NEW YEAR
37
NEW YEAR
a pair of scales ia his right hand and an open book in his left, as the sign of the zodiac for this month, thus expressing the religions idea of this festival.
With the exception of the sacriiices which cannot be offered in consequence of the destruction of the Temple, and a few modifications which have been introduced through the shifting circumstances of the nation, the Jewish ritual for the new year continues to the present day to be essentially the same as it was in the days of Christ. The service comprises prayers of a threefold kind as described in the Mishna, which are as follows: (1.) A series of texts are recited bearing on the supreme rule of God, consisting of, a, ninx till cn^3S-",.1^; b, nilina, commencing with ^13^ nPN till rT'nn D"'m:n ; and c, DlTil rUJIp, beginning from where the last leaves off till li;npn >Nil. After these prayers have been offered, in which the speedy approach of the kingdom of God is invoked, when all mankind shall pos- sess the true knowledge of their Creator, and unite in the worship of their supreme Benefactor, and whicli are called M":bo, of Homage, a prayer is recited celebrat- ing the holiness of the day (13n~na nnX), after which the trumpet is blown. (2.) Then follow praj-ers acknowledging the omniscience, providence, and suprem- acy of the Creator, and beseeching him to remember his creatures in pity, and temper his judgment with mercy, which are called ri3Ti2T, of Remembrance, and after which the trumpet is again blown; and (3.) Prayers celebrating that future jubilee when all men will be free from the bondage of error, and acquire perfection in the knowledge of their God, which are called ni'iSVJ, of Soundinr/ the Tnunpet, and after which the trumpet is blown a third time. The service is then concluded with the recital of the nTiar', nXTin, and n-'DIID nD^a, or the last three blessings of the Amida or Mussajili, n:j-i, d-ini'a, and mbli: ni':5 {Rosh Ua-Shuna, iv, 5). Before the destruction of the Temple the trumpets were blown all day by the priests in Jerusalem, from sunrise to sunset, but since the downfall of the city it has been ordained that the trumpet is to be blown in every city during the synagogal service, and that every Israelite is obliged to hear its sound. Though the Bible says nothing about the kind of trumpet to be used on this occasion, yet it is certain that " the cornet used in the Temple on the feast of New Year was," as the Mishna declares, "a straight horn of a chamois [a kind of ante- lope, or wild goat], the mouthpiece of which was cov- ered with gold" (^Rosk Hu-Shana, iii, 3), and the Jews to the present day use a ram's horn, to remind God on this occasion of the ram which he sent to be sacrificed instead of Isaac, and of the covenant made with the patriarchs; for which reason also Gen. xxii, 1-24, re- cording the sacrifice of Isaac, forms the lesson of this festival. The horns of oxen or calves are unlawful {Rosh Ila-Shuna, iii, 2), as the use of them Avould re- mind God of Israel's sin in making the golden calf, which is also the reason why the Jews in the present day no more gild the mouthpiece of the trumpet. Before sounding the trumpet, which is of this shape, the rabbi
New- Year's Trumpet.
pronounces the following benediction : " Blessed art thou, O Lord our God. King of the Universe, who hast sanc- tified us with thy commandments, and enjoined us to hear the sound of the trumpet! Blessed art thou, O Lord our God, King of the Universe, who hast preserved us alive, sustained us, and safely brought us to this season !" To this the whole congregation responds "Amen!" The greatest importance is attached to the
blowing of the trumpet, as its sound is believed to con- found Satan, who on this day of judgment appears be- fore God's tribunal to accuse the children of Israel (Rosh Ha-Shanu. IG). This explains the otherwise inexpli- cable rendering of Numb, xxix, 1 in the Chaldee para- phrase of Jonathan b. Uzziel, " It shall be a day of blow- ing to confound Satan, ivho comes to accuse you, with the sound of your trumpets.'^ After the Minchah, or the after- noon service, they go to a river or stream, which they generally prefer to be out of town, and to contain fish, and recite a pra3'er called "j^b'i'P, which consists of the following passages of Scripture: Micah vii, 18-20; Psa. cxviii, 5-9 ; xxxiii ; and with the earnest recitation of Isa. xi, 9, shake their garments over the water. Four reasons are assigned for this service : (1.) It is to pray to God to be as fruitful as the fish. (2.) To commemorate the sacrifice of Isaac, which, according to an old tradi- tion, Abraham made on this day, in sjiite of the wiles of Satan, who sought to prevent the patriarch from obey- ing the Lord, by causing a mighty stream to arise on Abraham's journey to Mount Moriah, which would have drowned both tlie father and the son but for the prayers of faithful Abraham. (3.) To be reminded by the sight of the fish that we are as suddenly deprived of our life as these fish are caught in the net (Eccles. ix, 12), and thereby be admonished to repentance. (4.) To learn from the fish constantly to direct our eyes upwards.