[141] The grafting of two species of trees one upon the other is included in this prohibition. [↑]
[142] E.g., “Neither shall there come upon thee a garment of two kinds of stuff mingled together.” Such mixture is called שעטנז, and applies only to the mixture of wool and linen (Deut. xxii. 11). Another commandment belonging to this category is this: “Thou shalt not plow with an ox and an ass together” (ibid. 10). Ibn Ezra, in his Commentary on the Pentateuch (ad locum), suggests the following reason for this commandment, “The Almighty has mercy upon all His creatures; the strength of the ass being inferior to that of the ox, an unfair demand would be made upon the strength of the former when drawing the ploughshares together with the latter.” [↑]
[143] טרפה originally designated meat of animals torn by wild beasts, but it is used to designate food, especially meat, forbidden by the Law. All permitted food is called kasher (כשר). [↑]
[144] In accordance with the traditional explanation of the commandment, “Thou shalt not destroy the corners of thy beard” (Lev. xix. 27), a razor is not employed, and shaving is avoided; the hair of the beard and the face is clipped with scissors. This prohibition, like that of “rounding the corners of the head” (ibid.), belongs to a group of precepts which aimed at keeping the Israelites away from the idolatrous customs of their heathen neighbours. The second prohibition has led to the fashion noticeable among Russian and Polish Jews of letting the hair of “the corners of the head” (in Hebrew peoth) grow very long.—In the Mishnah (Kethubhoth vii. 6) it is mentioned as a distinctively “Jewish custom” that married women have their head covered when going out. Many Jewish women observe also this [[468]]custom within the house.—With these exceptions there is nothing in his dress and appearance that need distinguish the Jew from the Gentile, only that sometimes Jews are more conservative with regard to fashion than their neighbours, and old-fashioned style is then mistaken for “Jewish fashion.” [↑]
[145] Some people leave on one of the walls of the house a certain piece unpapered and unpainted as a sign of mourning for the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple. From the same reason, in some congregations, the bridegroom on the wedding-day has ashes strewn on his head. In accordance with Ps. cxxxvii. 6 we remember Jerusalem on various occasions. We recite Ps. cxxxvii. on week-days, and Ps. cxxvi. on Sabbath and Holy-days, after every meal. Again, when we give expression to our sympathy with mourners we pray that God may comfort them together with those who mourn for the destruction of Jerusalem. [↑]
[146] The above-mentioned exceptions, and the fact that the woman is passive in the marriage ceremony as well as in the case of a divorce, have been erroneously interpreted as evidence of the low estimate in which she is held by the Jewish Law. How the Jews were taught to honour their wives may be gathered from the Jewish marriage document, in which the husband promises “to honour his wife in accordance with the rule in practice among Jews, that every husband honours his wife.” There are, unfortunately, also bad Jews who ill-treat, neglect, or entirely abandon their wives; but these cases are exceptions, and proportionately less numerous than among non-Jews. On the whole, Jewish women are treated by their husbands with love and regard, and the good relations that exist between husband and wife ensure the comfort and happiness of both. [↑]
[147] To this respect for feminine modesty is due the arrangement made in the Synagogue for female worshippers (see p. 426). It is also the reason why girls have no ceremony corresponding to the celebration of the bar-mitsvah. [↑]
[148] Women do not like to do needlework on Saturday evening immediately after the close of Sabbath; it was considered a mitsvah to prolong the Sabbath, just as it is a sign of love and esteem if we induce a friend to defer his departure. The saying that only shrouds [[474]]are to be sewn on Sabbath evening may perhaps be traced to Mishnah, Shabbath xxiii. 4. [↑]
[149] In order to have warm food on Sabbath without breaking any of the Sabbath laws, the food is put in an oven which is heated in such a manner that the fire continues to burn without requiring to be stirred or rekindled, or in which the heat is otherwise retained. Such food is called chalet, which is probably a French word, corresponding to the Hebrew חמין “warm.” [↑]