law bare of all dressing and ornamentation; fixed and definite rules and in its extreme or, it may have been the anguish due to the form resulted in absolutely ostracizing the wounded pride of the patrons of the syna unfortunate person against whom it was di rected. He became an outlaw; all inter gogue who had donated these valuable arti cles, and now found that their pious gifts course with him was absolutely forbidden; he was formally cursed; in some instances had been pledged to money lenders. The pious members brought these facts to his entire property was confiscated; and he the attention of the court, due inquiry was was subjected to severe corporal punish made, witnesses were heard, and the court, ment. The ban could only be enforced against after having satisfied itself that the syna gogue belongings had in fact been pledged, the offender if it was published; hence it is came to the conclusion, "that the people will probable that this document, after having in future (on this account) hesitate to donate been drawn up and signed, was publicly read such objects for the holy Sefarim out of fear in the synagogue, perhaps on several occa sions, and that copies thereof, were sent to that the like will happen." The court, apparently, had no jurisdiction synagogues in other towns as far as the jur in the premises to compel the officers of the isdiction of the court extended. In Talmudic congregation who had pledged the property times, and in later times also, the ban was frequently used as a punishment in cases to restore it. At any rate they made no de cree to this effect. It may be inferred from in which modern 'law would prescribe a fine this that the belongings of the synagogue and imprisonment, such as, for instance, the had been pledged to pay congregational cases of libel and slander, contempt of court, debts and not the private debts of the offi maintaining a nuisance, and the like. After pronouncing the ban, our document cers; and furthermore, that it was within the power of the officials of the congregation to proceeds with these words, "believing that pledge its property in this manner; hence this action will be of advantage in the mat the court and the elders did not attempt to ter." From what we know of the force and interfere with what had already been done, effect of the ban, we have no doubt that this and contented themselves with issuing the action was of advantage in the matter, and effectually prevented the officials of the con decree. After setting forth the facts as above gregation from offending in a like manner stated, that such conduct on the part of the in the future. The date of the document is given as the officials would cause people to refrain from last tenth of the month of Tyyar of the year donating to the synagogue, and averring one thousand five hundred and forty-three, that it was their desire to do away with this according to the Shtarot era. This corres difficulty, they make the following decree: ponds to the fourth day of March, 1231, of "We have come to an agreement and have the Christian era. Fostat of Egypt, "which put under the ban the name of any one who is situate on the River Xile," is the name of would again give as a pledge one of the a town immediately adjoining the city of things above mentioned, or the like—of any Cairo, and was the old capital of Egypt. It of the belongings of the synagogue which was destroyed by fire in the year 1168 by the are in Egypt for the space of twenty years. Vizier Shawir in order to prevent it from The threat to put the name of the offender falling into the hands of the Crusaders. It under the ban was equivalent to an injunc is said that the city burned for fifty days, and tion, for no one would run the risk of so it is probable that the Jews, who had been great a misfortune as being put under the ban of excommunication. The ban, in Rab living there, together with the other inhabi binical times, was pronounced according to tants, moved to the city of Cairo near by.
