Cover it with moist leather; leave some leather below; sew it all round from the four corners, except in that

here we are not informed what Abel said, the Jews pretend that some great mystery is contained in the passage. But the mystery disappears by referring to the Samaritan Pentateuch, where the passage runs thus:

“And Cain said unto Abel his brother, let us go into the field. And it came to pass when they were in the field," &c.

v'lo

Kri ello kthi, Kahib קרי ולא כתיב כתיב ולא קרי .9th

v'lo K'ri. (Read and not written, written and not read): that is, many words in the text are denoted in the margin to be read differently; as in Ps. 100. 3, the written text is, "and not we ourselves ;" and "His we are." (I give

it is to be read according to the margin, this as an example, because the English Bibles with margins have the same. See Baxter's Polyglott.) In some places an entire word is deficient in the text, while it is supplied in the margin, in which word it is pretended that great mysteries are concealed.

:

F

בהבראם in

10th. Ktanoth. Ugdoloth, (small and large letters,) which are sometimes found in the Hebrew Bible, Thus ("when they were created") is small, and they assert that in consequence of this letter the heaven and earth were created and as the which represents the number 4, is large in the word (one,) that we are to consider Him "King in Heaven and earth, and the four corners of the world." Also they in You (Hear) is large because Israel has seventy names, and the law, which can be explained seventy different ways, was given to them; and because they are distinguished from the seventy Gentile nations. Sometimes a letter is found suspended above the line of the others, as (out of the wood), Ps. 80. 13, and sometimes turned upside down, as at the end of the 10th chapter of Numbers.

מי

10th. Chiluph (exchange), which is one letter found in the place of another in the Bible; as in ("his tent") in Gen. 13. 3,

feminine is found instead of the third personal pronominal suffix masculine. Such changes occur very frequently in the Hebrew Scriptures, which, in fact, is nothing else but a peculiarity in the Hebrew language, for which any one acquainted with the rudiments of that language will be able to account. However, the Cabalists pretend that it indicates profound mysteries. Some concealed mystery is also attached to the

D

part which is designed for the nay Maabarta, (or passage, from y Abar to pass), the place for the y R'tsuah, (i.e. the thong of leather which is put in the Phylacteries, which we shall explain hereafter). The other things are in the same order as those for the head Phylacteries, except that the four portions of Scripture are written on one long slip of parchment in four columns.

As in our Lord's time the Scribes and Pharisees made broad their Phylacteries for to be seen of men; so, likewise, such of the modern Jews as profess to be more holy than the rest, have their Phylacteries very broad indeed, and look down upon those of their brethren whose Phylacteries are small, for they think it to be a sign of great carelessness. Compare plates of the Polish and English Jew.

About A. D. 1175, there arose a great controversy

seven letters yn as they sometimes occur superfluously at the end of words, which is commonly known in grammar by the technical term Paragogic.

12th. N'Koodoth (points). There are ten vowel points; five long, and five short; the former being termed kings, the latter slaves; in which unspeakable mysteries are supposed to be contained. In some places dots (said to be for some mysterious purpose) are found on words; as in Gen. 33. 4, on the word (“and kissed him,”) which indicates that Esau intended to bite Jacob; but when he saw Jacob, his compassion was excited, and he kissed him.

13th. Dy Taamim, (musical accents,) which are also divided into kings and ministers, some conjunctive and others disjunctive, &c. Even in those the Cabalists do not fail to discover deep mysteries. Every word in the Pentateuch has one tone accent, unless it is joined to another by an horizontal stroke, like an hyphen, which is called makaph; but in the Decalogue every word has two tone accents, on which the Cabalists displayed their magnificent inventive powers and fertile imagination, and so wasted the best part of their time.

The above few observations will furnish the Christian reader with some idea of the nature of the Jewish "soul of souls," for so is this kind of doctrine designated by them.

between Rabbi Solomon Jarchi and Rabbi Moses Maimonides on the one side, and Rabbi Tam on the other side, as regards the placing of the portions of Scripture in the Phylacteries. The two former maintained the order above mentioned, (to which the Jewish nation almost universally conforms), whilst the latter contended for another order. The most strict Jews use both of them; the former they call on "Rabbi Solomon Jarchi's Phylacteries," the

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The Jews have a traditional fable respecting the origin of the above mentioned controversy, which is the following. Rabbi Tam was the grandson of Rabbi S. Jarchi, and when but a little baby his grandfather took him in his arms at the time when he was arrayed in his Phylacteries. The child looking at them on his grandfather's head, began to pull them off with great vigour. Rabbi S. Jarchi (according to his usual sagacity) predicted that his grandson would oppose him on that point.

According to the rules laid down by the Rabbies, the following seven letters

are to be written with little flourishes on the top, which are called pan Taguin. They pretend that even these small jots have many mysteries connected with them. From the following quotation it is evident that the Jews are led to believe there are numberless mysteries even in these Taguin.

אמר רב יהודה אמר רב בשעה שעלה משה למרום מצאו להקב"ה שיושב וקושר כתרים לאותיות אמר לפניו רבונו של עולס מי מעכב על ידך אמר לו אדם אחד יש שעתיד להיות בסוף כמה דורות ועקיבא בן יוסף שמו שעתיד לדרוש על כל Rabbi Judah said in the » קיץ וקוץ תילי תילין של הלכות

name of Rab, When Moses ascended into Heaven, he found the Holy and Blessed One binding crowns (i.e. Taguin) to the letters. He said unto Him, Lord of