OBJECTS OF RELIGIOUS CEREMONIAL 21 



63. Burial prayers. — Manuscript written on parchment. The 

 prayers,which are recited at the cemetery at the open grave, are 

 expressive of submission to God's will and include the Tcaddish or 

 "holy," that is, a doxology, acknowledging God's holiness and great- 

 ness. The Icaddish is repeated at every service during the first year of 

 mourning and on the anniversaries of the death. It is believed by 

 many Jews that the recital of the Jcaddish benefits the deceased. 

 Measurements, 2 feet 2 inches by 9 inches. (Cat. No. 158354, 

 U.S.N.M.) Gift of David Sulzberger. 



6. MISCELLANEOUS 



64. Costume of a rabbi in Mohammedan countries. — Consisting of 

 trousers, inner robe of striped silk reaching below the knees and held 

 by a girdle round the waist, outer coat of cloth, with short, ample 

 sleeves, shawl, shoes with goloshes, and headgear of red felt, around 

 which a piece of gray silk is twisted like a turban. When the Jews 

 first settled in Mohammedan countries they were compelled by a 

 decree to wear a dress different from that of the Mohammedans. At 

 present the decree has been suspended, but many of the Jews con- 

 tinue to wear a distinctive costume. It is chiefly marked in the color 

 of the turban. That of the Mohammedans is of white muslin or 

 cashmere, while the Jews wear black, blue, gray, or light-brown 

 turbans and generally dull-colored dresses. (Cat. No. 154761, 

 U.S.N.M.) 



65. Knife with its sheath, used for slaughtering of animals. — The 

 killing of animals, that is, mammals and birds, for food is performed 

 by cutting through the windpipe and gullet, with a perfectly sharp and 

 smooth knife called halaf by a swift motion forward and backward 

 across the throat of the animal. The act of slaughtering is called 

 shehitah, and the person performing it is called shohet. He must be 

 qualified by knowledge and skill. The knife must be thoroughly 

 examined by him before and after the killing, and if it be found to have 

 a notch (pegimah) the animal killed with it is ritually unfit for food 

 (terefah) . The shehitah is followed by the hedikah, that is, examination, 

 first of the throat of the animal to ascertain whether the windpipe and 

 gullet are cut through according to the requirements of the law; then 

 of the various vital organs, especially the lungs. If they are found 

 to be in any way tainted with disease the animal is unfit to be eaten. 

 The act of slaughtering is accompanied by benedictions. . Length, 25 

 inches. (Plate 3 (upper), fig. 3, Cat. No. 154619, U.S.N.M.) Gift of 

 David Sulzberger. 



66. Jewish butcher stamp. — Made of wood with the word Kosher in 

 Hebrew in relief. Used to designate meat as ritually fit for food. 

 (Cat. No. 5491, U.S.N.M.) 



67. MizraJi. — Illuminated and framed. The illumination consists 

 of the figures of Moses and Aaron, a king and a queen and horns of 



