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Article CURIOUS PARTICULARS RELATIVE TO THE JEWS. ← Page 5 of 7 →
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Curious Particulars Relative To The Jews.
ports and gates , is likewise observed at this period , and fixed on every door-post in reiigi . us Jews' houses : it is a larger piece of parchment than the other frontlets , but contains much the same words : this parchment is rolled up , and put into a leaden , tin , or wooden case ; in which case a hcvle is made of such a size , for as much of the outside of the parchment to be seen as contains the word S'haddai ; and every Jewwhen he goes from homeor
re-, , turns , puts his finger on the word , ancl kisses it . Of the customs and ceremonies for their sick , and those who die , there are too m 3113 ' forme to attempt giving them here . I must content myself with communicating a couple of them respecting the dead . If any person wishes to ask pardon of the dead , which very often happens , for any difference that was between them in his life-time ,
the person who asks pardon should stand at the foot of the cofi-n , and with his finger and thumb , of each hand , take hold of each fir ^ t or great toe of the dead , through the stockings , which they always have on , and sa ) r thus , ' ' I do pray thy forgiveness : if 1 have committed any offence towards thee , pray , forgive me . " Some Jews affirm , that often , on asking forgiveness in this manner , the dead person has bled
violently at the nose , which they consider as a token of some great offence or injury committed against the deceased by the surviving person . If there " are many buryings out of one family , soon after each other , the rabbins say , that the nearest surviving relation should take a padlock , and lock it when the coffin is put into the ground , and
then fling the lock in the grave with tlie corpse , and throw the key away above ground . This mighty ceremony , it is thought by the Jews , will check the ravaging power of death . There is scarcely any - action in life , which , in the execution of , the Jews are not obstructed by a load of ceremonies , as insignificant as they are absurd . The limits of the present publication are too confined for their admission : we will , therefore , only relate such as appear most uncommon and curious , on whatever occasion the } 7 may be employed by this favourite people of the Almighty .
Their marriages are generally brought about through the medium of brokers , who are empowered to treat about the portion , settlement , marriage-contract , & c . When tiiese matters are agreed on , the persons to be married are introduced to each other , and courtship begins . A time is then appointed oy the parties for laying what they call kynoss , i . e . penally , in case either party should retract ; the forfeit is generally one half of what the portion would have been to the
party aggrieved . It very often happens , that the bride and bridegroom are not even personally known to each other , until they begin their courtship . The d ; y on which maidens are married must be no other than Wednesday , except it is the day preceding a holidaj' . Widows are married on Monckys or Thursdays . The bride ' s head and face , when a virgin , is always covered with a gauze or muslin veil . This custom is derived from Rebecca ' s veiling herself ) when She first saw Isaac . Gen . xxiv . 6 4 , 6 5 .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Curious Particulars Relative To The Jews.
ports and gates , is likewise observed at this period , and fixed on every door-post in reiigi . us Jews' houses : it is a larger piece of parchment than the other frontlets , but contains much the same words : this parchment is rolled up , and put into a leaden , tin , or wooden case ; in which case a hcvle is made of such a size , for as much of the outside of the parchment to be seen as contains the word S'haddai ; and every Jewwhen he goes from homeor
re-, , turns , puts his finger on the word , ancl kisses it . Of the customs and ceremonies for their sick , and those who die , there are too m 3113 ' forme to attempt giving them here . I must content myself with communicating a couple of them respecting the dead . If any person wishes to ask pardon of the dead , which very often happens , for any difference that was between them in his life-time ,
the person who asks pardon should stand at the foot of the cofi-n , and with his finger and thumb , of each hand , take hold of each fir ^ t or great toe of the dead , through the stockings , which they always have on , and sa ) r thus , ' ' I do pray thy forgiveness : if 1 have committed any offence towards thee , pray , forgive me . " Some Jews affirm , that often , on asking forgiveness in this manner , the dead person has bled
violently at the nose , which they consider as a token of some great offence or injury committed against the deceased by the surviving person . If there " are many buryings out of one family , soon after each other , the rabbins say , that the nearest surviving relation should take a padlock , and lock it when the coffin is put into the ground , and
then fling the lock in the grave with tlie corpse , and throw the key away above ground . This mighty ceremony , it is thought by the Jews , will check the ravaging power of death . There is scarcely any - action in life , which , in the execution of , the Jews are not obstructed by a load of ceremonies , as insignificant as they are absurd . The limits of the present publication are too confined for their admission : we will , therefore , only relate such as appear most uncommon and curious , on whatever occasion the } 7 may be employed by this favourite people of the Almighty .
Their marriages are generally brought about through the medium of brokers , who are empowered to treat about the portion , settlement , marriage-contract , & c . When tiiese matters are agreed on , the persons to be married are introduced to each other , and courtship begins . A time is then appointed oy the parties for laying what they call kynoss , i . e . penally , in case either party should retract ; the forfeit is generally one half of what the portion would have been to the
party aggrieved . It very often happens , that the bride and bridegroom are not even personally known to each other , until they begin their courtship . The d ; y on which maidens are married must be no other than Wednesday , except it is the day preceding a holidaj' . Widows are married on Monckys or Thursdays . The bride ' s head and face , when a virgin , is always covered with a gauze or muslin veil . This custom is derived from Rebecca ' s veiling herself ) when She first saw Isaac . Gen . xxiv . 6 4 , 6 5 .