V. Worship. — 1. Its Time.— As the Bible prescribes no special hour for worship, but simply records that the Psalmist prayed three times a day (Psa. Iv, 18), and that Daniel followed the same example (Dan. vii, 11), the men of the Great Synagogue decreed that the wor- ship of the synagogue should correspond to that of the Temple. To this end they ordained that every Israel- ite is to offer either public or private worship to his Creator at stated hours three times a day — (a) in the morning (IT^in'J) at the third hour=9 A.M., being the time when the daily morning sacrifice was offered ; (b) in the afternoon or evening (nn;^) at the ninth hour and a half=3 30 P.M., when the daily evening sacrifice was offered; and (c) in the evening (ii1"72), or from the time that the pieces and the fat of the sacrifices, whose blood was sprinkled before sunset, began to be burned till this process of burning was finished. As this proc- ess of burning, however, sometimes lasted nearly all night, the third prayer could be offered at any time be- tween dark and dawn (Mishna, Berakoth, iv, 1 ; Ge- mara, ibiJ. 26 b; Pesachim, 58 a; Jerusalem Berakoth, iv, 1; Josephus, Ant. xiv, 4, 3). It is this fixed time of worship which accounts for the disciples' assembling together at the third hour of the day (i. e. 9 A.M.) for morning praj^er (ni"im:5) on the Day of Pentecost (Acts ii, 1-15), and for Peter and John's going up to the Temple at the ninth hour (i. e. 3 P.M.) for (:n"n"'2) even- ing prayer (Acts iii, 1), as well as for Cornelius's prayer at the same hour (x, 30). The statement in Acts x, 9, that Peter went up upon the house-top to praj- about the sixth hour (=12 M.), has led some of our best expositors to believe that the hour mentioned in iii, 1 1 and X, 30 is the time when the third prayer was of- fered. The two passages, however, and the two dif- ferent hours refer to one and the same prayer, as may be seen from the following canon: ''We have already stated that the time for the evening prayer (nn^TO) was fixed according to that of the dail\^ evening sacrifice, and since this daily evening sacrifice was offered at the ninth hour and a half ( = 3.30 P.M.), the time of prayer was also fixed for the ninth hour and a half (=3.30 P.M.), and this was called the Lesser Minchah {T^TXi'O T^'^lip). But as the daily evening sacrifice was offered on the fourteenth of Nisan (riDS 3"i") at the sixth hour and a half ( = 12.30 P.M.), when this day hap- pened to be on a Friday (r,2ir ^"i") [see Passover], it was enacted that he who offers his evening prayer af- ter the sixth hour and a half ( = 12.30 P.M.) discharges his duty properlj'. Hence, as soon as this hour arrives, the time of obligation has come, and it is called the G reat MinchaK\T\h^1^ UnrO; Maimonides, /arf /fo- Chezal-a Hilchoth Tephila, iii, 2 ; Berakoth, 26 b). This mistake is all the more to be regretted, since the accu- racy in such minute matters on the part of the sacred writers shows how great is the trustworthiness of their records, and how closelj' and strictly the apostles con- formed to the Jewish practices. The prayers three times a day were not absolutely required to be offered
in public worship in the synagogue every day. The times of public worship were («) Monda'and" Thurs- day, which were the two market-clays in the week, when the villagers brought their produce into the neighbor- ing town and their matters of dispute before the local Sanhedrim, which held its court in the synagogue (Jerusalem Megillah, v, 1 ; Baba Kama, 32 a), and on which the pious Jews fasted (Mark ii, 18; Luke v, 33; xviii, 12; Acts x, 30); {b) the weekly Sabbath; and (c) feasts and fasts. But though not obligatory, yet it was deemed specially acceptable if the prayers were offered even privately in the synagogue, since it was inferred from IMal. iii, 1.6 that the Shechinah is present where two or three are gathered together.
2. The Legal Congregation. — Though it was the duty of every Israelite to pray privately three times a day, yet, as we have already seen, it was only on stated oc- casions that the people assembled for public worship in the legally constituted congregation, and recited those portions of the liturgj' which could not be uttered in private devotion. Ten men, at least, who had passed the thirteenth year of their age (niSTa "i3) were re- quired to constitute a legitimate congregation (^"^JTS) for the performance of public worship. This number, which evidently owes its origin to the completeness of the ten digits, is deduced from the expression rt*1>' in Numb, xiv, 27, where it is said " how long shall I bear with this (m") congregationV referring to the spies. As Joshua and Caleb arc to be deducted from the twelve, hence the appellation congregation remains for the ten, and this number is therefore regarded as forming the legal quorum (Mishna, Sanhedrim, i, 6; Maimonides, lad lia-Chezaka Hilchoth Tejjhila, xi, 1). "The Shema (j."2ffi) must not be solemnly recited, nor must one go before the ark to conduct public worship, nor must the priests raise their hands to pronounce the benediction, nor must the lessons from the law or the prophets be read . . , unless there are ten persons present" (Mishna, 3fegillah,iv,3).