Less popular, though not less humorous, than the _Eben Bochan_ is Kalonymos's _Massecheth Purim_, the whole title of which in Hebrew is given as follows:— ‏ ‪ספר מגלת סתרים וספר מסכת פורים‬ It would appear that it was intended by the author to be a parody on the manner in which Rabbis generally conducted discussions and debates on trivial questions, as described in the Talmud, with special reference to the rites and usages connected with the Feast of Purim. It was obviously a harmless Purim prank, yet some ultra-orthodox Rabbis^[111-1] took it seriously, and declared it to be an heretical work. Its want of popularity among Jewish readers in past centuries, and the limited number of its editions, must be attributed to this. It has only been printed three times altogether, first at Pesaro in 1507, then at Venice in 1552, and lastly at Vienna in 1871. The Rabbis may have had yet another reason for their objections to the work, as the author advocates therein some slight reforms in the ritual of Purim. He puts, for instance, in the mouth of one of the disputants the question: Why should it be forbidden to read the _Megillah_ on Purim in the vernacular, being a language that is generally better understood, by Jews and Jewesses alike, than Hebrew? Should an objection (he goes on to say) be made to such a procedure on the plea that the Book of Esther contains the word ‪ככתבם‬, which means “according to their (the Jews’) own writing,” this obstacle could easily be removed by having the vernacular translation written in Hebrew characters. Incidentally we learn from the _Massecheth Purim_ that the Jews then living in Palestine were well-to-do farmers, and that those living in France and Italy frequently indulged in a certain game called ‪סקקרי‬, which, according to Steinschneider, is equivalent to the Italian term _il schachiere_, and means the chess board^[111-2]. We likewise gather from the book that the Rabbis of that time allowed dancing, provided that the dancers chose their partners from their own sex. It is interesting to notice, in passing, the variety of dishes which the Jewish ladies of those times were in the habit of preparing for the festivals. Kalonymos mentions, by way of example, the wife of the president of a certain Italian Jewish community, called Kardinalith ‪קרדינלית‬, who used to begin making the preparations at least a fortnight before the advent of any Jewish festival. Graetz's supposition^[112-1], that the lady in question was a Cardinal's daughter, is not supported by any historical evidence.