25 בכורים, dealing with the laws relating to the firstfruits which were brought to the temple (Ex. xxiii. 19). The processions formed by the pilgrims are very vividly described after the said tractate by Delitzsch in his _Iris_, p. 190 _sq._ (English ed.). See also by the same author, _Jüdisches Handwerkerleben zur Zeit Jesu_, p. 66 _seq._ 26 תענית, “Fast,” or תעניות, “Fasts.” 27 סדר נזיקין, “Order of Damages,” treating of the civil law of the Jews, the procedure of courts of justice, and kindred subjects. This Order also includes the tractate אבות, _Aboth_ or “Sayings of the Fathers,” which is very important for the study of Rabbinic doctrine and ethics. 28 סדר תהרות, “Order of Purities,” dealing with the laws regarding Levitical purity. 29 ספרא (or הורת כהנים), ספרי, מכילתא. These three works form the oldest Rabbinic commentary on Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. The authorities cited in these commentaries all belong to the period of the Tannaim. See above, note 12 to the Chassidim. Constituting as they do, to a certain extent, one of the sources used by the _Gemara_, they are naturally indispensable for a scientific study of the Talmud. 30 הצפה, “_Hatsophe_,” a spirited satire against the orthodox and especially against the then prevailing belief in the transmigration of souls taught by the mystical schools. The book is written in the purest biblical Hebrew. 31 מורה נבוכי הזמן. 32 מדרש, pl. מדרשים (_Midrashim_), “Research,” “Researches,” a name usually applied to the homiletical part of the Rabbinic literature. The most important collection of this kind is the _Midrash Rabbah_ to the Pentateuch. The usual way of quoting it is _Genesis Rabbah_, _Exodus Rabbah_, and so on. 33 See above, note 12 to the Chassidim. [Transcriber’s Note: Footnote on the Tannaim and Amoraim.] 34 מינים, “Heretics,” applied to the first Christians, and more so to certain Gnostic sects. 35 הלכה למשה מפיני, see below, p. 186 and _note_. [Transcriber’s Note: The footnote on “laws given to Moses on Sinai.”] 36 הגדה or אגדה—הלכה, “rule,” “method,”—“narrative.” The former deals with the legal side of the Scriptures, and is thus more of a juristic nature; the latter represents a collection of homilies having mostly as their text the historical and exhortatory parts of the Bible, and is thus more of an edifying character. The theological side of Judaism, as well as its ideal aspirations and Messianic hopes, find their expression in the Agadah. The two words are also used as adjectives, as _Halachic_ (legalistic, juristic, and obligatory) and _Agadic_ (poetic, edifying, and hyperbolic). 37 ערך מלין, a sort of encyclopædia to the Talmud, of which only the first letter appeared.