The Jewish child : its history, folklore, biology, & sociology / by W.M. Feldman ; with an introduction by Sir James Crichton-Browne.
- William Moses Feldman
- Date:
- 1917
Licence: Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)
Credit: The Jewish child : its history, folklore, biology, & sociology / by W.M. Feldman ; with an introduction by Sir James Crichton-Browne. Source: Wellcome Collection.
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![Ш: I.] Introduction 17 An ox has a long tail that it may drive away the fleas which molest it in the pools where it grazes.^ 7. Effect of Dreams on Offspring.—The ancient Jews, like all ancient races, had a strong belief in dreams. Although E. Meir said that dreams signify neither good nor eviP—for, as was said in the name of Eav, dreams are due to indigestion, and hence fasting will destroy dreams^—and Ben Sirah said that only fools attach any importance to dreams,^ yet E. Chisda said that a dream that has not been interpreted is like a letter that has not been read.^ An anonymous Eabbi said that, if one sees a vine-tree in his dream, his wife will not abort; he who sees in his dream a cock can hope to have male children.® Relative Values of Boys and Girls* A male child is considered of much greater importance than a female child. Eabbi said: The world cannot exist without men and women, yet happy is he whose children are males, and woe to him whose children are females.^ Another saying is: ''A boy is born to the world; he brings with him a loaf of bread in his hand, but a girl brings nothing.® E. Chisda, however, said that if the first child is a daughter it is a good sign for the children that will follow, because the evil eye is not evoked.^ The Midrash^® infers it from Gen. vi. 1: And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto ^ Sabbath 776. ^ Gittin 52a. ^ Sabbatb 11a. ^ Sirah xxxi. 1. ® Beiachoth 55&. ® Berachoth 57a. ^ Pessachin 65a, Kiddushin 826, and Baba Bathra 16&. ® Nidah 31Ò. ^ Baba Bathra 14:1a. Gen. E. xxvi. 2](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b18023022_0050.JP2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
