8. On the 28th the Jews received good tidings that they would no longer be hindered from the sayings of the Law - mourning is prohibited.
On these days every one who has before made a vow of fasting is to give himself to prayer.
(In extenuation of the apparent harshness and literality of our renderings, it should be stated, that both the Sepher Yetsirah and the Megillath Taanith are here for the first time translated into English.) __________________________________________________________________
[6370] The numbers given by Maimonides, in his Preface to the Mishnah, and their arrangement, are somewhat different, but I prefer the more critical (sometimes even hypercritical) enumeration of Herzfeld. They are also enumerated in Peiser's Nachlath Shimoni, Part I. pp. 47-49 b.
[6371] Peah ii. 6; Yad. iv. 3; Tos. Peah iii. 2; Orlah iii. 9.
[6372] Erub. 4 a; Nidd. 72 b; Ab. d. R. N. 19, 25; Tos. Chall. i. 6; Shabb 70 a; Bekh. 16 a; Naz. 28 b; Chull. 27 a, 28 a; 42 a, 43 a; Moed Q 3 b. Of these, the most interesting to the Christian reader are about the 11 ingredients of the sacred incensed (Ker. 6 b); about the 26 kinds of work prohibited on the Sabbath (Shabb. 70 a); that the father, but not the mother, might dedicate a child under age to the Nazirate (Naz. 28 b); the 7 rules as to slaughtering animals; to cut the neck; to cut through the trachea, and, in the case of four-footed animals, also through the gullet; not to pause while slaughtering; to use a knife perfectly free of all notches, and quite sharp; not to strike with the knife; not to cut too near the head; and not to stick, the knife into the throat; certain determinations about the Feast of Tabernacles, such as about the pouring out of the water, &c.
[6373] Ab. Z. 36 b; Niddah 45 a, 72 b.
[6374] Jer. Meg. i. 9; Shabb. 28 b; Men. 32 a; 35 a.
[6375] Ned. 37 b. These four Halakhoth are: as to the authoritative pronunciation of certain words in the Bible; as to the Itur Sopherim, or syntactic and stylistic emendation in the following five passages: Gen xviii. 5, xxiv. 55; Numb. xxxi. 2; Ps. 1xviii. 22 (A.V. 21); xxxvi. 7 (A.V. 6); about the Qeri velo Kethibh, words read but not written in the text; and the Kethibh velo Qeri, words written but not read in the text.
[6376] Pes. 110 b. Not to eat two (even numbers) of an egg, a nut, or cucumber, &c.
[6377] Eduy. viii. 7; Tanch. 60 a. The first of these Halakhoth speaks of the activity of Elijah in preparation for the coming of the Messiah (Mal. iii. 23, 24, A.V. iv. 5, 6), as directed to restore those of pure Israelitish descent who had been improperly extruded, and to extrude those who had been improperly admitted.
[6378] Baba K. 81 a; Tos. Baba M. 11; Jer. Baba K. iii. 2. Among the police regulations is this curious one, that all were allowed to fish in the Lake of Galilee, but not to lay down nets, so as not to impede the navigation.
[6379] According to tradition (Sot. 47 a and b) the Eshkoloth, or bunches of grapes,' ceased with José. The expression refers to the Rabbis, and Herzfeld ingeniously suggests this explanation of the designation, that after José they were no longer undivided like bunches of grapes, but divided in their opinions. For other explanations comp. Derenbourg, u. s. pp. 88, 456-458.
[6380] For a detailed account of the views of Josephus on the Canon and on Inspiration, I take leave to refer to my article in Smith's Dictionary of Christian Biography,' vol. iii pp 453, 454.
[6381] Comp. Zunz, Gottesd Vortr. pp. 101, 102, and C. Seligmann, d Buch d Weish d. Jesus Sirach. The Talmudic quotations from the work of the elder Jesus have been repeatedly collated I may here take leave to refer to my collection translation of them in Append. II. to the History of the Jewish Nation.'