The Jewish Synagogue, Chapter 3
CHAP. III.
ſhewing how the Jews inſtruct their children in the fear of God.
WHen any one of the Jewiſh women giveth ſuck, then ſhe ought to eat good and wholſome meats, and ſuch as are eaſie of digeſtion, to this end, that the Infant may find and ſuck from the teats good milk, by which his heart and ſtomack may not be troubled with obſtructions, but ſuſtained and nouriſhed, whereby he may ſooner come to maturity, and may more eaſily obtain vertue, manners, wiſdome and underſtanding. The Chachamim, (a) which are the moſt profound W…ters among the Jews,Wiſe men. have with great diligence reiterated their commands, that the Mother ſhould have a ſpecial care, that the Infants be not at any time deſtitute of good meat and drink, thinking (and not without reaſon) this to be a matter of the greateſt moment, thence foreſeeing, that they quickly comming to their growth, may prove men of courage, and ſuch as are able to do God good ſervice, as it is written: The Lord shall, establiſh, thee, an holy People unto himſelf, Deut▪ 28. 9.as he hath ſworn unto thee, if thou wilt keep the Commandements of the Lord thy God, and walk in his wayes. Of what na…ure are his ways? God with a plentifull hand gives unto all his creatures their meat in due ſeaſon. Therefore the mother no way permitting tha her children ſhould ſuffer for want of food, but nouriſhing them unto fatiety, walks in the ways of the Lord: whereby it comes to paſſ tha. ſhe may trace the path leading to life everlaſting. And for this cauſe God gave unto her, not one, but two paps, that the ſucking child might at all times have milk enough.
The wiſe Scribes among the Jewes in their Gemara, propoſe this queſtion: why David the King,Tract. Berach de benedictionibus. when he praiſed God, did not forget to make mention of babes and ſucklings? Rabbi Abba ſaith, that theſe ought alſo to ſing praiſe, because God hath placed the womans paps above the heart, that the Infant by ſucking, may attain to a ripe underſtanding, as it were ſucking the milk out of the heart of his Mother, from which fountain flows the excellency of his intellect. Rabbi ehuda that the paps of women were placed in that part of the body, that the child might not see his Mothers privity. Rabbi Mattana affirms them there to be ſeated, as in a moſt pure place: God then having ſuch a tender eye and care over little Infants, how much more exceeding ought that of the Mother to be in the nouriſhing of them? ye, which is more, God many times makes a Metamorphoſis in nature, before that the little ones shall periſh for want of food. It is recorded in the Gemara, that upon a time the Wife of a certain poor man departed this life,… de Sab…ho. and left behind her a little sucking Infant; the good man being so poor that his means would not ſtretch to the hiring of a Nurſe; God ſo changed his natural conſtitution, that his paps became full of milk, whence the Infants life was preserved, many honeſt m…ſeeing it, an… bearing witneſs to the truth thereof.
We read a ſtory of the ſame ſtamp in Medraſch or a certain little book of Sermons, that when Pharaoh King of Egypt had commanded that all the male children of Israel ſhould be caſt into the River, the Hebrew women ran into the open fields, and there brought forth their yong ones; if they were males, the earh like an indulgent mother, received them into her boſome; which done, God created for the uſe of every one of them two ſtones, out of the one of which they might ſuck milk, out of the other honey: and thus they were preſerved under the earth untill they came to ripeneſs of years, and were grown manlike, at what time every one returned unto his mother.
In the ſame place it is read that good Mordecai ſuckt the teats of Esther, which was the cauſe, that ſhe being Queen heaped ſo many good turns upon him, that from a poor man he roſe to a great Potentate. What Mother then can indure that her child ſhould be deprived of dayly food?
The Moraliſts wanting of modeſty, and every other particular vertue, ſay, that the caſe ſtands with the good Wife of the houſe, as it doth with a Viceroy ſet over ſome certain Kingdom and Inhabitants thereof. He ſo proving faithfull to his Soveraigd, and uſing the Subjects well, makes the Kingdome to grow better, and the revenues to increaſe, purchaſeth unto himſelfe a plentifull reward; that at laft, by the accumulation of honours, he is heaved up to ſome honorable title, and is capped for a great Lord. But if the contrary be by him put in execution, he is not onelyonly caſhier'd of his reward, but the clouds of imperiall diſcontent caſt a horrid lour upon his houſe, and the Gallow tree muſt be his lives laſt period. So the good wife of the house like a Viceroy, is placed over her children; if ſhe have an inceſſant care that they be provided with meat and drink ſufficient, then ſhall the Infants hearts be inlarged for the entertainment of a polite behaviour, and the practiſe of good works; ſhe alſo ſhall have a reward both in this life and that which is to come, having a place allotted her together with the juſt in that Garden of pleaſures, Paradiſe. But if ſhe feed her children with groſſe meats, ſuch as may make a chained incloſure of their hearts, then God ſhall cut her off, and caſt her headlong into the infernal pit.
The Mother muſt not too often bear that part of her breaſt which is next unto her heart, leſt hereby the milk becomming immoderately cold, should afterwards be the occasion of some maladies to the ſucking Infant, and hinder his growth. Moreover, ſhe muſt have a ſpecial care that ſhe faſt not two long in a morning, but early take ſome warm broath, which turned into good nouriſhment, may alſo become the childs ſuſtenance; ſhe muſt not ſuffer her children to go naked at any time, not upon the day, leſt the Sun, nor upon the night, leſt the Moon ſhould hurt them,Pſal. 121 6. as it is written: The ſun ſhall not hurt thee by day, nor the Moon by night. She muſt not ſuffer any to carry them to bed naked, or that they themſelves ſhould approach their couch being thus unvailed. Moreover, it is not lawful for them to riſe out of their bed naked, but a most diligent care is had that their ſhirts be put on and off at their lying down and riſing up, that they may early be accuſtomed to a reverent baſhfulness in the eyes of the Almighty, and ſpeedily be rapt into this contemplation, that the whole earth is full of the Majeſty of Gods glory, and that in his ſight the darkness is like the light it ſelfe: for the ſame reaſon they are always to go with their heads covered, becauſe the Divine Majeſty doth alwayes hover over them, their wiſe men bearing witneſs If any chance to go without his honnet, he practiſeth nothing less then the advancing of his fore front againſt the Majeſty of the Omnipotent; and from thenceforth becomes impudent, forgetfull of God and his Commandements. Conducible to this purpoſe we read a ſtory in Gemara: That upon a time the Elders and Senators of Jerusalem, ſitting in the gate, two yong youths paſt by them, the one with his head covered, the other with his bonnet vailed; which Rabbi Eliezer observing, ſaid, The boy that goes bare head is a baſtard: and Rabbi Jehoſuahes verdict was, he was the ſon of a polluted woman: Rabbi Akibhah affirmed both to be true. Hereupon Rabbi Akibhah asked his mother how ſhe came to have ſuch a ſon? ſhe anſwered, when I firſt entred into the bond of matrimony with my Husband, I was unclean; and for this cauſe my husband did ſeperate himſelf from me, that according to the Law of Moſes he might not keep company with me all the dayes of mine uncleanneſſe: in the mean time one of his companions came in unto me, and got me with child, by the which act of copulation I had this my Son. Whence it appears to be a sign of an untowardly dispoſition in any child to walk bare headed. From the ſeventh year untill the thirteenth they have a serious and impulſive admonition given time not to go uncovered, after which time they are commanded to uſe the geſture.
The children of the Jews from their very infancy, are accuſtomed to wear a girdle, and truly their honeſt Matrons faſten it to the hinder part of their coats, that by this means they may always be mindfull of it; for the girdle ſevers their heart from the ſecret parts, leſt the heart in time of prayer might be hindred in its devotion by beholding the privities.
So ſoon as this infant Jew hath learnned his morning prayers, he intermixeth this Petition, Bleſſed be thou O God, who girds Iſrael with the girdle of ſtrength, having reſpect unto the girdle he is girded withall; for if he have none about him, then is this his prayer of no moment, but in vain, and imputed to him for a ſinne.
Moreover, the children are not permitted to go barefoot, for fear of a multiplicity of dangers, which might happen unto them, and that especially in the Moneths of December and January, when the Cats dance their Corantoes; for at that time they may chance to tread upon venemous stuffe caſt out by the Cats in this their wantonneſſe, by which their feet may be annoyed with ſuch a ſwelling, that for a long time after they can have no remedy.
When they cannot as yet ſpeak plainly or readily, they are caught to pronounce ſome good Sentences out of the Bible: they accuſtome them alſo upon the morning and Evening of Evening of every Sabbaoth, and great feaſt decently to ſalute their father and mother, and to bid them good morrow, good even, to wiſh them a happy Sabbaoth, &c.
Seven years paſt, and the children coming to more maturity, they are commanded, that every morning adjoyning the name of God, they ſhould remember to ſay, God give yon a good day,foreign &c. (for so ſpoke Boaz to his reapers, Hael immachem, the Lord be with you) and alſo this Jebarecha hael, God bleſſe you, or as we uſe to ſpeak,foreign God thank you. It is not lawfull for them to use the name of God, unleſſe it be in ſome pure place, concerning which more ſhall be ſpoken in another place.
They are alſo taught all manner of utensils neceſſary for their life and daily conversation. They practiſe Nomenclation, that by this means they may fooner learn to ſpeak Hebrew, and hence it is, that they intermingle many Hebrew words with the Germane language, or any other, which they uſe as their mother tongue.
Moreover, theſe infants altogether ſhun the company of Chriſtians, will neither eat nor drink, nor enter into any other kind of commerce with them, this being the ſtudy of their Parents, to make every action of the Chriſtians for to ſeem odious, and ſuch as are abomination to the Jews: hence it comes to paſſe, that they indeſinently hold on to nouriſh that hatred which they conceived againſt the Chriſtians in their infancy even untill the end of their dayes.
When the children are seven years old, then by their Parents, command they learn to read and write. If any one be of ſo great an eſtate, that he can beſtow the charges, he keeps a Rabbi or Schoolmaſter in his own houſe to inſtruct his children. So ſoon as any one hath made ſo much progreſſe in this kind, that he can read, then firſt of all he is taught to conſtrue the Books of Moſes in that language with which he was brought up. In a certain book called Schebkile emunah, it is recorded, that when the mother brings her ſon the firſt time unto School to the Rabbine, that ſhe ought to give unto him ſome delicious wafers made with Sugar and hony, and to ſay theſe words, Even as this wafer is ſweet, ſo let the Law be ſweet unto thy heart, let it be like ſugar upon thy tongue, and hony upon thy lips, ſee that thou trifle not away thy time at School with babbling & unprofitable speeches, but learn to ſpeak the words of the Law alone, let them only proceed out of thy mouth; for hereby it ſhall comete paſs, that the glory of Gods Majeſty ſhall reſt upon thy head, and for evermore ſhall there keep his residence; for God loves all thoſe that are intent unto goodneſſe, and ſpeak of his Word. Hereupon the moſt learned Doctours among the Jews, have left it written, that Jeruſalem being waſted, and all the Prieſts and Levites exiled by the Enemy▪ God did in such a manner for ſake them, that his Majeſty would not vouchſafe to bear them company. The Sanedrim alſo, or the chief Conſistory among the Jews, being likewiſe by the Conquerours overthrown without Jerusalem, had not the Majeſty of the moſt high gone along with them: yet the children at length being baniſhed out of their School, the glorious Majeſty of God omnipotent was their Companion into the Land of their captivity, concerning which the Prophet Jer. propheſied in theſe words,Lam. 1. 5, 6. Her children are gone into captivity before the enemy and from the daughter of Z…on all her beauty is departed, where beauty notes out the preſence of Gods Majeſty, in the presence of which the beauty of the City Jeruſalem conſiſted: therefore when the boyes ſitting at the feet of the Rabbine learn the words of the Law, and nothing but the Law iſſues out of his mouth; then the glorious Majeſty of the Creator dwells in them, and delights himſelf with the breath coming out of the mouth of these punies; for a breath of this nature is pure and holy, conſidering the child hath not as yet committed ſin.
In the thirteenth year of his age, his title is Bar Mitzvah, the ſon of the Commandements, becauſe he is now tied to keep the Law and will of God, as alſo then he begins firſt of all to fin, if he do not perform the ſaid Commandements. Rabbi Simeon Bar Nachmam, in the name of Rabbi Jochanan, uttered theſe words, That if any one teach his ſon the word of God, he is worthy to ſit before the Lord in that Univerſity which is opened in the heavens,Iet. 15. 1… as Jeremy ſaith, If thou wilt return, then will I bring thee again, and thou ſhalt stand before me, that is to ſay, if thy ſon hear the Law, I will make him fellow of the same Colledge that the Saints and Angels inhabit, and make him partaker of life eternal; and whoſoever is not carefull that his ſon ſhould learn the Law, and ſo conſequently becomes the occaſion of his corrupt education, it were better for him that he were blind, ſo that he might not behold his reproachfull acts,Gen. 27. 1. as it is written of the Pat…iarch Iſaac, When Iſaac was old, and his eyes were dim, ſo that he could not ſee, he called Esau his eldeſt son, &c. On theſe words, Rabbi Eliezer of the ſtock of Azariah ſaith, That Iſaac his eyes were therefore dimme, that he might not see the immodeſty and wantonneſſe of his unnurtured son Eſau, and it is recorded in the book Medrasch, that Abraham for the very ſame cauſe departed this life five years sooner than the course of nature exacted, that is, leſt his eyes ſhould behold his degenerate nephew Eſau, leading his life in a wicked ungodly manner.
Ten years being expired, and the youngling Jew being indifferent well versed in the Books of Moſes, it is necessary he apply himſelf to the ſtudy of the Talmud, and of duty to cleave unto the text thereof, in which the very foundation of Iewish Traditions and Ordinances, as also of the Divine and Humane Law is comprehended.
At thirteen years of age he is called Bar Mizvah, the ſon of the Commandements, when he is bound to keep and obſerve all the Commandements, in number ſix hundred and thirteen. containing the ſum and argument of the Law of Moſes, and of the whose body of Iewiſh Superſtition. If from that time forward he ſin, and do not execute that is commanded, then is he liable to be puniſhed both by the Law of God and man. What ſin ſoever he committed before the thirteenth year of his age, his Father must ſuffer for it.
Which is the reaſon, that the child comming to theſe years, his father cals ten Jews unto him, and in their preſence witneſſeth, that this his Son is come to full age, and being inſtructed in the Commandements, hath learned the manner and cuſtome of the Zizim and Tephillim, (of which more anon) as alſo the form of bleſſing and his daily prayers: for which reaſon he would be freed from him; that he might not from henceforth ſmart for his offences, he being ſuch an one who is to become Bar mitzuah, the Son of the Commandements, and ought to ſuffer for his ſins in his own proper perſon. This being confirmed by the ten Jews there preſent, the Father ſaith a certain short prayer, in which chiefly he gives God thanks, that he hath delivered and unburdened him of the punishment due unto his son for his sin; further intreating him, that his ſon by the help of the Divine grace, may for many daies remain ſafe and without danger, and be industrious in good works.
In the fifteenth year of their age, all the children of the Jews are forced to learn the Gemara, which is the perfection of the Talmud, written for the better comprehending and underſtanding of the acute and ſubtil diſpute and deciſions about the doubtful things in the text thereof; and in these they ſpend the greater part of their life, very ſeldom or never beſtowing one minutes ſtudy in the books of the Prophets, but utterly neglecting them: Whence it comes to paſs, that many Jews there are ready to drop into their graves, who (to my knowledge) have not read any one of the Prophets from beginning to end. And this is the cauſe that they know so little concerning the Meſſias, that the promiſes concerning him are become not only obscure unto them, but alſo altogether unknown.
In the eighteenth year of their age the males enter into the bond of wedlock,… what time … Jews marry according to an ancient Order in the Talmud, which they not ſeldome tranſgreſſing, oftentimes marry before the time injoyned, to avoyd fornication; the females may marry when they are twelve years and one day old.
In the twentieth year they are licensed to traffick, buy and ſell, play the Chapmen, cozen and circumvent any whom they can poſſibly; of which the Chriſtians to their grief have had too much experience, of which in another place.
Becauſe our yong Jew hath now taken his degree of Bar mitzuah, or Son of the Commandements, and is entred into the order of the Jews, our endeavour ſhall now be to expreſs the manner how both their yong and old men behave themſelves in this order.