The record-union., 1899-10-01

over the Sabbath lights, while the 9TH
spectful silence. The prayer ended, she
placed her hands in turn on the heads
of each son and blessed him. while
the father in like manner laid his
hands upon the heads of each daughter
and invoked a blessing Then followed
a washing of the hands, a prayer by
the master over the Sabbath wine, of
which each at the table partook, and
yet another beautiful prayer over the
great loaf of Sabbath bread, from
which the master broke off small pieces
and passed them to the members OF
the family, who, before eating, dipped
them into the salt and repeated u
prayer of thanksgiving. Then followed
the evening meal which had been
prepared in strict accordance with the
Mosaic dietary laws, during which the
happiest and most lively conversation
was indu1ged in. The meal brought to
a close, a series of ancient hymns were
chanted by all the members of the
family; the sweet voices Of the daugh ;
ters blending most beautifully with
those of the sons and the parents and
bringing out all the charm and the
plaintiveneSS of the Oriental music
sung in the minor key. Then followed
the closing act of the meal; the re-
citing of the prolonged grace, which
was chanted by the master; the family
with their we'll trained and pleasing
voices joining heartily in the re-
sponses.
II have read the description of the
Jewish Friday night, as given by
George Eliot in her Daniel Deronda,
said my Christian friend, as we trudged
home that evening, land 1 thought the
scene and the description she gave
thereof very beautiful, but it utterly
fails to convey the real spirit and
charm of the occasion as l have this
evening been permitted to see it.
Nothing to me-" he continued, could
be more touching or more illustrative
of the love and affection between par
ent and child and of the beauty of
Jewish home life than the picture
saw before me of the mother with her
hands spread on the heads of her sons
and the father with his hands on the
heads of his daughters; each invoking
a loving prayer for their dear ones.
Such a scene is not to be met" he con-
tinued, ''in Christian family life. Ii
the Jew he went on, will but con-
tinue to practice this beautiful spirit
and to cultivate this ideal home inf1u-
ence he is imperishable, and nothing
from without can permanently injure
or affect him.
Sad it is that much of this beautiful
Jewish ceremonial influence has dis
appeared from our more modern home
life Sad it is that in the march of
progress we have permitted ourselves
to let go much of the form and the
ceremony which has helped to make
the Jewish home the worlds ideal oil
what family life should be. If we have
let go much of the form, we can never
theless retain all of the spirit. We can
continue to cultivate the reverence and
respect for parents, the love and af-
fection for children, and to strengthen
and broaden the bond of sympathy
which should bind together all living
under the same roof.
May the fathers and mothers, the
sons and daughters within sound Of
my voice go hence filled with the earn
est desire to strive to make their homes
ideal homes, to make the roofs under
which they live cover a spirit of peace
and blessedness, of goodwill and low
ing harmony, so that, with the poet,
they may in the years to come be able
to sing:
To US, in despite of the absence of years,
How sweet the remembrance of home
still appears;
From aIlurementS abroad, which put
fatten the eye,
The unsatisfied heart turns, and says,
with sigh:
Home home sweet, sweet homei
There's no place like homei
There's no place like homei