10 BULLETIN 148, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



26. Silver spice box. — Made in form of barrel. Height, IK inches. 

 Washington, D. C. (Cat. No. 317318, U.S.N.M.) Gift of Henry 

 Franc. 



NEW MOON 



27. Tablet in gilded frame. — Inscribed in gold letters on a blue 

 ground with the Hebrew words, "New moon." In the Pentateuch 

 the new moon festival is enumerated among those which were observed 

 by additional sacrifices. Numbers xxviii, 11-15, and whose appear- 

 ance was heralded by the sounding of trumpets. Numbers x, 10. The 

 day is referred to as a sacred one also in I Samuel xx, 5-18; II Kings 

 iv, 23; Isaiah i, 13, 14; Ixvi, 23; Ezekiel xlvi, 1, 3; Hosea ii, 13; 

 Amos viii, 5. Some modern Jews observe the new-moon day by 

 reciting, in the open air and facing the moon, special prayers, which 

 devotion is called "Blessing of the moon" {birlcath ha.TiodesJi) and 

 abstaining from unnecessary work. Dimensions, 11 by 6 inches. 

 (Cat. No. 1429, U.S.N.M.) Gift of David Sulzberger. 



The feast of Passover is celebrated in commemoration of the deliv- 

 erance of Israel from the bondage of Egypt, as related in the first 

 chapters of the book of Exodus. It begins on the evening of the 14th 

 of Nisan (March-April) and continues, with the Jews who live in 

 Palestine, for seven days, with those in other places for eight days. 

 It is the first of the three pilgrimage festivals {sJialosTi regalim) the 

 others being the feast of the weeks, or STidbuoth, occurring seven weeks 

 after Passover, at the close of the spring harvest, now chiefly observed 

 in commemoration of the giving of the Torah, and the feast of Taber- 

 nacles or booths, SukTcoth. Passover thus begins the ecclesiastical 

 year. (Exodus xii, 2; Leviticus xiii, 5; Deuteronomy xvi, 16.) 



OBSERVANCE OF THE PASSOVER IN THE JEWISH HOME 



In ancient times the celebration of Passover "centered around the 

 paschal lamb. As it could not be slaughtered outside of the sanc- 

 tuary (Deuteronomy xvi, 2) its use ceased with the destruction of 

 the temple, and the eating of unleavened bread, or maccoth, is now 

 the principal feature of the Passover feast. The eating or even 

 the keeping of anything leavened or fermented (hametz), is strictly 

 prohibited (Exodus xxii, 7; Deuteronomy xvi, 3), hence the Passover 

 is also cafled the "feast of unleavened bread" (Exodus xxiii, 15). 

 On the eve preceding Passover the ceremony of "searching for 

 leaven" {bediqath hamez) takes place. The head of the house, 

 furnished with a wax taper, a wooden spoon, and a feather brush, 

 goes over the whole house and gathers all suspicious crumbs into the 

 spoon. These are burned on the morning of the 14th of Nisan in 

 the courtyard {bi' ur hametz), both ceremonies being accompanied 

 by benedictions. In the evening the feast begins with a service in 



