Abiud
THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA
Ablution
piyiHic style, and an- not the results of any strainin;; after artificial form. Strantre. often interesting. expres.«ionsare found in the less artilieitil poems of Aliitur, and indeed even Of other in his prose eomnieiiliiry on the I'sidms. pieees liy Abitiir, Ihe introduetion to the priiyer IDNL" 1^13 ill the morniiiir servie<' for Ihe Alonement Day is mo;t notable; it lieiiins C'C'N "IL"S "IliaThis poem, which is also a fni^inent of the "^laaniad." was made the subject of a coinmeiitary by Simon lien Zeniali Diiran. written for a pupil. David ben Samuel l.Ialajo. IJesides the Miiamad." Abitur composed a Iiir:;e number of piyutim for Sabbaths. New-year's Day, and the three Festivals, a lenirlhy set of IIosiiANor fur he Tabernacles festival, as well as propitiatory prayers {wUluit) for the daysof peniHis productions are emliodied in the Proventence. (,al, Catalonian, African, and many other liturgies. I
Lpl)re<ht. Litliriiliirhkitt drx OricntK. 1S44, Kninkcrs .l/mmrw/iriY/, IWS. p. 4:!0: Just. OVjio/i. luraililiii. vi. lis_i:tii; suclis. IliUiiii'isr I'ncxii:. pp. StSSlelnsclinelder. (Vif. Itudl. icil.s. IWT, I4:iK; Kanipf, ^'irlit-
BinLiOGKAPnY: ool.TiC.':
ihr 2i">5;
Aii<lah(!<is(lii-
I'liisir
Aiiilaliisisrhir Itichtn-.
IS-i-lsii;
11.
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(liK Zilinti n .I:i)irliuiiil, rls, !ii .Si, /,, nli r ll< rirlil ikr LchfDrilii- Wiss, iiKtIiail id.v .IwU iil]iiiiii^, especially ritiintall p. %: Harknvv. In Minmt.-.-'fhiitl. Iss.",. pp. u's".. isii; Bai-her, in Winter unit Wunsclie, />i. Jiiil. 1,11 hint in; II. ^"iS; Aliitur's Sfikr'Ahtitttth^ Uitrellier with ii cMiiiinenlurv hy May.vim dali|)apa. is printfii in lioseiilierK's E-ji';-!,-' B';isj --i- ';';'C ]'3V,
The piH'iri w'l:'N i'J'N, 19-2."t, 1 IT-l^J. Ui Lsaac l)en (iiat, is printed witlj Duran's 11.
tjerg's o'ji::dd
ABlUJJ
can, pp.
wrongfully ascribed
commentary
K.5-tK;.
in (iold-
jj
jj
Son of Zerubbabcl. from wlioni was descended Joseph, the husband of Mary, the mother of He is omitted from the list of Jesus (Matt. i. V^^) Zerubbabel's sons given in 1 C'hron. iii. 19, 20.
.
G. B. L.
ABIiAT
A
Gentile sa.i^e andiistroloijer in BabyThe close friendship winch existed between lonia. him and Mar Samuel (died 2~A} shows that the legal restrictions of their reliiiion did not prevent the
Babylonian Jews from social conunimication with their heathen nci.irhbors. An anecdote given in 'Ab. Zarah {'M)ii) illustrates the kind con.sidcration and Ablat was courtesy which |irevailed on both sides. a guest in the house of Alar Samuel on an occasion when wine was usually served. The rabbinic law forbids Jews to use wine that has come in contact with idolaters. Knowing this. Ablat declined to take his wiue before .Mar Samuel, wliom he called "the wisest of the Jews." But Alar Samuel, anticipating this very ditticully, had met it liy oidcring mulled wine, which was not umler the ban; and he thus overcame a restriction that jiractically prevent<'il his friend from partaking of his hospitality (Sliab. 121VM. Ablat enjoyed great popularity among the Jews, as is shown by the fact that the Jerusidem Talmud (Shab.
iii.
(Sn)
ical prece])t
lalter's
cites a question respecting a rabbin-
put by him to a Jewish scholar and the
answer.
ABLITAS, EZMEL (SAHTUEL) DE
I>.
G.
Son of Don Jucepli liorn in the village of Alilitas. near Tufrom which place he derived his name; died in dela.
was known as " the rich Jew of Ablitas." business relati(ms with the King of Navarre and Aragon. The Kingof Aragon and the nobles of Navarre borrowed from him large sums, which they failed to repaj-. On this account Ablitas was unable to fulfil his obligations to the state. After his death liis grandson, Don E/.mel de Ablitas, and a Christian citizen of Tudela were made administrators of his est;ite and obliged under oath to deliver his whole property, consisting of furniture, money. Vi-l'i.
He had
lie
68
gold and silver vessels, vases, carvings, and the like, his whole fortune, both personal and real, being confi.scated in Kitli by the (Jui'eii of Navarre. How large n sum must have come to the treasury by this confiscation can be seen from the record of documents published by Jacob.s a singh' indebtedne.s.s from the king of .t.'iS.OdI) is cited (see "Jew. Quart. Hev." viii. -ix'). Of his sons two are mentioned, Funes and Judah. The latter name is foun<l in a diieumint al Pamplona (Jacobs, "Sources of Ilisloiy of .lews ill Spain," .x.xxviii. H't). Don Solomon de Ablitas, under Carlos II. of Navarre, was
—
tfi Ins hir/nx fir mt rnjmeji'i'ii (administrator of the property of his counselor), ll!ti','-(i7. An Esezkiel de Ablitas (1422) is mentioned iu
iiilininistriuhii'
Jacobs' "Sources." Kayserlinp, JwUn in Xavarra, pp. .W et seq, Jacobs. Sources^ Nos. 14^, 1437, 1439.
miiLioGR.MMiv
M. K.
ABLUTION
Kor the purpose of actual or ritual ablutions or washings form an imof the Jewish religiims ceremonial. .Iiidaism is in thorough acctu'd with the proverb, "Cleanliness is next to godliness" (see Mi.shnah, Sotah. i.x. 1.")) indeed, if goes further; for it holds practically that cleanliness is godliness itself. There are three kinds of Ablution recognized in Biblical and rabbinical law: (1) Washing of the hands. (2) washing of the hands and feet, and (3) immersion of the whole body in water. The ritual wasiiiiig of the hands is not ex])licitly prescribed by the Bible, but is inferred by the rabbis (l.Iul. 10(1.0 from the |)a.s.snge, Kcv. Modern xv. 11, in which it is stated that if a Practise, person alllicled with an unclean issue have not washed (or bathed) his hands The pa.ss!ige, Ps. xxvi. his touch contaminates. 6, "I will wash mine liands in innocency; so will I compass thine altar, O Lord, also warrants the inference that Ablulioii of the hands is rei|uisite before perfoniiingany holy act. This particular form of Ablution is theoiu' which has survived nuist completely and is most practised by Jews. Bi'fore any meal of which bread forms a part, the han<ls must be solemnly washed and the ajipropriate benediction recited. Before prayer, too. the liands must be washed also aft<^'r any unclean liodily function or after contiict with The jirecepfs concerning the an unclean object. carrying out of the ritual washing of the hands are contained in the rabbinical code "Shulhan 'Aruk, Oral.i Hayyiin," SS IIT-IG."). The chief rtiles are Ihese: The watermust bein a state of natural jnirity, not discolored or defiled l>y the admixture of any foreign substance; it must not have been previously used for any purpose, Jind must lie poured out by human act, the mere natural flow of water not siilliciiig. If a hydrant or stationary receptacle is used, the cock must be ojiened sejiarately for each This precept, that the water must be poured hand. out by human act, is based on the fact that Scripture describes the pouring of water upon the hands as performed by one person for another, and considers it an appropriate act for the diseiph' to do for his master. The iiouiing on of water was a sign of discipleshi]). Thus, Seriiilure sjiys of Elislia that he iioured water (D'D PV'I u|ion the hands of Elijah, meaning thai he was Ids disciple. The hands iniay also be purified by immersion; but in that case the s;ime rules must be ob.scrved as in the case of immersion of the entire body in a regular ritual bath, or riiikiteh. If water is not obfaunable, the hands should lie rubbed with some dry, clean .substance, such as cloth. The hands must also be washed after eating. The Ablution before grace is known technic:
puritie.ilioii,
]iorlaiit feature
