d
their second letter, in which it was written, "That which thou hast left a
kid is grown up a strong horned goat." Hananiah was struck dumb. Rabbi
Isaac, one of the legates, ran, and mounted the reading desk. "These,"
said he, calling them out aloud, "are the holy days of God, and these the
holy days of Hananiah."

The people began to murmur. Rabbi Nathan, the second legate, arose, and
read the verse of Isaiah, "Out of Zion shall go forth the Law, and the
word of the Lord from Jerusalem." Then in a mocking voice, "Out of Babylon
shall go forth the Law, and the Word of the Lord from Nahor-pakod." The
congregation was in an uproar. "Alter not the word of God" was the
universal shout. The legates then produced the third letter, threatening
excommunication to all who would not obey their decrees. They further
said, "The learned have sent us, and commanded us to say, if he will
submit, well; if not, utter at once the Cherem.(3) Also set the choice
before our brethren in foreign parts. If they will stand by us, well; if
not, let them ascend their high places. Let Ahia build them an altar, and
Hananiah (a Levite) sing at the sacrifice, and let them at once set
themselves apart, and say, 'We have no portion in the God of Israel.' "
From every side the cry arose, "Heaven preserve us from heresy; we have
still a portion in the Israel of God." The authority of Tiberias was then
recognized as supreme. But when Babylon was afterward politically severed
from the Roman power in the West, and fell to the Persians, the Prince of
the Captivity represented the Jews of the East as their independent head.

The canon of the Talmud was closed in a season of opulence and repose.
This scene, however, speedily changed. Gloomy and dark days were followed
by a storm of persecution from the Persian kings, Yesdigird and Firuz "the
tyrant." When their schools were closed, the Jews clung more closely to
the Talmud than before. Although never formally adopted by any general
council, all orthodox Jews embraced it as supplying a want which they
felt. And they have adhered to it through long and dreary centuries,
despite the rack and fire of the Inquisitor, and the contempt and scorn of
a hostile world. The Talmud has been periodically banned, and often
publicly burned, from the age of the Emperor Justinian till the time of
Pope Clement VIII. In the year 1569 the famous Jewish library in Cremona
was plundered, and 12,000 copies of the Talmud and other Je