It Was In Vain That I Put Questions To Several Of The First
Rabbins, Concerning The Desert In Which The Children Of Israel Sojourned
For Forty Years; I Found That My Own Scanty Knowledge Of The Geography
Of Palestine, And Of Its Partition Amongst The Twelve Tribes, Was
Superior To Theirs.
There are some beautiful copies of the books of Moses in the Syrian
synagogue, written upon a long roll
Of leather, not parchment, but no
one could tell me when or where they were made; I suspect, however, that
they came from Bagdad, where the best Hebrew scribes live, and of whose
writings I had seen many fine specimens at Aleppo and Damascus. The
libraries of the two schools at Tiberias are moderately stocked with
Hebrew books, most of which have been printed at Vienna and Venice.
Except some copies of the Old Testament and the Talmud, they have no
manuscripts.
They observe a singular custom here in praying; while the Rabbin recites
the Psalms of David, or the prayers extracted from them, the
congregation frequently imitate by their voice or gestures,
[p.327] the meaning of some remarkable passages; for example, when the
Rabbin pronounces the words, “Praise the Lord with the sound of the
trumpet,” they imitate the sound of the trumpet through their closed
fists. When “a horrible tempest” occurs, they puff and blow to represent
a storm; or should he mention “the cries of the righteous in distress,”
they all set up a loud screaming; and it not unfrequently happens that
while some are still blowing the storm, others have already begun the
cries of the righteous, thus forming a concert which it is difficult for
any but a zealous Hebrew to hear with gravity.
The Jews enjoy here perfect religious freedom, more particularly since
Soleiman, whose principal minister, Haym Farkhy, is a Jew, has succeeded
to the Pashalik of Akka. During the life of Djezzar Pasha they were
often obliged to pay heavy fines; at present they merely pay the
Kharadj. Their conduct, however, is not so prudent as it ought to be, in
a country where the Turks are always watching for a pretext to extort
money; they sell wine and brandy to the soldiers of the town, almost
publicly, and at their weddings they make a very dangerous display of
their wealth. On these occasions they traverse the city in pompous
procession, carrying before the bride the plate of almost the whole
community, consisting of large dishes, coffee pots, coffee cups, &c.,
and they feast in the house of the bridegroom for seven successive days
and nights. The wedding feast of a man who has about fifty pounds a
year, and no Jew can live with his family on less, will often cost more
than sixty pounds. They marry at a very early age, it being not uncommon
to see mothers of eleven and fathers of thirteen years. The Rabbin of
Tiberias is under the great Rabbin of Szaffad, who pronounces final
judgment on all contested points of law and religion.
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