Now bless ye the Lord, the God of Israel, Who doeth wondrously on earth; Who bringeth up man from the womb, And maketh him according to His will. May He give you wisdom of heart, And may He be with peace among you. May He make His mercy stand fast with Simeon, And may He confirm to him the covenant of Phinehas, That shall not be cut off from him and from his seed, As the days of heaven. II. THE MISHNAH [A collection of Jewish jurisprudence, dealing with the various aspects of Jewish life, and classified in the following six orders: _Zera`im_ (“Seeds”), containing eleven tractates; _Mo`ed_ (“Festivals”), containing twelve tractates; _Nashim_ (“Women”), containing seven tractates; _Nezikin_ (“Damages”), containing ten tractates; _Kodashim_ (“Holy Things”), containing eleven tractates; _Teharot_ (“Purifications”), containing twelve tractates. The Mishnah is written in terse and simple Hebrew, well adapted to the various subjects, and has preserved a number of words, which, as may be seen from the cognate languages, must have been in common use in biblical times, though they do not occur in the Bible. It also contains some loan-words from Aramaic, Greek, and Latin. It was redacted by Rabbi Judah ha-Nasi about 200 C. E.] 1. The Bringing of the First-Fruits to Jerusalem[5] In what manner were the first-fruits brought up? All the inhabitants of the towns of a district assembled in the principal city of the district; they spent the night in the market-place of the city, and entered no house. Early in the morning the appointed officer would proclaim: ‘Arise, and let us go up to Zion, to the house of the Lord our God.’ They that lived in the vicinity would bring fresh figs and grapes; they that came from afar would bring dry figs and raisins. The bull went before them, its horns overlaid with gold, and a garland of olive-leaves on its head. The flute played before them, until they drew near Jerusalem. When they drew near Jerusalem, they sent messengers before them, and adorned their first-fruits. The governors, deputies, and treasurers came out to meet them; according to the rank of those that entered did they come out. All the craftsmen of Jerusalem stood up before them, and greeted them, saying: ‘Our brethren, ye men of such and such a place, ye are welcome.’ The flute played before them, until they reached the temple mount. When they reached the temple mount, each man (even king Agrippa) put his basket upon his shoulders. Then they went in as far as the temple court. When they reached the temple court, the Levites recited the song: ‘I will extol Thee, O Lord, for Thou hast raised me up, and hast not suffered mine enemies to rejoice over me.’[6] The pigeons which were fastened to the baskets were offered as sacrifices, while those which they held in their hands were given to the priests.