צא DUKE OF URBINO. 157 “had an argument with a bishop in the market 66 place and this was the occasion on which the "Duke of Urbino brought me away with him; "and I left my servants in his country, and I "went on foot*, I alone, and no man with me, for so it was commanded me. And on the fifth 66 day of my journey, I saw the place from afar, "which was a stumbling-block unto us, because "of the multitude of the sins which we have "committed against the Lord our God, and we have not entreated his face, to return from our "wickedness, to hearken unto his voice, and to "attend unto his truth; and I lifted up mine eyes "unto heaven, and I wept a sore weeping over 66 my sins and the sins of the children of our "people; and I opened my mouth toward the gate of tears, and said, 'Lord of hosts! how 66 66 long wilt thou not have mercy on Jerusalem and "the cities of Judah, for the sake of the wrongs "done by them who stand up in this city to op"press us, and to cast us away from our country. Because of our sins, and for the wickedness of "our fathers, Jerusalem and thy people have be† Gen. xxii. 4. .via conculcationis דרך בצרה * According to a rabbinical tradition there are various gates in heaven, through which tears, prayers, mercies, snow, &c., pass to the places where they are treasured up. This tradition they support by passages like Ps. lvi. 9, "Put my tears into thy bottle," and Job xxxvii. 11, “ gates of death," and ib., verse 12, "the treasures of snow," &c. 158 THE HOLY STONE ENGRAVED. צא 66 come a reproach round about us*. And now, hearken, O our God, unto the prayer of thy "servant, and unto his supplications. 66 830. That the holy stone may be engraven, "the one stone which thou hast placed upon the breast of thy holy priests to clothe them with righteousness and salvation, to cause the horn of thy anointed to bud forth‡. Forgive, I pray thee, "the sins of thy country and the sins of thy chil"dren, the children of thy covenant, whom thou "hast caused to go into captivity among the naAnd remember unto us the covenant " and the loving-kindness which thou hast sworn "unto our forefathers of ancient days. And let thy countenance shine into thy desolate sanctuary, for the sake of my Lord, and for the sake "of thy Name, by which thy city and thy nation "were called§.' The while I was speaking and "tions. 66 66 66 66 praying according to those words, mine eyes "became like unto an increasing fountain, and my strength left me, neither was there breath left in me; but I gathered strength, and I prayed the evening offering in the field, before the enteringin of the city. And when I came to the blessing, 66 66 66 * Dan. ix. 16. § Dan. ix. 19. + Dan. ix. 7. Ezek. xxix. 21. || Dan. x. 17. Me, Dae, p, introitus, ingressus, congressus, congregatio. צא BATH-KOL-ROME. 159 "The deliverer of Israel,' I heard a voice speak 66 66 ing into mine ears, and it was that of my own " rabbi speaking*, and it said unto me, ' And Seir "shall be a possession for his enemiest.' And on the blessing, The gatherer of the scattered of Israel,' I heard also the same voice, and it said, And Israel shall do valiantly.' And on the blessing, 'The king who loveth righteousness and judgment,' I heard, 'Their foot shall slide in due "times.' And at the blessing, 'The support and safety unto the righteous,' I heard, And He will repent himself concerning His servants .' "And on the blessing, 'The builder of Jerusalem,' "I heard, To me belongeth vengeance, and recompense.' And on the blessing, 'Who causeth "the horn of salvation to bud forth,' I heard, And "Edom shall be a possession**.' And at the end of my prayer I went into the city, and I went into "the house of the commander of the host, and I gave him the horse, and my goodly raiment††, and I "said unto him, 'I have in this country a beloved, The Rabbi והיא מהרבי שלי ויאמר אלי,Like an echo * heard a bin, a sort of oracle, on repeating the eighteen blessings in the daily prayer of the Jews. + Numb. xxiv. 18. § Deut. xxxii. 35. ¶ Deut. xxxii. 35. tt Gen. xxvii. 15. Deut. xxxii. 35. || Deut. xxxii. 36; Psalm cxxxv. 14. **Numb. xxiv. 18. 160 TIBER-THE POPE. צב "whom I have loved [] since the days of old and " in former years; and my soul was bound up in her "soul*; but her father and her mother have con"cealed her in secret places of concealment; and "it is impossible for me to speak unto her, unless "I dress myself like a stranger with the clothes of "the poor who beg at the doors: procure them for me, that I may go.' And the commander of the "host did so. And I put on the clothes, and 66 'changed the brightness of my countenance into 'blackness, and tied linen cloths smeared with " oil upon my legs, and went about mourning+, like one despised and rejected of men§; like a man 66 of sorrows and acquainted with grief||, and in whom "there is no soundness. And I passed through the "streets of the city unto the bridge which is over "the river Tiber, near the fort of the pope, where "are the poor and the sick; and I sat among them 66 thirty days, like unto one stricken and smitten of "God**. I did not eat pleasant bread, neither "came flesh nor wine in my mouth††. And it 66 came to pass, at the end of the thirty days, on "the tenth day of the month of the Gentiles, which is the twelfth month Adar‡‡ of the year RUTS, צב A.M. 5290.- ZEPHATH AND DAMASCUS. 161 ( he spake unto his lad RUN *;') when about the middle of the night, a deep sleep fell upon met, and behold, the old man, whom "I had seen before in a vision, came unto "me and said, 'My son, I am come to make "thee understand what will happen unto the na"tions in the midst of whom thou art. Come with 66 me unto the ruins of Jerusalem, where thou wast "at first.' And he took me, and led me unto a place of two mountains, which are in the plea"sant land, between Mount Zion and Jerusalem, "and between Zephath‡ and Damascus; for I "had already seen them in a vision long ago, and "their likeness is upon my seal above the two lameds which are in my name§ and surname ||; "for from the day I had seen them, I put them 66 * Rabbi Joseph quotes here 1 Sam. xx. 36, va ing? ¬»), but is the only word which contains the number. his brother, and they slew the Canaanites that inhabited Zephath, and utterly destroyed it. And the name of the city was called Hormah." Jud. i. 17. § Salomo. VOL. II. Molcho, or as Jost writes: Malchu. M |