"Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord: we will bless you from the house of the Lord.

"Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, into his courts with praise.

“Come, let us worship and bow down : let us bend the knee before the Lord, our Maker.

"Serve the Lord with gladness: come into his presence with exulting song."

The procession then walked round the Synagogue seven times, with the scrolls of the law still in their arms; during each circuit one of the following Psalms was sung by the Readers and choristers, viz. :—xxx., xlii. 1—5, 6—11; xliii., cxxx., c., xxiv. This being done, the last in the procession walked up and placed his scroll in the ark; and, being followed by the rest, they all returned to their seats, when the readers and choristers sang the 29th Psalm.

The afternoon prayers being said, an ode of five verses was then sung by the readers and choristers, after which the Chief Rabbi, standing in front of the ark, delivered a sermon, founded upon Psalm lxxxiv. 1-3. After the sermon the evening prayers were read, and the whole ceremony concluded with the readers and choristers singing the 150th Psalm.

SECTION II.-THE OFFICERS.-We have already said that every Synagogue is considered a small community within itself, and conducts its own peculiar affairs independent of all others. To do this, a number of officers are appointed, into whose hands the various interests of the congregation are committed. These officers may be divided into three classes-governing, clerical, and lay. I. The Governing Officers are those who have the

rule over all the affairs of the congregation, whether relative to that community in general, or to the Synagogue in particular. These are honorary officers, and consist of the following:

1. Parnassim (DD), or Wardens. The number generally is three, but sometimes two; and are elected to office in some Synagogues for two years, but in others only for one. Their duty is to superintend all the affairs of their congregation, whether in or out of the Synagogue. One of the Parnassim, for the time being, is the President of the Synagogue-the senior in some Synagogues, but all, every other month, in others—and without his permission no meeting can be convened, no marriage or funeral solemnised, nor anything else of importance can take place. He has also many privileges, too complicated to be here explained.

2. The Gobah (1), or Treasurer. His duty is to manage the receipts and expenditures, superintend the repairs immediately required in the Synagogue, or other premises belonging to the congregation; and all other business appertaining to the office of a treasurer.

3. Gobai Tsedakah (p), or Overseer. His principal duty is the dispensation of charity to the poor, whether according to the regulated list of recipients, or casual applicants, agreeable to the regulations adopted by the congregation.

Here, however, we must observe that, in some Synagogues the two last offices are filled by one and the same person.

4. Tove Hangeer (yn 110), or Elders. These are elected from the members of the vestry, as kind of assistants to the honorary officers.

The above are all the ruling officers that belong to

every Synagogue, and such, briefly, are their respective duties. Out of these several corporate bodies are formed, the duties of which we shall now briefly describe.

(1.) Asiphath Rashe Hangedah (nyn w 'ON), or Committee Meetings. These are composed of the honorary officers and the elders. They meet monthly to deliberate upon all matters that are considered essential to the benefit of the congregation.

(2.) Pekuda Hangedah (nyn Tp), or Vestry. It consists of all such members, who have either served, or paid the fine, for the office of Treasurer, and those who have served the office of Overseer for two years; and also of persons specially elected by the committee as honorary members. The vestry meet quarterly, and sometimes special meetings are called, to deliberate upon the general interests and government of the congregation. Some Synagogues, however, have no vestry meetings, only the committee, as above described.

(3.) Auditors. Three auditors are appointed by the committee from their own body, every year, to examine the accounts. In some of the new Synagogues this is done at a general meeting, and the auditors are to continue in office for three years.

(4.) Building Committee. Five persons are elected by the vestry every three years, who, together with the honorary officers for the time being, form a building committee, to whose care and management are intrusted the erection and all repairs of the Synagogue, and other premises belonging to the congregation, leases, &c. The committee meet every three months, and have the power to lay out, for current expenses, any sum not

exceeding two hundred pounds per annum.

The mem

bers of this committee are eligible for re-election.

Having thus enumerated the governing officers, and their functions, we shall now briefly describe how they are elected.

Every year, at a certain time, a committee meeting is convened, for the purpose of nominating a list of members eligible for the honorary offices; after which the President has to call a meeting of all the members paying an annual rate of two guineas and upwards, for the purpose of electing such honorary officers from this list. All elections are decided by ballot, and determined by a majority; in no case, however, is any person considered elected as Warden unless he has four votes in his favour. If two, or more, have an equal number of votes, for any office, their names are put into a box, or glass, and the one which is first drawn out is deemed elected. Notice is then sent to the members so elected, and if no answer be returned within five days, such silence is considered as a refusal to serve the office, and the party is fined according to law. In such a case, the next person in rotation is considered duly elected, in lieu of him; but if there be no person having a sufficient number of votes remaining on the list, a new list is formed forthwith, and another day of election appointed, to be proceeded with in the same manner as the former. Any person elected to an office and thus refusing to accept the same, or, having accepted it, and neglecting to fulfil the duties of the same, must, within two months from such election or neglect, pay certain fines, as laid down in the rules of each Synagogue. A member, however, who had previously served any of these offices,

is subject only to half the usual fine. On the other hand, a member having accepted office, and resigning before the expiration of the time, must pay double the amount of the original fine.

Let us now see who are eligible for office; and the general rule is, that no one is eligible but privileged members of the Synagogue. To this we must add, that no person can be elected Warden unless he has served, or has been fined for the office of Treasurer; or has served that of Overseer during the term of three years. No person can be elected Treasurer unless he has served, or been fined for the office of Overseer. No person, also, can be elected Elder unless he has served, or been fined for the offices of Warden or Treasurer; or has served that of Overseer for three years. And, again, every person having served the office of Overseer for two years, or having served, or been fined for the office of Treasurer, becomes a permanent member of the Vestry. The following relations, also, cannot serve any of the above offices at one and the same time-viz., father and sons, brothers, father-in-law, and son-in-law.

At an early period after the election takes place, the names of the new officers are proclaimed in the Synagogue.

II. The CLERICAL OFFICERS are those who perform the religious service of the Synagogue. They comprise the following:

1. Chazan (in), or Reader. The Chazan is the minister of the congregation. His duties consist in reading the public service of the Synagogue on the Sabbath, and in the week-time. He is also to attend every mar