The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1870-10-12
The JEWISH FEAST OF rHES TABErsA
cLE,-From the fifteenth to the twenty
third day Of the Jewish month of Tishfi

The JEWISH FEAST OF rHE\ TABERNl
cLE.-From the fifteenth to the twenty
third day Of the Jewish month of Tishi
the Jews all over the world celebrat
Succoth, the Feast of the Tabernacles
This corresponds, for the present yea,
with the days from the 10th to the lStl
of October, being nine days. But a
the Jews begin the reckoning Of thei
days with sunset instead of at midnight
in accordance with the statement il
Genesis, "And the evening and tn,
morning were the first day." this Feas
of the Tabernacle commenced on Sun
day.
The first two days as well as the las
two days are what are called full holi
days, on which no servile work" is
allowed to be done under the law and
ritual Of the Hebrew faith. Under the
old orthodox rule every Jew was or
dered to live for.the first seven days ot
the feast almost entirely in huts built
for that purpose, in which palm branch
es were most conspicuous. But as the
severity Of the season in countries more
to the north than Palestine interiered
materially with this open air life it has
been abandoned, and only the most or,
thodox of the faith continue to take
their meals in these roughly erected
temporary abodes, the mode Of con-
struction for which is prescribed in de-
tail by rabbinicaI law, as found in the
Orach Chgim HiLechoth Succa. On the
first seven days, in the synagogue, &C.
cording to the old rabbinical law, every
Israelite carries palm branch and an
apple of Paradise" adorned with
three branches of thick trees and two
branches of willow. This is done in
obedience to the following command:
And We shall take you on the first day
the boughs Of goodly trees, branches Of
palm trees and the boughs of thick
trees, and willows of the brook and
We shall rejoice before the Lord your
God seven days. (Leviticus xiii, 40
The religious meaning Of this festival
is to rejoice over the deliverance Of the
Jews from Egyptian bondage, for it is
recorded as God command-"Ye shall
dwell in booths seven days; all that are
Israelites born shall dwell in booths,
that yonr generations may know that !
made the children OF Israel to dwell in
booths when | brought them out of the
land of Egypt" The reading of the
law in the synagoSues is confined to the
Parasha, consisting of Leyiticus, chap
ter xxi, verse p, to the end of chapter
xiii. and from the. second Fhora is
read the Parasha: Numbers, chapter
xxx, from the 18th to the 10th verse,
and a chapter from the Prophets, after
which followed the Mussaph Tephila,
which is again succeeded by procession
around the reading desk in the centre
of the synagogue, This, of course has
only reference to the orthodox Esyna-
gogues, reforms introduced in other Of
the Jewish temples have considerably
simplified the ceremonial.
On the seventh day of the festival,
being this year the 10Th Of October, is
celebrated Hoshanah Rabah, or Great
Hosiannah Day, and on the next day,
being the eighth Of Succoth, is the
Feast Of Conclusion, the periodical an
nual reading Of the FIVE Books of Moses,
constituting the Thora, or the Law, be-
ing concluded on that day, all but a
small remaining part 1t is called, in
Hebrew, Sheminee Azereth. On which
day portions of the l4th and 18th chap
tiers Of Deuteronomy are read, and of
Numbers, chapter Goth. from the 3Oth
verse to the end. On the ninth day the
entire festive season of Succoth con-
cludes, with the Feast Of the Law, called
Simcath Thora. On this day, the last
Sidra, a division of the Pentateuch is
read, and this is, therefore, considered
in the nature of jubilee Of the law.
This day concludes the festive season
of the Jews for the present month, for
Rosh Hodesh Heshvan, or the first day
of the month Heshvan, is but halt
holiday like the first days Of the other
months.