Daily globe., 1883-05-16
me 6n@ent Sannafn.

In Jerusalem, the Sabbath was ush-
cred in by six blasts of the silver trum-
pets so freely employed in the temple
ritual; three to interdict the people
from work, and three to set apart the
day as one of holy rest; in other towns.
from the roof of the synagogue. There
were two additional offerings in honor
OF this day, and more if it should chance
to be a new moon or any festival. The
making and baking of the shew-bread,
though involving in its composition
three offenses against the law, was done
on the Sabbath day-a fact of which
the Pharisees were reminded by "One
greater than the temple" "Have We not
read in the law, how that on the Sab
bath days the priests in the temple pro-
fame the Sabbath and are blameless 2"
Matt, xii. 81 At homeit was in early
times family festival of innocent Joy,
and rest from the daily toll of the week.
While the father was ia the temple or
synagogue on Sabbath eve, the mother
and her Maidens were busy decorating
the best rooms, spreading the table
with the choicest fare they could afford.
and lighting the Sabbath lamp, to
greet him on his return, as at the thresh-
old he bestowed upon each child the
blessing of Israel. Friendly intercourse
among neighbors and kinsfolk was the
order of the day, while the poor and
afflicted were comforted with some act
of delicate sympathy.
All this sweet spirit of keeping holy
the seventh day was turned, at later
epoch, into the cruel burden of the law,
of which st. Paul said we'll, "The letter
killeth," and against which, both by
precept and practice, the Lord of the
Sabbath Day" so uncompromisingly
protested. The Scribes and Pharisees
had so completely lost sight of the
fundamental truth that "the Sabbath
was made for man." that man of their
day might we'll have bewailed the
fact that he was made for the Sab
bath" Except that we are taught by
all recold and experience that there are
no limitations to the eXcesses of a per-
verted conscientiousness, we could not
credit the absurdities which finally
came to be considered essential to the
pious observance of this. holy seventh
day. Let us look at a few of the rab-
binic.s rules on this subject: '"To pre-
serve life on the Sabbath is to violate
it, and to kill flea is as bad as to kill
a camel. A woman must not go out
with her ribbons about her, unless they
are part of her dress; a false tooth must
not be worn; no one was to write two
letters of the alphabet; the sick must
not send for physician; tailor must
not carry needle out on Friday night,
lest he should forget it, and so break
the Sabbath, by carrying it about him
on that day" A sect of extremists On
this question carried their scruples so
far as to refuse to save. drowning
woman on the Sabbath, because they
must not touch a female; while, even
where child was in similar peril they
must put off the phylactelies before
lending a hand to the rescue. A rabbi
of this sect Of "pietists' refused to re-
build his demolished house, because he
had thought about it on the Sabbath;
another saved himself from o violent
death as an accused murderer by dis
closing the name of the criminal; but
he wrote that name on Sabbath Day,
and he passed the remainder of his life
in severe penance,-l[rs. Palmer.