332
NOTES AND QUERIES. LII s. vm. OCT. 25, 1913.
of the moon. They generally hunted in
couples : father and son, or master and
servant. Ultimately, this " rule-of -thumb "
gave way before a more scientific system,
the result of experience and of traditional
knowledge. The duty of taking observations
was still rigidly enforced, because " sancti-
fication depended on observation " (' Rosh
Hashana,' 20). But for various reasons
the Sanhedrin, dissatisfied with the old
method, resolved to create a special depart-
ment of the Beth Din to take charge. These
Commissioners took over all the existing
formulae and other documents appertaining
to their office, and applied themselves
seriously to building up a solid mass of
evidence, on which their successors might
act at all times, whether reports arrived in
time or not, and also whether the reports
were trustworthy or not. Not infrequently
the Dayanim or Commissioners, after wa' ting
a reasonable time for the reporters, would
(on their own forecasts) announce to the
delegates assembled for that purpose the
expected event. As soon as the accredited
agents of the Dayanim arrived with their
reports for only men of education and cha-
racter were appointed then to take observa-
tions they were collated with existing data,
and if found to be in order, a move was made
by the chief of the Beth Din, attended by
his herald and the officers of his Court,
towards the large vestibule in the Court of
the Sanhedrin in Jerusalem, where assembled
the " Sheluchim," or delegates, from North
and South of Palestine, &c. ; and on silence
beins; enforced, he would exclaim " Mekoo-
dash ! " (" It is sanctified ! ") and the people
would respond " Mekoodash ! Mekoodash ! "
and would gallop a\vay as fast as their
horses could carry them to announce the
great news far and wide. Special pains were
taken by all concerned to get perfect " sound-
ings " for Nissan and for Tishri the two
holiest months of the year Tishri, because
all the great festivals were regulated by it ;
Nissan, because there is a tradition that the
Messiah will come to us in that month:
" In Nissan they were delivered from Egypt;
in Nissan they will be emancipated again "
('R. H.,' 11). Wherefore special privileges
were accorded both to the "Eidim " (or
witnesses) and to the " Sheluchim " ; even
the rigid formulae of the Sabbath were
abrogated so that no delay should occur.
They could also incur extra liabilities, which
the Dayanim gladly paid if matters were
thereby expedited.
It was the Sanhedrin that established " the two-day festival," beloved of the pious and
rejected by the " reformed " Hebrew. It
came about in this way. The delegates
often travelled hundreds of miles, and
arrived home a day too late. To remedy that
they appointed the second day to be as
good as the first. In the process of time
people began to like the idea, so " the two
days " gradually became a universal custom.
Before the introduction of the " Sheluchim,"
the Talmud tells us (' R. H.,' 22), they had a
more spectacular process of communication
with the remoter centres of Jewish life.
They used to light beacons and bonfires on the
Mount of Olives. From neighbouring emin-
ences men would [then wave to and fro
long poles from which depended flaming
cressets. Soon from every hill, from Olivet
to Beth Boltin, there leapt a network of
dancing fire. The reason why this dramatic
mode of transmitting intelligence was dis-
carded is not without interest. Under the
name of Cutheans = Samarians (possibly
another nom de guerre for the Romans:
witness the story told in the Talmud, and
corroborated by Josephus, about the pig
they sold to the hapless Hebrews, as a sub-
stitute for the lamb required for sacrifice),
our Rabbins charge certain hostile people
with tampering with their signalmen, and
with other mischievous tricks of an identical
sort, by which their religious practices were
grossly hampered.
Our New Year is sometimes designated by the " Payetanim," or hymiiists, as " the Feast of Trumpets." What Capt. Conder hi ay have had in his mind was the various viands kept piping hot in the refectory of the Court for the various " runners " engaged in the sacred duties aforesaid. The "glass " mentioned by Conder must have been the " glass lamp " used by the searching parties. Only the naked eye was permissible. The Talmud (' R. H.,' 22) relates that when the witnesses were brought before Rabban Gamaliel they were confronted with a series of diagrams of the moon, which usually hung on the walls of his study.
M. L. R. BBESLAB.
Percy House, South Hackney, N.E.
CLOCKMAKEBS IN BRISTOL (11 S. viii. 290).
Bartley & Eggert carried on business
as " clock and watch makers " in Bristol
from 1810 to 1814 at Nicholas Street (now
St. Nicholas Street), close to the church of
that name and Bristol Bridge. In 1815 they
appear to have dissolved partnership, or
possibly Eggert died about that time, for
from 1816 "to 1850 and later Mark Bartley
was in business alone, in the same place and
