The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1866-09-21

Tnls insutuuOn IS under the care OF the fol-
lowing ofiicers:-President, Rev. Bishop Stevens;
Yice-President, Rev. M. A. De Wolfe Howe, D..
D.; Corresponding Secretary Rev. Richard
Newton, ID. D.; Recording Secretary, Andrew
Wheeler; Treasurer, Charles B. Durborrow
Board Of Managers for the year Is66:-Rev. J. w.
ClaXton, Rev. Il. w. Macy, Rev. ID. d. Kellogg
Jr., Rev. r. @. Matlack, Jay Cooke, ESQ.,, and
N. B. Browne, Esq.
THE JEWISH HoLIDAYs-THE FEAST OF
THE TABERNACLEs--ITs PECULIAR OBsERyANcEs
The penitential feasts of Rosh Hashana and
Yom Kippur being now over, 1t is held by those
of the jewish ia tn that the Great Ruler as If TO
recompense man for the unusual priyations un-
deTgone during the past three weeks ordained
holiday, which calls for far less severe cere-
monies than those which we have already de-
sc1bed. This feast is the Feast of the Taber.
naCles" or ''SucCoth," commanded i'm Ley1ticus
xiii, "a to 43, as follows
"Speak unto the children of Israel, saying. The
fifteenth day OF this seventh month shall be tn
least OF Tabernacles for seven DAYS unto the Lord
On the first day shall be a holy convocationi We
shall do no seTyile work therein. Seven DAYS We
shall offer offering made BY FIRE unto the Lord
ON the eighth day shall be a holy eonvocation unto
YOU ana We shall offer oferino made by FIRE unto
the Lord; IT is a solemn assembly, and We shall do
no servle work therein. These the easts of the
Lord, which ye shall proclaim to be holy conyoca-
q buInt offering and meat Offering; sacrifice and
drink offering, everything upon His day. Beside
the Sabbaths OF the Lord, and beside your
gifts, and beside all your VOWS and beside all
your iree-wili offerings, which ye give unto
the Lord Also on I0e ulJeentn Oay OIL the
seventh month, when We shall keep
feast unto the Lord seven days. on the first day shall
be Sabbath, and on the eighth day shall be sab.
bath And ye shall take on the first day the fruits
OF goodly trees branches of the palm trees and the
boughs Of thick trees and willows OF the brook, and
We shall rejoice before the Lord your God seven
days. And ye shall keep 1t a feast unto the Lord
days in the year; it shall be statute forever
a seventh snail dwe IN booths sve
days; all that are Israeites born shall dwell in
do fba nj nNyn In han
brought them out of the land of Egypt am the
Lord your God "
This festival, which commences on Sunday
next at sundown, has, as will be seen above,
several ceremonies quite peculiar in their char
acter. First, the holy convocation or service IN
| the synagogues; second, the sacrifice by fire OF
of meat and drink offerings now made obsolete
by the destruction of the Temple; third, the pro.
hibition of servile work on the first two and last
two days; fourth, the taking OF four species from
| the vegetable kingdom; and lastly, the dwelling
| in booths.
The four species from the vegetable kingdom
are the sprouts of goody trees or "Esrog," a
| species of pitted lemon, grown in Corfu and the
! Syrian Desert; the Palmleat branches or 'Lulaf"
| Myrtle branches, three in number, each OF which
| must have seven times three leaves standing
! down the stem, ana the willows of the brook.
| These last three species are tied together in a
peculiar manner, and every morning tue "Lulat," "
| with the two kinds OF boughs tied to 1t, Is taken
| into the lett hand and the 'Esrog" i'll the right,
! and after a prayer tor a prosperous season,
| waved three times each to the left, right, up and
down, backward and forward, as ii to wave the
heavenly blessing from all quarters. This is
followed by the recitation of the prayer OF Hallel
or Psalms, 1l3, ia, ll5, ll6, liz, 1lS.
| circuit in procession is daily made around
the synagogue by those carrying "Zulais," pre-.
ceded by the minister carrying the Holy Scroll.
The dwelling in booths, though not strictly
| carried out to the very letter Of the law IN the
chanoable climate of this country, is still followed
10 some extent: These booths or tabernacles or
"Succoth," which give the festival the name, are
| to be built so that the canopy OF heaven. the
| stars and moon, can be seen through the roof.
| This roof has to be constructed OF lattlce-work,
| covered with fresh leaves. Inside of the Sue
Goth" splendid decorations are generally fixed,
| such as golden apples, peanuts, oranges, paper
decorations, and pictures, while in the centre OF
| most of them bangles "Menouroh," or seven
| armed lamps, made Of silver or brass, which,
| when lighted, gives the whole a gay appearance.
Almost every Jew, who has back yard
attached to his house, has succoth erected on
| his premises in which he takes his meals with
| his family during the festival.
| the FIVE middle days are halt holidays on which,
| after the services of the morning, work is
allowed. The fifth day OF the half holidays, or
Hoshdno Rdbbo which tradition has stamped as
doom of those who have shown repentine
mind, or YOm Rappur, but have not yet con-
! summated the repentance, is ushered in by the
faithful with reciting of words OF learning and
| During the morning services small punches o.
willows are taken into the synagogue and the
leaves beaten off with prayer that God nigh
clean man of his sins as the stem is cleaned o.
lts leaves.
The eighth day, or "Shemini Olzereth," and
the ninth day, 'Simchath Thora," or Joy of the
land, are close holidays. On the even of the
frst-named the faithful quit the Succoth for the
year amid prayers, while on the morning
solemn prayers are uttered Tor coplous rain anC
prosperous crops,
The ''Simchas Thera" is the day on which the
Pentateuch, or five books of Moses, are reaC
through, which is done by weekly instalment'
of several chapters each. On that day Deutero
nomy XxXli and XXXiv is read in the synR
gogues. All the scrolls OF the law are taken ou
of the ark and carried in joyful procession
around the synagogue, accompanied by child
rem dressed in their best, carrying baskets o
flowers and flags. After the religious services
family and public entertainments close tht
series of festivals OF the year.
The RELIGIOUS meaning OF these festivals i
plain. The Rosh Hashana inaugurates serie
of penitential feasts, which are terminated will
the Day OF Atonement and succeeded by tn
Feast of Tabernacles, the real and true import
ance of which is expressed in Deuteronomy xvi
I3, IA, Is, l6. II, where will be found a dicta
tion 10 couple charity with the least, so that
all these commands are obeyed man ma
rejoice in the "Joy of the Law" WHICH await
| the faithful hereafter. The charitable Jewis
institutions, the orphan asylums, and ire
schools are the principal recipients OF the char
ties which are collected in the synagogues.
THE SURF HoUsE.-It will undoubtedl
be OF interest to many OF our readers to lear
that that magnificent and popular hotel, tn
Surf House, at Cape Island, still remains oper
and will continue open for the reception c
guests for some time vet.
II is the opinion of many that after the do
days the seaside becomes uninteresting and dc
J | void OF comfort. 1t Is proper that the puol