The reading of shema in the evening and in the morning, the three sections constituting the shema, and the order of these sections, are assumed in the Mishnah as fully established by law and usage. Only a few regulations are discussed concerning the time and the mode of the reading. There was this difference between the custom of the Babylonian Jews and that of their brethren in Palestine, that the latter omitted in the evening the passage referring to tsitsith. Later on, however, the Palestine Jews conformed to the Babylonian custom. Suggestions have been made to substitute other Biblical passages for shema, but they have been rejected. Several attempts have been made to introduce, as an addition to the three sections of shema, the reading of the Decalogue; the addition was disallowed, lest people should be misled to think that the Ten Commandments alone were to be observed, and that the other laws were not binding (Babyl. T., Berachoth 12a). [151] The Benedictions which precede and follow the reading of shema were fixed in the time of the Mishnah as regards number, order, and form; but the contents were left unsettled for some time (Mishnah, Berachoth i. 4); in the Gemara their wording is still a subject for discussion. The same can be said with regard to the relative order of shema and tefillah. For the Evening Service the tefillah seems to have generally been considered as optional. As to Benedictions in general, their obligatory character is assumed in the Mishnah as admitted by all, and only their form seems to have been fixed by the regulations mentioned in Berachoth vi.–ix. The Mishnah (Megillah iii. 4–iv. 10) includes a number of regulations concerning the reading of the Law, the Prophets, and the Book of Esther. Detailed rules were laid down for the reader and the translator (methurgeman), pointing out which passages should be omitted in the translation, and which should be omitted even in the original. It seems that there was a regular, consecutive reading, which was interrupted on extraordinary days by the reading of passages referring to these days. The ritual which was adopted for the priests in the Temple was an abridged form of the ritual then in general use. It was as follows: They commenced with a benediction—the first of those which precede the shema (‏יוצר אור‎); then they read the Decalogue, shema (the three paragraphs), and three further benedictions, ‏אמת ויציב‎, ‏עבודה‎ (corresponding to ‏רצה‎ in our prayer), and the blessing of the priests (Mishnah, Tamid v. 1). A special ritual is also mentioned in the Talmud (Mishnah, Taanith iv. 2) for the Maamadoth and the Fast-days. [152] There were four Services daily, as on the Day of Atonement. The principal feature in the Service of the Maamadoth was the reading of the first chapter of Genesis.