OBJECTS OF RELIGIOUS CEREMONIAL 17 



tooled. Washington, D. C. (Cat. No. 288292, U.S.N.M.) Gift of 

 Mrs. Charles Block. 



48. Prayer hook for devout Jewish women. — Hebrew with German 

 translation as in No. 46. At the close are devotions for special 

 days, composed by Rabbi Dr. W. Schlesinger. Opposite the title- 

 page is a picture of Eli and Hannah with the verse, in Hebrew: 

 "Go in peace, and the God of Israel grant thee thy petition." (I 

 Samue] i, 17). Printed in Sulzbach, Germany, 1843. Bound in 

 half leather. Washington, D. C. (Cat. No. 288293, U.S.N.M.) 

 Gift of Mrs. Charles Block. 



49. Prayer hook. — Containing the prayers as in the preceding in 

 Hebrew. At the close are special devotions for women in Yiddish. 

 Bound in half leather. Printed in Furth, Germany. Washington, 

 D. C. (Cat. No. 288294, U.S.N.M.) Gift of Mrs. Charles Block. 



50. Prayer hook. — In Hebrew. Printed in Rodelheim, Germany, 

 5622 A. M. = 1682 A. D. Washington, D. C. (Cat. No. 288295, 

 U.S.N.M.) Gift of Mrs. Charles Block. 



51. Prayers for the feasts (Machzor). — The machzor, "cycle," 

 contains the old parts of service, the lessons of the Scriptures, and 

 the liturgical poetry (piyutim) for all the festivals. Five volumes, 

 quarto. Bound in half leather. Printed in Sulzbach, Germany, 

 5562 A. M. = 1802 A. D. Washington, D. C. (Cat. No. 282296, 

 U.S.N.M.) Gift of Mrs. Charles Block. 



52. Prayers for women.- — In Yiddish. Furth, 1846. Washington, 

 D. C. (Cat. No. 288297, U.S.N.M.) Gift of Mrs. Charles Block. 



4. OBJECTS FOR SPECIAL OCCASIONS AND INCIDENTS OF LIFE 



53. Silver cup and knife used at the rite of circumcision. — The rite 

 of circumcision (milah) is practiced in pursuance of Genesis xvii, 

 10-12: "This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and 

 you and thy seed after thee; every male among you shall be circum- 

 cised. And ye shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskin; 

 and it shall be a token of a covenant betAvLxt me and you. And he 

 that is eight days old shall be circumcised among 3^ou, every male 

 throughout your generation." Circumcision is accordingly per- 

 formed on the eighth day after the child's birth. But in case of 

 sick or weak children it is postponed until they are strong enough 

 to undergo the operation. The performance of the rite of circum- 

 cision is accompanied by the recital of prayers and benedictions 

 and is combined with the naming of the child. (Compare Luke 

 i, 59; li, 21.) 



Circumcision was common in Egypt as early as the fourth dynasty. 

 (Compare Herodotus ii, 36, 37, 104; Wilkinson, Ancient Egypt, 

 ch. XV.) At the present day it prevails among the Kaffirs and some 

 negro tribes of Africa, in parts of Australia, in many of the South 



