Of a less revolting character was the so‐called ceremony of the “Reading of the Shema.”(241) It consisted in taking all the little children of the community into the house of the newly‐born child, where the teacher made them read the Shema, sometimes also the ninety‐first Psalm. The fact that little children were the chief actors in this ceremony reconciles one a little to it despite its rather doubtful origin. In some communities these readings took place every evening up to the day when the child was brought into the covenant of Abraham. In other places they performed the ceremony only on the eve of the day of the _Berith Milah_(242) (Ceremony of the Circumcision). Indeed, this was the night during which Lilith was supposed to play her worst tricks, and the watch over the child was redoubled. Hence the name “Wachnacht,” or the “Night of Watching.” They remained awake for the whole night, and spent it in feasting and in studying certain portions of the Bible and the Talmud, mostly relating to the event which was to take place on the following day. This ceremony was already known to Jewish writers of the thirteenth century. Nevertheless, it is considered by the best authorities on the subject to be of foreign origin. Quite Jewish, as well as entirely free from superstitious taint, was the visit which was paid to the infant‐boy on the first Sabbath of his existence. It was called “Shalom Zachar,”(243) probably meaning “Peace‐ boy,” in allusion to a well‐known passage in the Talmud to the effect that the advent of a boy in the family brings peace to the world. At last the dawn of the great day of the Berith came. I shall, however, only touch here on the social aspects of this rite.