Notes.
1. The reading of the Law is preceded and followed by a blessing. In the first we praise God for having distinguished Israel by revealing the Law to them, and in the second for the benefit derived from the Law as the source of eternal life. The love and regard for the Law expressed in these blessings should be shown by the congregants in silent and respectful attention to what is recited by the Reader. Those who are called up to the Law consider this as an important event, and make it an occasion of special prayers for relatives and friends (mi-shebberach), accompanied [[359]]by promises of contributions to communal and charitable institutions. On days of family rejoicing, as well as on days of mourning, the religious privilege of being called to the Reading of the Law is especially valued; in the former case offerings are vowed in honour of our living friends, in the other case in memoriam of those near and dear to us, who have departed from our midst. These additional prayers thus serve a double purpose; they help to preserve the bond of relationship and friendship, and secure a material support for the benevolent and other institutions of the community.
Objections have been raised to this in itself praiseworthy custom for two reasons: first, the mi-shebberach only concerns a few, and appears to the rest of the congregation a useless interruption in the reading of the Law; secondly, it gives occasion to a display of vanity and pride.
As to the first objection, provision could and should be made that the interruption be not unduly long, and cause irritation among the congregants. Due regard should be shown to the fact that the Divine Book is open on the reading-desk, and everything should be avoided that might diminish the reverence proper to such an occasion. The second objection is based on a pessimistic estimate of our fellow-men; if there is any one whose offerings are made from vain and ostentatious motives, he is certainly lost in the multitude of those who take a more serious and a more dignified view of their duties when standing before the open Torah.
2. There is an old tradition that we should recite daily a hundred benedictions. On Sabbath and Holy-days, when the Amidah contains only seven berachoth instead of eighteen, the deficiency is made up by seeking an occasion for birchoth ha-nehenin. Hence the minhag spread of partaking on these days of various kinds of fruit between the meals.
3. Tradition teaches us that on the holy days of rest we must not only abstain from actual work, but also from ordering anything to be done by those who refuse to recognise the Sabbath-laws as binding on them.—Circumstances force us to deviate at times from this rule. There were Jews who would not allow any work to be undertaken on Friday which would continue of its own accord after the Sabbath had set in. Thus they would not have light in their homes on Friday evening or warm food [[360]]on the Sabbath-day, although all necessary precautions had been taken before Sabbath came in to keep the light burning and the food warm for twenty-four hours. But the more these Jews insisted on excluding light and fire from their homes, the more did our Sages demand light and warm food as essential comforts of the Sabbath, and to them the Sabbath-candles and the warm food were a mitsvah of great importance. Much work is done on Sabbath for the public by non-Jews; e.g., in connection with railway-trains, steamboats, and other public conveyances. May the Jew avail himself of the work thus done for all alike without his bidding? He may in some cases—e.g., for a long sea-voyage—in others not. But he must always bear in mind that Judaism depends on the adherence of the Jews to the noble principle, כל ישראל ערבים זה בזה “All Israelites are sureties responsible for each other.” The meaning of this principle is this: If a certain act appears to one of us allowable, but at the same time our action might mislead others and cause them to break the Law, we must not do it. Thus if Jews were to avail themselves of the public conveyances, the whole aspect of the Sabbath would change, and the day would ultimately be forgotten.
4. When dire necessity compels a Jew to break the Sabbath, let him not think that the Sabbath is lost to him, or he to Judaism. So long as Jewish conscientiousness is alive within him, let him endeavour to keep as much of the Sabbath as he is able. He must not say, “I have broken the Sabbath. How can I join my brethren in the Sabbath Service!” Whatever he does conscientiously will be acceptable before God, and he will thus find himself exhorted to watch carefully, and to seize the first opportunity of returning to the full observance of Sabbath. The same principle applies to all the Divine Precepts.