these do with the hours of the daily sacrifices—but also dictated the inclusion of references to these sacrifices within the Synagogue ritual, So, too, the Eastern posture in prayer, the face turned towards the Temple (Daniel vi. 10), derives from the same cause. The synagogue indeed became, in the language of Ezekiel (xi. 16) as applied by the Rabbis, a "smaller sanctuary," just as the Temple, in the words of Isaiah (Ivi. 7), was to become "a house of prayer for all peoples."
It must suffice to say, therefore, that the Synagogue service grew up alongside of the Temple service, until the age of Titus, when the Synagogue took the place of the Temple. The reading of the Law, as introduced by Ezra, became a regular feature of the service. Private prayers by famous men were adopted for public use. Benedictions for various occasions were introduced. The Psalms, passages from the Scriptures and the Rabbinic books, were given their due place in the ritual. The Prayer Book is thus the result of development through many ages. In the version with which we are dealing we have passages, such as the Amidah (P.B. pages 44 seq.), as old at least as the second century B.C.E., and others, such as Lecha dodi (P.B. pages 111, 112), as late as the sixteenth century C.E. This historical development of the Prayer Book has been the cause of some of its most conspicuous merits. Here and there perhaps its horizon is somewhat contracted, but, as the expression of the Jewish spirit throughout the ages, it reflects every mood of the human soul, it breathes a spirit of invincible faith, an earnest desire to be in harmony with God and to understand and do his will, and it offers in praise and gratitude to the Most High the homage of genuine heart-service. Taken as a whole, it is a not unworthy sequel to the Psalter from which it has drawn so much of its inspiration.
The abbreviation "P.B"
These notes follow the "Authorised Daily Prayer Book" page by page. The abbreviation "P.B." (= Prayer
