The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1897-09-29
WHEN THE SCHOLAR BLOWS.

New Year Holidays Among the East
Side Jews-Ten Days of Penance,
Good Business-Followe by Rejoic-
ings Of the Law and the Feast of the
Tabernacles.
The Ghetto is all hustle and hurry,
preparing for the great season of song
and prayer, which begins Monday. 1t
is the Jewish New Year, the 5,65Sth an
niversary of the creation of the world
Ushered in by the ten days of penance,
the approaching holidays were to cover
q, priod of more than three weeks, in
the course of which the neighborhood
will ring now with sobs Of worshippers
pleading for a happy new year, now,
with Rejoicing of the Law Many an
Hour will be spent in the synagogue,
and every one Is to secure as good a
seat in as fine house of prayer as his
means will allow, The qualities of the
chasan, or cantor, and the size of his
choir are primary considerations; for
the average denizen of the Ghetto is
fond of music, and the most solemn
part of the divine service Is not devoid
of a certain stage interest for him. al
though, to make up for this he will ex-
act from his actors some church song
in their plays
Some OF the airs sung on the Days Of
Penance are traditional, and trace their
origin centuries back, to the caves and
woods of Spain, where the wandering
people worshipped the God of their an
cestors at the risk of their lives. The
other parts of the service are left to the
cantor's own devices, and are, as rule,
intoned in melodies of his own compost
tion-or plagiarism, AT all events the
chasan and his choir are the principal
attractions, calculated to draw buyers
of seats for the great festivals. and this
accounts for the character of the plac-
ards and handbills, advertising the
multitude of synagogues, which now
flood the Jewish quarter Following is
a fair example
1.-THE world-renowed cantor Rabbi
Meyer Goldstein of the city of Pone-
vesh. recently arrived from the Old
Country, will conduct the services al
the Synagogue of the Men of Pone-
vesh. He will be assited by choir of
five excellent men The best singing
in the city at the lowest prices. Make
haste to secure a ticket, or the seats
will all be sold"
Some of these show cards are embla-
zoned with the portrait of the man. 9th
ers have only a conspicuous display of
his name. but all of them contain A
glowing eulogy of his powers. The net
proceeds from the sale OF seats are in
many instances the main source of the
congregation's income. Hence the hir-
ing of good cantor is generally view
ed in the light Of an investment. There
are thousands upon thousands of ortho-
doX children of Israel who never see
the inside of a 'house of God" except
during the great holidays, when they
come to atone by "Penance. Prayer and
Charity for the sins committed il the
it is for the patronage of these thai
the various synagogues are now COM
peting. Few orthodox congregations
are large enough to afford a separa te
building for a house of worship. Most
of them are small societies made ur
of fellow-townsmen and bearing the
name of their native place Almost
every town within the pale of Jewish
settlement in Russia. Austria, or Rou.
mania is represented here by a syna
gogue- Accordingly. the average con.
gTegation must be content with a room
and bedroom on the top floor of some
! oNercrowded tenement house, the
| smaller room usually being set aside
fer the female worshippers, who follow
/ the chasan through the portieres. Most
of these struggling societies sublet thei,
rooms for week days to melamdim. o,
instructors in the Bible and the Tai.
mud, who teach their scholars in the
afternoon, when they come from the
public schools. AS a rule. each svna-
gogue is also kind of club house the
more devout of the members comine
to spend their leisure moments there
reading Psalms, swapping news of the
old home, or exchanging notes upon the
adopted country.