 at Curasao; died 1860; the son of 
Judah, the second son of Isaac de Sola (No. 27). In 
1817 he went to Angostura (Ciudad Bolivar), Venez- 
uela, and, joining the editorial staff of the “ Correo 
de Orinoco,” attracted the support of the patriots by 
his articles. On the outbreak of the revolt of the 
Sou th- American colonies from Spain he joined the 
army of the patriots, and his bravery and capacity 
led General Piuango to promote him to the general 
stall'. He was attached to the army of Apure, under 
General Paez, and advanced to the rank of lieutenant- 
colonel in the army of Colombia (formed then of the 
republics of Venezuela, New Granada, and Ecua- 
dor). Oil June 24, 1821, he took part in the decisive 
battle of Carabobo, which sealed the independence 
of Colombia. Valencia surrendered, and the revolu- 
tionary forces under Paez marched on Puerto Ca- 
bello, De Sola joining in the expedition. On Nov, 

7 and 8, 1823, occurred the storming of Puerto Ca- 
bello by General Paez. De Sola took part in the 
assault, in command of cavalry, and drove the 
Spaniards before him to the sea, receiving himself 
a saber-cut across the face, the scar of which he car- 
ried till his death. 

De Sola was a faithful supporter of Paez through- 
out his career, and from 1826 to 1830 assisted him in 
his policy of separating Venezuela from Colombia. 

In 1830 he attained his full colonelship, and was on 
Paez’s staff, seemingly for a while as chief of staff. - 
Iu 1843 he retired temporarily from the arm 3 r , and 
became proprietor and editor of “El Gaceta Cara- 
bobo ” and “ El Patriota ” in Valencia. After Paez’s 



Sola, De 
Solis 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


434 


fall in 1S48 and the accession of General Monagas, 
De Sola withdrew to private life for several 


years. 

On March 5, 1S5S, De Sola commanded the second 
division of the revolutionary army that overthrew 
General Jose Tadeo Monagas, and in recognition of 
the important part lie had taken he was created a 
general by the new government in 1859. 

30. Jacob de Sola : Third son of Aaron de Sola 
(No. 19); born at Lisbon in 1780, where he bore 
the name of Bartolomeu. After escaping from Por- 
tugal he went to Curasao, where he joined his 
brother Isaac in West-Indian commerce. His de- 
scendants are settled in Curasao and other parts of 
America. Jacob’s eldest son, Elias de Sola, who 
died in London in 1811, was an active communal 
worker in Amsterdam. He was president (parnas) 
of the Amsterdam Talmud Torah and of the He- 
bra Bikkur Holim, and treasurer of the ‘ Ez Hay- 
yim. 

Among other noteworthy descendants of Jacob de 
Sola were his grandsons, Benjamin de Sola (born 
in Curasao 1818; died iu New York 1882) and Elias 
de Sola (born in Curasao 1826; died in Caracas 
1902). Benjamin was a prominent member of the 
Curacao community and was one of those who pre- 
vented changes in the ritual of the ancient Mikveh 
Israel Synagogue. Elias settled in Venezuela in 
1856 and took a prominent part in the commercial 
life of Caracas and La Guayra. 

31. Benjamin de Sola; Fourth son of Aaron de 
Sola (No. 19); born iu Lisbon 1785; died at Curasao 

1816. He accompanied 
his parents to Holland in 
1749 and became an emi- 
nent practitioner at The 
Hague and court phy- 
sician to William V. of 
the Netherlands. He was 
educated at and received 
his medical degree 
from the University of 
Utrecht. 

Benjamin de Sola was 
the author of “ Disserta- 
tio Medica,” written in 
. Latin, and published in 

Amsterdam in 1773, and 

Benjamin de Sola. other writings. His 

sight failing linn in his 
old age, he joined his relatives in Curasao in 



1815. 

32, Isaac de Sola; Brother of David de Sola 
(No. 18); born in Holland in 1675; died in Lon- 
don Oct., 1734. He was a preacher in London be- 
tween 1695 and 1700, and preached also before the 
Congregation Nefutsotli Yehudali of Bayonne. 
He revisited London in 1704, but returned to Am- 
sterdam the same year. 

Isaac de Sola was the author of the following 
works, in Spanish, published in Amsterdam: u Ser~ 
mones Hechos Sobre Diferentes Asumpttfs,” 1704; 
“Preguntas con sus Respuestos,” 1704; also a vol- 
ume of “Expositions of the Psalms,” a volume of 
“Questions and Replies on the Pentateuch.” an- 
other volume of “Questions and Replies for Pul- 


pit Purposes,” and a second volume of “Ser- 
mons.” 

33. Abraham de Sola; Son of Isaac de Sola 
(No. 32) ; died in London 1753. He was one of the 
ministers of the Bevis Marks Synagogue, London, 
from 1722 till 1749, and was also a preacher and mem- 
ber of the bet din. He married his cousin Abigail. 
Another cousin, Laura de Sola, is said to have 
written on Jewish history. 

34. Raphael Samuel Mendes de Sola : Cousin 
of Aaron de Sola (No. 19) and of Abraham de Sola 
(No. 33); horn in Amsterdam. He became distin- 
guished as an orator and Talmudist. In 1749 he 
was elected liakam of Curasao, and held that office 
until his death in 1761, His brother Joseph Miendes 
de Sola was minister of the Sephardic congrega- 
tion of London from 1749 to 1770. 


Bibliography : Biography of David Aaron de Sola , Phil- 
adelphia, 1864; Joseph M. Corcos, Synopsis of the History 
of the Jews of Curacao, Curasao, 1897 ; Asmonean, Aug. t 
1854; Occident (Philadelphia), xvi.. No. 1 ; Pub. Am. Jew. 
Hist. Soc. 1893, No. 1 ; 1895, No. 3 ; 1901, No. 9 ; 1903, No. 11 ; De 
Castro, Keurvan Grafsteenen op de Neclcrl:-Por tug. -Israel. 
Begraafplaats , etc., Leyden, 1883; Catalogue of the Anglo- 
American Jewish Historical Exhibition , London, 188 < ; 
Lucien Wolf, Old Jewish Families in England , in Lemire 
Hour, London, Aug., 1886; faster, History of the Ancient 
Synagogue of the Spanish and Portuguese Jews, London, 
1901; Picciotto, Sketches of Anglo- Jewish History, London; 
Encyclopcedia Britannica, Am. Supplement, vol.lv.; 
Morais, Eminent Israelites of the Nineteenth Centitn/, Phil- 
adelphia , 1880; J. D. Borth wicks. Historical and Biographical 
Gazetteer, Montreal, 1892; Phrcn. Journal, New Yorkvl868; 
Frank Leslie's Illustrated Weekly, Feb. 3, 1872; June, 1882; 
Washington Star, Jan. 9, 1872; Washington Patriot, Jan. 10, 
1872; The Witness (Montreal), June 6, 1882; Montreal 
Herald, June 7, 1882; Canadian Illustrated News, June 

17, 1882; Jewish Chronicle, Nov., 1860; June, 1882: Sept. 

18, 1903; Isidore Harris, The Jewish Year Booh, London, 
1902: Rose Belford, Canadian Biography, Toronto, 1887; 
Encyclopcedia of Canadian Biography, Montreal, 1905; 
Jewish World, London, Aug., 1900; March 3, 190o. 


SOLDI, EMILE-ARTHUR : French engraver, 
sculptor, and writer on art; born at Paris May 27, 
1846; son of David Soldi, a professor of modem lan- 
guages and a native of Denmark. In 1869 Emile 
Soldi was awarded the Grand Prix at Rome for medal- 
engraving. Four years later he exhibited at the 
Fine- Arts Exposition a cameo in onyx, “Acteon,” 
and a bronze medal in alto-rilievo, “Gallia,” both 
of which were purchased by the government for the 
museum of the Luxembourg palace, the seat of the 
French Senate. He sculptured in marble the bas- 
reliefs “La Science et l’Art,” a “Medaille a la Me- 
moire des Victimes de 1 'Invasion, M and a “Medaille 
a la Memoire des Mobiles de la Seine-Inf erieure.” 
Iu 1880 he executed a model of one of the gates of 
the citadel of Angkor-Tohm, according to Dela- 
porte’s plan of restoration. Of his other works 
may be mentioned medallion portraits of the 
Duchess Colonna de Castiglione, Mile. B. Gis- 
mondi, and Mile. Bergole (1876); “ A l’Opera,” a 
plaster statue (1880) ; and a bust of Guillaumet (188 0- 

Soldi is the author of the following works on 
archeology : “ L’Art et Ses ProcedCs Depuis 1 An- 
tiquite,” “L’Art Egyptien” (1876), “Recucil et 
Memoire pour LHistoire de l’Art,” “Les Arts Me- 
connus,” and “Les Nouveaux Musees du Troca- 
dero ” (1881). Soldi is a chevalier of the Legion of 
Honor. 

Bibliography : r La Grande Encyclopedic ; Nouveau La- 

rousse Ulustre . T xr t 

g J . 



435 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA' 


Sola, De 
Solis 


SOLIS (sometimes da Solis or de Solis): 
Spanish and Portuguese family of crypto- Jews, 
some of whom were inquisitors, while others were 
victims of the Inquisition. Those who made good 


Eleazar da Solis : Friar, theologian, and 
preacher; lived in Amsterdam as a professed Jew in 
1656. His brother Simao Fires da Solis was burned 
at the stake by the Inquisition at Lisbon (1631). 


Solomon da Silva Solis 
= Isabel da Fonseca 

Daniel da Silva Solis (Amsterdam) 

Daniel (?) da Silva Solis 
Jacob da Silva Solis 

= Judith da Silva Solis in Amsterdam, 1722 

Solomon da Silva Solis (b. 1754 ; d. 1853) 
r Benveneda Henriques Valentine, in London, 1778 


Jacob Isaac 

da Silva Solis (b. 1782) 
(b, London 1780 ; 
d. New York 1829) 

= Charity Hays 


i 


Daniel da Silva Sim ha David Abraham Samuel Joshua Judith 

(b S °1784) b * 1786 b * 1/89) (b ’ lr92 ) (b * 1797) (b * 1799 > 

== Sarah Norris 
(issue) 


Benveneda 

Solis Etten 

Leon M. Solis 

Ritterband 
(issue) 


Esther Judith 
Simha 
Solis 
= Myer 
David 
Cohen 


Solomon Solis 
(b. 1819; d. 1854) 
= Ellen Samuels 

I 

Jacob Fonseca 
da Silva Solis 


David Hays 
Solis 

(b. 1822; d. 1882) 
= Elvira Nathan 


Sarah Solis 
: Solomon Nunes 
Carvalho 
(issue) 


Phoebe Solis 
= David Sarfaty 
(issue) 


Solis S °Qoiik 011 ° tberS C cnHl ty c Jacob J saac Emily David Hays Sarah Elvira Esther Albert 
oOlls bOllS Soils So omon Nathan Grnr>A Sniic xt Aiuert 


Solis Solis 

Cohen Cohen 

= Miriam = Emily 
Bins- Grace 

wander Solis 

(issue) (issue) 

J. 


- S6 'T« D Nattan GrSis^oi^r N^an ^‘solts Etten Beniamin 

JEdmund Solis Solis = Solomon = Theresa Solis Solis . Solis = 


Robert 

Lyon 

(issue) 


= Marcia Solis 
Morgan Cohen 
(issue) (issue) 


Wal- 

lerstein 

(issue) 


= Edgar 
Joshua 
Nathan 
(issue) 


= Clarence Blanche 
Seixas Myers 

Nathan (issue) 

E. N. S. 


Solis Pedigree. 


their escape to the Netherlands, France, and Eng- 
land openly professed Judaism. In the eighteenth 
and early part of the nineteenth century some went 
to America, settling in various parts of the West 
Indies and the United States. The American branch 
of the family traces its descent back to Solomon da 
Silva Solis, who married Isabel da Fonseca and who 
emigrated from Spain to Amsterdam in the seven- 
teenth century. 

Abraham Solis: Interpreter; lived in Boston in 
1790. 

David Hays Solis: Merchant; son of Jacob da 
Silva Solis; born at Mount Pleasant, N. Y., 1822; 
died in Philadelphia 1882. He gave valuable aid in 
tlie foundation and maintenance of religious, educa- 
tional, and charitable institutions in both Philadel- 
phia and New 'York, especially of the B’nai Jesliu- 
i un Educational Institute (1854) and the Congregation 
Shear! th Israel, of New York, and of the Hebrew 
Charitable Fund, the Jewish Publication Society 
(1845), and the Hebrew Educational Society (1848), of 
Philadelphia. An earnest supporter of Isaac Lee- 
ser, he organized and became first president of the 
Congregation Beth-El Emeth, Philadelphia (1857). 
When the plates of the Leeser Bible were destroyed 
hy fire he headed a subscription to replace them, 
be was an ardent supporter of the anti-slavery move- 
ment, and actively promoted the Volunteer Fund 
and Sanitary Fair. 


Francisco de Silva y Solis (Marquis de 
Montfort) : Military commander under Emperor 
Leopold I, ; greatly aided in the defeat of the French 
Marechal de Crequi in 1673. He settled in Antwerp 
as a professed Jew. 

Isaac Nathan Solis: Son of David Hays Solis; 
lawyer and banker of New York and Philadelphia; 
born 1S57, 

Jacob da Silva Solis: Son of Solomon da Silva 
Solis and Benveneda Henriques Valentine; born in 
London 1780 ; died in New York 1829. He was a de- 
scendant of Solomon da Silva Solis and Donna Isabel 
da Fonseca (a daughter of the Marquis of Turin 
and Count of Villa Real and Monterey), both refu- 
gees from the Inquisition, who were married as 
Jews in Amsterdam about 1670. Family tradition 
reports that in 1760, the Catholic branch of the house 
of Turin and Villa Real being extinct, the succession 
was offered to the grandfather of Jacob da Silva Solis 
(of the same name, and great-grandson of Isabel da 
Fonseca), on condition of his becoming a Catholic. 
On his declining, the Portuguese ambassador, him- 
self descended from Maranos, exclaimed, 44 You fool! 
It is one of the greatest dignities of Europe.” To 
which Da Silva Solis replied, “Not for the whole 
of Europe would I forsake my faith, and neither 
would my son Solomon. ’ 5 

In 1803 Solis went to the United States, and in 1811 
married Charity, daughter of David Hays of West- 




Solis Cohen 
Solomon 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


436 


Chester county* New York. He was in business 
with his brother Daniel (b. in London 17S4; went 
to America c. 1S00; died in Philadelphia 1867) 
in New York city and in Wilmington, Del. In 
1826, having business in New Orleans, Jacob went 
thither about the time of the Passover festival; 
finding that city without either a mazzali bakery or 

a synagogue, fie procured rile establishment of botli. 

The Shanarai Chasset congregation was organized 
through his efforts, and its synagogue dedicated in 
the following year (1827). For publication with 
the “ Constitution ” of the congregation, he compiled 
“ A Calendar of the Festivals and Lunar Months of 
Every Year Observed by the Israelites Commencing 
A. M. 5589, and Ending in the Year 5612, Being a 
Period of 24 Y ears. ” 

Solomon da Silv:a Solis : Merchant and litter- 
ateur; son of Jacob da Silva Solis; born at Mount 
Pleasant, N. Y., 1819; died in New York city 1854. 
He was one of the founders of the first American 
Jewish Publication Society (1845)— of whose publi- 
cation committee he was a member— the founder and 
first president of the Hebrew Education Society of 
Philadelphia (1S48), and a trustee and director of 
synagogues and charitable institutions in both New 
York and Philadelphia. He was a friend of and 
zealous colaborer with Isaac Leeser, and a frequent 
contributor to the “ Occident ” and other religious 
periodicals. As a result of his friendship with Grace 
Aguilar, whom he met in London, the publication of 
hell* works in the United States was brought about. 

Ximenes de Solis : Governor of Martos, Spain. 
His young daughter Isabel was captured by the 
Moors and taken to the harem of Sultan Muley Ha- 
san. Her great beauty won her the name of “Zo- 
raya” (the morning star). The kingdom was di- 
vided equally between her and the sultana. Queen 
Isabella induced her and her sons to receive baptism. 


Bibliography : Isaac da Costa, Israel and the Gentiles , pp. 
406, 408, London, 1855; Leon Hiilmer, The Jews of New 
England , Other than Rhode Island , in Publications Am. 
Jew. Hist. Soc. 1903, No. 11, pp. 85-86; Markens, The He- 
brews in America , pp. 309, 325, Philadelphia, 1888 ; H. S. 
Morais, The Jews of Philadelphia , p. 175, ib. 1894; Isaac 
Leeser, in The Occident , xii. 231, 232 ; xvi. 64, 65, 301. 
j. E. S.-C. 


SOLIS COHEN. See Coiiex, Jacob da Silva 
Solis; Cohen, Solomon da Silva Solis. 

SOLNIK, BENJAMIN AAEON. See Slo- 
nik, Benjamin Aaron ben Abraham. 

SOLOMON (fiD^y): Third king of all Israel; 
reigned from about 971 to 981 b.c. ; second son of 
David and Bath-sheba (II Sam. xii. 28-25). He 
was called Jedidiah (= “ beloved of Y'iiwh ”) by Na- 
than the prophet, the Chronicler (I Cliron. xxii. 9) 
assuming that David was told by Ynwii that his 
son’s name should be Solomon (= “ peaceful”). These 
two names are predictive of the character of his 
reign, which was both highly favored and peaceful. 

Biblical Data: The sources for the history 

of the reign of Solomon are II Sam. xi.-xx. and the 
corresponding portions of I Chronicles, also I Kings 
i.-xi. 48 and I Chron. xxviii. 1— II Chron. ix. 31. 
Some second - or third -hand material is found in Jose- 
phus, Eusebius, and elsewhere, mostly taken from 
the books of Kings and Chronicles. The circum- 
stances attending Solomon’s birth indicate that he 


was “beloved of Ynwii” (II Sam. xii. 24, 25), and 
that Nathan stood in close association with David’s 
household. Bath-sheba ’s relations with Nathan at 
the attempted accession of Adonijali (I Kings i.) 
show that she was a woman of no mean talent. 
Solomon’s respect and reverence for her, even after 
his accession to the throne, point in the same direc- 
tion. By nature and training Solomon was rielity en- 
dowed and well equipped Tor tne umce ot leader. 

The question of David’s successor had come to 
the front in Absalom’s rebellion. That uprising 
had been crushed. As David was nearing his death, 
Adonijali, apparently (I Cliron. iii. 1-4) in order of 
age the next claimant to the throne, prepared to 
usurp it, but passed over, in the invitation to his 
coronation, some of the most influential friends and 
advisers of David, as well as his brother Solomon. 
This aroused the suspicions of Nathan, who so ar- 
ranged that simultaneously with Adonijali’s corona- 
tion the court advisers, by order of David, crown 
Solomon, son of Bath-sheba, king of Israel. Adoni- 
jali fled in terror to the liorns of the altar, and left 
them only on the oath of Solomon that his life should 
be spared. 

David, before he died, had given Solomon a 
charge regarding his own actions as a man, and 
regarding his attitude toward several of the influen- 
tial personages about the king's court. As soon as 
Solomon had become established over 
Beginning the kingdom, Adonijali, through Bath- 
of slieba, the queen-motlier, asked the 
Solomon’s king for Abishag the Shunammite as 

Reign. a wife. This request was equivalent 
to asking for coregency, and Solomon so 
regarded it, for he quickly sent Benaiahto slay Adoni- 
jali. Abiatliar, formerly David’s trusted priest, 
who had conspired with Adonijali, was sent to the 
priest-city Anatkoth, to his own fields, and deprived 
of his priestly office. Joab, learning the fate of 
Adonijali and Abiatliar, fled to the altar for refuge; 
but Solomon commissioned the same executioner, 
Benaiah, to slay him there, Shimei, who had cursed 
David, was also in the list of suspects. He was 
given explicit orders to remain in Jerusalem, where 
his movements could bo under surveillance. But 
ou the escape of two of his servants to Philistia he 
left Jerusalem to capture them ; aud on his return lie, 
too, fell under the sword of the bloody Benaiah. 
This completed the destruction of the characters 
whose presence about the court was likely to he a 
perpetual menace to the life of Solomon. 

Thenceforth Solomon proceeded both safely aud 
wisely in the development of his government. He 
came into possession of a kingdom organized aud 
prosperous. Ilis part was to increase 
Solomon’s its efficiency and glory and wealth; 

Choice, but to succeed in this he needed special 
gifts. When he went to Gibeon to 
offer sacrifices— a thousand burnt offerings— Ynwir 
appeared to him in a dream, sajung, “Ask what I 
shall give thee.” Solomon, conscious of the heavy 
responsibility of the ruler of such a realm, chose the 
wisdom that is needful in a judge. His choice ol 
this rather than long life, wealth, honor, and the 
destruction of his enemies, greatly pleased Ynwii. 

The wisdom of the young king was soon put to 



437 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Solis Cohen 
Solomon 


the test. Two harlots appeared before him, each 
carrying a child, one living and the other dead. 
Their dispute involved a decision as to the mater- 
nity of the children. Solomon, knowing the tender 
affections of a mother, ordered the living child to 
he cut into halves with a sword. The problem 
solved itself, and the king’s insight and justice re- 
ceived due praise in Israel. 

Solomon cliose as liis advisers i.l 1 o influential tuen 

of his kindgom (I Kings iv. 1-20). His standing 
army consisted of 12,000 cavalry, with 4,000 stalls 
for liis chariots. The commissary department was 
thoroughly organized, and his court was one of 
great magnificence. The organization of Solomon’s 
government car- 
ried with it a 
definite policy 
regarding his 
non-Israelitish 
subjects. Fol- 
lowing the cus- 
tom of the day, 
lie secured for 
himself' a wife 
from each of 
the neighboring 
royal houses, 
thus binding the 
nations to him 
by domestic ties. 

These various 
alliances intro- 
duced to the Is- 
raelitish court a 
princess from 
Egypt ( f o r 
whom the king- 
erected a special 
residence), and 
others from the 
Moabite, Am- 
monite, Edom- 
ite, Zidonian, 
and II i 1 1 i t e 
courts, who 
brought with 
them certain 
alien customs 
and religions, 
and, best of all, 
a kind of guar- 
anty of peace. A court of such mixed elements in- 
volved also certain requirements which were a charge 
upon the royal treasury, such as homes for these 
foreigners and the installation of places for their 
religious observances. Solomon seems to have ful- 
filled all his obligations of this nature so lavishly as 
to have aroused his people near the close of his 
reign to the point of rebellion. 

No sooner had the king thoroughly organized and 
set in motion his civil and military machinery than 
he planned to carry out the desires of David by 
building a temple to Yinvir. In doing this he util- 
ized his father’s friendship with Hiram of Tyre to 
secure from the latter an agreement to supply cedar 
from Lebauon for use in the building. He levied also 


■ 1 - Vv t 


1 ■' ■ S.-jSjSfjKjs 


Supposed Stables of Solomon at Jerusalem. 

(From a photograph by Bonfile.) 


upon his own jjeople and sent, in courses, 150,000 
men to Lebanon to cut and hew the timber. Stones 
were cut for the buildings to be con- 
Solomon’s structed, and the timber was floated 
Buildings, in rafts to Joppa and transferred to 
Jerusalem. Stones and timber were 
put together noiselessly. Seven years of work com- 
pleted the Temple, and thirteen years the king’s 

pala.ee- Tlie test and most skilled workmen were 

Fliemcians. Tlieir artistic taste was exercised torn 
on the buildings and on tlie vessels with which 
they were furnished (I Kings vii. 13 et seq.). In ad- 
dition to completing these two chief structures, 
Solomon enhanced in oilier ways the architectural 

beauty of the 
city. 

Solomon’s for- 
eign alliances 
formed the basis 
for foreign com- 
mercial rela- 
tions. From the 
Egyptians he 
bought chariots 
and horses, 
which he sold 
to the Hittites 
and other peo- 
p 1 e s of the 
North. With 
the Plienicians 
he united in 
maritime com- 
merce, sending . 
out a fleet once in 
three years from 
Ezion-geber, at 
the head of 
the Gulf of 
Akaba, to Opkir, 
presumably on 
the eastern 
coast of the 
x^rabian penin- 
sula. From this 
distant port, and 
others on the 
way, lie de- 
rived fabulous 
amounts of gold 
andtropical 

products. These revenues gave him almost unlimited 
means for increasing the glory of his capital city 
and palace, and for the perfection of his civil and 
military organizations. 

Solomon’s wisdom seems to have been as resplen- 
dent as his power and glory. His tact in dealing with 
his subjects and liis acquaintance with all that was 
known in that day regarding trees, fruits, flowers, 
beasts, fishes, and birds gave him great 
Solomon’s renown. His genius in composing 
Wisdom. proverbs and songs was known far be- 
yond the bounds of bis own kingdom. 
His wisdom was said 1 6 have surpassed that of the 
children of the East and all the wisdom of Egypt. 
He was wiser than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, 





Solomon- 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


438 


and Chalcol, and Darda, the sons of Maliol (I Kings 
iv. 30, 31). People came from all parts to see the 
wisest man in the world. The Queen of Sheba trav- 
eled with a train of attendants, carrying much 
wealth, from southwestern Arabia, about. 1,500 
miles distant, to test the wisdom of Israel’s ruler. 

Solomon’s religious ancestry and training had 
given him a basis fora strong life. His own request 
at Gibeon and his zeal in the worship of Yinvir fore- 
told a vigorous religious career. But, though he built 
the Temple, and in the prayer attributed to him ex- 
pressed some of the loftiest sentiments of a man 
thoroughly zealous in his worship of Israel’s God, 
his career did not fulfil his early 
Solomon’s religious resolves. The polytheistic 
Religion, worship introduced b} r his foreign 
wives into Jerusalem and his faint 
and ineffectual opposition to their request that 
their gods should be shown respect led to his moral 


In Rabbinical Literature and Legend : 

Solomon not only occupies a very important part in 
rabbinical legend, but is glorified even from a theo- 
logical point of view. It must be added, however, 
that the Tannaim, with the exception of Jose b. 
Ilalafta, were inclined to treat only of his weak- 
nesses and his downfall. Solomon was one of those 
men to whom names were given by God before their 
birth, being thus placed in the category of the just 
(“ zaddikim ” ; Yer. Her. vii., lib; Gen. R. xlv. 11; 
Tan., Beresliit, 30). Besides his three principal 
names, Jedidiah (II Sam. xii. 25), Kohelet (Eccl. i. 1 
et passim , Ilebr.), and Solomon, various others are 
assigned to him by the Rabbis, namely, Agur, Bin, 
Jakeli, Lemuel, Itliicl, and Ucal (Prov. xxx. 1, xxxi. 
1), the interpretations of which, according to the ear- 
lier school, are as follows: “lie who gathered the 
words of the Torah, who understood them, who later 
enunciated them, who said to God in his heart, T have 



SOLOMON'S HOUSE OF THE FOREST OF LEBANON. 
(Restored by Chipiez.) 


and religious deterioration, until he lost his hold on 
the people as well as on his own faith. Disaffec- 
tion in Edom and in Syria, and the utterances of the 
prophet Abijali to Solomon’s overseer, Jeroboam, 
portended disintegration and dissolution. In the 
decline of his life his power waned, and his death 
was the signal for the breaking up of the kingdom. 

The extent of Solomon’s permanent literary work 
is very uncertain. It is possible that he left several 
psalms and a portion of the Book of Proverbs. It 
seems to be probable that his life formed the basis 
of the Book of Ecclesiastes, and possibly of some 
elements of the Song of Songs. 

E. G. H. 


the power; consequently, I may transgress the pre- 
scriptions of the Torah. ’ ” The later school, on the 
other hand, adopts the following explanations: Agur 
“he who girt his loins Bin = “he 
Importance who built the Temple ” ; Jakeli = “he 
in Jewish who reigned over the whole world”; 

Legend. Itliiel = “ he who understood the signs 
of God ” ; and Ucal = “ he who could 
withstand them ” (Cant. R. i. 1 ; Midr. Mishle xxx. 
1 ; Targ. Sheni to Estli. i. 2). Solomon was also one 
of those who were styled “ baliurim ” (= “chosen ”), 
“ yedidim ” (= “ friends ”), and “ aliubim ” (= ‘‘ ^> e ' 
loved ones”; Ab. R. N., ed. Scliecliter, p. 121). 
Solomon’s instructor in the Torah was Shimei, 


I. M. P. 


439 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Solomon 


whose death marked Solomon’s first lapse into sin 
(Ber. 8a). 

The Rabbis concluded that Solomon was twelve 
(in Targ. Sheni Lc. thirteen) years old when he as- 
cended the throne ; he reigned forty years (I Kings 
xi. 42), and consequent^ lie lived fifty-two years, 
as did the prophet Samuel (Seder ‘01am R. xiv. ; 
Gen. R. c. 11; but comp. Josephus, “Ant.” viii. 
7, g 8, where it is stated that Solomon was fourteen 
years old when he began to reign, and that he 
ruled eighty years; comp, also Abravanel on I 
Kings iii. 7). He was considered by the Rabbis, who 
glorified him, to have been the counterpait of David, 
his father: each reigned forty years, and over the 
whole world; both wrote books and composed songs 
and fables; both built altars and transported the 
Ark of the Covenant with great ceremony; and in 
both dwelt the Holy Ghost (Cant. R. Lc.). Solomon 
is particularly extolled by the Rabbis for having 
asked in his dream nothing besides wisdom, which 
they declare served him as a shield 
His against sinful thoughts. In this re- 
Prayer for spect Solomon’s wisdom was even 
Wisdom, superior to that of his father. Solo- 
mon passed forty days in fasting so 
that God might bestow upon him the spirit of wisdom 
(Pesik. R. 14 [ed. Friedmann, p. 59a, b] ; Num. R. 
xix. 3; Eccl. R. vii. 23; Midi*. Mislilei. 1, xv. 29). 

Solomon was the wise king par excellence, a fact 
which is expressed in the saying, “He who sees 
Solomon in a dream may hope for wisdom ” (Ber. 
57b). He is said to have understood the languages 
of the beasts and the birds and to have had no need 
of relying on witnesses in delivering a judgment, in- 
asmuch as by simply looking at the contending par- 
ties lie knew which was right and which was wrong. 
The words “Then Solomon sat on the throne of 
the Lord” (I Cliron. xxix. 23) are interpreted to 
this effect, and an example of such a judgment 
is that pronounced in the case of the two har- 
lots (comp. I Kings iii. 16 et seq.), which judgment 
was confirmed by a Bat Kol (Cant. R. Lc . ; 
Targ. Sheni to Estli. i. 2). Indeed, Solomon’s 
bet din was one of those in which the Holy Ghost 
manifested its presence through a bat hoi. Inde- 
pendently of this, Solomon is considered as one of 
the Prophets, in whom the Holy Ghost dwelt. It 
was under the inspiration of the latter that he com- 
posed his three works, Canticles, Proverbs, and Ec- 
clesiastes (Sotah 48b; Male. 23b ; Cant. R. i. 1 : Eccl. 
R. i. 1, x. 17). His wisdom is stated To have ex- 
celled that of the Egyptians (I Kings v. 10), which 
assertion is the basis of the following legend: 
“When Solomon was about to build the Temple he 
applied to Pharaoh, King of Egypt, for builders and 
architects. Pharaoh ordered his astrologers to choose 
all the men who would die in the current year ; and 
these he sent to Solomon. The latter, however, by 
simpl} looking at them, knew what their fate was 
to be ; consequently he provided them 
Solomon with coffins and shrouds and sent them 
and back to Egypt. Moreover, he gave 
Pharaoh., them a letter for Pharaoh informing 
him that if he was in want of articles 
required for the dead, it was not necessary for him 
to send men, but that he might apply direct for the 


materials he needed ” (Pesik. R. Lc . ; Pesik. iv. 34a; 
Num. R. xix. 3; Eccl. R. vii. 23). Owing to his pro- 
verbial wisdom, Solomon is the hero of many stories, 
scattered in the midrashic literature, in which his 
sagacity is exemplified. Most of them are based upon 
his judgment regarding the harlot’s child; many of 
them have been collected by .Tellinek in “B. H.” 
iv., one of which is mentioned in Tos. to Men. 37a 
as occurring in the Midrash. It runs as follows: 
“ Asmodeus brought before Solomon from under the 
earth a man with two heads, who, being unable to re- 
turn to his native place, married a woman from Jeru- 
salem. She bore him seven sons, six of whom re- 
sembled the mother, while one resembled the father 
in having two heads. After their father’s death, 
the son with two heads claimed two shares of the 
inheritance, arguing that he was two men; while 
his brothers contended that he was entitled to one 
share only. They appealed to Solomon, whose sa- 
gacity enabled him to decide that the son with two 
heads was only one man ; and the king consequently 
rendered judgment in favor of the other six broth- 
ers ” (comp. “R. E. J.” xlv. 305 et seq.). The well- 
known litigation between the serpent and the man 
who had rescued it is stated in Midrash Tanhuma 
(see Buber, “Mebo,” p. 157) as having taken place 
before Solomon, who decreed the serpent’s death. 
Solomon applied his wisdom also to the dissemina- 
tion of the Law. He built synagogues and houses 
in which the Torah was studied by 
Solomon’s himself, by a multitude of scholars, 
Judg*- and even by little children. All his 
ments. wisdom, however, did not make him 
arrogant; so that when he had to 
create a leap-year he summoned seven elders, in 
whose presence he remained silent, considering 
them more learned than himself (Cant. R. Lc . ; Ex. 
R. xv. 20). 

On the other hand, the members of the earlier 
school of Solomon’s critics represent him in the 
contrary light. According to them, he abrogated 
the commandments of the Torah by transgressing 
against the three prohibitions that the king should 
not multiply horses nor wives nor silver and gold 
(comp. Deut. xvii. 16-17 with I Kings x. 26-xi. 3). 
tie was likewise proud of his wisdom, and, 
therefore, relied too much on himself in the case of 
the two harlots, for which he was blamed by a bat 
kol. Judah b. Ila‘i even declared that, had he been 
present when Solomon pronounced the sentence, he 
would have put a rope round Solomon’s neck. His 
wisdom itself is depreciated. Simeon b. Yohai said 
that Solomon would better have been occupied in 
cleaning sewers, in which case he would have been 
free of reproach. His Ecclesiastes has, according to 
one opinion, no sacred character, because “it is only 
Solomon’s wisdom” (R. H. 21b; Meg. 7a; Ex. R. 
vi. 1 ; Eccl. R. x. 17 ; Midr. Teh. to Ps. lxxii. 1 ; see 
Bible Canon). 

On account of his modest request for wisdom onljq 
Solomon was rewarded with riches and an unprec- 
edentedly glorious reign (comp. I Kings iii. 13, v. 

1 et seq.). His realm is described by the Rabbis as 
having extended, before his fall (see below), over the 
upper world inhabited by the angels and over the 
whole of the terrestrial globe with all its inhabit- 



Solomon 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


440 


ants, including all the beasts, fowls, and reptiles, as 
well as the demons and spirits. His reign was then 
so glorious that the moon never decreased, and 
good prevailed over evil. His con- 
His Realm, trol over the demons, spirits, and 
animals augmented his splendor, the 
demons bringing him precious stones, besides water 
from distant countries to irrigate Ills exotic plants. 
The beasts and fowls of their own accord entered 
the kitchen of Solomon’s palace, so that they might 
be used as food for him. Extravagant meals for 
him (comp. I Kings iv. 22-28) were prepared daily 
b} 7 each of his thousand wives, with the thought 
that perhaps the king would feast on that day 
in her house (Meg. lib; Sanli. 20b; B. M. 86b; 
Gen. R. xxxiv. 17; Cant. R. l.c . ; Eecl. R. ii. 5; 
Targ. Sheni l.c.). 

More frequently it was the eagle that executed 
Solomou’s orders. When David died Solomon 
ordered the eagles to protect with their wings his 
father’s body until its burial (Ruth R. i. 17). Solo- 
mon was accustomed to ride through the air on a 
large eagle which brought him in a single day to Tad- 
mor in the wilderness (Eccl. R. ii. 25 ; comp. II Chrou. 
viii. 4). This legend has been greatly developed by 
the cabalists as follows: “Solomon used to sail 
through the air on a throne of light p laced on an 
eagle, which brought him near the heavenly yeslii- 
bah as well as to the dark mountains behind which 
the fallen angels ‘Uzza and 'Azzael were chained. 
The eagle would rest on the chains; and Solomon, 
by means of a ring on which God’s name was en- 
graved, would compel the two angels to reveal every 
mystery he desired to know.” According to an- 
other cabalistic legend, Solomon ordered a demon to 
convey down to the seven compartments of hell 
Hiram, King of Tyre, who on his re- 
Solomon’s turn revealed to Solomon all that he 
Eagle. (Hiram) had seen in the nether world 
(Zoliar ii. 112b-113a, iv. 233a, b; 
Naphtali b. Jacob Elkanan, “ ‘Ernek ba-Melek,” pp. 
5d, 112c, 147a; Jellinek, l.c. ii. 86). 

With reference to Solomon’s dominion overall the 
creatures of the world, including spirits, several 
stories are current, the best known of which is that 
of Solomon and the ant (Jellinek, l.c. v. 22 et seq.). 
It is narrated as follows: “When God appointed 
Solomon king over every created thing. He gave 
him a large carpet sixty miles long and sixty miles 
wide, made of green silk interwoven with pure gold, 

and ornamented with figured decorations. Sur- 
rounded by his four princes, Asaph b. Bereehiali, 
prince of men, Ramirat, prince of the demons, a lion, 
prince of beasts, and an eagle, prince of birds, when 
Solomon sat upon the carpet he was caught up by 
the wind, and sailed through the air 
Solomon’s so quickly that he breakfasted at 
Carpet. Damascus and supped in Media. One 
day Solomon was filled with pride at 
his own greatness and wisdom ; and as a punishment 
therefor the wind shook the carpet, throwing down 
40,000 men. Solomon chided the wind for the mis- 
chief it had done ; but the latter rejoined that the 
king would do well to turn toward God and cease to 
be proud; whereupon Solomon felt greatly ashamed. 

“ On another day while sailing over a valley where 


there were many swarms of ants, Solomon heard one 
ant say to the others, ‘ Enter your houses; otherwise 
Solomon’s legions will destroy you.’ The king 
asked why she spoke thus, and she answered that 
she was afraid if the ants looked at Solomon’s 
legions they might be turned from their duty of 
praising God, which would be disastrous to them. 
She added that, being the queen of the ants, she 
had in that capacity given them the order to retire. 
Solomon desired to ask her a question ; but she told 
him that it was not becoming for the interrogator to 
be above and the interrogated below. Solomon 
thereupon brought her up out of the valley ; but she 
then said it was not fitting that he should sit on a 
throne while she remained on the ground. Solomon 
now placed her upon his hand, and asked her whether 
there was any one in the world greater than he. The 
ant replied that she was much greater; otherwise 
God would not have sent him there to place her upon 
his hand. The king, greatly angered, threw her 
down, saying, ‘Dost thou know who I am? I am 
Solomon, the son of David!’ She answered: ‘I 
know that thou art created of a corrupted drop 
[comp. Ab. iii. 1] ; therefore thou ouglitest not to be 
proud.’ Solomon was filled with shame, and fell on 
his face. 

“Flying further, Solomon noticed a magnificent 
palace to which there appeared to be no entrance. 
He ordered the demons to climb to the roof and see. 
if tliej 7 could discover any living being within the- 
building. The demons found there only an eagle, 
which they took before Solomon. Being asked 
whether it knew of an entrance to the palace, the 
eagle said that it was 700 years old, but that it had 
never seen such an entrance. An elder brother of the 
eagle, 900 years old, was then found, but it also did 
not know the entrance. The eldest brother of 
these two birds, which was 1,300 years old, then de- 
clared it had been informed by its father that the 
door was on the west side, but that it had become 
hidden by sand drifted by the wind. Having discov- 
ered the entrance, Solomon found many inscriptions 
on the doors. In the interior of the palace was an 
idol having in its mouth a silver tablet which bore 
the following inscription in Greek : ‘ I, Shaddad, the 
son of ‘Ad, reigned over a million cities, rode on a. 
million horses, had under me a million vassals, and 
slew a million warriors, yet I could not resist the 
angel of death.’ ” 

Tlie most important of Solomon’s acts was liis- 
building of the Temple, in which he was assisted by 
angels and demons. Indeed, the edifice was through- 
out miraculously constructed, the large, heavy 
stones rising to and settling in their 
Solomon’s respective places of themselves (Ex. 

Temple. R. Iii. 3; Cant. R. l.c.). Tlie general 
opinion of the Rabbis is that Solomon 
hewed tlie stones by means of the Shamir, a worm 
whose mere touch cleft rocks. According to Mid- 
rash Tehillim (in Yalk., I Kings, 182), the sliamir 
was brought from paradise by the eagle ; but most 
of the rabbis state that Solomon was informed of 
the worm’s haunts through the chief of the demons, 
who was captured by Benaiah, Solomon’s chief 
minister (see Asmodeus). The chief of tlie demons, 
Ashmedai or Asmodeus, told Solomon that the- 



441 


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Solomon 


shamir had been entrusted by the prince of the 
sea to the mountain cock alone (the Hebrew 
equivalent in Lev. xi. 19 and Deut. xiv. 18 is ren- 
dered by A. V.“ lapwing ” and by R.V. “hoopoe ”), 
and that the cock had sworn to guard it well. 
Solomon’s men searched for the nest of the bird 
and, having found it, covered it with glass. The 
bird returned, and, seeing the entrance to its nest 
closed by what it supposed to be a glass door, 
brought the shamir for the purpose of breaking the 
glass. Just then a shout was raised; and the bird, 
being frightened, dropped the shamir, which the 
men carried off to the king (Git. 68b). 

Solomon, in his prophetic capacity, realized that 
the Temple would be destroyed by the Babylonians, 
and therefore he caused an underground recepta- 
cle to be built in which the Ark was afterward hid- 
den (Abravanel on I Kiugs vi. 19). For each of the 
ten candlesticks made by Solomon (I Kings vii. 49; 
II Cliron. iv. 7) he used 1,000 talents of gold, which, 
being passed 1,000 times through the furnace, be- 
came reduced to one talent. There is a difference 
of opinion among the Rabbis as to whether Solo- 
mon’s candlesticks were lit or only the one made 
by Moses, A similar difference exists with regard 
to Solomon’s ten tables, five of which were on one 
side and five on the other side of the table made by 
Moses (Men. 29a, 99b). Solomon planted in the 
Temple different kinds of golden trees -which bore 
fruit in their proper seasons. When the wind blew 
over them the fruit fell to the ground. Later, when 
the heathen entered the Temple to destroy it, these 
trees withered ; but they will flourish again on the 
advent of the Messiah (Yoma 21b). 

Even with regard to his noble act in building the 
Temple, however, Solomon did not escape the severe 
criticisms of the Tannaim. The construction of such 
a magnificent edifice, they said, filled Solomon with 
pride; consequently when he wished to introduce 
the Ark of the Covenant into the Sanctuary, the 
gates shrank to such an extent that it could not be 
brought in. Solomon then recited twenty-four 
hymns, but without avail. He then sang: “Lift up 
your heads, O ye gates ; . . . and the King of glory 
shall come in ” (Ps. xxiv. 7). The gates, thinking 
that Solomon applied to himself the term “ King of 
glory,” were about to fall on his head, when they 
asked him, “ Who is this King of glory ? ” Solomon 
answered: “The Lord strong and mighty,” etc. {ib. 
verseS). He then prayed : “ O Lord God,, turn not 
away the face of thine anointed, remember the mercies 

of David thy servant ” (II Cliron. vi. 42) ; and the Ark 
was admitted (Shab. 80a; Hum. R. xiv. 10; comp. 
Ex. R. viii. 1 and Tan., Wa’era, 6, wdiere tliishagga- 
dah is differently stated in the spirit of the Amoraim). 

The Tannaim lay particular stress on Solomon’s 
criminal act in marrying the daughter of Pharaoh, 
which they declare took place on the night when 
the Temple was completed. This assertion is at 
variance with Seder ‘Olam R. xv., where it is held 
that Solomon married her when he be- 
Solomon’s gan to build the Temple, that is, in the 
Marriage, fourth year of his reign (comp. I Kings 
vi. 1). The particular love which he 
manifested for her (comp. ib. xi. 1) was rather a de- 
praved passion; and she, more than all his other 


foreign wives, caused him to sin. He had drunk no 
wine during the seven years of the construction of 
the Temple ; but on the night of its completion he 
celebrated his wedding with so much revelry that 
its sound mingled before God with that of the Israel- 
ites w r ho celebrated the completion of the sacred 
edifice, and God at that time thought of destroying 
with the Temple the w 7 hole city of Jerusalem. Pha- 
raoh’s daughter brought Solomon 1,000 different 
kinds of musical instruments, explaining to him 
that each of them was used in the worship of a 
special idol. She hung over his bed a canopy em- 
broidered with gems which shone like stars; so that 
every time he intended to rise, lie, on looking at the 
gems, thought it w r as still night. He continued to 
sleep, with the keys of the Temple under his pil- 
low ; and the priests therefore were unable to offer 
the morning sacrifice. They informed his mother, 
Batli-sheba, who roused the king when four hours 
of the day had flown. She then reprimanded him 
for his conduct; and verses 1-9 of Prov. xxxi. are 
considered by the Rabbis as having been pronounced 
by Bath-sheba on that occasion. The destructive 
effect on the Temple of Solomon’s marriage to Pha- 
raoh’s daughter is further expressed in the following 
allegory : 44 When Solomon w r edded Pharaoh’s daugh- 
ter, Michael [another version has Gabriel] drove a rod 
into the bed of the sea; and the slime gathering 
around it formed an island on wdiicli, later, Rome 
[the enemy of Jerusalem] lvas built.” R. Jose, how- 
ever, declares that Solomon’s sole intention in this 
marriage w r as to convert the daughter of Pharaoh 
to Judaism, bringing her thus under the wings of 
the Shekinali (Sifre, Deut. 52; Yer. ‘Ab. Zarah i. 
39c; Shab. 56b; Yer. Sank. ii. 6; Sanh. 21b; Lev. 
R. xii. 4; Num. R. x. 8). 

Solomon’s throne is described at length in*Targum 
Sheni (Z.c.)and in two later midrasliim published by 
Jellinek (“B. H.” ii. 83-85, v. 33-39), 
Solomon’s the second also "by J. Perles (in “Mo* 

Throne, natsschrift, ” xxi. 122 et seq.). Ac- 
cording to Targum Sheni, which is 
compiled from three different sources, there were on 
the steps of the throne tw r elve golden lions (comp. 
Solomon, Biblical Data) and twelve golden eagles 
so placed that each lion faced an eagle. Another 
account says that there were seventy-tw 7 o lions and 
the same number of eagles. Further it is stated 
that there w r ere six steps to the throne (comp, ib.), on 
which animals, all of gold, were arranged in the fol- 
lowing order: on tlie first step a lion opposite an 
ox ; on the second, a w r olf opposite a slieep ; on tfie 
third, a tiger opposite a camel; on the fourth, an 
eagle opposite a peacock , on the fifth, a cat oppo- 
site a cock ; on the sixth, a sparrow-hawk opposite a 
dove. On the top of the throne w 7 as a dove holding 
a sparrow T -haw 7 k in its claws, symbolizing the domin- 
ion of Israel over the Gentiles. There w 7 as also on 
the top of the throne a golden candlestick, on the 
seven branches of the one side of which were en- 
graved the names of the seven patriarchs Adam. 
Noah, Shem, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Job, and 
on the seven of the other the names of Levi, Kohath, 
Amram, Moses, Aaron, Eldad, Medad, and, in addi- 
tion, Hur (another version has Haggai). Above the 
candlesticks w 7 as a golden jar filled with olive-oil 



Solomon 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


442 


and beneath it a golden basin which supplied the 
jar with, oil and on which the names of Nadab, 
Abihu, and Eli and his two sons were engraved. 
Over the throne, twenty-four vines were lixed to 
cast a shadow on the king’s head. By a mechanical 
contrivance the throne followed Solomon wherever 
he wished to go. 

The description given in the two midraskim men- 
tioned above differs somewhat from the foregoing. 
Referring to the words “Then Solomon sat on the 
throne of the Lord” (I Chron. xxix. 23b the second 
midrasli remarks that Solomon’s throne, like that of 
God, was furnished with the four figures represent- 
ing a man, a lion, an ox, and an eagle, with cheru- 
bim and wheels (comp. Ezek. i. 5 et seq.). While 
the first midrash agrees to a greater extent with 
Targum Slieni, the second one substitutes for the 
order in which the pairs of animals were arranged 
the following: a sheep and a wolf; a deer and a 
bear; a roebuck and an elephant; a buffalo and a 
griffin ; a man and a demon ; a mountain-cock and 
an eagle; a dove and a sparrow-hawk — the clean 
beasts and fowls being to the right and the unclean 
ones to the left of the throne. 

Solomon’s progress to his throne is similarly de- 
scribed in Targum Slieni and in the two midrashim. 
According to the former work, when the king 
reached the first step, the ox, by means of some sort 
of mechanism, stretched forth its leg, on which 
Solomon leaned, a similar action taking place in the 
case of the animals on each of the six steps. From 
the sixth step the eagles raised the king and placed 
him in his seat, near which a golden serpent lay 
coiled. When the king was seated the large eagle 
placed the crown on his head, the serpent uncoiled 
itself, and the lions and eagles moved upward to form 
a shade over him. The dove then descended, took 
the scroll of the Law from the Ark, and placed it on 
Solomon’s knees. When the king sat, surrounded 
by the Sanhedrin, to judge the people, the wheels 
began to turn, and the beasts and fowls began to 
utter their respective cries, which frightened those 
who had intended to bear false testimony. Moreover, 
while Solomon was ascending the throne, the lions 
scattered all kinds of fragrant spices. In the second 
midrash it is said : “ When Solomon wished to sit on 
his throne, the ox took him gently on 
The its horns and handed him over to the 
Mechanism lion, which in turn delivered him to 
of the the sheep, and so on until the seat was 

Throne, reached. Then the demon placed him 
on the seat, which was of gold studded 
with precious stones, and put under his feet a foot- 
stool of sapphire which he had brought from heaven 
[comp. Ex. xxiv. 10]. The six steps also were 
studded with precious stones and with crystal; and 
there were besides arches from which palm-trees 
arose high over the throne to make a shadow for the 
king’s head.” Both midrashim state that when Sol- 
omon was seated a silver serpent turned a wheel 
which caused the eagles to spread their wings over 
the king’s head. Then one lion placed the crown 
on his head, while another placed the golden scepter 
in his hand. It is explained in the first midrash 
that six steps were constructed because Solomon fore- 
saw that six kings would sit on the throne, namely, 


Solomon, Relioboam, Hezekiah, Manasseh, Amon, 
and Josiali. After Solomon’s death King Shisliak. 
when taking away the treasures of the Temple 
(comp. I Kings xiv. 26), carried off the throne, 
which remained in Egj r pt till Sennacherib conquered 
that country. After Sennacherib’s fall Hezekiah 
gained possession of it. When Josiah was slain by 
Pharaoh Neclio the latter took it away; but, not 
knowing the proper use of it, he was struck by one 
of the lions and became lame. Nebuchadnezzar, 
into whose possession the throne subsequently came, 
shared a similar fate. The throne then passed to 
the Persians, with whom it remained till it came into 
the possession of Ahasuerus, who, however, could 
not sit upon it (see also Num. R. xii. 21; Midi*. 
Abba Gorion to Esth. i. 2). 

The glory of so great a king as Solomon would 
have been incomplete, in the eyes of the later 
rabbis, had he not had, like the Roman emperors, a 
magnificent circus or hippodrome; and a description 
of his arena is given in the second of the tw T o mid- 
rashim mentioned above. According to R. Ze‘era, 
the circus was in use one day in every month, under 
the successive superintendence of each of the twelve 
commissaries who had to provide for the king’s 
household (comp. I Kings iv. 7 et seq.). In the 
thirteenth month of an embolismic year, for which 
there was a special commissary (see Rashi on I 
Kings iv. 19), there were no horse-races, but races 
were run by 10,000 young men of the 
His Hippo- tribe of Gad (or of Naphtali, accord- 

drome. ing to another opinion), “ the calves of 
whose legs were removed, rendering 
the runners so swift that no horse could compete 
with them.” The hippodrome was three parasangs 
long and three parasangs wide, and in the middle of 
it were two posts surmounted by cages in which all 
kinds of beasts and fowls were confined. Around 
these posts the horses had to run eight times. As to 
the day of the month on which the races took place 
—whether the last day, the first, the second, or the 
third— different opinions are expressed. Those fa- 
voring the last, first, and second days are supported 
by the fact that on those days Solomon used to flood 
the cisterns— on the last day of the month for the 
scholars and their pupils, for the priests and the 
Levites ; on the first day for the, Israelites who lived 
in Jerusalem ; and on the second day of the month 
for those who lived outside that city; the water 
which flowed from paradise was poured into the 
cisterns through the mouths of two golden lions, 
which, besides, exhaled a very fragrant odor. 

There were four companies of charioteers, each 
containing 4,000 men divided into smaller groups; 
these were placed on separate platforms arranged 
one above the other. Facing each company were 
two doors of olive-wood in which different kinds of 
precious stones were set, and which were decorated 
with gold and with all kinds of carved figures. The 
spectators also were divided into four groups: (1) the 
king with his household, the scholars, the priests, 
and the Levites, dressed in blue; (2) the people of 
Jerusalem,, dressed in white; (3) the people who 
lived outside Jerusalem, dressed in red ; and (4) the 
Gentiles who from distant countries brought pres- 
ents to Solomon, and who were dressed in green. 



443 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Solomon 


These four colors symbolized the four seasons of 
the year— autumn, winter, spring, and summer 
(comp. Peries, l.c. notes). 

The meeting of Solomon and the Queen of Sheba 
is narrated in Targum Slieni as follows: “Solomon, 
when merry from wine, used to assemble before him 
all the kings, his vassals, and at the same time 
ordered all the other living creatures of the world to 
dance before them. One day, the king, 
Solomon observing that the mountain-cock or 
and the hoopoe was absent, ordered that the 
Queen of bird be summoned forthwith. When it 
Sheba. arrived it declared that it had for three 
months been flying hither and thither 
seeking to discover some country not yet subjected 
to Solomon, and had at length found a land in the 
East, exceedingly rich in gold, silver, and plants, 
whose capital was called “Kitor” and whose ru- 
ler was a woman, known as ‘ the Queen of Saba 
[Sheba].’ The bird suggested that it should fly to 
the queen and bring her to Solomon. The. king 
approved this proposal ; and Solomon, accordingly, 
caused a letter to be tied to the hoopoe’s wing, which 
the bird delivered to the queen toward the eve- 
ning as she was going out to make her devotions to 
the sun. Having read the letter, which was couched 
in somewhat severe terms, she immediately con- 
voked a council of her ministers. Then she freighted 
several vessels with all kinds of treasures, and se- 
lected 0,000 boys and girls, all of the same age, 
stature, and dress, and sent them with a letter to 
Solomon, acknowledging her submission to him and 
promising to appear before him within three years 
from that date, ... On being informed of her 
arrival, Solomon sent his chief minister, Benaiali, to 
meet her, and then seated himself in a glass pa- 
vilion. The queen, thinking that the king was 
sitting in water, lifted her dress, which caused 
Solomon to smile.” 

It is stated in I Kings x. 1 that the queen came to 
propound riddles to Solomon : the text of these is given 
by the Rabbis.. A Yemenite manuscript entitled 
“ Midrash Iia-Hefez ” (published by S. Schecliter in 
“Folk-Lore,” 1890, pp. 358 etseq.) gives nineteen rid- 
dles, most of which are found scattered through the 
Talmud and the Midrash . and which the author of 
the “Midrash lia-Hefez” attributes to the Queen of 
Saba (Sheba). The first four riddles are also given 
in Midrash Mislile i. 1 , where their transmission is 
attributed to R. Islimael. See Sheba, Queen of. 

The Rabbis who denounce Solomon interpret I 
Kings x. 13 as meaning that Solomon had criminal 
intercourse with the Queen of Sheba, the offspring 
of which was Nebuchadnezzar, who desti*03 r ed the 
Temple (comp. Rashi ad loc.). Solomon’s champions, 
on the other hand, deny the whole story of the Queen 
of Sheba and of the riddles, and interpret the words 
“ Malkat Sheba” as meaning “the Kingdom of 
Sheba”; that is to say, the kingdom of Sheba 
offered its submission to Solomon (B. B. 15b). Ac- 
cording to the same rabbis, the sin ascribed to Solo- 
mon in I Kings xi. 7 et seq. is only figurative: it is 
not meant that Solomon fell into idolatry, but that 
he was guilty of failing to restrain his wives from 
idolatrous practises (Sliab. 56b). Still, the legend 
prevalent in rabbinical literature is that Solomon 


lost his royalty, riches, and even his reason on ac- 
count of his sins. This legend is based on the words 
“I, Kolielet, was king over Israel in 

Solomon Jerusalem ” (Eccl. i. 12, Hebr.), which 
Loses His show that when he uttered them he 
Kingship. v r as no longer king. He gradually 
fell from the highest glory into the 
deepest misery. At first, Solomon reigned over the 
inhabitants of the upper world as well as over those 
of the lower; then only over the inhabitants of the 
earth ; later over Israel only ; then he retained only 
his bed and his stick ; and finally his stick alone was 
left to him (Sanh. 20b). 

The Rabbis do not agree, however, as to whether 
Solomon died in poverty or returned to his throne. 
He “saw three worlds,” which, according to one 
opinion, means that he was successively a private per- 
son, a king, and again a private man. According 
to a contrary opinion, he was king, private person, 
and again king (Sanh. l.c . ; Git. 68b; Eccl. R. i. 12), 
Solomon’s ejection from the throne is stated in Ruth 
R. ii. 14 as having occurred because of an angel who 
assumed his likeness and usurped his dignity. Sol- 
omon meanwhile v T ent begging from house to house 
protesting that he was the king. One day a woman 
put before him a dish of ground beans and beat his 
head with a stick, saying, “Solomon sits on his 
throne, and yet thou claimest to be the king.” Git- 
tin (l.c.) attributes the loss of the throne to Asmodeus, 
who, after his capture by Benaiali, remained a pris- 
oner with Solomon. One day the king asked Asmo- 
deus wherein consisted the demons’ superiority over 
men ; and Asmodeus replied that he would demon- 
strate it if Solomon would remove his chains and give 
him the magic ring. Solomon agreed ; whereupon As- 
modeus swallowed the king (or the ring, according 
to another version), then stood up with one wing 
touching heaven and the other extending to the 
earth, spat Solomon to a distance of 400 miles, 
and finally seated himself on the throne. Solomon’s 
persistent declaration that he was the king at length 
attracted the attention of the Sanhedrin. That body, 
discovering that it was not the real Solomon who oc- 
cupied the throne, placed Solomon thereon and gave 
him another ring and chain on which the Holy Name 
was written. On seeing these Asmodeus flew away 
(see Asmodeus, and the parallel sources there ci- 
ted). Nevertheless Solomon remained in constant 
fear; and he accordingly surrounded his bed with 
sixty armed warriors (comp. Cant. iii. 7). This 
legend is narrated in “ ‘Emek ha-Melek ” (pp. 14d- 
15a; republished by Jcllinek, l.c. ii. 

Solomon 86-87) as follows: “Asmodeus threw 
and the magic ring into the sea, where it 
Asmodeus. was swallowed by a fish. Then he 
threw the king a distance of 400 miles. 
Solomon spent three years in exile as a punishment 
for transgressing the three prohibitive command- 
ments [see above]. He wandered from city to city 
till he arrived at Maslikemam, the capital of the 
Ammonites. One day, while standing in a street of 
that city, he was observed by the king’s cook, who 
took him by force to the royal kitchen and compelled 
him to do’ menial work. A few days later Solo- 
mon, alleging that he was an expert in cookery, ob- 
tained the cook’s permission to prepare a new dish. 



Solomon 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


444 


Tlie king of the Ammonites was so pleased with it 
that he dismissed his cook and appointed Solomon 
in his place. A little later, Naamali, the king’s 
daughter, fell in love with Solomon. Her family, 
supposing him to be simply a cook, expressed strong 
disapproval of the girl’s behavior; but she persisted 
in her wish to marry Solomon, and when she had done 
so the king resolved to kill them both. Accordingly 
at his orders one of his attendants took them to the 
desert and left them there that they might die of hun- 
ger. Solomon and his wife, however, escaped star- 
vation ; for they did not remain in the desert. They 
ultimately reached a maritime city, where they 
bought a fish for food. In it they found a ring on 
which was engraved the Holy Name and which was 
immediately recognized by Solomon as his own ring. 
He then returned to Jerusalem, drove Asmodeus 
away, and reoccupied his throne.” It may be no- 
ticed that this story also is at variance with I Kings 
xiv. 21, where it appears that Solomon had married 
Naamali in David’s lifetime. According to Midrash 
al-Yithallel (Jellinek, lx. vi. 106 et seq.), God sent 
Asmodeus to depose Solomon, as a punishment for 
the king’s sin. Agreeing with Git. lx. as to the 
means by which the fraud of Asmodeus was exposed, 
the narrative continues as follows (Midr. al-Yit- I 
liallel, lx.)\ “Benaiah sent for Solomon, and asked 
him how his deposition had happened. Solomon re- 
plied that when sitting one day in his ]3alace a storm 
had hurled him to a great distance and that since 
then he had been deprived of his reason. Benaiah 
then asked him for a sign, and he said : 'At the time 
of my coronation my father placed one of my hands 
in thine and the other in that of Nathan the prophet ; 
then my mother kissed my father’s head.’ These 
facts having been ascertained to be true, Benaiah 
directed the Sanhedrin to write the Holy Name on 
pieces of parchment and to wear them on their breasts 
and to appear with them before the king. Benaiah, 
who accompanied them, took his sword and with it 
struck Asmodeus. Indeed, he would have killed 
the latter had not a bat kol cried: ‘ Touch him not: 
he only executed my commands.’ ” 

The disagreement among the Babbis with regard 
to the personality of Solomon extends also to his 
future life (“ ‘olam lia-ba ”). According to Rab, the 
members of the Great Synagogue purposed inclu- 
ding Solomon among those denied a share in the 
future life, when the image of David 
His Final appeared, imploring them not to do 
Fate. so. The vision, however, was not 
heeded ; nor was a fire from heaven, 
which licked the seats on which they sat, regarded 
until a bat kol forbade them to do as they had pur- 
posed (Sanli. 104b; Yer. Sanh. x. 2; Gant. R. i. 1). 

On the other hand, Solomon is considered to resem- 
ble his father in that all his sins were forgiven by 
God (Cant. R. lx.). Moreover, David is said to have 
left a son worthy of him (B. B. 116a). When R. 
Eliezer was asked for his opinion of Solomon’s fu- 
ture life, he gave his pupils an evasive answer, 
showing that he had formed no opinion concerning 
it (Tosef., Yeb. iii. 4; Yoma 66b; comp. Tos. acl 
loc.). 

The Rabbis attribute to Solomon the follow- 
ing “takkanot”: ‘erubin (see ‘Erub); washing of 


hands; the recitation of the passage beginning 
“We-‘al lia-bayit lia-gadol” and, together with 
David, of that beginning “ U-bene Yerushalayim,”' 
both of which occur in the benediction recited after 
a meal (Ber. 48b; Sliab. 14b; ‘Er. 21b). 


±>II>LICKjKAPII x \ uw a nu. xoco/, yp. vi set/.; JUS6U-* 

ineug-er, Entdecktes Judenthum , i. a50 et seq., ii. 440 et seq • 
R. Farber, KOnig Salomon in der Tradition , Vienna, 1902* 
M. Grunbaum, Gcsammelte Aufsiitze zur Sprach- und Sa~ 
genkunde , pp. 22 et seq., 167 et seq., Berlin, 1901 ; idem, Neue 
Beitriige zur Semitischen Saqenhunde, pp. 190 et seq., ib 
1893; E. Hoffmann, Salamon Kirdly Legenddna, Budapest! 
1890; Steinschneider, Hebi\ Bibl. xviii. 38, 57. 

W. B. M. Sel. 


In Ar abic. Liter atur e : Solomon is the sub- 
ject of a large number of traditions and legends in 
Arabic literature, in which he completely overshad- 
ows in importance his father, David. Solomon is 
spoken of as the messenger of God (“rasul Allah ”), 
and is in a way a prototype of Mohammed. Hence 
the importance assigned to his relations with the 
Queen of Sheba, the submission of whose country is 
taken to mean the submission of Arabia. The letter 
addressed to her, summoning her to accept Islam, 
begins with the same formula (“Bi-ism Allah al- 
Raliman al-Raliim ”) as that used in the documents 
issued by Mohammed. The name Solomon is given 
to all great kings, and it is related that there were a 
number of Solomons, or universal kings, who lived 
before the creation of Adam(D’Herbelot, in “Biblio- 
theque Orientale,” v. 369). 

Solomon is represented as having authority over 
spirits, animals, wind, and water, all of which 
obeyed his orders by virtue of a magic ring set with 
the four jewels given him by the an- 
Miraculous gels that had power over these four 
Power. realms. A similar ring is mentioned 
in stories of the “Arabian Nights.” 
The power inherent in the ring is shown by tlie fol- 
lowing story: It was Solomon’s custom to take off 
the ring when lie was about to wrnsh, and to give it to 
one of his wives, Amina, to hold. On one occasion, 
when the ring w T as in Amina’s keeping, the rebel- 
lious spirit Sakhr took -on Solomon’s form and ob- 
tained the ring. He then seated himself on the 
throne and ruled for forty days, during which time 
the real king wandered about the country, poor and 
forlorn. On the fortieth day Sakhr dropped the 
ring into the sea ; there it w^as swallowed by a fish, 
which was caught by a poor fisherman and given to 
Solomon for his supper. Solomon cut open the fish, 
found tlie ring, and returned to power. His forty 
days’ exile had been sent in punishment for the 
idolatry practised in his house for forty days, al- 
though unknown to him, by one of his wives 
(Koran, sura xxxviii, 33-34; Baida wi, ii. 187; 
Tabari, “ Annales,” ed. De Goeje, i. 592 et seq.). 

Solomon’s superiority to David is shown in his 
judgments. While still a child he renders decisions 
reversing those previously given by 
As a his father, as in the famous case, related 
Judge. in the Old Testament, of the two 
women claiming the one child. In the 
Arabic tradition a wolf has carried away the child 
of one of the women, both of whom claim a sur- 
viving child. David decides in favor of the eider 
woman, but Solomon starts to divide the child w T ith 
a knife, whereupon the younger w r oman protests and 



445 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Solomon 


receives the child (Bokhan, “ Recueil des Traditions 
Mahometanes, ” ii, 364, Leyden, 1864). So in the 
decision regarding the sheep which has devastated 
a field (sura xxi. 78, 79 ; Baida wi, i. 621 ; Tabari, 
lx. i. 573), and in the judgment concerning the treas- 
ure discovered in a field after it has been sold, and 
which is claimed by both buyer and seller (Weil, 
“Biblical Legends of the Mussulmans,” p. 192), 
.Solomon’s opinion is held to be superior to David’s. 
When the judges of tlie realm objected to having 
•one so young interfere in their counsels, David pro- 
posed that Solomon be examined publicly before a 
tribunal of lawyers. This was done, whereupon 
;Solomon not only answered all questions as soon as 
they were put, but confounded his judges by asking 
them questions which they could not answer (Weil, 
l.c. pp. 193-196). 

In Arabic tradition, unlike the Biblical and later 
Jewish, Solomon is a great warrior. V arious warlike 
expeditions of his are mentioned, and 
As a it was the daughter of the conquered 
Warrior. King of Sidon who introduced idolatry 
into his house. His love for horses 
led him to forget at one time the afternoon prayer 
-(sura xxxviii. 30-31) : he had become so much in- 
terested in inspecting a thousand horses drawn up 
before him that the time for prayer passed un- 
noticed ; in repentance therefor he killed the horses. 
•On another occasion lie boasted that seventy wives 
would bear him seventy sons, every one of whom 
would be a warrior. Unfortunately he forgot to 
.add “if God will,” in consequence of which he had 
only one son, who was misshapen and unfit to be 
a soldier (Bokhari, l.c . ii. 364; Baidawi, ii. 187). 

Solomon’s interview with the Queen of Sheba 
.and the events leading up to it are narrated in great 
detail, as befitting their importance in 
Queen of the history of Islam. Solomon in a 
Sheba. dream is advised by Abraham (accord- 
ing to some, after the building of the 
Temple) to undertake a pilgrimage to Mecca. After 
completing this he proceeds to Yemen, being car- 
ried by the winds through the air on a green silk 
carpet, upon which are assembled men, beasts, 
and devils, while birds fly overhead in close ranks, 
;SO as to form a canopy. On the journey Solo- 
mon notices the absence of the hoopoe, or lapwing 
{Arabic “hudhud”), and threatens it with dire pun- 
ishment, When the bird returns it appeases the 
king’s anger by reporting the wonderful things it 
has beheld, telling of Queen Bilkis, her marvelous 
history and beauty, and of her kingdom. Solomon 
•at once despatches the bird with a letter to Bilkis, 
bidding her embrace the faith or prepare to be con- 
quered by his hosts. She devises various plans 
to test his reputed knowledge, but finally, being 
•satisfied that he is all that is claimed for him and 
more, submits herself with her kingdom to Solomon. 
An account of the splendor of the reception accorded 
Bilkis by Solomon and of the puzzles and riddles 
which she propounded and he solved may be found 
in sura xxvii. 15-45 and the commentaries on that 
passage (Baidawi and Zamakhshari), in Tabari, i. 576— 
586, and elsewhere. For other stories concerning 
Solomon, his dealings with the spirit Sakhr, his 
building of the Temple, the stone which cut stone 


without noise, and a comparison of Solomon with 
Jemshid (comp. Grunbaum), see the works men- 
tioned in the bibliography below. 

Solomon died at the age of fifty-three, having 
reigned forty years. As the building of the Temple 
was not finished at his death and he 
Death, of was afraid that the jinn would not 
Solomon, continue to work thereon if he were 
not there to command them, the angel 
of death took his soul while he was leaning upon 
liis staff, praying. His body remained in that posi- 
tion a year, until the jinn had finished the Temple, 
when a worm that had been gnawing at the staff 
caused it to crumble to pieces; Solomon’s body fell, 
and the jinn discovered that he was dead. It is 
said that Solomon collected the books of magic that 
were scattered throughout his realm, and locked 
them in a box, which he put under his throne to 
prevent their being used. After his death the jinn, 
so as to make people believe that Solomon had been 
a sorcerer, declared that these books had been used 
by him ; many believed the statement to be true, 
but the accusation was a malicious falsehood. 


Bibliography: Bokbari, Recueil des Traditions Mahome- 
tanes , ed. Krehl, Leyden, 1864 : commentaries on the Koran 
(Baidawi and Zamakhshari) ; D’Herbelot, in Bibliotheque Ori- 
entate , v. 367-375; M. Grunbaum, Neue BeitrUge zur Seiixi- 
tischen Sagenkuncle , pp. 189-240, Leyden, 1893 (cites Arabic 
authors); Hughes, Dictionary of Islam ; Koran , suras xxi. 
81,82; xxvii. 15-45; xxxiv. 11-13; xxxviii. 29-30; Tabari, An- 
nates, ed. De Goeie, i. 572-597 (see also Index); Weil, Biblical 
Legends of the Mussulmans , pp. 200-248. _ w 

E. G. H. M. W. M. 


— —Critical View; Tlie Biblical data concerning the 
character and deeds of Solomon are not of uniform 
historical value. As authentic beyond question 
must pass the account of his elevation to the throne 
(II Sam. xii. 24; I Kings i. 5 et seq .) ; the violent re- 
moval of Adoni jah, the rightful heir, as well as of his 
supporters (ib. i. 6; ii. 13 et seq ., 28); and the murder 
of Joab and Shirnei (ib. ii. 36 et seq.). 
Murder of That in resorting to these measures Sol- 
Joab and omon merely executed his father’s in- 

Shimei. junction is an afterthought (ib. ii. 5 et 
seq.) interpolated to cleanse Solomon’s 
memory from the stigma. This is apparent through 
comparison with the more trustworthy accounts of 
tlie manner in which Solomon’s agents were rewarded 
(Benaiah, ib. ii. 35, iv.4; Zadok, ib. iv. 4; Nathan’s 
sons, ib. iv. 5). That Solomon showed political sa- 
gacity is authenticated by the narratives, resting 
on good foundations, concerning his alliances by 
treaty or marriage with neighboring dynasties, the 
erection of fortresses, and the organization of his 
army after Egyptian models (see Eduard Meyer, 
“Gesch. des Alterthums,” i., § 319); and under him 
the process of absorbing the non-Hebrew aboriginal 
population was carried to a certain culmination 
which contributed not a little toward making his 
reign a peaceful one (I Kings ix. 20). Similar! y the 
story of his extensive building operations (ib. v i. 1, 
ix. 11) and that of the redistricting of the empire for 
taxing purposes reflect actual conditions. 

A critical sifting of the sources leaves the picture 
of a petty Asiatic'despot, remarkable, perhaps, only 
for a love of luxury and for polygamous inclinations. 
Solomon certainly could not hinder Edom’s inde- 
pendence under Hadad (I Kings xi. 14 et seq .) — an 



Solomon 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


event wliicli could not have taken place at the begin- 
ning of his reign ; otherwise the Hebrew king could 
not have sailed from Ezion-geber. The rise of Damas- 
cus (ib. xi. 23 et seq.) was another fatal check to liis 
foreign policy. His naval excursions were planned 
not so much with a view to promoting commerce 
as with an eye to securing the appointments regarded 
as indispensable for the proper equipment of the 
court of an Oriental despot {ib. x. 22, 28 et seq. ; II 
Cliron. i. 16 et seq.). Nor was the building of the 
Temple an act of particular devotion to Yhwh, as 
the facts show that Solomon did not 
The scruple to erect sanctuaries to other 
Building- deities (I Kings xi. 4 et seq.). These edi- 
of the flees contributed to the splendor of the 
Temple, capital, and were a source of revenue 
to the court; but Solomon’s admin- 
istration of the country, by its disregard of the old 
tribal units and its unequal assessment of taxes, 
rearoused the slumbering jealousy and discontent 
of the northern section, and did more than anything 
else to disrupt David’s empire. 

Later, when the Temple had actually become the 
religious center of the Judean kingdom, its builder, 
Solomon, was naturally credited with the religious 
convictions of the age. The prayer at the dedica- 
tion (ib. viii. 14 et seq.) reflects the Deuteronomic 
prophetic point of view. The young Solomon is 
represented in this Deuteronomic historiography as 
one of the wisest of men {< e.g ., in the narratives of 
his dream and of his judgment), far famed for his 
weal tli, which was the reward for his craving for 
wisdom, but still more renowned for his wonderful 
sagacity, his proverbs and sayings, so 
In the Deu- that the Queen of Sheba could mot re- 
teronomic sisttlie desire to pay him a visit. Ae- 
Histori- cording to this historiography, onty 
ography. after old age had robbed him of his 
mental powers did Solomon fall a vic- 
tim to the blandishments of the alien women in his 
harem, and thus was held accountable for the em- 
pire’s decline (ib. xi. 1 et seq.). 

Deut. xvii. 14 gives a more accurate account of the 
conditions under Solomon. Later, the Chronicler re- 
moves every reproach from Solomon. He does not 
mention Adorn* jail’s assassination, the rebellion of 
Hadad and llezon, or Solomon’s idolatry and polyg- 
amy. In keeping with the tendency to connect some 
great man with certain literary compositions—*?.#., 
Moses with the Law, David with the Psalms— Solo- 
mon now passes for the author par excellence of 
gnomic sayings— of the Proverbs and even of other 
“ Wisdom ” books, Ecclesiastes, the Song of Songs, 
and Psalms (Ps. lxxii., cxxvii. ; comp, the Psalms op 
Solomon). Later rabbinical and Mohammedan lore 
continues along similar lines to establish Solomon 
as a veritable wonder of wisdom, learning, power, 
and splendor (comp. Stade, “ Gescliichte des Voikes 
Israel,” i. 310 et seq.). E. G. H. 

Apocryphal Works: Solomon, ha Adng been 

the wise king par excellence, was regarded later as 
the author of various works treating of all the 
sciences and particularly of magic. The legend of 
Solomon and Asmodeus (see Solomon in Rabbin- 
ical Literature) was current as early as the time 
of Josephus, who states (“Ant.” viii. 2, § 5) that 


God enabled Solomon to acquire skill to expel de- 
mons and that he left collections of incantations and 
directions as to the use of exorcisms (comp. Origen, 
“Epistolaad Mattlieam,” xxvi. 63; Nicetas Clioni- 
ates, “Annales,” p. 95). Other writings of Solo- 
mon are quoted by Eusebius (“Proeparatio Evan- 
gelica,” ix. 31), Suidas (s.v. ’E &/tiag), and Michael 
Glycas (“Annales,” ii. 183), while Maimonides 
(“Yad,” Kiddush ha-Hodesh, xvii., and elsewhere) 
ascribes to Solomon works on mathematics, and 
Shem-Tob Falaquera (in “Sefer ha-Ma‘alot”) at- 
tributes to him works on physics and theology. 

The chief source of the pseudo -Solomonic works 
is Arabic literature, in which connection the leg- 
end that Solomon was the inventor of the Arabic 
and Syriac scripts is of interest. It is, 
Arabic indeed, supposed by tlie Arabs that 
Works. Solomon wrote orginally in Arabic va- 
rious scientific works. Abraham Jagel 
in the fourth part of his “ Bet Ya‘ar ha-Lebanon ” 
(quoted in “Kerem Hemed,” ii. 41 et seq.) says that 
Solomon wrote his scientific works in another lan- 
guage than Hebrew so that they might be under- 
stood by the foreign kings who came to hear his 
wisdom (comp. I Kings v. 14). Besides two works 
of Solomon quoted in the Zohar (see below). Johanan 
Allemanno enumerates in “Sha'ar ha-Heshek,” the 
introduction to his “ Hesliek Shelomoh, ” thirty works 
of Solomon taken chiefly from the writings of Abu 
Allah al-Sarakosti and Apollonius of Tyana. The 
Arabic work of the former on palm-trees, the title 
of which was probably “Kitab al-Nakhlah,” Avas 
translated (in the fourteenth century ?) into HebreAV 
under the title “Sefer lia-Tamar” or “Sefer ha Te- 
marim.” The chief authority in this work is Solo- 
mon; and the author, besides, quotes tAventy aph- 
orisms (“ma’amarim”) of that king, each of which, 
with the exception of the first, refers to a special 
work. There is, hoAvevcr, a difference, with regard 
to the titles of a feAV works, between the “Sefer ha- 
Temarim” and the “Sha‘ar ha Hesliek” as well as 
between the tAvo manuscripts of the latter work. 
Several other works ^scribed to Solomon are enu- 
merated by Fabricius iu his “Codex Pseudepi- 
graplms Veteris Testament!,” i. 1014 et seq. 

The following is a list of the pseudo- Solomonic 
works, beginning Avitli those Avhieli are better 
known : (1) “Sifra di-Slielomoh Malka,” or “The 
Book of King Solomon,” quoted in the Zohar (i. 76b 
et passim , iii. 10b et passim). As this work is. once 
(iii. 193b) referred to as “ Sifra de-Hokmeta di-Shclo* 
moh Malka,” i.e., “The Book of Wisdom of King 
Solomon,” it would seem that the Wisdom of Sol- 
omon is meant (comp. Wolf, “ Bibl. Hebr. ” iii. 1033). 

(2) “Sifra de-Ashmedai,” a work quoted in the 
Zohar under various titles signifying respectively 
“The Book of Asmodeus, Which He Gave to King 
Solomon” (Zohar iii. 194b), “The Book of Asmodeus 
the King ” (ib. 77a), “ The Magic Book of Asmodeus ” 
(ib. iii. 43a), “The Magic Book Which Asmodeus 
Taught King Solomon” (ib. ii. 128a), and, finally, 
“The Book Which Asmodeus Left for King Solo- 
mon ” (ib. iii. 19a). This work is supposed to be the 
book of magic containing formulas for subjugating 
demons and the authorship of which is so often 
ascribed to Solomon; it may be identical Avith the 



447 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Solomon 


“Kitab al-'Uhud,” mentioned by D’Herbelot in bis 
“Bibliothequc Oriental e ” (comp. Wolf. l.c. iii. 1035). 

(3) “ Sefer lia-Refu’ot, ” on medicaments. This work, 
which is referred to by Abu Aflah in liis citation of 
the fourteenth of Solomon’s aphorisms, is known 

from other sources also; thus Nah- 
Hebrew manides, also, in the introduction to 
Works. liis commentary on the Pentateuch 
mentions the “ Sefer lia-Refu’ot ” writ- 
ten by Solomon. Abraham Jagei ( l.c .) relates that 
in his time there came to Rome, from the King of 
Armenia to Pope Clement YIII., an envoy who dis- 
paraged the European physicians, declaring that in 
his own country they used medical works left to 
them by Solomon which were more nearly complete 
and more systematic than the European works. Ja- 
gei thinks it is quite possible that the Armenians 
might possess medical works of Solomon inasmuch 
as they have always remained in their own country, 
while the Jews, being driven from one country to 
another, would be likely to lose them. It is very likely 
that this is the book of medicine which Hezekiali con- 
cealed (see Hezekiah in Rabbinical Literature). 
Closely connected with the last-mentioned work is 

(4) “Sefer Raziel,” as at the end of the description 
of the book of medicine transmitted by the angel 
Raziel to Noah (Jellinek, “B. II.” iii. 160; see Noaii 
in Apocryphal and Rabbinical Literature) it 
is said: “To Solomon was revealed the book of se- 
crets [“Sefer ha-Razim”] by means of which he 
ruled over demons and everything in the world ” 
(see Raziel, Book op). It seems that the authority 
who ascribed the “Book of Raziel” to Solomon con- 
founded “ Sefer Raziel ” and “ Sefer lia-Razim. ” (5) 
“Mafteah Shelomoh,” containing incantations, and 
mentioned by Gedaliah ibn Yahya (** Shalshelet lia- 
Kabbalah,” p. 80a, Amsterdam, 1697) as extant in 
Hebrew. This work exists in various translations 
(Latin, French, Italian, ami German), mid consists 
mainly of two parts: the first containing secrets 
useful for every kind of divination; the second, dif- 
ferent kinds of pentacles. The title in the Latin 
and German translations is “ Claviculoe Salomonis,” 
extended in the German translation of 1626 to “ Cla 
vicuhxj Salomonis et Theosopliia Pneumatica.” In 
the Latin translation is a long introduction in the 
form of a dialogue between Solomon and his son 
Rehoboam in which the title of the work is cited as 
“ Secretum Secretorum ” (Secret of Secrets). “ But,” 

Solomon says, “I named it also ‘ Cla- 
The ‘ 1 Cla- vicula,’ because, like a key which 
viculae opens a treasure, so this work intro- 
Salo- duces thee into the magical arts. ” The 
monis.” introduction says further that when 
the Babylonian philosophers decided 
to renew Solomon’s tomb, they found therein this 
work, enclosed in an ivory case; but that none of 
them could understand it, they being unworthy to 
possess it. Then one of them, the Greek Zoe, pro- 
posed that they should fast and pray to God for in- 
telligence. Zoe alone, however, carried out this 
proposal; and an angel revealed to him the mys 
teries of the book. 

The following four works are mentioned by Alle- 
manno as quoted by Apollonius: (6) “Behirat lia- 
Middot,” on the choice of attributes, perhaps identi- 


cal with the “Sefer ha-Behirol” quoted by Abu 
Aflah. (7) “ Ha-Mar’ot ha-Elyonot ” (The Upper Mir-- 
rors). (8) “ Yemli’usli” (?). (9) “ Melakah Eloliit,” 
or “The Divine Work.” All these four works are 
supposed to have been written by Solomon at the 
angels’ dictation. Steinsclmeider thinks that the 
“Melakah Elohit” was composed by Apollonius 
himself, and that it may be identical with the work 
cited by Allemanno in another passage of the “ Sha- 
*ar ha- Heshek ” as “ Meleket Muskelet. ” According 
to Sylvestre de Sacy (in “ Notices et Extraits des 
Manuscrits Arabes,” iv. 119), the full Arabic title of 
this work is “Sirr al-Khalikak wa-Sana‘at al-Tabi- 
‘ali” (The Secret of Creation and the Work of Na- 
ture). It is therefore identical with a work which 
is ascribed to Solomon and the Hebrew title of which 
is “Sod ha-Tib‘im,” mentioned in Jacob Provencal’s 
responsum published in the “ Dibre Hakamim ” 
(Metz, 1849) of Eliezer Ashkenazi. (10) “Sefer ha- 
Mizpon, ” a work on alchemy. The other works 
quoted by Abu Aflah are : (11) “ Sefer ha-Nisyonot,” 
on experiments ; (12) “ Sefer lia-Ziknah, ” on old age ; 
(18) “Sefer lia-Meshalim,” on parables; (14) “Sefer 
ha-Shelemut,” on perfection ; (15) “ Sefer ha-Ma‘ala- 
lim,” or “The Book of Works”; (16) “Sefer lia- 
Yihud,” on unity; (17) “Sefer ha-Derishah,” on re- 
search; (18) “Sefer Keri’at lia-Sliemirah,” on the 
observance of certain customs; (19) “Sefer lia-Ra- 
zon,” on the will; (20) “Sefer Gilluiha Sliakrut,” on 
the detection of falsehood ; (21) “ Sefer ha-Yashar ” : 
(22) “ Sefer ha-Bakkashah,” on supplication, missing 
in Allemauno’s list; (23) “Sefer lia-Enuinah,” on 
fait.li ; (24) “ Sefer ha-Behirot ” (comp. No. 6) ; (25) 
“Sefer lia-Nebu’ah,” on prophecy, not mentioned 
by Steinsclmeider; (26) “Sefer Shemirut lia-Zeruz,” 
on promptness; (27) “Sefer Kittot ha-Hakamim,” 
on the various sects of wise men; (28) “ Sefer lia- 
Takliyot,” on the end of all things. Allemanno calls 
attention to three works of Solomon 
Works particularly recommended by sages, 
Indorsed one of which is the “Sefer Raziel” 
by (see No. 4) and the other two are (29) 
the Sages. “Meleket Muskelet” (comp. No. 9), 
and (30) “Sefer ha-Almadil.” This 
title, probably from the Arabic “al-mudliil” (= 
“the secret reveaier”), figures in the Latin manu- 
script No. 765 of the Leipsic Library (“Catalogo 
Kiilitzii,” No. 11) as “ Almodal de Duodecim Choris 
Augelorum in Aquis Supra-Ccelestibus.” Wolf 
{l.c. i. Ill) calls the work “ Almandel,” deriving it 
from the Arabic “al-mandal ” (= “a circle ”), that is 
to say, the circle described by magicians on the 
ground and in the center of which they sit when in 
voking demons. The Leipsic catalogue enumerates 
the following works by Solomon: (31) “Speculum 
Salomonis” (in German), on metallurgy (comp. No. 
7); (32) “Preparatio Speculi Salomonis lnsignis,” 
also in German; (33) “Semiphoras" (EHDDn 
that is to say, the Tetragrammaton, a treatise m 
German on the unutterable name of God; (34) 
“Septem Sigilla Planetarum”; (35) “Anelli Negro- 
mantici dal Salomone ” (in Italian), on necromancy; 

(36) “ Verum Clialdaicum Yinculum,” also with the 
German title “ Walirhafte Zubereitung des so Genan- 
ten Cinguli Salomonis oder Salomons Sclilange”; 

(37) “Beschwerungen der Olympischen Geister” 



Solomon, Seal of 
Solomon ben Abraham 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


448 


(38) “Salomonis Trismosini,” called in the Leyden 
catalogue (p. 367) “Criszmosin,” and described as a 
treatise on colors; Wolf (lx. iv. 983), however, de- 
scribes it as a cabalistic work. 

Albertus Magnus in his “Speculum Astrologi- 
cum ” (quoted by Fabricius, l.c. p. 1051) mentions 
the following four works of Solomon's: (39) “Liber 
Quatuor Annulorum”; (40) “De Novem Candariis 
[Candelariis ?]”; (41) “De Tribus Figuris Spirit 
tu u m ” ; “ De Sigillis ad Dmmoniacos.” Trithemius 
(in Fabricius, l.c. p. 1052) mentions: (42) “ Lamene ” 
(?), perhaps identical with No. 8 ; (43) “ Liber Pen- 
taculorum,” probably identical with No. 5; (44) 
“De Officiis Spirituum”; (45) “De Umbris Idea- 
rum”; (46) “ H}^gromantia ad Filium Roboam”; 

• (47) Twv lo?Mju(jviaKuv E uhjaig, mentioned by Fabri- 
cius (l.c. pp. 1046, 1056) from other sources; (48) 
“Somnia Salomonis ” (Venice, 1516); and (49) “Li- 
ber de Lapide Pliilosophico ” (Frankfort-on-the- 
Main, 1625). 

See also Psalms of Solomon; Solomon, Testa- 
ment of; and Wisdom of Solomon. 

Bibliography : Benjacob, Ozar hci-Sefarim, p. 191, No. 640 : 
Fabricius, Coclcx Pseudepigraphieiis , i. 1014 et seq., Ham- 
burg and Leipsic, 1718 ; I. S. Reggio, in Kcrcm Hemccl , ii. 41 
etseq.i Steinscbneider, in Ha-Kctrmel , vi. 116, 125; idem , in 
Cat.Bodl. cols. 2289-2308; Wolf, Bihl. Hebr. iii., No. 1967; 
iv.. No. 1967 ; Winer, B. R. s.v. Salomoh. 

T. M. Sel. 

SOLOMON, SEAL OF; The legend that Solo- 
mon possessed a seal ring oil which the name of God 
was engraved and by means of which he controlled 
the. demons is related at length in Git. 68a, b. This 
legend is especially developed by Arabic writers, 
who declare that the ring, on which was engraved 
“the Most Great Name of God,” and which was 
given to Solomon from heaven, was partly brass and 
partty iron. With the brass part of the ring Solo- 
mon signed his w r ritten commands to the good 
genii, and with the iron part he signed his commands 
to the evil genii, or devils.' The Arabic writers de- 
clare also that Solomon received four jewels from 
four different angels, and that he set them in one 
ring, so that he could control the four elements. 
The legend that Asmodeus once obtained possession 
of the ring and threw it into the sea, and that Solo- 
mon was thus deprived of his power until he dis- 
covered the ring inside a fish (Jellinek, “B. II.” ii. 
86-87), also has an Arabic source (comp. D’Herbelot, 

“ Bibliotlieque Orientale,”6*.i?. “ Soliman ben Daoud ” ; 
Fabricius, “Codex Pseudepigraphicus,” i. 1054; and 
see Solomon in Arabic Literature). The leg- 
end of a magic ring by means of which the possessor 
could exorcise demons was current in the first cen- 
tury, as is shown by Josephus’ statement (“Ant.” 
viii. 2, § 5) that one Eleazar exorcised demons in 
the presence of Vespasian by means of a ring, using 
incantations composed by Solomon. Fabricius (lx.) 
thinks that the legend of the ring of Solomon thrown 
into the sea and found afterward inside a fish is de- 
rived from the story of the ring of Poly crates, a 
story which is related by Herodotus (iii. 41 et seq .), 
Strabo (xiv. 638), and others, and which was the 
basis of Schiller’s poem “Der Ringdes Polykrates.” 

The Arabs afterward gave the name of “ Solomon's 
seal ” to the six-pointed star-like figure (see Magen 
Dawid) engraved on the bottom of their drinking- 


cups. It is related in the “Arabian Nights ”(ch. 
xx.) that Sindbad, in his seventh voyage, presented 
I-Iarun al -Rashid with a cup on which the “table 
of Solomon ” was represented ; and Lane thinks that 
this was the figure of “Solomon’s seal” (note 98 
to ch. xx. of his translation of the “Arabian 
Nights-”). In Western legends, however, it is the 
pentacle, or “druid’s foot,” that represents the 
seal. This figure, called by Bishop Rennet the 
“pentangle ” of Solomon, was supposed to have the 
power of driving away demons. Mepliistopheles 
says to Faust that he is prevented from entering 
the house by the druid’s foot (“Drudenfuss”), or 
pentagram, which guards the threshold (“Faust,” 
in Otto Devrient’s edition, part i., scene 6). The 
work entitled “Clavicuke Salomonis” contains trea- 
tises on all kinds of pentacles. The tradition of Sol- 
omon’s seal was the basis of Buschenthal’s tragedy 
“Der Siegelring Salomonis,” specimens of which are 
given in “Bikkure ka-‘Ittim,” v. 3 et seq. (German 
part). A work regarding a magic signet-ring is 
ascribed to Solomon (see Solomon, Apocryphal 
W orks of). See also Asmodeus ; Solomon in Rab- 
binical Literature. 


Bibliography : Lane, Arabian Nights' Entertainments , In- 
troduction, note 21 ; Lebahn’s edition of Goethe’s Faust, np. 

475-476, London, 1853. 

J . M. Sel. 

SOLOMON, TEMPLE OF. See Temple. 

SOLOMON, TESTAMENT OF: Pseudepi- 
graphic treatise on the forms and activities of demons 
and the charms effective against them. Extracts 
from the work are given by Fabricius (“Codex 
Pseudepig. Vet. Test.” i. 1047) from the notes of 
Gilbertus Gaulminus on Psellus’ tract “ De Opera- 
tione Dsemonum,” but the full text was first pub- 
lished (as far as appears) by F. F. Fleck in his 
“ Wissenschaftl. Reise ” (ii. 3) ; he states (zb. i. 2) that 
he found the Greek manuscript in the Royal Library 
at Paris, and that, apparent^, it had never been 
published. An annotated German translation is 
given by Bornemann in Ilgen’s “Zeitsclirift fur 
Hist. Theologie,” 1844, and the Greek text is printed, 
with Latin translation, in Migne’s “Patrologia 
Gne co -Latina,” vol. exxii., as an appendix to the 
treatise of Psellus. The text seems to have suffered 
at the hands of scribes. 

The Testament professes to be Solomon’s own ac- 
count of certain experiences of his during the build- 
ing of the Temple. Learning that his chief overseer 
was plagued by a demon who every evening took 
the half of his wages aud his food, and drew the life 
out of him by sucking the thumb of his right hand, 
he appealed for help to God, and received through 
the angel Michael a seal-ring of magic power. With 
this he controlled the offending demon, and forced 
him to bring the chief of the demons, Beelzebub. 
The latter then was compelled to bring another, and 
he another, till there had appeared before the king a 
great number of them, of both sexes, and of such va- 
riety and dreadfulness of form as the imagination of 
the author could conceive. To each Solomon ad- 
dresses a series of questions: the demon is compelled 
to give his name and abode (especially to say with 
what star he is connected), his origin (from what an- 
gel), to describe his malefic functions, to say what an- 



449 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Solomon, Seal of 
Solomon ben Abraham 


gel lias power over liim, and, in some cases, to tell the 
word (usually a divine name) by which he may be 
driven away. Some of the names of the angels and 
demons are familiar ; others are strange or unintel- 
ligible, perhaps corrupt forms. Probably they were 
not invented by the author (though this maybe true 
of some of them), but were the product of centuries 
of magical tradition. At the end of the Testa- 
ment, Solomon’s fall into idolatry and his conse- 
quent loss of power over the demons are attributed 
to his infatuation for a Jebusite woman, who ac- 
quired power over him by magic. 

The book is a crude formulation of conceptions re- 
garding demonic power that were almost universal in 
the Jewish and the Christian world for many centuries 
(see Magic). The belief that Solomon had power 
over demons is found as early as Josephus (“Ant.” 
viii. 2, §5); the Book of Enoch shows the disposi- 
tion to multiply demonic names; and the character of 
Asmodeus in the Testament is taken from the Book 
of Tobit. The demonological literature of the first 
thousand years of the common era is enormous. The 
author of the Testament w r as a Greek-speaking Jew- 
ish Christian : the demons, it is said, will rule the 
world till the Son of God, who is spoken of as born of 
a virgin, shall be hung on the cross. The date of 
the work can not be fixed precisely. Bornemann 
discovers a close resemblance between its demono- 
logical conceptions and those of the “ Institutiones ” 
of Lactantius (about the year 300), and it is proba- 
ble that it belongs not far from that time. T. 

SOLOMON B. AARON TROKI. See Troki. 

SOLOMON, ABRAHAM: English artist; born 
in London May, 1824 ; died at Biarritz in 1862. At 
the age of eighteen he was admitted as a student to 
the school of the Royal Academy, where he gained 
a medal for drawing from the antique. Prom 1843 
to the year of his death he was a regular contribu- 
tor to the annual exhibition of the academy, and oc- 
casionally to the gallery of the British Institution. 
His first picture was a scene from Crabbe’s poems, 
“ The Courtship of Ditchem ” ; but the picture which 
brought him into prominence was “ The Breakfast 
Table,” exhibited in 184G. His later pictures gave 
evidence of a growing originality, and found ready 
purchasers. Among these were the following: 
“The Rival Beauties ” ; “Waiting for the Verdict, ” 
1857, with its sequel, “The Verdict,” 1859; “First 
and Third Class”; and “Found Drowned.” Most 
of these became popular through engravings. One 
of his pictures, “The Fortune-Teller,” was pur- 
chased by Alderman Salamons, and another, “Found 
Drowned,” received a prize . from the Liverpool 
Academy of Fine Arts. 

Bibliography: Jew. Chron. Jan. 16, 1S63; Bryan, Dictionary 

of Painters and Engravers , s.v. 

j. G. L. 

SOLOMON B. ABRAHAM ADRET. See 

Adret. 

SOLOMON BEN ABRAHAM IBN DAUD : 

Physician and translator. According to Kaufmann 
and Gross, Solomon belonged to ‘the family of the 
Spanish translator Abraham ben David ha-Levi of 
Toledo. Solomon translated, under the title of 
“Miklol,” Averroes’ medical work “Kulliyyat” 
XI.— 29 


(Neubauer, “Cat. Bodl. Hebr. MSS.” No. 2212; 
Paris, Bibliotheque Nationale, No. 1172). Stein- 
schneider supposes that Solomon is identical with 
the Solomon Daud w 7 ho is believed to have trans- 
lated into Hebrew, from the Arabic, the psycholog- 
ical and metaphysical treatise found in manuscript 
in the Turin Library (Peyron Cat., No. 212, p. 226). 

Bibliography : Carmoly, Histoire des Medecins , p. 103 ; Gross, 
in Monatsschrift , 1879, p. 125; Kaufmann, in GOttinger 
Gelehrte Anzeigen , 1883, p. 547; Steinschneider, Cat. Bodl. 
col. 2267 ; idem, Hebr. Uebers. p. 672. 

S. I. Br. 

SOLOMON BEN ABRAHAM BEN JE- 
HIEL : Italian rabbi ; flourished at Rome in the 
eleventh century; nephew of Nathan b. Jehiel, the 
author of the “ ‘Aruk.” About a quarter of a cen- 
tury after Nathan’s death Solomon was a member 
of the rabbinate of Rome, of which he was for some 
time president. He was, besides, the chief of Nathan’s 
high school (“Shibbole ha-Leket,” part ii.. No. 56). 
JEIis authority in rabbinics is seen in the fact that he 
is quoted in the work just mentioned (parti., No. 
128), in a responsum to a question as to why the 
Eighteen Benedictions (Shemoneh ‘Esreh) are not 
recited on Sabbaths and holy days. He repeatedly 
answered questions of Menaliem b. Solomon b. 
Isaac ( ib . part, ii., Nos. 56, 57, 75 [No. 75 being in 
connection with the benediction recited at a mar- 
riage ceremony]). Besides these responsa there is 
extant one which w*as sent by the rabbinate of Rome 
to the community of Paris (published by S. D. Luz- 
zatto in “Bet ha-Ozar,” i. 59a et seq.), and the first 
signature to which is that of Solomon, as president. 

Bibliography : S. Buber, preface to bis edition of tbe Shih- 
bole ha-Leltet, note 186; Vogelstein and Rieger, Gesch. der 
Juden in Bom , i. 220, 367. 

S. M. Sel. 

SOLOMON BEN ABRAHAM HA-KOHEN 
OF SERES (MaHaRShaK) : Oriental Talmud- 
ist; lived at Salonica in the second half of the six- 
teenth century. His teacher w 7 as Joseph Firman. 
He was the author of “Slie’elot u*Tesliubot,” di- 
vided into three parts. The first part of the work 
contains 197 responsa, a commentary on Maimon- 
ides’ laws concerning divorce, and halakic novelise 
(Salonica, 1586) ; the second part comprises 263 re- 
sponsa, besides novelise on the Tosafot (Venice, 1592) ; 
the third part contains 122 responsa (Salonica, 1594). 
Special editions of the work, including Maimonides’ 
law's on divorce, the halakic novelise, and the novelise 
on the Tosafot, were published at Wilmersdorf in 
1720 and at Salonica in 1730. 

Bibliography : Conforte, Kore ha-Dorot , p. 38b ; Azulai, 
Shem ha-Gedolim , i. 60; Fiirst, Bibl. Jud. iii. 204; Stein- 
sebneider. Cat. Bodl. col. 2361. 

e. c. I. Br- 

SOLOMON BEN ABRAHAM BEN SAM- 
UEL : French Talmudist of the first half of the 
thirteenth century. He was rabbi at Montpellier, and 
leader of the movement against Maimonides. When 
Ibn Tibbon's translation of the “Moreli Nebukim ” 
became knowui in southern France, it was freely 
accepted by the liberal Jews; but the strictly or- 
thodox, who adhered firmly to the Talmud, regarded 
it askance and secretly condemned it. No one, how- 
ever, dared to express open disapproval of the study 
of this book until Solomon threw 7 down the gauntlet 



Solomon ben Abraham 
Solomon, Henry 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


450 


to the Maimouists. It would be natural to infer 
from this proceeding, which divided Judaism into 
two hostile camps, that Solomon had had a philo- 
sophical training which enabled him to recognize 
the import of Maimouides’ ideas, and the contradic- 
tions existing between the latter’s conception of 
Judaism and that of the Talmud. 

Solomon, however, as Luzzatto has definitively 
proved, while a prominent Talmudic authority and 
a pious, upright character, who had taken up the 
quarrel with the best intentions, was unable to com- 
prehend Maimonides’ views correctly, and had no 
idea of a philosophical conception of Judaism. lie 
attacked Maimonides on minor, incidental points, 
e.g., for his refusal to take the liaggadie opinions of 
the Talmud in their simple, often offensive, literal 
sense ; for his ex plauation of many miracles by meaus 
of natural processes; for his description of paradise 
and hell in other than haggadic colors; and for his 
conception of the Godhead on other than anthropo- 
morphic lines. As Graetz happily remarks, Solo- 
mon, with his childish views and his clumsy ideas, 
regarded nearly every word of Maimouides as 
un-Jewisli and heretical. Solomon knew enough, 
however, to understand that single-handed he 
would be powerless to make headway against Mai- 
monides’ great authority, which prevailed even 
after his death, and against his numerous adherents. 
He therefore sought allies; but his demands for 
the interdiction of scientific studies found little sup- 
port among the scholars of southern France, only 
two of his pupils, Jonah ben Abraham Gerondi 
(Nahmanides’ relative) and David ben Saul, join- 
ing him. These three pronounced (in the beginning 
of the } r ear 1232) a sentence of excommunication on 

Maimonides’ works, on those -who studied them, and 
on those who construed the Scripture otherwise than 
literally and interpreted the Ilaggadah at variance 
with Kashi. Several rabbis of northern France sub- 
sequently confirmed this sentence. 

This proceeding aroused a storm of indignation 
among, the followers of Maimonides, The commu- 
nities of Provence, which stood foremost in point of 
culture, now excommunicated Solomon and his two 
disciples and hastened to find allies. The controversy 
became more fierce, the adherents of both parties 
increasing and growing more bitter; and the dis- 
cord threatened to spread throughout all Jewry. 
Many of the rabbis of northern France, frightened 
at the unexpected consequences, retired from the 
controversy ; but Solomon, whose bigotry knew 
no bounds, decided upon a shameful and dangerous 
step. He went to the Dominican monks; and on a 
certain day in 1233 the citizens of Montpellier saw 
servants of the Church, filled with hatred of the 
Jews and incited by an overpious rabbi, publicly 
burn the works of the greatest rabbi of post-Tal- 
mudic times. The news of this event filled all the 
Jews with horror; and Solomon and his pupils 
were universally condemned, his follower Al-Fakli- 
khar trying vainly to excuse him. But the matter 
did not rest there; Solomon, believing that he had 
gained nothing by destroying the works of Maimon- 
ides so long as his admirers were still in the field, de- 
nounced them to the authorities. It seems, however, 
that the Maimonists, with the help of friends in favor 


at the court of King James of Aragon, paid Solo- 
mon back in his own coin; for several of the calum- 
niators in his party had their tongues cut out. The 
fate of Solomon himself is not known. Luzzatto 
infers from the epithet “ Kadosh ” applied to him 
that he also suffered this shameful mutilation. 

Bibliography: Halberstam, in Kobak’s Jescliuriin, viii. 98; 

Abraliam Maimuni, Milhamot , pp. 12, 16, 17, 21 ; Luzzatto, in 

KcremHemcd , v. 1 ctiseq.; Griitz, hettcJi. vii., ch. ii.; Gross, 

Gallia Judaim, p. 326. 

W. 33. A. Pe. 

SOLOMON COHEN OF LISSA. See Coiien, 
Solomon men Eliezer Lipmanx of Lissa. 

SOLOMON, EDWARD: English musician and 
composer; born in London 1856; died there Jan. 22, 
1895. Solomon, who was largely a self-taught mu- 
sician, gained considerable reputation as a com- 
poser of light opera; he possessed the gift of crea- 
ting pleasing melody, and evinced great talent for 
effective orchestration. He conducted many comic 
operas, and wrote many successful opera bouffes, 
somewhat after the style of the Gilbert-Sullivan 
operettas. Of his compositions the following may 
be mentioned; “Billee Taylor,” produced at the 
Imperial Theatre, London, 1880; “Claude Duval,” 
“Love and Larceny,” and “Quite an Adventure,” 
1881; “The Red Hussar,” “The Nautcli Girl,” 
“Tlie Vicar of Bray,” “Lord Bateman, or Pieotee’s 
Pledge,” and “Through the Looking-Glass ” (farce), 
1882; “Paul and Virginia,” 1883; “Polly,” 1884; 
and “Pocahontas,” 1885. 

His brother Frederick Solomon sang in “Billee 
Taylor” in the provinces (1883), and is the composer 
of the comic opera “Captain Kidd, or The Bold 
Buccaneer,” produced at the Prince of Wales’ 
Theatre, Liverpool, on Sept. 10, 1883. 

Bibliography: .Texo. Citron. Jan. 25, 1S95: Times (London), 

Jan. 23, 1S95 ; Brown, Dictionary of 3f usic. 

j. G. L. 

SOLOMON, EDWARD S. (known also as. 
Salomon): American soldier and jurist; born at 
Sleswick, Sleswick-Holstein, Dec. 25, 1836. On 
completing his education at the high school of his. 
native town he emigrated to the United States and 
settled in Chicago, where he was elected alderman 
in 1860. At the outbreak of the Civil war he joined 
the Twenty-fourth Illinois Infantry as second lieu- 
tenant, participating in the battles of Frederickton 
and Mainfordsville, Kentucky, and being promoted 
step b}' step to the rank of major (1862). On ac- 
count of some disagreement among the officers of 
the regiment Major Solomon — together with some 
comrades — resigned, and organized the Eighty-sec- 
ond Illinois Infantry, in which regiment he became 
lieutenant-colonel, and then advanced to colonel. 
Under General Howe, Solomon took part in the 
battles of Cliancellorsville, Gettysburg, Chatta- 
nooga, Lookout Mountain, and Missionary Ridge. 
In 1865 he was bre vetted brigadier-general. When 
peace was restored he settled in Chicago, and became 
county clerk of Cook county, 111. In 1870 President 
Grant appointed him governor of Washington ter- 
ritory, from which position he resigned in 1874, re- 
moving to San Francisco, where he still (1905) resides. 
He has been twice elected to the legislature of Cali- 
fornia, and has also Held the office of district at- 
torney of San Francisco. 



451 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Solomon ben Abraham 
Solomon, Henry 


Solomon was one of the department commanders 
of the Grand Army of the Republic, and for eight 
years commander-in-chief of the Army and Navy 
Republican League. 

Bibliography : Simon Wolf, The American .Jeio cm Patriot , 

Soldier , and Citizen , pp. 164-170, 425, Philadelphia, 1895; 

The American Jewish Year Booh , 5665 (1904-1905), pp. 

179-180. 

a. F. T. IJ. 

SOLOMON THE EGYPTIAN (nron) : Phy- 
sician in ordinaiy to the Byzantine emperor Eman- 
uel Comnenus; lived at Constantinople in the sec- 
ond half of the twelfth century. According to 
Benjamin of Tudela, who visited that city in 1176, 
Solomon was highly esteemed by the emperor, 
and through his influence the Jews of Constantino- 
ple, though in a state of oppression, enjoyed many 
advantages. It was probably due to Solomon’s in- 
tervention that Emanuel Comnenus placed the Jews 
of his capital under the jurisdiction of the munici- 
pal authorities. 

Bibliography : Carmoly, Histoire dcs Medccins, p.48; Gratz, 

Gescli. vi. 240. 

s. I. Br. 

SOLOMON BEN ELIEZER HA-LEVI; 

Turkish Talmudist of the fifteenth and sixteenth 
centuries; brother of Abraham b. Eliezer ha-Levi, 
who quotes him in his Ma’amar ha-Yihud.” Solo- 
mon was the author of “Moreh Zedek,” or “ ‘Abodat 
ha-Lewi ” (published perhaps at Constantinople in 
1516), a treatise on the 618 commandments, indica- 
ting the passages of the Talmud, Si fra, Sifre, Mekilta, 
Maimonides’ “ Yad,” and later rabbinical literature in 
which they are treated. According to Shabbethai 
Bass(“Sifte Yeslienim,” s.v. “Moreh Zedek”), the 
first part is entitled “Moreh Zedek,” and the second 
part “ ‘Abodat ha-Lewi.” Solomon states, in the in- 
troduction, that he composed this work when he was 

still very young. Confusing Solomon’s brother, 
mentioned above, with Abraham ha-Levi of Adria- 
nople, Solomon Atliias (preface to his commentary 
on Psalms) credits the latter with the authorship 
of the “ ‘Abodat ha-Lewi.” 

Bibliography : Benjacob, Ozar ha-Sefarim , pp. 310 (No. 814), 

428 (No. 26); Furst, Bibh Jud. iii. 224; Steinscbneider, Cat. 

Bodl. cols. 2309 et scq. 

W. B. M. Sel. 

SOLOMON BEN ELIJAH SHARBIT HA- 
ZAHAB : Oriental astronomer, poet, and gram- 
marian ; lived at Salonica and later at Ephesus, in the 
second half of the fourteenth century. Steinschnei- 
der supposes that the name “ Sharbit ha-Zahab ” is 
the Hebrew equivalent of the Greek name “ Clnysa- 
kokka,” borne by the translator of the Persian “As- 
tronomical Tables, ” which Solomon rendered into He- 
brew, perhaps under the title “ Mahalak ha-Kokabim ” 
(Paris, Bibliotheque Nationale, MS. No. 1042; Vati- 
can MS. No. 393). Another of Solomon ’s translations 
from the Greek, still extant in manuscript in various 
libraries, is the treatise of Ptolemy on the astrolabe. 
In addition to these translations, Solomon wrote 
“Hesliek Shelomoh,” a grammatical treatise (Biblio- 
theque Nationale MS. No. 1042); a commentary 
written at the request of some prominent Jews of 
Ephesus on the “Sefer lia-Shem” of Ibn Ezra; and 
a great number of liturgical poems, some of which 
are found in the Roman Mahzor. Several of Solo- 


mon’s poems (among which one on the alphabet, 
entitled “ Otiyyot lia-Kodesh Meribot Zu ‘im Zu,” is 
a masterpiece of elegance) have been published by 
David Kolien (“ Ahiasaf , ” 1893). Solomon wrote also 
a commentary on the Pentateuch, in which he 
vehemently attacked Karaite Biblical interpretations. 
Against these attacks was directed the “ Iggeret ha- 
Zom ” of Elijah Baslyazi. 

Bibliography: Luzzatto, in Kercm Hcmcd, iv. 39; Zunz, &. 

P- p. 372; Gratz, Gesch. viii. 290: Furst, Geseh . des Kciruert. 

ii. 306; Steinschneider, in Hebr. Bihl. xix. 58; idem, Hebr. 

Ucbers. p. 536. 

t. I. Bn. 

SOLOMON BEN ENOCH AL-KUSTAN- 
TINI : Spanish exegete of the first half of the four- 
teenth century. Gnitz believes that, Solomon be- 
longed to the Al-Kustantini family of Saragossa, 
several members of which took a prominent part in 
the controversy over Maimonides’ “Moreh Nebu- 
kim.” Solomon was the author of a commentary on 
the Pentateuch entitled “ Megalieli * Amukkot, ” which 
is still extant in manuscript in the Vatican Library 
(No. 399) and which is quoted by Samuel Zarza of 
Valencia in bis philosophical commentary on the 
Pentateuch. A firm believer in astrology, Solomon 
endeavored to demonstrate from the Bible and the 
Talmud that the stars exercise a great influence on 
the destiny of man. 

Bibliography: Steinsclmeider, Jewish Literature , p. 103; 

Gratz, Gesch. vii. 291; Benjacob, Ozar ha-Sefarim , s.v. 

r6j)D. 

e. c. I. Bn. 

SOLOMON THE EXILARCH: 1. Eldest son 
of the exilarch Hasdai ; ruled from 730 to 761. In 
consequence of a dearth of teachers, he found it nec- 
essary to install as head of the Academy of Sura a 
scholar from Pumbedita, though this was contrary 

to traditional usage. According to Grriitz, this 

scholar was Mar ben Samuel ; according to Weiss, 
Mar Rab Judah hen Rab Nahman. The fact that 
Solomon was childless rendered possible the rise to 
influence of Anan, the founder of the Karaite sect. 

2. Another exilarch of the same name, Solomon 
b. Hasdai, flourished in the middle of the twelfth 
century. He was promoted to the exilarcliate by 
Calif Mohammed al-Muktafi. He did not descend 
in a direct male line from the Davidic house, but 
from the Palestinian patriarchs, that is, from Hillel, 
through the female branch. Solomon was a Tal- 
mudic scholar, and during his rule R. Ali held the 
office of head of the newly founded seminary of 
Bagdad. Solomon left one son, Daniel, who died 
without issue. 

Bibliography: Gratz, Gesch. v. 118, 161, 164; vi. 243, note 

10; Weiss, Dor. iv. 31, 51, 61; Itincrari ; of Benjamin of 

Tudela , pp. 60-77. 

,T. S. O. 

SOLOMON, HENRY NAPHTALI : English 
Hebraist and educationist; bom in London 1796; 
died there Nov. 12, 1881. He was a son of R. Moses 
Eliezer Solomon, who kept a school at Brixton, 
where Henry Solomon received his education. Sol- 
omon was head master of the Jews’ Free School from 
1817 to 1822 ; in the latter year he opened a school 
in Queen’s square, London, subsequently removed 
to Hammersmith, and in 1S3S permanently took up 
his abode at Edmonton. He was one of the found- 



Solomon b. Isaac 
Solomon ben Judah 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


452 


ers of the Jews’ and General Literary and Scientific 
Institution, and was among the pioneers in the 
Anglo-Jewisli pulpit, preaching for some years in 
the St. Albans Synagogue. He translated the Jew- 
ish prayer-book, was a voluminous and versatile 
writer, and contributed (1833) to the “ Hebrew Re- 
view,” which periodical he ineffectually endeavored 
to place on a firm basis. For more than forty years 
Solomon taught at Edmonton, where he was highly 
respected; his pupils were numbered among every 
class of the community. 

Bibliography: Jew. Cliron.Nov. IS, 1SSL; Jew. World , Nov. 

18 and Dec. 9, 1SS1. 

j. G. L. 

SOLOMON B. ISAAC (RASHI). See Kashi. 

SOLOMON BEN ISAAC OF ORLEANS : 

French tosafist of the twelfth century; elder col- 
league of the tosafist Joseph ben Isaac of Orleans, 
together with whom he signed responsa (“ Sefer lia- 
Yashar,” pp. 70-71, Vienna, 1810). Eliezer ben Joel 
ha-Levi, who quotes a responsum signed by Solo- 
mon and Joseph (MS. Halberstam No. 925), states 
that lie does not know whether or not the R. Solo- 
mon in question is Raslii, which proves that these two 
scholars were sometimes confounded with each other. 
Solomon carried on a learned correspondence with 
his contemporary Rabbenu Tam, who addresses him 
either by his full name or simply as “ Rabbi Solo- 
mon.” 

Bibliography: Zunz, Z, G. p. 75; Gross, Gallia Judaica. 

p. 34. 

w. B. A. Pe. 

SOLOMON BEN JEROHAM (Arabic name, 
Sulaim ibn Ruhaim) : Karaite exegete and con- 
troversialist ; flourished at Jerusalem between 940 
and 960. He was considered one of the greatest au- 
thorities among the Karaites, by whom he is called 
“the Wise” (“ha-Hakam ”), and who mention him 
after Benjamin Nahawendi in their prayers for tlieir 
dead great teachers (Karaite Siddur, i. 137b). Like all 
the Karaite leaders, Solomon was a zealous propa- 
gandist ; and in his polemics against the Rabbinites 
he displayed, more than any of his predecessors, that 
partizanship and spirit of intolerance which became 
the characteristic feature of the later Karaitic litera- 
ture. In a work entitled “Milhamot Adonai,” of 
which he produced also an Arabic version that is 
no longer in existence, Solomon violently attacks 
the Rabbinites, especially Saadia, to whom he ap- 
plies many derogatory epithets. It is written in 
verse and is divided into nineteen chapters, each 
of which contains twenty-two four-lined strophes. 
After having endeavored in the first two chapters 
to demonstrate the groundlessness of the oral tradi- 
tion, he refutes the seven arguments advanced in its 
behalf by Saadia in the introduction to his commen- 
tary on the Pentateuch. Then he criticizes Saadia’s 
views on the Jewish calendar, the laws concerning 
incest, the celebration of the second days of the 
feasts, etc., and accuses him in the harshest of terms 
of having, in his polemics against the Karaites, used 
arguments which are in direct opposition to the 
teachings of the Mishnah and the Talmud, and which 
consequently he must have known to be false. The 
“Milhamot Adonai” is extant in manuscript in 


various European libraries; and parts of it have 
been published by Pinsker, Geiger, and Kirchheim. 

The same spirit of intolerance and partizanship 
prevails in Solomon’s Bible commentaries. He 
never failed to seize an opportunity of abusing the 
Rabbinites and their representative, Saadia. His 
commentary on the Psalms breathes a 
His deep hatred of all foreign nations; 
Polemical and he repeatedly denounces the study 
Works. of secular subjects. He would not 
allow the Karaites to study even for- 
eign languages, still less philosophical works. The 
theories of Euclid and Ptolemy were, in his opinion, 
contrary to the teachings of the Law. Of his Bible 
commentaries, which were written in Arabic, only 
one, that on Lamentations, finished in 955 or 956, 
has been published (by Solomon Feinstein, Cracow, 
1898); most of the others remain in manuscript: on- 
Canticles (Brit. Mus, Hebr. MS. No. 308); on Ruth 
(St. Petersburg, Firkovicli collection, No. 583); on 
Esther (ib. Nos. 583, 584) ; on Ecclesiastes (ib. No. 
359; Brit. Mus. Or. No. 2517; the beginning and 
cli. ii., vii., and ix. were published by Hirschfeld 
in his “Arabic Chrestomathy,” pp. 103-108); on 
Psalms (St. Petersburg, Firkovicli collection, Nos. 
555, 556, and 557). Solomon quotes commentaries 
of his on Daniel, Job, and Proverbs which are no 
longer in existence, and promises to write one on the 
Pentateuch, He cites also his “Katab al-Rudd ‘ala 
al-Fayyumi,” which is probably the Arabic version 
of the “Milhamot Adonai”; “Huruf al-Abdal,” on 
the letters of permutation; and a writing on the 
advantages of the priests; he furthermore promises 
to prepare an essay on the resurrection. He 
also translated into Arabic and commented upon 
the Karaite prayers (St. Petersburg, Firkovicli col- 
lection, No. 638), and was the author of a composi- 
tion entitled “ Hibbur,” which is believed to have 
been of a liturgical character. 

Bibliography: Pinsker, Liktyute KadmoniyunU p. 330, and in- 
dex ; Furst, Gescli , des Kdriierthums , ii. 75 etseq.; Gottlober, 
Bikkoret le-Toledot ha-Kara'im , p. 196 ; Neubauer, Aus der 
Petersburger Bibliotliek, p. 10; P. Frankl, in Steinschneider, 
Hebr. Bibl. xix. 93; idem, in Ha-Shaliar , viii.; Kirchheim, 
in Orient . Lit. vii. 17 et seq.\ Salfeld, Hohelied , p. 127 ; 
Steinschneider, Polemische Literatur der Juden , p. 378; 
idem, Hebr. Bibl. vii. 14, xiii. 103: idem, Hebr. Uehers. p. 
946; idem, Die Arabisclie Literatur der Juden , § 40; S. 
Poznanski. in R. E. J. xli. 310 ; idem, in J. Q. R. xiii. 336; 
idem, in Monatssclirift , xliv. 105 et seq. ' 

K. I. Bit. 

SOLOMON BEN JOSEPH: French liturgist 
of Avallon; lived apparently in the thirteenth 
century. He composed the following piyyutim: 
“Abbi'ali Pin,” a “yozer” for Purim; “Abbi‘ah 
mikreli, ” a “ selihah ” commemorating the massacre of 
Anjou in 1236, and giving the names of several mar- 
tyrs; “Addir yamin ya‘atof,” a selihah; “Slie’erit 
sliibyah,” a prayer in which every line consists of 
four words, each beginning with the same letter 
(read downward, the initial letters of these four col- 
umns of words give, four times, the name of the 
author followed by the alphabet); “She’erit she- 
lameka,” arranged like the preceding; “Nafslii bi- 
mah teliemi,” a “tokehali ” arranged in four-line 
strophes. 

Bibliography: Gross, Gallia Judaica, p. 18 ; Zunz, Litera- 
turgesch. p. 349. _ ^ 

A. M. Sel. 



453 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Solomon b. Isaac 
Solomon ben Judah 


SOLOMON BEN JOSEPH IBN AYYUB OF 
GRANADA : Spanish physician ; lived at Beziers 
in the middle of the thirteenth century. He trans- 
lated into Hebrew from the Arabic, at the request 
of some notables of Beziers, the following works: 
the “ Sefer ha-Mizwot ” of Maimonides (Neubauer, 
“ Cat. Bodl. Hebr. MSS.” No. 859); the middle 
commentary of Averroes on the treatise “ De Ccelo ” 
(ib. No. 381, 3); “Sefer ha-Arguzah,” a medical 
treatise of Avicenna’s (Vienna MS. No. 146). Sol- 
omon wrote also an original medical work on hem- 
orrhoids entitled “Ma’amar ba-Teliorim” (Paris, 
Bibliotheque Nationale, MS. No. 1120, 2). 

Bibliography: Steinschneider, Hebr. Uebers. p 928 ; Renan, 

Les Rabbins Frangais, p. 591 ; Gross, Gallia Judaica, p. 100. 

s. I. Br. 

SOLOMON B. JOSEPH IBN SHOSHEN. 

See Ibn Siiosiian. 

SOLOMON BEN JUDAH HA-BABLI : Lit- 
urgist of the tenth century. In spite of the epithet 
“ ha-Babli,” given him by Bashi (commentary on Ex. 
xxvi. 15; “Ha-Pardes,” p. 43d) and others, he was 
not a native of any Mohammedan country. Rapo- 
port (“Tesliubot lia-Geonim,” p. 12b) held that the 
ancient rabbis included Rome under the designa- 
tion “ Babylon ” ; this being so, Solomon may have 
been a native of Rome. He is even so termed by 
M. Sachs in his translation of the Mahzor (vii. 89), 
though without an} r further justification. 

Solomon was the teacher of Mesliullam b. Kalony- 
mus, and, with Simeon the Great of Mayence and 
Kalonymus, Mesliullam’s father, was declared to 
have been of the generation which preceded Ger- 
slion Me’or lia-Golah. Solomon was the author of 
numerous piyyutim and selihot. Of the former 
there may be mentioned: an “‘abodah,” com- 
mencing “ Adderet tilboshet ” ; an unrimed piyyut, 
arranged in alphabetical order, consisting of com- 
binations of mN and p"Ryn, each letter being re- 
peated from eight to twenty times; a “yozer” for 
the first da} r of the Feast of Passover, beginning 
“Or yesha* ” (mentioned by Raslii [commentary on 
Ex. xxvi. 15 and Cant. iv. 10], Jacob Tam [Tos. to 
B. B. 14a], and many others); and a yozer beginning 
“Omez dar hazakim,” a haggadic cosmogony. He 
wrote, besides, several “ofanirn” and “zulatot,” 
which are recited on certain Sabbaths. His selihot 
are of the kind termed “shalmoniyyot,” and consist 
of four-line strophes, without any Biblical verse 
(see Seliiiaii). Many piyyutim signed “ Solomon ” 
may be Solomon ha-Babli ’s. It has been noticed 
that in several instances piyyutim, or selihot, by 
Solomon ha-Babli stand side by side with those of 
Solomon ibn Gabirol. Both bear the signature “ Sol- 
omon b. Judah,” and only upon a close examination 
can they be assigned to the proper author. Iu- 
deed, errors are sometimes made, as in the case of the • 
yozer “Or yeslia*,” mentioned above, which is as- 
cribed by a certain commentator to Ibn Gabirol. 
It appears that Solomon ha-Babli was the first to 
add to his signature words, and sometimes sen- 
tences, of an invocative nature, such as“Hazak,” 
or “Yigdal be-Torali.” According to Conforte 
(“Kore ha-Dorot,” p. 18b), Solomon was the author 
of a prayer-book ; but Conforte seems to have con- 
fused him with Raslii. 


Bibliography: S. D. Luzzatto, in Orica £, Lit. vi. 680; idem, 
Luah ha-Payyetanim , pp. 66 ct seq., in Berliner’s Ozar Toh , 
1880 : Steinschneider, Cat. Bodl. cols. 2318-2319 ; Zunz, S. P. 
p. 167 ; idem, Liter atunjescli. pp. 100-104, 232-235. 

J. M. Sel. 

SOLOMON BEN JUDAH OF CHATEAU- 
LANDON : French Talmudist of the end of the 
thirteenth century. He carried on a learned discus- 
sion with Samson of Cliinon and Eliezer ben Joseph 
of Chinon regardinga document that had been ante- 
. dated — a question which was laid before Solomon 
ben Adret also. He was reputed to be an eminent 
Talmudist, and numbered among his pupils Eliezer 
(father of the author of “ Minhat Yehudah ”) and also 
the anonymous author of the commentary on the Pern 
tateucli contained in MS. Hamburg No. 40 (comp. 
“Monatssehrift,” 1881, p. 313). Glosses on the Bible 
by Solomon are often quoted in the “Minhat Yehu- 
dah ” ; and some of his responsa are contained in the 
responsa collection of RaSHBA. 

Bibliography: Azulai, Shem lia-Geilolim , p. 169; Michael, 
Or ha-Hayijim, p. 584 ; Zunz, Z. G. p. 98 ; Renan-Neubauer, 
Les Rabbins Franmis , p. 447 ; Gross, Gallia Judaica, p. 
260. 

w. b. ' A. Pe. 

SOLOMON BEN JUDAH OF DREUX (sur- 
named “the Holy ”): French tosafist and Bible com- 
mentator of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. 
He was a disciple of Isaac ben Samuel the Elder of 
Dampierre, and presided over the school of Dreux 
during the first quarter of the thirteenth century. 
He was one of the rabbis to whom Meir ben Todros 
Abulafia addressed his letter of protest against Mai- 
monides. His name is mentioned in the Tosafot, in 
“Or Zarua‘,” and in a commentary of Samuel ben 
Solomon of Falaise on Joseph Tob Elem’s codex of 
the laws concerning Passover. His brother Jacob 
ben Judah likewise was a Bible commentator. Jo- 
seph ben Solomon of Dreux, who corresponded 
with Isaac ben Abraham of Dampierre, was most 
probably a son of the subject of this article. 

Bibliography: Gross, Gallia Judaica, pp. 171-173; Neubauer, 
in Geiger’s Jlld, Zeit. ix. 219 ; Zunz, Z. G. p. 55. 

d. S. Man. 

SOLOMON B. JUDAH LOB OF DESSAU: 

German Hebraist and teacher ; born about 1662 ; died 
after 1734. He was a teacher in Dessau, and is said 
by Fiirst to be the author of a small dictionary, or 
rather vocabulary, in Hebrew and Judseo-German 
entitled “Hinnuk Katan” (Dessau, n.d.). But it 
seems that this work, now very rare, was printed 
in other editions as early as 165S (Amsterdam) and 
even 1640 (Cracow) and must therefore be ascribed 
to another author. Solomon was the author of “ Ig- 
gerot Shelomoli” (Wandsbeck, 1732), Hebrew and 
Judoeo-German letters, of which the Hebrew part 
bears the additional title “Kitbe Shelomoli.” He 
wrote also “ 4 Oz Mibtahah ” (Amsterdam, 1734), a 
description of an anti- Jewish riot in Hamburg in 
the year 1730 (described also in “ Slie’erit Yisrael,” 
cli. xxviii.), of which he was an eye-witness. 

Bibliography: Steinschneider, Biblingraphisclies Hand- 
buch , Nos. 59 and 2235, Leipsic, 1859 ; idem. Cat. Bodl. cols. 548 
and 2358 ; Fiirst, Bibl. Jud. i. 207; Roest, Cat. Rosenthal . 
Bibl. (Hebrew appendix), p. 291. 

E. C. P. Wl. 

SOLOMON BEN JUDAH OF LUNEL : Pro- 
vencal philosopher; born in 1411. His Proven9al 



Solomon Levi 
Solomon ben Moses 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


454 


name was Solomon Vives. When he was only 
thirteen years of age he composed, under the direc- 
tion of his master, Frat Maimon, a commentary on 
the “ Cuzari ” of Judah lm-Levi. This commentary 
is extant in manuscript. (Neubauer, “Cat, Bodl. 
Hebr. MSS.” No. 23S3) under the title “ Ilesliek 
Slielomoh.” The young author displays in this 
work a considerable knowledge of the philosophical 
literature of his time. From a quotation made there- 
in, it seems that Solomon wrote another commentary 
oil the “Ruah Hen,” which he wrongly attributes to 
Samuel ibn Tibbom 

Bibliography : Steinsclineider, Hebr. Bihl. xvi. 127 : Renan, 
Lcs Eerivains Juifs Franca is, p. 412; Gross, Gallia Jiula- 
ica , p. 290. 

S. I. Bii. 

SOLOMON LEVI OF BURGOS. See Paul 
de Burgos. 

SOLOMON AND MARCOLF : Medieval tale, 
or romance, describing the adventures and conversa- 
tions of Solomon and one Marcolf, or Marolf. The 
adventures have some connection with those of Ash- 
medai, while the conversations consist chiefly of rid- 
dles similar to those put to Solomon by the Queen 
of Sheba. The exact extent of its indebtedness to 
the Haggadah is somewhat doubtful, though it is 
practically certain that the various versions are de- 
rived from an Eastern original. The earliest appear 
to be two in Anglo-Saxon published under the title 
“ Solomon and Saturnus ” by J. N. Kemble in 1848, 
for the iElfric Society. The tale was popular in 
Germany, where Marcolf, or Marolf, became a sort 
of type of the “ wise fool. ” A block-book on the sub- 
ject was published at Strasburg in 1499. Latin ver- 
sions of it were often appended to the “Epistola? 
Obscurorum Virorum.” Both Hans Folz and Hans 
Sachs made use of the legend. A French version 
was made by Pierre Mauclerc, Count of Bretagne, in 
the thirteenth century. In Italian, Julio Ciesare 
Croce adopted it in his “Bertlioklo,” another name 
for Marcolf. This was developed into a book at 
Bologna in 1736. Other versions occur in the Bolo- 
gnese and Venetian dialects, and in Dutch, Grecian, 
Polish, Icelandic, and Welsh. There are two edi- 
tions in English, one published by Leeu (Antwerp, 
1492), and another, “ Sayings or Proverbes of King 
Solomon, with the Answers of Marcolfus,” printed 
by Pynson in 1530, a version of the French “Die- 
tionnaire de Salomon.” 

Bibliography : E. C. Maeealun, Solomon in Europe , in Low 
German and High German Literature, London, 1884; E. 
Gordon Duff, in the introduction to The Dialogue or Com- 
muning Between the TF7se King Solomon and Marcolfus , 
London, 1892. 

J. 

SOLOMON BEN MAZZAL TOB : Turkish 
Hebrew poet and corrector for the pressor, perhaps, 
printer; flourished at Constantinople in the first half 
of the sixteenth century. He was active in Hebrew 
printing from 1513 to 1549, as appears from the fol- 
lowing works which bear his signature: David 
Kimhi’s “ Sefer ha-Shorashim ” (1513); Jacob b. 
Asher’s “Perush ‘al ha- Torah-” (1514); Isaac Kara’s 
“ Toledot Yizhak ” (1518) ; Midrash Tanliuma (1520) ; 
Joshua ibn Sbn'aib’s “Derasliot” (1526); David 
Kimhi’s “Miklol” (1532); the four Turim (1540); 
“Sliirim u-Zemirot” (1545 or 1548), a collection 


of hymns by various authors, including some of 
his own; and Solomon ibn Melek’s “ Miklal Yofi” 
(1549). Wolf (“Bibl. Hebr ” j. and iii. , No. 2002) 
seems to ascribe to Solomon the authorship of the 
whole collection of hymns mentioned above. Solo- 
mon published also a Hebrew introductory poem to 
the “ Perush ‘al lia-Torah ” ; and he left a poem on 
chess-playing, which was published by Edelmann 
in “Dibre Ilefez” (London, 1853). 

Bibliography: Burst, Bihl. Jud. iii. 225; Steinsclmeider, Cat. 

Bodl. cols. 2371, 3033. 

j. M. Sel. 

SOLOMON BEN MEIR : French grammarian 
and Biblical commentator of the twelfth century; 
grandson of Kashi and brother of the great tosa- 
flsts Isaac ben Meir (RIBaM), Samuel ben Meii- 
(RaSIIBaM), and Jacob Tam, though the old and 
many modern authorities (including Zunz and 
I. II. Weiss) aflirm that Meir, Rashi’s son-in-law, 
had only three sons, the tosaflsts just mentioned. 
There is an allusion to the four sons of Meir in 
a responsum which Eliezer ben Nathan addressed 
to Meir (“Eben ha-‘Ezer,” p. 148). Zunz (“Z. G.” 
p. 32) holds that the so-called “fourth” son of 
Meir was Joseph Porat, Rashbam’s son, and Weiss 
(“Bet Talmud,” iii. 228) explains the disputed ex- 
pression in the responsum as referring to Meir and his 
three sons. But in 1874 A. Berliner discovered in the 
Vatican Library many fragments of Abraham b. 
Azriel’s commentary on the Bible, in which the lat- 
ter often quotes a commentary of Solomon, to whom 
he refers sometimes as Solomon ben Meir, sometimes 
as Solomon the brother of R. Tam. Berliner pub- 
lished also in his “Magazin ” (ii. 45) an extract from 
the Parma, De Rossi, manuscript No. 181, in which 
Solomon is clearly said to have been the brother of 
Jacob Tam and the son of Meir ben Samuel, and in 
which Solomon is termed “father of grammarians” 
(“ abi ha-daykanitn ”). 

An extract from the Vitiy Malizor, published by 
Neubauer (“ R. E. J.” xvii. 67), also shows that Sol- 
omon was the brother 'of Jacob Tam, and that he 
was a “sheliali zibbur” at Ramerupt. It maybe 
added that Abraham b. Azriel quotes Solomon 
(Drf"> TIN in a fragment of bis “ ‘ Arugat ha- 

Bosem,” published by J. Perles in “ Monatssclirift ” 
(xxvi. 369); Porges (ib. xxxii. 168), however, inter- 
prets this quotation to mean that the Solomon men- 
tioned was Abraham’s own brother. There having 
been lour sons of Meir, Solomon must Lave been the 
third, as Jacob Tam refers to himself as the young- 
est brother (Weiss, l.c . ; comp. Eliezer b. Nathan, l.c.). 
That Solomon was a Talmudic authority is indicated 
by the occurrence of his signature with those of his 
brothers under the takkanot of Jacob Tam (Gold- 
berg, in “Ha-Lebanon,” ii. 91-92; blit comp. Hal- 
berstam, ib. ii. 267). It is likely that it is this Sol- 
omon who is quoted as a rabbinical authority in the 
tosafot to Pes. 105b. It must be said, however, 
that there was an older Solomon b. Meir, who is 
mentioned by Rash i (on Hnl. 116b; see J. Muller, 
“Teshubot Hakme Zarefat,” p. xxx.). 

Bibliography : Berliner’s Magazin, i. 3; Gross, Gallia Juda- 

ica , p. 1G2 ; Kaufmann, in Berliner's Magazin, xiii. 152 ct 

sea.; Sokolow, in Ha-Asif , ii. 376. 

t M. Sel. 



455 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Solomon Devi 
Solomon "ben Moses 


SOLOMON B. MENAHEM. See Frat Mai- 

MON. 

SOLOMON, MICHAEL: British merchant and 
politician; born in England 1818; died in Jamaica 
May 5, 1892. He emigrated to Jamaica at the age 
of twelve, and eventually became the head of the 
firm of Bravo Brothers. He spent over sixty years 
of his life in the island, during the greater part of 
that time being actively engaged in its administra- 
tion as a member of the Legislative Council, in 
which capacity he rendered distinguished services, 
and as custos of St. Anne’s. He took part also in 
the organization of the exposition in the island, and 
in 1887, in recognition of his many eminent services 
to the colony. Queen Victoria conferred upon him 
the companionship of the Order of St. Michael and 
St. George. 

Bibliography: Jew. Citron. May 13, 1892. 

j. G. L. 

SOLOMON B. MORDECAI : Polish rabbi ; 
died 1609. He was a pupil of Solomon Lima and 
was rabbi of Mcscritz and Ostrog, holding also some 
rabbinical position in Lemberg. He is referred to 
as “R. Shelomtzi, the pupil of Maharshal ” in a 
manuscript work which was in the bauds of Solo- 
mon Margolioth of Brod} r . He was the author of 
“Mizbah ha-Zahab,” an explanation of a Talmudical 
passage on the holy incense (Basel, 1602). A work 
by him named “Seder Gittin” is referred to in the 
above-mentioned manuscript. 

Bibliography: Zedner, Cat. Hebr. Boohs Brit. Mtis. p. 726; 

Buber, Am he Sliem , p. 204. Cracow, 1895; Lewinstein, Dor 

we-Dor ive-Doreshaiv, p. 119, Warsaw, 1S99. 

e. c. P. Wr. 

SOLOMON BEN MOSES CHELM : Polish 

rabbi of the eighteenth century ; born at Samoscz, 
government of Lublin; died at Salonica in 1778. 
He was successively rabbi of Chelm, Samoscz (a dis- 
trict rabbinate), and Lemberg. To the last place 
Solomon was called in 1771, to succeed the deceased 
Hayyim lia-Kolien Rapoport. In 1777 Solomon 
left Lemberg with the intention of going to the Holy 
Land. After visiting his family in Samoscz, he began 
his journey toward Palestine. Passing through 
Lemberg, be gave his approbation there, on Sept. 16, 
1778, to Elijah of Belgorai’s “ Harha-Karmel." Then 
he continued to Salonica, intending to superintend 
the issue of the second edition of his “Merkebet ha- 
Mislmeli ” ; but he died shortly after his arrival there. 
Besides being an authority in rabbinics, on which 
subject he published several works, he was dis- 
tinguished as a grammarian and mathematician. In 
1776 Solomon wrote a defense of Joseph Te’omim, 
who had been criticized by many rabbis in connec- 
tion with the issue of a divorce. Solomon gave his 
approbation for the publication of many current 
works, especially during the period of his incum- 
bency at Lemberg. 

Solomon was the author of the following works: 
“Merkebet ha-Mishneh ” (Frankfort-on-tlie-Oder, 
1751); “Shulhan ‘Aze Shittim,” novelise on Shabbat 
(Berlin, 1762) ; “Sha‘are Ne'imah,” a treatise on the 
accents of the prophetical books, edited by Solomon 
Dubno (Frankfort-on-tlie-Oder, 1775). His “ Merke- 
bet ha-Mishneh” comprises no vcllee on the four divi- 


sions of Maimonides’ “Yad”;a pamphlet, entitled 
“Berakot be-Heshbon,” on Talmudic arithmetic and 
geometry ; and “ Zinzenet ha-Man,” on the Haggadah 
of the Talmud. A second, revised edition, in three 
parts, including a defense of Maimonides against the 
strictures of Abraham ben David, was published at 
Salonica in 1777-78. Solomon’s unpublished works 
include : “ Hug ha- Are?,” on the geography of Pales- 
tine; “ ‘A sarali Shulhanot,” novelise on the four 
parts of the Shulhan ‘Aruk; and “LebShelomoh,” a 
collection of thirty- two responsa. Many of his re- 
sponsa are to he found in responsa collections of 
other rabbis. 


Bibliography : Azulai, Shem ha-Gedolim, ii., s.v. ■ 31n 

and r.j^rn rone; S. Buber, Amhe Shem , pp. 207 et seq.; 
Bihl. Jud. i. 172; Steinsclmeider, Cat. Bodl. col. 2376; 


Furst, Bihl. 

Zunz, G. S. i. 194. 
W. B. 


M. Sel. 


SOLOMON BEN MOSES BEN JEKTJ- 
THIEL DE ROSSI : Writer, and composer of 
synagogal hymns; flourished in Rome during the 
thirteenth century ; died after 1284 in the prime of 
1 ife. He was the earliest literary member of the Rossi 
family. His wife was Paola Anaw, the highly gifted 
daughter of the author Abraham ben Joab Anaw (see 


Jew. Encyc. i. 567b). 

Solomon ben Moses was the author of an apolo- 


getic work which has become known under four 
different titles, namely, 14 Sefer ha-Wikkuah, ” “ ‘Edut 
ha-Shem Ne’emanah,” “Slie’elot u-Tesliubot,” and 
“Milhamot ha-Shem.” In the preface the author 
warns against disputations, which, he says, are 
harmful to Judaism. If, however, one finds himself 
forced to enter into a controversy, one should re- 
main calm, and avoid discussing such themes as the 
Trinity, the holy supper, and other dogmas. One 
should appear only as a defender, not as an aggres- 
sor. The work itself is an apology for Christian 
attacks upon the Jewish view of the Messiah; 
and it weakens the attempt of the Christians to 
prove that the Jews area people abandoned by God. 

Solomon is known also as a liturgical poet. Be- 


sides three songs, he wrote a poem on the earth- 
quake in Ancona, beginning with the words 


urpann. 


Bibliography : Steinschneider, Hebr. Bihl. 1S63, p. 9o. note 
2; Briill, in Weiss, Bet ha-Midrasli , pp. 143 ct seq. ; Halber- 
stam, in Berliner's Magazin, i. 33 ct seq., 43 et seq. ; Berliner, 
ih. xi. 142; Zunz, Literaturcjcsch. p. 366 ; Vo^elstem and 
Rieger, Gesch. der Judea in Rom, pp. 269, 2)8, 39o, 438, 444, 


452. 
W. B. 


s. o. 


SOLOMON BEN MOSES BEN JOSEPH : 

Italian liturgistof the thirteenth century; identified 
by some with Jeliiei b. Jekutliiel Anaw, and by 
others with Solomon b. Jedidiah; a descendant 
probably of Zedekiali b. Benjamin Anaw. An exhor- 
tation called “ Widdui ” or “ Tokahali ” by him is con- 
tained in a Roman manuscript. 


iy: Zunz, Uteratinycsch. p. 366 ;_0ru 
487; Steinschneider, Cat. Bndl. cols. 1277. 2# 67; 
and Rieger, Gesch. der Judea in Rom, i. 3 Jo. 


Vogelstein 

s. o. 


SOLOMON BEN MOSES OF MELGUEIL : 

French philosophical writer and translator of the 
thirteenth century. The supposition that Solomon 
was a native of Mclgueil, or Melgueir, the present 
Mauguio, is based on the fact that “Melgueiri” 



Solomon ben Moses 
Solomon of Tours 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


456 


is always a part of tlie name. 
Wolf (“Bibl. Hebr.” iii., Nos. 2007-2008) interprets 
the epithet as either “ the Algerian ” or “ the Alga- 
rian,” the latter reading being adopted by Renan 
(“Averroes et V Averroi'sme, ” p. 102, Paris, 1866). 
According to Saige (“Les Juifs de Languedoc An- 
terieurement au XI V e Siecle,” p. 126, ib. 1881), 
Solomon ben Moses of Melgueil is the same as the 
Solomon of Melgueil (a native of Beziers who had 
settled at Narbonne) who is mentioned in Latin docu- 
ments of 1284 and 1806— the one of 1284 styling 
him and his brother Vital “the Jews of the king,” 
and the one of 1306 describing him as one of those 
whose property had been confiscated. Steinschnei- 
der (“ R. E. J.” v. 278 et seq.) declares this identifica- 
tion doubtful. 

Isaac Lattes (“Slia'are Ziyyon,” p. 73) speaks of 
a Samuel b. Moses Melgueiri (— “ of Melgueil ”) who 
was a great scholar and who wrote works in all de- 
partments of science. This passage is reproduced 
b} r Azulai(“Sliem ha-Gedolim,” i. 176), who adds 
that among Solomon’s works must be especially men- 
tioned his “ Kez li-Tekunah, ” “Sefer lia-Melek,” and 
“ ‘Asarali Debarim.” Zunz (“Z. G.” p. 472) affirms 
that “Samuel ” in this passage is a copyist’s mistake 
for “Solomon,” and he consequently ascribes the 
three works just mentioned to the Solomon of this 
article. It may be said that Isaac de Lattes himself 
ascribes these works to Moses ibn Tibbon, and that 
this opinion is supported by Gedaliali ibn Yahya 
(“Shalshelet lia-Kabbalah,” p. 54b, Venice, 1587). 
Wolf, furthermore ( l.c . Nos. 2001b, 2007), followed 
by Zunz {l.c.) and other scholars, identifies Solomon 
the translator of Aristotle’s “De Repub- 
liea” and “ Meteorologica, ” with Solomon of Mel- 
gueil. But Saige {l.c.) holds with Renan that the 
former Solomon is a different person, the name 
meaning “a native of Urgel, Spain.” 

Solomon was incontestably the author of “Bet 
Eloliim,” a philosophical commentary on the chap- 
ter in the Book of Kings which deals with the con- 
struction of Solomon’s Temple. This work (not yet 
published) is in three parts, respectively entitled 
“Sha'are Zedek,” “Bet Middot,” and “Sod lia-Miz- 
wot,” and is written on the same lines as Maimonides’ 
“Hilkot Bet ha-Behirah,” but in a more Orthodox 
manner. Solomon translated Avicenna’s compen- 
dium of Aristotle’s “De Coelo et Mundo,” under the 
title “Sefer ha-Shamayim weha-'Olam.” In the in- 
troduction Solomon saj r s that he translated this work 
from the “language of the Christians” (Latin), and 
asks the student’s indulgence for the mistakes which 
he may have made. Many passages of this trans- 
lation are quoted by Gershon b. Solomon in his 
“ Sha'ar lia-Shamayim,” and therefore a decision as 
to the exact date of Gershon ’s composition may 
help to determine that of Solomon’s work. 

Solomon translated also: Aristotle’s “De Somno 
et Vigilia,” under the title “ Ha-Shenali weha-Yeki- 
zah”; Averroes’ “Tauti'ah,” the third treatise of 
his “Metaphysics,” under the title “ Hazza'ali la- 
Hokmah”; Platearius’ medical work “De Simpli- 
ci Medicina,” or “Circa Instans,” accepting the lat- 
ter title for the translation. It may be added that 
Hebrew manuscript No. 128, in the Vienna Library, 
entitled “Sha‘ar be-Hokmat ha-Parzuf,” a trans- 


lation of an Arabic treatise on physiognomy, is 
erroneously ascribed to Solomon of Melgueil. 

The name of Melgueiri occurs also in connection 
with poetry, and Abraham Bedersi mentions it in 
his“Hereb ha-Mithappeket.” There are also two 
piyyutim bearing in acrostic the name one 

published by Carmoly in “ Ila-Karmel ” (vi. 402), and 
the other by Dukes in “ Ha-Lebanon ” (v. 440). The 
former is even indicated, in the manuscript from 
which Carmoly has taken it, as having been com- 
posed by Solomon Melgueiri ; still it can not be said 
with certainty that the poet is identical with the 
I subject of this article. 

Bibliography: Gross, Gallia Jadaica.gg. 356 etseq.; Renan, 
Lcs Rabbins Francois , pp. 575 ct sec/.; Stein sell neider, Hcbr. 
Ucbcrs. pp. 253, 283-234, 334, 822. 

S. M. Sel. 

SOLOMON, MYER : Founder of the St. Al- 
ban’s Place Synagogue, London; born in the last 
quarter of the eighteenth century; died Dec. 31, 
1840. He was appointed head of the Denmark Court 
Congregation in 1824, and took a prominent part in 
founding the new place of worship at St. Alban’s 
place, St. James’s (known both as the Western and 
as the Westminster Synagogue), which was conse- 
crated Sept. 7, 1S26. Solomon frequently took part 
in divine service both as preacher and as liazzan ; 
he was also a competent mohel and sliohet, and he 
wrote two scrolls of the Law which he bequeathed 
to his synagogue, together with various other relig- 
ious appurtenances. Solomon’s bric-a-brac store 
was at 119 Pall Mall, where his sukkali was hospi- 
tably open to members of the congregation. The 
fame he enjoyed brought him visitors from many 
parts. He delivered a funeral sermon (in English) 
on the death of George IV. in 1830, and he also com- 
posed some Hebrew liymns for various occasions. 

Bibliography: Matthias Levy, The Western Synagogue ; 
Some Materials for Its History , London, 1897 ; Jew. Chron. 
Oct. 29, 1897. 

J. I. Co. 

SOLOMON NASI BEN ISAAC NASI 
CAYL : Liturgical poet; lived at Marseilles about 
1285. Cayl is a family name, derived from Caylus, 
a town in the department of Tarn-et-Garonne. Sol- 
omon composed the piyyut D^JPI 'D, 

found in the Avignon Malizor. The name of this 
poet must not be confounded with that of the 
rabbi Solomon ben Isaac Cayl, who lived at Mar- 
seilles about 1376-86. 

Bibliography: Gross, Gallia Judaica, pp. 377, 450; Zunz, 
Litcratui'gcsch. p. 489. 

D. S. Man. 

SOLOMON BEN NATHAN ASHKENAZI. 

See xVsiikenazi. 

SOLOMON, PHILIP S. : Attorney-general of 
Fiji; born at Lee, Essex, England, Oct. 15, 1830; died 
in New South Wales March 24, 1895. Early in life 
lie went to Australia, and later to New Zealand, 
finally settling in Fiji. He arrived there in 1870, 
and assumed the editorship of the “Fiji Times.” 
Turning his attention to law, he was admitted as a 
barrister and solicitor of the Supreme Court, and 
became queen’s counsel in 1889. On several occa- 
sions. from 1875 to 1895, he served as acting attorney- 
general, and at various times he performed the func- 



457 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Solomon ben Moses 
Solomon of Tours 


tions of legislative councilor, being a member of tlie 
council till the time of his death. He was the first 
warden of Levuka, elected under the ordinance 
granting municipal privileges to that city. 

Solomon wrote a pamphlet which was dedicated 
to the royal commission appointed to inquire into 
the feasibility of annexing the Fijian group; the 
excellent service which this publication rendered to 
tlie country was acknowledged by the royal com- 
missioners. 

Bibliography: Jew. Citron. June 7, 1895. 

J. G. L. 

SOLOMON DE SABALDUCCHXO : Physi- 
cian; flourished in Perugia, Italy, in the fourteenth 
and fifteenth centuries. Pope Boniface IX., shortly 
after his accession, appointed Solomon his body- 
physician (Oct. 18, 1892). The bull which this pope 
issued on April 15, 1402, and in which he granted the 
Jews certain rights and privileges, was a result of 
the activity of this physician and of another named 
Angelo. 


Gedolot ” (i ib . 1762); and “Leb Shalem ” (ib. 1773), 
notes and elucidations of the “ Yad ha-Hazakah ” of 
Maimonides. 


bibliography: steinscnneiaer, cat. Bodl. col. 2390: Fiirst 
Bihl. Jud. iil. 260 ; Azulai, Shem ha^Gedolim, s.v.; Beniacob] 
Ozar ha-Sefarim, pp. 107, 254, 569. 

s- J. Z. L. 


SOLOMON, SIMEON: English painter; born 
at Bristol 1884; died at London March 15, 1905; 
brother of Abraham Solomon. He early showed 
signs of artistic ability, and came under the influ- 
ence of D. G. Rossetti. His drawings and paintings 
carry to an extreme the mystical and sensuous tend- 
encies of the pre-Raphaelite school. He published 
a number of designs for The Song of Songs, and 
photographs of ten drawings illustrating Jewish 
ceremonial. Falling into degenerate habits, he was 
confined for a time in a sanitarium and lived a va- 
grant life the remainder of his days. 


Bibliography; Fortnightly Review , March, 1904: Jewish 
Chronicle , March 18, 1905. 

J. 


Bibliography : Marini Archiatri Pontificii, i. 107 ct seq ., ii. 

49 ; Voffelstein and Rieger, Gescli. der Juden in Rom , i. 

317-318. 

J. S. O. 

SOLOMON SALMAN B. MOSES. See Lon- 
don, Solomon. 

SOLOMON BEN SAMSON: Scholar of 
Worms in the eleventh century; teacher and rela- 
tive of Rashi, who refers to him as an authority be- 
side his other teacher, Isaac ha-Levi (responsa of 
the French rabbis, Nos. 11, 24). Most probably he is 
identical with the Solomon ben Samson mentioned 
as a native of Yitry, this name being apparently an 
error for Lorraine, among whose scholars he is cited 
(“OrZarua‘,” i. 116a). 

Bibliography: Gross, Gallia Judaica , pp. 217, 295; Zunz, 

Literaturgcsch. p. 157 ; idem, Z. G. p. 192. 

d. S. Man. 

SOLOMON, SAMUEL: English quack; born 
in 1780; died in London 1818. He flourished in 
Liverpool and was an original and somewhat eccen- 
tric character who became widely known as the in- 
ventor and patentee of an empiric preparation called 
“Balm of Gilead,” by the sale of which he amassed 
a considerable fortune. In 1805 he removed to a 
large house in Kensington road, where his statety 
residence, “Gilead House,” with its gardens and 
shrubberies, formed one of the sights of the town. 
Streets named “Gilead,” “Balm,” and “Solomon” 
commemorate his connection with the place. He 
left two children, a son and a daughter. 

Bibliography: Watt, Bihliographia Britannica , s.v.; Jew. 

Chron. Jan. 18, 1901 ; Liverpool Daily Post, April, 1900. 

J. G. L. 

SOLOMON SHALEM B. HAYYIM JE- 
HIEL COHEN : Rabbi in the second half of the 
eighteenth century; died at Amsterdam 1781. He 
resided successively at Adrianople, Bologna, Sofia, 
and Amsterdam, in which last-named city he offici- 
ated as rabbi of the Portuguese community. He 
was the author of the following works: “Dibre 
Shelomoli ” (Amsterdam, 1753), sermons on the Pen- 
tateuch, with an index to the allusions in the text; 
“ Shoneh Halakot, ” a commentary on the “ Halakot 


SOLOMON, SOLOMON JOSEPH: English 
painter; bom in London Sept. 16, 1860. He re- 
ceived his artistic training at Heatherly’s, at the 
schools of the Royal Academy, at the Academy of 
Munich, and at the Ecole des Beaux Arts, Paris, 
where he studied under Cabanel. His first picture 
was exhibited in the Royal Academy in 1881 ; and 
since that time he lias continuously supplied some 
of the main attractions of that exhibition, his vigor- 
ous “Cassandra” (1886) and “Niobe” (1888) having 
established his reputation as a painter of classical 
subjects somewhat after the' style of Leighton and 
Poynter. Other paintings of the same character 
were “Hercules” (1889), “The Judgment of Paris” 
(1890), “Echo and Narcissus” (1894). Solomon has 
shown distinction as a portrait-painter also, his por- 
trait of Mrs. Patrick Campbell attracting special 
attention from its novel arrangement of lights. 
He was elected an associate of the Royal Academy 
in 1894. 

Solomon has shown marked interest in Jewish 
affairs. He was one of the founders, and for the 
first ten years the president, of the Maccabeans, 
which society owed much of its early success to his 
genial personality. This interest has been displayed 
in his art also. The picture that established his 
reputation was his “ Samson and Delilah ” ; and he 
has painted several portraits of Jewish friends, e.g., 
of Dr. Ernest Hart (18S8), I. Zangwill (1894), Joseph 
Jacobs (1900), and Solomon Scliechter (1902), besides 
an impressionist portrait of II. Graetz during that 
historian’s visit to the Anglo-Jewish Historical Ex- 
hibition in 1887. Tlie last-named portrait is now in 
tlie possession of the Jewish Theological Seminary 
of America. In this connection should be mentioned 
his “Allegory” of 1904, which is understood to rep- 
resent the triumph of Judaism as the final religion 
of the world. 

Bibliography: Jew. Chron. Feb. 14, 1S96; TT/io’s Who, 1905 ; 

Jildischc KlinstUr , 1904. 

J. 

SOLOMON OF TOURS: French Talmudist; 
contemporary of Rashi, with whom he carried on a 
learned correspondence. Rashi addresses him as “ My 
dear friend.” This expression, as well as the fact 



Solomon Urbino 
Solomons 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


458 


that. Rashi points out an error which Solomon had 
made in regard to the Talmud, proves that the latter 
can not be identical with Raslii’s relative and teacher 
of the same name, whom Rashi even in his old age 
regarded as an authority. 

Bibliography: Gross, Gallia Judaica , p. 318. 

w. b. A. Pe. 

SOLOMON URBINO. See Urbino, Soro- 
MON DE. 

SOLOMON, VABIAN L. : Premier of South 
Australia; born about 1849; son of Judali Moss 
Solomon. Early in life Solomon went to the 
Northern Territory, where he engaged in business, 
was elected mayor of the chief town, and became 
connected with the “Northern Territory Times.” 
Returning to Adelaide, he became member for the 
territory in the House of Assembly, and won recog- 
nition in Parliament as an authority on finance. On 
the resignation of Sir John Darna he was appointed 
leader of the opposition; and on the fall of the cabi- 
net in Dec., 1899, he became for a short time pre- 
mier of the new ministry which was formed. Solo- 
mon was one of the members of the Federal Council 
which brought about the federation of the Austra- 
lian colonies. 

Bibliography : Jew. Worlds Dec. 8, 1899. 

j. G. L. 

SOLOMON DE VESOUL : Son of Manessier 
de Yesoul, who died in 1375 or 1378. By a decree 
of Charles Y., the Wise, he was appointed clerk and 
tax-gatherer for the Jews of France (Aug. 9, 1378). 
Like liis father and brothers, Solomon was in high 
favor at court, and received many proofs of the royal 
esteem; among other privileges conferred upon him 
was that of immunity from the obligation of wear- 
ing the Jews’ badge, which privilege was shared by 
the members of his family. 

s. J. Ka. 

SOLOMON IBN YA‘ISH BEN ABRA- 
HAM: 1. Spanish scholar, physician, and (proba- 
bly) Biblical commentator; died at Seville in May, 
1345. According to a Spanish tumular inscription 
of Seville, from which this date is taken, Solomon 
wrote many works on medical and other sciences, 
none of which is extant. He is probably identical 
with the Solomon ibn Ya‘ish called “the Elder,” a 
part of whose supercom men taiy, that relating to the 
ephod, on Ibn Ezra’s commentary on the Pentateuch, 
is found in Ezra Gatigno’s “Sefer lia-Zikronot,” p. 
139b (Neubauer, “Cat. Bodl. Ilebr. MSS.” No. 230). 
A fragment of Solomon’s supercom men taiy which 
explains a geometrical calculation is in the same 
collection (No. 232, 2b; comp. Samuel Zarzali, 
“Mekor Hay vim,” pp. 3ib-32b, Mantua, 1559). It 
may be that it is this Solomon ibn Ya‘ish who is 
mentioned by Ibn Yerga (“Shebet Yehudah,” ed. 
Wiener, § 7, p. 18) as one of the envoys sent by the 
Castilian Aljama (assembly of Jewish elders) to 
King Alfonso. 

2. (Solomon b. YaHsh the Younger [“lia- 
Bahur”! of Guadalajara.) Spanish commentator 
on Ibn Ezra’s commentary on the Pentateuch; the 
whole of his supercommc-ntary is found in the Bod- 
leian Library (Neubauer, l.c. No. 232,1). The copy- 


ist Joseph b. Eliezcr declares in the colophon that 
the text from which he made the copy was full of 
mistakes, many of which he corrected, while many 
others liad rendered the context so unintelligible that 
lie was compelled to retain them. The fact is that 
Solomon quotes passages from other commentaries, 
and it maybe that lie translated those passages from 
the Arabic without being able to render them 
throughout into good Hebrew. 

According to Steinsclineider (“ Jewish Literature,” 
p. 103), Solomon wrote liis supercommentary in 
Arabic, and, at the request of Samuel Zarzah, it 
was translated into Hebrew by Jacob b. Solomon 
Alfandari. Steinsclineider seems to con fuse the two 
Solomons, as he calls the author of this supercom- 
mentary Solomon ibn Ya‘ish ben Abraham; in fact, 
it is not known which of the two wrote in Arabic 
(see Ersch and Gruber, “Encyc.” section i., part 54, 
p. 359, note 15). The authorities quoted in the 
supercom men tary are Raslii, Maimonides, Abraham 
b. David Kimlii, Moses ibn Tibbon, and Meir b. Da- 
vid ; the last-named is in one place (in the part re- 
lating to Hayye Sarah) designated as "0*1 K, 
indicating that lie was Solomon’s father, but in 
another place (Balak) as 'm DIK (-“my mas- 
ter”); it is not known which reading is the correct 
one. 

Bibliography : Carmoly, in Jost’s Annalen, i. 303 ; Neubauer, 

Cat. Bodl. Ilebr. MSS. No. 233, 1 ; Steinscbneider, Hebr. 

Bibh vi. 115; Zunz, Z. G. p. 411. 

W. B. M. Sel. 

SOLOMON IBN ZAKBEL (bpX) : Spanish 
poet of the twelfth century ; relative of Abu Omar 
Joseph ibn Sahl, who died in 1124. Solomon was 
the author of a satirical romance written in the 
form of the Arabic “Makamat” of Abu al-Kasim 
Mohammed al-Harizi, which later were so ably imi- 
tated in Hebrew by Judali al-Harizi in his renowned 
“Tahkemoni.” The hero of this romance, which, 
according to Schorr, who published it (“He-Haluz,” 
iii. 154), is entitled “Tahkemoni,” is named Asher 
ben Judah; in rimed prose, interspersed with small 
poems in absolutely strict rhythm, he relates his 
love adventures, which were marked by various dis- 
appointments and vicissitudes of fortune. This 
poetical production, from which. Al-Harizi. may 
have borrowed both the title and the style, is re- 
markable for the elegance of its language and for 
its combination of profound thought and light ban- 
ter. Solomon’s poetical talent was highly praised 
by Judali al-Harizi in his “Tahkemoni ” (eh. xx.). 

Bibliography: Griitz, Gcseh. vi. 113; Steinscbneider, ITebr. 

Ucbcrs. p. 851. 

S. I. Bk. 

SOLOMON ZALMAN BEN ISAAC : Polish 
rabbi; died at Warsaw in 1838. After having filled 
the position of rabbi at Mashelsk and Praga, lie was 
called to the rabbinate of Warsaw, which he held 
until his death. Solomon carried on a scientific cor- 
respondence with Akiba Eger and Jacob of Lissa. 
He was the author of “ Hemdat Shelomoh ” (2 vols., 
Warsaw, 1816), containing responsa on the Shulhan 
‘Aruk and novelise on several Talmudical treatises; 
and he left in manuscript numerous Talmudical 
novelise, two volumes of which, comprising novella? 
on Yebamot, Ketubot, Kiddushim, Gittin, and Baba 



459 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Solomon TJrbino 
Solomons 


Batm, were published tinder the abovo-montioned 
title by his son and son-in-law. 

Bibliography: Steinsehneicler, Cat. limit, col. 2339 ; Fuenn, 

Kcncset Yiai'acU p. 328. 

E. C. I. Bit. 

SOLOMON Z ARE ATI. See Zakfati. 

SOLOMONOV, ABRAHAM: Russian author; 
born in Minsk 1778; died in St. Petersburg. He 
was a prominent propagandist of the Ilaskalah 
movement among the Russian Jews in the first half 
of the nineteenth century, for which task his in- 
timate knowledge of the Hebrew, Russian, and 
Polish languages made him especially fit. He took 
an active part in aiding the Russian government to 
reform internal affairs which affected the Jews; he 
was employed for many years b} r the government 
as a translator from Hebrew into Russian and Po- 
lish, and for six years he officiated as burgomaster 
(mayor) of his native town. After the dissolution 
(1825) of the so-called “Deputation of the Jewish 
Congregations of Russia,” which had continued in 
session in St. Petersburg for seventeen years, Solomo- 
nov, who had been connected with that body as a 
director of chancery, took up the practise of law in 
St. Petersburg. 

In his declining years Solomonov published 
“Mysl: Izrailityanina ” (Thoughts of an Israelite). 
One part of this book contains a collection of his- 
torical material concerning the settlement of the 
Jews in Europe, particularly in Poland, and a de- 
scription of their legal status in that country and in 
Russia under Alexander I. and Nicholas I. The 
other part of the book consists of citations from the 
Bible, from the Talmud, and from famous Hebrew 
theologians and philosophers, to which are addetl 
explanatory notes by the author himself. The aim 
of these citations and of the book in general was to 
persuade the Jews to abandon religious fanaticism, 
to adopt European civilization, to be patriotic citi- 
zens of their country, and to have confidence in the 
good intentions of the Russian government, 
n. b. S. IIu. 

SOLOMONS, ADOLPHUS SIMEON : Amer- 
ican communal worker; born in New York city Oct. 
•20, 1820; son of John Solomons, a native of London 
who emigrated to the United States in 1810, and of 
Julia, daughter of Simeon Levy. 

Solomons was educated in the University of the 
City of New York, and entered the employ of a 
firm of wholesale importers of stationery and fancy 
goods, becoming within two years its head book- 
keeper and confidential man. At the age of four- 
teen he had enlisted as a color-guide in the Third 
Regiment Washington Greys (New York State Na- 
tional Guard): he was promoted sergeant five 
years later, and received a certificate of discharge 
on May 11, 1S47. In 1851 Daniel Webster, then 
secretary of state, appointed him “Special Bearer 
of Despatches to Berlin.” On his journey he vis- 
ited for the first time a Jewish ward in a hospital, at 
Frankfort-on-tlie-Main, and determined to establish 
a similar institution in New York. Upon his return 
home he became a member of a committee of young 
men who arranged a ball for charity in Niblo’s 
Garden. The sum of $1,034 realized therefrom was, 


upon Solomons’ motion, placed in the hands of 
Simpson Simson of Yonkers, who, with others, had 
recently taken out a charter for a Jewish hospital in 
New York, the present Mt. Sinai Hospital. 

In 1859 Solomons established the publishing-house 
of Pliilp & Solomons in Washington, D. C., which 
held for a number of years the government contracts 
for printing. Solomons was in 1871 elected a mem- 
ber of the House of Representatives for the District 
of Columbia, serving as chairman of the committee 
on ways and means. 

As a representative of the central committee of the 
Alliance Israelite Universelle, Solomons at a public 
meeting held in New York advocated the establish- 
ment of the Montefiore Home for Chronic Invalids 
to mark the one-hundredth anniversary of Sir Moses 
Montefiore’s birth. As trustee and, subsequently, 
as acting president of the Jewish Theological Sem- 
inary Association of New York, he was influential 
in bringing about a successful reorganization of 
the society’s finances. In 1891 he became general 
agent of the Baron de Hirsch Fund and director of 
its many activities in America; and in 1903, when 
relieved of active work, he was made honorary 
general agent. 

Solomons was an incorporator and for seventeen 
years an active member of the National Association 
of the Red Cross, and was also one of its two vice- 
presidents. President Arthur appointed him and 
Clara Barton as representatives of the United States 
government in the International Congress of the Red 
Cross, held at Geneva, Switzerland, in 1881; and 
Solomons was elected vice-president of that con- 
gress. He was one of the five original members of 
the New York executive board of the Red Cross Re- 
lief Committee, which board was in session during 
the Spanish- American war and consisted of twenty- 
five members presided over by Bishop Potter. 

Solomons has been a member of the central com- 
mittee of the Alliance Israelite Universelle, and its 
treasurer for the United States. He has been for 
twenty years a director, and for some time treasurer, 
of the Columbia Hospital and Lying-in Asylum in 
Washington, D. C. ; he is also a charter member of 
the Garfield Memorial Hospital, acting president of 
the Provident Aid Society and Associated Charities, 
founder and president of the Night Lodging-House 
Association, and trustee of the first training-school 
for nurses in the District of Columbia; he has been 
identified also with nearly all the prominent chari- 
ties in the United States capital. 

Solomons has taken active part in all inaugura- 
tion ceremonies from Lincoln’s time to McKinley’s. 

a. F. T. H. 

SOLOMONS, LEVY : One of the founders of 
the Canadian Jewish community ; born early in the 
eighteenth century; died May 18, 1792. He settled 
in Montreal almost immediately after the British 
conquest. Before going to Canada he had lived 
in Albany, N. Y., where he retained interests, 
and occasionally resided, almost until the close of 
his life. He was largely engaged in traffic with 
the Indians, and his mercantile enterprises extended 
from Michilimackinac to the Gulf of St. Lawrence, 
and down the Hudson Ri ver. During the American 
invasion of Canada in 1775 General Montgomery 



Soloveichik 
Son of Man 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


460 


appointed Solomons purvejmr to the American hos- 
pitals in Canada; and the defeat of Montgomery 
brought disaster to Solomons, who lost the large 
quantities of stores carried off by the retreating 
troops. 

The valuable assistance Solomons had given the 
Revolutionists subjected him to punishment by the 
Canadian government; General Burgoyne expelled 
him in July, 1776; his property was confiscated, and 
he was compelled to take refuge with his family in 
Lachinc. Some time afterward he recovered some 
of his losses, and was permitted by the British gov- 
ernment to return to Montreal. Through his efforts 
in 1788 a code of laws was drawn up for the gov- 
ernment of tlie Sepliai'clic synagogue of Montreal. 

Solomons married (Ma} r 31, 1775) Rebekali Pranks, 
daughter of Abraham Franks (one of the earliest 
Jewish settlers in Canada), and cousin of Col. David 
Salisbuiy Franks and Col. Isaac Franks, both of 
whom figured prominently in the American Revolu- 
tionary war. Solomons had two sons and eight 
daughters. His eldest daughter, Mary, married 
Jacob Franks, the Hudson Bay trader, who was one 
of the founders of the town of Green Bay, Mich. 
His third daughter, Rachel (b. 1780), married (1803) 
Henry Joseph of Berthier, the founder of Canada’s 
merchant marine. His son Benjamin Samuel 
Solomons (b. 1786) married a daughter of Gershom 
Mendes Seixas of New York. 

Bibliography : Minutes of the Corporation of Spanish and 

Portuguese Jews, Shear ith Israel , Montreal (unpublished); 

Publ. Am. Jew. Hist. Soc. Nos. 2, 4, and 10. 

J. C. I. DE S. 

SOLOVEICHIK, JOSEPH BAER ; Russian 
Talmudist and rabbi; born at Nieswish, Russia, 
1820; died May 1, 1892. At an early age he was 
sent to Yolozliin, where he studied under R. Simon 
and then entered the yesliibah. When R. Gershon 
of Minsk was compelled by ill health to surren- 
der the direction of the yesliibah at Minsk, Solovei- 
chik was chosen by Gershon as his successor. While 
in Yolozliin lie married into a wealthy family; but 
soon afterward, failing to give the correct order of 
the prayers on a certain holy day, lie was compelled 
by his father-in-law to divorce his wife. This so 
embittered him that he determined to leave Russia 
and study under R. Kluger at Brody. There, ac- 
cordingly, he went, in the company of a carrier, to 
whom he had hired himself as an assistant. 

From Brody he went to Lemberg to study under 
Arenstein ; thence he soon removed to Kovno, and 
then to Yolozliin, where he occupied the posi- 
tion of teacher in the yesliibah and later that of 
rabbi. In 1865 lie was called to Slurzk, in 1876 to 
Warsaw, and two years later to Brisk, Lithuania, 
where he founded (1890) a society for the Jewish 
colonization of Palestine. In 1889 he was a member 
of the committee of prominent Jews convoked in St. 
Petersburg by the Russian government to discuss 
the condition of the Jews in Russia and to discover 
means of improving it. 

Soloveichik’s writings include: “She’elot u-Te- 
sliubot Bet ha-Levi ” (part i., Wilna, 1865; part ii., 
Warsaw, 1874; part in,, ib. 1884). 

Bibliography : Ha-Asif , vol. vi. 

e. c. J. Go. 


SOLOVYEV, VLADIMIR SERGEYE- 
VICH: Russian publicist and friend of the Jews; 
born 1853 ; died in 1900. In an article, “Rossiyai 
Yevropa,” he opposed the attitude of the Slavyano- 
pliil party against the Jews. He became a member 
of the Society for the Promotion of Culture Among 
the Jews of Russia, and took an active part in the 
work of the Historical and Ethnographical Society. 
Even on his death-bed he is said to have prayed for 
the Jewish people. 

His chief works are: “ Kfisis Zapadnoi Philoso- 
phic’ ; “La Russie et l’Eglise Universelle “Isfco- 
rya Budusclmosti Teokratii ” (“ Philosophiya Bib- 
liskoi Istorii”); “ Opravdanye Dobra”; and “I 

Islritikia. Otvlechennyka ^aclael.” 

Bibliography : Statyi o Solovyevye. Padlova i Arsenyeva , in 

the Russian edition of Brockhdus Knnvermtions-Lexihon; 

Vyestnik Yevropy , Sept., J900 ; Voskhod , Nov., 1900; Khro- 

nika Voskhod a, 1900, Nos. 00 and 09. 

U. R. * 

SOLYMOSI, ESTHER. See Tisza-Eszlar. 

SOMEKH, ABDALLAH ABRAHAM JO- 
SEPH: Rabbi of Bagdad; born in that city 1813; 
died there 18S9. He was educated by Rabbis Jacob 
Joseph ha-Rofe aud, Moses Hayyim, the latter of 
whom held the office of ab bet din. Somekh, who 
was looked upon as the spiritual head of the Bagdad 
community, was well known also in other parts of 
Asia, especially India, and his legal decisions were 
generally accepted as conclusive. About twenty 
yeshibot were established through his influence with 
the Sassoon family, E. R. Menashe, and other mem- 
bers of the Calcutta community. 

Somekh left in manuscript a work on ritual, parts 
of which were published after his death (Bagdad, 
1900) under the title “Ziblie Zedek.” A riot oc- 
curred at his funeral, the Mussulmans objecting 
to his being buried near one of the tombs of their 
local saints. Of Somekh ’s pupils, still living, may 
be mentioned Joseph Hayyim Moses; Abraham 
Hallel, the present ab bet din at Bagdad ; Ezekiel 
Solomon David; and Ezra Cohen. 

j. N. E. B. E. 

SOMMO, JUDAH. See Judaii Leone e. 
Isaac Sommo. 

SON. Sec Child, TnE. 

SON OF GOD : Term applied to an angel or 
demigod, one of the mythological beings whose ex- 
ploits are described in Gen. vi. 2-4, and whose ill 
conduct was among the causes of the Flood; to 
a judge or ruler (Ps. lxxxii. 6, “children of the 
Most High ” ; in many passages “ gods ” and “ judges ” 
seem to be equations; comp. Ex. xxi. 6 [R. V., mar- 
gin] and xxii. 8, 9) ; and to the real or ideal king 
over Israel (II Sam. vii. 14, with reference to David 
and his dynasty : comp. Ps. lxxxix. 27, 28). “Sons 
of God” and “children of God ” arc applied also to 
Israel as a people (comp. Ex. iv. 22 and IJos. xi. 1) 
and to all members of the human race. 

Yet the term by no means carries the idea of phys- 
ical descent from, and essential unity with, God 
the Father. The Hebrew idiom conveys nothing 
further than a simple expression of godlikeness (see 
Godliness). In fact, the term “son of God” is 
rarely used in Jewish literature in the sense of 



461 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Soloveichik 
Son of Man 


“ Messiah. ” Though in Sukkali 52a the words of Ps. 
ii. 7; 8 are put into the mouth of Messiah, son of 
David, he himself is not called “son of God.” The 
more familiar epithet is “King Messiah,” based 
partly on this psalm (Gen. R. xliv.). In the Tar- 
gum the p of Ps. lxxx. 16 is rendered NfWD 
(= “King Messiah”), while Ps. ii. 7 is paraphrased 
in a manner that removes the anthropomorphism of 
the Hebrew : “ Thou art beloved unto me, like a son 
unto a father, pure as on the day when I created 
thee.” 

The Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha contain a 
few passages in which the title “son of God” is 
given to the Messiah (see Enoch, cv. 2 ; IV Esdras 
vii, 3S-39; xiii. 33, 37, 53 ; xiv. 9); but tlie title be- 
longs also to any one whose piety has placed him in 
a filial relation to God (see Wisdom ii. 13, 16, 18; 
v. 5, where “ the sons of God ” are identical with “ the 
saints”; comp.Ecclus. [Siracli] iv. 10). Itis through 
such personal relations that the individual becomes 
conscious of God’s fatherhood, and gradually in 
Hellenistic and rabbinical literature 
The Pious “ sonsliip to God ” was ascribed first to 
as Sons of every Israelite and then to every mem- 
God. ber of the human race (Abot iii. 15, 
v. 20 ; Ber. v. 1 ; see Abba). The God- 
childsliip of man has been especially accentuated in 
modern Jewish theology, in sharp contradistinction 
to the Christian God-sonship of Jesus. The appli- 
cation of the term “son of God” to tlie Messiah 
rests chiefly on Ps. ii. 7, and the other Messianic 
passages quoted above. 

The phrase “ the only begotten son ” (John iii. 
16) is merely another rendering for “the beloved 
son.” The Septuagiut translates yprp (“thine only 
son ”) of Gen. xxii. 2 by “thy beloved son.” But in 
this translation there is apparent a special use of the 
root **jn\ of frequent occurrence in rabbinical litera- 
ture, as a synonym of nrD (“choose,” “elect”; see 
Bacher, “Die Aelteste Terminologie der Jiidischen 
Schriftauslegung,” s.v.); the “only begotten ” thus 
reverts to the attribute of the “ servant ” who is the 
“ chosen ” one. 

It has been noted that the Gospel of John and the 
First Epistle of John have given the term a meta- 
physical and dogmatic significance. Undoubtedly 
the Alexandrian Logos concept has had a forma- 
tive and dominant influence on the presentation of 
the doctrine of Jesus’ sonship in the Johannean wri- 
tings. The Logos in Philo is designated as the “ son 
of God”; the Logos is the first-born; God is the 
father of the Logos (“De Agricultura Noe,” § 12 
[ed. Mangey, i. 308]; “De Profugis,” § 20 'fed.' 
Mangey, i. 562]). In all probability these terms, 
while implying the distinct personality of the 
Logos, carry only a figurative meaning. The Torah 
also is said to be God’s “daughter” (Lev. R. xx.). 
At all events, the data of the Synoptic Gospels show 
that Jesus never styled himself the son of God in a 
sense other than that in which the righteous might 
call themselves “sons ” or “children ” of God. 

The parable of the faithless husbandmen and the 
vineyard (Mark xii. 1 et seq .) certainly does not bear 
out the assumption that Jesus described himself as 
the “son of God ” in a specific theological sense. 
The parable recalls the numerous “son” stories in 


the Midrash, in w T hich “son ” is employed just as it 
is here, and generally in similar contrast to servants. 
If these considerations create a strong presumption 
in favor of the view that the original gospel did not 
contain the title, the other Synoptics do not veil the 
fact that all men are destined to be God’s children 
(Matt. v. 45; Luke vi. 35). The term is applied in 
Matt. v. 9 to the peacemakers. God is referred to as 
the “Father” of the disciples in Matt. x. 29, xxiii. 
9, and Luke xii. 32. Several parables illustrate this 
thought (Luke xv. 11 et seq. and Matt, xxi, 28 et 
seq.). Much has been made of the distinction said 
to appear in the pronouns connected with “Father,” 
“ our ” and “ your ” appearing when the disciples are 

ressed , wliile 44 my ” is exclusively reserved to 

express the relation with Jesus, and then, too, with- 
out the further qualification “who art [or “is”] in 
heaven” (see Dalman, “Worte Jesu,” pp. 157, 230). 
But in the Aramaic this distinction is certainly not 
pronounced enough to warrant the conclusion that 
a different degree or kind of sonship is conveyed by 
the singular pronoun from what would be expressed 
by the plural. In the Aramaic the pronoun would not 
appear at all, “Abba” indiscriminately serving for 
tlie apostrophe both in the prayer of a single indi- 
vidual and in the prayer of several. 

The title occurs with a distinct theological signifi- 
cance in Rev. ii. 18 and xxii. 13, as it does in the 
Pauline documents (Rom. i. 3, 4; viii. 3, 4, 32 [Jesus 
is God’s Uioq , i.e., own son] ; and in Heb. i. 2, 8, 6 ; v. 
5, 8). These writings indicate that the rise of the 
dogma was subsequent to the decades marked by 
the ministry of Jesus and his immediate disciples. 
See Fall of Angels; God, Children of. 
k. E. G. H. 

SON OF MAN : The rendering for the Hebrew 
“ben adam,” applied to mankind in general, as op- 
posed to and distinct from non-liuman relationship; 
expressing also the larger, unlimited implications 
of humanity as differentiated from limited ( e.g ., 
national) forms and aspects of human life. Thus, 
contrasted with the “sons of God ” (“bene Elohim ”) 
are the “daughters of man” (“benot ha-adam”), 
women taken by the former, non-liuman or super- 
human, beings as wives (Gen. vi. 2 et seq.). As ex- 
pressing difference from God, the term occurs in the 
blessing of Balaam: “God is not a man, that he 
should lie; neither the son of man. 
In Contrast that he should repent” (Num. xxiii. 

to Deity. 19). Similarly, David appealing to 
Saul puts Yiiwh over and against the 
children of men (I Sam. xxvi. 19). The punishment 
of God, also, is contrasted with that of the “children 
of men,” the former being much more severe, as ap- 
pears from the promise solemnty given to David (II 
Sam. vii. 14). God alone knows the heart of the 
“children of man ” (II Chron. vi. 29 et seq.). In the 
prajmr in which this thought is expressed, “man ” is 
used in distinction to the “people of Israel”; in- 
deed, “children of men ” appears to mark a contrast 
to “children of Israel ” in the Song of Moses (Deut. 
xxxii. 8, R. V.). 

“Son of man” is a common term in the Psalms, 
used to accentuate the difference between God and 
human beings. As in Ps. viii. 4 (A. V, 5), the 
phrase implies “mortality,” “impotence,” “tran- 



Son of Man 
Soncino 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


462 


sientness,” as against the omnipotence and eternality 
of God. Yiiwii looks down from His throne in 
heaven upon the “children,” or “sons,” of “man” 
(Ps. xi. 4, xxxiii. 13). The faithful fail among them 
(Ps. xii. 2 [A. Y. 1]); the seed of YuwiTs enemies 
will not abide among the “children of men” (Ps. 
xxi. 10). “Children of men” is thus equivalent to 
“mankind” (Ps. xxxvi. S [A. Y. 7], lxvi. 5). 

“Sous of men,” or “children of men,” designates 
also the slanderers and evil-doers in contrast to the 
righteous, that is, Israel (Ps. lvii. 5 [A. V. 4], lviii. 
2 [A. Y. 1]). It occurs most frequently, however, 
as a symonym for “mankind,” “the human race” 
(Ps. xc. 3, evii. 8, cxv. 16, cxlv. 12); it has this sense 
also in the passage in which wisdom is said to delight 
with the “ sons of men ” (Prov. viii. 31). Job (xvi. 21) 
employs the expression in the passionate plea for his 
rights while he is contending against God and against 
his neighbors. But Bildad insists that the “ son of 
man,” who is a mere worm, can not be justified 
with God (Job xxv. 4-6). In the same spirit the 
prophet (Isa. li. 12) censures Israel for being afraid 
of “ the son of man which shall be made as grass ” 
when Yiiwii is 
their Comforter ; 
but in Isa. lvi. 

2-3 the Sabbath 
is extolled as 
making the “son 
of man” (i.e., 
any man, re- 
gardless of 
birth) blessed ; 
indeed, God has 
His eyes “open 
upon all the 
ways of the sons 
of men; to give 
every one ac- 
cording to his 
ways” (Jer. 
xxxii. 19). 

The meaning of the term as employed in these 
passages admits of no doubt; it connotes in most 
cases the mortality of man, liis dependence upon 
God, while in only a few it serves to differentiate 
the rest of the human race from Israel. 

In Ezekiel the term occurs in Yiiwii 5 s communi- 
cations as the prevailing form of address to the 
prophet (ii. 1; iii. 1, 4, 10, 17; iv. 1 etal.\ in all 
about 90 times). It lias been held that it conveyed 
the special idea that a wide chasm stood between 
God, the speaker, and the prophet so addressed, but 
that it implied at the same time that Ezekiel was 
considered to be the ideal man. This 
In Ezekiel, view must be abandoned as unwar- 

Daniel, ranted. The term “ben adam” is 
and Enoch., merely'' a cumbersome but solemn and 
formal substitute for the personal 
pronoun, such substitution being due, perhaps, 
to the influence of Assy ro-Baby Ionian usage (see 
Delitzsch, “ Worterbucli,” s.v. “Amelu”; comp, 
“zir amiluti ” in the Babylonian myth concerning 
Adapa). 

Similarly in Aramaic, “ son of man ” is the usual des- 
ignation for “man,” and occurs in the inscriptions 


in Syriac, Mandate, Talmudic, and other dialects (see 
Nathanael Schmidt in Cheyne and Black, “Encyc. 
Bibl.” iv. 4707-4708). In Dan. vii. 13, the passage 
in which it occurs in Biblical Aramaic, it certainly 
connotes a “human being.” Many see a Messianic 
significance in this verse, but in all probability the 
reference is to an angel with a human appearance, 
perhaps Michael. 

“ Son of man ” is found in the Book of Enoch, 
but never in the original discourses. It occurs, 
however, in the Noacliian interpolations (lx. 10, lxxi. 
14), in which it has clearly no other meaning than 
“man,” if, indeed, Charles’ explanation (“Book of 
Enoch,” p. 16), that the interpolator misused the 
term, as he does all other technical terms, is unten- 
able. In that part of the Book of Enoch known as 
the “ Similitudes ” it is met with in the technical 
sense of a supernatural Messiah and judge of the 
world (xlvi. 2, xlviii. 2, lxx. 27); universal domin- 
ion and preexistenee are predicated of him . (xlviii. 
2, lx vii. 0). He sits on God’s throne (xlv. 3, li. 3), 
which is His own throne. Though Charles does not 
admit it, these passages betray Christian redaction 

and e m e n d a - 
lion. 

Among Jews 
the term “ son 
of man” was 
not used as the 
speciflc title of 
the Messiah. 
The New Testa- 
ment expression 
iiibg tgv avBpu- 
t -ov is a transla- 
tion of the Ara- 
maic “ bar ua- 
slia,” and as such 
could have been 
understood only 
as the substi- 
tute for a per- 
sonal pronoun, or as emphasizing the human 
qualities of those to whom it is applied. That the 
term does not appear in any of the epistles ascribed 
to Paul is signifleant. Psalm viii. 5-7 is quoted in 
Heb. ii. 6 as referring to Jesus, but outside the Gos- 
pels, Acts vii. 56 is the only verse in the New 
Testament in which the title is employed; and 
here it may be a free translation of tlie Aramaic for 
“a man,” or it may have been adopted from Luke 
xxii. 69. 

In the Gospels the title occurs eighty-one times. 
Most of the recent writers (among them being II. 
Lietzmann) have come to the conclusion that Jesus, 
speaking Aramaic, could never have 
In tlie designated himself as the “son of 
New Tes- man ” in a Messianic, mystic sense, be- 
tament. cause the Aramaic term never implied 
this meaning. Greek translators coined 
the phrase, which then led, under the influence of 
Dan. vii. 13 aud the Logos gospel, to the theolog- 
ical construction of the title which is basic to the 
Ohristology of the Church. To this construction 
reference is made in Abbalm’s controversial saying in 
Ta‘an. 65b. Indeed, examination of many of the 



Head-Piece Employed by the Soncinos. 

(From the Earlier Prophets, printed in 14S5.) 


463 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Son of Man 
Soncino 


passages shows that in the mouth of Jesus the term 
was an equivalent for the personal pronoun “I.” 

E. G. II. 

SONCINO: Italian family of printers, deriving 
its name from the town of Soncino, in the duchy 
of Milan. It traces its descent through a Moses of 
Fiirth, who is mentioned in 1455, back to a certain 
Moses of Speyer, of the middle of the fourteenth 
centurjL The first of the family engaged in print- 
ing was Israel Nathan b. Samuel, the father of 
Joshua Moses and the grandfather of Gershon. He 
set up his Hebrew printing-press in Soncino in the 
year 1483, and published his first work, the tractate 
Berakot, Feb, 2, 1484. The press was moved about 
considerably during its existence. It can be traced 
at Soncino in 1483-86 ; Casal Maggiore, 1486 ; Son- 
cino again, 14S8-90; Naples, 1490-92; Brescia, 1491- 
1494; Barco, 1494-97; Fano, 1503-6 ; Pesaro, 1507-20 
(with intervals at Fano, 1516, and Ortona, 1519); 
Rimini, 1521-26. Members of the family were at 
Constantinople between 1530 and 1533, and had a 
branch establishment at Salonica in 1532-33. Their 
printers’ mark was a tower, probably connected in 
some way with Casal Maggiore. 

The last of the Soncinos was Eleazar b. Gershon, 
who worked at Constantinople from 1534 to 1547. 
It is obvious that the mere transfer of their workshop 
must have had a good deal to do with the develop- 
ment of the printing art among the Jews, both in 
Italy and in Turkey. While they devoted their main 
attention to Hebrew books, they published also a con- 
siderable number of works in general literature, and 
even religious works with Christian symbols. 

The Soncino prints, though not the earliest, ex- 
celled all the others in their perfection of type and 
their correctness. The Soncino house is distin- 
guished also by the fact that the first Hebrew Bible 
was printed there. An allusion to the forthcoming 
publication of this edition was made by the type- 
setter of the “ ‘Ikkarim. 77 (1485), who, on page 4o, par- 
odied Isa. ii. 3 thus: “ Out of Zion shall go forth the 
Law, and the word of the Lord from Soncino 77 
(mneyD 'n im nun jtvd \3). Abraham b. 
Hayyim’s name appears in the Bible edition as type- 
setter, and the correctors included Solomon b. Perez 
Bonfoi (“Mibhar lia-Peninim ”), Gabriel Strassburg 
(Berakot), David b. Elijah Levi and Mordecai b. 
Reuben Baselea (Hullin), and Eliezer b. Samuel 
(“Tad”). M. Sel. — J. 

The following is a list of the Hebrew productions 
of the Soncinos: 

1. Talmud, Berakot. Soncino (published), Feb. 2, 14S4; (fin- 

ished) Dec. 19, 14S3. 

2. Talmud, Bezah. Soncino (published) , Feb. 2, 1484 : (finished 

Dee. 19, i4S3. 

3. Ibn Gabirol, “ Mibliar ha-Peninim.” Soncino, Jan. 14, 1484. 

4. Jedaiah Bedersi, “Behinat ‘Olam.” Soncino, Dec. 12, 1484. 

5. Abot, with Maimonides. Soncino (published), 1484; (fin- 

ished) 1484-5. 

6. Jacob b. Asher, “Orah Hayyim.” Soncino, 14S5 (?). 

7. Talmud, Megillah. Soncino, 1485 (?). 

8. Joshua and Judges, with Kimhi. Soncino, 1485. 

9. Mahzor, Roman rite, vol. i. Soncino (begun), Oct., 14S5; 

Casal Maggiore (finished), Aug., 1486. 

10. Earlier Prophets, with Kimhi. Soncino, Oct. 15, 14S5. 

11. Joseph Albo, “ ‘Ikkarim.” Soncino, Dec. 29, 1485. 

12. Later Prophets, with Kimhi. Soncino, 1486 (?). 

13. Haggadah (editio princeps). Soncino, 1486. 


14. Teflllat Yahid. Soncino, April 17, 1486. 

15. Mahzor, Roman (vol. ii.). Casal Maggiore, Aug. 21, 1486. 

16. Talmud, Ketubot. Soncino, 1486-87. 

17. Seder Tahanunim. Soncino, April, 1487. 

18. Talmud, tiittin. Soncino, 1487. 

19. Talmud, Baba MezPa. Soncino, 1487. 

20. Rashi on the Pentateuch. Soncino, June 16, 1487. 

21. Bedersi, “ Bakkashat ha-Memin ” ; Ezobi, “ Ka‘arat Reset.” - 

Soncino, 1488. 

22 . M. Kimhi, “ Mahalak Shebile ha-Da‘at.” Soncino, 14S8. 

23 . Bible. Soncino, Feb. 23, 1488. 

24. Moses de Coney, -Semag ” (2ded.). Soncino, Dec. 19, U88. 

25. Talmud, Shabbat. Soncino. 1489. 

26. Talmud, Baba ICamma. Soncino, 1489. 

27. Talmud, Hullin. Soncino, June 13, 1489. 

28. Talmud, Niddah. Soncino, July 22, 1489. 

29. “Tefillah Mikol ha-Shanah.” Soncino. 1490 (?). 

30. J. Landau, *‘Sefer Agur.” Naples, 1490 (?). 

31. Jacob ben Asher. “ Arba‘ah Turim.” Soncino. c. 1490. 

32. Maimonides, “Mishneh Torah.” Soncino, March 23, 1490. 

33. Psalms, Proverbs, Job. Naples, Dec. 12, 1490. 

34. Isaac ibn Sahulahy Masbalha-Kadraoni.” Soncino, 1490-91. 

35. Bible. Naples, 1491. 

36. Pentateuch (with accents). Naples, 1491. 

37. Immanuel Romi, “Mahberot.” Brescia, Oct. 30, 1491. 

38. Pentateuch, with Megillot, etc. Brescia, Jan. 23, 1492. 

39. Mishnah, with Maimonides. Naples, May 8, 1492. 

40. Talmud, Bezah. Soncino, 1493. 

41. Pentateuch. Brescia, Nov. 24, 1493. 

42. Psalms. Brescia, Dec. 16, 1493. 

43. Bible (with accents). Brescia, May, 1494. 

44. Mahzor, German rite (2d ed.) . Soncino (or Brescia ?), 1495. 
4». Tefillot, German rite. Brescia, 1495. 

46. Selihot, German rite. Brescia, 1495. 

47. Selihot. Barco, Sept. 15, 1497. 

48. Talmud Babli, Sanhedrin. Barco, Nov. 16, 1497. 

•±9. Hosba‘not. Fano, 1503. 

50. Siddur Tefillot. Fano, 1504 (?). 

51. Hai Gaon, “Musar baskel.” Fano, Oct. 17, 1504. 

52. Selihot. Fano (or Pesaro ?), 1505. 

53. Eleazar of Worms, “ Sefer ha-Rokeah.” Fano, 1505. 

54. Italian Siddur, in Hebrew characters. Fano, Oct., 1505. 

55. Joseph Albo, “ Sefer ‘Ikkarim.” Fano, 1506. 

56. Judah ha-Levi, “Cuzari.” Fano, 1506. 

57. Tahanunim. Fano, 1506. 

58. Haggadah. Fano, 1503-6. 

59. Jonah Gbirondi, “ Sha‘are ha-Teshubah.” Fano, 1504-6. 

60. Mahzor.- Fano, 1504-6. 

61. Bahya b. Asher on the Pentateuch. Pesaro, May 26, 1507. 

62. “ Petah Debarai.” Pesaro, 1507-8. 

03. Kimhi, “Pikduk.” Pesaro, 1508. 

64. Tefillah. Pesaro, 1508. 

65. Talmud, Yebainot. Pesaro, 1508. 

66. Talmud, Bezah, with Rashi. Pesaro, 1509-10. 

67. Talmud, Baba Kamma. Pesaro, 1510 (?) . 

68. “ Mabo ‘al Otiyyot ‘Ibriyyot.” Pesaro, 1510. 

09. Talmud, Berakot, with Rashi, etc. Pesaro, 1510. 

70. Bible. Pesaro, April 12, 1511. 

71. Earlier Prophets, with Kimhi. Pesaro, April 12, 1511. 

72. Talmud, Baba Batra. Pesaro, 1511-12. 

78. Talmud, Megillah. Pesaro, 1511-12. 

74. Earlier Prophets, with Abravanel. Pesaro, 1512. 

75. Nahmanides on the Pentateuch. Pesaro, 1513-14. 

76. Talmud, ‘Abodah Zarah. Pesaro, 1513-14. 

77. Bahya b. Asher, with Pentateuch. Pesaro, 1514. 

78. Gersonides on the Pentateuch. Pesaro. 1514. 

79. The Later Prophets, with Kimhi. Pesaro, 1515. 

80. Talmud, Mo‘ed Katan. Pesaro, 1515. 

81. Mahzor, German rite. Pesaro, 1515. 

82. Talmud, Sukkah. Pesaro, 1515. 

83. Talmud, ‘Erubin. Pesaro, 1515. 

84. Jacob b. Asher, Arba‘ah Turim.” Fano, 1516. 

85. Kimhi, “Dikduk.” Pesaro, 1517 (?). 

86. Bible, second part. Pesaro, 1517- 

87. Bahya b. Asher on the Pentateuch. Pesaro, 1517. 

88. Nathan b. Jeliiel, “ ‘Aruk.” Pesaro, Feb., 1517. 

89. Kimhi, “ Dikduk.” Ortona, 151S. 

90. Talmud, Hullin. Pesaro, 1519. 

91. Megillot Rabbah. Pesaro, 1519. 

92. Mahzor. Rimini (?), 1520 (?). 

93. Elijah Levita, “Pirke Eliyahu.” Pesaro, 1520. 

94. Albo, “Sefer ‘Ikkarim.” Salonica. 1520. 

95 Later Prophets, with Abravanel. Rimini, 1520. 

96 Mahzor. Rimini, 1521. 

97. Yalkut ShinPoni. Salonica, 1521. 



Soncino 
Song- of Moses 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


464 


9S. Albo, “ Sefer Tkkarim.” Rimini, 1533. 

99. Rasbi on the Pentateuch. Rimini, 1525. 

100. Benveniste, “Melizat ‘Efer we-Dinah.” Rimini, 1525. 

101. “ Kol Bo.” Rimini, 1525. 

102. Bahya on the Pentateuch. Rimini, 1526. 

103. Landau. “ Sefer Agur.” Rimini, 1526. 

104. Maohir, “ Abkat Rokel.” Rimini, 1526. 

105. Mahzor. Salouica, 1526. 

106. Yalkut Shim‘oni. Salouica. 1526-27. 

107. Mahzor. Salonica. 1529. 

108. Siddur Teflllot. Constantinople, 1530. 

109. Bulat, “Kelal Kazer.” Constantinople, 1530-31. 

110. Bashyazi, “ Adderet Eliyahu.” Constantinople, 1530-31. 

111. Hai Gaon, “Musar Haskel.” Constantinople, 1531. 

112. Kimhi, “ Miklol,” 8vo. Constantinople, 1530-32. 

113. Kimlii, “Miklol,” fol. Constantinople, 1532-34. 

114. Alin oil, “Sha‘ar ha-Shem he-Hadash.” Constantinople, 

1532. 

115. Kimlii, “Shorashim.” Salonica, 1532-33. 

116. Jabez, “ Hasde Adonai.” Constantinople, 1532-33. 

117. Mizrahi, “ Sefer ha-Mispar.” Constantinople, 1533-34. 

118. Rissirn,” Derashot,” Constantinople. 1533. 

119. Immanuel, “Mahberot.” Constantinople, 1535. 

120. Vital, “ Keter Torah.” Constantinople, 1536. 

121. David Kohen, Responsa. Constantinople, 1537. 

122. Kalaz, “Sefer lia-Musar.” Constantinople, 1536-37. 

123. Aboab, “ Nehar Pishon.” Constantinople, 1538. 

124. Shalom, “Newell Shalom.” Constantinople, 153S. 

125. Illescas, “ Imre No‘am.” Constantinople, 1539. 

126 Jacob b. Asher, “Arba‘ Turim.” Constantinople, 1539-1540. 
127. Algaba, “Amadis de Gaul.” Constantinople, 1540. 

12S. Ibn Yahya, “Lesliou Limmunim.” Constantinople, 1542. 

129. Sbabbethai, “Minhat Yehudah.” Constantinople, 1543. 

130. Shabbethai, “Milhemet ha-Hokmah weha-’Osber.” Con- 

stantinople, 1543. 

131. Benjamin of Tudela, “Mas‘ot shel-R. Binyamin.” Con- 

stantinople, 1543. 

133. Ibn Yahya, “Stub ‘ah ‘Enayim.” Constantinople, 1543-44. 

133. Job. Constantinople, 1543-45. 

134. Solomon ibn Gabirol, “Diwan.” Constantinople, 1545. 

135. Pentateuch : Aramaic, Hebrew, Persian, and Arabic. Con- 

stantinople, 1546. 

136. Pentateuch : Aramaic, Hebrew, Greek, and Spanish. Con- 

stantinople, 1547. 

137. Barfat, Responsa. Constantinople, 1546-47. 

Eleazar b. Gershon Soncino : Printer between 
1534 and 1547. He completed “ Miklol ” (finished in 
1534), tlie publication of which had been begun by 
his father, and published “Meleket lia-Mispar,” in 
1547; and Isaac b. Shesliet’s responsa, likewise in 
1547. 

Gershon b. Moses Soncino (in Italian Avorks, 
Jeronimo Girolima Soncino ; in Latin Avorks, 
Hieronymus Soncino) : The most important 
member of the family; bom probably at Soncino ; 
died at Constantinople 1588. He claims to have 
been of great assistance to the exiles from Spain, 
and especially to those from Portugal ; and he made 
journeys to France in order to collect manuscripts 
for the Avorks to be printed. He makes a pun upon 
his name by printing it as two Avords, “Ger Slion,” 
referring to his many travels. In dedicating his 
edition of Petrarch (Fano, 1503) to Caesar Borgia, he 
mentions that he had had Latin, Greek, and HebreAv 
types cut out by Francisco da Bologna, A\diois cred- 
ited also Avith having made the cursive types attrib- 
uted to Aldus Mauritius. It is curious that Aldus, 
for his introduction to a Hebrew grammar (Venice, 
1501), used the same types that had been em- 
ployed by Soncino in 1492. 

Israel Nathan To. Samuel b. Moses Soncino : 

Died at Brescia., probably in 1492. He wrote tlie Epi- 

logue for the Casal Maggiore Mahzor of 1486. It 
Avas at his suggestion that his son Joshua Soncino 
took up the Avork of printing. 


Joshua Solomon b. Israel Nathan Soncino : 

Printer at Soncino from 1483 to 1488, at Naples from 
1490 to 1492. He Avas the uncle of Gershon Soncino. 
It Avould appear that he had most to do with starting 
the printing of the Talmud. 

Moses Soncino : Printer at Salonica in 1526 and 
1527; assisted in tlie printing of the Catalonian Mah- 
tior and of the first part of the Yalkut. 

Bibliography : Steinscbneider, Cat. Bodl. cols. 3053-3058; 
idem, Hehr. Bihl. ii. J25-130: idem, in Ersch and Gruber, 
Encyc. section ii., part 28, pp. 35-36, 38; G. Manzoni, Annale 
Typographic del Soncino , Bologna, 1886; M. Sacchi, I 
Tipograji Ebrei di Soncino , p. 22. 

J. 

SONG OF MOSES. — Biblical Data; Poem 
found in Deut. xxxii. 1-43. It is said that “ Moses 
spake in tlie ears of all the assembly of Israel the 
Avoids of this song ” (Deut. xxxi. 30, R. V. ; comp. 
ib. xxxii. 44). The song exhibits striking original- 
ity of form; noA\diere else in the Old Testament 
are prophetic thoughts presented in poetical dress on 
so large a scale. 

Tlie poem opens Avitli an exordium (verses 1-3) in 
Avhicli heaven and earth are summoned to hear what 
the poet is to utter. In verses 4-6 tlie theme is de- 
fined: it is the rectitude and faithfulness of Yhavii 
toward His corrupt and faithless people. Verses 
7-14 portray tlie providence which conducted Israel 
in safety through the wilderness and gave it a rich 
and fertile land ; Akerses 15-18 are devoted to Israel’s 
unfaithfulness and lapse into idolatry. This lapse 
had compelled Yhavii to threaten it (\mrses 19-27) 
with national disaster and almost Avith national ex- 
tinction. Verses 28-43 describe Iioav Yiiavh has de- 
termined to speak to the Israelites through tlie ex- 
tremity of their need, to lead them to a better mind, 
and to grant them victory over their foes. 

The general plan of tlie poem resembles that of 
Ps. lxxAnii., cv., cvi., and the prose of Ezek. xx., as 
Avell as the allegories of Ezek. xvi. and xxiii. In 
the Song of Moses, however, the theme is treated 
Avith greater completeness and Avith superior poetic 
power. 

Critical View : Tlie poet Avas also an artist. 

Conspicuous literary ability and artistic skill are 
manifested in the development of his theme. His 
figures are diversified and forcible; the parallelism 
is unusually regular. One of the best examples of 
poetic simile in the Bible occurs in verses 11 and 12 
of this song : 

“ Like a vulture, that stirreth up its nest, 

That hovereth over its young. 

He spread abroad His wings, He took him. 

He bore him upon His pinion : 

Yhavii alone did lead him ; 

And no foreign god was with Him.” (Driver's transl.) 
The conditions presupposed by the poem render 
the Mosaic authorship of it impossible. The Exo- 
dus and the wilderness wanderings lie in tlie dis- 
tant past. The writer’s contemporaries may learn 
of them from tlieir fathers (verse 7). The Israelites 
are settled in Palestine (verses 13—14) ; sufficient time 
has passed for them not only to fall into idolatry 
(verses 15-19), but to be brought to the verge of 

ruin. They are pressed liard b 3 r heathen foes (verse 
30) ; but Yhavii promises to interpose and rescue his 
people (verses 34-43). The post-Mosaic origin of 
the poem is therefore clear; and these historical 






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Page from the First edition of Albo’s ‘“Ikkarim,” Printed by Joshua Solomon Soncino, 1485. 

(In the Columbia University Library, New York.) 


XI. -80 



Song* of Songs [dren 

Song of the Three Holy Chil- 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


466 


arguments are confirmed by the theological ideas 
and phraseolog}' of the poem, neither of these being 
characteristic of the age of Moses. 

On the other hand, there are many points of con- 
tact, botli in expression and in theological concep- 
tion, with the prophets of the eighth to the fifth 
century b.c. Critics are not agreed, however, on the 
precise date of the song. Formerly, when all of 
Deut. xxxi. 14-23 was referred to JE, the poem was 
believed to be anterior thereto, and was believed 
to be contemporary with the Syrian Avars under Je- 
hoasli and Jeroboam II. (e. 780). To this period it 
is referred by Dillmann, Schrader, Oettli, Ewald, 
Kamphausen* and lleuss. Kuenen and Driver, be- 
lieving the expression “those which are not a peo- 
ple” of verse 21 to refer to the Assyrians, assign the 
poem to the age of Jeremiah and Ezekiel (c. 630), 
while Cornill, Steuernagel, and Bertholet refer it to 
the closing years, of the Exile— the period of the 
second Isaiah. In the present state of modern 
knowledge the date can not be definitely fixed; but 
there is much to be said in favor of the exilic date. 

Bibliography : Kamphausen, Das Lied Moses, 1862; Kloster- 
mann, in Studien unci Kritiken , 1871, pp. 249 ct seq.; 1872, 
PP- 230 ct seq., 450 ct seq.; Stacie’s Zeitschrift , 1885, 
pp. 29/ ct seq.; Cornill, Einleitung in das Alte Testament , 
1891, pp. 70 et seq., Driver, Deuteronomy , in International 
Ontxcal Commentary < 1895, pp. 344 et seq.; Steuernagel, 
Deuteronomivm , in Nowack's Han dkomm entar, 1900, 
pp. 114 ct seq.; Bertholet, Deuteronomium , in K. JJ. ('. 
1899, pp. 94 et seq. 

k. Q. n. G. A. B. 

SONG OF SONGS, THE (A. Y. The Song 
of Solomon) One of the Five Megillot. The He- 
brew title, TXKhvh IVM Dn^n is commonly 
understood to mean “ the most excellent of songs, 
composed by Solomon ” (not “one of the songs com- 
posed by Solomon ”) ; the title, however, is later than 
the poem, in which the relative pronoun is always 
never “iptf. The ancient versions follow the He- 
brew ; from the rendering in the Latin Vulgate, 

“ Canticum Canticorum, ” comes the title “ Canticles.” 

The oldest known interpretation of the Song (in- 
duced by the demand for an ethical and religious 
element in its content) is allegorical: the Midrash 
and the Targum represent it as depicting the rela- 
tions between God and Israel. The allegorical con- 
ception of it passed over into the Christian Church, 
and has been elaborated by a long line of writers 
from Origen down to the present time, the deeper 
meaning being assumed to be the relation between 
God or Jesus and the Church or the individual 
soul. The literal interpretation of the poem as sim- 
ply a eulogy of married love had its representatives 
in early times (Theodore of Mopsuestia, and, to some 
extent, Abraham ibn Ezra), and, in the renaissance 
of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, was 
maintained by Grotius, Clericus, and others; but it 
is only in the last hundred years that this interpre- 
tation has practically ousted the alle- 
Interpre- gorical . The Song is now taken, almost 
tation : universally, to be the celebration of a 
Solomon marriage, there being, in fact, no hint 
as Bride- of allegory in the text. Obviously 
groom. there are two principal personages, a 
bridegroom and a bride ; but opinions 
differ as to who the bridegroom is. If the title 
be accepted as genuine, it is a natural conclusion 


that the poem describes the nuptials of Solomon and 
a princess (the daughter of Pharaoh) or a country 
maiden (so Delitzscli and others). But, apart from 
the question of date, this construction is proved im- 
possible by the fact that the bridegroom is distin- 
guished from Solomon in viii. 11, 12, and probably, 
by revision, in vi. 8, 9. To meet this difficulty it is 
assumed (by Ewald, Driver, and many others) that 
the bridegroom or fiance is a young shepherd, and 
that Solomon is his would-be rival ; that the king has 
carried off a beautiful rustic maiden (vi. 10-12) and 1 
lias brought her to his palace in Jerusalem (i. 4), 
where lie endeavors to win her affections; hut 
that she, resisting the allurements of the court, 
remains true to her country lover, and is finally uni- 
ted to him (viii. 5-14). This theory, however, rests on 
unwarranted interpretations of particular passages. 
The alleged rivalry between a king and a shepherd 
appears nowhere in the text: there is only one lover, 
as there is only one maiden; Solomon is introduced 
as an actor in only one place (iii. 6-11), and here he 
is represented as the shepherd bridegroom himself. 
Both the views described above (and the various 
modifications of them) regard the poem as a drama: 
it is divided by expositors into acts and scenes. It 
is, in fact, dramatically conceived (like the Job 
poem, for instance), since it consists not of narra- 
tives, but of lyric utterances put into tiic mouths of 
certain characters; but it is not a drama. Not only 
is there no definite indication of time or place, all 
being vaguely rhapsodical; but there is no move- 
ment, no culmination or catastrophe. The marriage 
is already consummated in i. 6 (and so in ii. 6, iv. 
16- v. 1, vii. 9 [A. Y. 8]); and the story is no farther 
advanced in viii. 

Still another view regards the book as picturing 
the popular festivities held in Palestine in connec- 
tion with the wedding-Aveek. Of such festivities 
there are hints in the Old Testament (Judges xiv. 
10-12; Jer. xvi. 9; Ps. xix. 6 [5]; comp. Matt. xxv. 

1 ct seq .) ; and Wetzstein (in his article “ DieSyrische 
Dreschtafel,” in Bastian’s “Zeitschrift 

Rustic fur Ethnologic,” 1873, pp. 270 et seq., 
Weddingv and in the appendix to Delitzsch’s 
commentary on the Song) has given 
the details of the modern Syrian marriage celebra- 
tion, in which he finds parallels to those of the 
poem. In the Aveek succeeding the marriage the 
villagers assemble; the thrashing-board is set up 
as a throne, on Avhich the neAvly married pair take 
their seats as “ king ” and “ queen ” ; there are songs 
in praise of the physical charms of the pair, and 
dances, in which bridegroom and bride take part; 
especially noteworthy is the “ SAvord-dance, ” per- 
formed by the bride Avitli a naked sword in one hand 
(see vii. 1 [B. V. vi. 13]). In accordance with this 
vieAV the “ king ” of the poem, sometimes called 
“Solomon ” (an imaginative designation of a person 
of ideal beauty), is the bridegroom; the “daughters 
of Jerusalem ” are the village maidens in attendance 
on the bride; the royal procession of iii. 6-11 is 
that of the bridegroom (comp. Ps. xix. 6 [5]); 
the dialogues, descriptions of bodily charms, and 
other pieces are folk-songs; according to Budde, the 
name “Shulamite,” given to the bride once (vii. 1 
[vi. 13]), is equivalent to “Shunemmite,” and is 



467 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA g£g g &| ree Holy gg 


an imaginative reminiscence of the fair Abishag 
(1 Kings i. 3). 

Some explanation such as this is required by the 
character of the book. It is a collection of pieces in 
praise of the physical delights of wedded love. The 
freeness of expression (especially in vii. 2-10 [1-9]), 
olfensive to modern taste, is in accord with ancient 
custom (comp. Ezek. xvi., xxiii. ; Prov. v. 16-20): it 
may be due in part also to the license of popular 
festivities. It is not necessary, however, to suppose 
that the author has merely reproduced the songs 
of the rustic celebrations of his time; rather, a poet 
of high ability here sings of married love, following 
the lines of the festive customs, but giving free play 
to liis imagination : such charm of style as the book 
shows is not to be looked for in rustic songs. The 
unity of the poem is one of emotion — all the situa- 
tions reflect the same circumstances and the same 
sen time ii ts. 

The date of the Song is indicated by its literary 
form : the idyl is foreign to the Hebrew genius, and 
points to the time when the Jews imitated Greek 
models (Theocritus and Bion). The word pnstf (= 
“ palanquin ” [iii. 9]) appears to be the 
Date. Greek Qopeiov; DYlD(iv. 13) was not in- 
troduced earlier than the later Persian 
period (for other late words see Driver, “Introduc- 
tion ”). The date of the book can hardly be deter- 
mined precisely : it was probably composed in the 
period 200-100 b.c. ; but some of the material may 
be older. 

The discussions at the Synod of Jabueh (Jamnia) 
show that toward the end of the first Christian cen- 
tury the canonical authority of the Song was dis- 
puted in certain quarters (see Bible Canon, § 11). 
Probably the ground of opposition was its non-relig- 
ious character: it does not contain the Divine Name 
(ex'cept “Yah ” in viii. 0, I-Iebr., as an expression of 
intensity); its love is seusuous; and its only ethical 
element is the devotion of one man to one woman in 
marriage. It is quoted neither by Philo nor in the 
New Testament. But it appears to have gained 
popularity; and the probability is that at an early 
day it was interpreted allegorically by the sages, 
and that it was on the basis of such an interpreta- 
tion that its canonicity was finally established. On 
its ritual use at Passover see Megillot, The Five. 

Bibliography: On the history of the interpretation : S. Salfeld, 
Das H oh died Salomons hd den JUdisehen Erhlarern des 
MittelaUcrs , 1879; W. Riegel, Die Auslegung des Hohcn- 
Hcdcs in dev Jiidischen Gemeinde und dev Griechischen 
Kirche , 1898; E. Iteuss, La Bible (gives a conspectus of 
various schemes); C, D. Ginshurg. Song of Songs, 1857; 
Gheyne, in Encyc. Bibl. s.v. Canticles. The traditional inter- 
pretation (Solomon as bridegroom) is given in Delitzsch’s 
commentary, 1875; and the fuller dramatic interpretation 
(the shepherd lover) in: Ewald, Dichter, 1867 ; W. R. Smith, 
Canticles , in Encyc. Brit. 9th ed.; Itothstein, Das Hohe 
Lied , 1893 ; idem, Song of Songs , in Hastings’ Diet. Bible ; 
Driver, Introduction (which gives a full outline of the 
schemes of Delitzsch and Ewald); Wetzstein, in Budde, The 
Song of Solomon , in The Neio World , 1894, vol. iii.; idem. 
Commentary , in K. H. G.\ Siegfried, Commentary , in No- 
wack’s Handhommentar : and Cheyne, l.c. On the relation 
between the Song and Theocritus : W. M. Fullerton, In Uni- 
tarian Beview (Boston), July, 1886 ; D. S. Margoliouth, Lines 
of Defense of the Biblical Revelation , London, 1900. On 
the meter : Budde’s commentary ; and on the Hebrew text: 
this and the commentaries of Graetzand Siegfried. 

e. G. ir. T. 

SONG OF SONGS, MIDRASHIM TO. See 

Shir iia-Siiirim. 


SONG OF THE THREE HOLY CHIL- 
DREN, THE: Greek insertion in the Book of 
Daniel after iii. 23, the onty one of the additions to 
Daniel that really add to the text of the book. The 
title given above is inexact: under it are included 
two distinct pieces, namely, (1) the Prayer of Aza- 
lias, and (2) the Song or Hymn of the Three. In the 
collection of odes or canticles given in Codex Alex- 
andrinus and two other manuscripts (printed in 
Swete, “The Old Testament in Greek,” vol. iii.) the 
titles of the pieces are respectively: “Prayer of 
Azariali ” and “Hymn of Our Fathers.” The two 
compositions shared in the fortunes of the other 
Apocryphal writings: attacked and defended by 
early Christian writers, they have been adopted as 
canonical (or deuterocanonical) by Catholics and re- 
jected by Protestants. The older Jewish books do 
not quote them, but show acquaintance with part 
of their material: in the Midrasli (Lev. R. xxxiii. 
6) there is a long conversation between Nebuchadnez- 
zar and “ the three ” which, while it makes.no refer- 
ence to these writings (though the king cites copi- 
ously from the Old Testament), illustrates the dispo- 
sition to expand the narrative of the Book of Daniel 
(comp. ‘Ab. Zarah 3a; fcSanh. 93a; Ta‘an. 18b; Pes. 
118a; see Ball in Wace, “Apocrypha ”). 

In the poetical parts-.(tlie prayer and the song) 
the two recensions, thitt'jof 'the. Septuagint and that 
of Tlieodotion, are' Aearly identical: they differ 
slightly in the order of verses; and Tlieodotion sim- 
plifies by omitting a few lines. In the prose narra- 
tive introducing the poems the Septuagint is the 
fuller and doubtless the older; Tlieodotion is supe- 
rior in literary form. The two pieces are here sin- 
gularly inappropriate. The prayer is a national 
petition acknowledging past sins, professing pres- 
ent obedience, and imploring mercy. The song is a 
doxology calling on all God’s creatures to praise 
Him; and its expressions are taken from the canon- 
ical Psalter (see especially Ps. cxlviii.). These are 
not the natural utterances of men in a fiery furnace, 
nor do they contain any reference to the existing 
situation, except in verse 88 (Swete; A. Y. 66), in 
which “ the three ” are called on to join in the praise ; 
but this verse is an addition by the compiler, who 
has inserted the two poems (composed before his 
time), and has adapted the second to the situation. 
In the prose part (verse 49, Swete; A. V. 26) the 
fourth person of Dan. iii. 25 is accounted for by the 
statement that the angel of the Lord descended, 
pushed aside the flame, and cooled the furnace— an 
inartistic insertion ; the Hebrew, with finer feeling, 
leaves the reader to infer the descent of the angel. 
There is no sufficient ground for supposing that any 
part of these pieces belonged to the original text of 
Daniel. The motive of the addition was the natural 
desire to expand a popular story. The material 
was, doubtless, derived from current legends; thus, 
the cooling of the furnace is' mentioned in Pes. 118a. 
The date of the prayer is suggested in verse 38 (15), 
where it is said that at that time there was no 
prophet, leader, or sacrifice — perhaps between 168 
and 165 b.c. (profanation of the Temple by Anti- 
oclnis); in the song the references to priests and 
Temple servants (verses 84-85 [62-63]) point to the 
time after the purification of the Temple (about 164 



Sonnemann 

Sonnino 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


468 


b.c.). • The tone of the two pieces is Palestinian, 
and iblie original language was probably Hebrew or 
Aramaic. 

J. T. 

SONNEMANN, LEOPOLD : German journal- 
ist; born at Hocliberg, Lower Franconia, Oct. 29, 
1831. After liaving acquired considerable wealth 
as a merchant, he founded in 1856 the “Frankfurter 
Zeitung,” a newspaper published in Frankfort-on- 
the-Main; it soon acquired a leading position in 
southern Germany, especially in the commercial 
world. Since 1867 Sonnemann has been its sole pro- 
prietor and editor. 

From 1871 to 1876 and from 1878 to 1884 Sonne- 
mann was a delegate in the German Reichstag, as a 
member of the People’s party (Yolkspartei), for 
which his paper has always been a representative 
organ. At his first election (1871) he defeated Baron 
Rothschild, at the second (1874) Lasker. In 1884 he 
was defeated by the Social Democrat Labor. 

Sonnemann is at present (1905) a prominent mem- 
ber of the alderinanie board of Frankfort-on-tlie- 
Main. 

Bibliography : Brnckliaus Konvci'sations-LexiKon ; Giesen, 
Zwolf J alive im Reichstagc. Reichstags reden von Leopold 
Sonnemann , Fnmkfort-on-the-Main, 1901. 

s. F. T. H. 

SONNENFELD, SIGISMTJND : Hungarian 
journalist; born at Yagujliely, Hungary, Oct. 1, 
1847. He received his education in his native town, 
at the gymnasia at Prague and Presburg, and at the 
University of Budapest (Pli.D. 1870). In the year 
of his graduation he joined the editorial staff of the 
“Pester Lloyd,” on which he served until 1890. 
From 1877 till 1890 he was also teacher at the gym- 
nasium of Budapest. In the latter year he removed 
to Paris and became director of the Baron de Hirsch 
philanthropic institutions. He is at present (1905) 
director of the Jewish Colonization Association and 
a member of the Central Committee of the Alliance 
Israelite Universelle. He was sent by the former 
association in 1896 and again in 1902 to the Argen- 
tine Republic and to Rumania. 

Sonnenfeld has written many articles on science, 
literature, and politics for Austrian, Hungarian, and 
French papers, and is the author of “Lenau,” 1882, 
a work on that poet. 

s. F. T. II. 

SONNENFELS : Austrian family of scholars 
and writers, descendants of Wurzbacli Lipmann, 
members of which became prominent during the 
eighteenth century. 

Perlin Lipmann Sonnenfels : Austrian schol- 
ar ; son of Wurzbacli Lipmann, chief rabbi of Bran- 
denburg. Perlin Lipmann emigrated to Austria, 
where he became the agent of the princely house 
of Dietrichstein at Nikolsburg. He, together with 
liis children, embraced the Catholic faith some time 
between the years 1735 and 1741. He assumed the 
name Aloys Wiener, and later removed to Yienna, 
where he became teacher of Semitic languages at the 
university, and Hebrew interpreter at the juridical 
court. In 1746 he was knighted and received a pat- 
ent of nobility entitling him to use the name Son- 
nenfels, which his two sons adopted. Perlin’s wife 
remained faithful to Judaism. 


Joseph von Sonnenfels: Austrian jurist and 
novelist ; born at Nikolsburg, Moravia, 1732 ; died at 
Yienna April 25, 1817; son of Perlin Lipmann, and 
brother of Franz Anton von Sonnenfels. Joseph, 
w r ho was baptized in his early youth, received liis 
elementary education at the gymnasium of his native 
town, and then studied philosophy at the University 
of Yienna. In 1749 he joined, as a private, the regi-. 
meat “ Deutschmei- 
ster,” advancing to 
the rank of corporal ; 
upon liis discharge in 
1754 lie took a course 
in law at the Univer- 
sity of Yienna, where- 
after he established 
himself as a counselor 
at law in the Austrian 
capital. From 1761 
to 1763 he officiated 
as secretary of the 
Austrian “Arcieren- 
garde,” and in the 
latter year was ap- 
pointed professor of 
political science at 
the University of Yi- 
enna, twice acting as 
rector magnificus. In 
1779 he received the title of “Wirldicher Hof- 
rath,” and was in 1810 elected president of the 
Academy of Sciences, a position which he held until 
his death. 

Among Sonnenfels 5 many works may be men- 
tioned: “Specimen Juris Germanici de Remediis 
Juris, Juri Romano Incognitis,” Yienna, 1757; 
j “Anktindigung einer Teutsclien Gesellschaft in 
Wien,” ib. 1761; “Betraclitun gen fiber die Neuen 
Politisclien Handlungsgrundsiltze der Englander,” 
ib. 1764; “Grundsiitze der Polizei, Handlung und 
Finanzwissenscliaft,” ib. 1765-67 (8tli ed. 1819); 
“Briefe liber die Wienerische Schaubiihne,” ib. 1768 
(reedited by Sauer, ib. 1884); “Yon der Verwand- 
lung der Domanen in Bauernguter, ” ib. 1773 ; “ Ueber 
die Abschaffung der Torfcur,” Zurich, 1775 (2d ed. 
Nuremberg, 1782); “Abhandlung fiber die Aufhe- 
bung der Wueliergesetze, ” Yienna, 1791 ; “ Handbuch 
der Innern Staatsverwaltung,” ib. 1798 ; “ Ueber die 
Stimmenmehrlieit bei Criminalurtheilen,” Yienna, 
1801 (2d ed. 1808). His “ Gesammelte Werke” ap- 
peared in ten volumes (Yienna, 1783-87), and con- 
tained most of his belletristic works, poems, and 
dramas. 

From 1765 to 1767 and from 1769 to 1775 Sonnen- 
fels was editor of “Der Mann oline Yorurtheil,” in 
which paper he defended the liberal tendencies in 
literature. He improved the Yienna stage especially 
through his critical work “Briefe fiber die Wiener- 
ische Schaubiihne,” in which he attacked the harle- 
quin of the Yienna theater, causing this figure to be 
eliminated from the personnel of the stage. 

He was chiefly instrumental in bringing about the 
abolition of torture in Austria (1776). Sonnenfels’ 
attitude toward Lessing placed the former in a very 
unfavorable light, as it was due to his intrigues and 
jealousy that Lessing was not called to Yienna. Son- - 



Joseph von Sonnenfels. 



469 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Sonnemazm 

Sonnino 


nenfels was severely condemned for liis action in 
this affair. 

Franz Anton Sonnenfels, Freiherr von : 
Austrian philanthropist; bom at Nikolsburg, Mora- 
via, July 12, 1735; died at Troppau Jan. 11, 1806; 
son of Perlin Lipmaim and brother of Joseph von 
Sonnenfels, with whom he was baptized. He was 
educated at the gymnasium of his native town, and 
entered as agent the service of the princes of Die- 
trichstein ; his extraordinary ability^ attracted the at- 
tention of Emperor Joseph II., who bestowed upon 
him the title of “Hofrath,” and attached him to the 
office of the secretary of the imperial household. 
In 1797 he was knighted. 

Having no children, he and his wife, Maria Rosalia 
(nee Geyer; died March 18, 1811), left their fortunes 
to charitable institutions, especially in the city of 
Nikolsburg. Sonnenfels was buried in the ceme- 
tery of that city, and a monument was erected over 
his grave Oct. 21, 1860. 

Bibliography: Wurzbach, Biographisches Lexikon des 
Kaisertliums Ocsterreich , xxxv. 315 et scq., 317-343; Brock- 
lians Konversations-Lexihon ; Kopetzky, Joseph unci Franz 
von Sonnenfels , Vienna, 1882. 

s, I • T. II. 

SONNENTHAL, ADOLF RITTER VON: 

Austrian actor; bom at Budapest Dec. 21, 1834. 
He was the son of humble parents, and spent his 
boyhood as a tailor’s apprentice, working at his 
trade until his sixteenth year, when he went to 
Vienna to better his con- 
dition. On his first eve- 
ning in the Austrian 
capital the boy visited 
the Hofburgtlieater and 
witnessed a performance 
of “ Der Erbforster, ” 
which made such an im- 
pression upon him that 
he sought out Dawison, 
then in the zenith of his 
fame, and announced 
his determination to be- 
come an actor. Dawi- 
son, at first amused by 
the lad’s audacity, soon 
became interested in 
him, and finally placed him in the care of Laube, 
who permitted him to study at the Hof burg theater. 

Having gleaned a superficial knowledge of acting, 
Sonneuthal made his debut Oct. 30, 1851, at the 
Stadttheater, Temcsvar, as PMbus in “ Th unuer 
von Notre-Dame.” The next five years he spent in 
touring various small towns of Hungary, and after 
three stays of considerable duration at Hermannstadt 
(1852), Gratz (1854), and Konigsberg (1855) respect- 
ively, he made his Vienna debut at the Hofburg- 
theater (May 18, 1856) as Mortimer in “ Maria Stuart. ” 
He failed to please either public or critics, and would 
have been dismissed if he had not triumphed the 
next evening as Ilerzog in Hacklauder's “ Der Ge- 
heime Agent.” When he repeated liis success as 
Don Carlos, Laube engaged him for the next three 
years; and on the expiration of that time, for a life 
tenure. 

In 1870 Sonneuthal was appointed assistant man- 
ager, and in 1884 chief manager, of the Hofburgt.hea- 



Aclolf Sonnentluil. 


ter; and from 1887 to 1888 he acted as its director. 
His twenty-fifth anniversary at this theater was 
celebrated by all Vienna, and the emperor conferred 
an order of nobility upon the former Jewish tailor’s 
apprentice. In 1896 the celebration of his fortieth 
anniversary was marred by the anti-Semitic feeling 
of the Vienna city council, which, because of his race, 
refused to extend the freedom of the city to him. 

Sonnenthal’s repertoire is most extensive, and in 
spite of his unattractive features he has succeeded in 
roles that demand a pleasing personality, such as 
Borneo, Kean , and Egmont. Of other parts played 
by him nmy be mentioned: Ilamlet, Macbeth, Wal- 
lenstein, Uriel Acosta, -Kathan der Weise, Othello , 
Bolingbroke, Fiesco, Marcel de Brie in “Wildfeuer,” 
Bochester in “Waise von Lowood,” Bolz, Narciss , 
Graf Waldemar, Burst Lubbenau in “Aus der Ge- 
sellschaft,” Fox in “ Pitt und Fox,” Bingelstern , Pasa, 
Baoul Gerard in “Aus der Komisclien Oper,” Konig 
in “Esther,” Faust , Tell, Clavigo , Hero, Fritz Mar - 
low, Kerbriatid , Mellefont- in “Miss Sara Sampson,” 
Marc Antony, Bichard II., Henry YI . , Fabricius, and 
Graf Trust. 

Bibliography : Ludwig Eisenberg, Adolf Sonnenthal. Dres- 
den, 1900 ; A. Bettelbeim. Biographische Blatter , 1896, pp. 
441 ct $cq.\ Meyers Konversations-Lexikon ; Das Geistige 
Wien, i. 535-536; Kohut, Bcrllhmtc Israelitische Milliner 
und Frauen , pp. 227 et scq.; Allg. Zeit. des Jucl. 1891, 


SONNESCHEIN, SOLOMON H. : American 
rabbi ; born at SzentMarton Turocz, Hungary, June 
24, 1839. He received liis education at Boskowitz, 
Moravia, where he obtained his rabbinical diploma 
in 1863, and later studied at Hamburg and at the 
University of Jena (Pli.D. 1864). He was succes- 
sively rabbi at Warasdin, Prague, New York, and 
St. Louis, Mo., and is now (1905) officiating at the 
Temple B’nai Yeshurun, Des Moines, Iowa. 

Sonnesehein has contributed for more than forty 
years to numerous German and English periodicals. 
Bibliography: The American Jcivish Yea?' Book , 1903- 

T’"' 101 ' P. T. H. 

SONNINO, SIDNEY, BARON : Italian poli- 
tician ; bom at Alexandria, Egypt, in 1849. His 
father was a Jewish emigrant from Leghorn, and his 
mother an English Protestant, He grew up in 
Florence among a circle of kindred spirits including 
such men as the historian Pasquale Villari; Karl 
Ilillebraiid, the German literary investigator; and 
Leopoldo Franclietti. In company with the last- 
named, Sonnino undertook an expedition to south- 
ern Italy and to Sicily, the result being a joint publi- 
cation in which was embodied Sonnino s treatise 
“I Contadini di Sicilia,” on the peasants of the latter 
place. Another treatise of Sonnino’s, entitled “La 
Mezzadria in Toscana,” deals with the leasehold 
system by which the peasants of Tuscany hold their 
farms. In both of these treatises Sonnino shows 
his intimate acquaintance with economic conditions, 
and his deep interest in the welfare of the poorer 
classes. 

As a member of Parliament, in which he has held 
a seat since 1882, Sonnino is chiefly occupied with 
financial and foreign questions. He is an earnest 
champion of the German-Italian alliance. As leader 



Sorani 

Sotah 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


470 


of the Left Center lie was one of the most active 
and successful opponents of De prods’ cabinet, 
especially of Magliani, tlie minister of finance, 
wliom be repeated!} 1 ' accused of extravagance. Dur- 
ing Perazzi’s ministry Sonnino filled the office of 
assistant secretary of state in the department of 
finance; and irony 1893 to 1S96 he lield the portfolio 
of finance in Crispi’s cabinet. By his wide knowl- 
edge of national economy and his shrewd financial 
operations he lias rendered the Italian state valuable 
services. Since Crispi’s fall Sonnino has been one 
of the most; prominent members of the parliamen- 
tary Opposition. 

Bibliography : Telcsforo Sarti, 77 Portamento Subalpino e 

Nazionalc, Term, 1890; A. de Gubernatis, Diction?) aim 

International cles Ecrivatm tin Jour , Florence, 3888; Luigi 

Brengi, l Morihnndi di Montecitorin, 1889. 

S- S. jM UK. 

SORANI, TJG-0 : Italian jurist and deputy; 
born at Pitigliano May 4, 1850. He studied law in 
his native town and in Mondavi, Leghorn, and Pisa, 
graduating from the university of the last-named 
city in 1872. lie then established himself as a coun- 
selor at law in Florence, acting also for several 
years as secretary of the Jewish community of that 
city. In 1900 he was elected to the Chamber of 
Deputies as the representative of Scansano, district 
of Grosseto, and was reelected in 1904. 

Sorani is the author of the following works: “I 
Partiti Politici,” “Maggioranze e Minorauze,” and 
“ Suir Esercizio Provvisorio del Commercio Coneesso 
al Fallito” (Florence, 1891); “Della Ricerca della 
Paternita” (3d ed. ib. 1892); “La Banca d ’Italia, 
Provedimenti Legislative Stato Finanziario e Pro- 
poste di Assestamento ” (ib. 1894); “ Della Cambiale 
e dell’ Assegno Bancario” and “II Fallimento” 
(Rome, 1896); “La Donna” (3d ed. Poggibonsi, 
1896); and “Sull Disegno di Legge per il Riordi- 
namento dell’ Imposta di Riechezza Mobile ” (Piti- 
gliano, 1897). 

Bibliography: 77 Vcssillo Israeli tiro. 1900. p. 204. 

U. C. 

SOSA (SOSSA, SOUSA), DE : Envoy of 
King John III. of Portugal to the court of Pope Paul 
III. (1534-50). While he was at Rome the Maranos, 
seeking relief from the severity of the Inquisition, 
urged the pope to send a papal nuncio to Portugal 
in their interest. This measure was opposed by the 
court, and, at first, likewise by the pope; but the 
Jewish envoy finally succeeded in gaining the ac- 
quiescence of the latter. The envoy’s letter to the 
king informing him of this fact begins with the 
words, “Rome is a prostituted Babylon, and 1 feel 
as if I were in hell.” In a letter to the King of 
France, De Sosa designates Lippomano, the papal 
nuncio who had been selected to fill the post of 
papal nuncio in Portugal, as a man “ with the hands 
of an Esau and the voice of a Jacob.” 

Bibliography: Kayserlinsr, Gcsch. tier Judcn in Portugal . 
p?). 229. 281, Berlin. 1897. 

S. (). 

SOSA, GOMEZ DE. See Gomicz di-: Sosa. 

SOSA, MARTIN ALFONSO DE : Portu- 
guese envoy at and governor of Goa. in the mid- 
dle of the sixteenth century. In Cranganore, six- 
teen miles from Cochin, which at that time had 


a large Jewish community, he discovered several 
bronze tablets with ancient inscriptions. An old 
Jewish philologist of Calcutta declared that they 
were written in “Malabaric. Chaldaic, and Arabic ” 
and referred to privileges which had been granted 
to the Jews of that locality. He translated all the 
inscriptions into Hebrew, and they were later ren- 
dered into Portuguese. The Hebrew translation of 
one of these privileges was in the possession of a 
certain Leo, cantor of the Greene Street Synagogue 
in New York, in the fifties of the nineteenth cen- 
tury. See Cociiin. 

Bibliography: Kayserlinp, Gesch. dcr Juden in Portugal , 
pp. 164-1(55. 

J. S. O. 

SOSA, SIMON DE *. One of the wealthiest 
Maranos in Portugal in the middle of the seventeenth 
century. lie was one of the conspirators, Jed by 
tlie Archbishop of Braga, who intended to burn the 
royal palaces, murder King John IV., and abduct 
the queen and the princes. The, conspiracy, how- 
ever, was detected in time, and Sosa, with the other 
conspirators, was executed. 

To the same family probably belonged Isaac de 
Sosa Brito (who carried on a correspondence with 
Francis de Oli viera) and Gabriel de Sosa Brito. 
The latter was a famous mathematician and cos- 
mographer, and his works are described in “Mem. de 
Lit. Port.” (iv. 329). These two brothers flourished 
in the seventeenth century. 

Bibliography: De Oliviera, Memoires de Portugal (ed. De 
Haye), 3743, pp. 379 ct sc.g.: Kayserling, Gesch. dcr Juden in 
Portugal , pp. 307, 312 (note 2) . 

•r. S. 0. 

SOSIUS, CAIUS : Roman general. Although 
Herod had been made king of Judea by the Romans, 
lie was forced to wrest the country from the Has- 
monean Ant.igonus; and as the aid which he had 
received from Rome was insufficient, he went to 
Samosata to obtain reenforcements from Antony, 
who ordered Sosius, the legate of Syria, to give the 
king his active support. (Josephus, “Ant.” xiv. 15, 
§§ 7-9; idem, “B. J.” i. 16, §§ 6-7). Sosius reached 
Jerusalem with a large army in the spring of 37 e.c., 
and lie and Herod, following the tactics of Pompcy 
twenty -seven years before, directed tlie battering- 
rams against the city’s northern walls. Progress 
was difficult;, however; for the beleaguered garrison 
made frequent sorties and destroyed tlie Roman 
works. 

The first Avail was carried only after a siege of forty 
(lays, and the second Avail fell fifteen days later. 
The defenders of Jerusalem made a desperate stand 
between the walls of tlie Temple and in the upper 
city; but these positions likewise Avere finally car- 
ried “on tlie solemnity of the fast” (r/> e aprrj ri/c 
viiartiag ), this phrase of Josephus being frequently 
interpreted as denoting the Day of Atonement, al- 
though it more probably refers to some Sabbath 
(“Ant.” xiv. 16, §£ 1-3; “B. J.” i. 18, $§ 1-3; Dion 
Cassius, xlix. 22; Seneca, “ Suasoriorum Liber,” ii. 
21; Tacitus, “Hist.” v. 9). It would appear from 
Dion Cassius that the city Avas taken in 38 n.c. ; but 
the statements of Josephus, which indicate the year 
37, are more trust Avortliy. 

Antigonus surrendered to Sosius, entreating him 



471 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Sorani 

Sotah 


on his knees for mercy ; but the Roman tauntingly 
called him “ Antigone ” and put him in chains, while 
the soldiers were given a free hand to pillage and 
murder in the city, so that Herod was well pleased 
when his rich gifts had induced his ally to with- 
draw with his troops. During the siege Sosius did 
not prevent those within the city from receiving 
sacrificial victims for the Temple; and after the 
capture of the place he showed Ids reverence for the 
Sanctuary by rich donations (“Ant.” xiv. 16, § 4). 
lt appears from coins and from the triumphal fasti 
that he received the title of “imperator” and the 
privilege of celebrating a triumph in honor of his 
victory over Judea. 

Bibliography : Griltz. Gesch. 4th ed., in. 196; Seliiirer. 

3d ed., i. 314, 357-359; Pmsopof/rap/nct Imperii Romany 
iii 253* Unger, Sitzungsbericlite (lev Academic zu Mun- 
^n, 1895, pp. 273-277.' Kr 

SOSSNITZ, JOSEPH JIJDAH LOB: Rus- 
sian-American Talmudic scholar, mathematician 
and scientific author; born at Birzhi, government 
of Kovno, Sept. 17, 1887. When he was only ten 
years old he prepared a calendar for the year 5608 
(= 1847-48), At the age of nineteen he went to 
Kiga as a teacher of Hebrew, and there made the ac- 
quaintance of Professor Novik, who gave him ac- 
cess to the library of the polyteehnical school, where 
he studied German and perfected himself in secular 
sciences, on which he published articles in Jewish 
periodicals. In 1875 he was invited to Berlin by 
H. s. Slonimski to act as coeditor of “Ha-Zefi- 
rah,” but as he refused to write against Lichtenfeld 
Slonimski’ s antagonist, he was dismissed. In 1888 
lie settled at Warsaw as editor of the scientific and 
cabalistic departments of “Ha-Eslikol.” He went 
to New York in 1891, and two years later lie founded 
in 104th street, a Talmud Torah, of which he was 
principal until 1897. Since 1899 he has been lec- 
turer on Jewish ethics in the Educational Alliance 

Sossnitz has written on different treatises of the 
Talmud, and on astronomy, geometry, physics, etc. 
His published works are as follows: “Aken lesh 
Adonai ” (Wilna, 1875), an attack upon modern ma- 
terialism and particularly upon Buchner’s “Kraft 
und Stoff ” ; “ Ila-Shemesh” (Warsaw, 1878), an essay 
upon a scientific demonstration of the sun’s sub- 
stance, based on modern investigation and ac- 
companied by astronomical tables; “Sehok ha- 
Shak” (Wilna, 1880), a manual of chess, based upon 
A von Breda’s method; “Der Ewige Ivalender” 
(Riga, 1884); “ ‘Id dan ‘Olamim” (Warsaw, 1SSS), 
a perpetual calendar for Jews, Christians, and Mo- 
hammedans, with tables for comparison; “Ha- 
Ma’or” (ib. 1889), au essay on Jewish religious phi- 
losophy, containing, besides, notes on Biblical and 
Talmudical exegesis. 

Bibliography : American Jewish Year Booh, 5665 0®' P- 

192 ; B. Eisenstadt, Halme Yisrael hc-AmcriM, pp. 43 ct scq., 

Sokolow, Sefer Zikkaron , p. 41 ; Zeitlm, Bibl Post-Mendel*. 

T cr 370 * M - See. 

SOTAH (“Faithless Wife”; “Woman Suspected 
of Unfaithfulness”): Treatise in the Mishnah, To- 
sefta, and Babylonian and Palestinian Talmuds, 
devoted in the main to an exact definition of the 
rules of procedure in the case of a wife either actu- 


ally or supposedly unfaithful (Num. v. 11-31). In 
most editions this treatise is the sixth in the order 
Nashim, and is divided into nine chapters contain- 
ing sixty-seven paragraphs .in all. The following 
is a summary of the contents: 

Ch. i. : On the manner in which the husband 
should manifest his jealousy and restrain his wife 
from improper relations with another man; the con- 
sequences to the wife if she does not heed her hus- 
band's warnings (§§ 1-2); how the suspected wife 
is brought before the Sanhedrin in Jerusalem, how 
exhorted to confess, if she is guilty, and how 
admonished (§§ 3-6) ; with what measure one metes, 
it is meted unto him also ; if a woman adorns herself 
for sin, God renders her hideous (§ 7) ; Biblical exam- 
ples of recompense both of good and of evil : Sam- 
son followed whither his eyes led, and they were 
pierced (Judges xvi, 21), while Miriam stood for an 
hour on the river-bank because of Moses (Ex. ii. 4), 
and, as stated in Num. xii. 15, all Israel waited for 
her seven days {§§ 8-9). 

Ch. ii. : How the ottering of jealousy is prepared 
(§ 1) ; how the priest pours the consecrated water 
into an earthen vessel and whence he 
Contents : takes the earth which he puts in the 
Ch. i.-v. water (§ 2; comp. Num. v. 17); how 
he writes the hook (comp. Num. v. 
23) the verses which are written in it, and the ma- 
terial employed (§§ 3-4); the time and the cases to 
which the confirmation of the oath on the part of 
the wife refers (§§ 5-6; comp, Num. v. 22). 

Ch. iii. : Way in which the jealousy -offering is 
brought (§§ 1-2); cases in which the woman has a 
rio-ht to refuse to drink the bitter water (§3); com- 
mencement of the efficacy of the water of bitterness, 
and the problem whether a meritorious deed per- 
formed by the woman at some previous time may 
protect her from the action of the water; discus- 
sion, in this connection, of the admissibility of in- 
structing women in the Law (§§4-5); cases in which 
the jealousy - offering is burned ; distinctions be- 
tween Israelites and priests and between men and 
women with regard to certain rights and punish- 
ments (§§ 6-8). 

Ch. iv. : Women to whom the water of bitterness 
is not given (§§ 1-4); cases in which the court itself 
warns the woman against questionable relations 
with a man (§5). 

Ch v • The water of bitterness affects the adulterer 

as well as the adulteress (§ 1) ; list of several textual 
interpretations that were delivered by R. A lab a 
and R. Joshua b. Hyrcanus on the day on which 
Gamaliel II. was deposed and Eleazar b. Azanah 
was elected “nasi ” (§§ 2-5; comp. Ber. 28a). 

Ch. vi. : The amount of testimony regarding the 
unfaithfulness of a woman which prevents her from 
drinking the bitter water, and testimony which 
causes her to lose her Ketubaii. . 

Cli vii • Prayers which may he said in any lan- 
guage, such as the “Shema‘ ” and the daily prayer 
(§ 1) ; what may be said only in the holy tongue 
(Hebrew), such as most of the sections 
Ch vi -ix. of the ToVah. and the formula spoken 
at the halizah by the woman whom her 
brother-in-law refuses to marry (§ 2) ; the method of 
reciting these formulas, and the time and the mode 



Sotah 

'Soul 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


472 


of reading the portions of tlie Law (§§ 8-7) ; the 
story of King Agrippa II., who wept Avlien he heard 
the words “ Thou niayest not set a stranger over 
thee, which is not thy brother” (Deut. xvii. 15), 
since he was himself a descendant of Herod and 
consequently an Idumean, and to Avliom the people 
cried out: “Thou art our brother” (§ 8). 

Cli. Auii. : The address b} r the priest anointed for 
Avar, delivered to the army before battle (§ 1 ; comp. 
l)eut. xx. 2 et seg.); interpretation of Deut. xx. 5-9; 
those avIio are ordinarily exempt from military 
service, and Avars from which they are not exempt 
(§§ 2-7). 

Ch. ix. : The breaking of the neck of a heifer in 
case the assassin of a man found murdered is un- 
knoAvu (§§ 1-8; comp. Deut. xxi. 1-9); the time of 
the abolition both of this custom and of the use of 
the Avater of bitterness in the trial of women sus- 
pected of adultery (§ 9); the discontinuance of other 
customs, things, and Aurtues; on many ordinances 
proclaimed at various times; the gloomy portents 
of the Messianic time (£§ 10-14); an enumeration of 
the different grades of holiness and piety, the high- 
est being the gift of the Holy Spirit (§ 15). 

The Tosefta is divided into fifteen chapters and 
contains a large number of haggadic and exegetic 
interpretations, as well as various historical state- 
ments and narratives. Particularly 
The noteworthy is the exegesis of several 
Tosefta. passages, including Deut. xxi. 7-8 
(Tosef. ix. 2-9), I Sam. iv. 8-9, Nali. 
i. 1-2, and Cant. viii. 5-6. Certain sections of interest- 
are devoted to the explanation of contradictions be- 
tween Biblical statements; for example, Tosef. xi. 11 
seeks to harmonize I Sam. x. 2, a passage locating Ra- 
chel’s grave “in the border of Benjamin,” and Gen. 
xxxv. 19, Avliicli describes her burial-place as being 
near Betli-leliem, in the district of Judah. In like 
manner xi. 18 and xii. 8 seek to harmonize II Sam. 
xxi. 8 with iv. 23, and II Cliron. xxii. 2 with II Kings 
viii. 17 respectively. The narratives of special inter- 
est are those concerning Simeon the Just — who re- 
ceived, while in the Temple, a premonition of the 
death of the emperor Caligula (xiii. 6), and who 
prophesied his own end (xiii. 8)— and the account of 
the despair which seized the people after the de- 
struction of the Temple, so that many refused to eat 
meat or to drink Avine, until R. Joshua taught them 
to observe restraint even in their mourning for tlie 
loss of their independence (xv. 11). 

Both, Gemaras contain many tales and legends, 
haggadic interpretations, sayings, and proverbs, in 
addition to their elucidations of mislmaic passages. 
The following examples may be cited from the 
Babylonian Gemara: “Heaven destines a wife for 
every man according to his merits” 

The Two (2a); “Whoso is jealous of his wife 

Gemaras. must be tilled Avith an evil demon” 
(3a) ; “ The proud man is even as the 
unbeliever and the idolater” (4b); “Adultery is the 
most grievous sin, nor can atonement be made for it 
by any merit or good act” (ib. ) ; “ Whoso neglectetli 
his Ayife and is untrue to her causetli her to become 
unfaithful and to commit adultery ” (10a). 

Other points of interest in the Babylonian Gemara 
are the introductory Avords on the position of the 


treatise Sotah among the other tractates of Nashim 
(2a), and the stories relating to the coffin of Joseph 
(13a), t-lie grave of Moses (13b-14a), and the attitude 
of Joshua b. Pekahyaii toward one of his pupils, 
who, according to some expositors, Avas Jesus (47a 
in the uncensored editions of the Talmud). 

With regard to tlie Palestinian Gemara, special 
mention may be made of tlie story of the modesty 
of R. Me'fr, avIio Avould disregard his own rank and 
dignity in his eagerness to restore peace between 
husband and Avife (i. 4, 16d). The very interesting 
statement is also made that there Avas indeed a man 
named Job; but that the calamities described in the 
book which bears liis name never befell liim, for lie 
Avas made its hero simply on account of his sincere 
and profound piety (v. 5, 20a). 
w - J. Z. L. 

SOUL (HDBto, from DtJO and $3y=“he 

breathed”; equivalent to the Latin “auima” and 
“ spiritus ”) : The Mosaic account of the creation of 
man speaks of a spirit or breath Avith Avliicli lie was 
endowed by his Creator (Gen. ii. 7); but this spirit 
Avas conceived of as inseparably connected, if not 
Avbolly identified, with tlie life-blood (ib. ix. 4; Lev. 

xvii. 11). Only through the contact 
Biblical of the Jews with Persian and Greek 
and Apoc- thought did the idea of a disembodied 
rypbal soul, having its own individuality, 
Views. take root in Judaism and find its ex- 
pression in the later Biblical books, as, 
for instance, in the following passages: “The spirit 
of man is the caudle of the Lord” (Prov. xx. 27); 

“ There is a spirit in man ” (Job xxxii. 8) ; “ The spirit 
shall return unto God who gave it ” (Eccl. xii. 7). 
The soul is called in Biblical literature “ruah,” “ue- 
fesh,” and “neshamah.” The first of these terms 
denotes the spirit in its primitive state; the second, 
in its association AA’ith the body; the third, in its ac- 
tivity Avhile in the body. 

Ail explicit statement of tlie doctrine of tlie pre- 
existence of tlie soul is found in the Apocrypha: 

1 All souls are prepared before the foundation of 
the Avorld ” (Slavonic Book of Enoch, xxiii. 5); and 
according to II Esd. iv. 35 et seg. the number of the 
righteous avIio are to come into the world is foreor- 
dained from the beginning. All souls are, therefore, 
preexistent, although the number of those which 
are to become incorporated is not determined at 
the very first. As a matter of fact, there are souls 
of different quality. Solomon says (Wisdom viii. 19 
et seg., R. \ r .): “Now I was a child of parts, and a 
good soul fell to my lot; nay, rather, being good, I 
came into a body undefiled!” The body returns to 
earth Avlien its possessor “ is required to Vender back 
tlie soul which avus lent him ” (ib. xv. 8, R. V.). The 
Syriac Apocalypse of Baruch xxx. 2-3 (Kautzsch, 

“ Apokry phen , ” ii. 423) distinguishes between 
righteous and common souls in the folloAving pas- 
sage, Avliicli describes the Messianic period and Avliicli 
is characteristic of tlie concept of preexistence: 

The storehouses in Avliicli the foreordained number 
of souls is kept shall be opened, and the souls shall 
go forth, and the many souls shall appear all at once, 
as a host Avith one mind. And the first shall rejoice, 
and tlie last shall not be sad.” 

There are no direct references in the Bible to the 


473 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Sotah. 

Soul 


origin of the soul, its nature, and its relation to the 
bod 3 r ; but these questions afforded material for the 
speculations of the Alexandrian Jewish school, espe- 
cially of PniLO Jud/EUS, who sought in the allegor- 
ical interpretation of Biblical texts the confirmation 
of his psychological system. In the three terms 
“mail,” “nefesh,” and “neshamah” Philo sees the 
corroboration of the Platonic view that the human 
soul is tripartite (rpifiepi/g), having one part rational, 
a second more spiritual, and a third the seat of de- 
sire, . These parts are distinguished from one an- 
other both functionally and by the places occupied 
by them in the body. The seat of the first is the 
head ; of the second, the chest; and of the third, the 
abdomen (“ De Allegoriis Legum,” § [ed. Mangey, 
i. 110]). Both the rational and the 

Philo’s irrational sprang like two scions from 

Views. one root, and yet are so strongly con- 
trasted in their natures that one is di- 
vine, while the other is corruptible. The rational 
part, or the mind (vovg), which is the leading and 
sovereign principle of the soul, is a fragment of the 
Divinity ; and as such it is preexistent and immor- 
tal. It corresponds to the outermost and indivisible 
sphere of the fixed stars, and though it introduces 
unending divisions into the objects of its intelligent 
apprehensions, is itself without parts. It belongs 
to the same genus as those incorporeal spirits by 
which the air is inhabited, and is to the soul what the 
eyes are to the body, only its vision transcends the 
sphere of the senses and embraces the intelligible 
(idem, “ De Opificiis Mundi,” i. 648). As a fountain, 
sends off streams in various directions, so the mind, 
a spiritual nomad, not only pervades the body, but 
brings itself in contact with various objects of cre- 
ation, and makes its way even to God Himself. 
In this manner the mind transcends space and frees 
itself from the limitations of time which it antici- 
pates (idem, “ De Eo Quod Deterius Potiori Insidia- 
tur,” i, 208). 

However, it is not the mind that acts, but its 
powers; these, according to Philo, are not mere 
properties, but independent spiritual essences in 
which the individual mind has its appointed share. 
In accordance with his fundamental division of the 
soul, Philo divides these powers into rational and 
irrational, or rational and perceptive, because the ir- 
rational powers are derived from sensible percep- 
tion. Even before entering the body, the mind pos- 
sesses not only rational faculties, but also ascending 
powers which distinguish the lower orders of crea- 
tion, the habitual, the organic, the vital, and the 
perceptive. In order to awaken the sensible percep- 
tion, the higher energies of the mind must for the 
time being cease to be active. However, a union be- 
tween the mind and perception can be effected only 
through the mediation of a third principle ; for the 
senses can not perceive "without the intervention of 
the mind, nor can the mind discern material objects 
without the instrumentality of the senses. This 
third principle is pleasure, which is symbolized in 
the Bible by the serpent. 

Philo recognizes the unity of human conscious- 
ness; and he confines knowledge strictly to the mind 
itself. As a divine being the soul aspires to be freed 
from its bodily fetters and to return to the heavenly 


spheres whence it came. Philo does not say why the 
soul is condemned to be imprisoned for a certain 
time in the body ; but it may be assumed that, as in 
many other points, he shares also in this one the 
view's of P 3 'thagoras and Plato, "who believed that 
the soul undergoes this ordeal in expiation of some 
sin committed by r it in its former state (see Philo 
Judaeus). 

This belief was rejected by the scholars of the Tal- 
mud, who taught that the body is in a state of per- 
fect purity (Ber. 10a; Mek. 48b), and is destined to 
return pure to its heavenly abode. When God con- 
fides the soul to man He says, accord - 
Talmudical ing to the Haggadah, “The soul I 

Views. have given thee is pure; if thou giv- 
es t it back to Me in the same state, it 
is good for thee ; if not, I will burn it before thee ” 
(Eccl. R. xii. 7; with some variations in Niddali 
30a). Probably it was as a protest against the be- 
lief in a sin committed by the soul that the daily 
morning prayer was instituted : “ My God, the soul 
which Thou didst place in me is pure [comp. Shab. 
152b] . Thou hast created it, formed it, and breathed 
it into me. Thou preservest it in me. Thou wilt 
take it from me and wilt give it back to me in the 
world to come” (comp, also Shab. 32b; B. B. 16a). 

In rabbinical literature the dualism of body and 
soul is carried out consistently, as in Ber, 10a, 
48b; Shab. 113b, 152b; Yoma 30b; Ned. 32a (the 
body is a small city) ; Sanh. 91a, 108 (the bod 3 ' is a 
scabbard), 110b; and elsewdiere. “The soul of man 
comes from heaven ; his body, from earth ” (Sifre, 
Dent. 306 [ed. Friedmann, p. 132, below]). 

The Rabbis hold that the body is not the prison of 
the soul, but, on the contrary, its medium of devel- 
opment and improvement. Nor do they hold the 
Platonic view regarding the preexistence of the soul. 
For them “each and every soul which shall be 
from Adam until the end of the world, was formed 
during the six days of Creation and was in paradise, 
being present also at the revelation on Sinai. . . . 
At the time of conception God commandeth the 
angel who is the prefect of the spirits, saying; 
‘ Bring Me such a spirit which is in paradise and 
hath such a name and such a form ; for all spirits 
which are to enter the body exist from the day of 
the creation of the world uutil the earth shall pass 
away.’ . . . The spirit answereth; ‘Lord of the 
world! I am content with the earth, where I have 
lived since Thou didst create me/ . . . God speak - 
eth to the soul, saying; ‘ The world into which thou 
enterest is more beautiful than this; and when I 
made thee I intended thee only for this drop of 
seed.’ ” Two angels are assigned to the soul, which 
is finalty shown, among other things, the spirits in 
heaven which have been perfected on earth (Tan., 
Pekude, 3). The entry of the soul into the embryo 
(see Golem) is similarly described in a conversation 
between Judah the patriarch and the emperor Anto- 
ninus (c. 200; Sanh. 91b; comp. %b. 16b and Niddah 
31a). The spirits which are to descend to earth are 
kept in ‘ Arabot, the last of the seven heavens (Hag. 
12b, below), while the souls of the righteous dead 
are beneath the throne of God (Shab. 152b). Asso- 
ciated with this belief is the Talmudic saying that 
the Messiah will not come till all the souls in the 



Soul 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


474 


“guf ” (the superterrestrial abode of the souls) shall 
have passed through an earthly existence (*Ab. Zarali 
ha ; comp. Gen. R. viii. and Ruth R., Introduction). 

Tile Platonic theory that study is only recollec- 
tion, because the soul knew everything before en- 
tering the world, is expressed in a hj T perbolic fash- 
ion in the Talmud, where it is said that a light burns 
on the head of the embryo by means of which it sees 
from one end of the world to the other, but that at 
the moment of its appearance on earth an angel 
strikes it on the mouth, and everything is forgotten 
(Niddah 30b). The Rabbis question whether the 
soul descends to earth at the moment of conception 
or after the embryo has been formed (Sanh. 90a). 

The tripartite nature of the soul as conceived by 
Philo is taught in the Talmud also; it divides the 
non-physical part of man into spirit and soul. In- 
deed, the “active soul” which God breathed into 
man and the “vital spirit ” with which He inspired 
him are mentioned as early as Wisdom 

Spirit xv. 11. This differentiation is clearly 
and Soul, and plainly expressed by Paul in I 
Thess. v. 23 and Heb. iv. 12 (comp. 
Delitzsch, pp. 90 et seq ., and Hastings, “Diet. Bible,” 
iii. 166b-167a, where “nefesli” is incorrectly used 
for “ ruah ”); and the same idea is found in Hag. 12a, 
where it is said that “spirits and souls ” dwell in the 
seventh heaven, while Niddah 31a, above, prays: 
“May God give spirit and soul to the embryo” (see 
Rashi on Hag.; Brecher, “Das Transcendentale,” 
etc. , p. 64 ; and Weber, “ Jiidisclie Theologie, ” p. 228). 
In the foregoing passage cited from Tanhuma the 
same distinction is drawn between soul and spirit, 
although no very clear theory is advanced concerning 
the difference between the two. Every Friday God 
gives the Jew another individual soul, which He takes 
back again at the end of the Sabbath (Bezah 16a). 

A parallel is established between the soul and 
God. As the world is filled with God; so is the body 

nUed. witli tlie soul ; ns God sees, but can not be 
seen, so the soul sees, but is not to be seen ; ns God 

is hidden, so also is the soul (Ber. 10a). The Rabbis 
seem to have considered discernment, reflection, and 
recollection as faculties of the soul; but they held 
that the power by which man distinguishes between 
right and wrong and the inclination to one or to 
the other are two real essences which God places in 
the heart of man. These are called “yezer tob ” 
(good inclinations) and “ yezer ha-ra* ” (evil propensi- 
ties). The soul has control over these, and, there- 
fore, is responsible for man’s moral conduct. The 
soul’s relation to the body is an external one only : 
when man sleeps the soul ascends to its heavenly 
abode (Lam. R. iii. 23). There it sometimes receives 
communications which appear to the sleeper as 
dreams. Although, like all ancient peoples, the 
Jews believed in dreams, there were advanced rabbis 
who explained them psychologically. An example 
of this is related in the Talmud (Ber. 56a), on the 
part of Joshua ben Hananiah. A Roman emperor 
(probably Hadrian) asked the tanna what lie (Ha- 
drian) would dream about. Joshua answered : “ You 
will dream that the Persians will vanquish and mal- 
treat you.” Reflecting on this the whole day, the 
emperor dreamed accordingly. 

k. • “ " I. Bn.— L. B. 


With the transplantation of the Greco-Arabic 
philosophy to Jewish soil,, psychology began to be 
treated scientifically. Saadia devoted 
Among* the sixth chapter of his “Emunot we- 
the Jewish De‘ot” to questions concerning the 
Philoso- human soul. After having passed in 
pliers. review the various opinions on the 
subject current at that time, he gives 
his own theory, which lie endeavors to support by 
Biblical quotations. According to him, the soul is 
created b} r God at the same time as the body. Its 
substance resembles that of the spheres; but it is of 
a finer qualit}'. This, Saadia says, is evident from 
the fact that it is possessed by a thinking power 
which is lacking in the spheres. This thinking 
power is not inherent in any way in the body, which 
becomes lifeless as soon as the soul leaves it. How- 
ever, like every created thing, the soul needs a me- 
dium through which to attain activity; and this 
medium is the body. Through its union with the 
body three powers which are latent in it are set in 
motion: intelligence, passion, and appetite or de- 
sire. These powers or faculties are not to be con- 
sidered as three separate parts of the soul, each hav- 
ing a different seat in the body, but as belonging to 
the one and indivisible soul, which has its seat in 
the heart. It is to the advantage of the soul to be 
united with the body. Without this medium it 
could not attain paradise an:l eternal bliss, because 
these are vouchsafed to it only as a recompense for 
its obedience to the will of God. This obedience 
can bo performed only through the instrumentality 
of the body, just as fire needs fuel before it can 
burn. Saadia is a strong opponent of Plato, who 
taught the preexistence of the soul and considered 
its powers of intelligence, passion, and appetite as 
three distinct parts of it, of which the. first was de- 
rived from God, and the second and third from 
matter. 

Owing to the influence of tlie Arabic Neoplato- 
nists, especially tlie Encyclopedists known as the 

“Brethren of Sincerity,” the Platonic psychology as 
interpreted and amplified in those schools prevailed 
among the Jews of the tenth and eleventh centuries. 
It was propounded in a special work attributed to 
Bahya ben Joseph ibn Pakuda, and entitled “Ma- 
‘ani al-Nafs” (translated into Hebrew 
Influence under the title “Torat ha-Nefesh” by 
of Platonic I. Broyde, Paris, 1896). According 
Doctrine, to him, man possesses three distinct 
souls, the vegetative, the animal, and 
the rational: the first two derived from matter, and 
the last emanating from the active intellect. At the 
moment of conception a ray of the rational soul 
penetrates into the embryo, where it supervises the 
development of the vegetative and animal powers 
until they become two distinct souls. The principal 
agent in the formation of the body is the vegetative 
soul, which derives its forces from the sun and the 
moon. Supervised by the stars and their spiritual 
principles, the vegetative soul constructs the body 
in the shape of the spheres, and exerts on it the 
same influence as that exerted by the universal soul 
on the spheres. Each of these three souls lias its 
own attribute: that of the vegetative soul is chas- 
tffy; of the animal, energy; and of the rational, 


475 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Soul 


•wisdom. From these is derived another attribute, 
justice. 

These theories respecting the soul seem to have 
been shared by Ibn Gabirol and Joseph ibn Zaddik, 
who repeatedly asserted in their respective works 
the existence of three distinct souls in man. A less 
fanciful psychological system was elaborated by the 
Jewish Peripatetics, especially by Maimonides. It 
was substantially that of Aristotle as propounded by 
Ids commentators. According to this system the 
soul is a concrete unit having various activities 
or faculties. It is the first principle of action in 
an organized body, possessing life potentially. Its 
faculties arc live: the nutritive, the sensitive, the 
imaginative, the appetitive, and the rational; the 
superior comprehending the inferior potentially. 
The sensitive faculty is that by which one perceives 
.and feels: it does not perceive itself or its organs, 
but only external objects through the intervention 
of sight-, hearing, smell, taste, and touch. The 
senses perceive species, or forms, but not matter, as 
wax receives the impression of a seal without re- 
taining any part of its substance. The imaginative 
faculty is the power to give quite different forms to 
the images impressed upon the soul by the senses. 
Memory is derived from fancy, and has its seat in 
the same power of the soul. The appetitive faculty 
consists in the ability to feel either a desire or an 
aversion. The rational faculty is that which enables 
man to think, to acquire knowledge, and to discern 
evil actions from good ones. The action of the in- 
tellect is either theoretical or practical: theoretical, 
when it simply considers what is true or false; and 
practical, when it judges whether a thing is good 
or evil, and thereby excites the will to pursue or to 
avoid it. 

Maimonides, except, in a few instances, closely 
followed Aristotle with regard to the ontological 
aspect of the soul. The life of the soul, which is 
derived from that of the spheres, is represented on 

ea.rt.li in tlii’ee potencies: in vegetable, in animal, 

and in human life. In the vegetable it is confined 
to the nutritive faculty: in the animal it combines, 
in addition, the sensitive, the appetitive, and, in ani- 
mals of a higher organism, also the imaginative; 
while in human life it comprises, in addition to all 
these faculties, the rational. As each soul, consti- 
tuting the form of the body, is indissolubly united 
with it and has no individual existence, so the soul 
of man and its various faculties constitute with 
the body a concrete, inseparable unit. With the 
death of the body, therefore, the soul with all hs 
faculties, including* the rational, ceases to exist. 
There is, however, something in the human soul 
which is not a mere facult 3 r , but a real substance 
having an independent life. It is the acquired in- 
tellect, the ideas and notions which man obtains 
through study and speculation. 

Levi hen Gershon, in “Milhamot Adonai," fol- 
lowed Maimonides in his psychological system, but 
differed from him with regard to the 

Levi ben knowledge which constitutes the ac- 

Gershon. quired intellect. He divided human 
knowledge into three classes: (1) that 
which is acquired directly by the perception of the 
senses and which relates to the individuals of this 


world; (2) that which is the product of abstraction 
and generalities— a. e., of that process of the mind 
which consists in evolving from knowledge concern- 
ing the individual general ideas concerning its spe- 
cies, genus, or family; (3) that which is obtained by 
reflection and which is relative to God, the angels, 
etc. There can be no doubt as to the objective reality 
of the knowledge of the first and third classes; but 
there is a question as to that of the knowledge of the 
second class. Levi ben Gershon differs from Mai- 
monides, holding not only that the generic forms 
of things exist in themselves and outside of these 
things, “ante rem,” in the universal intellect; but 
that even mathematical theories are real substances 
and contribute to the formation of the acquired 
intellect. 

Hasdai Crescas veliementty attacked, both on the- 
ological and on philosophical grounds, the princi- 
ple of the acquired intellect upon which the psycho- 
logical system of Maimonides and Levi ben Gershon 
is based'. “How,” asked he, “can a thing which 
came into existence during man’s lifetime acquire 
immortality ? ” Then, if the soul is to be considered 
a mere faculty of the body, which ceases with the 
death of the iatter, and only the acquired intellect 
is a real substance which survives, there can be no 
question of reward and punishment, since that part 
of man which committed the sin or performed the 
good deed no longer exists. “Maimonides,” argues 
Crescas, “asserts that the future reward will consist 
in the enjoyment derived from objects of which the 
intellect is cognizant; hut since the soul, which is 
the seat of jo} 7 , will no longer be in existence, what 
is to enjo} 7 ?” According to Crescas, the soul, al- 
though constituting the form of the body, is a spir- 
itual substance in which the faculty of thinking 
exists potentialty. 

The influence exercised by Neoplatonism on the 
development of the Cabala is particularly noticeable 
in the ps 3 r chological doctrines found in theZohar; 
these, but for the mystic garb in which they are 
clothed and the attempt to connect the 

Psychol- soul with the all-pervading Sefirot, are 

og*y of the same as those professed by the 
the Cabala. Neoplatonists. The soul, teaches the 
Zohar, has its origin in the Supreme 
Intelligence, in which the forms of the living exist- 
ences may already be distinguished from one another ; 
and this Supreme Intelligence may he termed “ uni- 
versal soul.” “At the time the Holy One, blessed 
be He! desired to create the world, it came in His 
will before Him, and He formed all the souls which 
were prepared to be given afterward to the children 
of men ; and all were formed before Him in the iden- 
tical forms in which the} 7 were destined to appear 
as the children of the men of this world ; and He saw 
every one of them, and that the wa} T s of some of 
them in the world would become corrupt ” (Zohar 
i. 96b). The soul is constituted of three elements: 
the rational (“neshamah ”), the moral (“ ruali ”), and 
the vital (“ nefesh ”). They are emanations from the 
Sefirot; and as such each of them possesses ten po- 
tencies, which are subdivided into a trinity of triads. 
Through the rational element of the soul, which is 
the highest degree of being, and which both corre- 
sponds to and is operated upon by the highest Sell- 



Soul 

South Africa 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


-rah, the “Crown, 5 ’ man belongs to the intellectual 
world D^y); through the moral element, 

which is the seat of the ethical qualities, and which 
both corresponds to and is operated upon by the 
Sell rah “Beauty,” man pertains to the moral world 
(rYVY'n D^iy); and through the vital element, which 
is llie lowest of the three, being directly connected 
with the bod}", and which both corresponds to and 
is operated upon- by the Sefirah “Foundation,” man 
is associated with the material world (rPt^yn 
In addition to these three elements of the soul there 
are two others of a different nature: one is inherent 
iii the body without mingling with it, serving as an 
■intermediary between the latter and the soul; and 
the other is the principle which unites them both. 
“At the moment, ” saj r s the Zohar, “ when the union 
of the soul and the body is being effected the Holy 
One sends on earth an image engraved with the 
Divine Seal. This image presides over the union of 
man and wife; a clear-sighted eye may see it stand- 
ing at their heads. It bears a human face; and this 
face will be borne by the man who is about to ap- 
pear. It is this image which receives us on entering 
the world, which grows as we grow, and which 
quits the earth when we quit it ” (ib. iii. 104a). The 
descent of the soul into the body is necessitated by 
the finite nature of the former: it is bound to unite 
with the body in order to take its part in the uni- 
verse. to contemplate creation, to become conscious 
of itself and its origin, and, finally, to return, after 
having completed its task in life, to the inexhaust- 
ible fountain of light and life— God. 

According to the Zohar, there are male souls and 
female souls, the former proceeding from the mas- 
culine Sefirot, which are concentrated in the Sefirah 
of “Grace,” the latter from the feminine Sefirot, 
which are concentrated in that of “ Justice. ” Before 
their descent to earth they are paired ; but at the 
moment of their appearance in this world they be- 
come separated (ib. i. 91b). The relation of the three 
elements of the soul to one another and to the body 
is compared by the Zohar to a burning lamp. Two 
lights are discernible in the fiame of the lamp: a 
white and a dim one. The white light is above and 
ascends in a straight line; the dim one is below, and 
seems to be the seat of the other. Both, however, 
are so indissolubly connected that they form one 
fiame. On the other hand, the dim light proceeds 
directly from the burning material below. The same 
phenomenon is presented by the human soul. The 
vital or animal element resembles the dim light 
which springs directly from the burning material 
underneath; and just as that material is gradually 
consumed by the fiame, so the vital element con- 
sumes the body, with which it is closely connected. 
The moral element, is comparable to the higher, 
white light, which is always struggling to disen- 1 
gage itself from the lower one and to rise higher; 
but so long as the lamp continues to burn it re- 
mains united to it. The rational element corre- 1 
spends to the highest, invisible part of the fiame, ] 
which actually succeeds in freeing itself from the 1 
latter and rises in the air (ib. i. 83b). See Esciia- * 
tology ; Immortality ; Transmigration op Souls. a 


&>; Gfrorer, Philo und die Alexandria isehc Theosonhir i 
3< 3-41o, Marburg, 1831; Siegfried. Philo von Alexandria ah* 
A-mlcijer den Alten Testaments , pp. 235 ct seq .; Drummond 
PhdoJudceus , or the Jewish Alexandrian Philosophy in Ttl 
Development and Completion , i. 314-359, London J 888- 
Zeller, Die Philosophic dev Griechen in Hirer Geschicht' 
lichen Entwicklung, iii. 393-402; Schiirer, Gcsch. iii. 558- 
Meber, Die Thcologie dcs Talmuds , p. 36 and Index- l’ 
Bernhardt, Ucbcr die Empirische Psychologic der Jiiden 


fort-on-tbe-Main, 1845; Brecher, Die Unstcrblichkcitslchre 
het den Juden , Vienna, 1857; Joel, Levi ben U arson 
fils RcUgionsphilosnph, Breslau, 1863; idem, Znr Genesis 
der Lehre Spinoza’s , Breslau, 1871; idem, Die Religion s- 
phdosophic dcs Snhar , pp. 128 ct scq.: Weil, Philosophic 
Religicuse de Levi ben Gerson , Paris, 1866; (jinsburg. The 
Kabbalah , pp. 31 etseq.; Myer, Qabbalah , p. 110; Karppe 
Etude sur les Origines du Zohar, pp. 344 ct scq., Paris 1901* 
S. Rosenbliith, Der Seelenbegriff im Alten Testament, in 
Berner Studien, \8 98 ; W . Bousset, Die Religion dcs Juden - 
thums im 2Y eutestamentlichcn Zcitalter, pp.283 383 440 Ber 

lill- 1903 : G Rrpf-hpr Tin 9 P . 


203, Edinburgh, 1904; Hastings, Diet. Bible, iii. VAet'scq • 
S. Horowitz, Die Psychologic bei den Jlldischen Religions- 
: Philosopher , in Jahreshericht des J lid isch-Th colon isch e n 
seminars zu Breslau , 1898, 1901 ; Yalkut Hadash , pp. 91 et 

SCO.. Urpshiirn- ISM)- .Tvw T?v/^wi ’f.vrv, n A. „ . _ . _ 


iii. 380 (s.v. Wisdom), iii. 558 et seq. (s.v. Philo); F. Weber 
Jlidische Theologic , pp. 212, 225 ct seq., Leipsic, 1897. 


SOULS, TRANSMIGRATION 

Transmigration of Souls. 

SOUSA. See Sosa. 


I. Bit. 
OF. . See 


Bibliography: F. Delitzseh, System der Biblischcr Psycho- 
logic, Leipsic, 1861; Geiger. Sadduciicr und Pharisuer, p. 


SOUTH AFRICA : Jewish concern with South 
Africa began, indirectly, some time before the dis- 
covery of tlie Cape of Good Hope, by the participa- 
tion of certain astronomers and cartographers in the 
Portuguese discovery of the .sea-route to India. 
There were Jews among the directors of the Dutch 
East India Company, w iii oh for 150 years adminis- 
tered the colony at the Cape of Good Hope. Dur- 
ing the seventeenth and the greater part of the 
eighteenth century the state religion alone was al- 
lowed to be publicly observed ; but on July 25, 1804, 
the Dutch commissioner-general Jacob Abraham cle 
Mist, by a proclamation whose provisions were an- 
nulled at the English occupation of 1806 and were 
not reestablished till 1820, instituted in the colony re- 
ligious equality for all persons, irrespective of creed. 

Jews did not arrive in any numbers at Cape Town 
previous to the twenties of the nineteenth century. 
Benjamin Nordcn, Simeon Markus, together with* a 
score of others arriving in the early thirties, were 
commercial pioneers, to whom is due the industrial 
awakening of almost the whole interior of Cape 
Colony ; thus, the development of the wool and hide 
trades will always be associated with the names of 
Julius, Adolpli, and James Mosenthal. By their 
enterprise in going to Asia and re- 
introduce turning with thirty Angora goats in 
the Mohair 1856 they became the originators of 
Industry, the mohair industry; Cape Colony 
yields now more than one-lialf of the 
world’s supply of mohair. Aaron and Daniel de 
Pass were the first to open up Namaqualand, and for 
many years (1849-86) were the largest shipowners 
in Cape Town, and leaders of the sealing, whaling, 
and fishing industries. Jews were among the first 
to take to ostrich-farming ( e.fj Joel Myers, in the 
Aberdeen district); and the first rough diamond 


477 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Soul 

South Africa 


discovered on the Kimberley Diamond Fields was 
bought by Lilienfeld of Hopetown. Jews are 
among the directors of the De Beers Consolidated 
Diamond Mines, which controls a great part of the 
world’s diamond output to-day. 

These pioneers did not, however, confine their 
activity to trade. Capt. Joshua Norden was shot 
at the head of his Mounted Burghers in the Kafir 
war of 1846; Lieut. Elias de Pass fought in the 
Kafir war of 1849. Julius Mosenthal (1818-80), 
brother of the poet S. Mosenthal of Vienna, was a 
member of the Cape Parliament in the fifties. 
Simeon Jacobs, C.M.G. (1832-83), who was judge 
in the Supreme Court of the Cape of Good Hope, as 
the acting attorney-general of Cape Colony intro- 
duced and carried in 1872 the Cape Colony Re- 
sponsible Government Bill and the Voluntary Bill 
(abolishing state aid to the Anglican Church), for 
both of which bills Saul Solomon, the member for 
Cape Town, had fought for decades. Saul Solomon 
(b. St. Helena May 25, 1817; d. Oct. 10, 1892), the 
leader of the Liberal party, has been called the “ Cape 
Disraeli.” He several times declined the premier- 
ship and was invited into the first responsible minis- 
try, formed by Sir John Molteno. Like Disraeli, too, 
he early left the ranks of Judaism, but always re- 
mained a lover of his people. He went to Cape 
Town when a lad, where, with his 
The brother Henry, he started a printing- 
Solomons. office and, later, founded and edited 
the “Cape Argus.” Descendants of 
these two brothers,. Justice Solomon, Sir Richard 
Solomon (attorney -general of the Transvaal), and 
E. P. Solomon, are to-day among the most eminent 
men in South Africa. The few other St. Helena 
Jews who settled there during Napoleon’s banish- 
ment, the Gideon, the Moss, and the Isaacs families, 
were all related to the Solomons, and, like the 
members of the last-named family, most of them 
drifted from Judaism. 

The first congregation in South Africa was founded 
in Cape Town in Nov., 1841, and the initial service 
was held in the house of Benjamin Norden, at the 
corner of Weltevreden and Hof streets. Later a 
room was hired at the corner of Bouquet and St. 
John streets, S. Rudolph, a German merchant, con- 
ducting the services. He was succeeded by a min- 
ister of the name of Pulver, who soon left for Aus- 
tralia. In 1859 the congregation, consisting then of 
about fifteen families, extended a call to Joel Rab- 
binowitz (1829-1902), who for twenty-three years 
worked indefatigably for his congregation, and for 
the scattered Jewish families in the coast towns and 
the interior of Cape Colony and the Orange Fiee 
State. Through his efforts the first synagogue in 
South Africa was erected in “The Gardens,” in 
1862 His successor was A. P. Ornstein (1836- 
1896) of Melbourne. In 1895 A. P. Bender (b. 

1868; M.A. Cambridge) became the 

‘ Syna- minister of the congregation. Ben- 
gogues and der, as did Rabbinowitz, takes a lead- 
Con- ing part in every humanitarian en- 
gregations. deavor in Cape Town. There are 
now (1905) three other synagogues in 
Cape Town— the Beth Hamidrash, the New Hebrew 
Synagogue, and the Wynberg Synagogue; there 


are also a Zionist ball, a Hebrew public school, and 
various social, philanthropic, and literary societies. 
The present president of the Old Hebrew Congrega- 
tion, H. Liberman, is mayor of Cape Town. 

There are synagogues in Worcester Road, 
Robertson, and Steytlersville ; Graaf Reinet 
(with a congregation since 1861) and Grabams- 
town (seventy years ago an important Jewish set- 
tlement) have no synagogues. Oudtsliorn, with 
a Jewish population of 400, has a congregation 
(founded 1888), a synagogue (built 1890; M. Woolf- 
son, minister), a bet lia-midrash, and a Jewish pub- 
lic school. Port Elizabeth (Jewish population 
600) has had a congregation since 1862 and a syna- 
gogue since 1870, the rabbinate having been filled 
by°S. Rappaport, D. Wasserzug, and J. Philips. 
Jewish services were begun in Kimberley in 
1869, a regular congregation being formed in 1878, 
with Col. David Harris, C.M.G. (served under Gen- 
eral Warren in 1885, and in various native wars; 
prominent in the defense of Kimberley in 1899- 
1900), and G. H. Bonas, J.P., for many years alter- 
nate presidents. In the new synagogue (1901), to 
which Cecil Rhodes was a large donor, is a memo- 
rial tablet to all Jewish officers and soldiers who fell 
in the late Anglo-Boer war; its ministers were 
M. Mendelsohn, A. Ornstein (who died very young 
and was given a public funeral), M. L. Harris, 
andE. Joffe; the present incumbent is II. Isaacs: 
Alfred Mosely, C.M.G., of Koffyfontein and Kim- 
berley, established the Princess Christian Hospital 
at Pinetown, Natal, in 1900, and equipped and con- 
ducted the Mosely Industrial and Educational Com- 
missions which were sent to the United States in 
1902 and 1903. 

In Natal, Nathaniel Isaacs, in 1825, was among 
; the first to venture into the realms of Tchaka, the 
Attila of South Africa. Dr. Theal, 
Natal. the eminent historian of South Africa; 

pronounces Isaacs’ “ Travels in East! 
era Africa” indispensable to a student of early 
events in Natal. Isaacs left Natal in 1831, when 
Tchaka’s successor had prepared to massacre the 
few whites living there; and he spent the remainder 
of a long life in Gambia and on an island in the Gulf 
of Guinea. But seventeen years before the formal 
annexation of Natal by the British, and ten years 
before it was reached by the Boers, Nathaniel Isaacs 
was its “Principal Chief.” The importance of the 
following document warrants its reproduction in 
full. 


“ At Tchaka’s Principal Residence, 
Toogooso, near the River Magatee. 

Sept. IT, 1S28. 

“ j Tchaka, King and Protector of the Zooloos, do hereby cre- 
ate, in presence of my principal chiefs and strangers assembled, 
ny friend, Mr. Nathaniel Isaacs, Induna Incoola, or Principal 
)hief of Natal, and do grant and make over to him, his heirs or 
ixecutors, a free and full possession of my territory from the 
Jmlass River westwards of Natal to the IJmshloti eastwards 
>f Natal with 100 miles inland from the sea, including the Bay 
>f Natal, the islands in the bay, the forests and the rivers be- 
ween the boundaries here enumerated. I also make oyer to 
lim the people he now has in his service together with the 
vialuban tribe. I also grant him a free and exclusive right to 
raffle with my nation and all people tributary to the Zooloos. 
;o does the powerful King Tchaka of the Zooloos recompense 
Sir. Nathaniel Isaacs for the services rendered to him to subdue 
Batia en Goma/ for presents received from him and for the 


South Africa 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


great attention to my people in the mission sent with him and 
Captain King to conclude an alliance with his Britannic Maj- 
esty. All this and my former gifts I do confirm, and, wishing 
peace and friendship, I sign myself, 

his 

Tchaka x Esenzengercona 
mark 
his 

John X Jacob, interpreter [a Hottentot].” 
mark 

Later Jewish events in Natal merety reproduce, 
on a smaller scale, those in Cape Colony. Daniel de 
Pass was among the first sugar-planters in Natal, 
and Jonas Bergtlial (1820-1902) took his seat in the 
Natal legislative assembly years before Jews were 


Yrylieid a second synagogue, which was dedicated 
in April, 1904. 

Jews settled in what was formerly the Orange 
River Sovereignty, when its white population did not 
exceed 4,000. Isaac Baumann, horn 

Orange in 1813, am vcd at Graaf Reinet in 1837 
Hiver and moved to Bloemfontein in 1847. 

Colony. lie and Martin Pincus were fora long 
time the principal merchants in the 
Orange Free State. For forty years after the estab- 
lishment of the Orange Free State in 1855, one or 
two German Jewish families, many of them from 
Hesse-Cassel, were to be found in nearly every ham- 
let, together controlling the larger portion of the 




mmm 11 

yt's I 



t Sjjfc ft 




S '' NAU0<iUE ° E TH£ W1TOAMBSBAM. OLD HEBREW CONGREGATION', JOHANNESBURG ; OLDEST SYNAGOGUE « THE TRANSVAAL. 

(From a photograph.) 


admitted to Parliament in England. In the nine- 
ties A. Pass was member of Parliament and M. G. 
Levy mayor of Mari tz burg. Congregational life 
began at the time of the Zulu war. Services were 
held in Maritzburg, J. Kram ministering to the 
religious requirements of the few Jews in the entire 
colony. Services were held in Durban in 1874, a 
cemeteiy was laid out in 1878, and a synagogue 
was dedicated on Jan. 1, 1884. The ministers have 
been Feins lock, J. Ivram, and the present incum- 
bents, A. Levy and S. Pincus. The Durban Jewish 
population, which before the late Anglo-Boer war 
was only about 200, now numbers 1,250 ; a new syn- 
agogue was dedicated there in June, 1904. Durban 
has a Zionist hall and various subsidiary ^communal 
organizations. Through the annexation of the Vry- 
lieid district to Natal in 1902, that colony has at 


I trad p of the Free State. An annual Yom Kippur 
service was instituted in Isaac Baumann’s house in 
in which } r ear the first Jewish funeral occurred. 
The Bloemfontein congregation was established 
in 1887; a beautiful synagogue was consecrated in 
Mai ch, 1904, in the presence of the lieutenant-gov- 
ernor, the executive council, and the justices of the 
colony. 

Despite their small number Jews have from tlie 
first occupied an enviable position in the Orange 
Fiee State. Isaac Baumann was twice mayor of 
Bloemfontein and also director of the national bank. 
M. Leviseur, a veteran of the Basuto war (1864-66), 
has been connected with the State Museum, the 
Volksliospital, and nearly all other state institutions 
since their respective foundations; and W. Ehrlich, 
the president of the congregation, is also deputy- 


479 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


South Africa. 


may or of Bloemfontein, chairman of the Chamber of 
Commerce, and member of the Inter-Colonial Bail- 
way Conference. The Jewish population of Bloem- 
fontein is nearly 800. 

A few Jews lived in the territory across the Vaal 
even before the seventies. M. de Vries, a Dutch Jew, 
was public prosecutor of the Transvaal in 1868 and 
chairman of the Volksraad in 1872, and participated 
in the Potcliefstroom convention of 1870. Daniel 
F. Kisch (1840-98) held Yom Kippur services in 
Pretoria after 1870; he was justice of the peace and 
auditor-general of the Transvaal from 1877 to 1881. 
Largely through the influence of Alois Nelmapius, 
a Magyar Jewish friend of Kruger, Rhodes, and Beit, 
a Jewish cemetery was consecrated at Pilgrimsrest 
in 1878, and a congregation established 
Transvaal, on the Barberton Goldfields in 1888. 

In the following year Samuel Marks 
(born inNeustadt-Sugind, Russia) went to the Trans- 
vaal, and through his coal-, copper-, gold-, and dia- 
mond-mines, model farms, and glass, jam, brick, and 
spirits factories, accumulated great wealth. An in- 
timate friend of President Kruger, and enjoying the 
confidence of Generals Botha, DoWett, and Delarey, 
and the respect of Earl Roberts, Lord Kitchener, 
and Lord Milner, he played no inconsiderable part 
in the negotiations for the cessation of Anglo-Boer 
hostilities at Vereeniging, May 29, 1902. Of the 
big mining-houses which, since the discovery of. 
gold, control the output in the Transvaal, the Bar- 
natos (see Baiinato, Barnett Isaacs), Neumann, 
Albu, and several members of the firm of II. Eck- 
stein & Co., are Jews. For the rise and history of 
Jewish life on the Witwatersrand Goldfields see 
Johannesburg. 

The Pretoria community, numbering over 1,000, 
lias a synagogue (erected 1898) and a Jewish public 
school (opened 1905), the former largely maintained 
by, and the latter the gift of, Samuel Marks. M. 
Rosenberg is minister and head master. There are 
synagogues in Heidelberg and Volksrust (since 
1901), Kriigersdorp, Klerksdorp, and Germis- 
ton (1903), and Roodepoort (1905). A dramatic 
interest attaches to the struggle, continued during a 
decade, for the removal of the special Jewish disabil- 
ities which existed beside those to which the other 
Uitlanclers were subject. Though freedom of wor- 
ship was granted to all residents in 1870, the revised 
“Grondwet” of 1894 still debarred Jews and Catho- 
lics from military posts, from the positions of presi- 
dent, state secretary, or magistrate, from member- 
ship in the First and Second Volksraad, and from 
superintendencies of natives and mines. All in- 
struction was to be given in a Christian and Protes- 
tant spirit, and Jewish and Catholic teachers and 
children were to be excluded from state-subsidized 
schools. Though there were servile flatterers and 
concession-hunters who thought lightly of these re- 
strictions, there were seven Jews among the sixty- 
four “Reformers” imprisoned at Pretoria in 1896: 
Lionel Phillips (sentenced to death). Captain Bet- 
telheim, Karri Davies, A. Goldring, S. B. Joel, Max 
Lan german, and Fritz Mosenthal. 

The mass of Jews especially felt the educational 
disability very grievously. President Kruger and 
the executive council were frequently petitioned 


in every possible maimer. A blunt non pos- 
sumus, or at best an admonition to trust to God 
and the good-will of the president, was the usual 
reply. During the franchise discussions conse- 
quent upon the Bloemfontein conference, a mass- 
meeting of the Jewish inhabitants was called, June 
28, 1899, to protest against the exclusion of Russian 
and Rumanian Jews from the benefits of the fran- 
chise which was about to be extended. For address- 
ing that meeting, as well as the Uitlander meeting of 
July 26, 1899, the Rev. Dr. J. H. Hertz was expelled 
from the Transvaal, Dec. , 1899. Some w r eeks before 
the outbreak of hostilities, in the middle of August, 
when the “Grondwet” was again being revised, 
the president urged the substitution of the words 
“those who believe in the revelation of God through 
His Word in the Bible” for the word “Protestant” 
in all the above-mentioned articles of the “ Grond- 
wet,” which change would have largely modified 
the illiberal provisions; hut the Volksraad, both in 
secret and in open session, rejected his proposals. 

Some of the most heroic deeds of the three years' 
Boer war — as the Gun Hill incident before Lady- 
smith — were due to the dash and daring of Jewish 
soldiers like Major Karri Davies. Nearly 2,800 J ews 
fought on the British side, and, according to care- 
ful enumeration, the London “ Spectator ” declared 
that the percentage of Jewish soldiers killed (125} 
in the war was relatively the largest of all. Within 
the Boer ranks the story of the Jew is much the 
same. They were with the “ Vierkleur” on every 
battle-field; Jewish “Irrcconcilables” fought to the 
bitter end, and several Jewish prisoners were to be 
found at St. Helena, Bermuda, and Ceylon. 

Among the most ardent supporters of Cecil 
Rhodes’ “ Cape to Cairo all-British Route ” were 
Jews like Alfred Beit and, later, the Weil family at 
Mafeking. Jews lived with Loben- 
Rhodesia gula about 1865, and D. F. Kisch, 
and Non- later of Pretoria, was his chief adviser 
British. from 1868 to 1878, and immediately 
Territories, after his fall in 1893 Jewish congre- 
gations were established in Buluwayo 
and even as far north as Salisbury. The former 
has now a Jewish population of 830, with a syna- 
gogue (I. Oolien, B.A., minister), a Zionist society, 
and charitable organizations. In the Matabele 
rebellion of 1896 fourteen Jews fought, and their 
proportion among the defenders of Mafeking was 
exceptionally large. Annual services are held in 
a few places in Beclmanaland and the Kalahari 
Desert. In Portuguese territory, some Sephar- 
dic Jews in Louren^o Marques are attempting the 
formation of a permanent congregation, with syna- 
gogue, bet liayyim, and hazzan. 

Jewish congregational life throughout South 
Africa is growing not only extensively, hut inten- 
sively. The Zionists have established seventy-four 
societies, forming the South-African Zionist Federa- 
tion (S. Goldreich, president, to whom Lord Milner 
entrusted the gradual readmission, after the war, 
of nearly the whole alien Jewish population of the 
Rand). Intermarriage, alarmingly prevalent in 
former years, is diminishing, and Jewish religious 
education, at present seriously neglected, is the 
most insistent topic of discussion in every Jewish 


South Carolina 

South and Central America 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


480 


center. When it was found that the war had left 
behind it a spirit of prejudice against the poorer 
Russian Jew, the Jewish Board of Deputies for the 
Transvaal and Natal was formed in order success- 
fully to vindicate him from false and imaginary 
charges (Jews furnish but 5 per cent of the offenders 
against the illicit liquor laws in such a large Jew- 
ish center as Johannesburg). The other objects of 
the board are to Anglicize and naturalize the poorer 
alien immigrant and to prove to the coast authorities 
that Judaio-German is a European language (one of 
the requisites for immigration). The inaugural pub- 
lic meeting of the board was held July 28, 1903, at 
which the high commissioner delivered a memorable 
address. A similar board for Cape Colony was es- 
tablished the following year in Cape Town. 

No complete and reliable data as to the exact 
size of the Jewish population in the various col- 
onies are available, as the answer to 
Statistics, the denominational question on the 
census enumeration paper is not com- 
pnlsoiy. Approximately, Cape Colony has 20,000 
Jews; Natal, 1,700; Rhodesia, 600; the Orange 
River Colony, 1,500; Portuguese territory, 200; and 
the Transvaal, 25,000 (7,988 males over 21): a total 
for South Africa of 47,000 in a white population of 
1 , 100 , 000 . 

Bibliography : Joel Rabbinoxvitz, in Jew. Chron. May-Auff., 
189o; idem, Early History of the Witicatcrsrand Olcl He- 
brew Congregation, Cape Town , 1899 ; S. CronwrigM-Sehrei- 
ner, Ike Angora Goat , 1898; Julius Mosenthal, in Cape 
Monthly Magazine , 1857; A. Wilmot, History of Our Own 
Times in South Africa, vol. i.; N. Isaacs, Travels and Ad- 
ventures in Eastern Africa , 2 vote., London, 1835 ; John Bird 
Annals of Natal , Pietermaritzburg, 1888; J. Forsyth In- 
gram, The Story of an African Seaport, Durban, 1899; G. M 
Theal, History of South Africa, 1S3U-1S5U ; J. H. Hertz, The 
Synagogue , Bloemfontein, 1899; idem. The Uitlander Agi- 
tation, in Menorah Monthly, Sept., 1899; idem. The Jcids 
and the Uitlander, in American Hebrew, Sept. 29, 1899; 
Jdem, T/uj Boers and Religious Toleration , in Jew. Chron. 
Feb. 9, 1900; idem, The Inaugural Public Meeting of the 
Jewish Board of Deputies for the Transvaal and Natal , 
July 38, 1908, and The First Annual Report of the Board ; 

(En = Iish ed -h 5651 (1890-91), 5653 

(1892-93), 566o (1904-O). 

J- J. H. H. 

SOUTH CAROLINA : One of the thirteen orig- 
inal states of the United States. Most of the events re- 
lating to Jews occurring in this state have been con- 
nected with the town of Charleston, and will be 
found treated under that caption. It is only neces- 
sary here to deal with matters relating to the state 
in general, and to give additional information re- 
garding Charleston which has become accessible 
since that article was written. 

The very beginnings of the constitution of South 
Carolina should have encouraged Jewish immigra- 
tion to that state from England, since the original 
charter drawn up by John Locke, in 1669, granted 
liberty^ of conscience to all, including “Jews, Hea- 
then, and Dissenters.” However, advantage does 
not seem to have been taken of this liberality till 
the year 1695, when a Jew is referred to as liv- 
ing in Charleston — probably Simon 
Early Valentine, who is actually mentioned 
History, three years later as holding land in the 
state. There must have been others, 
since as early as 1703 protest was raised against 
“Jew strangers ” voting in the election of members 
to the Common House of Assembly. Most of the 


early Jewish settlers of South Carolina seem to have 
come from London or the English colonies, and some 
of them appear to have been connected with the Bar- 
bados trade in rum and sugar. In 1740, owing to 
the refusal of the trustees of Georgia to allow the 
introduction of slaves into that state, a number of 
Jews removed from Georgia to South Carolina, and 
in 1748 some London Jews connected with the Da’ 
Costas and Salvadors, who had sent a number of 
Jews out to Georgia, proposed a plan for the acqui- 
tion of a large tract of about 200,000 acres of land in 
South Carolina. After considerable correspondence 
with the Colonial Office, through General Hamil- 
ton, the project was dropped as a concerted plan; 
but on Nov. 27, 1755, General Hamilton sold to 
Joseph Salvador 100,000 acres of land, situated near 
Fort Ninety-six, for £2,000. Twenty years later 
Joseph Salvador sold to thirteen London Sephardic 
Jews 60, 000 acres of land for £3, 000, and transferred 
20,000 acres of the remainder to Rebecca Mendes da 
Costa, in settlement of a claim which she had upon 
him. This land was known as the “Jews’ lands.” 
Prior to this, Salvador’s nephew Francis had ar- 
rived at Charleston (Dec., 1773), and purchased a 
great deal of lauded property in the same neighbor- 
hood, some of it from his uncle and father-in-law. 
A Jew from London, Moses Lindo, was one of the 
chief instruments in increasing the indigo manufac- 
ture of the state. He arrived in 1756, and spent in 
the following year £120,000 in purchasing indigo; 
and as a consequence of his activity this industry 
quintupled in the state between 1756 and 1776. Lindo 
was appointed inspector-general of indigo. 

During the Revolutionary war Jews of South 
Carolina were found on both sides. Francis Salva- 
dor was a delegate to the Second Provincial Con- 
gress, which met in 1775-76 and in which South 
Carolina was declared an independent state. Most 
(nearly 40 out of 60) of the members of the Charleston 
company of militia commanded by Richard Lusliing- 
ton were Jews, for it was drawn chiefly from the 
district in which they lived. This gave rise to the 
tradition of an entirely Jewish regiment, or com- 
pany, fighting in behalf of the Revolu- 
A “Jew- tion. One of them, Joseph Solomon, 
ish ” was killed at the battle of Beaufort, 
Company. 1779, and another, David Cardozo, 
distinguished himself in the attempt 
to recapture Savannah. Among those who peti- 
tioned General Lincoln to surrender Charleston, in 
May, 1780, were several of the prominent Jews of 
the town; and during its occupation by Sir Henry 
Clinton several Jews proved their “loyalty,” being 
reported favorably by a committee appointed by 
Clinton. The majority, however, were on the “pa- 
triot ” side, and left Charleston after the surrender. 
They returned in 1783, several of them becoming 
auctioneers or brokers. It is recorded that Meyer 
Moses succored the American wounded, while Morde- 
cai Meyers furnished supplies for the colonial army. 

The internal affairs of the Jews centered in the 
Congregation Beth Elohim Unveh Shalom, founded 
in 1750 for the Sephardic Jews of Charleston. It 
would appear that another congregation, formed by 
the Jews of the German rite, and also called Beth 
Elohim, came into existence somewhat later. The 



481 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


South Carolina 

South and Central America 


Sephardic congregation worshiped in Union street 
from 1750 to 1757 ; in King street from 1757 to 1764; 
in Bedersford street in 1764; and in Hasell street, in 
the “Old Synagogue,” from 1764 to 1781. By 1791 
it consisted of more than 400 persons. The “New 
Synagogue ” was built in 1794. In connection with 
this congregation a Hebrew benevolent society had 
been founded in 1784. 

Owing to the liberal constitution of South Caro- 
lina and the fortunate position of the Jews at 
Charleston, that city by 1800 had the largest Jewish 
population in North America. Beth Eloliim had 
107 contributing members in that year, 

Largest and 125 members two years later. The 
American most distinguished member of the 
Con- community in the early part of the 
gregation century was Meyer Moses. He was 

in 1800 . a member of the legislature in 1810, 
and commissioner of free schools later. 
The influence of the Jews in South Carolina at this 
time was shown by the fact that they were inti- 
mately connected with the introduction of free- 
masonry into the state, Emanuel de la Motta, who 
was educated at Charleston, being one of its leading 
exponents, while Abraham Alexander, who was 
honorary reader of the Beth Eloliim congregation, 
was one of those who introduced the Scottish rite 
into America. 

In the War of 1812 a Jewish youth named Jacob 
Valentine, a descendant probably of the first Jew 
mentioned in the annals of South Carolina, served 
in the Palmetto regiment, and in the Mexican war he 
was wounded in the storming of Cherubusco. Jacob 
de la Motta served as surgeon in the United States 
army during the War of 1812. 

In 1822 a congregation known as the “Tree of 
Life ” seems to have been established in Columbia, 
which algo has a Hebrew benevolent society dating 
from that year. 

South Carolina was the earliest state in the Union 
to show Reform tendencies. In 1824 twenty-seven 
members of the Congregation Beth Eloliim of 
Charleston petitioned the vestry for the use of the 
vernacular in the prayers, and for their shortening, 
as well as for the preaching of English sermons. 
On the rejection of the petition a number of the pe- 
titioners resigned and organized the Reform Society 
of Israelites. A second split in the congregation, 
for a similar reason, took place in 1840, owing to the 
attempted introduction of the organ into the serv- 
ice, and a new congregation was formed, known as 
Shearith Israel. 

During the Civil war Jews from {South Carolina 
joined the Confederate army to the number of 182, 
of whom no less than twenty-five were killed. Five 
brothers of the Moses family joined the Confederate 
ranks, Benjamin Mordecai, the father of one of the 
soldiers, is stated to have been the first material 
contributor to the Southern cause, having donated 
810,000 to South Carolina at the beginning of the 
war. During the reconstruction period many South 
Carolina Jews removed northward. The total num- 
ber of Jews in the state at the present day (1905) is 
estimated at 2,500. Besides Charleston and Colum- 
bia, communities exist at Darlington, Florence, 
Orangeburg, and Sumter. 

XL— 81 


Bibliography: B. A.. Elzas, The Jews of South Carolina , 
Charleston, 1903 (a collection of pamphlets reprinted from 
the Charleston News and Courier, and giving a number of 
facts drawn from early records and newspapers); the works 
given in the bibliography to the article Charleston, 
a. J. 

SOUTH AND CENTRAL AMERICA : Cer- 
tain portions of the American continent which were 
first colonized by the Spaniards and Portuguese, 
and which still remain Spanish- and Portuguese- 
speaking. As regards the period during which 
these countries were under Spanish dominion their 
interest for Jewish history is concerned almost entire- 
ly with the Maranos, or Neo-Cliristians, secret Jews 
who nominally professed the Catholic religion ; for 
settlements there were made only subsequent to the 
expulsion of the Jews from Spain in 1492, and Span- 
ish law did not permit the existence of professing 
Jews on the soil of Spanish colonies. The same ex- 
clusion was enforced in the Portuguese colony of 
Brazil after the formal expulsion of the Jews from 
Portugal in 1508. Both in Spanish and in Portu- 
guese America, therefore, the chief external events 
referring to Jews are connected with the Inquisition, 
but as this was never formally established in Brazil, 
there is a notable difference between the fortunes of 
the Jews in Portuguese and those of the Jews in 
Spanish America, which regions will accordingly be 
treated separately. 

Though the Inquisition was never established in 
Brazil, it had its “ familiars ” in that country, who 
spied upon secret Jews, and, in case of detection, 
seized them and sent them to Lisbon to be tried by 
the tribunal there. On the other hand, a favorite 
method of punishment by the Inquisition of Lisbon 
was to transport convicted relapsed 
Portuguese Jews to the colony of Brazil, it is said, 
America : twice every year. The earliest notice 
Brazil. of Jews in the country refers to some 
who had been thus banished in 1548. 
In the same year, however, several Portuguese Jews 
transplanted sugar-cane from Madeira to Brazil, and 
Jews were connected with the sugar industry of the 
country for the following two centuries. During 
the twenty years following the arrival of the first 
Jewish settlers they were joined by many vol- 
unteer exiles of the same faith, until their prom- 
inence in trade became noticeable ; and edicts were 
issued by Don Henrique, regent of Portugal, on 
June 20, 1567, and March 15, 1568, forbidding Mara- 
nos to settle in Brazil. This edict, however, was re- 
pealed for the sum of 1,700,000 crusados (S714,000) 
given by the Maranos of Lisbon and Brazil, and the 
privileges of residence and free commerce were 
granted to Neo-Christians by an edict of May 21, 
1577. 

When Portugal was seized by Philip II. in 
1580, Spanish regulations against the existence of 
Jews, secret or other, in Spanish dominions applied 
to Brazil also ; but the insecure hold of Spain on the 
great Portuguese colony prevented a rigid applica- 
tion of the Spanish rule, and in 1610 mention is 
made of Jewish physicians in Bahia, then the capital 
of Brazil ; it is stated also that the richest persons 
there were Jews, owning property amounting to 
from 60.000 to 100,000 crusados. The Dutch West 
India Company, founded in 1620, was largely re- 



South and Central America 
Spaeth 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


482 


cruited from the Maranos of Brazil, and it was un- 
doubtedly due to the troubles in that country that 
no branch of the Inquisition was established there. 

From 1618 to 1654 the Dutch made repeated at- 
tempts to take possession of Brazil, and during the 
whole time the Jewish element in that countiy re- 
mained friendly to the Dutch and inimical to the 
Spanish and, after 1640, to the Portuguese. Thus, 
as early as 1618 Frauciseo Bibiero, a Portuguese 
Jewish captain who had relatives in Holland, is said 
to have assisted the Dutch in their attempts upon 
the Brazilian coast. When Bahia was captured in 
1624 the Dutch were welcomed by about 200 Jews, 
to whom freedom of worship had been promised. 
The capital, however, was recaptured the following 
year bj r t he Portuguese. Most of the Jews of Bahia 
moved to Recife (Pernambuco) when the latter city 
was captured by the Dutch in 1631. So promising 
was the position of the Jews in Brazil that Ephraim 
Sueiro, brother-in-law of Manasseh b. Israel, emi- 
grated to that country in 1638, and was to have been 
followed bj r Manasseh himself, who dedicated the 
second part of his “ Conciliador ” to the community 
at Recife (1640). Two years later no less than 600 
Jews from Amsterdam, including Isaac Aboab 
da Fonseca and Moses Raphael Aguilar, embarked 
for Recife. They spread throughout the countiy, 
forming congregations at Tanmrico, Itamaraca, Rio 
de Janeiro, and Parahiba ; and in 1646 some of them 
raised large sums to assist the Dutch in defending 
the coast. 

There were said to be no less than 5,000 Jews in 
Recife when it capitulated to the Portuguese, spe- 
cial clauses of the capitulation referring to the Jews. 
They found it, however, impossible to remain in 
Pernambuco, and scattered throughout North Amer- 
ica, though a large number, including Aboab and 
Aguilar, the Pereyras, the Mezas, Abraham de Cas- 
tro, and Joshua Zarfati, returned to Amsterdam, 
while Jacob de Velosino, the first Hebrew author bom 
on American soil, settled at The Hague. Others went 
to Cayenne and Curasao, and it is generally assumed 
that the first Jewish settlers in New Amsterdam 
came directly from Pernambuco (see, however. New 
York). There still remained a number of Maranos 
on Brazilian soil, whose existence is known mainly 
through the actions of Brazilian “familiars.” Thus 
Isaac de Castro Tartas, who lived there, was trans- 
ported to Lisbon Dec. 15, 1647, The number of 
Brazilian Maranos was augmented by exiles trans- 
ported from Portugal between 1682 and 1707 for the 
crime of Judaizing. These were closely watched, 
and in case of relapse they were returned to Lis- 
bon. Thus, on Oet. 10, 1723, five Jews who had 
been returned from Riode Janeiro were punished at 
an auto da fe at Lisbon. On Oct. 19, 1739. Antonio 
Jose da Silva, poet and dramatist, who was origi- 
nally from Brazil, was burned at the stake, together 
with liis mother and wife. Nevertheless, the Jews 
fiourished in Brazil throughout the eighteenth 
eentuiy, and it is reported that in 1734, after the 
discovery of diamonds, they controlled the market 
for those gems. The action of the Inquisition in 
returning so many Jews from Brazil to Lisbon bad 
a deleterious effect upon the sugar trade, which 
the Jews almost monopolized ; and many sugar- 


mills were closed at Rio de Janeiro until Pombal 
put an end to the transportation of Maranos from 
Brazil to Lisbon. 

As early as Oct., 1511, Queen Joan of Spain is- 
sued an edict restricting the Maranos from immi- 
grating into New Spain; and the activity of the 
Inquisition in the Spanish colonies of America was 
specifically directed against the Maranos and their 
descendants. Thus, Charles V., under date of Oct. 
15, 1538, directed the Inquisition to attend not to 
the natives, but to the European immigrants and 
their offspring; and at an uncertain date before 1604 
Philip III. issued a rescript forbidding any newly 
converted persons, or the offspring of such persons, 
to settle in the Spanish possessions in the East or 
West Indies. As a matter of fact, the first auto da 
fe in the New World took place in Mexico in 1574. 
Four years later three Jews were dealt with by the 
Mexican Inquisition. The most distinguished of the 
Mexican Maranos was Luis de Carabajal, who was 
for some time governor of one of the provinces of 
Mexico. He was charged with Juda- 

Spanish izing on the accusation of Doha Isabel 
America : de Herrera in 1590, certain members of 

Mexico, the Caceres family being included in 
the same charge. Carabajal \s nephew 
of the same name was actually executed at an auto 
da fe in Mexico, Sept. 8, 1596. On the strength 
of a confession, still extant, which he wrote while 
a prisoner of the Inquisition lie is said to have been 
the first Jewish author in America (see Caiiaiiajal). 
In 1607 a relative of his, Jorge de Almeida, was tried 
by the Inquisition of Mexico on the charge of Juda- 
izing, and during the proceedings no less than 
tliirty-two residents of Mexico were denounced as 
Judaizers. On March 22, 1609, Almeida was con- 
demned to be executed in effigy. At the trial of 
Gabriel de Granada, which took place in Mexico be- 
tween 1642 and 1645, no less than 107 persons were 
charged with Judaizing, showing a considerable in- 
crease in the Jewish population of that city. Among 
those thus charged were members of the families 
Rivera, Rodriguez, Perez, Espinosa, Tinoco, Nunez, 
Del Bosque, Do Castro, Da Costa, Sylva, Oliviera, 
and Sobremonte. The last person referred to, 
Thomas Trebino de Sobremonte, appears to have 
been kept in prison for many years, and to have 
suffered a martyr’s death on April 11, 1649. 

The Inquisition was established in Peru on Jan. 
9, 1570, when Don Diego de Espinosa was inquisi- 
tor-general. Altogether thirty -four autos da fe were 
held at Lima from 1573 to July 17, 1806, after which 
the Inquisition ceased its activity. It appears that 
131 Jews were condemned during this period, 
twenty-four of whom were burned at the stake. 
The most, important auto da fe from a Jewish stand- 
point was that of Jan. 23, 1639, on which occasion 
no less than sixty-three Jews were 
Peru and condemned, ten of them to death by 

Chile. fire. Among the latter was Manuel 
Bautista Perez, reported to have been 
the richest man in Peru at the time, a sum equiva- 
lent to no less than 81,000,000 falling into the coffers 
of the Inquisition through his death. The most 
distinguished victim of the Chilean Inquisition was 
Francisco Maldonado de Silva, surgeon, poet, and 



483 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


South and Central America 
Spaeth 


philosopher (born in 1592), who was seized at Con- 
cepcion, Chile, April 29, 1627, on information which 
was given by his own sister. He remained in the 
dungeons of the Inquisition for nearly twelve years, 
during which time his constancy to his faith was 
conspicuous; while in prison he even con verted two 
Catholics to Judaism. He was executed at Lima 
Jan. 23, 1639. After the wholesale slaughter of 
1639 a respite, in consideration of the sum of 200,000 
ducats paid to the governor, Conde de Chinchon, 
was given to the 6,000 Jews who are said to have re- 
mained In Peru at that time. In the early part of 
the seventeenth century a number of Peruvian Jews 
went to Chile, possibly for purposes of trade. Be- 
tween 1636 and 1641 five of these were punished for 
Judaizing. In 1680 a certain Leon Gomez de Silva, 
born in Portugal, Was accused of Judaizing at Santi- 
ago, and although lie cleared himself of the charge he 
was again accused in 1700. The Jews of Peru and 
Chile are said to have owned all the dry-goods stores 
and to have controlled almost the entire commerce 
of these states. They monopolized the retail trade, 
and established an extensive merchant marine, their 
agents being scattered throughout the country. 

Only occasional references are found to Jews of 
Argentine and La Plata, the other chief seat of Jew- 
ish activity being Colombia, where an inquisitorial 
tribunal was established at Cartagena in 1610. At 
the fifty-four autos da fe held in that state up to 
Aug. 16, 1819, 767 persons were condemned. The 
proportion of Jews or Maranos among these can not 
be estimated. 


Bibliography: Cyrus Adler, Trial of Jorye de Almeida by 
the Inquisition in Mexico , in Publ. Am. Jew. Hist. Soc. 
No. 4; E. N. Adler, The Inquisition in Peru , ib. No. 12; 
David Fergusson, Trial of Gabriel de Granada by the In- 
quisition in Mexico , 16!#-I6k5, ib. No. 7; Kayserling, The 
Earliest Rabbis and Jeivish Writers of America , ib. No. 3 ; 
Kohut, Jewish Martyrs of the Inquisition in South Amer- 
iv» Kn i • idem, The Trial of Francisco Maldonado 


fen, lb. No. 4 ; 
de Silva, lb. No. 11. 
A. 


J. 


Since the abolition of the Inquisition and the series 
of revolutions by which the various states of South 
and Central America effected their independence of 
Europe, the Maranos have become absorbed in the 
general population. Jews are to be found through- 
out the more prosperous cities of the Soiitli-Ameri- 
can continent, although, with one notable exception, 
not in large numbers. The Jews of the central 
states are largely descendants of Sephardim, who 
once had flourishing communities in the West Indies ; 
but in the south they are mostly traders from Ger- 
many, Russia, and Poland, with a few from England, 
Except in the Argentine Republic there are no syn- 
agogues. In Panama there are a few Jews, who 
have a burial-ground of their own about a mile out- 
side the city ; this cemetery is kept in good order, 
and many of the tombstones bear Hebrew inscrip- 
tions of historic value. In Peru, Bolivia, aud Chile 
there are very few Jews; even in the capitals of 
these states there are hardly enough to form a minyan 
for public worship. At Lima and Santiago the chief 
jewelers are German Jews, and one of the prominent 
Chilean dentists is a Danish Jew. At Valparaiso one 
of the leading merchants is an English Jew (Jacob 
Caro). In Dutch Guiana and in Venezuela there 
are between 200 and 300 Jews, mostly from the 


Dutch colonies of Surinam and Curasao. Lately 
the Jewish Colonization Association lias established 
agricultural colonies in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, 
and lias sent thirty-seven Russian and Rumanian 
families to those settlements. There was an agency 
of the Alliance Israelite Universelle in Rio de 
Janeiro, but this was closed in 1902 on the death of 
the local representative. 

In the Argentine Republic the Jewish population 
may be estimated at about 20,000. That such a 
comparatively large number of Jews live there is 
due almost entirely to the Jewish Colonization As- 
sociation (see Agricultural Colonies in the 
Argentine Republic). For every Jewish colonist 
who settles on the land at least six And their way 
to the large cities: Buenos Ayres, Cordova, Santa 
Fe, Rosario, and Mendoza. 

In Buenos Ayres there are two synagogues, both 
in the Calle Liberdad ; and the central office of the 
Jewish Colonization. Association is located in the 
Calle Callao. ~ 

The following is a rough estimate of tlic Jewish 
population of the various states of South America: 


Argentine Republic 20,000 

Brazil : 8,000 

Guiana, Venezuela, and Colombia 2,000 

Ecuador, Bolivia, Peru, Chile, and Uruguay 1,000 

a. E. N. A. 


SPAETH, JOHANN PETER. (MOSES GER- 
MANIJS) : Convert to Judaism ; born at Venice in 
the first half of the seventeenth century; died at 
Amsterdam April 27, 1701. On account of rumors 
of impending war, his father, who was a poor shoe- 
maker, sought refuge, between 1642 and 1645, at 
Augsburg; and there, as a pious Catholic., he con- 
fided Peter to the Jesuits, who took charge of his 
education. Peter later went to Vienna and earned his 
living as a private tutor. Becoming dissatisfied 
with many Catholic dogmas, he em* 
Leaves Ca- braced Lutheranism (1680). On that 
tholicism occasion lie wrote his first work : “ E uta- 
for Lu.th.er- ypa<j>ia, Tlieologico-PhilosophicoiEiug- 
anism. matica. ” The work found much favor 
with M. Spitzel, head of the board of 
theological studies at Augsburg, who recommended 
Spaeth to many influential personages in Strasburg 
and afterward to others in Frank fort-on -til e-Main. 

In 1683 Spaeth returned to Catholicism, which he 
defended aud praised in a work entitled “Judicium 
Amoris de Fundamentalibus Quibusdam, Qui Ferun- 
tur Erroribus Ecclesioe Roman®.” But this recon- 
ciliation with the Church of Rome did not last. New 
doubts assailed his mind ; and after having mingled 

with the members of certain mystic sects, such as the 
Socinians and Mennonites, and after having taken up 
the study of Hebrew literature and the cabalistic 
writings, he renounced Christianity and vehemently 
attacked it. Even the Sermon on the Mount, as re- 
quiring an impossible ideality, did not escape his crit- 
icism (Scliudt, “Jiidisclie Merck wurdigkei ten,” iv. 
194). As for the Christian writings other than the 
New Testament, he held that until Constantine 
founded Christianity they were all drawn from 
Jewish tradition. 

It seems that Spaeth did not intend to become 
a proselyte to Judaism, and that his conversion was 



Spain 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


484 


brought about, as lie liimself relates, through the 
following incident: Once a crucifix dropped from 
his pocket, and it was picked up by a Jew, who 
said : “ It is Israel, the man of sorrow ! ” (Schudt, 
l.c. p. 195). Sa} 7 s Spaeth: 

“ From those words I understood the 53d chapter of Isaiah : 
the Jews hore the sins of the heathen, while they were daily 
persecuted by them. Froth time immemorial 
Renounces they had been treated in a shameful manner. 
Christianity As the whole history of the Passion tended to 
for Judaism, render the Jews odious, so the same sort of 
thing happens nowadays. For instance, the 
Jews are said to have murdered a child, and to have distributed 
the blood in quills for the use of their women in childbirth. I 
have discovered this outrageous fraud in time: and, therefore, 
I abandon Christianity, which permits such things.” 

Spaeth became converted at Cleves, taking the name 
“Moses German us.” 

Besides the above-mentioned works, Moses pub- 
lished the following: a translation of Judah ha- 
Levi’s poem “Mi Kamoka ” into Latin, German, 
and Spanish, with an introduction in Spanish; also 
“ Geistiger Dreieckiger Spiegel der Lchre von dem 
Weibliclien Gesclilechte ”); “Epistolse ad Vindican- 
dum Judaismum” (published by Wacliter in his' 
“De Spinosismo in Judaismo”; “A Groote Hosi- 
anna der Joden, to Venvellkommenden Messias”; 
“Maran Ata, ” a Jewish Christian mystical writing; 
“Jesus Christi Eh re unci Eel ire, Gerettet Wider Alle 

Christen”; “Solus ex Jucheis Contra Spinosain ”; 
and “Dc Ortu et Progressu Medicinye per Judoeos 
Diatribe.” 

Bibliography : Diffeubach, Judaeus Con versus, p. 130; Wacli- 
ter, De Spinosismo in. Judciisnw ; Speuer, Theohxjisch Be- 
dcnlicn , iii. 534, 961; iv. 623: Zedler, Universal- Lex icon, 
xxxviii. 1398 et seq.; Samter, in Monatsschrift , xxxix. 1T8, 
221, 271; Wolf, Bibl. Hchr. i. 1525, iii. 740; Fufst, Bibl Jud . 
i. 63. 

K. I. Bk. 

SPAIN (fcODDDX. NVDSDN. also lisp, 

the plural of which, D'YISSD, was taken as the com- 
mon name for Jews of Spanish origin): Jews lived 
in Spain in very early times, although the legend 
that Solomon’s treasurer Adoniram tiied there, as 
well as the story that the Jews of Toledo, in a letter 
addressed to the Sanhedrin at Jerusalem, declared 
against the crucifixion of Jesus, can not be credited. 
Yet it is certain that the apostle Paul intended to 
visit Spain to proclaim his new teaching to the Jews 
living there, and that Vespasian, and especially Ha- 
drian, who was himself a Spaniard, 
Early transported several Jewish prisoners 
Settlement, to Spain. Several passages in the Tal- 
mud and in the Midrash (Leviticus 
Babbali) which treat of n'DPDK refer undoubtedly 
to Spain (Levy, “Neuhebr. Worterb.” i. 128; Ko- 
hut, “Arucli Completion,” i. 188); and the Jewish 
coins unearthed in ancient Tarragona give evidence 
of an early settlement of the Jews in Spain, either 
voluntary or involuntary. 

The earliest Jewish tombst one with a Latin inscrip- 
tion and discovered in Spain is that unearthed at 
Adra ; it is of a Jewish girl, and dates back to the third 
century (HlVbner, “ Inseripliones Hispanke Latina?,” 
p. 268, Berlin. 1869 ; Rios, “ Hist.” i. 68). The Jews 
spread rapidly over the Pyrenean peninsula, and 
were well treated under the sovereignty of the 
Arian Visigoths; they lived on an equality with the 
other inhabitants, engaged in trade and agriculture. 


and were often entrusted with judicial offices. The 
first attempt to disturb the friendly relations that 
existed between Jews and Christians originated with 
the Council of Elvira (308-304), which consisted of 
nineteen bishops and twenty-four presbyters, the 
bishops being chosen from Cordova, Seville, Toledo, 
Saragossa, and other cities inhabited by Jews. This 
council under pain of excommunication prohibited 
the Christians from living with Jews or eating in 
their company ; it forbade also the blessing of the 
produce of Jewish fields “in order that the ecclesi- 
astical benediction might not appear fruitless and 
vain.” 

The position of the Jews became even less favor- 
able when King Reeared (586-589), for political 
reasons, abjured the Arian faith be- 
IJnder fore the third Council of Toledo and 

Recared. entered the Catholic Church. In order 
to confirm the converted Allans in the 
Catholic faith and to win the clergy over to his side, 
he endeavored to prevent the Christians from asso- 
ciating with the Jews, who, as the allies of those 
opposed to his conversion, might have proved dan- 
gerous opponents of his religious plans. At the 
Council of Toledo in 589 he issued an order to the 
effect that Jews might not acquire or own Christian 
slaves, nor till public offices, nor have intercourse 
witli Christian women ; the circumcision of a slave 
or of a Christian was punished with confiscation of 
property*. Recared did not, however, succeed in 
enforcing Ills laws. The Arians, recently converted 
to the Catholic faith, were true allies of the Jews, 
who were oppressed like themselves; and the Jews 
were therefore protected . by the Arian bishops and 
by the independent Visigotliic nobility. The suc- 
cessors of Recared were, as a rule, better disposed 
toward the Jews, King Sisebut being the first who 
endeavored to enforce fully the laws enacted by 
Recared. He ordered that the Jews, on pain of 
the loss of their property, should release all their 
Christian slaves within a short time, and that in the 
future they might not hold anj r slaves. 

Sisebut decreed the first persecution of the Jews 
in Spain. Whether he was influenced by Em- 
peror Heraclius, or whether the clergy brought it 
about, is unknown, but lie ordered that within a 
year all Jews should either submit to baptism or 
leave the Visigotliic kingdom forever. Many Jews 
fled; but the greater number, more than 90,000, 
saved their property and their homes by embracing 
Christianity, though at heart the} r remained Jews. 
On account of this forcible conversion the king was 
severely criticized by Isidor of Seville, the most 
learned Spaniard of the time. During the reign of 
Suintala the fugitives returned to their country and 
the baptized Jews openly professed Judaism again. 
Forced to abdicate his throne, Suintala was suc- 
ceeded by Sisenand. The latter was the tool of the 
clergy, and at the fourth Toledan Council (683) he 
ordered that the children of baptized 
Under tire Jews should be taken from tlieir par- 
Visigoths. ents and given to Christians or to the 
cloisters for education. He ordered 
also that all Jews who had been forcibly baptized 
and who practised Jewish ceremonies should be 
given away as slaves. 



485 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Spain 


The council-called at Toledo by Cliintila not only 
confirmed all the previously enacted anti-Jewish 
laws, but it ordained that no Jew might remain in 
the country, and that in the future every king at his 
accession should promise on oath to proceed with the 
greatest severity against all relapsing baptized Jews. 
The pseudo-Christians presented to the king a writ- 
ten statement declaring that they would live as good 
Catholics; but under Chindaswind they openly re- 
turned to the fold of Judaism. King Receswind was 
more severe than any of his predecessors. He or- 
dered that Jews who practised the rites of their 
faith should be beheaded, burned, or stoned to death. 
The Jews of Toledo promised (653) to observe the 
Church regulations, including that ordering them 
not to abstain from eating pork. Nevertheless, they 
continued to observe the Jewish festivals and to ig- 
nore the Christian, so that the clergy at length in- 
sisted upon their celebrating the Christian holy days 
under the supervision of the Church authorities. 

The severe measures taken by the Visigothic civil 
o Ulcers as well as by the councils were mainly 
directed against the secret Jews, whom the clergy 
considered more dangerous than the unbaptized ones; 
the latter were, therefore, left in peace. Envig, 
however, attempted to force these to accept bap- 
tism, threatening them with the confiscation of their 
propei’ty or with expulsion if they refused ; lie pro- 
nounced the severest punishments for the reading 
of anti-Christian writings and for practising the rite 
of circumcision. All the anti-Jewish laws proposed 
by this king were accepted by the twelfth Toledan 
Council, presided over by Archbishop Julian of To- 
ledo, who had published several writings against 
the Jews, although he was himself of Jewish origin 
and kept a Jewish servant. 

Egica, the son-in-law and successor of Erwig, 
in the beginning of liis reign ‘showed himself mild 
toward the Jews. When, however, they allied 
themselves with the Arabs, who threatened the king- 
dom (which already was suffering from internal dis- 
turbances), the kiug confiscated all their property, 
and, in order to render them harmless for all time, 
declared all Jews, baptized or not, to be slaves and 
distributed them as gifts among Christians. Jew- 
ish children over seven j r ears of age were taken 
from their parents and similarly dealt with (end of 
694). 

Witiza, the son of Egica, is described sometimes 
as a paragon of virtue and sometimes as a veritable 
fiend; the latter description of him is the one gen- 
erally given by ecclesiastical writers. Lucas de 
Tuy, Archbishop Rodrigo, Ambrosio de Morales, 
Juan de Mariana, and other Spanish historians hold 
that this king, to further heretical ends, misused the 
previous decisions of the councils, that he recalled 
the exiled Jews, granted them privileges, and 
even entrusted them with public offices. Whether 
this be true, or whether, as is more probable, lie 
oppressed them as liis predecessors 

The Arri- bad done, it remains a fact that the 
val of Jews, either directly or through their 
the Moors, coreligionists in Africa, encouraged 
the Mohammedans to conquer Spaiu 
and that they greeted them as their deliverers. After 
the battle of Jerez (711), in which African Jews 


fought bravely under Kaulaal-Yakudi, and in which 
the last Gothic king, Rodrigo, and his nobles were 
slain, the conquerors Musa and Tarik were every- 
where victorious. The conquered cities Cordova, 
Malaga, Granada, Seville, and Toledo were placed 
in charge of the Jewish inhabitants, who had been 
armed by the Arabs. The victors removed the dis- 
abilities which had oppressed the Jews so heavily, 
and granted them full religious liberty, requir- 
ing them to pay only the tribute of one golden 
dinar per capita (Adolf de Castro, “ Historia de los 
Judios en Espana,” pp. 33 et seq . ; Rios, “Hist.” i. 
106 et seq.; G. van Vlooten, “Recberclies sur la 
Domination Arabe,” Amsterdam, 1894). 

A new era now dawned for the Jews of the Pyre- 
nean peninsula, whose number had been consider- 
ably augmented by those who had followed the 
Arab conquerors, as well as by later immigrants 
from Africa. Hardly a decade after the conquest, 
however, many Jews left their new home in order 
to follow a man named Serenus (Zanora, Zonaria) 
who had appeared in Syria and had proclaimed 
himself the Messiah (721); the governor, Anbasa 
(Ambisa), who was collecting enormous sums for 
the fiscus, confiscated the property of the emigra- 
ting Jews for this purpose. Under the Ommiad 
‘Abd al-Raliman I., whose greatness is said to have 
been foretold by a learned Jew who became his ad- 
viser, a flourishing kingdom was established, of 

which Cordova was the center. During ‘Abd al- 
Rahman’s reign the Jews devoted themselves to the 
service of the califate, to the study of the sciences, 
and to commerce and industry, especially to trading 
in silk and slaves, in this way promoting the prosper- 
ity of the country. Southern Spain became an asy- 
lum for the oppressed Jews of other parts. Bodo- 
Eleazar, a convert to Judaism, went to Cordova, 
where he is said to have endeavored to win prose- 
lytes for Judaism from among the Spanish Chris- 
tians; but that the mass of the Spanish Jews of the 
period in question hated the Christians and aimed at 
making proselytes is not correct. 

The reigns of ‘Abd al-Rahman I. (called Al-Nasir; 
912-961) and liis son Al-Hakim were the golden 
era for the Spanish Jews and Jewish 

Under science. ‘Abd al-Rahman 's court phy- 

‘Abd al- sician and minister was Hasdai ben 
Rahman I. Isaac ibn Shaprut, the patron of Men- 
and ahem ben Saruk, Dunask ben Labrat, 
Al-Hakim. and other Jewish scholars and poets. 

During his term of power the scholar 
Moses ben Enoch was appointed rabbi of Cordova, 
and as a consequence Spain became the center of Tal- 
mudic study, and Cordova the meeting-place of Jew- 
ish savants. After the downfall of Al-Hakim, who 
likewise favored the Jews, a struggle for the throne 
broke out between Sulaiman ibn al-Hakim and Mo- 
hammed ibn Hisham. Sulaiman solicited the assist- 
ance of Count Sancho of Castile, while Mohammed, 
through the agency of wealthy Jewish merchants in 
Cordova, obtained the aid of Count Ramon of Bar- 
celona. For this Sulaiman took fearful revenge 
upon the Jews, expelling them mercilessly from 
city and country (1013). 

With the overthrow of the Banu Amir the power 
of the Mohammedan state in Spain came to an end, 



Spain 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


486 


the mighty califate of Cordova being divided into 
twelve minor states under different califs. The 
Abbadites ruled in Seville, the Hammudites in Mal- 
aga, the Zay rids in Granada, the Beni-Hud in Sara- 
gossa, and others in Almeria, Toledo, Valencia, 
Niebla, etc. Several Jews left Cordova for Malaga, 
Granada, Toledo, Murcia, and Saragossa. 

Among those who fled from Cordova was the Tal- 
mudist and linguist Samuel ha-Levi ibn Nagdela 
(Nagrela), who went to Malaga, which, 

Samuel together with- the towns of Jaen, Ron- 
ibn da, etc., belonged to the kingdom of 
Nagdela. Granada, founded by the Barbary tribe 
of Sinhagah. Samuel won the favor of 
the vizier of King Habus of Granada; he appointed 
him his private secretary and recommended him to the 
king as counselor, and upon the death of the vizier 
the king, made Samuel his minister and entrusted 
him with the administration of diplomatic affairs. 
Samuel, who resided in Granada, officiated as rabbi 
also, and took an active interest in the sciences and 
poetry. He retained his court position under King 
Habus’ son Badis, whom lie aided against liis elder 
brother Balkin. Samuel remained the protector of 
his. coreligionists, who in Granada enjoyed full civic 
equality, being eligible for public offices and for 
service in the army. 

A position similar to that of Samuel’s was occu- 
pied, though only for a short time, by Jekuthiel ibn 
Hasan in Saragossa. Jekuthiel shared the fate of 
Samuel’s son Abu Husain Joseph ibn Nagdela, who 
succeeded liis father as minister upon the latter’s 
death (1055); Abu Husain was accused by his ene- 
mies of treason after having held office for eleven 
years, and was crucified before the gate of Granada 
on Dec. 30, 1066. On this occasion all the Jews of 
Granada who .had. not sought salvation in flight, 
fifteen hundred families in number, fell victims to 
the rage of the populace. This was the first perse- 
cution of Jews on the Peninsula while under Islamic 
rule. All Jews were compelled to leave Granada, 
several finding refuge in Lucena. In the year of 
the persecution in Granada the talented philoso- 
pher Abu al-Facll ibn Hasdai was appointed vizier in 
Saragossa ; be was the sou of the poet Joseph ibn Has- 
dai, who had fied from Cordova in 1013, and he held 
the office of vizier until Abu Amir Yusuf al-MiT'tamir 
ascended the throne. The scholar Isaac ibn Albalia, 
who had escaped the butchery iu Granada, was ap- 
pointed astronomer to Mohammed al-MiTtamid in 
Seville, who was a patron of science and poetry; 
Isaac was appointed also rabbi of all the congrega- 
tions in that city r . At the same time Al-Mu‘tamid 
employed Joseph ibn Migas on diplomatic missions. 

Terrified by the conquests of King Alfonso VI. 
of Castile, Ai-Muffamid, heedless of the remon- 
strances of his son, called to liis aid the ambitious 
Yusuf ibn Taslifin of North Africa. 
Under the In the terrific battle of Zallaka (Oct., 
Almo- 1086), in which Jews fought bravely 
ravides. both in the Christian and in the Moor- 
ish -army, Yusuf won a victory and 
the sovereign power. The Almoravides, a warlike, 
fanatical religious sect, now became the rulers of 
southern Spain ; they did nothing to improve the wel- 
fare of the Jews. Yusuf ibn Taslifin endeavored 


to force the large and wealthy community of Lucena 
to embrace Islam. Under the reign of liis son Ali 
(1106-43) the position of the Jews was more favor- 
able. Some were appointed musliawirah ” (col- 
lectors and custodians of the royal taxes). Others 
entered the service of the state, holding the title of 
u vizier ” or “ nasi ” ; among these may be mentioned 
the poet and physician AbuAyyub Solomon ibn 
al-Mu'allam of Seville, Abraham ibn Mei'r ibn Kam- 
nial, Abu Isaac ibn Muliajar, and Solomon ibn 
Farusal (murdered May 2, 1108). The old commu- 
nities ’of Seville, Granada, and Cordova prospered 
anew. 

The power of the Almoravides was of short dura- 
tion. A fanatic of North Africa, Abdallah ibn Tu- 
mart, appeared about 1112 as the upholder of Mo- 
hammed’s original teachings concerning the unity of 
God, and became the founder of a new party called 
the Almohades, or Muzmotas (“Shebet Yehudah,” 
p. 3, gives the correct date as 4872 [= 1112]). Upon 
the death of Abdallah, \Abd al-Mu’min 
Under th.e took the leadership and endeavored 
Al- with sword and brand to exterminate 
mohades. the Almoravides as political and relig- 
ious enemies. In North Africa he 
won victory after victory. Iu the same year in which 
the Second Crusade brought new distress to the 
German Jews, ‘Abd al-Mu’miu passed over to south- 
ern Spain in order to wrest that country from the 
Almoravides. He conquered Cordova (1148), Sev- 
ille, Lucena, Montilla; Aguilar, and Baena, and 
within a year the whole of Andalusia was in the pos- 
session of the Almohades. As in Africa, so in Spain, 
the Jews were forced to accept the Islamic faith ; 
the conquerors confiscated their property and took 
tlieir wives and children, many of whom were sold 
as slaves. The most famous Jewish educational in- 
stitutions were closed, and the beautiful synagogues 
everywhere destroyed. 

The terrible persecutions by the Almohades lasted 
for ten years. On account of these persecutions 
many Jews made a pretense of embracing Islam, 
but a great number fled to Castile, whose tolerant 
ruler, Alfonso VII., received them with hospitality, 
especially in Toledo. Others fled to northern Spain 
and to Provence, in which latter country the Kim- 
his sought refuge. Various attempts on the part of 
the Jews to defend themselves against the Almo- 
hades were unsuccessful ; the courageous Abu Ruiz 
ibn Dahri of Granada especially distinguished him- 
self in such a conflict (1162; see “ Al-Makkari,” ed, 
Gayangos, ii. 23). The part taken by the Jews in 
the struggle against the Almohades must not be un- 
derestimated; the latter’s power was broken in the 
battle of Navas de Toledo on July 16, 1212. 

The first Christian princes, the counts of Castile 
and the first kings of Leon, treated the Jews as 
mercilessly as did the Almohades. 
In Castile In their operations against the Moors 
and Leon, they did not spare the Jews, destroy- 
ing their synagogues and killing their 
teachers and scholars. Only gradually did the rulers 
come to realize that, surrounded as they were by 
powerful enemies, they could uot afford to turn the 
Jews against them. Garcia Fernandez, Count of 
Castile, in the fuero of Castrojeriz (974), placed 




Interior View op St. Maria la Blanca, formerly a Synauouue, Toledo, Spain. 


Spain 


488 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


the Jews in many respects on an equality with 
Christians; and similar measures were adopted 
by the Council of Leon (1020), presided over b 3 r Al- 
fonso Y . In Leon, the metropolis of Christian Spain 
until the conquest of Toledo, many Jews owned 
real estate, and engaged in agriculture and viticul- 
ture as well as in the handicrafts; and here, as in 
other towns, they lived on friendly terms with the 
Christian population. The Council of Coyanza 
(1050) therefore found it necessary to revive the old 
Yisigothic law forbidding, under pain of punish- 
ment bj r the Church, Jews and Christians to live to- 
gether in the same house, or to eat together, 
Ferdinand I. of Castile set aside a part of the 
Jewish taxes for the use of the Church, and even 
the not very religious-miuded Alfonso YI. gave to 
the church of Leon the taxes paid by the Jews of 
Castro. Alfonso VI., the conqueror of Toledo (1085), 
was toleraut and benevolent in his attitude toward 
the Jews, for which he won the praise of Pope Al- 
exander II. To estrange the wealthy and indus- 
trious Jews from the Moors lie offered the former 
various privileges. In the fuero of Najara Sepul- 
veda, issued and confirmed by him (1076), lie not 
oul} 7 granted the Jews full equalit 3 r with the Chris- 
tians, but he even accorded them the rights enj.o 3 r ed 
by the nobility; this fuero was applied also in other . 
cities, as Toledo (1085), Leon (1090), Miranda de 
Ebro (1099), etc. The example set by Alfonso was 
followed in Aragon and Navarre, as is evidenced by 
the fueros of Jaca (1100), Tudela (1115), Belforado 
(1116), Carcastello (1129), Calatayud (1181), and 
Daroca (1142). To show their gratitude to the king 
for the rights granted them, the Jews willingly 
placed themselves at his and the country’s service. 
Alfonso emplo 3 7 ed Jews for diplomatic errands, as, 
for example, the scholar Amram ben Isaac ibn 
Shalbib, whom the king sent with a delegation to 
Mohammed al-Mu‘tamid at Seville (1082; according 
to some sources, not before 1085). A prominent posi- 
tion at Alfonso’s court was held probably by the 
otherwise unknown Samuel ben Shealtiel ha-Nasi, 
who died on the 16th of Elul (Aug. 27, 1097), or b 3 * 
his father, whose tombstone has but recently been 
discovered in Arevalo (“Boletin Acad. Hist.” xxv. 
489 et seq . ). 

Alfonso’s arni 3 r contained 40,000 Jews, who were 
distinguished from the other combatants by their 
black-aiul-yellow turbans; for the sake of this Jew- 
ish contingent the battle of Zallaka 
The Battle was not begun until after the Sabbath 
of had passed. Before the battle the 
Zallaka. king sent not only to the bishops, but 
to the Jewish scholars and astrologers 
also, to hear their predictions for the future (Fer- 
nandez y Gonzalez, “Las Mudejares de Castilla,” 
pp. 41 et seq.). The king’s body-physician and con- 
fidant was the Jew Cidelo (Cidelus), who placed be- 
fore the king a petition from the counts and grandees 
of the kingdom which neither of these ventured to 
address to his majesty. The king’s favoritism to- 
ward the Jews, which became so pronounced that 
Pope Gregory VII. warned him not to permit Jews 
to rule over Christians, roused the hatred and envy 
of the latter. After the unfortunate battle of Ucles, 
at which the infante Sancho, together with 30,000 


men, were killed, an anti-Jevvish riot broke out in 
Toledo; many Jews were slain, and their houses 
and synagogues were burned (1108). Alfonso in- 
tended to punish the murderers and incendiaries, 
but died before he could carry out his intention 
(June, 1109). After his death the inhabitants of 
Carrion fell upon the Jews; many were slain, others 
were imprisoned, and their houses were pillaged. 

Alfonso VII., who assumed the title of Emperor 
of Leon, Toledo, and Santiago, curtailed in the be- 
ginning of his reign the rights and liberties which 
his father had granted the Jews. He ordered that 
neither a Jew nor a convert might exercise legal 
authority over Christians, and he held the Jews "re- 
sponsible for the collection of the royal taxes. Soon, 
however, he became more friendly, confirming the 
Jews in all their former privileges and even grant- 
ing them additional ones, by which they were placed 
on an equality with Christians. Considerable influ- 
ence with the king was enjo 3 ^ed by Judah ben Joseph 
ilm Ezra (Nasi). After the conquest of Calatruva' 
(1147) the king placed Judah in command of the 
fortress, later making him liis court chamberlain. 
Judah ben Joseph stood iu such favor with the king 
that the latter; at his request, not only admitted 
into Toledo the Jews who had fled from the perse- 
cutions of the Almohades, but even assigned many 
fugitives dwellings in Flascala (near Toledo), Fro- 
mista, Carrion, Palencia, and other places, where 
new congregations were soon established. In recog- 
! nition of his faithful services Judah received, a year 
after Alfonso’s death (1157), from his son Sancho, 
five yokes of land in Azana (Illescas) for himself 
and his children (Fidel Fita, “La Espana Hebron,” 
i. 20 et seq.). 

After the brief reign of King Sanclio III. a war 
broke out between Fernando II. of Leon ' (who 
granted the Jews special privileges) and the united 
kings of Aragon and Navarre. Jews fought iu both 
armies, and after the declaration of peace they were 
placed in charge of the fortresses. Alfonso VIII. of 
Castile (1166-1214), who had succeeded to the throne, 
entrusted the Jews with guarding Or/ Celorigo, and, 
later, Mayorga, while Sancho the Wise of Navarre 
placed them in charge of Estella, Funes, and Mura- 
non. During the reign of Alfonso VIII. the Jews 
gained still greater influence, aided, 
Under doubtless, b 3 r the king’s love of the 
Alfonso beautiful Jewess Rachel (Fermosa) 
VIII. of Toledo. When the king was de- 
feated at the battle of Alarcos by the 
Almohades under Yusuf Abu Ya'kub al-Mansur, 
the defeat was attributed to the king’s love-affair 
with Fermosa, and she and her relatives were mur- 
dered in Toledo by. the nobility (Rios, “Hist,” i. 836 
et seq . ; Gratz [“ Gescli.” vi. 228] does not accept the 
traditional belief concerning the murder of the king’s 
paramour). After the victory at Alarcos the emir 
Mohammed al-Nasir ravaged Castile with a powerful 
army and threatened to overrun the whole of Chris- 
tian Spain. The Archbishop of Toledo summoned 
the Crusaders to the aid of Alfonso. In this war 
against the Moors the king was greatly aided b} r the 
wealthy Jews of Toledo, especially by his “almoxa- 
rife mayor,” the learned and generous Nasi Joseph 
ben Solomon ibn Shoshan (Al-Hajib ibn Amar)_ 



489 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Spain 


The king’s debt to the latter amounted in 1204, 
shortly before Joseph’s death, to 18, 000 golden mara- 
vedis (“ Yida del Santa Hey D. Fernando,” iii. 288). 
Joseph stood high in the king’s favor, and his sons 
Solomon and Isaac benefited thereby after their 
father’s death. 

The Crusaders (“ Ultrapucrtos ”) were hailed with 
joy in Toledo, but this joy was soon changed to 
sorrow, as far as the Jews were concerned. The 
Crusaders began the “holy war ” in Toledo (1212) by 
robbing and butchering the Jews, and if the knights 
had not checked them with armed forces all the Jews 
in Toledo would have been slain. When, after the 
sanguinary battle of Navas de Tolosa (1212), Al- 
fonso victoriously entered Toledo, the Jews went to 
meet him in triumphal procession. Shortly before 
his death (Oct., 1214) the king issued the fuero de 
Cuenca, settling the legal position of the Jews in a 
manner favorable to them. 

A turning-point in the history of the Jews of 
Spain was reached under Ferdinand III. (who united 
permanently the kingdoms of Leon and 
Under Fer- Castile), and under James I., the con- 
dinand III. temporary ruler of Aragon. The cler- 
of Castile gy’s endeavors directed against the 
and Jews became more and more pro- 
James I. nounced. The Spanish Jews of both 
of Aragon, sexes, like the Jews of France, were 
compelled to distinguish themselves 
from Christians by wearing a yellow badge on 
their clothing ; this order was issued to keep them 
from associating with Christians, although the rea- 
son given was that it was ordered for their own 
safety. The Jews did all in their power to secure the 
repeal of this order. James I. of Aragon and Theobald 
I. of Navarre, however, compelled them to wear the 
badge, and Innocent IY. admonished Ferdinand 
III. to see that no Jew appeared in public with- 
out it. 

But in spite of papal bulls and royal decrees the 
Jews were often freed from this degradation. 
Pedro III. of Aragon granted some Jews in Va- 
lencia, Tarragona, Barcelona, and other cities ex- 
emption from wearing the badge, this privilege being 
especially extended to physicians (“R. E. J.” vi. 91 
et seg.). Ferdinand III. of Castile and James I. of 
Aragon (each called “the Conqueror,” the former 
with reference to Cordova and Seville, the latter 
with reference to the Balearic Isles, Valencia, and 
Murcia) were religiously inclined, and. did not feel 
particularly friendly toward the Jews, whose con- 
version they favored. Nevertheless, they made use 
of the Jews in time of war, and rewarded them for the 
important services they rendered as secretaries and 
dragomans, tax-collectors, and tax-farmers. In the 
cities conquered by him Ferdinand confirmed the 
Jews in their existing rights and privileges, and after 
the conquest of Seville he distributed land among 
them; moreover, in spite of the objections of the 
clergy he allowed the Jews of Cordova to erect a 
new and magnificent synagogue. James acted simi- 
larly after his conquest of Valencia. 

That Ferdinand’s death was mourned by tlie Jews 
is evidenced by the Hebrew epitaph which appears 
on his tombstone, together with inscriptions in 
Latin, Castilian, and Arabic (the Hebrew epitaph 


is reprinted in Kayserling’s “Ein Feiertag in Ma- 
drid,” p. 12). The death, also, of James I. (1276), 
who had arranged a religious dispu- 
Disputa- tation between Moses ben Naliman 
tions and (tlie“Rab de Espana”) and the neo- 
Trans- pliyte Pablo Cliristiano, and who .had 
lations. compelled the Jews to listen to con ver- 
sionist sermons, was publicly mourned 
by the Jews. Ferdinand’s son, Alfonso X. (the 
Wise), who was a lover of the sciences, maintained 
relations with the Jews even before his accession to 
the throne (1252), He had astronomical and astro- 
logical writings translated from Arabic into Spanish 
by Judah ben Moses (Mosca) Kohen, a physician of 
Toledo, and by the physicians Abraham and Samuel 
Levi. Zag (Isaac) ibn Sid, tlie liazzan of Toledo, 
was the editor of the famous astronomical tables 
called, after the king, the Alfonsine Tables (re- 
garding the astronomical congress see Steinschnei- 
der in “Magazin fur die Literatur des Auslandes,” 
184S, No. 58; idem , “Cat. Bodl.” cols. 1856 et seg.; 
idem, “liebr. Uebers.” pp. 979 et seg.; Griitz, 
“Gescli.”vii. 467). According to his nephew Juan 
Manuel, Alfonso did not have the Talmud translated 
(Rios, “Hist.” i. 450); but, probably, he had a trans- 
lation made of “Toda la Ley de los Judios,” as he 
had the Koran rendered into Spanish. The version 
of tlie Bible in that language, the subsequent “Fer- 
rarian Bible,” was made probabty in the thirteenth 
century (see Bible Translations). 

Alfonso, who employed MeVr de Malea and his 
sons Isaac (Zag) and Joseph as treasurers, and To- 
dros ha-Levi, Solomon ibn Albagal, and other Jews 
as tax-collectors, granted to the Jews of his domains 
several privileges and other favors. He permitted the 
Alja.ma in Toledo to build a magnificent synagogue, 
the largest and most beautiful one in Spain; lie 
gave all Jews permission to visit the yearly market 
in Seville; and in 1264 he assigned houses, vineyards, 
and lands to the Jews who settled in St. Maria del 
Puerto (Rios, “Hist.” i. 451 et seg.). Notwithstand- 
ing this he subjected the Jews to the strictest limi- 
tations, especially in his Fuero Real or Fuero 
Juzgo, as well as in other laws, contained in the 
large collection “Siete Partidas,” which was issued 
in the Castilian language and in which the influence 
of the Lateran Council is unmistakable. 

The bull issued by Innocent IV. in April, 1250, 
to the effect that Jews might not build a new syna- 
gogue without special permission, was 
Bull of placed on the statute-books by this 
Innocent king (reprinted in Rios, “ Hist.” i. 557). 
IV., 1250. To make proselytes was forbidden to 
the Jews under pain of death and con- 
fiscation of property. They might not associate 
with the Christians, live under the same roof with 
them, eat and drink with them, or use the same bath ; 
neither might a Christian partake of wine which had 
been prepared by a Jew. The Jews might not em- 
ploy Christian nurses or servants, and Christians 
might use only medicinal remedies which had been 
prepared by competent Christian apothecaries. 
Every Jew' should wear the badge, though the king 
reserved to himself the right to exempt any one from 
this obligation ; an} r Jew apprehended without the 
badge was liable to a fine of ten gold maravedis or to 



Spain 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


490 


the infliction of ten stripes. The Jews were forbid- 
den to appear in public on Good Friday. Alfonso, 
called “the Wise,” was so deluded that he not only 
used as a theme for his “Libro de las Cautigas ” the 
false legend that the Jews every year on Good Fri- 
day crucified a Christian child, but lie ordered that 
every Jew accused of such a crime should be brought 
before him and, if convicted, slai'n. Alfonso re- 
quested the Jews to live peacefully in their Ju- 
deria and to observe conscientiously their religious 
laws; he ordered that they should not be disturbed 
in their religious ceremonies or summoned before 
courts on Sabbaths or festivals; that their syna- 
gogues and their sacred furniture should be in every 
wa} r respected; and that they should be neither 
forced nor bribed into embracing Christianity. 

The last years of Alfonso’s reign were sad ones, 
as well for himself as for the Jews in his dominion. 
The king condemned to death liis faithful “alinoxa- 
rife ” Zag de Malca, because the latter had given to 
the infante Sancho, who had quarreled with his 
father, a large sum of money which the king had 
intended to use in the subjugation of Algeciras (see 
Malea). Inceused by the act of Malca, the king, 
in direct opposition to his previous enactments, or- 
dered that on a certain Sabbath all Castilian Jews 
should be taken prisoners while in their synagogues ; 
he levied upon them a tribute of 12,000 gold mara- 
vedis, imposing an additional fine of the same 
amount for every day the tribute remained unpaid 
(Rios, “Hist.” i. 494). Four years later (1281) the 
king was dethroned by liis son Sancho, with the 
sanction of the Cortes. Alfonso died in 1284, for- 
saken by his children, and even by the clergy to 
which he had made liberal concessions. 

The Jews in Spain were Spaniards, both as regards 
their customs and their language. They owned real 
estate, and they cultivated their land 
Social with their own hands ; they filled pub- 

Position. lie offices, and on account of their in- 
dustry they became wealthy, while 
their knowledge and ability won them respect and in- 
fluence. But this prosperity roused the jealousy of 
the people and provoked the hatred of the clergy ; the 
Jews had to suffer much through these causes. . The 
kings, especially those of Aragon, regarded the Jews 
as their property; they spoke of “their” Jews, 
“their” Juderias, and in their own interest they pro- 
tected the Jews against violence, making good use of 
them in every way possible. The aljamas of Cata- 
lonia, Aragon, and Valencia, for example, were in 
1281 ordered by King Pedro III. to furnish 185,000 
sueldos in subsidies, and, three years later, a further 
sum of 180,000 sueldos (order reprinted in Rios, 
“Hist.” ii. 530). In addition to these extraordinary 
disbursements, the Jews of Aragon and Castile had 
to pay very large taxes, the money thus obtained 
being often expended by the kings in gifts to 
queens, infantes, knights, and bishops, as well as to 
churches and cloisters. 

Sancho IV., the son and successor of Alfonso X., 
was the first king who, with the aid of liis Jewish 
tax-collectors, levied and regulated the taxes paya- 
ble by the aljamas to the crown of Castile, under 
which belonged the provinces of Old and of New Cas- 
tile, Leon, Galicia (sparsely inhabited by Jews), Estre- 


madura, Murcia, and Andalusia. All Jews of twenty 
—according to other sources, sixteen or fourteen 
was the age limit — were required to pay a tax of 
thirty dincros to remind them of the “ thirty pieces 
of silver” alleged to have been paid by their ances- 
tors to bring about the death of Jesus. This tax, 
called the “servicio,” was not imposed upon the 
Jews of the archbishopric of Toledo, the bishoprics 
of Cuenca and Plasencia, the provinces of 'Murcia 
and Leon, and the frontier district of Andalusia. 
The Jews paid also the “encabezamiento,” or poll- 
tax. The apportionment of the taxes among the 
various communities was entrusted by the king to 
a committee consisting of Jacob ben Yahya (not 
Jalijon) of Niebla, Isaac ben Azor of Jerez, and Abra- 
ham Abenfar of Cordova (the representative from 
Jaen did not appear), which met in Iluete in 1290, 
If these failed to agree upon the apportionment, 
David Abudarliam the Elder and the aljama of To- 
ledo were to decide. 

The total yearly taxes paid by the Jews of Castile 
amounted to 2,801,345 niaravedis. To base upon 
this amount any calculation as to the number of 
Jews then living in the kingdom is not possible; the 
total of 854,951 given by Rios, or that of 850,000 by 
Griitz, is surely too large, while 233,784, the esti- 
mate of Loeb, must be considered too small. There 
were about 120 Jewish communities, of which the 
. following were the most important: 
Population Toledo, Hita, Almoguera, Burgos, 
and Carrion, Avila, Medina del Campo, 
Dispersion. Valladolid, Cuenca, Huete, Atienza, 
Paredes de Nava, Logrono, Almazan, 
Soria, Villanueva, Ucles, Pancorbo, Saliagunt, Se- 
pulveda, Olmedo, Murcia, Osma, Najera, Talavera, 
Villa Real, Guadalajara, Arevalo, Plasencia, Villa 
Diego, and Sant Estevan. Among the communities 
of lesser importance were the following: Maqueda, 
Briviesca, Alcaraz, Calahorra, Aguilar, Ayllon, BeJ- 
forado, Badajoz, Alcala, Zurita, Vitoria, Buitrago, 
Albelda, Penafiel, Trujillo, Roa, Bejar, Miranda, 
Cea, Castiello, Lerma, Medina de Pomar, Olmeda, 
Peclraza, Alfaro, Fuendiduena, and Verlanga (the 
“ Repartimiento de Huete,” reprinted from the 
original in Rjos, “Estudios,” pp. 40 et seq and 
“Hist.”ii. 53; the foregoing list, with some devia- 
tions, is found in “Hist.” ii. 531 et seq . ; a faulty list 
is given by Asso y del Rio and Manuel y Rodriguez 
in “Discorso Sobre el Estado de los Judios en Es- 
pana,” p. 150, Madrid, 1771, which work has been 
followed by Lindo, “History of the Jews of Spain 
and Portugal,” p. 109, where the names of the towns 
are misspelled; see also “R. E. J.” xiv. 161 et seq . ; 
Gr&tz, “Gescli.” vii. 168 et seq., where some incor- 
rect statements are made). 

Catalonia, Aragon, and Valencia were more 
sparsely inhabited by Jews. The largest congrega- 
tions were found in Tortosa, Gerona, Barcelona, and 
Valencia ; then followed Saragossa, Calatayud, Mon- 
zon, Lerida, Teruel, Jaca, Fraga, Huesca, and Bar- 
bastro. Smaller congregations existed in Exea de 
los Caballeros, Tauste, Besalu, Cervera, Tarragona, 
Ruesca, Manresa, and Villafranca. 

The Jews were burdened with various other taxes 
in addition to those already mentioned. Whenever 
the kings of Aragon or Castile stayed in a city in 




Iberian Peninsula, Showing Places Where Jews Resided Before the Expulsion. 







Spain 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


492 


which a Jewish community existed, the Jews were 
required to provide the royal household with beds 
and other furniture; this duty involved many hard- 
ships and led to ill treatment of the Jews by royal 
servants; it could be escaped, however, by the pay- 
ment of a specified sum, which was called “yan 
tares” in Castile, “cenas” (= “table expenses”) in 
Aragon. The taxes were so oppressive that in 
1354 the representatives of the Jewish communities 
of Aragon resolved to petition the king to relieve 
them of this burden (“ He-IIaluz,” i. 25). On the 
occasion of a royal visit to a city inhabited by 
Jews they paid a tribute to the royal guard, the 
“ Monteros de Espinosa ” ; for a long time this pay- 
ment amounted to twelve maravcdis for each copy 
of the Torah; later it was fixed at four silver reals. 
In addition to all these taxes the Jews paid a coro- 
nation-tax (“coronaciones ”), pasture-tax, tithes on 
houses for the bishops and their households, special 
customs duties and bridge-tolls, etc. 

Although the Spanish Jews engaged in many 
branches of human endeavor — agriculture, viticul- 
ture, industry, commerce, and the various handi- 
crafts — it was the money business that procured them 
their wealth and influence. Kings and 

Oceupa- prelates, noblemen and farmers, all 
tions. needed money, and could obtain it only 
from the Jews, to whom they paid from 
20 to 25 per cent interest. This business, which, in 
a manner, the Jews were forced to pursue in order to 
pay the many taxes imposed upon them as well as to 
raise the compulsory loans demanded of them by 
the kings, led to their being employed in special posi- 
tions, as “almoxarifes,” bailiffs, tax-farmers, or tax- 
collectors. Jews were employed as “almoxarifes” 
by Sancho, as well as by the infante Manuel and by 
the latter’s consort Beatriz. Among Jews holding 
such positions may be mentioned Samuel, Abraham 
al-Barchilon, and Cag and Abraham ibn Susan. 
Without the material assistance of the Jews King 
Sanclio, whose secretary was Cag de Toledo, would 
hardly have succeeded in collecting the taxes. 

The “almoxarife mor,” or treasurer, of King Fer- 
dinand IV., the son and successor of Sancho, was 
Samuel, who exercised unlimited authority in dip- 
lomatic affairs, thereby incurring the animosity of 
the queen-mother, Maria de Molina, to such a de- 
gree that he narrowly escaped assassination. Queen 
Maria had full confidence in Todros Abulafia, and 
her “almoxarife” was Isaac (Samuel?) ibn Ya'isli. 
Judah Abravanel was for several years financial 
adviser to Infante Pedro. The jealousy and hatred 
with which the Christian population regarded the 
Jews were often openly revealed at the meetings of 
the Cortes in Aragon, as, for example, 
Opposition in Lerida (1300), and in Saragossa and 
of Alagon (1301). Upon the motion of 
the Cortes, the Cortes in Valladolid (1298) Sancho 
IV. decreed that Jews might no longer 
acquire or own real estate; the Cortes of Burgos 
(1301) and that of Medina del Campo (1305) de- 
manded that they be no longer employed as tax- 
farmers or -collectors; and complaints of the usury 
practised by Jews were frequent. Whenever their 
own interests were at stake the kings of Aragon 
protected the Jews, and for extraordinary services 


rendered by the latter (as, for example, by the 
al jamas of Tortosa) they often conferred special priv- 
ileges upon them. On account of the accruing taxes 
a number of Jewish families that had been expelled 
from France were admitted into Aragon. Actuated 
by similar motives, Ferdinand IV. of Castile also 
protected the Jews of his domains, whom he termed 
“his own Jews,” against arbitrary oppression by the 
clergy, since lie could not dispense with their assist- 
ance at the conquest of Gibraltar. 

Upon Ferdinand’s death (1312) Maria de Molina 
assumed the reins of government. She employed 
Jews as tax-collectors, and she even had a Jew, Babbi 
Don Mosse (Moussi), as “despensoro” (steward of 
the household) as late as 1320. At the request of 
the Cortes of Burgos, the queen, with the infante 
and the guardians of the young king, and under 
the direct influence of the Council of Zamora, de- 
creed that Jews might no longer bear Christian 
names, nor associate in any way witli Christians, 
and that Jewesses might wear no ornaments what- 
ever, whether pearls, gold, or silver. The claims of 
Jewish creditors were reduced, but no Christian 
debtor might appeal to a papal bull for the cancela- 
tion of his indebtedness to a Jewish creditor. The 
queen put a fine on usury, and she limited the rate 
of interest that might be charged. She ordered also 
that all processes, civil as well as criminal, should 
be brought before the local magistrate for adjudi- 
cation. Infante John Manuel, who, like Ferdinand 
IV., employed the Jew Abraham as his body-physi- 
cian, restored criminal jurisdiction to the rabbinate; 
this he did at the request of Judah b. Isaac ibn 
Wakar of Cordova, who stood high in the ro} r al fa- 
vor (Aslieri, llesponsa, xvii. 8). 

Complaints against the Jews continued to be made 
in the Cortes, and in the beginningof the fourteenth 
century their position was precarious throughout 
Spain ; many Jews emigrated from Castile and from 
Aragon. It was not until the reigns of Alfonso IV. 
and Pedro IV. of Aragon, and of the young and 
active Alfonso XI. of Castile (1325), that an im- 
provement set in. The last-named king protected 
the Jews against arbitrary enactments and violence, 
especially in the archbishopric and city of Seville, 
where Jew-liatredliad been nurtured fora long time 
and where the Jews had been oppressed in every 
imaginable way by the clergy. The 
Under king ordered that in those places every 

Alfonso Jew of sixteen or over should pay a 
XI. tax of thirty dineros, or three mara- 
vedis. As liis “almoxarife ” the king 
selected Joseph ben Ephraim Benveniste ha-Levi; 
he was the king’s confidant and used his influence 
with him in favor of his coreligionists in such a 
manner that the Cortes of Madrid complained bit- 
terly about it. The hatred of the populace grew 
still deeper, especially against Joseph Benveniste, 
who, through the intrigues of a lady of the court, 
came near losing his life (1326). 

When, therefore, one of the king’s favorites, Gar- 
cilaso de la Vega, had been murdered in Soria, and 
another. Count Alvar Nunez, had been deposed from 
office, the grandees of the kingdom endeavored 
to bring about Joseph’s downfall. But instead, 
he was raised to a higher position; the title of 



493 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Spain 


“ almoxarife ” was abolished, and that of “ tesorero ” 
(treasurer) substituted; and it was resolved that 
thenceforth no Jews should be employed as tax- 
collectors. Quarrels, which finally led to their 
ruin, broke out between Joseph Benveniste, who 
had retained his place in the king’s confidence, 
and Alfonso’s body-pliysician and favorite, Samuel 
ibn Wakar, who had obtained permission to mint 
coins of small denominations. A nobleman and min- 
ister of state, Gonzalo Martinez, whom Joseph had 
helped to obtain high positions, brought against 
both the accusation that they had enriched them- 
selves while in his Majesty’s service, imprisoned 
them, and confiscated their fortunes. Joseph died 
in prison, and Samuel suffered torture on the rack. 
Two other Jews, Moses Abudiel and Ibn Ya'isli, 
who stood in high favor with the grandees, suc- 
ceeded in disproving the same accusation by sacrifi- 
cing large sums of money ; Ibn Ya‘ish is probably 
identical with the above-mentioned “almoxarife” 
of Maria de Molina. 

Gonzalo Martinez was contemplating the extermi- 
nation of all Castilian Jews when Alfonso XI. unex- 
pectedly found himself involved in war. The Emir 
of Granada, who had declared war against the King 
of Castile on account of a decree issued upon the ad- 
vice of Ibn Wakar, and prohibiting the importation of 
cereals from. Granada, called to his as- 

Gonzalo sistance ‘Abd al-Malik, the son of 
Martinez. Abu al-Hasan (Albohacon), King of 
Morocco, who came to his aid with a 
large army. Alfonso appointed Gonzalo Martinez 
commander-in-chief, and as money for carrying on 
the war was lacking, the latter advised the confis- 
cation of the property of the Jews and their expul- 
sion from the country. The Archbishop of Toledo, 
however, opposed this proposition, as did, probably, 
the king himself. In this war, which ended with 
the victory of Salado and the conquest of the for- 
tress of Algeciras (1339), the Jews rendered very im- 
portant services, for which the king highly praised 
them. Gonzalo Martinez, the arch-enemy of the 
Jews, was sentenced to death as a traitor and burned 
at the stake. When King Alfonso returned tri- 
umphantly from the war the Jews greeted him 
everywhere with great enthusiasm (“Shebet Yehu- 
dali.” ed. Wiener, pp. 30 et aeq . ; Bios, “Hist.” ii. 
133 et seq . ; see Martinez). 

Alfonso XI. favored the conversion of the Jews, 
and upon the appeal of the apostate Abner of Burgos 
(Alfonso de Valladolid) lie forbade the Castilian 
Jews, on pain of a fine of one hundred maravedis, 
to continue the reading of a prayer directed against 
the slanderer; the king did not, however, as Gratz 
(“Gescli.” vii. 344) writes, declare canceled the 
promissory notes held by the Jews, but he re- 
leased the Christians of one-fourth of their indebted- 
ness, to the former, and he forbade all Jews of his 
kingdom to practise usury in any form. On the 
other hand, the king allowed the Jews to acquire 
real estate— to the value of 30,000 maravedis beyond 
the Douro, and to the value of 20,000 maravedis on 
■cisri parian soil (“ Ordenamiento de Alcala.” 1348).^ 

Pedro I., the son and successor of Alfonso XI. 
(according to his enemies Pedro Gil, the substituted 
child of a Jewess), was favorably disposed toward 


the Jews, who under him reached the zenith of 
their influence. For this reason the king was called 
“the heretic”; lie was often called “the cruel.” 
Pedro, by nature passionate and impetuous, spent 
his youth in seclusion in Seville, together with his 
mother, the Portuguese infanta Maria, who, humil- 
iated by Leonora de Guzman, Alfonso’s paramour, 
had been put away by the king. In the meantime 
Pedro’s half-brother and Leonora’s illegitimate son, 
Henry de Trastamara, was being brought up un- 
der his father’s supervision, and gave,. while still 
a boy, evidence of his courage. Fedro, 

Pedro whose education had been neglected, 
the Cruel, was not quite sixteen years of age 
when he ascended the throne (1350). 
From the commencement of his reign he so sur- 
rounded himself with Jews that his enemies in deri- 
sion spoke of his court as “a Jewish court.” The 
Jews remained ever his true adherents. On the 
recommendation of his educator and all-powerful 
minister, the hated John Alfonso de Albuquerque, 
the king appointed the latter’s former agent Samuel 
Levi as his own “ tesorero mayor ” (chief treasurer), 
and Samuel soon became the king’s confidant and 
companion. 

It can not be ascertained to what extent Samuel 
favored Pedro’s infatuation for the beautiful Maria 
de Padilla after tlie young king had been married 
against his inclination to the Bourbon princess 
Blanca, who hated the king’s Jewish confidant and 
would have banished all the Jew's from the country. 
When Pedro, tw'o days after his marriage, left the 
bride that had been forced upon him, and hastened 
to his mistress in Toledo, the minister, Albuquerque, 
prepared to set out with a large retinue and bring 
back the deserting bridegroom, but he w r as stopped 
by Samuel Levi, who brought him a message from 
the king advising him to desist from his plans. 
Blanca, who had taken sides with Pedro’s half- 
brother, was kept in confinement, and Albuquerque 
was deposed from office. 

These unhappy family relations, w'hich were pri- 
marily brought about by Alfonso XI., resulted in the 
bloody civil Avars that brought disaster to Castile 
and especially to the Jews. With the alleged inten- 
tion of freeing Queen Blanca, who w T as being held 
prisoner in Alcazar, Henry de Trastamara and his 
brother, at the head of a rapacious mob, invaded 
(Sabbath, May 7, 1355) that part of the Juderia of 
Toledo called the Alcana; they plundered the ware- 
houses and murdered about 12,000 persons, without 
distinction of age or sex. The mob did not, how- 
ever, succeed in overrunning the Juderia propei, 
where the Jew s, reenforced by a number of Toledan 
noblemen, defended themselves bravely. 

The more friendly Pedro showed himself toward 
the Jew's, and the more he protected them, the 
more antagonistic became the attitude of his illegiti- 
mate half-brother, who, when he invaded Castile in 
1360, murdered all the Jew's living in Najera and 
exposed those of Miranda de Ebro to robbery and 
butchery. 

The days of Samuel Levi were numbered. He 
was ever active in the interests of the state and the 
king, and his skilful financial operations placed large 
sums at the latter’s disposal. But he had many 



Spain 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


494 


enemies, and the animosity engendered toward him 
soon extended to all the Jews. A malicious satire, 

“ Kimado del Palacio,” by the contem- 
Samuel porary poet and historian Pedro Lo- 
Levi. pez de Ayala, gives evidence of the 

deep liatred toward Samuel J^evi and 
Ills family. Togetlier vritU many otlier favorites of 

the king, Samuel was suddenly deposed from his ex- 
alted position, hut not, as has been asserted, because 
Maria de Padilla withdrew her favor from him ; the 
king’s paramour remained for several years in the 
cloister in Astudillo. near Castrojeriz, to which she 
had been sent, and where she maintained communi- 
cation with Jews (“II. E. J.” xxxiii. 147 et seq.). 
Whether envious coreligionists accused him before 
the king, whether lie was involved in the detected 
“ Ricos liombres ” conspiracy, or whether Pedro de- 
sired to win the favor of the clergy is not known ; the 
fact remains that in 1360 Samuel was seized and taken 
to Seville, where, in November of that year, lie died 
on the rack. His enormous fortune, consisting of 
70,000 doubloons, 4,000 marks in silver, 20 (accord- 
ing to some sources 120) chests filled with jewelry 
and costly garments, and 80 Moorish slaves, was 
confiscated by the state. All Samuel’s relatives, 
several of whom were tax-collectors, were arrested 
with him, and their property, to the value of 300,- 
000 doubloons, seized. Samuel’s successor in the 
office of treasurer, Martin Yaliez de Sevilla, claimed 
to have found vast hoards of silver and gold in the 
underground cellars of the former’s palace, which is 
still known as the “Palacio del Judio,” 

Pedro did not lack the means for carrying on 
warfare, but good fortune had deserted him. In 
order to win the Castilian throne, Henry called to 
his aid the dreaded “Grand Company,” led by the 
valiant Bertrand du Gueselin. Wherever his fero- 
cious soldiers went the}' fell upon the Jews; in Bri- 
viesca, near Burgos, not one living soul was left of the 
200 Jewish families which had lived there. Having 
been proclaimed king in Calakorra, Henry entered 
Burgos triumphantly on March 31, 1366, the city sur- 
rendering willingly. The king levied a tax of 30,000 
doubloons on the Jews there, who, in order to raise 
this enormous sum, were compelled to sell all their 
property, even the ornaments on their Torah scrolls. 
The Jews of Segovia and Avila also were bereft of 
their property, while those of Toledo, who had re- 
mained loyal to Pedro, wore punished by being sad- 
dled with the maintenance of the troops in addition 
to being fined 1,000,000 maravedis. In his distress 
Pedro solicited aid from the Prince of Wales, the 
victor of Poitiers. Henry was forced to flee, but 
soon returned to Castile with fresh troops; and the 
Jews of Burgos, who for a long time had defended 
their Juderia against his attacks, were forced to 
pay 1,000,000 maravedis for permission to remain in 
the city. 

Everywhere the Jews remained loyal to Pedro, in 
whose army they fought bravely ; the king showed 
his good-will toward them on all occasions, and 
when he called the King of Granada to his assist- 
ance lie especially requested the latter to protect the 
Jews. Nevertheless they suffered greatly. Villa- 
diego (whose Jewish community numbered many 
scholars), Aguilar, and many other towns were to- 


tally destroyed. The inhabitants of Valladolid, who 
paid homage to Henry, robbed the Jews, destroyed 
their houses and synagogues, and tore 
Massacres their Torah scrolls to pieces. Paredes,, 
of 1366. Palencia, and several other communi- 
ties met with a like fate, and 300 Jew- 
ish families from .Jaon were taken, prisoners to Gra- 

nada. The suffering, according to a contemporary 
writer, Samuel Zarza of Palencia (see Joseph lm- 
Kohen, “ ‘Emek lia-Baka,” ed. Wiener, Appendix, 
p. 131), had reached its culminating point, espe- 
cially in Toledo, which was being besieged by 
Henry, and in which no less than 8,000 persons died 
through famine and the hardships of war. This 
terrible civil conflict did not end until the death of 
Pedro, to whom the victorious brother said, deri- 
sively, “ Do esta el fi de puta Judio, que se llama rey 
de Castilla? ” Pedro was beheaded by Henry and Du 
Gueselin on March 14, 1369. A few weeks before his 
death he reproached his physician and astrologer 
Abraham ibn Zarzal for not having told the truth 
in prophesying good fortune for. him. 

When Henry de Trastamara ascended the throne 
as Henry II. there began for the Castilian Jews an 
era of suffering and persecution, culminating in their 
expulsion. Prolonged warfare had devastated the 
land; the people had become accustomed to lawless- 
ness, and the Jews had been reduced to poverty. 
The king, who began his reign by having new coins 
minted, considerably reduced in value (Isaac ben 
Sheshet, Responsa, No. 197; Rios, “Hist.”ii, 307), 
was unable to meet his obligations to Du Gueselin 
and his troops. For this reason, on June 6, 1369, 
two months and a half after his accession, he 
levied a tribute of 20,000 gold doubloons (about 
10,000,000 dineros) on the plundered and poverty- 
stricken Jews of Toledo, as a punishment for their 
loyalty to Pedro; lie ordered his treasurer Gomez 
Garcia to sell at public sale all property, movable 
or immovable, belonging to the Toledan Jews, and 
to imprison all the latter, women as well as men, and 
starve and otherwise torture them until they had 
raised this immense sum (see Toledo). 

But in spite of his aversion for the Jews Henry, 
could not dispense with their services. He employed 
wealthy Jews— -Samuel Abravanel aud others — as 
financial councilors and tax-collectors. His “con- 
tador mayor,” or chief tax-collector, was Joseph 
Pichon of Seville. The clergy, whose power be- 
came greater and greater under the reign of the 
fratricide, stirred the anti-Jewisli prejudices of the 
masses into clamorous assertion at the Cortes of 
Toro in 1371. It was demanded that the Jews 
should be kept far from the palaces of the grandees, 
should not be allowed to hold public office, should 
live apart from the Christians, should not wear costly 
garments nor ride on mules, should wear the badge, 
and should not be allowed to bear Christian names. 
The king granted the two last-named demands, as 
well as a request made by the Cortes of Burgos 
(1379) that the Jews should neither carry arms nor 
sell weapons; but he did not prevent them from 
holding religious disputations, nor did he deny them 
the exercise of criminal jurisprudence. The latter 
prerogative was not taken from them until the reigu 
of John I., Henry’s son and successor; he with- 



495 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Spain 


drew it because certain Jews, on the king’s coro- 
nation-day, by withholding the name of the accused 
had obtained his permission to inflict the death-pen- 
alty on Joseph Pichon, who stood high in the royal 
favor; the accusation brought against Pichon in- 
cluded “harboring evil designs, informing, and 

treason . ” 

In the Cortes of Soria (1880) it was enacted that 
rabbis, or heads of aljamas, should be forbidden, 
under penalty of a fine of 6,000 maravedis, to inflict 
upon Jews the penalties of death, mutilation, ex- 
pulsion, or excommunication ; but in civil proceed- 
ings they were still permitted to choose their own 
judges. In consequence of a slanderous accusation 
that the Jewish prayers contained clauses cursing 
the Christians, the king ordered that within two 
months, on pain of a fine of 8,000 maravedis, they 
should remove from their prayer- 
Anti- books the objectionable passages— 
Jewish. En- which did not exist. Whoever caused 
actments. the conversion to Judaism of a Moor 
or of any one confessing another faith, 
or performed the rite of circumcision upon him, 
became a slave and the property of the treasury. 
The Jews no longer dared show themselves in pub- 
lic without the badge, and in consequence of the 
ever-growing hatred toward them they were no 
longer sure of life or limb; they were attacked and 
robbed and murdered in the public streets, and 
at length the king found it necessary to impose a 
fine of 6,000 maravedis on any town in which a Jew 
was found murdered. Against liis desire, John was 
obliged (1385) to issue an order prohibiting the em- 
ployment of Jews as financial agents or tax-farmers 
to the king, queen, infantes, or grandees. To this 
was added the resolution adopted by the Council 
of Palencia ordering the complete separation of Jews 
and Christians and the prevention of any association 
between them. 

The execution of Joseph Pichon and the inflam- 
matory speeches and sermons delivered in Seville by 
Archdeacon Ferrand Martinez, the pious Queen 
Leonora's confessor, soon raised the hatred of the 
populace to the highest pitch. The feeble King 
John I., in spite of the endeavors of his physician 
Moses ibn Zarzal to prolong his life, died at Al- 
cala de Hcnares on Oct. 9, 1390, and was succeeded 
by his eleven-year-old son. The council-regent ap- 
pointed by the king in his testament, consisting of 
prelates, grandees, and six citizens from Burgos, 
Toledo, Leon, Seville, Cordova, and Murcia, was 
powerless; every vestige of respect for law and jus- 
tice had disappeared. Ferrand Martinez, although 
deprived of his office, continued, in spite of numer- 
ous warnings, to incite the mob against the Jews, 
and encourage it to acts of violence. As earl}' as 
Jan., 1891, the prominent Jews who were assembled 
in Madrid received information that riots were 
threatening in Seville and Cordova. A revolt broke 
out in Seville in 1891. Juan Alfonso de Guzman,. 
Count of Niebla and governor of the city, and his 
relative, the “alguazil mayor ” Alvar Perez de Guz- 
man, had ordered, on Ash Wednesday, March 15, the 
arrest and public whipping of two of the mob- 
leaders. The fanatical mob, still further exasperated 
1 hereby, murdered and robbed several Jews and 


threatened the Guzmans with death. In vain did 
the regency issue prompt orders ; Ferrand Martinez 
continued unhindered his inflamma- 
Th.e tory appeals to the rabble to kill the 
Massacre Jews or baptize them. On June 6 the 
of 1391. mob attacked the Juderia in Seville 
from all sides and killed 4,000 Jews; 

tile rest submitted to baptism, as tlie only means of 

escaping death. 

At this time Seville is said to have contained 7,000 
Jewish families. Of the three large synagogues ex- 
isting in the city two were transformed into churches. 
In all the towns throughout the archbishopric, as in 
Alcala de Guadeira, Ecija, Cazalla, and in Fregenal, 
the Jews were robbed and slain. In Cordova this 
butchery was repeated in a horrible manner; the 
entire Juderia was burned down ; factories and ware- 
houses were destroyed by the flames. Before the 
authorities could come to the aid of the defenseless 
people, every one of them — children, young women, 
old men — had been ruthlessly slain ; 2,000 corpses 
lay in heaps in the streets, in the houses, and in the 
wrecked synagogues. 

From Cordova the spirit of murder spread to Jaen. 
A horrible butchery took place in Toledo on June 
20. Among the many martyrs were the descendants 
of the famous Toledan rabbi Asher ben Jehiel. 
Most of the Castilian communities suffered from the 
persecution; nor were the Jews of Aragon, Cata- 
lonia, or Majorca spared. On July 9 an outbreak 
occurred in Valencia. More than 200 persons were 
killed, and most of the Jews of that city were bap- 
tized by the friar Vicente Ferrer, whose presence 
in the city was probably not accidental,. The only 
community remaining in the former kingdom of 
Valencia was that of Murviedro. On Aug. 2 the 
wave of murder visited Palma, in Majorca; 300 
Jews were killed, and 800 found refuge in the fort, 
from which, with the permission of the governor of 
the island, and under cover of night, they sailed to 
North Africa; many submitted to baptism. Three 
day r s later — Saturday, Aug. 5 — a riot began in Bar- 
celona. On the first day 100 Jews were killed, while 
several hundred found refuge in the new fort; on 
the following day the mob invaded the Juderia and 
began pillaging. The authorities did all in their 
power to protect the Jews, but the mob attacked 
them and freed those of its leaders who had been 
imprisoned. On Aug. 8 the citadel was stormed, 
and more than 300 Jews were murdered, among the 
slain being the. only son of Hasdai Crescas. The 
riot raged in Barcelona until Aug. 10, and many Jew s 
(though not 11,000 as claimed by some authorities) 
were baptized. On the last-named day* began the 
attack upon the Juderia in Gerona; several Jews 
were robbed and killed: many sought safety in 
flight and a few in baptism. . 

The last town visited was Leri da (Aug. 13). The 
Jews of this city vainly sought protection in Alca- 
zar; seven ty r -five were slain, and the rest weie bap- 
tized; the latter transformed tlieir synagogue into 
a church, in which they worshiped as Maranos (sec 
bibliography, at end, for sources for the pci seditions 

of 1391). ‘ c l . 

Thousands of Jews had perished, many of tlieir 
communities had been annihilated; but the conntiy 



Spain 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


49Q 


itself was the main sufferer. The Archdeacon of 
Ecija, the instigator of this butchery— which even 
as late as the nineteenth century was described as a 
“ guerra sacra contra los Judios,” or as asocial erup- 
tion — although he was imprisoned four years later, 
after the accession of Henry III., was soon set free; 
and from then until his death (1404) he was honored 
as a saint on account of his piety. In the whole of 
Castile the agitators remained unpunished. More 
justice was exercised by John I. of Aragon, who 
caused twenty-live of the ringleaders — merchants, 
apothecaries, and tradesmen— to be taken to Barce- 
lona from Palma, Lerida, and other towns, and pub- 
licly executed. 

The year 1391 forms a turning-point in the his- 
tory of the Spanish Jews. The persecution was the 
immediate forerunner of the Inquisition, which, 
ninety years later, was introduced as a means of 
watching the converted Jews. The number of those 
who had pretended to embrace Chris- 
The “ New tiauity in order to escape death was 

Chris- very large; Jews of Baena, Montoro, 

tians.” Baeza, Ubeda, Andujar, Talavcra, 
Maqueda, Huete, and Molina, and es- 
pecially of Saragossa, Barbastro, Calatayud, Iluesca, 
and Manresa. had submitted to baptism. Among 
those baptized were several wealthy men and schol- 
ars who scoffed at their former coreligionists; some 
even, as Solomon ha-Levi, or Paul de Burgos (called 
also Paul de Santa Maria), and Joshua Lorqui, or 
Geronimo de Santa Fe, became the bitterest enemies 
and persecutors of their former brethren. 

After the bloody excesses of 1391 the popular 
hatred of the Jews continued unabated. The Cortes 
of Madrid and that of Valladolid (1405) mainly busied 
themselves with complaints against the Jews, so that 
Henry III. found it necessary to prohibit the latter 
from practising usury and to limit the commercial 
intercourse between Jews and Christians; lie also 
reduced by one-half the claims held by Jewish cred- 
itors against Christians. Indeed, the feeble and suf- 
fering king, the son of Leonora, who hated the Jews so 
deeply that she even refused to accept their money 
(“ Sumario de los Reyes de Espaha. ” xlii. 77 ; “ Shebet 
1 ehudah.” p. 87), showed no feelings of friendship 
toward them. Though on account of the taxes of 
which he was thereby deprived he regretted that 
many Jews had left the country and settled in Mal- 
aga, Almeria, and Granada, where they were well 
treated by the Moors, and though shortly before his 
death he indicted a fine of 24,000 doubloons on the city 
of Cordova because of a riot that had taken place 
there (1400), during which the Jews had been plun- 
dered and many of them murdered, he prohib- 
ited the Jews from attiring themselves in the same 
manner as other Spaniards, and lie insisted strictly 
on the wearing of the badge by those who had not 
been baptized. Henry, who employed Moses ben 
Zarzal and Meir Algnades as liis body-physicians, 
died in 1406, twenty-seven years of age. In his 
testament the king appointed Paul de Burgos exec- < 
utor of his will and guardian of his soil John, who 
was barely two years old. The regency was in the 1 
hands of the queen-mother Catalina, a bigoted, light- i 
hearted .young matron, and the infante Fernando de j 
Anteqnera. ( 


f Renewed sufferings were inflicted upon the Jews 
l when the Dominican friar Vicente Ferrer, a friend 
i and companion of the anti- Jewish Pedro de Luna, 
- set himself up as antipope to Benedict NIII. ; Ferrer 
, traveled from one end of Castile to the other, and 

; everywhere zealously urged the Jews to embrace 

1 Christianity, appearing with a cross in one hand and 
f the Torali in the other. His impassioned sermons 
; won him great influence, and he accomplished his 
> ^ ends in Murcia, Lorca, Ooana, Illescas, 

Vicente Valladolid, Tordcsillas, Salamanca, 
Ferrer. and Zamora. He spent the month of 
July, 1411, in Toledo; he invaded the 
large synagogue, which he transformed into the 
Church of Santa Maria la Blanca, and he is said to 
have baptized more than 4,000 Jews in that city. 
Toward the end of the same year he went to Ayllon, 
where Catalina and Fernando received him with 
great festivities. 

At Ferrer’s request a law consisting of twenty- 
four clauses, which had been drawn up by Paul de 
Burgos, was issued (Jan., 1412) in the name of the 
child-king John II. The only object of this law 
was to reduce the Jews to poverty and to further 
humiliate them. They were ordered to live by 
themselves, in enclosed Juderias, and they were to 
repair, within eight days after the publication of 
the order, to the quarters assigned them under pen- 
alty of loss of property. They were prohibited 
from practising medicine, surgery, or chemistry, 
and from dealing in bread, wine, flour, meat, etc. 
They might not- engage in handicrafts or trades of 
any kind, nor might they fill public offices, or act as 
money-brokers or agents. They were not allowed 
to hire Christian servants, farm-hands, lamplight- 
ers, or grave-diggers; nor might they eat, drink, 
or bathe with Christians, or hold intimate conver- 
sation with them, or visit them, or give them pres- 
ents. Christian women, married or unmarried, were 
forbidden to enter the Juderia either by day or by 
night. The Jews were allowed no self-jurisdiction 
whatever, nor might they, without royal permission, 
levy taxes for communal purposes; they might not 
assume the title of “Don,” carry arms, or trim beard . 
or hair. Jewesses were required to wear plain, long 
mantles of coarse material reaching to the feet; and 
it was strictly forbidden Jews as well as Jewesses 
to wear garments made of better material. On 
pain of loss of property and even of slavery, they 
were forbidden to leave the country, and any gran- 
dee or knight who protected or sheltered a fugitive 
Jew was punished with a fine of 150,000 maravedis 
for the first offense (for the “Pragmatica” see Rios, 
“Ilist.” ii. 496, 618 et scq.\ and Liiulo, he. pp. 196 
ctseq.; see also “Shebet Yelmdah,” p. 88). These 
laws, which were rigidly enforced, any violation of 
them being punished with a fine of from 300 to 2,000 
maravedis and flagellation, were calculated to com- 
pel the Jews to embrace Christian^*. 

Having accomplished his purpose in Castile, Vi- 
cente Ferrer went to Aragon, where the above-men- 
tioned infante Fernando de Anteqnera, who had 
been newly elected king, partly through the instru- 
mentality of the Dominican friar, willingly lent him- 
self to the latter’s cause. Ferrer’s fanatic zeal suc- 
ceeded also in Aragon in leading many Jews to pre- 



497 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


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tended conversion, especially in Saragossa, Daroco, 
and Calatayud. Besides the places mentioned, 
he made proselytes in Albacete, Astorga, Avila, 
Benevent, Burgos, Leon, Mayorga, Majorca, Palen- 
cia, Paredes, Toro, Segovia, etc. The total number 
of Jews converted hy him in Spain was, according 
to Mariana, 35,000 ; according to Zacuto (“ Yuhasin,” 
p. 225), more than 200,000. The latter statement is 
greatly exaggerated; according to Usque (“ Conso- 
lacem,” p. 188b), the number of converts in Aragon 
and Catalonia was only 15,000 (“ mais de quinze mil 
almas Judaicas ”) ; and this figure has been accepted 
by Joseph lia-Kolien (“ ‘Ernek ha- 
NTumber Baka,” p. 71) and by Cardoso. The 
of number 16,000 mentioned by Verga 
Converts. (“ Shebet Yehudah,” p. 87) refers prob- 
ably to Aragon. Regarding the bap- 
tisms see the elegy in the introduction to Duran's 
“Magen Abot” (ed. Jellinek), which has been re- 
printed by Gratz (“Gesch.” viii. 121). 

One of Vicente Ferrer’s most zealous assistants in 
the work of conversion was Joshua ibn Vives Lor- 
qui, or Geronimo de Santa Fe, who aimed at noth- 
ing less than baptisms en masse. Lorqui, who 
was the body-physician of Pope Benedict XIII., 
influenced the latter to arrange public religious 
disputations. With the sanction of Fernando of 
Aragon, the pope issued in Nov., 1412, a request 
to the larger Jewish communities of Aragon and 
Catalonia to send two or more of their foremost 
scholars to Tortosa, there to hold public disputations 
with Joshua Lorqui regarding certain religious 
dogmas selected by the pope. The following repre- 
sentatives attended this disputation : Vidal Benve- 
niste, Zerahiali ha-Levi Saladin, and Mattatliias lia- 
Yizhari, of Saragossa; the religious philosopher 
Joseph Albo of Monreal ; Astruc ha-Levi of Alcaniz 
(not of Daroca); Samuel ha-Levi (the nasi) and R. 
Moses ben Musa, of Calatayud ; Joseph ha-Levi and 
Yom-Tob Carcosa, of Monzon ; the scholar Bonastruc 
Desmaestre (whose presence had been especially 
requested by the pope, and whose expenses were 
refunded him), Todrosibn Yahya, and Nissim Ferrer, 
of Gerona ; and various representatives from Mon- 
talban, Iluesca, etc. That the poet Solomon ben 
Reuben Bonfed, who is not mentioned in any of the 
sources, accompanied Solomon Maimon as a repre- 
sentative of the community of Tortosa is very un- 
likely (Steinschneider, “Hebr. Bibl.” xiv. 95). 

This disputation, the most remarkable ever held, 
commenced on Feb. 7, 1413, and lasted, with many 
interruptions, until Nov. 12, 1414. The first meet- 
ing, which was opened by the pope, took place be- 
fore an audience of more than a thousand, among 
whom were several cardinals, grandees, and mem- 
bers of the city’s aristocracy. The 
Bisputa- disputation mainly concerned the 
tion question as to whether the Messiah 
at Tortosa. had already appeared, and whether 
the Talmud regarded him as such. 
Geronimo de Santa Fe, who had made false 
charges against the Talmud, especially opposed 
Vidal Benveniste (who had thoroughly mastered the 
Latin language and whom the other Jewish repre- 
sentatives had selected as their leader), Zerahiali ha- 
Levi, Joseph Albo, Bonastruc Desma6stre, and Nis- 
XI. — 32 


sim Ferrer ; and he was assisted by the learned 
neoph} r te Garci Alvarez de Alarcon and the theo- 
logian Andreas Beltran of Valencia, who later be- 
came Bishop of Barcelona. At the sixty -fifth meet- 
ing Joseph Albo and Astruc ha-Levi tendered a 
memorial in defense of the Talmud, and on Nov. 
10, 1414, Astruc, in the name of all the representa- 
tives with the exception of Joseph Albo and Nissim 
Ferrer, declared that the liaggadic passages which 
had been cited as evidence against the Talmud were 
not considered as authoritative by them. This, 
however, was in no way equivalent to the accept- 
ance of Jesus as the Messiah and the abandonment 
of Judaism, as some Spanish historians assert. (Re- 
garding the so-called disputation of Tortosa, which 
really took place in San Mateo, near Tortosa, see 
“ Shebet Yehudah,” ed. Wiener, pp. 67 et seq., and 
Rios, “Hist.” ii. 433 et seq. Rios claims to have 
made use of a Spanish manuscript from the Provin- 
cial Library in Segovia, in addition to the Latin pro- 
tocol which is extant in manuscript in the Escorial. 
See also Zurita, “ Anales de Aragon,” iii. 108 et seq., 
aud Gratz, “Gescli.” viii. 416 et seq., where several 
false hypotheses are made.) 

According to the not always reliable historian 
Zurita, more than 8,000 Jews were baptized during 
the year 1414; this probably was not due so much 
to the disputation as to the forcible conversions by 
Vicente Ferrer, who had returned to Aragon. In 
Guadalajara, as well as in Calatayud, Daroca, 
Fraga, Barbastro, Caspe, Maella, Tamarite, and Al- 
colea, many Jewish families submitted to baptism. 
The persecution of the Jews was now pursued sys- 
tematically. In the hope of mass-conversions, Bene- 
dict issued, on May 11, 1415, a bull consisting of 
twelve articles, which, in the main, corresponded 
with the decree (“Pragmatica ”) issued by Catalina, 
and which had been placed on the statutes of Ara- 
gon by Fernando. By this bull Jews and neophytes 
were forbidden to study the Talmud, to read anti- 
Christian writings, in particular the work “Ma- 
cellum ” (“Mar Jesu”), to pronounce the names of 
Jesus, Maria, or the saints, to manufacture commun- 
ion-cups or other church vessels or accept such as 
pledges, or to build new synagogues or ornament 
old ones. Each community might have only one 
synagogue. Jews were denied all rights of self- 
jurisdiction, nor might they proceed against “mal- 
sines ” (accusers). They might hold no public 
offices, nor might they follow any handicrafts, or 
act as brokers, matrimonial agents, physicians, 
apothecaries, or druggists. They were forbidden to 
bake or sell mazzot, or to give them away ; neither 
might they dispose of meat which they were prohib- 
ited from eating. They might have no intercourse 
with Christians, nor might they disinherit their 
baptized children. They should wear the badge at 
all times, and thrice a year all Jews over twelve, of 
both sexes, were required to listen to a Christian 
sermon on the Messiah (the bull is reprinted, from 
a manuscript iu the archives of the cathedral in To- 
ledo, by Rios [“Hist.” ii. 627-653]). 

The persecutions, the laws of exclusion, the hu- 
miliation inflicted upon them, and the many conver- 
sions among- them had greatly injured the Jews, 
but with them suffered the whole kingdom of 



Spain 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


498 


Spain. Commerce and industry were at a standstill; 
the soil was not cultivated, and the finances were 
disturbed. In Aragon entire cominu- 
Effects of nities — as those of Barcelona, Lerida, 
the Per- and Valencia — had been destroyed, 
secutions. many had been reduced to poverty 
and had lost more than half of 
their members. In order to restore commerce and 
industry Queen Maria, consort of Alfonso V. and 
temporary regent, endeavored to draw Jews to the 
country by offering them privileges, while she made 
emigration difficult b} r imposing higher taxes. 
Alter the persecutions of 1391 there were in Aragon 
and Castile, in addition to “ Jmlios infides,” as Paul 
de Burgos called them, many converts (“ con versos”), 
or Neo-Christians. On account of their talent and 
wealth, and through intermarriage with noble fam- 
ilies, the converts gained considerable influence and 
filled important government offices. The highest 
positions and dignities were held by the following 
Aragon families: Zaporta, Santangel, Villanova, A1 
mazan, Caballeria, Cabrero, Sanchez, and Torrero. 

The position of the Jews of Castile became some- 
what more favorable under John II., who ascended 
the throne at the age of fourteen, upon the death of 
his mother, Catalina (1418); this improvement was 
chiefly due to the influence of the king's powerful 
minister, Alvaro de Luna. In order to bring system 
into the finances of the state, the king sought the 
advice of Abraham Benveniste, who en joyed his full 
confidence; he appointed the Neo-Christian Diego 
Gonzales as treasurer; and as chief tax-farmer he 
installed the scholar Joseph Nasi (identical with 
Joseph ibn Sliem-Tob, the philosopher and author; 
see the document from the archives of Vitoria in 
Rios, “Hist.” iii. 573 et seq . ; “Shebet Yehudah,” 
pp. 21, 25). Other Jews, as Samuel Alhadar, acted 
as tax-farmers. The favors thus shown the Jews 
roused the anger of the old Paul de Santa Maria and 
his two sons, who, despite the fact that they were 
greatly indebted to Alvaro de Luna, hated him no 
less than they hated the Jews. Paul’s son Alfonso 
de Santa Maria, who represented Spain at the Con- 
gress of Basel, brought it about that Pope Eugene 
IV. issued a bull against the Jews (Aug. 10, 1442). 
This bull, which was published in Toledo during 
the king’s absence, was used by the enemies of the 
Jews as a pretext for oppressing and ill-treating 
them and for discontinuing all association with 
them. 

In the interest of the Jews, as well as of the coun- 
try, Alvaro de Luna induced the king to issue a de- 
cree in Aravalo on April 6, 1443, which annulled 
several clauses in the laws of Queen Catalina as well 
as in the papal hull. The Jews were allowed to en- 
gage in the various trades, as well as in commercial 
pursuits; and, under certain conditions, they Avcre 

permitted to practise medicine. They were," how- 
ever, to continue to live in their Juderias, apart from 
the Christians, and to wear the badge. The king 
made it the duty of the authorities to protect the 
Jews from injustice of any kind; he regarded them 
as his property and as standing under his immediate 
protection, and he ordered that an 3 r Christian assail- 
ing them should be punished with imprisonment 
and loss of property (this decree is reprinted from | 


manuscript in Rios, “Hist.” iii. 583 et seq . ; less cor- 
rectly by Lindo, l.e. pp. 221 et seq.). The intrigues 
of the sons of Paul de Burgos, however, were finally 
successful in securing the deatli of Alvaro de Luna 
in Valladolid. 

During the period of peace under John II. it was 
the first care of the Jews to reorganize their relig- 
ious and communal affairs. The statesman and 
scholar Abraham Benveniste, who had 
Under been elected chief rabbi, called a meet- 
John II. ing in Valladolid (April, 1432) of rab- 
bis, representatives of communities, 
and other prominent men; at tills meeting talc- 
kanot were adopted relating to the study of Jewish 
law, to divine service, to the system of taxation, 
etc., and these rules afford an insight into the condi- 
tion of the communal affairs of that time. 

The Jews of Spain formed in themselves a sepa- 
rate political body. They lived almost solely in the 
Juderias, various enactments being issued from time 
to time preventing them from living elsewhere! 


From the time of the Moors they had had tjieir own 
administration. At the head of the aljamas in Cas- 
tile stood the “rab de la corte,” or “rab mayor” 
(court, or chief, rabbi), also called “juez mayor” 
(chief justice), who was the principal* mediator be- 
tween the state and the aljamas. These court rabbis 
were men who had rendered services to the state, as, 
for example, David ibn Yaliya and Abraham Ben- 
veniste, or who had been royal physicians, as Me.Tr 
AJguadez and Jacob ibn Nunez, or chief tax-farm- 
ers, as the last incumbent of the court rabbi’s office, 
Abraham Senior. They were appointed by the kings, 
no regard being paid to the rabbinical qualifications 
or religious inclination of those chosen (“ David Mes- 
ser Leon,” in “R. E. J.” xxiii. 135). 

The duties of the court rabbis consisted in levying 
the public taxes, in adjusting complaints brought 
by the aljamas or by individual members, or in 
bringing such complaints to a higher court, and. in 
cases of dispute, in appointing the dayyanim (magis- 
trates) ; they were, in short, to represent the aljamas 
before the kings and to defend their interests. As 
in Castile, so also in Navarre— the chief rabbis were 
appointed by the kings. The communal rabbi (“tal- 
mid hakam”), who at times practised medicine, and 
who in Aragon was confirmed in his office by the 
kings, was expected to teach Talmud, Halakah, and 
Haggadah, deliver Talmudic lectures, instruct the 
members of his congregation, and sometimes officiate 
as dayj'an. The larger communities had several 
rabbis, also a bet din (corrupt Spanish, “ hedines ”) 
consisting of da 3 -yanim, whom the 
Organiza- Christians called “rabbis.” At times 
tion. the archbishops appointed or dis- 

missed the rabbis and da3^ r anim of 
fclie aljamas 'witliin tlieir iirclilbi si 10 pries. Thus 

Rabbi Zulema Alfahan was dismissed from bis office 
by Archbishop Pedro of Toledo, and the hitter’s 
physician was appointed in his place (1388), the ap- 
pointmentbeing confirmed by the king (Rios, “Hist.” 
ii. 577 et seq., 590 et seq.). 

J be Jews of Castile bad tlieir own judicial system. 
This fact gave them a certain independence and 
spared them many expenses and difficulties; nor 
were the 3 r obliged to trouble the Christian justices 


499 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Spain 


with their quarrels. At various sessions, of the 
Cortes, however, attempts were made to withdraw 
this privilege ; the right to jurisdiction 
Restric- in criminal matters was withdrawn 
tions on from them in 1380 ; and in 1412 this was 
Autonomy, followed by the suspension, though for 
a short time only, of the right to ad- 
j udicate civil cases. In the fifteenth century the Jews 
of Aragon likewise were deprived of independent 
jurisdiction ; but even then the Christian alcaldes 
t ried cases according to Jewish law. Whoever insti- 
tuted proceedings before a Christian judge— with the 
exception of cases referring to customs, etc.— was lia- 
ble to a heavy fine. The communities paid special at- 
tention to the suppression of the system of delation 
which had become wide-spread among the Spanish 
Jews (see Moseii). The wealthy and influential 
members of the community often abused their 
powers by accusing coreligionists before the regents 
and grandees of the kingdom in order to gain special 
privileges or avoid taxation. 

The taxes imposed were many and heavy. Be- 
sides the taxes payable to the kings (the “cabeza,” 
“cena,” “yantar,” “servicio”), the Jews were re- 
quired to pay tribute to tlieir local administration, 
as well as to the archbishops and the Church. These 
taxes were assessed, according to property and in- 
come, by trusted men appointed by the aljama, and 
they were levied collectively on each community ; 
small communities, or individual Jews, were con- 
sidered, for the purposes of taxation, as a pait of the 
nearest larger community. In order to escape tax- 
ation many Jews procured from the kings, queens, 
or princes letters of exemption ; others left the royal 
domains and settled elsewhere; while still others en- 
deavored to have their taxes reduced by threatening 
the tax -commissioners. The taxes on wine and 
meat (“almakona,” “alcabala,” “gabela”), which 
articles were often subjected also to royal taxation, 
SL'rved to maintain the Talmud Torah arid to pro- 
vide for the various needs of the community. 

The Spanish Jews differed but little from the 
Christian population with regard to customs and 
education. They were fond of luxury, and the 
women wore costly garments with long trains, also 
valuable jewelry; this tended to in- 

Culture crease the hatred of the populace to- 
and ward them. They were quarrelsome 
Education, and inclined to robbery, and often at- 
tacked and insulted one another even 
in their synagogues and prayer-houses, frequently 
inflicting wounds with the rapier or sword which 
they were accustomed to carry. 

In tlieir morals, and especially in regard to mar- 
ried life, the Jews maintained a loftier standard. 
With royal permission, however, a Jew might- have 

two wives; and tlie Jews often won tlieir wives’ in 

subtle ways, or through the agency of Influential 
Christians, so that it became necessary to order 
that betrothals might take place only between adults, 
and with tlie express permission of the father or the 
brother of the bride. 

Following the custom prevailing within the 
Church, the Spanish Jews often imposed sentences 
of excommunication upon members of their congre- 
gations. The Karaite sect, which had won numer- 


ous adherents in Castile through the instrumentality 
of Cid ibn Altaras and which bad its headquarters 
in Carrion and Burgos, was persecuted by Judah 
ben Joseph ibn Ezra of Granada, whom Alfonso 
VIII. had placed in command of Cala- 
Karaites trava after his conquest of that city in 
in Spain. 1147; thirty years later Joseph ibn al- 
Faklikhar (Farissol ?), who had great 
influence with Alfonso XI., succeeded in totally sup- 
pressing the sect. 

The flrst Spanish author to undertake a polemic 
against tlie Karaites was Judah ibn Balaam (“R. E. 
j y xix. 206 et seq.). In Spain, for centuries an El 
Dorado for Jewish science, which had found there its 
most ardent cultivators, an inconceivable degree of 
ignorance of Jewish matters prevailed after the end 
of the fourteenth century. The Jews took up other 
studies; the number of schools was diminished; the 
children remained without education ; and a great 
many adult Jews could not even read Hebrew. 
This ignorance did not fail to exert an influence 
upon the services, which were held according to a 
peculiar Spanish or Castilian ritual, in most points 
resembling the Aragonian. This ritual was simple 
and consistent, and it remained uninfluenced by the 

poets. . • 

The number of Jewish scholars and rabbis of dis- 
tinction was comparatively small during the fifteenth 
century. Talmudic study, once assiduously culti- 
vated in Toledo, Barcelona, Gerona, Monzon, aud 
other places, was then neglected, and the endeavors 
of Abraham Benveniste to reawaken an interest in 
Talmudic science were fruitless. The last rabbin- 
ical authority of Castile, likewise its last gaon, was 
Isaac Companton, among whose pupils were Isaac de 
Leon, Isaac A boab, and Samuel Alvalensi. The last 
preachers of renown were the religious philosopher 
Joseph ibn Sliem-Tob, liis son Shem-Tob, Joseph 
Albo, and Isaac Arama. 

The position of the Jews of Spain was fairly fa- 
vorable in the second half of the fiiteentli century, 
during tlie reigns of Henry IV. of Castile (1454-74) 
and John II. of Aragon (1456-79). Wealthy con- 
verted Jews occupied prominent positions at botli 
courts. King Henry appointed Diego 
In the Sec- Arias Davila as “contador mayor” of 
ond Half the kingdom, and he employed astax- 
of the farmers Davila’s Neo-Christian rela- 
Fifteenth lives, as well as several Jews, among 
Century, whom were Don Gaon (Chacon) of 
Vitoria, and Joseph and Moses Calcs, 
Samuel Paclion, and Joseph ibn Ataf, all of Plasen- 
cia. The king, as well as the dukes and grandees, 
disregarded the various enactments of the Cortes 
which prohibited Jews from holding public offices; 
even bishoprics employed Jews as tax-collectois, 
as, for example, R. Abraham Joseph Castellano and 

Moses of Briviescu. John IX. txncl Henry I\ r . em- 

ployed Jews as bodv-physiciaus; the famous oculist 
Abiatlmr ibn Crescas served the former ruler; and 
Jacob ibn Nunez, who, as “rab dela corte,” assessed 
and collected the taxes payable by tlie aljamas, was 

employed by the latter. , 

The*' principal Jewish communities existed in the 
smaller places. The community of Toledo, formerly 
the largest in Spain, had grown unimportant; so 





Spain 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


500 


had that of Hita. Many Jews lived in the vicinity 
of Madrid (where no regular community existed), in 
such small towns as Ocana, Guadalajara, Almazan, 
JBentrago, and Alcala de Henares. The largest com- 
munities in Old Castile were those of Avila, Segovia, 
Soria, Aguilar del Campo, Herrera, Medina del 
Pomar, Calahorra, Villalon, Aranda, and Cuellar. 
Burgos had only a few Jews. The province of Es- 
tremadura was still thickty populated by them, com- 
paratively large communities existing in Caceres, 
Badajoz, Truxillo, Xerez, Medelin, and Plasencia. 
Very few Jews lived in Seville, while Galicia had 
but one aljama — in the seaport town of Coruna. In 
the former kingdom of Leon, on the other hand, the 
Jewish population was much larger, 
Spread among the most prominent communi- 
of the Jews ties being those of Zamora, Valladolid, 
in Spain. Mayorga, Medina del Campo, Sala- 
manca, Ponferrado, Bobadilla, Mad- 
rigal, and Ciudad Rodrigo. In 1374 the “servicio” 
taxes paid by all the Jews of Castile amounted to 
450,300 maravedis — an amount considerably less than 
that paid two centuries before. As in Castile so also 
in Aragon and Catalonia the number of Jews had 
greatly diminished. In the last-named place only 
one community, that of Gerona, existed in 1438. Com- 
munities of medium size existed in Barbasfcro, Cala- 
tayud, Monzon, Saragossa, and Huesca; and smaller 
ones in Tausle, Jaca, Fraga, Egea de los Caballeros, 
Teruel, Almunca, and Alagon. Only a few Jews 
lived in Daroca (Rios, “Hist.” iii. 81, 171, 590 et seq . ; 
“R. E. J.” xiv. 167 et seq . ; Griltz, “ Gescli.” viii. 214). 

When the various city administrations requested 
the Cortes held in 1462 to restrict the Jews in their 
intercourse with Christians the Jews 
The Cortes left the cities and settled in places 
of 1462. which were under the jurisdiction of 
the counts. The popular hatred to- 
ward the Jews was stirred anew by the fanaticism 
of the Franciscan friar Alfonso de Spina, the au- 
thor of “Fortalitium Fidei”: this friar, who held 
the same views as Paul de Burgos, was a sworn 
enemy of his former coreligionists. He incited the 
people against the Jews as well as against the Mara- 
nos, whom he called “ Judiosocultos ” to distinguish 
them from the “ J udios publicos. ” In order to rouse 
the anger of the people lie declared that the Jews 
were in the habit of killing Christian children. 
This accusation was readily believed by the credu- 
lous populace, and in Tavara, Toro, and Avila plays 
illustrating the supposed crime were written and 
acted. In Sepulvedo R. Solomon Piclion was ac- 
cused of the murder of a Christian boy, and in 
Medina del Campo Jews were murdered and burned 
under similar accusations. 

But the popular hatred toward the Neo-Christians 
exceeded that toward the professed Jews. In Toledo 
a bloody uprising against the Maranos took place in 
July, 1467, many being killed. On March 14, 1473, 
an outbreak occurred at Cordova, the houses of the 
Neo-Cliristians being invaded, plundered, and burned, 
and many of their inmates horribly butchered.* 
o. ‘ M. Iv. 

* Owing to the death of Dr. M. Kayserling before he had com- 
pleted this article, its continuation has been written by Mr. 
Joseph Jacobs. 


Thenceforward the history of the Jews in Spain is 
connected with the reciprocal relations of the “ con- 
versos ” and the members of their families who had 
remained true to the old faith. The nobles of Spain 
found that they had only increased their difficulties 
by urging the conversion of the Jews, who remained 
as much a close corporation in the new faitli as they 
had been in the old, and gradually began to monopo- 
lize many of the offices of state, especially those con- 
nected with tax -farming. At the Cortes of Fraga 
(1460) large numbers of “ con versos ” attended, much 
to the dismay of the hidalgos. In 1465 a “ concor- 
dia” was imposed upon Henry IV. of Castile revi- 
ving all the former anti-Jewisli regulations. So 
threatening did the prospects of the Jews become 
that in 1473 they offered to buy Gibraltar from 
this king: this offer was refused. 

As soon as the Catholic monarchs Ferdinand and 
Isabella ascended their respective thrones steps 
were taken to segregate the Jews both from the 
“converses” and from their fellow countrymen. 
At the Cortes of Toledo, in 1480, all Jews were 
ordered to be separated in special “barrios.” and 
at the Cortes' of Fraga, two years later, the same 
law was enforced in Navarre, where they were or- 
dered to be confined to the Jewries at night. The 
same year saw the establishment of the Inquisition 
in Spain, the main object of which was to deal with 
the “con versos” (see Inquisition). Though both 
monarchs were surrounded by Neo-Christians, such 
as Pedro de Caballeria and Luis de Santangel, and 
though Ferdinand was the grandson of a Jewess, 
he showed the greatest intolerance to Jews, whether 
converted or otherwise, commanding all “ conversos ” 
to reconcile themselves with the Inquisition by the 
end of 1484, and obtaining a bull from Innocent 
VIII. ordering all Christian princes to restore all 
fugitive “conversos” to the Inquisition of Spain. 
One of the reasons for the increased rigor of the 
Catholic monarchs was the disappearance of the fear 
of an} r united action by Jews and Moors, the king- 
dom of Granada being at its last gasp. Yet these 
rulers had the duplicity to promise to continue to 
the J ews of the Moorish kingdom all rights that they 
then possessed there if they would assist the Span- 
iards in overthrowing the existing rule. This 
promise was dated Feb. 11, 1490, only two years 
before it was publicly repudiated by the decree of 
expulsion. See Ferdinand and Isabella. 

Several months after the fall of Granada an edict 
of expulsion was issued against the Jews of Spain 
by Ferdinand and Isabella (March 31, 1492). It 
ordered all Jews and Jewesses of whatever age to 
leave the kingdom by the last day of July, but per- 
mitted them to remove their property provided it 
was not in gold, silver, or money. The 
Edict of reason alleged for this action in the 
Expulsion, preamble of the edict was the relapse 
of so many “conversos,” owing to the 
proximity of unconverted Jews who seduced them 
from Christianity and kept alive in them the knowl- 
edge and practises of Judaism. No other motive is 
assigned, and there is no doubt that the religious mo- 
tive was the main one. It is claimed that Don 
Isaac Abravanel, who had previously ransomed 480 
Jewish Moriscos of Malaga from the Catholic moil- 


501 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Spain 


archs by a pa} r ment of 20,000 doubloons, now offered 
them 600,000 crowns for the revocation of the edict. 
It is said also that Ferdinand hesitated, but was pre- 
vented from accepting the offer by Torquemada, the 
trrand inquisitor, who dashed into the rojml presence 
and, throwing a crucifix down before the king and 
queen, asked whether, like Judas, they would betray 
their Lord for money. Whatever may be the truth 
of this story, there were no signs of relaxation shown 
by the court, and the Jews of Spain made prepara- 
tions for exile. In some cases, as at Vitoria, they 
took steps to prevent the desecration of the graves 
of their kindred by presenting the cemetery to 
the municipality— a precaution not unjustified, as 
the Jewish cemetery of Seville was later ravaged 
by the people. The members of the Jewish com- 
munity of Segovia passed the last three days of their 
stay in the city in the Jewish cemetery, fasting 
and wailing over being parted from their beloved 
dead. 

The number of those who were thus driven from 
Spain has been differently estimated by various ob- 
servers and historians. Mariana, in his history of 
Spain, claims as many as 800,000. Isidore Loeb, 
in a special study of the subject in the “Revue 
des Etudes Juives” (xiv. 162-188), re- 

Number duces the actual number of emigrants 
of to 165,000. Bernaldez gives details of 
the Exiles, about 100,000 who went from Spain 
to Portugal: 8,000 from Benevente to 
Braganza; 30,000 from Zamora to Miranda: 35,000 
from Ciudad Rodrigo to Villar; 15,000 from Miranda 
de Alcantara to Marbao; and 10,000 from Badajoz 
to Yelves. According to the same observer, there 
were altogether 160,000 .Tews in Aragon and Castile. 
Abraham Zacuto reckons those who went to Portu- 
gal at 120,000. Lindo asserts that 1,500 families of 
Jewish Moriscos from the kingdom of Granada weie 
the first to leave the country. It may be of interest 
to give the following estimates of Loeb’s of the 
numbers of those who were in Spain before the 
expulsion and of those who emigrated to diffeient 
parts of the world : 


Algeria 

America 

Egypt 

France and Italy. 

Holland 

Morocco 

Turkey in Europe. 
Elsewhere 


30,000 

5.000 

2.000 
12,000 

25.000 

20.000 
90,000 

1,000 


Total emigrated 

Baptized 

Died on the journey 


165,000 

50.000 

20.000 


Total in Spain in 1492 


235,000 


These estimates must be regarded as a minimum; 
it is probable that at least 200,000 fled the coun- 
try, leaving behind them their dead and a large 
number of relatives who had been forced by circum- 
stances to conceal their religion and to adopt the 
dominant creed. About 12,000 appear to have en- 
tered Navarre, where they were allowed to remain 
for a short time only. The ports of Cartagena, 
Valencia, and “Barcelona were provided by Ferdinand 
with ships to take the fugitives where they would; 
but the Jews often found difficulty in landing, owing 


to disease breaking out among them while on board 
ship. Thus at Fez the Moors refused to receive 
them, and they were obliged to roam in an open 
plain, where many of them died from hunger ; the 
rest in despair returned to Spain and were baptized. 
Nine crowded vessels arrived at Naples and commu- 
nicated pestilence. At Genoa they were only al- 
lowed to land provided they received baptism. 
Those who were fortunate enough to reach Turkey 
had a better fate, the sultan Salim expressing bis 
gratitude to Ferdinand for sending him some of bis 
best subjects. ; 

The history of the Jews henceforth in Spain is 
that of the Maranos, whose numbers, as has been 
shown, had been increased by no less than 50,000 
during the period of expulsion. As Spain got pos- 
session of the New World, the Maranos attempted 
to find a refuge from the Inquisition 
The in both the East and the West Indies, 
Maranos. where they often came in contact with 
relatives who had remained true to 
their faith, or Jiad become reconverted in Holland 
or elsewhere. These formed business alliances with 
their relatives remaining in Spain, so that a large 
portion of the shipping and importing industry 
of that country fell into the hands of the Maranos 
and their Jewish relatives elsewhere. The wealth 
thus acquired was often sequestrated into the coffers 
of the Inquisition; but this treatment led to reprisals 
on the part of the Maranos abroad, and there can be 
no doubt that the decline of Spanish commerce in 
the seventeenth century was due in large measure 
to the activities of the Maranos of Holland, Italy, 
and England, who diverted trade from Spain to 
those countries. When Spain was at war with any 
of these countries Jewish intermediation was utilized 
to obtain knowledge of Spanish naval activity (see 
Intelligencers; Maranos). 

In this indirect way the Maranos, who had been 
the occasion of the expulsion, became a Nemesis to 
the Spanish kingdom. It is, however, incorrect to 
suppose, as is usually done, that the immediate re- 
sults of the expulsion of the Jews from Spain were 
disastrous either to the commerce or to the power of 
the Iberian kingdom. So far from this being the 
ease, Spain rose to its greatest height immediately 
after the expulsion of the Jews, the century suc- 
ceeding that event culminating in the world-power 
of Philip II., who in 1580 was ruler of the New 
World, of the Spanish Netherlands, and of Portu- 
gal, as well as of Spain. The intellectual loss was 
perhaps more direct. A large number of Spanish 
poets and other Jewish writers and thinkers who 
traced their origin from the exile were lost to 
Spain, including men like Spinoza, De Silva, Ma- 
nasseh b. Israel, the Disraelis, and the Montefiores. 

When Spain became a republic in 1858, a repeal 
of the edict of expulsion was secured from Gen- 
eral Prim through the influence of H. Guedalla 
of London, and Jews were permitted to tread once 
more upon Spanish soil. Very few of them have 
availed themselves of this privilege, a small con- 
gregation at Madrid being the chief sign of renewed 
life. Even at tlie present day in Spain Jews are not 
allowed to have any public building in which to 
hold their religious services. 


Spalato 

Spektor 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


502 


Biblwqraphv: (Jii the general bibliography of the history of 
tlie Jews of Spain see Jacobs, Sources of Spanish Jewish 
History, pp. L13-L44. There are three general histories : that 
° f Mistor V n f the Jews of Spain and Portugal , Lon- 

. don, 1848, founded to some extent on original researches in the 
{ H G |l lv . es ’ Amador do los Rios, 7 Tistoria Social, Politico.- y 
Religiosa tie losJudios de Espana ?/ Portugal , Madrid, 1875- 
18/6; and jVT. Kayserling, DicJiidcn in Navarra, Berlin, 1861, 
the latter only the beginning of a general treatment which was 
to have included all the separate states of Spain. It is founded 
mainly on ^ Yanguas, Diccionario, Pamplona, 1842, Amador 
de los Rios history is based mainly on the chronicles of Ayala 
and Balaguer and on local histories like those of Ascolono of 
\ a lencta, Zuniga of Seville, Ximeua of Jaen, and Landazuri of 
A itoria. Much material is contained in the publislied trans- 
actions of the Cortes, as well as in the fueros. 'Fidel Fita, in 
iqoo ^ Bolctinde la Ileal Academia dc la Historia , Madrid, 
ibbw in, has published mucli from manuscript sources, and 
some oi his writings have been republished under the title 
Historia Hchrca, Madrid, 1SS8. The Jews of Aragon are best 
described in Balaguer, Historia de Cataluha. Much mate- 
rial exists also in the works of Jewish chroniclers like Joseph 
Cohen and Solomon ibn Verga, as well as in Usque 
The chief sources for the persecutions of 1391 are : Ayala, 
Oiomca dc D. Enrique UI.\ Zuniga, Analcs Ecclesias- 
tieob de Sevilla (contemporary chronicles) ; Shchct Teliu- 
dah. Nos. 2/, 48; Crescas letter in Appendix to *t7>., ed. 
U lener ; Estngo de losJudcrias Catalan es cn 1391 , Relation 
Contemporanea, in F. Fita, La Espana Hehrca, i. 160 cisco. ; 
Vicente Boix, Historia de la Ciudad de Valencia, i. 440 et 
seq. ; Rios, Hist, li. 355 et seq ., 595 et seq.-, Henry C. Lea, Fer- 
Martvnez and the Massacres of 1391, in American 
Hist, Review , 1 . 215 ct seq.: Grata. Gesch. viii. G2 et seq. 

J. 


(SPALATRO): Commercial port 
of Dalmatia, and a city of note since the days of the 
Roman empire. Its earliest Hebrew inhabitants 
were immigrants from the Turkish provinces of 
Servia and Rumania ; but many years passed before 
a Jewish community was established at Spalato. 
Eventually, however, when Jewish exiles settled 
there in numbers after the expulsion from Spain, 
the port contained the most important community 
in Dalmatia. It maintained relations with the Jews 
of Africa and Turkey, as well as with those on 
tiie eastern coast of the Italian peninsula, particu- 
larly with the Jews of Venice, Ancona, and Brindisi. 
The Spalato Jews were highly favored by the Vene- 
tian republic, local trade and finance being almost 
entirely in their hands. Among the noted Jewish 
families were those of Pardo and Macchiero. 


The community possesses an ancient and beauti- 
ful synagogue, and lias always had a cemetery of 
its own. Its benevolent societies have been numer- 
ous, and it has been governed by several rabbis of 
wide reputation. The Jews of Spalato now (1905), 
however, are scattered throughout Messina and 
Triest, and in various parts of the kingdom of Italy ; 
and the community is in a state of decline. 


V. C. 


SPARROW : Rendering given in the English 
versions (Ps. lxxxiv. 4 [A. V. 3], cii. 8 [A. V 7]) 
for the word “zippor,” which denotes birds in gen- 
eral, but is used especially of small passerine birds. 
Four species of sparrow are very numerous in 
Palestine. Tristram identifies the sparrow of Ps 
cii. 8 with the Monticola cyanus, or blue thrush, 
from its habit of sitting solitary or in pairs on pro- 
jecting ledges or on some other conspicuous perch. 
In the Talmud “zippor” is a generic name, always 
designating a clean bird (comp. Hub 139b). 

Bibliography : Tristram Nat. Hist, p. 200; Lewysolm, Zo- 

ologie des Talmuds , p. 187. 

E - G - TI - I. M. C. 

SPECIFIC PERFORMANCE: Proceeding by 
which a court compels an obligor to carry outT his 
contract rather than make him pay damages in 
money for the breach of it. In English-Americau 
law the phrase is used almost exclusively in refer- 
ence to a contract to convey land at a future time or 
upon compliance with given terms. Rabbinical law 
was well acquainted with methods for compelling 
a defendant to obey decrees, and the phrase “they 
compel him ” (iniK is often found in the Misli- 
nah. The compulsion might be by excommunica- 
I tion, by imprisonment, or by flogging; there are, 
for instance, circumstances ' under which a man 
might he compelled to give a bill of divorce to his 
wife (Kct. vii. 10). But compulsion might not be 
applied to enforce a contract to convey or to buy 
land, or to complete a purchase or sale of anythin 
in the future, because all such contracts were held 
to be void. There might he an action for not build- 
ing or conveying a house, or for not transferring a 
garden of given dimensions (see Sale of Lands), 
which action would sound in damages ; but there was 
«o remedy , even in damages, for failure to sell or 
convey a specified house or lot ; and the more efficient 
remedy of specific performance was out of the ques- 
tion. The codes (“Yad,” Mekirah, i. ; Shulhan 
Aruk, Hoslien Mishpat, 189), at the very opening 
of the chapters on purchase and sale, declare that, 
unless title (“ kinyan ”) has been conferred in the 
manner proper to each kind of property (see Alien- 
ation), either party to a contract may recede there- 
from (lit. “turn back”). B. M. iv/land the Ge- 
mara commenting thereon are conclusive for this 
position. 

sv - L. X. D. 


SPANIER, MEYER : German educationist 
ami writer; born at Wunstorf, Hanover, Nov. 1, 
1864; studied philosophy and Germanic philology 
at Heidelberg (PJi.D. 1S94). For some years he 
acted as teacher in various schools in Altona and 
Hamburg, and in 1900 lie was called to Munster, 
Westphalia, as director of the Jewish teachers > sem- 
inary there. Besides many scientific articles in vari- 
ous periodicals Spanier has published the following 
works: “Thomas Murner’s Narrenbeschworung ” 
(Halle, 1894), with introduction, notes, and glossary; 
“Vom A1 ten und Modernen Sturm und Drang ” 
(Berlin, 1896); “ Kiinstlerischer Bilderschmuck fur 
Schulen ” (Leipsic, 1897; 3d ed. 1902); and “Gustav 
Falke als Lyriker ” (Hamburg, 1900). S. 

SPANISH TOWN. See Jamaica. 


SPECTOR, MORDECAI: Russian Judffio- 
German writer; born at Uman, government of Kiev, 
Ma 3 r 5, 1859. His earlier education was in the Ha- 
sidic spirit, and this made it possible for him after- 
ward to write for both Hasidim and Mitnaggedim 
without any prejudice against either. From 1874 
to 1877 he studied secular sciences under Colonel 
Winde, superintendent of government buildings in 
the district of Uman. In 1878 lie made the acquaint- 
ance of Eliezer Zweifel, who encouraged him to 
write novels in the Judieo-German dialect, the first 
of these, “A Roman Olin Licbc,” appearing in the 
“Volksblatt” of 1883; and in 1884 lie was called 
to St. Petersburg by Zederbaum as associate edi- 
tor of the “ Volksblatt.” Besides numerous feuille- 
tons which lie contributed to this paper, he pub- 
lished several novels in book form; one of these, 



503 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Spalato 

Spektor 


entitled “Dev Yttdisher Muzhik,” aims at promo- 
tine agricultural pursuits among the Jews, tut 
“Volksblatt” changed hands in 1887, whereupon 
Spcctor settled in Warsaw, where he f°u*'<J« l Lie 
“ Hausfreund ” and the “ Familienfreund. 1 <> hotli 
of these periodicals Specter contributed extensively , 
writing under his real name, as well as under the 
pseudonyms “Ernes” and “Emeser Lamedvovnik. 

Spector has enriched Judwo-German litciatui 
with numerous novels which have appeared in vari- 
ous periodicals. One of these, “Der \ otter was 
afterward translated into Polish and published in 
the “ Israelita.” In the first two volumes of the 
“ Hausfreund,” Spector published a collection ot 
2 05G Jewish proverbs, alphabetically arranged, 
lie also essayed writing in Hebrew, m wdnch lan- 
guage he published “Otot u-Mofetim” (Warsaw, 
1887) a reply to attacks made against him by ^du 
bauin in “ Ila-Meliz ’’ ; and “IIa-Man‘ali.n ha-Rislio- 

nim” (in Meisach’s “Gan Peral.nm, 1890, n. 116 
et seq.\ a tale of Jewish life. 

Some of his sketches depict 
the life of the middle classes, 
but more often he occupies 
himself with the artisans of 
the small towns who have 
not received a modern educa- 
tion. Spector is a dispassion- 
ate writer, who calmly ob- 
serves the miseries of the 
Jewish masses, and endeavors 
to aid them without attack- 
ing their oppressors. His 
style is simple but graphic, 
and his writings are very 
popular. 

Spector’s wife (the daugh- 
ter of Abraham Shalom Friecl- 
benr), whom he married in 
1886, also is a clever Judteo- 
German writer. Under the 
pseudonym Isabella she has 
published in the “Haus- 
freund ” and in the “ Judische 
Bibliothek ” some novels in K _ 

which .she points out the danger of supei hcialne. .s 
in education, and ridicules the idea of assimilation. 

BiM. Post-Men dels. p. 3(0. ^ g FJ 

ic. c. 

SPEETH, JOHANN PETER. See Spaeth, 
Johann Petek. 

SPEKTOR, ISAAC ELHAWAN : Russian 
rabbi and author; born at Rosh, » ovc ^^ ent ^ 
Grodno, 1817; died at Kovno March 6, 1896 His 
father Israel Issar, who was rabbi ot Rcsli and bad 
a* leaning toward Hasidism, was his first teacher. 
Vouiitt- Isaac Ellmnan made remarkable progress in 
his Taimudical studies, and was soon famous as an 
■‘“ilui,” or prodigy. At the age of thirteen he mar- 
ried and settled witli his wife’s parentsmVdkovi.sk. 
where he remained for six years. He was for a short 
time the pupil of R. Elijah Sclnck; and lata a lie 
studied under Benjamin Diskm, rabbi of \ilkonsk 
wlio, much impressed by his agreeable manners and 


Early 

Struggles. 


oreat ability, accepted him as a pupil and as the fel- 
fow student of his son Joshua Lob Diskin, after- 
ward rabbi of Brisk. Spektor received liis “senn- 
kah ” or ordination, from Benjamin Diskin and from 
R. Isaac Haber of Tilrtin (later of Suwalki) The 
800 rubles which his wife had brought him as dowry 
having been lost through the bankruptcy of his 
debtor, Spektor, being unable to rely 
any longer on his father-in-law for 
support, became in 1887 rabbi of the 
smalladjacent town of Sabelin, with a 
weekly salary of five Polish gulden. He remained 
there in great poverty for about two years, when 
lie went to Karlin and introduced himself to R. 
Jacob of that town (author of “Mishkenot ^ aa ' 
kob ”) then considered one of the foremost rabhis of 
Russia. Jacob was so favorably impressed by the 
extensive learning and the carefulness of the young 
man that he recommended him to the first commu- 
nity desiring a rabbi, namely , that of Baresa, where 
the salary was one ruble a 
week. Spektor entered upon 
his new charge in 1889, and 
made rapid progress. A dis- 
pute which he had with 
Rabbi Isaac of Shavel con- 
cerning the formula of a docu- 
ment relating to divorce ended 
when Isaac, w r ho was much 
older and better known than 
Spektor, acknowledged the 
latter to be in the right. 

In 1846 Spektor was chosen 
rabbi of Kishvez, govern- 
ment of Minsk ; but the com- 
munity of Baresa was un- 
willing to let him go, and he 
was obliged to leave the town 
at night The salary of his 
new position, four rubles a 
week, was a munificent one 
for those days; and at first 
many of the older members 
of the community objected 
to so young a rabbi. After 
lie had become known, however, his popularity 
was such that when he decided to accept the rab- 
binate of Novohrodok (government of Kovno), 
whose community had exonerated him of a false 
charge made against him by an informer of iNishvez 
the people of the latter town wished 
Rabbinical to restrain him ; and he had to leave 
Positions, it, as he had left Baresa, stealthily at 
night. He went to Novolirodok in 
May 1851, and remained there until the same month 
in 1864, when lie accepted the rabbinate of Kovno, 
which lie occupied until his death. 

Spektor was an indefatigable worker; and in the 
last forty years of his life, when he was steadily be- 
coming more generally recognized as the foremost 
rabbinical authority in Russia, he maintained a targe 
correspondence with rabbis, communities, philan- 
thropists, and representative men m many parts o 
the world, who sought his advice and instruction on 
all conceivable subjects relating to Jews and Juda- 
ism. He early began to take an interest in general 



Isaac Elhanan Spektor. 


Spektor 

Speyer 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


504 


Relations 
with the 
Russian 
Govern- 
ment. 


Jewish affairs; and his sound reasoning, his liberal 
views, and his love of peace combined to establish 
him as one of the great leaders of Russian Jewry. In 
ho< he was the youngest member of a committee of 
rabbis chosen to regulate the management of the 
3 eslnbah oH oloziiin, Ten years later he settled a 
quarrel which threatened to ruin the yesliibah of Mir. 
In 1«68 lie stood at the head of a committee to help 
the poor during a drought which almost produced 
a famine; and he allowed as a temporary meas- 
ure the use of peas and beans in the Passover 
ot that 3 ear In 1875 he decided against the use 
of ' etrogim (citrons) from Corfu, because of 
the exorbitant price to which they had risen. In 
18/9 lie arranged, through Prof. A. Harkavy, his 
formen pupil, that three rabbis, Reuben of Dlina- 
burg Lipa Boslansky of Mir, and Elijah Elie- 
zei* Grodzenski of Wilna, should be added to the 
official rabbinical commission, which had thitherto 
consisted entirely of men of affairs and secular 
scholars. 

. f, wicu Spektor visited St. Petersburg to take part 
ju the conferences held there to consider the situa- 
tion of the Jews after the riots of 1881. During 
his second visit, in the summer of 1882, Kovno was 
partly destroyed by fire; and Spektor 
collected in the capital a large sum for 
those who had been ruined by the con- 
flagration. I-Ie succeeded in his oppo- 
sition to the proposed establishment of 
a new rabbinical school on the plan of 
.... those in Wilna and Jitomir; but he 

tailed m his attempt to induce the government to 
recognize as the real head of the Jewish communi- 
ties the synagogue rabbi instead of the government 
rabbi, who was in reality only a civil functionary 
and a Ia 3 r man. J 

In 1889 Spektor was elected an honorary member 
of the Society for the Promotion of Culture Anions 
the Jews of Russia; and in the same year he de- 
dared himself emphatically opposed to the proposed 
celebration of his rabbinical jubilee. His efforts to 
save the yesliibah of Volozhin from being closed by 
the government proved unsuccessful, but his spon- 
sorship of the institution known as “Kovnoer Pern- 
shim ” assisted to provide a substitute. He corre- 
sponded with the leading rabbis of western Europe, 
and was the anonymous friend who induced Samson 
Raphael Hirsch to write “Ueber die Beziehung des 
Talmuds zum Judenthum.” In liis later yeans he 
was revered by the Jews of Russia; and his death 
caused mourning in Orthodox communities through 
out the world. 

Spektor was the author of the following works 
which are considered authoritative by rabbinical 
■scholars: “Be’er Yizhak ” (Konigsberg, 1858), re- 
sponsa; “Nabd Yizhak » (parti., Wilna, 1872; part 
m, ib. 1884), on parts of theSliulhan ‘Aruk, Hoshen 
Mishpat; “‘Bn Yizhak” (parti., Wilna, 1889; part 
ii., ib. 1895). 1 

R. Isaac Elhanan had tlireesons: Hayyim wlio 
was the son-in-law of R. Joseph Bolimer of Slutzk 
mid died in Kovno in 1874, aged forty; Benjamin 
Rabinovich ; and Hirsch Rabinovich, who was 
nyaggid or preacher of Wilna, and later succeeded 
his father as rabbi of Kovno, which position he still 


(190o) holds. An only daughter, named Rachel 
died at an early age in 1876. 

Bibliography.* Jacob ha-Levi Lipschitz (Spektor’s sporprnw 
twenty-six years) , Toledot YizlmK Warsaw ^1897 fin 
G«oa I Wilna, imu Ifir Israeli™ Lven?e ?w' 

J T : lo: ,om eDs ^ Dor fiabbanawwe-Sofezraw iii 

k. C. p 

SPEZii,, See Incantation. 

SPERLING, JACOB HIRSCH: Austrian 
teacher of religion at the Jewish school and tire Ger- 
“““ Sy’imasium in Lemberg, where he was horn in 
1837; died Dec., 1899. He supported the Haskaiali 
movement in Galicia and was a gifted Neo-Hebrew 
poet. He has been associated with the periodicals 
^ Shomer Ziyyon,” “Kokebe Yizhak,” “Ha-'Ibri » 
Ha-Shahar,” and “ 0 ?ar iia-Sifrut,” was coeditor of 
the Judische Presse” and the “Neuzeit,” and was 
the founder of the societies Aliawali we-Haskalah and 
Shomer V israel in Lemberg. In addition to minor 
writings he has published the following: “Hazzalat 
Melek ” (Lemberg, 1854), a poem on the occasion of 
Emperor Francis Joseph’s escape from an assas- 
sin; -‘Hamishshah Ketarim ” (ib. 1871), containing 
five poems; "Hokmat Slielomoh ” (ib. 1878), a bio»- 
rapliy, in verse, of S. L. Rapoport; and “Horodot°” 
an epic poem in five cantos (published in “ Ozar ha- 
Sifrut,” 1887). 

Sokoloxv, Sefer Zikkanm , pp. U5-UG w u[ 
saw, 1890; Zeitlin, Blljl, Post-McnGcIs. pp, 076, 377 . ’ 

S ‘ S. O. 


SPEYER (Hebrew, KVBBW, NI'Qty, Nfi’W) : 
Bishopric of Rhenish Bavaria. The first mention of 
a Jewish community in Speyer occurs during the 
episcopate of Bishop Rudiger, who officiated front 
10 <3 to 1090. He admitted several Jewish refugees 
and assigned them, together with the Jews already 
. settled there, a special q uarter, which 
The Jewish he enclosed with a wall for the sake 
Quarter, of protection. This quarter consisted 
°f a kill and a valley outside tiie 
city proper. In order further to protect the Jews, 
lie granted them, on Sept. 13, 1084, a special privi- 
lege on condition that they should pay 34 pounds of 
Speyer money annually to the cloisters. Tiie Jews 
were also allowed to trade iu the harbor in all kinds 
ot goods, and to exchange gold and silver; they 
received as their special property a burial-ground 
from the estates of the Church; the chief rabbi 
was given absolute jurisdiction in all casesarising 
among them; and they were permitted to hire Chris- 
tian servants and nurses, and to sell to Christians 
such meat as they themselves did not use. 

Henry III. confirmed (Feb. 19, 1090) and even 
extended grants which had been made to the Jews, 
in particular to Judah ben Ifalonymus, David ben 
iUesliullam, and Moses ben Gliutiel (Jekuthiel) The 
forcible baptism of any of the children of those 
specifically mentioned was made punishable by a 
fine of twelve pounds gold, while the baptism of a 
heathen slave entailed a fine of three pounds silver 
and the return of theslave to his owner. The Jews 
in general were forbidden to purchase Christian 
slaves. It was enacted that in suits at law a Jewish 
witness might not he subjected to the ordeal of red- 



505 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Spektor 

Speyer 


hot iron or of water or to exceptionally harsh im- 
prisonment. Violation of these decrees was declared 
punishable by a fine of three pounds 
The silver. For injuries to a Jew not re- 
Charter. suiting in death a fine of one pound 
gold was imposed. If the guilt}' person 
was unable to pay the fine, liis eyes were to be put 
out and his right hand cut off. In proceedings 
against Jews the Jew bishop or the bishop of the 
diocese was to preside. This privilege was signed 
by the emperor himself. But neither the original 
charter nor its reenactment, proved sufficient to 
afford the Jews adequate protection. 

In 1096 Speyer was the very first town in which 
Jews suffered at the hands of the Crusaders, eleven 
being slain (“Ben Chananja,” 1864, No. 5; comp. 
Salfeld, “Martyrologium,” p. 102). Of the Jews 
who escaped some sought refuge in the king s 
palace; others were protected by. Bishop John 
(1090-1104) in the cathedral. The in- 
The stigators of the riot were caught and 
Crusades, executed. During the Second Cru- 
sade (1146) a fresh butchery occurred 
in the city, in which not only laymen but also mem- 
bers of the clergy took part. For this affair Bishop 
Gunther received a letter of reproach from Bernaul 
of Clairvaux. Among the martyrs who suffered 
death on this occasion was a woman named Minna, 
whose ears and tongue were cut off because she re- 
fused to submit to baptism (1146), 

Still worse were the excesses which took place 
fifty years later. During the rule of Bishop Otto 
( 1195 ), a Christian having been found murdered out- 
side the city walls, the Jews were relentlessly perse- 
cuted. The corpse of the recently murdered daugh- 
ter of Rabbi Isaac bar Asher ha-Levi was disinterred 
and hanged in the market-place, a mouse being 
fastened to her hair; and only by paying a large 
sum of money did the father succeed in redeem- 
ing the body. On the following day the rabbi 
himself and eight other persons were murdered. 
Many Jews sought refuge on the high balcony of 
the synagogue, pulling the ladder up after their 
ascent; in this terrible position they were forced to 
remain until R. Hezekiah ben Reuben of Boppard 
and R. Moses ben Joseph ha-Kohcn effected their 
release by paying an enormous ransom. The Jews 
thereupon fled in the darkness of night; and their 
houses were plundered and burned. But when Em- 
peror Henry VI. returned from Apulia the murder- 
ers were compelled to pay damages to him as well 
as to the Jews. In 1282 the Jews were accused by 
Herbord, Ritter von der Ohm, of having murdered 
his graildsou, and such a storm of rage broke out 
against them that Bishop Werner found himself 
compelled to lay the matter before the provincial 
synod of Ascliaffenburg (Sept. 8). A direct account 
of these proceedings is not available, but in the fol- 
lowing year (1283) Emperor Rudolph approved the 
decision reached, and ordered that all the piopcity 
taken from the Jews should revert to the royal 
treasury. The persecution continued unabated, 
however, wherefore the Jews of Speyer decided to 
emigrate to the Holy Land ; a few of them succeeded 
in carrying out this resolve, whereupon their prop- 
erty was confiscated. On June 24, 1291, Emperor 


Rudolph issued an order requiring the Jews of 
Speyer to maintain by extra taxes the newly estab- 
lished Fort Landau and the militia garrisoned there. 
Bishop Gerhard sold the Jewish taxes of Landau to 
a citizen of that place (1854). The government 
taxes payable by the Jews of Speyer were conveyed 
on June 22, 1298, to the city for such a period 
as might be necessary to complete payment for the 
damage done by the imperial troops on tlieir march 
through the city from Alsace. A document of May 
13, 1313, has been preserved which ordered that in 
case the Jews refused to pay the sum of 1,500 
pounds heller, which they had promised the emperor, 
the city council should have the right to pawn their 
property and to force them to payment through 
imprisonment; if any of them should succeed in 
escaping, the council might admit others as citizens 
in their places, as also in the places of such as pro- 
tested against payment. 

Ludwig the Bavarian utilized the Jewish ceme- 
tery at Speyer, which was surrounded by strong 
walls, as a fortification against Duke Leopold of 
Austria, who was pursuing him. Only 
The thirteen tombstones from this ceme- 
Cemetery. tery have been preserved, the oldest 
of which dates from 1145 ; the others 
were used by the city until quite recent times for 
building purposes. The use which Bishop Enricho 
made of the Jewish taxes caused a complaint to be 
brought against him by the entire diocese, which 
accused him (1320) of subsisting solely on the usury 
of the Jews. Bishop Gerhard of Elirenburg induced 
Ludwig the Bavarian to issue two decrees: (1) ad- 
mitting six more Jews to the city and appropriating 
their taxes for the good of the diocese (J une 3, 1337) ; 
(2) imposing taxes not only on the Jews of Speyer, 
but also on those of Landau, Lauterburg, Deides- 
heim, Bruclisal, Waibstadt, and Udenheim (Nov. 15, 
1337). These taxes were collected by Gerhard until 
1343, the city of Speyer paying 600 pounds heller 
for protection and in direct taxes, while the other 
towns contributed the sum of 700 pounds. 

A great calamity befell the Jews in Easter week, 
1343, when the body of a Christian named Ludwig 
was found. A large number of Jews were cap- 
tured, tortured, and burned at the stake. On March 
11, 1344, the citizens requested the king’s permis- 
sion to confiscate the houses of the Jews for the 
benefit of the city ; and this request was granted. 
The Black Death (1848-50) was fateful also for the 
Jews of Speyer. Ou Jan. 22, 1349, 
The Black nearly all the Jews, among whom was 
Death. Rabbi Elialcim, retired to their houses, 
set fire to them, and perished in the 
flames. The corpses of those who had been burned 
or murdered were left in the streets so long that the 
citizens were obliged to pack them in empty wine- 
casks and throw them into the Rhine. The whole 
Jewish quarter was thereupon closed, servants being 
detailed to collect any treasure that might be found. 
The houses were torn down and the materials used 
to repair the city walls; and all money found was 
turned into the municipal treasury. The few Jew- 
ish families which escaped fled to Heidelberg and 
Sinzheim. When Emperor Charles IV. visited 
Speyer and inquired into these occurrences, the citi- 


Speyer 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


506 


r 



zens succeeded in convincing liim of their inno- 
cence; and on March 29, 1849, the emperor issued a 
decree exonerating the citizens and declaring all the 
pro per of the Jews to belong to the city. If the 
latter at anytime readmitted Jews, the former were 
to become the absolute property of the munici- 
pality. . 

Within a short time the Jews were permitted to 
return to Speyer; and though in 1358 the} r were 
again expelled from the city, their 
Expulsion houses being distributed among the 
and citizens and their cemetery planted 

Return. with corn, in the following year the 3 r 
were once more readmitted, and were 
assigned, quarters between the Webergasse and 
the scliool-building. On Dec. 24, 1354, they were 
allowed to use their synagogue and school, as well 
as part of their cemetery; and their “ Dantzlius ” or 
“Brut ehus” was given back to them. Ten years 
later Bishop Adolph borrowed the sum of 800 gulden 
from the Jews, paying them a weekly interest of 
one Strasburg pfennig. When Nicolaus succeeded 
to the bishopric (1390) be granted the Jews permis- 
sion to settle in any city within the diocese on pay- 
ment of a yearly tribute of 15 gulden. Of the in- 
come thus derived one-half went to the garrison and 
the remaining half to the diocese. In 1394 King 
Wenceslaus renewed the decree which declared the 
Jews to be the property of the city. 

From 1405 to 1421 the Jews were entirely excluded 
from the city. But that they were soon readmitted 
is evident from the fact that on Feb. 11, 1431, King 
Sigismund granted them a privilege ordering that 
any complaint brought against them should be heard 
only before the municipal court. Four years later, 
however, the authorities had to yield to the demands 
of the citizens, and the following decree of expul- 
sion was issued on May 5, 1435: 

“The council is compelled to banish the Jews: but it has no 
designs upon their lives or their property : it 

Final only revokes their rights of citizenship and of 
Expulsion, settlement. Until Nov. 11 they are at liberty 
to go. whither they please with all their prop- 
erty, and in the meantime they may make final disposition of 
th ei r • busi ness a ffai rs/ ' 

For a long time after the Jews left Speyer in com- 
pliance with this decree, no organized community 
existed within the limits of the ci ty r , although indi 
vidual Jews settled there before twenty years had 
passed. 

Formerly it was the custom that upon the entry 
into the city of a new bishop the Jews should meet 
him in procession and present him with a gift; and 
this custom was observed by the Jews of Landau on 
March 27, 1439, upon the entry of Bishop Reinliard, 
and in Oct., 1459, on (lie entry of John II. After 
the lapse of many years this custom fell into disuse. 
The taxes levied upon the Jews of the diocese were 
constantly increased; thus, in the years 1464-78, 
under Bishop Mathias, the Jews of Landau were re- 
quired to make an annual payment of 120 pounds 
heller for the right of retaining their ghetto. The 
same bishop ordered ail the Jews of his diocese to 
submit to baptism, and upon their refusal to com- 
ply lie issued (Oct. 21, 1468) a decree containing, 
among others, the following provisions: All male 


Jews over five years old were required to wear on 
their breasts, as a distinctive badge, a piece of yellow 
cloth in the shape of awheel; all Jew- 
Restric- esses of similar age, two blue stripes on 
tions. their veils. Jews might take no part in 
public gatherings or entertainments; 
they might keep no Christian servants; nor might 
they have schools or synagogues of their own. They 
might not occupy dwellings in various portions of 
the city, but should live close together; on high 
Christian festivals thej r were not to appear upon the 
streets; and they were forbidden to engage in mone- 
tary transactions. Any person violating these rules 
was to be summoned before the bishop at Udenheim. 
This decree was renewed by that prelate on Dec. 
24, 1468, and Dec. 30, 1472. The only modification 
which the Jews, by gifts of money, succeeded in 
securing was the permission to have one synagogue 
in each town, this concession being granted by the 
bishop in 1469. The number of Jewish families in 
Speyer at this period, according to the testimony of 
Sclnidt (“ Jiidisclie Merckwurdigkeiten,” i. ,440), "did 
not exceed ten. 

For the following two centuries the internal affairs 
of the Jews were administered by the rabbi of 
Worms, who received an annual sum 
In the Sev- of 10 reiehstlialer as compensation, 
enteenth the small community not being able to 
Century, maintain a rabbi of its own. Official 
permission was required on the occa- 
sion of visits by the rabbi, and documents according* 
such permission have been preserved from 1682,1685, 
1698, 1713, and 1746: in tlie last-named reference is 
made to “ our rabbi David Strauss of Worms. ” From 
the year 1752 the Jews were forbidden, on pain of 
severe punishment, to solicit the services of any 
rabbi other than tlieir own. The first rabbi of the 
diocese was Isaac Weil (1750-63); lie was succeeded 
in tlie office by Lo win Lob Calvaria, provision for 
whose salary was made by a bequest in the testa- 
ment of one Siissle. 

Episcopal edicts in 1717, 1719, 1722, 1726, 1727, 
1728, 1736, 1741, and 1748 prohibited Gipsies and 
Jews having no safe - conducts from visiting the . 
estates belonging to the diocese ; and those that were 
provided with safe-conducts were required, for sani- 
tary reasons, to submit tlieir bundles or packages to 
a rigid examination. The present community of 
Speyer is young, and its documents are conse- 
quently of recent dates. 

The most prominent scholars of Speyer have been 
the following: In the eleventh century: Kalony- 
mus ben Moses, Jekutliiel ben Moses, Moses ben 
Jekuthiel, Judah ben Kaloii 3 r mus, 
Scholars and David ben Mesbullam. 

and Twelfth century: Abraham ben 

Rahbis. MeTrha-Kohen, Kalonymus ben Isaac, 
Jacob ben Isaac ha-Levi, Eleazar ba- 
Hazzan, Eliakim lia-Levi, R. Isaac ben Asher ha- 
Levi, Samuel ben Kalonymus, R. Abraham ben Sol- 
omon (p"*n), R. Isaac of Bohemia, Eliezer ben 
Isaac, Judah, Meir ben Kalonymus, David of 
Speyer, Simhah ben Samuel, R. Judali ben Kalony- 
nuis ba-Bahur, Shemariah benMordecai, Eliezer ben 
Joed ha-Levi, Simlmh ben Samuel, and Abraham ben 
Samuel. 



Haer, Stcimmtci’feln (Ur Fain i lie Spcijcr, Frankfort-on-! 


Speyer 

Spielmann 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


508 


Thirteenth century: Eleazar hen Jacob, Jacob of 
bpeyer, K. J edidiah benlsrael, and Solomon of Speyer. 

Fourteenth century : Moses Susslin, later “ Juden- 
meister ” in Frankfort-on-the-Main. 

Fifteenth century: Samuel Isaac lia-Kadosh and 
Shemariah Salman = j"-, ha-Levi (Zunz, “Ritus,” p. 

Of the cities formerly belonging to the diocese of 
Speyer may be mentioned: Speyer, included in 
the district rabbinate of Durklieim. The present 
rabbi is Dr. Wolf Salvendi, and the community 
numbers 874 Jews and supports six benevolent so- 
cieties. Deidesheim, with 50 Jewish inhabitants 
Landau, having 874 Jews and five benevolent 
societies Its present rabbi is Dr. V. Einstein. 
-Bruclisal, with 741 Jews and eight societies, under 
the spiritual guidance of Rabbi Doctor 


B, hnt°% RAP i HY: ) Zu ??’ RUlls - P- 200; idem, Z. G. p. 415 • Ko- 

PP 161 m %7 m J 4 ^ e 'iU' iPe ,^i' M<>»atsschrift, 1863, 

lir- H £ n 1 ch w- t: 

pisia ftmm » : S,B 

,V- Jm1c \ in ' De,t&imnd w2’e7d 

Worms und Qi n, D^ ltc i4 ^ ,c Alterthilmer in 

ineV4" 

-2: V >E- Ziyier >1 Mo matsschrift, xlil kSjDictor in 

w! no ", / pp.io^To4 , '. e GeschicMe wna Literatur , Mayence, 

J - S. O. 

SPEYER : German family doubtless deriving 
ns name from the German city of Speyer. Members 
of it had settled in Frankfort-on-tlie-Main in the six- 
teenth century ; from that city their descendants 
spiead_ to various countries, and are now to be 
found in Germany, England, and the United States. 
The following are the more important members 
(given m chronological order) : 

Joseph Michael Speyer : Parnas and assistant 
rabbi at Frankfort; died there Oct. 17 1729 He 
bequeathed the fund of 4,000 florins known as the 
Josef Speyer Stiftung.” 

Isaac Michael Speyer: Banker in Frankfort- 
died at Offenbach, near Frankfort, Dec 4 1807' 
He was a grandson of Joseph Michael Speyer.’ 
When the French in 1793 occupied the old German 
Reichsstadt,” their general, Custinc, imposed a 
heavy contribution upon the city, and took Speyer 
as one of the hostages for its payment. Speyer at 
his death left a legacy, the value of which is now 
(190») 817,000, and which is known as the “Isaac 
Michael Speyer Stiftung.” 

Moses Emanuel Speyer : Banker at Frankfort 
and Mittelstadt; died 1801 at the latter place, leav- 
mg a fund which was known as the “Moses Emanuel 
Stiftung.” 

Eduard Gumpertz (Gustav) Speyer : Banker: 
born at Frankfort Feb. 4, 1825; died there July 23, 
1883; brother of Philip Speyer. In 1845 he joined 
his brother in New York, and remained there till 
3863, when he returned to Frankfort. 

Philip Speyer : American banker; born at 


Frankfort; died at New York; brother of Eduard 
Gumpertz Speyer. He emigrated to the United 
States and founded (1837) in the city of New York 

f'f .“ Ug - h0USe of Plli,i P Speyer & Co., which 
Jatei (lb *6) adopted the firm name of Speyer & Co. 

James Joseph Speyer: American banker; born 
m the city of New York July 22, 1861; eldest son 
of Eduard Gumpertz Speyer. He was educated at 
the public school of Frankfort, entered his father’s 
banking-house there (now the firm of Lazard Speyer- 
Elliseu), and was employed in the Paris and Lou- 
don branches; in 1885 he returned to New York 
m which city he is at present (1905) residing. In 
1900 he became the senior member of the New York 
Him of Speyer & Co. Speyer has been much inter- 
ested in charitable work in New York 
Edgar Speyer: English banker; born in the city 
of New \ork Sept. 7, 1862; younger son of Eduard 
Gumpertz Speyer. He was educated in the public 
school of Frankfort, joined his father’s banking- 
house, and in 1886 went to London, where he is now 
(190o) the senior member of the banking-house of 
bpeyer Brothers. 

Eibliography : Baer, Stammtafeln dev Familie Sneupv 
m * American Jewish Year Book* 
Dbbo (19(b), TT ho s TT ho in JS T ew 1 ork City and State , 3904. 

Am F. T. II. 

SPEYER, JACOB SAMUEL: Dutch philolo- 
gist; born at Amsterdam Dec. 20, 1S49. He studied 
at Amsterdam and at Leyden (Ph.D. 1872); and 
thereafter officiated as teacher at Hoorn and (1873- 
1888)^at the gymnasium of Amsterdam. On Oct 
15, 1877, he was appointed lecturer in Sanskrit ami 
comparative philology at the University of Amster- 
dam, and he was about to receive a professorship 
there when he was called to Groningen (Deo. 19 
1888) as professor of Latin. He held this chair until 
March 20, 1908, when lie was appointed to succeed 
his former teacher II. Kern as professor of Sanskrit 
at the university of Le3 r den. 

S P e 3' er is the author of the following works- 
“Specimen .Inaugurate de Ceremonia apud Indos 
Qusb Vocatur Jatakarma”; “Lanx Satura, ” 1886 
(Program of the Gymnasium of Amsterdam) ; “ San- 
Leyden, 18S6; “Plautus' Captivi,* 
1887 ; “ Observationes et Emendationes,” 1891 ; “ y e - 
dische- und Sanskritsyntax ” (in Bidder’s “ Grund- 
nss der Indo-Arischen Philologie ”)> 1896- “Pheedri 
F ^/2 89 l\ a “ d “ Latijnsche Spraakkunst ” (2d 
ed 18r8-S0; 3d ed. 1900-1). He also made an Eng- 
lish translation of the Sanskrit “ Jatakamala,” which 
appeared in “ Bijdragen van het Instituut voor Taal- 
7<foo «f n V 'hkenkunde van Nederlandsch Indie,” 
1893-94, and m the “ Sacred Books of the Buddhists ” 

(ed. F. Max Muller), vol. i. ; as well as an Eng- 
lish version of the “ Avadanagataka, ” which consti- 
tutes No. 3 of the u Bibliotheca Buddhica” (St. 
Petersburg, 1902-5). Speyer is a member of the 
Boyal Academy of Arts and Sciences, and a knight 
of the Order of the Netherlands Lion. From 1893 
to 1904 he was editor of the “ Museum. ” 

Bibliography: Groningsch Jaarhnek. 1889: Qnze HoooIpp 
'' Grnnin ° scUe Studmtm AI- 

s - E. Sr,. 

SPICES : Aromatic vegetable substances used in 
preparing food or in compounding salves or per- 



509 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Speyer 

Spielmann 


fames. With the exception of salt, no condiments 
were known to the ancient Jews, and even cinna- 
mon, with which the Hebrews were familiar, was 
■employed only in unguents and similar mixtures, 
while aromatic herbs and spices found their sole use 
in the preparation of mulled wine (see W ine). With a 
■single exception, all the ingredients of unguents and 
perfumes were vegetable. This exception, called 
“ shehelet ” (A. Y. “onvclia”), the operculum of a 
variety of mussel found in the Red Sea, formed one 
■of the four components of the incense burned in the 
Temple. It is still used in the East, for, though it 
exhales a disagreeable odor when burned alone, it 
gives the requisite pungency to a composition of 
several spices. Such animal substances as amber- 
gris and musk seem to have been entirely unknown 
to the ancient Hebrews. 

Many of the plants from which spices were ob- 
tained are described in special articles (see*\.LOES; 
Balm; Balsam; Bdellium; Calamus; Cassia; 
Cinnamon; Fkankincense; Spikenard; Stacte; 
Stokax). To these may be added the bitter, odor- 
ous gum galbanum (“ helbenah ”), another compo- 
nent of incense (Ex. xxx. 34), which is described 
in Ecclus. (Siracli) xxiv. 15 as yielding a pleasant 
udor, and which was regarded by the ancients as the 
pith of the narthex, although the common Persian 
feruhe of the family of the Umbellifem contain a 
pith with an odor of peculiar strength and likewise 
■called galbanum. The odor of this alone is by no 
means pleasant, but when mixed \n ith othet scents, 
ft adds, like shehelet, an agreeable pungency. It 
is used also for the extermination of insects, and 
In therapeutics it is employed as an aphrodisiac. 

There are no details regarding the preparation of 
these vegetable products; the modern method of ex- 
tracting the ethereal oils by distillation was un- 
known to the ancient Jews. The aromatic elements 
■of such gums and woods as could not be used in | 
their natural state were obtained by boiling the sub- 
stances in oils or fats (comp. Job xli. 23). The 
fondness of the Orientals, of botli ancient and mod- 
ern times, for incense and perfumed unguents nat- 
urally created an extensive traffic in spices; and 
the fact that there were professional perfumers 
•shows that the art of manufacturing perfumes by 
various combinations had readied a high stage 
of development (see I Sam. viii. 13 ; Nell. iii. 8). 
e. g. h. ® E ‘ 

SPICKER, MAX: German musician ; born at 
Konigsberg, Prussia, Aug, 16, 1858. Educated at 
the Conservatorium, Leipsic, he in 1878 traveled 
with the violinist Miska Hauser through Germany 
and Russia. He held the position of conductor 
•of the opera successively at Heidelberg, Cologne, 
■Ghent Aix-la-Chapelle, Potsdam (Royal Theater), 
and Hamburg. In 1883 he became conductor of the 
Beethoven Mannerchor, New York, and in 1889 
(together with Anton Seidl) of the orchestral con- 
certs at Brighton Beach near that city. In 1891 he 
became musical director of Temple Emanu-El. New 

York. £ , . . 

Spicker has written several works, of which may 
be mentioned: “Anthology of Oratorio,” New 
York, 1800; “Anthology of Opera,” ib. l89o; (with 


William Sparger) “The Synagogal Service,” ib. He 
has, besides, edited “The Masterpieces of Vocaliza- 
tion.” 

Bibliography : American Jewish Year Book , 5665 (1905). 
a. F. T. H. 

SPIDER. See Insects. 

SPIEGEL, FREDERICK S. : American ju- 
rist; born at Hovestadt, Westphalia, Prussia, Nov. 

20, 1858. He attended the gymnasium at Pader- 
born, Westphalia, until his fourteenth year, when 
his parents emigrated to the United States, settling 
in Gadsden, Ala. Here he attended the Southern 
Institute, from which he was graduated in 1877, 
whereupon he took up the study of law at the Col- 
lege of Cincinnati, Ohio. In 1881 he was appointed 
chief of the bureau of statistics of the state of 
Ohio, and during his term of office he revised the 
system of compiling statistics: he also published at 
Columbus a year-book of the history of Ohio. U pon 
returning to Cincinnati he practised law and was 
elected a member of the Cincinnati Board of Educa- 
tion, serving as chairman of its German department, 
in which capacity he inaugurated a new method of 
studying the German language. In 1890 he was 
elected county solicitor, and was reelected in 1893. 
In 1896, and again in 1901, he was elected a justice 
of the court of common pleas of the first judicial 
district of the state. Spiegel has taken active in- 
terest in the affairs of the Independent Order B’nai 
B’ritli, having served as president of its district 
No. 2 and as chairman of its district court, and being 
at present (1905) a member of the supreme court of 
the order. He has contributed numerous essays on 
legal and other topics to various journals. 
a. F. T. II 

SPIELMANN, SIR ISIDORE : English engi- 
neer and communal worker; born in London Juty 21, 
1S54, He was trained as an engineer, but developed 
oreat interest in matters relating to art, and in 1887 
he suggested the idea of the Anglo- Jewish Histor- 
ical Exhibition, of the executive committee of which 
he was honorary secretary from inception to close, 
besides being the leading spirit of tlie whole move- 
ment. He was president of the Jewish Historical 
Society of England from.1902 to 1904. The experi- 
ence gained in the Anglo- Jewish Historical Exhibi- 
tion enabled him to be of great assistance marram 
gino - the historical exhibits relating to theTudoi, 
Stuart, and Guelph periods at tlie New Gallery 
(1890-93). He was appointed honorary secretary and- 
director of the British section of the Brussels Exhi- 
bition in 1897, in connection with which he was 
made an officer of the Order of Leopold. He was 
also honorary secretary and director ot the Bntisli 
fine art section of the Paris Exhibition (1900), the 
Glasgow Exhibition (1901), and the St. Louis Expo- 
sition (1904), In recognition of these services he was 
knighted in 1905. Asked to take a similar position 
with regard to the Russian Fine Art Exhibition in 
1902, he indignantly refused on the ground that on 
account of being a Jew he would have to ask per- 
mission to enter Russia as a tavoi. 

Spielmann is a member of the Russo-Jewish Com- 
mittee. in which capacity he edited “Daikest Rus- 
sia” (1890-92), a journal especially devoted to ex- 


Spielmann 

Spinoza 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


510 


posing the ill treatment of Jews by the liussian 
government. Spielmann is interested also in the 
more progressive religious movement in Judaism 
and is honorary secretary of the Jewish Religious 
union. 

Bibliography : Jewish Year Book, 5665; TF7io’,s Who, 1905, 

’ J. * 

SPIELMANN, MARION H. : English author 
and art critic; born in London May 22, 1858* edu- 
rated at University College School' and University 
College, London. lie began liis training as art critic 
on the “ Pall Mall Gazette” (1883-90), for which he 
wrote articles on the works of G. P. Watts, R.A. 
and Henriette Ronner. In 1890 he was art critic on 
the “Daily Graphic,” and in 1891 art editor and 
part founder of “Black and White.” In 1898 he 
was appointed editor of the “Magazine of Art,” in 
winch post he remained until 1905, when the pub- 
lication ceased. 

Spielmann has written “History of Punch ” (Lon- 
don, 1895), “Millais and His Works” lib. 1898) 
•John Rusk-in" (ib. 1900), “British Sculpture and 
Sculptors of To-day ” (ib. 1901), and “ Charles Keene 
Etcher ” (ib. 1903). He was appointed sole juror for 
England in the Brussels Pine Art Exhibition (1898). 
and has done much toward altering the conditions 
under which works were purchased for the Chan 
tiey bequest by the Royal Academy. 

Bibliography: Who's Who , 1905. 


Inquisition were introduced among us, countless 
numbers of them would be condemned to the stake; 
for countless numbers combine the adherence to 
Jewish customs with the observance of the Christian 
religion.” 

. Tho idea of the introduction of the Inquisition 
into Spam originated with Spina. Together with 
the dignitaries of his order he called upon the chap- 
ter of the Order of St. Jerome (Aug 10 1461) to 
press this plan for the benefit of the state and tho 
Church, soon gaining the ear of King Henry, who 
piomised to lay the matter before his cabinet. 

, Jo , st ’ Gc$ch. cleg Judcnthumg uml Seiner 


s 


M. K. 


SPINA (ESPINA), ALFONSO DE : One of 

the most inveterate enemies of the Jews and of Ju- 
daism— to which he never belonged, despite the as- 
sertions of Jost and of Amador de los Rios He 
was general of the Order of Franciscans, rector of 
the University of Salamanca, and confessor of 
Iumg Hemy IV. of Castile; and be accompanied the 
once-powerful minister Alvaro de Luna to the 
place of execution. The unremitting efforts of 
Spina were devoted to the utter destruction of the 
Jewish race, Jews as well as Jewish converts to 
Christianity, or, as lie termed them, “ Judies pub- 
bcos, ’ those who publicly and obstinately clung to 
their faith, and “ Judios ocultos,” or secret Jews. 

Highly esteemed for his eloquence, Spina contin- 
ually made the Jews the butt of attacks in his ser- 
"V 3 ”?;, aad in the Latin work entitled “Portalitium 
Pidei (Nuremberg, 1494; Lyons, loll, 1525), which 
he wrote in refutation of Judaism and Islam, lie- col- 
lected all the accusations brought against the Jews— 
those of poisoning the wells, desecrating the host 
and murdering of Christian children for ritual pur- 
poses : whatever the enemies of the Jews had written 
or recounted lie. presented as truth. The entire 
third book of this work was devoted to them and 
served, curiously enough, as a source for Samuel 
Usque’s chronicle (“F. F.” = “Fortalitium Pidei ”). 
To inflame the popular hatred Spina accused the 
Jews of neglecting to cultivate or defend their fields 
of appropriating the results of the Christians’ labors! 
and of ingratitude toward Spain, where they fared 
better than did their coreligionists in any other 
country. He was especially bitter in his attacks 
upon the secret Jews, mercilessly demanding that 
they be burned. “ I believe, ” said lie, “ that if a real 


SPINGA M, JOEL ELIAS: American edu- 
cator; born m New York city May 17, 1870, He 
was gi ad uated from Columbia University in 1895 
and took postgraduate courses at Harvard and Co- 
lumbia universities (Pli.D. 1899). In 1899 be was 
appointed tutor and in the following year adjunct 
professor of comparative literature at liis alma mater 
Spingarn is the author of; “A History of Liter- 
ary Criticism in the Renaissance ” (New York 1899- 
translated into Italian, 1904); “The New Hesperi- 

1901) ^ 1901 ^’ alKl “ Americau Scholarship” (ib. 
BmuoG.urnv: m,o’s Who in New I'm* City and State. 


F. T. II. 

SPINNHOLZ. Sec Marriage Ceremonies. 

SPINNING : Spinning and weaving arc arts of 
extreme antiquity, dating back even to prehistoric 
times. The Egyptians were especially expert in 
them, t.ieir white linen textures being of such fine- 
ness as to be diaphanous, while in softness their 
materials were almost comparable with silk. The 
tlirrads used in the wrappings of the mummies ef 
the Pharaohs were almost inconceivably delicate, tiie 
warp of the bandage around the muinmyof Thothines 
IH. containing 150 threads and- the woof 75 threads 
per inch. It has been calculated that one of these 
ill reads CO miles in length would weigh only one 
pound The Egyptian tomb-paintings represent the 
method of spinning; they show women who-turu 
. two spindles simultaneously, twistin<>- 
gyptian each of the two threads from two dif- 
Spmners. ferent kinds of flax. In like manner 
a certain degree of skill in spiniiiim- 
may ho presumed to have existed at a relatively 
early period among the Hebrews. 

The raw materials in ancient, times were flax the 
wool of sheep, and the hair of goats and camels. 
At a later time Cotton and silk also were used; 
and the wool of sheep and the hair of camels were 
made into tentiugs and mantles, and probably also 
into garments of mourning (“ sak”). The most usual 
materials, however, were ivool and flax. The term 
vool ( zemei ) by itself is restricted to the wool 
ot sheep. As soon as shorn the fleece was washed 
m hot water to which alkalis lmd previously been 
added. At a later period, in case an especially fine 
and delicate wool was desired, the young animal 


511 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Spielmann 

Spinoza 


was wrapped immediately after Dirtli in a cloth 
which protected its wool against any stains, 'lhe 
wool after being washed and bleached (*‘ libben ”) was 
beaten (“nippez ”) with sticks to disentangle it, and 
was then picked with the fingers to rid it of any 
knots, after which it was carded (“sarak ”). All of 
these operations were originally^ work of the house- 
hold; but in later times the carding of wool became 
a distinct trade. 

According to the Mishnali, the wool-cardei was 
universally despised, and wore a woolen cord about 
his neck as an emblem of his trade. At the present 
time in Palestine he performs his task with the help 
of a large bow, whose taut cord is kept in constant 
vibration by the blows of a hammer and in its oscil- 
lations divides the wool with extreme fineness. The 
same process of carding may have been employed 
in ancient times. The Mishnali describes anothei 
method which was rather a combing of the wool : 
the carder had an iron comb, apparently consisting 
of a leather back set with one or two rows of iron 
pegs. This comb he laid on his knee and drew’ the 
wool handful by handful through \t. The hair of 
goats and camels was treated in a similar fashion. 

& The preparation of flax is described in the Misli- 
nali : the stalks were torn out of the ground, laid in 
order, and beaten with sticks to free them from 
the capsules. In Egypt, as is evident from ancient 
Egyptian paintings, they were boiled 
Prepara- in a large vessel and thus freed from 
tion all woody substance. This same pur- 
' of Flax. pose is served by the flax-liorses de- 
scribed in the Mishnali. ■ The stalks 
were dried in the sun (Josh. ii. 6), and then laid in 
a pit of water exposed to the light, being held under 
the water by stones until their woody substance 
rotted away. The stalks were then redried in the 
sun or in an oven, and were beaten with a wooden 
mallet to free the fibers from their outer covering. 
Finally the fibers were hackled, so that the longer 
ones, which were suitable for spinning, might be 
separated from the shorter ones, which were used 
only for wicks, cords, and similar objects. Hack- 
ling was done both by men and by women (Isa. xix. 
9; read jYip-|£$>). The raw materials thus prepared 
were then ready for the spinners, whose task it was 
to spin long threads from the short filaments. 

The tools were very simple, consisting of the spin- 
dle and the distaff (comp. Prov. xxxi. 19), the spin- 
ning-wheel being unknown in antiquity. The dis- 
tal!' (“kitor,” ib . ; “imah ” in the Mishnali) consisted 
of a reed* about which the carded wool or the hack- 
led flax was wound. This was held by the spinnei 
in his left hand, while with his right he drew out 
the thread. The spindle was a reed about a foot in 
length, with a hook at the top to which the tin cad 
drawn* from the distaff was fastened. At the base 
of the spindle was a whorl— a perforated ball of 
clay or a round stone pierced with a hole or a ring 
of metal, which served to weight the spindle and to 
keep it upright during the spinning. When the 
first part of the thread had been spun by hand, it 
was fastened to the spindle, which was set in mo- 
tion with the right hand, and while the thread was 
thus being twisted the raw material was drawn as 
needed from the supply on the distaff, the spun 


thread being then wound upon the spindle. r Ihe 
excavations of the English and German Palestine 
exploration societies have unearthed many of these 
whorls of clay, stone, and metal at Tell al-Hasi and 
Tell al-Mutasaliim. 

Spinning is now done in Palestine by men and 
women alike; and fellahs are frequently seen spin- 
ning as they walk. In ancient Hebrew times it 
seems to have been an occupation restricted to 
women— at least men are never mentioned as spin- 
ners — while in the praise bestowed on virtuous 
women spinning is mentioned as an occupation es- 
sentially feminine (Prov. l.e . ; comp. Ex xxv. 25 el 
seq . ; Tobit ii. 19). 

e. G, ii. ljK * 

SPINOZA, BARUCH (BENEDICT DE 
SPINOZA) : Dutch philosopher and Biblical critic ; 
born at Amsterdam Nov. 24. 1632; died at The 
Hague Feb. 21, 1677. The family name is derived 
from the town of Espinosa, in Leon, not far from the 
city of Burgos. Baruch’s grandfather, Abraham 
Michael de Spinoza, was one of the leaders of the 
Sephardic community of Amsterdam, being presi- 
dent thereof in 1639. His father, Michael de Spi- 
noza, was a merchant who married twice, and 
had three children — two daughters, Miriam and 
Rebekali, by his first wife, who died in 1627, and a 
son, the philosopher, by his second wife, Hannah 
Deborah, who died in 1638. Miriam married a 
brother of Simon de Caceres. 

Spinoza was trained at the communal school, and 
at. the Pereira yeshibali, over which Isaac de Fou- 
seca Aboab, Manasseli ben Israel, and Saul Morteira 
presided. There he studied, from eight to eleven m 
the morning and from two to five in the afternoon, 
Hebrew, Bible, Talmudic literature, and, toward 
the end of bis course, some of the Jewish philoso- 
phers, certainly Maimonides, Gersonides, and Hasdai 
Crescas. It was probably during this period that lie 
studied also Abraham ibn Ezra's commentaries. The 
amount of his cabalistic knowledge is somewhat 
doubtful, but both Manasseli ben Israel and Mor- 
teira were adepts in Cabala. Spinoza "was atti acted 
by the atmosphere of free thought characteristic of 
the Dutch capital. He learned Latin, immediately 
after leaving school, from Franz van den Lnde, an 
adventurer and poly liistor who lmd established him- 
self in Amsterdam; under him he studied as well 
mathematics, physics, mechanics, astronomy, chem- 
istry, and the medicine of the day. Spinoza like- 
wise acquired a knowledge of the scholasticism de- 
veloped in the school of Thomas Aquinas. 

Epoch-making for the development of Spinoza s 
thought was his acquaintance with the works of 
Descartes, who led Europe in the attempt to found 
a philosophy based upon reason, not tradition 
But the application of such an idea to Judaism could 
only be disastrous, and shortly after leaving the 
Pereira yeshibali rumors became persistent that 
young Spinoza had given utterance to heretical 
views, such as had led Uriel Acosta and Oiobio 
de Castro into trouble. It would- appear that no 
action was taken during the life of Spinoza s fathei. 
who died March 28, 1654, and there is evidence that 
Baruch was “called up to the Law” in synagogue 
on Dec. 5, 1654, offering a small sum as a ,l mi she- 


Spinoza 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


512 


berak. ” It is recorded that his relatives disputed his 
€laim to ail}* share in his father’s estate, and that he 
found it necessary to resort to legal proceedings, or 
the threat of them, to secure his rights; but, having 
obtained them, he took possession only of the bes* 
bed as a kind of heirloom. 

I his was probably after his heretical views had 
been formally ascertained, according to rabbinical 
law, by two of his companions, who put questions 
to him which elicited liis opinion that, according to 
the Scripture, angels were merely fantoms, that the 
soul is identified in the Bible with life and is re- 
garded as mortal, and that in calling God “great” 
the Scripture at- 
tributes to Him 
extension, that is, 
body. This last 
statement is of 
considerable in- 
terest in view of 
Spinoza’s later 
philosophic doc- 
trines on this 
point. He was 
summoned before 
the bet din, and 
seems to have 
made no conceal- 
ment of his views; 
it is claimed that 
his teacher Mor- 
teira offered him, 
on behalf of the 
congregation, a 
pension of 1,000 
florins a year pro- 
vided he would 
not give public 
utterance to his 
heretical views. 

This Marano ex- 
pedient was re- 
fused, and the 
congregation pro- 
c e e d e d to his 
formal excommu- 
nication on July 
27, 1656, which 
was regularly re- 
ported to the Am- 
sterdam magis- 



Barueh Spinoza. 

(From a miniature in possession of the Queen 


of Holland.) 


trates. This latter action shows that the main ob- 
ject of the excommunication was to disavow on the 
part of the community any participation in Spino- 
za s pernicious views, and was a natural pre- 
caution on the part of a set of men only recently 
released from persecution on account of their opin- 
ions and only half trusting in the toleration of the 
authorities of the land. At the same time there is 
no doubt that considerable feeling was aroused by 
Spinoza’s views, and it is reported that a fanatical 
Jew. even raised a dagger against him as he was 
leaving either the synagogue or the theater. Freu- 
denthal suggests that this happened during an alter- 
cation with Spinoza himself. 

Spinoza was thus cast out at the age of twenty- 


three from all communion with men of his own faith 
and race, and there is no evidence of his coming into 
communication with a single Jewish soul from that 
time to his death (the “I. 0.” among 
Friends his correspondents, formerly assumed 
and to be Isaac Orobio, turned out to be 
Disciples. Jacob Oosten). It is clear that Spi- 
noza had already formed a circle of 
fiiends and disciples, mainly of the Mennonite sect 
known as Collegiants, whose doctrines were similar 
to those of the Quakers; and that he had attended a 
philosophical club composed mainly of these sect- 
aries, one of whom, Simon de Vries, acted as secre- 
tary. After his 
excom m u nication 
Spinoza found it 
desirable to take 
up his abode with 
a Collegiaut 
friend who lived 
two or three miles 
outside of Am- 
sterdam on the 
O uderkerk road , 
near the old Jew- 
ish cemetery. 
There he commu- 
nicated with his 
friends in Amster- 
dam by letter, and 
they seem to have 
submitted to him 
their difficulties 
in the same way, 
leading to a regu- 
lar philosophical 
correspondence. 
As a means of liv- 
ing Spinoza re- 
sorted to the call- 
ing of a practical 
optician, in which 
his mathematical 
knowledge was 
valuable, and he 
also appears to 
have taken pupils 
in philosophy, and 
even in Latin and 
Hebrew. He re- 
mained in his new 
abode five years, during which he wrote a defense 
of his position, afterward extended into the “ Trac- 
tatus Theologico-Politicus,” and a short tractate on 
“God, Man, and Happiness,” afterward developed 
into his “ Ethics. ” 

In 1661 Spinoza removed to Rhijnsburg, near 
Leyden, then the center of the Collegiants activity 
Here he spent the two most fruitful years of his life, 
during which he prepared for a pupil a resume of 
the Cartesian philosophy, presenting it in a geomet- 
ric form; composed his treatise on philosophical 
method, “De Intellects Emendatione,” which, 
however, remained unfinished; and wrote at least 
the beginning of his “Ethics,” adopting the same 
I geometric form. lie finished the “Ethics ” in Aug 



513 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Spinoza 


1665, at Voorburg, a suburb of The Hague, to 
which he had removed in April, 1668, probably to be 
near the De Witt brothers, then at the height of 
their power. John de Witt had become acquainted 
with Spinoza, and either at this time, or a little 
later, gave him a small pension. From Voorburg 
Spinoza used to send portions of his “Ethics, 77 
written in Dutch, to his band of disciples in Amster- 
dam, who translated them into Latin and wrote him 
letters in the same language dealing with the diffi- 
culties of his theories. Before publishing this work, 
however, so subversive of the ordinary views of 
theology and philosophy, Spinoza determined to 
pave the way by an animated plea for liberty of 
thought and expression in the commonwealth. To 
this he devoted the next four years, the result being 
the “Tractatus Theologico-Politicus.” This was 
published in 1670, without the author’s name, and it 
brought such a storm of opprobrium that it was 
formally proscribed by the Synod of Dort and by 
the States General of Holland, Zealand, and West 
Friesland. It was found necessary, in order to evade 
this censure, to publish the work under false titles, 
representing it sometimes as a medical, sometimes 
as a historical, work. 

This reception somewhat alarmed Spinoza, who, 
hearing in the following year (1671 ) that a Dutch 
translation was contemplated, urged his friends to 
prevent its appearance. Spinoza’s reputation as a 
thinker, however, had by this time been fully estab- 
lished by his two published works, and lie was con- 
sulted both personally and by letter by many impor- 
tant scientific men of the day, including Oldenburg, 
secretary of the Boyal Society, London ; Huygens, 
the optician ; Louis Meyer, the physician ; and Count 
von ■ Tschirnhausen, afterward the discoverer of a 
new method of obtaining phosphorus and the redis- 
coverer of the method of producing porcelain. 
Through von Tschirnhausen, Spinoza came into 
correspondence with Leibnitz, then (1672) in Palis. 
He appears to have had some suspicions of Leib- 
nitz’s trustworthiness, and it was not till four years 
later, when the brilliant young diplomat visited him 
at The Hague, that Spinoza exposed his full mind 
to Leibnitz and produced that epoch-making effect 
upon the latter which dominated European thought 
in the eighteenth century. 

Spiuoza settled at Tlie Hague in 1670, possibly to 
be near his patron John de Witt, who was soon to 
fall under the assassin’s dagger (1672). Spinoza 
was so aroused from his ordinary calmness by this 
act that he was with difficulty prevented from pub- 
licly denouncing it. The following 

At The year he received and refused an offer of 

Hague a professorship in philosophy at Hci- 

( 1670 - 77 ). delberg University from the elector 
palatine. A somewhat mysterious 
visit to the French invading army in 1674 is the 
only remaining incident in Spinoza’s life, which was 
drawing to a close. He had a liereditaiy tendenc3 y to 
consumption derived from his mother, and this can 
not have failed to he intensified by the inhalation of 
particles of crystal incidental to his means of liveli- 
hood. He died, while his landlady was at church, 
in the presence of his physician, Louis Meyer. 

Spinoza left a considerable library, for the pur- 
XI. —38 


chase of which, in all probability, the pensions he 
received from his patron John de Witt and from 
his friend Simon de Vries were spent ; a number of 
finished glasses which, owing to his reputation as an 
optician, brought high prices; and a few engravings 
and articles of furniture. The sum realized from the 
auction of his effects was so small that his sister 
Bebekali did not find it worth while to make appli- 
cation therefor. His funeral was attended by a n um - 
her of his disciples and friends, who filled six coaches 
1-Ie was buried in the cemetery of the new church on 
the Spuy, in a grave which can no longer be identi- 
fied, His biographer, Colerus, however, asserts that 
he was never received into any Christian commu- 
nity, and Spinoza in one of his letters (Ixxiii., ed. 
Land) expressly declared that to him the notion that 
God took upon Himself the nature of man seemed 
as self-contradictory as would be the statement 
that “the circle has taken on the 
nature of the square.” lie thus 
lived and died apart from either 
Jewish or Christian prepossessions, 
in the greatest spiritual isolation, 
which enabled him to regard human 
affairs with complete detachment; seal of Spinoza, 
at the same time, however, his calm, 
prudent, and kindly nature was not estranged from 
the simple pleasures of the ordinary life of the 
citizen. 

As has been mentioned above, only two of Spi- 
noza’s works were published during his lifetime*. 
“Benati Des Cartes Principiorum Philosophise Pars 
i. et ii. More Geometrico Demonstrate per Bene' 
dictum de Spinoza Amstelodamensem. Acces- 
serunt Ejusdem Cogitata Metapliysica,” Amster- 
dam, 1663, and “Tractatus Theologico-Politicus,” 
published without the author’s name and printed 
professedly at Hamburg, though really at Amster- 
dam, 1670. The latter work was published two years 
later as the “ Opera Cliirurgica ” of Francisci Vijla- 
corta, or astlie “Operum Historicorum Collectio” 
of Daniel Heinsius. The remainder of Spinoza’s 
works appeared in the year of his death (1677) at 
Amsterdam under the title “B. d. S. Opera Pos- 
thuma.” They included the “Ethica,” 
Works. the “ Tractatus Politicus, ” the “ Trac- 
tatus de Intellects Emendatione,” the 
“Epistolae,” both from and to Spinoza, and the 
“ Compendium Grammatices Linguae Hebrew. ” The 
same works appeared simultaneously in Dutch under 
the title “De Nagelate Schriften van B. d. S.” ; as 
it seems that Spinoza sent his “ Ethics 77 in the first 
place in Dutch to liis disciples at Amsterdam, it is 
probable that this edition contains the original draft 
of the work. About 1852 traces were found of the 
short tractate (“Korte Verhandeling ”) which was 
the basis of the “Ethics,” and likewise, in theColle- 
giant archives at Amsterdam, a number of letters; 
these were published by VanVlotenas Ad Bene- 
dict! de Spinoza Opera Qu» Supersunt Omnia Sup- 
plementum,” Amsterdam, 1S62, including a tractate 
on the rainbow which was thought to have been 
lost, but which appeared at The Hague in 168/. 
Apart from the “Tractatus Theologico-Politicus,” 
none of Ills works has been reproduced iu the orig- 
inal in a separate edition, but they have always ap- 




Spinoza 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


514 


peared as his “ Opera Omnia,” of which editions 
have been prepared by E. G. Panins (Jena, 1802), 

A. Gfrorer (Stuttgart, 1830), C. II. Bruder (Leipsic, 
1843), I-I. Ginzberg (lb. 1874-78), and Van Vloten 
and Land (2 vols., The Hague, 1883; 3 vols., ib. 
1S95), the last being at present the standard edi- 
tion. Translations have been made into German by 

B. Auerbach (Stuttgart, 1841), into English by B 
Willis (1862-70) and B. H. M. Elwes ^(1883), into 
French by E. Saisset (Paris, 1842); of the ‘’ Ethics” 
alone there have been published English versions by 
B. Willis, 1870, and Hale White, 1883, and a Hebrew 
version by S. Bubin (Vienna, 1887). An edition 
and translation of the “ Korte Verhandeling ” were 
produced, by G. Schaarschmidt (Leipsic, 1874), as 
well as a translation by C. Sigwart (Tubingen, 1870). 

There are four portraits extant of Spinoza, one 
an engraving attached to the “Opera Posthuma”; a 
second one at 
Wolfenbiittel ; 
a third one at 
the beginning of 
Schaarschmidt’s 
edition of the 
“Korte Verhan- 
deling,” from a 
miniature for- 
merly in the 
possession of the 
late Queen of 
Holland ; and, 
finally, one in 
the possession of 
the Hon. Mayer 
Sulzberger. The 
last can be traced 
to the possession 
of Cardinal de 
Rohan, to whom 
it is stated to 
have been given 
by Jewish ten- 
antsofhis. It is 
signed “ W. V., 1672 ” (or 1673), which would corre- 
spond to the initials of the painter W. Vaillant, who 
was living at Amsterdam in that year; Vaillant 
painted the portrait of the elector Karl Lud- 
wig, who, in the following year, invited Spinoza 
to Heidelberg. This portrait has clearly Jewish 
features, thus agreeing with the Queen of Holland 
miniature, whereas the Wolfenbiittel portrait is en- 
tirely without Jewish traits. Colerus declares that 
Spinoza was of marked Jewish t} r pe, which would 
confirm the authenticity of the Vaillant picture, 
though this has, unfortunately, been “restored.” 

It has hitherto remained unpublished, but is given 
in facsimile as the frontispiece to this volume of Tub 
Jewish Encyclopedia. 

It has been both asserted and denied that the 
thoughts developed in Spinoza’s short life of forty- 
four years, and put forth anonymously 
Philoso- after his death with such remarkable 
pLy. influence on the history of European 
speculation for at least the last one 
hundred and fifty years, were derived in large 
measure from his Jewish training and reading. 


The question is a very difficult one to decide, 
owing to the close-linked chain of Spinoza’s thought, ’ 
which he designedly made in his “ Ethics ” a contin- 
uous course of reasoning, each proposition being de- 
pendent upon the preceding, exactly after the man- 
ner of Euclid. In order to determine the extent of 
his Jewish indebtedness it is necessary, therefore, to 
attempt some slight sketch of his whole system. 
Apart from this object it deserves such exposition as 
the most influential body of doctrine ever produced 
by a Jew since Philo. 

The key to Spinoza’s philosophic system is to be 
found in liis method of investigation as indicated in 
the fragmentary “De Intellectus Emendatione.” 
Finding that none of the ordinary objects of man’s 
desire— wealth, power, and the like— affords perma- 
nent satisfaction, Spinoza came to the conclusion that 
only the attainment of truth gives that increase of 

power and ac- 
companying joy 
which can be de- 
scribed as true 
happiness or sal 
vation. Turning 
to the search for 
truth, he found 
the powers of 
the mind to be of 
a treble nature, 
each particular 
function yield- 
ing knowledge 
of various de- 
grees of adequa- 
cy: (1) imagina- 
tion, yielding 
only confused 
and inadequate 
ideas; (2) reason, 
giving the es- 
sences of things, 
and ( 3 ) intui- 
tion, disclosing 
the fundamental principles uniting those essences 
into a system and connecting individual things 
with those principles. The logical foundation 
of his whole system lies in the denial of the 
validity of all relative propositions, leaving the 
Absolute as the sole reality of the universe. On 
this see B. Bussell, “ Principles of Mathematics ” 
(p. 448, Cambridge, 1903), which work is so far a 
justification of Spinoza’s method in that it; proves 
the possibility of deducing all the principles of pure 
mathematics and physics from a certain number of 
indefinables and indemonstrables. All turns with 
Spinoza, as with Descartes and the scholastics, on 
getting true and adequate knowledge of the essences 
of things. All the essences, when presented to the 
mind, carry with them a conviction of their own 
truth, and, as they can not contradict one another, 
they form a system of truths deduced from one 
principle as their primary cause. Such a principle 
can only be God, from whose qualities all the es- 
sences of things must flow as a matter of necessity, 
or, in other words, be “caused,” since Spinoza does 
not distinguish between logical dependence and 



Spinoza’s Residence at Uhijnsburg. 


(From a photograph.) 


515 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Spinoza 


dynamic causation. In this way liis logic passes 
over into liis metaphysics, and in attempting to de- 
termine the cause of things, from the contemplation 
of which he is to obtain salvation, Spinoza has to 
determine the essences of things and their relation 
to the Highest Reality. 

This Highest Reality is called bj r Spinoza, at the 
beginning of his “Ethics,” to which attention may 
now be directed, either (a) substance, 
Ontology, that by which all things subsist, (b) the 
self-caused (“ causa sui ”), that which is 
not dependent for its existence on that of anotner, 
or, finally, (c) God. The problem of Spinoza’s phi- 
losophy is to 
connect this be- 
ing, or principle, 
which is rigidly 
one, or rather 
unique, since 
there is none 
other, with the 
multiplicity of 
things and per- 
sons constitu- 
ting the world of 
imagination. 

This he does by 
positing inter- 
mediate states of 
being which 
present different 
aspects of the 
One. God, be- 
ing self-caused 
and, therefore, 
infinite, must 
have infinite as- 
pects, or attri- 
butes. Two only 
of these are 
known to man. 
extension and 
thought, which 
sum up the world 
a s li u m a n 1 y 
known. These 
attributes are perfectly parallel one to the other, all 
portions of extension or space, having attached to 
them, as it were, corresponding ideas or thoughts, 
though these in Spinoza’s curious psychology are not 
necessarily conscious, and certainly not self-conscious. 
But these attributes being infinite, like their sub- 
stance, can not constitute finite beings, which are 
due to modifications of these attributes, called by 
Spinoza modes. Some of these modes are immediate, 
infinite, and eternal, as “motion” iii the attribute 
of extension, and “infinite intellect” in the attribute 
of thought. Others, again, are mediate, though still 
infinite and eternal, and these constitute in the 
sphere of extension the material universe (“facies 
totius universi ”), and in the attribute of thought 
the infinite idea of God. Finally, it would seem— 
though Spinoza’s thought is by no means clear and 
consistent on this point — that the modifications of 
Deity in these modes, being part of a system, conflict 
and struggle for existence in their claims to reality. 


and in this conflict give rise to individual things and 
persons, each of which has a tendency to self-preser- 
vation (“ conatus sese eonservandi ”). In addition, 
God regarded as a substance with infinite attributes 
and yielding the essences of things is termed “na- 
tura naturans,” whereas God in His relation to the 
modes of existence is termed “natura naturata.” 
The whole scheme of things thus sketched out by 
Spinoza may possibly be indicated in the accom- 
panying diagram. 

Among the individual things, those constituted 
by the modifications of the modes, the chief one of in- 
terest to the philosopher is man in his dual nature as 

a mode of exten- 
sion, in his body, 
and as a mode 
of thought, in 
his mind. Nei- 
ther of these can 
directly influ- 
ence the other, 
though ‘all 
changes in each 
are represented 
by parallel 
changes in the 
other. From 
this point of 
view the human 
mind is regarded 
by Spinoza as 
the idea of the 
body, a concep- 
tion which is a 
commonplace in 
modern psy- 
chology, but 
which immense- 
ly shocked Spi- 
noza’s contem- 
poraries. The 
unity of the in- 
dividual soul is 
thus made to 
depend on the 
unity of the or- 
ganism, though Spinoza makes a half-hearted at- 
tempt to explain the self as the idea of the idea 
of the body. Spinoza combines this view of 
mind with his theory of knowledge by supposing 
that external things, so far as they come in contact 
with the body, impress their character upon the 
latter, while their “soul side” makes corresponding 
changes in the mind. But owing to ignorance as to 
the mechanism by which these effects are produced 
by external objects, the changes in the mind are 
attributed to the external bodies themselves, and 
thus arise errors of imagination which, so far as 
they affect the tendency to self-preservation, give 
rise to passions or emotions that in turn divert the 
strivings after the true nature of man. 

Spinoza’s views of the nature and the classifica- 
tion of the emotions are a remarkable instance of 
scientific simplification. Taking the conatus, or 
tendency to self-preservation, as the key to human 
activity, he defines pleasure as everything tending 





Spinoza 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


516 


to increase the conatus, pain as everything lower- 
ing the vitality. There is, therefore, a desire (“cu- 
piditas ”) to obtain thiugs gi ving pleas- 
Emotions. lire, and to repel things giving pain. 

But man is not impelled to act by 
pleasure or pain alone. The idea with which pleas- 
ure or pain is associated produces the desire to act. 
Hence, Spinoza is enabled to define the various 
classes of emotions according to the ideas which 
give rise to them; for example, lie defines love as 
simply pleasure accompanied by the idea of an ex- 
ternal cause, and hate as pain accompanied also by 
the idea of an external cause. Pity, again, is pain 
felt at another’s misfortune, while benevolence is 
the idea of doing good for another whom we pity. 


social duties from a rational desire for the common 
good. The only freedom Spinoza recognizes is the 
freedom of acting in accordance with one’s own na- 
ture and not being influenced by ideas derived from 
external things. These, as has been seen, form the 
emotions, and it is bondage to them which Spinoza 
calls “man’s slavery.” Accordingly, the only re- 
lief from this bondage lies in acting according to 
reason, the second of the two forms of knowledge, 
rather than from imagination, which 
Reason as gives rise to the disturbing emotions. 
Freedom. By so doing man acts as himself, and 
at the same time, since reasoning gives 
him adequate ideas of the essences of things, or, in 
other words, of God’s real nature, he acts in har- 



Spixoza’s Workroom at Rhijnsburg. 

(From a photograph.) 


and so on through a list of about fifty emotions, all 
associated with pain or pleasure through some idea. 
Spinoza is thus enabled to put aside entirely all free 
will, since the desire that determines this action is 
itself determined by the idea giving rise to it, beside 
which, in the scheme of parallelism, the volition of 
the mind is simply' the soul side of a certain deter- 
mination of the body derived from the laws of mo- 
tion and rest (see “Ethics.” iii. 2, schol.). Spinoza 
claims for this rigid determinism a number of ad- 
vantages — the attainment of happiness through 
realizing one’s intimate union with the nature of 
things; the distinction between things in one’s 
power and things not in one’s power; the avoidance 
of all disturbing passions; and the performance of 


mony with the divine character. By acting accord- 
ing to adequate ideas the mind has free play, and its 
conatus can only result in pleasure; hence the hap- 
piness of the sage who in acting from reason has 
power, virtue, knowledge, and freedom that is also 
necessity. The ethical side of this quality is forti- 
tude or firmness to stand free of the passive affec- 
tions, which is accompanied by courage (“ animosi- 
tas”) in self-regarding actions, and generosity in 
action toward others. Not even the idea of death 
will deter the free man from acting according to 
these principles. His thoughts will dwell on any- 
thing rather than death. 

But there still remains the third form of knowl- 
edge, the intuitive idea of the wdiole plan of the 



517 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Spinoza 


universe ; this idea, when kindled into emotion, be- 
comes the mysterious quality known by Spinoza as 
the “intellectual love of God,” which 
“ Intellec- he further qualifies as part of the love 
tual Love with which God loves Himself, though 
of God.” here God is taken as synonymous with 
natura naturata. This is eternal, or, 
in other words, not subject to the changeable char- 
acteristics of the time and space order, and so far as 
man has the intuitive knowledge and love of God, 
his mind is, according to Spinoza, eternal, though he 
carefully avoids using the term “ immortal.” It is 
somewhat difficult to find a definite meaning in this 
mystical view, but Pollock suggests that Spinoza in- 
tends nothing other than that “ work done for rea- 
son is done for eternity, ” to use Renan’s words. It 
is somewhat remarkable that the most recent meta- 
physical views regard personal love as the most ade- 
quate expression of the union of insight and interest 
involved in the knowledge by the Absolute Being 
of the individual experiences of the universe (A. E, 
Taylor, “Elements of Metaphysics,” pp. 61-62, Lon- 
don, 1903). But there is probably discernible here a 
direct influence of Spinoza’s thought. 

As regards the sources from which the main ele- 
ments of Spinoza’s system were derived, they are 
mainly two, Descartes and the Jewish philosophers 
of the Middle Ages. There is some evidence of in- 
fluence also by Bacon, Hobbes, Giordano Bruno, and, 
to some extent, the scholastic philosophy, but it is 
somewhat doubtful, and its extent and importance 
are not very great, except; possibly in the case of 
Bruno, as will be seen frpm the following analysis. 
There is no doubt that Spinoza derived his method 
from Descartes, who even gives an ex- 
Sour ces ; ample of the geometrical method. . The 
Descartes, conception of God as the Supreme Be- 
ing and as substance is common to all 
medieval philosophy, Spinoza’s originality consist- 
ing in recognizing extension as one of His attributes : 
this, it will be remembered, was one of the test ques- 
tions which led to his excommunication. Here lie is 
approached very nearly by the views of Hasdai Cres- 
cas, who in his “Or Adonai” (I. ii. 1) points to the 
use of the word “ makom ” (locality) for the Deity, 
and concludes that “ as the dimensions of the vac- 
uum are included in the dimensions of the corporeal 
and its contents, so is God in all parts of the world. 
He is their place that supports and holds them.” 
Crescas goes on to disprove the Aristotelian claim 
that an infinite material magnitude is impossible. 
Spinoza was without doubt acquainted with Cres- 
cas’ writings, as he quotes him under the name of 
“ Rab Gasdai ” in his twenty-ninth letter (ed. Bruder). 
On the other hand, the doctrine of the parallelism 
of thought and extension is original with Spinoza, 
and is due to his desire to evade the difficulties of : 
the Cartesian doctrine. At first sight the importance 
given to the attributes in Spinoza’s system would 
seem to affiliate him with the whole line of Jewish 
thought which was centered around the doctrine 
of the attributes (see D. Kaufmann, “Gesch. der 
Attributenlelire,” Berlin, 1877; and Attributes). 
In reality Spinoza uses the term “attributes” in a 
slightly different signification, calling the “attri- 
butes ” of the Jewish philosophers “ properties,” and 


using the distinction first made by Crescas (“ Or 
Adonai,” I. iii. 8), who, for example, regarded God’s 
perfection and infinity as His properties rather than 
His attributes (see Joel, “Don Chisdai Creskas,” 
pp. 19 et seq., Breslau, 1866). 

At the same time, the modes as parts of attri- 
butes seem to be derived from Bruno, who also makes 
the distinction between natura natu- 

Giordano rans and natura naturata. Bruno re- 
Bruno. gards all nature as animated — a close 
approach to Spinoza’s parallelism of 
the attributes. On the other hand, Bruno may have 
taken this notion from some of the cabalists, and in 
arguing that God is the immanent and not the tran- 
sient cause of the universe, Spinoza himself claims 
that he agrees with the Hebrew masters, so far as he 
could conjecture from certain adulterated views 
(“ Epistola?, ” lxxiii.); The plan of the universe, as in- 
dicated above, though this is not given by Spinoza 
himself, resembles in large measure that of the Sefi- 
rot, and suggests that, much as he derided them, 
Spinoza obtained much general suggestion from the 
cabalists^ He even appears to quote; in the “ Eth- 
ics ” (II. vii., note), Moses Cordovero on the identity 
of the thinker, thought, and the object thought of; 
this, however, is a general Aristotelian principle (see 
Jew. Encyc. x. 370, s,v. Remak). In Spinoza’s 
view the doctrine of immanence bears a remark- 
able resemblance to that of emanation. 

With regard to Spinoza’s psychology and ethics,, 
the idea of the conatus and even the term “conato 
de eonservarsi ” itself are derived from or influ- 
enced by Bruno. The doctrine of the emotions is 
partly influenced by Hobbes, but is mainly a de- 
velopment of and improvement on Descartes. On 
the other hand, the connection of the conatus with 
the divine activity may have been influenced by 
Crescas’ view that the creation and conservation of 
the world imply the same activity of God (comp. 
Spinoza, “Cogitata Metaphysica,” II. x. 6). The 
view of Spinoza with regard to the relativity of 
good and evil may possibly be derived from Mai- 
monides’ conception of them as belonging to the 
region of probable opinion (“Moreh,” i. 11). 

The determinism of Spinoza was certainly derived 
from that of Crescas, who explains the difficulty of 
rewards and punishments from the 
Hasdai same standpoint (“Or Adonai,” II. v. 

Crescas. 2) and on the same lines as Spinoza 
(“Cogitata Metaphysica,” II. ix. 4), 
though it must be observed that Spinoza when he 
wrote the “ Cogitata Metaphysica ” was nominally at 
least a libertarian. So, too, in his denial of final 
causes Spinoza agrees with Crescas ( l.c . II. vi. 1); 
therefore Spinoza may have obtained from Crescas, 
who identifies the divine will and understanding 
(l.c. IH. i. 5), also the doctrine that the will and the 
understanding are the same faculty of the mind. The 
insistence of Spinoza upon the love of God as the 
highest qualit}'' of human reason is undoubtedly in- 
fluenced by Crescas’ original view that love rather 
than knowiedge w T as the divine essence (ib.). The 
view% how r ever, that the terms “ wisdom ” and “ will ” 
as applied to the Divine Being are not identical, but 
are merely homonymous, with the same terms as ap- 
plied to man, is derived from Maimonides (“Moreh,” 



Spinoza 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


518 


i. 52 et seq.). In speaking of the “intellectual love, 
of God,” Joel remarks, Spinoza took the “ love ” from 
Crescas, the “ intellect ” from Maimonides. Finally, 
the somewhat mystical views as to the eternity of 
the intellectual love, Sir Frederick Pollock sug- 
gests, were derived from the Averroism of Ger- 
sonides, who considered that contemplative knowl- 
edge was the only proper function of the eternal 
mind, and, therefore, that the individual soul was 
immortal as regards the knowledge possessed by it 
at the time of death, though, being then deprived of 
an organism, it could not in any way extend it after 



Baruch Spinoza. 

(From a statue by Mark Antokolski.) 


death (see Pollock, “ Spinoza, His Life and Philos- 
ophy,” 2d ed., pp. 270-271, London, 1899). With 
regard to his views on eternity, and his remarkable 
conception that truth must be viewed “ sub specie 
eternitatis,” it is worthy of remark that Spinoza in 
the “Cogitata Metapliysica” (II. x. 5) adopts the 
view of Maimonides that Creation did not arise in 
time, but time in Creation (“Moreli,” II. ii. 13). It 
should perhaps be added that besides these specific 
instances of indebtedness Spinoza is characteristic- 
ally Jewish in two main aspects of his thought: the 
stress laid upon knowledge as an ideal (though this 
is common to all the Aristotelian schools), and his 
conception of cheerfulness as one of the highest 
virtues (see Joy). 

It has been suggested by Joel that the development 
of Spinoza’s thought was somewhat as follows: Ilis 
early training was entirely from Jewish philoso- 
phers, but he was withdrawn from them by the at- 
traction of Descartes, who freed his mind from the 
principle of authority in philosophy, and, as it ap- 
pears, in religion ; but he was never a pure Carte- 
sian, not even when he wrote his account of the 
philosophy of Descartes, and he came back to the 


Jewish philosophers to solve the conflicting elements 
of Descartes’ thought, with the important difference, 
however, that he did not attempt to reconcile the 
conclusions to which they led him with the state- 
ments of Scripture. His thought is thus Jewish, 
cast in a Cartesian mold, the chief difference being 
with regard to the authority of Scripture, and it is, 
accordingly, in his “Tractatus Tlieologieo-Politi- 
cus ” ihat his views are found most opposed to 
Jewish views. 

Spinoza’s arguments in the “Tractatus Tlieo- 
logico-Politicus” are almost throughout connected 
either b} r way of agreement or opposition with those 
of Maimonides on the same topics. One of the main 
objects of the book is to show the contradictory na- 
ture of statements in the Scriptures, and Spinoza 
speaks with contempt of the efforts 
- of Rabbis to reconcile them. He 
Tlieo- is no doubt here referring to tnc most 

logieo- important work of his teacher Manas- 
Politicus.” seh B. Iskael, the “Conciliador.” In 
his chapter on prophecy Spinoza dif- 
fers from Maimonides in regarding the work of a 
prophet as being due almost entirely to imagination, 
which can not, like reason, give rise to truth. Spi- 
noza does an injustice in stating that Maimonides 
regards angels as existing only in dreams, which 
was partly due to a misreading in the edition of 
Maimonides used by him ; this again is one of the 
test questions leading to his excommunication. The 
criterion of a true revelation selected by Spinoza — 
the vividness of the prophetic vision — is that used 
by Crescas (“ Or Adonai, ” II. iv. 3), and both think- 
ers used the same example, that of Hananiali. Spi- 
noza’s view of the selection of. the Israelites, that 
they exceeded other nations neither in learning nor 
in piety, but in political and social salvation, places 
him in opposition to both Maimonides and Crescas. 
He here attributes the preservation of the Jews to 
their rites (“ Tractatus Tlieologico-Politicus, ” iii. 53), 
but sees no reason why they should not once again 
become an independent nation {ib. iii. 55). In his 
discussion of ceremonies Spinoza declares that they 
are no longer binding on Jews or others, and were 
put into force only through the influence of the Hab- 
bis and other ecclesiastical authorities. In opposing 
belief in miracles, as lie does in the sixth chapter of 
the “Tractatus,” Spinoza has in mind the examples 
and arguments of both Maimonides and Gersonides; 
in the remaining part Spinoza outlines wiiat was 
later known as the “higher criticism,” and antici- 
pates in a somewhat remarkable manner some of the 
results of the school of Kuenen and Wcllhausen, 
declaring, for example, that the Law was intro- 
duced, if not written, by Ezra. Many of the exam- 
ples of inconsistency in the Pentateuch here cited 
were those familiar to Spinoza from Abraham ibn 
Ezra (see Pentateuch). Spinoza throughout ar- 
gued against the connection of creed with citi- 
zenship, claiming liberty of thought, and to that 
extent pleading the cause of his own people; but in 
reality the book is an expansion in Latin of his for- 
mer apologia written in Spanish for withdrawing 
from Jewish communion, and is opposed to ecclesi- 
asticism of all kinds. Hence the violence of the oppo- 
sition which it found in the age of ecclesiasticism. 


519 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Spinoza 


With regard to Spinoza's influence, one must dis- 
tinguish between the effect of his views and life 
upon the general progress of free thought in Europe, 
and that of his special doctrines. The former first 
drew down upon him the execration of all the eccle- 
siastics and authoritarians whom he 
Influence, had opposed by his views, and the re- 
spect of a few freethinkers like Bayie, 
Edelmann, Goethe, Shelley, and Byron, who pro- 
posed to translate the “Ethics” jointly, and Marian 
Evans (George Eliot), who actually produced a trans- 
lation, which, however, was never published. The 
spread of his special views began with the small cir- 
cle of disciples which surrounded him at Amsterdam, 
and to which the world is probably indebted for the 
Latin translation of his “Ethics.” The chief of 
these 'were B. Becker and Louis Me} T er; but the pub- 
lication of his works in Dutch had a considerable 

influence on Dutch theology in the persons of Fie- 
fli'lcK van Lecnnoir wiiu e i n , Dev ir Loff 

(1650-1717), and especially Pontiaan van Hattem 
(1641-1706), who created quite a school, of which 
Jacob Brill (1639-1700) was, after Hattem, the chief 
representative (see A. van der Linde, “Spinoza, 
Seine Lelire und Deren Erste Nachwirkungen in 
Holland,” Gottingen, 1862). 

But the principal person upon whom Spinoza’s 
thought and personality had a decisive effect was 
Leibnitz (1646-1716), whose system of philosophy, 
as developed by Wolff, dominated 
Spinoza the continent of Europe throughout 
and the whole of the eighteenth century 

Leibnitz, up to Kant, and whose views, de- 
veloped by Herbart and Lotze, have 
again come to the fore in recent times. Those of 
Leibnitz’s works that have been published give 
little evidence of any connection with Spinoza other 
than in the latter’s calling as optician, and his pub- 
lic utterances on Spinozism were in every case hos- 
tile and derogatory ; but more recent evidence shows 
that during the critical period of his development, 
from 1676 to 1686, he took a more favorable attitude 
toward both Spinoza and Spinozism, and this has 
been traced to an intimate personal association of 
the two philosophers during a whole month in 1676, 
not long before Spinoza’s death. It was during this 
period that Leibnitz developed from a pure Carte- 
sian into an opponent of Descartes, chiefly as regards 
the definition of body and the principles of motion, 
both of which subjects it is known that Leibnitz 
discussed with Spinoza. On reading the “Opera 
Posth unia,” Leibnitz declared that the absence of 
teleology was the only thing with which he did not 
agree. When, however, a strong outcry broke out 
against Spinoza’s “atheism,” Leibnitz devoted him- 
self to finding an escape from Spinozism, and it 
took him nearly ten years before he arrived at his 
theory of the monads, which he declared to be the 
only solution of the difficulty (see L. Stein, “Leib- 
niz mid Spinoza,” Berlin, 1890). The most recent 
investigator of the philosophy of Leibnitz declares 
that in his views on soul and body, on God and 
ethics, he “tends with slight alterations of phrase- 
ology to adopt (without acknowledgment) the views 
of the derided Spinoza” (B. Russell, “Philosophy 
of Leibniz,” p. 5, Cambridge, 1900). 


This opposition of Leibnitz practically ruined any 
chance of influence by Spinoza on the Germany of 
the early part of the eighteenth century, where 
the philosophy of the former and his follower Wolff 
was all-powerful. A revival of inter- 
Mendels- est, however, was brought about by 
soRn Jacobi’s declaration that Lessing was 
and Jacobi, a professed Spinozistand had declared 
that “ there is but one philosophy, the 
philosophy of Spinoza.” Mendelssohn, who in phi- 
losophy was a Wolffian, devoted some of his “Mor- 
genstunden ” to defending the memory of his friend 
Lessing from what he considered to be an asper- 
sion, and this again tended to discourage any active 
adherence to Spinoza in Germany. Kant, by ma- 
king the problem of metaphysics how man knows 
instead of what he knows, changed the course 
of metaphysical thought for a time; but renewed 
attention was drawn to Spinoza by his followers, 
Fiehte. Schelling, and Hegel, the last-named of whom 
declared mat to no » w 

Spinozist. Schleiermacher expressed himself in the 
highest terms of Spinoza, and Novalis called the so- 
called “atheist” a “ God- intoxicated Jew.” This 
revival of interest in Spinoza was due possibly 
to the' influence of Herder and Goethe, who had 
both given utterance to great admiration for Spi- 
noza’s life and thought. The wide influence of. 
Goethe, whose philosophical views were entirely 
Spinozistic and were expressed in some of the pro- 
foundest of his poems, was perhaps the chief influ- 
ence which drew to Spinoza the attention of such 
men as Coleridge, Auerbach, Matthew Arnold, 
Froude, and Renan. 

It was mainly the spread and influence of science 
in its more dogmatic aspects that, toward the end 
of the nineteenth century, caused especial interest to 
be taken in Spinoza’s thought. By a 

Science sort of instinct Spinoza seems to have 
and anticipated, by deductions from first 
Spinozism. principles, many of the most funda- 
mental principles of modern science; 
e.g., the conservation of energy (in his belief that the 
total quantity of motion in the universe is constant) ; 
the non-existence of a vacuum ; and the existence of 
nothing real in the universe but configurations and 
motions (expressly stated in the “Ethics” I., Ap- 
pendix). Even the infinity of attributes, which 
occupy such an otiose position in Spinoza s system, 
may be regarded as a premonition of the recognition 
by modern mathematicians of the infinity of non- 
Euclidean spaces. Especially as regards the connec- 
tion of body and mind the Spinozistic view of paral- 
lelism has been growing in favor among psycholo- 
gists, though just at present there is somewhat of a 
reaction against it. The positing of the conatus as 
the central force of mind is in full agreement \\ itli 
the most recent insistence upon conation as the key to 
mental activities, while the tendency of the conatus 
to maintain things pleasant seems to he an anticipa- 
tion of Bain’s law of conservation. The conatus has 
been regarded as anticipating even the theory of 
evolution, but this is due to mistaking the statical 
nature of Spinoza’s thought. Nevertheless, the two 
great exponents of philosophical evolution Herbert 
Spencer and Haeckel' have adopted many, if not 



Spinoza 

Spira 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


520 


most, of Spinoza’s views, wliich have thus become 
representative of science as opposed to religion. 
Meanwhile there has been a recent tendency to re- 
sort once more to Leibnitz for a defense of the faith, 
as shown in the Gilford lectures of Professors Ward 
and Royce, so that at the present day, at any rate in 
the English-speaking world, the problem of philos- 
ophy is once more resolved into the opposition of 
Spinoza and Leibnitz. Thus, of the chief contem- 
porary English philosophers, F. II. Bradley, with 
his follower A. E. Taylor, may be regarded as 
representing Spinoza, while G. E. Moore and his 
disciple B. Russell are adherents of the school of 
Leibnitz. 

With his excommunication all communion be- 
tween Spinoza and his own people ceased, and 
among Jews little notice was taken of his thought 
for nearly a century, except by a few philosophical 
thinkers, who dealt with his views as they would 
with those of other philosophers. Thus David 
Nieto was accused before Hakam Zebi in 1705 of 
having identified God and nature after the manner 
of Spinoza, but defended himself satisfactorily by 
distinguishing between the individual 
Position things of nature and nature in gen- 

Among* eral ; in other words, between natura 
Jews. naturans and natura naturata. Men- 
delssohn, as before mentioned, was, 
owing to his Leibnitzian tendencies, strongly op- 
posed to Spinoza as a philosopher, but made use in 
his “Jerusalem ” of some of the arguments of the 
“Tractatus.” Solomon Maimon, like Waehter be- 
fore him and A. Krochmal after him, tried to prove 
the identity of Spinozism and cabalism (see Kroch- 
mal’s “Eben lia-Roshali,” Vienna, 1871). Heine ac- 
cords the life of Spinoza respectful treatment, but 
does not appear to have made any particular study 
of his thought. On the other hand, Bertliold Auer- 
bach did much to spread the knowledge of Spino- 
zism in Germany by his excellent translation of the 
works as well as by his novelistic account of the 
career of the philosopher (“ Spinoza, ein Denkerle- 
ben,” Leipsic, 1847). M. Jo&l has contributed more, 
perhaps, than any other investigator to the study of 
the sources from which Spinoza derived his main 
conceptions. L. Stein has elucidated the relations 
of Spinoza and Leibnitz, while M. Grunwald has 
traced Spinoza’s influence in Germany, and I. Elho- 
gen lias made a study of the “ De Intellects Emen- 
datione.” One of the best recent monographs on the 
philosopher is that of L. Brunsclivicg, and the best 
account of the “Ethics” in English is by H. H. Jo- 
achim. Jacob Freudenthal’s work on his life and 
his system of thought is the ..result of a life’s work 
on the subject. Altogether, it maybe said that Spi- 
noza has at last come to his own among his own 
peop]e. 

But it would be misleading to regard Spinoza 
as specifically or characteristically Jewish in his 
thought. His antagonistic attitude toward the au- 
thority of the Scriptures differentiates him from 
all thinkers recognized to be Jewish, and S. D. 
Luzzatto- was, after all, in the right in protesting 
violently against regarding the philosophy of Spi- 
noza as especially Jewish while in such opposition 
to the Judaism of the Rabbis and the mass of the 


Jews. Whether any reconciliation can be made be- 
tween Spinozism and Judaism on the higher plane 
of philosophic thought is another question, to 
which S. Rubin has devoted his life. In any case, 
Spinoza’s thought is so definitely connected either 
by derivation or by opposition with that of the Jew- 
ish medieval thinkers that it must be regarded either 
as the consummation or as the evisceration of Jewish 
philosophy. 

Bibliography : A whole literature has collected around the 
name of Spinoza and is summed up in A. van der Linde, 
Benedictus Spinoza , The Hague, 1871, which contains 441 
entries. This may be supplemented by the bibliography given 
m M. Grunwald, Spinoza in Deutschland , pp. 361-370, Ber- 
lin, 1897, containing 226 entries of the literature between 1870 
and 1897. The chief editions of the works have been referred 
to above, but it may be added that a portfolio of facsimiles of 
the recently recovered letters of Spinoza was published in 
Leyden in 1904. The standard life of Spinoza is that of Jacob 
Freudenthal, Spinoza , Sein Leben und Seine Lehre , Stutt- 
gart, 1904, founded on a collection of sources (including the 
contemporary life by Colerus) issued by the same author un- 
der the title Leben sgeschichte Spinoza's, Berlin, 1899. Spi- 
noza’s relations to his Dutch contemporaries are best given in 
Meinsma, Spinoza cnZijnKring, The Hague, 1896. The best 
accounts of Spinoza’s system are those of Camerer, Die 
Dehre Spinoza's, Stuttgart, 1877 ; James Martineau, A Study 
of Spinoza, 3d ed., London, 1895; and Sir Frederick Pollock, 
Spinoza, His Life and Philosophy , 2d ed., London, 1899. 
Though written from a hostile standpoint, partly based upon 
Trendelenburg, Historische Beitruge zur Philosophic, Ber- 
lin, 1867, Martineau’s study is by far the clearest with rela- 
tion to Spinoza’s system. Studies of the “Ethics ” have been 
written by Kirschmann, 2d ed., Berlin, 1S7L (with notes on 
the other works), and by H. H. Joachim, Oxford, 1901. The 
literature which followed the discovery of the Korte Ver- 
handeling is summarized by Van der Linde, Nos. 342-353; 
noteworthy is the study by Avenarius, Ueber die Beiden Er- 
sten Phosendes Spinozischcn Pantheismus, Leipsic, 1868. A. 
Chajes has written Uebcr die Hebriiische Orammatik Spi- 
noza's, Breslau, 1869, and C. Siegfried, Spinoza als Krittker 
und Auslegcr des Alten Testaments , Berlin, 1867. On the 
relation of Spinoza to his Jewish predecessors see Joel, Bei- 
triige zur Geschichte der Philosophic, Breslau, 1876, and 
J. Jacobs, Jewish Ideals, pp. 49-56. Rubin, in his Teshubah 
Nizzaliat , Vienna, 1857, discussed Luzzatto’s attacks on Spi- 
noza. The latest histories of Jewish philosophy as a mat ter of 
course contain sections on Spinoza ; e.g., J. S. Spiegler, Gesch, 
der Philosophic des Judcnthums , xli.-xliii. Berlin, 1900; and 
S. Bernfeld, Da'at Elohim , pp. 521-530, Wilna, 1898. 

J. 

SPIRA (SPIRO) : Family of scholars and rab- 
bis of Speyer, Rbenisli Bavaria, with numerous 
branches in other parts of Germany, and in Bohemia, 
Galicia, and Poland. It originally .bore the name 
“Ashkenazi,” to distinguish it from the Kahane or 
Katz-Spira family. Many prominent families of 
Bohemia added to their names that of “Spiro” or 
“Spira”; Frankl-Spiro, Wiener-Spiro, and 
Porges-Spiro. 

1. Aaron, Jehiel Michel Spira: Son of Ben- 
jamin Wolf Spira (No. 7) and grandson of Jeliiel 
Spira ; rabbi of the Meisel Synagogue, Prague. 

Bibliography: Landshuth, 'Ammudc ha-'AbodoJi, p. 12; 
Zunz, Litcraturgesch . p.438; Podiebrad-Foges, AltcrthiXmer 
der Prager Judcnstadt, pp. 76, 149, Prague, 1870. 

2. Aaron Simeon Spira : Son of Ben jamin Wolf ' 
Spira (who died in 1030); rabbi at Frankfort, Lem- 
berg, Brez in Lithuania, Lublin, Cracow, Vienna, 
Prague (1640), and also rabbi of Bohemia ; born 1599 ; 
died Dec. 8, 1679, at Prague. He led an ascetic life, 
and collected many pupils about him. He wrote 
“Moreli Yehezkiel Katon ” (Prague, 1695), penitential 
prayers (“selibot”) on the sufferings of the Jewish 
community of Prague when that city was besieged 
by the Swedes in 1648. 

3. Aryeh Lob Spira (called also Klein Lob) : 
Son of Isaac Spira; bom 1701; died May 19, 1761, 
at Wilna, where he was associate rabbi. At the age 



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(From Van Yloten and Land, “ Benedict! De Spinoza Opera.”) 


Spira 

Spitz 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


522 


of seventeen lie corresponded with the rabbi of the 
Karaites at Troki. Aryeh Lob acquired a knowl- 
edge of mathematics and Hebrew grammar. He 
wrote “Nalmlat Ariel ” and “ Me‘on ‘Arayot ” (Dy- 
liernfurth, 1732), a double commentary on the trea- 
tise Soferim. 

Bibliography: Buber, An she Shem. p. 11S; Fuenn, Kir yah 

Nc'emanali , pp. Ill et seq. (contains Spirals epitaph). 

4. Asher Anshel Spira : Son of Aaron Wolf 
Spira ; died in 1661 at Vienna, in which city he had 
married the daughter of the wealthy and learned 
Moses Mirels. He was the ancestor of the Frankl- 
Spira family. 

Bibliography: Podiebrad-Foges, l.e. p. 349, 

5. Benjamin Wolf Spira: Son of Jeliiel Spira ; 
died at Prague Oct. 12, 1630. He was for more than 
thirty years associate rabbi and director of a Tal- 
mudic academy in that city. Although universally 
respected his extraordinary modesty prevented him 
from accepting the chief rabbinate of Prague r but 
he took charge of it temporarily from 1629 until his 
death. 

6. Benjamin Wolf Spira: Son of Asher Anshel 
Spira ; died at Prague in 1712. He was educated 
by his grandfather Aaron Simeon Spira in that city. 
He was the father of the parnas Simon Wolf Frankl. 

7. Benjamin Wolf Spira : Son of Aaron Simeon 
Spira; born 1640 at Prague; died there Jan. 11, 
1715. He was for twenty years chief rabbi of Bo- 
hemia. 

Bibliography: Podiebrad-Foges, he. pp. 73, 148 et seq. 

8. Elijah Spira: Son of Benjamin Wolf Spira; 
died at Prague April 14, 1712. He was rabbi at 
Tiktin, and afterward preacher and director of a 
large Talmudic academy at Prague. He published 
“Eliyahu Zuta,” a commentary on that part of Mor- 
decai Jafe’s “ Lebusli ” relating to the Shullian 
‘Aruk, Oral; Hayyim (Prague, 1689, 1701). His 
valuable work “Eliyahu Rabbali ” (Sulzbacli, 1757), 
containing discussions on the Oral; Hayyim, was 
printed posthumously by his son, whose name is 
not given. “Shisliah Shittot,” novelise on six Tal- 
mudic treatises, were published by his grandson 
Elijah b. Wolf Spira (Fiirtli, 1768). His manu- 
script works, including commentaries on the Bible 
and Talmud, as well as sermons, responsa, etc., w r ere 
destroyed by lire in 1754. 

Bibliography : Eliyahu Rahhalu Preface ; Fiirst, Bihl. Jud. 1. 

239 (contains many incorrect statements); Zuiiz, Mon at stage. 

p. 19. 

9. Isaac Spira: Son of Eliezer Spira; died 
March 16, 1711, at Lemberg. He wrote “Elef ha- 
Magen ” (notes on the four ritual codices), printed 
by liis son Nathan Spira (Zolkiev, 1732). 

10. Isaac Spira: Son of Jeliiel Michael Spira; 
died at Prague in 1749. He was rabbi at Lissa, then 
at Jung-Bunzlau, Bohemia (1704-27), and finally at 
Prague, and was the teacher and father-in-law of 
Jonathan Eybeschutz. He wrote novelise on Tal- 
mudic treatises, likewise responsa, etc. ; but none of 
bis works has been printed. 

Bibliography: Buber, I.c. p. IIS; Fuenn, 7.c. p. 111. 

11. Isaac Kohen-Spira: Son of David Kohen- 
Spira; died in 1582 at Cracow, where he had offici- 
ated as rabbi. He was the father-in-law of Rabbi 


Meir Lublin. He had a namesake and contempo- 
rary, Isaac Kohen-Spira, who was ‘probably rabbi 
at Kremiuiec, and afterward at Cracow. 

Bibliography: Frankel, Zeitschrift , ill. 386; Ha-Karmel , 
xii. 658; J. B. R., Bemerkungen zu I. M. Zunz Ir ha - 
Zcdch , p. 18, Brody, 1S78. 

e. c. M. K. 

12. Isaac ben Nathan Spira: Rabbi and 
scholar of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries; 
born at Grodno; died in Lublin 3623. He was prin- 
cipal of a large yeshibali at Kowlo, whence he went 
to Cracow and became identified therewith the pub- 
lication of bis father’s “Imre Shefer.” While en- 
gaged upon this work he accepted a call as rabbi to 
Lublin, and the uncompleted work of his father's 
was taken to Venice, where it was published in 1583 
under the title “BiTirim.” On account of the mis- 
representations which were circulated in Venice re 
garding the contents of this work Isaac found him- 
self compelled to forbid its further sale in that city; 
and in 1586 lie issued a new edition in Lublin. 

Bibliography: Fiirst, Bihl. Jud. iii. 372; Friedberg, Mar- 
ijanita Sliappira , pp. 4-6. 

13. Isaac ben Nathan Spira : Polish mer- 
chant; born at Cracow 1624 ; died there 1649; son 
of Rabbi Nathan. He was a man of means, and 
when, in May, 1641, the Jewish community of 
Cracow was financially embarrassed he voluntari- 
ly made it a loan of 800 Polish gulden in gold. 
When, toward the end of the eighteenth century, 
his tombstone began to decay, the community 
showed its gratitude by erecting a new one. 

BIBLIOGRAPHY: Wolf, Bihl. Hehr. iv. 1207 ; Fiirst, he. iii. 372; 
Friedberg, Luhot Zihharon, pp. 61-62, Frankfort-on-tlie- 
Main, 1904. 

14. Israel Issachar Spira : Son of Nathan 
Nata Spira (No. 23); died at Worms 1630. He was 
chairman of the rabbinical college at Pinsk, and later 
rabbi at Worms. He is mentioned in the responsa 
(No. 88) of MallaRaM of Lublin, and in the re- 
sponsa collection “Hut lia-Shani,” § 22. 

Bibliography: Friedberg, Luhot ZiWmron , p. 59; Kohez 
k al Ead , iii. 5, Berlin, 1887 ; Friedberg, he. p. 6. 

15. Israel ben Nathan Spira (known also as 
Israel ha-Darshan) : Scholar, rabbi, and preacher 
of the seventeenth century; died in 1700. While 
still young he was called to Kalisz in Poland, where 
he founded a large school which soon became fa- 
mous. Among his most prominent pupils were 
Jehiel Michael Segal and Selig Margoliotli. Israel 
was the author of “Bet Yisrael,” a commentary on 
the “Hilkot Slieliitah,” of which 201 paragraphs ap- 
peared in Berlin in 1726. Appended thereto was a 
second work, “Bet Perez,” a commentary on the 
treatise Megillah which he wrote in honor of his son- 
in-law. 

Bibliography : Benjacob, Ozar ha-Sefai'im , p. 74 ; Friedberg, 
he. pp. 7-10. 

16. Jacob ben David ha - Kohen Spira: 
Rabbi of Neutitscliein, Moravia, in the seventeenth 
and eighteenth centuries; relative of Isaac ben Da- 
vid Spira. He was the author of “Oliel Ya'akob,” 

liagsadic novelise <Frankfort - on - tlae - Oder, 1719). 

Ilis sons Moses Moescliel and Isaac severally added 
to it “ Likkutim ” to difficult passages in the Midrash 
and Yalkut and novelise to Yoreh De‘ali. 


. 




Spira 

Spitz 


523 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Bibliography: Steinscbneider, Cat. Bodl. col. 12o7; Nepi- 
Glnrondi', Toledot Gcdole Yisrae t p. 187 ; Benjacob, Z.c. , p. 
19 ; Fuenn, Keneseb Yisrael , p. 577 ; Azulai, Shem na-Ge- 
dolim , ii. 3 ; Furst, Z.c. i. 17. 

E. C. 


17. Jacob Kohn - Spira : Son of Isaac Spira; 
lived at Lemberg in the seventeenth century. He 
was the author of “ Be’er Mayim Hayyim” (Cracow, 
1616), a commentary on the Pentateuch and on 
Kashi’s commentary. 

Bibliography : Buber, l.c. p. 112. rr 

E. c. M. K. 

18. Judah. Lob Spira (nicknamed Pap) : 
Rabbi of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries; 
officiated probably in Frankfort-on-the-Main. He 
was the author of “Ila-Rekasim la-Bik‘ah” (Altona, 
1815), containing brief notes on the Bible. 
Bibliography : Steinsehneider, l.c. col. 1873 ; Filrst, l.c. iii. 372. 


19. Menahem Zion b. Meir Spira : A native 
probably of Speyer. He wrote in 1480 “Ziyyuni” 
(Cremona, 1560), a cabalistic commentary on the 
Pentateuch, prefaced by a song for the Sabbath and 
enumerating the labors forbidden on that day. 


Bibliography : Steinsehneider, Cat. 'Munich, codices 68, 76*; 

Landshuth, l.c. p. 193; Ziuiz, S. P. p. 110; idem, Literatur- 

rr- 523 - m.k. 

20. Nathan ben Isaac Spira: Cabalist and 
rabbi of Lublin in the seventeenth century ; died in 
that city 1652 ; grandson of Nathan Spira of Grodno. 
He edited and published the Zoliar (Lublin, 1623), 
to which lie added a commentary. 


Bibliography : Friedberg, he. p. 6. 

e. c. b. O. 

21. Nathan Nata Spira: Son of Selig Spira 
and grandson of Nathan Nata Spira; died Nov. 13, 
1761, at Eibenschutz. He was rabbi in various com- 
munities, his last charge being at Eibenschutz, in 
Moravia, where he officiated only one year, dying 
in early manhood. 

Bibliography*. Dembitzer, Kelilat Yofc , i. 118 (contains 
Spira’s epitaph, in which n"D must be read instead of n D). 

22. Nathan Nata Spira : Son of Reuben David 
Spira, associate rabbi of Cracow; died at Reggio, 
Italy, in 1662. He was sent from Jerusalem to Ger- 
many and Italy to collect alms. Most of his works 
are cabalistic in nature, including “ Tub ha-Arez ” 
(Venice, 1655; Zolkiev, 1781), on the excellencies of 
the Holy Land, on the holy vessels, etc. ; “ Yayin ha- 
Mesliummar ” (ib. 1660), on “Yayin Nesek”; “Maz- 
zot Shimmurim ” (ib. 1665), on the mezuzali, zizit, 
etc. Azulai saw the manuscripts of his religious 
discourses and of several of his cabalistic works. 

Bibliography : Azulai, l.c. i. 148; De Rossi-Hainberger, Hist. 
WOrtcrb. p. 301; Steinscbneider, Cat. Bodl. col. ~0ol. 

23. Nathan Nata Spira : Son of Samson Spira; 
rabbi at Grodno; died 1577. He wrote a supercom- 
mentary on the commentaries of Raslii and Elijah 
Mizrahi under the title “Imre Sliefer,” and a com- 
mentary on the Pentateuch, published b} r his soil 

Isaac CLiU.t>lin. 1586 £1597^), and. at tlie request of liis 

pupils “Mcbo She'arim ” (Lublin, n.cl. ; Jessmtz, 
1724), a commentary on Isaac Duran’s “Slia'are 
Durali. ” The Zoliar was edited not by him, as Furst 


and others think, but by Nathan b. Isaac Spira (Lub- 
lin, 1624). Nathan Nata left two sons : Isaac (No. 12) 
and Israel Issacliar (No. 14). 


Bibliography : David Gans, Zemah Daivid , ed. Offenbach, p. 
30a; Jeliiel Heilprin, Seder ha-Dorot , ed. Warsaw, l. 248: 
Azulai, l.c. i. 148 ; De Rossi-Hamberger, l.c. p. 301 ; Fuenn, 
l.c. p. 55 ; Furst, l.c. iii, 373 ; Zedner, Cat. Hebr. Boohs Brit. 
Mms. p. 609. 

24. Nathan Nata Spira ; Son of Solomon Spira 
and grandson of Nathan Nata Spira (No. 23) ; born 
about 1584; died July 20, 1688. In 1617 he was 
called to the rabbinate of Cracow, where, being well- 
to-do, he refused to accept a salary. He was gifted 
with an extraordinary memory, and devoted much 
time to the study of the Cabala. He wrote a caba- 
listic commentary on the prayer of Moses in Deut. 
iii. 24, and two prayers, under the title “ Megalleh 

Amukkot” (Cracow, 1637; Fiirth, 1691). He pub- 
lished also novelise to Alfasi’s work which were 
printed with it (Amsterdam, 1720). 

Bibliography: Azulai, he. i. 148; De Rossi-Hamberger, Z.c. p. 
301 ; Steinscbneider, l.c. col. 2049; Zunz, Monatstagc.v. 41; 
Zedner, Z.c. p. 610; I. M. Zunz, k It ha-Zedch , pp. o2, 1*6 
(contains Spira’s epitaph). 

25. Solomon Spira : Son of Nathan Nata Spira 
(No. 24); born in 1616; slain by the Cossacks under 
Climielnicki in 1648. He was rabbi of Satanow, and 
edited, together with his brother Moses, the work 
“Megalleh ‘Amukkot,” to which he wrote additions 
and a preface. 

Bibliography : Fuenn, Z.c. p. 66. 

e. c. M. R. 


SPIRIT. See Holy Spirit. 

SPIRITS, CONCEPTION OF. See Demon- 


ology. 

SPIRO, JOSEPH MOSES: Austrian rabbi 
and Talmudic author; born in Trietscli, Moravia, 
about 1770; died at Kanitz, Moravia, Aug. 3, 1880. 
He was educated by his father, Abraham, who was 
rabbi in Trietscli, and, although a sickly child, he 
became at an early age a Talmudist of distinction. 
At first officiating as dayyan in his native city, he 
became successively rabbi in Schafa, Moravia ; Ha- 
bern, Bohemia; and, finally (1824-30), in Kanitz. 
He was one of the earliest advocates of systematic 
instruction in religious literature, and condemned 
the pilpul very severely. He edited the “Sefer 
ha-IIinnuk” (Brunn, 1799), which he, like many 
others, ascribed to Aaron ha-Levi of Barcelona; and 
also wrote a book entitled “ Mesillak le-Elolienu ” 
(Prague, 1810). This work is divided into three 
parts: the first, entitled “Ha-Derek ha-lasliar,” 
treating of the evils of the unsystematic training 
of children; the second, called, in honor of his fa- 
ther/ 1 Berit Abraham,” containing lialakic discus- 
sions; and the third, “Rebid ha-Zahab,” containing 
homilies. 

Bibliography: Deborah , 1903, pp. 97 et seq. 

SPITZ, ABRAHAM (NAPHTALI HIRSOH) 
BEN MOSES HA-LEVI: Moravian rabbi;* bom 
about 1628; died at Worms in 1712. In 1668 he was 
appointed rabbi of a Moravian congregation, and in 
1692 dayyan at Nikolsburg, where he officiated for 

twelve years. In. 1704= lie was called, to Worms, 

where he remained until his death. He was tlie 
author of the following works* “Male Razou” 



Spitz 

Stade 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


524 


(Frankfort-on-tlie-Main, 1710), novella) to forty-five 
treatises of the Talmud ; “ Yerushshat Naftali ” (ap- 
pended to “Male Razon ”), explanations of the most 
difficult Tosafot passages in the Talmud; and many 
unpublished works that relate to the Talmud. 
Before he died he instructed his sons to study daily 
two pages of his commentary during the year of 
mourning. An approbation b} r him of the ritualis- 
tic work “Maginne Erez ” was printed in the edition 
of that work (Dyliernfurth, 1692) 

Bibliography: Levysohn, JYafshot Zaddikim , pp. 75-76, 
Fraukfort-on-the-Main, 1855; Benjacob, (lzar ha-Sefarim, pp. 
329-330; Azulai, Shem ha-Gedolim , ii. '80; Steinsclmeider, 
Cat. Bodl. col. 703. 

E, C. S. O. 

SPITZ, ISAAC (EIZIG) : Ab det din in Bunz- 
lau, Bohemia; born 1764; died in Bunzlau May 6, 
1842. He wrote “Mat'amme Yizhak,” songs, melo- 
dies, and sayings, which was published by his son 
Yom-Tob in Prague in 1848. 

Bibliography; Busch, Jahrhuch, i, 176; Benjacob, Ozar ha- 
Sefarim , p. 323; Steinsclmeider, Cat . Bodl. col. 2651.' 

E C. S. O. 

SPITZ, MEIR B. JOHAN AN ; Rabbi of 
Oronie, Hungary, in the eigliteentli century. He 
wrote “ Katit la-Ma’or,” halakic novellae to some Tal- 
mudic treatises; and “Shemen lia-Ma’or,” novellce j 
on ritualistic matters. Both these works appeared 
in Vienna in 1792. 

Bibliography : Furst, Bihl. Jud. iii. 375 ; Steinsclmeider, Cat. 
Bodl. col. 1717 *, Benjacob, Ozar ha-Sefarim, p. 251. 

E. C, ‘ S. O. 

SPITZ, MORITZ: American rabbi; born at 
Csaba, Hungary, Oct. 14, 1848. He was educated 
at the University of Prague, and received his rab- 
binical diploma from Rabbi Judah Tebeles of that 
city. From 1870 to 1871 he officiated as rabbi of 
Congregation B’nai Sliolom, Chicago, 111. ; from 1871 
to 1878, of Congregation Emanu-El, Milwaukee, 
Wis. ; and since 1878 he has been rabbi of Congre- 
gation B’nai El of St. Louis, Mo. 

Spitz has contributed to the “ American Israelite ” 
and to “Die Deborah,” signing his articles with the 
nom de plume “Ben Abi.” He was formerly editor 
of the “Jewish Tribune,” and is at present (1905) 
editor of the “Jewish Voice” of St. Louis. 
Bibliography* The American Jewish Year Book , 1903-4, 

p. 101. 

a. F. T. H. 

SPITZ, YOM-TOB BEN ISAAC; Teacher 
of Hebrew and German in the Jewish school 
of Prague during the first half of the nineteenth 
century. He was the author of “Axon Bakut” 
(Prague, 1826), on the death of his grandfather R. 
Eleazar Fleckeles of Prague; “Zikron Eliezer” (ib. 
1827), a biography of Fleckeles ; and “ Toledot Yiz- 
hak,” a biography of his father, Isaac Spitz. Yom- 
Tob was a collaborator on the “Bikkure lia Tttim,” 
to vols. vi. and vii. of which he contributed sixteen 
scientific essays. 

Bibliograpiiy: Steinsclmeider, Cat. Bodl col. 2&51 , Benjacob, 
Ozar ha-Sefarim, pp. 36, 157; Furst, Bibl. Jud, iii. 375. 

E C. S. O. 

SPITZ, ZEBI HIRSCH : German author and 
Talmudist of the eighteenth century. He wrote 
“Dibre Hakamim we-Hidotam” (Offenbach, 1802), 


a commentary on those passages of the Talmud 
in which it is said “ the Torah speaks in the language 
of man ” or “ the passage is explained according to 
its literal sense. ” 

Bibliography : Benjacob, Ozar ha-Sefarim , p. 104. 

E- C. ' s. O. 

SPITZER, BENJAMIN SOLOMON: Aus- 
trian rabbi and champion of Orthodoxy; died in 
Vienna, at an advanced age, Dec, 5, 1898. He was 
the son-in-law of Ii. Moses Sofer, and was for more 
than forty years rabbi of the ultra-Orthodox congre- 
gation of Vienna, whose synagogue was situated in 
the “Shiffgasse.” He was a strong opponent of 
Reform, and severely attacked the Vienna “ Cultur- 
gemeinde ” for the Reform measures it introduced in 
1872. A collection of his sermons, funeral orations, 
and novella) on Talmudieal subjects (the latter part 
bearing the separate title “Shimlat Binyamin”) 
was published by his son-in-law Joseph Baer Kohen, 
under the title “Tikkun Shelomoh ” (Vienna, 1892). 
Benjamin was buried in Presburg. 

Bibliography: A. Rabbinowitsch, Eine Interessante Erri- 
ncrungs-Gcschichte von dem EhrwlXrdigcn Rabbiner 
Soloman Spitzer (in Judceo-German), Vienna, 1894; Der 
Israclit (Maj^ence), 1893, Nos. 97, 99 ; AJ.iiasaf , 5655 (1895), pp. 
457-458. 

E. C, * P. Wl. 

SPITZER, FRIEDRICH (SAMUEL): 

French art collector and dealer; born in Presburg 
1814; died in Paris 1890. He was the son of the 
official grave-digger of the community and went 
penniless to Vienna. In 1848 he accompanied the 
Austrian army to Italy, and upon his return com- 
menced collecting objects of art. A picture which 
he bought for five gulden proved to he an Al- 
brecht Diirer and laid the foundation of his fortune. 
Together with a dealer, Konig, he went to London, 
but being unable to sell this picture there, he dis 
posed of it in Paris. His visits to the large collect- 
ors in England had, however, revealed to him the 
value placed upon old weapons, and accordingly, 
on his return to Austria, he bought up whatever 
old arms he could find, and sold them in London. 
Later he established a business at Aix-la-Chapelle, 
where he sold many antiquities to Baron Adolf von 
Rothschild. Wishing to increase his business, he 
went to London, but failing of success in that city, he 
accepted the invitation of Rothschild to settle perma- 
nently in Paris, where his business prospered greatly. 

In 1870, at the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian war, 
he sent the greater part of his collection to London, 
where it was subsequently bought by Sir Richard 
Wallace. His collection of armor he took to Vienna, 
where Baron Anselm von Rothschild bought it for 
500,000 francs. Spitzer thereupon purchased the 
celebrated collection of Caran in Lyons. He had 
gradually amassed a large fortune and a splendid 
private collection of art objects, for which Gam- 
betta offered him 6,000,000 francs. The collection 
was to be embodied in a state museum, of which • 
Spitzer was to be director for life. A lottery was 
even instituted to provide the money, but the offer 
was finally refused. A Berlin syndicate, headed by 
the banker Hainauer, offered 25,000,000 francs for the 
whole gallery; but nothing resulted from this offer. 

In his will Spitzer arranged that his collection should 
be sold three years after his death. It then brought 


525 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Spitz 

Stade 


10,000,000 francs, the armor being sold to the pres- 
ent King, of England. The illustrated “ Catalogue 
de la Collection Spitzer” (3 vols., Paris, 1887) is a 
remarkable production; its price was 1,200 francs. 

s„ G. 

SPITZER, SAMUEL : Hungarian rabbi ; born in 
1839 at Kesztliely, where his father was rabbi ; died 
in 1896 ; a descendant of Yom-Tob Lipmann Heller. 
He studied at Prague, and became rabbi at Esseg in 
1856. He was generally recognized as an authority 
on religious questions, and several humanitarian 
societies were founded within his congregation as a 
result of his activity. 

Besides several sermons, Spitzer published numer- 
ous works on the history of civilization, of which 
the following maybe mentioned: “Das Heer- und 
Welirgesetz der Alten Israeliten, Griechen, und Ro- 
mer,”1869; “Die Judisclie Ehe,” Esseg, 1869; “Die 
Judisclie Gemeindeordnung,” ib. 1873 ; “ Das Mahl bei 
den Alten Volkern,” Prcsburg, 1877; “Urlieimisch in 
Slavischen Landern,” 1880; “ Das Jubilaumin Wort- 
licher und Historischer Bedeutung,” Esseg, 1882; 
“Das Blutgespenst auf Seine Wahre Quelle Zu- 
ruckgeflihrt, ” 1883 ; “ Das Religiose Bedenken, oder 
Kann Man den Eid vor einem Andersglitubigen 
Ablegen?”1883; “Ueber Baden und Bader bei den 
Alten,” 1888; “Die Uhr bei den Alten,” 1885; 
“Ueber Sitte und Sitten der Alten Volker,” 1886; 
and “Der Brief bei den Alten Volkern,” 1893. 

s. G. S. 

SPITZER, SIGMUND: Austrian physician; 
born at Nikolsburg, Moravia, 1813; died at Vienna 
1894. Two years after receiving his degree of doc- 
tor of medicine from the University of Vienna he 
accepted a professorship in anatomy at the medical 
school of Constantinople. There he founded the 
anatomical museum, for which he prepared many 
specimens. It was partly his influence which over- 
came the opposition predominant in Constantinople 
to dissections. In 1844 he took charge of the med- 
ical clinic. 

Spitzer was summoned in 1845 to attend the sul- 
tan ‘Abd al-Majid, whom he cured of a very dan- 
gerous chronic disease. This led to his appoint- 
ment as chief private physician to the sultan. In 
1847 he was appointed director of the medical acad- 
emy at Constantinople. Spitzer’s near relations with 
‘ Abd al-Majid aroused the envy of the courtiers ; and 
several futile endeavors were made to get rid of him. 
Finally an attempt upon his life induced him to re- 
sign his position. The sultan then appointed him 
councilor to the Turkish embassy at Vienna. In 
1857 he was appointed representative of the Porte 
at the court of Naples, where he remained until 
1860. ‘Abd al -Majid died in the following year, and 
Spitzer severed his connection with the Turkish 
governmental service. The remainder of his life 
he spent in Paris and Italy. 

Bibliography : Jew. Chron. No. 1343, p. 9 ; Pagel, Biog.Lex . 

s. F. T. H. 

SPITZER, SIMON : Austrian mathematician ; 
born at Vienna Feb. 3, 1826; died there April 2, 
1887. He studied mathematics at the University of 
Vienna, was graduated in 1850, and became in 1851 
pri vat -docent at the Vienna polytechnic institute. 


In 1857 he was appointed professor of algebra at 
the Vienna “Handelsschule,” which position he 
held until 1887, at the same time lecturing at the 
polytechnic, where he became assistant professor of 
analytic mechanics .in 1863, and professor in 1870. 
When the “ Handelsschule ” was changed into the 
“ Handelsakademie ” Spitzer became its first rector 
(1872-73). • 

Of Spitzer’s numerous works the following may 
be mentioned: “Ueber die Aufsucliung der Imagi- 
naren Wurzeln Hblierer Numerischer Gleichun- 
gen”; “Allgemeine Auflosung der Zalilengleicli- 
ungen mit Einer und Melireren Unbekannten ” ; 
“Anleitung zur Berechnung der Leibrenten und 
Anwartscliaften ” ; “ Tabellen fiber die Zinseszinsen- 
und Rentenrechnung ” ; and “Ueber Miinzen und 
Arbitragen Reclinung.” 

Bibliography : Allg. Zeit. des Jud. 1887, pp. 219 et seq. 
s. F. T. H. 

ST ACTE. See Incense ; Spices. 

STADE : City in the province of Hanover, Prus- 
sia. Its Jews are first mentioned in a charter granted 
them in 1349. In 1613 they received a patent of 
protection from Johann Friedrich, Archbishop of 
Bremen; and on Sept. 28, 1615, he threatened that if 
the Hamburg council imposed a special Jewish safe- 
conduct on his protege and court Jew “Solomon 
Hersclieider, Jewish physician living at Stade,” 
who had hitherto been permitted to conduct busi- 
ness and to trade in Hamburg without taxation, the 
Portuguese of the latter city would no longer be 
allowed free passage through his territory. In 1618 
Solomon, the “protected Jew of Stade,” who is 
doubtless identical with this Solomon Hersclieider, 
was purveyor of silver for, or perhaps joint lessee 
of, the mint; in 1620, however, he was thrown into 
prison, apparently on a charge of embezzlement. 

There was a Jewish cemetery in Stade which in 
1632 was turned into a garden. In the years 1628 
and 1630 the tax paid by the Jews for their protec- 
tion amounted to 60 marks per annum, whereas it 
had been 75 marks in 1624 and 180 marks in 1619. 
During the Danish siege of Stade, which ended the 
Swedish dominion over the city, a great fire broke 
out (Aug. 29, 1712) that destroyed the Jewish 
street and other quarters of the town. In 1827 
in the royal Hanoverian district of Stade three presi- 
dents for the communities of Otterndorf, Osterholz, 
and Rotenburg were appointed from among the 
Jews themselves. 

At present (1905) the Jews of Stade number 26 in 
a total population of 10,000. They meet for wor- 
ship in a rented house. 

Bibliography : Grunwald. PortugiesengrCiber auf Deutscher 
Erde , pp. 9 et seq „ Hamburg, 1902; idem, Hamburgs 
Deutsche Juden , in Mittheiluvgen der Gesellschaft fur 
Jlldisclie Volkskunde , xii. 7 et seq.; W. H. Fobelmann and 
W. Wlttpenning, Gcscli. der Stadt Stade (revised by Babr- 
feldtl, pp. 89, 154, Stade, 1897. 
d. A. Lew. 

STADE, BERNHARD : German Protestant 
Hebraist and historian of Israel ; born in Arnstadt 
May 11, 1848. He became privat-docent in the Uni- 
versity of Leipsic in 1873, and professor of theology 
at Giessen in 1875. 

Of Stade’s works the following may be men- 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


526 


Stadthagren 
Star-W or ship 


tioned: “De Isa ia* Yat.iciniis iEtliiopieis Diatribe” 
(Leipsic, 1873); “Ueber die Alttestamentliclie Yor- 
stellung vom Zustand nacli dem Tod ” ( ib . 1877) ; 
“Lelirbuch der Hebriiischen Grammatik” (parti., 
ib. 1879), an attempt at harmonizing the philological 
methods of Olshausen and Ewald; “Gescliichte des 
Yolkes Israel” (vol. i., Berlin, 1SS1-84; 2d ed. 1885; 
vol. ii. , in collaboration with O. Holtzmann, ib. 
1888), a critical reconstruction of the history of 
Israel in accord with Graf and Wellhansen ; “ Hebrii- 
isclies Worterbuch zmn Alten Testament ” (in collab- 
oration with Siegfried, Leipsic, 1893); “ Ausgewahlte 
Akademisclie Reden und Abhandlungen ” (Giessen, 
1899). In conjunction with P. Schwally, Stade 
edited a revised Hebrew text of the Book of Kings 
(Leipsic, 1904), for Haupt’s “Sacred Books of the 
Old Testament.” Stade has been the editor since 
1881 of the Zeitschrift fiir Alttestamentliclie Wis- 
senscliaft.” 

Bibliography : Brochhaus Konversat ions- Lexicon. 

T . F. T. II. 

STADTHAGEN, JOSEPH: German rabbi, 
apologist, and author; died at Stadthagen Sept. 5, 
1715; son of Samson of Metz, where his grand- 
father Joseph b. Isaac ha-Levi Ashkenazi (died at 
Frankfort-on-tlie-Main in 1628) officiated as rabbi 
for many years. Joseph acted for several decades 
as “ Laudesrabbiner ” for the district of Schaumburg - 
Lippe, and took the name “Stadthagen” from his 
place of residence. Well versed both in apologetic 
literature and in the New Testament, he was pecul- 
iarly qualified to become a leader in religious contro- 
versies. He was called to Hanover by the Hanoverian 
financial agent Leffmann Beiikends, and there, on 
July 21, 1704, in the presence of the elector 
Georg Ludwig and the noted electoress Sophie (the 
friend of Leibnitz), he took part in a very successful 
religious disputation with a convert (Edzardus of 
Hamburg ’?). In the following year (1705) Stadt- 
hagen published in Amsterdam his “Dibre Zikka- 
ron,” a work in two parts, containing ethical reflec- 
tions on the rules for ritual slaughtering. 

Of Stadtliagen’s seven daughters may be men- 
tioned Rebekka, wife of Samuel Bonn of Altona 
(Kaufmann, “Heinrich Heine’s Ahnensaal,” p. 298), 
and Hindele, who married Uri Lipmann b. Joseph 
of Elricli (near Nordhausen). Of liis sons the most 
important were Bernard, wiio attended the fair at 
Leipsic in 1697 and 1698 (“ Monatssehrift,” 1901, p. 
507), and Gershon, who died at Altona on the 10th 
of Aug., 1721 (Grunwald, “Ilamburgs Deutsche Ju- 
den,” 1904, p. 243, No. 836). Among his descendants 
were “Laudesrabbiner” Levi Herzfeld of Bruns- 
wick, and Ephraim Rothschild, manufacturer and 
philanthropist of Stadtoldendorf, Brunswick, wiio 
died Jan. 30, 1901. 

Bibliography: Benjacob, Oz'ir ha-Scfarim , p. 103, No. 63; 

Wiener, in Monatssehrift, 1804, p. 169; Kaufmann, in It. E. 

J. 1891, p. 98; manuscript of StadthageiTs Mini) at Zikhci- 

ron, and also manuscript notes in a copy of the Dibre Zik- 

haron, both in the possession of Dr. A. Lewinsky. 

e. c. A. Lew. 

STAFF (“shebet,” “matteli,” etc.): Herodotus 
(i. 195) and Strabo (xvi. 746) assert that among the 
Babylonians every man carried a ring and a staff, 
which latter was decorated at the upper end with 


a carved representation of a flower or something 
similar. It seems to have been the universal cus- 
tom among the ancient Hebrews also to carry a staff 
(comp. Gen. xxxviii. 18)— a custom which- perhaps 
dates from the time when they lived the nomadic 
life of herdsmen. The staff was indispensable to 
the herdsman, for by means of it he kept his flock 
together (Ex. iv. 2; Lev. xxvii. 32; Ps. xxiii. 4; 
Micali vii. 14; Zecli. ii. 7); the upper end of the 
long staff was bent, as Egyptian illustrations indi- 
cate. Nor was the staff to be despised as a weapon 
(Ps. xxiii. 4). Similarly, a long, perhaps straight, 
stick, with a goad at the end, was used b}^ the peas- 
ants for driving and guiding the oxen before the 
plow, and also for breaking the clods behind it, 
as the peasants still use the stick to-day ; this also 
was an effective weapon (Judges iii. 31 ; I Sam. xiii. 
21, xvii. 43). Finally, the staff was indispensable 
to the wanderer, and a support to the weak and 
sick (Gen. xxxii. 10; Ex. xxi. 19; Zecli. viii. 4). In 
the hands of the overseers it became an instrument 
of punishment, and therefore a badge of office (Isa. 
ix. 4, xxx. 31, et ciL). 

e. g. ii. I. Be, 

STAHL, FRIEDRICH JULIUS : German 
jurist and publicist; born at Munich Jan. 16, 1802; 
died at Briickenau Aug. 10, 1861. In his eighteenth 
year he took the examination for the position of 
teacher at the Munich gymnasium, but was con- 
fronted by the usual difficulty experienced by Jew- 
ish youths seeking government positions, and he 
adopted Christianity Nov. 6, 1819, in Erlangen. He 
studied jurisprudence at the universities of Wurz- 
burg, Heidelberg, and Erlangen, and in 1827 became 
privat-docent at the University of Munich. In the 
same year his treatise “ Ueber das Aeltere Romische 
Klagerecht” was published in that city ; and he then 
devoted himself to his great work on the philos- 
ophy of law, “ Die Philosophic des Rechts nacli Ge- 
schichtliclier Ansicht,” 2 vols., Heidelberg, 1830-87 
(5th ed. 1878). In 1832 he was called to the Uni- 
versity of Erlangen, as associate professor, and in 
November of the same year was appointed professor 
in the University of Wurzburg. He published his 
“Die Ivirchenverfassung nach Lelire und Recht der 
Protestanten ” at Erlangen, in 1S40 (2d ed. 1862). 

In politics, as in philosophy, jurisprudence, and 
religion, Stahl was an extreme reactionary, in which 
spirit he issued a number of pamphlets devoted to a 
vigorous criticism of the revolutionary tendencies, 
proposals, and proceedings, of that troublous period, 
lie was rewarded by the king with an appointment 
in 1849 as life member of the First Chamber, after- 
ward known as the “ Herrenhaus ” ; and from 1852 to 
1858 he was a member of the “Evangelisclier Ober- 
kirclienrat.” The downfall of the Manteuffel min- 
istry led to the loss of his influence in the latter 
body, and in 1858 he resigned. In both assemblages 
he remained from beginning to end the recognized 
leader of his party. According to Lord Acton, he 
had a more predominant influence and showed more 
political ability than Lord Beaconsfield (Acton, 
“Letters to Mary Gladstone,” p. 103, London, 1904). 

The writings which Stahl produced in Berlin dur- 
ing the revolutionary agitation were: “Ueber die 
Kirchenzuclit,” 1845 (2d ed. 1858); “Das Monar- 



527 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


StacLthagren 

Star-Worship 


cliische Prinzip,” Heidelberg, 1845; “ Der Cliristliehe 
Staat,” ib. 1847 (2d ed. 1858); “Die Devolution und 
die Konstitutionelle Monarchic,” 1848 (2d ed. 1849); 
“ Was 1st Revolution? ” ib. 1852, of which three edi- 
tions were issued. His subsequent writings were: 
“Der Protestantismus als Politisclies Prinzip,” ib. 
1853 (3d ed. 1854); “Die Katholisclien Widerle- 
gungen,” ib. 1854; “ Wider Bunsen,” 1856; “Die 
Lutherische Kirche und die Union,” 1859 (2d ed. 
1860). After his death there were published “Sie- 
benzehn Parlamentarisclie Reden,” ib. 1862, and “Die 
Gegenwartigen Parteien in Staat und Kirche, ” ib. 
1868. 

Bibliography: Gneis, in Unsere Zeit , vi. 419-449, Berlin, 
18(32; Bluntschli, in Bluntschli and Brater’s Staatslexilum , 
x. 154-163; idem, in Gesch. des Allg. Staatsr edits, pp. 630- 
644 ; Ernst Landsberg-, in Allg. Deutsche Biographic, xxxv. 


STAHL, WILHELM : German economist ; born 
at Municli June 2, 1812; died at Giessen March 19, 
1873. While still very young he lost both parents, 
and was cared for in the house of a well-known 
philologist, Doderlein, in Erlangen, after liis brother, 
Friedrich Julius Stahl, had adopted Christianity. 
After completing his studies at the gymnasium lie 
attended the universities of Munich and Halle, and 
devoted himself particularly to the study of physics 
and chemistry, later securing a position as teacher 
at the industrial school in Fiirtli. Encouraged by 
Professor Hermann of Erlangen, he applied himself 
zealously to the study of political economy, and 
finally established himself as docent of that science 
at the University of Erlangen, where he soon re- 
ceived an appointment as associate professor. In 
1848 he was elected a representative to the Frank- 
fort Parliament, and three years later received a call 
as professor at the University of Giessen, where 
he remained until his death. 

Of Stahl’s published works the following are the 
most important: “Die Einfiihrung der Neueren 
Staatsprincipien im Grossherzogthum Hessen,” 
Giessen, 1862; “Die Bedeutung der Arbeiter-Associ- 
ationen in Vergangenheit und Gegenwart,” ib. 1867; 
and “Das Deutsche Handwerk,” ib. 1874. 

Bibliography: K. Umpfenback, in Allg. Deutsche Bio- 
graphic , xxxv. 403. 

s. M. Co. 

STANDARD. See Flag. 

STANISLAVSKI, SIMON JUDAH: Prus- 
sian author and journalist; born at Nikopol, Yeka- 
terinoslav, Russia, Dec. 18, 1850; son of Moses Stan- 
islavski, a wealthy Lithuanian merchant. Simon 
was at first destined for a commercial career, but he 
finally overcame the opposition of his father, and 
during 1S63-64 lie received instruction from Dobse- 
witcli, who went to Nikopol from Pinsk in 1S61. 
During this period young Stanislavski carried on 
an extensive correspondence with such men as Abra- 
ham Lebensohn, Samuel Fuenn, and others; but his 
new teacher, Ilya Oiishanskt, turned his ambition 
into other directions. Under Orslianski’s guidance 
Stanislavski read Buckle, Draper, Darwin, and Mill, 
and also began a systematic study of Latin, mathe- 
matics, and other sciences. . 

Stanislavski began his journalistic career by wri- 


ting for the “ Peterburgskie Viedomosti,” and for the 
“ Den,” which was edited by Orenstein. An article 
on the works of Dr. Erter gained for him the ac- 
quaintance of Morgulis and of A. Y. Landau, who 
in 1871 began publishing the “ Yevreiskaya Biblio- 
teka.” When the “ Voskliod ” commenced to appear 
(1881), Landau invited Stanislavski to fill the posi- 
tion of assistant editor on that periodical. Among 
the most important articles written by Stanislavski 
may be mentioned a sketch of B. Stern’s Jewish 
school in Kisliinef (“Voskhod,” April, 1884), and bi- 
ographies of Mendel Levin, Israel Samostz (“Vosk- 
hod,” June, 1886), Hyman Hurwitz, Solomon Pos- 
ner, and Benjamin Mandelstamm. Stanislavski 
wrote also many other articles on various topics 
under the pseudonyms HNlin and “Z.” 

Bibliography : Autobiography in Sefer ha-Zikkaron, 1890, p. 

106 (edited by Sokolow). 

H * J. Go. 

STANS IBN ABITUR, JOSEPH. See Abi- 
Tuit, Joseph ben Isaac ben Stans ibn. 

STAR-WORSHIP : This is perhaps the oldest 
form of idolatry practised by the ancients. Accord- 
ing to Wisdom xiii. 2, the observation of the stars in 
the East very early led the people to regard the 
planets and the fixed stars as gods. The religion of 
the ancient Egyptians is known to have consisted 
preeminently of sun- worship. Moses sternly warned 
I the Israelites against worshiping the sun, moon, 
stars, and all the host of heaven (Dent. iv. 19, xvii. 

3); it may be said that the prohibi- 
Among' the tion of making and worshiping any 
Israelites, image of that which is in heaven above 

(Ex. xx. 4; Deut. v. 8) implies also 
the stars and the other celestial bodies. The Israel- 
ites fell into this kind of idolatry, and as early as 
the time of Amos they had the images of Siccuth 
and Chiun, “the stars of their god” (Amos v. 26, R, 
V.); the latter name is generally supposed to de- 
note the planet Saturn. That the kingdom of Israel 
fell earlier than that of Judah is stated (II Kings 
xvii. 16) to have been due, among other causes, to 
its worshiping the host of heaven. But the king- 
dom of Judah in its larer period seems to have out- 
done the Northern Kingdom in star-worship. Of 
Manasseli it is related that lie built altars to all the 
host of heaven in the two courts of the house of 
Yinvir, and it seems that it was the practise of even 
kings before him to appoint priests who offered sac- 
rifices to the sun, the moon, the planets, and all the 
host of heaven. Altars for star-worship were built 
on the roofs of the houses, aud horses and chariots 
were dedicated to the worship of the sun (ib. xxi. 5; 
xxiii. 4-5, 11-12). Star-worship continued in Judah 
until the eighteenth year of Josiah’s reign (621 B.c.), 
when the king took measures to abolish all kinds of 
idolatry (ib.). But although star-worship was then 
abolished as a public cult, it was practised privately 
by individuals, who worshiped the heavenly bodies, 
and poured out libations to them on the roofs of 
their houses (Zepli. i. 5; Jer. viii. 2, xix. 13). Jere- 
miah (vii. IS) describes the worship of the queen of 
heaven to have been more particularly common 
among the women. Ezekiel, who prophesied in the 
sixth year of the captivity of Jehoiachin (591 b.c.), 
describes the worship of the sun as practised in the 



Star-Worship 

Statistics 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


528 


court of the Temple (Ezek. viii. 16 et seq.), and from 
Jer. xliv. 17 et seq. it may be seen that, even after 
the destruction of the Temple the women insisted 
on continuing to worship the queen of heaven. In 
Job (xxxi. 26 et seq.) there is an allusion to the kiss- 
ing of the hand in the adoration of the moon (see 
Moon, Biblical Data). According to Robertson 
Smith (“ The Religion of the Semites,” p. 127, note 3, 
Edinburgh, 1S89), star-worship is not of great antiq- 
uity among the Semites in general, nor among the 
Hebrews in particular, for the latter adopted this 
form of idolatry only under the influence of the 
Ass} r rians. But Fritz Hommel (“ Der Gestirndienst 
der Alteu Araber,” Munich, 1901) expresses the op- 
posite opinion. He points to the fact that the He- 
brew root which denotes the verb “ to swear ” is the 
same as that which denotes “seven,” and claims 
that this fact establishes a connection between swear- 
ing and the seven planets; and he furthermore de- 
clares that there are many Biblical evidences of 
star-worship among the ancient Hebrews. Thus, 
the fact that Terah, Abraham’s father, had lived 
first at Ur of the Chaldees, and' that later he settled 
at Haran (Gen. xi. 31), two cities known from As- 
syrian inscriptions as places of moon- worship, shows 
that Abraham’s parents were addicted to that form 
of idolatry. According to legend, Abraham him- 
self worshiped the sun, moon, and the stars before 
he recognized the true God in Yhwh (see Abra- 
ham in Apocryphal and Rabbinical Litera- 
ture). The golden calf, Hommel declares, was 
nothing more than an emblem of the moon-god, 
which, in the Assyrian inscription, is styled “the 
youthful and mighty bull ” and the lord of the 
heavenly hosts (comp. “Ynwn Zeba’ot,” which 
term is intentional^ omitted from the Pentateuch). 
He assigns the same character to the two calves 
made by Jeroboam several centuries later (I Kings 
xii. 28). 

The ancient Hebrews, being nomads, like the 
Arabs favored the moon, while the Babylonians, 
who were an agricultural nation, preferred the sun. 
But, as appears from Ezek. xx. 7-8, the moon- 
worship of the Israelites, even while they were still 
in Egypt, was combined with sun-worship. The 
close similarity between the ancient Hebrews and 
the southern Arabs has led Hommel furthermore to 
find allusion to moon- worship in such Hebrew names 
as begin with “ab ”(= “father ”), as in “Abimelecli” 
and “Absalom,” or with “‘am” (=“ uncle”), as in 
“ Amminadab” and “Jeroboam,” because these par- 
ticles, when they appear in the names of southern 
Arabs, refer to the moon. 

The term “star-worship” (“‘abodat kokabim 
u-mazzalot ”) in the Talmud and in post-Talmudic 
literature is chiefly a censor’s emendation for 
' “ ‘ abodah zarali.” In connection with star- worship, 
it is related in the Mislmah (‘Ab. Zarali iv. 7) that 
the Rabbis (“ zekenim ”) were asked if God dislikes 
idolatry why lie did not destroy the idols. The 
Rabbis answered: “If the heathen- worshiped only 
idols perhaps God would have destroyed the objects 
of their adoration, but they worship also the sun, the 
moon, the stars, and all the host of heaven, and God 
can not destroy the world on account of the heathen.” 
r M. Sel. 


ST AROKONST ANTIN' OV : City in the gov- 
ernment of Volhynia, Russia. Jews seem to have 
settled in this city soon after it was founded, for dur- 
ing the great uprising of the Cossacks under Climiel- 
nicki (1648-58) it had a considerable Jewish com- 
munity. In 1648-49 the wild Cossacks and Tatars 
killed the greater part of the Jewish inhabitants, al- 
though the latter were very bravely defended by 
the Polish general Wishnevetzki. Three years 
later (1651), according to the testimony of Prince 
Semen Prozorovski, the murderous hordes, on their 
way to Sborowo, captured Starokonstantinov anew, 
murdering the greater part of the inhabitants and ap- 
plying the torch to the city itself. In 1659 the city 
was besieged by the hetman Vygovski, but the 
inhabitants successfully defended themselves. In 
1793 Starokonstantinov, together with the rest of 
the Ukraine, was annexed to Russia. At present 
(1905) the city has about 17,000 inhabitants, of whom 
the Jews constitute approximately 60 per cent. The 
inhabitants carry on a considerable trade with Aus- 
tria and Prussia, as well as with the surrounding 
towns and villages. The city has two synagogues, 
five prayer-houses, a city school for Jewish children, 
and the usual Jewish benevolent institutions. 
Bibliography: Begesty i NadpisU i. : Entziklvpcdichcsla 
Slovcir ; Guriand, Lo^orot ha-Gezerot be - 1 Israel , iv. 16. 

T Qa 




STATISTICS : As referring to Jews, statistics 
deal mainly with populations, their ages and distri- 
bution, Migration, Morbidity, Mortality, Occu- 
pations, Criminality, Births, and Marriages. 
Most of these topics have already been treated in 
articles in The Jewish Encyclopedia; it remains 
to deal here only with the Jewish population as a 
whole and its distribution. 

The Pentateuch contains a number of statements 
as to the number of Jews that left Egypt, the de- 
scendants of the seventy sons and grandsons of Ja- 
cob who took up their residence in that country. 

Altogether, including Levites, there 
Ancient were 611,730 males oyer twenty years 
Times. of age, and therefore capable of bear- 
ing arms; this would imply a popula- 
tion of about 3,154,000. The Census of David is 
said to have recorded 1,300,000 males over twenty 
years of age, which would imply a population of 
over 5,000,000. The number of exiles who returned 
from Babvlon is given at 42,360. Tacitus declares 
that Jerusalem at its fall contained 600,000 persons; 
Josephus, that there were as many as 1,100,000, of 
whom 97,000 were sold as slaves. It is from the 
latter that most European Jews are descended. 
These appear to be all the figures accessible for an- 
cient times, and their trustworthiness is a matter of 
dispute. The difficulties of commissariat in the 
Sinaitic desert for such a number as 3,000,000 have 
been pointed out by Colenso; and the impossibility 
of the area of Jerusalem containing much more than 
80,000 persons with any comfort has been referred 
to * as proving the exaggeration of the figures of 
Josephus and Tacitus. 

In the Hadrianic war 580,000 Jews were slain, 
according to Dion Cassius (lxix. 14). According to 
Mommsen, in the first century c.e. there were no less 
than 1,000,000 Jews in Egypt, in a total of 8,000,000 



529 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Star-Worship 

Statistics 


inhabitants; of these 200,000 lived in Alexandria, 
Avliose total population was 500,000. Harnack 

■(“ xlusbreitung des Christentums, 1 ’ Leipsic, 1902) 
reckons that there were 1,000,000 Jews in Syria at 
the time of Nero, and 700,000 in Palestine, and he 
.allows for an additional 1,500,000 in other places, 
thus estimating that there were in the first century 

4.200.000 Jews in the world. This estimate is prob- 
ably excessive. 

As regards the number of Jews in the Middle 
Ages, Benjamin of Tudela, about 1170, enumerates 
altogether 1,049,565; but of these 100,000 are at- 
tributed to Persia and India, 100,000 to Arabia, and 

300.000 to Thanaim (?), obviously mere guesses with 
regard to the Eastern Jews, with whom he did not 
■come in contact. There were at that time probably 
not many more than 500,000 in the countries he vis- 
ited, and probably not more than 750,000 altogether. 
The only real data for the Middle Ages are with re- 

\garcl to special Jewish communities, of which the 
following is a list, mainly derived from I. Loeb 
<“R. E. J.” vol. xiv.): 

Jewish Populations op Medieval Cities. 

[Where authors 1 names only are given, the works referred to 
:are Cassel, s.u. “Juden”; Benjamin of Tudela, “Itinerary,” 
•ed. Asher ; Weyden, “ Gesh. der Juden zu Coin,” Cologne, 1867 ; 
Bucher, “ Bevolkerungen von Frankfort,” Tubingen, 1886 ; 
Usque, “ ConsolacSb ” ; Ziemlich, “ Machsor Nurnberg,” Ber- 
lin, 1886; Stern, “ Analecten zur Geseh. der Juden.”] 


City. 

Date. 

Population. 

Source. 

Aix 

1341 

j (203 families) 1 

1 1,207 j 

“R. E. J.” xiv. 170. 

Amalfi 

1170 

20 

Benjamin of Tudela. 
Gratz, “Gesch.” ix. 
503. 

Amsterdam 

1620 

(400 families) 


1671 

(4,000 “ ) 

Gratz, “Gesch.” x. 
257. 

Arles 

1170 

200 

Benjamin of Tudela. 

.Ascoli 

1170 

40 


Austerlitz.. 

1523 

I 445 (. 

1 (34 houses) f 

Jew. Encyc. 

Avignon... . 

1358 

(210 families) 

De Maulde. 

Barcelona.. 

1391 

900 (?) 

“R. E. J.” xiv. 170. 

Benevento.. 

1170 

200 

Benjamin of Tudela. 

Blois 

1171 

40 

Joseph Cohen, 
“ k Emek ha-Baka.” 

Bourg St. 

1170 

100 

Benjamin of Tudela. 

Gilles. 




Brindisi 

1170 

10 

*• “ 

■Capua 

1170 

300 

“ “ 

Carpentras. 

1277-1600 

(12-119 families) 

“ R. E. J.” xii. 190. 

1742 

j (168 families) j. 

“ “ “ 

Castellonde 

1450 

(31 families) 

Loeb, lx. 

la Plana.. 




■Castrogio- 

1400 

(80 “ ) | 

Zunz , “Z. G.” 

vanni. 1 




Ceuta ! 

1785 

381 

Cassel, p. 155b. 

“ 

1840 

150 

a kk 

■Cologne — 

1348 

(5 o nouses) 

Weyden. 

I) yon 

1384 

52 

Cassel, p. 111b. 

Estella 

1366 

(S9 families) 

Kayserling, “ Die Ju- 
den in Navarra,” p. 
45. 

Falees 

1366 

(18 families) 

Kayserliug, lx. 

Ferrara 

1601 

1.530 

Cassel, p. 155b. 

“ 

1785 

1,066 

“ 

1840 

1,800 

tt frfr tt 

Fran k for t- 
o n-tb e- 

1241 

200 (? families) 

Bucher. 

Main. 




Genoa 

1170 

2 

Benjamin of Tudela. 

■Granada 

1688 

(1,500 bouses) 

Usque. 

Hamburg . . 

1612 

(230 adults) 

Gratz, lx. x. IS. 

Lucca 

1170 

40 

Benjamin of 'tudela. 

Lugo 

1785 

600 

Cassel, p. 155b. 

Lunel 

1170 (?) 

300 (? families) 

Benjamin of Tudela. 

Manresa 

1294 

(45 families) 

Loeb, lx. 

Marseilles. . i 
5 

1170 
X— 34 

300 



City. 

Date. 

Population. 

Source. 

Melfi 

1170 

200 (? families) 
200 

Benjamin of Tudela. 
Zunz, “Z. G-” ; Ben- 
jamin of Tudela. 

Messina 

1170 



1543 

(180 families) 

Metz ... 


(96 “ ) 

500 

Cassel, p. 113a. 
Benjamin of Tudela. 

Naples 

1170 

Nuremberg. 

1338 

(212 adults) 

Ziemlich ; Loeb, in 




“R. E. J.” xiv. 170- 
173. 

Otranto 

1170 

500 

Benjamin of Tudela. 

Palermo 

1170 

1,500 


1490 

(850 families) 

Gratz, “ Gesch.” viii. 
260. 

“ R. E. J.” xiv. 171. 

Palma 

1391 

1,540 (?) 

Paris 

1296-97 

(82 families) 
(180 “ ) 

I. 63. 

“ xiv. 65. 

Perpignan.. 

1413-14 

Peralta 

1366 

(10 “ ) 

Kayserling, l.c. 

Pisa 

1170 

2 

Benjamin of Tudela. 

Posquieres. 

1170 

40(400 ?) 

Rome 

1170 

200 



1550 

3,000 

600 


Salerno 

1170 

Benjamin of Tudela, 

San Marco. . 

1492 

&50 

Zunz, “ Z. G.” 

Sanguesa... 

1366 

(25 families) 

Kayserling, l.c. 

Strasburg . . 

1349 

2,000 

Loeb, l.c . 


1369 

( (6 families : ( 

1 killed) i 

Cassel, p. 113a. 

It 

1383 

j (15 famines; I 

1 killed) f 

“ “ “ 

Tafalla. .... 

1366 

(10 families) 

Kayserling, l.c. 

Talavera de 

1477 

(168 “ ) 

Loeb, l.c. 

la Reyna. 


Tarento.... 

1170 

200 

Benjamin of Tudela. 

Trani 

1170 

200 


Trapani.... 

1439 

200 

Zunz. “Z. G.” 

“R. E. J.” x. 35. 

Trevoux 

1429 

(15 families) 

Tudela..... 

1366 

(270 “ ) 

Rios, “ Hist.” ii. 285. 


1386 

(200 “ ) 

Loeb, l.c. 

Venice 

1152 

1,300 

Cassel, p. 158b. 

1170 

1,300 

Benjamin of Tudela. 

“ 

1500 

933 

Cassel, p. 159a. 

Worms .... 

1096 

434 

Stern. 


1438 

400 

Gratz, l.c. vii. 371. 


The Middle Ages were mainly a period of expul- 
sions. In 1290, 16,000 Jews were expelled from 
England; in 1896, 100,000 from France; and in 
1492, about 200,000 from Spain. Smaller but more 
frequent expulsions occurred in Germany, so that 
at the commencement of the sixteenth century only 
four great Jewish communities remained : Frankfort- 
on-tlie-Main, 2,000; Worms, 1,400; Prague, 10,000; 
and Vienna, 8,000 (Gratz, “Gesch.” x. 29). It has 
been estimated that during the five centuries from 
1000 to 1500, 880.000 Jews were killed during the 
persecutions, reducing the total number in the world 
to about 1,000,000. In the sixteenth and seven- 
teenth centuries the main centers of Jewish popula- 
tion were in Poland and the Mediterranean countries, 
Spain excepted. 

According to the estimate of Basnage, at the be- 
ginning of the eighteenth century the total number 
of European Jews was 1,360,000, and the Jews of the 
kingdom of Poland (including Lithuania), according 
to a census at the first division in 1772, numbered 
308,500. As these formed the larger part of the 
European Jews, it is doubtful whether the total 
number was more than 400,000 at the middle of 
the eighteenth century ; and, counting those in the 
lands of Islam, the entire number in the world at 
that time could not have been much more than 
1 , 000 , 000 . 

But since then the increase has been remarkably 
rapid. It was checked in Germany by the laws 
limiting the number of Jews in special towns, and 
perhaps still more by overcrowding, regarding which 
a few details may be given : 



Statistics 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


530 


Place. 

Date. 

Jews. 

Houses. 

Average. 

Authority. 

Prague.... 

1786 

7,951 

266 

29.3 

Ficker, “Bevolk. Bohmen,” p. 
55. 

Frankfort. 

1811 

2,214 

159 

13.9 

“The Times” (London), Aug. 
8, 1884. 

Prague — 

1S43 

5,646 

i 

279 

20.3 

Ficker, l.c. 


Tchubinsky reports that in 1840 the Jews of south- 
ern Russia were accustomed to dwell thirteen in a 
house, whereas among the general population the 
average was only four to five (“ Globus, ” 1880, p. 340). 
The rapid increase has undoubtedly been due to the 
early age of marriage and the small number of 
deaths of infants in the stable communities (see 
Generation, Length op). The chief details known 
for any length of time are for Holland, Hungary, 
Poland, and Wurttemberg: 


owing to the falling off in the number of births, 
and, possibly, to emigration. The increase of the 
Jews of England and the United States during the. 
last quarter of a century has, however, been ex- 
ceptional, owing to extensive immigration. 

There is only one further point to be considered 
in connection with the increase of Jewish popula- 
tion, and that is the losses by conversion which have' 
occurred during the nineteenth century and which 
are still occurring in the lands where the Jews are- 
persecuted. Leroy (“ Judentaufen im 19. Jahr-j 
hundert: Ein Statistischer Versuch,” in “Nathan-'; 
ael,” iii. and iv., Berlin, 1899) has made the follow-’ 
ing estimate for the nineteenth century: 


Became 

Protes- 

tant. 


Became 

Roman 

Catholic. 


Became 

Greek 

Catholic. 


Total 

Loss. 


Holland. 


Date 

Popula- 

tion. 

1829. 

46,408 

1839. 


1849.. 

58,626 

1859.. 

63,790 

18159.. 

68,003 

1879.. 

81,693 

Hungary. 

1720.. 

12,656 

1785.. 


1786.. 

77,647 

1804.. 

124,128 

1805.. 

127,816 

1829.. 

202,328 


Popula- 

Date. tion. 

1842 241,632 

1850 352,400 

185T 413,118 

1869 516,658 

1880 624,737 

1890 725,222 

POLAND. 

*16th cen- 
tury .... 4200,000 

*1659 100,000 

*1764 315,298 

1816 212,000 

1825 341,125 

1826 368,773 

1828 384.263 


Popula- 

Date. tion. 

1856 563,000 

1868 764,947 

1875 860,327 

1882 1,045,000 

1893........ 1,229, 000 

1897 1,333,000 

WOrttemberg. 

1832 10,670 

1846 12,356 

1858 11,088 

1864 11,610 

1871 12,245 

1880 13,33 L 

1890 12,639 

1900 11,916 


*From Reclus, “Nouvelle Geographic, ” v. 397. 
4 Of these, 16,580 paid taxes. 


There is also a certain amount of evidence as to 
the Jewish increase in proportion to that of adher- 
ents of other creeds. The following table is taken 
from Hausliofer, “Lehrbuch,” p. 510, and from Oefc- 
tingen, “Moralstatistik.” 


Bavaria 

330-1 

Prussia 

13,128 ! 

Saxony 


Wurttemberg 

115 f 

Others parts of Ger- 

* ! 

many 

3,177 J 


Denmark 

France 

Great Britain 

Holland 

Norway and Sweden. 
Switzerland 


100 

600 

28,830 

1,800 

500 

100 


5,000 


1,800 


22,520 


100 

2,400 

28,830 

1,800 

500 

100 


Austria. . 
Hungary 


6,300 

2,056 


28,200 I 

8,000 f 


200 


44,756 


Italy 

Rumania 

Russia 

Turkey 

Other parts of the 
Balkan Peninsula. 


3,136 


300 

i,’ odd 


1,500 

69,400 

3,300 


300 

1,500 

84,536 

3,300 


100 


100 


Asia and Africa. 

Australia 

North America.. 


100 500 

200 

11,500 1,500 


600 

200 

13,000 


Totals. 


72,742 


57,300 


74,500 


204,542 


Country. 

Years. 

Catholic. 

Protes- 

tant. 

Jews. 


1851-57 

8.20 

5.40 

19.60 


0.76 

0.76 

3.35 

“ Western 

1861-70 

2.86 

2.86 

3.08 


1846-64 

1.50 

5.00 

3.60 


1857-63 

0.85 

1.06 

1.04 

Bavaria 

1852-64 

4.50 

4.50 

4,20 

France 

1861-66 

0.36 

1.10 

2.27 

Hanover 

1852-64 

3.30 

5.00 

8.60 

Netherlands 

1849-59 

1.20 

1.60 

0.30 

Prussia 

1831-49 

0.85 

0.94 

1.26 


1852-64 

11.40 

11.10 

12.90 

Saxonv 

1854-64 

27.10 

15.30 

68.10 

Switzerland 

m50-60 

5.30 

4.20 

34.00 

Wurttemberg I 

1846-64 

0.20 

0.40 

3.40 



But the figures of increase are often very deceptive, 
as they may indicate, not the natural increase by 
surplus of births over deaths, hut accession by im- 
migration. This applies especially to Germany dur- 
ing the early part of the nineteenth centuiy, when 
Jews from Galicia and Poland seized every opportu- 
nity of moving westward. On the other band, Rup- 
pin lias shown that within recent years, when forci- 
bie measures have been taken to prevent Russian 
Jews from settling in Germany, the growth of the 
Jewish population there has almost entirely ceased, 


This would give an average of only 2,000 per an- 
num throughout the century, but tlie number has. 
largely increased of recent years. A rough estimate 
made ten years ago placed the number of conver- 
sions at about 3,000 per annum — 1,000 in Austria- 
Hungary, 1,000 in Russia, 500 in German}-, and the- 
remainder in the Anglo-Saxon world. A slight re- 
duction, about 500 a year, must be made in tlie 
figures regarding the total losses, because of tlie 
converts to Judaism, such conversions resulting' 
mainly through the marriage of Christian women 
to Jews. 

The difficulty of ascertaining to which cause any 
increase is due — whether to immigration or to< 
natural augmentation — consequent upon the fact 
that accurate statistics with regard to Jews are- 
available for comparatively few countries, formerly 
caused the widest diversity to exist as to the total; 
number of Jews in the world, as can be seen from 
the list of estimates given in the table on page 531. 

The approximation of the latest estimates shows- 
that the foundations for enumeration are becoming 
more sure and the variations possible less wide. 
The basis of modern estimates is that of I. Loeb, 
given in 1879, the chief errors of which were the: 



531 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Statistics 


omission of the 1,000,000 Jewish inhabitants of Po- also. As far as possible, the date at which the cen- 
land and the estimate of the Falashas at 200,000. sus was made is given; and where the city estimate 


Andrce gives details founded upon actual censuses, 
and he has been followed by Jacobs, Harris, and 
Ruppin. Of the earlier estimates, that of Jost, in 
the tenth volume of his liistory, is the most note- 
worthy, and was founded on a set of careful fig- 
ures and enumerations derived mainly from censuses 
taken about 1840. He does not estimate the total, 
but au addition of his figures results in 8,143,000, 
a figure probably not far from the truth. Of recent 
years very much fuller and more accurate details 
have been obtained as to the number of Jews, espe- 
cially in Europe, where the majority of countries 
consider the religious creeds of their inhabitants as 
part of the census returns. 


Authority. 

Time. 

Estimated 

Number. 

“French- 

1828 

4,947,000 

Jewish A 1 - 



rnanac.” 



Balbl 

1829 

4,000,000 

Horschelman. 

1883 

6,598,000 

Jost 

1840 

3,143,000 

Berghaus 

1854 

4,000.000 

Boudin 

1857 

3,900,000 

Legoy t 

1868 

4.550,000 

Alexander.... 

1870 

6,798,029 

I. Loeb 

1879 

6,276,957 


Authority. 

Time. 

Estimated 

Number. 

Audree 

1881 

6,193,662 

“ Encyc. 

1881 

6,200,000 

Brit.” 



Heckler 

1883 

6,136,662 

A. Nossig. . . . 

1887 

6,582,500 

J. Jacobs 

1896 

9,066,534 

I. Harris .... 

1902 

10,319,402 

“American 

1904-5 

10,932,777 

Jewish Year- 
Book.” 


A. Ruppin. . . 

1904 

10,456,000 


In the English-speaking world, especially in Eng- 
land and America, -where no religious census is 
taken, recourse must be had to estimates instead of 
enumerations. These are mainly derived from three 
sources : (a) the death-rate, (b) the mar- 
Methods riage-rate, (c) school statistics. As re- 
of Estima- gards the first source, the burials in 
ting* Popu- Jewish cemeteries are almost alwaj's 
lation. a sure indication of the number of 
Jewish inhabitants. If the popula- 
tion is a stable one, an estimate based on the or- 
dinary death-rate of the country would give too 
small a figure (see Mortality) ; where much migra- 
tion has occurred the error would be still greater, 
owing to the fact that migrants are chiefly of the 
most viable ages. The estimate deduced from the 
marriage-rate is generally much above the true fig- 
ures, if the ordinary marriage-rate is taken, as, owing 
to the nubile ages of migrants, a larger proportion of 
Jews many in the Western countries. It is usual to 
assume that the children of school age, whose num- 
bers can be very frequently ascertained, are one-fifth 
of the population. Here, again, Jewish statistics 
vary somewhat from general statistics, owing to the 
eagerness of Jewish parents to send their children 
to school. In cases where no actual enumeration of 
the number of Jewish children is possible, an esti- 
mate can at times be made by finding the number of 
children absent from school on the Day of Atone- 
ment, which, as a rule, corresponds almost exactly 
to the number of Jewish children attending the 
schools. See London. 

The following list, taken from various sources, 
gives the numbers of Jews in each country, together 
with the ratio to its entire population. The cities 
having a large Jewish population are given under 
the head of the country to which they belong, their 
proportion to the general population being given 


is of later or earlier date, this also is mentioned. 
When no date is given, the census of 1900-1 is meant. 
Estimates are indicated by asterisks. 


Table of Ratios of Jewish to Total Popula- 
tion in the Principal Countries and Cities 
of the World. 



Jewish 

Population 

Percentage 
of Jewish 
. to Total 
Population. 

Total 

Population. 

Europe. 

Austria 

Brody 

Cracow 

Czernowitz 

Lemberg 

Prague 

Triest 

Vienna 

Belgium* 

. 1,224,899 

15,050 
25,430 
22,000 

40.000 

20.000 
5,100 

150,000 

12,000 

4.68 

75.00 
29.13 
32.53 

25.00 

9.92 

3.22 

8.95 

.18 

26, 150, 70S 
20,071 
87,274- 
67,622' 
159, 875^ 
201,580* 
158,344- 
1,687,954 
6,687.651 

Antwerp 

4,500 

1.58 

285,600* 

Brussels 

6,500 

1.16 

561.782' 

Bosnia and Herzegovina. 

8,213 

.58 

1,404,000 

British Isles * 

250,000 

.57 

41,454.573 

England 

235,000 

.85 

27,483,490 

Birmingham 

4,000 

.77 

522,182 

Leeds 

15,000 

3.50 

428,953 

Liverpool 

7,000 

1.04 

684,947 

London (1902) 

150,000 

2.27 

6,581,327 

Manchester 

28,000 

5.15 

543,969 

Ireland 

3,769 

.08 

4,704,750 

Scotland * 

10,000 

.24 

4,025,647 

Glasgow 

6,500 

.86 

760,468 

Wales 

500 

.03 

1,519,035 

Bulgaria 

33,663 

.90 

3,733,189 

Rustchuk 

3,075 

10.92 

28.121 

Sofia. 

7,000 

14.89 

47,000 

Crete 

728 

.24 

294.192 

Cyprus and Malta 

130 

.03 

376,175 

Denmark 

5,000 

.20 

2,464,770 

Copenhagen 

3,500 

1.11 

313,000 

France 

86,885 

.22 

38,595,500 

Bordeaux 

3,000 

1.17 

257,471 

Lyons 

2,636 

.58 

453,145 

Marseilles. 

5,500 

1.11 

494,769 

Paris 

58,000 

2.18 

2,660,000 

Germany (1901) 

586,948 

1.04 

56,367,178 

Berlin 

86,152 

4.56 

1,844,151 

Breslau 

18,440 

4.36 

422,738 

Cologne 

8,400 

2.40 

372,229 

Dresden 

38,700 

9.00 

1 289,844 

Frankfort-on-the-Main.. 

22,000 

7.63 

289,489 

Hamburg 

1 17,308 

2.76 

625,552 

Hanover 

4,151 

1.76 

235,666 

Konigsberg 

4,076 

2.16 

187,897 

Leipsic 

4.844 

1.06 

455,089 

Mayence 

4,300 

5.10 

84,500 

Munich 

9,500 

1.90 

498,503 

Nuremberg 

6,500 

2.49 

261,000 

Posen 

5,810 

5.00 

117,014 

Greece 

8,350 

.34 

2,433,806 

Athens 

300 

.27 

111,4S6 

Larissa 

1,500 

10.00 

15,000 

Holland 

103,988 

2.00 

5,179,1 IK) 

Amsterdam 

- 60,000 

11.30 

530,718 

Rotterdam : 

12,000 

4.00 

222,233 

Hungary 

851,378 

4.43 

19,207,103 . 

Budapest 

168,985 

23.08 

732,322 

Grosswardein 

12,294 

31.85 

38,557 

Miskolez 

8,551 

28.08 

30,444 

Szegedin 

5,863 

6.93 

87,410 

Temesvar 

8,916 

22.37 

39,850 

Italy 

34,653 

.10 

34,000,000 

Leghorn 

4,050 

4.12 

9S.321 

Rome 

7,800 

1.17 

663.CXK) 

Turin.. 

4,300 

* 1.27 

335,639 

Venice 

3,800 

2.50 

151,840 

Luxemburg * 

1,200 

.50 

236.^43 

Norway and Sweden *... . 

5,000 

.07 

7,376.321 

Poland (1897) 

1,316,776 

16.25 

8,000,000 

Czenstochow 

12,000 

26.66 

45,130- 

Lodz (1903) 

74,999 

24.38 

307,570 

Lomza 

10,380 

39.42 

26,075 

Lublin 

22,495 

44.90 

50,152 

Warsaw (1902) 

262,824 

41.18 

638,209 

Portugal* 

1,200 

.02 

5,428,659 

Lisbon 

250 

.08 

308,000 



Statistics 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


532 



Jewish 

Population. 

Percentage 
of Jewish 
to Total 
Population. 

Total 

Population. 

E u rope— C o n ti n ucd. 

269,015 

7,850 

4.99 

5,40S,743 


60.3S 

13,000 

Botosbani 

16,660 

10,811 

47.60 

23.14 

35,000 

46,715 


43,274 

12,970 

15.34 

282.071 


20.85 

62,678 


30,441 

38.99 

78,067 

Monastir 

Russia (1897) 

Berdychev 

BielaZerkow 

Bobrinsk 

6,000 

3,872,625 

47.000 

16.000 
19,125 

.90 

3.29 

87.52 

48.48 

54.33 

664,379 

117,668,000 

53.000 

33.000 
35.177 
46,502 


36,650 

78.81 


( 42,000 

65.62 

63,925 


32,369 

44.83 

72,231 


24,611 

52.45 

46,871 


23,000 

62.16 

36,846 

Jitomir 

22,000 

33.61 

65,452 


18,967 

27.14 

62,219 


16,000 

50,000 

28,403 

6.46 

247,432 


49.95 

108,796 


38.60 

73,543 


9,700 

15.04 

64,505 


49,957 

54.60 

91,494 


25,000 

58.14 

43,106 

Nikolnief 

16,000 

17.39 

92,060 


150,000 

23.000 

18.000 

37.03 

405,041 

Pinsk 

80.10 

27,938 


7.02 

256.197 


15,000 

12.50 

119,889 

St. Petersburg (1900) . . . 

Wilna 

Yekaterinoslav 

20,385 

63.986 

36^000 

24,340 

1.41 

40.00 

29.54 

39.26 

1,439,616 

159,568 

121,216 

61,841 


5,102 

.20 

2,493,770 


5,000 

.02 

18,089,500 


3,000 

10.90 

27,460 


300 

.06 

498,000 

Switzerland 

Turkey and Eastern Ru- 

12,551 

282,277 

.38 

4.91 

3,315,443 

5,746,986 

Adrianople (1904) 

Bagdad 

17,000 

35.000 

20.98 

24.14 

81,000 

145,000 

C n nstani'inopift 

44,361 

3.94 

1,125,000 

pbilippopolis 

3,800 

8.86 

42,849 

Salonica 

60,000 

- 57.14 

105,000 

ASIA. 

Arabia * 

30,000 

.42 

7,000,000 

Aden 

3,059 

7.42 

41,222 

Asia Minor and Syria *. . . 
Aleppo 

65.000 

30.000 

.55 

8.54 

11,800,432 

117,000 

Brn^a , 

3,500 

4.58 

76,303 

Corfu 

3,500 

19.00 

17,918 

Darn a cons 

10,000 

4.44 

225,000 

Smyrna 

. 25,000 

12.44 

201,000 


58,471 

11,650 

2,000 

.77 

7,536,828 

Tl'i Lmi 

11.31 

103,060 

China and Japan * 

.0004 

427,663,231 

Hongkong 

143 

.06 

221,441 

To die 

! 38,228 

.06 

231,899,507 

firvfn Vim y 

5,357 

.67 

776,000 

Cfilcutt-fi T _ _ 

1,SS9 

.17 

1,125.400 

Palestine * •. . . 

75,000 

1,800 

12.00 

650,000 

Haifa 

13.84 

13,000 

Hebron 

1,500 

7.50 

18,000 

Toff-j 

3,500 ! 
41,000 

8.75 

40,000 

Jerusalem i 

68.33 

60,000 

Safed 

6,870 

27.48 

25,000 

Tiberias 

2,600 

65.00 

4,000 

Persia * 

35,000 

.39 

9,000,000 

gu i rn 7 . 

5,000 

16.66 

30,000 

210,000 

Tphpran 

5,100 

2.42 

Russian Central Asia 

Saoiarcand 

32,729 

4,379 

.16 

.51 

7. 1 40,394 
859,123 

j$jhpi'ia 

34,477 

.60 

5,666,659 

Turkestan and Afghanis- 
tan 

18,435 

.22 

8,241,913 

Africa. 

Abyssinia (Falashas) *. . . 
Algeria (1902) 

50,000 

51,044 

1.00 

1.07 

5,000,000 

4,729,331 

4 Igiprs 

10,800 

14.44 

74,792 

46,581 

Constant! tip 

7,200 

10,636 

15.47 

Oran 

14.27 

74,510 

29,554 

9,734,405 

Tlemqen 

4,909 

16.61 


30,678 

.31 

a iPYfiTKlrin * 

12,433 

3.89 

319,000 

Cairo 

14,362 

2.51 

570,062 

5,000,000 

Morocco * 

309,712 

2.11 

P 02 

30,000 

6.88 

14o,C(X) 

19.000 

50.000 

Mogador 

8,676 

45.66 

Morocco 

15,700 

31.40 


Africa - Continued . 

Sfax 

Tangier 

Tetiian 

Tripoli 

Tunis 

Tunis 

South Africa* 

Cape Colony 

Natal 

Durban 

Orange River Colony. . . 

Bloemfontein 

Portuguese Territory.. . 

Rhodesia 

Transvaal 

Johannesburg 

Amkrioa. 

(NORTH AMERICA.) 

Canada 

Montreal 

Toronto 

Winnipeg 

Central America* 

Mexico * 

United States* 

Baltimore 

Boston 

Chicago 

Cincinnati 

New York 

Philadelphia 

St. Louis 

San Francisco — 

< South America.*) 

Argentine Republic 

Buenos Ayres 

Brazil 

Rio de Janeiro 

Dutch Guiana 

Ecuador, Bolivia, Peru, 
Chile, and Uruguay.. 
Guiana, Venezuela, and 
Colombia 

Australasia. 

Australia 

New South Wales 

Sydney 

Queensland 

South Australia 

Victoria 

Melbourne 

Western Australia 

Perth 

New Zealand 

Tasmania 


Jewish 

Population. 

Percentage 
of Jewish 
to Total 
Population. 

Total 

Population. 

5,000 

7.14 

70,000 

12,000 

40.00 

30,000 

6,500 

29.54 

22,000 

18,680 

2.33 

800,000 

62.545 

4.16 

1,500,000 

12,000 

8.96 

i&5,ooo 

so;ooo 

4.54 

1,100,000 

20,000 

1.27 

1,527,224 

1,700 

.31 

543,983 

1,250 

2.08 

60,046 

1,500 

.72 

207,503 

800 

11.94 

6,760 

200 



arm 



25,000 

5.12 

487,457 

10,000 

9.80 

102,078 

22,500 

.42 

5,369,666 

10,000 

3.7a 

266,826 

3,500 

1.68 

207,971 

25,000 

59.52 

42,000 

4,035 

.12 

3,143.968 

LOGO 

.008 

11,642,720 

1,500,000 

1.97 

76,085,794 

30.000 

7.90 

434,439 

40,000 

8.91 

448,477 

60,000 

1 3.53 

1,698,575 

- 18,000 

5.52 

i 325,902 

672,776 

19.56 

3,437,202 

75,000 

5.80 

1,293,697 

45,000 

9.96 

451,770 

20,000 

6.68 

298,997 

20,000 

.42 

4,659,214 

10,000 

1.25 

800,000 

2,000 

.01 

14,002,335 

300 i 

,03 ! 

800,000 

1,121 

1.97 

57,388 

1,000 

.01 

9,318,033 

2,000 

.03 

6,345,539 

15,122 

.49 

3,036,570 

6,447 

.56 

1,132,234 

6,000 

1.33 

451,000 

733 

.18 

406,658 

786 

.24 

320,431 

5,897 

,51 

1,140,405 

5,500 

1.11 

493,956 

1,259 

2.54 

49,782 

500 

1.38. 

36,274 

1,611 

.20 

772,719 

107 

.07 

146,667 


Prom this it will be seen that the total number of 

Jews in the various o on tin Guts is 11,273,076, distrib- 

uted as follows: 


Europe 8,977,581 

Asia 352,340 

Africa 372,659 


North America 1,527,535 

South America 26,121 

Australasia 16,840 


The accuracy of these figures is doubtful since, 
as stated above, Englaud and the United fetates have 
no religious statistics. With respect to the lands of 
Islam, an attempt has recently been made by the 
Alliance Israelite Universelle to obtain some definite 
data; the result is given below: 


Mohammedan Countries. 


Algeria 

Bulgaria 

Egypt 

Morocco 

Persia • 

Tripoli 

Tunis 

Turkey in Europe 


63,000 

31,064 

30,578 

109,712 

49,500 

18,660 

62,540 

1SS,896 


(Turkey in Asia.) 


Archipelago (Turkish) 4,557 

Asia Minor 77,458 

Crete 646 

Mesopotamia 59,235 

Syria and Palestine. . . 79,234 
Yemen 35,000 

Total 810,080 



533 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Statistics 


With some of these results maybe compared those 
of Cuinet (“La Turquie d’Asie,” Paris, 1892-95): 
121,381 for Turkey in Asia, and 70,382 for Syria 
and Palestine. 

The difficulty in securing trustworthy results from 
Asiatic and Islamic countries may be illustrated by 
reproducing the various estimates made of the Jew- 
ish population of Jerusalem — a subject which is, of 
course, interesting in itself : 


Estimate. 

Authority. 

Year. 

7,100 


1867 

1868 
1873 
1887 
1881 
2895 
1898 

1903 
1893 

1904 
1902 
1896 
1902 
1902 

7 120 


ft 000 


0 000 


14/100 


16,000. . 

Ritter 

31.000 

25,000-30,000.... 

28.000 

Luncz (“Luah”) 

1 “New International Encyclopedia 11 . 
Meyer’s tours 

29.000 

30.000 

30 774 

M. A. Mever (Jew. Encyc. vii. 151).. 

W. W. Wilson (“Encyc. Brit.”) 

Cuinet 

41 000 . 

Baedeker and' Brockhaus 

55,000 

Wilson (“ Encyc. Brit. 11 ) 




Probably 95 per cent of the persons included in 
these estimates of Jewish populations are Ashkena- 
zim. As far as can be ascertained, the numbers of 
Sephardim are as follows : 

Turkey in Europe 90,000 

“ “ Asia 45,000 

Egypt, etc • 10,000 

Algeria 40,000 

Morocco 50,000 

France 0,000 

But there are others, besides these two groups, 

who may be included under the heading “Jews”; 
the following classes may be enumerated : 


Italy 18,000 

Holland, etc 50,000 

America 5,000 

Total 314,000 


Nativity. 


Number. 


!*c 


A. Jews both by religion 

. and by birth 

Ashkenazim 

Sephardim 

Samaritans (?) 


Teutonic and Slavonic 
[Romance, Levantine, 
| African. 

Nablus 


11,000,000 9S.9 
10,475,000 92.8 
314,000 5.1 

150 


B. Jews by religion, but 

not by birth 

Falashas 

Karaites 

Daggatouns, etc 

Beni-Israel 

Cochin 


Abyssinian 
Crimean . . 
Saharic . . . 
Bombay... 
Cochin — 


50.000 

6,000 

10.000 
6,500 
1,600 


C. Jews by birth, but 
not by religion . . . 

Chuetas 

Maiminim 

Gedid al Islam 


Belearic Isles 

Salonica 

Khorasan 


13.000 0.2 

6,000 

4.000 “ 

2.000 


The following list summarizes the proportion of 
Jews to general population in the several countries: 


Per cent. 


Poland 16.25 

Palestine 12.00 

Rumania 4.99 

Austria 4.68 

Hungary 4.43 

Russian Empire 3.29 


Per cent. 


Morocco 2.11 

Holland 2.00 

United States 1.97 

Prussia Ill 

Algeria 1.07 

Germany 1.04 


Per cent. 


Bulgaria .90 

United Kingdom .57 

Luxemburg .50 

Argentine Republic. .42 

Canada .42 

Persia .39 

Switzerland .38 

Australasia .38 

Greece .34 

Egypt .31 


Percent. 


France -22 

New Zealand .20 

Servia .20 

Denmark .20 

Belgium .18 

Italy .10 

Norway and Sweden .07 

India .06 

Portugal .02 

Spain -.02 


Turning from distribution to social characteristics, 
the most marked one is the preference for living in 
towns, though this tendency, of course, is now com- 
mon. A few figures with regard to 
Town and this point may be here inserted. Dr. S. 

Country. Neumann (“Die Fabel von der Jiid. 

Masseneinwanderung,” p. 65) gives 
the following percentage of Jews living in the 
open country in Prussia, to which has been added, 
after Jannasch, the proportion of the general popu- 
lation : 


Year. 

Older 

Parts. 

New Pos- 
sessions. 

Together. 

Proportion. 

1849 

20.85 

21.75 

19.73 

18.41 



73.48 

70.39 

6S.70 

67.67 

IRnft 



1867 

39.38 

34.89 

22.88 

21.90 

1871 



Here the decrease in the rural population is not so 
very marked, but the small proportion to the general 
population is noteworthy. In countries in which 
the Jewish population is smaller the contrast is 
more striking. Thus, in Saxony, in 1880, while 72 
per cent of the general population dwelt in the 
country, only 3 per cent of Jews lived outside of 
towns (“Statist. Jahrb. fur Sachsen,” 18S3, p. 5). 
At the last census of Victoria, in 1881, the percent- 
ages of the population were as follows (“ Religions 
of the People,” part iii.): 



1 

Towns, 

etc. 


Outside 


Shires. 

Local Ju- 
risdiction. 

General 

50 

49 

1 

Jews 

' 93 

7 

0 


The following table, taken from Ruppin, "Die 
Juden der Gegenwart,” gives the number of Jews 
in large cities in the countries named for the year 
1900: 


Country. 

^Percentage 
of Jews in 
Large Cities. 

Percentage 
of Christians 
in Large i 
Cities. 

Percentage of 
-Inhabitants 
of Large 
Cities Who 
Are Jews. 

Austria. 

23.33 

10.60 

9.76 

Holland 

42.72 

15.90 

2.75 

Hungary 

26.11 

6.39 

15.S9 

Prussia, 

49.21 

16.55 

3.30 





The same writer gives an equally interesting table 
of the proportion of Jews in the following impor- 
tant cities : 



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Map of the Western Hemisphere, Showing Chief Centers of Jewish Population. 






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THE FOLLOWING PLACES ARE LOCATED BY CORRESPONDING NUMBERS ( 


1 Brody 

2 Cracow 

3 Czernowltz 

4 Lemberg 

6 Prague 
C Triest 

7 Vienna 

10 Sarajevo 

BELGIUM. 

8 Antwerp 

9 Brussels 

BULGARIA. 

11 RuBtohuk 

12 Sofia 

GERMANY. 

60 Berlin 

61 Breslau 


62 Cologne 

63 Dresden 

64 F ran kforl-on-the-Maln 

65 Hamburg 

66 Il&nover 

67 ROuigsberg 

68 Leipsic 

69 Mayence 

70 Munich 

71 Nuremberg 

72 Posen 

HOLLAND. 

13 Amsterdam 

14 Rotterdam 

HUNGARY. 

15 Budapest 

16 Grosswardeln 

17 Miskoloz 


18 Temeavar 

19 Szegedin 

20 Luxemburg 

PALESTINE. 

74 Haifa 

75 Hebron 

76 Jaffa 

77 Jerusalem 

78 Safed 

79 Tiberias 

POLAND. 

21 Czenstochow 

22 Lodz 

23 Lomza 

24 Lublin 

25 Warsaw 

RUMANIA. 

26 Bakau 

27 Botosb&nl 


28 Braila 

29 Bucharest 

30 Galatx 

31 Jassy 

32 Monastir 

RUSSIA 

33 Bcrdychev. 

34 Bjelostok 

35 Bielazerkow 

36 Bobrinsk 

37 Breat-LitOTsk 

38 Drinsk 

39 Grodno 

40 Homel 

41 Jitomir 

42 Kherson 
48 Kiev 

44 Kishlnef 

45 Kovnj 


46 Li ban 

47 Minsk 

48 Moghilef 

49 Nikolaief 

60 Odessa 

61 Pinsk 
52 Rica 

63 Rostof 

64 St. Petersburg 

65 Wilna 

56 Yekaterinoslar 

67 YeliBaTetgrad 

TURKEY 

68 Adrianople 

69 Philippopolls 
73 Salonica 


Map of the Eastern Hemisphere, Showing chief Centers of Jewish Population. 



Statistics 

Stature 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


53 $ 


City. 

Percentage 
of Jews 
in City. 

Permillage 
of Jews 
of Country. 

Permillage 
of Others. 


13.40 

560 

80 


4.88 

235 

53 

Rlinlinrest, 

13.30 

161 

50 

Budapest 

Copenhagen 

23.08 

1.04 

199 

800 

31 

143 

T.ondon 

1.59 

585 

157 

]Vp\v York 

17.46 

528 

45 

Homo 

1.18 

179 

20 

St Petersburg. 

35.77 

193 

57 

Vienna 

8.77 

123 

6L 


Number of Women to 100 Men. 



Jews. 

General. 

! 

i i 
% 

General. 

Bavaria 

106 

110 

99 

105 

103 

1 

105 

103 

101 

103 

103 

Ireland ... 

89 ; 
101 
108 
104 
103 

105 

99 

103 

102 

109 

Denmark 

Italy 

Fpfippp 

Prussia 

Holland 

Russia 

Hnnirnry 

Sweden 




Notwithstanding the fact that the number of male 


In this connection it is interesting to give a list of 
the chief cities having more than 10,000 Jews: 


Adrianople 17,000 

Aleppo 10,000 

Alexandria 12,433 

Amsterdam 60,000 

Bagdad 35,000 

Baku 11,650 

Baltimore 30,000 

Berdychev 47,000 

Berlin 86,152 

Biela Zerkow 16,030 

Bobrinsk 19,125 

Boston 40,000 

Botosliani 16,660 

Braila 10,811 

Breslau 18,440 

Brest-Litovsk 36,650 

Brody 15,050 

Bucharest 43,274 

Budapest 168,985 

Buenos A y res 10,000 

Byelostok 42,000 

Cairo 14,362 

Chicago 60,000 

Cincinnati 18,000 

Constantinople 44,361 

Cracow 25,430 

Czenstochow 12,000 

Czernowitz 22,000 

Damascus 10,000 

Dresden 38,700 

Dvinsk 32,369 

Fez 10,000 

Fra n k fort-o n-fche-Ma i n . 22, 000 

Galatz 12,970 

Grodno 24.611 

G ross wardei n 1 2,294 

Hamburg 17,30S 

Homel 23,000 

Jassy 30,441 


Jerusalem 41,000 

Jitomir 22,000 

Johannesburg 10,000 

Kherson 1S,967 

Kiev 16,000 

Kishinef 50,000 

Kovno 28,403 

Lemberg 40,000 

Lodz 74,999 

Lomza 10,380 

London 150,000 

Lublin 22,495 

Minsk 49.957 

Moghilef 25,000 

Montreal 10,000 

Morocco 15.700 

New York 672.776 

Nikolaief 16,000 

Odessa 150, 0(X) 

Paris 58,000 

Philadelphia 75,000 

Pinsk 22,000 

Prague 20,000 

Riga 18,000 

Rostof 15,000 

Rotterdam 12,000 

St. Louis 45,000 

St. Petersburg 20,385 

Salonica 60,000 

San Francisco 20,000 

Smyrna 25,000 

Tangier 12,000 

Tunis 12,000 

Vienna 150,000 

Warsaw 262,824 

Wilna 63,986 

Winnipeg 25,000 

Yekaterinoslav 36,000 

Yelisavetgrad 24,340 


Owing to the large dispersion of the Jews of Rus- 
sia, Galicia, and Rumania during the past twenty- 
five years, amounting probably to 1 , 000 , 000 , a some- 
what peculiar statistical condition occurs in the 
Jewish population of the English-speaking world, 
where for the most part the emigrants have been re- 
ceived (see Migration). The latter are largely of 
the most viable ages — between fifteen and forty-five 
—and therefore the death-rate is very low and the 
marriage-rate very high. The absence of the aged 
from the stream of immigration also tends to reduce 
the death-rate, though it increases the proportion of 
deaths under the age of five to an abnormal degree. 
This, for example, is the reason why in London such 
deaths are more than 50 per cent of the total number 
of deaths. 

Another example of the result of the Russian 
emigration is the distribution of males and females 
in the Jewish as compared with the general popula- 
tion ; this can be seen from the following table : 


births among Jews is larger than among other races, 
the proportion of Jewesses to Jews is greater than 
that of females to males in the general population. 
This is due in large measure to the frequent emigra- 
tion of young men to seek their fortunes in other- 
lands; hence, in America and England there is a 
much larger proportion of young men to young- 
women, which again leads to a higher marriage -rate. 


Bibliography: L. Zunz, Grundllnten zu ciner Kunftiaen- 
Statistik dev Judeii, in G. S. i. 134-141: R. An dree, fur 
Volkskunde cler Judah pp. 287-296: Boudin, Trade tie, Geo- 
graphic et Statistique Medicate, ii. 128-142, Paris, ISdj : Lan- 
geau, in Academic des Sciences Politiques et Morales , April 
4, 1882; Loeb, in Vivien de St. Martin, Dictionnaire de Geo- 
graphic. s.v. Juifs ; Jacobs, Studies in Jewish Statistics , 
1885; idem, in Jewish Year Book,, 1896; I. Harris, ih. 1900 
etseq.; Jiidische Statistik , pp. 430-552; Ruppin, Die Judcn 
dev Geaenwart, pp. 26-44; Bulletin de V Alliance Israelite 
Universclle. , 1904, pp. 149-170. 


STATURE; Natural height of man. The stat- 
ure of the Jews is a racial characteristic which has. 
been thoroughly investigated in various countries. 
Besides numerous anthropological works, many of 
the recruiting-offices in eastern Europe have contrib- 
uted considerable material on the subject. Topinard 
considers the average stature of man to be 165 cm. 
Judged by this standard, the Jews are below the- 
mean height. As may be seen from the appended 
table (No. 1) of measurements of about 14,000- 
Jews, the average height is found to be 161 to 163 
cm. In some places it is considerably higher, 
reaching 167 cm. in Odessa, and even 171.4 cm. 
among the richer class of Jews in the West End of 
London (Jacobs). As will be noticed from the fig- 
ures in Table 2, showing the average height of 
Jews as compared with that nf the non -Jewish in- 
habitants in eastern Europe, the stature of the 
former corresponds to a great extent with that of 
their Gentile neighbors. Wherever the latter are 
tall, the Jews also are tall, and vice versa. Thus 
in Galicia and Poland, where the indigenous Polisli 
population is short of stature, meas- 
Jews uring 162 to 163 cm. on the average, 
Compared the shortest Jews are found. In Lit- 
with tie Russia aud South Russia, where 
Non- Jews, the Gentiles are characterized by their 
superior height, measuring 165 to 167 
cm. on the average, the Jews also are comparatively 
tall, averaging 163 to 167 cm. The same is true of 
the Jews in Rumania, Bukowina, etc. 

It is a significant fact that while the stature of the 
Jews is in a measure correlative to the stature of the 
Gentile races among which they live, still they rarely 
reach the same height. With but two exceptions 
(Rumania and Hungary), the Jews are every where- 
from 1 to 3 cm. shorter than the Gentiles. This- 



537 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Statistics 

Stature 


shortness of stature has been cited by certain 
writers to prove that the Jews are an inferior race, 
which of course can not be seriously considered, be- 
cause it is not known that superior stature necessa- 
rily goes hand in hand with superior plij'sical and 
mental powers. The Japanese, for instance, are 
among the shortest of races — much shorter on the 
average than the Jews — yet, as is indicated by their 
recent and rapid progress, they are by no means 
an inferior or degenerate race. Particularly in 
Poland, where the natives are of inferior stature, 
many Gentile publicists, while discussing the degen- 
eracy of their people, have attempted to show that 
this deficiency is due to the presence of a large num- 
ber of Jews in that country whose low stature 
reduces the average. Measurements of conscripts 
were used in support of this view. On the other 
hand, it has been shown that the ages of conscripts 
are usually tAventy and twenty-one, and Jews at 
these ages have not yet reached their full groAvth (see 
Growth of the Body), and that eA 7 en then the 
JeAA r s measure 161.3 cm., not much less than the 
Poles, who average 162.7 cm. Measurements taken 
by OleclinoAvicz in the provincial government of 
Radom show that the Polish peasants are only 161.7 
cm. in height on the average ; and in Lomza, accord- 
ing to Talko-HrynceAvicz’s measurements, they are 
no taller. 

It is characteristic of the stature of the JeAvs that 
the proportion of short individuals among them is 


larger than among the surrounding races and peo- 
ples, as may be seen from the appended table (No. 1) 
taken from Fishberg’s work (see bibliography) : 

It appears from this table that the proportion of 
persons less than 160 cm. in height is everyAvhere 
larger among the Joavs than among the non-Jews of 
the same country, Avith but one exception, that of 
Rumania, which ma 3 r possibly be explained by the 
fact that the figures for these Jews are obtained by 
measuring immigrants to the United States, Avho are 
always taller than the people from 
Inferior whom they spring. The percentage 
Stature of of these short individuals seems to run 
Jews. in almost direct ratio to the percentage 
found among the Gentiles in the same 
locality. In Galicia and in Russian Poland, Avhere the 
proportion of Gentiles under 160 cm. in height exceeds 
20 per cent, the JeAvs have 25 per cent of short men. 
On the other hand, in Little Russia, where such per- 
sons are found to the extent of onty 14 per cent, and 
in Rumania, where it is only 12 per cent among the 
Gentiles, the JeAvs also show a lower percentage, 
namely, 24 and 18 respectively. Persons of tall 
stature, 170 cm. and over, are met with less fre- 
quently among the Jews than among others in the 
same country. Such persons are found to the ex- 
tent of 10 per cent among the Galician Jcavs, blit 
the percentage increases as it increases among the 
non-Jewish races in a given country, and is found 
to be 17 per cent among the Little-Russian JeAvs, 


Table I.— Stature of Jews Compared avith That of Non-Jews in Various Countries. 


Jews. 

Number 

Observed. 

Average 
Stature 
(in mm.). 

Observer, 

132 

1,634 

Weisbach. 

954 

1,623 

Majer and Koper- 



nicki. 

305 

1,622 

Fish berg. 

438 

1,625 

Tal ko-HrynceAvicz. 


1,642 

Snigireff. 

239 

1,648 

AVeissenberg. 

500 

1,669 

Pantukhof. 

219 

1,657 

Fishberg. 

4,470 

1,613 

Snigireff. 

689 

1,623 

Zakrzewski. 

1,006 

1,613 

Tolwinski. 

200 

1,610 

Elkind. 

315 

1,634 

Fishberg. 

2,122 

1,612 

Snigireff. 

69 

1,619 

Talko-HrynceAvicz. 

139 

1,617 

Yakowenko. 

275 

1,642 

Fishberg. 

[ 363 -j 

1,641 

1,714 

Jacobs. 


1,633 

Scheiber. 

*i46 

1,657 

Fishberg. 

329 

1,620 

Ranke. 

100 

1,654 

Himmel. 

55 

1,634 

Gluck. 

86 

1,643 

Ammon. 

62 

1,633 

Lombroso. . 

150 

1,660 

Fishberg. 

305 

1,618 

Pantukhof. 

61 

1,644 

“ 

14 

1,663 

SAviderski. 

124 

1,679 

Fishberg. 


Country. 


Non-JeAvs. 


People or Race. 


Average 
Stature 
(in mm.). 


Observer. 


Austria . 
Galicia . 


States) . 


kk kk (recruits) 

South Russia 

Odessa (recruits) 

Little Russia (.'emigrants 
United States). 

Poland (recruits) 


States). 

Lithuania (recruits) . 


White Russia. 


ted states) . 

London (East End). . , 
kk (West End)... 
Hungary (recruits) . . . 
kk (emigrants t 
States). 

Bavaria 

Bukowina (soldiers). . 


Bosnia 

Baden 

Turin 

Rumania (emigrants to United 
States). 

Caucasia 

Daghestan 

kk (mountaineers), 
United States 


J Poles 

I Ruthenians 

Little Russians 

“ kk (recruits) 


Poles (recruits) 

Lithuanians (recruits) 
Letto-Lithuanians. . . . , 
AATiite Russians 

j- English 

Magyars 

Germans 

Slavonians 

Ruthenians 

Rumanians 

Germans 

Italians 

Rumanians 

Armenians 

Lesghians 


1,633 

1,640 


1,667 

1,651 

1,661 


1,624 

1,655 

1,648 

1,640 


1,639 

1,644 

1,636 


1,720 

1,619 

1,646 

1,646 

1,670 

1,673 

1,652 

1,651 

1,650 

1,630 

1,680 


Majer and Koper- 
nicki. 


Talko-Hryncewicz. 

SnigireiT. 

Pantukhof. 


Snigireff. 

Zakrzewski. 

Tolwinski. 

Elkind. 


Snigireff. 

Talko-Hryncewicz. 


Anthropometric 

Committee. 

Scheiber. 


Himmel. 


Ammon. 

Lombroso. 

Pittard. 

Pantukhof. 

Kurdoff. 



Stature 

Steblicki 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


538 


Table II.— Stature of Jews Compared with That of Non-Jews in Various Countries in 

Eastern Europe. 



T.pss Than 

160 to 

165 to 

170 cm. 

Less Than 

165 cm. 

Number 

Observed. 

Average 

Stature 

Observer. 

Country. 

160 cm. 

164.9 cm. 

169.9 cm. 

and Over. 

i 

165 cm. 

and Over. 

(in mm.) 


Galicia : 

35.95 

33.22 

20.24 

10.61 

69.15 

46.60 

48.25 

30.85 

1,141 

2,861 

1,623 

1,622 

1 640 

Fishberg, Kopernicki. 
Kopernicki. 


13.67 

32.93 

28.90 

24.50 



21.78 

26.47 

22.94 

28.81 

51. 40 




Poland : 

35.53 

29.71 

24.47 

10.29 

65.24 

61.78 

34.47 

515 

191 

1,625 

1,640 

Fishberg, Elkind. 
Elkind. 

pnlps 

23.50 

38.22 

21.99 

16.23 


Lithuania and White 








Fishberg, Yakowenko. 
Talko-H ry nee wicz. 

Russia : 

Jpws 

27.05 

34.06 

25.85 * 

13.04 

61.11 

52.55 

49.59 

38.89 
a ft on 

414 

.961 

476 

1.635 

1.636 
1,644 

White Russians 

Letto-Lithuanians. . 

23.93 

18.07 

28.62 

31.52 

32.15 

27.94 

15.14 

22.47 

4:4 .40 

50.41 

Little Russia : 

Jews. 

24.35 

30.30 

28.31 

17.04 

54.65 ' 

45.35 

657 

1,639 

Fishberg, Talko- 

Hryncewicz. 

Little Russians 

14.52 

32.88 

26.86 

25.74 

47.40 

52,60 

1,694 

1,670 

Ivanovski. 

Rumania : 

Jft\VS 

18.00 

27.33 

24.00 

30.67 

25.83 

45.33 

42.38 

54.67 

150 

151 

1,660 

1,650 

Fishberg. 

Pittard. 

Rumanians 

12.58 

29.80 

31.79 

0/ .0-6 


and even 30 per cent among the Rumanian Jews. 
From the observations of Talko-Hryucewicz, Otto 
Ammon, and Majer and Kopernicki, it appears also 
that this condition obtains in other countries. 

Measurements of only 946 Jewesses are available, 
of which 435 are of immigrant Jewesses in New 
York city, obtained by Fishberg. The following 
figures give the average height in centimeters ac- 
cording to nativity : 


Stature of Jewesses. 


Country of Nativity. 

Number 

Measured. 

Average 

Stature. 

Observer. 


125 

150.6 

Elkind. 

•” (emigrants to 

the United States).. 

56 

206 

152.0 

151.5 

Fishberg. 

Talko-Hryncewicz. 

“\v ^ (emi- 



grants to the United 
ctate<) 

74 

154.6 

Fishberg. 

Smith Russia 

70 

153.6 

Weissenberg. 

T itlmnnin 

110 I 

150.7 

Yakowenko. 

“ (emigrants 

to the United States) 

100 

153.7 

Fishberg. 

Galicia (emigrants to 

122 

152.4 

I4 

the United States) . . 


Rumania (emigrants 
to the United States) 
Hungary (emigrants 

44 

154.5 


39 

154.4 

to the United States) 



It appears from the figures in this table that the 
average stature of Jewesses differs according to 
their nativity. Like the Jews, the Jew- 
Heigdit esses are tall in countries where the 
of women of the indigenous races are 
Jewesses, tall, and vice versa. In Poland they 
measure outy 150.6 cm. on the aver- 
age, while in South Russia they reach 153.6 cm. As 
a general rule, they are shorter by 1 to 3 cm. than 
their non -Jewish sisters. 

The difference in the stature of the Jews and 
Jewesses is about 12 cm. in favor of the Jews, which 
is about the same as has been observed among other 
races, the height of the Jewesses being about 92 per 
cent of that of the Jews. Short women measuring 


140 cm. and less in height are very often encountered 
among the Jewesses, but only rarely among Gentile 
women in the countries in which Jews live, while 
the proportion of tall women, measuring 158 cm. 
and over, is much smaller among Jewesses than 
among others. Here again is to be noted the phe- 
nomenon observed with regard to the men: the pro- 
portion of tall individuals is in direct ratio to the pro- 
portion of such persons among the Gentile women. 
Among the Polish 'women there is only 17.45 
per cent exceeding 157 cm. in height (Elkind); 
among the Jewesses in that country, 12.15 per cent 
(Fishberg). In Lithuania and White Russia, where 
the natives include more than 20 per cent of tall 
women, the Jewesess have 16.5 per cent of tall 
women among them ; and among the Little Rus- 
sians, the tallest of the Slavonians, the Jewesses in- 
clude 20 per cent over 158 cm. in height, compared 
with 37.45 per cent of tall women among the Gen- 
tiles in that country. 

The short stature of the Jews has been attributed 
to race influence. All the available evidence tends 
to show that the ancient Hebrews were short of 
stature, compared with the other races in Palestine,, 
particularly the Amorites (see Giants). This char- 
acteristic is said to have been hereditarily trans- 
mitted to the modern Jews. On the other hand, 
social factors must not be overlooked. The deplor- 
able hygienic, material, and social conditions of 
the eastern European ghettos may be considered a 
factor in reducing the average stature of the Jew’s. 
Also as tow T n-clwellers Jew r s are said to be at a dis- 
advantage as regards their height; and it appears 
that the population of modern cities is inferior in 
stature to the rural population. The 
Causes. occupations in which Jews mostly 
engage are of the indoor or domestic 
variety; and this also has a great influence in redu- 
cing their average stature. From Fishberg’s inves- 
tigations of the Jews in the United States it appears 
that those working indoors are 4.4 cm. shorter than 
those working at outdoor occupations, as may be 
seen from the following figures : 



539 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Stature 

Steblicki 


Average 

Stature. 

Indoor occupations : 


Tailors 161.3 cm. 

Cobblers 160.4 *• 

Factory-workers. .. 162.2 “ 

Average 161.3 “ 

Merchants 168.7 “ 

Professional men .... 169.6 “ 


Average 

Stature. 

Outdoor occupations : 


Carpenters 164.9 cm. 

Iron-workers 166.3 “ 

Masons 167.9 “ 

Laborers 166.8 ‘ fc 

Average 166.4 


It appears from these figures that the factor of 
occupation is not a negligible quantity in consider- 
ing the average stature of the Jews. While the 
effect of race can hardly be underestimated in such 
problems, still adverse social and sanitary conditions 
have also a great influence in reducing the stature. 
The foregoing figures are confirmed by the observa- 
tions of Weissenberg on the Jews in South Russia. 
He found that those who were in higher material 
and social circumstances were taller than their poorer 
coreligionists. Jacobs, as mentioned above, records 
the same to be the case with the Jews in London, 
where those of the East End average only 164.1 cm. 
in height, while their richer brethren in the West 
End of that city average 171.4 cm. In Poland, 
Zakrzewski has shown that in Warsaw the stature 
of the Jews is less in the poorer districts, and consid- 
erably greater in the richer ones. The maps of that 
city prepared by that statistician (reproduced by 
Ripley in his work “The Races of Europe ”) show in 
a striking manner how poverty goes hand in hand 
with shortness of stature. 

Others are inclined to attribute the differences in 
the stature of the Jews in various countries to inter- 
mixture with the native races. It is 
Social argued that while the influence of en- 
Conditions. vironment calls for serious considera- 
tion, still it has not been proved that 
the superior or inferior stature produced by favor- 
able or unfavorable social conditions is perpetuated 
by hereditary transmission. This view is sustained 
by the fact that, although the social and economic 
conditions in Little and South Russia are not by any 
means better than those in Poland, still the Jews of 
the former countries are taller than their Polish 
brethren. In Bukowina, likewise, the average height 
of the Jews is superior to that of their Galician 
brethren, although the social and economic environ- 
ment is in both cases about the same. All this is 
used as an argument by some anthropologists in 
support of their advocacy of the intermixture of 
Jews with Gentiles. 

Jewish immigrants to the United States are on the 
average taller than the coreligionists they have left 
behind them, as may be seen from the table giving 
the stature of the Jews. - The average stature of 
1,528 immigrant Jews in New York city was 164.5 
cm. (Fisliberg) as against an average of 162.0 cm. for 
1,681 Jews in Russia and Galicia. A subdivision 
into four classes presented the following results: 


Eastern 
New York. Europe. 
Per Cent. Per Cent. 


Short (less than 160 cm.) 23.30 35.46 

Below the average (160 to 164.9 cm.) 30.10 32.48 

Above the average (165 to 169.9 cm.) 27.49 21.41 

Tall (170 cm. and above) 19.11 10.65 


It appears from these figures that Jews of short 
stature were found in Europe to reach 85.46 per 


cent, as compared with 28.8 per cent among those 
who emigrated to the United States. The per- 
centage of tall individuals (170 cm. 
Stature of and over) in eastern Europe is only 
Im- 10.65, whereas in New York city it 
migrants* is 19.11, or nearly double. Persons 
of intermediate stature are found in 
about equal proportions in both groups. 

This phenomenon is attributed to a process of se- 
lection by emigration. Those who venture on a 
long journey to a distant land are usually superior 
physically to the average of the population from 
which they spring. It is not confined to the Jews. 
Gould lias shown that the German, Irish, French, 
English, and other immigrants to the United States 
are as a rule taller than their fellow countrymen at 
home. Other countries to which immigration is ex- 
tensive show the same phenomenon. 

Bibliography: Otto Ammon, Zur Anthropologic der Ba- 
dener ; Jena, 1899; B. Blechmann, Ein Beitrag zur An-, 
thr apologia, der Juden , Dorpat, 1882; N. D. Elkind, Evrei, 
in Publ. Society of Fi'iends of Natural Science , Anthro- 
pology , and Ethnography (in Russian), vol. xxi.; M. Fish- 
berg, Materials for the Physical Anthropology of the Jews, 
in Annals of the Next) York, Academy of Sciences , 1905 ; L. 
Gliiek, Beitriige zur Physischen Anthropologic aer Spani- 
o len, in Wissenschaftliche Mittheilungen ausBosnien und 
der Herzegovina , 1896, iv. ; Himmel, Korpermessungen in 
derBukowina, in Mittheilungen derAnthropologischen Ge- 
sellschaft, Vienna, xviii. 83; A. A. Ivanovsky, OhAntropolo- 
gitchcskom Sostave Naselenia Bossii , in Puhl. Society of 
Friends of Natxiral Science, etc. (in Russian), xxii.; Joseph 
Jacobs, On the Racial Characteristics of Modem Jews , in 
Jour. Anthropological Institute, xv.; idem, On the ComjMr- 
ative Anthropometry of English Jews, ib. xix.; C. Lom- 
broso, L'Antisemitismo e U Scienze Modeme, Turin, 1892; 
J. Majer and J. Kopernicki, Characteristyka Fiziczna Lud- 
noszi Galicyjskiej , in Zbior Wiadom . do Antropologii 
Kraj. i.,ix., Cracow, 1877-85; I. Pantioukhov, The Races of the 
Caucasus (in Russian), Tims, 1900 ; J. Ranke and N. Rudinger, 
Zur Statistik und Physiologic der K6rpergr6sse der Bayer- 
ischen Militiirpflichtigen, in Beitriige zur Anthropologic 
Bayerns, iv. 1-35; Snigireff, Materiali dlia Medizimkoi 
Statistiki i Geografii Bossii, in Voenno Mcdiz it ski Zhur- 
nal , 1878-79; J. Talko-Hryncewicz, Characteristyka Fiziczna 
Ludnoszi Zydowskiej Litwi i Rxisi, in Zbior Wiadom. do 
Antropologii Kraj. xiv., Cracow, 1892; S. Weissenberg, 
Die Siidmssischen Juden , in Avchiv fllr Anthropologic , 
xxiii. 347-423m, 531-579; M. G. Yakowenko, Materiali k 
Antropologii Evreev, St. Petersburg. 1898; Adam Zakrzewski, 
Ludnosc Miasta Warszaioy, in Mater. Antropnl.-Arche- 
olog. Akadem. Umiej. i., Cracow, 1895. 

j. M. Fi. 


STATUTES. See Law, Civil. 

STAUB, HERMANN : 'German jurist; born at 
Nikolai, Upper Silesia, March 21, 1856. After having 
studied for some time at the gymnasium at Beuthen 
he attended the universities of Breslau, Berlin, and 
Leipsic, graduating from the last-named institution 
in 1880. Having been admitted to the bar, he estab- 
lished himself as counselor at law in Berlin, ma- 
king civil law his specialty. Staub has published 
“ Kommentar zum Allgemeinen Deutsclien Handels- 
gesetzbuch” and “Kommentar zur Allgemeinen 
Deutselien Wechselordnung.” He is associate edi- 
tor of the “Deutsche Juristenzeitung.” 
Bibliography: Das Gcistige Berlin , 1897, p. 514. 

s. 

STAUBER, DANIEL. See Widal, A. 

STEBLICKI (SEBLITZKY), JOSEPH 
ABRAHAM : German convert to Judaism ; son of 
a Catholic butcher; born at Nikolai, Upper Silesia, 
about 1726; died there May 16, 1807. He received 
a good education in Jesuit colleges, and became 
teacher and later city treasurer in his native town, 



Steckler 

Steinbach 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


540 


and finally a member of the city council. Retir- 
ing from active life in 1780, he occupied himself 
with religious studies, and began to observe the 
Sabbath and the dietary laws ; then he circumcised 
himself, as he stated later; and on the Day of 
Atonement in 1785 he attended services in the Jew- 
ish synagogue dressed in a white gown, like other 
worshipers. 

When the authorities were informed of Steblicki’s 
conversion, proceedings against him were immedi- 
ately instituted which, according to the law of Leo- 
pold I., of 1709, then still in force, should have led 
to a sentence of death. But the king, Frederick II., 
ordered the proceedings to be suspended (Dec. 12), 
and left to the revenue authorities the questions as 
to whether Steblicki, as a Jew without right of resi- 
dence (“ unvergleiteter Jude ”), should be tolerated, 
and whether he should be required to pay the spe- 
cial Jewish taxes. On July 28, 1780, the authorities 
decided that he should not be molested, on the 
ground that he must be mentally unbalanced. Steb- 
licki lived more than twenty years after his con- 
version in harmony with his wife and his son, and 
was highly respected by the small Jewish commu- 
nity of Nikolai. His life was made the subject of 
legendary exaggerations in David Samoscz’s “Ger 
Zedek” (Breslau, 1816) and in M. A. Hertzberg’s 
“Der Neue Jude” (Gleiwitz, 1845). 


Bibliography: Berlinischc Monatsschrift, Aug., 1/86, pp. 
153-173 ; Brann, in Jticlischer Volks- unci Hauskalenaer , 
1S92, p. 56; Biberfeld, Josef Abraham Steblicky , cinGcr 
Zedek cleslS.Jahrhunderts , in Berliner’s Magazin, xx. 181- 
198 : Neustadt, Josef Steblicki, ein Prosclyt Unter Friedrich 
dem Grossen , Breslau, 1891 (comp, review of this work by 
Brann in Monatsschrift , xxxix. 379-384, Breslau, lS9o). 


STECKLER, ALFRED: American jurist; 
born in New York city Dec. 18, 1856. He was edu- 
cated in the public schools of New York city and at 
Columbia Law School, graduated in 1877, and was 
admitted to the bar in the same year. In 1881 he 
was elected a judge of the Fourth District Court of 
New York city, and served till 1893. In 1900 he 
was appointed to fill a vacancy in the Supreme 
Court of the First Judicial District of New York 
County. , 

Steckler has taken an active part in politics, with- 
out affiliating himself with any party. 

A. T * H * 


STEIGER. See Music, Synagogal. 

STEIN, ABRAHAM : German rabbi ; bom at 
Wanfried, Prussia, Jan. 13, 1818; died at Prague 
Sept. 18, 1884; studied at the Teachers’ Seminary of 
Cassel (1832-34) and at the University of Berlin 
(Pli.D. 1844). He was principal of the seminary of 
Cassel 1845-47, rabbi at Filelme 1848-50, and mbbi 
of the Altschottlandische community of Danzig 
1850-63. When the old Meisel Synagogue of Prague 
was changed in 1864 to a modern temple with a 
choir, organ, and sermon, Stein received a call as 
preacher to this place of worship, where he offici- 
ated until his death. From 1865 to 1868 lie acted 
also as teacher of Talmud at the Talmud Torah 
founded by Bapaport in this community. 

Stein, who was eminent both as preacher and 
as linguist, published the following works: “Ge- 
scliichte der Juden in Danzig, nach Handschrift- 


lichen Quellen Dargestellt,” Danzig, 1860; “Ueber 
clen Unterriclit im Talmud nach Wissenschaffclieher 
Methode,” Prague, 1866; “Talmudisclie Terminolo- 
gie, Zusammengestellt und Alphabetisch Geordnet, 
und die Aufgabe einer Praparandie fur die Studie- 

renden der Theologie,” ib. 1869. 

s. A. Ivi. 

STEIN, LEOPOLD : German rabbi ; born in 
Burgpreppach Nov. 3, 1810; died at Frankfort-on- 
the-Main Dee. 2, 1882. After finishing liis earlier 
education at Erlangen and Bayreuth, he attended 
(1830) the University of Wurzburg. In 1833 lie de- 
livered his first sermon in Frankfort, in which he 
pleaded for the introduction of reforms; two years 
later he became rabbi of Burg and Altenkunstadt 
(Franconia); and from 1844 to 1862, when he with- 
drew from public life, he was rabbi at Frank fort- 
on-the-Main. He was especially prominent as one 
of the leaders of the Reform movement. 

With Dr. S. Susskind, Stein was editor of “Der 
Israelitisclie Volkslehrer” (1860-69); he edited also 
the year-book “ Acliawa,” published by the Lelirer- 
verein. His works include the following : 44 Stufen- 
gesiinge,” poems, Wurzburg, 1834; “Gebete und 
Gesange zum Gebrauche bei der Oelfentlichen An- 
daclit,” Erlangen, 1840; “Koheleth,” Frankfort-on- 
tlie-Main, 1846; “Die Rabbiner-Versaminlung: ein 
Wort zur Verstandigung,” ib. 1846; “ Der Eid More 
Judaico,” ib. 1847; “ Lehre und Gebot,” ib. 1858; 
“Die Hasmonaer,” ib. 1859; “Gebetbuch fur Israe- 
litisehe Gemeinden: nach dem Ritus der Haupt- 
Synagoge zu Frankfurt-am-Main,” ib. 1860; “Mein 
Dienstverhiiltniss zum Israeli tischen Gemeindevor- 
stande zu Frankfurt-am-Main, Actenmilssig zur Be- 
griindung -Meiner Amtsniederlegung Dargestellt,” 
lb. 1861 ; “ Haus Ehrlich,” a drama in five acts, Leip- 
sic, 1863 (performed at Mannheim); “Der Knaben- 
raub von Karpentras,” Berlin, 1863; “Sinai, die 
Worte des Ewigen Bundes,” a didactic poem, 
Frankfort-on-tli e-Main, 1868; “Die Schrift des Le- 
bens,” the contents of the Jewish religion, ib. 1868; 
“Torath-Chajim,” the Jewish religious law, Stras- 
burg, 1877 ; “ Der Gekliirte Judenspiegel, ” 1S82. He 
likewise composed for the Reform ritual the song 
“Tag des Herrn,” to be sung to the music of “Ivol 
Nidre ” on the eve of the Day of Atonement. 

Stein was a friend of Friedrich Ruckert, to whose 
year-book he contributed several essays. 

BlBi iography : Allgemcine Zeitung des Judenthiims , Sept. 

4 and 11, 1903. a 

o. 

STEIN, LUDWIG: Hungarian philosopher; 
bornatErdo-Benye, Hungary, Nov. 12, 1859; edu- 
cated at the gymnasia of Papa, Saros-Potak, and 
Zwolle, at the universities of Berlin and Halle 
(Pli.D. 1880), and at the Jewish Theological Semi- 
nary of Berlin (Rabbi, 1SS0). He lived in Berlin as 
rabbi from 1881 to 1883, and as journalist from 1883 
to 1886. In 1886 he became privat-docent at the Uni- 
versity of Zurich, and was in 1889 appointed pro- 
fessor at the polytechnic of that city. Since 1891 
he has been professor of philosophy at the Univer- 
sity of Bern. 

Stein is the author of the following works: “Die 
Falaschas,” Berlin, 1880; “Die Willensfreihei.t bei 
den Judischen Philosophen des Mittelalters,” ib. 



541 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Steckler 

Steinbach 


1882; “Berthold Auerbacli,” ib. 1882; “Eduard 
Lasker,” ib. 1883; “Die Psychologic der Stoa,” ib. 
1886; “Die Erkeuntuistheorie der Stoa,” ib. 1888; 
“Leibniz und Spinoza,” ib. 1890; “Friedrich 
Nietzsche’s Weltanschauung und Ihre Gefahren,” 
ib. 1893; “Das Erste Auftauchen der Sozialen Frage 
bei den Griechen,” 1896; “Die Soziale Frage im 
Lichte der Philosophie,” Stuttgart, 1897 (2d ed. 
1903; Russian and Frencli transl. 1900); “Die Phi- 
losophie des Friedens,” ib. 1899; “An der Wende 
des Jahrliunderts, ” ib. 1900 ; “ Der Sinn des Daseins,” 
ib. 1904; and “Der Sociale Optimismus,” ib. 1905. 

Stein is now (1905) the editor of “ Arcliiv fur Ge- 
scliichte der Philosophie ” (since 1886), “Berner Stu- 
dien zur Philosophie und Ihrer Geschichte ” (since 
1896), and “Arcliiv fur Systematische Philosophie” 
(since 1897). 

Bibliography : Meyers Konversations-Lexikon. 
s. F. T. H. 

STEIN, MARC ATJREL : Hungarian Orien- 
talist and archeologist ; born at Budapest in 1862 ; 
educated at Vienna, Tubingen, Oxford, and Lon- 
don. In 1888 he was appointed registrar of the 
Punjab University at Lahore, and principal of the 
Oriental College in the same university ; eleven years 
later he became principal of the Calcutta madrasah, 
where he remained until 1901. He is now (1905) 
inspector of schools in the Punjab. Stein is 
chiefly known, however, as an archeologist, the 
results of his explorations in Kashmir and Chi- 
nese Turkestan under a government commission 
being very important. His works are as follows: 
“ Kalhana’s Rajatarangini, or Chronicle of the Kings 
of Kashmir” (3 vols., text and translation, Bombay 
and Westminster, 1892-1900); “Catalogue of the 
Sanskrit Manuscripts in the Raghunatha Temple 
Library of His Highness the Maharaja of Jammu 
and Kashmir” (Bombay, 1894); “Detailed Report of 
an Archeological Tour with the Buner Field Force ” 
(Lahore, 1898); “Memoir on Maps Illustrating the 
Ancient Geography of Kacmir ” (Bombay, 1899); 
and “ Sand-Buried Cities of Khotan ” (London, 1903). 
In addition he has written numerous articles in vari- 
ous Oriental journals. 

s. L. H. G. 

STEIN, PHILIP: American jurist; born at 
Steele, Rhenish Prussia, March 12, 1844. He emi- 
grated to the United States in 1854, and was edu- 
cated in the public and the high school of Milwaukee, 
and at the University of Wisconsin, obtaining the 
degree of A.M. in 1868, in which year he was also 
admitted to the bar. After postgraduate courses at 
the universities of Heidelberg, Bonn, and Berlin he 
settled in 1870 in Chicago. In 1892, and again in 
1898, he was elected judge of the Superior Court of 
Cook County, Illinois, and in 1903 he was appointed 
judge of the appellate court of that state, of which 
court he is now (1905) presiding justice. 

Bibliography: American Jewish Year Bonk , 5665 (1904- 
1905), p. 195. 

a. F. T. H. 

STEIN, PHILIPP: German author; born Dec. 

3, 1853, at Ivonigsberg. In 1864 his parents removed 
with him to Berlin. The death of his father there 
prevented him from continuing his studies, and he 


became a bookseller. After having worked for some 
time on the editorial staff of the “ Deutsches Mon- 
tagsblatt,” Stein in 1881 became one of the editors of 
the “Dresdener Zeitung.” In 1884 he returned to 
Berlin and became chief editor of the “ Litterarische 
Merkur”; and from this time he developed great 
activity as contributor to various political, artistic, 
and literary papers. Stein is now (1905) editor-in- 
chief of the Berlin “ Bazar, ” and dramatic critic of the 
“Berliner Zeitung.” He has published “Illustrirte 
Kunstgeschiclite,” 1886, and “ Von Sclireibtisck und 
Werkstatt,” 1896, and has edited “Briefe von Goe- 
the’s Mutter,” 1891 ; “Reden des Fiirsten Bismarck,” 
1895-98; “Ruckert’s Ausgewahlte Werke,” 6 vols., 
1897 ; “ Briefwechsel Zwiscken Schiller und Goethe,” 
1901. 

Bibliography : Das Geistige Berlin , 1897, pp. 514-515. 

S. 

STEIN- AM- ANGER (Hungarian, Szomba- 
thely) : Town in Hungary. Although now one of 
the largest and most important in the country, the 
Jewish community of Stein-am-Anger is of compara- 
tively recent origin. In 1567 Emperor Maximilian 
II. granted to the town the privilege of allowing 
none but Catholics to dwell within its walls ; and 
even in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, 
when the municipal authorities rented shops to 
Jews, the latter were permitted to remain in the 
town only during the day, and then only without 
their families. Down to the beginning of the nine- 
teenth century but three or four Jewish families 
succeeded in taking up a permanent residence there. 
The members of the little community of Stein-am- 
Anger, therefore, dwelt not in the town itself, but 
in the outlying districts (now united into one munic- 
ipality). They separated in 1830 from the commu- 
nity of Rechnitz, of which they had previously 
formed a part, and were henceforth known as the 
community of Szombathely. When the Jews of 
Hungary were emancipated by the law of 1840, the 
city was obliged to open its doors to them ; but at 
the beginning of the revolution of 1848 they were 
not only attacked and plundered, but threatened 
with expulsion. The authorities interfered, how- 
ever, and when peace was restored the community 
quickly developed. 

The first elementary school was founded in 1846, 
and is now (1905) organized as a normal school, with 
four grades and about 230 pupils. The first syn- 
agogue was built by the former lord of the town, 
Duke Battliyanyi, Yvho sold it to the Jews. In 1880 
a large temple was built ; it is one of the handsomest 
edifices of its kind in Hungary. The founder of the 
community and its first rabbi was Ludwig Konigs- 
berger (d. 1861) ; he was succeeded in turn by Leo- 
pold Rockenstein, Joseph Stier, and Bela Bernstein 
(called in 1892). A small Orthodox congregation, 
numbering about 60 or 70 members, separated from 
the main body in 1870. It has its own synagogue, 
an elementary school with two teachers, and an in- 
dependent organization. 

s. B. Be. 

STEINBACH, EMIL : Austrian statesman ; 
born at Vienna June 11, 1846. After graduating 
from the Vienna University (LL.D.) he established 
himself as a lawyer, becoming soon afterward at- 



Steinbach. 

Steinheim 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


542 


taclied to the Ministry of Commerce. From Febru- 
ary, 1891, to November, 1898, lie was minister of 
finance in the cabinet of Taaffe. In 1894 he was 
appointed president of the Supreme Court of the 
Austrian Empire, which position he still holds 
(1905). He lias embraced Christianity. 

Steinbach is the author of the following works: 

“ Rechtskenntnisse des Publikums ” (1878); “Eigen- 
thum an Briefen nach Oesterreicliischem Rechte” 
(1879) ; “ Stellung der Yersicherungim Privatrechte” 
(1S83) ; “Erwerb und Beruf” (1S96) ; . “ Reclitsge- 
schafteder Wirtscliaftlichen Organization” (1897); 
“Moral als Schranke des Rechtserwerbes ” (1898); 
“Zur Friedensbewegung ” (1899); “Treue und 
Glaube im Yerkehr ” (1900) ; “Der Staat und die 
Modernen Privatmonopole ” (1903). 

Bibliography : La Grande Encyclopedic. g 

STEINBACH, JOSEF: Austrian physician; 
born at Fiinfkirchen, Hungary, Jan. 3, 1850. Edu- 
cated at the gymnasium of his native town and at 
the University of Vienna (M.D. 1875), he acted for 
a short time as assistant physician at the university 
hospital, and in 1876 was appointed surgeon in the 
navy, resigning the latter position in 1881. Aftei a 
postgraduate course at the University of Vienna he 

estsa/folisliecL liimself els gynecologist in. Franzensbad. 

Steinbach lias published the following beiietristic 
works: “ Heimatsklange,” Leipsic, 1882; “Ueber- 
setzungvon J. Kiss’ Gedichten,” Vienna, 1886; and 
“Eigenes undFremdes,” ib. 1888. Since 1886 lie lias 
been associate editor with G. A. Egger of the “ Oes- 
terreichiscli-Ungarische Badezeitung.” . lie has con- 
tributed several essays to professional journals, and 
is the author of “Die Stellung der Militararzte im 
Oesterreichisch-Ungarischen Heeresverbande. ” 
Bibliography: Eisner, Das Gcistige TFi'en, vols. i. and ii., 

Vienna, 1S93. F T H 

STEINBERG, JOSHUA : Russian writer and 
educator; born in Wilna 1839. He was graduated 
from the rabbinical school of his native city, and 
then for a short time occupied the position of 
rabbi at Bvelostok, being called to Wilna in 1861 to 
fill a similar position. In 1867 he was appointed 
head teacher of Hebrew and Aramaic at the rabbin- 
ical seminary, and in 1872 was promoted to the posi- 
tion of inspector, which post he held until 1904. 
Steinberg’s activities were not, however, limited to 
the sphere of higher education ; for it was due to 
his tireless devotion and persistent representations 
that the Russian government in 1863 established, in 
Wilna seven elementary city schools for Jewish 
children. Following the example of Wilna, other 
schools of the same pattern were established in 
nearly all cities containing a large Jewish pop- 
ulation. . . 

In 1863 the Russian government appointed Stein- 
berg censor of all Jewish publications, both domes- 
tic and foreign— a position which he still holds (1905). 
In 1887 he was requested by the government to in- 
spect theyeshibali at Volozliin with a view to intro- 
ducing into the curriculum of that institution the 
study of the Russian language and literature and 
other general subjects. Steinberg succeeded in con- 
vincing the officials of the institution of the necessity 


of such reforms, and they promised faithfully to 
carry out his plans; two years passed, however, 
without their making the least effort to comply with 
the request of the government, and the institution 
was closed in spite of Steinberg s earnest pleadings 
for another year’s delay. Steinberg was the recip- 
ient of many honors from the Russian government 
for his devotion and many-sided activities in both 
literary and educational fields. A hereditary honoi - 
ary citizenship was bestowed upon him, and he 
was decorated many times, 

Steinberg’s literary productions are many and 
varied. The following is a list of his more impor- 
tant works: 

Russian: “The Organic Life of the Language ” 
(1871), published in the “Viestnik Yevropy”; 

“ Grammar of the Hebrew Language ” (Wilna, 1871) ; 
“Book of Exercises in the Chaldean Language” 
(1875) ; “ Complete Russian-Hebrew Dictionary ” 

(1880); “Hebrew and Chaldean Dictionary of the 
Bible,” awarded a prize by the Holy Synod; “The 
Jewish Question in Russia ” (1882) ; Complete 
Russian-Hebrew-German Dictionary ” (1888), seven- 
teen editions; “The World and Life,” two editions; 
“Count Muraviev and His Relations to the Jews of 
the Northwestern Parts of Russia” (1889); “The 
Five Books of Moses,” with commentary. 

Hebrew : “ Human Anatomy, According to tlie 

Most Modern Investigations ” (1860) ; “ Or la-Yesiia- 
rim ” (Wilna, 1865), an anthology from the .ancient 
and the modern classics, written in the poetic style 
of the Bible, and annotated with moral reflections 
and observations; “Massa GeHizzayon ” (1886), met- 
ric translations from the Greek Sibyls ; “ A Hebrew- 
Russian -German Encyclopedic Dictionary of the 
Bible” (1896); “Darwin’s Theory in Its Relation to 
the Organic Life of Languages” (1897); “Ma‘arke 
Leshon *Ebei\” a Hebrew grammar. 

German: “Knospen,” a translation of Hebrew 
poems by A. B. Lebensolm; t GesUnge Zions, a 
translation of Hebrew poems by Michael Lebensolm. 
Bibliography: Zeitlin, Bibl. Post-Mendels. 

ii. u. J- k°* 

STEINBERG, SAMUEL: Hungarian histori- 
an; born at Gussing, Hungary, Dec. 16, 1857. He 
received his education at Gratz (Ph.D. 1882; LL.D. 
1894), and in 1895 became pri vat-docent at the 
University of Vienna. In 1901 he was appointed 
professor of history at the German University of 
Prague. Steinberg has contributed several essays, 
especially on the history of the fourteenth and six- 
teenth centuries, to various historical journals, and 
is the author of “ Nuntiaturberichte aus Deutsch- 
land” (Vienna, 1S97). 

s. F. H - 

STEINDORFF, GEORG : German Egyptol- 
ogist; born at Dessau Nov. 12, 1861. He studied 
Oriental languages at Leipsic and Berlin, was ap- 
pointed privat-docent at the university of the latter 
city, and succeeded in 1893 his teacher Georg Ebers 
as professor of Egyptology at the University of 
Leipsic. He has embraced Christianity. ^ 

Steindorff, who is associate editor of the “Zeit- 
sehrift fiir Aegyptische Sprache und Alterthums- 
kunde,” is the author of the following works: 



543 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Steinbach 

Steinheim 


“Koptische Grammatik” (1894, 2d ed. 1904), “Grab- 
funde des Mittleren Reiclis in den Konigliclien Mu- 
seen in Berlin” (1897-1901), “Das Kunstgewerbe im 
Alien Aegypten* (1898), “Die Apokalypse des 
Elias” (1898), “Die Bliitezeit des Pharaonenreicks ” 
(1900), and “Durch die Libysclie zur Amonsoase” 
(1905). Under the title “Aegyptische Kunstge- 
scliiclite ” (Leipsic, 1889) he translated into German 
G. Maspero’s “L’Archeologie Egyptienne”; he also 
edited Baedecker’s “Aegypten” (1902) and Ebers’ 
“ Aegyptische Studien ” (1900), as well as the latter’s 
“ Ur k unden des Aegyptischen Altertliums ” (1904). 
Bibliography: La Grande Encyclopedic. 


S. 

STEINER, KILIAN VON : German financier; 
born at Lauplieim in 1835; died at Stuttgart Sept 
24, 1903. At first attorney at law, he rose to the 
leadership of Whrttemberg finance as president of 
the Wiirttemberg’sche Vereinsbank. He was also 
founder (1871) of the Wurttemberg’scheNotenbank. 
Steiner was a patron of science and art and an inti- 
mate fi lend of Berthold Auerbach. In recognition 
of the part he took in the foundation of the Schwa- 
bische Scliillerverein and the Schilier-Museum in 
Marbach he was made an honorary citizen of Schil- 
ler’s birthplace. 

Bl 1903° GRAPHY : Allaemeine Zeitungdes Judenthums , Oct. 9, 

STEINFELD, EMANUEL: Australian states- 
man; born at Neisse, Silesia, in 1827; died at Mel- 
bourne May 6, 1893. He attended the College of 
Brieg, and after residing in London (1847-53) went to 
Ballarat, Australia, where lie established (1866) the 
film of Steinteld & Levison. He was the first mayor 
of Ballarat East, holding that office for three years, 
and was one of the chief founders of the Ballarat 
Orphan Asylum, the Water Scheme, and the Free- 
hold Market. He was an enthusiastic advocate of 
imperial federation. In May, 1885, Steinfeld be- 
came a member of the Victoria Chamber of Manu- 
factures, and two years later was elected its presi- 
dent. At his suggestion the chamber held three 
international conferences on the subject of the es- 
tablishment of intercolonial free trade. He was also 
a member of the commission appointed to consider 
the question of technical education introduced by 
himself. In Sept., 1892, he was elected to the 
legislative council of Victoria from the district of 
Wellington. 

Bibliography : Jew. Chron. June 2, 1893. 

J - G. L. 

STEINHARDT, JOSEPH B. MEN AHEM 

MENDEL: German rabbi; born about 1720; died 
at Forth in 1776; lived in early manhood at Schwa- 
bach in Bavaria. His first incumbency was the rab- 
binate of Rixkeim, and shortly afterward he was 
elected chief rabbi of Upper Alsace. In 1755 he was 
chosen chief rabbi of Nieder-Ehenlieim in Lower 
Alsace, and eight years later was called as rabbi to 
Fiirth, where he officiated until his death. Stein- 
hardt was one of the foremost Talmudists of his time, 
and questions were addressed to him from Hungary,' 
Italy (Verona), the Netherlands (Amsterdam), and 
Switzerland, He was extreme^ conservative, and 


induced the lord of the manor of Nieder-Ehenheim 
to forbid men and women dancing together. His 
attitude in liis controversy with Pick regarding 
Eleazar Kalir is also noteworthy, since he maintained 
that the word “Be-Rabbi” was not a second name, 
but merely an honorary title of Kalir’s, who he 
claimed was a contemporary of Saadia. 

Steinhardt -was the author of the following works * 
“Zikron Yosef” (Fiirth, 1773), a work in four 
parts, containing responsa and decisions modeled on 
the ritual codices; “Mashbir Bar” (Prague, 1827), 
comprising notes on the Pentateuch; and “Koali 
Shor ” (ib. 1827), containing novellas on the treatise 
Baba Batra, with notes by his grandson Akiba, 

Bibliography : Steinschneider, Cat. Lodi. col. 1533 ; Carmoly, 
m^Revue Orientate , iii. 307 ; Frankel, in Orient , Lit. viii. 

c - S. O. 

STEINHARDT, MENDEL: German rabbi 
and scholar of the eighteenth and nineteenth cen- 
turies; held the rabbinate of Minden. When the 
consistory of Westphalia was convened in 1807 he 
was elected its counselor. In defense of Israel Ja- 
cobson’s advocacy of the Reform movement among 
the Jews of Westphalia, Steinhardt wrote “Slie’etot 
u-Teshubot Dibre Menahem ” (Offenbach, 1804), con- 
taining ninety responsa on various rabbinical’ sub- 
jects, and supplied with an index arranged accord- 

to Talmudic treatises ; 2a e wrote also “ 

Iggeret ” (ed. W. Heidenheim, Rodelheim, 1812), a 
work seeking to justify the innovations introduced 
by the Jewish consistory at Cassel, and essaying to 
prove that they were undertaken in conformity with 
Talmudic principles. 

AP ^y : S. Berafeld, Toledot ha-Reformazion ha - 
JDatxt he-Ytsrael, p. 59, Cracow, 1900: Zeitlin, Bibl. Post- 
Mendels. p. 3/9. 

s * s. o. . 

STEINHEIM, SOLOMON LUDWIG 

(LEVY): German physician, poet, and philoso- 
pher; bom Aug. 6, 1789, in Altona (according to 
some authorities, in Bruchhausen, Westphalia); died 
May 19, 1866, at Zurich, Switzerland. He was edu- 
cated first at the Cliristianeum, Altona, and pursued 
his medical studies at the University of Kiel. He 
had hardly graduated when he found a wide field 
for his activity in Altona, whither the inhabitants 
of the sister city of Hamburg, then occupied by the 
French troops, had fled to escape the Russian block- 
ade, bringing with them typhus fever, which at 
that time was raging in the Hanseatic town. In 
1845 ill health forced him to abandon a medical 
career and to betake himself to milder climes. He 
settled in Rome, returning to his country only twice 
in 1845 and 1864. 

Steinheim, besides remaining a lifelong student of 
Aristotle, Hippocrates, and Celsus, took a great in- 
terest in natural history. In 1820 he published a 
pamphlet on the grasshopper, and in 1842 one on 
animal instinct. His treatise on the pathology of 
tumors (1846) was his chief contribution to medical 
literature. His main attention, however, w T as de- 
voted to philosophy and religion; he was a zealous 
adherent of Kant. As early as 1818 he had written 
an essay on ecstasis; and in 1835 he published the 
first volume of his “Die Offenbarung nacli dem 



Steinitz 

Steinschneider 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


544 


Lehrbegriff cler Synagoge.” In this work, for 
which he prepared himself by a careful study of 
comparative religion, lie, though a freethinker, en- 
deavored to raise revelation from a religious belief 
to a philosophic truth. While, according to him, all 
important philosophic systems lead to the dualistic 
struggle between good and evil, the revelation of 
the Old Testament places in the forefront as axioms 
“creatio ex liiliilo,” and, consequently, the unity of 
God, belief in which is essential to religion and 
morality. 

The second volume of Steinlieim’s life-work, con- 
sisting of twenty-five lectures, appeared under the 
title “ Das Dogma der Synagoge als Exakte Wissen- 
scliaft” ; the third volume (1863) treats of the strug- 
gle between revelation and paganism; while the 
fourth volume (1865) contains a series of separate 
essays on various subjects ( e.g ., the theory of Cre- 
ation according to the Old Testament), polemics 
against Dbllinger’s “Heidenthum und Judentlium” 
and Baur’s “ Dogmengeschiclite,” etc. 

Steinlieim in his “ Meditationen ” and in his con- 
tributions to the “ Kieler Zeitung ” earnestly advo- 
cated the emancipation of the Jews. Of his poems, 
“ Sinai ” and “ Obad jah Solm Amos aus der Verban- 
nung 77 (Altona, 1829; 2d ed. Fraukfoit-on-the-jVIain, 
1837) deserve special mention. 


Bibliography: AUgemeine Deutsche Biographic, s.v.; S. 
Bernfeld, Da'at Elohim , i. 593; M. Isler, in Arch. Isr. 1866, 
pp. 671-677. q 


STEINITZ, CLARA (nee Klausner ; pseudo- 
nym, Hans Burdacli) : German authoress; born at 
Kobylin April 16, 1852. She was educated at Halle- 
on-the-Saale, and in 1873 married Siegfried Heinrich 
Steinitz. She has published the following novels: 
« Des Yolkes Tocliter,” 1878; “Die Hlissliclie,” 1884; 
u Ihr Beruf, 77 1886 ; “ Im Priesterliause, ” 1890 ; “ Ring 
der Nibelungen,” 1893; and “Irrlicht,” 1895. She 
has also translated several novels from foreign lan- 
guages: of these may be mentioned: “Joseph und 
Sein Freund, 77 original by Bayard Taylor; “Die 
Liebschaften Philipps von Boisvilliers,” by Octave 
Feuillet ; “Gunnar”and “Unterdem Gletsclier,” by 
Boyesen ; and “Fraulein Ludingtons Sch wester,” by 
Bellamy. 

Bibliography : Das Geistige Berlin , 1897, p. 667. 


STEINITZ, WILHELM : Chess champion of 
the world from 1866 to 1894; born at Prague, Bohe- 
mia, May 17, 1836; died, insane, on Wards Island, 
New York, June 22, 1900. Destined for the rab- 
binate, lie studied Talmud diligently, but his fond- 
ness for mathematics overcame his parents’ wishes, 
and he continued his education at the Polytechnic 
Institute, Vienna, When a student he was troubled 
with much bodily infirmity, which accompanied 
him through life. At one time he was on the staff 
of a Vienna newspaper, but was. obliged to relin- 
quish his position owing to defective eyesight. 

Steinitz learned the moves of chess when he was 
twelve years old. Being unable to afford a proper 
board and set of men, he crudely carved some pieces 
from kindling-wood ; and a painted square of linen 
did duty for a board. He applied himself to the 
game with such earnestness that he soon beat his 


professor and came to be regarded as an expert by 
the leading players of Prague. In 1858, while in 
Vienna, he secured an introduction to the Chess 
Club of that city, and soon became known as a 
strong and brilliant player. In the club tourna- 
ment of 1861 he won the first prize, losing only one 
o-ame out of thirty-four played. Then he devoted 
himself wholly to chess, liis principal patron being 

Epstein, the banker. . 

In 1862 Steinitz represented Austria in the Inter- 
national Chess Tournament held in London, at which 
he secured the sixth prize, and this was the begm- 
ningof an unparalleled career as a chess-master. In 
July, 1866, he played a match with Anderssen which 
he won with 8 games to 6, thereby becoming cham- 
pion of the world, a title- which lie retained lor 
twenty-eight years, ultimately losing it in 1894 to 


Emanuel Lasker. 

Steinitz resided for more tlian twenty years in 
England, in which country he became naturalized. 
For some time he was chess editor of the London 
“Field ” and edited also “The Chess Monthly. A 
visit to America in 1881 having proved very suc- 
cessful, and his relations with the leading English 
chess-masters having become somewhat strained, 
Steinitz in 1893 settled in New York, where he re- 
sided until his death. For some time he was engaged 
in editing the chess terms for the “ Standard Dic- 

1 °Steinitz was the inventor of the gambit which 
bears his name and which has been described in the 
Jew. Encyc. iv. 30, s.v. Chess. He may be said to 
have founded a new school of chess. In place or 
the dashing game of the older players he aimed 
at speedily securing an advantage— often slig i , 
such as a doubled pawn— and, by careful develop- 
ment, at making his position invincible. His record 
s a chess-player, extending over a period ot torty 
rears is an extraordinary one, as the subjoined lists 


~ nromoc 


Tournaments. 


1859, Vienna : Third prize after Hamppe and Jenay. 

1860, “ Second prize after Hamppe. 

1861, “ First prize. 

1862, London: Sixth prize (12 players). 

1865, Dublin : First, prize. 

1866, London : Handicap, first prize, 8 to 0. 

1867, Paris : Third prize after Kolisch and \\ maw er. 
11 ’ Dundee : Second prize after Neumann. 

nrto nlw.ou f cceoiatirin ' T ' ¥V,rT “ 


bondman' Tfracpr 


SKCUUU. 

1870, Baden-Baden : Second prize after Anderssen. 

1871 British Association, London : First prize, 12 to 0. 

187 2 ’ “ " First prize, 7 to 1. 

1873, Vienna: First prize. . 

1882, “ First and second prizes divided with Wmawer. 

1883* London : Second prize after Zukertort. 

1894, New York: First prize : Albin, second. 

1895] Hastings : Fifth prize. _ . .. 

1896 St. Petersburg Quadrangular Tourney : Second puze after 
Lasker; Pillsbury, third ; Tchigorin, fourth. 
v ‘ Nuremberg: Fifth prize. 

1898, Vienna : Fourth prize. 

“ Cologne : Fifth prize. 


Matches. 

1862, beat S. Dubois, 5 to 3. 1 draw. 

1863, “ J. H. Blackburne, 7 to 1. 2 draws. 

“ “ F. Deacon, 5 to 1. 

fc * “ Montgredien, 7 to 0. 

1864, “ V. Green, 5 to 0. 2 draws. 

“ " Healey at Kt odds, 5 to 0. 



545 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Steinitz 

Steinschneider 


1866, Ibeat Anderssen, 8 to 6. 

44 44 Bird, 7 to 5. 5 draws. 

1867, 44 Fraser, 8 to 1. 

11 “ Fraser at P and move, 7 to 1. 1 draw. 

1870, 11 Blackburne, 5 to 0. 1 draw. 

1872, 44 Zukertort, 7 to 1 . 4 draws. 

1876, 44 Blackburne, 7 to 0. 

1882, 44 Martinez, 7 to 0. 

“ 44 Martinez, 3 to 1. 3 draws. 

44 44 Sellmann, 3 to 0. 2 draws. 

1885, 44 Sellmann, 3 to 0. 

1886, 44 Zukertort, 10 to 5. 5 draws. 

1887, 44 Mackenzie, 3 to 1. 2 draws. 

44 44 Golmayo, 8 to 1. 2 draws. 

“ 44 Martinez, 9 to 0. 2 draws. 

1888, 44 Vasquez, 5 to 0. 

44 44 Golmayo, 5 to 0. 

44 44 Ponce, 4 to 1. 

1889, 44 Tchigorin, 10 to 6. 1 draw. 

1890-91, beat Gunzberg, 6 to 4. 9 draws. 

1892, beat Tchigorin, 10 to 8. 5 draws. 

1894, lost, Lasker, 5 to 10. 

1896, 44 44 2 to 10 

Bibliography : C. Devide, A Memorial to William Steinitz , 
New York, 1901 ; The Hastings Chess Tournament , ed. H. 
F. Cheshire, London, 1896; The Living Age (Boston), Dec. 
22, 1900, pp. 759-767. 

s. A. P. 

STEINSCHNEIDER, MORITZ : Austrian 
"bibliographer and Orientalist; born at Prossnitz, 
Moravia, March 80, 1816. 

He received his early instruc- 
tion in Hebrew from liis 
father, Jacob Steinschneider 
(b. 1782; d. March, 1856), 
who was not only an expert 
Talmudist, but was also well 
versed in secular science. 

The house of the elder Stein- 
schneider was the rendezvous 
of a few progressive Hebra- 
ists, among whom was his 
brother-in-law, the physician 
and writer Gideon Brecher. 

At the age of six Moritz 
was sent to the public school, 
an unheard-of proceeding at 
that time with regard to a 
Jewish child ; and at the age 
of thirteen he became the 
pupil of Rabbi Nahum Tre- 
bitscli, whom he followed to 
Nikolsburg in 1832. The fol- 
lowing year, in order to con- 
tinue his Talmudic studies, he 
went to Prague, where lie remained until 1836, at- 
tending simultaneously the lectures at the Normal 
School. His countryman Abraham Benisch, who 
also was studying in Prague at this 
Education, time, inaugurated among his intimate 
friends a kind of Zionistic movement, 
which Steinschneider joined. Later, however, see- 
ing the impracticability of the scheme, he withdrew 
from it completely (1842). 

. In 1836 Steinschneider went to Vienna to con- 
tinue his studies, and, on the advice of his friend Leo- 
pold Dukes, he devoted himself especially to Oriental 
and Neo-Hebrew literatures, and most particularly to 
bibliography, which latter was destined to become 
the principal field of his activity. Being a Jew, 
Steinschneider was prevented from entering the 
Oriental Academy ; and for the same reason he was 
XI.— 35 


unable even to obtain permission to make extracts 
from the Hebrew books and manuscripts in the Im- 
perial Library, Vienna. In spite of these drawbacks 
he continued his studies in Arabic, Syriac, and He- 
brew with Professor Kaerleat the Catholic Theolog- 
ical Faculty of the university. He had at this junc- 
ture the intention of adopting the rabbinical career. 
In Vienna, as formerly in Prague, he earned a live- 
lihood by giving lessons, teaching Italian among 
other subjects. For political reasons he was com- 
pelled to leave Vienna and decided to go to Ber- 
lin; but, being unable to obtain the necessary pass- 
port, he remained in Leipsic. At the university 
there he continued the study of Arabic under Pro- 
fessor Fleischer. At this time he began the transla- 
tion of the Koran into Hebrew 7 and collaborated with 
Franz Delitzsch in editing Aaron ben Elijah’s “ ‘Ez 
Hayyim ” (Leipsic, 1841); but the rules of the Aus- 
trian censorship did not permit the publication of 
his name as coeditor. While in Leipsic he contrib- 
uted a number of articles on Jewish and Arabic lit- 
erature to Pierer’s Universal Encyklopadie. 

Having at length secured the necessary passport, 
Steinschneider in 1839 proceeded to Berlin, where 
he attended the university 
lectures of Franz Bopp on 
comparative philology and 
the history of Oriental litera- 
tures. At the same time he 
made the acquaintance of 
Leopold Zunz and Abraham 
Geiger. In 1842 he returned 
to Prague, and in 1845 lie fol- 
lowed Michael Sachs to Ber- 
lin; but the Orthodox tend- 
encies of the latter caused 
Steinschneider to abandon 
definitely his intention of be- 
coming a rabbi. At this time 
he was employed as a re- 
porter of the “ National-Zei- 
tung ” at the sessions of the 
National Assembty in Frank- 
fort and as correspondent of 
the “Prager Zeitung.” In 
1844, together with David 
Cassel, he drafted the “Plan 
der Real-Encycjopiidie des 
Judenthums,” a prospectus 
of which work was published in the “ Literaturblatt 
des Orients”; but the project was not carried 
through (see specimen page reproduced in Jew 7 . 
Encyc. i.. Preface, p. xviii.). 

On March 17, 1848, Steinschneider, after many dif- 
ficulties, succeeded in becoming a Prussian citizen. 
The same year he w T as charged w T ith the preparation 
of the catalogue of the Hebrew 7 books in the Bod- 
leian Library, Oxford (“Catalogus Librorum He- 
brfeorum in Bibliotheca Bodleiana,” Berlin, 1852-60), 
a work which w 7 as to occupy him thirteen years, in 
the course of which he spent four summers in Ox- 
ford. In 1850 he received from the University of 
Leipsic the degree of Ph.D. In 1859 he w 7 as ap- 
pointed lecturer at the Veitel-Heine Ephraim’sche 
Lehranstalt in Berlin, where liis lectures w r ere at- 
tended by both Jewish and Christian students. 



Moritz Steinschneider. 




Steinsehneider 

Steinthal 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


546 


From 1860 to 1869 he served as representative of the 
Jewish community at the administration, before the 
tribunals of the city", of the oath More Judaico, 
never omitting the opportunity to protest against 
this remnant of medieval prejudice. From 1869 to 
1 890 he was director of the J udisclie Madchen-Sehule 
(school for girls of the Jewish communit}'). and in 
1869 lie was appointed assistant (“ Hilfsarbeiter ”) in 
the Royal Library, Berlin. From 1859 to 1882 lie 
edited the periodical “ Hebraische Bibliographic.” 
In 1872 and 1876 he refused calls to the Beidinlloch- 
scliule fur die Wissenschaft des Judenthumsand the 
Landesrabbiner-Schule in Budapest, respectively, 
holding that the proper institutions for the culti- 
vation of Jewish science were not the Jewish theo- 
logical seminaries, but the universities. 

It is a characteristic feature of Steinschneider’s 
vast literary activity that he chose fields far removed 
from that of theology proper, e.g ., mathematics, 
philology, natural history, and medi- 
His Field cine, endeavoring thereby to display 
of the part which the Jews had taken in 
Activity, the general history of civilization 
(“Kulturgescliichte ”). Thus while 
Zunz had laid the foundations of Jewish science, 
Steinsehneider completed many essential parts of 
the structure. He was the first to give a systematic 
survey of Jewish literature down to the end of the 
eighteenth century, and was the first also to publish 
catalogues of the Hebrew books and manuscripts 
which are found in the great public libraries of 
Europe. The gigantic Bodleian catalogue laid the 
foundation of his reputation as the greatest Jewish 
bibliographer. This and the catalogues of the libra- 
ries of Leyden, Munich, Hamburg, and Berlin, as 
well as the twenty-one volumes of his “ Hebraische 
Bibliographie,” form an inexhaustible mine of infor- 
mation on all branches of Jewish history and litera- 
ture. One of his most important original works is 
“ Die Hebraischen Uebersetzungen des Mittelalters 
und die Juden als Dolmetscher: Ein Beitrag zur 
Literaturgeschichte des Mittelalters, Meist nach 
Handschriftliclien Quellen,” Berlin, 1893. As the au- 
thor states in his preface, the first plan of this monu- 
mental work goes back as far as 1849. Having be- 
come conscious, while writing his article on Jewish 
literature for Ersch and Gruber’s “Allgemeine 
Encyklopadie der Wissenschaften und Ktinste ” 
(1844-47), of the lack of sources on the influence of 
foreign works on Jewish literature, he determined 
to supplement the monographs of Huet, Jour- 
dain, Wiistenfeld, and Wenrich on the history of 
translations by one having the Neo- Hebrew litera- 
ture as its subject. In 1880 the Institut de France 
offered a prize for a complete bibliography of the 
Hebrew translations of the Middle Ages; Stein- 
sclmeider won it with two monographs written in 
French in 1884 and 1886. His “ Uebersetzungen ” is 
an enlarged translation into German of these two 
French monographs. 

Steinsehneider writes with equal facility in Ger- 
man, Latin, French, Italian, and Hebrew; his style 
is not popular, and is intended only “for readers 
who know something, and who wish to increase their 
knowledge ” ; but, curiously enough, he did not hesi- 
tate to write, together with Horwitz, a little reader 


for school-children, “Imre Binali” (1846), and other 
elementary school-books for the Sassoon School of 
the Beni-Israel at Bombay, In this same connection 
the fact deserves mention that in 1839 he wrote 
“Eine Uebersicht der Wissenschaften und Ktinste 
Welche in Stunden der Liebe Nicht Uebersehen Sind ” 
for Saphir’s “Pester Tageblatt,” and in 1846 “Man- 
na,” a volume of poems, adaptations of Hebrew 
poetry, which he dedicated to his fiancee, Augusta 
Auerbach, whom he married in 1848. 

The following is a list of the more important inde- 
pendent works of Steinsehneider, arranged in chron- 
ological order: 

‘Ez Hayyim, Ahron ben Elias aus Nikomedien des Karaer’s 
System der Religionsphilosophie, etc., edited together with 
Franz Delitzsch. Leipsic, 1841, 

Die Fremdsprachlichen Elemente im Neuhebriiischen. 
Prague, 1845. 

Imre Dinah: Spruchbuch fur Jiidische Schulen, edited to- 
gether with A. Horwitz. Berlin, 184T. 

Manna (adaptations of Hebrew poetry from the eleventh to 
the thirteenth century). Berlin, 1847. 

Jiidische Literatur, in Ersch and Gruber, “Encyc.” section 
ii., part 27, pp. 357-376, Leipsic, 1850 (English version, by William 
Spottiswoode, “ Jewish Literature from the Eighth to the Eight- 
eenth Century,” London, 1857 ; Hebrew version, by H. Matter, 
“Sifrufc Yisrael,” Wilna, 1899), 

Catalogus Librorum Hebroeorum in Bibliotheca Bodleiana. 
Berlin, 1852-60. 

Die Schriften des Dr. Zunz. Berlin, 1857. 

Alphabetum Siracidis ... in Integrum Restitutum et Emen- 
datum, etc. Berlin, 1858. 

Catalogus Codicum Hebrteorum Bibliothecae Academiae Lug- 
duno-Batavae (with 10 lithograph tables containing specimens 
from Karaite authors). Leyden, 1858. 

Bibliograpbisches Handbuch fiber die Theoretische und Prak- 
tische Literatur ffir Hebraische Sprachkunde. Leipsic, 1859 
(with corrections and additions, ib. 1896). 

Reshit ha-Limmud, a systematic Hebrew primer for D. Sas- 
soon’s Benevolent Institution at Bombay. Berlin, 1860. 

Zur Pseudoepigraphischen Literatur, Insbesondere der Gehei- 
men Wissenschaften des Mittelalters. Aus Hebraischen und 
Arabischen Quellen. Berlin, 1862. 

Alfarabi des Arabischen Philosophen Leben und Schriften, 
etc. St. Petersburg, 1869. 

Die Hebraischen Handschriften der Koniglichen Hof- und 
Staatsbibliothek in Munchen (in the “ Sitzungsberichte der 
Philosophisch-Historischen Klasse der Koniglichen Akademie 
der Wissenschaften in Munchen ”). Munich, 1875. 

Polemische und Apologetische Literatur in Arabischer Sprache 
Zwischen Muslimen, Christen und Juden. Leipsic, 1S77. 

Catalog der Hebraischen Handschriften in der Stadtbiblio- 
thek zu Hamburg, Hamburg, 1878. 

Die Arabischen Uebersetzungen aus dem Griechischen. Ber- 
lin, 1889-96. 

Die Hebraischen Uebersetzungen des Mittelalters und die 
Juden als Dolmetscher, etc. Berlin, 1893. 

Verzeichniss der Hebraischen Handschriften der Koniglichen 
Bibliothek zu Berlin. Part i., Berlin, 1897 ; part ii., ib. 1901. 

Die Arabische Literatur der Juden. Frankfort-on-the-Main, 
1902. 

Besides a great number of contributions, in widely 
differing forms, to the works of others (see “ Stein- 
sclmeider Festschrift,” pp. xi.-xiv.), the following 
independent essays of Steinsehneider deserve special 
mention : 

“ Ueber die Volksliteratur der Juden,” in R. Gosche’s “ Archiv 
fur Literaturgeschichte,” 1871; “ Constantinus Africauus und 
Seine Arabischen Quellen,” in Virchow’s “ Archiv,” vol. xxxvii.; 
“Donnolo: Pharmakologische Fragmente aus dem 10. Jahr- 
hundert,” ib.; “ Die Toxologischen Schriften der A raber bis zum 
Ende des XII. Jahrhunderts,” ib. lii. (also printed separately); 
“ Gifte und Ihre Heilung : Eine Abhandlung des Moses Maimoni- 
des,” ib. lvii.; “Gab Es eine Hebraische Kurzschrift?” in 
“Archiv fur Stenographic,” 1877 (reprint of the article “Abbre- 
viaturen,” prepared by Steinsehneider for the proposed “Real- 
EncyclopHdie des Judenthums,” see above); “Jiidische Typo- 
graphic und Judischer Buchhandel” (together with D. Cassel), 
in Ersch and Gruber, “ Encyc.” section ii., part 28, pp. 21-94; 



547 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


S teinschneider 
Steintlial 


“ Die Metaphysik des Aristoteles in Jiidischer Bearbeitung,” in 
the “Zunz Jubelschrift,” 1886; “Jehuda Mosconi,” in Ber- 
liner’s “Magazin,” 1876; “Islam imd Judentbum,” ib. 1880; 
“ Ueber Bildung und den Einfluss des Reisens auf Bildung” 
(two lectures delivered in the Verein Junger Kaufleute ; repro- 
duced in the Virchow-Wattenbach “Sammlung Gemeinver- 
standlicher Wissenschaftlicher Vortrage,” 1894) ; “ Lapidarien: 
Ein Culturgeschichtlicher Versuch,” in the Kohut Memorial 
Volume, 1896; “ Judisch-Deutsche Literatur,” in Neuman’s 
“Serapeum,” 1848-49; “Judisch-Deutsche Literatur und Jii- 
disch-Deutsch,” ib. 1864, 1866, 1869; the articles on Arabia, 
Arabic, Arabic literature, the califs, the Koran, the Mohammed- 
an Religion, and Mohammedan sects in the second ed. (1889-43) 
of Pierer’s “Universallexikon ” ; “Letteratura Italiana dei 
Giudei,” in “ II Vessillo Israelitico,” 1877-80 ; “ Letteratura Anti- 
giudaica in Lingua Italiana,” ih. 1881-83; “Zur Geschiehte 
der Uebersetzungen aus dem Indischen in’s Arabische,” in “ Z, 
D. M. G.” 1870-71; “ Hebriiische Drueke in Deutschland,” in 
Ludwig Geiger’s “ Zeitschrift fiir die Geschiehte der Juden in 
Deutschland,” 1886-93; “ Abraham J udaeus-Savasorda und Ibn 
Esra,” in Schlomilch’s “ Zeitschrift fiir Mathematik und Physik,” 
1867 ; “ Abraham ibn Esra,” ib. 1880. 

Very interesting and highly characteristic is Stein- 
scliueider’s philosophic testament in the preface to 
his “Arabische Literatur der Juden,” in which he 
who laid the main foundation 
of the study of Jewish litera- 
ture and history did not hesi- 
tate, at the age of eighty-six, 
to formulate an agnostic “con- 
fession de foi. ” 

Bibliography: Wurzbach, Biogra- 
phischcs Lex ikon ; Morals, Emi- 
nent Israelites of the Nineteenth 
Century , Philadelphia, 1880; Ke- 
neset Yisrael (year-book), 1886; A. 

Berliner, Catalogue of Steinschnei - 
der’s TVor/cs, 1886 ; M. Kayserling, in 
Allg. Zeit. des Jud. March 27, 1896 ; 

G. A. Kohut, Bibliography of the 
Writings of Prof. M. Stcinschnei- 
der , in Festschrift zum 80sten Ge- 
burtstage Steinschneider's , 1896; 
idem, in The American Hebrew , 

1896. S. 

STEINTHAL, HER- 
MANN (HEYMAN): Ger- 
man philologist and philoso- 
pher; born at Grobzig, Anhalt, 

May 16, 1828; died at Berlin 
March 14, 1899. He studied 
philology and philosophy at 
tlie University of Berlin, 
and was in 1850 appointed 
pri vat-docent of philology 
and mythology at that insti- 
tution. He was a pupil of Wilhelm von Hum- 
boldt, whose “ Spracliwissenscliaftliche Werke” he 
edited in 1884. From 1852 to 1855 Steintlial resided 
in Paris, where he devoted himself to the study of 
Chinese, and in 1868 he was appointed assistant pro- 
fessor at the Berlin University ; from 1S72 he was 
also privat-docent in critical history of the Old 
Testament and in religious philosophy at the 
Hochscliule fiir die Wissenschaft des Juden thums. 
In 1860 he founded, together with his brother-in-law 
Moritz Lazarus, the “Zeitschrift fiir Volkerpsy- 
cliologie und Spracli wissenschaft,” in which was 
established the new science of racial psychology. 
Steintlial was one of the directors (from 1888) of 
the Deutsch-Israelitisclie Gemeindebund, and had 
charge of the department of religious instruction 
in various small congregations. 

SteinthaFs principal works are: “Die Sprach- 


wissenschaft W. von Humboldts und die Hegel’sche 
Philosophic” (Berlin, 1848); “ Klassifikation der 
Sprachen, Dargestellt als die Entwickelung der 
Sprachidee ” (ib. 1850), which appeared in 1860 
under the title “ Charakteristik der Hauptsachlich- 
sten Typen des Sprachbaues,”and later, after being 
reedited and enlarged by the author and Misteli, as 
the second volume of the “ Abriss der Spracli wissen- 
selmf t ” (ib. 1893) ; “ Der Ursprung der Spraclie im 
Zusammenhang mit den Letzten Fragen Alles Wis- 
sens n (ib. 1851,4th enlarged ed. 1888); “Die Entwick- 
elung der Schrift ” (ib. 1852) ; “ Grammatik, Logik, 
Psychologie: Ihre Prinzipien und Ihre Verbal tniss 
zu Einander ” (ib. 1855) ; “ Geschiehte der Sprach wis- 
senschaft bei den Griechen und Rbmern ” (ib. 1863, 
2d ed. 1889-91); “Philologie, Geschiehte und Ps} r - 
cliologie in Ihren Gegenseitigen Beziehungen ” (ib. 
1864): “Die Mande-Negersprachen, Psychologisch 
und Phonetisch Betrachtet” (ib. 1867); “Abriss 
der Sprachwissenschaft ” (vol. i. : “Einleitung in 
die Psychologie und Sprachwissenschaft,”#. 1871; 

2d ed. 1881); “Allgemeine 
Ethik” (ib. 1885); “Zu Bibel 
und Religionsphilosophie ” (ib. 
1890; new series, 1895), con- 
sisting mainly of lectures de- 
livered before the Gesellschaft 
der Freunde for the benefit of 
the Leliranstalt fiir die Wissen- 
schaft des Jndenthums. The 
first volume of his “Gesam- 
melte Kleine Schriften ” ap- 
peared at Berlin in 1880. 

Bibliography: H. S. Morais, Emi- 
nent Israelites of the Nineteenth 
Century , Philadelphia, 1880, pp. 233- 
335; Brockhaus Konversations - 
Lexikon ; Allg. Zeit. des Hid. 
March 17 and 24, 1S99; Ost und 
West, July, 1903 ; Th. Achelis, Hen- 
man Steintlial , Hamburg, 1898 
(in Holtzendorff- Virchow’s Samm- 
lung Gem ein verst tin dlich-Wisse n- 
schaftlicher Vortrdgc). g 

STEINTHAL, MORITZ : 

German physician ; born at 
Stendal Oct. 22, 1798 ; died at 
Berlin May 8, 1892. Pie studied 
at the University of Berlin 
(M.D. 1821), and, after travel- 
ing throughout the Continent 
and England for two years, established himself as a 
physician in Berlin, where he soon built up a large* 
practise, and where he resided until his death. He 
was the first Prussian Jew to receive the title of 
“Sanitatsrath ” (1847), later becoming a “Geheimer 
Sanitatsrath.” 

Steinthal w r as the author of the following works: 

“ Ueber Tabes Dorsalis ” ; “Medizinische Analekten : 
Eine Auswahl Ausgezeichneter Krankheitsfalle ” ; 
“Encephalopathien des Kindlichen Alters ” ; “ (Jeber 
Nervenfiber, Carcinosen und Psychosen ” ; and 
“Riickschau auf Meine Funfzigjahrige Wirksam- 
keit.” He was a contributor to many medical jour- 
nals, and published in 1870 a new edition of Hufe- 
land ’s “ Makrobiotik. ” 

Bibliography: Jew. Chron. May 12, 1893; Hirsch, Biog. 
Lex . 

S. 



Hermann Steinthal. 


F. T. H. 



Stephen 
Stern, Basilius 


TI-IE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


548 


STEPHEN : Hellenist Jewish convert to Chris- 
tianity who, according to tradition, was martyred 
at Jerusalem Dec. 26, in the year 29 c.e. Epipha- 
li i'us (“Hieres.” xx. 4) records him as one of the 
seventy chosen disciples of Jesus. That he was a 
Hellenist is seen from his Greek name; according 
to Basil of Seleucia (“Oratio de S. Stepliano ”), 
his Jewish name was Kelil (= “crown ”), the equiv- 
alent of Srtyavog. Stephen is said to have been 
chosen one of the seven deacons charged with the 
distribution of the common fund entrusted to the 
Apostles. To him was ascribed the power of mira- 
cle-working (Acts vi. 5 et seq.); but he was accused 
of having spoken blasphemous words in declaring 
that Jesus would destroy the Temple and would 
change the customs instituted by Moses (verses 11-15 
of the same chapter). When the high priest asked 
him whether such was the case, Stephen is said to 
have made a long speech in reply, imitating that of 
Samuel (I Sam. xii. 6 et seq.) and passing in review 
Jewish history from the time of Abraham until that 
of the building of the Temple of Solomon. Then, 
imitating the Prophets, he rebuked the people for 
their stubbornness, insisting that the Temple stood 
against the desire of God. This enraged the people, 
who cast him out of the city and stoned him, Saul of 
Tarsus being present at the execution and consenting 
thereto (Acts vii. 1-viii. 1). 
j. M. Sel. 

STERN, ABRAHAM ; Polish inventor and 
educator; born at Hrubieszow, government of 
Lublin, 1709; died at Warsaw Feb. 3, 1842. He 

was the son of poor 
parents, and showed, 
while still very 
young, marked fond- 
ness for the study of 
Hebrew books, 
which inspired him 
with a love for 
philosophy and 
mathematics. Minis- 
ter Stasitz, the owner 
of Hrubieszow, dis- 
covered the natural 
aptitude of young 
Stern and encour- 
aged him to devote 
himself to t h e 
study of mathe- 
matics, Latin, and 
German, later send- 
ing him to Warsaw to continue his studies. 

The first result of Stern’s inventive genius was a 
computing-machine, which he perfected in 1817, 
and which included a device for calculating the 
square roots of numbers. This invention attracted 
wide attention, and led to his being elected (1817) a 
member of the Warsaw Society of the Friends of 
Science. In 1816, and again in 1818, he was presented 
to Emperor Alexander I. , who received him cordially 
and granted him an annual pension of 350 rubles, 
promising, in case of his death, to pay half of 
this sum to his widow. Encouraged by his friends. 
Stern invented a topographical wagon for the meas- 
urement of level surfaces, an invention of great value 


to both civil and military engineers. The com- 
mittee appointed by the academy to examine this 
invention reported very favorably upon it. Stern 
rendered great services to agriculture by his im- 
provements in the construction of thrashing- and 
harvesting-machines, as well as by his invention of 
a new form of sickle. He invented also a device by 
which the danger of runaways could be eliminated 
by means of a detachable tongue and a brake. 

Stern took an active interest in educational affairs. 
He accepted the post of inspector of Jewish schools 
and also that of censor; and the rabbinical school at 
Warsaw was organized according to the plan sug- 
gested by him. His official duties, however, did 
not prevent him from making contributions to He- 
brew literature. He wrote an ode in honor of the 
coronation of Nicholas I., which appeared in Hebrew 
under tlie title “ Rinnali u-Tefillah ” and was trans- 
lated into Polish by J. Gluegenberg( Warsaw, 1829). 
He wrote also “Shirim ” (Hebrew poems), which ap- 
peared in the “Shire Musar Haskel ” collection edited 
by Alex. Gazon (Warsaw, 1835). Besides his knowl- 
edge of Hebrew, Stern was well versed in Aramaic 
and Polish. 

Stern always remained an Orthodox Jew; he wore 
a skull-cap in the presence of his eminent friends, 
and when staying in the castle of Adam Czartoriski 
a Jewish cook prepared his meals. Among his 
friends were Dibitz, Zabalkanski, Prince Novosil- 
chev, and Prince Badziwill. Stern was the father- 
in-law of Hayyim Selig Slonimski, the editor of “ Ha- 
Zefirah.” ’ 

Bibliography 1 : Ha-Zcfirah , 1876, No. 9; Ha- Lebanon, 1872 , 

Nos. o, 4, 5; Fuenn,’ ICencsct Yisrael , p. 65; Ally. Zeit. ties 

Jud. 1842, p. 184 (where the year of Stern’s birth is given 

erroneously as 1762). 

ii. n. J. G. L. 

STERN, ADOLF : German poet and historian 
of literature; born at Leipsic June 14, 1835. He 
studied philosophy and history at Leipsic and Jena, 
and resided from 1S53 to 1S65 in Weimar, Chemnitz, 
Zittau, and Scliandau, finally settling in Dresden, 
where in 1868 he became assistant professor, and the 
following year professor, of the history of literature 
and art at the polytechnic. 

Stern’s literary activity lias been very extensive; 
of his many works tlie following may be mentioned : 

Poetical: “Gedichte,” Leipsic, 1860 (3d ed. 1882); 
“Am Konigssee,” ib. 1S63; “Historische Novel'len,” 
ib. 1866; “Das Friiuleiu von Augsburg,” ib. 1868; 
“ Johan nesGuttenbcrg,” ib. 1873 (2ded. 1889) ; “Neuc 
Novellen,”^. 1875; “Die Deutsclilierm,” a tragedy, 
Dresden, 1878 ; “ Aus Dunklen Tagen, ” Leipsic, 1S79 ; 
“Die Letzten Humanisten,” ib . 1880 (3d ed. 1889); 
“ Olme Ideale, ” ib. 1881; “Camoens,” ib. 1S86; “ Drei 
Yenezianisclie Novellen,”^. 1886; “ Auf der Reise,” 
Dresden, 1890; “Die Wiedergefundene,” Stuttgart, 
1891. 

Historical : “ Flinfzig Jahre Deutscher Dichtung, ” 
Leipsic, 1871 (2d ed. 1877) ; “ Katechismus der Allge- 
meinen Litteraturgeschiclite,” ib. 1874 (2d ed. 1892); 

“ Zur Litteratur der Gegenwart, ” ib. 1880 ; “ Lexicon 
der Deutscben Nationallitteratur,” ib. 1882; “Ge- 
sckiclite der Neuern Litteratur,” ib. 1883-85; “Ge- 
scliichte der Weltlitteratur,” Stuttgart, 1887-88; 

“ Beitriige zur Litteraturgeschiclite des Siebzelmten 
und Achtzehnten Jahrhunderts,” Leipsic, 1893; 



549 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Stephen 
Stern, Basilius 


w Studien zur Litteratur der Gegenwart,” Dresden, 
1895. 

Miscellaneous: 14 Wanderbueh,” Leipsic, 1877 (3d 
ed. 1890); “Herman Hettner,” ib. 1885; “Die Musik 
in der Deutschen Diclitung,” ib. 1888. 

Stern lias edited the following works: W. Hauff’s 
“Sammtliche Werke,” Berlin, 1879; Herder’s “Aus- 
ge wiihlte Scliriften,” Leipsic, 1881; Chr. Gottfried 
Korner’s “Gesammelte Scliriften,” ib. 1882; Yil- 
mar’s “ Gescliichte der Deutschen Nationallittera- 
tur,” Marburg, 1890 (to this work Stern added “Die 
Deutsche Nationallitteratur vom Tode Goethes bis 
zur Gegenwart,” which appeared also in a separate 
edition); Peter Cornelius’ “Gesammelte Gedichte,” 
Leipsic, 1890. In collaboration with Erich Schmidt, 
Stern edited also Otto Ludwig’s “ Gesammelte Sclirif- 
ten,” Leipsic, 1891 (with a life of the author, which 
appeared also separately). He has furthermore 
translated from the Swedish the poems of Count 
Snoilsky, Dresden, 1892. 

Bibliography: Brockhaus Konversations-Lexihon ; Mey- 
ers Konversatiom-Lexikon. 

s. F. T. H. 

STERN (SZTERENYI), ALBERT: Hun- 
garian rabbi; born at Nagy-Kanizsa in 1826; died 
in the insane asylum at Ofen June 16, 1888; edu- 
cated at Presburg and Ofen. Stern, who was the 
son-in-law of Babbi Hirsch Bar Fassel, officiated as 
rabbi at Lengyeltoti from 1851 to 1867, when ho was 
called to the rabbinate of Uj-Pest; but on account 
of his extravagant demands in behalf of Reform he 
was obliged to resign the latter position in 1884. 

Stern was a versatile scholar. He founded the 
Hebrew periodical “ Ha-Meliakker ” (3 vols., 1877- 
1879), in which he published his studies on the laws 
governing proselytes, the history of rabbinical sem- 
inaries, exhumation, ritual divorce, the life of Al- 
fasi, and the judicial decisions “Dinah de-Malkutali 
Dinah.” He wrote also on Jewish names (Nagy- 
Kanizsa, 1864), and on the law and history of burial 
(Pesth, 1874). 

In his desire for assimilation, Stern changed his 
name to Szterenyi. All of his five children accepted 
baptism. His son Joseph. Szterenyi is at present 
(1905) secretary in the Ministry of Commerce. 

s. L. Y. 

STERN, ALFRED : German historian ; born 
Nov. 22, 1846, at Gottingen, where his father, Mo- 
riz Abraham Stern (1807-94), was professor of mathe- 
matics (see “ Vierteljahrschrift derNaturforschenden 
Gesellschaft in Zurich,” 1894). Stern studied in 
the gymnasium of his native city, in Heidelberg, 
and in Berlin. From 1869 to 1870 he acted as assist- 
ant archivist in Carlsrulie, and two years later estab- 
lished himself in Gottingen as privat-docent in his- 
tory. In 1873 he was appointed professor at the 
University of Bern, which position he held until 
1887, when he accepted the chair of general history 
at the Eidgenossische Polytechnikum at Zurich. 

Stern is the author of the following works: 
“Ueber die Zwolf Artikel der Bauern und Einige 
Andere Aktenstucke aus der Bewegung von 1525 ” 
(Leipsic, 1868); “Milton und Seine Zeit ” (2 vols., 
ib. 1877-79); “Gescliichte der Revolution in Eng- 
land” (1881, 2d ed. Berlin, 1898); “ Abhandlungen 
und Aktenstucke zur Geschichte der Preussischen 


Reformzeit 1807-15” (Leipsic, 1885); “Das Leben 
Mirabeaus” (2 vols., Berlin, 1889); “ Geschichte Eu- 
ropas seit den Yertriigen von 1815 bis zum Frank- 
furter Frieden von 1871” (ib. 1894). He edited 
“Briefe Englischer Fliichtlinge in der Schweiz” 
(Gottingen, 1874) ; and, together with W. Wiseher, 
the first volume of the “ Baseler Chroniken ” (Leip- 
sic, 1872). 

Bibliography: Meyers Konversat ions-Lcxikon. 

S. 

STERN, BASILITJS: Russian educator; born 
at Tarnopol, Galicia, in 1798 ; died at Odessa March 
15, 1853. He received a thorough Talmudic edu- 
cation, and later entered the school of Joseph Perl, 
where, at the age of twenty, he became instructor, 
holding that position for ten years. During this 
time he studied assiduously, and acquired a fair 
knowledge of modern languages. On the death of 
Ephraim Sittenfeld (1828) Stern was appointed his 
successor as director of the Jewish school in Odessa. 
He conducted the institution very successfully and 
exerted a great and lasting influence on the educa- 
tion of the Jews in South Russia. Under his man- 
agement the school prospered greatly, and Stern 
succeeded in winning over the adherents of the old 
Orthodox party, who were at first bitterly opposed 
to the Russianizing tendencies of the institution. 
In 1837 Stern received permission from the gov- 
ernor-general of the New-Russian provinces to. open 
a school for boys and girls in Kishinef, Bessarabia. 

Stern was highly esteemed by the government, 
which often solicited his advice in Jewish matters. 
Thus, during the reign of Nicholas I., when the 
government was considering means for the intellec- 
tual and religious uplifting of the Russian Jews, 
Stern was invited to present his suggestions. 
Among the measures proposed was the reorganiza- 
tion of the rabbinate. In the archives of the gov- 
ernor-general of New Russia there is a document 
dealing with the establishment in Odessa of a com- 
mittee for the purpose of devising a plan to regulate 
the religious administration connected with the 
offices of the government rabbis. Such a com- 
mittee was formed in Odessa in 1840, Basilius Stern, 
Hayyim Efrusi, and Moses Lichtenstadt being the 
delegates appointed. Stern suggested also that a 
Jewish seminary be founded in Russia for the educa- 
tion of rabbis. In reporting this project to Count 
M. S. Yorontsov, the military governor of Odessa, 
Major-General Akhlestyshev praised the work of 
Stern and suggested that hereditary honorary citi- 
zenship be conferred upon him; this honor was 
later granted him by Czar Nicholas I. To the work 
of this committee may be attributed the founding of 
rabbinical schools in Wilna and Jitomir nine years 
later. In 1843 Stern was called to St. Petersburg 
by the minister of education in order to attend the 
sessions of the committee on educational affairs. In 
his letter to Uvarov, minister of education, Gov- 
ernor-General Yorontsov of New Russia speaks 
highly of Stern’s experience, knowledge, and edu- 
cation; and in his report of March 31, 1843, Akh- 
lestyshev again refers to the services of Stern, stating 
that he had granted the latter 600 rubles instead of 
the 300 asked for, in order to cover the expenses of 
his journey to St. Petersburg. On April 11, 1843, 



Stern, David 
Stern, Moriz Abraham 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


550 


Stern left for the Russian capital. As a member of 
the committee on Jewish affairs he undoubtedly 
contributed much toward the framing of the pro- 
posed legislation. 

Stern was a master of ancient languages, espe- 
cially of Hebrew, and he devoted himself to the study 
of history also, especially the early history of the 
Slavonic peoples. 

Bibliography: Werbel, Sifte Rcnanot, p. 86, Odessa, 1801; 

Ally. Zeit. des Jud . 1853, p. 571 ; Lerner, Tevrei v Novo- 

rossiskom Krayc, p. 34, Odessa, 1901. 

II. R. J. G. L. 

STERN, DAVID, VISCOUNT DE: English 
banker; born in Frankfort-on-tlie-Main ; died in 
London Jan. 19, 1877. He was a member of a prom- 
inent family descendants of which established bank- 
ing-houses in different European capitals. The title 
of viscount was bestowed upon him in 1869 by the 
King of Portugal in recognition of the part taken 
by his firm in floating Portuguese loans. He was a 
member of the Commission of Lieutenancy of the 
City of London, and was a director of the Imperial 
Bank. David de Stern married a daughter of Aaron 
Asher Goldsmid, and was succeeded in the title by 
his son Sydney de Stern, later created Baron 
Wandsworth. 

Bibliography: Jew. Chron . Jan. 26, 1877. 

J. G. L. 

STERN, HENRY ABRAHAM: Christian 
missionary ; born at Unterreichenbaeh, Hesse-Cassel, 
April 11, 1S20; died in London Maj r 13, 1885. He 
obtained his early education in Frankfort-on-tho- 
Main, and at the age of seventeen entered a com- 
mercial house in Hamburg. In 1839 he emigrated to 
London, -where he drifted into the Operative Jewish 
Converts’ Institution, and was baptized in 1840, in 
the Palestine Place Chapel, later being appointed a 
missionary to Busrah and Bagdad. His duty was 
to found “a mission to the Jews in Chaldea and Per- 
sia,” and he set out for his destination early in 1844. 
He -worked as a missionary among the Jews for 
more than forty years, and traveled in Mesopotamia, 
Persia, Arabia, Turkey, Abyssinia, and England. 
While in Ab} r ssinia, where he won over many Fala- 
shas to Christianity, he was imprisoned by King 
Theodore, and remained a captive during the years 
1863-67. He was ul timately liberated b} r an English 
force under Sir (afterward Lord) Robert Napier. 

Bibliography: A. A. Isaacs, Life of Henry A. Stern , Lon- 
don, 1886. 

j. I. Co. 

STERN, HERMANN, BARON DE : Eng- 
lish financier ; born in Frankfort-on-tlie-Main in 1815 ; 
died in London Oct. 20, 1887. Together with his 
brother David de Stern he settled in London in 
1844, where the brothers founded the firm of Stern 
Brothers, which soon won recognition as one of the 
most successful and reputable banking-houses in the 
city; and from time to time several important loans 
were floated by the firm. Baron de Stern was prin- 
cipally connected with Portuguese finance, but he 
was prominently concerned also in floating the Da- 
nubian 7-per-cent loan of 1864, the Spanish mortgage 
loan, and the Italian tobacco-monopoly loan. In 
1869 patents of nobility were conferred upon both 


brothers by the government of Portugal, David 
being created a viscount, and Hermann a baron. 

Baron de Stern was a member of the Anglo-Jew- 
isli Association and of the Jews’ Free School, and 
a director of the Imperial Bank, the Bank of Ru- 
mania, the London and San Francisco Bank, and the 
East London Waterworks Company. 

Bibliography: Jew. Chron. and Jew. TFn rkU Oct. 21, 1887; 

Times (London), Oct. 21, 1887. 

J. G. L. 

STERN, JULIUS: German musician; born at 
Breslau Aug. 8, 1820; died at Berlin Feb. 27, 1883. 
He received his elementary education in music from 
the violinist Peter Lustner, and at the age of nine 
played at concerts. In 1832 his parents removed to 
Berlin, where Stem studied first under Maurer, Ganz, 
and St.-Lubin, and later under Rungenhagen at the 
Konigliche Akademie der Kiinste. As a result of 
several compositions which he had written while 
a pupil of the academy, King Frederick William 
IV., who was an ardent lover of art, granted Stern 
a stipend which enabled him to pursue his studies. 
He went to Dresden, where he received instruction 
from Mikscli; and thence to Paris, where he subse- 
quently was appointed leader of the Deutschcr 
Gesaugverein Society. While in the latter city he 
composed, among other works, the music to Men- 
delssohn’s “Antigone.” 

In 1846 Stern returned to Berlin, where, in the 
following }'ear, he founded the Stem Gesaugverein. 
The first performance of Mendelssohn's oratorio 
“Elijah” (Oct., 1847) established Stern’s reputation 
as one of the foremost conductors of his day, and 
his choir constantly increased in size and efficiencj', 
so that the repertoire of the society soon embraced 
not only the standard works of Handel, Haydn, and 
Bach, but also those of contemporary composers. 
In 1872 the Gesaugverein celebrated its twenty-fifth 
anniversary amid great enthusiasm ; two years later 
Stern was compelled to resign his directorship on 
account of ill health. 

Of even greater importance tor the development 
of music was the Stern Conservatorium, founded con- 
jointly in 1850 by Stern, Kullak, and Marx. By the 
resignation of Theodor Kullak in 1855, and of A. B. 
Marx in 1857, Stern became sole proprietor of the 
institution, which he managed until his death. 
From 1869 to 1871 he conducted the Berlin Sym- 
phony Orchestra, and from 1873 to 1S74 the concerts 
in the Reichslialle, where he found an opportunity 
of carrying out his favorite idea of bringing the 
works of talented young musicians before the pub- 
lic. In 1849 he received the title of “ Royal Musical 
Director,” and in 1860 that of “Professor.” 

Bibliography: Richard Stern, ErinnerunyshUi.tteran Julius 
Stern , Berlin, 1886; Mendel, Musikaiisches Kon versa! ions- 
Lcxiknn ; Riemann, Musik-Le.vikon ; Meyers Knnversa- 
tions- Lex ikon . 

s. J. So. 

STERN, KAROLINE : German prima donna ; 
born at Mayence April 10, 1800; date of death un- 
known. She studied first under her father,- a violin- 
ist of repute, and then under Heidelliof. She made 
her debut (1816) at the Nationaltheater at Treves in 
Spontini’s “Das Unterbrochene Opfcrfest,” and 
thence went to Diisseldorf, where she became ac- 
quainted with the Heine family; she is mentioned 



551 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Stern, David 

Stern, Moriz Abraham 


in laudatory terms in young Heinrich Heine’s verse. 
After a short engagement at Aix-la-Cliapelle, she 
became in 1819 prima donna at the Hoftheater at 
Stuttgart, which she left for Mayence in 1825. Soon 
afterward, however, she was called to Munich, and 
subsequently filled engagements at Augsburg and 
Wurzburg. She retired from the stage in 1841. Her 
rich voice, her histrionic ability, and her impressive 
personality enabled her to sing the most important 
of roles. Her greatest triumphs were scored in the 
operas of Mozart, Weber, Spontini, Rossini, and 
Meyerbeer. After leaving the stage she was equally 
successful as a concert-singer as late as 1855. 

Bibliography : Kayserling, Die Jiidischen Frauen, pp. 320- 
323. 

s. R. N. 

STERN, LOUIS: American merchant and poli- 
tician ; born at Ziegenhain, Ilesse-Cassel, Germany, 
Feb. 22, 1847. Together with his parents he emi- 
grated to America in 1853, settling in Albany, N. Y. 
where he attended the public school and academy. 
In 1867 he went to New York city, and entered 
upon a commercial career, establishing, with his 
elder brother Isaac (born at Ziegenhain May 9, 
1843), the dry-goods house of Stern Brothers. 

Stern has taken active part in the political life of 
New York city, affiliating himself with the Repub- 
lican party. In 1897 he was an unsuccessful candi- 
date for the presidency of the borough of Manhattan. 
In 1890 he was a United States commissioner to the 
Paris Exposition, and in 1904 chairman of the execu- 
tive committee of the New York State Commission 
to the St. Louis Exposition. Iu 1905 he became one 
of the directors of the Equitable Life Assurance 
Society. He is interested also in Jewish affairs. 
Bibliography: American Jewish Year Booh, 5665 (1904- 


STERN, LOUIS WILLIAM: German psy- 
chologist; born in Berlin April 29, 1871; educated 
at the Koluische Gymnasium and at the university 
of his native city (Pli.D. 1898). He was appointed 
privat-docent. at the University of Breslau in 1897, 
and founded in that city a branch of the German so- 
ciety for psychological investigation. 

Stern is the author of the following works: “Die 
Analogic im Volkstumliclien Denken,” 1893 ; “ Psy- 
chologic der Veriinderungsauffassung,” 1897 : “ Ueber 
Psychologic der Individuellen Differenzen,” 1900; 
“Die Psycliologische Arbeit im 19. Jahrhundert,” 
1900; and “Zur Psych ologie der Aussage, ” 1902. 
He has published also numerous articles in the 
“Zeitschrift fur Psychologie und Physiologie, ” and 
in other periodicals. S. 

STERN, MAX EMANUEL (MENDEL BRI 
STERN): Hungarian Hebraist; born at Pres- 
burg Nov. 9, 1811 ; died at Vienna Feb. 9, 1873. He 
studied under his father, who was a teacher at the 
Jewish primary school in Presburg, and when the 
elder Stern became blind, Max, then only four- 
teen years of age, took charge of his classes, devo- 
ting iiis nights to further study and to writing his 
“ Dichtungen,” his “Maslul,” and his “Perlen- 
blumen,” the last-named being translations, in rime 
and meter, of the Proverbs. In 1833 he accepted the 


position of corrector for Schmid’s printing-press at 
Vienna, and two years later was appointed principal 
of the Judseo-German school at Eisenstadt, where 
he wrote his epic “Tif’eretli ha-Tishbi.” In 1838, 
after having taught for half a year at Triescli, he 
returned to Vienna, where he prepared his epic for 
the press, publishing it under the pseudonym of “ M. 
I. Ernst” (Leipsic, 1840); at the same time he issued 
his satire “Thurmbau zu Babel.” In 1845 Stern 
began to publish his periodical “Kokebe Yizhak,” 
which was twice subsidized by the Imperial Acad- 
em 3 r of Science at Vienna; later he received from the 
emperor the gold medal “pro litteris et artibus,” 
besides being made an honorary member of the 
Deutsche Morgenlandisclie Gesellschaft. 

Stern published the following works, in addition 
to those already mentioned: “Konig Sauls Gluck 
und Ende” (Presburg, 1833); “Spriicke Salomos,” 
with translation and a Hebrew commentary ( ib . 1833 ; 
2d ed., Vienna, 1854); “Shire ha-Yihud” (Vienna, 
1840) ; “ Ebel Mosheh ” (ib. 1840) ; “ Perlen des Orients ” 
(ib. 1840); “ Zeitstimmen ” (Leipsic, 1841); “Klange 
aus der Vorzeit” (Vienna, 1841); “Das Buck Eze- 
chiel ” (ib. 1842); “Bet ha-Sefer” (ib. 1842); “Die 
Fromme Zionstochter ” (ib. 1842); “Toledot Yisra- 
el” (ib. 1844); “Die Weisheitssprliche des Josua b. 
Sirach” (ib. 1844); “Festgebete der Israeliten”; 
“Bikkure lia-Tttim” (one number; ib. 1844); “Ra- 
chel” (ib. 1844); “Ha-Shenah ha-Nimkeret ” (ib. 
1847) ; “ Behinat ha- ‘Olam, ” by Jedaiah ben Abraham 
Bedersi (ib. 1847); “Nazional-Harfenlied ” (ib. 1848), 
with music by Solomon Sulzer; “ Mosedot Emunali ” 
(ib. 1851); “Selihot” (ib. 1853); “Haggadak” (ib. 
1854); “Tahkemoni” of Judah al-Harizi (ib. 1854); 
“ Die Rabbinerwahl in Bumesl” (ib. 1856); “Lelir- 
bucli der Herzenspflichten nacli Becliai ” (ib. 1856) ; 
“Hokmat Shelomoli ” (ib. 1858); “ Zur Alexander- 
Sage” (ib. 1861); “Ozar ha -Millin’ 5 (ib. 1863); a 
translation of the “Moreli Nebukim” (ib. 1864); 
“ Keter Torah ” (ib. 1864) ; and a translation of Man- 
sello’s “Tofet we-‘Eden ” (ib. 1865). 

Bibliography: Reich, Beth-El, i. 146; Kohut, Berlihmte 

Israelitisehc Manner, ii. 126. 

s. L. V. 

STERN, MORIZ ABRAHAM : German 
mathematician ; born at Frankfort-on-the-Main June 
29, 1807; died at Bern, Switzerland, Jan. 30, 1894. 
He studied philolog}^ at the University of Heidel- 
berg, and prepared himself for a rabbinical career. 
Later, however, he took up the study of mathe- 
matics at the University of Gottingen, where in 
1829 he became privat-docent. In 1848 he was ap- 
pointed assistant professor, and in 1859 professor, of 
mathematics. In 1887 he resigned his professorship 
and settled in Bern, where his son was professor at 
the polytechnic. 

He took an active part in the Reform move- 
ment, and was the author of the following works 
bearing on that subject: “Brief an Gabriel Riesser 
vom 29. Dec., 1842,” reprinted in Ludwig Geiger’s 
“ Zeitschrift fur die Geschichte der Juden in Deutsch- 
land,” 1887, vol. ii. ; “Offene Briefe liber den Re- 
form-Verein, ” in “Der Israelit des Neunzelinten 
Jahrhunderts,” 1844, 1845. 

The following is a partial list of Stern’s works in 
the fields of philology and mathematics, a complete 



Stern, Samuel 
Stiassny 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


552 


enumeration of which may be found in the “Vier- 
teljahrschrift der Naturforschenden Gesellscliaft in 
Zurich,” 1894. 

Philology : “ Ueber die Monatsnamen Einiger Alter 
Volker,” Berlin, 1886; “Die Dritte Gattung der 
AchamenidisclienKeilinschriften,” Gottingen, 1850; 
“ Die Sternbilder im Buclie Hiob, Kapitel 38, Vers 
81, 32,” in “ Judische Zeitsclirift,” 1866. 

IVIatliexnatics z ^ O bser vation-um Infractiones Oon- 

tinuas Specimen,” Gottingen, 1829; a fourth edition 
of Winterfeld’s “ Anfangsgrunde der Mathematik, ” 
Brunswick, 1833; “Tlieorie der Kettenbrliche und 
Ihre Anwendung,” in Crelle’s “Journal fur die 
Heine und Angewandte Mathematik,” Berlin, 1834; 
“Darstellung der Popularen Anatomie,” Berlin, 
1834; “ Himmelskunde,” Stuttgart, 1846 (2d ed. 
1854); “Lelirbuch der Algebraischen Analyse,” 
Leipsic, 1860. 

Stern published also “ Lelirbuch der Mechanik ” 
(Berlin, 1835-36), a translation from the French of 
Poisson. 

Bibliography : Rudio, in Viertelgahrschrift der Naturfor - 

schenden Gesellscliaft in Zurich , 1894. 

s. F. T, II. 

STERN, SAMUEL : Hungarian physician ; bom 
at Halas, Hungary, Sept. 16, 1839; educated at the 
universities of Prague and Vienna (M.D. 1858). He 
acted for some time as assistant physician at the 
communal hospital of Vienna; in 1863 he was ap- 
pointed privat-docent and in 1870 assistant professor 
of clinical propaedeutics at the university there. 
Pie is the author of the following works: “ Beitrage 
zur Kenntniss der Functionen des Nervensys- 
tems,” Neuwied, 1868; “Die Propadeutisclie Klinik 
als Selbststandiges Theoretisch-Medieinisclies For- 
scliungs Institut,” Vienna, 1870; “Diagnostik der 
Brustkranklieiten vom Propadeutisch-Klinisclien 
Standpunkte,” ib. 1877. 

Bibliography: Eisner, Das Geistige Wien , i., Vienna, 1S93; 

Pagel, Biog. Lex. 

s. F, T. PI. 

STERN, SIMON ADLER : American author, 
editor, and critic ; born in Philadelphia 1838 ; died 
May 2, 1904. As a boy he displayed marked talent 
as a violinist, in spite of which he devoted himself 
more to literature. Of his works may be men- 
tioned “ Scintillations from the Prose Works of Hein- 
rich Heine,” containing translations of “Florentin- 
isclie Nachte ” and of numerous apth r chosen autobio- 
graphical excerpts from the poet’s works; and 
translations of Auerbach's “Waldfried” (1873) and ‘ 
“ Auf der Holie ” (1875). On his return from a trip 
to the Far East (1887) he published an account of 
liis travels in a book entitled “Jottings of Travel in 
China and Japan.” Stern contributed critical arti- 
cles on literature and art to numerous periodicals, 
and was for several years managing editor of the 
“ Penn Monthly, ” as well as editor of the “ Industrial 
Review.” He was one of the first members of the 
publication committee of the Jewish Publication 
Society of America. Pie was also engaged in sev- 
eral business enterprises, serving for a number of 
years as treasurer of the Finance Company of 
Pennsjdvania, 

Bibliography: American Jewish Year Booh , 5665 (1904-5), 

pp. 409-418. 

A. 


STERN, VICTOR: Austrian dramatist; bora 
at Vienna Miry 5, 1837. After a brief experience in 
commercial life he turned to literature, receiving in 
his new vocation the encouragement of Friedrich 
Plebbel (1861), under whose auspices he did some .of 
his best work. This includes the following trage- 
dies: “Valentin,” 1868; “Das Kronenliaus,” 1872; 
“Calas,” 1889; and “Schloss Arnheim,” 1893. 

Bibuogkafht r JOojs ~rVLc-n, IS- 545. 

s. E. Ms. 

STERN, WILHELM: German physician and 
philosophical writer ; born at Sandberg, Posen, Aug. 
11, 1844; son of a rabbi. From 1860 to 1865 he at- 
tended the Jewish Theological Seminary of Breslau, 
and thereafter studied philosophy for two semesters, 
finally deciding upon a medical career (M.D. Berlin, 
1869). In 1870 he settled in Bromberg as a prac- 
tising physician, removing to Berlin in 1873, where 
he engaged in literary work. 

Stern, whose philosophical bent is critical positiv- 
ism, is the author of the following works: “ Ueber 
die Tiefe Lage der Nieren ” (Berlin, 1869) ; “ Grundle- 
gungderEtliikalsPositiver Wissenscliaft” ($.1897) ; 
“Die Allgemeinen Principien der Etliik auf Natur- 
wissenschaftlicher Basis” (ib. 1901); “Das Wesen 
desMitleids” (ib. 1903); and “Ueber den Begriff der 
Ilandlung ” (ib. 1904), which appeared in the “ Philo- 
sophische Aufsatze,” published by the Philosoph- 
ical Societ} 7- of Berlin on the occasion of its sixtieth 
anniversary. 

Bibliography : Brochhaus KnnvcrsatUms-Lexikmu 1904, 

vol. xvii. 

S. 

STERNBERG. See Mecklenburg. 

STERNE, SIMON : American lawyer; born in 
Philadelphia July 23, 1839; died in New York Sept, 
22, 1901. He was educated in the public schools of 
his native city^, and studied at the universities of 
Heidelberg (Germany) and Pennsylvania, being 
graduated from the latter institution in 1859. 
In the following year he was admitted to the 
bar in Philadelphia and New York; and opened a 
law -office in the latter city. He soon succeeded in 
building up a large practise, making a specialty of 
constitutional law and of laws relating to railroads. 
He was counsel for the Interstate. Commerce Com- 
mission in many well-known cases, and upon the 
request of the United States Senate Committee on 
Railways he drafted the Interstate Commerce Act. 
He represented the city of New York in a suit with 
the New York Central Railroad Company concerning 
certain improvements in Fourth avenue, New York, 
and at the time of his death he was the legal repre- 
sentative of many large corporations, among which 
may be mentioned the Missouri, Kansas, and Texas 
Railroad Company. 

Sterne took great interest in public affairs. He 
was a member of the executive committee of the 
Free Trade Union, and a lecturer on political econ- 
omy in Cooper Union (1861-63). As secretary of 
the “Committee of Seventy” in 1870 and 1871, he 
helped to overthrow the Tweed ring, and in 1894 
lie was a member of the committee that suc- 
ceeded in electing Strong as anti-Tammany candi- 
date for the mayoralty. He was also a member of 


F. N. G. 



553 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Stern, Samuel 
Stiassny 


the commission appointed (1875) by Governor Tilden 
to devise plans for the government of the cities 
of New York state; in 1894 he was appointed by 
President Cleveland a commissioner to report on 
“ the relation of railways and state in western Eu- 
rope ” ; and in 1896 he was a member of the com- 
mission appointed by Governor Morton to recom- 
mend changes in methods of State-administration. 

During 1863 — 64 Sterne was editor of tlie LC Coin - 

mcrcial Advertiser ” in New York city, and in the 
following year he published the “ Social Science Re- 
view.” He was a voluminous writer on political 
and historical subjects, the following being among 
his principal works : “ Represen tati ve Government, ” 
1871; “Development of Political and Constitutional 
History of the United States,” 1882; “Introduction 
to Mongredien’s Wealth Creation,” 1888. To Lalor’s 
“ Cyclopedia of Political Science and United States 
History ” he contributed articles on “ Administration 
of American Cities,” “Legislation,” “Monopolies,” 
“Railways,” and “Representation”; and he wrote 
also many articles and essays for American and for- 
eign publications. 

Bibliography: TT7io’s Who in America, 1901-2; obitua- 
ries in The New York Times, Sept. 23, 1901, and Jeioish 
Messenger, Sept. 27, 1901 ; Foord, The Life and Public Serv- 
ices of Simon Sterne , London, 1903. 
a, P. T. H. 

STERNER, ALBERT EDWARD; English 
artist; born in London March 8, 1863. He studied 
at Julien’s Academie and the Ecole des Beaux Arts, 
Paris, and in 1881 emigrated to the United States. 
From 1881 to 1885 he lived in Chicago, occupying 
himself with lithographic work and scene-painting. 
Since 1885 he has lived in the city of New York. 

Sterner has contributed many illustrations to the 
magazines; e.g., to “Harper’s,” “The Century,” 
and “ Scribner’s Monthly ” ; and he has illustrated 
G. W. Curtis’ “Prue and I” (which established his 
reputation as a black-and-white artist); Coppee’s 
“Tales,” 1891 ; “Works of Edgar Allan Poe,” 1894; 
Mrs. Humphry Ward’s “Eleanor,” 1900; and the 
same author’s “The Marriage of William Ashe,” 
1905. His oil-painting “The Bachelor” received 
the bronze medal at the Paris Exposition of 1900. 

Bibliography: American Jewish Year Book, 5665 (1904-5), 
p. 196. 

j. F. T. H. 

STETTENHEIM, JULIUS ; German humor- 
ist; born at Hamburg Nov. 2, 1831. He at first 
pursued a commercial career, but went in 1857 to 
Berlin, where he studied until 1860. Returning to 
Hamburg in 1861, he founded the liumoristic-satiric 
periodical “Die Wespen.” This publication did not 
attain any considerable success, whereupon Stetten- 
lieim transferred its publication to Berlin (1868); 
there it appeared under the name of “ Berliner Wes- 
pen,” and soon took rank among the best of its kind 
in Europe. The name of the paper was subse- 
quently changed to “Deutsche Wespen,” under 
which name it still appears (1905) with Stettenheim 
as editor. From 1885 to 1894 he was the editor also 
of “Das Humoristische Deutschland,” -which was 
published first at Stuttgart, and later at Berlin. 

Stettenheim is regarded as the greatest living sat- 
irist in Germany, and there have been few public 


events of importance which he has not commemo- 
rated by poems published in his paper. Many of 
these poems were soon forgotten, but the figure of 
“ Wippchen, ” which began to appear in 1870 as war 
reporter, still continues to hold the attention of the 
German public. Of Stettenheim ’s works the fol- 
lowing may be mentioned: “Letzte Faint,” Berlin, 
1861; “Berliner Blaubucli aus dem Areliiv der 

Komilc. ” ib. 1S69— 1 70; “ Wii>-pelAens Sa.mmtlielie Be- 
lielite,” ib. 1878-90; “Muckeniclis lleden unci 

Thaten,” ib. 1885; “Wippchens Gediclite,” ib. 1889 
and 1894; “Humor und Komik,” ib. 1890; “Wipp- 
chen in Chicago,” ib. 1890; “Ein Lustig Buch,” ib. 
1894; “Heitere Erinnerungen,” ib. 1895; “Humo- 
resken und Satiren,” ib. 1896 ; “ Heiteres Allerlei,” ib. 
1898; “Der Moderne Knigge,” ib. 1899; “Lustige 
Gesellscliaft,” ib. 1900. 

Bibliography: Meyers Konversations-Lexikon. 
s. F. T. H. 

STETTIN : District of Pomerania, with its cap- 
ital of the same name. On Dec. 2, 1261, Duke Bar- 
nim I. of Pomerania ordered that the Jews of Stet- 
tin, and those of other parts of his duchy, should 
enjoy rights similar to those accorded the Jews of 
Magdeburg. But less than three years later ( J uly 26, 
1264) he permitted the town of Greifswald to expel 
its Jews and to forbid them to return. The reason 
for this action is said to have been that the Jews had 
acquired control of the mint. In the seventeenth 
century Gluckel of Hameln was a resident of the 
city of Stettin. Since the middle of the nineteenth 
century there has existed in the city a Hebrew. print- 
ing-press, from which Buxtorf’s “Concordance” 
was issued in 1856, and the Shulhan ‘Aruk in 1862 
(2 vols.). 

The entire district of Stettin contains 6,416 Jews 
in a total population of 1,634,654. The capital, 
Stettin, contains 3,000 Jews. Its present (1905) 
rabbi is II. Yogelstein. The community maintains 
a Jewish orphan asylum ; a Jewish infirmary, with 
which is connected an endowment society ; and seven 
other benevolent societies. 

Next in importance is Star gar d with 600 Jews. 
The present rabbi is Dr. Silberstein ; and the leading 
benevolent institution is a hospital for the poor, 
founded by Reisemann. The town of Posewalk 
contains 164 Jews; its present rabbi is E. Finkel; 
and there are four Jewish benevolent societies. To 
the rabbinate of Posewalk belong the communities 
of Demmin, Greifswald, Stralsund, Swine- 
miinde, and Uekermunde, together with the entire 
district of Coslin. 

Bibliography: Aronius, Begesten, p. 283, No. 678; Die Mc- 
moiren der Gluckel von Hameln , ed. Kaufmann, pp. 
155-165, Frankfort-on-tbe-Main, 1896: Kohut, Gcsch. der 
Dcutschen Juden , pp. 227, 337, 634, 800 ; Statistisches Jahr - 
lynch, 1903, pp. 23-26. 

E. c. S. O. 

STIASSNY, WILHELM; Austrian architect; 
horn in Vienna Oct. 15, 1842. He was graduated 
from the Vienna Poly technic in 1861, and thereupon 
studied for five years at the Academy of Fine Arts 
under Professors Van der Null, von Siccardsburg, 
Rosner, and Dombaumeister Schmid. In 1862 
Stiassny, with the assistance of a few of Lis col- 
leagues from tlie academy, founded the “Wiener 



Stieglitz 

Stdcker 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


554 


Bauliiitte,” which still exists, and of which he was 
president for a number of years. 

In 1867 Stiassny was appointed delegate to the 
Paris Exposition by the Ministry of Commerce, and 
in the following year he settled in Vienna as an 
architect. Up to the present time (1905) he has di- 
rected the construction of 180 palaces, schools, resi- 
dences, factories, hospitals, and synagogues, among 
which may be mentioned the Rothschild Hospital at 
Wlihring (1873), the Hall of Ceremonies in the Jew- 
ish section of the Vienna Central Friedhof, the 
Konigswater Institute for the Blind at Hohewarte, 
the Kindergarten in the second district of Vienna, 
the Rothschild Hospital at Smyrna, and the sjma- 
gogues at Malaczka (Hungary), Gablonz, Czaslau, 
and Weinberge. From 1878 to 1900 Stiassny was a 
member of the aldermanic board of Vienna and of 
the Donauregulirungs-Commission. Since 1879 he 
has been a member of the board of trustees of the 
Jewish community of Vienna. In 1895 he founded 
the Gesellschaft- fur Sammlung und Conservirung 
von Kunst- und Historiselien Denkmalern des Juden- 
th liras. 

Bibliography : Wurzbach, Bing . Lex . S. 

STIEGLITZ, HE1NEICH: German writer; 
born at Arolsen, Waldeck, Feb. 22, 1801 ; died at 
Venice Aug. 23, 1849. He was educated at the uni- 
versities of Gottingen and Leipsic, and in 1828 be- 
came teacher at a gymnasium in Berlin and custos 
of the Royal Library in that city; owing to ill 
health he had, however, to resign these positions. 
After the death of his wife he spent much time in 
traveling. He became a Christian. 

Stieglitz was the author of the following works: 
“Bilder des Orient,” Leipsic, 1831-33; “Stimmen 
der Zeit in Liedern,” ib. 1834; “Das Dionysosfest,” 
Berlin, 1836; “Bergesgriisse,” Munich, 1839. 

Bibliography: Briiinmer, Deutsches Dichterlcxikon ; H. 
curtze, Heinrich Stieglitz : EineSelbstbiogrcvphie , Gotha, 
18(55. 

s. F. T. H. 

STIEGLITZ, JULITJS OSCAR: American 
chemist; born at Hoboken, N. J., May 26, 1867; 
educated in the public schools of New York, the 
real -gymnasium of Carlsruhe, and the universities of 
Berlin and Gottingen. Shortty after his return to 
the United States he became connected with the 
University of Chicago, and has served it in turn as 
instructor, assistant professor, and associate professor 
of chemistry. He has been a frequent contributor 
to the chemical periodicals of the United States and 
Germany, articles by him having appeared in the 
“American Chemical Journal,” “Journal of the 
American Chemical Society,” and “Berichte der 
Deutschen Chemischen Gesellschaft,” 1892-1903. 

Bibliography: Decennial Volumes I. and II. University of 
Chicago, 1903. 

a. I. G. D. 

STIEGLITZ, LUDWIG VON: Russian bank- 
er; born in Arolsen, Waldeck, Germany, in 1778; 
died at St. Petersburg March 18, 1843. He emi- 
grated to Russia when a young man, was appointed 
court banker to the czar, and, after adopting Chris- 
tianit}', was raised to the dignitj' of a Russian hered- 
itary baron (Aug. 22, 1826). He had previously 
received various important Russian decorations. 


Stieglitz took an active part in many financial af- 
fairs of his adopted eountiy, and it was due espe- 
cially to his efforts that steam navigation was intro- 
duced between Lubeck and St. Petersburg. He 
purchased the estate of Gross-Essern in Courland, 
and his name was inscribed in the register of the no- 
bility of Courland (May 3, 1840). His son Alex- 
ander (died Oct. 24, 1884) became his successor as 
head of the banking-house of Stieglitz & Company, 
and continued as such until that firm went into vol- 
untary liquidation in 1863. The descendants of 
Ludwig von Stieglitz were confirmed in the dignity 
of Russian hereditary barons by ukase of the Senate 
of April 3, 1862. 

Bibliography: Kohut, Bcriilvmte Isr'aeUtische Manner und 
Frauen , ii. 363 ; Itietstap, Armorial General , ii. 841 ; Sieb- 
macher, Der Adel der Russischen Ostsee-Provinzen , ii. 305, 

iii. 11. 

h. R. II. Gut. 

STIER, JOSEF: German rabbi; born at Neu- 
stadt-on-the-Waag, Hungary, April 12, 1844. He 
was educated at the gymnasium and Talmud Torah 
at Presburg, at the universities of Vienna (Ph.D. 
1869) and Breslau, and at the Jewish Theological 
Seminary at Breslau (Rabbi, 1872). In 1872 he was 
appointed chief rabbi at Stein-am-Anger, Hungaiy, 
officiating also as teacher of Jewish religion at the 
local gymnasium. Later he went to Berlin, where 
since 1890 he has held a rabbinate. 

Stier is the author of the following works: “ Fr. 
Deak,” 1875; “Festschrift zur Einweihung der S3 r n- 
agoge in Steinamanger,” 1880; “Priester und Pro- 
pheten,” 1884; “Zunz,” 1893; “Theismusund Na- 
turforscliung in Ihrem Verhaltniss zur Teleologie,” 
1896; and “Die Ehre in der Bibel,” 1897. 
s. F. T. H. 

STILLER, BERTALAN : Hungarian physi- 
cian; bom at Miskolcz June 23, 1837; studied at 
Budapest and Vienna (M.D. 1863). In 1S64 he was 
appointed assistant ply si cian at the Jewish Hospital 
in Budapest ; in 1874, chief of a division; in 1876, 
pri vat-docent ; and in 1S86, assistant professor. The 
following are his more important works : “ Az Idegcs 
Gyomorbantalmak ” (Budapest, 1884), translated into 
German under the title “Die Nervosen Kranklieiten 
des Magens ” ; “A Lep Betegsegei ” (ib. 1895), treat- 
ing of the diseases of the spleen ; and “ A Hashart} r a 
Betegsegei ” (ib. 1897), treating of the diseases of 
the peritoneum. 

Bibliography : Pallas Lex. 
s. L. V. 

STILLING, BENEDIKT: German anatomist 
and surgeon; born at Kirclihayn, Hesse, Feb. 22, 
1810; died at Cassel Jan. 28, 1879. He studied at 
the University of Marburg, and, on taking bis degree 
of M.D. in 1832, was appointed assistant at the an- 
atomical institute attached to his alma mater. In 
1833 he was appointed district surgeon at Cassel, 
which position he resigned in 1840 in order to de- 
vote himself entirely to his private practise. In 
1867 he received the title of “ Gelieimer Sanitatsratli. ” 
In 1836 and in 1843 Stilling took postgraduate 
courses in Paris; and in 1858, 1869, and 1873 he 
was engaged in scientific researches in Italjq Paris, 
London, Edinburgh, and Vienna. He was the first 
surgeon to introduce ovariotomy into Germany 



555 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Stiegrlitz 

Stocker 


(1837); and lie was also the first anatomist wlio used 
the term “ vasomotor nerves ” (1840). His works on 
the central organs of the nervous system, especially 
the brain, were standard productions for which he 
received several prizes from the French Institute. 

Of Stilling’s works the following may be men- 
tioned: “Die Bildung und Metamorphose des Blut- 
pfropfsoder Thrombus in Verletzten Blutgefassen,” 
Eisenach, 1834; “Die Naturliclien Processe bei der 
Heilung Durchschlungener Blutgefiisse, mit Beson- 
derer Rucksicht auf den Thrombus,” ib. 1834; “Die 
Gefassverschlingung,” Marburg, 1835; “Geschiclite 
einer Exstirpation eines Krankhaft Vergrosserten 
Ovariums,” etc., in Ilolscher’s “ Ilannoversclien An- 
nalen der Gesammten Heilkunde,” 1841 (ten years 
later Duffin published in London a report of his 
operations in the same field, claiming the initiative 
for himself); “ Physiologisch-Pathologische und 
Medicinisch-Praktische Untersuchungen fiber die 
Spinal Irritation,” Leipsic, 1841; “Untersuchungen 
fiber die Funktionen des Rtickenmarks und der 
Nerven,” ib. 1842; “ Ueber Textur und Funktionen 
der Medulla Oblongata,” Erlangen, 1843; “Unter- 
suchungen fiber Bau und Verrichtungen des Ge- 
hirns,” Jena, 1846; “Neue Untersuchungen fiber 
den Bau des Rfickenmarks,” Cassel, 1859; “Unter- 
suchungen fiber den Bau des Kleinen Geliirns,” ib. 
1864-67; “Die Bationelle Beliandlung der Harnroh- 
renstrikturen,” ib. 1870; “Neue Untersuchungen 
fiber den Bau des Kleinen Gehirns,” ib. 1878. 

Bibliography: Hirsch, Biog. Lex.; Pagel, Biotj. Lex.; Kuss- 

inaul, Dr. Benedict Stilling , Strasburg, 1879. 

s. F. T. II. 

STILLING, JAKOB: German ophthalmolo- 
gist; born at Cassel Sept. 22, 1842; son of Benedikt 
Stilling. He studied at the universities of Mar- 
burg' (M.D. 1865), Wfirzburg, Berlin, and Paris, and 
in 1867 established himself as ophthalmologist in 
his native city. In 1880 he was admitted as privat- 
docent of ophthalmology to the medical facult) r 
of the University of Strasburg, where in 1884 he 
was appointed assistant professor. 

In addition to many essays in medical journals, 
Stilling is the author of the folio wing works : “ Ueber 
die Heilung der Yerengrungen der Tliranenwege,” 
Cassel, 1S68; “Beitritge zur Lehre von den Farben- 
empfindungen,” Stuttgart, 1875; “Ueber Farben- 
sinn und Farbenblindheit,” Cassel, 1877; “Ueber 
das Sehen der Farbenblinden,” ib. 1878; “Unter- 
suchungen fiber den Bau der Optisclieu Central- 
organe,” ib. 1882; “Untersuchungen fiber die Ent- 
stehung der Kurzsichtigkeit,” Wiesbaden, 1887; 
“ Schadelbau und Kurzsichtigkeit,” Strasburg, 1S88 ; 
and “Grundzuge der Augenheilkunde,” Vienna, 
1897. 

Bibliography : Pagel, Biog. Lex. 

s. F. T. H. 

STOBBE, JOHANN ERNST OTTO: Chris- 
tian historian of the Jews; born at Konigsberg, 
East Prussia, June 28, 1831 ; died at Leipsic May 
19, 1887. He studied philology and history, and 
later jurisprudence, at the university of his native 
town, graduating as LL.D. in 1853. During the 
following two years he continued his Germanic 
studies in Leipsic and Gottingen. In 1855 he be- 
came privat-docent at the University of Konigs- 


berg, where in 1856 he was appointed assistant pro- 
fessor and in the same year professor of German law. 
In 1859 he was called to Breslau and in 1872 to Leip- 
sic to fill similar positions. In 1880 he received the 
title of “Geheimer Hof rat.” 

Among Stobbe ’s works that of special interest to 
Jewish readers is “Die Juden in Deutschland Wah- 
rend des Mittelalters, ” Brunswick, 1866. This work 
was the first to treat of the Jews in medieval Ger- 
many from a strictly constitutional standpoint, and 
was based on the author’s thorough knowledge of 
the archival literature of that period. He especially 
traced, practically for the first time, the connection 
between the position of the Jews in the Bj r zantine 
empire and the position of those in the Carlovingian 
empire. The book, which has been taken as a stand- 
ard for similar research, became very scarce, and 
was reprinted by the anastatic process in 1902. 

Stobbe, though a Christian, was a member of the 
committee appointed by the Gemeindebund to col- 
lect materials for the history of the Jews of Ger- 
many (see Histoiiische Commission). His other 
works are all of purely juristic and historical inter- 
est, the chief of them being the “Geschiclite der 
Deutsclien Rechtsquelleu ” (Brunswick, 1860-64), 
translated into Italian by E. Bollati (Florence, 1868). 

j. F. T. H. 

STOCK EXCHANGE. See Finance. 

STOCKER, ADOLF : German Protestant theo- 
logian, politician, and anti-Semitic agitator; born at 
Halberstadt Dec. 11, 1835. He studied at the uni- 
versities of Halle and Berlin, and in 1868, after hav- 
ing acted for some years as tutor, was appointed 
pastor at Seggerda, near Halberstadt. In 1866 he 
was called to Hamersleben, and in 1S71 to the pas- 
torate of a military division at Metz. In 1874 he 
was appointed court preacher at the Domkirclie of 
Berlin, which position he held until 1890, when he 
was dismissed on account of his political views. 
In 1878 he founded the Christian Socialistic party, 
which gave impetus to an anti-Semitic movement. 
From the pulpit, as well as in public assemblies, he 
denounced Judaism and its adherents as a danger to 
Christianity and the German empire ; and upon the 
strength of this and similar accusations he was in 
1879 elected a member of the Prussian Diet. From 
1881 to 1893 he was also a member of the Reichstag, 
which he again entered in 1S9S. 

Not only have many of Stocker’s former partizans, 
as Forster, Bockel, and Ahlwardt, become his bitter 
enemies, but also the general press and public have 
turned against him. Prof. Hermann L. Strack of 
the University of Berlin w r rote a pamphlet entitled 
“ Herr Adolf Stocker, Christliche Liebe und Wahr- 
haftigkeit,” in which he censured Stocker very se- 
verely. In his work “ Cliristlich-Social ” (Bielefeld, 
1884 ; 2d ed. Berlin, 1890) Stocker published social- 
political and anti- Jewish speeches, while in his 
“Wachauf, Evangelisches Yolk” (Berlin, 1893) he 
sets forth his religious-political views. He pub- 
lished also several collections of sermons (ib. 1894- 
1895, 1897, 1901), as well as a retrospect of his career 
as court preacher entitled “Dreizelin Jahre Hof- 
prediger und Politiker” (ib. 1895). His “Gesam- 
melte Schriften ” appeared in Berlin in 1896. Since 



Stockl 

Stone and Stone-Worship 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


556 


1SS7 lie has been publisher, and since 1892 also edi- 
tor, of the “ Deutsche Evangelische Kirchenzeitung.” 
See Anti-Semitism; Bismarck. 

Bibliography: Mittheilungenaus dem Vereine zur Bckdmp- 
fung dcs Antisemitismus ; Die JYeuzeit ; Brockhaus Kon- 
vci'sations-Lcxikon ; Meyers Konversations-Lcxikon. 
s. S. Man. 

STOCKL, MADAME. See Heinefetteii, 
Klara. 

STOKVIS, BAREND JOSEPH : Dutch phy- 
sician; born at Amsterdam Aug. 16, 1884; died 
Sept 28, 1902; son of the physician J. B. Stokvis 
(180S-S7). He studied at the Latin school in Am- 
sterdam (1843-50) and at the Athenaeum (1856), vis- 
ited Paris and Vienna (1857-59), and finally estab- 
lished himself as a physician in Amsterdam. In 
1S67 he was awarded a gold medal by the Brussels 
Academy for his essay “Reclierches Experimen tales 
sur les Conditions Pathogeniques de rAlbuminurie,” 


“De Suikervorming in de Lever in Verband met de 
Suikerafscheiding bij Diabetes Mellitus,” 1856; 
“Over de Glycose Stof in de Lever,” 1869: “Bij- 
dragen tot de Physiologie van liet Acidum Uri- 
cum,” 1869; “Over de Sterfte van Croup bij de 
Nederlaudsche Israelietische Gemeente te Amster- 
dam,” 1869; “ Voordrachten over Homoeopatliie,” 
1887; “Voordrachten over Geneesmlddelenleer, 77 3 
vols., 1891-1902 (vols. i. and ii. , 2d ed. 1895); and 
“Invloed der Tropische Gewesten,” 1893. Stokvis 
succeeded his father as president of the Nederland- 
sche Israelietische Armbestuur at Amsterdam. 

Bibliography : W. Koster, in Eigen Hoard, 1893, No. 35, p. 
548; 1902, No. 41, p. 044 (with portrait); Miincli, in Medici- 
nische Wochenschrift , 1902, No. 46 ; Deutsch, i7>. 1902, No. 42 ; 
Lancet , Oct. 11, 1902; Manncn von Beteekenis, 1899; R. N. 
Saltet, Propria Cures , 1902-3, No. 2. 
s. E. Sl. 

STONE AND STONE-WORSHIP: Sacred 
stones are mentioned with great frequency in the 



Cromlech Near ‘Amman. 

(From a photograph by the Palestine Exploration Fund.) 


In 1S74 he was appointed professor of pathology 
and pharmacodynamics at the University of Am- 
sterdam. He was president of the Interaation- 

aal Koloniaal Geneeskundig Congres held in Am- 
sterdam in 1883, and also of the first congress of 
Dutch physicians and surgeons. In 1879 he was 
elected a member of the Royal Academy of Sciences, 
and in 1S96 its vice-president; and in 1884 the Uni- 
versity of Edinburgh conferred upon him the degree 
•of LL.D. 

Stokvis was the author of the following works : 


Old Testament; they were erected by Jacob at 
Beth-el (Gen. xxviii. 18; comp. xxxi. 13), at Shechem 

(Gen, xxxiii. so JAvlier© Should be read In- 

Stead of rQID]), at Gilead (Gen. xxxi. 52), and over 
the grave of Rachel; and by Joshua in the sanctuary 
of Shechem (Josh. xxiv. 26; comp. Judgesix. 6). The 
“stone of help ” (“Eben-ezer ”) set up by Samuel (I 
Sam. vii. 12) was such a “ mazzebah ” ; and other sa- 
cred stones existed at Gibeon (II Sam. xx. 8), at En- 
rogel(I Kings i. 9, “ the serpent-stone ”), and atMicli- 
mash (I Sam. xiv. 33). Twelve stones of this cliarac- 









557 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Stockl 

Stone and Stone-Worship 


ter were set up by Moses near his altar at the foot 
of Mount Sinai (Ex. xxiv. 4), and a circle of twelve 
at Gilgal was ascribed to Joshua (Josh. 
Mazzebah. iv. 20). Finally, Jaciiin and Boaz, 
the two columns of the Temple (I 
Kings vii. 15 et seq.), were such mazzebot, not in- 
tended as supports for the building, but possessing 
an independent purpose, as is shown by their names. 

The Phenieian temples also contained such col- 
umns, and mazzebot long served as legitimate sym- 



Dohnen. 

(After Cornier.) 


bols of Yhwii. Even the prophet Hosea forewarned 
Israel of the terrible days to come (Hos. iii. 4; 
comp. x. 12), when they should be 44 without a sac- 
rifice, and without an image [“mazzebah ”], and 
without an ephod, and without teraphim” — that is, 
without public worship; while Isaiah prefigured 



the conversion of Egypt to Yhwh with the words, 
44 There shall be . . . a pillar at the border thereof 
to the Lord ” (Isa. xix. 19, Hebr.). 

The Deuteronomic code, on the other hand, re- 
jected the mazzebot, rightly recognizing that they 
did not originally belong to the cult of Yinvn, but 
had been adopted from the Canaanites (Deut. xii. 8, 


xvi. 22; comp. Lev. xxvi. 1, and the commandment 
to destroy the mazzebot, “asherot,” and similar ob- 
jects of Canaanitish worship in Ex. xxiii. 24 and 
xxxiv. 13). The Deuteronomic historian accord- 
ingly regarded the downfall of the people as due to 
the erection of these mazzebot by Judah and Israel 
(I Kings xiv. 23; II Kings xvii. 10), wiiile the pi- 
ous kings showed their righteousness by destroying 
them (II Kings iii. 2, x, 26, xviii. 4, xxiii. 14). 

The worship of sacred stones constituted one of 
the most general and ancient forms of religion; 
but among no other people w*as this worship so im- 
portant as among the Semites. The religion of the 
nomads of Syria and Arabia w T as summarized by 
Clement of Alexandria in the single statement, “ The 
Arabs worship the stone, ” and all the data afforded 
by Arabian authors regardingtlie pre-Islamitic faith 
confirm his words. The sacred stone (“nusb”; 

plural, 44 ansab ”) is a characteristic and 

Semitic indispensable feature in an ancient 

Stone- Arabian place of 'worship. Among the 

Worship. Canaanites, as the Old Testament 
abundantly proves, the worship of 
mazzebot was common ; while with regard to the 
Phenicians, Herodotus states (ii. 44) that the temple 
of Melkart at Tyre con- 
tained two sacred pil- 
lars. In like manner, 
two columns 'were 
erected for the temples 
at Paphos and Hierap- 
olis, and a conical 
stone -was worshiped 
as a symbol of Astarte 
in li.er temple in the 
former city. The rep- 
resentation of the tem- 
ple of Byblos on a coin 
shows a similar conical 
pillar. Such examples 
may readily be multi- 
plied (comp. Ezek. 
xxvi. 12). 

These stones were 
extremely diverse in 
form, ranging from 
rough blocks, over 
vdiick the blood of the 
sacrifice, or the anoint- 
ing - oil, w r as poured 
(Gen. xxviii. IS ; I Sam. 
xiv. 33 et seq.), to care- 
fully wrought columns, such as those erected in the 
Temple of Solomon or in the Phenieian sanctuaries. 
A number of simple stone columns have been pre- 
served. Thus there is a Phenieian boundary-stone 
from Cyprus, in the form of an obelisk, and set on a 





Phenieian Mazzebah. 

(From Benzinger, “ Hebraiache 
Archaologie.”; 


small pedestal; others have been found in tlie exca- 

vatlons of tlie Eeutscher Faiastmarerem at Tell al- 
Mutasallim, the ancient Megiddo. The sanctuary 
at the latter place had at its entrance tw 7 o stone 
columns, simple quadrilateral monoliths, tapering 
slightly toward the top, and very similar to the 
mazzebot at the entrance to the place of sacrifice 
in the ancient Edomite sanctuary at Petra. 

The original signification of the sacred stone is 




Dolmen near Heshbon. 

(After Conder.) 


character. At a very early period the stone served 
likewise as an altar of sacrifice, and the offering laid 
upon it was by implication given to the deity that 
dwelt therein. It must also be borne in mind 
that originally, even in the case of a burnt offering, 
it was the blood and not the act of burning which 
constituted the essential of the sacrifice, and that 
the shedding of blood on the sacred stone served the 
same purpose as anointing it. There was no idea, 
however, of identifying the deity with the stone, 
as is shown by the fact that a number of stones, or 
trees, sacred to a divinit}' might stand together. 
Where specially chosen or prepared sacred stones 
took the place of natural landmarks, they expressed 


although the black stone of Mecca, on the other hand, 
is caressed and kissed by the worshipers. In the 
course of time, however, the altar and the sacred 
stone were differentiated, and stones 
Relation to of this character were erected around 
Altar. the altar. Among both Canaanites 
and Israelites the mazzebali was 
separated from the altar, which thus became the 
place for. the burning of the victim as well as for 
the shedding of its blood. That the altar was a de- 
velopment from the sacred stone is clearly shown by 
the fact that, in accordance with ancient custom, 
hewn stones might not be used in its construction. 

It thus becomes evident that originally the maz- 



559 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Stone and Stone-Worship 
Strakosch 


zebot were unknown to the Sinaitic Yhwii cult, al- 
though the entire course of history renders their 
incorporation in the religion of Israel readily intel- 
ligible. Such sacred stones were found by the 
Israelites in the Canaanite sanctuaries and on the 
“high places,” and were thus taken over like so 
many other features of religious observance. No 
attempt was made, however, to justify such a usage, 
or to bring it into relation with the cult of Yhwii, 
but these sacred stones came to be regarded as me- 
morials of events in the lives of the Patriarchs or in 
the history of the nation, as in the case of Jacob’s 
stone at Beth-el, Joshua’s at Gilgal, and the stone 
Samuel set up between Mizpeliand Shen. 

Bibliography : Kuenen, Religion of Israel to the Fall of the 
Jewish State , i. 390-395 ; Smith, Rel. of Sem . pp. 200 et seq.; 
Benzinger, Arch, pp. 375 etseq.; Gall, Altisi'aelitischer Baal- 
liultus , 1398 ; Lagrange, Etude sur les Religions Semitiques ; 
Enceintes et Pierres Sacrecs , in Rev, Bib. April, 1900. 
e. g. li. I. Be. 

STONES, PRECIOUS. See Gems. 
STONING. See Capital Punishment. 
STORK (“hasidali”): Unclean bird (Lev. xi. 19; 
Deut. xiv. 18). The name (comp. Latin, “ pia avis ”) 
alludes to the filial piety and devotion attributed by 
the ancients to the stork (comp. Aristotle, “Historia 
Animalium,” ix. 14, 1). Both the white and black 
storks ( Giconia alba and Oieonia nigra) occur in Pal- 
estine: the former is a migrant, passing through in 
April (comp. Jer. viii. 7); the latter is especially 
abundant in the neighborhood of the Dead Sea. 

The Talmud considers “dayyah lebanah” to be 
the proper name of the stork, and “ hasidali ” to 
be an epithet applied to it because it lovingly shares 
its food with its fellows (Hul. 68a). The gall of the 
stork cures the bite of the scorpion (Ket. 50a; 
comp. Pliny, “Historia Naturalis,” xxix. 5, 38). 

Bibliography : Tristram, Nat. Hist. p. 244; Lewysohn, Zoo- 
logic des Talmuds , p. 171. 

E. G. II. I. M. C. 

STORK, KARL : Austrian laryngologist ; born 
at Ofen, Hungary, Sept. 17, 1832; died at Vienna 
Sept. 13, 1899. He studied at the universities of 
Prague and Vienna, graduating as M.D. in 1858, 
when he was appointed assistant at the communal 
hospital of Vienna. In 1858, while acting as as- 
sistant to Professor Turk, Stork demonstrated the 
possibility of introducing remedies into the throat 
and larynx by aid of the laryngoscope ; and he also 
invented various instruments for such treatment. 
In 1864 he became privat-docent at the University 
of Vienna; in 1875, assistant professor; and in 1891, 
professor of laryngology and chief of the laryngo- 
logical clinic. 

Of Stork’s many works the following may be 
mentioned : “ Laryngoscopische Mittheil ungen, ” Vi- 
enna, 1863; “Laryngoscopische Operationen,” ib. 
1870 (2d ed. 1872); “Beitriige zur Heilung des Pa- 
renchym und Cystenkropfes, ” Erlangen, 1874; 
“Mittlieilungen liber Asthma Bronchiale und die 
Mechanische Lungenbeliaudlung,” Stuttgart, 1875; 

“ Klinik der Kranklieiten des Kelilkopfes, der Nase 
und des Rachens,” ib. 1876-80 ; “Sprechen und 
Singen,” Vienna, 1881; “Die Erkrankungen der 
Nase, des Rachens und des Kelilkopfes,” ib. 1895-97. 
Bibliography : Pagel, Biog. Lex. 

s. P. T. H. 


STRACK, HERMANN LEBERECHT: 

German Protestant theologian and Orientalist; born 
at Berlin May 6, 1848. . Since 1877 he has been 
assistant professor of Old Testament exegesis and 
Semitic languages at the University of Berlin. He 
is the foremost Christian authority in Germany on 
Talmudic and rabbinic literature, and studied rab- 
binics under Steinsclmeider. Since the reappearance 
of anti-Semitism in Germany S track has been the 
champion of the Jews against the attacks of such 
men as Hofprediger Stocker, Professor Holding, 
and others. In 1885 Struck became the editor of 
“Nathanael. Zeitsclirift fiir die Arbeit der Evan- 
gelischen Kirche an Israel, ” which is published at 
Berlin; and in 1883 he founded the Institutum Juda- 
ieum, which aims at the conversion of Jews to Chris- 
tianity. In the beginning of his career the Prussian 
government sent Strack to St. Petersburg to examine 
the Bible manuscripts there; on this occasion he ex- 
amined also the antiquities of the Firkovich col- 
lection, which he declared to be forgeries. 

Of Strack’s numerous works the following may be 
mentioned: “Prolegomena Critica in Vetus Tesla- 
men turn Hebraicum ” (Leipsic, 1873) ; “ ICatalog der 
Hebriiiscken Bibelhandschriften der Kaiserlichen 
Oeffentlichen Bibliotliek in St. Petersburg” (St. 
Petersburg and Leipsic, 1875), in collaboration with 
A. Harkavy; “Prophetarum Posteriorum Codex 
Babjdonicus Petropolitanus ” {ib. 1876); “A. Fir- 
kowitch und Seine Entdeckungen ” {ib. 1876); edi- 
tions of the Mishnah tractates Abot (Carlsrulie, 
1882; 2d ed. Berlin, 1888), Yoma {ib. 1888), 
‘Abodali Zarali {ib, 1888), and Shabbat {ib. 1890); 
“Hebraische Granimatik” (Carlsrulie, 1883; 3d ed. 
Munich, 1902); “Lehrbucli der Neuliebriiischen 
Spraclie und Litteratur” {ib. 1884), in collabora- 
tion with Karl Siegfried; “Herr Adolf Stocker” 
(ib. 1885; 2ded. 1886); “Einleitung in den Talmud” 
(Leipsic, 1887 ; 2d ed. 1894), a revised reprint of his 
article on the subject in Herzog-Hauck’s “ Real-En- 
cyklop&die, ” to which he made a whole series of con- 
tributions on rabbinic subjects; “Einleitung in das 
Alte Testament” (Nbrdlingen, 18S8; 5th ed. Mu- 
nich, 189S); “Der Blutaberglaube in derMenschheit, 
Blutmorde und Blutritus” (ib. 1891; 5th ed. 1900); 
“ Die Juden. Diirfen Sie ‘ Verbrecher von Religions- 
wegen’ Genannt Werden ? ” (Berlin, 1893); “Abriss 
des Biblisclien Aramaiseli” (Leipsic, 1897). Since 
1886 Strack has been associated with Zoekler iii edit- 
ing the “ Kurzgefasster Kommentar zu den Scliriften 
des Alten und Neuen Testaments ” (Nordlingen and 
Munich). Strack is a member of the Foreign Board 
of Consulting Editors of The Jewish Encyci.o- 

PEDIA. 

Bibliography: Brockhaus Konversations-Lexikoii . 

S. F. T, II. 

STRAKOSCH, ALEXANDER: Hungarian 
actor aud dramatic teacher; born at Sebes, near 
Eperies, Hungary, Dec. 3, 1S45. After a brief trial 
of commercial life he went on the stage at Reichen- 
berg(Sept., 1863). Subsequently he danced, sang, and 
acted at Troppau, and his versatility then obtained 
for him an engagement at the Hoftlieater, Hanover, 
and later (1864) one in Budapest. In the same year 
he went to Paris to study under Martel of the Co- 



Strakosch 

Strasburg' 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


560 


medie Frangaise. While in the French, capital his 
talent attracted much attention, and he appeared re- 
peatedly as a reader of the plays of Schiller and 
Goethe. 

When Laube visited Paris in 1867 he engaged 
Strakosch as dramatic teacher for the Stadttheater 
at Leipsic, and subsequently for the Stadttheater at 
Vienna. Strakosch remained in this position until 
1879, when he toured Europe as dramatic reader. 
The season of 1887-88 he spent in the United States. 
In 1891 he went to Munich, but remained there only 
a short time, settling eventually in Gorlitz. He 
has been a professor at the Vienna Conservatorium 
for many years. 

Bibliography: Das Geistige Wien , pp. 551-552 ; 0. G. Fliig- 

gen, Blihnen-Lexikon, p. 300. 

s. E. Ms. 

STRAKOSCH, MORITZ : Austrian pianist, 
singer, and impresario; born at Briinn, Austria, 
1825; died at Paris Oct, 9, 1887. He made his first 
appearance in public at the age of eleven, when he 
played a concerto by Hummel at a concert given in 
his native town. His success was so marked that 
his father allowed him to enter upon an artistic 
career, and during the following years he made 
tours through Germany, afterward going to Italy 
to complete his education in vocal music. About 
1848 he took a trip to Paris, but upon the outbreak 
of the revolution went to America, where he met 
Salvator Patti. In 1850 he married Amelia, the sis- 
ter of Adelina and Carlotta Patti. From her eighth 
to her eleventh year Adelina Patti traveled with 
Strakosch, singing in concerts. In 1859 Strakosch 
became director of the Italian opera in New York, 
where he arranged for the debut of Patti (Nov. 24, 
1859). In consequence of the great success which 
she achieved under his management he received of- 
fers from managers in various parts of the world ; 
and in 1870 he made a contract with Christine Nils- 
son engaging her to sing in concerts in America, and 
promising her 5,000 francs for every performance at 
which the receipts exceeded 20,000 francs. This en- 
terprise was attended with pronounced success, and 
in 1874 Strakosch had another successful season 
in America with Nilsson and Campanini. It was 
Strakosch also who first introduced Clara Louise 
Kellogg to the London public. His opera “ Giovanni 
di Napoli” was produced in New York, and he 
wrote also salon pieces and other music for piano- 
forte. 

Bibliography: New York Herald , Oct. 10, 1S87; Baker, 

B'kxj. Diet, of Music and Musicians. 

S, J. So. 

STRANGER. See Gentile; Hospitality; 
Proselyte. 

STRANGULATION. See Capital Punish- 
ment. 

STRASBURG : German commercial and forti- 
fied city in the province of Alsace-Lorraine. Leg- 
end relates that after the destruction of the Temple 
a number of fugitive Jews escaped to Europe, 
some settling in the south of France, while others 
wandered north along the banks of the Rhine, final- 
ly establishing themselves in the town of Worms 
and throughout the province of Alsace, where they 


founded Strasburg. Authentic history of this city 
begins with the Schoepflin “Chronicles,” in which 
Jews are recorded as living there in the days of Char- 
lemagne under relatively favorable conditions. They 
enjoyed freedom in commercial matters, had their 
own judicial code, and possessed the right to own 
property, bear arms, anil demand the protection 
of the authorities. This peaceful time ended with 
the inception of the Crusades. In 1095, when the 
First Crusade was preached by Peter the Hermit, 
1,500 Jews were burned alive in Strasburg alone. 
Similar scenes of revolting cruelty attended the 
preaching of the Second Crusade, in 1156, when a 
monk named Rudolf of Strasburg declaimed against 
the Jews as the worst enemies of Christianity ; but 
the emperor and some of the higher dignitaries of 
the Church protected them from at least the more 
violent outbreaks of popular fury. 

In 1160, the year of the visit of Benjamin of 
Tudela, Strasburg was one of those cities which 
possessed Jewish schools conducted by illustrious 
scholars. On the demolition of the ramparts around 
the “Jewish Gate ” in 1882, a monument to the mem- 
ory of a certain Jewess named Marone (daughter of 
R. Mosse), who died in 1223, was discovered. In 
1288 the Jews of Alsace, including Strasburg, com- 
plained to Emperor Rudolph of the murder of forty 
of their number by peasants, who had fabricated a 
story of the ritual murder of a child on Good Fri- 
day. Owing to the protection extended by the em- 
peror, the rabbi and some others who were then in 
prison were released on the payment of 20,000 
marks in silver. In 1330 Louis of Bavaria took the 
persons and property' of the Jews of Strasburg under 
liis protection, and conferred upon them certain 
rights and privileges in consideration of an annual 
payment of 50 silver marks. In 1338 the civil mag- 
istrates, on payment of 1,000 marks in silver, 
granted similar toleration to sixteen Jewish fami- 
lies for a term of five years. On Nov. 
Privileges 25, 1347, Charles IV., for 60 marks in 

Granted, silver, granted the Jews letters of pro- 
tection, and confirmed their former 
rights and privileges. He gave them the formal as- 
surance that they should not be subjected to the ju- 
risdiction of any Jewish authorities outside the city, 
and ordered the judges and bailiffs concerned to 
render the Jews assistance in the recovery of their 
rights. 

Persecution recommenced, however, and with in- 
creased severity, in 1349. During the period of the 
Black Death, Strasburg lost 16,000 of its inhabitants. 
Thereupon the rumor quickly spread that the Jews 
had poisoned the wells, and that, by the advice 
of their physicians, they had removed the buck- 
ets from their own cisterns and wells and re- 
frained from drinking water. At Bern and Zofin- 
gen confessions were wrung from a few Jews by 
the usual method of torture, whereupon the cities of . 
Basel, Freiburg, and Strasburg were invited to fol- 
low this example. The bishop convened an assem- 
bly' at Benfeld, in Alsace, of the feudal seigniors 
and certain delegates from the above-mentioned 
cities, at which the final destruction of the Jews 
was determined upon, in spite of the protests of the 
Strasburg envoys, who declared that there was 



561 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Strakosch 

Strasbur§r 


nothing whatever to be said against the Jewish 
population of their cit} r ; that the Jews had re- 
ceived their privileges from the emperor himself, 
and from the bishop and magistrates, and had paid 
well for them; that, furthermore, the city owed the 
Jews large sums, payment of which had been guar- 


cording to their duty in making a vigorous oppo- 
sition to any species of persecution. 

But the populace, enraged by the excessive fluc- 
tuations in the prices of grain, and urged on by 
those who knew their own power, would not be 
guided b} r the calmer reasoning of their rulers. 



Plan of Strasburg. Star Shows the Gate Leading to the Jewry. 

(From an early seventeenth-century print. 


anteed on a fixed date ; that the city government had 
also granted the Jews sealed letters of protection and 
had published an edict against all who should ven- 
ture to commit excesses against them, imposing 
heavier penalties than were usual in the case of 
Christians; and that the magistrates, therefore, were 
only acting within their rightful authority and ac- 
XI.— 36 


For a brief space, it is true, their anger was ap- 
peased by the representations of the authorities, 
but it broke forth anew at the instigation of the 
butchers’ gild. The “ Ammeister ” Peter Schwarber, 
and the two “ Stettmeister ” Gofte Sturm and Conrad 
Ivuntz, were accused of having been bribed to op- 
pose the Jews’ extermination, and were removed 




Strasburg: 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


562 


from office. Scliwarber was banished from the city, cil returned the crown to the sons of the dead mar- 
aud his property, except the share that reverted to grave, who gave a receipt for it. 

his children, was divided, according to the custom ilfter the massacre of 1349 the council of Stras- 
of the time, among his fellow magistrates, who en- burg issued a decree prohibiting the admission of 

tered his dwelling and seized the great seal and the Jews into the city, which decree remained in 

standard of the city. To fill the places of the de- force for two centuries. From this epoch dates the 

posed officials, Nicolas Beulach was appointed “ Grusselliorn.” Among the various objects found 

“Ammeister," and Gozzo Engel brecht and the during the plunder of the S} r nagogue was the ram's 

butcher Jean Betchold were made “ Stettmcister. ” horn used at the autumn festivals. The pillagers 

On Saturday, Feb. 14, 1319, the Feast of St. Yal- were ignorant of the uses of this horn, and one of 



Exterior op the Synagogue at Strasburg. 

(From a photograph.) 


entine, the mob barricaded the Judgengassc (now their number expressed the opinion that the Jews 

the Domstrasse), and drove the Jews back into the had intended to betray the city by giving a signal 

cemetery, where a huge pyre had been made; there at an opportune moment to their al- 

more than 2,000 Jews, men, women, and children, The lies outside. This opinion was soon 

suffered death in the flames; some saved their lives “ Grussel- universally accepted, and the town 

by renouncing the faith of their ancestors. The horn.” council resolved to perpetuate the 
Jews Jekelin and Mannekint (sons of the widow memory of their deliverance. Two 

Salomon), to whom Margrave Rudolf of Baden had large trumpets, copies of the original, were cast in 

pledged his crown, perished probably on this occa- bronze. One was blown daily at eight in the eve- 

sion. These two bankers had been taxed an amount ning by the vergers of the cathedral, at which signal, 

five times in excess of that paid by any of their eo- known as the “ Judenblos,” all Jews who happened 
religionists. In the same year the municipal coun- to be within the city limits were obliged to depart. 





Interior of the synagogue at Strasburg. 

(From a photograph,) 





Strasburg- 

Strashun 


THE JEWISH ENCY CLOPEDIA 


564 


The second was blown at midnight to recall to the 
inhabitants the alleged traitorous plot of 1349. 

The rigid enforcement of the decree forbidding 
any Jew to reside in Strasburg was soon relaxed, 
and in 1368 six families were permitted to return 
for a term of five years, under certain conditions. 
This term was later extended to 1375. Nine other 
families obtained a similar license in 1369, on con- 
dition of an annual payment to the town council 
and the bishop. On Dec. 7, 13S4, a Jewish physi- 
cian, Dr. Gutleben, obtained leave from the council 
to reside in the city for six years without the pay- 
ment of any protection money, in order that he 
might bestow the benefit of his medical knowledge 
upon the populace. He was even to receive a fixed 
stipend of 300 florins per annum for his services 
during this period, and was authorized to lend at in- 
terest money belonging to himself, although he did 
not enjoy this liberty with funds belonging to others. 

Somewhat later, in 13S8, the Jews of Strasburg 
ceased to pay their taxes regularly; and, having 
adopted a somewhat critical and censorious atti- 
tude in regard to a dispute between the city and 
the Duke of Burgundy, the}" were sentenced to per- 
petual banishment and to the payment of a fine of 
20,000 florins. This second decree of banishment 
was so strictly enforced, and the time allowed for 
preparation so inadequate, that the Jews had to 
abandon their books as well as the scrolls of the 
Law and other articles used in religious services. 
The copies of the Talmud and the scrolls of the 
Law were preserved in the library of the city, and 
were destroyed, with many other literary treasures, 
in the bombardment of 1870. 

Little mention of the Jews occurs in the monastic 
chronicles throughout the entire fifteenth century. 
In 1520 they were allowed to enter the city only 
during the usual hours for strangers, on condition 
of Tvearing a yellow badge or shield in some con- 
spicuous place on their garments. In 1534’ Rabbi 
Joselmann of Rosheim wrote a letter of thanks to 
the council for certain privileges granted to his fel- 
low worshipers. A decree, issued in 1539 and re- 
newed in 1570, 1628, and 1661, forbade Christians to 
enter into an} 7 contracts with Jews, save such as re- 
lated to the purchase of horses or of food-supplies. 

In 1657 Louis XIY. took the Jews of Alsace under 
his royal protection, greatly to the dissatisfaction of 
the smaller communes, which, faithful to old tradi- 
tions, considered them as interlopers 
In the Sev- and dangerous parasites. But after 
enteenth the capitulation of 1681 the city of 
Century. Strasburg succeeded in maintaining in 
force the old statutes against the Jews. 
Nevertheless, qualified permits of entry and resi- 
dence within the city continued to be issued to the 
Jews. 

In 1743 the council relaxed its extreme severity 
and granted a number of privileges to various Jews, 
especially to a certain Moses Bliem. Count d’Ar- 
genson of Versailles wrote personally to the munici- 
pal authorities, stating that the Moses Bliem in 
question, together with his coreligionists and busi- 
ness associates Jacob Baruch Weill, Aaron Meyer 
Lehmann, and Lieb Netter, had for two years past 
been furnishing supplies to the royal armies of 


Germany, and that they required permission to open 
an office in Strasburg for their correspondence. The 
permission wus granted, but not for any. definite 
length of time ; it was understood that it was to last 
only as long as the army remained in Germany. A 
single Jew, of all the dwellers on the Upper and 
Lower Rhine, won the unanimous respect of the 
authorities on both sides, owing to his great wealth 
and still more to his charities during the scarcity of 
food-supplies in 1770 and 1771 ; this was Herz Cerf- 
beer, of Bischofsheim, near Strasburg. 

On Aug. 5, 1767, Cerfbeer, whose real name was 
Herz Medelsheim, proposed to the Jewish commu- 
nities of Alsace to contract for the 

In tlie furnishing of supplies to the armies of 
Eighteenth Louis XIV., and for this purpose re-: 

Century, quested permission from the Strasburg 
authorities- to spend the winter in that 
city in order to escape the robberies so frequent on 
the outskirts. At first his petition was rejected; 
but Cerfbeer applied to the* Duke of Choiseul at 
Paris, and an order dated Versailles, Jan. 22, 1768, 
was sent to the council and magistracy of Strasburg, 
directing them to accede to this request. Thus 
Cerfbeer was the first Jew who had a definite resi-.. 
dence in the city after this long period. He was 
at first obliged to submit to certain restrictions, such 
as those jigainst opening a synagogue or receiving 
any foreign Jew into his house. He soon obtained 
permission to live in the city during the summer as 
well ; and in a document dated Nov. 5, 1771, the Mar- 
quis of Monteynard declared to the royal procura- 
tor that the presence of Cerfbeer was necessary for 
the welfare of the city, and that it was the king’s will 
that Cerfbeer should reside in the town through- 
out the year. 

In March, 1775, by letters patent given at Ver- 
sailles, the king granted naturalization to Cerfbeer 
and his children in return for the many important 
services rendered by him to the army and as a testi- 
mony to his zeal for the good of the state. Cerfbeer 
thus was the first Jewish citizen of Strasburg: the 
household he brought with him comprised sixty 
persons. A royal decree dated Jan., 1784, abolished 
the poll-tax levied first upon Moses Bliem and later 
upon Cerfbeer. In 1781 a deputation from Alsace : 
Lorraine was sent to present the Jewish grievances 
at the bar of. the National Assembly at Paris, and 
the subject was. debated at several sittings. Rew- 
bel, Maury, and the Due de Broglie, deputies from 
Alsace, contended that the Jews were all addicted to 
usury and had turned Alsace into a Jewish colony. 
To this Mirabeau, the Abbe Gregoirc, and even 
Robespierre replied that the vices of the Jews were 
the result of the degradation into which they had 
been thrust; and that they would behave well as 
soon as they found any advantage in doing so. 

On April 8, 1790, the city of Strasburg submitted 
to the National Assembly an address requesting that 
the ancient laws against the Jews should be strictly 
enforced. But on Sept. 27, 1791, the National As- 
sembly proclaimed the complete social and polit- 
ical emancipation of all Jews residing in France* 
This decree was followed in 1806 and 1807 by the 
general reorganization of Jewish religious adminis- 
tration, and the cessation of one of the minor an- 



565 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Strasburg- 

Strashun 


noyances to which the Jews had been subjected — the 
blowing of the “ Grusselliorn.” In 1809 the com- 
munity of Strasburg opened its first synagogue in 
the ancient Poele des Drapiers. In 1836 the erec- 
tion of a new synagogue was begun on the Rue Ste. 
Helene; it was in existence until 1898, when it was 
replaced by a larger one on the Quai Kleber, in the 
heart of the city. The new synagogue was opened 
Sept. 8, 1898. There is also a congregation, ‘Ez 
Hayyim, composed of about forty families, which 
separated from the main body owing to a difference 
regarding the question of an organ in the synagogue, 
but which maintains friendly relations with the 
larger community. 

The first chief rabbi of Strasburg was David Sinz- 
iieim, president of the Sanhedrin of 1807 (d. Paris, 
Feb. 12, 1812, while chief rabbi of France). He was 
succeeded by Arnold Aron, who filled the office for 
more than half a century, and died April 4, 1889. 
Isaac Weill, chief rabbi of Metz, succeeded him, and 
died in June, 1899, at the age of fifty-eight. Chief 
Rabbi Adolphe TJry of Metz was appointed in his 
stead by an imperial decree dated Jan. 23, 1900, and 
was formally installed in office Feb. 18, 1900. He is 
the present head of the Strasburg community, as well 
as of all communities of Lower Alsace. In addition 
to numerous societies for the aid of the sick and the 
poor, a large hospital was erected in 1887, on the 
Hagenau Platz, near the Steinthor. There is also 
an orphanage for young girls, which entered its 
own quarters March 26, 1903. In 1853 Louis Ratis- 
bonne, president of the consistory, founded at his 
own expense an almshouse, the Eliza Hospiz, in 
memory of one of his cousins. The foundation in 
1825 of a Jewish school of arts and trades, the Ecole 
de Travail, was also due to Ratisbonne. 

The total population of Strasburg is 150,258, in- 
cluding about 1,000 Jewish families. 

s. A. U. 

STRASHUN, MATHIAS; Russian Talmud- 
ist and writer; born in Wilna Oct. 1, 1817; died 
Dec. 13, 1885. He studied under Manasseli of llye 
and Isaac of Volozhin, who were highly impressed 
with his ability. Besides 
Talmud and Hebrew, 
Strashun acquired a 
knowledge of Russian, 
German, French, and 
Latin, and of mathe- 
matics, philosophy, and 
other sciences. He like- 
wise engaged in busi- 
ness: and although his 
first venture was a com- 
plete failure and he lost 
everything lie possessed, 
his enterprises were aft- 
erward very successful. 

Strashun spent a great 
part of his considerable 
fortune in collecting a magnificent library ; and his 
house soon became a rendezvous for scholars and 
students from al 1 parts of Europe. He corresponded 
with eminent Jews like Zunz and Rapoport; and 
even Gentile scholars, such as Professor Wiinsche 


and others, sought his advice with regard to com- 
plicated problems. 

His studies and books, however, were not the only 
matters to claim Strashun’s attention. He took an 
active interest in public affairs also, and was for 
many years president of the Hebrew charities in 
Wilna. The government appointed him adviser to 
the state bank, and bestowed many honors upon 
him for his faithful services. 

Strashun’s first literary productions appeared in 
the “PirlieZafon,” “ KeremHemed,” “Ha-Maggid,” 
and “Ha-Karmel.” In book form he published: 
“Rehobot Kiryah,” an introduction and annotations 
to the “Kiryali Ne’emanah,” by Fuenn; and “Lik- 
kute Shoshanim ” (Berlin, 1889), a catalogue of the 
Strashun library. 

Bibliography: Suvalski, Keneset ha-Gedolah , 1890; Ha - 
Asif , 1885, vol. ii. ; Zeitlin, Bibl. Post-Mendels, p. 388 ; Ha- 
Meliz, 1885, p.93. 

E. C. J. GrO. 

STRASHUN, SAMUEL B. JOSEPH: Rus- 
sian Talmudist; born in Zaskevicli, government of 
Wilna, 1794; died in Wilna March 21, 1872. He 
was educated by his father, and became known 
as a proficient Talmudist. He married at an early 
age, and settled with his wife’s parents in the vil- 
lage of Streszyn, commonly called Strashun (near 
Wilna), and assumed the latter name. The distillery 
owned by his father-in-law was wrecked by the in- 
vading French army in 1812, and the family re- 
moved to Wilna, where Samuel established another 
distillery and became one of the most prominent mem- 
bers of the community. His wife conducted the 
business, as was usual in Wilna, and he devoted the 
greater part of his time to studying the Talmud and 
to teaching, gratuitously, the disciples who gath- 
ered about him. The Talmud lectures which for 
many years he delivered daily at the synagogue 
on Poplaves street were well attended, and from 
the discussions held there resulted his annotations, 
which are now incorporated in every recent edition 
of the Babylonian Talmud. His fame as a rabbin- 
ical scholar spread throughout Russia, and he con- 
ducted a correspondence with several well-known 
rabbis. 

Strashun was offered the rabbinate of Suwalki, but 
he refused it, preferring to retain his independence. 
His piety did not prevent him from sympathizing 
with the progressive element in Russian Jewry, and 
he was one of the few Orthodox leaders who ac- 
cepted in good faith the decree of the government 
that only graduates of the rabbinical schools of 
Wilna and Jitomir should be elected as rabbis. He 
wrote good modern Hebrew, spoke the Polish lan- 
guage fluently', was conspicuously kind and benev- 
olent, and was highly esteemed even among the 
Christian inhabitants of Wilna. Besides the above- 
mentioned annotations, he wrote others to the Mid- 
rash Rabbot, which first appeared in the Wilna edi- 
tions of 1843-45 and 1855. Some of his novella?, 
emendations, etc., were incorporated in the works of 
other authorities. 

Bibliography: S. Antokolsky, Mckore ha-Rambam. Wilna, 
1871; H. Katzenellenbogen, Netibot ‘ Olam , pp. 197-206, 227- 
228, Wilna, 1858; Suvalsfci, Keneset ha-Gedolah , pp. 22-24, 
Warsaw, 1890; Zedner, Cat. Hehr. Books Brit. Mus. pp. 
540,737. 

E. C. P. Wl. 



Mathias Strashun. 



Straus 

Strauss 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


566 


STRAUS : American family, ' originally from 
Otterberg, in the Rhenish Palatinate. The earliest 
member known was one Lazarus, bom in the first 
half of the eighteenth century, .whose son Jacob 
Lazarus was known also as Jacques Lazare. Laz- 
arus was elected in the department of Mont Tonnerre 
for the Assembly of Jewish Notables convened b)’ 
Napoleon in Paris July 26, 1806, preliminary to the 
establishment of the French Sanhedrin. His son 
Isaac took the name of Straus in the year 1S08, 
when Napoleon passed the decree ordering all Alsa- 
tian Jews to adopt family” names. Isaac’s son Laz- 
arus was possessed of considerable means, made in 
both agricultural and commercial pursuits. Being of 
liberal tendencies, he was involved in the revolution- 
ary movement of 1848; he emigrated to the United 
States in 1CJ1 and settled in Talbotton, Ga. In 
1865 he established in New York a successful pot- 
tery and glassware business, in conducting which 
he was joined in 1872 by his sons. It was due to his 
instigation that Kayserling undertook the researches 
in Spain resulting in Ins work on Christopher Co- 
lumbus. He died in New York in April, 1898. 

Isidor Straus : Merchant ; eldest son of Lazarus 
Straus; born at Otterberg Feb. 6, 1845. He accom- 
panied his parents to the United States in 1854, and 
was educated at Collins worth Institute. He was 
elected lieutenant of a Georgia company” at the open- 
ing of the Civil war, but was not allowed to serve 
on account of his youth. In 1868 he went to Eng- 
land to secure ships for blockade-running. In I860 
he went with his father to New York, where the}” 
organized the firm of L. Straus & Son; in 1888 lie 
entered the firm of P. II. Macy & Company, and in 
1S92 that of Abraham A Straus, Brooklyn. He 
was elected a member of the Fifty-third Congress 
in 1892, and was instrumental in inducing President 
Cleveland, to call tlie extra session of Congress Avliicli 

repealed the Sherman Act. Straus has been identi- 
fied with the various movements in behalf of fiscal 
and tariff reform, and was a delegate to the Sound 
Money Convention held at Indianapolis. He was 
one of the founders .of the Educational Alliance 
(of which he is now [1905] president), is a director 
of several banks and financial institutions, and is 
a prominent member of the Board of Trade and 
vice-president of the Chamber of Commerce. The 
Washington and Lee University conferred upon 
him the degree of LL.D. in 1905. 

Nathan Straus: Merchant; second son of Laz- 
arus Straus; born at Otterberg Jan. 31, 1848. With 
his family he went to the United States in 1854. 
It settled at Talbotton, Ga., where he attended 
school; afterward he was trained at Packard’s Busi- 
ness College, New York. Tie joined his father in 
the firm of L. Straus & Son in 1872, and his brother 
Isidor in the firm of R. II. Macy & Company. 
Straus has shown considerable interest in municipal 
affairs, becoming a member of the New York Forest 
Preserve Board and park commissioner of New 
York in 1893. He was offered the nomination of 
mayor of New York in 1894, and was appointed 
president of the Board of Health of New York in 
1898. He originated in 1890, and has since main- 
tained at his own expense, a system for the distribu- 
tion of sterilized milk to the poor of New York city 


which has been shown by the report of the Health 
Department of New York to have saved many in- 
fant lives. He contributed also to the establishment 
of the same S3 r stem in Chicago and Philadelphia, 
lie likewise originated and maintained during the 
coal strike in the winter of 1903-4 a system of depots 
for the distribution of coal to the poor of New York. 
Straus has shown considerable interest in trotting. 

Oscar Solomon Straus : Merchant and diplo- 
mat; third son of Lazarus Straus; born at Otterberg 
Dec. 23, 1850. He went with his family to Talbot- 
ton, Ga., in 1854, and removed with it to Columbus, 
Ga., in 1868, and to New York in 1865. He was 
educated at Columbia Grammar School and Columbia 
College, graduating 
in 1871. Afterward 
he attended the Co- 
lumbia Law School, 
graduating from that 
institution in 1873. 

He began tlie practise 
of law in the firm of 
Hudson & Straus, 
which afterward be- 
came Sterne, Straus 
& Thompson, the se- 
nior member being 
Simon. Sterne. The 
strain of a large prac- 
tise in commercial 
and railway cases told 
upon Straus’s health, 
and in Jan., 1881, he 
retired from law and 
entered his father’s firm. Straus was active in the 
campaign which resulted in the election of President 
Cleveland in 1884, and was appointed minister pleni- 
potentiary to Turkey in 1887 at the suggestion of 
Henry Ward Beeclier. Straus did excellent work 



Copyright by Pierre Mac Donald. 

Oscar Solomon Straus. 


while at Constantinople, especially in obtaining rec- 
ognition of the American schools and colleges in the 
Turkish dominion. He was again appointed minis- 
ter plenipotentiary to Turkey (1897-1900) by Presi- 
dent McKinley, and was enabled by bis influence 
with the sultan to help reconcile the Mohammedan 
inhabitants of the Sulu Archipelago in the Philip- 
pines to the recognition of the suzerainty of the 
United States. 

Straus lias performed much valuable public service 
as member of various commissions, as, for instance, 
those appointed to investigate New York public 
schools and to improve institutions for the insane. 
He was president of the National Primary League 
in 1895, and of the American Social Science Associa- 
tion from 1899 to 1903, as well as of the National Con- 
ference of Capital and Labor held in 1901. He was 
instrumental in founding the National Civic Federa- 
tion, of which he has been vice-president since 1891. 
In 1902, on the death of ex -President Harrison, Straus 
was appointed by President Roosevelt to succeed 
him as a member of tlie Permanent Court of Arbitra- 
tion at The Hague, this high honor being given him 
in recognition of liis diplomatic service and knowl- 
edge of international relations. Straus has written 
much for the magazines, has delivered lectures 
at Yale and Harvard universities, and, since 1903, 


567 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Straus 

Strauss 


has lectured annually upon international law before 
the United States Naval War College at An- 
napolis. He is the author of “The Origin of the 
Republican Form of Government in the United 
States ” (New York, 1885), and “Roger Williams, the 
Pioneer of Religious Liberty ” (ib. 1894). He has 
been very active in connection with the study of 
American Jewish history, and he was one of the 
founders, and the first president, of the American 
Jewish Historical Society, from which position he 
retired in 1898. Straus is at present (1905) a trustee 
of the Baron de Hirsch Fund. The honorary de- 
grees of L.H.D. (Brown University) and LL.D. 
(Columbia University) have been conferred upon 
him. 


Bibliogr. 
• Who' 
1893. 


utAPHY : Appleton's Cuclo. of American. Biography 
s Who in America, 1905; New York Mimes, Bee. o. 


J. 


STRAUS, LUDWIG: Hungarian violinist; 
born at Presburg March 28, 1885; studied under 
Hellmesberger and Joseph Bohm (violin), and under 
Preyer and Nottebohm (composition). . His first pub- 
lic performance took place at Vienna in June, 1850. 
He made several successful concert tours, and in 1857 
became acquainted with Piatti, the cellist, with 
whom he toured Germany and Sweden. In 1859 he 
was appointed leader of the opera orchestia at 
Frankfort-on-tlie-Main, and in the following 3 eai 
he conducted the Museum concerts in the same city. 
He then visited England, in which country he finally 
settled in 1864, being engaged as solo violinist at 
the court orchestra, and also as conductor of the 
Philharmonic concerts at London, and the Halle con- 
certs at Manchester. For several years he played 
the viola in the string quartet at the Sunday evening 
and Monday popular concerts in London. Straus 
was teacher of the violin at the London Academy 
of Music, from which position he retired in 1S94. 


Bibliography: Riemann, Musik-Lexikon \ Baker, Biog. 
Diet, of Musicians , New York, 1900. 
s. A - P - 


STRAUSS, ADOLF: Hungarian geographer 
and ethnologist; born at Cece, Hungary, May 15, 
1858; educated at Fejervar and Budapest; in the 
latter city he frequented the military academy, sub- 
sequently being attached to the staff of Field-Mar- 
shal Gliyczy. Strauss began his literary activity in 
1878, and on account of his intimate knowledge of 
the geography of the Balkan Peninsula he was re- 
peatedly sent to the East ou missions for the Hun- 
garian government. His woiks include. Bosmcn , 
Laud und Leute ” (Budapest, 1881 ; Vienna, 1882) ; 
“ Bosznia es Herczegovina ” (2 vols., Budapest, 1883 ; 
Vienna, 1884); “Bosnische Industrie” (Vienna, 
1885) ; “ Bulgarisclie Industrie ” (ib. 1886) ; “ Voyage 
an Montenegro ” (Paris, 1888); “Bolgar Nepkoltesi 
Gyujtemenv ” (on folk-songs of Bulgaria ; 2 vols., 
Budapest, 1892); “Bulgarisclie Grammatik” (Vi- 
enna, 1895); “Bolgar Nepliit” (ou popular super- 
stitions in Bulgaria; Budapest, 1897); “Romania 
Gazdasagi es Neprajzi Leirasa” (on the political 
economy and ethnography of Rumania; ib. 1899). 
Strauss was the founder and editor of the “ Revue 
de l'Orient ” and of the “ Gazette de Hongrie.” At 


present (1905) lie occupies the position of professor 
at the Oriental Academy of Commerce at Budapest. 

Bibliography: Pallas Lex. 

g L. V . 

STRAUSS, CHARLES: French jurist and 
politician ; born at Gundershoffen, Lower Alsace, 
Oct. 14, 1834. He was graduated from the law 
school of Paris in 1874, and in the same year estab- 
lished himself as an attorney at the Court of Ap- 
peals in Paris. After occupying various adminis- 
trative positions in the office of tlie Ministry of the 
Interior, lie was appointed prefect of the department 
of the Drome in 1888. For some years lie was 
a resident of Algeria, where lie filled various impor- 
tant positions. As an officer in the Algerian militia, 
he organized the victualing department of tlie Al- 
gerian troops during the Franco-Prussian war of 
1870-71. He drafted tlie official proclamation of the 
French republic and published it in Algiers on Sept. 
4, 1870. In 1873 he organized a banquet on the 
occasion of the departure from Algiers of the first 
Hebrew conscripts for military service in France. 
On Dee. 31, 1895, he was created an officer of the 
Legion of Honor. 

Strauss is the author of the following works: 

“ L’ Ad ministration et la Reconstitution du Ministere 
d’Algerie,” Paris, 1874; “L’Algerie et la Prusse,” 
ib. 1874; “La Maison Nationale de Cliarenton” 
(illustrated), ib. 1900. 
s. * 

STRAUSS, GUSTAVE LOUIS MAURICE: 
British author ; born at Trois-Rivieres, Canada, 1807; 
died at Teddington, England, Sept. 2, 1887; edu- 
cated at Linden, Hanover, Berlin (Pli.D.), and at the 
Montpellier School of Medicine. In 1832 he visited 
England for the first time, and in the following year 
went to Algiers as assistant surgeon of- the French 
army. He was at first attached to the Foreign 
Legion, but in 1884 lie severed, bis connection witb. 

that body. He returned to France, blit was ban- 
ished in 1889 for alleged complicity in a revolu- 
tionary plot, whereupon he settled in London as 
author, linguist, tutor, dramatist, and surgeon. 
Through the intervention of Mr. Gladstone he re- 
ceived some years before his death an annuity from 
the government, hut he nevertheless ended his 
career in straitened circumstances. 

Strauss was the author of tlie following .works: 
“ Men Who Have Made the German Empire” (2 
vols., London, 1874) ; “ The Reminiscences of an Old 
Bohemian” (2 vols., ib. 1882); “Stories by an Old 
Bohemian” (ib. 1883); “Philosophy in the Kitchen 
(ib. 1885); and “The Emperor William ” (ib. 1887). 
He was the author also of a French and a German 
grammar, and of other educational woiks. He 
translated into English many books from .French 
and German, and contributed to numerous London 
periodicals, of which may be mentioned the “ Gro- 
cer” (of which he was the first editor), the “Punchi- 
nello,” the “Lancet,” and the “ Morning Advertiser. ” 
He wrote also some pieces for the stage, of which 
one. a farce, was produced with success at the Drury 
Lane Theatre in 1868. 

Bibliography : Athenaeum , Sept. 17, 1SS7. 


Strauss 

Stripes 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


568 


STRAUSS, JOSEPH: English rabbi ; born in 
Germany 184S; educated at the Royal Gymnasium 
at Stuttgart, and at the universities of W urzburg and 
Tubingen (Pli.D. 1873). He also pursued the study 
of theology, and, after having passed the state ex- 
amination, was ordained rabbi in 1870. He at once 
proceeded to England, and was appointed rabbi of 
the Rowland Street Synagogue in Bradford, which 
position he still occupies (1905). He has been lecturer 
in German and Oriental languages for three years 
at the Bradford Technical College and Airedale 
Independent College, and for twenty-one } r ears at 
Yorkshire College, Victoria University. Strauss 
is the author of “Religion and Morals,” and “Re- 
ligiose Philosophic des Abraham ibn Esra,” 1875. 
Bibliography : Jewish Year Booh , 5665 (1904-5). 

J- V. E. 

STRAUSS, PAUL : French senator; born at 
Rongcliamp, Haute-Saone, Sept. 23, 1852. He stud- 
ied at Paris, and was graduated from the Faculty 
of Medicine. In 1876 he entered the field of polit- 
ical journalism, becoming a regular contributor to 
“ LTndependant, ” the “Droits de PHomme,” the 
“Radical,” the “Voltaire,” and the “Petite Repub- 
lique,” In 1S83 he was elected town councilor of 
Paris, and a member of the legislative assembly of 
the department of the Seine. He continued to serve 
in these capacities until 1897, when he was elected a 
-member of the French Senate, which office he still 
holds (1905). Strauss has been mainly influential in 
reorganizing the French system of public charities, 
and it was chiefly through his efforts that depart- 
ments were established for the care of deserted chil- 
dren and for pregnant women. He was instru- 
mental also in founding the Asile Michelet and 
the Asile Ledru-Rollin, the latter of which takes 
care of women who are convalescing after childbirth. 

Strauss is the author of the following works : “ Le 
Suffrage Universel ” (Brussels, 1878), with a preface 
by Alfred Naquet; “Paris Ignore” (Paris, 1892); 
“L’Enfance Malheureuse” (1896); “Depopulation 
et Puericulture ” ; “La Croisade Sanitaire” (1902); 
“Assistance Sociale, Pauvres et Mendiants”; “La 
Loi sur la Sante Publique ” ; and “Les Habitations & 
Bon Marche en Allemagne.” In 1897 he founded 
the “Revue Philanthropique,” which he still con- 
ducts. 

Bibliography : Journal dc laMutualite Francaise , 1900 ; La 
France Contemporaine , 1904, iit. 
s. J. Ka. 

STREET. See Way. 

STRELISKER, MORDECAI BEN DAVID: 

Cantor in the synagogue of Mihaileni in Rumania; 
born in Brody, Galicia, 1809; died Sept., 1875. He 
spent his youth in his native town, where he acquired 
a knowledge of Hebrew literature under the instruc- 
tion of Erter and Krochmal. His most important 
contributions in this field are twelve literary essays 
in vols. viii., ix., x., and xi. of the “Bikkure lia- 
‘Ittim. ” He carried on a literary correspondence with 
Judah ben Jonah Jeiteles in “Kerem Hemed,” ii. 
183. The following works of Strelisker’s have 
appeared separately: “Za‘kat Sheber” (Vienna, 
1829), a lamentation on the death of Zalman Margu- 
lies; “Ta‘anit Yeshurun ” (Zolkiev, 1835), an elegy 
on the death of Emperor Francis I. of Austria, sung 


during a mourning ceremony held in the old Brody 
synagogue; “Zeker ‘Olam” (Lemberg, 1849), a biog- 
raphy and an elegy of his father; and “Shirat lia- 
Kolien ” (reprinted from “Ha-Maggid,” 1860), on the 
occasion of the seventieth anniversary of the birth 
of J. S. Rappaport. 

Bibliography : Steinschneider, Cat. Bodl. col. 2662; Benjacob, 

Ozar ha-Scfarim, p. 156; Kerem Hemed, 1836, ii. 183-188; 

Ha-Zcfirah , 1875, No. 43 ; Ha-Sliahar, 1875, vi. 690-691; Furst, 

Bihl. Jud. iii. 393. 

J. S. O. 

STRELITZ. See Mecklenburg. 

STRICKER, SALOMON : Austrian patholo- 
gist; bom at Waag-Neustadt, Hungary, 1834; died 
at Vienna April 2, 1898. He received his education 
at the University of Vienna, studying first law, and 
later medicine (M.D. 1858). In 1859 he joined the 
staff of the communal hospital at Vienna, where he 
acted as assistant at several clinics; he resigned this 
position in 1862, when he became privat-docent in 
embryology at the University of Vienna. After hav- 
ing acted in the capacity of assistant to Professors 
Br'ucke (1863) and Oppolzer (1866), he was in 1868 
appointed assistant professor of experimental pa- 
thology and director of a new institute built for ex- 
perimental purposes. In 1872 he was elected pro- 
fessor of general and experimental pathology, which 
position he held until his death. In 1875 he was ap- 
pointed a member of the Imperial Academy of Sci- 
ences at Vienna. 

Strieker made many contributions to the science 
of pathology. He was an excellent teacher and an 
■ indefatigable worker. In his “ Studien ” (1869) he 
attacked Colinlieim’s theory regarding pus and the 
white blood-corpuscles, although that theory had 
been generally accepted. lie introduced the method 
of embedding microscopic subjects in wax or gum 
arabic and thus making them adaptable for microt- 
omy, but this method was soon superseded by that 
of freezing. 

Strieker’s contributions to medical journals num- 
ber about 140, and treat of his discoveries in the his- 
tology of the cornea, the mechanism of lymphatic 
secretion, cell theories, 'vasomotor centers, etc. Of 
liis works the following may be mentioned: “Un- 
tersuehungen fiber die Papillen in der Mundhohle 
der Froschlarven ” (Vienna, 1857), written while 
Strieker was a pupil of Professor Briicke ; “ Studien ” 
(ib. 1869) ; “ Handbucli der Lehre von den Geweben 
des Mensclien und der Thiere ” (id. 1871-73) ; “ Vor- 
lesungen liber die Allgemeine und Experimentelle 
Pathologie” (ib. 1877-83); “Studien liber das Be- 
wusstsein ” (ib. 1879) ; “Studien liber die Sprachvor- 
stellungen” (ib. 1880); “Ueber die Bewegungsvor- 
sfcellungen ” (ib. 1882) ; “ Studien fiber die Association 
der Vorstellungen ” (ib. 1883); “Physiologie des 
Rechts” (ib. 1884); “Allgemeine Pathologie der 
Infectionskrankheiten ” (ib. 1886) ; and “ Die Behand- 
lung der Nervenkrankheiten ” (ib. 1891). His works 
are enumerated in “Dreiszig Jahre Experimenteller 
Pathologie,” an essay which was published at the 
celebration of the twenty-fifth anniversary of his 
professorship. 

Bibliography: Hirscli, Blog. Lcx.\ Page\,Bio(j.Lex.; Georg 
Kapsammer, in Wiener Medizinische Wochenscluift , 1898, 

S?’ * F. T. II. 



569 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Strauss 

Stripes 


STRIPES : The only corporal punishment named 
in the Pentateuch is that of stripes; and the limita- 
tions put upon the judges are that they must cause 
the culprit to be beaten in their presence, and that 
the number of stripes imposed must not exceed 
forty (Deut. xxxv. 2, 3). Wherever the written law 
merely forbids an act, or, in the language of the 
sages, wherever it says “Thou shalt not,” and does 
not prescribe any other punishment 
Offenses, nor any alternative, a court of three 
judges may impose stripes as the pen- 
alty for wrong-doing. The same punishment may 
be inflicted in the case of transgressions which the 
Torah decrees should be punished with excision. 
He who takes “ the dam with the young,” says the 
Mislinah, with reference to the finder of the bird’s 



(From Leusden, “ Philologus Hiibneo-Mixtus,’' Utrecht, 1657.) 

nest (Deut. xxii. 6), “must let her go, but may not 
be flogged.” li. Judah’s opinion to the contrary is 
overruled with the statement, “This is the general 
principle: Any command reading ‘Thou shalt not/ 
coupled with ‘Arise, do!’ is not punishable with 
stripes” (Mak. iii. 4; Hul. xii. 4). 

This rule disregards the thief, the robber, the em- 
bezzler, the seducer, the ravisher of an unbetrothed 
damsel; the law imposes some other punishment 
upon each of these. In one case, that of the man 
who “utters an evil report” regarding his newly 
married wife, the text (Deut. xxii. 18, 19) itself 
imposes the double punishment of both stripes and 
a money payment. The “plotting witness” (see 
Alibi) is flogged for violating the command “Thou 
shalt not bear false witness ” onty when the party 
against whom he testifies would have been flogged, 
or when the identical punishment which he might 
have brought upon his victim can not be in- 
flicted. 


The Mislinah (Makkot) enumerates fifty offenses 
as deserving stripes, but this enumeration is evi- 
dently incomplete. Thus, the two cases expressly 
mentioned in Scripture, that of the man who “ utters 
an evil report,” and that, of the bondwoman who is 
betrothed to one man and cohabits with another (Lev. 
xix. 20), are not in the list. Maimonides (“ Yad,” 
Sanhedrin, xix.) endeavors to give a full enumera- 
tion of all the offenses in this class, the number of 
which he carries up to two hundred and seven, 
eighteen being offenses of commission which the 
Scripture punishes with excision. The last three in 
his list are cases in which the king (1) takes too 
many wives, (2) accumulates too much silver- and 
gold, or (3) collects too many horses. 

The discussion in Mak. iii. as to when one may, 
.for the same act, incur the punishment of stripes for 
several reasons, and the discussion of the further 
Question as to when a continuous violation of a 
law subjects to one, and when to several, inflictions, 
may be here omitted. Usury is not punished with 
stripes, for the money paid may be recovered by the 
debtor, which recovery is in the nature of a punish- 
ment; and in the absence of express words there can 
be only one punishment for the same act. 

It is well known, both from the Mislinah (Mak. 
iii. 10) and from the New Testament (II Cor. xi. 24), 
that no more than thirty-nine stripes were ever ad- 
ministered; this merciful regulation was, of course, 
derived in some way from the letter of Scripture. 
Only excess is forbidden, not diminution ; hence be- 
fore determining the number of stripes, the culprit’s 
ability to bear punishment was estimated. The 
number inflicted was always a multiple of three — 
two stripes on the back and one on the breast ; so 
that, if the estimate was twenty stripes, only eight- 
een were inflicted. If, after the infliction of part of 
the stripes, the judges came to the conclusion that to 
continue would endanger the culprit’s life, the beat- 
ing came to an end, and he was free from further pun- 
ishment. If a smaller number than thirty-nine, had 
been determined upon, the judges could not admin- 
ister mere even if they found that the original number 
caused no suffering to the culprit (Mak. iii. 10 and 
Gemara ad loc.). 

The culprit was bound with his hands to a pillar, 
leaning forward (the text says “shall cause him to 
lie down”); the “overseer of the community ” (the 
Mislinah uses here a term not found elsewhere) takes 
hold of his clothes and pulls them down so as to lay 
bare his breast and back. The strokes are given 
with a strip of calfskin, doubled twice; the over- 
seer holds it in one hand, but strikes with all his 
force. A bystander recites, b} r way of count, three 
verses, of thirteen words each, the third verse being 
Ps. Ixxviii. 38 (“But he, being full of compassion, 
forgave their iniquity,” etc.). Should the pain 
force an excretion, the beating must cease, lest “thy 
brother become vile in thy eyes. ” Should the culprit 
die under the lash, the overseer is free from guilt; 
but if by mistake he has given even one stroke 
more than the number determined, he is guilty of 
involuntary manslaughter, and should be exiled to a 
city of refuge. The culprit who has undergone the 
punishment of stripes has not only earned thereby 
forgiveness of the sin for which he has suffered, even 




Stripes 

Strophic Forms 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


570 


when excision has been pronounced against it (Mak. 
iii. 15), but lie is restored also to those civil rights, 
such as the right to testify as a witness or to clear 
himself by his oath in a lawsuit, which he may have 
forfeited by the crime (“Yad,” To‘en we-Nit'an, 
ii. 10). 

The courts of Israel ceased, long before the de- 
struction of the Temple, to try cases involving the 
death-punishment; but the}’' continued to condemn 
to stripes till the fall of the Temple, and, in many 
places in Palestine, much longer. But as this could 
be done by ordained judges only, the courts of the 


the forty stripes. The custom is fully explained in 
the responsa of R. Natronai, a Babylonian chief 
rabbi, or gaon, in the eighth century. 

w. is. L. N. D. 

STRISCHOW, ELIEZER. .. See Fischbl, Eli- 
ezer b. Isaac. 

STROPHIC FORMS IN THE OLD TES- 
TAMENT : The strophe may be defined as a union 
of several lines into one rhythmic whole. Certain 
evidence points to the occurrence of strophic forma- 
tions in poems of old Hebrew literature ; for instance, 



Inflicting Stripes in a dutch synagogue of tiie Early Eighteenth Century. 


(From Ticart.) 

Jewish colonies in Babylonia and elsewhere, though a number of passages in Psalms contain phrases 
exercising much authority, could not sentence a man which are repeated at the end of a regular number 
to stripes “according to the Torah.” of verses: Ps. xxxix. (end of verses 6 and 12 [Hebr. 

6 6 Makkat Hence, as a necessity, the Rabbis un- text, as throughout article]): “Every man is but 

Mardut.” dertook to impose a “beating for rebel- vanity”; Ps. xlii. (verses 6 and 12) and xliii. (5): 

lion ” (“ makkat mardut ”), sometimes “Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art 

for capital, sometimes for other, offenses against the thou disquieted within me? For I shall continually 

Mosaic law; sometimes for disobedience to “ institu- praise Him who is the health of my countenance, 

tions of the scribes”; often in order to compel the and my God”; Ps. xlvi. (verses 8 and 12): “Yhwii 
performance of a duty; and all this without the ju- Sebaoth is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge, 
dicial formalities which surrounded the infliction of In the last example cited two sections of four verses 



57 1 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Stripes 

Strophic Forms 


each are terminated by this formula, while the pre- 
ceding part contains only three verses; accordingly 
it lias been suggested with good reason that, orig- 
inally, the same confession of faith stood after verse 
4 also. ' Such identical, or similar, phrases, marking 
the end of the symmetrical parts of a poem, may be 
called refrains; similar instances are met with in Ps. 
xlix. 13, 21 (A.Y. 12, 20); Ivii. 6, 12; lix. 6, 12, 18. 

L. Pliilippson, in his “Kommentar zu den Psahn- 
en ” (1856), pp. 370 et seq., cites other poems in which 
this special kind of epanalepsis occurs, though only 
sporadically : II Sam. i. 19, 25, 27 ; Ps. lvi. 5, 11 et seq. ; 
Ixii. 2 et seq., Get seq.; Ixvii. 4, 6; lxxx. 4, 8, 20; 
cvii. 6, 8, 13, 15, 19, 21, 28, 81; cxvi. 14, 18. But 
again, in Ps. cxxxvi., every second line (sticlios) is 
identical, and the same refrain, “For His mercy en- 
dureth for ever,” is met with fourteen times in the 
newly discovered Sira text (“The Wisdom of Ben 
Sira,” ed. Scliecliter and Taylor, 1899; comp, the 
refrain, “Incipe Msenalios mecum, mea tibia!” in 
Vergil, “Ecloga,” viii. 21, 31, 36, 42, 46, 51, 57). An- 
other sign of the strophic arrangement of the poem 
is the succession of the initial letters in the follow- 
ing alphabetic poems; Ps. ix. and xxxvii., where 
each two lines are connected ; Lam. iii. , where every 
three lines begin with the same letter; and Ps. cxix., 
where the same letter introduces every group of 
eight lines. 

However, not the whole of the poetical part of the 
Old Testament is in this sense strophic. In parts of 
these poems line may succeed line, just as, for in- 
stance, in many poetical works of the Greeks, the 
hexameters follow each other, in uninterrupted suc- 
cession. Nevertheless it may be ques- 
Extent of tioned whether a further extension of 

Strophic the strophic formation in Hebrew 

Charac- poetry may be recognized from any 
teristics. other peculiarities. Are the logical di- 
visions of a poem signs of a strophic 
organization? Without doubt the progressive devel- 
opment of the thought is clearly discernible in Ps. ii. 
(1-3, 4-6, 7-9, 10-12); and in the following cases the 
logical divisions may be recognized with almost the 
same certainty : Ps. iii. 2-3, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9; xii. 2-3, 

4- 5, 6-7, 8-9; xvii. 1-5, 6-12, 13-15; xxxvi. 2-5, 6- 
10, 11-13; lx xxv. 2-4, 5-8, 9-14; cxiv. -1-4, 5-8; 
cxxviii. 1, 2 et seq., 4, 5 et seq.; exxx. 1-2, 3-4, 

5- 6, 7-8; cxxxix. 1-6, 7-12, 13-18, 19-24; Job iii. 
3-10, 11-19, 20-26. In these cases an identical or 
very similar wording is chosen for the different 
aspects of the theme which the poet wished to 
develop, and the relative dissimilarity of the form, 
which was noticeable in some of the passages cited, 
may have been due to the fact that the Hebrew poets 
aimed at only a material symmetry (see Poetry). 
One may speak, therefore, with good reason of log- 
ical strophes in the poems which have been cited as 
examples. 

But such logical divisions are not found in all 
poems. While Ps. i. , for instance, may be divided into 
three corresponding sections, 1-2, 3-4, 5-6, or into 
two, 1-3, 4-6, and Ps. iv. is rightly divided into 2, 
3 et seq., 5-6, 7-8, and 9 (Delitzsch and others). 
Psalms like ev. and cvi. do not show even a material 
symmetry in the nature of a logical division. Nor 
is the Selaii an independent sign of a strophe. 


Decently the so-called “responsion” lias been 
made to count as a characteristic of strophes in the 
Old Testament. According to D. H. Muller, in his 
“ Die Propheten in Hirer Ursprunglichen Form ” 
(1895), “ that which is parallelism in- the verse is the 
responsion in the- strophe and in discourse”; and, 
“when the responsion is rigidly carried out, each 
line of one strophe answers to the corresponding 
line of the second strophe, either literally or meta- 
phorically, parallelly or antithetically ” (p. 191). 
Such an agreement between the parts of a longer 
section is of itself not wholly natural, because the 
hearer or the reader would be compelled to keep the 
preceding verses iu mind in order to 

Recent notice the correspondence. The in- . 

Views. ventor of this theory has failed in liis 
very first example (Amos i. 3-5, 6-8), 
since he finds in this section “two strophes of five 
lines which are separated by a double verse as re- 
frain (4 and 7).” But the correspondence between 
verses 5 and 8 consists only in the fact that the 
words “and I will cut off the inhabitant ” are used in 
5b and 8a, and the words “and him that lioldetli the 
scepter” in 5c and 8b. But, first, the identical 
expressions do not stand in parallel lines; and, sec- 
ondly, these expressions lie so near to hand that 
they would naturally be used twice in warning two 
cities. Muller has endeavored (p. 200) to find an- 
other proof for the strophe in the so-called “ con- 
catenation,” and he seeks it, for example, in the two 
phrases “I will tear” (PpEN) and “he tore”(?pD; 
IIos. v. 14b and vi. la). But this is only an ana- 
diplosis, which is met with also in the classical ora- 
tors (< e.g Cicero, “Oratio Catilinaria,” i. 1). He 
finds “inclusion ” to be an evidence of the strophic 
character of poetry— for instance, in the correspond- 
ence between “reviling” and “revile” (Zeph. ii. 

8, 10). But this can not possibl}" be accepted as 
a proof that Zephaniah endeavored to divide his 
prophecies into strophes, nor has Muller been able 
to establish the correctness of his views in his later 
book “ Strophenbau und Responsion ” (1898). 

J. Iv. Zenner, in his book “Die Chorgesitnge im 
Buck der Psalmen ” (1896), 1ms endeavored to demon- 
strate the existence of an alternate strophe. He 
made Ps. cxxxii. the chief object of his research, 
and as a result placed lines la, b after lines 10a, b, 
because “ their respousion had to be made more com- 
plete.” But this would amount to imposing a me- 
chanical, schematic character on the psalm. He 
says, further, “First, one chorus sings the first 
strophe (2-5) ; then the second chorus answers with 
a responding strophe (11 el seq.): hereupon follows 
a strophe (6, 13, 7, 14) in which the two choruses 
alternate verse for verse (alternate strophe); this is 
concluded with a second strophe by the first chorus 
(8-10, and 1), and a second strophe in response by 
the second chorus (11-18).” Iu the first place, how- 
ever, no sufficient reason can be brought forward as 
to why this order of the verses was not preserved in 
copying the poem, if it had been so intended. In 
the second place, it would be unnatural for Yhwh’s 
statement, “This is my rest for ever” (14) to be fol- 
lowed by tlie exhortation, “Arise, O Lord, into thy 
rest ” (8). Nivard Schloegl (“ Canticum Cantieorum 
Hebraice,” 1902) is no more convincing in his the- 



Strousbergr 

Stuttg-art 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


572 


ory that ii. 7 and iii. 5 of the Song of Solomon are 
“versus intercalares.” In the opinion of the pres- 
ent writer, all these modern theories are too arti- 
ficial to suit the old Hebrew poetry. The poets of 
the Old Testament placed emphasis on the develop- 
ment of ideas rather than on the construction of form. 

Bibliography: Julius Ley. Lcitfadcn der Mctrik del' He- 
braischcn Pncsie , 1887, pp. 80 et s eq.\ Ed, Sievers, Metrisehe 
Unlersuchungcn, 1901, § 103 (opposes the theories of D. H. 
Muller). A list of older works on the strophe in the Old 
Testament may be found in Ed. Konig, Stilistih , Rhetor ih , 
Poctih, 1900, pp. 816 ct scq. 

E. G. H. E. K. 

STROUSBERG, BETHEL HENRY (BA- 
RUCH HIRSCH) : German railway contractor; 
born at Neidenburg, East Prussia, Nov. 20, 1823; 
died at Berlin June 1, 1884. After an unsuccessful 
business career in London lie emigrated to America, 
and for some time tanglit languages at New Orleans. 
In 1849 he returned to London with money made 
by trading in damaged goods, and became identi- 
fied with the publication of “The Chess Player, ” 
“Lawson’s Merchants’ Magazine,” and “Sharpe’s 
London Magazine.” In 1855 he settled in Berlin as 
agent for an insurance company, and in 1861 obtained 
for English capitalists the concession of building 
East-Prussian railways. After acting for some time 
as agent for different companies, he established him- 
self as an independent contractor and built several 
railway lines, chiefly in northern Germany, Hun- 
gary, and Rumania. He became the owner of vast 
establishments for producing all the requisite mate- 
rials, as well as of various factories and mines. His 
holdings were enormous ; at one time he employed 
more than 100,000 persons, and was engaged in 
speculations involving nearly £100,000,000. Dur- 
ing the Fran co-Prussian war (1870-71) he met with 
serious reverses, and in 1S72, after a ruinous settle- 
ment with the Rumanian government on account of 
unfulfilled railway contracts, he was forced into 
liquidation. He was declared bankrupt in 1875, 
and, after standing trial in Russia for alleged fraud- 
ulent transactions with a bank, he returned to Ber- 
lin, where he lived in partial retirement until his 
death. He embraced Christianity while young. 
Bibliography : Jew. World , June 0, 1884. 

j. G. L. 

STROUSE, MYER (MEYER STRAUSS): 

American lawyer and politician; born in Germany 
Dec. 16, 1825. In 1832 his parents emigrated to the 
United States and settled in Pottsville, Pa. He 
studied law, and after he had been admitted to the 
bar founded (1848) the “North American Farmer,” 
which was published in Philadelphia. In 1852 lie 
resigned liis position as editor and established him- 
self as a lawyer in Philadelphia. Ten years later 
he was elected a member of the Thirty- eighth Con- 
gress from the tenth congressional district of Penn- 
sylvania; he was elected also to the Thirty-ninth 
Congress, and served until 1867. 

Bibliography : A Ihj. Zeit. desJud. 1868, p. 346; Morais, The 
Jews of Philadelphia. Philadelphia, 1894; American J ewisli 
Year Booh , 5661 (1900-1), p. 523. 

A. F. T. II. 

STRUCK, HERMANN : German painter; born 
at Berlin March 6, 1876. He was originally destined 
for a rabbinical career, but soon showed marked 
talent for drawing and painting, whereupon lie en- 


tered the Berlin Academy of Fine Arts, where he 
studied for five years, Prof. Max Koner being his 
chief instructor. He then traveled through south- 
ern France, Italy, Belgium, England, and Holland. 
Three of his drawings, “Polish Rabbi,” “The Old 
Jew,” and “Old Man in Profile,” were purchased in 
1901 by the Prussian government for the copper- 
plate section of t3ie Berlin Museum, 

Struck is a devout Jew, and an ardent student of 
the Talmud in his leisure hours. He signs his pic- 
tures “Chaim Aron hen David,” his Hebrew name. 
He furnished the illustrations for Adolf Friedmann’s 
“Reisebilder aus Palastina” (Berlin, 1904). 

Bibliography: Alla. Zeit. desJud. Sept. 20, 1901; Ha-Zofeh , 
Feb., 1903 ; Out und West , 1904. 

S. 

STUDENZKI, MOSES: Polish physician; 
born in the early part of the nineteenth century at 
Zbarasz, Galicia, where liis father, Aaron Polak, was 
rabbi; died at Warsaw about 1876. Until he was 
fourteen Studenzki studied 'Hebrew and Talmud 
under bis father, and for the next three years at- 
tended the yeshibah of Brody. At the age of seven- 
teen he weut to Warsaw, where lie graduated from 
the Lyceum and entered the Alexander University, 
studying medicine and philosophy. When that uni- 
versity was removed from Warsaw, Studenzki went 
to Berlin University, and finished there his medical 
studies (M.D. 1884). He then returned to Warsaw, 
where he practised as “physician of the first de- 
gree,” and where he graduated as “doctor accou- 
cheur ” in. 1S46. 

Studenzki was the author of “Rofe ha-Yeladim ” 
(Warsaw, 1847), a work written in both Hebrew and 
German, and treating of children’s diseases and of 
ways to prevent them; it received the approbation 
of the Rady Lekarski (board of physicians) of War- 
saw and of Hayyim Davidsolm, then rabbi of War- 
saw. The second edition (1876) is in Hebrew only. 
He wrote also “ Orliot Hayyim ” (ib. 1853), a work on 
hygiene and a guide for the preservation of health, 
and prepared an edition of M. Levin’s “Refu’ot ha- 
‘Am ” (Lemberg, 1851), to which he added a treatise 
on children’s and women’s diseases. 

Bibliography: Rofe ha-Ycladim, Introduction; Zeitlin, 
Bibl. Post-Mendels, pp. 389-390. 

S. M. Sel. 

STUHLWEISSENBURG (Hungarian, Sze- 
kesfehervar ; Latin, Alba Regia) : Coronation 
city of the Hungarian kings from the time of St. 
Stephen to 1527. As early as the fourteenth cen- 
tury it contained the most influential Jewish" com- 
munity of Hungary ; and because of the fact that 
the royal court frequently visited the city, the 
leaders of the Stuhlweissenburg community often 
had occasion to be the spokesmen in behalf of Jew- 
ish interests throughout the country. The only 
known Jewish name of that date, however, is that of 
a certain Solomon who appeared as advocate of the 
interests of the Hungarian Jews before 
Sixteenth. King Sigismund. The Jewish com- 
and Seven- m unity continued to exist in the 
teenth sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, 
Centuries, during the Turkish dominion; but 
after the expulsion of the Turks 
(1686) the Jews also had to leave the city ; and it 
was not until the time of Emperor Joseph II. that 



573 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Strousberg* 

Stuttgart 


a Jewish family— that of the innkeeper Ilayyim 
Stern — was again given permission to dwell there. 

Article xxix. of the constitution of 1839-40 per- 
mitted Jews to settle in the royal free cities; and 
after that time, as early as 1842, a small congrega- 
tion existed there, whose first president was Solomon 
Hahn and whose first rabbi was Daniel Pillitz. 
The latter in 1843 accepted a call to Szegedin, 
Mayer Zipser being chosen his successor at Stuhl- 
weissenburg in the same year. Zipser was the real 
organizer of the community ; but by his attempts at 
ritual Reform, which, although not at all contrary to 
Jewish law, were yet in opposition to deeply rooted 
customs, he brought about a disruption of the 
community. His bitterest opponent, who led the 
Conservative party in the struggle, was Gottlieb 
Eisclier, a pupil of Moses Sofer. When Fischer was 
chosen president in 1851 there were so much agitation 
and friction in the congregation that the secular au- 
thorities had frequently to be appealed to; and in 
1858 Zipser decided to accept a call to Rohoucz 
(Reclinitz). The Conservatives then succeeded in 
inducing Joseph Guggenheimer of 
Nineteenth Aussee, son-in-law of Samson Raphael 
Century. Hirsch, to accept the rabbinate of 
• Stuhlweissenburg. He entered on 
his position in March, 1859, but the reactionary 
changes which he introduced failed to meet with 
success, and he resigned voluntarily in March, 1861. 
The disagreement, however, had attained such pro- 
portions that the Hungarian magistracy finally in- 
terfered; and it decreed that; the communit}' should 
be divided into two parts under a common presi- 
dency. Thereupon the two factions, worn out by 
fighting and financially crippled, appeared to be 
seeking a rapprochement; but this was prevented 
by the action of Samson Raphael Hirsch. 

The progressive mother congregation now chose 
the energetic S. L. Wertheim as president (June 2, 
1867); previously (April 22, 1867) it had called 
Alexander Koiiut as rabbi; but their attempts to 
win back the dissenters by sheer force of self-abne- 
gation proved futile. Kohut caused Stuhlweissen- 
burg to be the first city in Hungary in which a 
separate Orthodox congregation was approved by 
a ministerial decree (Dec. 4, 1871). Since that time 
the two congregations have worked quietly side by 
side. Kohut removed in Sept., 1874, to Pecs (Fiinf- 
kirchen), and the Stuhlweissenburg congregation 
remained without a rabbi until March, 1889, when 
the present (1905) incumbent, Dr. Jacob Steinherz, 
was elected. S. L. Wertheim, who had conducted 
the affairs of the congregation for twenty-four years, 
died Sept. 2, 1890, and was succeeded in the presi- 
dency by Dr. Max Perl, who still occupies the 
office. 

Bibliography: Low, Zur NeMei'en Geschichte der Juden , 
in Ncichgclaxscne Schriften , iii.; Reich, Bcth-EL ii., Buda- 
pest, 1850; Kohn, A Zridok TOrtencte Magyar or ndgon ; 
Steinherz, A Szekesfchervdri Zridok Tortenete. 
s. L. Y. 

STUTTGART : German city, and capital of the 
kingdom of W iirttemberg. The first historical men- 
tion of Stuttgart dates from the administration of 
Eberhard the Illustrious (1265-1325, and to a some- 
what later period belongs the earliest mention of a 
Jewish community there, for in 1348-49, the year of 


the Black Death, the Jews of Stuttgart, as well as of 
other places, met the fate of martyrs in the flames 
(Stalin, “ Wirtembergische Gescli.” iii. 244, notes 
3-4). A ghetto and a “ Judenschule ” existed in 
this period, and a Jew named Leo is specifically 
mentioned (Hartmann, “Chronik der Stadt Stutt- 
gart," Stuttgart, 1886), 

Traces of Jews in Stuttgart are again found in 
1393, when mention is made of one Baruch Baselless; 
while under the joint rule of the counts Eberhard 
the Younger and Ulrich V. f the Well-Beloved, Mo- 
ses, surnamed Jacklin, lived in the city with his 
family and servants, and even received citizenship, 
letters of protection and privilege being granted 
to him. Whether this Moses Jacklin is identical 
with the Moses Jecklin of Esslingen (1404-51) is 
uncertain. During this same period mention is 
made of a Solomon who purchased a patent of pro- 
tection for eight florins (1435-41), of a Lazarus who 
obtained a similar document for ten florins (1437- 
1443), and of Kaufman and Bel (1459). 
Fifteenth The Jew Brein (?) received the permis- 
and sion of Count Ulrich to settle in Cann- 
Sixteenth statt and to lend money at interest, 
Centuries, although he was forbidden to take 
more than one pfennig per pound, 
and he had not the right to levy a distress. These 
scanty allusions justify the assumption that there 
were Jewish communities, even though they were 
small, at Stuttgart and Cannstatt in the fifteenth 
century; but in 1492 Count Eberhard im Bart, 
despite the earnest remonstrances of their zealous 
friend Reuchlin, absolutely forbade the Jews to re- 
side there longer. Duke Ulrich (1498-1550) and his 
successor, Duke Christopher (1550-68), at the urgent 
petition of Josel of Rosheim, finally granted safe-con- 
ducts to Jews, but refused them residence. Nev- 
ertheless, a number of Jews lived at Stuttgart for a 
time, though they had no opportunity of establish- 
ing a community. In 1522, moreover, the cit} r passed 
into the possession of the emperor Charles V., and 
later of his successor, Ferdinand, while in 1535 the 
Reformation was effected. 

Conditions changed, however, with the accession 
of Duke Frederick (1593-1608), who showed special 
favor to the great artist Abraham Calorno, and 
even greater favor, in 1598, to Maggino Gabrieli, the 
consul-general of a company of Jewish merchants. 
He granted the latter the freedom of trade which 
they desired, received them gladly, and sold them a 
house in the market-place, the “ Armbrustschutz- 
liaus,” in which they held religious services. The 
magistracy of the city r , however, aided by the court 
chaplain, Lucas Osiander, brought charges against 
them, while the consistory declared that “ next to 
the devil, the Jews are the worst enemies of the 
Christians”; to this the duke retorted that “the Jew 
is no magician, but you and those like you are worth- 
less priests, and adulterers ” ; and Osiander, who had 
denounced the Jews from the pulpit, was obliged to 
leave the city. On May 23, 1598, Frederick made 
an agreement with the members of Gabrieli’s com- 
pany, assigning them Neidlingen as a residence, but 
forbidding them all exercise of religion; and three 
months later they left the country. 

Despite all the obstacles which were set up by the 



Stuttgart 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


574 


authorities and despite the added restrictions upon 
the granting of safe-conducts imposed by Duke 
Johann Frederick (1608-28) and the princely admin- 
istrator Louis Frederick, some Jews seem to have 
remained in Stuttgart, and Duke Eberliard III. 
(1628-74) soon ordered their expulsion from the city 
“because there were too many of them.” Their en- 
treaties were unavailing, and only Solomon, Eman- 
uel, and the latter’s wife, Feile, were allowed four- 
teen da} r s to arrange their affairs (“ Landesordnung,” 
pp. 93, 100). 

Nevertheless, Jews evidently continued to reside 
at Stuttgart for some time afterward. In 1661 the 
complaint was made that travelers on foot be- 
tween Stuttgart and Ulm, Augsburg, Strasburg, and 
Frankfort carried out and in large quantities of 
wares, including goods belonging to Jews, and de- 
frauded the government of all excises. But since 
such travelers were protected by the citizens of the 
towns mentioned as well as of the neighboring dis- 
tricts, it was almost impossible to bring one of them 
to punishment ; the merchants of those cities, more- 
over, allowed themselves to be used as shields for 
foreign traders, to the disadvantage of 
Seven- tlieir class as a whole. The conditions 
teenth and were exactly the same with the traders 
Eighteenth as with the Jews, who were restricted 
Centuries, to the lending of money and to com- 
merce. Although expelled from Wiirt- 
temberg, the Jews held their own owing to tlieir 
commercial relations in the neighboring regions, 
while they were entitled to safe-conducts through the 
country in that they were “ servants of the empire " ; 
and the Christian merchants themselves, disregard- 
ing all attacks upon the Jews and all the threats 
of the government, continued to avail themselves of 
their services, and frequently used them as a means 
of carrying out some prohibited negotiation {ib. pp. 
187-188,191). 

In tlie year 1679, Jews were again permitted to 
settle in Stuttgart; in 1706 they were allowed to 
engage in traffic at public fairs, and in the following 
year to receive pledges; and in 1712 the Jews Solo- 
mon Frankel, Leon Wolff, Marx Nathan, and Baer 
obtained the privilege, despite the opposition of 
the district, of trading throughout the country. In 
1710, however, Model Low of Pforzheim, a favorite 
of the Count of Witrben, had received permission 
to deal in cattle and jewels, and lie had become 
jealous of tlie new favorites of the duke and had 
intrigued against them in a most scandalous man- 
ner; but finally his slanders were exposed, and he 
was imprisoned on Jan. 31, 1721, although he was 
released in 1726 to carry his case to the highest 
court. 

By this time a community had again been formed 
in Stuttgart, but it frequent^ suffered under the 
enforcement of various oppressive laws ; for many 
ordinances w T ere enacted against the Jewish re- 
ligion, and circumcision, e.g ., could be performed 
only abroad. The reign of Carl Alexander (1733- 
1737), on the other hand, brought many amelio- 
rations and an increase in the number of commu- 
nities. His confidential adviser, Joseph Suss Op- 
penheimer, conferred upon Moses Dracli the right 
of printing playing-cards (Feb. 25, 1734), while 


Jacob Uhlmann was given the contract of supplying 
rations for tlie troops of the district (March 18, 1734), 
and on Jan. 31, 1737, Oppenlieimer himself again re- 
ceived the privilege of granting rights of residence 
to Jewish families. The fall of Oppenlieimer on 
March 12 of the same year in consequence of the 
sudden death of the duke brought terror and de- 
struction on all tlie Jews of Stuttgart. The sons 
and sons-in-law of Levin were expelled, but Marx 
Nathan, Noah and his associates, Solomon Meir, 
Moses Drach, and Elijah Hayyirn were permitted 
to remain, although they were exposed to the fury 
of the people until the provost was ordered to pro- 
tect them. 

The Jewish community of Stuttgart was now ap- 
parently fully organized, for amikweli is mentioned 
in 1721 {ib. p. 171). During the control of the ad- 
ministrators Carl Rudolf and Peter 
Community Carl Frederick the laws against the 
Organized. Jews were again enforced, and in 1739 
they were expelled, although tlieir re- 
call soon followed. Tlie court bankers Seeligmann 
(1741) and Ullmann (1743) were permitted to reside 
in the city. One of the laws issued about this time 
decreed that circumcision might be performed only 
in a dwelling-house; this offers sufficient evidence 
that the community possessed a synagogue (even 
though it may have been but a small room for 
prayer), in which circumcisions had taken place; 
and the prohibition was probably due to the fact 
that children in being carried through the street 
aroused the displeasure of the populace. Another 
law required that notice was to be given immediately 
of tlie presence of non-resident Jews (1747), and the 
court banker Seeligmann was fined ten florins for 
having sheltered a Jew from another city without 
the knowledge of the provost. Tlie charge that 
the Jews celebrated the Sabbath with too much 
noise is another proof of the existence of a com- 
munity at that time, and a still stronger confirma- 
tion is found in the patent which was conferred 
on the two bankers Seeligmann and Ullmann and 
on Seeligmann Baiersdorfer, authorizing tlieni to 
install such butchers and other officials as were 
necessary, and to celebrate private worship within 
proper bounds. Non-resident Jews, however, who 
might arrive on the day before the Sabbath, were 
obliged to leave at the close of the latter. 

In general it may be said that Carl Eugene (1744- 
1793) was well disposed toward the Jews. In 1758 he 
granted Aaron Seidel, the court banker of the Prince 
of Ansbaeh, the monopoly for three months of pur- . 
chasing all silver for the ducal mint, while pro- 
tected Jews of Hecliingen were made subcontractors. 
In the following year the court bankers Mark and 
Elias Seeligmann were authorized to import French 
salt for a period of twenty years, while in 1761 
they were empowered to purchase forage for tlie 
French army; and four years later the prohibition 
against dealing in cattle at the annual fairs was re- 
pealed. The right to purchase tartar at the ducal 
cellars was conferred on the merchants Sontheimer 
and Consorten. The inhabitants resented these proofs 
of the duke’s friendship for the Jews, hut he disre- 
garded their restrictions, even after his reconciliation 
with them (Jan. 27, 1770); and his decree of Feb. 



575 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Stuttgart 


10, 1779, that no Jew should be deprived of the right 
of residence unless convicted of crime, brought new 
families to the community of Stuttgart, while the 
destruction in 1782 of the gallows erected for Oppen- 
heimer likewise evinced a friendly attitude toward 
the Jews. In the year before his death Duke 
Frederick Eugene (1798-97) permitted the widow of 
the court banker Kaulla of Hecliingen to establish 
a mercantile house at Stuttgart (Nov. 2, 1797). 

Conditions became worse, however, under Fred- 
erick William (duke and elector, 1797-1805), who re- 
pealed the protection formerly accorded the Jews; 
but notwithstanding all commercial and industrial 
annoyances and obstacles, the life of the commu- 
nity was maintained. In 1799, despite the opposi- 
tion of the Christian merchants, the contract for pro- 
visioning the army was given to members of the 
Kaulla family; and in 1802 the royal bank of Wl'irt- 
temberg was founded with the cooperation of this 
family. The official religious census of 1808 gives 
the following heads of houses in the city : Isaac Low 
and his wife Friederike; Solomon Aaron and Ills 
wife Rebekah ; Uhlmann and his sister Henele ; Maier 
and his cousin Jonas Lazarus; Councilor Kaulla 
and his wife, with their boarders and servants. Am- 
son Heymann, Jacob Joseph, Solomon Bloch, Low 
Bernstein, Hayyim Mayer, and Hayyim Hayyim; 
Kaulla and household, with coachmen, servants, 
and cooks ; Moses Feit ; the protected Jew Benedict 
and his wife Rosina, with their children Seligmann, 
Isaac, Jacob, Wolf, Fradel, and a grandson, to- 
gether with their maid servants. 

When Wurttemberg became a kingdom in 1806 a 
vast improvement was effected in the condition of 
the Jews in the country at large, especially in the 
community of Stuttgart. By a decree 
Nineteenth of June 27, 1806, King Frederick I. 

Century, conferred on the imperial and royal 
councilor Jacob Raphael Kaulla and a 
number of his relatives the citizenship of Wtirttem- 
berg for themselves and their descendants, in recog- 
nition of the services which he had rendered the 
country on critical occasions, and this family has 
since exerted an influence for good on the Jews of 
the entire district, especially on their coreligionists 
in Stuttgart. 

In 1808 the need of a synagogue was felt, and the 
raising of funds was authorized. At this time only 
those Jews were permitted to reside in the city who 
had property amounting to twenty thousand gulden ; 
and they were obliged, by an enactment of July 18, 
1819, to pay twelve florins each for protection. Two 
years later the right of citizenship was denied them. 
Now began the struggle for the elevation and 
equality of the Jews, and one of the members of the 
committee appointed in 1820 to determine ways and 
means for their civil and moral improvement was 
Nathan Wolf Kaulla of Stuttgart. At the same 
time Karl Weil was another active ehampion of 
their rights; he proposed a law which was sub- 
mitted to the government in 1824, and aided in set- 
tling other legal matters as well, while Samuel 
Mayer, who later became professor at Tubingen, also 
defended the Jews. The result of the work of this 
committee of 1820 was the law of 1828 regarding 
Jewish education and emancipation ; and the devel- 


opment of the communal life of the Jews of Stutt- 
gart under the new enactments was rapid. 

In 1832 a self-dependent community of 126 mem- 
bers was founded under an ordinance of Aug. 3, and 
Stuttgart was made tlie seat of a rabbinate which 
comprised Stuttgart, Esslingen, Ludwigsburg, Hoch- 
berg, and Aldringen. In the following year the 
estate of Iloppelauer was acquired for a cemetery, 
and in 1834 a fund was obtained for the salary of 
a rabbi, whereupon Dr. Eichberg was appointed 
cantor; Dr. Maier was. installed as district rabbi on 
Jan. 9, 1835. Public worship then began, the first 
services being held in the houses of members of the 
community. The parnasim, whose president was 
Eichberg, were Dr. Dreifuss, Solomon Jacob Kaulla, 
and Wolf von Kaulla. From the fall of 1835 the 
place of worship was the apartments of E. Hastig 
on the Postplatz, and from the summer of 1837 
a synagogue in a house on Langestrasse (No. 16). 
The Jews of. Stuttgart numbered 265 in 1846, and 
330 in 1852. In 1881 an orphan asylum was estab- 
lished, and in 1848 a society for the relief of the 
sick, while in 1853 the Hebra Gemilut Hasadim was 
founded with ninety -four members under the presi- 
dency of Privy Councilor Adolph Levi. The strug- 
gle for political equality found earnest advocates in 
the community of Stuttgart. Commer- 
Communal cial Councilor Pfeiffer, Court Banker 

Institu- Solomon Jacob Kaulla, Dr. Karl Weil, 
toins. Court Banker Aaron Pfeiffer, and Abra- 
ham Thalheimer signed a petition to 
the government in 1833, and they were joined in 1845 
by Moses Benedikt, Solomon Maier Kaulla, Counselors 
Jordan and L. Kaulla, Rudolf and Fr. Kaulla, and P. 
Holland. Through their efforts the rights conferred 
upon the Jews by the statutes of the German people 
were confirmed by the king, while in 1852 the anti- 
Semitic attacks on these rights were definitely de- 
feated. Following in the footsteps of his ancestors, 
the counselor at law Max Kaulla, aided by Nord- 
lingen, S. Levi, and Adolf Levi, won the decisive vic- 
tory in the petitions of 1861, 1863, and 1864. The 
community of Stuttgart sought to adapt itself to 
the manners, customs, and modes of thought of its 
non-Jewisli surroundings. In 1862 a synagogue, 
designed in Moorish style by Wolf, was erected, 
containing an organ for which Emanuel Feist com- 
posed a number of new hymns, while a prayer- 
book which was free from dogmatic subtleties lent 
dignity and simplicity to the service, so that the 
community of Stuttgart became an inspiration for 
many other Jewish congregations in Germany. 

When Maier died, Aug. 8, 1873, he was succeeded 
by Dr. Wassermann of Muhringen, who held office 
until Oct. 13, 1892. During this time the number 
of the officials of the community was increased by 
the appointment of Cantor E. Gundelfingerand that 
of D. Stossel of Latlienbach, the latter acting as a 
teacher of religion and as the rabbi’s assistant. 

The conservative members of the community' of 
Stuttgart were grouped around tlie Hebra Kad- 
disha, which was founded in 1875, and performed 
works of charity for the sick, dying, and dead. 
A new cemetery was purchased in 1876, and relig- 
ious instruction was given in the first six classes 
of the public schools. In 1883 the Hebra Gemilut 



Stuttg-art 

Subbotniki 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


576 


Ilasadim was reorganized, and the tariff for burial 
was revised in 1S88. Wassermann was the recipient 
of many honors. On Oct. 2, 1888, lie celebrated liis 
jubilee of office, and on July 16, 1891, his eightieth 
birthday, receiving the greetings of king, govern- 
ment, and community. A small portion of the rig- 
idly Orthodox, however, were not pleased with his 
administration ; and in 1878, when the wardens en- 
deavored with especial severity to prohibit the use of 
the tallit, an independent religious body was organ- 
ized under the leadership of J. Landauer, After the 
death of Wassermann the rabbinate was divided 
(1S93), Tli. Kroner becoming first rabbi, and D. Stos- 
sel second rabbi. The former assumed office on April 
14, 1894, and since that time a number of benevolent 
societies liave been formed within the community, 
including the Talmud Torah Verein, the societies for 
Jewish young men (1894) and women, the society for 
feeding the poor (1894), the pauper aid society, the 
working men’s society (1896), the Stuttgart lodge 

(1S99), the endowment society (1901), the loan soci- 
ety (1902), tlie Sliomere Bmuritm, anti tu-e ^<»*- 

theaid of local and transient poor. Stuttgart isalso 
the seat of branches of the Central Union of German 
Citizens of the Jewish Faith, the Society for Defense 
Against Anti-Semitism, and the Society for the Relief 
of German Jews. In the last twelve years, accord- 
ingly, much activity has been manifested in philan- 
thropic movements, the latest organization being a 
Jewish Sisterhood. In religious instruction many 
changes have been made. Tlie religious school of 
the community has one rabbi and four teachers, and 
in the public institutions both rabbis and three 
teachers give organized instruction. There have 
been no innovations, however, in the ritual of wor- 
ship, but, on the contrary, many old customs have 
received increased observance. 

A number of the members of the community of 
Stuttgart are prominent in public life: the manu- 
facturers Reif aud Arnold and the merchant Reis are 
members of the municipal council ; the advocate Er- 
langer is second vice-president of the board of aider- 
men ; the district judge Stern, N. Levi, an advocate, 
and Hallmann, a judge of the higher court, are mem- 
bers of the judicial organization of the district, 
while N. Levi is also the president of the board of 
directors of the chamber of advocates of tlie supe- 
rior court of Stuttgart. The faculty of the Poly- 
technic High School of the city includes the Jewish 
teachers Kaufmann, Marx, and Schmidt; and that 
of the Conservatory for Music, Singing, and Dra- 
matic Art, Professors Singer and Wien; while Gerst- 
mann is a member of the regular company of the 
Hoftheater. 

In 1903 the records of the community of Stuttgart 
showed 62 births, 16 marriages in the synagogue, 
and 33 burials. According to tlie latest census, 
the community comprised 776 households with 
3,015 persons. The community has a library and 
224 “ Jahrzeit ” foundations. 

s. T. K. 

STYRIA : Austrian province. Tlie first docu- 
mentary mention of Jews in Styria occurs in connec- 
tion with the village of Judenburg under date of 
1075 (Peinlicli, “Judenburg und das Heilige Geist- 
spital,” p. 7) ; another place between Graz and Rein 


is called in the archives “ad Judseos” ; and at Mar- 
burg was a Jewish cemetery which became, after 
tlie expulsion of tlie Jews from Styria in 1496, the 
property of the Minorite order (Puff, “Marburg,” i. 
119). In general it may be stated that numerous 
towns and villages, bearing such names as “ J u- 
dendorf,” “ Judenanger,” “ Judengraben,” etc., are 
so many indications of tlie distribution of Jews 
throughout the province in the early Middle Ages. 

In Graz (where the}" inhabited a spe- 
Indieations cial quarter), in J udenburg (which was 
of Early one of the commercial centers of Aus- 
JewishSet- tria), and in Marburg, Radkersburg, 
tlements. and other localities tlie existence of or- 
ganized Jewish communities may be 
taken for granted. In J udenburg the Jew Cham was 
in 1460 proprietor of six houses; his coreligionist 
Manl, of three. Besides engaging in commerce, the 
Jews of Judenburg busied themselves with agricul- 
ture and road -building. It is interesting to note that 
tlie church of Judenburg is designated in local doc- 

timents as been a. former synagogue, maxiy 

of the stones in the building bearing, iudeed, He- 
brew inscriptions. 

In 1238 King Frederick II. forbade the baptism of 
Jewish children against tlie wishes of tlieir parents,' 
this prince showing in general a favorable disposi- 
tion toward liis Jewish subjects, who bad the right 
to appeal directly to him. A similar attitude was 
taken by Duke Frederick the Warlike (1278) and 
the powerful minister of Albrecht I., Abbot Hein- 
rich von Admont (1296), and by Ottocar II. and liis 
son Rudolph. 

Christmas of 1312 was marked by a bloody riot 
against the Jews of Judenburg and Furstenfeld; 
but papal bulls aud the intervention of Duke Al- 
brecht II., who on this account was nicknamed 
“ Judendulder,” arrested the anti-Jewish uprisings. 
In Wolfsberg, however, seventy Jews were burned 
at the stake on a charge of having 
Riots at desecrated the host. On the lltli of 
Furstenfeld May, 1421, all the Jews of Styria 
and were, almost at tlie' same hour, 
Judenburg 1 . thrown into prison. Some died at 
tlie stake ; others were expelled from 
the province; while a small number embraced 
Christianity. Milder treatment was meted out to 
the Jews during the reign of Frederick tlie Peace- 
ful (1424-93), who granted his protection even to 
the Jewish refugees from other Austrian provinces. 
But in 1496, urged by the estates, Maximilian I. 
decreed the expulsion of all Jews from Styria, only 
nine months being allowed them in which to liqui- 
date tlieir affairs. Most of them seem to have emi- 
grated. to Italy. 

Although in 1753 and 1775 a few individual Jews 
(see Baumgarten, “Die Juden in Steiermark,” p. 38) 
were allowed to reside temporarily in the province, 
the first real attempt at a resettlement began under 
a decree of Joseph II. of 1781, which granted the 
Jews permission to frequent the markets of Graz ; 
but the old decree of Maximilian was renewed in 
1783, 1797, 1819, 1823, and 1828. Even after the 
revolution of 1848 the status quo was maintained ; 
with few modifications it was renewed by imperial 
decree of Oct. 2, 1853; and not until 1861 was the 



577 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Stuttgart 

Subbotniki 


prohibition repealed. In Sept., 1865, the first prayer- 
house in Graz was dedicated by Adolph Jellinek 
and Solomon Sulzer, who, accompanied by repre- 
sentative Jews and the entire choir personnel, went 
from Vienna for the purpose. On May 17, 1869, the 
organization of the new Jewish com- 
Congrega- munity was duly confirmed by the 
tion governor. It has remained the only 
of Graz congregation in the community, and 
Officially numbers (1905) about 1,200 souls. Its 
Rec- rabbi is Samuel Miihsam ; and it pos- 
ognized. sesses three charitable institutions — a 
hebra kaddisha, a ladies’ society, and 
Hebra Matnat c Aniyyim — besides a communal school 
with about 200 pupils. 

Judenburg has a Jewish “ Korporation,” i.e., a 
congregation lacking official indorsement ; the same 
is the case with the minyan in Leoben. There are 
Jewish cemeteries in Judenburg and Gleichenberg- 
Trautmannsdorf. At the latter place, a well-known 
health resort, a Jewish hospital was erected in 1884, 
owing: pai'tiy to tlie efforts of the poet Leopold 
Kompert. There are small Jewish settlements at 
Andritz, Auhmuhl, Aussee, Bruck, Brunnsee, Cilly, 
Dietersdorf, Egenberg, Eeldkirchen, Fehring, Fer- 
nitz, Friedau, Gratwan, Hausmanstetten, Irdning, 
Kindberg, Knittelfeld, Koflach, Leoben, and twenty- 
four other localities (Baumgarten, l.c. p. 50). 

In 1892 the old synagogue at Graz was replaced 
by a beautiful building, which was visited in 1895 by 
the emperor. During the twelve years 1890 to 1902 
about 170 Jews in Styria embraced Christianity, 
while during the same period twenty-one Christians 
adopted Judaism. 

The Jews of Styria are occupied mainly in trade 
and commerce; but there are also some farmers 
among them; and, curiously enough, one of the 
greatest swineries near Graz is maintained by a Jew’. 
See, also, Furstenfeld and Judenburg, 

Bibliography: Emanuel Baumgarten, Die Judenin Steier- 
mark , Vienna, 1903. 

b. 

SXJASSO; Spanish family, with branches in Hol- 
land and England. The following are the more im- 
portant members (in chronological order): 

Antonio (Isaac) Lopez Suasso: Resident of 
The Hague. For services rendered to King Charles 
II. of Spain, that monarch in 1676 created Suasso a 
baron, his estate of Avernas de Gras in Brabant, 
now called “ Cras Avernas,” being made a barony. 
He was one of the most ardent supporters of the 
house of Orange; and when William III. undertook 
his expedition to England in 1688, Suasso advanced 
him 2,000,000 gulden without interest and did not 
even ask for a receipt, merely saying : “ If you are 
successful you may repay me; if you are not suc- 
cessful, I will be the loser.” Frederick II. of Prus- 
sia commemorates this instance of self-sacrifice as 
the act “of a Jew' named Seliwartzau ” (“(Euvres 
Historiques,” i. 152). 

Bibliography: Koenen, Geschiedenis clcr Joden in Neder- 
land , pp. 208 ct scq. 

Abraham Lopez Suasso : Son of Antonio 
(Isaac) Lopez Suasso; married a daughter of Man- 
uel de Teixeira, charge d’affaires at Hamburg for 
Queen Christina of Sweden (1662-54). 

XL— 37 


Antonio (Isaac) Lopez Suasso : Son of Abra- 
ham Lopez Suasso; married in 1714 a daughter of 
Moses Mendes da Costa, governor of tlie Bank of 
England. 

Francisco Lopez Suasso : Dedicatee of an epi- 
tlialamium entitled “ Certamen de las Musas ” by the 
poet Immanuel de Leon of The Hague. 

Bibliography: Gaster, Hist, of Bevis Marks , p. 98 ; Kayser- 

ling, Sephardim , p. 316. 

Alvarez Lopez Suasso : Resident of London ; 
one of the wealthiest men of his time. In 1725 he 
was a member of tlie board of directors of the Span- 
ish-Portuguese community of London ; and seven 
years later he received permission from the English 
government to send settlers to the colony of Georgia. 

Bibliography: Gaster, Hist, of Bevis Marks , p. 128; Piibl. 

A.m. Jew. Hist. Soc. ix. 109 ; x. 67, 69. 

Antonio Lopez Suasso : Great-grandson of the 
baron De Avernas ; bom in Amsterdam April 1, 1776 ; 
died at Mechlin Oct. 12, 1857. In conformity with 
the will of his maternal grandmother, he assumed his 
mother’s name, Diaz de Fonseca, and renounced Ju- 

<3.=a5sm.- Ho entered, tlie En^lisli army fXS aa office T, 

and resigned with the rank of captain in 1829. 
After residing for two years at Brussels, he settled 
at The Hague, where lie devoted himself to litera- 
ture, studying mainly political and military sub- 
jects. His chief work was “La Politique Degagee 
des Illusions Liberates” (2 vols., 1838), in recogni- 
tion of which the King of Hanover sent him a dia- 
mond ring. His last work was “ La Iiaye par un 
Habitant” (2 vols., 1853). 

Bibliography : Unsere Zeit, Jahrbuch , iv. 77, Leipsic, 1860. 

j. M. K. 

SUBBOTNIKI (“Sabbatarians”): One of the 
Russian rationalistic bodies known under the general 
name of “Judaizing sects ” (see Judaizing Heresy). 
On the whole, the Subbotniki differ but little from 
the other Judaizing societies. They first appeared 
in the reign of Catherine II., tow r ard the end of the 
eighteenth century. According to the official reports 
of the Russian government, most of the followers of 
this sect practise the rite of circumcision, believe in 
one God, do not believe in the Trinity, accept only 
the Old Testament portion of the Bible, and observe 
the Sabbath on Saturday instead of on Sunday. Ac- 
cording to the same source, how T ever, some of them, 
as, for instance, the Subbotniki of Moscow 7 , do not 
practise circumcision; moreover, the} 7 believe in 
Jesus, but regard him as a saint and prophet and 
not as the son of God. Others aw 7 ait the coming of 
the Messiah as king of the earth. Some of them 
revere the New 7 Testament; others place it on a 
low’er level than tiie Old Testament. 

However, the Russian official sources can not be 
trusted implicitly, since the Subbotniki, like other 
Judaizing sects, carefully conceal from the Chris- 
tians their religious beliefs and rites. The} 7 do not 
act so guardedly tow'ard tlie Jew's; indeed, they 
even style themselves “Jew's.” The Russian govern- 
ment carefully isolates the Subbotniki 
Relation to from the folio w T ers of either religion, 
Jews. but w'licnever the opportunity offers 
itself the Subbotniki apply to the 
Jews for Ilebrew r religious books. Apart from prac- 
tising the rite of circumcision, they also slaughter 



Subbotniki 

Sufism 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


578 


cattle according to the law of “ shehitah, ” wherever 
they can learn the necessary rules. Moreover, they 
clandestinely use tefillin, zizit, and mezuzot, and 
pray in almost the same manner as the Jews ; namely, 
in private houses of prayer, with covered heads, re- 
citing their prayers from Jewish prayer-books with 
Russian translation. The cantor reads the prayer 
aloud and the congregants then pray silently ; during 
prayers a solemn silence is observed throughout the 
house. On Saturdays readings are made from the 
Torah also. Of all the Jewish rites and traditions 
the Subbotniki observe the Sabbath most zealously, 
whence their name. They are careful on that day to 
avoid work altogether ; and they endeavor not to dis- 
cuss worldly affairs. 

According to the testimony, private and official, of 
all those who have studied their mode of life, the 
Subbotniki are remarkably industrious; they read 
and write; they are very hospitable; and are stran- 
gers to drunkenness, poverty, and prostitution. Up 
to 1820 the Subbotniki lived for the most part in the 
governments of Voronej, Orel, Moscow, Tula, and 
Saratof. After that year the government deported 
those who openly acknowledged their membership 
in this sect to the foothills of the Caucasus, to Trans- 
caucasia, and to the governments of Irkutsk, To- 
bolsk, and Yeniseisk, in Siberia. 

In the reign of Alexander I., owing to that czar’s 
personal tolerance, the Subbotniki enjoyed more 
freedom. Nevertheless the Russian clergy killed 
in Moghilef (Mobile v) about 100 Sub- 
Under Al- botniki and their spiritual leaders, in- 
exander I. eluding the ex-archbishop Romantzov, 
and while the latter’s young son was tor- 
Nicholas I. tured with red-hot irons before being 
burned at the stake. The Subbotniki, 
however, succeeded in gaining a measure of peace by 
means of an agreement which they made with the 
Greek-Orthodox popes. In order that the latter 
might not be the losers from a material standpoint 
by the defection of the Subbotniki from their con- 
gregations, the members of the sect undertook to pay 
them the usual fee of two rubles for every birth 
and three rubles for every marriage. The czar then 
permitted the Subbotniki to profess their faith 
openty, but on the condition that they should not 
engage Jewish preachers and should not themselves 
proselytize among the Christians. These stipula- 
tions were not, however, full}" complied with. 

In the reign of Nicholas I. a feeling of unrest became 
apparent among the Subbotniki. Many of them 
wished to embrace Judaism; and some of their num- 
ber were sent into the Pale of Settlement in order to 
become fully acquainted with the Jewish religion. 
On learning of this the Russian government sent 
among the Subbotniki a number of priests with the 
view of effecting their return to the Greek-Ortho- 
dox fold. But the religious disputations and the 
persuasion of the priests did not meet with success. 
The government then decided to suppress the Sub- 
botniki by violent measures, and many of them were 
subjected to cruel treatment by the officials. The 
government then decided (1826) to deport those who 
had openly professed themselves Subbotniki to the 
above-mentioned regions in the Caucasus, Trans- 
caucasia, and Siberia, at the same time, but for rea- 


sons quite opposite in the two instances, prohibit- 
ing the residence in their settlements of Jews and 
of members of the Greek -Orthodox Church. 

It is impossible at present to determine the exact 
number of Subbotniki in Russia, the discrepancy 
between the government statistics and the actual 
numbers of this sect being so very 
Statistics, wide. The official data represent the 
membership of the sect as numbering 
several thousand, while the traveler and writer 
Dinard, who has been in personal contact with the 
Subbotniki, states that there are 2,500,000. It may 
be that Dinard included in his figures all of the 
Judaizing sects. As regards dress, and mode of life 
apart from their religious rites, the Subbotniki do 
not in any way differ from the Greek-Orthodox 
Russians. 

Bibliography : Kostomarov, Russkaya Istoriya , vol. i.; EnU 
zihlopcdiclieski Slovar, s.v.; E. Dinard, in Hci-Meliz, 1887, 
No. 75 ; N. Astyrev, Subbotniki v Rossii i Sibiri , in Sycverny 
Vyestnik, 1891, No. 8 ; Univ. Isr . 1854, p. 396. 
ii. n. S. Hu. 

SUBPOENA : In English law, a writ which com- 
mands witnesses to come into court and to give tes- 
timony. Scripture (Lev. v. 1) makes it the duty of 
any one who has seen or heard things which are 
material to the right decision of a lawsuit, whether 
civil or criminal, to come forward and testify ; other- 
wise lie will “bear his iniquity.” Further, it con- 
templates that the party interested in the case will 
proclaim publicly what testimony he needs, and will 
lay his curse on those who are able to give such tes- 
timony but who fail to do so. It might thence be 
inferred that the rabbinical law supplies means cor- 
responding to the subpoena in English law, to com- 
mand the attendance of witnesses, and to punish 
them for non-attendance. But, on the contrary, a 
baraita (B, K. 55b) enumerates four kinds of wrong- 
doers who are liable to punishment only in the 
heavenly and not in a human tribunal: among 
them is the witness who refuses to testify. The 
codes (Maimonides, “Yad,” ‘Edut, i. ; Shulhaa 
‘Aruk, Hoshen Mislipat, 28) follow this baraita, 
gi ving to the party who needs the testimony only the 
right publicly to proclaim his needs, with an im- 
precation on him who, being able to testify, refuses 
to do so ; but here they stop. ReMA, in his gloss on 
Hoshen Mislipat 28, 2, does, however, point out, 
that Joseph Caro, in his “Bet Yosef,” on the “ Arba‘ 
Turim,” had suggested some means for compelling 
the attendance of witnesses, nay even of the adver- 
sary, making the latter a witness; but he does not 
venture to specify the process. It is suggested 
also that to compel one witness to testify where 
the issue may be established only by the testimony 
of two, would generally be of little avail. 

In the same connection the moral obligation of 
one who can testify to come into court and do so, is 
subjected to a somewhat curious exception. A 
great scholar (“ talmid liakam ”), it is said, need not 
attend, at least in a civil cause, as a witness before 
a court composed of judges inferior in learning to 
himself. He should, however, go promptly and do 
his duty as a witness when the cause is such that the 
miscarriage of justice therein through the lack of his 
testimony might lead to a scandal (“hillul lia-shem”). 
w. b. L. N. D. 



579 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Subbotniki 

Sufism 


SUBSCRIPTION. See Signature. 

SUCCESSION. See Agnates; Inheritance. 

SUCCOTH: 1. The first stopping-place of the 
Israelites on tlieir way out of Egypt (Ex. xii. 37, 
xiii. 20; Num. xxxiii. 5 et seg.); probably the Egyp- 
tian Thuku, name of the district of Pitiiom and also 
of the fortress itself (see Ebers in “ Zeit. fur Egyp- 
tisclie Sprache und Altertum,” 1885, p. 49). 

2. City in Palestine east of the Jordan, in the 
territory of Gad (Joshua xiii. 27). The name 
(= “ huts ”) is derived from Jacob’s settling there on 
his return from the country of the Arameans. Ja- 
cob came from Penuel; while Gideon, pursuing the 
Midianites from the west, reached first Suecoth and 
then Penuel (Judges viii. 5 et seg ., 14 et seq.). Suc- 
cotli, therefore, was nearer to the Jordan (comp. 
Judges viii. 4 et seq.). It lay in the valley, accord- 
ing to Joshua xiii. 27. The “ valley of Succofcli ” 
mentioned in Ps. lx. 8 (A. V. 6), cviii. 8 (A. Y. 7) is, 
therefore, the valley of the Jordan at Succoth. Je- 
rome says, in a comment on Gen. xxxiii. 17, that 
Sukkoy belongs to the territory of Scytliopolis 
(Baisan). Hence it probably lay north, not south, 
of tlieJabbok (=: Nalir al-Zarka). According to the 
Talmud, it was subsequently called Tar’ala (comp. 
Neubauer, “G. T.” 1868, p. 248); and S. Merill iden- 
tifies the place and the Talmudic name with the arti- 
ficial hill Der Allah, 20 meters high, and somewhat 
to the north of the place where the Jabbok emerges 
from the mountains and seeks the plain (Merill, 
“East of the Jordan,” 1881, p. 387). But this does 
not agree with the statements of Eusebius. This 
Succoth is identical with that mentioned in I Kings 
vii. 46 and II Chron. iv. 17. According to these 
passages, Hiram’s foundry, in which he cast the 
vessels for the Temple, lay between Succoth and 
Zeredali in the valley of the Jordan. 

e. g. ii. I. Be. 

SUCHOSTAVER, MORDECAI : Galician ad- 
herent of the Haskalaii, and teacher of philosophy 
at the rabbinical seminary of Jitomir, Russia; born 
near Brody, Galicia, 1790; died at Jitomir July 29, 
1880. As a youth he was the pupil of Nachman 
Krochmal, He left Brody for Odessa, where, in the 
early thirties of the nineteenth centur} r , he was ap- 
pointed private secretary and tutor in the household 
of Baron Joseph Yozel Giinzburg, settling in Kame- 
netz-Podolsk. Upon the opening of the rabbinical 
seminary at Jitomir, Sucliostaver was called to that 
city; and he remained identified with the institution 
until it was closed (1873). 

Influenced by the school of the Haskalah, Sucho- 
staver wrote a philosophical introduction to Mai- 
monides’ “Moreli Nebukim,” which was published 
at Zolkiev in 1829. He was the author also of sev- 
eral Biblical-scientific articles, preserved in manu- 
script, one of which, entitled “‘Edim Zomemim,” 
a treatise on Deut. xix. 15-20, appeared in the 
monthly “Mizpali” (1885, part iii.). 

Bibliography: Paperna, in Sokolowski’s Sefcr ha-Shanah , 

pp. 60-62. Warsaw, 1900; Ha-Mcliz , 18S9, No. 274, p. 4; Ha- 

Zejirah , 1880, No. 31, p. 247b. 

E. C. S. O. 

SUFISM (Arabic, “Tasawwuf ”): The mystic 
and ascetic doctrines of the Mohammedan sect of the 


Sufis, whose name is derived from the Arabic noun 
“suf ” (wool), having reference to the woolen cloth 
worn by its adherents to typify the primitive sim- 
plicit} r enjoined by Islam. Sufism has a special 
claim upon the attention of Jewish scholars because 
of its influence on the ethical and mystic writings of 
the Judseo- Arabian period. According to their own 
view the Sufis are simply esoteric Mohammedans, 
setting aside the literal meaning of the words of 
Mohammed for a mystic or spiritual interpretation. 

The Sufic movement arose in the land of the 
Magis; and in the first stages of its development it 
bore a purely ascetic and ethical character. It de- 
clared theological knowledge to be far inferior to 
inward perception, or mystic intuition acquired 
through religious ecstasies. Later, however, under 
the influence of Arabian Neoplatonism, and partly 
also under that of the Vedanta school of the Hindu 
philosophers, speculative, metaphysical, and pan- 
theistic elements were added ; and in this way arose 
the Sufic theological system. For the Sufis, God 
alone has a real existence, while the material world 
or contingent being is merely a reflection of Him, 
revealing His attributes and perfections without 
partaking of His substance. In lov- 
Doctrines. ing wisdom, beauty, or goodness, man 
in reality loves God; and in realizing 
that God is the only reality he is able to overleap, 
as it were,, his own limitations and to attain the 
state of absorption in God. This can only be 
reached after one has passed through the following 
three stages: (1) humanity (“nasut” ), in which the 
disciple, or seeker after God, must live according to 
the Law, observing all the rites, customs, and pre- 
cepts of religion ; (2) angelhood (“malkut ”), through 
which lies the pathway of purity ; and (3) the pos- 
session of power (“jabrut”), through which man 
acquires knowledge— the knowledge of God, which 
is diffused through all things. As the soul of man 
is an exile from its Maker, and human existence is 
its period of banishment, death should be the desire 
of the Sufi ; for thereby he returns to the bosom of 
his Creator. According to the Sufis, all religious 
beliefs, such as those relating to paradise, hell, etc., 
are allegories. There does not really exist any dif- 
ference between good and evil; all is reduced to 
unity, and God is the real author of the acts of man- 
kind. It is He who determines the will of man: 
the latter therefore is not free in his actions. No 
one can obtain spiritual union without God’s grace; 
but this is vouchsafed to those who fervently -ask 
for it. 

To the spread of Sufism in the eighth century was 
probably due the revival of Jewish mysticism in 
Mohammedan countries at that period. Under the 
direct influence of the Sufis arose the Jewish sect 
called Yudghanites. Like the Sufis, 
Influence the Yudghanites set aside the literal 
on Yud- meaning of the Torah for a supposed 
giianites. mystic or spiritual interpretation 
(comp. Saadia, “Emunot we-De‘ot,” 
pp. 39b and 68a ; Ibn Ezra, Commentary on the Pen- 
tateuch, Introduction). There are also many points 
of similarity between the mysticism of the Sufis and 
that of the Merkabah-riders of the geonic period 
(see Merkabah). To enter the state of ecstasy in 



Sufism 

Suicide 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


580 


which the Merkabah-ride was taken one had to re- 
main motionless, with the head between the knees, 
absorbed in contemplation, and murmuring prayers 
and hymns. The Sufis distinguished seven different 
ecstatic stages, each of which was marked by the. 
vision of a different color. The contemplative suc- 
cessively saw green, blue, red, yellow, white, and 
black ; while in the seventh and last stage he saw 
nothing, being completely absorbed in God, like a 
drop of water which, falling into the sea, loses its 
individual identity and acquires an infinite exist- 
ence. The same distinction by colors of the ecstatic 
stages was made by the Merkabali-ridcr. who at each 
new stage entered a heavenly hall (“hekal”) of a 
different color, until he reached the seventh, which 
was colorless, and the appearance of which marked 
both the end of his contemplation and his lapse 
into unconsciousness (comp. Zoliar, i. 41b). 

A far greater influence was exercised by Sufism 
upon the ethical writings of the J uda?o- Arabian 
period than upon the mysticism of the Geonim. 
In the first writing of this kind, the “ Kitab al-Hi- 
dayali ila Fara’id al-Kulub ” of Bahya ben Joseph 
ibn Pakuda (translated by Judah ibn Tibbon into 
Hebrew under the title “Hobot lia-Lebabot ”), the 
author says : “ The precepts prescribed by the Law 
number 613 only; those dictated by 
Influence the intellect are innumerable.” This 
on Bahya. was precisely the argument used by 
the Sufis against their adversaries, the 
‘ Ulamas. The very arrangement of the book seems 
to have been inspired by Sufism. Its ten gates or 
sections correspond to the ten stages through which 
the Sufi had to pass in order to attain that true and 
passionate love of God which is the aim and goal of 
all ethical self-discipline. It is noteworthy that in 
the ethical writings of the Sufis Al-Kusajri and Al- 
Harawi there are sections which treat of the same 
subjects as those treated in the “Hobot lia-Lebabot” 
and which bear the same titles : e.g “Bab al-Tawak- 
kui ” (pnttnn nyeO: “ Bab ai-Taubah” (nni^nn ; 
“Bab al-Muhasabah ” (cyDin “Babal- 

Tawadu'” (njwan “Bab al-Zuhd” (ny^y 

In the ninth gate Bahya directly quotes 
sayings of the Sufis, whom he calls “Perushim.” 
However, the author of the “Hobot ha-Lebabot” 
did not go so far as to approve of the asceticism 
of the Sufis, although he showed a marked pre- 
dilection for their ethical principles. On the other 
hand, Abraham bar Hiyya teaches the asceti- 
cism of the Sufis. His distinction with regard 
to the observance of the Law by various classes 
of men is essentially a Sufic theory. According 
to it there are four principal degrees of human 
perfection or sanctity; namely: (1) of “Shari ‘all,” 
i.e of strict obedience to all ritual 
Views of laws of Mohammedanism, such as 
Abraham prayer, fasting, pilgrimage, almsgiv- 
bar Hiyya. ing, ablution, etc., which is the low- 
est degree of worship, and is attain- 
able by all; (2) of “Tarikali,” which is accessible 
only to a higher class of men who, while strictly ad- 
hering to the outward or ceremonial injunctions of 
religion, rise to an inward perception of mental 
power and virtue necessary for the nearer approach 
to the Divinity; (3) of “Hakikah,” the degree at- 


tained by those who, through continuous contem- 
plation and inward devotion, have risen to the true 
perception of the nature of the visible aud invisible ; 
who, in fact, liave recognized the Godhead, and 
through this knowledge have succeeded in estab- 
lishing an ecstatic relation to it; and (4) of the “Ma- 
‘arifah,” in which state man communicates directly 
with the Deity. 

Complete seclusion from the world was highly 
praised by many cabalists. In liis commentary on 
the Pentateuch entitled “Me’irat ‘Enayim” Isaac 
ben Samuel of Acre expresses liimself as follows: 
“ He who reaches the degree of attachment to God 
[nip2l] will reach that of indifference [JYflnsyn]; 
and lie who reaches the degree of indifference will 
reach that of seclusion from the world.” The de- 
gree of seclusion is illustrated by R. Abner in the 
following story : “ A lover of wisdom once addressed 
liimself to an anchoret and asked to be enrolled in 
liis order. The hermit said to him: ‘My son, may 
the blessings of Heaven be upon thee ; for thy inten- 
tion is good. But tell me, hast thou been indiffer- 
ent or not? * ‘ Master, what do you mean by that? ’ 

‘ My son, is the man who respects thee, and the one 
who offends thee, equal in thy eyes or not?' ‘By 
your life, master, I find pleasure in the man who 
shows me respect, and feel hurt by 

Influence him who offends me; hut I bear no 
on grudge against the offender, and do 
tbe Cabala, not seek vengeance/ ‘Depart in 
peace, my son, * said the anchoret ; ‘ so 
long as thou art not completely indifferent to praise 
and blame, thou art not prepared for the life of a 
hermit ’ ” (Deut. vii.). 

Like the Sufis, the cabalists considered love of 
God to be the final object of the existence of the 
soul. “In the love of God,” says the Zoliar, “is 
found the secret of the divine unity: it is love that 
unites the higher and the lower stages, and that 
raises everything to that stage in which all must be 
one ” (Zoliar, ii. 216a). 

The allegorical and symbolical style of the Sufic 
poetry found imitators among many liturgical poets 
of the Middle Ages. Of these the most renowned 
was Israel Najara, who, in the preface to his 
“Zemirot Yisrael,” acknowledges this influence, say- 
ing that in his youth he had composed many relig- 
ious hymns to Arabic and Turkish tunes, with the 
intention of turning the Jewish young men from 
profane songs. The characteristic feature of these 
hymns is the same as that of the Sufic poetry; 
namely, the representation of the highest things by 
human emblems and human passions, and the use 
of erotic terminology to illustrate the relations of 
man and God, religion being identical with love. 
Thus in the language of the Sufis, as well as in that 
of many Jewish poets, the beloved one’s curls indi- 
cate the mysteries of the Deity ; sensuous pleasures, 
and chiefly intoxication, the highest degree of divine 
love as ecstatic contemplation ; while the wine-room 
merely represents the state in consequence of which 
the human qualities merge or are exalted into those 
of the Deit 3 r . 

Although Hasidism is opposed to asceticism, it 
has many points in common with Sufism. Like the 
latter, it aims to create by means of psychological 



581 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Sufism 

Suicide 


suggestion a new type of religious man — a type that 
places emotion above reason and rites, and religious 
exaltation above knowledge. As the Sufis, too, the 
Hasidim believe that by means of constant spiritual 
communion with God it is possible to secure clear 
mental vision and the gift of prophecy, and to work 
miracles. A striking analogy between Hasidism 
and Sufism is the prominence, in both sects, of the 
spiritual guide. As Sufism inculcates the absolute 
necessity of blind submission to the “ murshid,” 
or inspired guide, so Hasidism teaches that the zad- 
dik is the mediator between God and ordinary per- 
sons, and that through him the salvation of the soul 
is achieved and earthly blessings are obtained. 

Bibliography : De Slane, introduction to the Biographical 
Dictionary oflbn KhaMkan , Paris, 1843; Bickneil, Transla- 
tion of Hafiz of Shiraz ; Silvestre de Saey, in Notices et Ex- 
traits , xii. 291 ; Kremer, in Journal Asiatique , 1868, p. 271 ; 
Jellinek, ill Orient , xii. 577 ; Steinschneider, Ma'amar ha- 
Yihud , pp. 21, 22 ; Ignaz Goldziher, Materialen zur Ent- 
loichelungsgeschichte des Sufismus , in W. Z. K. M . xiii. 
35-56 ; Schreiner, Der Kdlam in der JUdischen Literature 
in Bericht fiir die LehranstaZt ftir die Wissenschaft des 
Judenthums zu Berlin , 1895. 

K. I. Br. 

SUICIDE : Self-murder. The influence of race 
on the frequency of suicide is evident from statistics 
giving the rates of mortality from this cause in vari- 
ous countries. Of the European peoples, the Ger- 
mans, Scandinavians, English, etc., i.e., those who 
are mostly of the Teutonic race, are more given x to 
self-destruction than the peoples of Celtic or Med- 
iterranean origin. Wherever the Celtic race is in 
the majority the rates of suicide fall perceptibly. 
In the United States, where nearly all the European 
races live under approximately the same environ- 
ment, each nationality retains its own rate of suicide. 

Morselli declares that religion has a great influ- 
ence on the suicide rate, and that Catholics and 
Jews are the least liable to commit suicide. He 
maintains that those who are fervently devoted to 
religion, especially women (nuns and lay sisters), fur- 
nish very few suicides. That religion is not the 
only factor in such cases, however, is shown by the 
fact that “ a great difference generally exists between 
Catholic and Protestant countries only, not between 
Catholic and Protestant inhabitants 
Influence of the same country. Where the tend - 
of Social ency to suicide is great among the 
Envi- latter, it will be found to be also high 
ronment. among the former” (Morselli). “When 
it is found that people living under 
the same social, economic, and physical environ- 
ments soon come to have the same suicide rate, 
whatever their .faith, we have proof that the differ- 
ence between Protestantism and Roman Catholi- 
cism as preventives of suicide can not be great” 
(Strahan). 

Among the ancient Hebrews suicide appears not 
to have been very common, only four cases being 
definitely mentioned in the Old Testament: those of 
Samson, Saul and his armor-bearer, and Aliithophel ; 
to these may perhaps be added the cases of Abim- 
elecli, Razis (II Macc. xiv. 46), and a few others. 
Later it appears to have become more frequent. 
Josephus records the suicide of several thousand 
Jewish soldiers who were besieged by the Romans in 
the stronghold of Masada in the year 72 or 73 c.e. 
Under medieval persecution the Jews often chose 


self-destruction as a means of relief. In 1190 in York, 
England, 500 Jews committed suicide to escape 
persecution; and many similar instances are to be 
found in the history of the Jews in England, France, 
and Germany. In modern times (during the first 
half of the nineteenth century) Jews were less liable 
to self-destruction. Suicide is said to be very in- 
frequent among the Orthodox Jews in Europe, par- 
ticularly those living in small towns in Russia, Po- 
land, and Galicia. 


Table Showing the Average of Suicides Among 
Catholics, Protestants, and Jews per 
1,000,000 of Population (After Morselli). 


Country. 

Period. 

Total 

Average of 
Suicides. 

Catholics. 

Protestants. 

Jews. 

Austria 

\ 1852-54 ! 

1 1858-59 f 

72.0 

51.3 

79.5 

20.7 

Austria 

1864-65 


73.7 

121.1 

100.0 

161.9 

33.3 

141.0 

Baden 

1864-69 

139.6 

Baden 

1870-74 

156.6 

136.7 

171.0 

124.0 

Bavaria 

1844-56 

72.0 

49.1 

135.4 

105.9 

Bavaria 

1857-66 

80.0 

55.2 

136.1 

100.3 

Bavaria 

3866-67 

91.0 

56.7 

152.7 

140.4 

Bavaria, Upper 

1844-56 

44.6 

56.0 

237.0 

123.0 

Bohemia 

1858-59 

81.0 

69.0 

132.0 

81.0 

Franconia, Central 

1844-56 

126.0 

59.0 

134.0 

86.0 

Franconia, Lower 

1844-56 

61.0 

49.0 

164.0 

141.0 

Franconia, Upper 

1844-56 

107.0 

75.0 

146.0 

114.0 

Galicia 

1858-59 

47.9 

45.0 

16.0 

10.0 

Hungary 

f 1852-54 1 

1 1858-59 f 

30.0 

32.8 

54.4 

17.6 

Moravia 

1858-59 

69.4 

67.0 

67.0 

12.0 

Palatinate of the Rhine 

1844-56 

50.3 

52.0 

62.0 

35.0 

Posen... 

1849-55 

68.7 ; 

41.5 

124.1 

38.0 

Prussia 

1849-55 

122.0 ; 

49.6 

159.9 

46.4 

Prussia 

1869-72 

133.0 ! 

69.0 

187.0 

96.0- 

Prussia Province 

1849-55 

99.7 j 

31.0 

96.6 i 

33.3 

Rhine Province 

1849-55 

52.6 

27.7 

108.0 

34.5 

Silesia 

1849-55 

152.0 

58.5 

153.0 

31.2 

Transylvania 

1 1852-54 { 

1 1858-59 ( 

36.0 

113.2 

73.6 

35.6 

Westphalia 

' 1849-55 

63.5 

24.4 

80.2 

66.2 

Wurttemh erg 

1S46-60 

96.7 

77.9 

113.5 

65.6- 

Wurttemberg 

1873-74 

163.0 

120.0 

180.0 

80.0- 


From the figures in the foregoing table it is found 
that in most countries the order of frequency of sui- 
cide, according to religions, is: Protestants, Catho- 
lics, Jews. It is, however, a striking fact that 
the Jews vary more among themselves in dif- 
ferent countries than do Catholics from Protes- 
tants, who maintain a certain relative proportion 
with little variation. Morselli is inclined to at- 
tribute these differences to the anthropological and 
social diversities observed among the Jews in vari- 
ous countries. This is substantiated by the fact that 
in Austria, where they are economically poor and 
socially isolated, the number of suicides per 1, 000.- 
000 Jews is only 20. 7, and in Galicia only 10. On the 
other hand, in Baden and Bavaria, 
Compara- where socially and economically they 
tive Infre- are on a higher plane, the rate is as 
quency. high as 140, about seven times more 
frequent than in Austria; while in 
Posen, where their condition at the time these sta- 
tistics were taken was an intermediate one, the sui- 
cide rate was 38 per 1,000.000 Jews. 

Another important point observable from these 
figures is that the rate of suicide among Jews is 
greatly influenced by that among Gentiles in the 



Suicide 

Sullam 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


582 


same country ; and this is particularly true when 
comparison is made with the Protestants, and can 
best be seen by comparing the rates in Austria with 
those in Prussia, Bavaria, and Baden. In Austria 
the rates are low both among the general population 
and among the Jews. In Baden aud Prussia, where 
it is higher among the Christians, it is higher among 
the Jews also. The same is evidently true of the 
various provinces of Austria and Prussia. 

It is a known fact that suicide is increasing in 
most of the European countries and in America. 
From the time when statistics were first collected to 
the present the increase has been very great, even 
in respect to countries differing in race, religion, and 
number of inhabitants. Morselli explains this in- 
crease as due to the effects of that “universal and 
complex influence to which we give 
Increase the name ‘ civilization. * ” In western 
in Modern Europe this increase is more pro- 
Times. nounced among the Jews than among 
the Christian populations of the same 
countries. In Prussia the suicide rate from 1849 
to 1901 was as follows: 

1849-55 . 46.4 per 1,000,000 Jews. 

1869-72 96.0 

:: :: :: 

This shows that in fifty years the rate increased 
more than sevenfold. When compared with the 
Christians in Prussia, it is found that Jews are de- 
cidedly more liable to self-destruction than non- 
Jews, as may be seen from the following figures per 
100,000 population : 



While during the twelve years mentioned in the 
table the suicide rate has remained almost stationary 
among the non-Jewish population in Prussia, among 
the Jews it has increased from 18 to 32 per 100,000 
population. This increase applies to Jewesses also, 
and in a much higher degree than among the non- 
Jewish women. From 1892 to 1901 the annual av- 
erage of suicides per 100,000 women was: Jewesses, 
12.41 ; Christian women, 8.11. This shows that while 
among the general population men commit suicide 
twice as often as women, Jews commit suicide 
nearly three times as often as Jewesses. Hoppe has 
called attention to the fact that the absence of al- 
coholism among the Jews reduces the rate of suicide 
when compared with that of non-Jews, while early 
puberty increases the rate among Jewesses. 

The increase of suicide among the Jews is not con- 
fined to Prussia. In Bavaria, where, according to 
Morselli, the rate per 1,000,000 Jews was 105. 9 in the 
period 1844-56, falling to 100.3 in 1857-66, and rising 
to 140.4 in 1866-67, it further increased to 185.6 
(among the Christians 128.3 only) in 1883-92. In 


Wurttemberg the rate was 142 during 1881-90 (P. 
Hanvillier, “Du Suicide,” 1899, p. 65) as against 65 
in 1846-60. In Baden the rate, which was 87 in 
1852-60, increased to 210 in 1878-88. In Hungary, 
only 17.6 per 1,000,000 Jews committed suicide dur- 
ing 1852-59, while in the period 1891-95 the rate in- 
creased to 54.7 (among the Christians it was much 
higher, 136.9). In Yienna, according to Bratessevic 
(“ Die Selbstmorde in Wien Wahrend der Jalire 1854- 
1894,” in “ Statistische Monatssclirift ” [1895], xxi. 
263), the rate was as follows; 230 in' 1869; 234 in 
1S80; 246 in 1890. 

In general it may be stated that suicide among 
the Jews increased in western Europe during the 
second half of the nineteenth century to a much 
greater extent than among the Christian population. 
Suicide due to drunkenness is very rare among the 
Jews, while among non-Jews about one-third of all 
suicides are directly or indirectly traceable to the 
abuse of alcoholic beverages. This indicates that 
self-destruction not due to alcoholism is nowadays 
even more frequent among Jews than among Chris- 
tians, and that these statistics do not‘ represent the 
exact conditions. 

Bibliography : Huso Hoppe, Krankheiten unci Sterbliclikeit 
hex Juden unci Nicht juden, Berlin, 1903 ; H. Morselli, Sui- 
cide, New York, 1882 ; A. Iiuppin, Die Juden der Gcqemvart , 
Berlin, 1904; H. Singer, Allgemeine und Spccielle Krank- 
heitslehre cler Juden , Leipsic, 1904; S. A. K. S trail an, Suicide 
and Insanity , London, 1893. 

j. M. Fr. 

SUKKAH (“ Tabernacle ”): Treatise in the Misli- 
nah, the Tosefta, and both Talmudim, dealing 
chiefly with the regulations regarding the Feast 
of Tabernacles (Lev. xxiii. 34-36; Num. xxix. 12 et 
seg. ; Deut. xvi. 13-16). In most of the editions it 
is the sixth treatise in the mishnaic order Mo‘ed. 
It is divided into five chapters, containing fifty-three 
paragraphs in all. The contents may be summa- 
rized as follows: 

Ch. i. : Prescribed height of the Tabernacle ; its 
walls; nature of the covering; and time of making 
the tent or booth (§ 1); circumstances rendering 
the booth unfit for use at the festival; material to 
be used for the covering and the walls; nature of 
the walls; distance between the walls and the cov- 
ering (§g 2-11). 

Ch. ii. : How the obligation of sleeping in the tent 
during the festival may be fulfilled (g 1); further 
details as to the nature of the tent (§g 2-3) ; cases in 
which a person is released from the obligation of 
sleeping and eating in the booth (§ 4) ; how the obli- 
gation of eating in the tent may be met, and how 
many meals must be eaten in the 
Contents, booth during the festival (gg 5-7); 

women, slaves, and small children are 
released from all obligation regarding the tent; age 
at which children are subjected to the laws regard- 
ing the booth (§ 8); cases in which persons are re- 
leased from the obligation of remaining in the booth 
during rain (g 9). 

Ch. iii. : The Lulab (comp. Lev. xxiii. 40; Nell, 
viii. 15), made of the palm-, myrtle-, and willow - 
branches, and the etrog (citron); the kinds of 
branches that are unfit (“pasul”; §§ 1-3); the num- 
ber of myrtle- and willow-branches necessary for the 
lulab (§ 4); the kind of etrog that is unfit (§§ 5-7); 



583 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Suicide 

Sullam 


material for binding the lulab (§ 8) ; passages of the 
Psalms during which the lulab must be waved on 
reciting “ Hallel ” (§ 9) ; recitation of the “ Hallel ” 
(§§ 10-11); while the Temple was standing the 
lulab was carried within its walls on all the seven 
days of the feast, but outside on one day only; 
after the destruction of the Temple R. Johanan b. 
Zakkai decreed that in commemoration of the 
former custom the lulab should be carried in the 
provinces on all the seven days (§12); what must 
be done if the first day of the Feast of Tabernacles 
falls on a Sabbath (§§ 13-15). 

Cli. iv. : Number of days on which the several 
ceremonies of Sukkot are observed (§§ 1-3, 8) ; man- 
ner of observing the regulation regarding the lulab 
(§4); manner of placing the willow- 
The branches around the altar, and the 
Ceremony processions around it; the recitations 
of Drawing during these processions, and the sen- 
the Water, tencesat their close ; how this ceremony 
is observed on the Sabbath (§§ 5-7); 
the custom of pouring out water, and attendant cere- 
monies, and lio'w observed on the Sabbath (§§ 9-10). 

Ch. v. : Further details regarding the ceremonies 
of drawing and pouring water ; manifestations of 
joy during the act, and the recitations with musical 
accompaniment (§§1-4); liow many times during 
the day the shofar was sounded in the Temple, and 
how many times on the Friday of the feast (§ 5); 
sacrifices offered at the Feast of Tabernacles ; the 
divisions of priests taking part in them, and the dis- 
tribution among them of the sacrificial portions and 
the sliowbread (§§ 6-8). 

The Tosefta to this treatise, which is divided into 
four chapters, contains many liaggadic sentences, of 
which the following may be quoted here: “Every 
tribe of the people of Israel has produced a judge 
of the people and a prophet; Judah and Benjamin 
also anointed kings through their prophets” (i. 9). 
“If certain signs indicate the approach of troublous 
times or a crisis for men, the Jews have the greatest 
cause for anxiety, since they generally suffer most 
under them ” (ii. 6). Noteworthy in 
The the Tosefta are the descriptions of the 

Tosefta. miraculous well which traveled with 
the Israelites in the desert (iii. 11), and 
of the splendid synagogue (basilica) in Alexandria 
(iv. 6), and the story of Miriam bat Bilga(the daugh- 
ter of a priest), who became a pagan and married a 
general of the Greek kings. When the pagans en- 
tered the Temple, Miriam stepped to the altar and 
cried : “ Lykos ! Lykos ! [= “ Wolf ! Wolf ! ”], you 
have devoured Israel’s possessions, and you have 
not helped them in time of need ” (iv. 28). 

Both Gemaras contain, aside from explanations 
of the various laws of the Mishnah, numerous 
stories and many interesting sentences. The fol- 
lowing may be quoted from the Babylonian Ge- 
mara : “ The practise of philanthropy is better than 
many sacrifices” (49b). “Israel could not justify 
itself for its sins, if the sentences in 
The Jer. xviii. 6 and Ezek. xxxvi. 26, 
Gemaras. which in a certain sense deny the free- 
dom of the will, had not in a way re- 
lieved it from responsibility for its acts” (52b). 
Noteworthy in the Palestinian Gemara is the story 


of the cause of Trajan’s persecution of the Jews. 
A son was born to him on the Jewish fast of the 
Ninth of Ab, and his daughter died on Hanukkah, 
on which feast the Jews lighted candles. Hence, the 
Jews being suspected of having mourned over the 
birth of the prince and of having rejoiced over the 
death of the princess, Trajan persecuted them (55b). 
There is also a curious account of the enlargement of 
the well of Siloah, in the hope that the flow of water 
would increase. After the well was enlarged, how- 
ever, the water flowed less freety ; and it was only 
after the aperture had been restored to its original 
size that the flow became as formerly (55d). 

w. b. J. Z. L. 

SUKKOT, FEAST OF. See Tabernacles, 
Feast of. 

SULAMITH: First Jewish monthly magazine 
in the German language, its subtitle being “Eine 
Zeitschrif t fur Beforderung der Kultur und Ilumani- 
tat Unter der J udischen Nation.” The first volume 
appeared in Leipsic, July, 1806, and was edited by 
David Frankel (d. in Dessau May 18, 1865) and Jo- 
seph Wolf. Subsequent volumes were edited by 
Frankel alone and published at Dessau, where he 
was director of the Jewish schools, or, as he signs 
himself, “Herzogl. Furstl. Anhalt. Direktor der Jud. 
Schulen.” Six monthly numbers constituted a vol- 
ume, and the dates of issue were as follows; vol. 
ii. 1807; second year, vol. i. 1808, vol. ii. 1809; 
third year, vol. i. (Cassel), 1810, vol. ii. (again Des- 
sau), 1811 ; fourth year, vol. i. 1812, vol. ii. 1815-16 ; 
fifth year, vol. i. 1817-18, vol. ii. 1818-19; sixth 
year, vol. i. 1819-21, vol. ii. 1822-24; seventh year, 
1824-33; eighth year, 1833-40. Vol. ix. of the new 
series appeared in 1846. 

The object of the “Sulamitli” was to promote 
progress and Reform according to the views of Men- 
delssohn’s German followers. It contained biogra- 
phies, historical sketches, sermons (by G. Salomon 
and others), poems, educational news, and belletristic, 
educational, and miscellaneous articles, all imbued 
with the spirit of progress. It contained. several 
Hebrew contributions also. David Friedlander, Ig- 
natz Jeiteles, Jolilson, Lowisohn, and Richter were 
among its contributors. While much of its con- 
tents is now obsolete, the remainder furnishes a 
considerable amount of material for contemporary 
Jewish biography and history. 

Bibliography; Furst, Bibl. Jud. i. 291; Steinschneider, Cat. 

Bodl. No. 5070. 

S. P. Wl. 

SULLAM, SARA COPIA (COPPIO) : Italian 
poetess; born in Venice 1592; died there Adar 5 
(Feb. 14), 1641 ; eldest daughter of Simon and Re- 
becca Coppio. Her father was a man of culture, who 
enjoyed the respect of the community in which lie 
dwelt. At his death, when Sara was not quite fifteen 
years old, she could read the Latin and the Greek 
classics, the Holy Scriptures, and Spanish literature, 
each in its original tongue, and she had already won 
local fame for her poems in Italian. To these attain- 
ments were added charm of person, a voice of un- 
usual sweetness, musical ability, the gift of im- 
provisation, and such exquisite social graces that 
she became the leader of a salon. 



Sultansky 

Sulzberger 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


584 


Leon of Modena dedicated to Sara his translation 
of Solomon Usque’s Spanish drama “Esther.” An 
epic poem bearing the same title, and written by the 
Genoese monk Ansaldo Ceba, was the cause of much 
trouble for her. The work aroused not only her ad 
miration for but also her gratitude toward a non- 
Jewisli author who glorified a Jewish heroine. This 
sentiment she communicated in WTiting to Ceba, 
who was filled with ambition to win his correspond- 
ent for the Church. An exchange of letters ensued 
(1618-22) ; but though Sara was persuaded to read the 
New Testament, she remained firm in her allegiance 
to Judaism. Ceba’s letters to Sara were published 
in 1623 ; but her answers were suppressed, probably 
at the bidding of the Inquisition. 

In 1621 a frequenter of her salon, the priest 
Baldassar Bonifaccio, accused her, in a pamphlet, 
of having denied the dogma of the immortality of 
the soul, a crime for which the Church decreed ex- 
treme penalties. Sara hastened to defend herself in 
a “manifesto,” dedicated to her father’s memory, 
the only one of her works published separately by 
her. This reply displays powers of sarcastic refuta- 
tion, and the clear, logical thinking for which Sara 
was noted. Several Italian poems of hers have been 
printed. 

Sara was married in 1614 to Jacob Sullam, a 
wealthy and well-educated Venetian. The epitaph 
upon her tomb is supposed to have been written by 
Leon of Modena. 


Bibliography : A. F. Rio, Les Qncitre Martyrs* pp. 79 et se<?., 
Paris, 1856 ; M. A. Levy, Sai'a Copia Sullam , in Jahrbucli 
fiXr die Gcsch. der Juden und des Judenthums , iii. 65 et seq.; 
Gratz, Gesch. x. 146-148 ; Geiger, Jlid. Zeit. vii. 178-183 : 
Ernest David, Sara Copia Sidlam , tine Heroine Juive 
au XVI Ie Siecle , Paris, 1877 ; Kayserling, Die Jlidischen 
Frauen , 1879, pp. 159-170; Nahida Remy, Das Jildische 
Weib , n.d., pp. 170-184 ; Karpeles, Jewish Literature and 
Other Essays , 1895, pp. 124-128. 

J. H. S. 


SULTANSKY, MORDECAI: Karaite hakam ; 
born at Lutzk in 1785; died at Eupatoria, in the 
Crimea, before 1878. He was one of the most prom- 
inent scholars of the Karaite sect during the nine- 
teenth century. He officiated as hakam of Lutzk 
(in succession to his father), and later at Eupatoria. 
He wrote a Hebrew grammar entitled “Petah Tik- 
wah” (Eupatoria, 1857), and “Sefer Tetib Da'at” 
(ib. 1858), directed against rabbinical philosophy and 
Hasidic mysticism, and endeavoring to explain Bib- 
lical angelology. 

Bibliography ; Furst, Bibl. Jud. iii. 396 ; S. Van Straalen, Cat. 

Hebr. Books Brit. Mus. p. 231, London, 1894. 

k. S. O. 

SULZBACHER, LOUIS; American jurist; 
born in the Rhenish Palatinate, Germany, May 10, 
1842. He was educated in Germany, but later emi- 
grated to the United States, and in 1900 was ap- 
pointed judge of the Supreme Court of Porto Rico, 
which position he resigned in 1904. In the same 
year he was appointed judge of the Federal Court 
of the Western District of Indian Territory. 


Bibliography: American Jewish Year Book^ 5665 (1904-5), 

p. 200. 

a. F. T. H. 


SULZBERGER: American family which de- 
rived its name from the town of its origin, Sulz- 


burg, near Ratisbon, in the Bavarian Palatinate. 
The first known member of the family is Eliezer 
Sussmann Sulzberger, born about the beginning 
of the seventeenth century. His great-grandson 
Ezra Judah Jacob JSulzberger was rabbi and 
shetadlan at Sulzburg in the early part of the 
eighteenth century, and established there a charita- 
ble institution which still exists. He wrote an 
ethical will which is published in Dinard’s “Or 
Me’ir ” (pp. 45-52) ; he died in 1762. Of his descend- 
ants, some have taken the name of Bayersdorfer 
and others of Lowenmaier; one of the latter was 
cantor of Sulzburg, and died in 1868. From a female 
member of this famity is descended Dr. Kaufmann 
Kohler, president of the Hebrew Union College, Cin- 
cinnati, Ohio. Most of the descendants are established 
in various towns of Baden (Eppingen, Grunbach, 
Bruclisal), and four of the branches have emigrated 
to the United States. The eldest of these is repre- 
sented b3 r Ferdinand Sulzberger, head of the 
packing establishment of Scliwarzschild & Sulz- 
berger, New York. Of the descendants of Mayer 
Sulzberger who settled in New York may be 
mentioned Solomon Sulzberger, president of 
Temple Beth-El, New York, and treasurer of the 
I. O. B. B., and his son Myron Sulzberger, for a 
time member of the assembly of New York. Leo- 
pold Sulzberger (d. 1881) emigrated to the United 
States in 1838 and was known in the Philadel- 
phia community for his piety. From him descended 
David Sulzberger of Philadelphia, communal 
worker, for a time secretary and a trustee of 
Gratz College,' trustee of the Jewish Theological 
Seminary of America, a visitor to the state peniten- 
tiaries for the eastern districts of Pennsylvania, but 
principally known for his work in behalf of the He- 
brew Educational Society of Philadelphia, whose 
honorary secretary he has been since 1876 ; Solomon. 
Lindauer Sulzberger of Chicago, chairman of the 
United Hebrew Charities of that city; and Cyrus- 
L. Sulzberger. From Sarah, a daughter of Leo- 
pold Sulzberger, is descended Dr. Cyrus Adler. 

Cyrus L. Sulzberger: Born in Philadelphia. 
July 11, 1858. He went to New York in 1877 as 
bookkeeper for the firm of Erlanger, Blumgart & Co. , 
of which he later became the head. He has taken 
part in various movements looking to the reform of 
New York municipal politics, and was in 1904 a. 
candidate on the Fusion ticket for president of the 
borough of Manhattan, New York. He was for 
many years treasurer of the United Hebrew Chari- 
ties of that city, and is (1905) president of the Jewish 
Agricultural and Industrial Aid Society, Industrial 
Removal officer, and vice-president of the American 
Federation of Zionists. 

Abraham Sulzberger, who had been liazzan and 
teacher in Heidelslieim, emigrated to America as a. 
result of the uprisings of 1848 ; he was well known in 
the community of Philadelphia; and the establish- 
ment of the Jewish Hospital of that city, of which 
he became vice-president, was due to his suggestion. 
The most prominent member of the family is his son 
Mayer Sulzberger. 

Mayer Sulzberger : American judge and com- 
munal leader; born at Heidelslieim, Baden, June 22, 
1843. He went to Philadelphia with his parents in 



585 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Sultansky 

SulzBerger 


1848, and was educated at the Central High School “ Moreh Nebukim. ” After Leeser’s death Sulzberger 
of Philadelphia, and after graduating he studied edited vol. xx vi. of “ The Occident. ” He was one of 

law in the office of Moses A. Dropsie. In 1864 he the founders of the Young Men’s Hebrew Associa- 

was admitted to the bar, and attained eminence in tion, which he served as president ; and he has taken 

the practise of his profession. He was elected judge great interest in the Jewish Hospital of Pliiladel- 
of the Court of Common Pleas on the Republican phia, of which he has been vice-president since 1880. 

ticket in 1895, and was reelected as a nominee of He has been from the beginning (in 1888) chair- 


Eliezer Sussmann Sulzberger 
(flourished about 1600) 


Eliezer Eliakim Sussmann 
(b. about 1675) 


Abraham Moses 
(d. 1758) 


Ezra Judah Jacob, 

‘ Itabbinats Substitut” at Sulzburg 
(d. 1762) 


Naphtali Hirsch 


Eliezer Abraham 


Eliezer Eliakim 


Mayer Jacob 


Naphtali Mayer 
Jacob 


Lazar Moses Sussmann 

Bayersdorfer | 

(in Gebweiler) j^oses Hirsch 


Ferdinand 
(b. 1838) 


(Meshullam Jacob) 
Solomon 
(b. 1771; d. 1838) 
= Vogele (Zipporah) 
Wassermann 


Moses 

(b. March 20, 
1772; 

d. May 21, 1834) 
(issue) 


Eliezer Sussmann Lowenmaier 
(b. Oct. 7, 1750; d. April 9, 1831) 


David 
(b. Jan. 6, 
1780; 

d. March 3, 
1847) 
(cantor) 


Marcus 

(b. Dec. 16, 1787) 

Mordecai 
(rabbi at Frank- 


Maier 

(b. April 28, 
1789; 

d. March 23, 
1868) 


fort-on-the-Oder) (cantor, Sulzburg) 


Mayer 

(b. April 18, 1803 ; 
d. Feb. 25, 1895) 
= Henrietta Aub 
(rabbi, Sulzburg) 


Babett 

(b. Dec. 29, 1815) 
= Jacob Kohler 

Kaufmann Kohler 
= Johanna Einhorn 
(issue) 


Mayer Gellah 

(Adenheim, = Israel Schlesinger 
Baden) (Eppingen, Baden) 

I (issue) t 


Fradel 
= Jacob 
Falk 

(Grunbach, 

Baden) 


Lob 

(Leopold) 
(b. Sept. 20, 
1805) 


Elhanan 

(Bruchsal, 

Baden) 


Solomon 
= Esther 
Emden 
(New York) 

i 

Myron 
(member of 
assembly. 
New York) 


Moses 
= Lillie 
Bernhardt 
(issue) 


5 daughters 


Belle Adler 
= J. Herzog 
(issue) 


David 

(Philadel- 

phia) 


Celia Adler 
= S. Minzesheimer 
(issue) 


= (1) Zirlah Einstein ; (2) Sophie Lindauer 


Abraham 
(b. May 20, 
1810; 
d. 1880) 

— Sophia 
Einstein 


Solomon 
= Clara 
Frank 
(issue) 


Cyrus 
= Bachel 
Hays 
(issue) 


Rosalie Flora 
= David (Chicago) 
Rosenheim 


Solomon Fanny Joseph Mayer Jacob 

(b. 1839) (b. Nov. (b. June (d. 1898) 

(issue) 6, 1841) 22, 1843) 


Rebecca 
= Pollock 
(issue) 


Sulzberger Pedigree. 


both parties in 1904, becoming the presiding judge 
of the Court of Common Pleas No. 2. 

Sulzberger has throughout his career shown great 
interest in Jewish affairs. While studying for the 
bar he taught at the Hebrew Education Society’s 
school. For a time he was interested in the affairs 
of Maimonides College and was secretary of its 
board. He was closely associated with Isaac Leeser, 
and assisted that scholar in editing “The Occident,” 
contributing to it a partial translation of Maimonides’ 


man of the publication committee of the Jewish 
Publication Society of America; was one of the 
original trustees of the Baron efe Hirsch fund ; and 
has interested himself in the establishment of agri- 
cultural colonies at Woodbine, N. J., and in Con- 
necticut. 

Sulzberger has one of the best private libraries 
in America; it contained a very large number of 
Hebraica and Judaica, together with many other 
early Hebrew printed books (including no less than 




Sulzer 

Sumptuary Laws 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


586 


forty - five Ixcm* ai>tjl.a), and many mairuscripts, 

and" these he presented to the Jewish Theological 

Seminary of Amer- 
ica, at whose reor- 
ganization he assisted 
and of which he is 
a life director, 
Sulzberger is a fin- 
ished orator, and has 
been chosen as the 
orator of the Jew- 
ish community upon 
several notable oc- 
casions. The honor- 
ary degree of doc- 
tor of laws has been 
conferred upon him 
by the Jefferson 
Medical College, of 
which he is now a 
trustee. 

A younger brother, Jacob Sulzberger, was 
known in Philadelphia literary circles for his verse 
and for his unusual knowledge of English literature. 

J. 

SULZER, SALOMON : Austrian cantor and 
composer; horn at Holienems, Tyrol, March 80, 
1S04; died at Vienna Jan. 17, 1890. His family, 
which prior to 1813 bore the name of Loewy, re- 
moved to Holienems from 
Sulz in 1748. He was edu- 
cated for the cant orate, 
studying first under the 
cantors of Endingen (Swit- 
zerland) and Carlsrulie, 
with whom he traveled ex- 
tensively, and later under 
Salomon Eichberg, cantor 
at Holienems and Diissel- 
dorf. In 1820 Sulzer was 
appointed cantor at Hohen- 
ems, where he modernized 
the ritual, and introduced 
a choir. At the instance of 
Rabbi Maunlieimer of Vien- 
na he was called to the 
Austrian capital as chief 
cantor in 1826. There he 
reorganized the son g serv- 
ice of the synagogue, re- 
taining the traditional 
chants and melodies, but 
harmonizing them in accord- 
ance with modern views. 

Sulzer’s “Shir Ziyyon” 

(2 vols., Vienna, 1840-65) 
established models for the 
various sections of the mu- 
sical service— the recitative 
of the cantor, the choral of 
the choir, and the responses of the congregation — 
and it contained music for Sabbaths, festivals, wed- 
dings, and funerals which has been introduced into 
nearly all the synagogues of the world. In the 
compilation of this work lie was assisted by some of 
the best musical composers of Vienna. Sulzer pub- 


lisliecl also a small -volume of songs for the Sabbath- 

scliool, entitled “ Duda’im ” ; and a number of sepa- 
rate compositions, both secular and sacred. His re- 
sponses are tuneful, and though more melodious 
than the choral chant of the Catholic Church, show 
a strong resemblance to it. In all his compositions 
strict attention is paid to the Hebrew text ; and a 
scrupulous adherence to sjmtactic construction is 
observed throughout. The collection “ Zwanzig Ge- 
siinge fur den Israeli tischen Gottesdienst ” (Vienna, 
1892) was printed posthumously. In liis “Denk- 
schrift an die Wiener Cultusgemeinde ” he sums up 
his ideas on the profession of cantor. Sulzer, who 
was widely famed as "a singer and as an interpreter 
of Schubert, was a professor at' the imperial con- 
servatorium of Vienna, a knight of the Order of 
Francis Joseph I., and a maestro of the Reale Ac- 
eademia di St. Cecilia in Rome. Universally recog- 
nized as the regenerator of synagogal music, he has 
been called the “father of the modern cantorate.” 

Bibliography: Graetz, Hist. v. 581; Tiinzer, Gcscli. cler Ju- 
den in Holienems , 1903; A. Friedman, Der Syncigogale 
Gesang , Berlin, 1904 ; Josef Singer, Entwickehmg des Syna- 
gogengesanoGS ; GcdenhhUitter an Salomon Sulzer, Vienna, 
1882 ; Alois Kaiser, Salomon Sulzer , in Report of society of 
American Cantor s. New York, 1904; idem, Sulzer's Music , 
in Year-Booh of the Central Conference of American 
Rabbis , 1904. . ^ 

S. A. Kai. 

SUMMONS (jim, NnDD'n NpDH) : Writ, proc- 
ess, or order sent by the court messenger (“sheluha 
di-rabbanan,” or “sheluah 
bet din ”), and command- 
ing a defendant to appear 
before the bet din. Raba, 
as dayyan, frequently in- 
dorsed such a document 
(Git. 88a, and Rashi ad loc.). 
Disobedience of a summons 
is treated as contempt of 
court. In villages, where 
the people are often absent 
from their homes, the proc- 
ess-server must try at least 
three times to find the de- 
fendant and personally hand 
him the summons for the 
trial to be held on the first 
or second Monday or the 
intervening Thursday, these 
being the regular court days 
(B. K. 113a). Should the 
messenger fail to find him, 
he may leave the notice with 
the defendant's wife or with 
one of his neighbors. If 
the defendant does not put 
in an appearance after three 
court days have passed, the 
bet din will declare him in 
contempt (“niddui”), and 
he must apologize to the 
court within thirty days, when the niddui will be 
quashed; otherwise he is excommunicated, and the 
bet din will issue a “petihah,” or preliminary order, 
of which the following is an example: 

“ Before us, a tribunal of three sitting as a unit, there came 
N. N. and produced a promissory document of N. N. for the 




Salomon Sulzer. 




587 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Sulzer 

Sumptuary Laws 


sum of ... And we Have duly summoned Mm and appointed a — 

day fon him to come and defend the action ; and we have waited 
for him Monday, Thursday, and Monday, hut he has failed to put 
in an appearance. We have therefore declared him in contempt 
for thirty days. And now we issue this petihah and will allow 
him another thirty days and in addition thirty days more, at the 
expiration of which time if he still fails to come, we will issue 
an ‘adrakta 7 [final judgment] to sell his property for the bene- 
fit of the creditor. Done In our presence, on [date] ... at 
[place] . . . [Signed by three dayyanim].” 

This form, probably of tire ninth century, in the 
Aramaic language, is copied by Isaac b. Abba Mari 
of Marseilles in his “Sefer lia-Tttur.” Judah b. 
Barzillai of Barcelona (11th cent.) bad in his collec- 
tion a long document in Hebrew as a substitute for 
the Aramaic form (“Sefer ha-Shetarot, ” ed. Mekize 
Nirdamim, p. 3, Berlin, 1898). 

The three terms of thirty days each are respect- 
ively granted for the following reasons: (1) to allow 
the defendant time to borrow money; (2) if he is 
unable to borrow, to enable him to dispose of his 
property ; and (3) to allow the purchaser time to 
pay for the property (B. K. 112b). 

A change of venue does not affect the summons. 
A woman who was cited to appear before the court 
of Atnemar in Nehardea was compelled to follow 
the court to Maliuza (R. H. 31b). The defendant 
may plead that he wishes to be tried before a higher 
tribunal (“bet din lia-gadol ”), but not after the peti- 
hah has been issued by the lower court (B. K. 112b). 

The summons may not be served on a Friday, when 
people are busy preparing for Sabbath, nor may it 
call for an appearance during the month of Nisan or 
of Tisliri, when the people are celebrating the holy 
days. If the defendant appears and offers ample 
excuse for not being able to attend the trial on the 
days appointed, the bet din may adjourn the case. 

When the defendant is a distinguished woman who 
would regard her attendance in court as a disgrace 
to her, or when a learned man is sued by one of the 
common people (“ ‘am ha-are? ”), the bet din is em- 
powered to send notaries to interrogate the defendant 
at home, and to waive personal appearance in court. 

Bibliography: Maimonides, Tad , Sanhedrin , xxv. 5-11; 

Sliulhan ‘A.rulc, Hoshcn Misivpat , ii. 124. 

w. b. J. D. E. 

SUMPTUARY LAWS : Laws that restrict in- 
dividual expenditures as to food, clothing, etc. In 
the Mishnah several expensive customs are abolished 
by reason of evil times which had come over Israel 
(Sotali ix. 9) : “During the war of Vespasian the use 
of crowns by bridegrooms and the beating of the 
drum [at weddings] were forbidden; during the war 
of Titus the crowns of brides, etc., were forbidden; 
during the last war [the revolt of Bar Kokba] it was 
ordered that the bride should not be carried through 
the city in a palanquin [hung with curtains] ; but 
our masters [supposed to mean R. Judah, the patri- 
arch, and his school] permitted her to do so.” In 
the Gemara (ib. 49b) one teacher claims that the 
bridegroom's crown is forbidden only when made 
in the old fashion of rock salt and brimstone; but 
he permits a wreath of myrtles and roses. Another 
forbids even such a wreath, but allows one made of 
canes and reeds. A third teacher forbids even this. 
The bride's crown is explained as having been a 
golden image of a city wall. The use of the palan- 
quin in which the bride was conveyed to and from 


tlic •weddin-g is said to itave been reintroduced from 

motives of modesty, to guard against the gaze of 
the crowd. 

The preceding section of the Mishnah has a wider 
bearing : “ R. Simeon ben Gamaliel on the authority 
of R. Joshua says: ‘ Since the day when the Temple 
fell into ruins there has not been a day without its 
calamity. The dew no longer comes down for a 
blessing ; the taste of the fruits is gone. ’ ” Not here 
only, but in many other passages of the Mishnah 
and the Gemara, the view is expressed that, with 
the Temple in ruins, there should be to the Israelite 
no unmixed enjoyment; hence no display in rai- 
ment, in food, or in drink. Although this is not a 
sumptuary law, it represents a tendency stronger 
than law. 

The change in burial customs in Mislmaic and 
Talmudic times — from the elaborate processions and 
costly scaffoldings and hangings, cerements, and. 
coffins which had been the custom since early Bib- 
lical times — is treated in Jew. Encyc. iii. 436a, s.v. 
Burial, where the most important reference is that 
to Yer. M. K. 32b. Here may be added wliat is 
said in a baraita (M. K. 27a): “Formerly they 
brought the [bodies of the] rich to the house of 
mourning in nettings of silver and gold, but those 
of the poor in baskets of wickerwork; thus the poor 
were put to shame. Accordingly the rule [“tak- 
kanah ”] was made that every one should bring [his 
corpse?] in a basket of wickerwork.” Again: 
“Formerly [at funerals], in serving drink wliite glass 
was used in the houses of the rich, and colored 
[dark] glass in the houses of the poor, which shamed 
the poor. The rule was therefore made that drink 
should be served everywhere in dark glass. For- 
merly tliev were accustomed to lay bare the faces of 
the rich, but cover the faces of the poor, because 
the latter looked blackish from scanty nourishment ; 
so the rule was made to cover the faces of all 
corpses.” In other words, the customs were changed 
in all cases to those which of necessity prevailed 
among the poor. 

In the later Middle Ages sumptuary laws were 
often made by the Rabbis or by the communal au- 
thorities of cities or districts ; and sometimes they were 
imposed on the Jews of this or that country by the 
king or other ruler, avIio begrudged them the pleas- 
ure of seeing their wives and daughters in rich attire. 
Israel Abrahams, in his “Jewish Life in the Middle 
Ages,” gives examples of sumptuary laws proceeding 
from the latter as well as from the former source ; 
e.g., on p. 144, a decree by the Jewish community 
of Forli limiting the number of guests at a wedding 
or a “ berit milali ” ; p. 145, a limitation of the weight 
of silver goblets; p. 181, a limitation in Italy on the 
number of finger-rings; p. 277, a reproof by the 
King of Castile concerning the rich dresses of the 
Jewesses; p. 291, reproofs by Italian rabbis relating 
to the rich attire of the men, even on the Sabbath ; 
pp. 2-4 and 295, regulations, also in Italy, against 
jewelry and pearls, worn both by men and by 
women. Regulations like those of the baraita were 
sometimes made to lessen the gulf between the rich 
and the poor, but oftener to disarm the ill-will of 
the Gentile oppressor. 

w. b. L. N. D. 


Sun 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


588 


SUN (Hebrew, “sliemesli,” and, poetically, “ham- 
mah” [= “heat”] and “heres”). — Biblical Data: 
The conceptions of the Hebrews with regard to phys- 
ical phenomena were those that obtained among 
their neighbors, the sun being considered as a 
torch or light (“ma’or”) suspended in the firma- 
ment (Gen. i. 16). It was created on the fourth day 
together with the moon, the two constituting the 
great lights ; and as the larger of them, the sun was 
given dominion over the day ( ib . ; Ps. cxxxvi. 2). 
The sun had a habitation (Iiab. iii. [A. Y. ii.] 11), 
a tent (Ps. xix. 5), a bridal chamber, as it were (Ps. 
xix. 6), from which it came forth (“yaza,” “zarali,” 
Gen. xix. 23; Nah. iii. 17; Ex. xxii. 2; Eccl. i. 5) 
and to which it returned (“bo,” Gen. xv. 12, 17; 
xxviii. 11; Ex. xxii. 25; Josh. x. 27; comp. Eccl. i. 
5) ; lienee the East is known as “ Mizrah ” (Josh, 
xiii. 5; Judges xxi. 19; I Kings x. 33), and the West 
as“Mabo” (Josh. i. 4, xxiii. 4), while the phrase 
“ from the rising [going forth] of the 
Early Con- sun unto the going down [coming 
ceptions back] of the same,” designates the 
of It. whole extent of the earth (Ps. cxiii. 

3; Mai. i,, xi. ; Isa. xlv. 6, where the 
term “ma'arab,” which etymologically means “go- 
ing back,” is used to denote the “setting.” “Un- 
der the sun ” is another idiomatic phrase to con- 
note the earth: it is a favorite expression of the 
author of Ecclesiastes (Eccl. i. 3, 9, 14; ii. 11, 17 
et seq.). 

As in the latitudes in which the Hebrews lived 
the variations in the daily course of the sun are in- 
significant for practical purposes, the phrase “the 
time the sun is hot” (1 Sam. xi. 9; Neh. vii. 3) de- 
notes a definite portion of the day, from noon to 
four in the afternoon, after which, the heat decreas- 
ing, the sun draws nearer the hour of its “ coming 
back” (A. V. “going down”), which it was sup- 
posed to know (Ps. civ. 19). The sun is subject to 
God’s will: were He to so order, it would cease 
to shine (Job ix. 7). God orders its course (Ps. 
lxxiv. 16). The sun is benevolent (II Sam. xxiii. 4): 
it brings forth the fruits of the earth (Deut. xxxiii. 
14). The light is sweet; and it is delightful for 
the eyes to behold the sun (Eccl. xi. 7). But at 
times the great luminary produces evil: it scorches 
and consumes (Ps. exxi. 6; Isa. xlix. 10; Jonah iv. 
8; Ecclus. [Siracli] xliii. 3, 4); for from its heat 
“there is nothing hid” (Ps. xix. 7). It has power 
(Judges v. 31), which explains why the lovers of 
Yhwh are likened to the sun rising in its might. 
Sunstroke was dreaded (comp. Ps. exxi. 6). 

The sun is used as a simile of lasting fame (ib. 
lxxii. 17). The enduring nature of David’s dynasty 
is expressed by the statement that his 
Used as a throne shall be before Yhwh as the 
Simile. sun (ib. lxxxix. 38 [A. V. 36]). The 
sun is used also as a symbol of victory 
and might (Yhwh is “ a sun and a shield ” ; ib. lxxxiv. 
12 [11]). Like the dawn, which has wings (ib. 
cxxxix. 9) and eyelids (Job iii. 9, xli. 10), the sun is 
credited with wings on which it, as the sun of right- 
eousness, shall carry healing (Mai. iii. 20 [A. Y. iv. 
2]). The sun is an emblem of beauty also (Cant. vi. 
11); it typifies the progress of a good man toward 
perfection (Prov. iv. 18); and as the great luminary 


(Ecclus. [Siraeh] xvii. 31) it is the adornment of the 
heavens (ib. xxvi. 16). 

In the apocalyptic descriptions of the end of time, 
the sun’s darkening at rising is accentuated as one 
of the tokens of impending judgment (Isa. xiii. 10). 
At noonday the sun will set (ib. lx. 2; Jer. xv. 9; 
Amos viii. 9 ; Mic. iii. 6). On the other hand, in the 
Day of the Lord the sun will shine seven times 
more brightly than usual (Isa. xxx. 26); indeed, 
Israel’s sun will no more go down, as God Himself 
will be an everlasting light (ib. lx. 19-20). 

The Bible records two occurrences in which the 
regularity of the sun’s daily progress was appar- 
ently suspended. (1) It is reported that at Joshua’s 
command the sun stood still (Josh. x. 12-14; Ecclus. 
[Siracli] xlvi. 5). This episode is based on an old 
lay from the “Seferha-Yashar,” the poetic fragment 
quoted being, as in all similar cases, older than the 
prose narrative. Some obscure myth- 
Sun- ological reference underlies the in- 

Miracles. cident, in which poetic-mythological 
conceptions and descriptions are rep- 
resented as actual happenings. The attempt to- 
read into the Hebrew some natural phenomenon — an 
eclipse or an extraordinary degree and intensity of 
solar refraction— is preposterous. 

(2) In connection with the illness of Hezekiaii 
(II Kings xx. 8-11 ; Isa. xxxviii. 7 ; II Cliron. xxxii. 
24, 31) the sign of assured convalescence is the 
retrogression of the shadow (the sun) ten steps on 
the Dial. It has been suggested either that this 
incident is based on a solar eclipse or that the move- 
ment of the shadow was purely an optical illusion. 
However, the whole episode may be one of the many 
“miracles” serving to embellish the life of the 
prophet Isaiah, in imitation of the method applied 
in the biographies of Elijah and Elisha. 

That the Hebrews worshiped the sun, in adap- 
tation of non-Hebrew, Canaanitisli, or Babylonian 
custom, may be admitted on the evidence of such 
ancient names of localities as Beth-shemesh, En- 
sliemesli, Mount Heres, and Kir.-heres (but see 
Cheyne, “Encyc. Bibl.” s.v. “Sun”). A common 
act of Adoration was throwing a kiss with the 
hand (Job xxxi. 26-28). Idolatrous solar-worship 
was prohibited (Deut. iv. 19), the penalty therefor 
being lapidation at the city gates (ib. xvii. 2-5). 
Disregard of this law (which, however, probably was 
as yet non-existent; see Deuteronomy) is reported 
more especially of Manasseii, who had erected in 
the Temple altars in honor of the heavenly hosts (II 
Kings xxi. 3-5, xxiii. 12). Other altars, on roofs, 
were removed by JosrAH (ib. xxiii. 12; comp. Jer. 
xix. 13 ; Zeplr. i. 5), as were horses dedicated to the 
sun by the kings of Judah, and sun -chariots sta- 
tioned at the western entrance to the Temple. 
These horses and chariots point to Assy ro- Baby Io- 
nian prototypes (Schrader, “K. A. T.” 3d ed., p. 370), 
as the act of sun-worship described in Ezek. viii. 
16, 17 (Gunkel, “Schopfung und Chaos in Urzeit 
und Endzeit,” p. 141), is generally held to be in imi- 
tation of a Persian custom. In Enoch, lxxii. 5, 37; 
lxxv. 4, and in the Greek Apocalypse of Baruch, vi. 
(see Gunkel, l.c. p. 141), mention is made of the 
solar chariot. With great plausibility Isa. xxiv. 
27, where judgment is pronounced against the 



589 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Sun 


sun, which will be “ashamed” (ib. xxiv. 23), is ex- 
plained as referring to idolatrous worship of the sun 
(but see end of verse). E. G. II. 

In Rabbinical Literature : The more usual 

word for “sun” in rabbinical literature is “ham- 
mah,” though “ sliemesh ” occurs also. The sun and 
the moon were created on the 28tli of Elul (Pirke 
R. El. viii. ; Midr. ha-Gadol, ed. Scliechter, p. 37). 
Originall}' the sun and the moon were of equal mag- 
nitude; but jealousy induced dissensions between 
them, each claiming to be greater 

Sun and than the other. This necessitated the 
Moon. reduction in size of one of them ; and 
the moon was assigned the inferior 
rank (ib. vi.). The moon was thus degraded be- 
cause it had unlawfully intruded into the sun’s do- 
main. This account is based on the phenomenon 
that the moon is sometimes visible while the sun is 
still above the horizon (Gen. R. vi. 3, 7). God sub- 
sequently regretted having degraded the moon, 
whose fault was virtually His, He having ordered 
the world. He therefore pleaded that an expiatory 
sacrifice be offered in His behalf to atone for His in- 
justice to the moon (ib.). By way of compensation 
the moon was given the splendid retinue of the 
stars. Sun and moon are, as it were, the king’s 
two prefects, one choosing the administration of the 
restricted city, the other that of the larger province. 
To reward the modest choice of the former, the 
king appoints for it an official suite (ib. vi. 4). 

Originally the sun was designated Jacob’s tutelary 
luminary; but later God assigned it to Esau, the 
moon being set over Jacob. This did not please the 
latter (see “Yalkut Hadasli,” ed. Warsaw, 1879, p. 
181), he failing to understand that the sun, though' 
the larger light, ruled over the day only, while the 
moon, though the smaller, exercised control over 
both day and night. Esau’s luminary indicated 
that he had a share in this world alone, while that 
set over Jacob assured him of a part both in this 
world and in the world to come. For this reason 
Jacob reckons by the lunar calendar (Gen. R. vi. 3). 

It was the intention in the beginning that the sun 
alone should furnish light to the earth ; but God, 
foreseeing the idolatrous worship which would be 
paid to the heavenly bodies, decided that it would 
be better to have two large celestial lights, reason- 
ing that if there was only one the danger of that 
one being deified would be greatly increased (ib. vi. 
1; see also the “yozer” for Sabbath, “He called the 
sun, and it gave forth light,” etc.). 

God placed the sun in the second firmament be- 
cause if He had placed it in the one nearest the earth 
which is visible to terrestrial eyes, all would have 
been consumed by its heat (Midr. Teh. xix. 13; 
Pesik. xxix. 186a). Indeed, the sun was in a sort 
of cover or bag (ib. 186b [see note by 
Cover of Buber]; Tan., Tezawweh [ed. Buber, 
the Sun. p. 98 and note]; Midr. Teh. l.c. [ed. 

Buber, p. 168 and note]). In the 
“future time” God will bring forth the sun from 
this cover, and the wicked will be consumed by its 
terrible heat; hence in that time there will .be no 
Gehenna (Ned. 8b ; Midr. Teh. xix. 13). But while 
utterly annihilating the evil-doers, the sun will heal 
the righteous of all ills, and be for them a glorious 


ornament (ib.). According to E. Jonathan, the sun 
moves like the sail of a ship, or like a ship with 
365 ropes (equivalent to the number of days in the 
solar year), or like a ship hailing from Alexandria, 
which has 354 ropes (corresponding to the number 
of days in the lunar year). The moon covers in two 
and one-half days the distance made by the sun 
in thirty days (Midr. Teh. l.c.). The sun and the 
moon are loath to set out on their journeys. They 
are compelled to cover their eyes before the upper 
light. God, therefore, has to light up their paths 
before them (see Ps. lxxxix. 16). The same thing 
happens at tlieir setting, when God has to show them 
the way by means of torches, arrows, and lightning 
(ib.). They are ashamed to come forth on account 
of the worship paid them by idolaters. 

But the sun sings in honor of God while pursu- 
ing its course. This appears from the verse Mai. i. 
11 in connection with Josh. x. 12 (Midr. Teh. to Ps. 
xix. 11; Tan., Ahare Mot, ed. Buber, p. 14). Con- 
trary to the opinion that the sun hesitates to rise in 
the morning and to run its course, the conclusion is 
drawn from Ps. xix. 5-6 that the day-star perforins 
its joyous task voluntarily. 

The sun ascends by means of 366 steps, and de- 
scends by 183 in the east and 183 in the west. There 
are 366 windows in the firmament, through which 
the sun successively emerges and retires. These 
windows are arranged so as to regulate the sun’s 
movements with a view to their con- 
The Days cordance with the “tekufofc,” Nisan, 
of the Sun. Tammuz, and Tebet. The sun bows 
down before God and declares its obe- 
dience to His commands (Pirke E. El. vi.). Three 
letters of God’s name are written on the sun’s heart; 
and angels lead it — one set by day, and another 
by night (ib.). The sun rides in a chariot (ib.). 
When looking downward its face and horns are of 
fire; when turned upward, of hail. If the sun did 
not periodically change its face, so that heat and 
cold alternate, the earth would perish (ib.). 

According to rabbinical interpretation, Joshua did 
not really command the sun to “stand still” but to 
“be still ” (Josh. x. 12). At first the sun refused to 
obey Joshua, urging that as it had been created on 
the fourth day, w r hile man had not been fashioned 
till the sixth, it was the superior, and was not called 
upon to take orders from an inferior. Thereupon 
Joshua reminded the sun that it had acknowledged 
its position as a slave by its obeisance paid to Jo- 
seph, while even earlier Abraham had been hailed as 
the owner of all that is in heaven (Gen. xiv. 19, the 
word “possessor” being applied to Abraham, not to 
God). Still the sun desired to be assured that even 
after its silence God’s praise would be sung; and it 
was only when Joshua liad promised that he him- 
self would sing His praise that the sun acquiesced 
(Gen. E. vi., end, lxxxiv. 11). According to the 
cabalists, the sun stood still also at the command of 
Moses and of Nicodemus the son of Gorion (see 
“Yalkut Hadasli,” p. 102, § 16). 

The sun and the moon would not rise when Korah 
was disputing with Moses. Tlie} r would not con- 
sent to give light to the earth until they were as- 
sured that justice would be done to the son of Am- 
ram (comp. Hab. iii. 11; Ned. 39b; Sanli. 110a). 



Sun, Rising- and Setting- 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


590 


The solar cycle (“ mahzor ”) comprehended twenty- 
eight years (as against the lunar cycle of nineteen 
years). He who beheld the sun at the beginning 
of the cycle pronounced the blessing 
Tlie Solar commemorating God’s creative power 
Cycle. (Ber. 59b; but it seems more likely 
that the reference is to the sight of the 
sun after cloudy days; see Yer. Ber. ix. 13d). The 
sun is used in illustrations of the impossibility of 
beholding God (Hill. 60a). The expression “seeing 
the sun ” is equivalent to “being seen by the sun 
i.e., “ to exist 55 (Ned. 30b ; B. B. 82a). 

“Sliemesli” or “shimslia” is used in a particular 
sense in such phrases as “ shimslio shel zaddik ” 
(the sun of the righteous), meaning “life.” “The 
Almighty never permits the sun of one righteous 
man to set without causing that of another equally 
righteous to arise and shine forth ” (Gen. R. lviii. 1, 
in reference to the birth of Rabbi on the day on 
which R. Akiba died). “Shimsha” is used also to 
denote the “righteous” (Gen. R. lxviii.). 

E. G. H. 

The rotation of the sun causes the emission of 
beams and rays, as dust is produced by sawing 
wood. Save for the noise of the multitudes in the 
towns, the sound which the sun makes in its rota- 
tion might be heard (Yonia 20b). The saying “A 
cloudy day is all sun ” is based on the fact that the 
sun’s rays pierce through the thickest cloud. The 
humidity of the sun is worse than its heat; and the 
dazzling sunlight breaking through openings in 
the clouds is harder to bear than the uncovered 
sun (Yoma 28b). There is a difference of opinion 
in the Talmud as to the color of the sun. One 
authority says its natural color is red, as is seen at 
sunrise and sunset, yet it appears white during 
the day on account of the dazzle of its 
Color and rays. Another says the sun is aetualty 
Efficacy, white, but that it appears red in the 
morning, when it passes through and 
reflects the red roses in the Garden of Eden, and also 
toward evening, when it passes through and reflects 
the. fire of Gehinnom (B. B, 84a). 

The Talmud adduces the healing efficacy of the 
sunlight from the verse “But unto you . . . shall 
the sun of righteousness arise with healing in his 
wings ” (Mai. iii. 20 [A. Y. iv. 2] ; Ned. 8b). Abra- 
ham possessed a precious stone which healed the 
siclc ; and w lien, lie died God set it in the sphere of 
the SUn (13. 13. I6t>; TTalK., 2V lal. o93). Sunsliine on 

Sabbath is comfortable and welcome to the poor 
(Ta‘an. 8b). Sunshine helps the growth of plants. 
A plant called “ ‘adane ” or “ ‘arane,” growingin the 
marshes, turns its leaves toward the sun and closes 
them at nightfall (Shab. 35b, and Rashi ad loc.). 

Adam when he first beheld the approach of eve- 
ning thought the world was being destroyed for bis 
sin; and be sat up all night bewailing his misfor- 
tune. Eve sat opposite him, crying, till the dawn 
appeared. When he realized that the night was a 
law of nature lie offered a sacrifice to God ( 4 Ab. 
Zarah 8a). 

Each of the seven planets successively predomi- 
nates during one hour of the day and one of the 
night, and exercises an important influence upon 
the person born in that hour. The one born during 


the hour of the sun’s ascendency will be of fair 
complexion, independent, and frank ; and if he at- 
tempts to steal be will not succeed. Mercury is the 
secretary of the sun ; consequently, one who is born 
during its hour will be bright and wise (Shab. 156a). 

An eclipse of the sun is an evil sign for tlie Gen- 
tiles, and one of the moon augurs evil for the Jews; 
for the Gentiles reckon b} r the cycle of the former 
and the Jews by that of the latter. When tlie 
eclipse occurs in the eastern horizon, 
Eclipses, it forecasts tlie coming of evil to the 
inhabitants of the East ; if in tlie west- 
ern, it betokens ill to those of tlie West; while it* it 
occurs in the zenith it threatens the entire world. 
When tlie color of the eclipse is red it betokens 
war; when gray, famine; when changing from red 
to gray, both war and famine. When the eclipse 
occurs in the beginning of the day or of the night it 
signifies that the evil will come soon; if late in the 
day or niglit, that it will arrive tardily. In either* 
case tlie Jews who are true to their faith need not 
worry about these premonitions, inasmuch as tlie 
prophet has said: “Be not dismayed at the signs of 
heaven ; for the heathen are dismayed at them ” (Jer. 
x. 2; Suk. 29a). 

Tlie sun and the moon are employed as symbols 
in tlie Cabala. Generally, tlie sun is masculine and 
represents the principal or independent— -technic- 
ally it is the “ giver ” (“ mashpia‘ ”) ; Abraham is tlie 
sun ; so is Samuel, because be wasinde- 
Symbols. pendent, accepting no gift or fee from 
any one (I Sam. xii. 3). Tlie moon is 
feminine, and represents tlie secondary or dependent 
— technically tlie “receiver” (“mckabbel”). Thus 
the suu means the father; the moon, the mother. 
Moses and Aaron ; the rich man and the poor man ; 
the Torah and the Talmud ; Rabbi and Rabina (or 
R. Ashi), are respectively the sun and the moon 
(Heilprin, “ ‘Erke lia-Kinnuyim,” s.v. HDn). Sam- 
son’s name denotes “sun,” as lie, likewise, was in- 
dependent. The initial letters of the names Samuel, 
Moses, and Samson spell “sbemesh” (=“sun”). 
The Messiah is tlie sun : “ And liis throne as the sun 
before me ” (Ps. lxxxix. 36), 
j. J. D. E. 

SUN, BLESSING OE THE; Formula of ben- 
ediction recited on tlie day when the sun enters upon 
a new cycle, which occurs on tlie first Wednesday 
of Nisan every twenty-eiglit years. Tlie present 

cycle commenced on tlie 5tli of IKTisan, 5657 April 

7, 1897. According to Abaye, the cycle commences 
with the vernal equinox at the expiration of Tues- 
day (sunset) and the beginning of Wednesday eve 
when the planet Saturn is in the ascendency (Ber. 
59b). This is calculated by the calendar of Samuel 
Yarliina’ali, which allots to the solar year 3651- days, 
and asserts that each of the seven planets rules over 
one hour of the day in the following sequence; Sat- 
urn, Jupiter, Mars, the sun, Venus, Mercury, and 
the moon. Consequently tlie first planet, Saturn, 
is 74 hours advanced at tlie beginning of the sum- 
mer solstice, and 30 hours (1^ days) at tlie turn of 
the year, or 5 days in 4 years, at tlie end of which 
this planet again takes its place at the beginning of 
tlie eve of the vernal (Nisan) equinox. This period 
is called “ mahzor katan 57 (short cycle). A space of 



THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Sun 

Sun, Rising 1 and Setting: 


591 


five days follows every such cycle, so that tlie second 
cycle begins on Monday, the third on Saturday, the 
fourth on Thursday, the fifth on Tuesday, the sixth 
on Sunday, and the seventh on Friday. Seven short 
cycles complete a “mahzor gadol,” or long cycle, of 
tw T enty-eight years; then Saturn returns to its origi- 
nal position at the first hour of Wednesday eve, and 
a new cycle begins (ib. ; Rashi ad loc.). 

The ceremony of blessing the sun is held to com- 
memorate the birth of that luminary on Wednesday 
eve of the Creation, which it is claimed was the 
exact time when the planets, including the sun and 
the moon and beginning with Saturn, were for the 
first time set in motion in the firmament by the Al- 
mighty. This calculation became obsolete after the 
adoption of R. Adda’s calendar, which makes the 
solar year about five minutes less (see Calendar), 
thus upsetting the theory of the coincidence of 
the Nisan equinox with Saturn at the beginning of 
Wednesday eve every twenty -eight years. Never- 
theless the ritual was still maintained, the celebra- 
tion being fixed for the first Wednesday in Nisan, 
which necessarily rendered the date irregular, some- 
times as many as sixteen days past the equinox. 
The ceremony originally began after sunrise, al- 
though most of the congregations in modern times 
commence it after the morning prayer, when the sun 
is about 90° above the eastern horizon. 

The blessing begins with a few appropriate verses: 
Ps. lxxxiv. 12, lxxii. 5, lxxv. 2; Mai. iii. 20; Ps, 
xcvii. 6; and Ps. cxlviii. in full. Then the benedic- 
tion of the Talmud, “Praised be the Lord our God, 
Maker of the genesis of Creation,” is recited, being 
followed by Ps. xix. and cxxi. Then are inserted 
the reference of Abaye in Berakot and the baraita 
of R. Hananiah b. ‘AVashyah (end of Makkot), 

“ Kaddisli di-Rabbanan.” The blessing ends with 
the following prayer: 

“May it please Thee, 0 Lord our God and God of our fathers, 
as Thou hast given us life and sustenance and hast permitted us 
to reach and celebrate this event, so mayest Thou prolong our 
life and sustenance and make us worthy again to render the 
blessing on the return of this cycle, which may reach us in glad- 
ness in the sight of Thy city rebuilt and in the enjoyment of 
Thy service ; that we may be privileged to see the face of Thy 
Messiah ; and that the prophecy may be fulfilled [citing Isa. 
xxx. 26].” 

The blessing is concluded with ‘“Alenu” and 
“'Kaddisli Yatom. ” An account of the celebration of 
1869, in which was included dancing by the children, 
is given in “Or ha-Hammali ” (p. 5). The blessing 

Of tiiG sun was cole brated Uy t lie Jews in USTew York 

city in 1S97 in Tompkins square. The completion 
of the cycle will occur during the twentieth century 
on April 1, 1925; March 18, 1953; and Aprils, 1981. 
Compare New Moon, Blessing of tiie. 

Bibliography : David Meldola, Boner Yizrah , Leghorn, 1785 ; 
Jekuthiel Aryeh Gershon, S ha' are Mizrali. , Cracow, 189(5 ; 
Solomon (Zalmon) Segner, Or ha-Hammafu Munkacs, 1897; 
La Benedizione del Sole , in ll Vessillo IsraeUtico (1S97L 
xlv. 73-76 ; Luncz, LualiErez Yisrael , 5657 (= 1897), p. 2. 
w. d. J. D. E. 

STJN, RISING AND SETTING OF THE : 

In order to fix the beginning and ending of the 
Sabbath-day and festivals and to determine the pre- 
cise hour for certain religious observances it becomes 
necessary to know the exact times of the rising and 
the setting of the sun. According to the strict 


interpretation of the Mosaic law, every day be- 
gins with sunrise and ends with sunset (Ibn Ezra, 
commentary on Ex. xviii. 14). This confirms 
the opinion of R. Jose that twilight is like the 
twinkling of the eye, that is to say, with sunset 
day immediately changes to night (Shab. 3oa). 
The Hebrew term “‘alot ha-shahar” (the rising 
of the morning) denotes the period immediately 
before sunrise (comp. Gen. xix. 15, 23). “ ‘Af‘appe 

shaliar ” (the brows of the morning) is the poetic ex- 
pression for the “dawning of the day ” (Job iii. 9). 
The morning star is called “barkai” (Yoma iii. 1) 
and “ ayyelet ha-shahar ” (Yer. Ber. i. 1). “ Neshef ” 

(Isa. xxi. 4) denotes either dawn or twilight (Ber. 
3b). 44 Bolter” is the beginning of the day; and 

“ ‘ereb ” is the beginning of the night. “ Ben ha- 
‘arbayim ” (Ex. xii. 6) is interpreted by the Rabbis 
as meaning the late afternoon, when the sun declines 
to its setting, while “ben ha-shemasliot ” (between 
the suns; i.e., between the setting of the sun and the 
rising of the moon or the appearance of the stars) 
denotes the evening twilight. The Rabbis consider 
it doubtful whether twilight belongs 
Dawn and to the day or to the night (Shab. 34b) ; 
Twilight, consequently they treat it as a safe- 


guard against encroachment upon 
either — for example, the twilight of Friday is reck- 
oned as Sabbath eve, and that of Saturday as Sab- 
bath day ; and the same rule applies to festival days. 
This practise is termed “adding from the secular to 
the holy.’’ 

The Rabbis differ as to tlie duration of twilight. 
They all agree that dawn ends when the upper limb 
of the sun appears (“henez ha-hammah ”), and that 
twilight begins when the same limb sinks below tlie 
horizon (“ sheki‘at ha-hammah ”). A baraita says: 
“Twilight begins with sunset and lasts as long as 
there remains a glowing reflection in the east: when 


the lower part of the heavens becomes pale and the 
upper part is still aglow it is twilight; and when 
the upper part likewise becomes pale it is night.” 

Twilight is indicated also by the appearance of 
stars:. If only one star is seen, it is day; if two 
are visible, the time is doubtful; when three stars 
appear, it is night. The stars observed are to be of 
a medium size, neither too large, as those seen by 
day, nor too small, as those seen late at night (ib.). 
It is conceded by all authorities that the appearance 
of the stars is a sign of night; and they cite Nell. 

iy. 15. 16 (A. V. 21. 22) to prove that the regular 
s laPor cease<l tlterewitn (Ralibenu Tam, in 

Tos. to Men. 20b, s.v. i>DE0)- 


R. Nehemiah says twilight lasts a journey of i mil 
(1 mil = 2,000 ells, or part of a day’s journey of 
12 hours = 18 minutes) = 9 minutes. Samuel gives 
the time as £ mil = 134 minutes; another version 


places it at f mil = 12 minutes (ib. 35a). 

The limit of twilight is important since it sepa- 
rates one day from another ; that of dawn is of less 
consequence, hence there are fewer opinions and 
less controversy with regard to it. The full period 
of the dawn, according to R. Johanan, is 5 mils, or 
90 minutes; that of twilight is the same (Pes. 84a). 
R. Judah fixes the time at 4 mils, or 72 minutes. 
Ibn Ezra estimates the extent of dawn or of twilight 
atl £ hours (commentary on Eccl. xii. 2) ; Rabbenu 



Sun, Rising and Setting 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


592 


Tam, at mils, or 581 minutes. Maimonides says 
dawn lasts li periodical hours (see Table IV.) as the 
reflection of the sun strikes the atmosphere, which 
is 511 mils above the earth (= 103,000 ells, or 68,667 
yds.). 

The divergent calculations of the length of dawn 
and twilight are accounted for by the difference in 
the latitude in which the Rabbis made their observa- 
tions and by the difference in regard to the use of 
terms. The period of £ <>f & uhl, or 131 minutes, is 
calculated for Jerusalem (lat. 82° N.)> and is evi- 
dently that of the first part of twilight, which is 
considered as being part of the day. At the end of 
134 minutes after sunset the sun would be about 
34° below the horizon, when the afterglow illumi- 
nates the eastern regions of the skv; the glow in the 
zenith lasts till the sun reaches 61° below the hori- 
zon (=26 minutes), when the stars become vis- 
ible and night sets in. The stars appear in the lati- 
tude of Jerusalem about 22 minutes after sunset 
in winter, and about 28 minutes in summer, while 
there still is seen the reflection of the sun’s rays 
traversing the earth’s atmosphere 
Astronom- above the spectator’s horizon, which 
ical lasts till the sun has disappeared 18° 
Twilight, below the horizon (= 72 minutes). 

This is known as the astronomical 
twilight, which increases with the inclination of 
the sun’s obliquity toward the poles (comp. Table 
III.). 

The full duration of the astronomical twilight 
is not considered in Jewish law, especially in the 
northern regions, where, beyond lat. 50°, between 
June 9 and July 9, and beyond 60°, between April 
20 and Aug. 18, dawn and twilight overlap each 
other. 

The highest Jewish authorities, including Mai- 
monides, estimate the full extent of dawn and twi- 
light at II “slia'ot zemanniyyot,” or periodical 
hours, whose length is equal to one-twelfth of either 
the day or the night, whichever is the longer. Thus 
if the day and the night each equal 12 hours of 
60 minutes each, the II periodical hours would 
contain 72 minutes; but when the day is 13 hours 
long every periodical hour contains 65 minutes, 
and the II hours are increased proportionately (see 
Table IV.). 

This calculation corresponds almost exactly with 
that of the astronomical twilight in latitudes near 
the equator; but with every degree northward the 
duration of the twilight increases till it is double in 
latitude 60°. Even Maimonides' shorter twilight of 
II periodical hours has to be divided at that latitude, 


one part belonging to the day, and the other part to 
the night. Or, as a precaution against possible error, 
the 11 periodical hours may be divided into three 
parts: (1) day, (2) doubtful, and (3) night. R. 
Moses Alashkar in his responsa (No. 96) gives a 
rough estimate of 40 minutes as the time which 
elapses “from the setting of the upper limb of the 
sun to the appearance of stars,” which corresponds 
with the average twilight of Maimonides at lati- 
tude 36°. 

Calculations of the rising and the setting of the 
sun are based on the appearance and disappear- 
ance respectively of its upper limb, and are made 
according to the European solar time. Standard or 
railroad time gives an arbitrary division by single 
hours drawn on irregular lines for the convenience 
of business ; hence it becomes necessary either to add 
to or to subtract from that time to ob- 
Standard tain a correspondence with solar time. 

and Jerusalem time is reckoned according 
Jerusalem to the Turkish system, beginning al- 
Time. ways at sunset, and counting 12 hours 
for the night and 12 hours for the day 
throughout the year (see page 594, Table I. , last col- 
umn). Jerusalem time was calculated by Hiyya 
David Spitzer from observations made on Tur, the 
highest point of Mount Olivet. 

The time for the morning “ Sliema' ” prayer, ac- 
cording to the “wetikin” (pious and punctual ob- 
servers of the precepts), is just before sunset, and is 
calculated so that the “Shemoneh ‘Esreli” begins 
exactly at sunrise (see Prayer). The wetikin in 
Jerusalem commence the morning prayer on week- 
days 36 minutes, and on Sabbaths and holy days 51 
minutes, before sunrise. The Psalms, the “She- 
maV’ and the benedictions are timed 
Fixed by the clock to end punctually at full 
Times for sunrise, when the “ ‘Amidali ” is re- 
Various cited. The elapsed time between the 
Occasions, appearance of the sun’s upper and 
that of its lower limb amounts to X V 
of an hour, or 6 minutes (Maimonides, “ Yad,” ICeri’at 
Shema‘, i. 11). The time-limit of the morning 
“Sbema* ” ends after three hours, or £ of the day 
(see also Miniiaii Prayer). 

The Sabbath candles are lighted on Friday late in 
the afternoon, when the sun’s rays touch only the 
tops of the trees. The earliest time is 1£ hours be- 
fore sunset; the latest, 15 minutes before sunset 
(“Lebusli lia-Tekelet,” 261, 2; 267, 2; comp. Shul- 
han ‘Aruk, Orah Hayyim, 261, 2; “Be’er Heteb,” 
ad Iog.). 

The time for ceasing to eat unleavened bread 


Time-Limits. 


14th of Nisan. 
Years. 

Corresponding 

Common 

Date. 

c.Q 

33 

Sunrise. 

Twilight U 
Periodical 
Hours. 

Jaffe. 

Isserles. 

Fourth 

Hour 

Ends. 

Fifth 

Hour 

Ends. 

| Limit for 

Fourth 

Hour 

Ends. 

Fifth 

Hour 

Ends. 

Limit for 

Eating 

Hamez. 

Burn- 

ing 

Hamez. 

Eating 

Hamez. 

Burn- 

ing 

Hamez. 

1905 

190(5 

1907 

April 19 

April 9 

March 29 

h. m. 
13 28 
13 2 

12 80 

5.15 

5.30 

5.51 

h. m. 

1 21 

1 18 

1 15 

! 

4.29 

5.20 

4.10 

5.36 

5.26 

5.12 

9.44 

9.50 

10.01 

10.51 

10.56 

11.03 

ca tom 
co 

6.10 

5.5S 

5.43 

10.11 

10.16 

10.26 

11.25 

11.28 

11.34 



Table I. 


Day 

of Month. 


Jan. 1 . . . 
5. . . 
10 ... 
1 :')... 
20... 

25.. . 
Feb. 1 . . . 

5. . . 

10.. . 

15. . . 

20 .. . 

25. . . 

March 1 . . . 
5. 


10... 

15.. . 

20.. . 

25.. . 
April 1... 

5. . . 

10.. . 

15.. . 

20.. . 

25.. . 
May 1... 

5. . . 

10.. . 

15.. . 

20.. . 

25.. . 
June 1. .. 

5... 

10 .. . 

15.. . 

20.. . 

25. . . 
July 1 . . . 

5... 

10 .. . 

15. . . 

20. . . 

25. . . 
Aug. 1... 

5... 

10.. . 

15. . . 

20.. . 

25.. . 
Sept. l... 

5. . . 

10.. . 

15.. . 

20.. . 

25.. . 
Oct. 1... 

5. . . 
• 10... 

15. . . 

20.. . 

25.. . 
Mov. 1... 

5. . . 

10.. . 

15.. . 

20.. . 

25.. . 
Dec. 1... 

5... 

10.. . 

15. . . 

20.. . 
25. . . 


L. 44° N. 

(For Maine, Nova Scotia, Northern 
New York, Michigan, Wisconsin, 
Minnesota, North and South Da- 
kota, Montana, Washington, 
Northern Oregon, Northern 
Idaho.) 

Portland, Me. 

L. 42°. 

(For Massachusetts. New Hampshire, 
Vermont, Central New York, Southern 
Michigan, Wisconsin, Northern Iowa, 
Wyoming, Southern Idaho, Southern 
Oregon.) 

Boston, Mass. 

If 

Sunrise. 

>-< o 

Sunset. 

> W 

Dawn 

Begins. 

Sunrise. 

£ >> 

>-4 O 

Sunset. 

£-4 



h. in. 

S 54 

4.31 

6.16 

5.48 

7.30 

h. m. 

9 8 

4.38 

6.20 


7.37 

8 58 

4.35 

6.21 

5.48 

7.30 

911 

4.41 

6.23 

5 51 

7.36 

94 

4.40 

6.25 

5.48 

7.29 

917 

4.46 

6.28 


7.34 

912 

4.46 

6.29 

5.48 

7.27 

9 24 

4.51 

0.32 

5.47 

7.30 

9 23 

4.53 

6.35 

5.48 

7.24 

9 34 

4.58 

6.36 

5 44 

7.26 

9 3‘3 

4.59 

6.40 

5.46 

7.20 

9 44 

5.04 

6.40 

5 39 

7.19 

9 50 

5.09 

6.49 

5.38 

7.14 

10 0 

5.14 

6.50 


7.14 

101 

5.15 

6.55 

5.34 

7.09 

10 10 

5.19 

6.54 

5 29 

7.07 

10 15 

5.22 

7.01 

5.29 

7.04 

10 22 

5.26 

6.59 

5 22 

7.00 

10 29 

5.29 

7.07 

5.24 

6.57 

10 35 

5.32 

7.06 


6.52 

1044 

5.36 

7.12 

5.17 

6.50 

10 48 

5.38 

7.12 

5 09 

6.44 

10 58 

5.42 

7.17 

5.09 

6.42 

1L3 

5.45 

7.18 

5.01 

6.37 

11 11 

5.48 

7.24 

5.02 

6.35 

11 15 

5.50 

7.23 

4.53 

6.30 

1123 


7.30 

4.56 

6.29 

1126 

5.55 

7.28 

443 

6.21 

11 39 

6.00 

7.37 

4.48 

6.21 

11 40 

6.01 

t .34 

4.34 

6.12 

1154 

6.06 

7.43 

4.39 

6.12 

11 55 

6.07 

7.41 

4 26 

6.03 

1210 

6.12 

7.49 

4.30 

6.03 

1210 

6.12 

7.46 

4.16 

5.53 

12 26 

6.19 

7.56 

4.22 

5.55 

12 24 

6.19 

7.52 

4 00 

5.40 

12 47 

6.27 

8.07 

4.08 

5.43 

12 43 

6.26 

8.01 

3.51 

5.33 

12 59 

6.32 

8.14 

3.59 

5.36 

12 54 

6.30 

8.07 

3.41 

5.24 

1315 

6.39 

8.21 

3.49 

5.27 

13 8 

6.35 

8.13 

3.29 

5.15 

13 30 

6.45 

8.30 

3.39 

5.19 

13 21 

6.40 

8.21 

3 19 

5.07 

13 44 

6.51 

8.39 

3.29 

5.11 

13 34 

6.45 

8.28 

a 11 

4.58 

13 59 

6.57 

8.46 

3.21 

5.03 

13 49 

6.52 

8.36 

2 52 

4.49 

14 16 

7.05 

9.01 

3.07 

4.54 

14 5 

6.59 

8.4i 

2 45 

4.44 

14 25 

7.09 

9.06 

3.00 

4.49 

14 14 

7.03 

8.54 

2^36 

4.37 

14 38 

7.15 

9.14 

2.53 

4.44 

14 24 

7.08 

9.02 

2 26 

4.31 

14 50 

7.21 

9.27 

2.44 

4.39 

14 34 

7.13 

9.10 

216 

4.26 

15 0 

7.26 

9.37 

2.35 

4.36 

14 42 

7.18 

9.18 

2jQ6 

4 22 

15 10 

7.32 

9.45 

2 26 

4.30 

14 53 

7.23 

9/26 

1 55 

4.17 

15 21 

7.38 

10.00 

2.17 

4.25 

15 4 

7.29 

9.37 

1 51 

4.15 

15 26 

7.41 

10.06 

2.14 

4.23 

15 9 

7.32 

9.41 

1*47 

4.14 

15 30 

7.44 

10.12 

2.11 

4.22 

15 13 

7.35 

9.47 

144 

4.13 

15 34 

7.47 

10.16 

2.09 

4.22 

15 16 

7.38 

9.51 

144 

4.14 


7.49 

10.18 

2.08 

4.23 

15 16 

7.39 

9.53 

1 45 

4.15 

15 34 

7.49 

10.18 

2.08 

4.25 

15 15 

7.40 

7.40 

9.54 


4.18 

15 31 

7.49 

10.10 

2.12 

4.26 

1514 

9.54 

2 03 

4.20 

15 28 

7.48 

10.04 

2.17 

4.28 

1511 

7.39 

9.50 

2.12 

4.24 

15 22 

7.46 

9.58 

2.23 

4.32 

15 6 

7.38 

9.44 

2.20 

4.28 

15 15 

7.43 

9.51 

2.30 

4.36 

14 59 

7.35 

9.40 

2.27 

4.32 

15 7 

7.39 

9.44 

2.37 

4.40 

14 52 

7.32 

9.35 

2.36 

4.37 

14 57 

7.34 

9.36 

2.44 

4.45 

14 42 

7.27 

9.28 

2.46 

4.46 

14 40 

7.26 

9.25 

2.55 

4.52 

14 28 

7.20 

9.17 

2.55 

4.51 

14 30 

7.21 

9.15 

3.02 

4.56 

14 19 

7.15 

9.09 

3.06 

4.57 

14 17 

7.14 

9.03 

3.12 

5.01 

14 8 

7.09 

8.59 

3.15 

5.02 

14 4 

7.06 

8.52 

3.21 

5.06 

13 56 

7.02 

8.49 

3*23 

5.07 

13 51 

6.58 

S.41 

3.27 

5.11 

13 44 

6.55 

8.39 

3 33 

5.14 

13 35 

6.49 

8.30 

I 3.33 

5.17 

13 31 

6.48 

8.30 

3.40 

5.22 

13 15 

6.37 

8.20 

3.44 

5.24 

1312 

6.36 

8.16 

3*48 

5.27 

13 3 

6.30 

8.11 

3.49 

5.29 

131 

6.30 

8.09 

3.55 

5.33 

12 47 

6.20 

7.59 

3.55 

5.34 

12 47 

6.21 

7.59 

4.01 

5.39 

12 32 

6.11 

7.48 

4.00 

5.39 

12 33 

6.12 

7.48 

4.07 

5.45 

1216 

6.01 

7.39 

4.07 

5.44 

12 20 

6.04 

7.38 

4.13 

5.51 

121 

5.52 

7.30 

4.14 

5.49 

12 5 

5.54 

7.28 

4.22 

5.58 

11 43 

5.41 

7.16 

7.10 

4.23 

5.56 

1147 

5.43 

7.17 

4/28 

6.03 

11 30 

5.33 

4.27 

6.01 

1137 

5.38 

7.10 

4.35 

6.09 

11 16 

5.25 

6.59 

4.33 

6.06 

1123 

5.29 

7.00 

4*40 

6.16 

110 

5.16 

6.51 

4.39 

6.12 

118 

5.20 

6.52 

4.45 

6.22 

10 45 

5.07 

6.43 

4.44 

6.18 

10 55 

5.13 

6.45 

4.50 

6.29 

10 30 

4.59 

6.35 

4.51 

6.24 

10 41 

5.05 

6.38 

5.00 

6.38 

10 11 

4.49 

6.28 

4.58 

6.33 

10 22 

4.55 

6.30 

5.04 

6.44 

10 0 

4.44 

6.24 

5.02 

6.38 

1012 

4 50 

6.26 

5.10 

6.51 

9 47 

4.38 

6.18 

5.07 

6.44 

10 0 

4.44 

6.21 

5* 16 

6.57 

9 35 

4.32 

6.15 

5.13 

6.51 

9 48 

4.39 

6.18 

5.20 

7.04 

9 24 

4.28 

6.12 

5.18 

6.57 

9 38 

4.35 

6.14 

5*25 

7.10 

9 14 

4,24 

6.10 

5.23 

7-03 

9 28 

4.31 

6.12 

5*32 

7.17 

94 

4.21 

6.07 

5.29 

7.10 

919 

4.29 

6.09 

o.3'i 

7.22 

858 

4.20 

6.07 

5.33 

7.14 

914 

4.28 

6.08 

5.39 

7.27 

853 

4.20 

6.08 

5.37 

7.19 

99 

4 28 

6.0S 

5.43 

7.31 

8 50 

4.21 

6.09 

5.41 

7.23 

95 

4.28 

6.09 


7.34 

8 49 

4.23 

6.09 

5.43 

7.26 

94 

4.30 

6.11 

5.47 

7.36 

8 50 

4.26 

6.10 

5.45 

7.28 

94 

4.33 

6.14 > 

! 


L. 40°. 

{For Southern New York. Connecti- 
cut, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, 
New Jersey, Northern Ohio, In- 
diana and Illinois, Southern Iowa, 
Nebraska, Northern Colorado, 
Utah, Nevada, California.) 

New York City. Chicago, 111. 




'5.46 

5.46 

5.46 

5.47 

5.45 
5.43 

5.37 

5.33 

5.29 

5.20 
5.17 
5.10 

5.03 

4.56 

4.49 

4.40 

4.33 

4.24 

4.12 

4.04 

3.54 

3.46 
3.36 
3.23 

3.16 

3.09 
3.02 

2.54 

2.46 

2.38 

2.32 

2.29 
2 27 
2*5 

2.25 

2.26 
2.28 

2.33 

2.38 

2.45 

2.50 

2.56 

3.06 

3.12 
3.19 
3.27 

3.34 

3.41 

3.50 

3.54 

4.00 

1.06 

4.12 

4.16 
4.25 

4.29 

4.35 

4.39 

4.45 

4.50 

4.57 

5.01 

5.09 

5.12 

5.17 

5.21 
5 27 

5.30 

5.35 
5.38 

5.41 
5.43 


cO 

Cc_, 

iJ o 


7.4 r> I 
7.25 i 
7.25 
7.23 

7.19 

7.16 

7.10 

7.06 
7.01 

6.54 

6.48 

6.41 
6.&5 
6.29 
6.21 
6.12 

6.04 

5.57 
5.45 

5.37 

5.28 

5.21 

5.13 

5.06 
4.59 

4.55 
4.50 
4.44 

4.39 

4.35 
4.31 

4.29 

4.28 
4.28 

4.29 

4.30 

4.31 

4.33 

4.37 

4.41 

4.44 

4.49 

4.56 

5.00 

5.05 

5.10 

5.15 

5.20 

5.27 

5.31 

5.36 

5.41 

5.45 

5.50 

5.56 

6.00 

6.05 

6.10 

6.15 

6.21 
6.29 

6.34 

6.40 
6.47 
6.53 

6.58 

7.05 
7.09 

7.14 

7.17 
7.20 
7.22 


h. m. 
918 
9 21 
9 26 

9 33 
944 

9 52 
10 8 
1016 

10 28 
10 41 

10 52 
115 
1116 
1126 
1140 
1154 
12 7 
12 20 
12 39 

12 51 

13 5 
13 17 
13 30 
13 43 

13 56 

14 4 
1414 
14 25 
14 35 
14 43 
14 53 

14 57 
151 

15 4 
15 5 
15 5 
15 4 
151 
14 56 
14 49 
14 43 
14 33 
14 20 
14 12 
141 
13 49 
13 38 
13 25 
13 6 
12 56 
12 43 
12 29 
12 17 
12 8 

11 47 

II 3S 
11 26 
11 13 

III 

10 47 
10 30 
10 20 
10 9 

956 
9 46 
9 37 
9 29 
924 
919 
917 
9 16 
916 


4.43 

4.46 

4.51 
4.56 

5.03 

5.08 
5.18 

5.22 

5.29 
5.35 
5.40 

5.46 

5.51 

5.55 
6.01 
6.06 
6.11 

6.17 
6.24 
6.28 

6.33 

6.38 

6.43 

6.49 

6.55 
6.59 

7.04 

7.09 
7.14 

7.18 
7:24 

7.26 

7.29 

7.32 

7.34 

7.35 
7.35 

7.34 

7.33 

7.30 

7.27 

7.22 

7.16 
7.12 
7.06 

6.59 

6.53 
6.45 

6.33 

6.27 

6.19 

6.10 
6 . 02 . 

5.53 

5.43 

5.38 

5.31 

5.23 

5.16 
5.08 

4.59 

4.54 

4.49 

4.43 

4.39 

4.35 

4.34 
4.33 

4.33 

4.34 

4.36 
4.38 


> £2 
c 


6.22 

6.24 

6.29 

6.33 

6.38 

6.42 
6.51 
6.55 

7.00 
7.06 

7.12 

7.17 

7.22 

7.27 

7.32 

7.39 

7.44 
7:49 
756 

8.01 

8.08 

8.15 

8.21 

8.29 

8.32 
8.38 

8.45 
8.53. 
9.00 

9.05 

9.23 

9.27 

9.32 

9.34 

9.36 

9.37 
9.37 

9.34 

9.31 
9.26 

9.21 

9.15 

9.06 
8.59 

8.50 
8.41 

8.33 

8.23 
8.10 
8.03 
7.54 

7.45 
7.36 

7.28 

7.16 
7.08 
6.58 

6.50 

6.43 

6.35 

6.31 
6 27 

6.21 

6.18 

6.15 

6.13 
6.11 
6.11 
6.11 
6.12 

6.14 

6.16 


XI.— 38 



Table I. — Continued. 


Bay 

of Month. 

L. 38°-oG°. 

(For District of Columbia, 
Delaware, Maryland. Vir- 
ginia, West Virginia, South- 
ern Ohio, Southern Indiana, 
Southern Illinois, Northern 
Missouri, Kansas, Central 
Colorado, Central Utah, 
Central Nebraska, Central 
California.) 

Washington, D. C. 

Norfolk, Va. 

L. 34°-32°. 

(For South Carolina, 
Northern Georgia, 
Alabama, Mississip- 
pi, Louisiana, Texas, 
Southern New Mex- 
ico, Arizona, and Cal- 
ifornia.) 

Savannah, Ga. 

Charleston, S. C. 


£ S 

CD 

‘t, 

c 

cc 

Length 
of Day. 

Sunset. 

fct to 

•p R 

EH 

1 

> .q 

5 & 

6 

w 

£ 

m 

Length 
of Day. 

o 

M 

Z 

65 

Twilight 

Ends. 

Jan. 1. . . . 

5.43 

7. It 

h. m 
9 30 

4.49 

6.25 

5.3c 

7.0c 

b. m 
10 2 

5. or 

>6.33 

5. . . . 

5.44 

7.11 

9 33 

4.52 

6.26 

5.3" 

7.01 

10 5 

5,(k 

5 6.34 

10.... 

5.45 

7.11 

9 38 

4.57 

6.31 

5.3 

7.0c 

10 10 

5.1c 

6.39 

15. . . . 

5.44 

7.17 

9 45 

5.02 

6.34 

5.3t 

7.o; 

10 15 

5.1“ 

6.42 

20.... 

! 5.43 

7.1- 

9 54 

5.08 

6.39 

5.31 

7.01 

3019 

5.21 

16.47 

25.... 

5.41 

7.L 

10 2 

5.13 

6.45 

5.31 

6.59 

10 26 

5.21 

6.50 

Feb. 1.... 

5.36 

7 .04 

10 16 

5.22 

6.52 

5.3: 

6.56 

10 36 

O . Or, 

6.57 

5. . . . 

5.32 

7.0; 

JO 24 

5.26 

6.55 

5.25 

6.5b 

10 43 

5.36 

7.00 

10.... 

5.27 

6.57 

10 34 

5.31 

7.02 

5.25 

6.4b 

30 53 

5.41 

7.04 

15.... 

5.21 

6.52 

10 45 

5.37 

7.05 

5.2C 

6.43 

113 

5.46 

7.08 

20.... 

5.16 

6.40 

10 56 

5.42 

7.11 

5.16 

6.3b 

11 12 

5.56 

7.11 

25. . . . 

5.10 

6.4C 

11 7 

5.47 

7.16 

5. LI 

6.33 

1120 

5.5’d 

7.10 

March 1 — 

5.04 

6.33 

11 19 

5.52 

7.21 

5.07 

6.28 

1129 

o.o< 

7.19 

5.... 

4.58 

6.28 

11 28 

5.56 

7.26 

5.02 

6.24 

1130 

0.0( 

7.23 

10.... 

4.50 

6.2( 

11 U 

6.01 

7.31 

4.55 

6.19 

11 45 

6.01 

7.26 

15.... 

4.42 

6.12 

11 54 

G.06 

7.36 

4.48 

6.11 

11 57 

6.08 

7.31 

20.... 

4.35 

6.05 

126 

6.11 

7.41 

4.41 

6.05 

12 6 

6.11 

7.35 

25. . . . 

4.27 

5.57 

12 19 

6.16 

7.45 

4.35 

5.68 

1217 

6.15 

7.38 

April 1 — 

4.15 

5.46 

12 36 

6.22 

7.53 

4.25 

5.49 

12 31 

6.26 

7.43 

5. . . . 

4.07 

5.4C 

12 45 

6.25 

7.58 

4.2C 

5.44 

12 39 

6.2c 

7,46 

10.... 

3.58 

5.31 

12 59 

6.30 

8.05 

4.13 

5.37 

12 49 

6.26 

7.50 

15. . . . 

3.49 

5.24 

1311 

6.35 

S.ll 

4.04 

5.31 

12 59 

6.30 

7.55 

20.... 

3.40 

5.17 

13 23 

6.40 

8.16 

3.57 

5. 2o 

138 

6,3b 

8.00 

25. . . . 

3.33 

5.10 

13 35 

6.45 

8.23 

3.51 

5.20 

13 17 

6.37 

8.05 

May 1. . . . 

3.22 

5.02 

13 50 

6.52 

8.32 

3.43 

5.13 

13 28 

6.41 

8.11 

5. . . . 

3.15 

4.58 

13 59 

6.55 

8.38 

3.38 

5.10 

13 35 

6.45 

8.15 

10.... 

3.08 

4.53 

14 7 

7.00 

8.45 

3.32 

5.05 

13 43 

6.48 

8.20 

15 

3.00 

4.48 

14 17 

7.05 

8.53 

3.27 

5.02 

13 49 

6.51 

8.26 

20.... 

2.54 

4.44 

14 25 

7.09 

9.00 

3.22 

4.59 

13 55 

6.54 

8.31 

25.... 

2.4S 

4.41 

14 32 

7,13 

9.05 

3.18 

4.56 

141 

6.57 

8.35 

Juue 1 

2.41 

4.36 

14 42 

7.18 

9.13 

3.13 

4.03 

14 8 

7.01 

8.41 

5. . . . 

2.38 

4.35 

14 45 

7.20 

9.17 

3.12 

4.52 

14 11 

7.03 

8.44 

10.... 

2.36 

4.34 

14 49 

7.23 

9.21 

3.11 

T.52 

14 33 

7.05 

8.47 

15. . . . 

2.35 

4.33 

14 54 

7.27 

9.24 

3.10 

4.a2 

14 16 

7.08 

8.50 

20.... 

2.35 

4.34 

14 54 

7.28 

9.26 

3.10 

4.52 

14 18 

7.10 

8.52 

25 ... . 

2.35 

4.35 

14 54 

7.29 

9.27 

3.11 

4.o3 

14 18 

7.11 

8.52 

July 1.,.. 

2.39 

4.37 

14 52 

7 19 

9.27 

3.13 

4.55 

14 16 

7.11 

8.53 

5 

2.42 

4.39 

14 49 

7,28 

9.25 

3.16 

4.57 

14 14 

7.11 

8.52 

10.... 

2.47 

4.43 

14 44 

7.27 

9.22 

3.19 

5.00 

14 10 

7.10 

8.51 

15. . . . 

2.53 

4.47 

14 37 

7,24 

9.16 

3.23 

5.03 

14 6 

7.09 

8.48 

20. . . . 

2.58 

4.51 

14 30 

7.21 

9.12 

3.27 

5.05 

142 

7.07 

8.45 

25.... 

3.04 

4.55 

14 22 

7,17 

9.07 

3.32 

5.08 

13 56 

7.04 

8.40 

Aug. 1.... 

3.14 

5.00 

1412 

7 12 

8.58 

3.39 

5.13 

13 45 

6.5S 

8.33 

5 

3.19 

5.03 

14 5 

7.08 

8.52 

3.43 

5. 16 

13 38 

6.54 

8.28 

10.... 

3.26 

5.08 

13 54 

7.02 

8.44 

3.47 

5.19 

13 30 

6.49 

8.22 

15. . . . 

3.33 

5.13 

13 42 

6.55 

8.37 

3.52 

5.22 

13 22 

6.44 

8.14 

20. . . . 

3.40 

5.18 

13 31 

6.49 

8.28 

3.57 

5.26 

1313 

6.39 

8.08 

25. . . . 

3.45 

5.22 

13 20 

6.42 

8.20 

4.01 

5.29 

13 5 

6.34 

8.02 

Sept. 1.... 

3.54 

5.29 

13 2 

6.31 

8.06 

4.08 

5.35 

12 50 

6.25 

/ .o2 

5. . . . 

3.58 

5.33 

12 52 

6.25 

7.59 

4.11 

5.37 

12 43 

6.20 

7.45 

10.... 

4.01 

5.37 

32 41 

6.18 

7.51 

4.15 

5.40 

32 30 

6.14 

7.39 

15.... 

4.09 

5.41 

1229 

6.10 

7.41 

4.19, 

5.43 

12 24 

6.07 

7.30 

20.... 

4.16 

5.45 

12 17 

6.02 

7.32 

4.23, 

5.47 

12 14 

6.01 

7.23 

25.... 

4.20 

5.50 

12 3 

5.53 

7.25 

4.26, 

5.49 

12 5 

5.54 

7.17 

Oct. 1.... 

4.27 

5.56 

11 47 

5.43 

7.13 

4.32, 

5.54! 

1 L 51 

5.45 

7.08 

5.... 

4.31 

6.00 

11 38 

5.38 

7.06 

4.34 ; 

5.50! 

1145 

5.41 

7.04 

10.... 

4.36 

6.04 

11 27 

5.31 

6.58 

4.3/ 1 

LOUj ]] 35 

o . So 

6.57 

15.... 

4.41 i 

6.10 

1L 14 

5.24 

6.51 

4.40 i 

[>.05! 

31 24 

5.29 

6.51 

20.... 

4.46 < 

6.14 

310 

5.16 

6.45 

4.45 « 

;.U7 

11 36 

5.23 

6.45 

25.... 

4.51 i 

6.21 

10 49 

5.10 

6.38 

4.49 I 

>.ii ! 

11 7 

5.l8i 

6.40 

Nov. 1. . . . 

4.57 * 

6.29 

10 32 

5.01 

6.31 

4.54 1 

j. 16; 10 55 

5.11 1 

6.34 

5 . . . . 

5.01 1 

5.34 

10 23 

4.57 

6.27 

4.57 i 

>.20: 

JO 4S 

5.08 I 

6.30 

10.... 

5.05 1 

5.40 

10 12 

4.52 

6.23 

5.01 ( 

6.25: 

10 38 

5.03 i 

6.27 

15.... 

5.09 1 

3.47 

100 

4.47 

6.20 

5.05 < 

i.30; ]0 30 

5.00 l 

6 25 

20. . . . 

5.14 1 

3.53 

9 51 

4.44 

6.18 

5.09 ( 

J.35; 

10 22 

1.57 l 

6.23 

25.... 

5.18 < 

3.58 

9 43 

4.41 

6.16 • 

5.13 ( 

>.39; ]Q 16 

1.55 1 

6.21 

Dec. 1 

5.25 ( 

3.59 

9 41 

4.40 

6.13 ■ 

5.17 ( 

3.44 

1011 

1.55 ( 

>.21 

5.... 

5.28 : 

r.03 

9 35 

4.38 

6.14 ■ 

5.20 ( 

>.47 

10 8 

1.55 ( 

3.22 

10.... 

5.33 ; 

r.os 

930 

4.38 

6.14 ■ 

5.23 ( 

3.51 

104 

1.55 ( 

3.24 

15.... 

5.35 * 

r.12 

9 27 

4.39 

6.15 ■ 

5.26 ( 

>,54- 

10 2 

1.56 ( 

3.26 

20.... 

5.38 ' 

r.14 

9 26 

4.40 

6.17 i 

5.29 t 

3.57 

101 

1.58 ( 

3.28 

25.... 

5.40 < 

r.ie 

9 27 

4.48 

6.19 i 

5.31 1 

r.oi 

9 59 

>.00 ( 

>.31 


L. 80 o -28°. 

(For Florida, Southern Geor- 
gia, Alabama, Mississippi, 
Louisiana, and Texas.) 
Pensacola, Fla. 

New Orleans, La. 


>a 

£ 3) 

rj o 

t— i 


5.30 

5.32 

5.33 
5.33 

5.32 

5.31 

5.29 

5.26 

5.22 

5.18 

5.15 
5.11 

5.07 
5.02 

4.56 
4.53 
4.43 

4.38 

4.29 

4.24 

4.18 
4.10 
4.04 

3.58 

3.51 
3.46 

3.41 
3.36 

3.33 

3.29 

3.24 

3.23 
3.22 
3.22 

3.22 

3.23 

3.25 

3.27 

3.30 

3.35 

3.38 

3.42 

3.48 

3.52 

3.56 

3.59 
4.04 

4.08 
4.14 

4.16 

4.19 

4.23 

4.27 

4.30 

4.34 

4.36 

4.39 

4.42 
4.44 

4.48 

4.53 

4.57 
5.00 
5.02 
5.06 

5.09 
513 

5.16 
5.21 

5.23 

5.26 

5.28 


6.57 

6.58 
6.58 

6.57 
6.56 
6.55 
6.51 
6.48 
6.43 

6.39 
0.35 
6 30 
6.26 
6.22 
6.16 
6.10 

6.05 

5.58 
5.50 
5.45 

5.39 

5.34 
5.29 
5.24 

5.17 
5.14 
5.11 

5.07 

5.05 
5.02 
5.00 

4.59 
4.59 
4.59 

4.59 

5.00 

5.01 

5.02 

5.05 

5.08 
5.11 

5.14 
5.19 

5.21 
5.24 
5.27 

5.29 
5.32 

5.37 
5.39 
5 .42 
5.44 
5.47 
5.50 

5.53 
5.56 

5.59 

6.02 

6.06 

6.09 

6.14 

6.17 

6.21 

6.26 

6.29 

6.34 

6.38 
6.41 
6.46 
6.49 
6.52 

6.54 


h. m. | 
1014 5.11 6. i 
1016 5.14' 

10 20 5.181 
10 24 5.21 


XHi ‘i O U 

12 53 6 
131 


13 33 
13 40 
13 45 |o. 
13 50 6. 


10 29 
10 37 

10 46 
1053 
112 
1110 
11 17 

11 26 
1133 
1140 
1147 
1158 
12 7 

12 17 o.iuu .£ 
12 29 6.19 7. € 

io o« oi hr i 


5*29 

5.37 

5.41 

5.45 


5.56 . 
5.59 7 
6.02 ~ 
6.05 . 
6.08 7 
6.12 7. 
6.15 7. 


14 0 
14 3 
14 5 
14 4 
14 4 
14 2 


7.* 04, 
7.04 
7. 05 1 
7.041 


10 40 5.04 
10 32 15.01 
10 26 15.00 


13 49 
13 43 
13 34 
13 28 
13 21 
13 14 
13 7 
12 59 
12 46 
12 39 

12 30 ivj. j,v i i 
12 22 6.06 7 

i.-» -i a n m ~ 


6.41 8 
6.36 8 
6.31 7 
6.23 7 
6.18 7, 
6.12 7. 


.22 


U.w f 

12 14 6.01 7 
12 4 5.54 7. 

11 53 5.46 7.06 

1146 5 

1137 o.oum.DD 
1129 5.31 6.51 
11 19 •" 

1111 r 
110 5 
10 54 
10 47 


.41 


-5 6.46 
20|'j.40 
14 5.35 




5 ! 08 81.30 


5.00 

5.00 

5.01 


10 22 
10 19 

1G In |.j.ui j 
1013 in. 021(5 2S 


>.32 


4.28 

6.26 

6.25 
0.25 

6.26 
6.27 


Jerusalem. 

(From Special Observa- 
tions; Turkish Time 
Beginning from 
Sunset.) 


. r-l ta 

- > R 

q 5 & 

7 a o> 

- ^CQ 

Sunrise. 

g <2 M 

a 

3 

<5 

$ >> 
cQ 

1-1 o 

;8 12.27 

1.46 

3.21 

6.5c 

ll. UK. 

5 3014 

0 12.25 

1.44 

3.19 

6. 55 

5 1016 

2 12.21 

1.40 

3.16 

6.5C 

) 10 20 

8 12.15 

1.35 

3.13 

6.4k 

5 10 25 

1 12.11 

1.30 

3.09 

6.4c 

10 30 

5 12.05 

1.24 

3.05 

6.45 

10 86 

6 11.56 

1.16 

2.58 

6.3b 

10 44 

7 11.48 

1,10 

2.53 

6.35 

10 50 

5 11.38 

1.01 

2.46 

6.31 

10 59 

0 11.28 

12.52 

2.38 

6.20 

1108 

2 11.18 

12.44 

2.31 

6.22 

1116 

6 11.07 

12.35 

2.23 

6.18 

11 25 

9 10.57 

12.25 

2.16 

6.13 

1135 

2 10.50 

12.18 

2.10 

6.06 

1142 

5 10.39 

12.09 

2.02 

6.05 

1151 

9 10.30 

12.00 

1.54 

6.00 

12 00- 

3 10.19 

11.50 

1.47 

5.55 

12 10 

5 10.09 

13.41 

1.39 

5.50 

12 19 

9 9.55 

11.28 

1.28 

5.44 

12 32 

2 9.47 

11.21 

3.22 

5.41 

12 39 

5 9.37 

11.11 

1.13 

5.36 

12 49 

9 9.27 

11.02 

1.05 

5.31 

12 58 

1 9.15 

10.53 

12.59 

5.27 

13 07 

3 9.05 

10.44 

32.52 

5.22 

13 36- 

> 8.54 

10.34 

12.43 

5.17 

13 26 

1 8.46 

30.27 

12.38 

5.14 

1333 

i 8.36 

10.19 

12.30 

5.09 

13 41 

? 8.27 

10.13 

12.23 

5.06 

13 49 

2 8.18 

10.04 

12.17 

5.02 

13 56 

3 8.12 

9.58 

12.12 

4.59 

34 02 

L 8.04 

9.51 : 

12.06 

4.56 

14 09 

J 8.00 

9.47 

12.03 

4.54 

1413 

r 7.57 

9.45 

12.01 

4.53 

1415 

> 7.55 

9.43 

11.59 

4.52 

14 17 

1 7.53 

9.41 

11.57 

4.51 

14 19 

1 7.55 

9.41 

11.57 

4.51 

14 19 

L 7.55 

9.43 

11.59 

4.52 

1417 

) 7.57 

9.45 

12.01 

4.53 

14 15 

i 8.00 

9.47 

12.03 

4.54 

14 13 

> 8.06 

9.52 

12.07 

4.56 

14 08 

1 8.11 

9.57 

12.11 

4.58 

14 03 

) 8.17 

10.02 

12.16 

5.01 

13 58 

- 8.28 

10.13 

12.25 

5.07 

13 47 

1 8.36 

30.19 

32.30 

5.09 

13 41 

! 8.40 

10.27 

12.38 

5.14 

13 33- 

' 8.55 

10.35 

12.45 

5.18 

13 25 

1 9.05 

10.44 

12.52 

5.22 

1316 

9.15 

10.53 

12.59 

5.27 

13 07 

i 9.30 

11.06 

1.08 

5.33 

12 54 

9.39 

11.13 

1.15 

5.37 

12 47 

i 9.49 

11.22 

1.24 

5.41 

12 38- 

; 9.59 

11.32 

1.31. 

5.45 

32 28 

! 10.09 

11.41 

1.39 

5.50 

1219 

10.19 

11.50 

1.47 

5.55 

12 30 

10.31 

12.01 

1.56 

6.01 

1150 

10.39 

12.09 

2.02 i 

6.05 

11 51 

10.50 

12.18 

2.10 i 

6.09 

11 42 

10.59 

12.27 

2.17 i 

6.14 

31 33 

11.10 

12.36 

2.25 i 

6.18 

1124 

11.20 

12.45 

2.32 l 

6.23 

11 15 

11.34 

12.58 

2.43 1 

6.29 

3102 

11.42 

1.05 

2.49 l 

6.33 

10 55 

11.52 

1.13 

2.56 i 

5.37 

10 47 

12.00 

1.20 

3.01 l 

3.40 

1010 

12.07 

1.26 

3.06 ( 

6.43 

10 34 

12.12 

1.31 

3.09 ( 

6.i0 

10 29 

12.17 

1.37 

3.14 1 

5.49 

10 23 

1:2.22 

1.41 

3.16 ( 

3.51 

10 19 

12.25 

1.44 

3.19 t 

5.52 

1016 

12.28 

1.47 

3.22 ( 

3.54 

3013 

12.30 

1.49 

3.24 ( 

3.55 

10 11 

12.30 

1.49 

3.24 ( 

3.55 

10 11 



Table II. 


Day 

of Month. 

L. 60° N. 

St. Petersburg, 
Russia. 

L. 58°. 

Scotland; Government 
of Novgorod, 
Russia. 

L. 56°. 

Government of Moscow ; 
Nijni-N ovgorod, 

Russia. 

L. 54°. 

Ireland; North Germany; 

Governments of Wilna, 
Grodno, Minsk, Moghilef. 


Sun- 

Length 

Sun- 

Sun- 

Length 

■Sun- 

Sun- 

Length 

Sun- 

Sun- 

Length 

Sun- 


rise. 

of Day. 

set. 

rise. 

of Day. 

set. 

rise. 

of Day. 

set. 

rise. 

of Day. 

set. 



h. m. 



h. in. 



li. m. 



h.m. 


Jan. 1 

8.57 

6 20 

3.17 

8.41 

6 52 

3.33 

8.28 

7 18 

3.46 

8.17 

7 40 

3.57 

10 

8.51 

6 35 

3.26 

8.36 

75 

3.41 

8.23 

7 31 

3.54 

8.12 

7 53 

4.05 

21 

8.34 

717 

3.51 

8.22 

7 41 

4.03 

8.11 

88 

4.14 

8.02 

8 23 

4.25 

81 

8.13 

8 3 

4.16 

8.03 

8 23 

4.26 

7.52 

8 43 

4.35 

7.46 

8 57 

4.43 

Feb. 10 

7.47 

8 56 

4.43 

7.40 

910 

4.50 

7.33 

9 24 

4.57 

7.27 

9 36 

5.03 

20 

7.18 

9 52 

5.10 

7.13 

10 2 

5.15 

7.09 

10 10 

5.19 

7.05 

1018 

523 

March 2 

6.50 

10 44 

5.34 

6.47 

10 52 

5.39 

6.44 

10 56 

5.40 

6.42 

110 

5.42 

12 

6.21 

11 38 

5.59 

6.20 

11 40 

6.00 

6.19 

1142 

6.01 

6.18 

1144 

6.02 

OO 

5.51 

12 28 

6.19 

5.52 

12 30 

6.22 

5.53 

12 28 

6.21 

5.54 

12 26 

6.20 

April 1 

5.19 

13 30 

6.49 

5.23 

13 22 

6.45 

5.26 

13 16 

6.42 

5.29 

13 10 

6.39 

11 

4.49 

14 25 

7.14 

4.55 

14 13 

7.08 

5.00 

14 3 

7.03 

5.05 

13 53 

6.58 

21 

4.20 

15 18 

7.38 

4.28 

15 2 

7.30 

4.35 

14 48 

7.23 

4.42 

14 34 

7.16 

May 1 

3.53 

16 9 

S.02 

4.03 

15 49 

7.52 

4.12 

15 21 

7.43 

4.20 

1515 

7.35 

11 

3.28 

16 58 

8.26 

3.41 

16 32 

8.13 

3.52 

1610 

8.02 

4.01 

15 52 

7.53 

21 

3.05 

17 44 

8.49 

3.20 

17 14 

8.34 

3.34 

16 46 

8.20 

3.46 

16 22 

8.08 

31 

2.28 

18 21 

9.09 

3.06 

17 45 

8.51 

3.22 

1713 

8.35 

3.34 

16 49 

8.23 

June 10 

2.38 

18 44 

9 9*2 

2.58 

18 4 

9.02 

3.15 

17 30 

8.45 

3.29 

17 2 

8.31 

20 

2.36 

18 52 

9.28 

2.57 

1810 

9.07 

3.14 

17 36 

8.50 

3.28 

17 8 

8.36 

30 

2.44 

18 40 

9.24 

3.04 

18 0 

9.04 

3.20 

17 28 

8.48 

3.33 

17 2 

8.35 

July 10 

2.58 

1814 

9.12 

3.15 

17 40 

8.55 

3.30 

17 10 

8.40 

3.42 

16 46 

8.28 

20 

3.19 

17 34 

8.53 

3.33 

17 6 

8.39 

3.46 

16 40 

8.26 

3.57 

1618 

8.15 

30 

3.40 

16 51 

8.31 

3.53 

16 25 

8.18 

4.03 

16 5 

8.08 

4.12 

15 47 

7.59 

Aug. 9 

4.02 

165 

8.07 

4.14 

15 41 

7.55 

4 °2 

15 25 

7.47 

4.29 

loll 

7.40 

19 

4.28 

15 8 

7.36 

4.35 

14 54 

7.29 

4A2 

14 40 

7.22 

4.47 

14 30 

7.17 

29 

4.53 

14 14 

7.07 

4.58 

14 4 

7.02 

5.02 

13 56 

6.58 

5.06 

13 48 

6.54 

Sept. 8 

5.1G 

13 21 

6.36 

5.19 

1315 

6.34 

5.21 

13 11 

6.32 

5.24 

13 5 

6.29 

18 

5.38 

12 29 

6.07 

5.40 

12 25 

6.05 

5.40 

12 25 

6.05 

5.41 

12 23 

6.04 

28 

6.02 

1135 

5.37 

6.01 

1137 

5.38 

6.00 

1139 

5.39 

5.59 

1151 

5.40 

Oqt. 8 

6.26 

10 41 

5.07 

6.24 

10 45 

5.09 

6.20 

10 53 

5.13 

6.18 

10 57 

5.15 

IS 

6.51 

9 47 

4.38 

6.46 

9 57 

4.43 

6.41 

10 7 

4.48 

6.37 

10 14 

4.51 

28 

7.16 

8 55 

4.11 

7.08 

98 

4.19 

7.02 

9 23 

4.25 

6.56 

9 35 

4.31 

Nov. 7 

7.42 

83 

3.45 

7.31 

8 25 

3.56 

7.23 

8 41 

4.04 

7.15 

8 57 

4.12 

17 

8.07 

716 

3.23 

7.54 

8 4 

3.38 

7.44 

8 02 

3.46 

7.34 

8 22 

3.56 

27 

8.30 

6 37 

3.07 

8.15 

7 7 

3.22 

8.03 

7 31 

3.34 

7.52 

7 53 

3.45 

Dec. 7 

8.48 

69 

2.57 

8.31 

6 43 

3.14 

8.18 

79 

3.27 

8.06 

7 33 

3.39 

17 

8.59 

5 57 

2.56 

8.42 

6 31 

3.13 

8.28 

6 59 

3.27 

815 

7 25 

3.40 

27 

9.02 

6 0 

3.02 

8.45 

6 34 

3.19 

8.31 

72 

3.33 

8.19 

7 26 

3.45 


Day 

of Month. 

L. 52°. 

Holland ; Governments 
of Warsaw and 
Orenburg, Russia. 

L. 50°. 

England; Governments 
of Jitomir, Kiev, Pol- 
tava, and Kharkov, 
Russia. 

L. 48°. 

South Germany; Governments 
of Yekaterinoslav and 
Kamenetz-Podolsk, 
Russia. 

L. 46°. 

Austria ; Governments of 
Odessa and Kherson, 
Russia. 


Sun- 

Length 

Sun- 

Sun- 

Length 

Sun- I 

Sun- 

Length 

Sun- 

Sim- 

Length 

Sun- 


rise. 

of Day. 

set. 

rise. 

of Day. 

set. 

rise. 

of Day. 

set. 

rise. 

of Day. 

set. 

( 


li. m. 



h.m. 



h.m. 



h. in. 


Jan. 1 

8.07 

80 

4.07 

7.58 

818 

4.16 

7.50 

834 

4.24 

7.42 

8 50 

4.82 

10 

8.03 

811 

4.14 

7.54 

8 29 

4.23 

7.46 

S 45 

4.31 

7.39 

8 59 

4.38 

21 

7.54 | 

8 37 

4.31 

7.46 

8 53 

4.39 

7.39 

97 

4.46 

7.33 

919 

4.52 

31 

7.40 

9 9 

4.49 

7.33 

9 23 

4.56 

7.27 

9 35 

5.02 

7.22 

9 45 

5.07 

Feb. 10....'. 

7.21 ! 

9 48 

5.09 

7.16 

9 58 

5.14 

7.11 

10 8 

5.19 

7.07 

1016 

5.23 

20 

7.01 

10 26 

5.27 

6.57 

10 34 

5.31 

6.53 

10 42 

5.35 

6.51 

10 46 

5.87 

March 2 

0.40 

114 

5.44 

6.34 

11 13 

5.47 

6.35 

11 14 

5.49 

6.34 

11 16 

5.50 

12 

6.17 

11 46 

6.03 

6.17 

11 46 

6.03 

6.17 

1146 

6.03 

6.16 

11 IS 

6.04 

22 

0.00 

12 24 

6.19 

5.55 

12 24 

6.19 

0.0 i 

12 20 

6.17 

5.57 

12 20 

6.17 

April 1 

5.31 

13 6 

6 37 

5.33 

13 2 

6.35 

5.36 

12 56 

6.32 

5.37 

12 54 j 

6.31 

11 

5.08 

13 47 

6.55 

5.12 

13 39 

6.51 

5.15 

13 33 

6.48 

5-39 

13 25 

6.44 

21 

4.46 

14 25 

7.11 

4.52 

14 14 

7.06 

4.56 

14 6 

7.02 

5.01 

13 56 

6.57 

May 1 

4.27 

15 1 

7.28 

4.34 

14 47 

7.21 

4.40 

14 25 

7.15 

4.45 

14 25 

7.10 

'll 

4.10 

J 5 84 

7.44 

4.18 

15 18 

7.86 

4.25 

15 4 

7.29 

4.32 

14 50 

7 

21 

3.56 

16 2 

7.58 

4.05 

15 44 

7.49 

4.13 

15 2S 

7.41 

4.20 

15 14 

7.34 

31 

3.46 

16 25 

8.11 

3.56 

16 5 

8.01 

4.05 

15 47 

1 7.52 

4.14 

15 29 

7.43 

June 10 

3.40 

16 40 

8.20 

3.51 

16 18 

8.09 

4.01 

15 58 

7.59 

4.09 

15 42 

7.51 

20 

3.40 

16 44 

8.24 

3.51 

.16 22 

8.13 

4.01 

16 2 

8.03 

4.10 

15 44 

7.54 

30 


16 3S 

8.23 


16 16 

8.12 

4.06 

15 56 

8.02 

4.14 

15 40 

7- 54 

July 10 

3.53 

16 24 

8.17 

4.03 

16 4 

8.07 

4.13 

15 44 

7.57 

4.21 

15 26 

7.49 j 

20 .... 

4.07 

15 58 

8.-05 

4.15 

15 42 

7.57 

4.24 

15 24 

7.4S 

4.31 

1510 

7.41 

30 

4.20 

15 31 

7.51 

4.27 

15 17 

7.44 

4.35 

151 

7.36 

4.40 

14 5L 

7.31 

Aug. 9 

4.36 

14 57 

7.33 

4.42 

14 45 

7.27 

4.48 

14 32 

7.21 

4.^2 

14 25 

7.17 

19 

4.53 

14 18 

7.11 

4.57 

1410 

7.07 

5.02 

14 0 

7.02 

5.05 

13 54 

6.59 

29 

5.11 

i 13 38 

6.49 

5.14 

13 32 

6.46 

5.16 

33 28 

6.44 

5.19 

13 22 

6.41 

Sept. 8 

5.27 

12 59 

6.26 

5.28 

12 57 

6.25 

5.30 

12 53 

6.23 

5.32 

12 49 

6.21 

18 

5.41 

1 12 23 

6.04 

5.42 

12 21 

6.03 

5. 48 

12 19 

6.02 

5.44 

13 17 

6.01 

28 

5.59 

i 11 41 

5.40 

5.58 

| 11 43 

5.41 

5.57 

1144 

5.41 

5.56 

11 57 

5.43- 

Oct. 8 

6.15 

i 11 3 

5.18 

6.14 

115 

5.19 

6.12 

119 

5.21 

6.09 

11 15 

5.24 

18 

6.32 

10 25 

4.57 

6.30 

10 29 

4.59 

6.26 

10 37 

5.03 

6.27 

10 40 

5.07 

28 

0.50 

9 47 

4.37 

6.45 

9 57 

4.42 

6.41 

10 5 

4.46 

6.36 

10 15 

4.51 

Nov. 7 

7.07 

913 

4.20 

7.01 

9 25 

4.26 

6.55 

9 37 

4.32 

6.50 

! 9 47 

4.37 

17 

7.26 

8 38 

4.04 

7.19 

8 52 

4.11 

7.12 

96 

4.18 

7.05 

920 

4.25 

27 

7.48 

811 

3.54 

7.34 

8 29 

4.03 

7.26 

8 45 

4.11 

7.19 

S 59 

4.18 

Dec. 7 

7.50 

7 53 

3.49 

7.46 

813 

3.59 

7.38 

S 29 

4 07 

7.30 

835 

4.15 

17 

8.01 

7 47 

3.51 

7.54 

8 7 

4.01 

7.46 

8 23 

4.09 

7.38 

S 39 

4.17 

27 

8.08 

7 48 

3.56 

7.59 

8 6 

4.05 

7.50 

S 24 

4.14 

7.42 

S 40 

4.22 



Sun, Rising* and Setting 
Superstition 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


596 


Table III. — Duration of Dawn and Twilight According to Astronomical Calculation. 
Northern and Southern Latitudes Compared. 


bates 

for Non item 
Latitudes. 

30° 

40° 

45° 

- 

55° 

60° 

bates for 
Southern 
Latitudes. 

Dates 

for Northern 
Latitudes. 

30° 

40° 

45° 

50° 

55° 

60° 

Dates for 
Southern 
Latitudes. 

Jan. 1 

11 

21 

31 

Feb. 10 

20 .... 

March 1 

11 

21 

31 

April 10 

20 

30. ..... 

May 10 

20 

30 

June 9 

19 

29 

ll. HI. 

1 2T 

1 26 

1 24 
.1 23 

1 22 

1 22 

1 21 

1 21 

1 21 

1 °2 

1 24 

1 26 

1 28 

1 31 

1 34 

1 36 

1 37 

1 38 

1 38 

b. m. 

1 39 

1 38 

1 36 

1 34 

1 33 

1 32 

1 31 

1 31 

1 33 

1 34 

1 36 

1 40 

1 45 

1 51 

1 56 

2 0 

2 4 

2 4 

2 4 

li. m. 

1 48 

1 47 

1 45 

1 43 

1 41 

1 40 

1 39 

1 40 

1 41 

1 43 

1 47 i 

1 53 

2 0 

2 6 

2 14 

2 25 

2 35 

2 34 

2 34 

h. m. 
2 1 

1 59 

1 57 

1 54 

1 53 

1 51 

1 49 
.1 50 

1 52 

1 55 

2 0 

2 9 

2 21 

2 33 

2 40 

3 45 

li. in. 
2 20 

2 17 

2 13 

2 9 

2 7 

2 5 

2 3 

2 6 

2 13 : 
2 15 

2 30 

3 0 

j :::: 

i .... 

i 

li. ill- 
2 48 

2 44 

2 38 

2 30 

2 27 

2 24 

2 21 

2 24 

2 31 

2 41 

3 10 

Dec. 16. 

6. 

Nov. 26. 
16. 

6. 

Oct. 27. 
17. 

Sept. 27. 

17. 

Aug. 2S. 

18. 
s. 

July 29. 
19. 

9. 

June 29. 
19. 

July 9 

19 

29 

Aug- 8 

18 

28 

Sept. 7 

17 

27 

Oct. 7 

17 

Nov. 6 

16 

26 

Dec. 6 

16 

26 

h. m. 
1 36 

1 33 

1 32 

1 29 

1 26 

1 24 

1 23 

1 22 

1 21 

1 21 

1 21 

1 22 

1 23 

1 25 

1 26 

1 27 

1 27 

1 27 

h. in. 
2 1 

1 55 

1 51 

1 46 

1 42 

1 38 

1 35 

1 33 
! 1 32 

1 31 

1 32 

1 33 

1 34 

1 36 

1 37 

1 38 

1 39 

1 39 

h. m. 
2 26 

2 15 

2 9 

2 3 

1 55 

1 49 

1 46 

1 43 

1 40 

1 39 

1 40 

1 40 

1 42 

1 44 

1 46 

1 47 

1 48 

1 49 

li. in. 

3*40 

2 41 

2 24 

2 14 

2 4 

1 58 

1 53 

1 50 

1 49 

1 50 

1 51 

1 54 

1 56 

1 5S 

1 59 

2 0 

2 1 

li. ’m. 

3*5* 

2 27 

2 17 

2 10 

2 5 

2 3 

2 4 

2 5 

2 8 

2 11 

2 15 

2 17 

2 .19 

2 20 

h. in. 

3*1.2 

2 50 

2 30 

2 25 

2 23 

2 22 

2 24 

2 28 

2 36 

2 40 

2 43 

2 46 

2 49 

June 9. 
May 30. 
20. 
10. 

April 30. 
20. 
10. 

March 31. 
21. 
11. 
1. 

Feb. 20. 
10. 
Jan. 31. 
21. 
11. 
1. 

Dec. 26. 


Table IV.— Duration of Dawn and Twilight in Jewish Law (According to Maimonides, Calculated to be 

ll Periodical Hours). 


Latitudes, North. 


Dates. 

30° 

36° 

40° 

42° 

44° 

46® 

48° 

50° 

52° 

54° 

56° 

58° 

60° 

Jan. 1 

10 

20 

30 

Feb. 9 

19 

March 1 

11 

21 

June 22.. 
11.. 

May 21. . 
11.. 
1 .. 

April 21.. 
11.. 
1 .. 

July 1 .. 
11. 
21.. 

Aus -il:: 
21.. 
Sept. 1.. 
12.. 
24.. 

Dec. 22.. 

13.. 
3. . 

Nov. 23.. 

13.. 

3.. 

Oct. 24.. 

14.. 

4.. 

li. in. 

1 23 

1 23 

1 22 

1 21 

1 20 

1 19 

1 17 

1 15 

1 13 

1 12 

ll. ill. 
1 27 

1 27 

1 20 

1 24 

1 23 

1 20 

1 IS 

1 16 

1 13 

1 12 

ll. m. 
1 30 

1 30 

1 29 

1 27 

1 26 

1 21 

1 19 

1 16 

1 13 
l 12 

h. m. 

1 31 

1 30 

1 29 

1 28 

1 26 

1 23 

1 20 

1 17 

1 14 

1 12 

li. ill. 

1 32 

1 32 

1 31 

1 30 

1 28 

1 25 

1 22 

1 18 

1 15 

1 12 

h. m. 

1 34 

1 33 

1 32 

1 31 

1 29 

1 26 

1 23 

1 19 

1 16 

1 12 

li. ill. 

1 36 
i 35 

1 34 

1 32 

1 30 

1 27 

1 24 

1 20 

1 36 

1 12 

li. ill. 

1 38 

1 37 

1 36 

1 34 

1 32 

1 29 

1 25 

1 21 

1 17 

1 12 

h. m. 

1 40 

1 39 

1 38 

1 36 

1 33 

1 30 

1 26 

1 21 

1 17 

1 12 

ll. 111. 
1 43 

1 12 

1 40 

1 38 

1 34 

1 31 

1 27 

1 2° 

1 18 

1 12 

li. m. 

1 46 

1 45 

1 43 

1 40 

1 36 

1 32 

1 28 

1 23 

1 18 

1 12 

li. in. 

1 49 

1 48 

1 46 

1 42 

1 38 

1 34 

1 29 

1 24 

1 19 

1 12 

h. m. 

1 53 

1 52 

1 49 

1 45 

1 41. 

1 36 

1 30 

1 25 

1 20 

1 12 


(“liamez”) on the day before Passover is fixed at 
the end of the fourth hour of the day; that for 
burning liamez, at the end of the fifth. Mordecai 
Jaffe holds that in each case the hour equals T \ of 
the length of the day from sunrise to sunset (“Le- 
bush ha-Tekelet,” 233, 1), while Moses Isserles and 
later authorities claim that the dawn and the twi- j 
light of the same day form part of that day. The 
table on page 592 for the 14th of Nisan in the years 
1905-7 (the first being an intercalated year) gives the 
time-limit for eating’ and for burning bamez aceoid- 
ing to Jaffe and Isserles respective^, in the latitude 
of New York city (40° N.). See Horology. 

Key to the Tables. 

Table I. is for latitudes 44° to 28° N., including the 
United States from Maine to Florida, and records, 
for intervals of five days in every month during 
the year, the time of sunrise and sunset, also the 
beginning of dawn and the ending of twilight. 
South of latitude 28° to the equator there is little 
variation in the time of twilight; and there are few, 
if any, Jewish settlements requiring a special table. 
In the right-hand column of the table similar infor- 
mation for Jerusalem is given. 

Table II., for latitudes 60 c to 46°, covering the 
northern countries of Europe together with Canada, 
gives the time of sunrise and sunset at intervals of 


ten days. The times of dawn and twilight are 
omitted for the reason that the duration of the astro- 
nomical dawn and twilight in these regions is much 
longer than that as fixed by Maimonides. 

Table III. gives the duration of dawn and twi- 
light for northern and southern latitudes, according 
to astronomical calculations. 

According to strict rabbinical law, the astronom- 
ical dawn and twilight ought to be divided equally 
between night and day. To avoid possible error, 
however, they are actually divided into three equal 
parts: (1) actual day; (2) actual night; and (3) 
the middle part, doubtful. The doubtful part, as 
noted above, is always calculated “ on the safe side”; 
e.g.y on Friday evening as “night ” and on Sabbath 
evening as “ day ” ; also on Yom Kippur as “day,” 
to complete the fast. For example, iom Kippur of 
1904 fell on Sept. 19, which date was near the autum- 
nal equinox, when sunset was about 6 p.m. The 
astronomical twilight for latitudes 44° to 28° N. va- 
ried from 98 to 82 minutes, two-thirds of which (60 
to 54 minutes), added to 6 p.m., would make the 
fast expire between 7.06 and 6.54 p.m. In case 
Yom Kippur is far removed from the autumnal 
equinox the variations increase. For example, the 
figures for Yom Kippur of 1905, falling on Oct. 9, 
give the following results (comp. Table I. under 
Oct. 10): 




TABLE V. TIME OF SUNSET FOR THE 



K. Vol. XI. 








597 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Sun, Rising' and Setting- 
Superstition 


Latitudes. 

Length of 
Day. 

Sunset. • 

Astronomical 

Twilight 

Ends. 

Two-thirds of 
Astronomical 
Twilight Ends. 

C g'O 

fii 

Sc r: 

-f £ be 
p— 

44° N 

h. in. 

11 16 

5.25 

G.59 

6.27 

6.17 

42° 

1122 

5.29 

7.00 

6.29 

6.20 

40° 

11 26 

5.31 

6.58 

6.29 

6.21 

38°-36° 

1125 

5.31 

6,58 

6.29 

6.21 

0.24 

34°-32° 

11 34 

5.35 

6.57 

6.29 

30°-28° 

1! 37 

5.36 

6.55 

6.29 

6.24 


Up to this point there are few variations between 
the astronomical twilight and that according, to Mai- 
monides’ calculations; but they increase with every 
degree northward, especially during the longest and 
shortest days. Here, it appears, the general custom 
was to discard the astronomical figures and to ac- 
cept Maimonidcs > calculation of 10 per cent of the 
day for the total twilight. Thus for the fast of the 
Ninth of Ab, 1904, which fell on July 21, the fol- 
lowing data are presented for latitudes 60° to 46°: 


Lati- 

tudes. 

o 

SPps 

5" 

J 

Sunset. 

- 

■g2w 

A jjjj tc 

> jS-p 
s* 

H 

Lati- 

tudes. 

Length of 
Day. 

Sunset. 

Two-thirds of 
Maimonkles’ 
Twilight Ends. 

60° N 

h. m. 
17 34 

8.53 

10.03 

52° N . . 

1). m. 
15 58 

8.05 

9.09 

58° 

17 6 

8.39 

9.47 

50° 

15 42 

7.57 

9.00 

;V>° 

16 40 

, 8.26 
8.15 

9.33 

48° 

15 24 

7.4S 

8.50 

54° 

16 18 j 

9.21 

46°.,... 

1510 

7.41 

8.42 


Table IV. gives the duration of dawn and twi- 
light according to Jewish law, as based on the cal- 
culations of Maimonides and other eminent author- 
ities. 

Table Y. and chart show the times of sunset for 
the whole year in various latitudes. The time of 
sunset for each degree of latitude between 30° and 
60° is indicated by curves marked at the side for the 
latitude, the date being given at the bottom of the 
chart. The point on the curve where it intersects the 
vertical line passing through the point marking the 
date indicates the time of sunset for that date at 
that latitude. 

To ascertain sunset and twilight for any particu- 
lar place, at any definite date, one must first find its 
latitude and compare it with the latitude in these 
tables. For convenience, a list of some of the prin- 
cipal cities in America and Europe, with their lati- 
tudes, is marked on the chart. 

Bibliography: Abraham Cohen Pimentel, Minhat Knhcn , 
§§1,2, Amsterdam, IMS : B. Zuckermunn, Jalircsbcricht dcs 
Jiidisch-Thcnloqischen Seminars zu Breslau, 1890, pp. 3-23 ; 
1902. pp. 19-25 ; B. Cohn, Tabcllcn. Zeitamjaiben fur den Bc- 
Qinn der NacM and dcs Taocsfiir die Breitemjradc -f -6G° 
bis _ Strasbunr, 1899; Berliner Volkskalender f ilr Is- 
raeli ten, 1891; C. J. Barenstein, in Ha-Asif, i. 267-275, ii. 
716-730, iii. 399; Hiyya David Spitzer, Nebrcshct (Jerusalem), 
1898, i,; 1903, ii.; 1901, iii. 

j. J. D. E. 

SUNDAY AND SABBATH. See Sabbath 

and Sunday. 

STJNDELES, ZEBI HIRSCH BEN 
ENOCH: Polish scholar of the sixteenth century. 
He published the following works: “Tefillot mi- 


Kolha-Shanali ” (Lublin, 1571; Cracow, 1606), in col- 
laboration with Koppelmann, and consisting of 
the Jewish daily prayers, with a commentary ; the 
Malizor (Lublin, 1579; Cracow, 1597; Wilmersdorf, 
1673), containing the Jewish festival prayers accord- 
ing to the Polish, Bohemian, and Moravian rituals, 
with a commentary on the same; “Selihot” (Cra- 
cow, 1584; Prague. 1587; Lublin, 1643), consisting 
of a collection of prayers for atonement accord- 
ing to the Polish ritual, together with a com- 
mentary composed by bis father-in-law, Mordecai 
Mardos, and edited by Sundeles; and “Yozerot” 
(Cracow,. 1592), written in collaboration with Kop- 
pelmann, and containing the prayers ordained for 
the different Sabbaths, together with a commentary 
thereupon. 

Bibliography: Furst,' Bibl. Jud. iii. 397 ; Benjacob, Ozar ha - 

Sejarim , pp. 219, 318, 420, 622. 

E. C. S. O. 

SUNNAH. See Haditii. 

SUPERCOMMENT ARIES. See Bible Ex- 
egesis. 

SUPERSTITION.— Biblical Data: That 
views and practises borrowed from paganism and 
not in accord with the monotheistic belief of Israel 
—as, for instance, witchcraft and sorcery— existed 
in Bible times is proved by tlie fact that they are 
prohibited. They are referred to as “ the abomina- 
tions of those nations,” and the Israelite is warned 
against all of them in the words “ Thou slialt be 
perfect with the Lord thy God” (Deut. xviii. 9 et 
seq . ; Sifre, 171, 172; T'osef., Sanh. x. 6, 7 [ed. Zuck- 
ermandel, p. 430]; Sifra, 90b, 9la, 93d [ed. Weiss]; 
Sanh. 6oa, b). Although the penalty of death at- 
tached to the practise of sorcery (Ex. xxii. 18), such 
superstitions did not relinquish their hold upon the 
Israelites, as is shown b} r the invocation of Samuel’s 
spirit by Saul (I Sam. xxviii. S et seq.), the witch- 
crafts of Queen Jezebel (II Kings ix. 22), and the 
doings of King Manasseli (ib. xxi. 6; II Chron. 
xxxv. 5 et seq.). All the Prophets preached against 
these and the immoral practises connected with 
them (comp. Micali v. 12; Nalium iii. 4; Jer. xxvii. 
9; Isa. xlvii. 9, 12; Mai. iii. 5). All the practises 
which were prohibited, such as “cutting the flesh,” 
probably savored of superstition, and Judaism in 
this way was the first religion to attempt to cast 
off its shackles. 

With the absolute establishment of monotheism, 
superstition lost its idolatrous character and no 
longer led to immoralities, as in ancient times ; but 
it still remained, underlying public consciousness. 
Prohibitory laws were published against the super- 
stitious practises connected with shehitah (Hul. 40a), 
against incantations for wounds (Sanh. 90a), and the 
like. On the other hand, the Babbis permitted some 
cures the pagan character of which was less mani- 
fest (Shab. vi. 3), while they forbade others as sa- 
voring of the “ ways of the Amorites ” 
In (Tosef., Shab. vi.-vii. ; see Amor- 

Talmudic ites). The custom of invoking the 

Times. gods Dan and Gad is thus character- 
ized, affording an interesting paral- 
lel to Amos viii. 14 and Isa. Ixv. 11 (Shab. 67a). 
Many superstitions of Egyptian, Babylonian, and 



Superstition 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


598 


Persian origin found a place in the Talmud; many 
"by a process of syncretism came also through the 
channel of Greek and Roman custom; though on 
principle the Talmud may he said to have opposed 
superstition as connected rvith idolatry (see De- 
monology). R. Hanina, for instance, answered a 
woman who desired to bewitch him, “ It is written, 
‘ There is none else beside Him’” (Dent. iv. 35; 
Sanh. 67b; Hul. 7b). 

xVs instances of superstitions mentioned, if not 
countenanced, by the Talmud, the following may be 
referred to; “It is unlucky to be between two dogs, 
two palms, or two women ; and it is equally unlucky 
for two men to he separated by one of these ” (Pes. 
111b). “ Drink not froth, for it gives cold in the head ; 
nor blow it away, for that gives headache; nor get 
rid of it otherwise, for that brings poverty ; but wait 
until it subsides” (IIul. 105b). “If one of several 
brothers die, the others must beware of death. 
Some say death begins with the eldest, some with the 
youngest” (Shab. 106a). “It is dangerous to bor- 
row a drink of water, or to step over water poured 
out” (Pes, Ilia). 

In the Middle Ages superstition was greatly 
strengthened, owing in large measure to Christian 
surroundings, trials for witchcraft being carried on 
under the protection of the Church, and particularly 
by the Inquisition. The ideas found their way into 
Jewish literature and even in a high degree influ- 
enced religious ceremonies. Jews and Christians 
borrowed from each other. Hebrew words, whose 
meanings were not known to Christians, especially 
the names of God, frequently occur in the great mass 
of Latin and Greek charms, magical blessings, and 
amulets, and in the same way Greek and Latin 
words, whose meanings were not understood by 
Jews, appear in Hebrew magical formulas and He- 
brew prayers. A phenomenon frequent in the his- 
tory of mankind is here repeated. Stupidity and 
superstition unite mankind more readily than knowl- 
edge and enlightenment. It was of little avail that 
influential rabbis sought to binder the spread of 
such ideas and practises; only in modern times has 
it become possible to weed out the growths of su- 
perstition from the pure monotheism of Judaism. 

Bibliography: Giidemann, Gesch. cles Erzieliungswesens 
unci dev Ciiltur dev Aben dUindischen Judcn , Vienna, 1S80- 
18S8 ; D. Joel, Dcr Aberglauhe und die Stellung dcs Judcn - 
thums zu Demselben, in Jaliresbericht dcs Jiidisch-Theo- 
log. Seminars FraenclceVscher StiftuiiQ , Breslau, 1881-83 ; 
Blau, Das Altjildische Zcmbemvescn, in Jaliresbericht dcr 
Landes- Rabbin ersclade, Budapest, 1898. 

j. M. G. 

Modern : Whatever be the fact with regard to 

Jews of ancient and medieval times, there can be no 
doubt that they share with their neighbors of the 
same stage of culture in that worship of luck which 
is at the root of superstition. There are found 
among uneducated Jews just the same class and 
amount of superstitious beliefs and practises as 
among their neighbors of Christian creed and of sim- 
ilar want of culture. Important collections have 
been made in recent years of such beliefs and prac- 
tises among the Jews, chiefly of eastern Europe. 
How far these customs and ideas can be classified as 
specifically Jewish is another and more difficult 
question. In many cases they can be traced to the 
habits of their neighbors ; in others, while they are 


common to most sections of the country, it is just 
possible that the Jews were the originators and the 
peasantry the recipients; but there has not been 
sufficient investigation to determine the degree and 
kind of indebtedness. 

Many of these customs have been transplanted 
from the east of Europe to England and America, 
and a large number of them have been collected in 
the east side of New York city. In that city there is 
found a fully developed belief in the efficacy of the 
Evil Eye and the significance of Dkeams. One an- 
tidote for the former is to take a handful of salt and 
pass it around the head of the child who has been be- 
witched, to throw a little of it in each corner of the 
room, and the remainder over the threshold. 

Another remedy against the evil eye, or any other 
evil, is for the mother to kiss her child three times, 
spitting after each kiss. At Brody, if 
Expectora- a child lias been “overlooked” witli 
tion. the evil eye the mother counteracts the 
effects by licking the forehead of the 
child twice, spitting, and repeating, “Ny liory ny 
hory ny buri ny kory,” which is simply Polisli for 
“Neither mountains nor forest nor barley nor oats.” 
This must have been borrowed from the neighboring 
peasants (“Urquell,” v. 20). Indeed, the efficacy of 
expectoration is fully recognized in Jewish folk- 
lore. When children are at odds, and one of them 
resorts to spitting tactics, tlie victim will often pur- 
posely allow himself to be spat upon because in so 
doing it is believed that the spitter takes upon his 
own shoulders the sins of the former. In order to 
stop a youth from spitting he need only be reminded 
that “Du nemst fun mir arop die sind ” (You rid me 
of my sins). If one has a bad dream which it is 
desired to forget on waking in the morning, the 
advice is given to spit three times in order that the 
desired effect may be produced (“Mitteilungen der 
Gesellscliaft fur Judische Yolkskunde,” x. 114). 

In Minsk traces of more subtle methods of remov- 
ing sin are found in the process known as “ sin- 
searching.” When an epidemic occurs in a small 
Russo-Jcwish community, search is instantly made 
for some guilt}' individual, whose sin, it is assumed, 
is the cause of the epidemic, and the rabbi issues an 
excommunication against any one refusing to give 
what information be may have on the subject. 
When the sinner takes upon himself due punish- 
ment, the epidemic, it is believed, will cease. It is 
considered by Russian Jews unlucky to dream of 
money, and it is a curious coincidence that Shylock, 
in “ The Merchant of Venice ” (Act ii., Scene v.), says : 

“ I am right loath to go. 

There is some ill a-brewing towards my rest. 

For I did dream of money-bags to-night.” 

That some of the superstitions held by Russian 
Jews have been derived from tlieir neighbors is clear 
from the following example: Russo-Jcwish farmers 
have full belief that there are certain “ mazikim ” who 
braid the manes of animals beautifully, and even the 
hair of men who sleep in stables. These are clearly 
the “domovickes,” or brownies, of the Russian peas- 
ants. On the other hand, Jews sometimes derive their 
customs from the impulse to oppose Christian ones. 
Thus barley may not be eaten on Christmas eve, 
when Christians eat it. One can even watch the 



599 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Superstition 


growth of superstitions among modern Russian emi- 
grants; In Brest-Litovsk it is believed that the great 
frosts of 1903-4 in America were taken 
Some there by the Russian Jews; and that, 
of Modern on the other hand, the more moderate 
Origin. climatic conditions in southern Russia 
in that year were due to the large 
return of Russian Jews to Odessa, bearing with 
them the milder climate of the United States. 
Superstitions are found not alone among the more 
ignorant members of the congregation ; even the 
rabbis, though perhaps not the better educated, 
encourage them. Thus it is stated that during the 
cholera epidemic of 1887 the rabbis told fathers of 
children under thirteen to bind red ribbon around 
their necks (“Ha-Meliz,” 1887, col. 1730). 

In the country places of Lithuania, when a fire 
breaks out, it is customary for the rabbi to go out 
and stand in front of a building that is not burning, 
and to extinguish the fire by speaking to it (“ varre- 
den dem feier ”). Sometimes a Jewish turn is given 
to a general superstition, as in the case of the belief 
that it is unlucky to have the clothes mended on the 
person, as this will “sew up” (lose) the memory. 
If, however, it is absolutely necessary to do so, the 
side-locks (“pe’ot”), zizit, or some other article 
must be held in the mouth while the repairs are 
being made. It is curious to notice the mytho- 
peic tendency at work even at the present day. 
Thus in Galicia it is recommended not to leave a tank 
of water uncovered during the Passover, even while 
pouring water into the tank, which should be done 
through a cloth. The object of this practise is sup- 
posed to be the prevention of the angel of leaven 
from spitting into the tank. The personality of Sa- 
tan seems to he kept alive in the folk-lore of Russia 
and Galicia, for it is thought to bo lucky if the shofar 
fails to emit a sound on New-Year's Day, the impli- 
cation being that Satan is imprisoned therein (this is 
especially current among the Hasidim). The means 
adopted by peasants in Russia to evade drawing a 
number for conscription has certainly a Jewish tinge, 
as it consists in taking with them four ineces of maz- 
zali, one in each corner of the Arba‘ Kanfot. In or- 
der to secure the full efficacy of the unleavened bread 
they claim the right to wear the arba* kanfot even 
when stripped for medical examination. It is still 
considered lucky to begin ail undertaking or journey 
on Tuesday, because in describing the third day of 
Creation it is said, “ God saw that it was good.” For 
the contrary reason it is unlucky to commence any- 
thing on Monday, when this was not said at all. 
Steinsclinoider found that this belief was entertained 
by an eighteenth-centuiy printer (Ersch and Gruber, 
“Encyc.” section ii., part 28, p. 27), and it is men- 
tioned as far back as the Talmud (Pes. 2a). 

The rule of the Turkish Jews not to mention 
the “shedim,” or demons, by name (Garnett, “Turk- 
ish Life,” p. 288, London, 1904) is anal- 
Some ogous to the practise of the Scotch in 
Derived speaking of the fairies as the “good 

from folk.” The local turn given to differ- 

NTeighbors. ent superstitions is instanced by that 
current among the Jews of Salonica, 
who believe that the Messiah, will appear first in Je- 
rusalem and will then sail to Salonica; on the Day 


of Atonement, therefore, they collect near the water 
(ib. p. 286). This is possibly mistaken for the prac- 
tise of Tasiilik; yet Ezra Stiles reports that the 
Jews of Newport, R. I., in liis day used to open 
their windows during a storm for the Messiah to 
enter (G. A. Koliut, “Ezra Stiles,” p. 24). 

Superstitions may have quite a Jewish air with- 
out being specifically Jewish. Thus it is said that 
Adar is a lucky month because Moses was born in 
that month, but tlie inherent idea of one time being 
more unlucky than another is not specifically Jew- 
ish. It is said that a piece of Afiicomex placed 
between two coins brings luck (Schiifer, “ Galician 
Superstitions,” No. 72), but the local superstitious 
must be examined before it can be proved that this 
was confined to Jews. The practise, mentioned in 
the “ Sefer Refu’ot ” (14b), of curing bleeding by 
baking the blood in bread and giving it to a pig can 
scarcely have arisen among Jew’s. 

Such a specifically Jewish custom as that of 
plucking some blades of grass and throwing them 
behind one on leaving a cemetery (Landshuth, “ Bik- 
kur Holim,” lxix.)can not be traced earlier than the 
twelfth century. -Abraliam ben Nathan, in liis Re- 
sponsa (No. 11), can not give any reason for it, yet 
it is almost certainly German, being mentioned by 
Wuttke (“Deutsche Aberglaube,” pp. 93-145), aud 
in Scheffers notes to Elckehard (No. 135). 

The idea of kindling lights — in order to make the 
demons flee — before the death-rattle is heard (comp.- 
Job xviii. 5; see “Ma’abar Yabok,”105b) lias many 
folk-lore analogies (comp. J. G. Frazer in “Journal 
of tlie Anthropological Society,” xv. 90 et seq.). 
Even at the present day curious customs arise or 
are revived wdien epidemics make their appear- 
ance. During the cholera, marriages often take place 
in the cemetery, as that in Kovno of a 
Death Su.- lame young man to a deaf-mute or 
perstitions. hunchback woman. At Pinsk, and 
in other communities, tw r o orphans are 
married, under a black Hupp ah, on the graves of the 
parents of one of them, the idea being that tlie chol- 
era is thus conducted to the graves. There is even a 
tradition in some remote communities that a woman 
may be married to the dead. Several curious cus- 
toms are mentioned in the remarkable will of Judah 
Ilasid. Thus, at the dedication of a cemetery, it 
was usual to kill a rooster and bury it as tlie first 
victim of death. If a man meets a ghost and it asks 
him to go with it, he should say, “It is God's will 
that I go not with thee. ” The next day he should go 
to the cemetery three times, fasting, and say : “ As 
God wills life, do not com ? forth, thou or any messen- 
ger of thine, to carry away me or my children, or any 
Israelite, for I desire this, not tlie future world.” 
Peculiar objection seems to be taken to being tlie 
first person buried in a cemetery. Small communi- 
ties sometimes hire an old man to join them so that 
he may be the first to be buried in their cemetery. 
It is reported that an aged man w T as maintained by 
the community of Passaic, N. J., for ten years, being 
taken there in 1893, but not dying till 1903 (“ The 
Sun ” [New- York], Jan. 14, 1903). 

One of the most startling of the superstitions ob- 
served among modern Jew\s at Lemberg is the fol- 
lowing: If a woman dies pregnant, it is supposed to 



Superstition 

Suretyship 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


600 


be undesirable for her sake and for that of the con- 
gregation that the fetus should remain within the 
body. The corpse is therefore bathed at midnight, 
and after half an hour the name of the dead is called 
seven times, and a sliofar is blown seven times in 
her ear. The corpse, with many groans, will then 
give birth to a dead, undeveloped child (“Urquell,” 
ii. 192; comp, new series, ii. 270). 

The essence of superstition being that it obeys no 
rule, and, therefore, scarcely admits of classification, 
renders it desirable, perhaps, to give a certain num- 
ber of examples culled from various sources. Most 
of the following instances have been collected in 
New York among Jewish immigrants from various 
districts of Russia, Where superstitions have been 
taken from printed sources, these are indicated either 
in full or with the following abbreviations: Sell. 
(= collected by Scliiffer, in “TJrquell,” ii.); Grimm 
(—Grimm, “Deutsche Mytliologie,” iii., appendix 
on superstitions). Territorial sources also are indi- 
cated. In every case it must be understood that 
while the superstition has been observed among 
Jews, further and very difficult research is required 
before it can be determined whether it has been 
borrowed from neighbors or has arisen from pecul- 
iarly Jewish conceptions, 

'AUy ah. Never refuse a visitor to the synagogue an ‘aliyah ; 
he may be Elijah (German). Elijah once visited Hebron, but, 
not being called to the Law, lie returned to heaven (Palestine). 

Alone. If you go alone to look for or call a midwife, your 
course will be lengthened and made troublesome to you by 
sliedim. You will imagine, for instance, that you are within a 
few feet of the place you are goingto, whereas in reality you are 
several minutes away from it (Minsk). 

Animal. If you see an animal of any kind, even a man, 
where you wouid not expect it to be, it is a sign that such an 
animal is a treasure transformed. Throw your shoe at such an 
animal, and the latter will become a heap of treasures, which 
yon will be at liberty to take away with you (Minsk). 

Bachelor. At a funeral of a bachelor cast sand before the 
coffln to blind the eyes of the unbegotten children of the de- 
ceased (Kurdistan). 

Ba rren net*. To get children, drink water in which has been 
cooked moss that has grown on the Temple walls (Palestine; 
Sch. v. 2535). 

Bat. Kill a bat with a “ randel ” (gold coin) and put the bat 
under the threshold, and your house will he lucky (Rumania). 

Bathtub. A child’s bathtub must not be used for any other 
purpose, or the child will not prosper (Galicia; Sell. v. 141). 

Bear's heart. If a person eats the heart of a bear he will be- 
come a tyrant (Minsk). 

Bed. Girls sit upon the bridal bed for luck (Morocco; Meakin, 
“The Moors,” p. 441). 

Beggar. The curse of a beggar is effective (Byelostok ; Kiev). 

Birthday. At a child’s birthday light as many candles as the 
number of years the child has lived (Breslau). 

Blood. To cure sickness Algerian Jews go with an Arab 
sorceress to a spring, kill a black cock, and smear with the blood 
the chest, forehead, etc.,' of the patient. Then they light a lire 
and sprinkle fire and patient with blood (Benjamin II., “Eight 
Years in Asia and Africa,” p. 313) . 

Bone in the throat. If you are choking with a flsli-bone, put 
another fish-bone on your head, and you will either swallow the 
one in your throat or get it out. If the bone is a meat-bone, put 
another meat-bone on your head, and the result will be the same 
(Minsk). 

Bonk. It is dangerous to leave a book open and go away, for 
a “shed ” (demon) will take your seat and create havoc. 

Bread. Never eat from a piece of bread over which yon have 
recited a “ berakali ” (blessing), unless you cut it in two (general 
superstition). 

Bride. If, On returning from the huppah, the bride takes the 
groom’s hand first, she will dominate in family matters. If lie 
takes her hand first, then he will direct affaire (Minsk). 

Broom. Bo not dust the table with a broom lest one of the 
household die (Galicia; Sell. v. 40). 


Brothers. Three married brothers should not dwell in one 
town (comp. Deut. xxv. 5; Judah lie-Hasid, \* Sefer Hasidim,” 
p. 33). 

Buckets. It is unlucky to come across an empty bucket on 
first going out, but lucky to pass a full one (general superstition ) . 

Cat . When a cat licks her paws it is a sign that visitors will 
come (general superstition) . To keep a cat in the house and pre- 
vent her injuring the memory, cut off part of her tail ; then she 
will never go away, even if yon drive her. (This is called 
“Gepasled die Katz” ; Wilna; Little Russia.) 

Childbirth. In the case of hard labor ensiling during con- 
finement, the unmarried girls in the house should unbraid their 
hair and let it loose on their shoulders (Kovno ; Rumania) . 

Cohen. Aleppo Hasidim thought it unlucky for an ordinary 
Israelite to marry the daughter of a kolien, referring to Lev. 
xxii. 23 (Benjamin II., “Eight Years,” etc., p. 72). 

Convulsions. Break a pot or disli in front of the child to drive 
away the demon of convulsions (Galicia; “Urqnell,” ii. 3'3). 
Prick the finger of the child with a needle, suck blood therefrom, 
spit thrice, and then put some of the mother’s blood in the child’s 
month (ib.). 

Curse. Ail undeserved curse has no effect, but may fall back 
upon the head of liim who utters it (comp. Gen. xii. 3) . (Some- 
times Jews who feel that they are being cursed unjustly express 
the hope that “ zol es ois gehm of sein kopf, wos er wunscht mir ” 
[may all the evil he wishes me turn upon him] [Russia].) 

Dead. The deceased is thought to hear and know everything 
that is said and done about him until the last spade of earth is 
thrown over him (Gamaliel ben Pedahzur, p. 16). 

Dead , Callino the. On visiting the grave of a relative, you 
should hike with you a pious man to call him and communicate 
with him by putting his ear to the grave (Russian, in America). 

Discovering treasure. To discover hidden treasure, go on 
Johannistag and And on a hazel-tree four twigs of the same 
year, and bind them into one ; then take them in your left hand, 
and gold and riches in your right hand, and pass the twigs round 
them three times, saying, “ Be these twigs lucky to me as were 
once the rods to our ancestor Jacob, so that I may discover gold 
and silver treasures,” etc. Next morning, before sunrise, go to 
the tree, cut off the twigs, cast, them east, west, north, and south, 
and say, “ Dear God, I beg Thee,” etc., and let two boys follow 
them (Perles, in “Gratz Jubelschrift,” p. 33). 

Eggs. If you steal an egg you will have seven years of 
poverty (Pinsk; Byelostok). 

Epidemics. During epidemics open the door only when the 
person outside has knocked thrice (Galicia ; Sch. 202). 

Evil eye. To throw off the evil eye, spit three times on your 
finger-tips, and each time make a quick movement with your 
hand in the air (Galicia; Sch. 179). 

Fingers. The reason for holding the fingers downward and 
extended while washing them in the morning is that the evil 
spirits which hover about man in the night-time may be washed 
away (Gamaliel ben Pedalizur). 

“ Feklmcsteii .” If one is sick his female relatives should go 
to the graves of some pious men and measure the graves and the 
distances between them with wicks ; candles should then he 
made of the length of these wicks and be presented to the syna- 
gogue or bet ha-mid rash (general in Russia). 

Feet. Itching of the feet implies that you will come to some 
unknown place (“Sefer Hasidim,” p. 162; comp. Wuttke, lx. 
p. 41). 

If the bridegroom steps on the bride’s foot when both are 
under the huppah it is a sign that he will rule her. If she steps 
on his foot then she will rule him (Lithuania). 

ITair. Cutting a child's. If a child’s hair is cut an elf-lock 
will grow (Jew. Encyc. iv. 31, s.v. Childbirth). 

Hanging-rope. If yon put into a barrel of whisky, or of 
other liquor, a piece of a rope used in a hanging, or with which 
some one has hanged himself, the liquor will last longer than 
otherwise (Minsk). 

Hnl ha-Mo'cd. As Hoi ha-MoVd is only a lialf-lioliday, you 
should write on that day obliquely or sidewise (Riga). 

House-building. Do not build a house where no one has 
built before : if you do, get some one to inhabit it for a year, for 
the first tenant in a newly constructed house is likely to become 
poor. Neither door nor window should be entirely closed ; leave 
a small opening for the demons (Lithuania; Kiev; Dvinsk ; 
“Sefer Hasidim,” pp. 17. 20). 

Invisibility. To be a “ ro’eh welo nir’eli ” (one who can see 
without being seen) go into a stall or any similar place, eat a 
roll half a pound in weight, baked hard and crisp, and see that 
not a crum of it is lost. After you have successfully accom- 
plished this task a “taichel” (devil) will show himself before 
you and endeavor by different pranks to make you laugh ; if you 



601 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Superstition 

Suretyship 


are successful in not laughing, another taichel will bring you a 
“ yarmulka ” (hat) ; then a third will perforin other funny 
pranks. If yon still refrain from laughing, a fourth will present 
you with a bone. If you carry this bone you will become a 
ro’eli welo nir’eh. 

Languages. Some Russian Jews believe that some time be- 
fore a child is born the angel Raphael teaches it all the (70) 
languages of the world ; but that as the child leaves the mother’s 
womb the same angel gives the child a fillip on the upper lip, 
causing it to forget them all (Pinsk). 

Looking back. In running from danger never turn to look 
back, as you may be transformed, like Lot’s wife, into a bag of 
salt (Kiev). 

Mini fan. It is lucky to be the tenth of a minyan (general 
superstition). 

Mirrors. If you break a mirror you will have seven years 
of poverty (Pinsk). 

If you place a mirror in front of a sleeping man with a candle 
between them, and then call him by name, he will follow you 
wherever you will; but if he gives you a “backhander” you 
will not live the year out (Galicia ; Sch. 53). 

Money. In taking money out of a money-bag or safe never 
take out all of it, but leave a coin or two “ for luck,” for money 
attracts money (Grodno). 

It is lucky to save the first money made at market (Kiev; 
comp. Grimm, p. 85: “ He who lends the first money he makes 
at market gives away his luck ”). 

Mourning. Weep not too much for the dead, or you may 
have some one else to weep for : weep three days, mourn seven, 
and put aside ornaments thirty. If you do more, God will say, 
“ Are you more pitiful than I ? ” (‘ k Sefer TIasidim,” p. 15) . 

Ovens. Never leave an oven or_stove empty ; if you have 
nothing to cook or bake in it put a piece of wood in it ; if you 
leave it empty you may not have anything to bake or cook when 
you want it (Minsk), 

Plagues. If there is an epidemic write on the door of the 
house, 11 Here has Typhus [or Cholera, etc.] already been,” and 
the house will remain untouched. Or hang on the door a 
locked “Sehloss” and throw the key away. Or draw a black 
mark with coal on the outer wall (Galicia; Sch. 80-82). 

Rats. If rats run from one house to another, the house into 
which they have run will have luck (Byelostok). 

Right and left eye. If the right eye itches, you will re- 
joice ; if the left, you will cry (Galicia ; Sch. 19). 

Sale of children. In a family in which several children have 
died, the mother, before she gives birth to another child, goes 
to an old man whose children, and even grandchildren, are all 
alive, and sells him her unborn child for a certain sum, which 
the old man agrees to pay. The old man is then considered 
the “grandfather” of the boy. One of the conditions in this 
transaction is that the old man reserves the right to name the 
child, which name is not told to the hoy nor to his parents, but 
will be disclosed in the “ grandfather’s ” will if he dies, or to 
the bride of the “ grandchild ” under the huppah, when the sum 
which the old man lias paid will be refunded. The boy is called 
“Alter” (see Names). The old man is said to have “hazla- 
kah ” (Russia and America). 

Shoes. Never walk in one shoe, or one slipper, etc., other- 
wise one of your parents will die (Minsk). 

Shroud. In making a shroud, avoid knots (South Russia ; 
“Rokeali,” p. 316; comp. Wuttke, “Deutsche Aberglaube,” p. 
210).' * • 

Sin-buying. If a boy lias committed some slight sin (c.r/., 
torn a paper on the Sabbath) another says to him, “What 
will you give if I buy your sin from you ? ” “ An apple,” “ a 
marble,” may be the reply. The bargain is made ; the conscience 
of the one is quieted, but the other is called the “sin-buyer” 
and despised (“Urquell,” ii. 165-166). This sometimes occurs 
among adults, and the buyer often has trouble to induce the 
sinner to 11 take back his sin” (see “Sin-Eater,” in “Folk- 
Lore,” ii.). 

Sisters. Sisters should not marry on the same day lest the 
evil eye fall on the parents ; and two brothers should not marry 
two sisters (“Sefer Hasidim,” pp. 23-26). Do not marry two 
sisters one after the other {ib. p. 27) . Father and son should not 
marry two sisters {ib. p. 28). 

Stepping across a child. If yon step over a child it will 
stop growing (Kiev). To make it resume growing, recross it 
(Galicia; sch. iv. 93; this superstition is wide-spread; see a 
large collection of references in “ Urquell,” vi. 111). 

Sweeping. You should not throw sweepings out of the room 
at night ; if .you do you may die (Galicia ; Sch. 7). 

Throwing out dirt. You must not throw dirt after a man 
as he is leaving a room (Galicia ; Sch. 4). 


You must not sweep a chamber at night ; if you do, you will 
either not be able to sleep, or you will lose something (Galicia ; 
Sch. 5, 6) 

Widowhood. The third (fourth, etc.) husband of a widow, 
or wife of a widower, will die soon after the marriage (Wilna). 

It is to be observed that Jews themselves recog- 
nize tlieir tendency to superstition. A proverbial 
expression among the Russian Jews runs, “Last 
year’s snow for headache” — a sarcastic reference 
to the impractical nature of folk-medicine. See 
‘Alknu; Bibliomancy ; Childbirth ; Death, 
Views and Customs Concerning; Dibbukim; 
Folk-Lore ; Folk-Medicine ; Golem ; IIolle 
K iiEisn ; Numbers and Numerals; Salt; Teku- 
faii; Ten; Transmigration of Souls. 

Bibliography: Brecher, Das Tran seen den tale ini Talmud ; 

Gudemann, Gesch. ii. 326 et seq.\ Leo Wiener, Yiddish Liter- 
ature , pp. 50, 51, note (bibliography); Mitteilungen dcr Ge- 

sellschaft f ur Jildische Volkskunde* 1897-1905. ^ 

SUPPORT, See Husband and Wife. 

SURA. See Babylon. . 

SURETYSHIP; The liability, contract, or un- 
dertaking of one who becomes a surety. Refer- 
ence to a surety occurs only once in the Penta- 
teuch; namely, in Gen. xliii. 9, where Judah tells 
Jacob that he will be surety for Benjamin’s safe re- 
turn. But in Proverbs tbe commercial surety, the 
man bound for the debt of another, is mentioned 
again and again, both in warnings against under- 
taking a suretyship and in admoni- 
4 4 Arrabo.” tions to fulfil the obligation when it 
has been undertaken. The Hebrew 
word 2"iy, and the derivative finny, “pledge or 
earnest-money,” were also Phenician words, and 
came, through them, into Latin in the form 
“ arrabo. ” 

The Talmud distinguishes between the surety in 
the usual form and one who, though he has not 
received the benefit of a loan or sale, makes him- 
self in form the principal debtor; and it calls such 
a person “kabbelan ” (undertaker). This relation is 
known in modern law as that of an accommodation 
maker or acceptor ; and it may arise in many other 
ways than that referred to in the Talmud. 

For the necessity of a consideration for the surety- 
ship, see Deed; for the means at the disposal of 
the surety to protect or to recoup himself, see In- 
demnity. 

I. Where the loan is made or credit is given on 
the faith of the surety, and he joins in the bond or 
contract, no question of his liability arises. But if 
the loan or sale has been made the money or goods 
are handed over to the borrower, and if afterward a 
third person offers to become surety in order to ob- 
tain forbearance for the debtor (“let lnm alone and 
I become his surety ”), opinions differ as to the re- 
quirements for a binding contract. Maimonides, 
basing his views on the discussions in the Talmud 
(Ket.°10lb, 102a, and B. B. 176a, b), takes the 
ground that the surety’s promise must, even when 
he joins in the bond, rest on a “kinyan” (acquisi- 
tion), some article being delivered to him pro forma 
as a consideration for his promise ; while others re- 
quire such a formality only when the surety comes 
in after the ensealing of the debtor’s several bond. 

Suretyships may be contracted in open court. A 



Suretyship 

Siisskind 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


602 


judgment having been rendered against A, pro- 
ceedings in execution against him may be stayed if 
B, a solvent and well-to-do man, makes himself an- 
swerable for the judgment, as is the case in many 
states of the United States (“replevin bonds” or 
“ stay bonds ”). Maimonides admits that in such a 
case no formal kinyan is necessary; and he is of 
opinion that a recognizance made in open court 
operates like a bond (“shetar ”) upon sold or en- 
cumbered land. 

II. Though the surety be fully bound, the cred- 
itor must demand pa 3 r ment f rom the principal debtor 
before demanding it from the surety ; and if the 
former has &uy property, this should be exhausted 
before that of the surety. But when the principal 

debtor has property only in another 
Surety country, or when he is a man of vio- 
After lence, who will not submit to the 
Debtor. judges, or will not appear in court, 
the creditor may satisfy his claim out 
of the surety first, and leave him to contest the 
matter with the debtor. Under an institution of the 
Geonim the creditor, unless he is excused as above, 
before proceeding against the surety has to make 
oath (the lesser oath) that he has exhausted the 
debtor’s estate and that the debt is still unpaid. 
But if the parties have agreed that the surety ma} r be 
sued first, the creditor may sue him ; and the “kab- 
belan ” who contracts in form as principal is always 
sued in the first instance. The language which 
constitutes one a kabbelan must be very precise : 
thus the words “ lend money to him ” indicate a bor- 
rower ; and lie who is mentioned after those intro- 
ductoiy words as promising to pay is necessarily 
a surety (B. B. 174a). 

The Talmud (ib. 174b) takes it for granted that 
among the Gentiles the creditor has always the 
right to sue the surety first; certainly in the Roman 
law two or more joint obligors may be sued to- 
gether, regardless of the question which of them en- 
joyed the consideration and which was only bound 
as surety. Where two sureties have bound them- 
selves for a debt the creditor may levy on the estate 
of either. On the other hand, following an opinion 
of the Palestinian Talmud in Shebu. v., it was held 
that where two men borrow on the same bond, or 
partners incur a joint debt, each one is a principal 
for his own share, but onty a surety for his com- 
panion as to the remainder, which he should not be 
compelled to pay while the true debtor has property 
open to levy. 

III. It seems (ib.) that one who declares himself 
liable for the jointure (“ketubah”) as fixed by law 
is not held liable unless he he the groom’s father, 
and then only by means of kinyan ; but a suretyship 
on the clause to refund the dowry is binding. In 

decisions of later date than the Tal- 
As mud, but fully recognized by Mai- 
Regards monides, a suretyship on a conditional 
Dowry. contract — for instance, on a warranty 

of title in a deed of conveyance — is 
not binding at all, even though the forms of kinyan be 
observed. It is admitted, however, that where A 
says to B, “ Be thou surety for C, and I will he surety 
to thee against loss,” the agreement is binding. 

The question as to the validity of indefinite guar- 


anties is not discussed in the Talmud ; and the later 
authorities differ concerning it. Maimonides says: 

. “ Where one has not defined the amount of surety- 
ship, hut says, ‘ Whatever thou shalt leud him, or 
whatever thou shalt sell him, I am good for,’ some 
of the Geonim taught that even if 20,000 dinars’ 
worth of goods or 100,000 in money had been ad- 
vanced, the surety [guarantor] is bound for it all; 
but in my opinion he is bound for nothing, because 
liis mind had never conceived what he was bound 
for. But let whoever understands these things rea- 
son the matter out.” The Shullian ‘Aruk does not 
touch the point. 

Bibliography: Yad. Malwch, nv„ xxvi.; Slnilhan L Ara7c, 

Hoslien Mishpctt , 129-132. 

\v. B. , L. N. D. 

SURINAM. See West Indies. 

SURNAMES. See Names. 

SUSA. See Shush ax. 

SUSANNA, THE HISTORY OF; One of 

the books of the Protestant Apociypha; entitled in 
some manuscripts “ The J udgment of Daniel. ” The 
Greek text is extant in two recensions: that of the 
Septuagint (given onty in the Codex Cliisianus) and 
that of Theodotion. The latter is the one adopted 
by the early Christian writers and followed in 
the present common English translations. That it 
was in early times regarded as a part of the Book of 
Daniel appears from the fact that in most Greek 
manuscripts it stands at the beginning of that book; 
Jerome places it at the end of Daniel, with a notice 
that it is not found in the Hebrew Bible. It was 
accepted as canonical by the Christians generally 
up to the third century (its canouicity was disputed 
by Julius Africanus); and it is still so regarded by 
Catholics. Origen observes (in the “Epistola ad 
.Africanum ”) that it was “ hidden ” b} r the Jews ; but 
the precise significance of this remark is not clear, 
ns there are no early Jewish references to the book 
(the. comparison of a woman to a red rose, made 
in the Midrash on Lev. R. xv. at end, has no dis- 
cernible connection with Susanna). 

The texts of the Septuagint and Theodotion differ 
from each other in a number of details; and other 
variations are found in the Syriac versions (ed. by 
Walton and Lagarde). The main story is as fol- 
lows: Susanna (rUfe?E> = “ lily ” ; comp. Cant. ii. 1), 
the beautiful and pious wife of the rich Joacim 
(.Joakim) of Babylon, walking in her garden, is seen 
by two elders, recently appointed judges, who, in- 
flamed with lust, approach her with 
Contents, an infamous proposal, and, when re- 
pulsed, accuse her publicly of adul- 
teiy. Brought before the tribunal, she is found 
guilty, and is led forth to execution ; but at this 
moment Daniel, then a young lad, interposes and by 
a clever device shows the falsity of the accusers. 
These are put to death; Susanna is justified; and 
Daniel’s reputation among the people is thenceforth 
very high. The Septuagint version appears to be 
the older: it is cruder than the other, and introduces 
an angel (verse 45) who inspires Daniel with wisdom 
for the emergency. The Theodotion text is fuller, 
and has more literary finish. 

The origin of the story is uncertain : possibty it 



603 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Suretyship 

Susskind 


rests on some tradition, but more probably is a pure 
invention suggested by facts of not infrequent oc- 
currence (see Jer. xxix. 23, and comp. Koran ii. 96). 
The author’s purpose is variously conceived: as in- 
sistence on carefulness in judging or as admonition 
to young men to be wise like Daniel (see verse 62 in 
the Septuagint). But it is unnecessary to suppose 
a definite moral. The story is a folk-tale in lauda- 
tion of the famous prophet Daniel ; and the moral, 
such as it is, develops naturally from the incidents. 

The booklet probably dates from the second or 
first centuiy b.c. It appears to have been written 
originally in Greek: the style is flowing; and the 
Hebraisms are such as are found in the Septuagint. 
There are two plays upon words in the Greek (verses 
54, 55, and 58, 59); and these are commonly sup- 
posed to point to a Greek original; but Marshall (in 
Hastings, “Diet. Bible,” s.v.) maintains that they 
may be explained from an Aramaic text. T. 

SUSLIN HA-KOHEN, ALEXANDER. 

See Alexander Suslin, 

SUSPENDED LETTERS: There are four sus- 
pended or elevated (“ teluj’ah ”) letters in the He- 
brew Bible: (1) the “nun” in n^D, in Judges 
xviii. 30; (2) the “‘ayin” in ‘W'D, in Ps. lxxx. 13; 
(3) the “ ‘ayin ” in in Job xxxviii. 13; and (4) 

the “ ‘ayin ” in ib. verse 15. This maso- 

rah is mentioned in the Talmud, and appears to be 
earlier than that of the Small and Large Letters. 

The object in suspending the letters in question 
is not quite clear. The Rabbis proposed to elimi- 
nate the suspended “ nun ” and to read “ Moskeli ” 
(Moses) in place of “Manasseh,” as Gershom was 
the son of Moses (ICliron. xxiii. 15); it is only, they 
said, for the reason that Jonathan (the son of Ger- 
shom) adopted the wickedness of Manasseh that he 
is called “ the grandson of Manasseh ” (B. B. 109b ; 
comp. Yer. Ber. ix. 3). But the difficulty is that 
there is no record that Moses’ son Gershom had a son 
named Jonathan, his only known son being Sliebuel 
{ICliron. xxvi. 24). On the other hand, Jonathan, 
the priest of the Danites, was evidently a young Le- 
vite (Judges xviii. 3), and not the son of Manasseh. 

Commenting on the suspended “‘ayin” in the 
word the Midrash says that the word may also 
read (without the ‘“ayin”) TPD “ YIK'D = “from 
the river or the sea.” The hoar or swine coming 
from the sea is less (another version “ more ”) dan- 
gerous than that from the forest (Lev. R. xiii.). 
This refers to the Roman government, which is 
compared to the swine (Gen. R. Ixviii. ; see also 
Krochmal, “Moreli Nebuke lia-Zeman,” xiii.). 

Regarding the suspended ‘“ayin” in the word 
occurring twice in Job, the Talmud elimi- 
nates the letter and reads D'ESH, which word lias a 
double meaning — “ rulers ” aud “ poor ” — the tyrants 
below who are poor and powerless above. But, it 
is explained, out of respect to King David the rulers 
in this case were not identified with the wicked; 
hence the spelling D’JJEn (Sank. 23b; see Raslii ad 
Zog. , and Geiger, “Ursclirift,” p. 258). 

A more plausible explanation is that the suspended 
letters are similar in origin to the “kerc” and 
“ketib.” In this case the authorities, who could 


not decide between two readings, whether the letter 
in question preceded or followed the next letter, 
placed it above, so that it might be read either way. 
Thus the original reading in Judges was probably 
“Jonathan, the son of Gershom in Manasseh ” = 
n£0232 (comp. Judges vi. 15), i.e., in the land of Ma- 
nasseh, whither the Danites emigrated. Another 
reading was “ the son of Moses ” (n&yD p) ; and the 
suspended “ nun ” makes it possible to read the word 
either way (“ Moses ” or “ Manasseh ”). Another pos- 
sible explanation is that the original reading was 
“Mosheli,” the “nun” being introduced to suggest 
“Manasseh,” so as to avoid the scandal of having a 
grandson of Moses figure as the priest of an idol- 
atrous slirine. The suspended ‘“ayin” of 
makes the second reading TJJD, “of the city,” refer- 
ring to the capital Rome as alluded to in the Mid- 
rash. The word D’JJEn in Job, if the “shin” and 
‘“ayin” be transposed, reads D^JT), “storms” (the 
plural of fcyyi) ; this 'change brings the verses into 
entire harmony with the context and in accord with 
the previous chapter (comp. Job xxxvii. 3, 4, 6, 11 
with ib. xxxviii. 1, 9, 22, 28, 34, 35). On further 
constructions of the words in question see the crit- 
ical commentaries. 

t. J. D. E. 

Bibliography: Eisenstein, in Ner ha-Ma'ambU i. (1896), p.7. 

SUSSKIND, ALEXANDER B. MOSES. 
See Alexander Susskind b. Moses, 

SUSSKIND, ALEXANDER B. SAMUEL. 
See Alexander Susskind b. Samuel. 

SUSSKIND, ALEXANDER B. SOLOMON 
WIMPFEN : Wealthy citizen of Frankfort-on- 
the-Maiu, and a resident of Worms in the second half 
of the thirteenth century ; died on the Day of Atone- 
ment, 1307. He spent almost his entire fortune in 
ransoming the body of Meir of Rothenbukg, 
which liad been denied burial for nearly fourteen 
years ; lie asked as his sole reward that he might be 
interred beside it. His tombstone has been pre- 
served almost intact. 

Bibliography : Heilprin, Seder ha-Dorot , p. 5S ; Cassel, Lehr- 
bucli der Jlldischen Gesch. und Literatur, p. 378, Leipsic, 
1879; Griitz, Gesch. vii. 175; Lewvsotm, Net f shot Zaddikitih 
pp. 39-41, Frankf ort-on-tb e-Mai n , 1855, 

J. s. 0. 

SUSSKIND (SUEZKINT) OF TRIMBERG : 

German minnesinger ; flourished in the second half 
of the thirteenth century, or, according to Graetz, 
about 1200. He is called after his birthplace Trim- 
berg, a town with a castle of the same name, in 
Franconia, near Wurzburg. Little is known of his 
life; but it is supposed that he was a physician. 
The six poems of his which have been preserved in 
the Manesse collection (now at Paris, formerly in 
Heidelberg) show that he took high rank among the 
poets of his time. He sang of the worth of the vir- 
tuous woman, and portrayed for the knights the 
ideal nobleman: “Who acts nobly, him will I ac- 
count noble.” 

Sharing the suffering of his oppressed brethren, 
he bitterly complains that the wealthy grant him 
scanty support, for which reason he is determined 
to abandon poetry and to live henceforth as a Jew. 
The most characteristic of his poems is the Fable of 
the Wolf: 



Sussmann 

Sutro 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


604 


‘ v Ein Wolf viel jaemerlicbeu sprach : 

Wa [where] sol icli nh heliben [remain]. 

Sit [since] ich dur mines libes nar [for my support] 

Muoz wesen in der ahte [must live in ban] ? 

Darzuo so bin ich geborn, diu schult, diun ist nicht. min [it is 
not my fault]; 

Yil manic man hat guot gemach [many a one is in pleasant cir- 
cumstances], 

den man siht valscheit triben [whom one sees deal falsely] 
nut guot gewinnen offenbar [and evidently acquire wealth] 
mil siindecliher trahte [with sinful aspirations]; 
der tuot wirser vil, dan ob ich naem ein genslein. 

Jan [not at all] hub ich nicht, des goldes rot 
Zesrebene umb mine spise [to jrive for my food], 
des muoz ich rouben uf den lip durch hungers not [therefore I 
must deprive myself and suffer hunger], 
der valsch in siner wise ist schedelicher, dan ich, 
nut wil unsehuldic sin [the false man acts much worse than I, 
and yet wishes to appear innocent].” 

Evidently this fable refers to the author’s own 
circumstances or at least to those of his coreligionists. 

Bodmer (1759) and Yon der Hagen (1838) reprinted 
the poems from Manesse’s collection. 

Bibliography; Allgemeine Deutsche Biographic, xxxvii. 
334-336 : Griitz, Gcscli. 3d ed., vi. 233 et scq.; Kurz, Gesch . 
der Deutschen Literatur , 8th ed., i. 76 ; Alla. Zcit. clcs Jud. 
1896, p. 395. 

S. S. Man. 

SUSSMANN, ABRAHAM BEN JOSEPH : 

Shohet in London in the first half of the nineteenth 
century. He wrote a commentary on Yoreli De‘ah 
in four parts, which were entitled respectively 
“Sifte Zahab,” “ Adne Zahab,” “Lebushe Tebu’ali,” 
and “ Lebushe Serad.” He also compiled an index 
to the last-named work which was entitled “Be’er 
Yosef,” and two supplements, “Hezkut ha-Bayit,” 
and, later, “Mazzebet Me'ir Yosef” (Konigsberg 
1853). 

Bibliography: Fiirst, Bihl. J ud. iii. 398 ; Benjacob, Ozarha- 
Sefarim , p.70; S. van Straalen, Cat. llchr. Books Bril. Mas. 
p. 333. 

J- S. O. 

SUSSMANN, ELIEZER. See Boedelsiieim, 
Eleazar Sussmann is. Isaac. 

SUSSMANN, EZRA BEN JEKUTHIEL ; 

Polish scholar of the eighteenth century. He was 
the author of “Hoslien Yeshu‘ot” (Minsk, 1802), a 
commentary on the Pirke Abot. 

Bibliography: Benjacob, Ozar ha-Sefarinu p. 171; Fiirst 
Bihl. Jud. iii. 398 ; Zedner, Cat. Hehr. Books Brit. Mas. n 
246 ; S. van Straalen, Cat. Hehr. Books Brit. Mus. p. 367. 

E. C. S. O. 

SUSSMANN, LOB BEN MOSES: Printer 
of the eighteenth century. In 1750 lie established a 
Hebrew press in the printing-office of Johann Jansen 
in Amsterdam, and Baruch ben Eliezer Lippmanii 
Wiener and his sons Jacob and Hayyini worked for 
him. A few years later Sussmann established an 
independent office, and engaged, besides the above- 
mentioned assistants, the proselytes Simeon and Ja- 
cob ben Gedaliah. 

Prom Sussmann ’s press were issued the following 
works: Judah ben Benjamin Stadthageirs “Miiiliat 
Tehudah,” 1763; Solomon Ilanau’s prayer-book and 
grammatical commentary, 1766; the Book of Job, 
with Bahya’s commentary on same, 1766; the Pen- 
tateuch, with Isaac Prenzlau’s “Tikkun Sofcrim,” 
1767; aud the opinions of Mekor Baruk, 1771. 
Shortly after the publication of the last-named work 
Sussmann emigrated to Leyden ; he remained there 
but a short time, however, and in 1779 he became 


associated with J. H. Munnikliuisen in The Hague, 
where he published the “ Mebbakesh ” by Falaquera. 
His son Sussmann ben Lob worked, toward the 
end of the eighteenth century, with the printer Jo- 
hann Levi Bofe of The Hague on the publication of 
“ Yoreli De'ali.” 

Bibliography: Ei-scli and Gruber, Encyc. section ii., s.v. 
Jlidischc Typographic , pp. 73-74; Fiirst, Bihl. Jud. iii. 398. 

S. S. 0. 

SUSSMANN, SHABBETHAI BEN ELIE- 
ZER: Scholar of the eighteenth century. He com- 
piled under the title “‘Me’ir Natib ” (Altona, 1793- 
1802) a general index, in three volumes, to the to- 
safot. to the entire Talmud. In llie introduction to 
this work he mentions as other works written by 
himself the following: “‘Anunude Kesef,” “Dam- 
niesek Elie'zer,” “NerTamid,” and “ Katitla-Ma’or.” 
None of these has, however, been published. 

Bibliography: Beajaeob, Ozar ha-Sefarim , p. 278; Fiirst, 
Bihl. Jud. iii. 398; Zedner, Cat. Hehr. Books Brit. Mus. p. 
092. 

E. c. S. O. 

SUTRO, ABRAHAM : German rabbi ; born at 
Briick, near Erlangen, July 5, 1784; died at Mun- 
ster Oct. 10. 1869. He studied in the yesliibot of 
Fttrtli and Prague, and was in 1814 appointed 
teacher in Beichensachsen by the then existing con- 
sistory of Westphalia; later in the same year he was 
transferred as teacher to Beverungen, where lie 
officiated also as rabbi of the district of Warburg. 
After the redistricting of Westphalia be was ap- 
pointed “ Landesrabbiuer ” for the districts of Mun- 
ster and Dortmund in 1815, and in 1S28 chief rabbi of 
the district of Padcrborn, holding the latter posi- 
' lion until Ins death. He wrote: “ Widerlegung der 
Schrift des Ilerrn II. B. H. Cleve ‘ Der Geist des Rab- 
binismus’ aus Bibel und dem Talmud” (Munster, 
1823); and “Milhamot Adonai ” (Hanover, 1836; 2cl 
ed., Fmnkfort-on-the-Main, 1836), a protest against 
religious reforms, especially the use of the organ 
in the synagogue. He published also sermons and 
articles in the “Zionswacliter ” of Altona. 

Sutro was an active advocate of tlfe emancipation 
of the Jews, and during the era of reaction he re- 
peatedly petitioned the Prussian Diet to repeal the 
ordinances declaring the Jews ineligible for public 
office. A few months before his death he had the 
satisfaction of seeing passed the law of Juty 3 } 
I860, which removed all the disabilities of the Jews. 
Some of Sutro’s grandchildren have become con- 
verts to Christianity (“Allg. Zeit. des Jud.” 1902, 
p. 488; 1903, p. 325). 

Bibliography : Der Israelii , pp. 829-831, Mayence, I860. 

s. ' D. 

SUTRO, ADOLPH HEINRICH JOSEPH; 

American mechanical engineer; bom at Aix-la- 
Cliapelie, Rhenish Prussia, April 29, 1830; died at 
San Francisco Aug. 8, 1S9S; educated in his native 
town, and at several of the best polytechnic schools 
of Germany. At an early age he was placed in 
charge of his father’s extensive woolen mills, hut 
the revolution of 1848 impoverished the family and 
it was compelled to emigrate to America, settling- 
in Baltimore in 1850. In the same year, however, 
the discovery of gold induced Sutro to go to San 




Sutro 

Sweden 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


606 


Francisco, where he engaged in business until, sev- 
eral years later, the discovery of mines in Nevada 
attracted him thither. He inspected the fields there, 
and soon established at Dayton, Nev., a stamping- 
mill for the reduction of silver ore, which proved a 
technical and financial success. The scheme of con- 
structing a tunnel to serve as a drain through the 
Comstock lode, in which the heat resulting from 
the great depth of the shafts had made work im- 
possible, originated with Sutro. In 1864 he matured 
his plans, and after many efforts to interest Ameri- 
can and European capitalists in his venture, he 
chartered The Sutro Tunnel Company on Feb. 4, 
I860, receiving the approval of Congress in the fol- 
lowing year. The construction of the shaft of the 
tunnel, which is situated at Sutro, a village in the 
Carson River valley, was begun Oct. 19, 1869, and 
finished July 8, 1879. The main shaft is 12 feet 
wide, 10 feet deep, 20,500 feet long, and is 1,600 feet 
below the surface. 

In 1879 Sutro sold his interest in the company and 
returned to San Francisco, where, during the Kearny 
riots and sand-lot agitation, lie invested heavily in 
real estate, not sharing in the general despair of 
the city’s future. As a result he became one of the 
richest men on the Pacific slope, owning about one- 
tenth of the area of San Francisco, including Sutro 
Heights, which he turned into a beautiful public 
park and which became the property of the munici- 
pality after his death. He gave the city, also, many 
statues and fountains, built an aquarium and baths, 
and in 1887 presented it with a duplicate of Bar- 
tholdi's monument, “Liberty Enlightening the 
World.” 

In 1894 Sutro was elected mayor of San Francisco 
on the Populist ticket. He was an active collector 
of books and manuscripts, and left, a library of over 
200,000 volumes, including 135 rare Hebrew manu- 
scripts and a large collection of early Americana. 

Bibliog rapht : Americans Successful Men of Affairs, p. 777, 
New York, 1896; Appleton's Cyclopedia . of American Bi- 
ography, vi. 2. 

a. I. G. D. 

STJTRO, ALFRED : English author and drama- 
tist; born in London about 1S70; educated at the 
City of London School and in Brussels. He began his 
career with a series of translations of Maeterlinck’s 
works, all of which except the dramas he has trans- 
lated from the French. Afterward turning his at- 
tention to the drama, he at first collaborated with 
Arthur Bourchier in producing “The Chili Widow” 
(1896), then wrote in rapid succession “The Cave 
of Illusion” (1900), “Aretliusa” (1903), “A Mar- 
riage Has Been Arranged ” (1904), and finally made 
a great success with “The Walls of Jericho,” pro- 
duced at the Garrick Theatre, London, Oct. 21, 
1904. 

Bibliography : TBlto’s ir7io, 1904. 

J. 

SUTRO, THEODORE : American lawyer ; born 
at Aix-la-Chapelle, Prussia, March 14, 1845. When 
only five years of age he emigrated with his parents 
■to the United States, and was educated at Harvard 
University, from which he graduated in 1871, and 
in the law school of Columbia College, at which he 
took his degree in 1874. In the latter year he was ad- | 


mitted to the New York bar, where he has practised 
ever since. When, in 1887, the Sutro Tunnel Com- 
pany of Nevada was financially embarrassed Sutro 
organized the Comstock Tunnel Company, which, 
took over the stock of the Sutro Company, and 
thus saved the latter from absolute ruin. 

Sutro is well known as au authority in cases re- 
ferring to the laws of , taxation. He has taken an 
active interest in politics, and was commissioner of 
taxes in New York city from 1885 to 1898. He has 
contributed to various periodicals articles treating 
of the laws of taxation, of corporations, of medical 
jurisprudence, and of mining. 

a. F. T. IL 

SVAB, KARL: Hungarian landed proprietor, 
and member of the Hungarian Upper House; born 
at Csongrad in 1829; educated at the real-school of 
Budapest. In 1846 he began to devote himself to 
agriculture, but two years later he took part, as 
lieutenant and adjutant under Colonel Bene, in the 
Hungarian struggle for liberty. On the restoration of 
peace Svab resumed his agricultural pursuits, and 
was active in the founding of agricultural societies 
in the counties of Belies and Torontal. From 1875 
to 1885 lie sat in the Hungarian Parliament as a 
member for the district of Torok-Kanizsa, and in 
1885 King Francis Joseph I. made him a life mem- 
ber of the Hungarian Upper House. Svab is pres- 
ident of the Ungarisch-Israelitischer Landes-Sti- 
pendien-Yerein. 

Bibliography: Sturm, Orszdggylilesi A Imanach, 1901-5. 
s. L. Y. 

SVIIT. See Periodicals. 

SWALLOW : Rendering in the English versions 
for “deror” (Ps. lxxxiv. 4 [A. V. 3]; Prov. xxvi. 2) 
and for “sus” or “sis” (Isa. xxxviii. 14; Jer. viii. 

7 [A. Y. “crane”]). There are about ten species of 
swallow {Hiruncliniclce) and the closely allied martin 
and swift {Oypselidoe) in Palestine. In the Talmud 
“senunit” is the usual name for' the swallow, and 
the Biblical “ deror ” is also used. A distinction is 
made between the white, the green (or yellow), and 
the house swallow (Hul. 62a). The senunit., which, 
according to Sliab. 77b, inspires the eagle with 
dread, may perhaps be intended for another bird of 
the species Tymnnm intrepid us, which seats itself 
on tlie back of the eagle and which resembles the 
swallow. 

Bibliography : Tristram, Nat. Hist. p. 204 ; Lewysohn, Zoo- 
log ie des Talmud# , p. 206. 

E. G. II. I. M. C. 

SWAN : The rendering of the Authorized Ver- 
sion for “tinshemet” (Lev. xi. 18; Dent. xiv. 16). 
Tjhe Revised Version, more correctly, gives “ horned 
owl” (see Lizard; Mole; Owl). 

Two species of swan have been found in Palestine, 
the wliooper, or wild swan ( Cycjnus musicus , or 
ferns), and the Cygmis olor, or mansuetus ; they are, 
however, comparatively rare. 

Some take the “ barburim abusim ” of the Talmud 
(B. M. 86b) to mean “swans,” though the usual ren- 
dering is “ fattened hens. ” 

Bibliography : Tristram, Nat. Hist. p. 249 ; Lewysohn, Zoo- 
log ie des Talmuds , p. 194. 

E. G. H. I. M. C. 



607 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Sutro 

Sweden 


SWAYING THE BODY : The liabit of sway- 
ing the body during study and prayer has been 
peculiar to the Jews from very early times, and 
it is one still practised by them in the Orient and 
eastern Europe. In the Zoliar, R. Jose asks R. 
Abba: “ Why is it that among all nations the Jews 
alone have the habit of swaying the body when they 
study the Law ? ” R. Abba answers : “ It illustrates 
the excellence of their souls. The spirit of man is 
the candle of the Lord 1 [Prov. xx. 27] refers to them. 
The light of that candle flickers and wavers in uni- 
son with the light of the Torah. The Gentiles have 
not the light of the Torah, and burn up like straw ” 
(Zoliar, Pinehas, pp. 118b, 119a). 

Judah ha-Levi (12th cent.), in his “Cuzari” (ii. 
80), assigns two reasons for the habit: (1) it causes 
animation and activity; (2) the scarcity of books 
compelled many scholars to use the same volume, 
and the necessity of alternately leaning forward to 
read developed a habit of swaying which persisted 
in later years, when books were more plentiful. The 
second explanation is rather ingenious; the custom 
of many scholars studying together from one volume 
is still in vogue among the Yemen Jews. The first 
explanation, however, is in harmony with the idea 
of the verse, “All my bones shall say, Lord, who 
is like unto thee?” (Ps. xxxv. 10). Jacob ben 
Asher, the “Ba‘al lia-Turim ” (14th cent.), in his 
comment upon the passage “When the people saw 
it, they removed ” (“ wa-yamTu ” = “ swayed in uni- 
son”; Ex. xx. 18), says: “This accounts for the 
swaying of the body during the study of the Torah, 
which was received with awe, trembling, and sha- 
king.” 

Nathan of Lunel (flourished in 1176) quotes from 
a midrash the custom of swaying at prayer, and 
adds, “This is the custom of the rabbis and pious 
laymen in France” (“ Ha-Manliig, ” p. lob, ed. Gold- 
berg, Berlin, 1855). The custom is mentioned also in 
Abudarliam and in Isserles’ notes on Shulhan 'Aruk 
(Orali Havyim, 48, 1). R. Jacob Molln was accus- 
tomed at the “ ‘ Amidah ” prayer “ to hold a ‘ siddur ’ 
in the right hand (his left hand, concealed under his 
mantle, resting against his heart), and to sway his 
body forward and backward ”(“Sefer ha-Maharil,” 
p. 61a, ed. Warsaw, 1874). The author of “Shibbole 
ha-Leket ” (p. 10a, ed. Buber) quotes Raslii to ex- 
plain the custom of raising oneself on tiptoe three 
times when saying “Holy, holy, holy,” at the “Ke- 
dushsliali”: it is to symbolize the verse, “And the 
posts of the door moved [shook] at the voice of him 
that cried” (Isa. vi. 4); i.e., they shook in awe of 
Yrrwii. 

Perhaps the most plausible explanation of the 
swaying of the body is that of Dr. Simon Brainin. 
It was intended, lie thinks, to afford the body 
exercise during study and prayer, which took up 
a large portion of the time of a great number of 
Jews (Brainin, “Orah la-Hayvim,” p. 126, Wilna, 
1883). 

Some authorities are opposed to the swaying of 
the body, especially at prayer. Samuel lia-Nagid 
(1027-55), the author of “Mebo lia-Talmud,” in 
one of liis poems describes the principal and the 
students of the yeshibah be visited as “swaying 
trees in the desert ” (quoted in “Ha-Mizpah see 


bibliography). Menahem Azariali di Fano (1548- 
1620) forbids any motion of the body at tlie “ ‘Ami- 
dali ” (“ ‘Asarah Ma‘amarot,” article “Em Kol Hai,” 
§ 33, Amsterdam, 1649; idem , Responsa, No. 113, 
Venice, 1600). Another opponent of the custom 
was Isaiah Horowitz (1555-1630), who said that the 
swaying of the body may be allowed at the singing 
of hymns, but not at the “‘Amidah,” for one should 
bear in mind that such violent motion would not be 
tolerated in the presence of even a temporal king 
(comp. Isa. vii. 2; “Shelah,” ed. Amsterdam, 1698, 
p. 25 0a). 

Bibliography: Lewysolm, Mekore Mirihagim , § 2, Berlin, 
1846; Senior Sachs, in Zederbaum’s Ha-Mizpah, St. Peters- 
burg, 1886. 

j. J. D. E. 

SWEDEN : Kingdom of northern Europe. The 
existence of Jews in Sweden in the seventeenth cen- 
tury is vouched for by church records at Stockholm, 
from which it appears that several Jews had joined 
the Lutheran Church, a condition at that time im- 
posed upon any Jew who desired to settle in Sweden. 
In 1681, for example, two Jews of Stockholm, Israel 
Mandel and Moses Jacob, together with their fam- 
ilies, twenty-eight persons in all, were baptized in 
the German church of that city in the presence of 
King Charles XI., the dowager queen Ulrika Eleo- 
nora, and several high state officials. 

In 1680 the Jews of Stockholm petitioned the 
king that members of their race be permitted to re- 
side there without abandoning their 
Baptism a creed, but the application was denied 
Condition because the local consistory bad re- 
of fused to indorse it. On Dec. 3, 1685, 
Residence. Charles XI. ordered the governor- 
general of the capital to see that no 
Jews were permitted to settle in Stockholm, or in 
anj^ other part of the country, “on account of the 
danger of the eventual influence of the Jewish relig- 
ion on the pure evangelical faith.” In case Jews 
were found in any Swedish community, the}' were 
to be notified to leave within fourteen days. 

In tlie seventeenth century, however, the Jewish 
question had merely a religious aspect in Sweden, and 
had not yet assumed the character of a race problem. 
Through court patronage Jewish merchants were 
occasional ly appointed royal purveyors; and during 
the warlike reign of Charles XII. (1697-1718) the 
king usually had one or more wealthy Jews with 
him in the field, to take care of the paymaster’s de- 
partment of his army. Through their influence per- 
mission was obtained (1718) for Jews to settle in tlie 
kingdom without tlie necessity of abjuring their re- 
ligion. After the death of Charles XII. (1718) the 
Swedish government yvas financially embarrassed 
for along time, and the royal household was often 
relieved from pecuniary difficulties by the Jewish 
merchants of Stockholm, who, as a 
Permission reward for their accommodations, in- 
to Settle, sisted on the granting of additional 
privileges to themselves and their co- 
religionists. As a consequence the concession of 
1718 was renewed, and supplemented by royal 
edicts of 1727, 1746, and 1748, but the permission 
had reference only to settlement in tlie smaller cities 
and rural communities. 



Sweden 

Switzerland 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


608 


Iu 1782 an ordinance was issued by which the Jews 
were permitted, on certain conditions, to settle an}'- 
where in the kingdom, and to practise freely the 
tenets of their religion. It was, however, specified 
that Jews were ineligible for government positions 
and for election to the legislative assembly: they 
were, moreover, forbidden to establish schools for 
the propagation of their creed, and to combine witli 
their religious services such ceremonies as might 
possibly cause disquietude in the minds of the gen- 
eral population. 

The government, was desirous of attracting 
wealthy Jews to the countiy, hut it was equalty 
careful to keep out itinerant usurers, quite a num- 
ber of whom had in previous years entered Sweden 
from Germany. Any foreign Jew who landed in 
Sweden was accordingly required to report, within 
eight days of his arrival, to the local authorities, and 
to produce his passport and a certificate of charac- 
ter, as well as a statement of his purpose in coining 
to the country. These certificates were issued by 
the elders of the congregation to which the im- 
migrant belonged in his native countiy, and had to 
be verified by the municipal authorities of the place 
in which the immigrant had last resided. If the 
certificates were unsatisfactoiy, the authorities were 
at liberty to expel the holder; but in case he was 
admitted he was direcred to Stockholm, Gothen- 
burg, or Norrkoping. Jews who were residents of 
the countiy prior to the promulgation of this ordi- 
nance were called upon to present their certificates 
of character to the proper authorities, together with 
a statement setting forth in which city^ tlie 3 r desired 
to settle and make their living. The or- 
Restricted dinance enumerated the different trades 

to Three the Jews were permitted to follow, 

Cities* and it stipulated also that they should 
apprentice their sons to Swedish trades- 
men in one of the three cities mentioned above. 
In order to prevent the overcrowding of the mer- 
cantile field it was prescribed that no foreign-born 
Jew should be allowed to start in business unless he 
possessed at least 2,000 riksdaler (about 8800) in 
cash or negotiable securities; a native-born Jew 
need have onty 1,000 riksdaler. 

As to the retail business, the Jews were prohibited 
from selling victuals, liquor, and drugs, and thej’ 
were permitted to retail their special articles of food, 
wine, kasher meat, mazzot, etc., among themselves 
only. Furthermore, the Jewish retail dealer was not 
permitted to offer his goods for sale in markets out- 
side the city in which he was located, and he was 
compelled to conduct his business in open shops and 
was forbidden to peddle from house to house or in 
the streets. 

The Jews were allowed to establish sjmagogues in 
the above-mentioned three cities, and to keep rabbis 
and other clerical officials. Intermarriages between 

Jews and Cliristians were forbidden. Por every 

Jewish marriage celebrated a fee of six riksdaler 
was to be paid to the orphanage of the royal guards, 
this stipulation being intended as a compensation to 
the army for the exemption of the Jews from mili- 
tary service. In order to protect the interests of de- 
scendants of immigrant Jews the state ordered that, 
on the death of a Jew, the elders of the congregation 


should make an inventory of his estate and submit 
an account thereof, either to the orphans’ court or 
to the municipal authorities. The Jews, however, 
had the right to appoint guardians of minors; and 
a rabbinical court had jurisdiction iu inheritance 
cases. In litigations between Jews and Christians 
where the facts could not be established except 
under oath, the Jew' might be ordered to take the 
customary Jewish oath in the synagogue in the 
presence of the judge. A Jew' convicted of perjury 
became liable to expulsion from the countiy. 

The ordinance of 1782 contained a separate clause 
referring to “particularly wealthy Jew's, or such as 
are proficient in some trade almost, or quite, un- 
known in the country.” Such persons could, 
through the Department of Commerce, petition the 
king for privileges and concessions other than those 
granted in the general ordinance. 

After 1782 the Jews gradually secured concession 
after concession from the government, but those 
living in Stockholm grew overconfident, and car- 
ried their ambitious designs so far that a feeling of 
indignation arose among the general population 
against the ambitious Jewish financiers. This aver- 
sion to the Jews grew' more pronounced as their 
privileges were more 'widely extended ; and it 
reached the limit in 1838, when a new 
Reaction- ordinance was promulgated wdiicli 
ary Decree abolished nearly all the former restric- 

of 1838. tions upon their civic rights (in this 
ordinance the Jew's were, for the first 
time, designated “Mosaiter,” i.e., adherents of the 
Mosaic faith). As a result a serious uprising took 
place in the capital; and numerous complaints were 
presented to the government, denouncing the alleged 
undue preference shown the Jew's at the expense of 
other citizens. On Sept. 21 of the same year the 
government was compelled to revoke the new ordi- 
nance. 

During the following years the book-market was 
deluged by brochures for and against the “ Mosa- 
iter.” This controversy between' sympathizers and 
antagonists of the Jew's continued until 1840, when 
the Commons in the Riksdag petitioned the gov- 
ernment to reestablish the ordinance of 1782 in its 
original form. The friends of the Jews tried to 
show that the petitioners were actuated by religious 
intolerance, but their adversaries openly declared 
the question to he one not of religion, hut of race. 
The anti-Semites in the Riksdag endeavored to 
prove that the Jew's had greatly abused tlie rights 
and privileges granted them in 1782, and that they 
had done so at the expense and to the detriment of 
the native merchants and tradesmen. The efforts 
to create anti-Jewish sentiment in the Riksdag 
'were, however, unavailing, and at a later session of 
that body (1853), when public opinion had turned 
more in favor of the Jew's, they were accorded addi- 

tion9.1 privileges. 

During the latter half of the nineteenth century 
the few remaining disabilities of the Jew's were re- 
moved. By the law of Oct. 26, 1860, they were 
granted the right to acquire real estate in the rural 
communities, whereas they had previously been per- 
mitted to hold real property in tlie cities only. On 
Jan. 20, 1863, another ordinance removed the pro- 



609 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Sweden 

Switzerland 


liibition against intermarriages between Jews and 
Christians, which were declared to be legal provided 
they had been attended by due ceremonies. A later 
ordinance (Oct. 31, 1873) stipulated that the issue of 
marriages between members of the Swedish state 
church and Jews should be brought up in the Lu- 
theran faith. If, however, a pact concerning the 
religion of their future children had been made in 
writing by the parents before their marriage, and 
submitted to the clergyman or other authority who 
performed the marriage ceremony, such agreement 
should remain valid. 

There are, of course, various privileges which the 
Jews, like any other non-Lutherans, can not obtain 
as long as the present constitution of the Swedish 
kingdom is in force. Thus, they can not become 
members of the council of state ; nor can they, as 
judges or as members of committees, take part in 
discussions concerning religious questions. Other- 
wise they enjoy the same rights and are subject to 
the. same duties as the Swedish citizens of the Lu- 
theran faith. 

During the reign of Gustavus III. (1771-92) the 
Jews of Stockholm invited Levi Hirsch from Alt- 
Strelitz, Mecklenburg, to officiate as tlieiv rabbi. 
The first Swedish synagogue was located at Kbp- 
mantorget (Merchants’ Square), Stockholm, in the 
Sjoberg house. After a few years this place was 
found to be too small, and the Jews in tlie cap- 
ital selected the old auction chamber at Tyska 
Brunn (German Well), where they worshiped until 
some years ago, when a synagogue was erected at 
Valirendorfsgatan (Vahrendorf street). At present 
(1905) there are synagogues in all of the larger 
Swedish cities in which Jews have settled in any 


considerable number. 

According to the statistics of 1890 there were in 
the entire kingdom of Sweden 3,402 Jews. Since 
then, however, their number lias been considerably 
augmented, and a conservative estimate places the 
Jewish population at 4,000. 


Bibliography: A. Strindberg, Svenska Foikci t Helgcl nch 
S6ck cn, Stockholm, 1SS2; Sveriges Statskalender, Stockholm, 
1908; Sverige s Hikes Lag, Stockholm, 1900 ; Statistisk hd- 
skrift , Stockholm, 1901. T 

j C. Bf. 


SWINE: Rendering in tlie English versions of 
the Hebrew “liazir.” The swine is enumerated 
among the unclean animals (Lev. xi. 7 ; Deut. xiv. 
8); the use of its flesh as food is branded as apostasy 
(Isa, lxv. 4; Jxvi. 3, 17); and the contempt in which 
the animal was held is expressed in the proverbial use 
of its name (Prov. xi. 22). dlie boar is referred to 
in Ps. lxxx. 13 as the “swine of the woods,” i.e ., 
of the thickets along the banks of the Jordan from 
Jericho to the Sea of Galilee, where it still swarms, 
being comparatively rare elsewheie in Palestine. 

The abhorrence to the swine in later times is illus- 
trated by the endeavor iii the Talmud to avoid even 

mentioniu" it b v name, tho expression illl otllGl' 

thing” (“dabar aliar 77 ) being used instead. Hence 
tyrants and heathen mobs used to enjoy the diver- 
sion of forcing Jews to eat swine (Philo, ii. 531; II 
Macc. vi. 18, vii. 1 ; comp. Josephus, “Ant.”xiii. 8. 
§ 2). Not only was the breeding of the swine for- 
bidden (Men. 64b); but to keep it among flocks was 
prohibited also (B. K. vii. 7 ; Yer. Sliek. 47c). 


The swine is the emblem of filthiness (Ber. 43b). 
It is the richest of all animals because it can find 
its food everywhere (Shah. 155b). Breeders of swine 
are compared to usurers because both grow rich 
easily and rapidly; for the swine fattens quickly 
; (Ber. ooa). 

Among the parts of the swine mentioned as be- 
ing used are its baunclies, which were considered a 
delicacy ; its fat, with which cheeses were embel- 
lished ; the bristles of its back, which were used as 
needles; and its excrement, which was employed by 
tanners (Hul. 17a; ‘Ab. Zarah 35b; Sliab. 90b 
[Rashi] ; Ber. 25a). The swine is one of the three 
animals which grow stronger with age (Sbab. 77b ; 
see Serpent) ; it is, of all animals, most subject to 
disease (Kid. 49b) ; and as its intestines most re- 
semble those of man, an epidemic among swine was 
cause for the ordinance of public prayers and fast- 
ing (Ta‘an. 21b). Its period of gestation is sixty 
days (Bek. 8a). The boar is mentioned under tlie 
name of “liazir lia-bar”: it roams in swamps and 
marshy places (Hub 122a). It crushes its prey, eat- 
ing its fill, and trampling the rest (Pes. li8b). The 
Egyptian swine is referred to in Sanli. 33a, 93a. See, 


also, Leopard. 

Bibliography: Tristram, Nat. Hist, pp. 54, 145; Lewysohn. 
Z. T. p. 146: Cassel, De Judceorum Odm et Abstineiitia a 
'or cilia Eiusque Causis , Magdeburg, 1740. 


Porcina Eiusque ( 
E. G. TI. 


I. M. C. 


SWITZERLAND : Republic of central Europe. 
Jews were living at Basel as early as 1213, and ten 
years later the church chattels were pawned with 
them. There were Jews at Bern in 1259, at St. 
Gall in 1268, at Zurich in 1273, and at Schaffliausen, 
Diesseuhofen, and Luzerne in 1299. In the last- 
named year a Jew of Schaffliausen named Solomon 
owned three houses termed the “ Haselstaude ” ; in 
1333 these houses were in the possession of his son 
Jacob ben Solomon, tlie “circumciser,” who seven’ 
years later sold them to tlie Bishop of 
Early Constance (Ulrich, “Sammlimg Ju- 

Settlers. disclier Gescliichten in der Schweiz,” 
p. 433). About this time Jews from 
Alsace, Ulm, Nuremberg, and various cities of south- 
ern Germany, and even from France, settled at 
Neucliatel, Biel, Vevay, Pruntrut (where many Jew- 
ish merchants were living in 1346), Solotlnirn, Win- 
terthur, Zofingen' and various places in Aargau and 
Thurgau. 

The Jews of Switzerland, like those of Germany, 
were regarded as “ Kammerkneclite ” of the Holy 
Roman Empire, and were under the immediate pro- 
tection of the emperor, to whom they paid an annual 
tribute called the “goldener Opferpfennig ” ; second- 
arily, they stood under the protection of the several 
cities which had acquired the “ Judenregab ” or right 
of protecting the Jews and of levying taxes on them. 
A number of towns admitted the Jews as citizens, 
Biel being tlie first to do so (1305). They did not, 

however, participate in all the rights and duties of 

the Christian population, their citizenship merely 
implying that they were under municipal protection 
during a term of residence limited to a definite 
period. In several places, including Basel, Bern, 
Biel, Zurich, Schaffliausen, and Freiburg, they were 
thus admitted on payment of a certain sum for 


XI. — 39 



Switzerland 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


610 


periods varying from one to ten years. At Basel 
this settlement tax amounted to between two and 
twenty gulden a year, at Scliaffhausen between eight 
and ten, and at Zurich between seven and eighty, 
the amount, being fixed according to the value 
of the property owned by the taxpayer; in case 
the Jew’s privilege of sojourn was prolonged lie 
was obliged to pay between 300 and 400 gul- 
den annually'. Foreign Jews were allowed to 
remain only for a limited time in eacli city: at Zu- 
rich, one day and one night, on pay- 
Jews’ ment of one gulden ; at Freiburg, four 
Social days. Despite the nominal protection 
Position, involved in the rights of citizenship 
the Jews were in reality entirely de- 
fenseless, and were at the mercy of the city au- 
thorities or of the ruling bishops, and the promises 
made them were kept only so long as self-interest 
dictated. 

During the Middle Ages the Jews were almost 
exclusively engaged in money-lending, and they ad- 
vanced funds to counts and nobles, citizens and 
peasants, clergymen and magistrates. The custom- 
ary rate of interest permitted by the authorities was 
two pfennig weekly per pound (1 pound = 240 
pfennig), although the rate was occasionally higher. 
At Basel the Jews were obliged, at the request of the 
board of aldermen, to loan the city five pounds for 
Half a year without interest. Money was generally 
loaned on security, and the Jews were forbidden to 
take church treasures in pledge, or to advance funds 
on weapons, armor, ecclesiastical vestments, chalices, 
or on bloody or wet garments; at Zurich silk in 
quantities of one pound or more might not be 
pawned with a Jew. 

The Jews of Switzerland were hated and despised, 
and socially ostracized. They were compelled to 
wear the so-called Judexiiut as a badge, only Jew- 
ish physicians, of whom there were several in the 
country, being occasionally exempt from this restric- 
tion. At Freiburg Master Joseph practised from 1356 
to 1370, settling in the latter year at Basel, where 
he was appointed municipal physician at a yearly 
salary of 25 pounds. He was succeeded ill this 
office by Master Gutleben, who received a salary of 
50 pounds. Master Simon, a French Jew, was liv- 
ing at Freiburg in 1402, and Ackin of Vesoul, who 
was famous for bis skill as a physician and surgeon, 
resided there from 1412 to 1423, when he was called 
to Bern, where Jewish physicians had been living 
at even an earlier date. In 1425 Master Joseph, 
who had been a resident of Zurich in 
Persecu- 1423, was called to Luzerne, where 
tions. the physician Lazarus, who practised 
at Winterthur also, lived as late as 
1518. The majority of the Jewish physicians in 
Switzerland came from Italy. Even in the seven- 
teenth century the physician Joseph Jacobson, a 
native of Prague, was practising at Basel and Zu- 
rich, and was especially successful in treating cases 
of calculus (Ad. Steinberg, “Studien zur Gesch. der 
Juden in der Schweiz,” pp. 87 et seq . ; “Monats- 
schrift,” xi. 351 et seq.). 

In the cities of Switzerland, as elsewhere, the 
Jews were confined to certain streets which were 
set apart for them, and which they were not per- 


mitted to leave during Holy Week. The Jews’ 
street in Bern, in the vicinity of the present Casino, 
is mentioned as early as the thirteenth century. At 
Zurich most of the Jews lived in the Brunneugasse 
(called also Judengassc), which was located outside 
the city proper. The Jewish quarter at Basel, 
previous to 1349, was in the llindermarkt, the 
houses of the Jews beiug built on land belonging to 
the convent of St. Leonard. Their slaughter-house 
and their synagogue were located there, the latter 
in a wing of a house called “Zum Alton Safrbn”; 
subsequently this was transferred to a building 
which even in the nineteenth century retained the 
name of “Die Jiulenscliul:” At Zurich the syna- 
gogue was situated opposite the Rindermarkt in the 
Brunnengasse already mentioned ; with the permis- 
sion of the Bishop of Constance a new synagogue 
was built in 1383, probably on the site of the old 
one. The small synagogues previously existing, in 
which disturbances had been frequent, were closed 
by the municipal council. The Jews did not have 
cemeteries for all their communities. The burial- 
ground at Bern was situated at the end of the Ju- 
dengasse, and that at Basel, below St. Alban ; the 
latter, however, was taken from the Jewsafter the 
persecution of 1294. In 1394 the council of Basel 
granted the Jews a plot for a new cemetery in the 
suburb Ze Spitalschuren, near the Spahlentlmrm, 
and permitted them to inter corpses from other places 
on pa} 7 ment of one gulden for each 
Cemeteries, burial. At Zurich the Jewish ceme- 
tery was situated at the Lindenthor, 
and there also the Jews were permitted to inter 
bodies from elsewhere, although this privilege 
was subsequently restricted to certain places. A 
burial-tax was levied in many cities; at Basel, for 
example, half a gulden had to be paid for the burial 
of every resident Jew, and at Zurich one gulden. 
After the expulsion the tombstones of the Jewish 
cemeteries at Basel and Zurich were used for repair- 
ing tlic city walls. Ulrich gives .several Jewish epi- 
taphs ( l.c . pp. 38 et seq., 458). 

There were very few Jewish scholars in Switzer- 
land. Rabbi Moses, who was the author of the so- 
called “Zurcher Semak” (Zunz, “ Ritus,” p. 211), 
lived at Zurich in 1347; and about 1410 the pious 
Moses Cohen, the father-in-law of R. Jacob Molln 
ha-Levi (MallaRIL, Responsa, Nos. 8, 33), resided 
at Bern. 

The Jews of Switzerland, being almost exclusively 
engaged in money-lending, were tolerated because 
of their wealth and were persecuted for the same 
reason. Whenever the Christian inhabitants were 
heavily indebted to the Jews a pretext was sought 
to get rid of the latter, and all kinds of crimes 
were ascribed to them, including ritual murder, the 
poisoning of wells, and the desecration of the host. 
The first Swiss persecution of the Jews took place 
at Bern in 1294, when they were accused of having 
cruelly murdered a boy named Rudolf (Ruff). They 
were accordingly expelled from the city, although 
they were soon readmitted. Then came the plague of 
the year 1349, when the Black Death raged through- 
out Switzerland. At Vevay, Geneva, and neigh- 
boring places Jews were broken on the wheel, 
hanged, and subjected to other persecutions (Hot- 



611 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Switzerland 


linger, “ Kirchengescli.” ii. 168; Ulrich, lx. p. 228). 
At Zo fin gen, where poison was said to have been found 
in the wells, some Jews were put to 

Further the test of “ Dlimeln ” (thumbscrews). 
Per- whereupon they declared themselves 
secutions. guilty of the charges brought against 
them. This discovery was then 
communicated to the people of Basel, Zurich, 
Freiburg-im-Breisgau, and even of Cologne. The 
Jews of Basel were burned on an island in the 
Rhine on Jan. 9, 1349 (not Christmas da} 7 , 1348), and 
their children, who were spared, were baptized. At 
Zurich, as at Basel, the municipal council endeav- 
ored to protect the Jews, but as the latter were ac- 
cused at the same time of the murder of a boy whose 
body had been found in the Wolfsbach, the author- 
ities could not restrain the mob, and the Jews were 
tortured and burned on the eve of St. Matthias, 
Sept. 21, 1349 (not 1348, as Gratz asserts, “Gescli.” 
vii. 387; see Ulrich, lx. p. 98; Yogelin, “Aus dem 
Alten Zurich,” pp. 62 et seq., Zurich, 1829). The 
impecunious Eberhard of Kyburg expelled the Jews 
of Burgdorf, in the territory of Bern, on the night 
of Feb. 16, 1349, and confiscated their property. 
At St. Gall, where many Jews lived in the street 
behind the so-called Brotlaube, some were burned 
and the others expelled, while at Diessenhofen their 
houses were forcibly entered and robbed, and they 
themselves dragged to the stake and burned. Some 
of them, however, together with coreligionists from 
Winterthur and probably from other places as well, 
escaped to the castle of Kyburg, where they were 
protected by the governor. The cities from which 
the Jews had fled demanded that their defender, 
Duke Albrecht of Austria, should have them burned 
alive by his judges, and threatened that otherwise 
they themselves would take the necessary steps; 
a large number of Jews, 330 it is said, were ac- 
cordingly sent to the stake on Sept. 18, 1349, al- 
though some saved their lives by accepting baptism 
(Ulrich, l.c. p. 126 ; “ Monatssclirift,” xii. 405). Schaff- 
hausen alone was guiltless of such indiscriminate 
slaughter, although even there some Jews are said 
to have been burned alive (Ulrich, l.c. p. 209; but 
comp. Lbwenstein, “Gescli. dor Juden am Boden- 
see,” p. 141). 

The object of these persecutions was attained: 
the promissory notes of the citizens were destroyed, 
their pledges recovered, and their debts canceled. 
In view of the high taxes the Jews paid, however, 
they were soon readmitted to all the places from 
which they had been expelled. By 1352 they had 
returned to Zurich, and by 1361 to Basel, which had 
determined to keep them excluded for 
Headmis- a period of 200 years; in 1375 they 

sion of loaned the municipal council of the lat- 

the Jews, ter city the sum of 5,000 gulden. Five 
years later (13S0) they were once more 
in Bern. In 1401, however, a new accusation of 
ritual murder led to a repetition of the persecutions. 
A postilion of. the governor had killed the four- 3 7 eai- 
old son of a councilor, and the charge was lodged 
against a Jew named Michael Vinelmann, a former 
resident of Basel, that he had promised the murderer 
three gulden for the blood of the child. The mur- 
derer was broken on the wheel, and the Jew burned 


alive without trial. The news of the crime was 
quickly brought to Schalf hausen, where shortly 
before a similar accusation had been successfully 
refuted. Several of the Jews of the city fled, but 
were captured and taken back to Sell affhau sen, 
where they were thrown into a dungeon and terribly 
tortured. Hot pitch was poured into incisions made 
in their loins, and the soles of their feet were burned 
“ until the bare flesh could be seen. ” Thus tortured, 
they answered every question in the affirmative, 
whereupon all the Jews living at ScliafTliausen were 
condemned to death. Thirty were burned alive on 
June 25, 1401, and four weeks later eighteen men and 
women died at the stake in Winterthur. The Jew T s 
of Zurich, however, were protected (Ulrich, lx. pp. 
24, 126 et seq., 248; Joseph lia-Kolien, “ ‘Emek ha- 
Baka,” p. 72; “Monatssclirift,” xii. 406, xiv. 49 et 
seq . ; Lbwenstein, lx. pp. 64 et seq., 82 et seq.). 

During the Middle Ages the Jews were more op- 
pressed and persecuted in Switzerland than in any 
other country, but on account of their being indis- 
pensable during financial difficulties they were more 
frequently readmitted into Swiss cities than else- 
where. With marvelous persistence they returned 
again and again to the cities and villages which they 
had been ordered to leave. They were banished from 
the city and canton of Bern in 1427, from Freiburg in 
1428, from Zurich in 1436, from Schalf - 

Expul- hausen in 1472, from Bheinau (where 
sions. they were plundered) in 1490, from 
Tliurgau in 1494, and from Basel in 
1543. But despite the edict of exile, individual Jews 
succeeded in gaining readmission to various cities, 
even in the territories of Zurich and Bern, until the 
diet of the thirteen cantons in 1622 expelled the Jews 
forever from the Swiss Confederation. Nevertheless, 
tweuty-four Jewish families were living in the vil- 
lage of Mammern as late as 1643, but after that date 
they were admitted only by Aargau (which did not 
join the confederation until 1803), and here they 
settled especially in the villages of Klingnau, Leng- 
nau, aud Endingen. 

The emancipation and civil enfranchisement of the 
Jews of Switzerland were accomplished only after 
a bitter struggle. The French Revolution, how- 
ever, ameliorated their condition. In the Great 
Council of Helvetia (179S-99) the most liberal-minded 
men of Switzerland, including Escher, Suter, Zim- 
mermann, Herzog, aud Secretan, advocated civic 
equality for the Jews, and attacked the ancient 
prejudices of intolerance. The first concessions 
granted them ay ere, however, the result of treaties 
relating to settlement and commerce negotiated by 
the Swiss government with foreign poAvers. The 
ambassadors of France, England, and the United 
States insisted that the right of settlement should 
be granted to all citizens of their respective coun- 
tries, Avithout distinction of creed. During seA r eral 
decades before 1860, Jews, mostly from France, re- 
sided at Geneva and Bern, where they could acquire 
citizenship, and also at Basel, Neuchatel, and Waadt. 
In 1860 the canton of Graubunden repealed all 
class legislation restricting the settlement of Swiss 
and foreign JeAvs ; and in 1S61 the canton of Zurich, 
which contained 175 Jews, granted them all civic 
and political rights, Avith the exception of naturali- 



Switzerland 

Sydney 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


612 


zation. Similar measures were adopted by Solo- 
tliurn and by Schaffhausen, all laws restricting tlie 
free settlement of Swiss Jews being re- 
Emancipa- pealed by the Great Council in May, 
tion. 1865; while Thurg.au, by a popular 
vote taken in Jan., 1S66, granted the 
right of free settlement without distinction of creed. 
All the intercan tonal restrictions affecting the Jews 
were finally removed by the revision of the confed- 
eral constitution in 1S74, when articles 41 and 48 
were stricken out, and religious liberty proclaimed. 

Notwithstanding the granting of civic equality to 
the Jews, certain religious customs peculiar to them 
were still restricted, especially ritual slaughtering, 
which had been forbidden in Aargau and St. Gall as 
late as 1867. Under the revised constitution of 1874 
the question arose whether this prohibition was 
not contrary to the spirit of the law granting relig- 
ious liberty. In 1S86 the Aargau Society for the 
Prevention of Cruelty to Animals demanded that the 
government prohibit ritual slaughtering; while, a 
year later, the Jews of Baden petitioned tlie govern- 
ment to grant permission to all Jewish 
Agitation communities in Switzerland toslaugli- 
Against ter according to Mosaic law. The con- 
Shehitah. federal government decided that while 
such a prohibition might contravene 
liberty of worship, the regulations issued by tlie 
several cantons to prevent cruelty in slaughtering 
should be upheld. Tlie question was thereupon 
submitted to a referendum; and by popular vote of 
Aug., 1S93, an article was inserted in the constitu- 
tion declaring ritual slaughtering illegal through- 
out Switzerland. 

During the last four decades of the nineteenth 
century the Jewish population of Switzerland be- 
came doubled, and now (1905) numbers more than 
10,000. In addition to the older communities at En- 
dingen, Lengnau, Baden, Basel, Bern, and Geneva, 
there is a community at Zurich, the largest in the 
country, and one at St. Gall, established in 1865. 
The two last-named communities have new syna- 
gogues, their own cemeteries, and, for the last forty 
years, their own rabbis. Of rabbis at Zurich may 
be mentioned M. Levin (until 1S77), A. Iviscli (1877- 
1892), and M. Littmann (the present incumbent). 
St. Gall lias bad two rabbis, II. Engelbert (appointed 
in 1865) and E. Sclilesinger (since 1900). Lucerne, 
Biel, Burgdorf, Laiigenthal, Pruntrut, St. Imier, 
Neuelmtel, Chaux de Pond, Avouches, and Lau- 
sanne are smaller congregations with but one official 
each. A Swiss Jewish home for tlie aged has been 
built at Lengnau by voluntary contributions from 
tlie Guggenheim brothers of New York. See 
Aargau ; Basel; Berk; Biel. 

Bibliography: In addition to the bibliography given under 
Aargau, etc., see Aug. Steinberg, SLudien zur Gesch. dev 
Juden in dcr Schweiz Wahrend des Mittelalters , Zurich, 
1902; E. Haller, Die BechtlicheSteUung dcr Juden im Kcm- 
ton Aaryau. Aargau, 1901; Lowenstein, Gesch. dcr Juden 
am Bodensee und Umyelnwy , 1879; Harder, Ansicdelnng. 
Lcbcnund. Schick sale dcr Juden in Schaffhausen. in Bei- 
triige zur Vaterldndischcn Gesch. des Kantmis Schaffhau- 
sen , i. 31 et seq.; E. Bar, Die Juden Ziirichs im Mittelalter . 
in ZtlHclicr Taschenhuch , 1896; MonatsschrifU xii. 405 et 
seq ., 441 et seq xiv. 41 et seq. 
j. M. K. 

SWORD (“hereb”; “barak” [poetic form] in 
Job XX. 25 ; Greek, paxatpa , po/npala, : The sword 


hung at the hip from a sword-belt (I Sam. xvii. 39; 
xxv. 13; II Sam. xx. 8), probably on the left side, 
Judges iii. 16, 21, notwithstanding. It was kept 
in a slieatli (“ta‘ar,” I Sam. xvii. 51; “nadan,” 
I Chron. xxi. 27; df/n?/, John xviii. 11), whence 
the phrases “herik,” “slnilaf,” or “ patah hereb” 
(= “ to draw the sword ”). Some swords were double- 
edged (comp, “hereb sliene piyot,” Judges iii. 16; 
Prov. v. 4), and were used for both cutting (I Sam. 
xxxi. 4; II Sam. ii. 16; I Chron. x. 4) and thrust- 
ing (comp, “liikkah ba-liereb ” and I Kings iii. 24). 
There are no detailed descriptions of the various 
kinds of swords used by tlie Israelites, but they 
probably resembled those of Assyria and Egypt, 
being sometimes straight and sometimes curved, and 
either long or dagger-shaped and short. The ex- 
istence of the straight variety is proved by the fact 
that swords were used for thrusting; and is also 
implied in the phrase “nafal ba-liereb,” used of 
those who commit suicide by this weapon (I Sam. 
xxxi. 4 et seq.). Tlie story of Eluid, who thrust his 
sword, liaft (“nizzab”), and all into Eglou’s belly 
(Judges iii. 16-22), shows that short, dagger-like 
swords were used. 

The blade (“laliab”) of tlie double-edged sword 
was probably straight, and this portion of the weapon 
seems generally to have been made of iron, some- 
times (but rarely) of bronze (comp. I Sam. xii i. 19; 
Joel iii. 10; Micali iv. 3; Isa. ii. 4); this was also the 
custom among the Egyptians, as tlie blue blades in 
the paintings indicate. The hilt of the sword was 
made probably of a different material, in accord- 
ance with Egyptian and Assyrian usage; probably 
the hilt afforded, sometimes, an opportunity for ar- 
tistic workmanship. The word “ mekerah ” in Gen. 
xlix. 5 lias frequently been compared with paxatpa 
and rendered “sword,” but this explanation is very 
doubtful. Original!}' / taxaipa denoted the Lacede- 
monian, slightly curved sword used for cutting, 
having a knife-like blade, a blunt back, and a point 
turning up toward tlie latter. The same name was 
given to any curved saber, in contradistinction to 
fnpog (tlie dagger-like sword). 

In the Boman period tlie Jews adopted the short 
dirk (“ sica ”) used by the Bomans, and especially 
by the gladiators. This weapon, which was con- 
cealed in the garments, and which was especially 
affected by the SrCARir, who derived their name 
from it (Josephus, “Ant.” xx. S, § 10; “B. J.” ii. 
13, § 3), was only a foot in length, and somewhat 
curved. 

k. g. it. W. N. 

SYCAMORE (SYCOMORE [HDp^; Ficus Syco- 
morus ]); A medium-sized bushy tree of Syria and 
Egypt, allied to the common fig. It is often men- 
tioned in the Bible (Amos vii. 14; 1 Kings x. 27; 
Isa. ix. 9, 11; Ps. lxxviii. 47; I Chron. xxvii. 28; II 
Chron. i. 15. ix. 27), and still grows plentifully in 
the plain along the coast, the Shefelali (comp, the 
ancient name of the place Haifa, Sykaminon, after 
the Greek designation of the tree [ovmptvoff\ in tlie 
Septuagint and elsewhere). The trees grew freely 
also in the valley of the Jordan, in the vicinity of 
Jerusalem, and in Lower Galilee. It was one of the 
most widely scattered trees of ancient Egypt (comp. 
Ps. lxxviii. 47; Wilkinson, “Manners and Customs 



613 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Switzerland 

Sydney 


of the Ancient Egyptians,” iii. 419); it was more 
valued there than in Palestine, where its fruit, a 
small fig not particularly palatable, seems to have 
been chiefly the food of the common people. Even 
to-day it is eaten by the poor only (Anderlind, in 
“Z. D. P. V.” xi. 100; Henslow, “The Plants of 
the Bible,” p. 91). In order to make it palatable the 
fruit must be slit when it is maturing, to let the tart 
juice flow out (Amos vii. 14). The Hebrews valued 
the tree chiefly on account of its wood, which is 
light and very durable. In Palestine it was the 
common timber (I Kings x. 27; II Cliron. i. 15, ix. 
27; Isa, ix. 10). In Egypt most of the domestic 
utensils that have been preserved, as well as the sar- 
cophagi, were carved from this wood, 
k o n. I- Be. 

SYDNEY: Capital of New South Wales, Aus- 
tralia. Its congregation dates from 1817, when- 
about a score of Jews formed a hebra kaddisha, 
and they obtained permission to bury tlieir dead in 
a special corner of the general cemetery. Eleven 
years later prayer-meetings were held 
Begin- in the house of P. J. Cohen. About 
Bings of 1880 the chief rabbi of London, Solo- 
the Com- mon Herschell, sent Aaron Levi, mem- 
munity. ber of the bet din, to assist in consoli- 
dating the congregation ; and in 1882 a 
synagogue was established in a rented room. J. B. 
Montefiore, who had previously obtained a grant of 
land from the government for a Jewish burial-place, 
became the congregation’s first president. The first 
Jewish marriage in Australia, that of Moses Joseph, 
took place in 1880 ; and in the following year a cer- 
tain Bose was engaged as the firsSminister. He was 
followed by Jacob Isaacs. The j|ws of Sydney then 
acquired a*synag°gue of their oWn in York street, 
which was opened for divine worship on April 2, 
1844. In 1862 A. B. Davis, born in London in 1828, 
who had been minister at Portsmouth and Kingston 
(Jamaica), became senior minister of the congre- 
gation, serving for no less than forty -one years, 
during which period he helped to create several 
of the communal institutions, e.cj . , the Sabbatli- 
school and the education board. During bis in- 
cumbency, also, the present synagogue, tlie‘ hand- 
somest building of its kind on the Australian conti- 
nent, was built in Elizabeth and Castlereagh streets 
and dedicated Jan. 26, 1875. In 1905, on his retire- 
ment as rabbi emeritus, F. L. Cohen was selected 
to succeed him. 

Almost a plethora of charitable institutions has 
arisen in Sydney. The oldest is the Hebrew Phil- 
anthropic Society, which was founded in 1888. In 
1882 it was converted into a home and styled the 
“Sir Moses Montefiore Home,” Accommodations 
are provided' for about fifteen inmates; meals are 
furnished to casuals; aid is granted monthly to old 
men ; and general relief is afforded to the poor and 
needy. The Dorcas Society, whose usefulness is con- 
fined entirely" to women, was founded in 1840. On 
similar lines the Help in Need Society was formed 
in 1898; its operations are more limited. A society 
that is doing a great amount of good is the Jew- 
ish Mutual Aid, " founded in 1896 by A. Blasliki, 
Jr. It is purely a loan society, lending at interest 
sums of not less than £25. The Baron de Hirsch 


Memorial Aid Society, an institution for the general 
relief of the poor, was founded in 1896. In 1894, 
with a view to enlisting the sym-. 
Charitable patliy and help of the young, a so- 
Insti- ciety, known as the Jewish Girls’ Gild, 
tutions. was formed by S. A. Joseph; and in 
1897, through the instrumentality of 
Henry Harris, another hebra kaddisha was formed. 
A year later a ladies’ section of the society came 
into existence under the direction of a Mrs. Samuels. 
As in most Australian congregations, Sydney pos- 
sesses a branch of the Anglo-Jewisli Association. 
Since its foundation (1872) this branch has been pre- 
sided over by A. B. Davis. 

Many leading Jews of Sydney have displayed 
an interest in communal matters, including S. A. 
Joseph, L. W. Levy, and Charles Collins, M.L.H. 
The first-named reached New Zealand on the first 
ship to arrive at that colony from England in the 
year 1842. Subsequently he settled in Sydney, 
where he joined Jacob Montefiore and formed the 
firm of Montefiore, Joseph & Co. For nearly a quar- 
ter of a century he was a member of the synagogue 
board of management. Charles Collins was for many 
years the leading citizen of the district of Narrabri. 
He was its first mayor, and he held that position for 
three successive years. In Parliament lie sat as the 
representative of Namoi from 1885 to 1887 and again 
from 1890 till his death in 1898. L. IV. Levy oc- 
cupied various official positions, including that of 
member of the legislative council in 1882. Of the 
other leading Jews the name of J. G. Raphael must 
be recorded. Several streets in Sydney perpetuate 
his memory. From 1872 to 1878 lie represented W est 
Sydney in the legislative assembly. In the same 
body J. J. Cohen was elected a member for Peter- 
sham in 189S. 

In no city have the Jews borne a more praise- 
worthy part in the development of commerce and 
trade, in the growth of institutions, and in the ad- 
ministration of public affairs than in 
Jews Sydney. The example set by the 
in Public Montefiores was followed by other 
Life. early settlers, including Louis Phillips, 

P. J. Cohen, and .Samuel Cohen, the 
last of whom was the first Jewish member of the 
Parliament of New South Wales. The election of 
George J. Cohen, Richard Gottlielf, and other Jews 
to the position of president of the chamber of com- 
merce bears testimony to services rendered in the 
sphere of commerce, while Sigismund Hoffnung 
and David Cohen were prominent as merchants and 
philanthropists. 

Three Jews of Sydney have attained distinc- 
tion in the government service; namely, Sir Saul 
Samuel, Bart., for several years agent-general of 
the colony in England; Sir Julian Salomons, K.C., 
who was for a short time chief justice of the 
colony, and who also held the post of agent-gen- 
eral in London ; and II. E. Cohen, one of the 
judges of the Supreme Court of New South Wales. 
At the present time (1905) three Sydney Jews .are 
members of the legislative assembly; namely, J. J. 
Cohen, Daniel Levi, and A. E. Collins. The num- 
ber of Jews living in Sydney and its suburbs, ac- 
cording to the census of 1901, was 5.137 (2,665 males 



Syene 

Symbol 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


614 


aud 2,472 females), in a total population of 488,382. 
Intermarriages with members of other religions have 
been very frequent among the Sj'dnej^ Jews, about 
one-fifth of the men having taken wives not of the 
Jewish faith. 

The “ Hebrew Standard ” has been published for 
several 3 r ears in Sydne 3 r . 

Bibliography : Sydney in lSitS ; P. j. Marks, Hebrew Stand- 
ard, Sept. 30, 1901 ; March 10, 1905; Jewish, Year Booh, 1905. 

D. I. F.— J. 

SYENE : Ancient city of Egypt on the Ethi- 
opian frontier in the Tliebaid ; situated on the eastern 
bank of the Nile, equidistant from Alexandria and 
Meroe. In the Bible it is called “ Sweneli ” (rDID : 
Egyptian, “Sun”; Coptic, “Suan,” whence it maj' 
be assumed that the Hebrew name was originalh r 
the n being a locative suffix). S.yene is men- 
tioned as a frontier city of Egypt (Ezek. xxix. 10, 


Bibliography: Bitter, Erdkunde , i. 1, 694; Winer, B. R . 
s.v.; Boettger, Topographisch-Histnrisches Lexicon zu den 
Schriften des Flavius Josephus , p. 238, Sayce, The An- 
cient Empire of the East , .1883, p. 311 ; Baedeker, Egypt, 2d 
ed., 1903, p. 327. 

G. S. Kit. 

SYLVESTER, JAMES JOSEPH: English 
mathematician and Savilian professor of geometry 
in the University of Oxford; born in London Sept. 
3, 1814; died there March 15, 1897. He was edu- 
cated at Neumegen’s school, at the Ro 3 r al Institu- 
tion, Liverpool, and at St. John’s College, Cam- 
bridge. In 1837 he passed the examination for the 
mathematical tripos as second wrangler, but was 
precluded by his Jewish origin from taking his de- 
gree and from competing for either of the Smiths’ 
prizes. In 1872, after the passing of the Tests Act, 
the complete degree of M.A. “propter merita” was 
conferred upon him. He became professor of matli- 



Tiie royal society Medal Established in Honor op James Joseph Sylvester. 


xxx. 6); but the combination “migdol Sweneli” 
(A. V. “ tower of Syene ”) is due to a corruption of 
the text, as was seen by Jerome (ad loc.). The Sep- 
tuagint accordiugl 3 r has a place-name, “Magdo- 
lon”; so that the passage should read “from Mag- 
dolon [the northern frontier of Egypt] to Syene [the 
southern boundaiy].” While Jerome refers to a 
tower still standing there in his time, this was 
merely a Roman fort. Josephus also alludes to 
Syene as a frontier city (“B. J.” iv. 10, § 5). Neu- 
bauer is wrong in asserting (“G. T.” p. 419) that 
coins from Sj T ene are mentioned in the Talmud (Ket. 
67b). The entire district is rich in deposits of pink 
granite called S 3 r enito (Plinj-, “Historia Naturalis,” 
xxx vi. 8, g 13). The S 3 'riaus termed the place “ As- 
wan,” the name b 3 * which it is known to-da} r 
(Assouan). The modem city, however, lies northeast 
of the ancient S 3 r ene. 


ematics at University College, London (1837); Uni- 
verse of Virginia, Charlottesville (1841); Military 
Academy, Woolwich (1855-70) ; Johns Hopkins Uni- 
versity, Baltimore (1877-83) ; and at Oxford (1883), 
where he founded a mathematical society. 

Sylvester was the founder and first editor of the 
“ American Journal of Mathematics.” He received 
the Boyal Medal of the Royal Society in 1860, the 
Copley Medal in 1880, and the triennial De Morgan 
Commemoration Medal from the London Mathemat- 
ical Society in 1887. He was made an honor- 
ary D.C.L. of Oxford and LL.D. of Dublin and 
Edinburgh; was a member of many scientific so- 
cieties in Europe and the United States; and in 
Ma 3 r , 1890, was created an officer of the Legion of 
Honor by the President of the French Republic. 

Sylvester was chiefly known as an algebraist, and 
as the fellow worker of Professor Cayley in the 



615 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Syene 

Symbol 


foundation of tlie doctrine of “ invariants.” His first 
printed paper was “On Fresnel’s Optical Theory of 
Wave Surfaces ” (in “ Philosophical Magazine,” 1837). 
He discovered the proof and extension of Newton’s 
theorem on the imaginary roots of equations, this 
proof, which was published in the Proceedings of 
the London Mathematical Society, having been a de- 
sideratum since the days of Newton. He also con- 
tributed a paper on the reversion of series, solving in 
its complete form a problem which had been but 
imperfectly solved by Jacobi. His first paper to at- 
tract attention abroad was that in which he gave a 
new form to Sturm’s celebrated theorem on equa- 
tions. His work on canonical forms is described by 
Cayley as containing crowds of ideas embodied in 
the new words “cogredient,” “contragredient,” 
“ concomitant, ” “ covariant, ” “ contra variant, ” “ in- 
variant,” etc., most of which have been adopted into 
mathematical terminology. 

In addition to the foregoing, Sylvester published 
a theory of versification in volume entitled the 
“Laws of Verse” (1870), as well as poetical transla- 
tions from the German and Latin, and various son- 
nets and other original pieces in verse. 

After his death there was established through 
the lloyal Society a triennial prize and medal in 
Sylvester’s honor. His position as leader in pure 
mathematics in England in the nineteenth century 
is challenged only by his colaborer Cayley. 

Bibliography : Jew. Citron. June 6, 1890, and March, 1897 ' ; 

Did. National Bioura/phy ; The Times (London), March 16, 

1897; Nature , March 25,1897; Science (New York), April 11, 

1897 ; F. Franklin, Address Commemorative of J. J. Sylves- 
ter , Baltimore, 1897. 

J. G. L. 

SYMBOL ; A visible representation of an object 
or an idea. Iii Hebrew the word denoting symbol 
is “ot,” which in earty Judaism denoted not only a 
sign, but also a visible religious token of the mystic 
relation between God and man. In the latter sense 
ancientlsrael had two fundamental symbols, each re- 
garded as representing the pledge of the covenant 
made by God with His people. These were.(l) the 
Sabbath, “a sign for ever” (Ex. xxxi. 17), and (2) 
circumcision, the token of the covenant made by 
God with Abraham and his descendants (Gen. xvii. 
11; comp. Ex. xiii. 9 and Deut. vi. 8). All other 
instances of symbolism in the Jewish ritual and in 
Hebrew poetry may be divided into the following 
groups; (1) the Temple and its accessories; (2) the 
sacrifices; (3) the officiating priests; (4) numbers; 
(5) metals and colors; (6) the Cherubim; (7) festi- 
vals and holy days; (8) the visions of the Prophets. 

(1) The Temple (“oliel mo‘ed,” “mikdasli,” 
“mislikan”). The state of Israel became a theo- 
cratic one as a result of the establishment in 
its midst of the Temple, the dwelling-place and 
throne of God and the place of mediation between 
God and man. On the other hand, the “mislikan ” 
was also interpreted anthropomorphically, as a sym- 
bol of man or of human nature, while Philo ex- 
plained the Tabernacle cosmically (“Vita Mosis,” 
ed. Schwickert, iii. 201-219, Leipsic, 1828; simi- 
larly, “ Cuzari,” ii., §§ 26-28). The two cherubim, 
the only images in the Temple, were intended to 
symbolize the concentration of all natural life, and 
as adjuncts to the throne of God they were the im- 


mediate witnesses and representatives of His glory. 
Philo regarded them as symbolizing the two hemi- 
spheres, in contrast to the other cherubim mentioned 
in the Bible, which represented divine omnipotence 
(“Vita Mosis,” iii. 206). Pliilippson drew a sharp 
distinction between the cherubim in the vision of 
Ezekiel and all others, holding that the former were 
mere inventions of the imagination, while the latter 
were known under a definite form and shape 
(“ Israel itischer Bibel,” i. 453). 

As the Decalogue represented the heart and soul 
of all the people, so the Ark of the Covenant was 
set in the Iloty of Holies, while the mercy-seat 
(“ kapporet ”) and the two cherubim, the center of 
the dwelling of Yhwii, formed the place where the 
people were cleansed once a year from all their sins ; 
and as the Ark was kept in its particular place simply 
as a token of God’s covenant with Israel, so the 
Ark, mercy -seat, and the cherubim together symbol- 
ized both the place where the holiness of God was 
revealed, and the place where the people’s sins were 
removed and where they renewed their fellowship 
with God (Yalkut Be’ubeni, vi. 2; Maimonides, 

“ Moreh, ” i. 54, iii. 45; Abravanel on Ex. xl. 34). ; 

The table with the show bread served as a symbol 
of the acknowledgment of all the people that they 
owed to God their bread, or, in other words, all 
that they needed for their sustenance, and that they 
must extol Him and glorify Him accordingly (Yarhi 
and Abravanel ad loc.). The candlestick, according 
to Philo (l.c. iii. 207), typified the seven planets, 
while later exegetes interpreted it as the symbol of 
the congregation of the people of God (Hengsten- 
berg, “Beitrage,” iii. 645). The altar of incense 
was a symbol of prayer, since the perfume and 
fragrance which it spread typified the outward mani- 
festation of the inward excellence of some person or 
thing. In like manner, the altar of sacrifice repre- 
sented the place where the Godhead was revealed, 
and accordingly its four horns were symbols of 
power and dominion ; so that he who grasped them 
signified that he placed himself under the protection 
of God (I Kings i. 50, ii. 28). 

(2) The Sacrifices : The burnt offering (“ ‘olali ” ; 
Lev. xiv. 20) symbolized perfection and entirety, 
typifying the general as distinguished from the par- 
ticular, aud the complete as contrasted with the in- 
complete. It therefore denoted the all-inclusive, 
and was regarded by Philo as the emblem of absolute 
dedication to God (“De Victimas Off erentibus, ” pp. 
324-326, Leipsic, 1828). Ibn Ezra, in his Introduc- 
tion to Leviticus, considered it the atonement of the 
heart for sinful thoughts. The thank-offering (“to- 
dah,” “ zebah,” “ sbelamim ”), together with the meal- 
offering and the wave-offering, typified the relation 
of fellowship and friendship between God and Israel ; 
and since Yhwh was also the Creator of the uni- 
verse, the act of turning toward every side symbol- 
ized the conviction that God held all the world aud 
the ends thereof. The sin-offering (“hattat”) de- 
noted complete atonement (i.e., covering and con- 
cealment), and the mercy-seat was accordingly 
sprinkled seven times. The guilt-offering (“ asham ”) 
was brought to arouse and maintain a sense of sin; 
it was divided by Maimonides (“ Hilkot Zebahim,” 
ix.) into sacrifices for doubtful and for certain guilt, 



Symbol 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


616 


while Philo ( l.c .) asserted that the guilt-offering 
could be brought only by one whose awakened con- 
science and conviction of guilt had obliged him to 
accuse himself. The sacrifice for purification from 
leprosy consisted of two sparrows (Lev. xiv. 3-7); 
one of them was killed and its blood drained into 
running water, into which the other bird was dipped, 
being then liberated, while the leper was sprinkled 
with the blood by means of a piece of hyssop 
bound to a stick of cedar-wood by a scarlet cord. 
This ceremony typified the sinful and unclean past 
and the sinless future, while the purification by 
means of cedar-wood and hyssop was intended to 
indicate that high and low alike must bow to 
God in their sinfulness (Hul. 134b; Lev. R. xvi. 6), 
The breaking of the calf’s neck (“ ‘eglali arufali ”) 
was a judicial act symbolizing the punishment of 
death justly meted out to the murderer, and the 
washing of the hands typified the purification from 
crime, while the requirement that the blood from 
the carcass must be entirely washed away by the 
brook flowing beneath indicated that guilt was alto- 
gether removed. The laying on of hands (“ samak ”) 
signified, according to Pliilo {l.c.), that the hands 
performing this act had done no evil, but in the 
view of Ealir (“ Christliche Symbolik des Mosaischen 
Cultus,” ii. 341) it symbolized the devotion of one’s 
self to Yhwii even unto death, and hence dedication 
to death for His sake, the burning of the sacrifice 
representing the place and the goal of the sacrificial 
gift. 

(3) The Officiating* Priests : The priests medi- 
ated between God and man by offering sacrifices 
and by other services in the Temple. The chief 
representative among them was the high priest, who 
wore eight vestments, twice as many as the others, 
these garments being symbols of holiness and sanc- 
tification from sin. Why, asks the Talmud, is the 
high priest clothed in white on the Da}^ of Atone- 
ment? and it answers: Because the service in the 
terrestrial Temple must equal that in the heavenly 
Temple (Yoma 44b). The coat was woven in one 
piece, in contrast to the idea of “kara 4 ” (to rend), 
the latter being the symbol of mourning; the miter 
was a blossom, and the priest might not uncover 
his head (“ para* 77 ; Lev. x. 6) lest thereby ho 
should suggest the dropping of blossoms. The 
breeches symbolized tlie abolition of the distinction 
between the heavenly and the mortal part of man, 
as contrasted with the divine nature, which is abso- 
lutely holy and living. The girdle was the emblem 
of tlie priest as the servant of the Lord, and it was 
made in the same four colors as the curtains of the 
Holy of Holies; it is said to have been 32 ells long, 
to indicate the windings of the heart (Yer. Yoma 
44b; Lev. R. x.). The priests went barefoot to ex- 
press their sense of the sanctity of the Temple. 

The vestments of the high priest were interpreted 
in three ways. The explanation of Philo is as fol- 
lows (“Vita Mosis,” iii. 209): His upper* garment 
was the symbol of the ether, while the blossoms 
represented the earth, the pomegranates typified 
running water, and tlie bells denoted the music of 
the water. Theephod corresponded to heaven, and 
the stones on botli shoulders to the two hemispheres,, 
one above and tlie other below the earth. The six 


names on each of the stones were the six signs of 
the zodiac, which were denoted also by the twelve 
names on tlie breastplate. The miter was the sign 
of the crown which exalted the high priest above 
all earthly kings. 

Josephus’ explanation is this (“Ant. 77 iii. 7, § 7): 
The coat was the symbol of the earth, the upper 
garment emblemized heaven, while the bells and 
pomegranates represented thunder and lightning. 
The ephod typified the four elements, and the inter- 
woven gold denoted the glory of God. The breast- 
plate was in the center of the ephod, as the earth 
formed the center of the universe; the girdle sym- 
bolized the ocean, the stones on tlie shoulders the 
sun and moon, and the jewels in the breastplate the 
twelve signs of tlie zodiac, while the miter was a 
token of heaven. 

Yeruslialmi (Men. vii. 1) and Leviticus Rabbah 
(x.) give the following interpretation: The coat 
symbolized atonement for murder or for tlie sin 
of wearing mixed garments, and the undergarment 
typified atonement for uDchastity. The miter de- 
noted atonement for pride, and the belt for theft or 
trickery. The breastplate represented atonement 
for any perversion of the Law, the ephod for idola- 
try, and tlie robe for slander. 

(4) Numbers : Tlie rules governing calculations 
of dimension and number were not merely ex- 
ternal, but represented the divinity as the supreme 
intelligence. The arrangement of the Tabernacle 
especially was determined according to numbers. 
Tlie number three was the symbol of holiness, 
so that the Holy of Holies occupied one-third and 
the Holy Place two-thirds of the entire Temple ; the 
tapestries were ten times three ells in length, and 
there were three vessels each for the altar of burnt 
offering, tlie altar of incense, and tlie Ark. Tlie 
candlestick had twice three arms (besides the shaft, 
which also held a lamp), and each arm had three 
knobs. The blessing of the priest consisted of three 
sections (Num. vi. 24, 25), and in the invocation of 
God the word “ holy ” (“ kadosli ”) was repeated thrice 
(comp. Isa. vi. 3). 

The symbolism of tlie number four was based on 
the most simple contemplation of the quateruity as 
found in tlie universe, which included both heaven 
and earth (comp. Job xxxvii. 3; Isa. xi, 12; Ezek. 
vii. 2; I Chron. ix.24; Dan. viii. 8), and it therefore 
connoted heaven as the throne of God in contradis- 
tinction to earth, thus revealing the glory of God 
and bearing witness to Him. The Holy of Holies 
was in the form of a cube, and the Holy Place was 
a double cube in length. All the vessels of the 
Temple except the candlestick were square. Ac- 
cording to Ezek. i. 26-28, four symbolized the divine 
revelation, while in the view of Pliilo it was tlie 
number of complete harmony (“De Opificio Mundi, 77 
pp. 13-15). 

The number five typified semicompletion. The 
dimensions of the curtain of the Holy of Holies were 
four ells five; the altar in the court covered a 
surface of five square ells; and there were five pil- 
lars at the entrance to the Tabernacle. 

The number seven was the general sj r mboI for all 
association with God, and was the favorite religious 
number of Judaism, typifying the covenant of lioli- 



617 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Symbol 


ness and sanctification, and also all that was holy 
and sanctifying in purpose. The candlestick had 
seven lamps, and the acts of atonement and purifi- 
cation were accompanied by a sevenfold sprinkling. 
The establishment of the Sabbath, the Sabbatical 
year, and the year of jubilee was based on the 
number seven, as were the periods of purification 
and of mourning (Lev. iv. 6, 17 ; xxiii. 15; xxvi. 21 ; 
Deut. xv. 1 ; II Kings v. 14; Ps. cxix. 164). 

The number ten symbolized absolute complete- 
ness. The court to the Tabernacle was ten times ten 
ells long, and five times ten ells wide, and in the Holy 
of Holies the Ten Commandments were preserved. 

The number twelve, being the product of three 
and four, typified the union of the people with 
God. On the table were twelve loaves of show- 
bread, and the breastplate of the priest contained 
twelve precious stones as emblems of the twelve 
tribes of Israel, which camped round about the Sanc- 
tuary. Twelve victims were sacrificed during the 
dedication of the Tabernacle (Hum. vii. 87). Four 
times twelve cities were assigned as the dwelling- 
places of the Levites, and David divided the priests 
into twice twelve orders (I Chron. xxiv. 7 et seq.). 
See Numuehs and Numerals. 

(5) Metals and Colors : Gold was the symbol 
of the divine or celestial light, the glory of God 
(Zech. vi. 11 et seq . ; Dan. xi. 21), and silver the em- 
blem of moral innocence and of holiness (Isa. i. 22; 
Jer. vi. 30), while brass typified hardness, strength, 
and firmness (Lev. xxvi. 19; Jer. xv. 12; Job xl. 
18). Brass was a substitute for gold, and iron for 
silver (Isa. lx. 17). The metals were in general 
symbols of splendor, and in the Temple a certain 
classification of them was observed, so that the 
majority of the vessels in the Holy of Holies were 
of gold, while those used In the other parts of the 
Temple were of silver or brass. In mystic pas- 
sages paradise was similarly pictured: its apart- 
ments were made of gold, silver, and crystal, and 
contained beds, chairs, and candlesticks of gold and 
precious stones (comp. Eisenmenger, “Entdecktes 
Judentum,” ii. 302, 309). 

Salt was expressly declared to be necessary for 
the completion of the covenant between God and 
Israel, since it must be included in every meal-offer- 
ing, in which it takes the place of the blood in the 
animal sacrifices (Lev. ii. 13; but comp. Ezek. 
xliii. 24). The lieave-offering incumbent on every 
Israelite was called “berit millat ‘olam” (Num. 
xviii. 19). In the Talmud salt symbolizes the Torah, 
for as the world can not exist without salt, so it can 
not endure without the Torah (Soferim xv. 8). 

u Tekelet ” represented heaven, according to the 
view of Maimonides (“ Yad,” Zizit, ii.); while Abra- 
vanel and Kimhi on Ex. xxv. 4 regarded it as the 
greenish color of the sea, most of the other commen- 
tators agree with Maimonides in interpreting it as 
the symbol of the dwelling-place of Yinvu, and 
thus as corresponding to the color of the divine rev- 
elation (Num. R. xv.). “ Argaman ” was the sym- 

bol of sublimity, of power, and of glory (Isa. lx. 6; 
Judges viii. 26), so that Alexander Balas robed Jon- 
athan in purple (1 Macc. x. 20), which was especially 
used to designate royal dignity (I Macc. x. 20, xi. 
58). “ Tola ‘ at ” and “ shani ” (“ scarlet, ” “ crimson ”) 


symbolized blood, and thus frequently typified life, 
although this color often designated sin, as well 
as joy and happiness (Gen. xxxviii. 28; Josh. ii. 18, 
21; Jer. iv. 30). Purification from sin was also 
symbolized by purple (Lev. xvi. 10; Nahum ii. 4 [A. 
V. 3]). “Shesli” (white), like “buz” (byssus), was 
the symbol of physical and intellectual purity, being 
the true color of light, without any. modification 
(Cant. v. 10; Dan. iv. 10, 14, 20; Zech. xiv. 5). 

(6) See Oiierurim. 

(7) Festivals and Holy Days : The system of 
the Jewish festivals was ternary, since the year, like 
the day and the night, was divided into three parts. 
The first of these festivals was the Passover, which 
celebrated the rebirth of nature, and thus symbolized 
the origin of the Jewish people. The yearling lamb 
typified innocent youth. It was regarded as espe- 
cially holy, and might neither be boiled nor its bones 
broken, but had to remain entire. Since anything 
sour w r as regarded as unclean, and as the people were 
obliged to refrain from touching anything un- 
clean during Passover, leavened food was forbid- 
den. Even in the Bible the eating of the bitter herbs 
typified the miseries of the Egyptian bondage. In 
the evenings four cups were drained, to symbolize 
the four world-kingdoms (Yer. Pes. 37c; Gen. R. 
lxxx.), and those who partook of the Passover meal 
reclined in token of their liberation from slavery. 
The Passover was likewise the Feast of the First- 
Born, since it was regarded as typifying also the 
death of the first-born in Egypt. 

The second festival was that of Shebu'ot, the 
Feast of Weeks, and as the Passover marked the 
beginning of a definite period, so Shebu'ot marked 
its close, the former denoting the day of ripening, and 
the latter marking the last day of using the scythe, 
whence it received the alternative names of “ ‘azar- 
ta ” or “ ‘azeret shel Pesali ” (Pes. 42b). The third 
of the festivals was the Feast of Sukkot, or the 
Feast of Tabernacles, originally observed as an au- 
tumnal festival, but subsequently as a feast of joy 
(Lev. R. v. 30), being regarded at a still later time as 
commemorating the huts occupied by the children of 
Israel in the desert (Suk. 55b ; Men. xiii. 5). The stem 
of the palm -branch corresponded to the human 
spine, the leaf of the myrtle to the eye, the willow- 
leaf to the mouth, and the etrog to the heart, these 
being the most important members of the body (Lev. 
R. xxx.). The palm-branches borne by the Jews on 
the Feast of Tabernacles typified their victories over 
the heathen (Pesik. 180a; Lev. R. l.c.). 

There were two other special festivals, the New- 
Year and the Day of Atonement. The distinguish- 
ing feature of the former was the blowing of the 
sliofar, to signify that Israel was remembered in the 
presence of Yiiwh, while the Talmud emphasized 
the fact that only a straight sliofar was blown, to 
symbolize the straightening of the heart, as distin- 
guished from the usage on fast-days, when a curved 
sliofar was blown, to symbolize the heart writhing 
in repentance (Yer. R. II. 58d). Abravanel on Lev. 
xxiii. 24 represented New-Year’s Day as the symbol 
of complete freedom, while Philo regarded the blow- 
ing of the shofar on New- Year as a commemoration 
of the giving of the Law, and as a proclamation of 
the benefits which the world would derive from the 



Symbol 

Synag-ogrue 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


618 


dissemination of righteous laws, as well as the end, 
set by God, to the strife among the forces of nature 
C‘De Septenario,” pp. 43-44). The Day of Atone- 
ment was considered the most holy day of the entire 
year, and was regarded as the symbol of the com- 
plete atonement of the people and of their absolu- 
tion from their sins (comp, the various articles on 
the festivals). 

(8) The Visions of the Prophets : Jeremiah 
beheld an almond-tree as a token of the speedy ful- 
filment of the word of God (play on “ shaked ” in 
Jer. i. 11), and Amos saw a basket of summer fruit 
as a symbol of the approaching end of Israel (play 
on “ kayiz ” in Amos viii. 1). Alii jali the Shilonite 
tore Jeroboam’s mantle into twelve pieces, to typify 
the division of the kingdom of Israel (I Kings xi. 
30), and Zedekiali made horns of iron to encourage 
Ahab to engage in war with Ramoth-gilead (I Kings 
xxii. 1 1). King Joasli, at the command of the prophet 
Elisha, shot arrows from the open window into the 
air, to symbolize the destruction of his enemies 
(II Kings xiii. 15-19). Isaiali walked naked and 
barefoot to show how the Egyptians and Ethiopians 
would be treated when taken captive by the Assyr- 
ians (Isa. xx. 2), while Jeremiah wore a yoke upon 
his neck to induce the nations to submit to the King 
of Assyria (Jer. xxvii. 2-4, 10-12). Ezekiel was 
commanded to inscribe the names of certain tribes 
upon separate pieces of word, to show that God 
would reunite those tribes (Ezek. xxxvii. 15 et seq . ; 
comp. Isa. vi. ; Ezek. i. ; Dan. vii.). 

The following symbolic acts may also be men- 
tioned: the dedication of the priest by sprinkling 
his ears, hands, and feet with blood, since they were 
the members which performed the most important- 
functions; the wearing of fringes on 
Miscella- the garment, since they typified the 

neous word of the Law, the liberation from 
Symbols. Egypt, the fulfilment of all the com- 
mands of God, and the warning against 
idolatry and other sins; and the prohibition of a 

garment of divers materials, a,s a. symbol of the com- 

mandment not to trespass against the divine order 
of nature. The presentation of the shoe was taken 
to symbolize the transferring of one’s rights to an- 
other (Ruth iv. 7); at weddings the bride was sprin- 
kled with grains of wheat as a symbol of fruitful- 
ness (Ket. ii. 1). 

Seals and gems of the sixth and seventh centuries 
b.c. likewise contain symbolic figures, although 
their meaning is no longer clear. Thus, a steer 
facing to the right appears on the seal of Sliemariah, 
son of Azariali, and the seal of Nathan, son of Aba- 
diah, has ibexes and deer above and below the name, 
either as a symbol of some Syrian goddess or to 
show that the owner of the gem was fond of hunt- 
ing. The seal of Shebaniah, son of Uzziah, bears a 
man with a large stick in his right hand, while the 
reverse shows butterflies above and below the 
legend. 

The coins of the time of Simon Maccabeus have 
an almond-blossom to symbolize the priesthood of 
Aaron, and other coins of the same period bear a 
lulab and an etrog, which are difficult to explain. 
Most of the coins of the time of John Hyrcanus 
show two interlaced horns as a symbol of power, 


while the rulers of the house of Herod had ships, 
helmets, Syrian shields, and grapes engraved upon 
their coins. A coin of Agrippa I. bears two clasped 
hands as a token of his friendship with Claudius. 
The coins struck during the first revolution present 
grapes, the tyre, and the palm. 

The symbolism on Jewish tombstones is very sim- 
ple, the same emblems appearing on most of them. 
Two hands with outspread fingers indicated that 
the dead man was descended from priestly stock, 
and a jug was carved on the tombstones of the Le- 
vites as an emblem of the priest who washed his 
hands before he pronounced the blessing. Other 
gravestones show a tree with branches either out- 
spread or broken off, symbolizing the death of a 
young man or an old man respectively; or they 
have a cluster of grapes as an emblem of Israel. 
The Magen Dawid occurs frequently, and an 
erect female figure was carved on the tombstone 
of a virgin, to typify the life which rises upward. 
Most frequently, however, the figures symbolized 
the name of the deceased, as the figure of a lion for 
Loeb, a wolf for Benjamin, and a rose for the name 
Blumc. 

The influence of Judaism upon Christian symbol- 
ism as early as the second and third centuries c.e., 
is apparent both in painting and in sculpture, the 
most frequent motives being those which occur in 
the Mishnah as formulas for prayer on fast-days. 
The prayer beginning with the words “Mi she-'a- 
nali,” which was included in the selihah at an early 
date, was adopted in the Christian ritual as the lit- 
any “Libera domino,” and this litany was figura- 
tively used in a certain sequence as a symbol, for the 
sacrifice of Isaac was regarded as a symbol of the 
crucifixion of Jesus, since the primitive Church con- 
sidered Isaac the prototype of Jesus, and the act of 
sacrifice emblemized the death on the cross ; Abra- 
ham was represented as the symbol of the power of 
faith and Isaac as the sacrificed redeemer. The 

ascension of Elijah was believed to typify the ascen- 
sion. of J esus. -wlio was ro^jai-ded by Christian S3' m - 

holism as an analogue to Elijah, although this ascen- 
sion was also taken as a type of the 
Influence general resurrection from the dead, 
on Chris- Job sitting among the ashes was the 
tian symbol of patience and of the power of 
Symbols, resistance of the flesh ; and Hananiah, 
Mishael, and Azariali in the fiery fur- 
nace typified steadfastness in persecution and faith 
in the aid of God. The sarcophagi, moreover, con- 
tained representations of the fall of man, Noah and 
the ark, scenes from the life of Moses in three vari- 
ations, Joshua, David, and Daniel. 

In later times pictorial symbolism gradually gave 
place to verbal. Originally there were three kinds 
of such verbal symbolism: “peshat,” referring to 
the past or the changeable; “derash,” to the pres- 
ent, with the interests and emotions expressed by 
it; “sod,” to the future, or to the investigation 
of the eternal. Subsequent!}", and up to the elev- 
enth century, a fourth form of symbolism was 
used, namely, “ remez,” or the symbolizing of the 
supernatural. These four kinds were designated 
either as “ the four legs of the table of the Lord ” 
or as the four rivers issuing from paradise. The lit- 



619 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Symbol 

Synagogue 


oral interpretation was said to express the facts, the 
allegorical interpretation to teach the doctrine, the 
moral interpretation to teach right living, and the 
mystical interpretation to indicate the order of 
the supernatural world of spirit. 

In recent times Zionism lias encouraged picto- 
rial symbolism by adopting an erect lion for its es- 
cutcheon, in symbolic interpretation of Gen. xlix. 
9. Other examples are the famous window in the 
B’nai B’ritli Lodge of Hamburg, where Theodor 
Herzl is represented as Moses “the liberator,” and- 
the symbolic illustrations and cover-designs of the 
painter Lilien. See also Titles of Books. 

Bibliography : V. Schultze, Archdologisehe Studicn , Vienna, 
1SS0; idem. Die Katakmnben, Leipsic, 1882; E. Heinnecke, 
Altchristliche Malcrei, ib. 1896; R. Garrucci, Storia della 
Arte Christiana , Rome, 1886 ; F. Friedrich, Symholik dev 
Mosaischen Stiftshiitte, Leipsic, 1841 ; J. Aub, Ucbcr die 
Symholik dcr Mosaischen Religion , in Zeit. f ur Religiose 
lnteresscn dcs Judenthums , ii.; M. Levy, Siegel undGepi- 
men , Breslau, 1869; D. Kaufmann, in R. E.J. xiv. 33, 217 ; 
Bacher, Ag . Pal. Amor.; Balir, ChristlichcSymbolikdesMo- 
saisehen Cultus , Heidelberg, 1839, 1874; Kurz, Zur Sym- 
holik dcr Cultusstdttc, in Zeit. filr Lutherisclie Theologie 
und Kirche, 1851, pp. 1-70; Zunz, Z. O. pp. 161-163; idem, 
G. V. 2d ed., p. 02; Griitz, Gesch. vi. 64. 
j. S. O. 

SYMMACHUS : Translator of the Bible into 
Greek: flourished at the end of the second or the 
beginning of the third century of the common 
era. According to Eusebius and Jerome, he was an 
Ebionite and consequently a Christian ; according to 
Epiphanius, a Samaritan who embraced Judaism. 
Geiger has tried to identify him with the tanna Sym- 
machus ben Joseph; but this view has been gener- 
ally regarded as unfounded. Symmachus’ transla- 
tion of the Bible won such quick recognition and 
was adopted so rapidly that Origen incorporated it 
in - his Hexapla. Field has made the most com- 
plete collection of the fragments which have been 
preserved in the Hexaplar manuscripts. New mate- 
rial has been furnished of late years by the Hexaplar 
discovery of Mercati, a complete publication of 
which has yet to be made, and by the small Hexa- 
plar fragment discovered and published by Taylor. 

contrast to -tliG Septnaglnt. to A-Ctiiila.., and. to 

Theodotion, Symmachus writes good Greek, compar- 
atively free from Hebraisms; and he strives above 
all to reproduce clearly the sense of the original 
{comp. Field, “Origenis Hexaplorum,” etc., xxx. ei 
seq.). He has, therefore, only seldom transcribed 
in Greek letters Hebrew words which were difficult 
to translate, as his predecessors often did. 

Some uncertainty still prevails as to Symmachus 7 
relationship to Aquila and Theodotion. Swete holds 
it probable that when Symmachus made his transla- 
tion he had before him the work of both of these 
translators. In Symmachus’ variations from the 
Septuagint, Geiger finds unmistakable traces of Jew- 
ish tradition in that he takes into account the dog- 
matic convictions of Judaism at the time (avoiding 
anthropomorphisms, referring to resurrection and 
everlasting life, softening harsh expressions), fol- 
lows rabbinic interpretations in other ways also, 
and adopts for many words in the Bible a meaning 
which occurs only in the later Hebrew. This does 
not contradict the fact that he was an Ebionite— a 
fact of which Harnack has furnished important 
proofs, even tracing back to him the name of the 
Ebionite sect of the Symmacliians. Jerome often 


made use of the translation of Symmachus, for which 
compare Field, l.c. xxxi v.-xxxv., in which work 
also (xxxvi.-xxxvii.) an alleged second recension of 
his translation is mentioned. 

Bibliography: Field, Origenis Hcxaplorum Quce Super- 
sunt Prolegomena , xxviii.-xxxvii.; Geiger, JUd. Zeit. i. 39- 
64; Diet, of Christian Biography , iv. 748-749; Harnack, 
Gesch. dcr Altclmistlichen Literatur , i. 209 et seq.; Herzog- 
Hauck, Real-Encyc. iii. 23; Swete, Introduction to the Old 
Testament in Greek, pp. 49-53 ; Sehurer, Gesch. 3d ed., iii. 
314 (assembles tbe literature on Mercati ’s find); Taylor, 
Hebrew-Greek Cairo Genizah Palimpsests . . . Including 
a Fragment of the 22d Psalm According to Origcn's 
Hexapla , Cambridge, 1900 (contains text of Symmachus for 
Ps. xxii. 15-18, 20-24 ; also material on Symmachus, pp. 39-41) . 
Compare also the bibliographies of the articles Aquila, 
Origen, and Theodotion. _ 

T. F. P. 

SYNAGOGAL MUSIC. See Music, Syna- 
gogal. 

SYNAGOGE, DIE. See Periodicals. 
SYNAGOGENBLATT, DAS. See Period- 
icals. 

SYNAGOGUE: The origin of the synagogue, 
in which the congregation gathered to worship and 
to receive the religious instruction connected there- 
with, is wrapped in obscurity. By the time it liad 
become the central institution of Judaism (no period 
of the history of Israel is conceivable without it), 
it was already regarded as of ancient origin, 
dating back to the time of Moses (see Yer. Targ., 
Ex. xviii. 20 and I Chron. xvi. 39; Pesik. 129b; 
Philo, “De Vita Mosis,” iii. 27; Josephus, “Contra 
Ap.”ii., §17; Acts xv. 21). . The “house of the peo- 
ple” (Jer. xxxix. 8 [Hebr.]) is interpreted, in a mid- 
rasli cited by Rashi and Kimhi (ad loc .), as referring 
to the synagogue, and “bet ‘amma,” the Aramaic 
form of this phrase, was the popular designation in 
the second century for the synagogue (Simeon b. 
Eleazar, in Shab. 32a). The synagogue as a perma- 
nent institution originated probably in the period 
of the Babylonian captivity, when a place for com- 
mon worship and instruction had become necessary. 
The great prophet, in the second part of the Book of 
Isaiah, in applying the phrase “ house of pra 3 r er ” to 

tlie Temple XO t>e Lrairc at J erusalem (Isa. l'sri. T aad., 

according to the very defensible reading of the 
LXN., also lx. 7), may have used a phrase which, 
in the time of the Exile, designated 
Estab- the place of united worship ; this in- 
iished Bur- terpretation is possible, furthermore, 
ing the in such passages as Isa. lviii. 4. The 
Exile. term was preserved by the Hellenis- 
tic Jews as the name for the s} r na- 
gogue (t Tpooevxy = oiKog rrpoaevxyq; comp, also the 
allusion to the “proseuclia” in Juvenal, “Satires,” 
iii. 296). 

After the return from the Captivity, when the 
religious life was reorganized, especially under Ezra 
and his successors, congregational worship, consist- 
ing in prayer and the reading of sections from the 
Bible, developed side by side with the revival of the 
cult of the Temple at Jerusalem, and thus led to the 
building of synagogues. The place of meeting was 
called “bet ha-keneset,” since an assembly of the 
people for worship was termed a “ keneset ” ; the 
assembly described in Neh. ix.-x. was known in tra- 
dition as the “ great assembly ” (“ keneset lia-gedo- 
lah ” ; see Synagogue, The Great). The sy nagogue 



Synagogue 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


continued to be known by this name, although 
it was called also, briefly, “keneset” (Aramaic, 
“kanislita”), and, in Greek, Gwayoyr}. 

The s 3 r nagogues of Palestine are first mentioned in 
Ps. lxxiv., in which the words “mo'adeel” (verse 
8) were interpreted as meaning “ synagogue” as early 
as Aquila, although strictly it connotes merely a 
place of assembty (comp, “bet mo‘ed,” Job xxx. 23; 
“bet wa'ad,” Ab. i. 4). Neither of the first two 
books of the Maccabees, however, mentions the 
burning of the synagogues of the country during 
the persecutions by Antiochus. The synagogue in 
the Temple at Jerusalem is mentioned in lialakic 
tradition (see Yoma vii. 1; Sotali vii. 7, 8; Tosef., 
Suk. iv.). According to one legend, there were 304 


ii. 14, §§4-5); it was called the “revolutionary 
synagogue ” (“kenislita di-meradta ”) as late as the 
fourth century (see Griitz, “Gesch.” 2d ed.,iv. 313). 

The evangelists refer to the synagogues of Naza- 
reth (Matt. xiii. 54; Mark vi. 2; Luke iv. 16) and 
Capernaum (Mark i. 21; Luke vii. 5; John vi. 59) 
as places where Jesus taught. There are but few 
details given in traditional literature concerning the 
other synagogues of Palestine, although mention 
is made of those in Beth-shean (Scy tliopolis ; Yer. 
Meg. 74a), Caesarea (Yer. Bik. 65d; see above), 
Kefar Tiberias (Pesik. R. 196b), Kifra, or Kufra 
(Yer. Ta‘an. 68b; Meg. 70a), Lydda (Yer. Shek. v., 
end), Maon (Shab. 139a; Zab. 118b), Sepphoris 
(Pesik. 136b [the great synagogue] ; Yer. Ber. 9a; 






ltuixs of ax Ancient Synagogue at meron. 

(From a photograph by the Palestine Exploration Fund.) 


synagogues at Jerusalem when the city was des- 
troyed by Titus (Ket. 105), while a second tradition 
gives the number as 480 (Yer. Meg. 73d et al.). 
Other passages give the additional information that 
the foreign Jews at Jerusalem had their own syna- 
gogues. Thus there was a synagogue of the Alex- 
andrian Jews (Tosef., Meg. ii. ; Yer. Meg* 73d); this 
synagogue is mentioned in Acts vi. 9 (comp. ix. 29), 
which refers also to the synagogues of the Oyre- 
nians, Cilicians, and Asiatics. Josephus mentions 
both the synagogue built by Agrippa 
Spread of I. at Dora (“Ant.” xix. 6, § 3) and 
Syna- the great synagogue at Tiberias, in 
gogues. which, during the war against Rome, 
political meetings were once held on 
the Sabbath and the following days (“ Vita,” § 54). 
The synagogue of Csesarea rose to importance during 
the inception of this uprising (Josephus, “B. J.” 


Yer. Shab. Sa [the S} r nagogue of the Babylonians] ; 
Yer. Ber. 6a [the Synagogue of the Vine]), Tiberias 
(Ber. 8a, 30b [thirteen synagogues] ; Yer. Ta‘an. 
64a [the Synagogue of the fiov?Jf ] ; ‘Er. x. 10), and 
Tibe‘in (Tosef., Meg. ii.). 

The earliest document relating to the settlement 
of the Jews in Egypt and their adoption of Hellenic 
customs was discovered in 1902. This is a marble slab 
with the following inscription in Greek: “In honor 
of King Ptolemy and Queen Berenice, his sister and 
wife, and their children, the Jews [dedicate] this 
synagogue ” ( npoaevxv ). The stone was found in the 
ancient Sliedia, 20 kilometers from Alexandria ; the 
king mentioned on it is Ptolemy, according to Th. 
Reinacli (in “ R. E. J. ” xlv. 164). Similar dedicatory 
inscriptions have been discovered in Lower Egypt, 
one of them declaring that the king had bestowed 
the rights of asylum (acvlnv) qu the synagogue ( ib _ 







m 



(From a photograph by the Palestine Exploration Fund.) 





Synagogue 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


622 


xlv. 1G3). In III Macc. vii. 20 there is an account 
of the founding of a synagogue at Ptolemais (on the 
right hank of the Bahr Yusuf) during the reign 
of King Ptolemy IY. Philo expressly states (“De 
Legatione ad Caium,” §20) that the large population 
of Alexandria had many synagogues in various 
quarters of the city, and he says also (ib.) that 
when the Alexandrian synagogues were destroyed 
the same fate was shared by the shields, golden 
wreaths, steke, and inscriptions which in honor of 
the emperors had been set up in the open halls (•» ept- 
fioAai) of the courts of the synagogues (Philo, “In 
Flaccimi,” § 7). The great sjmagogue of Alexan- J 
dria, which was des- 
tined during the 
reign of Trajan, was 
especially famous, its 
size and splendor be- 
ing made the subject 
of glowing descrip- 
tions in the schools of 
Palestine and Baby- 
lon (Suk. 51a; Tosef., 
ib. iv. ; Yer. Suk. 

55a). 

In Syria the great 
S 3 T nagogue of Anti- 
och was famous; to 
it, according to Jo- 
sephus (“B. J.” vii. 

3, § 3), the successors 
of Antiochus Epiph- 
anes presented the 
bronze votive offer- 
ings which had been 
taken from Jerusa- 
lem. Its site was oc- 
cupied in the fourth 
centuiy b 3 r a Chris- 
tian basilica dedicated 
to the Maccabean 
martyrs (the seven 
brothers mentioned 
in II and IY Macca- 
bees [see Cardinal 
Bampolla in “Bev. 
de l’Art Chretien,” 

1S99, p. 390]). The 
apostle Paul preached 
in various s 3 r n a - 
gogues in Damascus 
(Acts ix. 20). In 
the account of his journe 3 r s through Asia Minor, 
Macedonia, and Greece he mentions S 3 r nagogues at 
Antioch in Pisidia, Iconium, Ephesus, Philippi, 
‘Thessalonica, Berea, Athens, Corinth, and Salamis 
(several synagogues; Acts xiii. 5, 14; xiv. 1; xvi. 
13; xvii. 1 , 10, 17; xviii. 4, 7). 

Philo speaks of the synagogues of the capital of 
the Homan empire at the time of Augustus (“De 
Legatione ad Caium,” § 23); and the inscriptions 
show that Koine contained a synagogue named in 
honor of the emperor Augustus, another called after 
Agrippa, and a third after a certain Yolumnus. One 
synagogue received its name from the Campus Mar- 
tius, and one from the Sublira, a populous quarter 


of Rome ; while another was termed “ the S 3 ' nagogue 
of the Olive-Tree.” The iuscriptions refer even to a 
synagogue of “ the Hebrews,” which belonged prob- 
ably to a community of Jews who spoke Hebrew 
or Aramaic. The synagogue of Severus at Rome is 
mentioned in an ancient literary document dealing 
with the variant readings in a cop 3 >- of the Penta- 
teuch (see Schurer, “Gescli.” 3d ed., iii. 44 ct seq . ; 
Berliner, “Gescli. der Jiulen in Rom,” i. 62 ct seq.). 

The ruins of a sjmagogue were discovered in 1883 
at Hammam-Lif, near Carthage. A Latin inscrip- 
tion was found in the outer court, while a mosaic 
with an inscription, and picturing various animals 

and the seven- 
b ran died candle- 
stick, was set in the 
lioor of the syna- 
gogue itself (“R. E. 
J.” xiii. 45-61, 217- 
223). Remains of an- 
cient S 3 r nagogues, 
some of which date 
from the second or, 
perhaps, even from 
the first centuiy of 
the common era, have 
- been found in vari- 
ous localities of 
northern Galilee, in 
the vicinity of Lake 
Merom, and on the 
shores of Lake Gcn- 
nesaret (see Renan, 
“Mission de Pheni- 
cie,” pp. 761-783). 
The best preserved 
of these ruins are 
those of Kafr Bir'im ; 
while those of Kas- 
3' 1111 contain a Greek 
inscription from the 
reign of the emperor 
Septimius Severus. 
These Galilean ruins 
are especially impor- 
tant as showing the 
architecture of the 
ancient Palestinian 
synagogues, which 
bears general traces 
of Grcco-Roman in- 
fluence, although it 
has not surrendered its individuality (see Schurer, 
l.c. ii. 462). It ma 3 ' be noted here that the great 
synagogue of Alexandria is designated as ih~/S/ area 
in the description of it mentioned above, and that a 
haggadist of the fourth century applies the same 
term to the chief synagogue of Tiberias (see Midr. 
Teh. on Ps. xciii. ; Baclier, “ Ag. Pal. Amor. ” iii. 672). 

Onty a few S 3 r nagogues of the Bab 3 r lonian dias- 
pora are mentioned b 3 r name in the Talmud. Those 
situated in Shaf we-Yatib, near Neuakdea, and 
in Huzal (Meg. 29b) were believed to be the oldest 
on Babyloniau soil and were said to have been 
founded at the time of the Captivity. In the third 
century there was a synagogue named in honor of 



(From the Sarajevo Hn^gatlah of the fourteenth century.) 



623 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Synagogue 


Daniel (‘Er. 21a), and in the following century there 
was a synagogue of “the Homans” at Mahoza, 
which belonged probably to Jews from the Homan 
empire (Meg. 26b). In Babylonia the synagogues 
were frequently situated outside the cities, in many 
cases at a considerable distance from them (see 
Kid. 73b; Shab. 24b; comp. Tan., ed. Buber, 
“ Hayyc Sarah,” p. 7), this custom, apparently, be- 
ing due to the fact that after the destruction of the 
synagogues by the Persians during the Sassanian 
period the Jews were • forbidden to rebuild within 
the citjr limits (see Hastings, “Diet. Bible,” iii. 638). 

The synagogue and the academy were the two 
institutions which preserved the essence of the Ju- 
daism of the Diaspora and .saved it from annihila- 
tion. As the place of public worship, the syna- 
gogue became the 
pivot of each com- 
munity, just as the 
Sanctuary at Jerusa- 
lem had been the cen- 
ter for the entire 
people. Ezek. xi. 16, 

“Yet will I be to 
them as a little sanc- 
tuary,” was rightly 
interpreted, there- 
fore, to mean that in 
its dispersion Israel 
would retain the syn- 
agogue as a sanctu- 
aiy in miniature in 
compensation for the 
loss of the Temple 
(Targ. ad loo.), and 
the community crys- 
tallized around the 
synagogue, the only 
possible organization 
for the Jews of the 
Diaspora. Synagogal 
worship, therefore, 
however much it 
might vary in detail 
in different countries, 
was the most impor- 
tant visible expres- 
sion of Judaism, and 
the chief means of 
uniting the Jews scattered throughout the world; 
while the academy, in like manner, guaranteed the 
unity of the religious spirit which animated the 
synagogue. The synagogue, consequently, is the 
most important feature of the Jewish community, 
which is inconceivable without it. 

A history of the synagogue is possible only in so 
far as Jewish history is considered from the point of 
view of this important institution. A distinction 
may be drawn, however, between its 
Importance internal and its external history, the 
of the former dealing with the changes in 

Institu- the cult connected with the synagogue 
tion. and with its different institutions, and 
the latter treating of the fortunes of the 
followers of Judaism and of their social and cultural 
status in so far as these influenced the synagogue. 


In sketching briefly the external history of the 
synagogue, it is, in a sense, ominous that the first 
allusion to it (in Ps. Ixxiv.) should be to its de- 
struction. For nearty fifteen hundred } r ears razed 
synagogues typified the fortunes of the Jewish 
communities, especially in Christian countries. In 
the Roman empire, during the fourth century, 
Theodosius the Great was frequently obliged to 
check the excessive zeal of the Christians, who 
burned and plundered synagogues or transformed 
them into churches (Griitz, “Gesch.” 2d ed., iv. 
385). His son Arcadius likewise was compelled to 
take stringent measures against the proposed de- 
struction of s} r nagogues in Illyria in 397. Theo- 
dosius II. (408-450), however, expressly forbade the 
Jews to build new sjmagogues ; and when the Chris- 
tians of Antiochia 
seized certain Jewish 
places of worship, 
the emperor,, al- 
though he at first 
commanded their res- 
toration, was later 
persuaded by St. 
Simeon Stylites to 
revoke the edict. 

Eight years before 
(415), the Christians 
of Alexandria, insti- 
gated by Bishop 
Cyril, had confiscated 
the synagogue there 
and forced the Jews 
to emigrate, while 
at Constantinople the 
great synagogue was 
dedicated as the 
Church of the Mother 
of God, probably dur- 
ing the reign of Theo- 
dosius II. When the 
victories of Belisa- 
r i u s subjugated 
northern Africa to 
the Byzantine em- 
pire, Justinian com- 
manded (535) that 
the synagogues 
should be trans- 
formed into churches. During the reign of Tke- 
odoric the Great the Christian populace of Home 
burned the synagogue ; but although he commanded 
the Senate to punish those who had done so, and 
though he permitted the Jews of Genoa to repair 
theirs, he allowed neither the building nor the deco- 
ration of synagogues elsewhere. Pope Gregory the 
Great was noted for his justice toward the Jews; 

yet he was unable to restore the syn- 
In agogues that had been taken from 
Medieval them at Palermo by Bishop Victor and 
Times. dedicated as churches, although he 
obliged the bishop to pay for them. 
During the Merovingian period a synagogue at 
Orleans was destined by The mob, and the Jews 
were unable to induce King Guntram to permit it 
to be rebuilt (5S4). The epoch of the Crusades was 




Synag-ogrue 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


624 


initiated by “the liberation of Jerusalem,” when the 
victorious crusaders drove the Jews into a syna- 
gogue and cremated them there (1099). In France, 
Philip Augustus commanded in his edict of expul- 
sion, dated 1181, that the synagogues should be 
transformed into churches, and at the coronation of 
King Richard I, eight years later the synagogues of 
London were destroyed by the crusaders. When 
Philip the Fair expelled the Jews from France, in 
1307. the synagogues were either sold or given 
away, one of those in Paris being presented by the 
king to his coachman ; Louis X, restored them when 
the Jews were 
recalled in 1815. 

At the time of 
the Black Death 
(1349) the entire 
community of 
Vienna sought 
death in the 
synagogue in or- 
der to escape 
persecution. In 
1473 the Jews 
were expelled 
from Mayence 
and their syna- 
gogue dedicated 
to Christian wor- 
ship. Two dec- 
ades later all 
the Jews were 
expelled from 
Spain, their syn- 
agogues were 
turned into 
churches and 
convents, and 
the magnificent 
synagogue at 
Toledo, built in 
the fourteenth 
century b} r the 
statesman Sam- 
uel Abulafia, be- 
came the Church 
de Nuestra Se- 
ri o r a de San 
Benita (or del 
Tran si to), still 
existing as a 

monument to the former splendor of the Jewish 
culture of Spain. 

The following information regarding transformed 
synagogues still existing in Spain is given by Kay- 
serling : In the Calle de la Sinagoga in Toledo there 
is, in addition to the former synagogue 
Syna- of Samuel Abulafia, the great syna- 
gogues in gogue built in the reign of Alfonso 
Spain. X., now the Church of Santa Maria la 
Blanca, a name given it by Vicente 
Ferrer in the early part of the fifteenth century, 
when it was dedicated. Both these buildings were 
restored in the last decade of the nineteenth century, 
after being closed as churches and declared to be 
national monuments. One of the large synagogues 


Interior of tbe Synagogue at Rotterdam. 
(From an old print.) 


of Seville was transformed into the Church of 
S. Bartolome in 1482, and is now one of the finest in 
the city ; its Hebrew inscriptions were seen by Rod- 
rigo Caro, the author of “ Antiguedada de Sevilla, 
in 1630. The old synagogue at Segovia, burned in 
1899, was dedicated as the Church of Corpus Cliristi 
(see “R. E. J.” xxxix. 209-216). A church at the 
entrance to the ghetto of Saragossa is said to have 
been a synagogue; but there are no documents to 
verify this statement, although the style of architec- 
ture supports it. On the synagogue discovered by 
Fidel Fita under the name of the Church ot Santa 

Quiteria, at Cor- 
dova, see “ R. E. 
J,” ix. 157, x. 
245. 

When the Jews 
of R a t i s b o n 
were expelled in 
1519, their syna- . 
gogue, which 
was b u i 1 1 o f 
freestone, was 
demolished by 
the citizens 
(even the nobles 
and the bishop 
taking part in 
the work of de- 
struction), and 
a church was 
erected on the 
site. The inten- 
tion of Ferdi- 
nand I. of Aus- 
tria to transform 
the synagogues 
of Prague into 
churches (1557) 
was not exe- 
cuted, and it was 
reserved for Leo- 
pold I., another 
member of the 
house of Haps- 
burg, to issue 
the last general 
order to this 
effect recorded 
in history. 
When the Jews 
were expelled from Vienna, in 1670, a church was 
built on the site of their demolished synagogue. 

These episodes in the history of the synagogue in 
Christian countries have had very few parallels in 
Mohammedan lands, although the rule 
In Islam, of Islam also began with an edict 
against the synagogue. It was de- 
creed in the “pact of Omar” (see Jew. Excyc. vi. 
655, s.v. Islam) that in those countries which should 
be conquered no new synagogues might be built, 
nor old ones repaired. The calif Al-Mutawakkil 
confirmed this decree in the ninth century, and com- 
manded all synagogues to he transformed into 
mosques. The Egyptian calif Al-Hakim (d, 1020) 
also destroyed synagogues, and many were razed in 





625 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Synagogue 


Africa and Spain by the fury of the Aimohades 
(after 1140), The great synagogue of Jerusalem 
was destroyed in 1473, although the Jews were soon 
permitted to rebuild it. In eastern Mohammedan 
countries the names of Biblical personages or of 
representatives of tradition (e.g. , a tanna or amora) 
were given to many synagogues. The following 
examples are taken from Benjamin of Tudela 
(“ Itinerary ”), from the list of tombs compiled for 
B. Jehiel of Paris (1240), and from a similar list 
entitled “Eleh lia-Massa‘ot ” ; the two last-named 
sources are appended to Griinlmt's edition of Ben- 
jamin of Tudela (pp. 140-160). Some examples 
are found also in Pethaliiah’s itinerary, and in Sam- 


very splendid edifice ”), Byblus (p. 158, “ an extraor- 
dinarily splendid edifice ”), Laodicea (p. 158), and 
Hama (p. 159), while Gratz believed (“Gescli.” 1st 
ed.,v. 53) that there was a synagogue of Elijah also 
in Sicily, at the time of Pope Gregory I. Benjamin 
found a “Keneset Mosheh” outside the city of Fos- 
tat (p. 94). According to Sambari (p. 119 ; comp. p. 
187), the name of “Kanisat Musa” was given to the 
synagogue of Damwah (see Jew. Encyc. v. 64, s.x. 
Egypt), in which Moses himself was said to have 
prayed (comp. Ex. ix. 29), andin which, on the 7th of 
Adar, the Jews of all Egypt assembled, during the 
period of the Nagids, for fasting and prayer. One 
of the three synagogues of Aleppo was called after 



barfs chronicle of the year 1682, printed in Neu- 
bauer, 14 M. J, C.” i. In the following list the name 
“Sambari” precedes the page numbers of citations 
from this latter source; all other references are to 
the pages of Griinhut’s edition of Benjamin of 
Tudela’s “Itinerary.” 

In the village of Janjar, iu Egypt, there was a 
synagogue named in honor of the prophet Elijah, 
since Phinelms b, Eleazar was born there (Sambari, 
p. 121 ; Phinelms = Elijah; see Jew. Encyc, y. 122). 
The s 3 r nagogue of the Palestinians at Fostat was 
also called after Elijah ; the prophet Jeremiah was 
said to have prayed there (Sambari, p. 118; p. 
137); and there were other synagogues of Elijah 
at Damascus (p. 157, “between the gardens— a 
XI.— 40 


Moses (p. 158). Benjamin mentions synagogues 
named in honor of Ezra at Laodicea ( — Kalneh ; 
comp. Sambari, p. 158), Haran, and Jazirat ibn 
Omar, on the upper Tigris, the first one having been 
built, he was told, by Ezra himself (pp. 47 et seq.). 
Pethahiah mentions two synagogues built by Ezra 
at Nisibis. There was a synagogue at Ezra s 
tomb, and one near the grave of the prophet 
Ezekiel; the latter was said to have 
Legendary been built by King Jeboiacbim (“ Itin- 
Founda- eraiy,” ed. Beniscli, pp. 61, 68). In 
tions. the province of Mosul (Assliur), Ben- 
jamin (p. 48) saw the synagogues of 
the three prophets Obadiah, Jonah, and Nahum. 
The tomb of Daniel at Susa and the graves of Morde- 



Synagrogrue 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


626 


cai and Esther (pp. 63, 75, Petlialiiali) were placed 
in front of synagogues, and Benjamin (p. 41) 
mentions a synagogue near Tiberias named in honor 
of Caleb, the son of Jeplnmneh— apparently the 
synagogue built, according to Petlialiiah’s itinerary, 
by Joshua, the son of Nun. 

At Ramlah (Rama) the Christians found the tomb 
of Samuel beside the synagogue (p. 39, Benjamin), 
while at Kafr Jubar, near Damascus, there was a 
S 3 r nagogue built, according to legend, b} r Elislia 
(Sambari, p. 152). Among the Tannaim the name of 
Simeon b. Yohai was given to two synagogues, one 
at Meron (pp. 141, 154) and the other at Kafr Bir‘im 
(p. 154, “a very splendid edifice, built of large stones 
with great pillars”; see above). At Damascus, 
according to Benjamin, there was a synagogue of 
Eleazar b. ‘Arak (Petlialiiali says Eleazar b. Aza- 
riah), and at Nisibis one of Judah b. Batliyra. 
Several Babylonian synagogues mentioned by Ben- 
jamin were named in honor of amoraim : the S 3 r na- 
gogues of Rab, 

Samuel, Isaac, 

Nappalia, Rab- 
ba, Mar Kashi- 
slia, Ze‘erab. Ha- 
ma, Mari, Mei'r 
(at H i llali) , 

Papa, Huna, Jo- 
seph, and Joseph 
b. Hama(pp. 60, 

61,63,65). All 
these syna- 
gogues stood at 
the graves of the 
amoraim whose 
names the y 
bore. 

These exam- 
ples show that 
the synagogues 
bearing the 
names of Bib- 
lical or Tal- 
mudic celebri- 
ties were often 
similar in character to the “ kubbah ” (vault; 
Hebr. nSD'D) regularly built over the grave of a 
Mohammedan saint, and serving as an oratory for 
the pilgrims to the tomb. Similar kubbalis were 
erected, according to Benjamin (p. 63), over the 
graves of Hananiali, Misliael, and Azariali, the three 
friends of Daniel, near the tomb of Ezekiel. In liis 
commentary on Job xxi. 32 Ibn Ezra states that 
Hai Gaon explained the word “ gadish ” as the “ kub- 
bah over the grave, according to the custom in 
Mohammedan countries.” 

Some of the synagogues mentioned in the sources 
quoted above are described as buildings of excep- 
tional beauty, although statements to that effect 
are rarely found elsewhere. It is also 

Special quite noteworthy that Benjamin of 
Syria- Tudela does not praise the architecture 

gogues. of any synagogue in the European 
countries through which he traveled ; 
but it must be borne in mind that the cities of 
Spain were not included in his descriptions. Ac- 


cording to Judah al-IIarizi, there Avere several mag- 
nificent s} r nagogues at Toledo, second to none,, 
among them being the splendid edifice built by 
Joseph b. Solomon ibn Shoshan (Gratz, “Gescli.” 
3ded.,vi. 189). The synagogue of Samuel Abu- 
lafia at Toledo and other Spanish synagogues still 
standing have been mentioned above. Bagdad 
contained twenty-eight, according to Benjamin of 
Tudela (Pethahiali says thirty), in addition to the 
s^ynagogue of the exilarcli, which is described b} r 
Benjamin as a “building resting on marble columns 
of various colors and inlaid with gold and silver, 
with verses from the Psalms inscribed in golden let- 
ters upon the pillars. • The approach to the Ark was. 
formed bj r ten steps, and on the upper one sat the 
exilarcli together with the princes of the house of 
David, ” The anonjmrous itinerary mentioned above, 
in referring to the sjmagogue which the author saw 
at T 3 r re, describes it as “ a large and very fine build- 
ing” (Benjamin of Tudela, ed. Grunhut, p. 158). 

The syna- 
g o g u e of 
Worms, built in. 
the eleventh 
century (see A. 
Epstein, “Jii- 
diselie A Iter th ti- 
mer in Worms, 
und S p e i e r , ” 
Breslau, 1896), 
and the Altneue- 
Synagogue of 
Prague are the- 
tAVO oldest struc- 
tures of their 
kind which still 
exist in Europe, 
and are of inter- 
est both historic- 
ally and archi- 
tecturally. The- 
five Roman syn- 
agogues built 
under one roof 
formed until 
recently a venerable architectural curiosity. The- 
great s} r nagogue of Amsterdam, dedicated in 1675, 
is a monument both to the faith of the Hispano- 
Portuguese Maranos and to the religious freedom 
which Holland Avas the first to grant to the modern 
Jews; a similar monument is the Bevis Marks Syna- 
gogue, London, which Avas dedicated in 1701 (see- 
Gaster, “History of the Ancient Synagogue,” Lon- 
don, 1901). 

Special reference must be made to the wooden 
s}magogues built in the sixteenth and seventeenth 
centuries in some Polish cities, many of them being- 
markedly original in st 3 de. They also attest the 
Avealtli and culture of the Polish Jews before the 3 r eai” 
1548 (see M. Bersolm, “Einiges fiber • 
Wooden die Alien Ilolzsynagogen in Polen, ” in 
Syna- “Mitteilungen der Gesellschaft fiir- 

gogues. Jiidische Volkskunde,” 1901, viii. 159-- 

183; 1904, xiv. 1-20). Bodenseliatz, 
in the middle of the eighteenth century, stated 
that “rather handsome and large synagogues are? 



Interior of an Old Synagogue at Jerusalem 

(From a photograph by E. N. Adler.) 



Interior of tiie Siiearitu Israel Synagogue, New York. Main Entrance to Temple Bktii-El, New York. 

(From the original drawing in the jiossesaion of the architect Arnold W. Brunner.) (From the original drawJPR ih U»e possession of the architect Arnold W. Brunner.) 






Synagogue 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


628 


found in German}’, especially in Hamburg, and 
also among the Portuguese, as well as in Prague, 
particularly in the Polish quarter, besides Plirtli and 
Bayersdorf; but the Dutch synagogues are more 
splendid than all the rest” (“Die Kircliliche Verfas- 
sung der Juden,” ii. 35). 

*In the nineteenth century the great changes 
which ushered in a new epoch in the history of the 
civic and intellectual status of the European Jews 
all’ected also the style and the internal life of the 
synagogue, especially as religious reform proceeds 
'primarily from that institution, and is chiefly con- 
cerned with synagogal worship. A private syna- 
gogue at Berlin (1817) became the first “seminary 
for young Jewish preachers” (Griitz, “Geseh,”xi. 
415) ; while the synagogue of the Reform-Tempel- 
Yerein at Hamburg (ISIS) was the first to introduce 
radical innovations in the ritual of public worship, 
thereby causing a jjermanent schism in Judaism, 
both in Germany and elsewhere. These reforms 
likewise influenced the arrangement of the syna- 
gogue itself. The introduction of the organ, the 
shifting of thealmemar from the center of the build- 
ing to a position just in front of the Ark, the substitu- 
tion of stationary benches for movable desks, and the 
abolition of the high lattices for women, were im- 
portant from an architectural point of view. The 
chief factors which promoted and determined the 
construction of new synagogues were the emanci- 
pation of the Jews from the seclusion of the ghetto, 
their increasing refinement of taste, and their partici- 
pation in all the necessities and luxuries of culture. 



Main Entrance to Shearith Israel Synagogue, New York. 

(From the drawing in the possession of the architect Arnold W. Brunner.) 


Internal causes, however, which were not alwa} r s 
unmixed blessings, were the prime agents in the 
increased importance of the synagogue. As the ex- 
ternal observances of religion and the sanctity of 
tradition lost in meaning and often disappeared en- 
tirely within the family aud in the life of the indi- 
vidual, the synagogue grew in importance as a cen- 
ter for the preservation of Judaism. It thus becomes 


explicable why the religious attitude of both large 
and small communities 'in Europe and America ap- 
pears most of all in the arrangement 
Object of and the care of the synagogues; and 
Splendid it is not mere vanity and ostentation, 
Buildings, which lead communities on both sides 
of the Atlantic to make sacrifices in 
order to build splendid edifices for religious pur- 
poses, such as are found in many cities. 

The increasing importance which the synagogue 
has thus acquired in modem Jewish life is, conse- 
quently, justified from a historical point of view, 



Ground-Plan of the Synagogue at Reichenberg, Bohemia. 

both because it is a development of the earliest in- 
stitution of the Diaspora — one which it lias pre- 
served for two thousand years — and because it is 
the function of the synagogue to maintain the re- 
ligious life and stimulate the concept of Judaism 
within the congregation. The synagogue has in 
the future, as it has had in the past, a distinct mis- 
sion to fulfil for the Jews. 

Bibliography : Down to the completion of the Talmud, see 
the sources mentioned in Schiirer, Ge.sc/i. 3d ed., ii. 437-461. 
Bacher, in Hastings, Diet. Bible ; Griitz, Ge.sc/i. iv.-xi.; Abra- 
hams, Jewish Life m the Middle Ayes, pp. 1-34, London, 
1896; L. Palsczy, Zsido Templomsh Europdhan, in Jahrh. 
der CTngarisch-fsraclitisehen Litter citurgcscllscha ft, 1898, 
pp. 1-44. 

W. B. 

Legal Aspect: No mention is made in the 

Talmud of any tax. for the building of synagogues ; 
but the Tosefta to B. B. i. 6, as reported by Alfasi, 
says: “The men of a city urge one another to 
build a synagogue [DDJDn n^] and to buy. a book 
of the Law, the Prophets, and the Ilagiograplni ” (see 



Interior of the Synagogue of the Spanish and Portuguese jews at Montreal, Canada, 

(From a photograph.) 



Synagrogrue 

Synagogue Architecture 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


630 


“ Yad,” Tefillah, xi. ; Shulhan ‘Aruk, Grab Ilhyyim, 
150, 151). The codes teach, further, on the strength 
of a saying ascribed to Rab (Shab. 11a), that the 
building should stand in the highest part of the town 
(comp. Prov. i. 31) and rise above all surrounding 
edifices. Of course, this rule can not always be car- 
ried out where the Jews live as a small minority in a 
towji of Gentiles; but a sjmagogue should never oc- 
cupy the lower part of a house which 
Position of contains bedrooms in an upper stoiy. 
Synagogue According to a tosefta, the doors of 
Building, the synagogue should be in the east; 

but the opinion has prevailed that they 
should be opposite the Ark and in that part of the 
room toward which the worshipers face in prayer. 


the countries of Christendom they occupy chairs or 
benches. i 

Honor should be paid to synagogues and houses 
of study. People must not conduct themselves 
lightly nor laugh, mock, discuss trifles, or walk 
about therein ; in summer they must 
Honor not resort to it for shelter from the 
Must Be heat, nor in winter should they make 
Paid to it serve as a retreat from the rain. 

Syria- Neither should they eat or drink 

gogue. therein, although the learned and their 
disciples may do so in case of an emer- 
gency. Every one before entering should wipe the 
mud from his shoes; and no one should come in 
with soiled body or garments. Accounts must not 



Synagogue at Zaragorod, Russia. 

(From a woodcut .) 


The Ark is built to receive the scrolls of the Law. 
“They put a platform in the middle of the house,” 
says Maimonides, “ so that he who reads from the 
Law, or he who speaks words of exhortation to the 
people, may stand upon it, and all may hear him ” 
(see Almevar). According to the same author, 
the elders sit facing the people, who are seated in 
rows one behind the other, all with their eyes turned 
toward the elders and toward the Holy Place (neither 
code speaks in this connection of the women's gal- 
lery). When the “messenger of the congregation ” 
arises in prayer he stands on the floor before the Ark 
(this, however, is not the custom among the Sephar- 
dim of the present time). In the Holy Land, in Sjula, 
Babylonia, and North Africa, etc., the floor is spread 
with matting, on which the worshipers sit; but in 


be cast in the synagogue or house of study, except 
those pertaining to public charity or to religious 
matters. Nor should funeral speeches be delivered 
therein, except at a public mourning for one of the 
great men of the time. A synagogue or house of 
study which has two entrances should not be used 
as a thoroughfare ; this rule was made in analogy 
with that in the .Mislmali (Ber. ix. 5) forbidding 
the use of the Tern pie mount as a thoroughfare. 

Some honor is to be paid even to the ruins of a 
synagogue or house of study. It is not proper to 
demolish a synagogue and then to build a new one 
either on the same spot or elsewhere; but the new 
one should be built first (B. B. 3b), unless the walls 
of the old one show signs of falling. A synagogue 
may he turned into a house of study, but not vice 



631 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Synagogue 

Synagogue Architecture 


versa ; for the holiness of the latter is higher than 
that of the former, and the rule is (Meg. iii. 1): 

They raise up in holiness, but do not lower in holi- 
ness.” 

The synagogue of a village, being built only for 
the people around it, may be sold on a proper occa- 
sion; but a synagogue in a great city, which is 
really built for all Israelites who may come and 
worship in it, ought not to be sold at all. When a 
small community sells its synagogue, it ought to 
impose on the purchaser the condition that the place 
must not be turned into a bath-house, laundry, cleans- 
ing-house (for vessels), or tannery, though a council 
of seven of the leading men in the community may 
waive even this condition (ib. 27b). 

w. n. L. N. D. 

SYNAGOGUE ARCHITECTURE; Ancient 
Jewish art is mainly represented by the Tensile and 
its fittings, of which all that is left to contem- 
plate is the lower 
portion of a for- 
t i f i e d wall. 

Even if this 
overstates the 
fact, it is most 
probable that 
very little dis- 
tinctively Jew- 
ish art ever 
flourished for an 
extended period. 

The position of 
Judea and its 
history natu- 
rally discour- 
aged the devel- 
opment of art, 
however vigor- 
ous its begin- 
ning may have 
been. The re- 
mains of the au- 
cient syna- 
gogues that are 
now extant pre- 
sent very meager 
data, and the 
best preserved of the ancient ones, such as the great 
synagoguein Kafr Bir’im, while containing much of 
interest and many characteristic forms, give blit 
little inspiration to the synagogue-builder. On the 
main fagade of the Kafr Bir’im synagogue there were 
evidently three doorways with orna- 
Kafr Bir’im mented architraves, the central one 

Syna- being surmounted by an enriched semi- 

gogue. circular arch. Of the plan there is 
practically no indication, except that 
the building was rectangular, with a portico in front 
supported by columns. Other remains, while of- 
fering suggestions of moldings and ornament, add 
but little information. The door of the synagogue 
faced to the west, the Ark was at the eastern end, 
and the almemar was placed approximately in the 
center of the building ; the space on either side was 
devoted to the men, while the women occupied a 
gallery reserved for their exclusive use. 


The regulations governing the position and num- 
ber of doors and windows, and other details, seem 
to have been confusing and more or less neglected 
in the Hellenic synagogues. But by degrees a cer- 
tain type of building was evolved— that of the 
basilica — a rectangular structure, with or without 
columns, and without what is known in church 
architecture as transepts, the cruciform plan of the 
church and cathedral being naturally avoided by 
Jews. The synagogue was unquestionably fash- 
ioned, up to quite recent times, in the style of archi- 
tecture that prevailed in the country in which it was 
built. This statement, perhaps, is best exemplified 
in Russia, where the synagogue-builders were less in- 
fluenced by foreign architectural modes than in 
other countries, and where they built quite natu- 
ralty in the accustomed manner; there, accordingly, 
local conditions dictated the form of building; the 
types thus produced are well shown in illustrations, 

pages 630, 631, 
633, which . are 
interesting in 
themselves and 
confirm the gen • 
eral point of 
view. In each 
of these cases 
the composition 
is different; the 
roof -lines and 
the arrangement 
of doors and 
windows follow' 
no style, but 
are apparently 
the result of the 
attempt of the 
builder to solve 
his problem in 
the simplest 
and most fa- 
miliar way, 
using the forms 
to which he was 
accustomed. 
The buildings 
are certainly 
Russian, and no attempt has been made to se- 
cure a Jewish type of architecture. Of larger and 
more important examples of syna- 
Built in gogue architecture, there are many 
Local instances, as at Odessa and Riga, of 
Style. dignified, wmll-considered buildings, 
Russian in style, and worthy exam- 
ples of straightforward treatment. 

As the style of the country in which the syna- 
gogue was built was followed, naturally the style 
of the neighboring churches had a great influence 
on its architecture, only that part of the plan being 
Jewish which was dictated b} r the necessities of 
the form of worship. Accordingly in Strasburg, 
Cassel, Budweis, Munich, and Hanover w T ell-de- 
signed and extremely interesting synagogues are 
found quite in the style of the neighboring churches. 
The conditions generally compelled the building to 
be inconspicuous, however, and the fulfilment of 



Wooden Synagogue at Pogrebisbehe, Russia. 

(From Bersohn, “ Kilka Slow.”) 




Synagogue Architecture 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


632 


the Talmudical regulation that the synagogue should 
tower above the other buildings of the city was 
forbidden by papal authority. Sometimes the papal 
restriction was evaded by the erection of tall rods 
on the roof, so that the Talmudical regulation was 
complied with in letter if not in spirit. 

In Italy there are many synagogues in the style 
of the Italian Renaissance (see Leghorn; Padua; 
and Venice). Those in Padua and Venice possess 
interiors of great beauty, and are excellent examples 
of Renaissance 
work. So, too, in 
England; the inte- 
riors of Great St. 

Helens and Duke’s 
Place in London are 
well designed, and 
strongly suggest 
some of the work of 
Sir Christopher 
Wren and Inigo 
Jones. Similarly, 
in Paris pure types 
of French architec- 
ture are found, and 
throughout Europe 
there are syna- 
gogues in Roman- 
esque, Gothic, and 
the many variations 
of the style of the 
Renaissance. Even 
in Japan this law is 
followed, as can be 
seen in the illustra- 
tion under Naga- 
saki. In America 
the little synagogue 
in Newport, R. I., 
w r as built in 1763 
by the prosperous 
colony of Spanish 
Jews. It was de- 
signed by a noted 
architect of the day 
in the Colonial or 
Georgian style, 
even to the minu- 
test detail, though 
it was well adapted 
in its plan and inte- 
rior disposition to 
the purpose of Jew- 
ish worship. 

After the expulsion from Spain there was a gen- 
eral feeling among w'ealtli 3 r Sephardim that Moorish 
architecture was appropriate in s} r nagogues, and 
many of the most famous ones in the 
Influence world have been constructed in this 
of Pseudo- style, although Moorish architecture is 
Moorish, by no means Jewish, either in fact or in 
feeling. The two most familiar Span- 
ish sjmagogues are in Toledo, one known asElTran- 
sito, the other as Santa Maria la Blanca, and both, 
undoubtedly very beautiful, are now preserved as 
national monuments. The former is a smal 1 building 


containing very rich decorations ; the latter is espe- 
cially noteworthy, and contains long rows of oc- 
tagonal columns with curiously carved capitals, from 
which spring Moorish arches supporting the roof 
(see Spain; Toledo):. The Alhambra has furnished 
inspiration for innumerable synagogues, but seldom 
have its graceful proportions or its delicate model- 
ing and elaborate ornamentation been successfully 
copied; the fact is, the style is not flexible, and can 
not readily be adapted to different climates and con- 
ditions. The gen- 
eral results of the 
Moorish movement 
have been unfortu- 
nate; the greatest 
delicacy of feeling 
for both form and 
color is needed to 
preserve the beauty 
of Moorish architec- 
ture, and curiously 
shaped domes and 
towers and misap- 
plied horseshoe 
arches, turrets, and 
pinnacles have 
often resulted, pre- 
senting in many 
cases a grotesque 
appearance rather 
than the dignity 
and simplicity that 
should have been 
attained. 

The unpleasant 
results may be seen 
in St. Petersburg, 
London, Philadel- 
phia, and in many 
parts of Germany. 
Emphasizing the 
towers that contain 
•the stairs to the 
galleries, which are 
invariably on either 
side of the main en- 
trance, is a common 
device, and the 
Temple Emanu-El 
in New York is so 
treated. In this 
case the minarets 
are graceful and 
skilfully placed ; 
but the usual result is a loss of dignity ; a single 
central motive is more pleasing. 

The most successful buildings in all great archi- 
tectural periods are simple in design ; whether large 
or small, richly decorated or not, simplicity is their 
main characteristic, and the desire to produce the 
picturesque and unusual is fatal to the dignity 
which should characterize the synagogue. The 
synagogue in Milan has a well-balanced, unpreten- 
tious facade, and in Reichenberg (illustration, page 
628) the central feature is enlarged and crowned 
by an octagonal dome, producing excellent results. 



Main Entrance to the Great Synagogue at Odessa. 
(From a photograph.) 




Exteriors of Russian and Galician Synagogues. 

1. Wflkowiszki, Russia. 2, Lutoinirsk, Russia. Lutsk, Russia, i. Xolkiev, Galicia. 













Synagogue Architecture 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


636 


Many synagogues are designed in the Ciassic 
style, and the Shearilh Israel Synagogue in New 
York (illustration, page 628) and the synagogue in 
Warsaw have four great Corinthian 
Special columns supporting pediments on 
Examples, their main fronts. The use of the 
Classic orders seems especially' adapted 
to the synagogue, and man}’' variations in design arc 
possible. The Warsaw synagogue, while very or- 
nate, is impressive, and presents man}'- suggestions 
worthy of emulation. In the synagogue in Rome 
(illustration, page 639) the division into two stories 



Ground-Plan of a Karaite Synagogue. 

1. Hekal. 2. Dukan. 3. Mekom ‘asarah. 4. Shulhau with 
chair. 5. Mekom ‘esrim. 6. Moshab zekenim. 7. Benches. 
S. ‘Azarah. 9. Women’s section. 10. Sbulhan. 11. Lat- 
ticed partition. 12. Balustrade. 13. Breast-high parti- 
tion. 14. Steps. 

is clearly indicated on the exterior, and each stoiy 
is ornamented with columns. The whole is sur- 
mounted b} r a square dome, which is a favorite form 
with synagogue-builders. The synagogue in Flor- 
ence (illustration, page 637) is Moorish in detail. The 
central dome, supported on pendentives, is well ex- 
pressed on the exterior, and the general composition 
is pleasing, especially from the point of view of the 
illustration, which is taken from the rear. Some- 
times four smaller domes are used, as in the syna- 
gogue at Sarajevo, where this idea is admirably" 
executed. This building is a most successful exam- 
ple, combining the Eastern expression so much de- 
sired witli an aspect of grandeur and repose. Some 
of the old synagogues are often irregular in shape, 
and are hidden away in odd angles and courtyards, 
where they have been compelled to take unusual 
forms. The Altneue S 3 r nagogue in 
Plans. Prague is divided into three portions, 
and adjoining it is a smaller syna- 
gogue for special services. In the synagogues in 
Nikolsburg and Worms (illustrations E and F, page 
634) there are curious, vaulted ceilings, some of the 
arches resting on columns that must have seriously 
interfered with the service. The latter synagogue 


is probate the oldest extant in Europe. In all 
these cases the Ark is in a recess in a thick wall, 
and the almemar is in the center of the building, 
with no special provision for the accommodation 
of the worshipers. 

By degrees a plan was evolved that met the re- 
quirements: a rectangular building, with the Ark 
at the eastern end opposite the entrance, and with 
an almemar, benches for the men on cither side, and 
a women’s gallery reached by staircases from the 
outer vestibule. Variations of this simple plan fol- 
lowed: the vestibule became larger, and the stair- 
cases to the women’s galleiy were separated from 
the vestibule and given more importance. As the 
buildings became larger, rows of columns were re- 
quired to support the roof, but in every case the 
basilican form was retained. The Ark, formerly 
alloAved a mere niche in the wall, was developed 
into the main architectural feature of the interior, 
and was flanked’ with columns, covered with a 
canopy and richly decorated. The almemar in 
many cases was joined to the platform in front of 
the Ark, and elaborate arrangements of steps were 
provided. Tins process of development may be 




Almemar of tbe Old Synagogue at Casimir, near Cracow. 

(From a drawing.) 

noted in illustrations, pages 634-635. In the syna- 
gogues in Reiclienberg (page 628) and Munich (I 
and J of illustrations, page 635), 
The where this plan has been developed 
Almemar. to the greatest extent, it will be seen 
that its characteristics arc preserved 
notwithstanding the size of the buildings, the rows 
of columns, and the elaborately^ vaulted roofs. In 






Synagogue Architecture 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


638 


the Munich synagogue there are staircases at both 
ends of the building, the vestibules and halls are 
greatly multiplied, and the women’s gallery is en- 
larged ; while there is a side entrance, as well as an 

aisle cl vi ding tlie seats, tlie cruciform plan is avoided. 

The combination of almemar with the platform 
upon which the Ark rests, while seldom used in 
England, is becoming general with Deform congre- 
gations on the Continent and in America. It pro- 
vides no opportunity for the processional and simi- 
lar portions of the Orthodox service, as the carrying 
of the scrolls of the Law to the reading-desk, which 
ceremonies are necessarily eliminated as the central 
space surround- 
ing the almemar 
disappears ; but, 
on the other 
hand, much 
greater seating 
capacity is se- 
cured, and the 
worshipers are 
so grouped that 
all have approx- 
imately an equal 
view of the Ark, 
the pulpit, and 
the almemar. 

The desire to 
obtain the great- 
est seating ca- 
pacity possible 
in the given 
space lias led to 
many variations 
in the arrange- 
ment of the 
benches. In the 
Temple Beth-El, 
built in New 
Y ork city in 
1891, the seats 
are curved, so 
that those at the 
side of the build- 
ing still face the 
Ark (illustration 
L, page 635), 
while the aisles 
are parallel. In 
the temple in In- 
dianapolis (illustration K, page 635), built in 1900, 
the same arrangement is used, but the aisles con- 
verge. In the former example the dignity of the Ark 
is maintained by placing it in a deep 
Arrange- semicircular niclie, so that a large space 

ment of on the platform is secured without en- 
Seats. croacliing upon the floor-space proper. 

The modern synagogue, besides con- 
taining the minister’s study, trustees’ rooms, choir- 
rooms, and organ-loft, devotes much space to school 
purposes ; generally the entire lower floor is used for 
class-rooms. The interior treatment of the syna- 
gogue allows great latitude in design, but the sim- 
plest and most dignified have proved to be the most 
successful ; the same rules apply to the interior as to 


the exterior; note the effect of Great St. Helens in 
London (Jjsw. Encyc. viii. 159, s.v. London), and 
some of the synagogues in Paris, where architectural 
unity is preserved and a devotional atmosphere 

obtained. 

The rectangular floor-plan universally employed 
permits a restful treatment of the ceiling, which is 
either paneled, as in the case of the Sliearith Israel 
Synagogue in New York, or arched, as in Paris. 
The absence of tlie transept allows an unbroken 
surface, and there are instances of central domes, or 
semidomes, over the Ark. The galleries for women 
were formerly closely latticed, and in the ancient 

synagogue these 
galleries were 
often placed at 
a great height 
(see Venice). 
In modern times 
the lattice is 
discarded and 
the galleries are 
placed lower, so 
that the occu- 
pants may ob- 
tain a view of 
the Ark and the 
almemar. 

The Ark is 
the most impor- 
tant feature of 
the interior, and 
is generally dig- 
nified by proper 
decoration and 
raised upon a 
suitable plat- 
form, reached by 
at least three 
steps, but often 
by more. It is 
crowned by the 
tables of tlie 
Law. Some- 
times the elabo- 
ration is over- 
done, to the 
exclusion of 
other ornamen- 
tation in the 
building, as in 
the case of the old synagogue in Berlin (Jew. En- 
cyc. iii. 71), where may be seen an arrangement in 
which the worshipers are provided 
The Ark. with stands (known as “ Stadte ”) to 
hold their books, but not witli seats. 
Another instance of this is in Husiatyn, where the 
Ark is decorated curiously and richly but not pleas- 
antly. In the synagogue in Padua there is a beau- 
tiful Ark of marble, above which the ceiling is 
arched (see Ark of tiie Law). 

The almemar is raised above the synagogue floor, 
whether it is in the center of the building or not ; 
it is approached by steps, contains seats, and is sur- 
rounded by a railing. There are instances of curi- 
ously wrought and elaborate iron grilles, which 



Karaite Synagogue at Odessa, Russia. 

(From a photograph.) 




Synagrogrue Architecture 
Synagrogrue, The Great 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA. 


640 


may be seen in the synagogue in Jerusalem (illus- 
tration, page 626) or in Casimir (illustration, page 
636). See also Cracow and Lemberg. 

The position of the pulpit varies; it ina} r be 
placed on either side of the Ark, and is occasionally 
found in the center of the steps, as in the Shearith 
Israel Synagogue in New York (illustration, page 
627). In some cases the desk on the almemar is used 
in the delivery of the sermon, as in the case of the 
Mikve Israel Synagogue in Philadelphia (illustra- 
tion, page 629), which has no pulpit. The treat- 
ment of the entrance varies according to the situa- 
tion; at times the doors are approached by steps, 
as in Temple Beth-El, New York (illustration, page 
627) ; in other instances the doors are Hush with the 
street, as in the case of the Odessa synagogue (illus- 
tration, page 632). 

In the desire to secure abundant light, good acous- 
tics, large seating capacity, and comfort for the wor- 
shipers, modern synagogues have in many cases lost 
the suggestion of devotion. There are but few em- 
blems which may be used that are characteristically 
Jewish; the interlacing triangles, the lion of Judah, 
and flower and fruit forms alone are allowable. The 
perpetual lamp hangs in front of the Ark ; the tables 
of the Law surmount it. The seven- 
Symbolic branched candlestick, or menorali, may 
Designs, be placed at the sides. Occasionally 
the sliofar, and even the lulab, may be 
utilized in the design. Hebrew inscriptions are spar- 


Keproductions of synagogues, other than those 
illustrating this article, occur under the following 
topics. The asterisk indicates that an interior view 
of the synagogue has been given. 


Albany 
Alt-Ofen 
America 
♦Amsterdam 
Antwerp 
♦Arad 
Arkansas 
Augusta • 
Avignon 
Baltimore 
♦Bayonne 
♦Berlin 
♦Bevis Marks 
♦Bokhara 
Bombay 
Bonn 
Budapest 
Budweis 
Byelostok 
Cassel 
Cavaillon 
♦Charleston 
♦China 
Cincinnati 
Cleveland 
Cochin 
Cologne 
Colorado 
♦Cordova 
♦Cracow 


♦Curasao 
♦Damascus 
Egypt 
Endiugen 
Erfurt 
♦Florence 
♦Frankfort-on-the- 
, Main 
Fiirth 
Geneva 
Gibraltar 
Hanover 
Jamaica 
Jerusalem 
Karlsbad 
Konigsberg 
♦Leghorn 
♦Lemberg 
♦London 
Liibeck 
♦Mayence 
♦Metz 
Michigan 
Moghilef 
Munich 

.National Farm 
School 
♦New York 
Nuremberg 
Odessa 


Ostrog 

♦Padua 

♦Paris 

Pesaro 

Philadelphia 

Poltava 

♦Portsmouth 

♦Prague 

Queensland 

Richmond 

Riga 

Rome 

Saint Petersburg 
♦San Francisco 
♦Sarajevo 
♦Smyrna 
South Africa 
♦Spain 
♦Strashurg 
♦Szegedin 
♦Teheran 
♦Toledo 
^Tripoli 
♦Tunis 
Turin 
♦Venice 
♦Vienna 
Warsaw 
♦Wilna 
♦Worms 


See also Almemar; Ark of tiie Law; Pulpit. 


ingly or seldom used ; stained-glass windows, at one 
time considered the special property of the Church, 
are now employed, but figured subjects are not used, 
j. A. W. B. 

The only plan in existence presenting the interior 
arrangements of a Karaite synagogue is that of S. 
Weissenberg (in “ Globus, ”'lxxiv. 142), which is here 
reproduced (page 636). The sjmagogue, which is 
known as kenesali, is always built north and south, 
and is divided into two parts, for men and women. 
In the women’s section, which is separated by a low 
grille from that of the men, there are two rows of 
seats (7), and a table (10) upon which to place the 
Bible, which each woman kisses as she enters the 
building. The men’s section is divided into three 
parts, one known as the “mekom ‘asarah” (3), or 
place of the ten elders, in which is the Ark (1), and the 
“ dukan ” (2), or place for the reader, which is a small 
desk or pulpit. On each side are tables with seats 
(4) for the first and second readers. Steps (14) sep- 
arate this section from the second section, the 44 place 
of the twenty ” (“ mekom ‘esrim ”) (5), and this again 
is separated by a balustrade (13) from the section 
known as the 44 moshab zekenim ” (6), or seats for the 
aged, each of which contains a desk or box, and a 
receptacle for shoes, which must be removed before 
treading tlie holy soil. The vestibule (8) is termed 
“ azarah.” The pulpit and the place for the twelve 
elders is surrounded by a balustrade (12). It is 
somewhat difficult to understand the object of pla- 
cing the more aged members of the community in a 
portion of the synagogue away from the body of the 
hall, but the probable reason is that the younger 
members are obliged to stand in tlie center (5) dur- 
ing the long services, while the place for the elders 
and the aged is provided with seats. 


SYNAGOGUE, THE GREAT (r^mn DW3) • 

The members of the Great Synagogue, of the Great 
Assembly, are designated in the Mislinak (Ab. i. 1) 
as those representatives of the Law who occupied a 
place in the chain of tradition between the Prophets 
and the earliest scholars known by name. “Tlie 
Prophets transmitted the Torah to the men of the 
Great Synagogue. . . . Simon the Just was one of 
those who survived the Great Synagogue, and An- 
tigonus of Soko received the Torah from him ” ( Ab. i. 

1 et seq.). Tlie first part of this statement is para- 
phrased as follows in Ab. R. N. i. *. 44 Ilaggai, Zecli- 
ariali, and Malaclii received from the Prophets; and 
the men of the Great Synagogue received from Hag- 
gai. Zecliariah, and Malaclii. ” This is the reading of 
the first version; the second version (ed. Scliecliter, 
p. 2) reads: “The Prophets to Haggai, Zecliariah, 
and Malaclii; and these to the men of the Great 
Synagogue. ” In this paraphrase the three post- 
exilkT prophets are separated from the other proph- 
ets, for it was the task of the former to 
Included transmit the Law to the members of 
the Last the Great Synagogue. It must even 
Prophets, be assumed that these three proph- 
ets were themselves included in those 
members, for it is evident from tlie statements re- 
ferring to the institution of the prayers and benedic- 
tions that the Great Synagogue included prophets. 

According to R. Jolianan, who wrote in the third 
century, “the men of the Greac Synagogue insti- 
tuted for Israel the benedictions and the prayers, as 
welZ as the benedictions for kiddusli and habdalah v 
(Ber. 33a). This agrees with the sentence of 
R. Jeremiah (4th cent.), who states (Yer. Ber. 4d), 
in reference to the “Shemoneh ’Esreli,” that “one 



641 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Synagogue Architecture 
Synagogue, The Great 


hundred and twenty elders, including about eighty 
prophets, have instituted these prayers.” These 
one hundred and twenty elders are undoubtedly 
identical with the men of the Great Synagogue.' 
The number given of the prophets must, however, 
be corrected according to Meg. 17b, where the source 
of R, Jeremiah’s statement is found: “R. Jolianan 
said that, according to some, a baraita taught that 
one hundred and twenty elders, including some 
prophets, instituted the ‘Shemoneh ‘Esreh. 7 ” Hence 
the prophets were in a minority in the Great Syna- 
gogue. Another statement regarding the activity 
of this institution alludes to the establishment of 
the Feast of Purim according to Esth. ix. 27 et seq. t 
while the Babylonian Talmud (Meg. 2a) states, as a 
matter requiring no discussion, that the celebration 
of the Feast of Purim on the days mentioned in 
Meg. i. 1 was instituted by the men of the Great 
Synagogue. Butin the Palestinian Talmud R. Jo- 
hanan (Meg. 70d; Ruth R. ii. 4) speaks of w eighty- 
five elders, among them about thirty prophets.” 

These divergent statements may easily be recon- 
ciled (see Krochmal, “Moreli Nebuke ha-Zeman.” p. 
97) by reading, in the one .passage, “ beside them ” 
(Droy) instead of “among them” 
Their (DTO) ; and in the other passage, 
Number, “thirty” instead of “eighty.” The 
number eighty-five is taken from Nell, 
x. 2-29; but the origin of the entire number (120) is 
not known. It was undoubtedly assumed that the 
company of those mentioned in Neh. x. was increased 
to one hundred and twenty by the prophets who took 
part in the sealing of the covenant, this view, which 
is confirmed by Neh. vi. 7, 14, being based on the 
hypothesis that other prophets besides Haggai, 
Zechariah, and Malachi were then preaching in 
Israel. These passages indicate that this assembly 
was believed to be the one described in Neh. ix.-x., 
and other statements regarding it prove that the 
Amoraim accepted this identification as a matter of 
course. According to Abba b. Kahana, the w ell- 
known haggadist of the latter half of the third cen- 
tury (Sliem-Tob on Ps. xxxvi., end), “Two genera- 
tions used the ‘ Sliem ha-Meforesh,’ the men of the 
Great Synagogue and the generation of the ‘ she- 
mad ’ 77 (the persecution of Hadrian and the Bar 
Kokba war). This reference is explained in a state- 
ment by Giddel, a pupil of Rab (Yer. Meg. iii., end; 
Yoma 69b): “The word fjVttn in Neh. viii. 6 indi- 
cates that Ezra uttered the great Tetragram in his 
praise of God.” 

The combination of these two passages, which 
evidently have the same basis, otters another instance 
of the general assumption that all the members of 
this body were regarded as belonging to one genera- 
tion, which included Ezra, while Joshua b. Levi, one 
of the earliest amoraim, even derived the term “ Great 
Synagogue” from Neh. ix. 82. The authors of the 
prayers restored the triad of the divine attributes in- 
troduced by Moses (Deut. x. 17), al- 
The though Jeremiah (xxxii. 18) and Daniel 
Generation (x. 17, Tlebr.) had each omitted one of 
of Ezra, the three attributes from their prayers. 

“ The Great Assembly was so called be- 
cause it gave the divineattributes their ancient ‘great- 
ness 7 and dignity 77 (Yoma 69b [with other authori- 
XI.— 41 


ties] ; Yer. Ber. 11c and Meg. 74c; Shem-Tob on Ps. 
xix. ; see also Ber. 38b) ; although this is merely a hag- 
gadic explanation of the old term, it indicates that 
the Amoraim did not think the Great Synagogue 
could be any other assembly or council than the one 
mentioned as the source of the prayers in Neh. ix. ; 
and. there are other examples in traditional litera- 
ture evidencing this view. In Yer. Ber. 3a (Gen. R. 
xlvi., Ixxviii.) this objection is raised in regard to a 
thesis of R. Levi based on Gen. xvii. 5 and referring 
to Neh. ix. 7 : “ Did not the men of the Great Syna- 
gogue call Abraham by his former name, Abram ? ” 
In the name of the men of the Great Synagogue, R. ' 
Abbahu (Gen. R. vi.) quotes the words “The heaven 
of heavens, with all their host” (Neh. ix. 6) as an 
explanation of Gen. i. 17 ; and the same authority is 
invoked in a liaggadic passage by Abin (Tan., She- 
mot, i.) in reference to Nell. ix. 5 (ib. 2, anonymous), 
as w r ell as in one by Samuel b. Nahman (Ex. R. xli., 
beginning; Tan., Ki Tissa, 14) alluding to Neh. 
ix. 18. 

R. Johanan connected the following story with 
Neh. x. 1-2 (Ruth R. ii. 4): “The men of the Great 
Synagogue wrote a document in which they volun- 
tarily agreed to pay heave-offerings and tithes. This 
document they displayed in the hall of the Temple; 
the following morning they found the divine con- 
firmation inscribed upon it.” Since Nehemiah himself 
was a member, Samuel b. Marta, a pupil of Rab, 
quoted a phrase used by Nehemiah in his prayer 
(i. 7) as originating with his colleagues (Ex. R. Ii. ; 
Tan., Pekude, beginning). Ezra was, of course, 
one of the members, and, according to Neh. viii., he 
was even regarded-as the leader. In one of the 
two versions, of the interpretation of Cant. vii. 14 
(Lev. R. ii. 11), therefore^ Ezra and his compan- 
ions (“ ‘Ezra wa-haburato ”) are mentioned, while 
the other version (Gant. R. ad loc.) speaks merely 
of the “ men of the Great Synagogue ” (compare the 
statements made above regarding the pronunciation 
of the Tetragram). In the targum to Cant. vii. 3, 
in addition to “Ezra the priest ” the men mentioned 
in Ezra ii. 2 as the leaders of the people returning 
from the Exile— Zerubbabel, -Jeshua, Nehemiah, 
Mordecai, and Bilshan — are designated as “men of 
the Great Synagogue.” In the same targum (to 
vi. 4) the leaders of the exiles are called the “ sages 
of the Great Synagogue.” 

It appears from all these passages in traditional 
literature that the idea of the Great Assembly was 
based on the narrative in Neh. viii.-x., and that, fur- / 
thermore, its members were regarded as the leaders 
of Israel who had returned from exile and laid the 
foundations of the new polity connected with the 
Second Temple. All these men were regarded in 
the tannaitic chronology as belonging to one gener- 
ation ; for this reason the “ generation of the men of 
the Great Synagogue ” is mentioned in one of the 
passages already cited, this denoting, according to 
the chronological canon of Jose b. Halafta (Seder 
5 Olam Rabbali xxx. [ed. Ratner, p. 141] ; ‘Ab. Zarah 
86), the generation of thirty-four years during which 
the Persian rule lasted, at the beginning of the period 
of the Second Temple. As the last prophets were 
still preaching during this time, they also were in- 
cluded. That prophecy began only at the end of 



Synagogue, The Great 
Synod 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


642 


tliis period, when the reign of Alexander the Great 
commenced, was likewise a thesis of the tannailic 
chronology, which, like the canon of the thirty -four 
years, was adopted by the later Jewish cbronologists 
(Seder ‘OJam Rabbali lx, ; comp. Sanh. 11a), al- 
though the view occurs as early as Josephus (“Con- 
tra Ap.” i., § S). 

In view of these facts, it was natural that the 
Great Synagogue should be regarded as the connect- 
ing-link in the chain of tradition be- 
Position in tween the Prophets and the scholars. 
Tannaitie It may easily be seen, therefore, why 
Chro- Simon the J ust should be termed a sur- 

nology. vivor of this body, for, according to 
the tradition current in the circle of 
Palestinian scholars, it was this high priest, and not 
his grandfather Jaddua, who met Alexander the 
Great, and received from him much honor (see 
Yoma 69a; Meg. Ta‘an. for the 21st of Ivislew; 
comp. Alexander the Great). 

It is thus evident that, according to the only 
authority extant in regard to the subject, the tradi- 
tion of the Tannaim and the Amoraim, the activity 
of this assembly was confined to the period of the 
Persian rule, and thus to the first thirty-four years 
of the Second Temple, and that afterward, when 
Simon the Just was its only survivor, there was no 
other fixed institution which could be regarded as a 
precursor of the academies. This statement does 
not imply, however, that such a body did not exist 
in the first centuries of the Second Temple, for it 
must be assumed that some governing council ex- 
isted in those centuries as well, although the state- 
ments regarding the Great Synagogue refer exclu- 
si vely to the first period . The term primarily denoted 
the assembly described in Nell, ix.-x., which con- 
vened principally for religious purposes— fasting, 
reading of the Torah, confession of sins, and prayer 
(Nell. ix. 1 et seq.). Since every gathering convened 
for religious purposes was called “keneset” (lienee 
“bet ha-keneset ” = “ the synagogue”; comp, the 
verb “kenos,” Esth. iv. 16), this term was applied 
also to the assembly in questiou ; but as it was an as- 
sembly of special importance it was designated more 
specifically as the “ great assembly ” (comp. Nell, 
v. 7, “keliillali gedolali”). 

In addition to fixing the ritual observances for the 
first two quarters of the day (Nell. ix. 6), the Great 
Synagogue engaged in legislative proceedings, ma- 
king laws as summarized in Nell. x. 80 et seq . Tra- 
dition therefore ascribed to it the character of a 
chief magistracy, and its members, or rather its 
leaders, including the prophets of that time, were 
regarded as tlie authors or other obligatory rules. 

These leaders of post-exilic Israel in the Persian 
period were called the “men of the Great Syna- 
gogue ” because it was generally assumed that all 
those who then acted as leaders had been members 
of the memorable gathering held on the 24th of 
Tisliri, 444 b.c. Although the assembly itself con- 
vened only on a single day, its leaders were desig- 
nated in tradition as regular members of the Great 
Synagogue. This explains the fact that the refer- 
ences speak almost exclusively of the members of 
the Great Synagogue, the allusions to the body it- 
self being very rare, and based in part on error, as, 


for example, the quotation from Ab. i. 2 which oc- 
curs in Eccl. R. xii. 11. 

As certain institutions supposed to have been es- 
tablished in the first period of the Second Temple 
were ascribed to Ezra, so others of them were 
ascribed to the men of the Great Synagogue. There 
is, in fact, no difference between the two classes of 
institutions so far as origin is concerned. In some 
cases Ezra, the great scribe and the leader of the 
Great Synagogue, is mentioned as the author, in 
others the entire body is so mentioned ; in all cases 
tlie body with Ezra at its head must be thought of 
as the real authors. In traditional literature, how- 
ever, a distinction was generally drawn between the 
institutions of Ezra and those of the men of the Great 
Synagogue, so that they figured separately ; but it is 
not surprising, after what has been said above, that 
in Tan., Besliallah, 16, on Ex. xv. 7, the “Tikkune 
Soferim,” called also (“ Oklali we-Oklali,” No. 168) 
“Tikkune ‘Ezra” (emendations of the text of the 
Bible by the Soferim, or by Ezra; and according to 
the tannaitie source [see Baclier, “Ag. Tan.” ii. 
205], originally textual euphemisms), should be 
ascribed to the men of the Great Synagogue, since 
the author of the passage in question identified 
the Soferim (i.e., Ezra and his successors) with 
them. 

The following rulings were ascribed to the men 
of the Great Synagogue: (1) They included the 
books of Ezekiel, Daniel, Esther, and 
Institu- the Twelve Minor Prophets in the Bib- 
tions and licai canon; this is the only possible 
Rulings, explanation of the baraita (B. B. 15a) 
that the 3 r “ wrote ” those books. The 
first three books, which were composed outside Pal- 
| estine, had to be accepted by the men of the Great 
Synagogue before they could be regarded as worthy 
of inclusion, while the division of the Minor Proph- 
ets was completed by the works of the three post- 
exilic prophets, who were themselves members of 
that council. The same activity in regard to these 
books is ascribed to the men of the Great Synagogue 
as had been attributed to King Hezekiah and his 
council, including the prophet Isaiah, with regard 
to the three books ascribed to Solomon (see also 
Ab. R. N. i.) and the Book of Isaiah. It should be 
noted that in this baraita, as well as in the gloss 
upon it, Ezra and Neliemiah, “men of the Great 
Synagogue,” are mentioned as the last Biblical wri- 
ters; While according to the introduction to the Sec- 
ond Book of the Maccabees (ii. 18) Neliemiah also 
collected a number of the books of the Bible. 

(2) They introduced the triple classification of the 

oral InrST, the Mishnal! (io 

larger sense) into the three branches of midrash, 
halakot, and haggadot, although this view, which 
is anonymous, conflicted with that of R. Jonah, a 
Palestinian amora of the fourth century, who de- 
clared that the founder of this threefold division of 
traditional science (see Jew. Encyc. iii. 168, s.v. 
Bible Exegesis) was R. Akiba (Yer. Sliek. v., be- 
ginning). This view is noteworthy as showing that 
the later representatives of tradition traced the ori- 
gin of their science to the earliest authorities, the 
immediate successors of the Prophets. The men of 
the Great Synagogue, therefore, not only completed 



643 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Synagogue, The' Great 
Synod 


the canon, but introduced tlie scientific treatment of 
tradition. 

(3) They introduced the Feast of Purim and de- 
termined the days on which it should be celebrated 
(see above). 

*• (4) They instituted the “Shemoneh ‘Esreli,” as 

well as the benedictions and other prayers, as already 
noted. The tradition in regard to this point ex- 
presses the view that the synagogal prayers as w T ell 
as the entire ritual were put into definite shape by 
the men of the Great Synagogue. 

The list of Biblical personages who have no part 
in the future world (Sanh. x. 1) was made, accord- 
ing to Rab, by the men of the Great Synagogue 
(Sanh. 104b), and a haggadic ruling on Biblical 
stories beginning with the phrase “Wa-yehi ba- 
yamim ” (And it came to pass in those days) is 
designated by Jolianan, or his pupil Levi, as a “tra- 
dition of the men of the Great Synagogue ” (Meg. 
10b). This is merely another way of saying, as is 
stated elsewhere (Lev. B. xi.) in reference to the 
same ruling, that it had been brought as a tradition 
from the Babylonian exile. There are references 
also to other haggadic traditions of this kind (see 
Bacher, “Ag. Tan.” 2d ed., i. 192; idem, “Die Ael- 
teste Terminologie, ” p. 107). Joshua b. Levi ascribes 
in an original way to the men of the Great Synagogue 
the merit of having provided for all time for the 
making of copies of the Bible, tefillin. 

Other and mezuzot, stating that they insti- 
Activity. tuted twenty-four fasts to insure that 
wealth would not be acquired by copy- 
ists, who would cease to copy if they became rich 
(Pes. 50b). A haggadic passage by Jose b. Hanina 
refers to the names of the returning exiles mentioned 
in Ezra ii. 51 et seq. (Gen. R. Ixxi. et -passim), one 
version reading “ the men of the Great Synagogue ” 
instead of “sons of the Exile,” or “those that re- 
turned from the Exile ” (“ ‘ole goleh ”). This shows 
that the men of the Great Synagogue included 
the first generation of the Second Temple. In Estli. 
R. iii. 7 the congregation of the tribes mentioned in 
Judges xx. 1 is apparently termed “men of the 
Great Synagogue.” This is due, however, to a cor- 
ruption of the text, for, according to Luria’s skilful 
emendation, this phrase must be read with the pre- 
ceding words “Ezra and the men of the Great Syna- 
gogue ” ; so that the phrase corresponds to the “ bene 
ha-golah ” of Ezra x. 16. 

There is, finally, a passage of three clauses, which 
the Mishnah (Ab. i. 12) ascribes to the men of the 
Great Synagogue as stated above, and which reads 

its follows^ “ Be lieedful In pronounemo- sentence- 

have many pupils; put a fence about the Torah.” 
This aphorism, ascribed to an entire body of men, 
can only be interpreted as expressing their spirit and 
tendency, yet it must have been formulated by some 
individual, probably one of their number. At all 
events, it may be regarded as a historical and au- 
thentic statement of the dominating thought of 
those early leaders of post-exilic Israel who were 
designated in the tradition of the Palestinian schools 
as the men of the Great Synagogue. It must also 
be noted that this passage, like the majority of 
those given in the first chapter of Abot, is addressed 
to the teachers and spiritual leaders rather than to 


the people. These three clauses indicate the pro- 
gram of the scholars of the Persian period, who 
were regarded as one generation, and evidence their 
harmony with the spirit of Ezra’s teaching. Their 
program was carried out by the Pharisees : caution in 
pronouncing legal sentences ; watchfulness over the 
schools and the training of pupils; assurance of the 
observance of the Law by the enforcement of pro- 
tective measures and rulings. 

An attempt has thus been made to assign correct 
positions to the texts in which the men of the Great 
Synagogue are mentioned, and to present the views 
on which they are based, although no discussions 
can be broached regarding the views of the chroni- 
clers and historians, or the different hypotheses and 
conclusions drawn from these texts concerning the 
history of the period of the Second Temple. For 
this a reference to the articles cited in the bibliog- 
raphy must suffice. Ivuenen especially presents a 
good summary of the more recent theories, while L. 
Low (who is not mentioned by Kuenen) expresses 
views totally divergent from those generally held 
with regard to the Great Synagogue; this body he 
takes to be the assembly described in I Macc. xiv. 
25-26, which made Simeon the Hasmonean a hered- 
itary prince (18th of Elul, 140 b.c.). 


oiiiiiiuGiiArHY : *ranKei, in MonatsschrifU i. 203 ct sea.; Gratz, 
£5. vi. 31-37, 61-69; Jacob Levy, ib. vi. 266 et seq., 301 et seq., 
339 et seq .; N. Krochmal, Moreh Nebuhe hct-Zeman , passim ; 
Gratz, Koheleth, PP. 150 ct seq.; I. S. Bloch, Studien zur 
Gcscli. dev Sammhmg dcr Alt-HehrCiischcn Litteratur; 
Kuenen, Ueber die Manner dcr Grossen Synagoge , in Ge- 
sammcltc Abhandlungen , pp. 125-160 (translated by K. 
Budde); D. Hoffmann, Ueber die Manner der Grossen 
Versammlung , in Berliner’s Magazin (1883), x. 45-63; L. 
Low, Die Grosse Sunnde (from Ben Chananja, rol. i., 1885), 
m Gcsammelte Schriften , i. 399-449; S. Krauss, The Great 
Synod , in J. Q. R. x. 347-377. 

W. B. 


SYNOD; Representative council, composed of 
rabbis and laymen, and convened to deliberate upon 
and determine points of Jewish doctrine, policy, and 
practise. The “ elders ” in the time of Moses and 
the members of the Great Assembly in the time of 
Ezra may be regarded as the elements 
Origin of of a synodal organization. Hananiah 
Synods. ben Hezekiah ben Garon was the head 
of a synod that decided upon the Bible 
canon and compiled the “Megillat Ta‘anit,” the 
official scroll of the fast-days. Many important de- 
crees were issued from Hananiali’s retreat (Shab. 
13b). 

In the Middle Ages the synod known as the “ase- 
fah ” (assembly) was called into existence not only for 
the protection of Judaism but for the purpose of 

solving current problems coneerains Jews an cl -tlaelr 

relations to their Christian neighbors. Under the 
presidency of R. Tam (d. 1171) a synod composed 
of several hundred rabbis and scholars of northern 
France and Germany assembled frequently at 
Tro 3 r es and Rheims. Its decisions included regu- 
lations regarding civil cases, over which the Jews 
had special jurisdiction. In one of its meetings it 
was decreed that no Jew might purchase a crucifix 
or any church furniture, because such an act miglit 
endanger the Jewish community. An amendment 
to the ordinance of R. Gershom forbidding polygamy 
provided that in case the wife was insane the rule 
might be abrogated with the written consent of one 



Synod 

Synod of TJsha 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


644 


hundred rabbis from three- different provinces 
Francia, Normandy, and Anjou). The ban of ex- 
communication was pronounced against all who 
transgressed these or other decisions of the sj r nod. 

A synod held at Mayence iu July, 1223, regulated 
the special Jewish tax and enacted that no Jew 
might incur blame by dishonorable dealings with 
Christians or by passing counterfeit coin. About 
twenty rabbis were assembled, among them being 
R. Eleazar of Worms, author of the “Rokeali." 
The synod of Spanish Jews held on Sept. 25, 1354, 
represented the communities of Catalonia, Aragon, 
Valencia, and Majorca (“He-Haluz,” i. 15-29). A 
synod of rabbis and communal leaders held at Ma- 
yence on Aug. 5, 1381, renewed the takkanot of 
Speyer, Worms, and Mayence (known collectively 
as “Shum”), especially that regarding the pro- 
tection of the childless widow against extortion or 
delay in her release through the ceremony of halizah. 

A synod was convened at Weissenfels, 
In the Saxony, in 1386 for the purpose of 
Middle deliberating on certain religious ques- 
Ages. tions and adopting resolutions con- 
cerning measures of public utility. 
The members provided themselves with safe-con- 
ducts from the Saxon princes ; nevertheless brigands, 
with the connivance of the nobles, waylaid the trav- 
elers on their return journey, robbed them, and held 
them for ransom. 

The Jews of Italy convened a synod, first at 
Bologna and then at Forli (1416-18), to consider 
measures for averting the dangers which were threat- 
ened by the attitude of the Dominican Vicente 
Ferrer. The rabbis of Sated, Damascus, Salonica, and 
Constantinople called a synod at Jerusalem in 1552 
to determine the Sabbatical year (Azkari, “Sefer 
Yere‘im,” p. 83). A permanent synod of rabbis and 
leaders assembled at Lublin, Poland, in 1650, and 
occupied itself, among other things, in amending the 
stringent laws against the remarriage of an *Agu- 
nah. The synod in Starokonstantinov on Rosh 
ha-Shanah, 1756, ratified the ban against the Frank - 
ists and appealed to R. Jacob Emden to enter upon 
a crusade against them. The sittings of the Coun- 
cil of Four Lands were held regularly from the 
middle of the sixteenth century to the beginning of 
the eighteenth century. 

These synods assembled at the call of the inter- 
ested communities or of the leading rabbis, and bore 
an international character. In some cases the gov- 
ernment of the country in which a synod was to 
be held suspected a political design and prohibited 
its meeting. At other times the local government 
itself would call a synod of rabbis and Jewish rep- 
resentatives for the purpose of explaining Jewish 
law and usage. Such a synod was the notable con- 
vocation known as the French Sanhedrin (1806). 
Alexander I. of Russia, by an edict of Dec. 4, 1804, 
called for a Jewish deputation to meet at St. Peters- 
burg (“ Ha-Karmel,” 1871, p. 587). The object and 
result of this synod are not clear. In 1843, by order 
of Nicholas I., under a commission 
In Russia, headed by Count U varov, a synod con- 
sisting of leaders of the various Jewish 
groups assembled in St. Petersburg. R. Senior Zal- 
man of Lodi and Israel Heilprin of Poland repre- 


sented the Hasidim ; R. Isaac of Volozhin represented 
the anti-Hasidim ; while Bezaleel Stern of Odessa and 
Max Lilienthal represented the Haskalah movement. 
Sir Moses Montefiore and Isaac Adolphe Cremieux 
were invited, but did not attend (Hayyim Mei'r, “ Bet 
Rabbi,” ii., Berdyckev, 1902). The synod was inter- 
rogated on certain questions of Jewish law in relation 
to the national law, and on Jewish education in par- 
ticular. Similar synods were called in St. Petersburg 
in 1857, 1862, and 1879. That of the last date was pre- 
sided over by F. Blumenfeld, and included, besides 
rabbis, A. Harkavy and other prominent laymen. 
The government required information on the ques- 
tion of marriage and divorce ; likewise as to whether 
polygamy is considered a crime, and, if so, what is 
the punishment attached to it (“Ha-Meliz,” 1879, 
No. 28). 

An interesting synod was held in Cracow Aug. 9, 
1903, when about fifty rabbis from different countries 
assembled at the call of R. Elijah Hazzan, hakam- 
bashi of Alexandria, Egypt, the sessions being pre- 
sided over by Hayyim Levi Horowitz, the rabbi 
of Cracow. A special feature of this synod was the 
public oath taken by the rabbis in declaring that the 
Blood Accusation was absolutely false, and that 
neither the Talmud nor any other rabbinical book 
contains any mention of the ritual use of blood, 
which would be contrary to Jewish law. This 
synod also warned the Jewish youth to refrain from 
joining the ranks of the- Nihilists, or the Socialists, 
whose object, the destruction of the existing gov- 
ernment, it declared to be treasonable according to 
Jewish law. 

These synods always gave decisions on tradi- 
tional lines; they never attempted to change a 
doctrine or principle of faith or to abolish any law, 
although they modified the latter when there was 
urgent need, as in the case of the ‘agunah. The ob- 
ject of the synod was rather to strengthen the Law 
and to fence it about. Another aim was to raise the 
ethical standard of the Jews and provide means to 
better their position among the Christians. 

The synods of the Reform Jews were of a quite 
different character. In their first attempt to organ- 
ize a synod, in 1845, through the Berlin Genossen- 
schaft fur Reform im Judenthum, they declared for 
“ a synod which shall renew and establish J udaism 
in a form worthy of continuance as a living force.” 
They desired a synod composed of a large number 
of like-minded persons — of theologians and leaders 
of communities elected by tlieir congregations — its 
essential task to be “to see to it that its decisions 
expressed the convictions of the communities at 
large and satisfied their needs.” The decree of the 
synod was to be decisive and binding on the con- 
gregations which united to form it — binding, blit 
not forever. “We must not look upon the decrees 
of this synod as the authentic interpretation of 
the divine will, but as the complete expression of 
the contemporary religious consciousness and as the 
realization of the religious needs apparent in the 
Judaism of to-day” (S. Stern, “Die Gegenwart 
Bewegung in Judentliume,” 1845, pp. 44-45). Lud- 
wig Philippson approved the plan of a German 
synod in 1848 ; Samuel IIoldiieim, Abraham Geiger, 
and Zacharias Frankel also were in favor of it ; yet 


645 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Synod 

Synod of Usha 


it did not meet till long afterward — in 1869 in Leip- 
sic and in 1871 at Augsburg. 

The appeal for a synod in Germany was echoed 
in America, where its principal advocate was Isaac 

M. Wise. It was largely due to his efforts that the 
Conference of American Rabbis, held in Cleveland, 

Ohio, in 1855, recommended the call- 
in ing of a synod. Wise wrote many 

America, editorials in the “ Israelite ” in favor 

of a synod, supporting his contention 
by the authority of the Bible, the Talmud, and 
Jewish procedure. Wise, like Holdheim, though 
extremely radical, wished to give Reform a legal 
aspect by connecting it with the Talmud and with 
Jewish legalism. lie combated the plea of priestly 
domination ; and from the start he was confronted 
with strong opposition, particularly in the Eastern 
States. B. Felsentiial in 1856 strenuously op- 
posed the creation of a synod, because the “ modern 
Jewish consciousness is opposed to all sanhedrins, 
and denies them the right to usurp the authority 
which belongs to the individual Jew.” David Ein- 
horn, rabbi in Baltimore, Md. ; James K. Gutheim, 
rabbi in New Orleans, La. ; Emil G. Ilirsch, and 
Kaufmann Kohler also opposed the idea. So strong 
was the opposition that the matter was dropped for 
over twenty years, until after the death of Wise, 
when the advocates of the synod were again heard 
from at the Central Conference held at Buffalo, 

N. Y. , in 1900. H. G. Enelow, in a paper read before 
that body, reviewed the question in favor of estab- 
lishing a synod on Reform principles for the pur- 
pose of readjusting ancient religious theories to a 
new environment and new conditions of life. 

Joseph Silverman, of Temple Emanu-El, New 
York, in 1903 expressed himself in favor of a synod 
that would decide on questions of Jewish theology, 
on the way to further the observance of Sabbath 
and the festivals, and on the problems 
Revival of of intermarriage, proselytism, crema- 
the Synod tion, in uniformity in synagogal mu- 
duestion. sic and religious instruction. Joseph 
Krauskopf, acting president of the 
Central Conference held at Louisville, Ky., June 27, 
1904, strongly recommended that the conference 
enter seriously and at once upon the formation of a 
synod. 

Beside Felsentiial the most outspoken opponent 
of the synod was Solomon Scliechter, president of 
the Jewish Theological Seminar}' - of America. His 
negative attitude was inspired by the dread of hier- 
archical pretensions and sacerdotal tendencies on the 
part of such a synod. This dread, he said, might 
not be justified in the eastern countries of Europe, 
where the Torah is the source of authority and the 
rabbi is but the interpreter of the Law ; but in west- 
ern countries loyalty to the Torah is replaced by 
blind devotion to a favorite orator, and the rabbi 
assumes the role of an independent authority. But 
Scliechter argues against the plea that a synod is 
needed to counteract the whim and caprice of the 
individual rabbi, as he fears that the remedy may 
prove worse than the evil of a permanent schism in 
the congregation of Israel. If the synod is to be- 
come a blessing, he declares, it must first recognize 
a standard of authority in the Bible, the Talmud, 


and the lessons of Jewish history as to what is vital 
and essential in Judaism. 

Bibliography : Graetz, Hist. ill. 376-378, iv. 218 ; Horowitz, Die 
Frankfurter Rabhinerversammlung von Jahre 1613 ; Views 
on the Synod , issued by tbe Central Conference of American 
Rabbis, Baltimore, 1905. 

J* 3 . D. E. 

SYNOD OF FOUR COUNTRIES. See Coun- 
cil of Four Lands. 

SYNOD, THE GREAT. See Synagogue, 
The Great. 

SYNOD OF TJSHA : In the middle of the sec- 
ond century c.e. an important synod of rabbinical 
authorities was convened in the Galilean city of 
Usha, near Shefaram, Tiberias, and Sepphoris. 
There also R. Judah b. Baba ordained five (or 
seven) disciples, and there the Sanhedrin sometimes 
sat (Sanli. 31b). The reason for the Sanhedrin’s fre- 
quent change of seat is to be sought in the turbu- 
lence of the period, but mainly, perhaps, in the Ha- 
drianic persecutions; this, therefore, approximately 
establishes the terminus a quo of the Synod of Usha, 
while the terminus ad quem is indicated by the fact 
that Sliefar'am, the later residence of Judah I., is 
mentioned as the next seat of the synod after Usha. 
The Galilean synod was convened, then, between 
these two dates — more exactly during the reign of 
Antoninus Pius, and after that emperor had, about 
140, annulled the anti-Jewish laws instituted by 
Hadrian. For while Judah b. Baba 
Assem- had to suffer a martyr’s death for his 
bled ordinations and these, therefore, must 
at Usha. have taken place under Hadrian, this 
synod, though it was attended by large 
numbers of people and marked by special festivi- 
ties, met unhindered ; it must, therefore, have been 
convened after the annulment of the laws men- 
tioned. The rabbinical sources give various and 
inconsistent accounts of the synod. 

44 Our teachers congregated in Usba at the termination of the 
persecution hctrn 'aSao]. They were R. Judah [b. Ilai], R. 
Nebemiah, R. Mbir, R. Jose, R. Simeon b. Yohai, R. Eliezer 
[son. of R. Jose the Galilean], and R. Eleazar b. Jacob. They 
sent to the eiders of Galilee, saying, ‘ Those who have already 
learned, come and teach; those who have not yet learned, come 
and be taught.’ They met and arranged everything that was 
necessary; and when the time came to depart they said, ‘It 
would be wrong to leave [without blessing] a place where we 
have been so well received.’ The honor of the blessing they be- 
stowed upon R. Judah because he was a son of that city, and R. 
Judah arose and preached. In like manner did the other rabbis 
also preach, as befitted the occasion ” (Cant. R. ii. 5). 

The seven inaugurators of the synod here men- 
tioned, at whose call other scholars of Galilee re- 
paired to Usha, are no doubt identical with the seven 
pupils of R. Akiba mentioned elsewhere (Gen. R, 
lxi. 3). In the Jerusalem Talmud (Hag. 78d) refer- 
ence is made to a synod held in the Valley of Rim- 
mon, and the names of the seven elders calling it are 
given as MeiT, Judali, Jose. Simeon, Nehemiah, 
Eleazar b. Jacob, and Johanan lia-Sandalar. The 
intercalation of the extra month was 
Pupils of agreed upon without dissension ; but 
R. Akiba. with regard to the degree of holiness 
and the hallah, MeiT and Johanan lia- 
Sandalar became involved in a violent dispute. In 
spite of this they kissed each other at parting, and 
their friendship became so strong that the one of them 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


646 


Synod of TJslia 
Syria 


that possessed a garment of tlie kind the Rabbis 
donned when- rendering iegal decisions tore it into 
halves and gave one half to his friend, who had 
none ( ib .). To commemorate the synod, each rabbi' 
drove a nail into a block of marble which lay near 
by, and this block was thenceforth named the “nail- 
stone” (ib.). 

This is the most valuable datum concerning the 
ceremonies attending an old Jewish synod. The in- 
cident of the garment is told somewhat differently 
elsewhere, and in regard to R. Judali ben Ilai and 
six pupils (Sanli. 20a); but the number seven seems 
to identify the two occurrences. In two other pas- 
sages of the Babylonian Talmud, however, four and 
three teachers, respectively, are mentioned as having 
delivered the sermons preached at Uslia ; but in these 
passages Jabneh is mentioned as tlie place of meet- 
ing (Ber. 63b; Sliab. 33b). This is no doubt due to 
a transmitter’s mistake in naming Jabneh as the 
place more often cited; but to agree with Zacliarias 
Frankel that there may have been two different 
synods, one in Jabneh and one in Uslia, would seem 
out of the question. 

No less erroneous is Griitz’s theory, which gives 
the enactments (“ takkanot ”) of Uslia as belonging 
to the beginning of Hadrian’s reign, while it places 
tlie synod under Antoninus Pius. It can not be 
with certainty determined whether these enactments 
were issued by the Sanhedrin while sitting at Uslia, 
or by the synod. A resolution which concerns the 
calendar and which the Jerusalem Tal- 

Enact- mud attributes to the Synod of Uslia, is 

ments of elsewhere ascribed to the bet din of 
the Synod. Uslia (R. H. 32a ; comp. Yer. R. II. 59e ; 

Tosef.,R. II. iv. 5). R. Simeon ben 
Gamaliel was patriarch at Uslia at the time of the 
synod, though no patriarch is mentioned in connec- 
tion with the synod. This points to the conclusion 
either that the patriarch was too young to officiate 
or that he refused to officially represent Judaism at 
the synod, fearing that his connection with it might 
be misconstrued. 

Of the regulations adopted at Uslia, the follow- 
ing are known, R. Jose b. Hanina being supposed 
to have transmitted them (Ket. 49b, 50a). These 
regulations, no doubt, were made necessary by 
the conditions then existing, when many Jews 
lived in such poverty that it was necessary to form- 
ally and legally order parents to take care of their 
children. 

“ (1 ) parents must care for their sons and daughters so long as 
their children are minors. (2) Should a parent deed bis property 
during his lifetime to his sous, the latter must support their 
parents from the estate. (3) One who spends freely may not 
use more than one-fifth of his fortune. [In Yer. Pe’ah 15b this is 
taken to mean that one may not use more than one-fifth of his 
fortune for hallah and tithes.] (4) The father must be patient 
in teaching in's sons until they are twelve years of age ; then he 
may send them out into the world [that is. may cease to support 
them if they will not study]. (5) Should a wife sell her mar- 
riage-portion while her husband is alive, if he survives her 
he may legally take tlie property from the purchasers. [Both 
the Jerusalem and the Babylonian Talmud state that this is an 
older enactment.] (6) The hallah must be burned [in six gi ven 
cases of suspected uncleanness] (Shab. 15b). [This also is an 
older regulation, the reissue of which had become necessary.] 
(7) An enactment in regard to the ‘etrog ’ ” (see Tosef., Sheb. 
iv. 21; R. H.15a). 

These regulations form a part of the Halakah, and 


are treated more fully and confirmed in the Talmud, 
as well as in tlie compendiums. 


Bibliography: Frankel, Darke ha-Mislmah , p. 179, Leipsic, 
riitz, Gesch. iv. 132, 172 ; Bacher, Ag. Tan. u. 54 ; M. 


1859; Gra™, v n 

Bloch, Sha'arc Torat ha-TckanoU vol. n., part 1. 

300, Cracow, 1894; Lunez, Ha-Mc'ammcr , , i. 130, J< 

1905 (s.v. Uslia). ^ 

W. B. S. IvR. 


pp. 253- 
Jerusalem, 


SYRACUSE: City in the state of New York; 
situated on Lake Onondaga, The first settlement 
of Jews in Syracuse dates back to 1839, when tlie 
warehouse of Bernheim & Block served as a meet- 
ing-place for Jewish traders from neighboring cities 
and towns. In 1841 a permanent religious organi- 
zation was established, with the name “ Society of 
Concord ” ; services were then held in an upper room 
of Jacob Garson’s house. The membership increased 
rapidly, and in 1846 a bouse in Madison street was 
purchased and converted into a synagogue, in which 
tlie congregation worshiped until, through the efforts 
of Jacob Stone, tlie present synagogue was built, 
and dedicated (Sept., 1850) by Isaac M. Wise, then 
rabbi in Albany, N. Y. Under the presidency of 
Joseph Falker and tlie spiritual guidance of Dr. 
Deutscli many reforms were introduced iu tlie serv- 
ice. This resulted in a division of the congregation 
in 1864. The seceding members formed tlie Adatli 
Jeslniriin congregation, of which Joseph Wiseman 
became president and Jacob Levi reader. The pulpit 
of the Society of Concord is at present (1905) occu- 
pied by Dr. Adolph Guttman, who was called from 
Ilolienems, Tyrol, in 1883. 

There are several other congregations in the city : 
New Beth Israel (organized 1854), New Adatli Je- 
shurun (1870), Adath Israel (1882), Poiley Zedek 
(1888), and several minor congregations that wor- 
ship according to the Orthodox ritual. Joseph 
Hertz, David Levine, and Henry Morais successively 
occupied the rabbinate of the New Adath Jesliu- 
run congregation. Temporarily Orthodox congre- 
gations have no rabbis, their services being con- 
ducted by readers. 

The Syracuse community includes many promi- 
nent merchants, physicians, and lawyers. Gates 
Thalheimer, president of the Society of Concord, is 
a trustee of the State Industrial School at Roches- 
ter, N. Y. ; Drs. H. L. Eisner, Nathan Jacobson, 
and I. H. Levy are professors in the Syracuse Med- 
ical College; and many Jewesses occupy positions 
as teachers in the public and high schools. Tlie 
principal charitable and educational societies of the 
Jewish community are: the United Jewish Chari- 
ties; two ladies’ aid societies: several hebras, giving 
aid in cases of sickness and death ; and a branch of 
the Jewish Orphan Asylum of Western New York. 
The Hebrew Free School for Boys occupies a com- 
modious building, while an industrial school for 
girls and likewise a Boys’ Culture Club have been 
established under tlie auspices of the local branch of 
the Council of Jewish Women. 

The population of Syracuse is 121,000, of whom 
about 5,000 are Jews. 

A A. Gu. 

SYRIA: Country in Asiatic Turkey. The 
terms “Syria” and “Syrians” do not occur in He- 
brew ; they are found first in the Greek period. Fol- 


647 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Synod of Tisha 
Syria 


lowing Noldeke, these terms are usually explained 
as abbreviations of “ Assyria ” and “ Assyrians. ” The 
identity of the two names is affirmed by Herodotus 
(vii. 63), who regarded “Assyrians” as the barba- 
rian form, and “Syrians” the Greek spelling. The 
name “Syrians” has recently been derived by 
Winckler (in Schrader, “ K. A. T.” 3d ed., pp. 27 et 
seq.) from the “Suri” mentioned in the cuneiform 
inscriptions as a Babylonian designation for “the 
West,” including Mesopotamia, northern Syria, and 
Asia Minor as far as the Halys — regions which had 
been inhabited by Arameans since the middle of the 
second millennium. In the Septuagint- “ Syria ” is 
used to translate the Hebrew “Aram.” 

In a political sense the name “ Syria ” denotes the 
empire of the Seleucids, the territory implied vary- 
ing with the boundaries of their dominions ; for the 
great Syrian kingdom, whose capital 
Political originally was Babylon, and then An- 
Meaning tioch on the Orontes, had no essential 
and unity, but lost one district after an- 
History. other, until, in 65 b.c., Pompey made 
the remnant a Roman province which 
corresponded in general to the Syria of the an- 
cient and modern geographers. Strabo, Pliny, and 
Ptolemy give the boundaries of Syria as the 
Taurus on the north, the Arabian desert on the 
south, the Mediterranean on the west, and the lower 
portion of the Euphrates and the region now called 
the Syrian desert (but anciently termed the Arabian 
desert) on the east. The southern portions of this 
region, Arabia Deserta and Petrcea, as well as Pal- 
estine, did not belong to the Roman province of 
Syria, but formed independent districts. The term 
“ Syria ” now includes the district which lies to the 
east of the Mediterranean, between Egypt and Asia 
Minor, and stretches from the coast to the desert. 
Whether this desert, the great Syro-Arabian desert, 
called the Hamad (the Arabia Deserta of the an- 
cients), is to be regarded as a part of Syria or Arabia 
is a question of minor importance. 

The boundaries of Syria are essentially natural 
ones : the Mediterranean on the west, and the desert 
on the east and south, although the desert forms no 
hard-and-fast limit, since the area available for habi- 
tation and cultivation has varied at different times. 
Since early times it lias been a problem, as it still is, 
whether even a strong government could protect 
the peasants that cultivated the land on the desert 
frontiers against the predatory attacks of the war- 
like Bedouins. When such protection could be 
given, the arable districts increased in extent; but 
when the reverse was the case, the desert gained, 
or, in other words, the nomads forced the peasants 
to withdraw. Thus, during the Roman period the 
Hauran (comp. Palestine) had many flourishing 
villages and a large population, while under Turk- 
ish dominion it has fallen into the hands of the 
nomads and become desolate. Onty within the last 
two decades has the Turkish government assumed 
control in the border districts and placed certain 
localities under military control, thereby making 
a distinct change for the better and driving the 
Bedouins farther back. 

The northern boundary is formed by the great 
Taurus range that runs from west to east, from Lake 


Van to Cilicia Trachea, where it slopes down to the 
Mediterranean. In the northwest, S} 7 ria is separated 
from eastern Cilicia, or Cilicia Cam- 
The Taurus pestris, by the chain anciently known 

Range. as the Amanus, which runs northeast, 
from the northeast corner of the Med- 
iterranean (the Gulf of Issus) through the Taurus. 
This range, however, has several easy passes, so that 
Cilicia Campestris, even as far as the Taurus, was 
alwa} r s influenced by Syrian ci vilization. The region 
bounded by these limits never formed a political 
unit, and it had a history only so far as it formed a 
part of some greater countiy. In civilization, on 
the other hand, it was one, for this entire region was 
under the immediate and powerful influence of Baby- 
lonia and Assyria, which had impressed their own 
characteristics on the culture of all these lands. 

This district is marked geographically by a sys- 
tem of dips running through the entire region from 
north to south. The “great Syrian dip ” begins in 
the valley of the Karasu, north of the ancient Anti- 
och, and traverses the valleys of the Orontes (Nahr 
al-Asi) and the Leontes (Nahr al-Litani). Between 
Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon the upper courses of 
both these rivers lie in the depression now called Al- 
Bil£a‘ and corresponding to the ancient Ccele-Syria. 
The dip then sinks quickly, with the Jordan valley, 
below the level of the Mediterranean, reaching its 
greatest breadth and depth (793 meters below sea- 
level) in the Dead Sea. From that point it rises 
again to the ‘Arabali, but it may nevertheless 
be traced as far as the Gulf of Aila. This dip, 
caused by the.faulting.of the great cretaceous layers 
bounding the Syrian desert, divides the land geo- 
graphically into two sections, the mountain-ranges 
in both running for the most part parallel with it. 
The deepest depression is reached in the Dead Sea, 
while the mountains attain their highest point in 
Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon, the former on the west 
and the latter on the east of the great dip, being 
separated by the plain of Al-Bika‘. The highest 
peaks of Lebanon are the Jabal Makmal (3,052 me- 
ters) and the J3ahr al-Kudib (3,063 meters), both east 
of Tripoli, while the highest.point of Anti-Lebanon 
is Mount Hermon (2,860 meters). 

In the north, the Lebanon range ends at the Nahr 
al-Kabir, being continued beyond this plain by the 
Jabal Nusairiy}-ali, while be} r ond the valley of the 
Orontes rise the mountains anciently known as the 
Amanus, although the} 7 have no generic modern 
name. In the south, Lebanon finds its continu- 
ation in the west-Jordan hill-country of Palestine, 
but on the east of the great depression the chain 
of Anti-Lebanon comes to its northern terminus 
south of the Lake of Hums, the valle} 7 of the Orontes 
being marked by only slight elevations. Southward, 
however, the east- Jordan plateau shows consider- 
able elevations (comp. Palestine). The valley be- 
tween the two halves lias been fully described, so 
far as its lower portion, the Jordan valle} 7 , is con- 
cerned, in the article Palestine. The northern 
part, the fertile district of the ancient Ccele-Syria, 
has its watershed at Baalbek. In this vicinity arise 
the two great rivers which drain the plain. The 
Nahr al-Litani, the ancient Leontes, flows south- 
ward, and is separated by the chain of the Jabal al- 


Syria 

Szegredin 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


648 


Dalir on the east from the source of the Jordan, the 
Nahr Hasbani, which flows parallel with it. The 
Leontes then turns sharply to the west, entering the 
Mediterranean a little to the north of Tyre. The 
course of the Orontes (Nahr al-Asi) is directly an- 
tithetical, since it flows for a long distance north- 
ward through the entire plain, and does not bend to 
the west until it reaches the northern limits of the 
Jabal Nusairiyyah. 

The seacoast of Syria consists for the most part 
of a narrow strip of land, the Lebanon frequently 
extending almost to the water. In the north the 
coast has many more indentations than in the south, 
and consequently possesses better harbors. The best 
of these is St. George’s Bay, on which 
The is situated Beirut, now the commercial 
Seacoast. center of Syria. The coast district, 
for the greater part, is separated from 
the interior by a mountain chain which is crossed 
by few passes. It must, therefore, be distinguished 
from the interior in political relations also, since 
the fact that its inhabitants, the Phenieians, were 
a maritime and commercial people whose interests 
lay seaward rather than inland, had its basis pri- 
marily in geographical conditions. The southern 
portion of the eastern desert which borders on Pal- 
estine is barren and uninhabitable, but the greater 
part of the northern district between Anti-Lebanon 
and the Euphrates may be regarded as inhabitable. 
From Anti-Lebanon to the Euphrates a range of 
hills runs northeast, and in their northern portion in 
ancient times there was a series of settlements at the 
various springs, although now only heaps of ruins 
remain. 

In like manner the road from Damascus to the 
Euphrates runs along the southern slopes through 
a series of oases which were inhabited. Of these the 
most important are Palmyra and Damascus. Pal- 
myra, or Tadmor, still is. as it has ever been, a 
stopping-point for caravans from Damascus to Bag- 
dad, and, having all natural facilities for the devel- 
opment of a great commercial city, it became the 
capital of a powerful kingdom in the third century 
of the present era. Damascus also is an extremely 
ancient city, and owes its greatness and its im- 
portance to the fact that it is an oasis in the desert. 
The water from the eastern slope of Hermon 
forms the Nahr al-Barada and the Nahr al-A‘waj 
(respectively the Amana and the Pliarpar of the 
Bible), and these streams, flowing to the east, are 
lost in swamps in the desert, thus forming a large 
oasis, in the center of which the city lies. Since 
there is no direct route from the valle 3 r of the Jordan 
to Coele-Syria, the road from southern Syria to the 
north, like the highway of commerce from Arabia to 
the north, naturally passes tlirou gh Damascus. It has 
already been stated that the route from the Euphrates 
to the sea was by way of Palmyra and Damascus. 

With the exception of the latter city, all the an- 
cient towns are now abandoned, and this entire 
region, which once was populated, lias now fallen 
into the hands of the nomads, who continually press 
forward from the interior of Arabia. The statement 
has already been made that the extensive district of 
Syria never had a political unity of its own. nor 
does it appear in history, except as a part of some 


great empire, such as the Babylonian or the Persian. 
(For the earliest history compare Damascus; Hit- 
tites. ) It was not until after the death of Alexander 
that a kingdom bore the name of Syria. When his 
dominions were divided among the Diadoclii, who 
succeeded him, the greater part of the Asiatic prov- 
inces of the empire of the Acliaunenidaj came, to- 
gether with Babylon as the capital, into the posses- 
sion of Seleucus I., Nicator, and his successors, this 
Seleucid kingdom being called Syria, although this 
term was scarcely accurate. The capital was soon 
shifted westward, Seleucus himself, the founder of 
the dynasty, making Antioch on the Orontes his me- 
tropolis, and thus creating a center of Greek civiliza- 
tion in western Asia. The inherent weakness of the 
new kingdom lay in the fact that it was a huge con- 
glomerate of the most varied ethnic components, 
with no essential unity. An additional factor was 
the war with the Egyptian Ptolemies for the pos- 
session of Egypt. This conflict lasted 
Etlmic for a century, and it did not end until 
Factors, the reign of Antiochus III. (198 b.c.), 
after it had seriously weakened the 
kingdom, especially under Antiochus I. (280-261). 
The danger was equally great when the Parthians 
won their independence in the middle of the third 
century. Even Antiochus III., the Great (222-187), 
who was able to resist Egypt, was powerless to 
subject the Parthians. 

The war against the Romans ended in 190, when 
the battle of Magnesia broke the power of Antiochus. 
By the terms of peace he was forced to surrender all 
lands lying north of the Taurus and Halys. The 
kingdom now hastened to its fall. The endeavor of 
Antiochus IV., Epiplianes (170-164) to Hellenize the 
Jews led to the Hasmonean revolt and the loss of 
southern Syria. Despite all the struggles for the 
throne, the dynasty, although reduced in territory 
to Syria alone after the middle of the second cen- 
tury, retained a show of power until the invasion of 
the Armenians, who -conquered the country under 
their king Tigranes in 83'b.c. -Their power, how- 
ever, was of short duration, for they in turn were 
soon crushed by the Romans. The last of the 
Seleucids, Antiochus XIII., Asiaticus (69-64), lost 
his kingdom in 64, when Pompey declared the entire 
country a Roman province. This province was placed 
under a Roman governor at Antioch, although the 
smaller S} r rian dynasties, such as those of Comma- 
gene, Chalcis, Damascus, Petra, and Jerusalem, 
were left undisturbed. In 70 c.E. Palestine was 
separated from Syria, and itself became a province 
ruled by an imperial governor. Later, during the 
reign of Hadrian, Syria was divided into three parts: 
Coele-Syria (with Antioch as the capital), Syria 
Euphratensis (with Hierapolis as the capital), and 
Phcenic-e (with Emesa [Hums] as the capital); the 
last named province embraced the coast with the ad- 
jacent inland districts. 

The present (1905) population of Syria is 3,317,- 
600. 

Bibliography: Burckhardt, Travels in Syria, 1822 ; Porter, 
Five Years in Damascus, 1855; Burton and Drake, Unex- 
plored Syria , 1872; Riemann and Puchstein. Reisen in 
JSforclsyrlen , 1890: Cuinet, Syrie, Lihan et Palestine, 1896; 
Oppenheim, Vnm Mittclmeerzum Perxischcn Golf, 1900. See 
also the bibliographies of the articles Pa lestixe and Phenicia. 
e. g. u. .. I. Be. 


649 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Syria 

Szegredin 


SYRKIN, MAXIMILIAN (MEYER-JE- 
HTJDAH) : Russian jurist and editor; bornatPon- 
jewezh, government of Kovno, Oct. 27, 1858; a 
descendant of the family of Joel Sirkes He 

studied law at the University of St. Petersburg, and 
is at present (1905) practising his profession at the 
St. Petersburg bar. He was associate editor of the 
“ Regesty i Nadpisi ” (documents relating to the his- 
tory of the Jews in Russia), published by the Society 
for the Promotion of Culture Among the Russian 
Jews in 1899; since that time he has been editor of 
the “ Voskliod.” Syrkin is the author of a book on 
art, entitled “ Plasticheskol Iskusstvo” (St. Peters- 
burg, 1900). 

H. R. G. p. R. 

SYZYGIES. See Cabala. 

SZABOLCSI, MAX: Hungarian author; born 
at Tura Aug. 27, 1857. In his youth he studied 
Talmud, and for a short time attended the rabbin- 
ical seminary at Budapest, later writing for He- 
brew periodicals under the pseudonym of “ Tbri 
Anoki,” and preparing a Hungarian translation of 
the liaggadic portions of the treatise Sanhedrin. 
His most important literary activity, however, be- 
gan with the Tisza-Eszlar affair, in which he took 
prominent part by contributing articles for the de- 
fense to the “Debreczeni Ellenor.” In 1884 Sza- 
bolcsi became editor of the “Judische Pester Zei- 
tung,”and two years later he assumed control of 
the Hungarian religious paper “Egyenloseg,” pub- 
lished weekly at Budapest, 
s. L. Y. 

SZANTO (ABATJJ-SZANTO) : Town of Hun- 
gary, on the slope of the hills of Tokay. Its Jew r - 
ish community is one of the oldest in the country. 
Its age is shown by the two cemeteries, the more 
modern one of which has been in use since 1780, 
Its oldest existing Jewish document, relating to the 
hebra kaddisha, is dated 1790, at which time the so- 
ciety had ninety-six members. In a document dated 
1787; which is extant, the community pledges itself 
to build a school. The first teacher was Leopold 
Singer. 

The first rabbi of Szanto known by name was 
Rabbi Jeremiah, author of the “Sefer Moda’ali.” 
His successors have been : his son Joab, author of the 
“ Hen Tob ” ; Eleazar Low, called “ Shemen Rokeah ” 
(d. 1837); Nathan Lipschitz; his son Leopold Lip- 
scliitz (d. 1904 in Budapest, where he was president 
of the Orthodox congregation); and the present in- 
cumbent (1905), Paul Jungreise (since 1896). 

The Jews of Szanto number 1,500 in a total popu- 
lation of o,000. 

Bibliography: Lovy, Ar Abauj-Szdntoi Ismelita Islcola 
Mnnogrdfiajd , 1901. 

S. L. Y. 

SZANTO, EMIL : Austrian philologist ; born 
atYiennaNov. 22, 1857; died there Dec. 14, 1904; 
son of Simon Szanto. He studied at the Univer- 
sity of Yienna (Ph.D.), and in 1884 was appointed 
privat-docent at his alma mater; in 1893 he became 
assistant professor and in 1898 professor of Greek 
history and archeology. 

Szanto was considered an authority in his spe- 
cialty, Greek epigraphy. Among his works may 


be mentioned : “ Untersuehungen uber das Attische 
Burgerrecht,” 1881 ; “ Plataa und Athen, ” 1884 ; “ An . 
leihen Griechischer Staaten,” 1885; “Hypotliek und 
Scheinkauf im Griechischen Recht,” 1887, in col- 
laboration with Edward Hauler ; “ Das Griechische 
Burgerrecht, ” 1892 ; and “ Reise in Karien, ” 1892. In 
1887 he brought out a second edition of Bojesen’s 
“ Handbueli der Gnechischen Antiquitaten. ” 

Bibliography: AUg. Zeit. des Jud. 1894, No. 52; Oesteirei- 
chische Wochenschrift , 1894, No. 52. 
s. F. T. H. 

SZANTO, SIMON : Hungarian journalist; born 
at Nagy-Kanizsa, Hungary, Aug. 28, 1819; died in 
Yienna Jan. 17, 1882. He was a son of Rabbi Mei'r 
Szanto, and when only ten years of age lost both 
parents. He received his education at the yeshi- 
bot at Lakenbach and Gross-Jenikau (Bohemia), 
the public school at Prague, the gymnasium at 
Presburg, and the University of Prague, studying 
philosophy and Jewish theology under S. J. L. Ra- 
. poport. In 1845 Szanto went to Yienna, where he 
founded (1849), together with his brother Josef, a 
Jewish school, of which he was the director. Later 
he was appointed docent at the Theologische Lehr- 
anstalt at Yienna. 

In 1861 Szanto founded, together with his brother- 
in-law Pick, the weekly journal “Die Neuzeit,” of 
which he became sole editor after having been asso- 
ciated for a short time with Korn pert. For a time 
lie was editor also of Busch’s “ Jahrbuch ffir Israeli- 
ten,” and of J. von Wertheimer's “Jahrbuch ffir 
Israeliten.” In 1864 he was appointed Hebrew in- 
terpreter at the juridical courts of Yienna, and in 
1869 supervisor of religious instruction at the Jewdsh 
schools of Yienna. 

Szanto contributed numerous feuilletons and es- 
says to various periodicals. For Busch ’s “ Jahrbuch 
fur Israeliten n lie wrote “ Bildcr aus Alexandriens 
Yorzeit”; for Wertheimer's “Jahrbuch,” “Schul- 
lehrers Paradoxa ” and “Fahrende Juden ” ; and for 
the “Wiener Zeitung,” “ Sturmpetition eines P&da- 
gogen,” tbpse articles appearing over the pen-names 
“Dr. Unbefangen,” and “S. Pfluger.” He con- 
tributed also to “Ost und West,” “Bohemia,” the 
“Orient,” the “Tagespresse,” and the “Frauenzei- 
tung.” He was the author also of the poem “Der 
Juden Yaterland” (Yienna, 1848). 

Bibliography; AUg . Zeit. des Jud. 1882, pp. 93 et seg. 
s. F. T. H. 

SZEGEDIN : Town of central Hungary. Jews 
are mentioned there as tax-farmers during the Turk- 
ish rule in Hungary (1552). When the Turks were 
driven out of that country the Jews of Szegedinliad 
to leave; subsequently, in 1714, three Jews, who had 
settled there without the permission of the magis- 
trate, were expelled, and at the conscription of 1768 
the authorities claimed that not one Jew was living 
in the town. 

In 1719 Charles III. granted to Szegedin the priv- 
ilege, enjoyed most of the free royal cities, of 
admitting Jews and Gipsies, or refusing to admit 
them, at its pleasure; and Szegedin, like the other 
cities, exercised this privilege with the utmost rigor 
to the disadvantage of the Jews. In 1781 Michael 
Hayyim Poliak settled in the city without permis- 


Szegredin, 

Szerencses 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


650 


sion of tlie magistrate, but three years later six fami- 
lies obtained such permission, After this the number 
of tolerated Jews gradually increased ; there were 11 
families in the town in 1785, 18 in 1786, and 58 in 1799. 
In virtue of the decree of 1790 the, Jews were to re- 
main unmolested in whatever circumstances they 
were at the time of the decree. This encouraged 
them to acquire houses within the limits of the city; 
and whereas in 1788 only the above-mentioned 
Poliak possessed a house, in 1807 ten Jews were 
house-owners. In 1818 a boundary-line was drawn 
within which Jews were permitted to acquire 
houses, but as early as 1S24 the Jews encroached on 
ground beyond this boundary, though the ordinance 
was not repealed until 1859, In 1S25 the commu- 


the basis of government. These statutes were 
modified in 1867 and thoroughly revised in 1870; 
in 1903 new statutes went into force. In the period 
between 1788 and 1902 twenty-three judges, or presi- 
dents, conducted the affairs of the community. 
Toward the end of the War of Liberation the Diet, 
the members of which had fled to Szegedin, emanci- 
pated the Jews (July 28, 1849) ; but this act had no 
practical results. The proposition of Provost Krem- 
minger in 1861 to eleqt Jews to the municipal coun- 
cil shows the respect which the community enjoyed., 
As early as 1789 the community decided to build 
a synagogue, having so far held services in a hired, 
apartment; but in consequence of the opposition of 
the municipal authorities this project could not be 



Stained-Glass Windows with Jkwisii Symbols in the Synagogue at Szegedin. 

(From a photograph.) 


nity had increased to 111, in 1831 to 367, and in 1840 
to 800. In 1884 there were 800 Jewish taxpayers 
in Szegedin. 

The first communal statutes, referring especially 
to worship, were drafted in 1791, and included 
nineteen sections; they were enlarged in 1801 and 
revised in 1830. Until 1867 a commis- 
Organiza- sioner delegated by the municipal au- 
tion. tliorities presided at the election of the 
governing board. In 1825 it was de- 
cided to elect a committee of thirty-one members, 
whose rights and duties were determined in 1830 
and revised in 1833. After a futile attempt to re- 
organize the communit 3 r in 1842, a marked advance 
was achieved in 1857, when the magistrate under- 
took the work of organization. In 1863 Leopold 
Low, the chief rabbi, drafted statutes that are still 


carried out until 1803; and when permission was 
given to build, it was on condition that the syna- 
gogue should have a chimney and a kitchen, so 
that it might have the appearance of being a private 
house. It contained 129 seats for men 
Syna- and 99 for women. This synagogue 
gogues. was replaced by a new building in 
1839, with 400 seats for men and 260 
for women, which was dedicated on May 19, 1843, by 
Low Schwab, chief rabbi of Budapest. After the 
great floods of 1879 it was renovated, and services 
are still held there (1905). Opposite this building is 
a newer and more imposing synagogue, one of the 
notable edifices of the country, erected at a cost of 
500,000 crowns; it seats 806 men and 623 women. 
The first rabbi of Szegedin, R. Jehiel, officiated 
from 1789 to 1790; his successors have been Hirsch 




651 


TI-IE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Szeg-edin 

Szerencses 


Bak (1790-1843), Daniel Pillitz (1843-47), Leopold 
Low (1850-75), Willielm Baeher (1876-77), and the 
present incumbent, Immanuel Low (since 1878). In 
1831 a dayyan was appointed as assistant to the 
chief rabbi, and in 1894 an associate rabbi also was 
engaged. The community has had a notary since 
1824. 

The Szeged in Hebra Kaddisha was founded in 
1787 ; about the same time the Jewish hospital was 
■established, in a rented building ; but in 1856 the com- 
munity erected a hospital-building of its own. The 
first cemetery was laid out in 1793; it 
Synagogal was enlarged in 1810 ; but in time it was 
and Phil- surrounded by houses, in consequence 
anthropic of the rapid growth of the city, and 
Societies, the bodies had to be exhumed (1867) 
and reburied in a common grave in 
the new cemetery. The Hebra Kaddisha had 490 
members in 1903, and a fund of 120,000 crowns. 
The Bikkur Ilolim was founded in 1821, and reor- 
ganized in 1861 under the name “Rofe Holim.” In 
1831 a society for the relief of the poor was founded 
under the name Hebrat Orhe ‘Aniyyim, and in 1837 a 
similar society, the Hebrat ‘Aniyye ‘Irenu, which 
still exists. The Women’s Society, which was the 
first one of its kind in Hungary, was founded in 
1835 by Johanna Kolien. Chief Rabbi Low founded 
in 1860 the society Hebra de-Sandikos. A society 
for dowering poor girls was founded in 1865. Since 
1892 the Orphan Society has had its own building, 
equipped with all modern improvements. The 
Young Women’s Society conducts a kitchen during 
the winter for the benefit of poor children. 

The community founded in 1820 a school with 
four classes, in which only Jewish subjects were 
taught. At the same time the Talmud Torah was 
formed to provide instruction for poor children. In 
1839 steps were taken to organize, with the funds of 
the Talmud Torah, a regular public 
Schools, school, but the project could not be 
carried out until 1844. The girls’ 
school was opened in 1851, through the efforts of 
the society Hebrat Ne'urim (founded in 1833 and in 
existence until 1855). A new building was erected 
in 1871, but it was replaced by other buildings in 
1883 and 1895. It has eight teachers and one as- 
sistant; in 1902 there were 546 children on its rolls. 
The community provides religious instruction in 
the secondary schools, which contained 454 chil- 
dren in 1902. The new hall of the community, built 
at a cost of 150,000 crowns, is one of the most beau- 
tiful edifices in the city. Among the charitable 
foundations should be mentioned the fund of 60,000 
crowns donated by David Kiss for clothing poor 
children. 

Szegedin lias a total population of 87,410, inclu- 
ding 5,863 Jews, 1,243 of whom are taxpayers, 
s. A. Low. 

SZENES, PHILIP: Hungarian painter ; born 
at Szent Miklos Torok in 1864. After studying at 
the technical school at Budapest, he devoted him- 
self to art, residing for several years successively 
at Munich, in Italy, and at Paris. In 1895 he was 
awarded first prize by the Paris Academy of Art, and 
on his return to Budapest he at once took rank with 
the foremost painters of Hungary. His chief works 


are: “Samson and Delilah,” “Esther,” “Judith,” 
“St. Cecilia,” - “After Dinner,” “The Evening 
Paper,” “Sunbeams,” and “The Shepherd.” Col- 
lections of his works are found in the National Mu- 
seum of Budapest, in the Kunstverein at Dresden, 
and in the private gallery of Emperor Francis Jo- 
seph I. 

s. L. Y. 

SZEPENCS^S (FOPTTJNATUS), EMER- 
ICH: Hungarian deputy treasurer; died Aug., 
1526. As a married man he had had illicit inter- 
course with a Christian woman, and when this be- 
came known, in order to escape severe punishment 
he was forced to embrace Christianity; he was bap- 
tized by Ladislaus Szalkai, Archbishop of Grau, 
while the palatine Emericli Perenvi, whose first name 
lie. thenceforth adopted, acted as sponsor. After 
Szerencses’ conversion he was appointed, deputy 
treasurer, in which position he exercised a great deal 
of influence in favor of his former coreligionists. 
Whenever they were in danger he sent them letters 
of warning written in secret characters ; and on oiie 
occasion when he learned that an accusation of ritual 
murder had been lodged against the Jewish commu- 
nity' of Ofen, he persuaded the king and the digni- 
taries to deliver the calumniator to him. When an 
order of expulsion was issued against the Jews of 
Prague he made great sacrifices in order to secure its 
revocation. He likewise rescued a J ew and a Jewess 
who had been condemned to death b} r fire; and 
he had the children of a baptized Jew brought up 
in the Jewish faith. As long as he lived lie distrib- 
uted alms among the poor Jews every Friday. As 
a token of their gratitude toward him the rabbis 
of Ofen, Padua, and Constantinople ordered that 
his sons, Abraham and Ephraim, who, like their . 
mother, had remained Jews, should be called up to 
the Law by their father’s name, and not, as. was the 
custom when the father had become a Christian, by 
their grandfather’s. This action was taken as an in- 
dication that Szerencses was not considered an apos-- 
tate at heart. 

But meanwhile the nobility of the realm, headed by . 
Stephan Werboczi, accused Szerencses of being the 
cause of the financial embarrassment of the countiy; 
and some of the members of the Diet of 1525 even 
demanded that he be burned at the stake. Szer- 
encses, indeed, had been grossty negligent in his 
official duties, and, in common with many of the 
most respected noblemen of the time, had made 
free use of the state’s money. He was therefore 
imprisoned by King Louis II., whose favorite he had 
been, but was released shortly afterward. On the 
adjournment of the Diet servants of the nobles, re- 
enforced by the rabble, attacked and plundered 
his home, and he escaped the rage of the popu- 
lace only by flight. At the same time the mob 
stormed the ghetto, and seized all the valuables be- 
longing to the Jews. When the Diet convened in 
the following j r ear (1526) on account of the threat- 
ening incursions by the Turks, Szerencses was once 
more restored to favor, but he died shortly after- 
ward. On his death-bed, surrounded by many 
Jews, he repented his sins, with tears and prayers. 
His descendants adopted the name of Sachs. 

s. A. Bu. 



Szilasi 

Tabernacle 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


652 


SZILASI, MORIS : Hungarian philologist ; born 
1854; died at Klausenburg, Hungary, May 15, 
1905. He studied philology at Budapest and Leip- 
sic, and was appointed teacher successively at a 
gymnasium in Budapest and at Eotvbs College. 
In 1902 he was called to the chair of Hungarian 
language and literature in the University of Klau- 
. sen burg. 

Szilasi translated into Hungarian parts of the 
works of Plutarch and Thucydides, as well as Cur- 
tius’ “Griechische Gescliiclite” and Church’s “Ro- 
man Life in the Time of Cicero. ” He was the author 
also of a Vogulic dictionary and of a “Vocabula- 
rium Cseremissicum.” 

Bibliography: M. Eisler, in Dr. Bloch's Oestcrreichischc 

iVochcnschrift, Vienna, June 2, 1905, pp. 1142, 34o. 

S. F. T. H. 

SZILI, ADOLF: Hungarian ophthalmologist; 
born at Budapest in 1848; educated at Vienna 
(M.D. 1872). In 1S74 he went to Budapest, where 
he became head physician of the ophtlialmolog- 
ical department of the Jewish hospital; in 1883 
he was appointed privat-docent at the university, 
and in 1895 assistant professor. In 1902 King Fran- 
cis Joseph I. elevated him to the Hungarian peer- 
age, when he assumed the name “ Szilsarkany. ” His 
chief works are: “Eine Innervationserscheinung der 
Iris” (1874); “ Therapeutische Versuche mit Eseri- 
num” (1877); “A Szemuveg,” on spectacles (1882); 
“ Zur Morphologie der Papilla,” in “ Centralblatt flir 
Praktisclie Augenlieilkunde,” 1889; “ Optisclie Ver- 
werthungvon Brillenreflexen,” in Graefe’s “Archiv 
fur Ophthalmologie,” 1893; “ Ueber Disjunction 
des Hornliautepithels,” (ib. 1900); “ Augenspiegel- 
studien zu einer Morphograpliie des Selinervenein- 
trittes beim Mensehen ” (1901). 

Bibliography: Pallas Lex.; Szili, EmlehKouyr. 

s. L. V. 

SZOLD, BENJAMIN : American rabbi and 
scholar; a leader of the conservative wing of the 
Reform movement iu America; born at Nemi'skert, 
county of Neutra, Hungary, Nov. 15, 1829; died at 
Berkeley Springs, W. Va., July 31, 1902. He stud- 
ied under Rabbis Jacob Fischer of Shalgaw, Wolf 
Kollin of Werbau, and Benjamin Wolf at the Pres- 
burg yeshibah, and received the rabbinical authori- 
zation from Judah Assod of Bur and Simon Sidon 
of Tyrnau. In 1848 he studied in Vienna, but when 
the revolution of that year broke out he went to 
Presburg. From 1849 to 1855 he tutored in private 
families in Hungaiy, and in the latter year entered 
the University of Breslau, where he remained until 
1858, While a student he officiated during the holy 
days at Brieg, Silesia (1857), and at Stockholm, 
Sweden (1858). In 1859 he accepted a call from the 
Oheb Shalom congregation of Baltimore, in whose 
service he remained until his death, first as rabbi and 
later (after 1892) as rabbi emeritus. He arrived in 
the United States on Sept. 21, 1859, about a mouth 


after his marriage to Sophie Schaar, and imme- 
diately took active charge of the congregation. 
Under his guidance it grew rapidly, and, actuated by 
his example, it became widely known for its strict 
observance of the Sabbath. Before Szold’s arrival 
the congregation had adopted for use in its Sabbath 
service the “Minhag America,” though on the great 
fall holy days it reverted to the “Minhag Ash- 
kenaz ” ; after much discussion with his congrega- 
tion Szold introduced a new prayer-book, “ ‘Abodat 
Yisrael,” which closely followed traditional lines. 
The first edition of this prayer-book appeared in 
1863, with German translation, and was widely 
adopted by congregations in the United States; new 
editions were published in 1864 and 1865 (the latter 
with English translation), and another, revised edi- 
tion in 1871, Rabbis Marcus Jastrow of Philadelphia 
and Henry Hocliheiiner of Baltimore being associated 
with Szold in its publication. 

During his entire career Szold opposed radicalism, 
and fought the extreme tendencies that had al- 
ready manifested themselves wben he went to the 
United States. He took prominent part in commu- 
nal life, and besides aiding in establishing the char- 
itable institutions of Baltimore, he devoted himself 
to helping Russian refugees who had emigrated to 
America on account of the iniquitous May Laws. 
He was in sympathy with the nationalist (later Zion- 
istic) movement, speaking in its favor as early as the 
winter of 1S93-94 before the Zion Society of Balti- 
more. As an exegete he developed a subtle and orig- 
inal system in which full account was taken of the 
work of the Masorites. His “ Commentary on Job ” 
(Baltimore, 1886), written in classical Hebrew and 
conceived in an original and deeply Jewish spirit, 
attests the accuracy of his scholarship. His publica- 
tions include articles in Jewish and in secular period- 
icals, as well as sermons, lectures, religious school- 
books, and devotional literature. He wrote also 
a commentary on the eleventh chapter of Daniel 
(Kohut Memorial Volume), edited “Bibelkritische 
Notizen” by Michael Heilprin, and published a 
sketch of Moses Mendelssohn on the occasion of the 
150th anniversary of his birth. He left numerous 
manuscripts. 

Bibliography^: Jewish Comment , x., No. 5; xviii., No. 4. 

A. L. H. L. 

SZOLD, HENRIETTA : Eldest daughter of 
Benjamin Szold; born at Baltimore, Md. Since 1893 
she has been secretary of the literary committee 
of the Jewish Publication Society of America,' and 
in connection therewith has translated Darmesteter 
on the Talmud (Philadelphia, 1897), and Lazarus, 
“ Ethics of Judaism ” (ib. 1900). In association with 
Cyrus Adler she has edited the American Jewish 
Year Book, and, independently, has contributed 
numerous articles to the Jewish periodicals. She 
has attended for several years the classes of the 
Jewish Theological Seminary of New York. 



653 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Szilasi 

Tabernacle 


T 


TA C AMXM. See Accents; Cantillation. 

TA‘ANIT (“Fasts”): Treatise in the Mislinali, 
Tosefta, and both Talmuds, devoted chiefly to the 
fast -days, the practises peculiar to them, and the 
prayers which must be said thereon. In most edi- 
tions this treatise is the ninth in the mishnaic order 
of Seder Mo‘ed, and is divided into four chapters 
containing thirty -four paragraphs in all. The con- 
tents may be summarized as follows: 

Ch. i. : Concerning the time after which one must 
begin to mention rain in the second benediction of 
the “Shemoneli ‘Esreh 77 and to pray for rain in the 
eighth benediction (§§ 1-3); the time during which 
one should fast on account of scarcity of rain— two 
successive periods of three days each, and a final 
one of seven days— and the distinc- 

Contents. tions between these various days with 
regard to strictness in fasting (§§ 4-6) ; 
nature of the national mourning in case no rain falls 
despite many fast-days (§ 7). 

Ch. ii. : The ceremonies which must be observed 
in fasting (§ 1) ; the prayers and the blowing of the 
trumpet in this connection (§§ 2-5) ; the participa- 
tion of the priests both in the fasts of three days 
and in that of seven days (§§ 6-7); days on which 
public fasts are prohibited according to the Megil- 
lat Ta‘anit (§§ 8-10). 

Ch. iii. : Cases in which the order of fasting may 
be changed, and the trumpet may be blown at the 
very beginning of the fast (§§ 1-3) ; other occasions 
on which a fast is held and the trumpet blown, 
as when a plague breaks out in a city or when an 
army marches against it (§§ 4-7) ; concerning Honi 
(Onias) ha-Me‘aggel, who prayed for rain (§ 8); 
cases in which fasting ceases when rain begins to fall 
(§ 0 ). 

Ch. iv. : Days on which the priests raise their 
hands four times to bless the people (§ 1) ; the insti- 
tution of lay assistants (“ma‘amadot ”) for the sac- 
rifice, the time when they assembled, the days on 
which they fasted, and the sections of Scripture 
which they read on each day (§§ 2-4) ; the day of 
the month appointed for the bringing of the wood- 
olfering (Neh. x. 34) during the period of the Tem- 
ple (§ 5) ; the Seventeenth of Tammuz and the Ninth 
of Ab, and the five sad events which befell the Jewish 
people on each of these days (§§ 6-7) ; the festivities 
which marked the Day of Atonement and the Fif- 
teenth of Ab (the most important day of the wood- 
olfering) in ancient times in Jerusalem, when the 
maidens, dressed in white, danced in the vineyards 
and called on the young men to seek worthy brides 
for themselves (§ 8). 

The Tosefta to this treatise contains much that 
elucidates and supplements the Mislinali. Especially 
noteworthy are the account of the origin of the 
priestly classes (iv. 2), the changes which affected 
them after the return from the Captivity, and how 
they were again subdivided (ii. 1). 

The two Gemaras contain, in addition to the 


explanations- of individual mishnayot, a wealth 
of liaggadic sayings, as well as many narra- 
tives and legends. The following sayings from 
the Babylonian Gemara may be cited here : “ Why 
is learning compared to a fire? Because, as 
many chips burn better together than singly, so 
learning is promoted when it is pursued by many 
scholars studying in company. ” “ A sage who holds 
himself aloof from other scholars deteriorates in learn- 
ing.” “ R. Hanina said he had learned much from his 
teachers, but more from his colleagues, and most of 
all from his pupils.” “Learning is like water; for 
as water can not remain in a high place, so learning 
can not be the possession of a proud and haughty 
man” (7a). “If a pupil finds study difficult, it is 
only because he lias not systematically arranged the 
material to be learned” (8a). “If when Israel is 
visited with affliction a man severs fellowship with 
his brethren, the two angels who accompany each 
one come to him, lay their hands upon his head, 
and say: * This man would not suffer with his peo- 
ple; therefore he shall not behold them when they 
are comforted and see days of happiness' ” (11a). 
Among the narratives particular attention should 
be given to the story of Nicodemus b. Gorion 
(19b-20a) and to the legend of.. Onias ha-Me‘aggel, 
who slept for seventy years (23a). 

Noteworthy in the Palestinian Gemara is the ac- 
count of the three scrolls of the Law which were 
in the Temple and which differed from one another 
in various passages. Where two of these scrolls 
agreed as regards a reading, it was accepted as the 
correct text (iv. 68a). This Gemara contains also a 
remarkable saying of R. Abbahu, which is evi- 
dently directed against Christianity: “If a man 
say, 4 1 am God, 7 he lietli ; and if he say, ‘ I am the 
son of man,’ he will have to repent; and if he say, 
‘I shall go up to heaven, 7 he will not do it, nor 
achieve what lie promises ” (ii. _ 65b). It likewise 
relates how Bar-Kokba killed- Eleazar of Mo- 
di‘im, whom a Samaritan had falsely accused of 
treason (iv. 68d). 

w. b. J. Z. L. 

TABERNACLE : The portable tent-like struc- 
ture that served the Israelites as a sanctuary during 
their wanderings in the wilderness and in the early 
period of their life in Palestine. It is chiefly in Ex. 
xxvi. and its parallel, ib. xxxvi. 8-38, that the old- 
est sanctuary of Yiiwii is mentioned. Its funda- 
mental part consisted of a framework of acacia-wood. 
Each board was 10 cubits long and 14 cubits broad 
(an old Hebraic cubit measured probably, like the 
Babylonian, 55.5 cm.). The north and south sides 
each contained twenty such boards (ib. xxvi. 18, 20). 
The western side consisted of six similar boards (ib. 
verse 22), with the addition of two more which were 
to join the western with the northern and southern 
sides, respectively, in a manner rather obscurely 
described (ib. verses 23-25). These forty-eight boards 
were fixed in silver sockets, two to each board, by 




Tabernacle THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 654 

and that the tent-covering is placed upon them 
(Ex. xl. 19) is convincing evidence for the opinion 
that they enveloped the boards almost completely 
lest they might become soiled; they were not 
to touch the floor, and. so were made only 28 cu- 
bits long. This fact would not be so comprehen- 
sible had the curtains been merely interior hang- 
ings. The objection has been raised, it is true, that 
cherubim were woven into them, and that in Solo- 
Parts. 13), were the inner curtains, which mon’s Temple cherubim were carved on the inner 

gave the structure its characteristic walls; but tlie-latter case presents a necessary modi- 

form. The quality and colors of these curtains were fication which resulted naturally when the dwelling 

chosen accordingly; they were woven from the of the Lord no longer consisted chiefly of curtains. 

; finest threads, some white, some bluish and reddish Moreover, the text contains no suggestion of hooks 

"purple, and some scarlet. Pictures of cherubim or any other appliances by means of which the cur- 

were also woven in them (ib. xxvi, 1-6). A second tains might have been suspended had they been in- 
set of curtains was made of goat-hair, which was tended merely to cover the inner surface of the 

the usual material for tents (ib. verses 7-18); these, walls. 

by synecdoche (comp. Konig, “Stilistik,”etc., p. 64), The examination of the component parts of 



The Tabernacle. 

(Restored by Ferguson.) 


Yiiwii’s dwelling mentioned above leads to a con- 
sideration of its size. The height was undoubtedly 
10 cubits ; but the length was not sim- 
Size. ply 20 X l£ cubits, since there must 
also be taken into consideration the 
eight boards on the western side. These measured 
12 cubits by themselves ; and, in addition, the thick- 
ness of the two boards by which the western wall 
was joined on one side to the southern and on the 
other to the northern, wall (ib. xxvi. 23-25) must 
be reckoned in determining the exterior length of the 
Tabernacle. The thickness of these boards may be 
estimated from the following calculation : The 
Holy of Holies was 10 cubits high and 10 cubits 
long, since half of the inner covering, which was 40 
cubits long, reached from the lower end of the west- 
ern ? wall to the edge of the Holy of Holies (ib. xxvi. 
38). This most holy place in all probability formed 
a cube of 10 cubits (comp, “ka ‘ bah ” = “cube ”). 
If so the breadth of the Tabernacle must have 



were called the “tent” (ib. xxvi. 7; xxxviii. 14, 18; 
xl. 19), inasmuch as they formed the chief part there- 
of; and upon them were placed two coverings, one of 
ramskin dyed red, and one of skins of the “tahash.” 
This latter was probably a seal ; in any case it was 
a less common animal than the sheep, which Fried- 
rich Delitzsch in his “Prolegomena zueinem Neuen 
Hebraisch-Aramaisehen Worterbuch ” (p. 79) under- 
stands by “tahasli.” With regard to the first-men- 
tioned curtains, some scholars, as Winer (“B. R.” 
s.v .) and Holzinger (on Ex. xxvi. 15, in “K H. C.” 
1900), have declared that they formed not the walls 
of the Tabernacle,- but merely an inner covering of 
those walls; but the contrary view is much more 
probable, and is the one adopted by De Wette, 
for instance (“Hebraisclie Archaologie,” § 194), by 
Riehm (“ Hand worterbuch des Biblischen Alter- 
tums,” p. 1559), andbyBaentsch(“Handkommentar 
zum Exodus,” 1900, p. 228); indeed, the circum- 
stance that these curtains are called “ the dwelling ” 


means of “hands” (“yadot”), i.e ., tenons, and they 
were kept from falling apart by five cross-bars on a 
side (ib. verses 26-28). The eastern side remained 
open. 

Since this framework was of course the first part 
to be set up (ib. xl. 18), it has been mentioned first 
here; but what really constituted the dwelling of 
the Lord, according to the express words of the Old 
Testament (ib. xxvi. 1, 6; xxxvi. 8, 


Title-page from Yom-tob Zahalon’s “She’elot u-Teshubot,” Venice, 1694, Showing Ground-Plan 
\ of the Tabernacle. 

(From the Sulzberger collection in the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, New York.) 








Tabernacle 
Tabernacles, Feast of 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


656 


been 10 cubits, i.e ., the breadth of its inner space, 
whereas the eight western boards measured 12 
cubits; and the southern and northern walls must 
each have covered one of the 12 cubits of the 
western wall; i.e ., the boards must each have 
been 1 cubit thick. The outer length of the Taber- 
nacle was, then, 20 X 11 -f- 1 cubit = 31 cubits; .and 
its outer width was 8 X 14 cubits. But the inner 
length was 30 cubits, and the inner breadth 10 
cubits; and since the inner space constituted the 
dwelling of the Lord, Josephus says (“Ant.” iii. 6, 
§ 3), not without reason, “its length, when it was 
set up, was 30 cubits, and its breadth was lOcubits.” 

This tent was divided, by means of a curtain hung 
10 cubits from the western wall, into a most holy 
place (“ Kodesk lia-Kodashim ”) and a 
Holy holy place (“ Kodesh ”). This curtain 
Place. was called “ paroket,” and was woven 
from the same four stuffs as the costly 
curtains which formed the inner covering (Ex. xxvi. 
31-35). The eastern entrance to the holy place, 
which was 20 cubits long, was covered by a curtain 
(“ masak ”) of the same materials (ib. verses 36 et 
seq.). Finally a court (hazer) formed in a certain 
measure a part of the Tabernacle. This court was 
100 cubits long and 50 cubits broad ( ib . xxvii. 9-13), 
and, since the Tabernacle was placed in its western 
part, it was rightly called a forecourt. The Taber- 
nacle could be taken down (Num. x. 17); and it is 
therefore called a “ tent. ” Its form does not need to 
have been that of a house (namely, that of Solomon’s 
Temple), since (despite Holzinger’s [l.c. p. 129] and 
Baentsch’s \l.c. p. 231] statements) tents are some- 
times made in an elongated form. 

As has been mentioned above, this sanctuary of 
Yhwh (Ex. xxv. 8) was in the nature of things called 
the “ dwelling ” par excellence (“ ha-mishkan ”) and 
the “ tent ” par excellence (“ ha-ohel ”) ; 
Name. but its most frequent designation is 
“ohel mo‘ed” {ib. xxvii. 21 et seq.). 
This term means “ tent of mutual appointment, ” that 
is, “ place of meeting [of God with Moses and with his 
successors]” (ib. xxv. 22; comp, the heathen “liar 
mo‘ed,” Isa. xiv. 13). It was a mistake to interpret 
“ mo‘ed ” here in a temporal sense, as if it had meant 
“tent of fixed time ” (Targ., Pesh., Arabic). The 
expression means still less “tent of witness” (LXX. : 
CK7}vi) juapTvpiov , wrongly upheld by A. Zahn, “ Das 
Deuteronomi.um,”.1891, p. 67). This interpretation 
can not be commended on account of the fact that 
the expression “ohel ‘edut ” = “tent of testimony” 
(Num. ix. 15, xvii. 22 et seq ., xviii. 2; II Chron. xxiv. 
6) or “house of testimony ” (Ex. xxxviii. 21 ; Num. 
i. 50,53) also occurs; for if the same idea was to 
have been expressed the same word would have 
been used in both cases. 

It was natural that the Ark of the Covenant 
should have been erected in some protected place ; 

and such a place is expressly mentioned 
Age and. in Ex. xxxiii. 7-11 (which section is 
Origin. correctly ascribed to a comparatively 
ancient chronicler), and is called “ ohel 
mo‘ed.” It is, to be sure, stated in the same place 
that Moses used to set up the Tabernacle outside of 
the camp (comp. Konig, “Syntax,” §§ 157, 367e), 
and its position is so designated in Num. x. 32 ; xi. 


24, 26 et seq., 30; xii. 4, whereas according to Num. 
ii. 2, 17; v. 1 et seq., the ohel mo‘ed formed the cen- 
tral point of the camp. This obscurity in the mem- 
ory of Israel is not to be denied ; but, nevertheless, 
the question remains as to whether or not the Taber- 
nacle, the description of which has been given above, 
is to be treated as a pure invention of the later priests, 
as is claimed by many exegetes and with special em- 
phasis by Baentsch (l.c. p. 220). The argument that 
the splendor with which the Tabernacle was fur- 
nished according to Ex. xxvi. 1 et seq., precludes its 
assignment to the time of Moses is of no weight, 
since the passage Ex. iii. 22 et seq. does not admit 
the conclusion that the Israelites who came out of 
Egypt were wholly destitute. Moreover, it is not 
remarkable, as has been claimed, that the tent of 
meeting should sometimes have been called “ house ” 
(“ bayit ” ; comp. Josh, xviii. with Judges xviii. 31), 
since the tent which David erected for the Ark of 
the Covenant (II Sam. vi. 17) is similarly called 
“house of Jehovah” (ib. xii. 20); and if the Taber- 
nacle was a product of the imagination, with Solo- 
mon’s Temple as its prototype, other differences 
between the descriptions of the two would be hard 
to explain ( e.g ., one candlestick instead of ten). 

It is probable that the characteristic features of 
the place of worship in the Old Testament bore, in 
addition to their outward purpose, an 
Symbolic inner relationship to religious ideas. 
Meaning. The following may be considered the 
chief of these: the opening of the gate 
toward the east had reference to the rising of the 
sun (comp. Isa. xii. 1 et seq.); the distinction be- 
tween the holy place and the most holy place corre- 
sponded to the distinction between heaven and the 
innermost heaven (“ slieme ha-shamayim ” ; I Kings 
viii. 27, etc.); and the forecourt, according to Isa. 
lxvi. 1, symbolized the earth. This interpretation 
was suggested by Josephus (Z.c.'iii. 6, § 4), and has 
been developed chiefly by Balir (“Symbolik des 
Mosaischen Kultus,” 1837). 

E. C: . E. K. 

TABERNACLES, FEAST OF.— Biblical 
Data ; Third of the great festivals on which all males 
were required to make pilgrimages to the Temple at 
Jerusalem. The celebration of this festival begins 
on the fifteenth day of the seventh month (Tishri). 
Originally it lasted seven days; but in the course of 
time its duration was extended to nine days. In the 
Bible it is variously styled niDDH in, “ the Feast of 
Tabernacles ” (Lev. xxiii. 34; Deut. xvi. 13, 16; xxxi. 
10; Zech. xiv. 16, 18, 19; Ezra iii. 4. ; II Chron. viii. 
13); in, “the Feast of Ingathering” (Ex. 

xxiii. 16, xxxiv. 22), or merely inn, “the Feast” (I 
Kings viii. 2; Ezek. xiv. 23; II Chron. vii. 8); or 
nirP in, “Feast of the Lord ”(Lev. xxiii. 39; Judges 
xxi. 19). In the Septuagint the first 
Name. designation is rendered by v hpT7j (t&v) 
(wijvwv or ryg GKrjvoKiiyiag; the second 
by rj eoprq owTEfaiag or avvayuyyg. II Maec. x. 6 has 
ij tuv oKTjv&v EopTjj; Josephus (“Ant.” iv. 209; comp. 
ib. iii. 247) and the New Testament (John vii. 2) 
GKTjvoTT qyifi ; Philo (“ Do Septenario,” § 24) OK7]vai\ and 
Plutarch (“Symposiaca,” iv. 6, 2) uKjjvrj. In later 
Hebrew literature in (Aramaic, Kin) is generally 
employed. 



057 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Tabernacle 

Tabernacles, Feast of 


From the frequent notice of it, as well as from its 
designation as “the Feast,” it would seem that the 
Feast of Tabernacles held the most prominent place 
among Israel’s festivals. That it was agricultural 
in origin is evident from the name the “Feast of 
Ingathering,” from the ceremonies accompanying it, 
and from the season and occasion of its celebration : 
“ At the end of the year when thou gatlierest in thy 
labors out of the field ” (Ex. xxiii. 16, xxxiv. 22, R. 
V.); “after that thou hast gathered in from thy 
thrashing-floor and from thy wine-press ” (Deut. xvi. 
13, 16, R. V.). It was more particularly a thanksgiv- 
ing for the fruit harvest (comp. Judges ix. 27); but 
coming as it did at the completion of the entire har- 
vest, it was regarded likewise as a general thanks- 
giving for the bounty of nature in the year that had 
passed. 

Critical View : Connected with the possession 

of the land, it may have had a Canaanitisli prototype 
(see Judges lx.). Earty, however, it appears as an 
Israelitisli festival, celebrated yearly at Shiloh with 
dances by the maidens in the vineyards (ib. xxi. 19) 
and with family pilgrimages and sacrifices (I Sam. 
i. 3, 7, 21). Such even then was its prominence that 
it alone was celebrated at a central sanctuary, where- 
as the other festivals, it would seem from the ab- 
sence of express statement regarding the question, 
were celebrated, if at all, at local shrines. 

In early times the festival had no fixed date. 
Under the early kings it was apparently celebrated 
in the eighth month. In this month the Temple was 
completed (I Kings vi. 38); and it is most probable 
that the dedication followed immediately (ib. viii. 2, 
65, would therefore be erroneous, as its dating in- 
volves a delay of eleven months). This date is 
further confirmed by the report (ib. xii. 32) that 
Jeroboam “ ordained a feast, in the eighth month, on 
the fifteenth day of the month, like unto the feast 
that is in Judah. ” But in the earlier laws no definite 
time is appointed. As in I Sam. i, 20, so in Ex. 
xxxiv. 22, the phrase is at the “revolution of the 
year,” or “when thou hast gathered in thy labors 
out of the field” (Ex. xxiii. 16). It is simply the 
“Feast of Ingathering,” one of the three pilgrimage 
festivals, when all males are obligated to appear at 
the sanctuary (xxiii. 17, xxxiv. 23); no further direc- 
tions as to the manner of celebration are given. 

No more definite is the date in Deuteronomy, 
where the festival is called “the Feast of Taber- 
nacles ” (xvi. 13-16), and, as in Exodus, its celebration 
is observed “after that thou hast gath- 
Tlie Date, ered in from thy thrashing-floor and 
thy wine-press” (xvi. 13). Further 
particulars, however, are here added. The celebra- 
tion is to take place only at the divinely chosen sanc- 
tuary. It is to be a joyous season, and, in the human- 
itarian spirit of Deuteronomy, the unfortunate and 
the dependent are to share in the festivity. The 
holiday is to last seven days (as already presupposed 
in I Kings viii. 66). The dwelling in booths is here 
taken for granted — presumably as an existing prac- 
tise going back to the custom of living in booths dur- 
ing the fruit harvest, a custom which has survived 
to this day in Palestine. Further, it is ordained 
that every seventh year— the “year of release” — 
the Law is to be read to the assembled multitude 
XI. -42 


(xxxi. 10. 11). It is also assumed that the Feast of 
Booths was the season for bringing to Jerusalem the 
first-fruits — a command for which Deut. xxvi. 1-11 
assigns no time — as also for bringing the Deute- 
ronomic tithes (see Clieyne, “Encyc. Bibl.” s.v. 
“Tabernacles,” § 4; Herzog-Hauck, “ Real-Encyc.” 
xl. 304). 

The older law contained in Lev. xxiii. 39-43 am- 
plifies the Deuteronomie legislation. As in the lat- 
ter, the festival bears the general dating “ when 
ye have gathered in the fruits of the land ” (the be- 
ginning and end of the verse do not seem original) ; 
its duration is likewise seven days; and it is to be a 
season of rejoicing. Unlike the Deuteronomie pro- 
vision (Deut. xvi. 14), its celebration is restricted 
to native Israelites (unless, as Bertholet supposes 
[“ Die S’tellung der Israeli ten und der Juden zu den 
Fremden,” pp. 171 et seq .], the text originally con- 
tained the words “and the strangers”). As a new' 
provision occurs the command “And ye shall take 
you on the first day the fruit of goodly trees, 



Sukkah or Booth. 

(From tbe Amsterdam Haggadah of 1 695.) 


branches of palm-trees, and boughs of thick trees, 
and willows of the brook” (Lev. xxiii. 40, R. V.). 
The use to which these branches are to be put is 
not indicated ; and this omission gave rise to diver- 
gent interpretations at a later time. The Sadducees 
and Karaites maintained that they were meant for 
building the booth, as would appear from Neh. viii. 
14-18, while their opponents contended that they 
Avere to be carried in the procession (see beloAv, and 
-Lulab). Originally these branches may have been 
used in the festal dances (Judges xxi. 19 et seq.), 
when it would be natural for those taking part in 
them to adorn themselves with sprigs and garlands 
(see also the passage from the Book of Jubilees quoted 
belo%v); and here also their purpose Avas probably 
to be carried in the hand as ay as later the lulab. The 
d\A r ellingin booths implied in Deuteronomy is in Le- 
viticus expressly commanded. The booths them- 
selves are, moreover, given a symbolic meaning, and 
are brought into relation Avith the wandering in the 




Tabernacles, Feast of 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


658 


wilderness — “ that your generations ma 3 r know that 
I made the children of Israel to dwell in booths, 
when F brought them out of the land of Egypt.” 
Significant in. this new interpretation attached to 
the feast, is the conversion of the harvest festival 
into a historical festival. 

When the Deuteronomic reformation had made the 
Feast of Tabernacles a general Temple festival, a 
more exact date became necessary ; and this need is 
supplied by Ezeldel xlv. 25. He desig- 
Date in nates the holy day as the “feast” or 
Ezekiel, the “feast of the Lord,” and fixes the 
fifteenth of the month as the time for 
beginning its celebration. This date had already 
become customary, it appears (I Kings viii. 2). 


distinguishing this festival from the rest Jn the 
abundance of sacrifices. In addition to the daily 
regular offerings, there is to be a daily burnt offer- 
ing of two rams, fourteen lambs, and bullocks — 
thirteen on the first day, twelve on the second 
day, and so diminishing by one daily on the other 
five days. In each case there is to be also the proper 
meal-offering ‘ of fine flour mixed with oil— three- 
tenths to each bullock, two-tenths to each ram, and 
one-tentli to each lamb. As a sin-offering a lie-goat 
is to be sacrificed daily. On the eighth day the 
sacrifices differ, consisting of a he-goat as a sin-offer- 
ing, and a single bullock, a ram, and seven lambs as 
a burnt offering— all of which are brought together 
with the meal-offering appropriate in each case. 



Feast ok Tabernacles Among German Jews ok the Eighteenth Century. 

(From Bodenschatz, “ Kirchliehe Verfassung,” 1 748 .) 


More definiteness is also introduced in the method 
of observance. The sacrifices that were formerly 
voluntary are now prescribed— every day a burnt 
offering of seven bullocks and seven rams and a sin- 
offering of a he-goat; and with each bullock and 
each ram a meal-offering of an eplia, and a hin of 
oil (Ezek. xlv. 23-241. 

The last stage of legal evolution appears in Lev. 
xxiii. and Hum. xxix. 12-38. The date and dura- 
tion of the festival are the same as in Ezekiel ; the 
name, as in Deuteronomy. As in Ezekiel, the agri- 
cultural significance is altogether absent. Further- 
more, an eighth day is added as a concluding festi- 
val (“ ‘azeret ” ; Lev. xxiii. 36, 39; Hum. xxix. 35), 
which has an independent character: like the first 
day, it is a “holy convocation”; on it no labor is 
permitted, in which respect, as also in the sacrifices, 
it differs from the intervening six days. Exact sac- 
rificial prescriptions are given in Num. xxix. 13-39, 


After the return from the Captivity occurs the 
first mention of a celebration of the festival in. strict 
conformity with the Law. Mention 
Post-Exilic of its observance is made in Ezra iii. 

Cele- 4; and a description is presented in 
bration. Nell. viii. 14-18. Here it is said that 
the feast was observed in obedience to 
the command to dwell in booths. The people gath- 
ered “ olive-branches, and branches of wild olive, and 
myrtle-branches, and palm-branches, and branches of 
thick trees, to make booths, as it is written,” and 
they “made themselves, booths, every one upon the 
roof of his house, and in their courts, and in the 
courts of the house of God, and in the broad place 
of the water gate, and in the broad place of the 
gate of Ephraim ” {ib. viii. 15-16, P. V.). While no 
mention is here made of the sacrifices (as in Ezra iii. 
4), the dwelling in booths is given special promi- 
nence, the writer adding that “since the days of 



Feast of Tabernacles as Observed by Dutch Jews of the Early eighteenth Century. 

/ (From Ficart.) 



Tabernacles, Feast of 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


660 


Jesliua the son of Nun unto that clay had not the 
children of Israel done so ” (Neli. viii. 17). The. in- 
ference is that with the transfer of the festival to 
the Temple, the ancient practise had lost all signifi- 
cance, until revived with the historical meaning, 
and referred to the tents in which Israel had dwelt 
in the wilderness (on this point see Cheyne, “En- 
cyc. Bibl.” s.v. “ Tabernacles ”). According to Nelie- 
miah’s account of the celebration, the Law was read 
every day *, the eighth day was duly celebrated as a 
solemn assembly (viii. 18). II Chron. vii. 8, trans- 
ferring the festival of its time to antiquity, repre- 
sents Solomon as celebrating an eight-day festival 
and as dismissing the people on the twenty -third 
day of the month (i.e., the ninth day), whereas in re- 
ality Solomon dismissed the people on the eighth 
day (I Kings viii. 66). 

The place held by the festival in post-exilic times 
shows itself clearly in Zech, xiv. 16-19. According 
to the author, Tabernacles is in the Messianic era to 
become a universal festival; and all the surrounding 
nations will make pilgrimages annually to Jerusalem 
to celebrate the feast there. Furthermore, the fes- 
tival is here associated with the grantingof rain— an 
idea further developed in later literature (see below) 
— the penalty to be visited on the nations who fail 
to come to Jerusalem being the withholding of rain. 

The festival continued to develop; and there were 
later added a number of features that are not de- 
scribed in the Biblical passages. In the 

In Post- liturgy it became known as the “ sea- 

Biblical son of our joy ” (“ zeman simhatenu ”). 
Literature. The Law in Lev. xxiii. 40 was gener- 
ally interpreted to refer to the festal 
thyrsus, and minute regulations centered about it. 
The duty of dwelling in booths gave rise to much 
legislation as to what constituted a booth and what 
signified residence therein. Symbolic meanings were 
attached to the booth, the festal bouquet, and the 
other ceremonies. Practises, some perhaps of an- 
cient origin, grew up, prominently the libation of 
water and the rejoicing connected therewith on the 
second evening, of the festival. The seventh day 
of the feast assumed a special and solemn character 
(see Hosiia'isa Rabbaii), and when the holy days 
were celebrated for two days the ninth day thus 
added took on distinctive features (see Si.mhat 
Tokah). 

In the Book of Jubilees the origin of the feast is 
carried back to Abraham (see ed. R. II. Charles, xvi. 
20-31 and notes ad loc ,), Abraham celebrates it with 
sacrifices (deviating in character, however, from the 
Biblical precepts) and by dwelling in booths, “for 
it is ordained forever regarding Israel that they 
should celebrate it and dwell in booths and set 
wreaths upon their heads and take leafy boughs 
and willows from the brook. And Abraham took 
branches of palm-trees and the fruit of good trees, 
and every day going around the altar with the 
branches seven times in the morning, he praised 
and gave thanks to his God for all things in joy.” 
Jacob likewise celebrates the feast (ib. xxxii. 4- 
9). The description is strikingly at variance in a 
number of points with the later manner of celebra- 
tion. The eighth day is not mentioned at all. 
Abraham is described as setting wreaths on his head 


— a detail that is unique. The marching around the 
altar seven times was later customary only on the 
seventh day. II Macc. x. 6-7 speaks of an eight- 
day celebration, similar to the Feast of Tabernacles, 
at the rededication of the Temple, in which the people 
carried wands encircled with foliage, palm-branclies, 
and other beautiful branches, (see also Ps, cxviii. 
25). Josephus speaks of Tabernacles as a “most 
holy and important feast” (“Ant,” viii, 4, § 1), de- 
scribing it as an eight-day festival celebrated by 
dwelling in booths and by offering sacrifices in the 
Temple, On it the people “carry in their hands 
branches of myrtle and willow and a bough of the 
palm-tree with the addition of the pomecitron ” (ib. 
iii. 10, § 4); the same fruit is elsewhere called “cit- 
ron” (ib. xiii, 3, § o). The feast is alluded to in 
John vii, 1-x. 21 also, 

Philo, unlike the other authorities, mentions none 
of the details of the celebration, and speaks of it as an 
agricultural feast of thanksgiving. Its duration is 
seven days, to which is added an eighth 

In Philo “asaseal,” It teaches “equality, the 

and the first principle and beginning of jus- 

Mishnah. tice . . , and that it is becoming also, 
after witnessing the perfection of all 
the fruits of the year, to give thanks to the Being 
who has made them perfect. ” Philo also mentions the 
historical significance of the feast. The eighth day 
he regards as the crowning of all the feasts of the 
year. 

As enumerated in the Mislinali (Suk. iv. 1), the 
features of the feast are the following: the lulab, 
the willow-branch, the “Ilallel ” (Ps. cxiii. -cxviii.), 
the rejoicing, the sukkah, the libation of water, and 
the flute-playing or the festivity connected with the 
libation of water on the second evening of the feast 
(“simliat bet ha-sho’ebali”), The lulab was used 
every day of the seven, except on the Sabbath, 
unless the first day of the festival fell on a Sabbath, 
During the chanting of Ps, cxviii, 1, 25, 29 it was 
waved. Willow-branches gathered daily from' a 
place called Moza or Colonia were used to adorn the 
altar, around which a procession marched once on 
each of the first six days and seven times on the sev- 
enth day, to the sound of the trumpet— to commem- 
orate the seven-day encompassment of the walls of 
Jericho — each man taking his festal bouquet in his 
hand and reciting Ps. cxviii. 25 (Suk. iv. 2-7). To 
such a practise, evidently, is reference made in Matt, 
xxi. 8, 9, 15 and in John xii, 12, 13. “Ilallel” was 
recited every day ; and the eighth day, too, was in- 
cluded in the “season of rejoicing,” 

The sukkah or booth was to be a structure espe- 
cially built for the festival (Suk. i. 1), thatched so 
as to be a protection against the sun, while allow- 
ing the stars to shine through it at night. It was to 
serve as a permanent place of dwelling for the seven 
days (ib. ii. 9), and all males were obligated to reside 
in it, unless prevented by ill health or other cause 
(ib. ii. 7, 8, 9; Maimonides, “Yad,” Sukkah, vi, 1, 
2, 5, 6, 9; Shulhan ‘Aruk, Orah Hayyim, 625, 629, 
640). 

The libation of water (Suk. iv. 1, 42b) was a cere- 
mony to which grave importance was attached. 
The custom may perhaps be traced to the very an- 
cient practise of drawing and pouring out water at 



661 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Tabernacles, Peast of 


religious services as reported in I Sam. vii. 6. It is 
regarded as symbolic of rain, which, as lias been seen, 
was already associated by Zecliariah with the festi- 
val, and which is more clearly connected with it 
in later literature. So the statement is made (R. H. 
i. 2; Ta‘an. 2a) that at Tabernacles judgment is 
passed in regard to the rain. The “four kinds” of 
plants are associated with the rain (see Ltjlab), ar.d 
God is made to say (R. II. 16a), “Pour out water 
before Me on the festival in urder that your rains for 
the year may be blest.” A prayer for rain is re- 
cited on the eighth day (Ta‘an. i. 1, 2; Ber. v. 2). 
The practise is assigned an ancient origin in the Tal- 
mud (see Yer. Suk. iv., beginning; Suk. 34a, 54b); 
it is said to be referred to in Isa. xii. 3 (Suk. 48b, 
51a); and the claim is even made that it originated 


the evening of the first day in the “ simhat bet ha- 
sho’ebah.” Of this celebration it is said that who- 
ever has not witnessed it has never seen a real festiv- 
ity (Suk. v. 1). In the brilliantly illuminated court of 
the women, before the assembled mul- 
The titude occupying the double gallery 
Libation of erected by the priests and Levites, 
Water. the most prominent Israelites took 
part in a torch-dance, reciting at the 
same time hymns and songs of praise. Mean while on' 
the steps of the inner court stood the Levites singing 
Ps. cxx.-cxxxiv. , accompanied by various musical in- 
struments. The celebration continued till cockcrow, 
when the two priests at the Nicanor gate sounded 
t-lie signal, and the crowd departed, facing about, 
however, at the eastern gate, when the priests re j 



Procession Showing the Carrying of Palms During the feast of Tabernacles. 

(From Bodenschatz, ’* Kirehliche Verfassung,” 1748.) 


in the six days of creation (ib. 51a). A golden 
pitcher holding three logs was filled by a priest with 
water from the Siloah, and brought through the 
water-gate, the multitude reciting Isa. xii. 3. Amid 
trumpet-blasts the water was poured simultaneously 
with a libation of wine into a tube in the altar, 
through which it flowed, mingling with the libation 
of wine, by an underground passage to the Kidron 
(Suk. iv. 9, 10; Tosef., Suk. iv. ; the Sadducees seem 
to have opposed this practise [see Yer. Suk. v. , begin- 
ning; Suk. 55a], perhaps because it was a popular 
innovation); and the officiating priest was required 
to lift up his hands, so that the assembled worship- 
ers might see that the function had been properly 
discharged. Alexander Jann^eus, who failed to 
do so, was pelted with etrogim b} r the multitude (Suk. 
iv. 9; “Ant.” xiii. 13, § 5). 

The festivity of the season attained its height on 


cited, “Our forefathers iu this place turned their 
backs on the altar of God and their faces to the 
east, worshiping the sun : but we turn to God” (comp. 
Ezek. viii. 15, 16; Suk. v. 1-4; Tosef., Suk. iv.). 
Plutarch probably had in mind either this portion of 
the festivity or that connected with the lulab when 
lie spoke of the festival as being one held in honor 
of Dionysus (l.c. iv. 6, 2). As the sukkah was later 
made symbolic of the “clouds of glory ” with which 
God shielded Israel from harm in the wilderness 
(Oral; Hayyira, 625, 1), and the Lulab was like- 
wise given symbolic significance, so this ceremony 
was spiritualized. In Yer. Suk. v. it is called “the 
house of drawing the water” because thence the 
Holy Spirit is drawn (comp. Tosef., Suk. iv.. begin- 
ning; Levj'-, “Neuhebr. Worterb.” s.v. “Sho’ebah ”). 

With the destruction of the Temple such practises 
as were bound up with the feast disappeared or were 



Tabernacles, Feast of 
Tables of the Law 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


662 


modified to fit altered conditions. The sukkali and 
the lulab remained ; the hitter was, however, not to 
be used on the Sabbath, even when this was the first 
day. In the sjmagogue the season was distinguished 
by the liturgy. The entire “ Ilallel ” was recited even 
on the intervening days (“liol lia-mo‘ed”). Hymns 
(“ piyyutim ”) containing allusions to the festival 
were introduced in both morning and evening 
prayers. At the “ Hallel ” the lulab was waved as 
it had been in the Temple. 

Every day selections from the Torah were read. 
The sections from the Pentateuch and the haftarot 
are such as refer to the festival. Thus on the first 
and second da}*s Lev. xxii. 26-xxxiii. 44, which con- 
cludes with the. Biblical law on Sukkot, is read; for 
the Maftir the selection is the sacrificial prescrip- 
tion for the day (Num. xxix. 12-16). The haftarah 
for the first day is the passage already discussed 
above (Zecli. xiv. 1-21), and that for the second day 
is I Kings viii. 2-21, recounting the dedication of the 
Temple, an event which occurred on the festival. 

For the intervening days the Serip- 
Torah. tural selection is from Num. xxix. 17- 
and 34, except when a Sabbath occurs, 

Haftarah. when the appropriate section from 
this passage is read for the maftir, 
and the- Scriptural reading is Ex. xxxiii. 12-xxxiv. 
26, wherein are contained the laws commanding the 
observances! Sabbath (xxxiv. 21) and of Tabernacles 
(xxxiv. 22) ; the haftarah is Ezek. xxxviii. 18-xxxix. 
16, which is understood to refer to the time prophe- 
sied by Zecliariah in ch. xiv. (For the readings from 
the Torah see Meg. 31a.) The Book of Ecclesiastes 
is read on such a Sabbath just before the Scrip- 
tural section, or, if no Sabbath occurs, it is read on 
Shemini ‘Azeret. Ibn Yarhi assigns as a reason 
for the practise that King Solomon read this book 
to the people who had assembled on Tabernacles 
(“ Ha-Manhig,” section “Sukkali,” 27; see note to 
Kohelet in the Rodelheim edition of Mahzor for 
Sukkot). 

The Musaf is recited every day. On the first 
two days and on the last two the Dukan is pro- 
nounced. On the first seven days, except on a 
Sabbath, the Musaf is followed by a procession, the 
worshipers, lulab in hand, marching around the 
reading-desk and reciting hymns having as their re- 
frain “ Hosha'na ! ” (Deliver Thou !). This custom is 
a memorial of the libation of water in the Temple 
(see Vitry Mahzor, ed. Ilurwitz, § 381, p. 448; see 
also IIosha'na Rabbaii; Suemini ‘Azeret; and 
Simhat Torah). 


Bibliography: Maimonides, Tad, Sukkali and Lulab; Shul- 
Ijan *■ Aruk , Sukkali, and Lulab ; Vitry Mahzm\ Sukkah ; 
Herzog-HaucK, jR eal-Encyc. vii. 15, 19, and tbe bibliography 
there given. 

j. H. G. F. 


TABI: 1. Slave of Gamaliel II., known for his 
acquaintance with the Talmudic laws and for his 
piety ; mentioned in several instances in the Mish- 
nah. During the Feast of Tabernacles, Tabi used 
to sleep under the bed in the booth. In allusion to 
this habit Gamaliel observed, “Tabi, my slave, is a 
scholar; he knows that the law of booths does not 
apply to slaves, and therefore he sleeps under the 
bed ” (Suk. ii. 1 [20b]). Yet Tabi used to wear phy- 
lacteries, a duty and privilege of free men ; but, his 


piety being known, he was not interfered with (Yer. 
‘Er. x. 26a). Wishing to free him, but unable to do 
so since it would be contrary to the Law, Gamaliel, 
ostensibly by accident, put out one of his slave’s' 
eyes; then, meeting R. Joshua, he expressed his 
great joy at having found occasion to free his slave 
(comp. Ex. xxi. 26-27). Joshua, however, told him 
that he was mistaken, since no witnesses had been 
present and since he had confessed to the act him- 
self (B. K. 74b; edmp. Yer. Ket. iii. 28a). When 
Tabi died his master received condolences from his 
friends, a rare occurrence in the case of slaves (Ber. 
16b). It is said in Azariali da Fano’s “ Gilgule Ne- 
shamot ” (s.v. “ Gamaliel ”) that Gamaliel’s soul ema- 
nated from that of Sliem, while Tabi’s soul ema- 
nated from that of Ham, who was destined to be a 
slave to his brother (comp. Gen. ix. 25). Besides, 
according to the lesser numerical values (“mispar 
katon”) of the letters of the alphabet, the names 
of Ham and Tabi both have the same numerical 
value, namely, twelve. 

2. Amora of the third generation (third and fourth 
centuries); mentioned in both Talmuds as trans- 
mitting halakot of R. Hamnuna (Yer. Suk. iv. I); 
of R. Ilisda (Yer. Shab. iii. 1), and, more often, of R. : 
Josiah (Ber. 15b et al .). He disputed with Naliman 
b. Jacob (Tern. 84b). 


Bibliography : Heilprin, Seder ha-Dor<>U ii.; Levy, Ncuhcbr. 


WOrtcrb. 
W. B. 


M. Sel. 


TABLE. Sec Furniture, Household. 

' TABLE, GOLDEN. See Siiowbread. 

TABLES OF THE LAW : Tablets containing 
the Teu Commandments. — Biblical Data : Moses, 
bidden to go up to God on the mountain to receive 
“tables of stone, and a law [“Torah”], and com- 
mandments [“mizwot”]” (Ex. xxiv. 12, R. V.), 1 
is given, “ two tables of testimony, tables of. stone, 
written with the finger of God” (ib. xxxi. 18) “on 
both tlieir sides ” (ib. xxxii. 15), “the work of God 
(ib. xxxii. 16). Descending from the mount with 
these two tables, Moses, beholding the iniquity of 
the golden calf (see Calf, Golden), cast them “out 
of his hands and brake them 11 (ib. xxxii. 19). Later 
he was ordered by God to hew two tables of stone 
like unto the first; and on these God wrote the 
words that had been written on the original tablets 
(ib. xxxiv. 1-4), that is to say, the words of the 
covenant, the Ten Commandments (ib. xxxiv. 28). 
These new tables also are designated “the two tables 
of the testimony ” (ib. xxxiv. 29). According to I 
Kings viii. 9, these tables of stone were put by Moses 
into the Ark at Horeb (ib. xxv. 10 et seq.) t and were 
still in it when the Solomonic Temple was dedicated. 
Compare Decalogue ; Engraving; Revelation. 

E. G. II. 

In Rabbinical Literature : The two tables 

furnish copious suggestions for amplifications and 
analogies. According to R, Berechiah, the tables 
were six handbreadths in length. In their delivery 
to -Moses two handbreadths were held in the grasp 
of the Almighty, two constituted the distance be- 
tween God and Moses, and two were seized by Moses 
(Ex. R. xxviii.). The number of the tables, two, 



663 


T HE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Tabernacles, Feast of 
Tables of the Law - 


corresponds to the natural coupling of pairs, such 
as bridegroom and bride, heaven and earth, this 
world and the world to come. By the 
Why Two circumstance that “ luliot ” is written 
Tables. defectively without “ waw,” nn?> not 
mr6, the fact is indicated that the 
two tablets were perfectly equal (ib. xli.). The 
splendor of Moses’ face (Ex. xxxiv. 30) was derived 
from the part of the tables that was between God 




Tables op the Law from, an Italian Synagogue, Dated 1671. 


(In the Victoria and Albert Museum, South Kensington, London.) 

and himself (ib. xlvii.). The first tables were given 
to Moses without effort on his part ; the second, only 
after forty days of self-humiliation and privations 
(ib.). The angels objected to the writing of the 
second set by Moses on the ground that he might 
claim to be the author of the tables or might even 
go so far as to change their text and content; but 
God trusted him implicitly (with reference to Nuin. 
xih 17 ; Ex. JR. l.c . ). Moses was commanded to write 
the second set, just as a royal husband who had 
written a matrimonial pact with his wife might, 
upon discovering that she had violated it, pardon 


ond set of tables (Pirke R. El. l.c.). The tables had 
a weight of 40 seali (Tan., l.c. p. 117b). Indeed, 
from the sale of the chips made in 
Moses’ the course of the dressing of the 
Block of block, Moses became rich (Ned. 38a). 
Sapphire. This sapphire was of a nature that 
admitted of the tables being roiled 
up (Ex. R. viii. ; Cant. R. v. 14). The fact that the 
tables were of stone is emphasized as indicating that 
stoning was the punishment for infractions of the 
laws written thereon (Tan., l.c., ed. Stettin, p. 158a). 
The letters of the inscription were 613 in number. 


her, but w T ould most likely require her to draw ^ 
up the second agreement (Deut. R. iii. ; Ex. R. l.c . ; 
Tan., Ki Tissa, ed. Buber, p. 117a). The Tvord 
flVin in Ex. xxxii. 16 must be pointed nYTH (“ free ”), 
indicating that death, earthly governments, and pain - 
had no power over the Israelites, who accepted 
the tables (Lev. R. xviii. ; Pirke R. El. xlvi.). 

Moses had in his tent a block of sapphire, created 
for the very purpose, from which he hewed the sec- - ! 



Tables of the Law 
Tachau 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


664 


suggesting the 613 Commandments (Num. R. x viii.). 
Moses having thrown away, the first set, it was only 
fair that he should provide the second (Dent. R. 
iii. ). The sapphire from which Moses hewed the 
tables had been quarried from the solar disk (Cant. 
R, v. 14). 

As to the arrangement of the words, rabbinical 
opinions differ: according to some, five command' 
ments were inscribed on one table and five on the 
other ; according to others, each table contained the 
complete Decalogue (Cant. R. v. 14). Moses was 
able to carry the heavy tables because God helped 
him; but when God saw that the 
The people were worshiping the Golden 
Breaking Calf, He withdrew His support; and 
of this compelled Moses to cast the tables 
the Tables, away. According to another version, 
the letters supported themselves as 
well as the stone in which the}' were encased; but, 
learning of Israel's lapse from grace, they flew back 
to heaven, and thus Moses was left, too feeble to 
carry the heavy burden. Again, the account is 
varied to introduce a struggle between God and 
Moses, or between Moses and the letters, Moses 
doing his utmost to save the tables from falling 
(Yer. Ta‘an. iv.). 

After all, it was well that the first tables were not 
delivered to Israel ; for, having been written by the 
finger of God, they would have brought about the 
annihilation of every creature on account of their 
intense brightness (Tan., l.c.). As the first set had 
been given after loud proclamation and amid great 
pomp, the Evil Eye had control over the tables; 
therefore the second set was given quietty to teach 
the lesson of humility (ib.). The seventy elders, 
indeed, endeavored to prevent Moses from breaking 
the tables; but in the struggle Moses prevailed. 
He, knowing their contents, would not deliver them 
to the faithless Israelites lest he should entail punish- 
ment on them; but when the letters flew away 
Moses was forced to drop the tables. When Moses 
broke the tables God was wroth with him: “ Iladst 
thou worried and labored to produce them, thou 
wouldest have been more careful ” ; therefore Moses 
was commanded to liew the second set, which was 
given on the Day of Atonement, in the afternoon 
(Yalk., Ex. 392). According to some, Moses did not 
cast away the first set until God had encouraged him, 
saying, “May thy strength increase because thou 
brakest the tables” (Ab. R.-N.ii. 3; Yalk., Ex. 363, 
740). The instrument by which the inscription was 
traced was God’s third finger (Pirke R. El. xlviii.). 
Moses broke the first set on the 17tli of Tamniuz (ib, 
xlvi.). 

The tables were not of earthly but of celestial 
origin. The stone had been in existence from the 
very beginning of time, and the writing, too, had 
been extant equally long (ib.). The letters “ mem ” 
(final) and “samek” were miraculously supported 
in the stone, indicating “Metatron” 
In the and “ Sandalfon ” (comp. “ Yalkut Ha- 
Cabala. dash,” p. 121a). In cabalistic exposi- 
tions the numerical values of the text 
or of single words are utilized very extensively to 
indicate mystic and occult suggestions. The Divine 
Name, for instance, is by this method alleged to be 


found in the tables in varied combinations (see, for 
examples, ib. s.v. nim^)- 

Both the second set and the fragments of the first 
were deposited in the Ark (Ber. 14b); and in con- 
nection with this the expression “fragments of the 
tables ” came to be used to designate a learned man 
who in consequence of old age or infirmity had for- 
gotten his learning, but to whom respect was never- 
theless due. Similarly the phrase “ the tables of the 
covenant” (JVOn f Dim^) was employed to para- 
phrase “the heart of Rabbi” (Yer. Kil. ix. 32b, 
above). 

w. b. E. G. H. 

Critical View : In the account of the tables 

of the Law two historical reminiscences have been 
combined • (1) that in olden times laws and other 
public documents were written on stone; and (2) 
that a stone of some sort served as a tribal or na- 
tional palladium, and was transported from place to 
place (in times of war more particularly) in a box 
specially made for it (comp. Ark of the Cove- 
nant). 

Tables of laws would naturally be set up in con- 
spicuous places, and not, as in the case of those men- 
tioned in Exodus, hidden away where none could 
see them. A “ holy ’’ stone, however, would thus be 
screened from vulgar eyes; for a profane gaze to 
rest upon it meant sure death for the perpetrator of 
the insufferable transgression. The early references 
to the Ark in Samuel make no mention of the tables 
which, according to the later theory, were contained 
therein. Furthermore, tradition is uncertain concern- 
ing the text of the inscription engraved on the tables 
(see Decalogue). This uncertainty probably gave 
rise, on the one hand, to the explanation that an 
older set of tables, had been broken, and, on the 
other, to confusion with the invisible fetish hidden 
away in the chest. If none had seen the tables, there 
is small wonder that there was no agreement concern- 
ing the inscription. Furthermore, the dimensions of 
the Ark make it very improbable that two tables of 
the kind presupposed could be stored away therein. 
Significant as referring to tables of stone, is Jere- 
miah’s simile of “tables of the heart” (Jer. xxxi. 32). 

E. G. II. 

TABOR; 1. Mountain of Palestine, the modern 
Jabal al-Tur, on the northern edge of the plain of 
Jezreel. It is a dome-shaped hill with softly 
rounded outlines, and rises about 400 m. above the 
surrounding plain and 562 m. above sea-level. 
Standing out boldly on all sides, except in the north- 
east, where a low ridge connects it with the hill- 
country of Nazareth, it rises high above all the ele- 
vations in its vicinity and forms a landmark visible 
at a great distance. From the southwest it forms al- 
most a semicircle. Its beauty and sy mmetiy , together 
with its isolated position, render it, like Carmel and 
Hermon, important in history and tradition (Jer. xlvi. 
18; Ps. Ixxxix. 18 [A. V. 12]). In ancient times it. 
formed the boundary between Zebulun, Issachar, 
and Naphtali (Judges iv. 6, 12, 14); and there Barak 
assembled his army to battle against Sisera (ib. iv. 
6), while it was also the center of an ancient cult 
(IIos. v. 1). The Tabor mentioned in Judges viii. 
18 must not be identified with this mountain, even 
in case the text does not require emendation (comp.. 



665 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Tables of the Lavr 
Tachau 


Moore, “Judges,” p. 228), hut is rather to he local- 
ized in the vicinity of Ophrah, the home of Gideon. 
In like manner “ the plain of Tabor ” mentioned in 
I Sam. x. 3 has no connection with the mountain 
under consideration, but the name seems to have 
been a frequent designation for places in the terri- 
tory of Ben jamin. 

In later Jewish history Tabor is mentioned in the 
wars between Antiochus III., the Great, and Ptol- 
emy VII., Pliilopator, the city of Atabyrium, which 
was situated on this mountain, being taken by Anti- 
ocliusin218 b.c. In 55 b.c. the proconsul Gabinius, 
the general of Pompey, defeated Alexander, the son 
of Aristobulus, in a bloody battle at the foot of 
Tabor. The mountain was fortified against Ves- 
pasian by Josephus as governor of Galilee (67 c.e.); 
but lack of water compelled those who survived the 
defeat in the plain to surrender to the general Pla- 
cidus (Josephus, “B. J.” iv. 1, §8; idem , “Vita,” 
§37). 

The sanctity ascribed to the mountain from very 
early times reappears in Christian legend ; for the 
Gospel according to the Hebrews designates it as 
the scene of the transfiguration of Jesus (Matt. xvii. 
1; Mark ix. 2; Luke ix. 28), and as early as the 
fourth century churches and monasteries were built 
on its summit. This tradition is incorrect, how- 
ever; for a comparison of the statements of the 
Evangelists shows that they localized the event on 
a mountain north of the Lake of Gennesaret. 

2. A city of Zebulun bordering on Issaclnir (Josh, 
xix. 22); a priestly city of the family of Merari 
(I Chron. vi. G2 [A. V. 77]). It was situated on a 
peak of the mountain of the same name, and covered 
a level surface of considerable extent, being about 
900 m. from east to west and 400 m. from south to 
north, with a periphery, according to Josephus, of 
26 stadia. The place existed even in the post-exilic 
period. Polybius (v. 70) calls it “Atabyrium”; 
and the walls with which Josephus fortified it may 
very possibly correspond to the outer walls of the 
peak in modern times. 

Bibliography : Survey of Western Palestine , i. 38S et seq a 

Robinson, Reseai'ches , pp. 351 et seqA G. A. Smith, Historical 

Geography of the Holy Land , pp. 394 et .see/.; Baruabe, Le 

Mont Thabor , Paris, 1900. 

e. c. I- Be. 

TABORI, ROBERT : Hungarian author ; born 
at Almas Nov. 10, 1855 ; educated at Baja, Buda- 
pest, and Vienna. He began his literary career in 
1874 as a journalist on the Vienna “Fremdenblatt,” 
later joining the staff of the “ Morgenpost. ” From 
1887 to 1890 he edited the “ Sudungariselie Zeitung” 
at Temesvar, and at present (1905) he is the editor 
of the literary magazine “ Uj Idok ” in Budapest. 

Of Tabori’s works, which have become especially 
popular among the young, maybe mentioned: “A 
Szobor Titka,” 1885, a novel; “ Kulturkepek,” 1889, 
short stories; “Ildiko,” 1890, a drama; “Parboj,” 
1890, a novel; “Az Etet Fobytatasokban,” 1890, a 
novel; “ Atalakulasok,” 1893, a novel; “Szabadtag- 
liosok,” 1894, a novel; “Korhadt Oszlopok,” 1895, 
a novel; “Oceania,” 1898, short stories ; and “Meg- 
fagyott Pezsgo,” 1899, a novel. 

Bibliography : Pallas Lex. 

s. 


TABYOMI (generally known as Mar) : Baby- 
lonian amoraof the fifth century ; died at the end of 
Yom Kippur, 468. He achieved a reputation as a 
teacher of the Law even during the lifetime of his 
father. Asm, the famous director of the Academy of 
Sura (see Ber. 26a; Hul. 76b, 98a); and there is 
an allusion to his marriage, which took place in 
his father’s house (Ket. 8a). Tabyomi was not 
elected director of the Academy of Sura until 455, 
twenty-eight years after his father’s death, when 
he was chosen under the extraordinary circum- 
stances narrated in B. B. 12b. He then officiated 
for the remainder of his life, a period of thirteen 
years. 

Tabyomi continued his father’s work in the revi- 
sion of the Talmud ; and Abraham ibn Daud men- 
tions him, together with Maremar, as the final re- 
dactor of Babli. The statement of the same authority 
that Tabyomi received his name from the “happy 
days” (“yomin tobin”) which prevailed during his 
lifetime, must be based on an earlier source, although 
this etymology is unhistorical, since the beginning 
of his official activity was marked by the bitter re- 
ligious persecution by Yezdegerd III. That king 
died in 457; and his death was ascribed in part to- 
Tabyomi’s prayer (see Letter of Sherira Gaon in 
Neubauer, “M. J. C.” i. 34, 187). 

Few details are known of Tabyomi’s official ac- 
tivity, although his relation to the house of the exil- 
arclis is mentioned in Hul. 97b. He once alleged 
legal disability to sit in judgment on a scholar, 
making his plea in the characteristic words: “I love 
every scholar as m} r self ; and no one can pronounce 
impartial sentence on himself” (Shab. 119a). The 
anecdote (Hul. 105b) which relates how he forced a 
demon into submission is typical of the views both of 
Tabyomi and of his time. His authority in the field 
of the Halakah is evidenced by a rule, probably 
of saboraic origin, in the “Seder Tanna’im we- 
Amora’im,” to the effect that everywhere, with two 
exceptions, decisions are rendered according h\ 
Tabyomi’s views (comp. Tosef., Sanh. 29b). No 
liaggadic sayings of his have been preserved. 

Bibliography : Griitz, Gescli. 2d ed.. iv. 402 et seq.: Halevy, 

Dorot ha-Rishonim. ill- 93 et seq a Rapoport, Erek Millin r 

p. 37; Weiss, Dor, iii. 213. 

W. B. 

TACHAU : City in Bohemia, thirty-three miles 
west of Pi 1 sen ; seat of one of the oldest Jewish com- 
munities of the country, as is shown by the remains 
of an ancient Jewish cemetery. R. Samuel b. Has- 
dai, a contemporary of Isaac Or Zarua* of the thir- 
teenth century, lived there, so that Talmudists must 
have resided in Bohemia as early as the tosafistic 
period. When the country was first divided into 
districts, Tachau was the seat of a district rabbi; 
but the rabbinate was abolished about a century 
ago. Rabbi Scliidloff, who died in 1894 at an ad- 
vanced age, was very active in behalf of the Jews 
of Bohemia, and frequently presented petitions to 
the Austrian Reichstag relating to the improvement 
of the circumstances and the efficiency of the rabbis. 
The Jewish population of Tachau is now (1905) 260, 
and its rabbi is Dr. M. Wohl. The foundations and 
societies include a hebra kaddisha (with a fund of 
6,000 crowns), an Aliabat Torah (for the mainte- 


L. V. 




Tacitus THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 660 

Tahanun 


nance of the school), a Talmud Torah, and a wom- 
en’s society for nursing and relieving the poor (with 
a fund of 8,000 crowns). 

s. A. Ki. 

TACITTJS. See Classical Writers and the 
Jews, 

TADMOR. See Palmyra. 

TADSHE. See Midrash. 

TAGIN (Aramaic, J^n, m'wn; Hebrew, 
D'“)rD)* Decorative “crowns ” which are sometimes, 
placed on the letters of the Hebrew alphabet. The 
taga is regularly composed of three flourishes or 
strokes, each of which resembles a small “ zayin ” 
and is called “ziyyun” (D'JVt, Jiff = “armor,” i.e., 
“ dagger ”). In the New Testament the taga is called 
“ tittle ” (Matt. v. 18). The seven letters V. 3, T> 3, D, 
]}, & have the crowns on the points of the upper hori- 
zontal bars. The flourishes are placed on the tops of 
the letters, and they are found only in the Scroll of 
the Law, not in the printed copies of the Penta- 
teuch. The tagin are a part of the Masorali. Ac- 
cording to tradition, there existed a manual, known 
as “ Sefer ha-Tagin,” of the tagin as they appeared on 
the twelve stones that Joshua setup in the Jordan, 
and later erected in Gilgal (Josh. iv. 9, 20). On these 
stones were inscribed the books of Moses, with the 
tagin in the required letters (Nalimanides on Deut. 
xxvii. 8). The baraita of “ Sefer ha-Tagin ” thus re- 
lates its history : “ It was found by the high priest Eli, 
who delivered it to the prophet Samuel, from whom it 
passed to Palti the son of Laish, to Ahithopliel, to the 
prophet Aliijali the Shilonite, to Elijah, to Elisha, to 
Jelioiada the priest, and to the Prophets, who buried 
it under the threshold of the Temple. It was re- 
moved to Babylon in the time of King Jelioiaeliin 
by the prophet Ezekiel. Ezra brought it back to 
Jerusalem in the time of Cyrus. Then it came into 
the possession of Menaliem, and from him was handed 
down to R. Nehunya ben lia-Kanah, through whom 
it went to R. Eleazar ben ‘Arak, R. Joshua, R. 
Akiba, R. Judah, R. Miyasha (NgW^D), R. Nahum 
ha-Lablar, and Rab.” 

The Aramaic language and the Masoretic style of 
the “ Sefer ha-Tagin ” would fix the time of its author 
as the geonic period. But the frequent references 
in the Talmud to the tagin suggest the probability of 
the existence of “ Sefer ha-Tagin ” at a much earlier 
period. Raba said the seven letters v* J, T> j, D, y, 
must each have a taga of three daggers (Men. 
29b). The letter n likewise has a taga (ib.). The 
taga of the q is also referred to (Sotali 20a). The 
taga of the “kof ” is turned toward the 
Referred to “resli” (Sliab. 104a; ‘Er. 18a). R. 
in tlie Akiba was wont to interpret every 

Talmud. point (“ koz ”) with lialakic references 
(‘Er. 21b). The Haggadah calls the 
tagin “ ketarim. ” “ When Moses ascended to heaven 

he found the Holy One ‘ crowning * the letters ” 
(Sliab. 89a). In the Midrash, in the comment on 
Hezekiali’s reception of the ambassadors of Mero- 
dacli-baladan, to whom he showed the “precious 
things” (Isa. xxxix. 2), R. Jolianan says, “He 
showed them a dagger swallowing a dagger ” ; and 
R. Levi adds, “ With these we fight our battles and 

conquer ” (Cant. R. iii. 3; comp. Sanli. 104a: Pirke 


R. El. Iii., end). Nalimanides (1194-1270) quotes 
this midrash with the reading, “Hezekiali showed 
them the ‘ Sefer ha-Tagin ’ ” (comment on Gen. i. 1). 
Maimonides evidently quotes the formula of the 
tagin for the phylacteries and the mezuzah scrolls 
from the “ Sefer ha-Tagin ” (see “ Yad,” Tefillin, ii. 9 ; 
Mezuzah, v. 3); in his responsa “Pe’er ha-Dor” 
(No. 68, p. 17b, ed. Amsterdam, 1765) he says, “ The 
marking of the tagin in the Sefer Torali is not a 
later custom, for the tagin are mentioned by the Tal- 
mudists as ‘the crowns on the letters.’ . . . The 
Torah that Moses wrote also contained tagin.” 

The Vi try Malizor of R. Simhali (written in 1208), 
a disciple of Raslii, copied tlie “ Sefer ha-Tagin ” (pp. 
674-683). Menaliem b. Zeraliiali (1365), in “ Zedah la- 
Derek ” (I. i., § 20), says, “The ‘ Sefer ha-Tagin ’ is 
veiled in mysticism. ” Profiat Duran, in the introduc- 
tion to “Ma‘aseli Efod ” (ed. Friedliinder, p. 12, Vi- 
enna, 1865), says of the “ Sefer ha-Tagin, ” “ They were 
scrupulous in maintaining the form of the letters as 
revealed to Moses, inasmuch as they feared that a 
change might affect tlie efficac3 r attached to them.” 
To R. Eleazar of Worms (1176-1238), the author of 
“ Rokeah ” and of several cabalistic works, also is as- 
scribed a “Sefer ha-Tagin” (Neubauer, “Cat. Bodl. 
Hebr. MSS.” No. 1566), which was, perhaps, his 
commentary on the text of “ Sefer ha-Tagin ” ; he was 
not the author of the original book, as Zunz er- 
roneously thought (see Zunz, “Z. G.” p. 405, and 
note 2), since Nalimanides, who flourished about 
the same time as R. Eleazar of Worms, quotes the 
“ Sefer ha-Tagin ” from the Midrash. 

The significance of the tagin is veiled in the mys- 
ticism of the Cabala. Every stroke or sign is a 
symbol revealing, in connection with 
Cabalistic the letters and words, the great secrets 
Sig- and mysteries of the universe. The 
nificance. letters with the tagin are supposed, 
when combined, to form the divine 
names by which heaven and earth were created, and 
which still furnish the key to the creative power 
and the revelation of future events. These com- 
binations, like the Tetragrammaton, were sometimes 
misused by unscrupulous scholars, especially among 
the Essenes. Hence, perhaps, the injunction of 
Hillel: “He who makes a common use of the crown 
[taga] of the Torah shall waste away ” (Ab. iv. 7) ; 
to which is added, “because one who uses the Sliem 
lia-Meforasli has no share in the world to come” 
(Ab. R. N. xii., end); the words of Hillel, however, 
may be interpreted figuratively (Meg. 28b). 

A plausible explanation of the tagin is that they 
are scribal flourishes, “‘ittur soferim ” (decoration 
of the scribes), the intention being to ornament the 
scroll of the Law with a “keter Torah” (crown of 
the Law), for which purpose the letters T, J, D, y, W, 
V, 3 were chosen because tlie} r are the only letters 
that have the necessary bars on top to receive the 
tagin, excepting the letter “waw,” of which the 
topis very narrow, and the “yod,” whose head is 
turned aside and has a point (“koz ”) on the bottom. 
The tagin of the other letters were intended prob- 
ably to serve as diacritical points for distinguish- 
ing between n and 3, n and n. 1 and *1, 1 and f, D 
and D wherever a mistake was possible. Technic- 
ally, as noted above, a taga is composed of three 


( 





667 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Tacitus 

Tahanun 


ziyyunin, or daggers. A line or stroke placed on a 
letter with a Hat top is called “keren ” (= “liorn ”), 
but as a rule authors “are not careful to deserim- 
inate between the terms “ horn ” and “dagger.” 

The “ Sefer ha-Tagin ” gives a list of the unusual 
occurrences of the tagin and other flourishes in the 
Pentateuch, as follows (the tops of the letters be- 
ing called “heads” and the shafts “legs”): (1) alef, 
7 letters each with 7 tagin ; (2) bet , 4 letters with 
3; (3) gimel, 3 letters with 4; (4) dalet , 6 letters 
with 4, and 1 letter with 1 ; (5) lie , 
List. 360 letters, with 4 horns disjoined 
(not penetrating inside); (6) he, 18 let-, 
ters with 1 horn and joined (penetrating inside); 
(7) wcvw, 38 letters with raised heads and legs coiled 
forward ; (8) say in, 14 letters with only one taga in 
the center; (9) zayin, 9 letters without tagin, but 
with coiled heads; (10) liet , 28 letters with 3 horns, 

2 backward and 1 forward; (11) het , 37 letters with 
legs astride; (12) let, 67 letters with 4; (13) yod, 83 
letters coiled like a “ kaf ” ; (14) kaf, 58 letters with 8 ; 
(15) final kaf, 74 letters with 4 horns; (16) final kaf \ 

3 letters with their legs coiled forward; (17) lamed, 
44 letters with long necks, and tagin lowered from 
the top beside the neck, forming something like a 
“ yod ” at the lower end ; (18) mem , 39 letters with 3 ; 

(19) final mem, 180 letters with 3 tagin disjoined; 

(20) nun, 50 letters with their hooks coiled back- 
ward; (21) final nun, 16 letters with heads coiled, 
but without tagin ; (22) samek, 60 letters with A 
tagin disjoined; (23) l ayin, 17 letters with hind 
heads suspended; (24) ( ayin, 8 letters with tails 
coiled backward ; (25) c ayin, 6 letters with heads 
coiled backward; (26) pe, 83 letters with 3; (27) 
pe, 191 letters 


Masorah that the authorities considered the advisa- 
bility of excluding all tagin. But since the validity 
of the scroll does not depend on the tagin, the 
Rabbis did not disturb them.” This probably ac- 
counts for the fact that only the tagin on the letters 
V, 3, T, 3, LD, fcy have been retained ; those on all 
the other letters have been omitted in the scrolls of 
the Law used during the last three or four centu- 
ries (see R. Judah Minz, Responsa, No. 15; Sliulhan 
‘Aruk, Orah Hayyim, 36, 3). 

Bibliography: Sefer ha-Tagin ( Liber Coronularum) and 
Badde ha- Aron (with introduction by Senior Sachs and Latin 
introduction by J. J. L. Barges, edited by B. Goldberg), Paris, 
1860 ; D. Oppenheim, in Orient , Lit. p. 547 ; C. D. Gmsburg, 
The Massorah , ii. 680-701. ^ 

IJI J . Dm -Hi. 

TAHANUN : Prayer for grace; said after the 
‘“Amidah” of the morning (“shaharit”) and after- 
noon (“minhali”) prayers on week-days. It is so 
called from the initial words of “ Ralium we-liannun ” 
(“O Merciful and Gracious; I have sinned before 
Thee. O Lord, full of compassion, have mercy upon 
me and accept my supplications”). This is fol- 
lowed by Ps. vi., and then by “ Wa-analmu lo neda‘ ” 
(“ Neither know we what to do : but our eyes are upon 
Thee ” [II Cliron. xx. 12]) and several verses from the 
Psalms. On Mondays and Thursdays poetical verses 
are interpolated pleading for divine intervention, 
evidently composed during the Crusades and perse- 
cutions. These verses begin: “O Lord of Israel, 
turn from Thy fierce wrath. . . . Strangers^ say, 
‘There is no hope or expectation for thee. 1 Be 
gracious unto a people that trust in Tli 3 r Name. O 
Lord, spare us in Thy tender mercy, and deliver us 


not into the hands of the cruel 


LETTERS WITH TaGIN, AS DESCRIBED IN “ SEFER HA-TaGIN.” 

(Compare “Sefer ha-Tagin,” opposite p. 55; Vitry Mahzor, opposite p. 800). 


without tagin, 
but with the 
mouth coiled 
inside; (28) 
final pe, 11 let- 
ters with 3 ; 

(29) final pe, 3 
letters with 
mouth coiled 
inside; (30) 
zade, 70 letters 
with 5; (31) 
zade, 2 letters 
without tagin 
(all the rest 
have 3 tagin) ; 

(32) final zade, 8 letters with 5; (33) kof, 181 let- 
ters with 3 tagin disjoined; (34) kof, 2 letters 
without tagin, but with legs coiled backward; 
(35) resh, 150 letters with 2 horns ; (36) shin, 52 let- 
ters with 7 horns ; (37) taw, 22 letters with higher 
heads than are usual. 

There are some variations of this list in the Vitry 
Mahzor, in the “Badde lia-Aron” of R. Shem-Tob 
(13th cent.), and in Ginsburg’s “ Massoretico-Crit- 
ical Text of the Hebrew Bible.” Maimonides (Re- 
sponsa, No. 68) says, “The tagin vary 
Variations, in the number of daggers, some letters 
having one, two, three, or as many as 
seven. . . . Owing to the lapse of time and the ex- 
ilic troubles tliere were so many variations in this 


J tj n Yi r f 

3 pi h ww 

y y » ] 

j H -] *| 3 

hum f p 

y s y tj a. 


After every 
stanza the con- 
gregation an- 
swers with the 
refrain, “ Yet, 
despite all this, 
we have not 
forgotten Thy 
Name: we be- 
seech Thee, 
forget us not.” 
On public 
fast-days is 
added “ Sho- 
mer Yisrael ” 
(“ O Guardian 
of Israel, 
guard the 


remnant of Israel, and suffer not Israel to perish, 
who recite ‘ Sliema‘ Yisrael/ ” etc.). The modern 
minhag always couples this with the Tahanun. 
The verse “ Wa-yomer Dawid ” (II Sam. xxiv. 14), 
preceding the “Tahanun,” is a later addition, first 
mentioned by Jeliiel Michael Epstein in his “ Kiz- 
zur Shelah” (p. 56, Amsterdam, 1701). Its inser- 
tion is due to the fact that it contains the words, 
“Let us fall,” since the “Tahanun ” is known also 
as the “prostration” prayer, it being 
Prostra- customary for the worshiper while 
tion. reciting the prayer in silence to sit 
with the head resting on the arm and 
with the face dow T mvard. The head reclines on the 
left arm, unless the tefillin are adjusted on that arm. 




Taharah 

Takkanah 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


668 


when the right is substituted. Prostration is not 
performed in a place where there is no Sefer Torah. 
The 1 alianun ” is entirely omitted in a case of 
mourning or of joy; nor is it said on Sabbath, holy 
days, or semiholy days. 

The ceremony of prostration is derived from 
Moses, who “fell down before the Lord” (Deut. ix. 
18), and Joshua, who “fell to the earth upon his 
face” (Josh. vii. 6). The custom is connected with 
the expression “mappilim talianunenu” (Dan. ix. 
IS), which means, literally, “we cause our suppli- 
cations to fall.” It is mentioned in the Talmud as 
being the practise of the Babylonian Jews: when 
Rab happened to be in Babylon on a public fast-day 
he noticed that all the people fell on their faces in 
supplication. He, however, refused to dp so, be- 
cause, it is explained, he either considered it a pa- 
gan custom or regarded it as not obligatory upon a 
distinguished personage (Meg. 22b). The efficacy 
of prostration is shown in the case of R. Eliezer b. 
Hyrcanus, who in that way brought about the death 
of R. Gamaliel lia-Nasi (B. M. 59b), 

The Zohar connects Ps. xxv. with the prostration 
prayer (Zohar, section “Ba-Midbar,” p. 120b). This 
psalm is also given in the Vitry Mahzor (p. 70), and 
is substituted in the Sephardic ritual for Ps. vi. 
Maimonides (“ Seder Tefillot ”) gives quite a different 
version of the “Talianun the fact is that there 
was no fixed formula for this prayer up to the four- 1 
teenth century (see Tur Orah Hayyim, § 131); and 
even as late as the sixteenth century it was composed 
in various forms to suit different minhagim (Shul- 
han ‘Aruk, lx ,), See Adoration, Forms op 
J - ■ . J. D. E. 

^AHAItAH *. Ceremony of washing a dead body 
before burial. This rite is performed by the mem- 
bers (“ mit'assekim ”) of the “ hebra kaddislia. ” The 
body is lifted from the ground, where it has been 
placed after death, and laid, feet toward the. door, on 
the cleansing-table known as the “ taharah-board.” 
The black cover and the old garments are removed, 
and a white sheet put under it, while the members 
assembled say a prayer for the dead, and recite. 
“Take away the filthy garments from him. And 
unto him he said, Behold, I have caused thine iniq- 
uity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with 
change of raiment ” (Zecli. iii. 4). Then begins the 
washing. The body is thoroughly rubbed and 
cleansed with lukewarm water, during which proc- 
ess the nioutji is covered so that no "water may 
enter it. Hext. water is poured over the head, while 
Ezek. xxx vi. 25 is recited: “Then will I sprinkle 
clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean.” This 
is followed by washing each limb downward, the ap- 
propriate verses of Cant. v. 11 el aeq. being repeated 
as the washing progresses: “His head is as the most 
fine gold . , , His eyes are as the eyes of doves,” etc. 

The position of the body is changed with the suc- 
cessive stages of the operation. First it lies face 
upAvard; next, upon the right and the left side; 
finally it is returned to its original position. After the 
body has been cleansed nine measures (“kabs”)of 
cold water are poured over it while it is in a partly 
upright position. This last operation really consti- 
tutes the ceremony of taharah. The body is then 
thoroughly dried, care being taken to keep it cov- 


ered. It is then clothed in the shroud, appropriate 
verses being recited. The bodies of women undergo 
the same process of purification at the hands of their 
own sex (comp. Acts ix. 37), 

A more elaborate ceremony is performed over the 
body of a great man. The order of the “ grand 
washing” (“rehizali gedolali ”) for such occasion is 
credited to Hillel the Elder (see “Ma‘abar Yabbok,” 
p. 42b, end). The ceremony should be performed 
bjr two persons at least, and the water be perfumed 
with essence of roses, with myrtle, or with spices. 
Fumigation with aromatic spices is an ancient cus- 
tom (II Chron. xvi. 14) ; the Mishnali mentions 
especially the myrtle in connection with ceremonies 
for the dead (Bezah 6a ; Ber. viii. 1). The Mishnali 
mentions also the practise of cleansing and anoint- 
ing the body, forbidding the ceremony on tlie Sab- 
bath (Sliab. xxiii, 5). It appears that in the early 
periods the body was washed in a regular bath; 
and Babylon was criticized because the ceremony 
was not observed there, and was called “Shinar” 
(see Gen. xi. 2) because the Babylonians “ die in filth, 
without a caudle and without a bath.” (Yer. Ber. iv. 
7b; Gen. R. xxx viii. 5; sec Joseph Perles, “Lei- 
chenbestaltung,” p. 12). The so-called “Tombs of 
the Kings” in Jerusalem has a bath below the en- 
trance to the courtyard. Other ancient tombs are 
similarly provided with baths. 

The reason assigned for the washing is the verse 
“Ashe came, so shall he go” (Eccl. v. 15, Hebr.): 
“When born lie is washed, and when dead he is 
washed” (“Sefer Hasidim,” § 560). 
Object of The washing is for tiie purpose'also of 
Washing, removing all impurities, that the body 
way not be repulsive to the attendants 
(“ Kol Bo,” p. 114). The “ Ivol Bo ” gives as a reason 
for rubbing the dead with beaten eggs that eggs sym- 
bolize the perpetual wheel of life (ib. ; see the caba. 
listic view in “ Ma‘abar Yabbok, ” iii. 12). R. Benja- 
min, in his “Binyamin Ze’eb” (responsum Ho. 204, 
ed. Venice, 1539), records the testament of R. Eliezer 
ha-Levi ordering that his body should be cleansed 
carefully, including the ears and the fingers, and 
that his nails should be pared and his hair combed, 
that lie may go to his rest as he was wont to go to 
the synagogue on Sabbath eve (“ Darke Mosheh ” on 
Tur Yoreh De'ah, 352). In ancient times the hair 
was cut (M. K. 8b), but now it is only washed and 
combed. The nails are not cut. but are cleansed with 
a special kind of pin. 

After the ceremony the taharah -board is cleansed 
and dried. There is a superstition that if it is 
turned with the upper surface downward, another 
person will die within three days (R. Judah lie - 
Hasid, Testament, vi. 10). Those who perform the 
taharah cleanse their hands with salt water. 

In the time of R. Jacob Molln (d, 1/27) there was 
in Prague a separate cleansing-house (“ bet taharah ”) 
annexed to the cemetery (“Sefer lia-Maharil,” end; 
“Yosef Omez,” p. 190a). In modern times the ta- 
harah is performed in the house of the deceased. 
See Burial; Funeral Rites; Purity of Race. 


DIBL ULKAPHY: umugun, iuu, w./ui JL UIHHM,. HI., 8S JL L ana 12, 

‘W.dpp- 11a. 4ob, ed. Amsterdam, 1732 ; * Landshuth, Seder 
Bifs-knr Hohm, Introduction, § 22, and p. 86; A P Bender 
in J. Q. R. vii. 259. ’ 

E * c * J. D. E. 



669 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Taharah 

Takkanah 


TAHASH (^nn) *• A word translated in the A. V. 
"by “badger.” Taliasli-skins were used iii making 
the outer covering of the tent of meeting (Ex. xxvi. 
14), and covers for various utensils used in the Taber- 
nacle: for the Ark of the Covenant (Hum. iv. 6), the 
showbread table (ib. iv: 8), the candelabrum {ib. iv. 
10), the golden altar (ib. iv. 11), and the altar (ib. iv. 
14). They were used also in the making of sandals 
(Ezek. xvi. 10). The Targuni on Ex. xxv. 5 trans- 
lates “ tahash ” by “ brilliant ” ; the Septuagint reads 
viiKivOtva = “ hyacinth-colored ” ; the Vulgate, simi- 
larly. Kashi and Ibn Ezra take it as the name of an 
animal, but make no attempt at identification (com- 
mentary ad loc.). Modern commentators disagree. 
It lias been suggested that it means the dolphin, or 
some animal like it. This is based on a comparison 
with the Arabic “tuklias.” An Egyptian origin is 
assigned it by Bondi. Delitzsch (“Prolegomena,” 
pp, 77 et se( 7 .)has probably solved the problem by a 
comparison with the Assyrian word “ tahslm ” = 
“ wether, ” and from the passages quoted it is clear that 
wetlier-skin was also used by the Assyrians for pur- 
poses of covering; e.g ., Shalmaneser used such skins 
. for covering boats. The expression used by him, 
“mashak tahshu,” corresponds exactly with the 
Hebrew term “ ‘orot tehashim” (— A. V. “skins of 
badgers”); and the Targum translate s “ ‘ orot ” by 
“ maslike, ” which is exactly the same word as the As- 
syrian “ mashak. ” “ Wether-skins,” therefore, seems 
the most probable interpretation of the Hebrew 
“‘orot tahash”; at all events, “badger-skins ” is 
quite impossible, since far too few badgers were to 
be found to allow of such extensive use as is indi- 
-cated by Hum. iv. and Ex. xxvi. 

j. jk. G. B. L. 

TAHKEMONI. See Al-Hajuzi, Judah. 

TAIKOS (Dip^D), GEDALIAH BEN ABRA- 
HAM MENAHEM : German scholar of the eight- 
eenth century. Under the title “Be’er lia-Torah ” 
he translated into German the Pentateuch, the Haf- 
tarot, and the Five Scrolls, and published the work 
in Amsterdam in 1758. Taikos was the author of: 
“Sefer Torat ICatan,” divided into two parts, the 
first, entitled “Eleli ha-Mizwot,” containing the 613 
commandments, and the second, entitled “Hen 
ha-Lashon,” comprising the rudiments of Hebrew 
grammar (ib. 1765); and “Emunot Yisrael,” the 
ethical principles of Judaism, with a German trans- 
lation (Amsterdam, 1764; Wilna and Grodno, 1837; 
Warsaw, 1844 and 1861). 

Bibliography: Fiirst, Bibl, Jud. iii. 406; Fuenn, Kenesct 

Yisrael, p. 210 ; Benjacob, Ozarha-Scfarim, letter x, No. 770. 

E. c. I. Bit. 

TAITAZAK : Name of a promineut Spanish 
famity, several members of which distinguished 
themselves as Talmudic authorities. Various opin- 
ions have been expressed as to the origin of the 
name, the exact orthography and signification of 
which can not be ascertained. After the expulsion 
from Spain in 1402 Solomon Taitazak, with his two 
sous Joseph and Judah, settled at Salonica, where 
members of the family subsequently became the 
leading spirits of the community. The most promi- 
nent were : 

Jacob ben Samuel Taitazak; Talmudist of 


the sixteenth centum; author of a responsum in- 
serted in Samuel di Medina’s collection entitled 
“She’elot u-Teshubot MallRaSHDaM” (vol. iii., 
§ 203, Salonica, 1598). 

Joseph ben Solomon Taitazak : Talmudic 
authority and cabalist; lived at Salonica in the fif- 
teenth and sixteenth centuries. With his father and 
his brother he went in 1492 from Spain, his native 
land, to Salonica, where he became rabbi. He was 
considered one of the greatest Talmudists of his 
time, even Joseph Caro invoking his authority 
(“ Abkat Rokel,” § 56). Among Joseph's disciples 
were Isaac Adarbi and Samuel di Medina. Joseph 
was a fervent adherent of the Cabala, in which lie 
was well versed, and led an ascetic life. Elijah de 
Vidas, in his “ Reshit Hokmali ” (“ Sha‘arha-Kedush- 
sliah,” eh. vii.), relates that, with the exception of 
Sabbath nights, Joseph for forty years never slept 
in a bed, but on a box, with his feet on the ground. 
With such a disposition to asceticism and mysticism 
it was but natural that Joseph should become en- 
thralled by the Messianic vagaries of Solomon Molko, 
whom he supported while preaching at Salonica in 
1529. 

Joseph’s scientific activity lay chief! y in the field 
of Biblical exegesis. He was the author of “Ben 
Porofc,” a commentary on Ecclesiastes (Venice, 1599), 
and of “ Lehem Setarim,” on the Book of Daniel and 
the Five Scrolls (ib. 1608), and on Psalms, Job, and 
Proverbs (Neubauer, “Cat. Bodl. Hebr. MSS.” Nos. 
206, 2; 329; 969; 2270, 8; 3521). Joseph wrote 
also: a commentary on the sayings of the fathers; 
responsa, some of which have been included in 
the writings of his contemporaries and pupils; notes 
on casuistical matters; commentaries on liaggadic 
passages; and a treatise on the astrolabe (Neubauer, 
l.c. Nos. 834, 7, 10; 2080, 3; 2254, 8). According to 
Isaac Adarbi (“Dibre Ribot,” p. 64), Joseph was the 
author also of novelise on Alfasi. 

Bibliography: Gedaliah ibn Yahya, Shalshelet ha-kabba- 
lah, ed. Amsterdam, p. 49a ; Conforte, Kore ha-Dorut, p. 35a ; 

Azulai, Shcm ha-Gedolim, i. 40; Be Rossi, Dizionario , p. 

314; Geiger, Zeitschrift, iii. 285, No. 21 ; Steinschneider, Cat. 

Bodl, col. 1533; Gratz, Gesch, ix. 35, 236, 299. 

Judah ben Solomon Taitazak; Talmudist; 
brother of Joseph beh Solomon; lived at Salonica in 
the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. He was the 
author of “She’erit Yeliudah ” (Salonica, 1599-1600), 
commentating and supplementing Joseph Caro’s 
“Bet Yosef,” on the second volume of the Turim. 

Bibliography : Conforte, Kore ha-Dorot, p. 34b : Steinschnei- 
der, Cat. Bodl. col. 1373. 

Samuel Taitazak ; Talmudist; lived at Salonica 
in the sixteenth century. He was the author of 
“She’elot u-Teshubot,” responsa, some of which 
have been included in Judah Taitazak’s “She’erit 
Yeliudah” and in Samuel di Medina’s collection of 
responsa. 

Bibliography : Conforte, Kore ha-Dorot, p. 38a; Azulai, 

Shcm ha-Gedolim , i. 88 ; Steinschneider, Cat. Bodl. col. 2481. 

S. I. Br. 

TAKKANAH (plural, Takkanot) : An en- 
actment which (1) revises an ordinance that no 
longer satisfies the requirements of the times or 
circumstances, or which (2), being deduced from a 
Biblical passage, may be regarded as new. It is, 
therefore, the antithesis of the Gezerah. Takka- 



Takkanah 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


670 


not were framed even in the time of the Second 
Temple, those of unknown origin being ascribed to 
earlier leaders, and they have been promulgated at 
all subsequent periods of Jewish history. The term 
is applied also to the institution provided for in the 
enactment. 

Among the earlier takkanot are especially note- 
worthy the institutions ascribed to Moses (see also 
Sinaitic Commandments); (1) the observance on 
holy days of the ceremonies peculiar to the festivals 
in question (Meg. 32a; comp. Tosef., Meg. vii.); (2) 
reading aloud from the Torah on the Sabbath, on 
holy days, on New Moons, and on the semifestivals 
(Meg. 28a; Yer. Meg. iv. 1); (3) the first blessing in 
the grace after meals (Ber. 48b); (4) the eight 
watches of the priests, four by Eleazar and four 
by Itliamar, which Samuel and Davie) increased to 
twenty-four (Ta‘an. 27a); (5) the seven } days of wed- 
ding festivities for a virgin, and seven days of 
mourning for the dead (the festivities for a widow’s 
wedding were later ordained to last three days; Yer. 
Ket, i. 1 ; comp. Ket. 3a, b). Other takkanot were 
ascribed as follows: 

To Joshua: (1) the second blessing in the grace 
after meals (Ber. 48b); (2) ten regulations which, 
however, are not takkanot in the strict sense of the 
term (B. K. 80b, 81b, 114a; Tosef,, B. M. xi. : comp. 
Bloch, “InsLitutionen des Judenthums,” i. 54-68). 

To Boaz, the ancestor of David: the salutation in 
the name of God (Ber. 54a). 

To David: (1) increase of the eight watches of the 
priests to twen^-four (see above); (2) the recitation 
of a hundred benedictions daily (Num. R. xviii., 
but comp. Men. 43b) ; (3) the third blessing in the 
grace after meals (Ber. 48b), 

To Solomon ; (1) the practise regarding the ‘Erub 
(S liab. 14b; ‘Er. 21a; Yalk., Cant. 23); (2) the 
washing of the hands before Kiddush, 
Takkanot which Shammai and Hillel made ob- 
of Moses, ligatory for Terumaii as well, while 
Solomon, later authorities extended it to still 
and Others, other occasions (Shah. 14b; ‘Er. 21b); 

(3) the regulation regarding entrance 
upon another’s fields after the harvest (possibly en- 
acted by Joshua also; B. K. 80b). 

To the Earlier Prophets: (1) the singing of Hal- 
lel on every important occasion^ and especially 
after escape from danger (Pes. 117a); (2) the intro- 
duction of twenty-four divisions of laymen, corre- 
sponding to the twenty-four watches of the priests 
(Ta‘an. 27a). 

To the Prophets before the destruction of the 
Temple: (1) the payment of terumah and tithes 
in Babylon as well as in Palestine (Yad. iv. 3); (2) 
the payment of the second tithe (“ma'aser sheni”) 
in the seventh year (£&.); (3) payment of it in Egypt, 
Ammon, and Moab likewise ( ib.); (4) payment of 
the tithe for the jdooi* (“ma‘aser ‘ani ”) even in the 
seventh year (ib.). 

To the Prophets after the destruction of the Tem- 
ple : fasting on the Seventh of Tammuz, Ninth of Ab, 
First of Tishri, and Tenth of Tebet(“ Yede Eliyaliu,” 
ed. Constantinople, 1728, xl. 14). 

To Ezra : (1) the reading of ten verses of the Torah 
by three men on Monday and Thursday (Men. 82a); 
(2) the reading of Lev. xxxiii. 14-46 before the Pass- 


over, and of Deut. xxvii. 15-69 before New-Year 
(Meg. 31b); (3) sessions of the courts on Monday and 
Thursday (B. K. 82a) ; (4) the washing of clothes on 
Thursday (ib.); (5) the eating of gar- 
Takkanot lie on Friday (ib.); (6) early rising on. 
of Ezra. Friday morning for the purpose of 
baking (ib.) ; (7) the wearing of a gir- 
dle by women for reasons of modesty (ib.); (8) the 
obligation of the ritual bath (ib.); (9) the regula- 
tion obliging pedlers to traverse the city in case 
they deal in articles necessary for women (ib.); (10) 
ritual baths for those who have become unclean (ib.). 

To the 120 elders, including the Prophets (the 
“men of. the Great Sanhedrin”): (1) the recitation 
of the “ Shemoneh ‘Esreh ” on week-days ; (2) the in- 
sertion of the prayer against heretics in the time of 
Gamaliel, and, much later, of the “ Adouai Sefatai ” 
before the “ Tefillah, ” and of the “ Yihey u le-Razon ” 
after it (Meg. 17b). 

To Ezra and his court: the use of the words “ min 
ha-‘olam we- 'ad ha-‘olam” as the conclusion of the 
blessings in the morning prayer. 

To the “men of the Great Synagogue”: (1) the 
reading of Megillat Esther in the villages and un- 
walled cities on the Fourteenth of Adar and in 
Availed cities on the folloAving day; banquets bn 
those days; and the giving of alms (Meg. 2a); (2) 
the introduction of seven blessings into the“Tefil- 
. lab ” on the Sabbath and on holy days; the addition 
of nine benedictions to the linisaf for the NeAV Moon 
and for the semifestivals, and of twenty-four on 
fast-days (Ber. 33a); (3, a) recitation of a number 
of prayers, (b) period of duration of each praj^er, (c) 
the offering of prayer daily, (cl) three times on week- 
days, (e) four times on the Sabbath, festivals, fasts, 
and New Moons, and (/) five times on the Day of 
Atonement; later addition of the “Magen Abot” 
from the “ Tefillah ” on Friday evening, and the 
genuflection before and after the first blessing 
(“Abot”) and before and after the penultimate 
“lioda’ah” (Ber. 26b); (4) introduction of Bene- 
diction, prayer, Kiddusii, and IIabdalaii (Ber. 
33a). 

To John Hyrcanus (135-106 B.C.): (1) decree for- 
bidding the recitation of the prayer of thanksgiving, 

“ Widdui Ma'aser ” (Deut. xxvi. 5-10), by any who 
have not paid the proper tithes at the end of the 
third year (Yer. Sotah ix. 11); (2) the appointment 
of officials to collect the tithes (Tosef., Sotah, xiii. ; 
Ma‘as. Sli. v. 16); (3) the use of rings in the sham- 
bles to force the animals to stand still (Sotah 47a); 
(4) prohibition of blacksmithing on semifestivals 
(ib. ; M. K. 11a). 

In his “Hodegetica in Mischnam” Frankcl con- 
siders the first generation of the Tannaim as the true 
period of the takkanot ; but ontya few of the extant 
ordinances of this period are ascribed to Simeon b. 
Shetali or to John Hyrcanus, the remainder being 
attributed to the court of the Hasmoneans or to the 
“court of the priests.” The following ordinances 
were instituted in the first century b.c. : 

B} r the court of the Hasmoneans: (1) the solemn 
'celebraiion of the Hanukkah festival, beginning on 
the 25th of IvisleAv (Meg. Ta‘an. ; Shab. 21b); (2) 
insertion of the name of God in legal documents 
(R. H. 18b; subsequently abrogated). 



671 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Takkanah 


By the court of the priests: (1) the daughter of a 
priest to be entitled to 300 zuzim under her mar- 
riage contract, and the widow of a priest to 100 
zuzim (Ket. 12a); (2) the ketubah of a woman about 
to contract a levirate marriage to form a lien on the 
property of her first husband; and if he had no 
property, that of the levir to be appropriated (Yeb. 
39a; Ket. 82b); (3) the ketubah of a virgin to be of 
the value of 200 zuzim, and that of a widow or 
divorcee, 100 zuzim (Ket. 10a). 

By Simeon b. Shetah : (1) all the real estate of the 
husband to be entered in the marriage contract in 
favor of the wife (Shah. 14b ; Ket. 
Takkanot viii., end), but the former may em- 
of ploy the dowry in his business; (2) 
Simeon ben compulsory attendance at school (ib .) ; 
Shjetab. (3) the declaration that foreign glass 
is impure (ib.). 

By Hillel (75 b.c.-o c.e.); (1) introduction of the 
Pbosbul (Slieb. x. 3, 4; Git. 36a); (2) the purchase- 
money of a house to be deposited in the Temple ; 
the original owner may seize it by force in order to 
prevent its payment to the seller before the expira- 
tion of a year (*Ar.'31b; Git. 74b). 

By Gamaliel I. (middle of 1st cent.): (1) the con- 
demnation of 2,000 (subsequently increased) ells of 
ground in which the New Moon witnesses might 
freely move on the Sabbath (R. II . 23b); (2) the full 
names of the husband and the wife to be inserted in 
a bill of divorce (Git, 34b) ; (3) the signatures of wit- 
nesses to the bill of divorce (ib.); (4) a widow may 
take the portion secured to her by her marriage 
contract only after all claims of the orphans have 
been fully satisfied (ib, ) ; (5) a bill of divorce may 
be declared invalid only in the presence of the mes- 
senger who has brought it, or in the presence of the 
wife before she has received it (Git. 32a). 

The following takkanot date from the last cen- 
tury before the common era and the first centuiy 
of that era : 

Enactments concerning the priestly office: (1) the 
casting of lots by the priests for taking the ashes 
from the altar (Yoma21a); (2) the ex- . 
Priestly act determination of the time of the 
Or- daily sacrifice (Pes. oSa); (3) the festal 
dinances. sacrifice (“hagigah ”) on the day of 
the Passover (Pes. 69b) ; (4) the dis- 
tribution of the skins of the sacrificial victims (To- 
sef., Yeb. xi,); (5) the expense of the drink-offerings 
to be defrayed by the communal treasury from the 
“lislikali” (Shek. vii, 4, 5); (6) the same ordinance 
for the sacrifice by a Gentile (ib. vii. 6) ; (7) the same 
for a dead proselyte (ib.) ; (8) in case of the death of 
a high priest, his sacrifice to be offered at the ex- 
pense of the community (ib.); (9) the priestly usu- 
fructs of the salt and "wood given to the Temple 
(ib.) ; (10) abrogation of the sacrifice for the use of 
the ashes of the red heifer (Men. 51b); (11) a pair of 
doves which have become unfit for sacrifice to be 
replaced at the expense of the community (Shek. 
vii. 7); (12) those who guard the after-growth in the 
fields during the Sabbatical year to receive their 
wages from the “ ter u mail ha-lishkali ” (Shek, iv. 1 ; 
B. M. 118b; Men. 84a); (13) the priest who burns 
the red heifer becomes unclean (Parali iii. 7), and 
(14) must pass the period of his uncleanness in a cer- 


tain hall of the Temple (ib. iii. 1); (15) the mezuzah 
at the door of the antechamber in which the priest 
spends the time before the Day of Atonement (Yoma 
10a); (16) promulgation of rules concerning the 
shekels on the First of Adar (Ex. xxx. 11 et seq.); 
the reading on New Moon in case it falls on a Sab- 
bath (Ex. xxx. 11; Shek. i. 1); (17) exhortation to 
caution against sowing mixed seed (Shek, i. 1); (18) 
men must be sent on the Fifteenth of Adar to repair 
the public highways, grounds, and cisterns, to re- 
paint tombstones, and to perform similar duties 
(ib. ) ; (19) each man must have the “ widdui bikkurim ” 
(see Deut. xxvi. 3) recited, or repeat it himself, in 
the presence ...of the person whom it concerns (Bik, 

iii. 7) ; (20) double separation of the Hallah, once 
for the heave-offering and once for the priest (Hal. 

iv. 8) ; (21) for this purpose a housewife gives one 
part in twenty -four, and a baker one in forty -eight 
(Hal. ii. 7); (22) the great heave-offering, when 
given by a generous person, amounts to one part in 
forty ; when given by an avaricious man, to one in 
sixty; and when given by one who is neither, to 
one part in fifty (Ter. iv. 3); (23) an ox, correspond- 
ing in value to the terumah, may be brought to the 
priest (Hal. 134b); (24) every one must have the 
Lulab in the house on the first da} r of Sukkot, in 
case this festival falls on a Sabbath (Suk. 42) ; (25) the 
lulab and the “ 'arabali ” preponderate in the Temple 
on the Sabbath in case that day coincides with the 
seventh or last day of Sukkot (Suk. 42b); (26) testi- 
mony relating to the New Moon may be received 
only from those who are properly qualified (R. H. 
22a); (27) the reading of Ex. xxx. 11, Deut. xxv. 18, 
Num. xix. 1, and Ex. xii. 1 on the four special Sab- 
baths before the Passover; (28) regulations govern- 
ing the reading of the Torah (Meg. 21a); (29) per- 
mission to import vegetables in the Sabbatical year 
(Sheb. vi. 4); (30) concerning the collection of wood 
and stones in a neighbor’s field. 

Ordinance ascribed to Joshua b. Gamla (c. 65 c.e.) : 
appointment of teachers in all the cities of Judea 
for children between six and seven years of age (B. 
B. 21a). 

Most of the ordinances of Johanan b. Zakkai were 
promulgated before the time of the destruction of 
the Temple, and were consequently modified after 
the year 70. Frankel enumerates eleven of these de- 
crees in his “Hodegetica,” although Bloch lists nine 
only (comp. R, H. 3tb), which are as follows: (1) 
the New Moon witnesses must go to 
Takkanot the place where the court assembles 
of Johanan (R. H. 31bj ; (2) the testimony of such 
ben witnesses to be received at any time 

Zakkai. during the day (ib. 30b) ; (3) they may 
not desecrate the Sabbath by travel- 
ing, except in Nisan and Tisliri, the most important 
two months (ib. 21b): (4) the sliofar to be blown 
even on the Sabbath (R. II. 29b); (5) the lulab to be 
swung on all the seven days of the festival (ib. 30a); 

(6) the consumption of new grain is forbidden dur- 
ing the entire day of the waving of the ‘Ojiek (ib.); 

(7) priests may not wear sandals when they ascend 
the “dukan,” or platform, to pronounce the bene- 
diction (Sotali 40a; R. H. 31b); (8) a proselyte must 
deposit a quarter-shekel in the treasury to be able to 
bring his sacrifice when the Temple shall be re- 



Takkanah 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


672 


built (this was repealed by Johanan b. Zakkai him- 
self; Tver. 9a; R. H. 31b); (9) abolition of the ritual 
governing trials for adultery (Sotah 47a). 

Ordinance ascribed to Gamaliel II. and the court 
of Jabneh : agriculture is permitted until the first 
day of the Sabbatical year (Tosef., Sheb. i.). 

Takkanah ascribed to the court of Jabneli; the 
fourth benediction in the grace after meals in mem- 
ory of those who fell at Bethar (Ber. 48b). 

After R. Gamaliel’s death the Sanhedrin of Jab- 
neii seems to have gone to Uslia (the modern A3- 
TJs) for reasons which are no longer known, and 
the grounds of its takkanot are equally obscure. 
In view of their ethical import, however, these en- 
actments soon became binding. They were as fol- 
lows: (1) a man must support his minor children; 
(2) if a man transfers his property to his sons, both 
he and his wife enjoy r a life income from it; (3) the 
gift of more than one-fifth of one’s propeity for 
alms is forbidden ; (4) a father must deal gently with 
his son until the latter reaches the age of twelve; 
but after that age he may be severe with him ; (5) 
after a wife’s death the husband may sell the prop- 
erty included in her dowry ; (6) one who attacks an 
old man must pay one pound of gold for the injury ; 
(7) elucidation of the seven doubtful reasons through 
which the terumah becomes unfit for use and must 
be burned (Ket. 49a, 50b; Yer. Ket. iv. 28b; M. K. 
17a; Yer. M. Iv. iii. 8; Shab. 15b). These ordi- 
nances were enacted by the rabbis of the second 
generation of tannaim, R. Ishmael being especially 
mentioned (B. B. 28b; Niddah 14b). 

An ordinance is also extant which dates from the 
time called the period of religious persecution (“slie- 
mad”). When Hadrian issued his decree forbid- 
ding the Jews to observe their religion, the teach- 
ers, including R. Akiba, R. Tarfon, and R. Jose the 
Galilean, met in council and agreed that during the 
time of the persecution the Law might be trans- 
gressed in all respects, except as regarded the com- 
mands relating to idolatry, chastity, and morality, 
although this regulation was observed only super- 
ficially and only when necessary in order to deceive 
the Roman spies. 

Three ordinances have been preserved which were 
promulgated by R. Jose b. Halafta of Sepphoris, of 
the third generation of tannaim, who flourished about 
the middle of the second century. They are as fol- 
lows: (1) during a funeral the mourners must re- 
main standing while those who console them pass 
by (Sanh. 19a) ; (2) women living in lonely places 
must associate with one another, so as not to attract 
the attention and evil desire of any man (id.); (3) a 
child accompanied by its mother must not lag be- 
hind on the road, lest it come to harm (id.). 

The following ordinances are ascribed to the last 
generation of tannaim (end of the second and begin- 
ning of the third century); To R. Ju- 
Ordinances dali I., lia-Nasi: (1) messengers must 
of the Last be sent every month to announce the 
Tannaim. new moon to the Diaspora (R. II. 

22b); (2) concerning the purchase of 
fields among the Sicarii (Git. 55b) ; (3) on menstrua- 
tion (Niddah 66a). 

Ordinances from the period of the Mislmah and 
relating to women are as follows: (1) an orphan girl 


married during her minority may leave her husband 
without a bill of divorce on attaining her majority 
(Ket, 46b); (2) the permission to marry a feeble- 
minded girl (Yeb. 112b); (3) a virgin should be mar- 
ried on a Wednesday (Ket. la); (4) various laws of 
purification (Niddali 11a); (5) the earnings of the 
wife belong to her husband (Ket, -46a) ; (6) the hus- 
band must pay all bills for his wife’s illness (Ket. 
51a); (7) a husband must ransom his wife from 
captivity (id. 76b); (8) a husband must defray the 
expenses of his wife’s burial (ib. . 76a); (9) what- 
ever is found by the wife belongs to her hus- 
band (B. M. 12a); (10) a widow is entitled to re- 
main in the house of her deceased husband and to 
share in the income (id. 52b); (11) orphan girls share 
the income from their father’s estate until they 
reach their majority (id. 52b); (12) male heirs suc- 
ceed to the property of the mother, even after their 
father’s death (id. 52b) ; (13) the daughter is entitled 
to a certain portion of her father’s estate as her 
dowry (ib. 67a); (14) a bill of divorce must be writ- 
ten and signed in the presence of the messenger 
who is to deliver it (Git. i. 1); (15) the date must be 
given iu all legal documents (ib. 17a); (16) in a bill 
of divorce the date must be given according to the 
state calendar (Git. 79b; later it was also dated ac- 
cording to the era of Creation); (17) witnesses must 
sign a bill of divorce in the presence of each other 
(ib. 10a); (18) introduction of the “ get mekuslishar ” 
to make divorce more difficult (B. B. 160a) ; (18) a 
woman becomes free even though only a single wit- 
ness testifies to her husband’s death (Yeb. 87b). 

The more the Jews came in contact with the Ro- 
mans and the Persians, the more they were obliged 
to modify the letter of their laws, and 
Ordinances to introduce ordinances of the class 
“for the characterized as necessary (a) “for the 
Sake preservation of the order of the world, ” 
of Peace.” or ( b ) “ for the sake of peace. ” The reg- 
ulations of this type, like those already 
mentioned, date from the mishnaic period, and were 
promulgated for the sake of morality. In addition, 
there were other takkanot designed (o) to facilitate 
repentance and (d) to contribute to “ the interests of 
the market ” or of business. 

(a) Takkanot “ for the preservation of the order of 
the world (1) a servant who is half free may com- 
pel his master to manumit him entirely ; but he must 
give a note for one-half his value; and this debt 
must be paid (Git. 41a); (2) the ransom paid for 
prisoners must not exceed the usual sum ( ib . 45i) ; 
(3) prisoners must not be allowed to escape (ib.) ; (4) 
phylacteries and other sacred articles must not be 
taken from any who are not Gentiles (ib.); (5) if 
land in Palestine is sold to a Gentile, the first-fruits 
must be forfeited (ib. 47a); (6) if one divorces his 
wife for immorality, he may never take her back 
again (ib. 45a); (7) on demand, one who has suffered 
injury is to receive reimbursement from the best of 
the estate ; a creditor, from the medium ; and a wife, 
with her marriage contract as security, from the 
worst (ib. 48b) ; (8) if there is any^ property without 
encumbrance, nothing may be taken in payment of 
a debt from a field which has been mortgaged (ib .) ; 
(9) the least desirable portion of the real estate of 
orphans may be taken in payment of debts (id.); 



673 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Takkanah 


(10) mortgaged property may not be applied to tlie 
pleasure or support of the wife (ib.); (11) one who 
finds anything shall not take an oath (ib.); (12) 
a guardian may not be compelled to take an oath 
(ib. 52a); (13) accidental defilement of holy vessels 
either by a layman or by the priest in the Temple 
is punishable (ib. 52b). 

(b) Ordinances “for the sake of peace”: (1) the 
call to tlie reading of the Law to be made in a defi- 
nite order (Git. 59a) ; (2) the “ ‘erub ” may be arranged 
even with unoccupied houses (ib.): (3) the cistern 
nearest the river is to be filled first (ib.); (4) hunting 
includes robbery (ib. 59b): (5) things found in the 
possession of one to whom they would not normally 
come imply theft (ib.); (G) the poor are permitted 
to pluck fruit from a neighbor’s tree, but taking 
what remains on the ground is theft (ib.); (7) even 
the Gentile may share in the harvest gifts to the 
poor (ib.). 

(c) Ordinances facilitating repentance: (1) one 
who steals a beam and builds it into his house need 
paj r for the damage to the beam only (Git. 55a) ; (2) 
if a robber or a usurer wishes to restore goods or 
money taken, they or it shall not be accepted (ib.); 

(3) purchase and sale by persons not regularly deal- 
ing in the wares in question are valid, in case such 
persons have reached years of maturity, in order 
that they may support themselves (Git. 59a); (4) if 
one brings a stolen animal as a sin-offering before 
the theft is known, the sacrifice is valid (ib. 55a). 

(d) Takkanah in “the interests of the market” or 
of business : if one unwittingly purchases stolen 

goods, the owner must refund the 
Business money paid for them (B. K. 114b). 
Takkanot. Ordinances relating to legal proceed- 
ings, like those which governed the 
religious life, were highly important so long as the 
Jews retained their own judicial system in the Dias- 
pora. These regulations fall, according to Bloch 
(l.c.), into three categories: ordinances relating (a) 
to commerce; (b) to civil law ; and (c) to the oath. 

(a) Ordinances relating to commerce: (1) it is per- 
missible to take possession of real estate under cer- 
tain conditions (B. M. 10a, b); (2) movables may be 
acquired only by actual possession, not by purchase 
(ib. 44a); (3) movables when together with immov- 
ables are acquired by purchase or contract ( Kid. 26a) ; 

(4) acquisition by a verbal conveyance of the three 
parties concerned is legal (Git. 13b; Kid. 48a; this is 
not, however, expressly declared to be an ordinance); 

(5) a verbal conveyance of property by one who is 
moribund is legally binding (B. K. 146b) ; (6) a prose- 
lyte may be the heir of a Gentile father (Kid. 17b); 
even before taking possession a soil nmy dispose of 
a part of his deceased father’s property to defray 
the funeral expenses (B. M. 16a; Tosef.. Ned. vi.). 

(b) Ordinances relating to civil law : (1) in actions 
for debt testimony may be accepted without further 
investigations (Sanli. 3a, 32a); (2) actions for debt 
may be tried even by judges who have not yet re- 
ceived the “semikah” (ordination; Sanh., begin- 
ning); (3) a contract may be authenticated only by 
Ihe witnesses who have signed it (Ket. 18b); (4) on 
the strength of his contract a creditor may collect 
iiis debts either from tlie heirs or from those who 
purchase from the debtor (B. B. 176a). 

NI.— 43 


(c) Ordinances relating to the oath: (1) if a laborer 
demands bis wages and his employer asserts that 
he has paid them, the former must take an oath be- 
fore be can obtain payment (Sliebu. 44b) ; (2) one 
wlio has been robbed must take an oath before he 
can recover liis property (ib. 44b) ; (3) one who as- 
serts that he has been injured by another person 
must take an oath before he can re- 
Ordinances cover damages (ib .) ; (4) if a manager 
on asserts that he has paid an employee, 
the Oath, and the latter denies it, both parties 
take the oath, and the employer pays 
them both (ib) ; (5) if a contract is falsified by tlie 
wife or by the creditor, they must each take an oath 
before they can receive payment (Ket. 87a) ; (6) if 
an employer lias only one witness to testify to the 
payment of a contract, the claimants must take an 
oatli before the 3 r can receive their money (Ket. 97a); 
(7 ) r money due from tlie property of orphans may be 
paid only under oath (ib. 87a); (8) the pa 3 r ment of 
debts from mortgaged property ma) r be made only 
under oath (ib.); (9) payment in the absence of the 
debtor may be made onl 3 r under oath (ib.) ; (10) liqui- 
dation of a debt b 3 r means of propert}' dedicated to 
the sanctuaiy ma 3 r be made only under oath (Shebu. 
42b); (11) expenses incurred in behalf of the wife’s 
property^ ma 3 r be recovered only under oath (Ket. 
79b); (12) if two parties each claim to have received 
the same piece of property at the same time, they 
must take oatli to that effect (B. M. 2a) ; (13) if one 
asserts that a piece of property entrusted to him has 
been stolen from him, he must take an oath to that 
effect (B. M. 34b); (14) one who has unwittingly 
purchased stolen property must take au oatli before 
he can recover his money (B. K. 114b); (15) if one 
lias unintentional^ damaged tlie property of an- 
other, lie must take au oatli to that effect before lie 
can be released from the pajunent of damages (B. M. 
82b). 

Other ordinances dating from tlie mislinaic period 
were as follows : Ordinances relating to tlie Passover : 
(1) leaven must be sought with a light on the eve 
of the 13th of Nisan (Pes. 2a) ; (2) on Passover eve 
bitter herbs, mixed with “haroset,” must be eaten 
(ib. 120a) ; (3) four cups of wine must be drunk (ib. 
99b) ; (4) those who partake must recline while eat- 
ing, in token of freedom (ib.). 

Miscellaneous ordinances: (1) if a Sabbath follows 
a hoty day, an “ ‘erub tabshilin ” is made in order 
that food for the Sabbath may be prepared on the 
holy day (Bezali 15b); (2) on tlie Sabbatli and on 
holy da 3 r s one ma 3 r move freely within a radius of 
2,000 cubits (‘Er. 49b); (3) the owner of lost prop- 
erty must bring witnesses to testify that he is not 
dishonest, and he must then describe his property 
before he is entitled to recover it (B. M. 28b); (4) 
lost articles to be announced in tlie synagogue 
(ib. 28a). 

The privilege of making new ordinances did not 
end with the completion of the Mishnali: enact- 
ments were promulgated also in the amoraic, sabo- 
raic, and geonic periods, although their exact dates 
are no longer known. The post-mislinaic ordinances 
which belong in this category are as follows : (1) 
the dowry of a wife and the movables of orphans 
may be taken in payment of debt (comp. Mordecaion 



Takkanah 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


674 


Ket. 10; Maimonides, “Yad.” Islnit, 15); (2) mov- 
ables may be attached for the dowry of orphan 
girls (Tur Eben ha-‘Ezer, 112, 113); 

Post- (3) an oath is valid in cases involving 

Mishnaic real estate (“ Halakot Gedolot,” xxii.) ; 

Or- (4) no oath may be taken on the Bi- 

dinances. ble (“ S ha ‘are Zedek,” v. 4, § 22); (5) 
criminal cases may be tried in Baby- 
lon (ib. iv. 1, § 62); (6) the property of orphans may 
be taken for the marriage portion of the wife 
(“Hemdah Genuzah,” p. 60a); (7) the debtor must 
take an oath if he is unable to paj r (Tur Hoshen 
Mislipat., 61, 2); (8) the debtor must take an oath 
if he has obliged the creditor to do so (ib. 87) ; (9) 
a widow is obliged to take an oath only in case 
the property bequeathed to her by her husband is 
insufficient to discharge her marriage contract 
(“ Slia‘are Zedek,” iv. 59); (10) in legal trials both the 
principals and the witnesses must remain seated 
(Maimonides, “Yad,” Sanhedrin, xxi. 5); (11) Mo- 
hammedan wine is not “issur” (responsa, “Ge’onim 
lladmonim,” xlvi.) ; (12) the priest to be the first one 
called up to the reading of the Law, he preceding even 
the nasi (Tur Orah Hayyim, 135); (13) permission 
to trade with Gentiles on their holy days (Tur Yoreh 
De‘ali, 149); (14) the fast-day on the Thirteenth 
of Adar (Abudarham, ed. Prague, p. 78d); (15) an 
apostate may draw up a bill of divorce (“Hem- 
dah Genuzah,” 1L, lxxxvi.); (16) if a Samaritan be- 
trotlis a Jewess, she must have a bill of divorce 
before any one else can marry her (Tur Eben ha- 
‘Ezer, 44); (17) the passage Ex. xxxii. 11-14 must be 
read on fast-days (“Hemdah Genuzah,” iv. ; Mas- 
seket Soferim xvii. ; Meg. 31b; Tosef., Ber. xix.); 

(18) the interruption of the first and last three bene- 
dictions of the “Tefillah” by the supplications 
D'VI -IDD3, D"r6 3W31, 11D3 ’D, D"r6 1J13I (“Hera- 
dab Genuzah,” cxii. ; “Halakot Gedolot,” p. 9a); 

(19) the recitation of the morning benediction in the 

synagogue (Tur Orah Hayyim, 46) ; (20) the recita- 
tion of the prayer “ Aliabah Rabbah ” in the morn- 
ing and of “ Aliabat ‘Olam ” in the evening (“Hem- 
dah Genuzah,” cxxv.); (21) the recitation of the 
Biblical passage “Praised be the Lord in eternity, 
Amen and Amen ” (Ps. xli. 13) in the daily evening 
prayer before the “Tefillah” (Tur Orah Hayyim, 
236) ; (22) the insertion of the passage I Chron. xxix. 
10-13 in the morning prayer (ib. 51); (23) the recita- 
tion of the “ Shema 4 ” in the “ Kedushshah ” (Abu- 
darham, p. 53c) ; (24) introduction of the prayer be- 
ginning with the words DJV “IDD iu the “Kedush- 
shah ” of the musaf, and the prayers beginning with 
the words pjn TN* and “pIpED in the 

“ Kedushshah ” of the Shaharit Tefillah of Sabbath 
(Tur Orah Hayyim, 221); (25) the recitation of Ps. 
cxix. 142 at the Minhali prayer on the Sabbath, in 
memory of the death of Moses (ib. 292); (26) the 
benediction for the bridal night (Abudarham, p. 
115a); (27) “Parashat lia-Musafim ” (Tur Orah Hay- 
yim, 283). 

The following are ordinances of the ninth cen- 
tury, chiefly directed, according to Weiss, against 
Karaite teachings: (1) the benediction when the 
Sabbath candles are lit (earliest source of the “ Sid- 
dur Rab ‘Amram ”; Maimonides, “Yad,” Sliab. v. ; 
ROSII on Sliab. ii., § 18); (2) the counting of the 


“ ‘omer ” in the evening (“ Halakot Gedolot, ” p. 101c) ; 
(3) the ring in the marriage ceremony (“Slia‘are 
Zedek,” i. 3, §§ 12, 16); (4) the Mishnah “Ezehu 
Mekoman ” in the morning prayer (Tur Orah Hay- 
yim, 50). 

Only the following five ordinances, so far as 
known, bear the name of a gaon : (1) of Rab Rab- 
bah of Pumbedita and R. Huna of Sura (7th cent.): 

if a woman demands a bill of divorce, 

Geonic it must be drawn up for her imrae- 
Takkanot. diately (Weiss, “Dor,” iv. 5, 9, 37; 

“Slia'are Zedek,” iv. 4, § 15); (2) of 
R. Huna at Pumbedita and Mar Rab Bibai of Sura 
(8th cent.): a debt and a marriage portion may be 
recovered even from the property of orphans (ib. iv. 
28, 37, 41, 45) ; (3) of Mar Rab Zadok of Sura (9th 
cent.) : in suits relating to real estate the defendant 
must take an oath (controverting Sliebu. 45a ; Weiss, 
l.c. pp. 43, 123); (4) of R. Nahshon of Sura (end of 
9th cent.): the introduction of “Amen” before the 
“Tefillah” (“Seder lia-Eshkol,” ed. Halberstadt, 
1867, i. 9; Weiss, l.c. p. 124); (5) of Hananiah b. 
Judah of Pumbedita (1000): abrogation of the “ke- 
tubat- benin dikrin ” (“Sha‘are Zedek,” iv. 4, 17; 
Weiss, l.c. pp. 162, 203). 

Although the succeeding ordinances belong to the 
same period, their place of origin is Europe instead 
of the East. The first to promulgate enactments in 
Europe was R. Gershom; and, while it is no longer 
possible to determine how many rules he authorized, 
their number was doubtless considerable, since the 
renewal of old takkanot in the thirteenth and four- 
teenth centuries seems to have been due to him. The 
following ten ordinances by Gersliom are found in 
a manuscript in the possession of N. Brull: (1) one 
who wittingly enters a thoroughfare against the or- 
ders of the court is liable to punishment; (2) the 
prohibition of bigamy; (3) respect for 
Takkanot the privacy of letters; (4) services in 

of !R. the synagogue must not be interrupted 
Gershom. on account of a quarrel; (5) the owner 
of a synagogue may not refuse admis- 
sion to any one on the score of a personal grievance ; 
(6) services may be interrupted to search for a lost 
object, and he who finds it without reporting the 
fact is liable to excommunication ; (7) a majority may 
refuse to obey a regulation of the communal direct- 
ors only with the consent of the court; (8) property 
held in trust may not be retained maliciously; (9) 
no case may be carried before a secular court except 
one involving heavy damages; (10) a divorce may 
not be forced upon a woman (comp. Meir of Ro- 
thenburg, Responsa, p. Hid; “Kol Bo,” ed. Fiirtli, 
Appendix, la). 

The following takkanot also are ascribed to R. 
Gershom: (1) no one ought to leave the synagogue if 
only ten are present ; but if one should leave, the 
service may be continued; (2) a Jew is forbidden to 
rent to another Jew who lives with a Gentile; (3) 
if absence or poverty renders it impossible for a man 
to support his wife, the communit}*- must provide for 
her; (4) in case of an altercation with serious conse- 
quences, both parties are liable to punishment: and 
if one of them falls ill a second time in consequence 
of the brawl, lie may bring the matter into court; 
(5) one who is summoned to court by a messenger 



675 


THE JEWISH EH CYCLOPEDIA 


Takkanah. 


must attend (Mel* of Rothenburg, l.c. pp. 112d- 
llBa). 

During the twelfth century rabbinical synods were 
convened for the first time in the post-Talmudic 
period in the chief cities where fairs were held. The 
object of these sjmods was to promulgate new ordi- 
nances as circumstances required and to harmonize 
Talmud law with the conditions obtaining in Chris- 
tian Europe, from a religious, legal, and moral point 
of view. R. Tam seems to have acted as the chair- 
man of several synods, although the precise ones over 
which he presided are uncertain. The chief schol- 
ars mentioned as members of these bodies were 
RaSIIBaM, Isaac b. Solomon of Sens, Solomon b. 
Jacob of Auxerre, Isaac b. Neliemiah of Drome, 
and Menaliem b. Perez of Joigny. Seven ordinances 
are ascribed to these conventions, although their 
exact provenience is no longer known. One of the 
earliest of the enactments seems to have been that 
governing commercial relations with Christians, 
which was promulgated as a result of the persecu- 
tions during the Second Crusade. The ordinances 
in question are as follows: (1) no Jew may pur- 
chase crucifixes, ecclesiastical vessels, vestments, 
ornaments, or prayer-books; (2) cases may be tried 
in the national court only with the mutual consent 
of plaintiffs and defendants; (3) if the case of either 
party has been prejudiced by this procedure, the 
plaintiff must make amends according to the judg- 
ment of the seven directors of the community ; (4) no 
one may accept an appointment from the govern- 
ment ; (5) if a wife dies within a year of her marriage, 
her husband must return her dowry ; (6) if the dowry 
was payable at a later date, the hus- 
Takkanot band has no claims upon it; (7) a 
of Synods, bill of divorce, when once drawn up, 
may not be questioned or criticized 
(“ Kol Bo,” ed. * Fur th, 1782, § 117; “Sefer ha- 
Yashar,” No. 579; Griitz, “Gescli.” [Hebr. ed.] iv. 
235-236). 

When the representatives of the Jews convened 
at Mayence in the early part of the thirteenth cen- 
tury (1220 or 1223) to regulate the taxes and imposts 
to be paid to the emperor, the}' promulgated new 
ordinances which were accepted throughout Ju- 
daism, and they also revised earlier enactments. 
Among the members of the first synod were David 
b. Kalonymus of Munzenberg, Baruch b. Samuel of 
Mayence, Hezekiah b. Reuben of Boppard, Siniliah 
b. Samuel of Speyer, Eliezer b. Joel ha-Levi of 
Cologne, and Eleazar b. Judah of Worms. These 
ordinances have been preserved under the name of 
“takkanot Slium” (D'lfcjJ = Speyer, Worms, and Ma- 
yence), and are indicative of the status of the German 
Jews of the period. Six of the enactments may be 
ascribed with some degree of certainty to the first 
synod, and are as follows: (1) no Jew should be 
guilty of bad faith toward a Christian, or of coun- 
terfeiting; (2) one who has caused harm by lodging 
information must make amends for it; (3) court 
Jews are not to be exempt from the communal 
taxes; (4) quiet and devotion must rule in the syna- 
gogue; (5) a brother-in-law must enter upon the 
levirate marriage without raising any objections; 
(6) controversies must be decided b} r the rabbis of 
Mayence, Speyer, and Worms (Mei'r of Rothenburg, 


l.c. p. 112a; Moses Minz, Responsa, No. 202; Luria, 
“Yam shel Shelomoh” on Yeb. iv., No. 18). 

In 1245 in one of these same three cities another 
synod of rabbis convened, at which David b. Shal- 
tiel, Isaac b. Abraham, and Joseph b. Moses ha- 
Kohen were present. The ordinances of the earlier 
synod were confirmed, and two new ones w T ere pro- 
mulgated: (1) the rabbi may not excommunicate 
any one without the consent of the community, nor 
may the congregation do so against the will of the 
rabbi; (2) if rabbis from other cities should endeavor 
to induce a local rabbi to excommunicate any per- 
son, he must refuse to do so unless he gains the con- 
sent of the community concerned (Mei’r of Rothen- 
burg, l.c.. end; Moses Minz, l.c. No. 102, p. 158b). 

The German rabbis again assembled at the time of 
the Black Death, to renew the ancient ordinances, 
their enactments referring chiefly to the dissolution 
of levirate marriages and to the division of an es- 
tate between the widow and the levir. Other synods 
convened toward the end of the fourteenth century 
(at Weissenfels) and in the middle of the fifteenth 
century (at Nuremberg and Bingen), but no record 
of their ordinances has been preserved. A single 
takkanah by Jacob Weil, however, is extant, and 
reads thus: “The following is one of the many en- 
actments which we have promulgated at Nurem- 
berg: if one of the two parties wishes to use the 
German language in court, the other party must 
do likewise” (Weil, Responsa, No. 101). The ordi- 
nances which Seligman Oppenheim issued at the 
Bingen synod were originally intended to be en- 
forced only in the district of the lower Rhine ; and 
when he attempted to enforce them for the upper 
Rhine, a controversy resulted which destroyed the 
permanent validity of his enactments. 

To these synods must be ascribed also the following 
ordinances of uncertain date which have been pre- 
served under the name “ takkanot lia-kehillot me-ash- 
kenaz ” : (1) no Jew may wear a garment or cuffs after 
the Christian fashion, nor may he have his beard cut v 
with a razor; (2) no wine made by Christians may 
be used by Jews; (3) no Jew may cause a jar to be 
filled with water by a non- Jew on the Sabbath; (4) 
a Jew may not gamble with a Christian ; (5) the 
punishment of guilt by solitary confinement in an 
apartment of the synagogue in enjoined ; (6) enter- 
tainments and banquets are prohibited ; (7) Jews who 
were recipients of charity had to give tithes of same; 
(8) all persons must wear the “kittel” in the syna- 
gogue; (9) the margins of a book must not be cut 
(Moses Minz, l.c. No. 102; “Codex Ilalberstadt,” 
No. 49). 

At the end of the fifteenth and at the beginning 
of the sixteenth century takkanot were issued at 
Toledo; and after the expulsion from Spain others 
were promulgated at Fez by the scholars of Castile. 
Additional enactments seem to have been made by 
Isaac b. Sheshet (RIBaSH) and Simeon b. Zemah 
Duran (RaSHBaZ). Twelve ordinances were pro- 
mulgated at Toledo, and thirty-two at Fez, the lat- 
ter including four concerning the taking of a sec- 
ond wife in the lifetime of the first; five dealing 
with the attitude of a husband toward his wife 
when the latter has deserted him; and fourteen de- 
voted to lawsuits (“Iverem Hamar,” ii. 34a-36b). 



Tal 

Tallit 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


676 


Various takkanot w ere also promulgated from time 
to time by the Council of Pour Lands. Some of 
these ordinances, which were binding on all Polish 
Jews in the sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth 
centuries, were published in a volume bearing the 
name of Joshua ben Alexander Park lia-Kohen, and 
entitled “Kontres ‘al Dine Ribbit” (Sulzbach, 1692; 
Brlinn, 1775). . 

Bibliography : Frankel, TTodcgetica in Mischnam , pp. 3, 4, 
2S, 29 ct passim ; Rapoport , 1 Ereh Mfllin , s.v. Usha* Prague, 
1S52; Jakob Briill, Mebo ha-Mishnah, pp. 1-52, Frankfort-on- 
t Lie-Main, 1876; Bloch, Slia'are Torat ha~To:kkanot, Buda- 
pest, 1879-1902; Briill, Jalirb. viii. 61; Aronius, Rcgcstcn, p. 
115 ; Rosenthal, Die Judengemeinde in Mainz , Sprier, uml 
Worms , p. 44, Berlin, 1904; Kohut, GcseJn dev Dcntschcn 
. Judcn , p. 121, Berlin. 1898; Gudemann, Gcsch. i. 44, 138, 213, 
note i.; Weiss, _Dor,iv., v., passim ; Perles, in Monatsschrift, 
1865, pp. 84 et scq .; Sct'er ha-Eslrtwl, i.-9, Halberstaclt, 1867 ; 
Rosenthal, in Hildeshcimer Juhclschrift, pp. 37-53, Berlin, 
1890; Neubauer, in B. E. J. xvii. 69 ; Kercm Hamar , ii. 34a- 
36b, Leghorn, 1869; Grata, Gesch. iii. Ill, 140,212,350; iv. 
132, 157, 161 ; v. 3:16 ; vi. 180-182; vii. 21, 102 ; viii. 14, 49, 211, 
268 ; ix. 451 ; x. 51, 69, 386. 

W. B. S. O. 

TAL. See Gesiikm. 

TAL, TOBIAS : Dutch rabbi ; born at Amster- 
dam 1847; died at The Hague Oct. 24, 1898; studied 
at Dtinner’s theological seminary (1862-74) and at 
the University of Utrecht (D.D. 1S74). After offici- 
ating for a short time as rabbi at Amsterdam, Tal 
accepted a call as chief rabbi of Gelderland in 
1880, and removed to Arnliem on June 26, 1881; 
here lie remained until 1895. when he was called 
to The Hague as successor to chief rabbi Beren- 
stein. From 1880 to 1881 he was engaged in a 
controversy with Professor van Oort of the Univer- 
sity of Leyden concerning the ethical value of the 
Talmud. 

In 1898 Tal published, under the title “Oranje- 
bloesems,” a history of the Jews of the Netherlands, 
deriving his material for this work chiefly from un- 
published documents in the private archives of 
Queen Wilhelmina. He was the editor of “Clio- 
reben Jedidjali,” a periodical which appeared in 
Rotterdam (1887), and in which lie published sev- 
eral articles over the pseudonym of “ Jotham.” 

Bibliography: J. H. Di'mner, T. Tab in Dc Amsterdammer, 
No. 1115, Nov. 6, 189S (with portrait); Centraal Blad , Oct. 
28, 1S90, xiv. 30; Wcchhlad von?' Israel ietisehc Duisgezin- 
nen . xxix. 44 (witli portrait). 

E. Sl. j 

TALKAR, DANIEL RAHAMIM : Beni- 
Israel soldier; enlisted in the 4th Rifles on April 1, 
1842. He was made jemidarand native adjutant on 
Jan. 1, 1857; subahdar on Jail. 1, 1861; subahdar - 
major and bahadur in 1878. He served with the 
reserve forces in the expedition to Baliawalpur in 
1846, and two years later left Karachi for Mooltan 
on field seivice, being present at the successful at- 
tack on the enemy’s position, in the- suburbs of the 
latter city on Dec. 27, 1848. . Though wounded he 
was with the regiment when it stormed the breach 
and captured the city, and he was engaged in all 
the subsequent siege operations until the capitula- 
tion of the fort and citadel on Jan. 22, 1849 (medal 
and clasp). Talkar served also in the Persian cam- 
paign of 1856-57, during which he was present at 
the occupation of the island of Kurraek, at the land- 
ing in Ilallilah Bay, and at the advance on and 
surrender of the town and fort of Bnshire; lie took 
part also in the forced inarch on Barazgoon, the 


night attack of Feb. 6, 1857, and the battle of 
Ivhoosliab (medal and clasp). In 1858 he served in 
the Central India Field Forces. 

J. J. Hy. 

TALKAR, EZEKIEL; Bcni-Israel soldier; 
born at Ahmedabad, India, in 1848; joined the 3d 
Regiment, Native Light Infantry, now called Bom- 
bay Rifles, on Sept. 16, 1864. He was promoted 
jemidar Jan. 1, 1877; subahdar Oct. 5, 1879; and 
subalidar-majoi* June 12, 1890. During this period 
the regimental school owed its efficiency in mus- 
ketry largely to his skill, most of the officers and 
senior non-commissioned officers receiving from 
him instruction in the theory of bring small 
arms. Talkar served in the Kathiawar Field Forces 
from 1865 to 1868, took part in the Afghan war 
(1879-80), was engaged in the affair at Kucheli Pass 
(medal), and saw active service also during the 
Burmese war of 1S86-S8 (medal and two clasps). 
In 1893 he retired from the service and joined the 
Dhrangadlira State Police as police inspector, later 
acting in a similar capacity at the city of Bliavnagar. 
In 1896 the maharaja Salieb, who greatly appreci- 
ated his services, transferred him to the State 
Regiment, in which he still (1905) holds the rank of 
second in command. 

j. J. Hy. 

TALLAGE : A tax arbitrarily imposed upon 
a community, which was made collectively respon- 
sible for the entire sum. This tax was frequently 
levied on the English Jews during the twelfth and 
thirteenth centuries. A tallage of £60,000, known 
as the “Saladin tallage,” was levied on them, for 
example, at Guildford in 1189, the ostensible ob- 
ject being the crusade then being prepared against 
Saladin. Another tallage, of 10,000 marks (£6,666 
13s. 4d.), which was probably levied' at an earlier 
date, is also referred to. It is reported that John 
tallaged the Jews in 1210 to the extent of 60,000 
marks (£40,000). There are likewise records of tal- 
lages under Henry III. of 4,000 marks (1225) and 
5,000 marks (1270). Important tallages were made 
by Edward I. in the second, third, and fourth years 
(£1,000), and in the fifth year (25,000 marks), of his 
reign. These taxes were in addition to the various 
claims which were made upon the Jews for relief, 
wardship, marriage,' fines, law-proceedings, debts, 
licenses, amercements, etc., and which they paid to 
the English exchequer like their fellow subjects, 
though probably on a larger scale. 

It lias been claimed that -the loss of the income 
from die Jews was the chief reason why Edward L 
was obliged to give up bis right of tallaging Eng- 
lishmen in general. 

Bibliography: Jacobs, Jews- of Angevin England, pp. 325- 
326; M. Schwab, Documents sur les Juifs d'Anglctcrre, in 
B. E.J. x i. 268-270; Jacobs and Wolf, Jiibl. Anglo-Jud. p. 
xvi. 

J. 

TALLIT (n^D) • Mantle with fringes (zizit) at 
the four corners; a prayer-shawl worn over the 
garments, and used by men after marriage and, in 
modern times, by boys after their confirmation as 
“bar mizwot.” The tallit, which can be spread out 
like a sheet, is woven of wool or silk, in white, with 
black or blue stripes at the ends. The silk ones vary 



677 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


Tal 

Tallit 


in size, for men, from about 36 X 64 inches to 72 
X 96 inches. The woolen tallit is proportionately 
larger (sometimes reaching to the ankle) and is made 
■of two lengths, sewed together, the stitching being 


The original tallit probably resembled the “ ‘aba- 
yah,” or blanket, worn by the Bedouins for protection 
from sun and rain, and which has black stripes at the 
ends. The finer tallit, very likely, was similar in 



Karaite Tallit and Bag 1 . 

(From a photograph.) 

covered with a narrow silk ribbon. A ribbon, or, 
for. the wealthy, a band artistically woven with 
silver or gold threads (called “spania”), with the 
ends hanging, and about 24 inches long by from 
2 to 6 inches wide, is sewed on the top of the tallit. 
From the four corners of the tallit bang zizit, in 
compliance with 

spun and almost Jew wi 

P U 1’e White. (From ail illuminated ma! 

The silken tallit 

was formerly made principally in Germany ; but 
of late several silk manufacturers in the United 
{States (at Paterson, N J.) have produced the bulk 
of the American supj* /. 




mmm 


wmmi 


Jew with Tallit. 

(From a drawing by Alphonse Levy.) 

quality to the Roman pallium, and was worn only 
by distinguished men, rabbis, and scholars (B. B. 
98a; Gen. R. xxxvi. : Ex. R. xxvii.). The tallit 
of a “ talmid hakam ” extended to within a liand- 

breadtli of the 

__ ...» length of the 

1 y jgjj! rwJ bottom of his un- 

dergarment (B. 
B. 57b). The 

times worn part- 
ly doubled, and 
sometimes with 
\ v the ends thrown 
flllf Mi IlNlfcll *- W&Bm A over the shoul- 
WSl UPS I ippsfi ders (Shab. 147a ; 

Ipr;^ f list wi® 1 Pfti ‘ > Men * 41a )* 

g|| SS i The most ap- 

>• • ' proved style of 

adjusting the 
tallit is the 
Turkish ( u ‘ati- 
% £ - - fat yishma‘e- 

TaHit. lim ”), and is as 

r of the fi f teenth century.) follOWS! ThC 

scarf is thrown 

over the head with the middle point of one of the 
longer edges over the middle of the forehead and 
tlieleft-hand end hanging over the left shoulder ; the 
riirlit end is then also thrown over the left shoulder 


II® 

V:". 

..y 


\ i 


1 


-lip 


. 




m 


Jew with Tallit. 

illuminated mahzor of the fifteenth, century.) 


Tallit 

Talmid Hakam 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


678 


so that all the four corners are upon the leftside; a 
short pause is then made, and the corners are al- 
lowed to fall back in their original position, two 
corners suspended from each shoulder. The por- 
tion covering the head is next pushed backward, 
and may be removed entirely therefrom and made 
to iest on the back of the neck. The more modern 
st} le is to roll up the tallit like a scarf, put it round 
the neck, and let the ends hang from the shoulders 
(comp. Yalk., Ps. 728; Pesik. R., ed. Friedmann, 
ix. 82a, note). 

The cabalists considered the tallit as a special gar- 
ment for the service of God, intended, in connection 
with the phylacteries, to inspire awe and reverence 
for God at pi^er (Zohar, Exod. Toledot, p. 14ia). 
The tallit is worn by all male worshipers at the 
morning prayer on week-days, Sabbaths, and holy 
days; by the hazzan at every prayer while before 


tains a part of every notch. One part is then given to 
the debtor, and the other to the creditor. This was, 
in the medieval ages, the ordinary way of giving 
receipts to Jews and others, A certain number of 
these tallies have been discovered at Westminster, 
each containing the record of a debt due to a Jew 
before the Expulsion. The object of the device was 
to prevent fraud. When a Jew claimed a certain 
amount as his debt, the two parts of the tallies were 
brought together, and if there was any discrepancy 
in the joining of the notches, the sum indicated in 
the tally kept in the arclia by the chirographer for 
the debtor was held to be decisive. Tallies were 
used also for general receipts by the British ex- 
chequer, and it is stated that when the British 
Houses of Parliament were burned down in 1832 
the fire was the result of carelessness in burning the 
stock of tallies. The same means of checking fraud 


mm 








istfSaS 


(la the possession of the Gesellschaft 


Embroidered Tallit. 

sur Erforschung- Jadiseher Kunstdenkmaler, Fr 


the Ark; and by the reader of the scroll of the Law 
when on the almemar, In earlier times the tallit was 
likewise spread over the canopy at the nuptial cere- 
mony. 

In the Talmudic and geonic periods the phylac- 
teries were worn by rabbis and scholars all day, and 
a special tallit at prayer; hence they put on the 
phylacteries before the tallit, as appears in the order 
given in “ Seder B. ‘Amram Gaon ” (p. 2a) and in the 
Zohar (Ba-Midbar, 120b). In later times, when the 
phylacteries came to be worn at morning prayer 
only, the tallit was put on first, after aspecial bene- 
diction had been recited. See Fringes. 

Bibliography: Shuman 'Aruk, Orahtfayyim, 8-24; David 

de Gmsburg, m 2?. E. J. 0890) xx. 1G-22. 

' J - J. D. E. 

TALLY: A piece of wood on which is written 
a deed of indebtedness, the sum due being indicated 
by notches along the edge. The stick is then cut 
in two in such a manner that each piece thereof con- 


was used in American cities ; for example, Philadel- 
phia, within the last thirty years. 

Bl of England \m°^ eedinas nf thc JcwWl Historical Society 

J. 

TALMID HAKAM (plural, Talmide Laka- 
mim) ; Honorific title given to one well versed in 
the Law. Prizing knowledge, especially that of the 
Torah, above all worldly goods, the talmide haka- 
mim formed in Jewish society a kind of aristocracy 
having many privileges and prerogatives as well as 
duties. To the Jews, birth, riches, and other ad- 
vantages are as nothing in comparison with learning. 
The Mishnah says: “A scholarly bastard takes pre- 
cedence over an ignorant high priest” (Hor. 13a). 
In the Middle Ages the talmid hakam enjoyed the 
full confidence of his coreligionists, who consulted 
him not only in spiritual matters, but also in 
worldly affairs. Even when he held no official posi- 
tion in the community, he supervised the cult, de- 





679 


THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 


rpol 1 if- 

Talmid Hakam 


termined the time and form of prayers, verified 
weights and measures, etc. To enable him to de- 
vote himself entirely to study, Jewish legislation 
exempted him from the payment of taxes and from 
performing any specific duties (Sliulhan ‘Aruk, Yo- 
reli De'ah, 243). 

Although modesty is one of the cardinal virtues of 
the talmid hakam, he is enjoined to uphold liis rank 
and not to compromise his dignity. As in the case 
of a king, he is not permitted to allow any one to 
omit the performance of any public act of reverence 
due to him, inasmuch as in him the Law is honored 
or slighted (Maimonides, “^ad,” Tesliubali, iii.). 
There are, according to the Talmud, six acts 
which a talmid hakam ought to avoid: to go 
abroad in perfumed garments ; to walk alone at 
night; to wear shabby shoes; to converse with a 
woman in the street, even if she be his wife; to sit 
in the society of an ignoramus ; and to be the last 
to enter the bet lia-midrasli (Ber. 43b). With re- 
gard to association with an ignoramus, the Talmud 
says; “The talmid hakam is first likened by the 
ignoramus to a vase of gold ; if he converses with 
him, he is looked upon as a vase of silver; and if he 
accepts a service from him, he is regarded as a vase 
of earth” (Sanh. 52b). Among the privileges of 
the talmid hakam is the right of declining to 
present himself as a witness in suits concerning 
money transactions before a judge who is his in- 
ferior in knowledge (Sliulhan ‘Aruk, Hoslien Mish- 
pat, 28). 


The talmid hakam was expected to be familiar 
with all branches of human learning. “He who 
understands astronomy,” says R. Johanan, “and 
does not pursue the study of it, of that man it is 
written : 1 But they regard not the work of the Lord, 
neither consider the operation of his hands 7 77 (Isa. 
v. 12). R. Johanan says also that only he who is 
able to answer all halakic questions, even those which 
deal only with the insignificant treatise Kallah, is 
a talmid hakam worthy to be appointed leader of a 
community (Shab. 114a). In accordance with this 
view of the standard of learning required in one 
who aspires to the title of talmid hakam, some later 
rabbinical authorities assert that in modern times 
no one deserves to be called by that epithet (“Kene- 
set lia-Gedolali” on Yoreli De‘ah, § 18). 

The principles in accordance with which the tal- 
mid hakam must live are enumerated in the first 
chapter of Derek Erez Zuta, opening with the fol- 
lowing sentence: “The way of the wise is to be 
modest, humble, alert, and intelligent; to endure 
injustice; to make himself beloved of men; to be 
gracious in his intercourse even with subordinates; 
to avoid wrong-doing; to judge eaclfman according 
to his deeds ; to act according to the motto ‘ I take 
no pleasure in the good things of this world, seeing 
that life here below is not my portion/ Wrapped 
in his mantle, he sits at the feet of the wise ; no one 
can detect anything unseemly in him; lie puts perti- 
nent questions, and gives suitable answers.” 




END OF YOL. XI.