408 SKETCHES OF PALESTINE. 



him a pensioner on his nation. The missionaries generally 

 some property, as they are allowed teri per cent, upon the alms 

 they collect. But many of the Jews, who have been led to beg 

 their way to Palestine by their delusive representations, are ill 

 satisfied with the Land of Promise ; and some few are fortunate 

 enough to find their way home again. The greater number, how- 

 ever, console themselves with the inestimable advantage of laying 

 their bones in the Holy Land. 



The Jewish devotees pass the whole day in the schools or the 

 synagogue, reciting the Old Testament and the Talmud, both of 

 which many of them know entirely by heart. They all write 

 Hebrew ; but their learning, Burckhardt says, seems to be on a 

 level with that of the Turks. He mentions some beautiful copies 

 of the Pentateuch, written on a roll of leather, which he saw in the 

 Syrian synagogue : no one could inform him of their age or histo- 

 ry . The libraries of the two schools are moderately stocked with 

 Hebrew books, printed chiefly at Vienna and Venice. They 

 observe here, he says, a singular custom in the public service. 



'While the rabbin recites the psalms of David, or the prayers 

 extracted from them, the congregation frequently imitate, by their 

 voice or gesture, the meaning of some remarkable passages : for 

 example, when the rabbin pronounces the words, ' Praise the Lord 

 with the sound of the trumpet,' they imitate the sound of the 

 trumpet through their closed fists. When ' a horrible tempest ' 

 occurs, they puff' and blow to represent a storm ; or should he 

 mention the cries of the righteous in distress, they all set up a loud 

 screaming.' And sometimes, we are told, these imitative accom- 

 paniments are carried on in a singular sort of fugue or concert ; 

 while some are blowing the storm, others having already begun 

 the cries of the righteous ! 



The Jews marry at a very early age. It is not uncommon, 

 Burckhardt affirms, to see fathers of thirteen years of age, and 

 mothers of eleven. On the occasion of a wedding, they traverse 

 the town in pompous procession, carrying before the bride the 

 plate of almost the whole community ; and they least in the house 

 of the bridegroom for seven successive days and nights. ' The 

 wedding least of a man who has about 50/. a-year, (and no Jew 

 can live with his family on less,) will often cost more than 60Z.' 

 Yet, few of them are rich, or carry on any merchandise. When 

 Burckhardt was at Tiberias, there were only two Jew merchants 

 resident there, who were men of property ; and they were styled 

 by the devotees, kafcrs, or unbelievers. The Rabbin of Tiberias, 

 is under the great Rabbin of SzafTad (Saphet), who pronounce* 

 final judgment on all contested points of law and religion. 



THE END. 



