C. FROM TIIE DISPERSION OF THE JEWS TO fIIE PRESENT TIME.—Excepting the ordinances which were local and belonged to the temple and its sacrifiLial service, and bating the exposition and more rigid explanation of some of the rites so as to adapt them to the altered condition of the nation, the Jews to the present day continue to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles as in the days of the second temple. As soon as the Day of Atonement is over every orthodox Israelite, accord ing to the ancient canons, begins to erect his booth in which Ile and his family take up their temporary abode during this festival. Each paterfamilias also provides himself with a lulab= palm, and ethrog= citron, as defined by the ancient canons. On the eve of the r4th of Tishri (which in this year, 1865, is October 4), or of the Preparation DaY (n-v min), the festival commences. All the Jews, attired in their festive garments, resort to the syna gogue, where, after the evening prayer (an,t7n) appointed in the liturgy for this occasion, the hal lowed nature of the festival is proclaimed by the cantor wro in the blessing pronounced over the cup of wine (vn+p). After the evening service every family resorts to its respective booth, which is illuminated and adorned with foliage and diverse fruit, and in which the first festive meal is taken. Before, however, anything is eaten, the head of the family pronounces the sanctity of the festival over a cup of wine. This sanctification or Kia'cluth (V.11V) was ordained by the men of the Great SynagOgne [SYNAGO6UE, THE GREAT], and as there is no doubt that our Saviour and his apostles recited it we shall give it in English. It is as fol lows :—` Blessed art thou, 0 Lord our God, King of the Universe, who bast created the fruit of the vine ! Blessed art thon, 0 Lord our God, King of the Universe, who hast chosen us from among all nations, hast exalted us above all tongues, and bast sanctified us with thy commandments. In love, 0 Lord, thou bast given us appointed times for joy, festivals, and seasons for rejoicing ; and this Feast of Tabernacles, this time of our gladness, the holy convocation, in memory of the exodus from Egypt ; for thou bast chosen us, and hast sanctified us above all nations, and hast caused us to inherit thy holy festivals with joy and rejoicing. Blessed art thou, 0 Lord, who hast sanctified Israel and the seasons Blessed art thou, 0 Lord our God, King of the Universe, who bast sanctified us with thy commandments, and hast enjoined us to dwell in booths Blessed art thou, 0 Lord our God, King of the Universe, who hast preserved us alive, sus tained us, and brought us to the beginning of this season !' Whereupon each member of the family washes his hands, pronouncing the prescribed benediction whilst drying them, and all enjoy the repast. The orthodox Jews sleep in the booths all night. The following morning, which is the first day of the festival, they again resort to the syna gogue, holding the palms and citrons in their hands.
They lay tbem down during the former part of the prayer, but take them up after the eighteen bene dictions [SYNAGOGUE, THE GREAT], when they are about to recite the Hallel[HALLEL]. IIolding the palm in the right hand and the citron in the left, they recite the following prayer : Blessed art thou, 0 Lord our God, King of the Universe, who bast sar•tified us wilh thy commandments, and bast enjoined us to take the palm-branch !' Where upon each one turns his citron upside-down and waves his palm-branch three times towards the east, three times towards the west, three times to wards the south, and three times towards the north. The legate of the congregation [SvNAG0GuE] pronounces the following benediction : Blessed art thou, 0 Lord our God, King of the Universe, who hast sanctified us with thy commandments, and hast enjoined us to recite the Hallel!' and the Hallel is chanted ; when they come to Ps. cxviii. the waving of the palm-branch is repeated at the first, tenth, and twenty-fifth verses, just as it was done in the temple. Two scrolls of the law are then taken out of the ark MIN, nyn) and brought on the platform (riv.a), when the lessons for the first day of the festival are read out from the law : Lev. xxii. 26–xxiii. 44 ; and Num. xxix. 12-16, as Maphtir ; and from the prophets Zech. xiv. I 2I ; in the manner described in the article HAPH TARA in this Cyclopmdia. After this the Musaph prayer is recited, which corresponds to the Musaph or additional sacrifices in the temple for this special festival. When the legate of the congrega tion, in reciting the Mitsaph, comes to the passage where the expression priests (nnu) occurs, the Aaronites and the Levites arise, and after the latter have washed the hands of the former, the priests with uplifted hands pronounce the sacerdotal bene diction (Num. vi. 24-27) upon the congregation, who have their faces veiled with the Talith [FRINGED GARMENT]. The ark of the Lord is then placed in the centre of the synagogue, when the elders form themselves into a procession headed by the legate, who carries the scroll of the law, and all the rest carry the palm branches in their hands and walk round the ark once repeating the Hosanna, and waving the palms in commemoration of the proces sion round the altar in the temple (Maimonides, Ha-Chezaka, Hilchoth Lzdab, vii. 23). When the morning service is concluded the people betake themselves to their respective booths to partake of the festive repast with the poor and the stranger. In the afternoon, about five or six o'clock, they again resort to the synagogue to recite the Mincha (rin)n) prayer, answering to the daily evening sacrifice in the temple. As soon as darkness sets in or the stars appear, the second day of the festival commences, the Jews having doubled the days of holy convocation [FEsTivALJ. The evening prayer, as well as the practices for this evening, resemble those of the first evening.