washed their hands and said a prayer before sitting down to the evening
meal, which passed off very pleasantly, and zmires (or songs or psalms
of praise) were sung at intervals during the meal.

When the meal was ended, and the grace said by the father, they all
separated: one or two went out for a walk, while the other members of
the family took a newspaper or a book and quietly read.

When the table was cleared, the mother sat down to rest. Grateful,
indeed, was she for this Sabbath rest after her week's hard work. She
often said that, for such as herself, no blessing was as great as the
command: "Thou shalt not do any work on the Sabbath."


WORD OF LOVE

When all were quietly settled down, Benjamin's father took him between
his knees, and said: "My son, I wish to ask you something, and I want
you to answer my question frankly and truly. What made you throw the
tsitsith down on the floor this afternoon and say to your mother that
you would not wear it?"

The boy Benjamin dropped his head and was silent for a minute or two,
for to hear his father speak in a kindly way made Benjamin far more
ashamed of himself and his deed than if his father had scolded him and
given him a whipping--in fact, he felt so wretched that he longed to run
out of the room and hide himself from everybody. His father's knowledge
of human nature made him understand what was passing through Benjamin's
mind, and he said: "Do not fear to tell me, my son, why you acted in
such an unusual way, for there must be some reason for a Jewish boy to