3, Ritual. — The most important features in the insti- tutions of the synagogue are the liturgy, the reading of the law and the prophets, and the homilies. To know the exact words of the prayers which our Saviour and his apostles recited when they frequented the syna- gogue is to us of the utmost interest. That the Jews in the time of Christ had a liturgical service is certain ; but it is equally certain that the present liturgy of the synagogue embodies a large admixture of prayers which were compiled after the destruction of the second Tem- ple. Though the poetic genius of the psalmists had vanished and the Temple music was hushed, yet nu- merous fervent and devout spirits were still unquench- ed in Israel. These earnest spirits made themselves audible in the synagogue in most devout and touching prayers, embodying the new anxieties, the novel modes of persecution and oppression which the Jews had to endure from the children of Christianity — the religion newh' born and brought up in the lap of Judaism — who deemed it their sacred duty to heap unparalleled suffer- ings upon their elder brothers. These pravers, formed after the model of the Psalms, not only ask the God of Israel to pity the sufferers, to give them patience to en- dure, and in his own time to confound their enemies and free them from all their troubles, but embody the teachings of the sages and the sentiments propounded by the Haggadists in the Sabbatic homilies. Hence, in describing the ritual of the synagogue, it is most essen- tial to separate the later element from the earlier por- tions. As it is beyond the limits of this article to trace the rise, progress, and development of all the component parts of the liturgy in its present order, we shall simply detail those portions which are, undoubtedly, the an- cient nucleus, which, beyond a question, were used by our Saviour and his disci|ilcs, and around which the new pieces were grouped in the course of time.
SYNAGOGUE
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SYNAGOGUE
(1.) The Hymnal Group (r'TT'-;: "^ir^OS).— Just as the rcmplc buildinii «'as the prototype for the syiia- j;o2;ue edifice, so the Temple service was the model for the ritual of the synaf^ogue. Hence, just as the Temple service consisted of the iiriests' reciting the ten com- mandments, jironouncing the benediction upon the jieo- ple (Numb, vi, "24-27), tlie ottering of the daily morning and evening sacritice, the Levitcs' chanting Tsa. cxv, 1- 16; 1 Chron. xvi,8-22 (^nin) during the morning sac- rifice, and Psa. cxvi; 1 Chron. xvi, 23-36 (^I'l'^'i') dur- ing the evening sacritice, so the ritual of the synagogue consisted of the same benediction, the chanting of the sacrificial psalms — as the sacrifices themselves could not be offered except in the Temple — and sundry addi- tions made by Ezra and the men of the (ireat Syna- gogue. It is for this reason that the ritual began with the Temple psalms. These were followed by the group consisting of Psa. c [xix, xxxiv, xci, cxxxv, cxxxvi, xxxiii, xcii], xciii, cxlv-cl — those enclosed in brackets being omitted on the Sabbath — 1 Chron. xxix, 10-13; Neh. ix, 6-12; Exod. xiv, 3()-xv, 18, and sundry sen- tences not found in the Bible, denominated the order of the Hymnal Sentences or '■• musical periods^ The use of this hymnal group as part of both the Temple and the synagogue service is of great antiquity, as is attested by the Seder Olam, xiv, and Afasec/ieth Sopherim ; see also Sabbath, 118 b, where we are told that ■11 n was ordained by David, and "IT^IT by the Sopherim, or scribes.
(2.) The Shema, or Keriath Shema (S"0'i nX'^"ip). — This celebrated part of the service was preceded by two benedictions, respectively denominated " the Creator of Lic/kr (TIX '^.21i) and ''Great Love" (n2"l ni^nx), and followed by one called " Truth'" (n-3X, now expanded into -Z^'^^l n"3X). The two in- troductory'benedictions were as follows: (o.) "Blessed art thou. O Lord our God, King of the universe, who Greatest light and formest darkness, who makest peace and createst all things! He in mercy causes the light to shine upon the earth and the inhabitants thereof, and in goodness renews every day the wi>rk of creation. Blessed art thou, the Creator of light !" (b.) " With great love hast thou loved us, O Lord our (iod; thou hast shown us great and abundant mercy, O our Father and King, for the sake of our forefathers who trusted in thee! Thou who didst teach them the love of life, have mercy upon us, and teach us also ... to praise and to acknowledge thj'^ unity in love. Blessed art thou, O Lord, who in love hast chosen thy people!" (jMishna, Tamid, v, 1; Berakoth, 11 b). Thereupon the ten commandments were recited, which, however, ceased at a very early period, because the Saddncees declared tliat this was done to show that this was the most essential portion of the revealed law (Mishna, Tamid^ v, 1, with Berakoth, 14 b). Then came the Shema proper, consisting of Deut. vi, 4-9; xi, 13-21; Numb. XV, 37-41 ; which was concluded with benedic- tion (o), entitled " True and Established" (ZT'^^I r"CX), as follows: " It is true and firmly established that thou art the Lord our God and the God of our forefathers; there is no God besides thee. Blessed art thou, O Lord, the redeemer of Israel!" (^lishna, Berakoth. i, 4; Ge- mara, ibid. 13 a; Mishna, Tamid, v, 1 : (iemara, ibid. 32 b). There is evidently an allusion to the reading of the Shema in the refdy which our Saviour gave to the lawyer who asked him, "Master, what must I do to inherit eternal lifeV" when the lawyer forthwith re- cited the first sentence of the Shenut (Luke x, 26). See