TABERNACLES, FEAST OF 150 TABERNACLES, FEAST OF
the following prayer: "Blessed art thou, O Lord our (Jod, King of the universe, wlio hast sanctified us with thy commandments, and hast enjoined us to take the palm-branch !'' Thereupon each one turns his citron upside-down and waves his palm-branch three times towards the east, three times towards the west, three times towards the south, and three times towards the north. The legate of the congregation pronounces the following benediction: " ISlessed art thou, O Lord onr God, King of the universe, who hast sanctified us with thy commandments, and liast enjoined us to recite the Uullel!" and the ll<dlii is chanted; when they come to Psa. cxviii, the waving of the palm-branch is repeat- ed at the tirst, tenth, and twenty-tifth verses, just as it was done in the Temple. Two scrolls of the law are then taken out of the ark (")1"IX, H-^P) and brought on the platform (rt^"i3), when the lessons for the lirst day of the festival are read out from the law — Lev. xxii, 2G-xxiii, 44; and Numb, xxix, 12-10, as Maphlir; and from the prophets, Zech. xiv, 1-21. See Haphtarah. After this the Miisapk prayer is recited, which corre- sponds to the Miisdph or udditional sacrifices in the Temple for this special festival. When the legate of the congregation in reciting the ilfiisdpk comes to the pas- sage where the expression priests (C'lT^Z) occurs, the Aaronites and the Levites arise, and, after the latter have washed the hands of the former, the priests, with uplifted hands, pronounce the sacerdotal benediction (Numb, vi, 24-27) upon the congregation, who have their faces veiled with the Talith. See Fringe. The ark of the Lord is then placed in the centre of the syn- agogue, when the elders form themselves into a proces- sion headed by the legate, who carries the scroll of the law, and all the rest carrj' the palm-branches in their hands and walk round the ark once, repeating the Ilo- sa/iiui, and waving the palms in commemoration of the procession round the altar in the Temple (Mainionides, lad Ha-Chezaka, Hilchoth Lulab, vii, 23). When the morning service is concluded, the people betake them- selves to their respective booths to partake of the fes- tive repast with the poor and the stranger. In the af- ternoon, about five or six o'clock, the\' again resort to the synagogue to recite the Minchah (nn3'2) prayer, answering to the daily evening sacHfice in the Temple. As soon as darkness sets in or the stars appear, the sec- ond da}' of the festival commences, the Jews having doubled the daj-s of holy convocation. The evening prayer as well as the practices for this evening resem- ble those of the first evening.
The ritual for the second day in the morning, as well as the rites, with very few variations, is like that of the first day. The lesson, however, from the prophets is different, for on this day 1 Kings viii, 2-21 is read. After the afternoon service of this day the middle daj's of the festival begin, wliich last four days, when the ritual is like that of ordinary days, except that a few prayers bearing on this festival are occasionally inserted in the regular formute, lessons from the law are read on each day as specified in the article Haphtarah, and the above-named procession goes round the ark. The seventh day, which is the Great Hosanna ( N3y5!3in ns*i), is celebrated with peculiar solemnity, inasmuch as it is believed that on this day God decrees the weather, or rather the rain, for the future harvest (ISIishna, Rash ha-Shanah, i, 2; (iemara, ibid.). On the evening pre- ceding this day every Lsraelite prepares for himself a small bunch of willows tied up with the bark of the palm; some of the pious Jews assemlde either in the synagogue or in the booths to read the book of Deuter- onomy, the Psalms, the iNIishna, etc., all night, and are immersed before the morning prayer. When the time of morning service arrives, numerous candles are lighted in the synagogue, and after the Shachrith (T\'^^T\^2i) ~ morning prayer, which is similar to that of the previous
day, seven scrolls of the law are taken out of the ark, and from one of them the lesson is read. The M usdph or additional prayer is then recited; thereupon a pro- cession is formed, headed by the rabbi and the legate with the palms in their hands, and followed by those who carry the seven scrolls of the law. This procession goes seven limes round the ark, which is placed in the middle of the synagogue, or romul the reading-desk, reciting the Hosannas, in accordance with the seven circuits around the altar which were performed in the Temjjle on this day, and waving tluir palms at certain expressions. The |)alms are then laid down, and every one takes up his bimch of willows and beats off its leaves at a certain part of the liturgy, iu accordance with the beating off the leaves from the willows around the altar in the Temple, which took place on this day. On the evening of the seventh day the festival commences which concludes the whole cycle of festival ('^D"''2'ir m^"). It is a day of holy convocation, on which no manner of work is done, and is introduced by the Kid- dush (IIJIlp) = proclamation of its sanctity, given in the former part of this section. On the following morning the Jews resort to the synagogue, recite the morning prayer (n'^"im:j), as in the first two days of the Feast of Tabernacles, inserting, however, some prayers ai>propri- ate for this occasion. Thereupon the special lesson for the day is read, the Musaph or additional prayer is of- fered, and the priests pronounce the benediction in the manner already described. The people no longer take their meals in the booths on this day. On the evening of this day again another festival commences, called the Rejoicing of the Law (n"iW miw"). After the re- citing of the Eighteen Benedictions, all the scrolls of the law are taken out of the ark, into which a lighted candle is placed. A processii>n is then formed of the distin- guished members, who are headed by the legate; they hold the scrolls in their hands, and go around the read- ing-desk; the scrolls are then put back into the ark, and only one is placed upon the desk, out of which is read the last chapter of Deuteronomy, and to the reading of which all persons present in the synagogue are called, including children. When the evening service is over the children leave the synagogue in procession, carrj'ing baiuiers with sundry Hebrew inscriptions.