Sotheby’s has gigantic Judaica auctions every so often, and they often put the items on public display right before the auction. If you time your visit right, it’s almost as good as a museum (except that unlike a museum, it’s only open for three days, and then it’s over). Last time I was there, I saw these tops for Torah rollers.

(You get how these work, yes? They go on top of things like broom handles, to which are attached the Torah.)

DEAR LITTLE CARVED LIONS WITH BOGGLY EYES! In little lion houses!

Mirrored from hasoferet.com.

Today we have:

An Open Letter to the Jewish Married Women Who Are Employed in The Millinery Center, and Also in The Garment and Fur Centers.

The flyer isn’t dated. I assume it’s sometime in the 30s when lots of Jews were working in these areas, being ministered to by our Nathan Wolf, amongst others.

[The original is in ALL CAPS. I'm going to type it in lowercase to spare your eyes.]

Due to the fact that there are many Jewish married women who are employed in the above centers, and many of these Jewish women observe the laws of Jewish family purity such as “Niddah–Mikvah–Tvillah!”…

[I never did that mitzvah with an exclamation mark, perhaps that's why it never vibed for me?]

…also whereas many of these women, after a day’s hard labor at the office or factory, probably had to travel several miles to a modern kosher public mikvah to perform the ritual ceremony of immersion, because there was no such mikvah in the vicinity where they reside, therefore, it would be desirable and convenient to many of these women, if a modern kosher mikvah would be built in a good location on the West Side between West 14th Street and West 42nd Street, New York City.

Due to the fact that there is a very large basement in the synagogue of West 34th Street between 8th Avenue and 9th Avenue, as a matter of suggestion, this particular basement of the synagogue, would be a good location to build a modern kosher mikvah there.

(This propaganda campaign about the construction of such a mikvah–has been made possible by a young American Grand Rabbi of the Lower East Side of New York City. It can also be much better if such a modern kosher mikvah can be constructed in a separate building by itself, thus assuring more privacy to the women who come to such a mikvah, than it can be done in this synagogue, because this particular synagogue usually has many worshippers during the evening services, but as the expense of building a separate building would probably be very large, therefore if the mikvah shall have to be built in the above located synagogue, it would be advisable also to build a special entrance to the basement, thus at least assuring some privacy.

You have to admire the chutzpah of this, don’t you? Someone from the LES (i.e. nowhere near 34th St) is merrily suggesting that the 34th St shul undertake a major building project because it has a nice big basement. Don’t know about then, but now that basement is a function space, and I should imagine the basement was used for meetings and suchlike then as well. It’s a bit like dispatch 7, in which another flyer was very happy to boss us about; mikveh-building campaigns are all very well, but do people have to be so bossy?

I also wonder, just a bit, whether many of these women really were travelling several miles after work to a mikveh. I had the impression that immigrant Jews were more interested in theatre and labour unions and other preoccupations of the emancipated than in mikvaot, but I readily admit that my knowledge of New York’s Jews in this period is patchy at best.

On the subject, have any of you ever heard that some women believed that touching a Torah scroll was a substitute for going to the mikveh? One Rabbi Steinberg mentioned it to me casually the other week, but didn’t have more to say than that, and I’d like to hear more about that. It makes sense, in a way, if you think that Torah scrolls are ultimately pure and holy and that that is transmitted by touch. Anyone got anything more about that?

Anyway, the 34th St shul is still there and functioning, and I happen to know the rabbi (hi, Jason!), so I called him just to see if he’d ever heard anything about this mikveh project, but he said as far as he knew there’d never been a mikveh there. Which doesn’t surprise me! I thought maybe I might go and try digging through the shul archives and seeing if the idea was ever raised at board meetings, but decided I have other things to do with my time. However, if any readers are ever interning there and don’t know what to do with themselves, they should go have a dig and see. (Talking of bossing people about. Be glad I’m not telling you to go build a mikveh.)

Mirrored from hasoferet.com.

I’ve been getting too much spam here lately, so I’ve installed a little widget that will ask you for input to prove that you’re not a robot. It asks you to type in a word from a picture; the word is from archives which are being digitised, so you make a small contribution to advancing machine-readable knowledge.

As far as I know, it’s designed to be accessible by those with nonstandard comprehension and input methods. If that proves not to be the case, do email me and tell me about it. Don’t want to be excluding people.

Hopefully regular commenters will only have to do it once. It’s got some sort of setup where it remembers who you are.

Mirrored from hasoferet.com.

This is DR9 R30, but there’s nothing much in the catalogue about it, which is too bad. It’s a token of appreciation for someone from his co-religionists, in Italian, dated Genoa 1956 (click image to see bigger). We’re looking at it because it has a pretty border, more or less; nothing particularly innovative or unusual I think, a modern presentation of a mediaeval style, but it’s a nice example of how you can use very simple techniques to make a very dramatic document.

If you look closely, you can see that the three-dimensional effect is achieved with two shades of a colour, applied fairly arbitrarily, and white highlights. But it’s boldly done, and with vivid colours, so it fools you into thinking that it’s a lot more intricate than it really is.

This is a principle many of you would do well to absorb ;) Simple techniques done with confidence mean striking work.

Mirrored from hasoferet.com.

A clip from a testimonial,* signed by appreciative members of an Italian community in 1956. In the subsequent sixty years, note how one of the substances in the black ink has spread out around the signature, giving it a sort of halo. Ink can be funny like that. It’s one of the reasons artists use “archival-quality” materials–the idea is that they aren’t going to do this. Not sure how they know.

* Before you start grumbling: you’ll see the whole thing next time, so hang in there.

Mirrored from hasoferet.com.

I thought this picture looked familiar when I saw it in the drawer. It’s the inside of the Great Synagogue at Stockholm, which still has organ at its Shabbat services, and is most particular about employing a non-Jewish organist to play.

So what is this? An old-school Reform confirmation certificate, from 1939. (Click image at left to see bigger.)

First it has space for the name and birth-date of the confirmand, and it goes on, in Swedish, “has been confirmed with official religious studies according to Mosaic law on [date]”

Then a bunch of pesukim. First couple of lines of the Shema, you shall love your neighbour as yourself, do justice love mercy and walk humbly from Micah, and a slightly random bit from Kohelet: the dust shall return to the earth it came from, yet the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.

And a space for the signature of “rabbi of the Mosaic community”

It’s also endorsed along the side saying “only valid as proof of confirmation”. I wonder what else they thought people might try to use it for. Proof of Jewishness, for marriage?

With the date as 1939 I wondered if they might be worried about Nazis; I knew Sweden was neutral in the war, but apparently they weren’t clear on to what extent they’d be able to maintain that, and according to Wikipedia Sweden let the Germans use their rail network. They also ended up taking in lots of Jewish refugees, including all the Jews of Denmark–I had no idea about that. But thinking about it, I don’t suppose the Nazis cared especially if you had a confirmation certificate or not. I don’t know. Anyone have information on that one?

[Thanks to Anonymous Friend for translation from Swedish.]

Mirrored from hasoferet.com.

Anyone want to tell me about their experiences with kids and tefillin? In particular:

If they lay tefillin, why you got them started doing it and when you started them
What you told them about why we do it.

If you lay tefillin and they don’t, how/why that works.

Whether they play tefillin.

Who in the family wears them.

If they’re still babies, what you plan to do when they get old enough.

If you have teenagers, whether they do or don’t, whether they’re boy or girl, and what they think about it. (Or if you’re actually a real teen and you’re reading this, hi! and tell me about it yourselves.)

Anything else you think is relevant to parents considering tefillin for their kid?

Mirrored from hasoferet.com.

This is from the wedding of Julius Lorsch and Rebecka Cahn, special call number DR6-R36. A Hochzeits-Hagada, dated 1911, Fulda.

I like the little photos stapled to the top here. Julius has a very traditional German Yekkish käppchen, and Rebecka looks like she has those over-the-ears buns that were in style in the 1920s.

Julius and Rebecka perhaps had a sentimental attachment to Pesach; they have a Wedding Haggadah, which follows the form of the Pesach Haggadah. I assume it featured at the wedding dinner; it’s full of cute little poems about the couple. Maybe written by their friends or family?

The front reads:

Hochzeits-Hagada
das ist
Seder und Erzählung
von der Verliebung, Vehrlobung und Verheyratung
des ehrengeachteten und frommen
Herrn Dr. Julius Lorsch
und der hochachtbaren, fürnehmen und minneglichen Jungfrau
Fräulein Rebecka Cahn

Here’s one of the poems. I chose this one because it shows us that Becki was also Dr. Cahn.

Thanks to Phillip Lipman for translation. You see it isn’t Great Poetry or anything, but it’s Telling The Story of The Couple, like the haggada tells the story of the Jews. Which is cute.

For your edification, here are all the pages. All images, as usual, copyright Jewish Theological Seminary of America, used with permission, click through to see larger versions. Anyone with good German who wants to translate the whole story of the couple is more than welcome to share it with the rest of us!

Page 1

Page 2

Page 3

Page 4

Page 5

Mirrored from hasoferet.com.

Today we have a Shtar Halitza, which we might translate Contract promising release from levirate marriage. If you recall, Torah says that if I marry Reuven and he dies childless, I have to marry his brother Shimon in order to have children in Reuven’s name. If Shimon isn’t keen on that idea, he does halitza and frees me to go and marry Uri.

If you think about it, levirate marriage brings up some pretty unholy tensions. If Shimon wants to marry me because I’m awesome, that’s kind of icky because I’m his brother’s wife. On the other hand, if Shimon wants to marry me only to do his holy duty of getting a child on me, that’s pretty miserable for me. So in general it’s much better that we should do halitza and just not go there.

Halitza becomes the standard expectation (read this article, A Writ of Release (Weisberg & Sarna), for a lot of background and interesting stuff), but if I don’t have halitza, I’m not free to marry someone else. Religiously speaking. So, if Shimon doesn’t want to give me halitza, I can’t marry someone else. This gives Shimon a horrible amount of power over me, and many men took to requesting extortionate fees from their brothers’ widows.

So, communities had an idea! Before I get married, I should get a contract from Shimon and Levi and all my beloved’s brothers, promising that they won’t do anything of the sort.

Here’s the contract that Jeanette, daughter of Nathan Marcus haCohen Adler, had with the brothers of Ascher Anschel Stern:

זכרון עדות שהיתה לפנינו עדים ח”מ ברביעי בשבת שלשים יום לחדש ניסן שהוא ראש חודש אייר שנת חמשת אלפים ושש מאות וחמש עשרה לבריאת עולם למנין שאנו מנין כאן עיר המבורג איך שבאו לפנינו האחים כ”ה יהוד’ המכונה ליב וכ”ה יעקב שי’ בני המנוח מה”ו מאיר שטערן ז”ל ואמרו לנו הוו עלינו עדים כשרים ונאמנים וקנו מאתנו בק”ג אג”ם וכתבו בכל לשון של זכות ויפוי כח המועיל ואף חתמו ותנו ליד מ’ יענטא תי’ בת הרב בק”ק לאנדאן והמדינה מה”ו נתן אדלער הכהן אשת אחינו הרב בק”ק פה מה”ו אשר המכונה אנשיל להיות לה בידה לעדות ולזכות ולראיה

On April 19th, 1855, in Hamburg, the brothers Yehudah, known as Leib, and Yaakov, sons of Meir Stern, appeared before us, and instructed us to be true and fit witnesses, and we took from them a symbol of acceptance, and wrote in fit and legal language and signed and delivered to the hand of Miss Yenta, daughter of the rabbi of the community of London and the Empire Nathan haCohen Adler, the wife of our brother, rabbi of the community here, Ascher, who is known as Anschel, for her to keep as proof.

[Note the Ashkenazic spelling of "London". This isn't standard; the usual way is לונדון because the Sephardim got there first and established the spelling. These Hamburgers were evidently very Ashkenazic.]

It’s also interesting that the lady is Yenta. The family tree wonks at Geni.com think that the woman who is married to Ascher-Anschel Stern and the daughter of Nathan Adler is named Jeanette. Certainly she could have used both Yenta and Jeanette, but why aren’t both on the document? Did she start using Jeanette at some time after her marriage?

איך שרצינו ברצון נפשינו הטוב שלא באונש והכרח כלל כי אם בלב שלם ובנפש חפיצה ובדעה שלימה ומיושבת והננו מודים בנפשיכם היום כמודים בפני ב”ד חשוב וראוי בהודאה גמורה שרירא וקיימא דלא להשטאה ודלא שלא להשבעה ודלא להשנאה ודלא למהדר ביה מן יומא דנן ולעלם.

That we desire, of our own free will, not coerced or forced, but with a whole and complete heart, a free soul and a complete, settled understanding. And these declarations shall be as those made before a great bet din, absolutely fitting testimony, valid and binding, not a joke, and not a shavua, and not with intent to be bad for her, and not with intent to benefit her, from this day and forever.

איך שאם ח”ו יעדר וימות אחינו הרב בק”ק פה מה”ו אשר המכונה אנשיל הנ”ל בעלה של מרת יענטא הנ”ל בלי זרע קיימא ותהיה אשתו מרת יענטא הנ”ל זקוקה לחלוץ.

That if, God forbid, our brother the aforementioned rabbi of this community here Ascher who is known as Anschel, husband of the aforementioned Miss Yenta, should pass and die with no viable issue, and the aforementioned Miss Yenta should be in need of halitza.

אזי מתי שתתבע אותנו לחלוץ לה מחיובים אנחנו לפוטרה בחליצה כשרה והגונה בחנם שלא נקח ממנו* ומכל ב”כ אפילו שוה פרוטה בעולם תיכף ומיד אחר כלות שלשה חדשים להעדרו של אחינו הרב בק”ק פה אשר המכונה אנשיל בעלה הנ”ל ח”ו כשתהיה ראוי לחלוץ. ובלבד שהיבמה תלך אחר היבם וכל זמן שלא נפטרנו בחליצה כשרה בחנם כנ”ל תהא היבמה נזונית מניכסי מיתנא ומוחזקת בהן.

That when she should request of us halitza, we will be bound to free her with a fit and valid halitza ceremony, freely, and we will not take from him ["Him" is probably a typo, compare the text in the Nachalat Shiva, siman 22, some thirty years later than this document] or from her representative even the value of a pruta, ever. As soon as three months have elapsed since the passing of our brother the aforementioned rabbi of this community here Ascher who is known as Anschel, her husband, God forbid, when she is free to conduct halitza. This provided that the woman comes to the man. While we have not freed her with a fit, freely-granted halitza as above, the yavamah will be sustained from the estate of the deceased and shall control it.

Wives in Jewish law don’t inherit automatically, brothers do; this stipulation makes it inconvenient for them to withold halitza.

כל הא דלעיל קבלו עליהם האחים כ”ה יהוד’ המכונה ליב וכ”ה יעקב שטערן שי’ הנ”ל בחרם חמור ובשבועה דאוריתא ובת”ך בפועל ממש על דעת רבים שלא יהא התרה והפרה כלל כי אם על דעת אשת אחיהם מרת יענטא תי’ הנ”ל בביטול כל מודעות ובפיסול כל עדי מודעות עד עולם בכל לישנא דאמרי רבנן דפוסלין ומבטלין בהון מודעות. ושטר חליצה זה לא יפסול ולא יגרע כחו בשום ריעותא וגריעותא בעולם מכל מה שהפה יוכל לדבר והלב לחשוב ולהרהר.

All the above the aforementioned brothers Yehudah, known as Leib, and Yaakov Stern, accepted upon themselves [various phrases meaning that this is Serious Business] that it shall never be annulled or revoked except by the will of the wife of their brother, Miss Yenta, in annulling all admissions and invalidating all witnesses to admissions, eternally, in language used by the rabbis to annull and invalidate such admissions. And this shtar halitza shall not be invalidated nor its strength lessened by any means at all ever, by anything the mouth can say or the heart think.

ויהא הכל נידון ונדרש לטובת ולזכות וליפוי כח בעלת השטר. וידה על העליונה ויד המערער על התחתונה. ויהא כח לשטר זה כאלו נעשה בב”ד חשוב דלא כאסמכתא ודלא כטופסי דשטרי וקנינא מן האחים כ”ה יהוד’ המכונה ליב וכ”ה יעקב שי’ בני המנוח מאיר שטערן ז”ל למרת יענטא תי’ בת הרב בק”ק לאנדאן והמדינה מה”ו נתן אדלער הכהן נר”ו אשת הרב בק”ק פה מה”ו אשר המכונה אנשיל נר”ו בן מה”ו מאיר שטערן ז”ל על כל מה דכתוב ומפורש לעיל במנא דכשר למקניא ביה. הכל שריר וקים.

And all this is to be judged and interpreted for the good and the benefit and the strengthening of the holder of the shtar. And her hand is above and the hand of any appellant below. And the strength of this shtar shall be as if it were made by a great bet din, and is is not asmachta and not a mere formalism. And we made kinyan from the aforementioned brothers Yehudah, known as Leib, and Yaakov, sons of Meir Stern, on behalf of Miss Yenta, daughter of the rabbi of the community of London and the Empire Nathan haCohen Adler, the wife of our brother, rabbi of the community here, Ascher, who is known as Anschel, son of Meir Stern, concerning all that is written and expounded above, with an appropriate instrument; all is valid and binding.

I find it interesting how hard this document insists that it REALLY IS REAL AND PROPER OKAY. That sounds to me like the language of something aware that it’s standing on shaky ground, something trying rather too hard to sound real. It seems like it’s trying too hard to say “I am enforceable, dammit! Don’t you dare ignore me!”, which I think was probably its main problem. It’s not something I’m aware of being done today.

Weisberg and Sarna seem to suggest that the State of Israel’s declaring halitza mandatory has something to do with it, that and the Holocaustic wiping-out of most communities where it was done. Also I think perhaps longer life expectancies, smaller families, and rising divorce rates have made refusal to grant a get more of a problem. It’s a similar problem; rabbinic courts these days tend to lack enforcement methods, so if a guy says “Shan’t” there’s not a lot you can do about it.

The catalogue number for this piece is SCN DR10-R36, and it says that Jeanette is Yenta bat “Edgar haKohen”, an error which I trust will be fixed post-haste. A little further into the drawer, DR10-R43 contains both of Johanna bat Shraga’s wedding documents, her ketubah and her shtar halitza from her groom’s brothers–I didn’t photograph them because they’re in completely impenetrable handwriting–doubtless Jeanette’s ketubah is somewhere, but I don’t know where.

Mirrored from hasoferet.com.

At Whole Foods the other week, I found this…It smells exactly like an etrog, but it looks like no etrog ever. Sniff it and become Cthulu!

Mirrored from hasoferet.com.