On this page
-
Text (1)
-
Untitled Article
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
-
-
Transcript
-
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
Additionally, when viewing full transcripts, extracted text may not be in the same order as the original document.
Untitled Article
In this way the train of pilgrims to th £ Passover proceeds ; they halt at mid ^ day beside the pools of Solomon , the reservoirs of an aqueduct by which Jerusalem had formerly been supplied . In the evening they enter
the Holy City , and are hospitably-received by Iddo , an old friend of Elisama ' s family . The description of the City and Temple , of the day of Preparation , the feast of the Passover itself ,
the Sabbath and the remaining days of the solemnity , occupy the remainder of this volume . The following description of the Paschal meal may serve as a specimen of the antiquarian part of the work .
" In the middle of the room stood the table , which in t . he East is always low , because the guests either . He around it on divans , or sit on cushions .
On this occasion , however , there was neither divan nor cushion , and the table stood apart , as if the preparations were but half finished . It was
about the middle of the second hour of evening ( half-past seven ) when the company , consisting of nineteen persoris , assembled around the table . Every one , though splendidly clad , appeared prepared for a journey . With sandals on their feet , which at other
times were not worn in a room , but given to the slaves to be placed at the door , with their garments girt and a staff in their hands , they surrounded the table . A large vessel , filled with wine immediately from the cask , stood upon it , and the meal began by the master of the house blessing it . He laid hold of it with both hands , lifted
it up with the right , and said , ' Praised be Thou , O Lord our God , Thou King of the world , who hast given us the fruit of the vine ; ' and the whole assembly said , ' Amen / Next he blessed the day , and thanked God for having given them his passover ; and then , drinking first himself from the cup , sent it round to the rest . When this
was over , he began again ; ' Praised be Thou , O Lord our God , Thou King of the world , who hast sanctified us by thy precepts , and commanded us to wash our hands . ' He and the whole
company then washed their hands in a silver baaon , with water poured from an ^ ewer of the same metal . This was the emblem of purification , and impHttd , that „ evdry one should come witK a pure he&tt , * as well as clean
Untitled Article
hands , to partake of the paschal meal The unleavenedf brfead , ( flat cakes with many small holes in them , ) the bitter herbs , a vessel with vinegar , the
paschal lamb , were then placed upon the table , and last of all the charbseth , a thick pottage of apples , nuts , figs , almonds and honey , boiled in wine ami vinegar , and not unfrequently made in the form of a brick or tile
to remind the Israelites of their Egyptian slavery , and strewed with cinnamon in imitation of the straw which was mixed with the clay . The master of the house then spoke ' ugain , ' Praised
be Thou , O Lord our God , who hast given us the fruits of the earth / He dipped one of the herbs in vinegar , and the whole company did the same . At this moment , the mistress touched her
little grandson , a child of ten years old . Children were ahvays present at this festival , and one design of its establishment was , that the son should learn from the lips of his father the events to which it referred , and the
remembrance of them might thus be propagated to the most distant posterity . The child understood the hint , and asked his grandfather why on this night only unleavened bread and
bitter herbs were to be eaten ; why on this night alone the guests stood around the table , instead of sitting or lying . With dignity and solemnity , the grandfather , turning to the child , related to him how their forefathers
had been oppressed in Egypt , and how the Lord had brought them out thence with a mighty arm . He described to him the evening which preceded their flight from Goshen , their busy
preparation , and their anxiety to conceal it from the Egyptians . The lamb was slain and the blood sprinkled on the door-posts , that the destroying angel of the Lord might pass by their houses , when he slew the first-born
of the Egyptians . It was to be pasted , not boiled , that it might be iBoner ready , and strengthen more those who partook of it , it was to be eaten in a standing posture , as by men prepared for instant departure ; it was to be consumed entire ; for the whole people were to quit their dwellings aftd never to return to them : and no bone
of it was to be broken ; for this is the act of men who have time add' leisure for their meal . The' bitter herbs and unleavened bread were then tJatenytUKi
Untitled Article
16 " Melon ' Pilgrimage to Jerusalem , " by M . Straws .
-
-
Citation
-
Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Jan. 2, 1823, page 16, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1780/page/16/
-