acrifices.

=The Sabbath and the new law of Deuteronomy.=--One of the kindly
changes which the new law of Deuteronomy introduced was to make the
Sabbath a rest day for slaves and all toilers. On the Sabbath "thou
shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy
manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thine ox, nor thine ass, ... that
thy manservant and thy maidservant may rest as well as thou."

In Babylonia and other foreign lands faithful Jews were especially
careful to keep the Sabbath by resting from all their work. No one
else did so, and the custom marked them as Jews. When a Babylonian
would propose to buy a wagon load of wheat on the Sabbath the Jew
would say, "I cannot sell on that day; it is a Sabbath day to our
God." Boys and girls were not allowed to play with their Babylonian
playmates on the Sabbath. Such experiences helped them to remember
that they were Jews. They thought of it also as an act of respect to
Jehovah. It took the place of animal sacrifices. As the time went on
there grew up rules and regulations in regard to Sabbath-keeping which
became more and more strict and elaborate.

PRAYER AND PUBLIC WORSHIP

Another religious custom which can be practiced anywhere is prayer. It
must have been a great and happy discovery to many a homesick Jew when
he found that even though the temple at Jerusalem was far away, yet in
his own room "by the river Chebar" he could kneel, or even in the
street he could for a moment close his eyes and breathe out a prayer
to God and find in it fresh strength and hope and courage.

=The synagogue.=--The weekly Sabbath rest also made it possible for
the Jews to meet together on that day for prayer and worship together.
The reading circles which Isaiah had organized, and out of which
probably came the law-book Deuteronomy, were continued in Babylonia,
and the Sabbath morning, afternoon, or evening was a convenient time
of meeting. They would gather in some private house and study the law
and the writings of the prophets. Then they would pray. Those who were
the most learned would read and they and others would pray aloud.

By and by special buildings were set apart called synagogues. As time
went on these synagogue services rather than the services in the
temple, became the most important part of the Jewish religion. Our
morning and evening worship in the Christian Church grew out of the
synagogue service. It was the beginning of that worship of which