ndle
to the synagogue, and from particular appearances of the flame he
prognosticated whether good was to follow him and his, or whether he
and his family were to be overtaken by evil.

At their great feasts of tents or tabernacles (observed in memory of
their living in tents in the wilderness) the Israelites went from
their tents to the synagogue every day during the feast, bearing in
their right hands branches of palms, myrtle, and willows, and in their
left hands branches of citron. When they reached the synagogue, they
turned the branches first to the east, then to the south, next to the
west, and lastly to the north. These ceremonies were allegorical: the
palm was an emblem of hypocrisy, the myrtle pointed to good works, the
willow represented the wicked, and the citron the righteous. At
marriages, while the young persons present held torches in their hands
and sang the marriage song, the bride walked three times round the
bridegroom, and he in turn walked thrice round her. In some
countries--Germany and Holland, for instance--the guests threw
handfuls of corn at the young wedded pair, telling them to "increase
and multiply." The newly married people drank a little wine, and then
emptied the cup on the floor. At the wedding repast a roasted hen and
an egg were presented to the bride, who, after partaking of them,
distributed the remainder to the guests. The hen had reference to the
fruitfulness of the bride, and her delivery in childbirth.

The thumbs of a dead Jew were tied down close to the palms of his
hands, to preserve the deceased from the devil's clutches. While the
body was being washed, an egg was put into a glass of wine, and the
deceased's head anointed with the mixture. Those who were not
reconciled to the departed, before his death, kissed his great toe and
asked pardon, lest he should accuse them at the great tribunal before
the Most High. When the body was carried away for interment, a person,
who remained behind, threw a brick after it, as a sign that all sorrow
was past. The nearest friends or relations walked seven times round
the grave, after each of them had driven a nail into the coffin. Hence
the saying in our own time, when one signifies his willingness to do a
friend a favour or kindness, "I will drive a nail into your coffin."
When the body was put into the grave, every person present threw a
handful of earth in after it.

On important occasions the Hebrews, like Pagans, consulted divine