land; and thousli it seems exaggerated when the Tal- mud states that tliere were 40(1 elementary schools in Bechar, each having 400 teachers with 400 children each (Gifliti, 58 b), and that there were 1000 pupils in the house of the father of Rabban Simeon ben -Gamaliel who were instructed in the Thora, or law, and in the Greek (Babu Ka»ia,SS a), it is certain that the number of schools, teachers, and pupils must have been large in everv great place. Maimonides thus describes the school: "The teacher sat at the head, and the pupils surrounded him, as the crown the head, so that every one could see the teacher and hear his words. The teacher did not sit on a chair while the pupils sat on the ground, but all either sat on chairs or on the ground. Formerly it was customary for the teacher to sit and the puiiil to stand; but shortly before the destruction of Jerusalem it was so arranged that both the teacher and scholar sat" {Jad /lac/iiizahi H. T. T. iii, 2). No unmarried person could teach (Kiddush. 82 b), and no choleric person could be a teacher {Ahoth, ii, 7). The teacher was to be respected by the pupil : yea, the latter was expected to show him greater respect than his own father, and to entertain for him a warmer attachment {Aboth, iv, 15; Pesachim, 22 b; Sabbath, 119 b; Hora- yoth, 13 a; Baba Metsia, 33 a). But, on the other hand, the teacher was, both by word and example, to incite his inipils to everything good and noble ; he was to endeav- or to secure the confidence, tlie respect, and the affection, both of parents and children ; the latter he was to treat rather with kindness than with rigor. As to the objects the teacher had to teach, the national literature of the peoi)le was the main object. As soon as the child could read, the teacher commenced reading Leviticus or To- rath Cohanim, and the reason whj' this book was to be read first was because the little ones are innocent and pure, and the sacrifices symbolize purity, therefore "let the pure ones come and study the law of restoring puri- ty by the sacrifice" {Vayikra Iiabba,§ vii). The cur- riculum in the study of the law being finished, that of the Mishna began, to be followed by thai of the Gema- ra; the latter, however, belonged to the higher schools. Besides the national literature, languages were also taught, especially the Greek. Thus we read of Rabbi, who said, "What is the use of the Syriac language in Palestine? Let any one study either the Hebrew or the Greek" {Gittin. 28 b; Satah. 49 a; Baba Kama, 82 b). Besides the linguistic studies, they also studied astronomy, mathematics, and natural sciences. It seems that gymnastic exercises also originally belonged to the curriculimi, but were afterwards interdicted as leading to dangerous contact and assimilation with heathens (/I bada Zara, 18 b). Beating, if necessary, with a strap, never with a rod, was to be the principal means of cor- rection; and an instance is mentioned where a teacher was deposed for too great severity. The alphabet was taught by drawing the letters on a board till the chil- ilren remembered them. In reading, well- corrected books were to be used, and the child Avas to point to the words as he spelled tliem. The teacher was to make the lesson as plain as possible, and not to lose patience if it was not immediately understood. It was one of the ])rincipal duties of an instructor of youth to impress upon their minds and hearts the lessons of morality and chastity. To accpiire Huencj', pupils were to read aloud, and certain mnemonic rules were devised to facilitate the committing to memory. The number of hours during which junior classes were to be kept in school was limited. As the dose air of the schoolroom might prove detrimental during the heat of the day, schools were closed between ten o'clock A.M. and three P.M. For similar reasons school-hours were limited to four hours a day during the period from the 17th Thamns to the 9th Ab, and the teacher forbidden to chastise his pupils during these months. The paramoimt impor- tance which public instruction had assumed in the life of the nation, we can see from sayings like those above cited: "Jerusalem was destroved Ijecause the instruc-
tion of the young was neglected" {Snbhath,\\9 b) ; " The world is only saved by the breath of the school-children" (ibid.) ; " A town in which there is no school must per- ish" (ibid.). The higher schools, or " kallahs," met dur- ing certain months in the year only. Three weeks before the term, the dean prepared the students for the lectures to be delivered by the rector ; and so arduous be- came the task, as tlie number of the disciples increased, that in time no less than seven deans had to be appoint- ed. Yet the mode of teaching was not that of our mod- ern universities. The professors did not deliver lectures which the disciples, like the student in Faust, could " comfortably take home in black and white." Here all was life, movement, debate. Question was met by coun- ter-question ; answers were given wrapped up in alle- gories or parables; the inquirer was led to deduce the questionable point for himself by analogy — the nearest approach to the Socratic method. The New Test, fur- nishes many specimens of this method of instruction. The extent of instruction imparted in these schools em- braced almost all sciences preserved in the Talmud. An important part of education, as we shall more particular- ly see below, was the learning of a trade. Thus we find among the most celebrated "doctors" tentmakers, san- dalmakers, weavers, carpenters, tanners, bakers, cooks.