A special ceremony used to introduce the child into the study of the Bible in the original.[163] Teacher and pupil went to the Synagogue, took a sepher from the Hechal, and the pupil was made to read the first lesson from the sepher. This and similar ceremonies were intended as a means of impressing on the pupil the great importance of studying the Word of God in the original language. After having acquired a sound knowledge of the Bible, the study of other branches of Hebrew literature, of Talmudical and Rabbinical works, is approached.
As a rule, boys devote more time to Hebrew studies than girls, only because girls are considered physically more delicate and not capable of doing so much work as boys. Girls are by no means excluded from acquiring a sound Hebrew knowledge; on the contrary, every encouragement should be given to them, if they are inclined to study Hebrew beyond the first elements.[164]
The boy when thirteen years old is bar-mitsvah (lit., “a son of the commandment”), bound to obey the Law, and responsible for his deeds. On the Sabbath following [[482]]his thirteenth birthday the boy is called up to the Law; he reads the whole of the Sidra or a section of it, and declares in the blessings which precede and follow the lesson his belief in the Divine origin of the Torah, and his gratitude to God for having given us the Law.[165]
The school-years come gradually to a close, and the practical preparation for life begins. A vocation has to be determined upon. From a moral and religious point of view all kinds of trade, business, and profession are equal. They are honourable or base according as they are carried on in an honourable manner or not. Whatever course is chosen, the moral and religious training must continue with unabated energy. When the school-years are over, when the youth is no longer under the control of the master, and is sometimes left even without the control of the parents, he is exposed to various kinds of temptation, especially through the influence of bad society. The vices against which the youth must guard himself most at this period of life are sensuality, excessive desire for pleasure, gambling, and dishonesty, which bring about his moral, social, and physical ruin. Self-control, acquired through continued religious training, is the best safeguard against these dangers. It is therefore advisable that those who have left the school should continue attending some religious class, or otherwise devote part of their free time to Talmud-torah, to the study of the Torah, and of works relating to it.
“At the age of eighteen years one is fit for marriage” (Aboth, ibid.) is an ancient dictum, but which [[483]]could never have been meant as an absolute law. For there are other qualifications equally important, and even more essential than age. Maimonides (Mishneh-torah, Hil. Deoth v. 11) says: “Man should first secure a living, then prepare a residence, and after that seek a wife. But fools act otherwise: they marry first, then look out for a house, and at last think of the means of obtaining a livelihood.” (Comp. Deut. xx. 5–7 and xxviii. 30.)
Marriage is called in the Bible “a divine covenant” (Prov. ii. 17), or “the covenant of God.” God is, as it were, made witness of the covenant; in His presence the assurances of mutual love and the promises of mutual fidelity are given by husband and wife (Mal. ii. 14). To break this covenant is therefore not only an offence of the one against the other, but an offence against God.—In addition to this religious basis of marriage, conditions of a more material nature were agreed upon. The maiden has been long of use in the house of her parents, and he who sought the privilege of taking her to his house and making her his wife had to give to the parents “dowry and gift” (מהר ומתן, Gen. xxxiv. 12). Later on, in the time of the Mishnah, all that the husband promised to his wife was made the subject of a written document (כתובה), signed by two witnesses. In this document he guarantees to her 200 zus (or half the sum if she is a widow), the value of her outfit and dowry (in Hebrew נדוניא), and a certain amount added to the afore-mentioned obligatory sum (תוספת כתובה). He further promises to honour her, work for her, maintain her, and honestly provide her with everything necessary for her comfort. [[484]]
The marriage was preceded by the betrothal (אירוסין or קידושין), the solemn promise on his part to take her after a fixed time to his house as his wife, and on her part to consider herself as his wife and to prepare herself for the marriage. Legally she was already his wife, and infidelity was visited with capital punishment. The interval between the betrothal and marriage used to be twelve months; at present the two events are united in the marriage ceremony, and are only separated from each other by an address or by the reading of the kethubhah. That which is now called betrothal or engagement is merely a preliminary settlement of the conditions of the marriage (תנאים “conditions”). The conditions used to be written down, including a fine (קנס) for breach of promise; the agreement used to be followed by the breaking of a glass[166] and by a feast.
The actual betrothal takes place on the wedding-day, and consists mainly of the following significant words addressed by the bridegroom to his bride: הרי את מקודשת לי בטבעת זו כדת משה וישראל “Behold, thou art consecrated (betrothed) to me by this ring according to the Law of Moses and of Israel.” While saying this he places a gold ring[167] on the second finger of the [[485]]right hand. This act is preceded by a berachah over wine, read by the celebrant while holding a cup of wine in his hand, and the birchath erusin (“blessing of betrothal”), in which God is praised for the institution of Marriage. Bride and bridegroom, who during the ceremony stand under a canopy (חופה), taste of the wine.
The canopy or chuppah[168] represents symbolically the future home of the married couple, which they have to guard as a sanctuary, and to render inaccessible to evil deeds, words, and thoughts that would pollute it. The top of the canopy, which is formed of a curtain (פרכת) of the Hechal, or of a talith, expresses the idea of sanctity.
After the birchath erusin the bridegroom makes the solemn declaration[169] mentioned above: “Behold, thou art consecrated (betrothed) unto me by this ring according to the Law of Moses and of Israel,”[170] whereupon the kethubhah is read in Aramaic[171] or in English, [[486]]and an address is sometimes given. Then follow the ברכות נשואין (“Blessings of Marriage”), called also after their number שבע ברכות “Seven Blessings.”[172] The ceremony concludes with the breaking of a glass and the mutual congratulations of friends and relatives, expressed in the words Mazzal-tobh (מזל טוב “Good luck”).[173]