New York: 30 Jewish marriage contracts exhibit, opens March 11

The Jewish Museum will open the exhibit "The Art of Matrimony: 30 Splendid Marriage Contracts from the Jewish Theological Seminary Library," on Friday, March 11 to run through June 26.

The library of The Jewish Theological Seminary in New York City holds one of the best collections of ketubot - Jewish marriage certificates. Thirty of the finest will be featured in the exhibit, which dates from a 12th century piece to later examples.

Jewish family history researchers can discover much information on these documents (ketubah, plural ketubot), which exist for all communities around the world, and provide family details on the families, communities and customs

The JTS ketubah collection numbers more than 600 works of every type. The majority are from Italy, with others from Afghanistan, Egypt, India, Iraq, Iran/Persia, Morocco, Syria and Turkey. Other examples represent Croatia, France, Greece, Israel, the Netherlands, Ukraine, and the United States. They represent the diversity of Jewish communities throughout history, with information on the couples, marriage customs and artistic styles.

Before a wedding, families negotiate a marriage contract (ketubah), which includes the husband's duties to his wife and monies due her in case of a divorce or her death.
Some examples:

• The earliest in the exhibit is a rare 12th century Egyptian fragment.
• 1764 earliest known decorated ketubah from Baghdad, drawn on paper from Augsburg, Germany, and indicating Jewish commercial ties.
• 1885 Damascus contract shows vivid colors and lush floral imagery echoing the blessing bestowed on a couple as they stand under the bridal canopy: “Grant perfect joy to these loving companions, just as You made your creations joyful in the Garden of Eden.”
• 1749 Venetian ketubah features the 12 Zodiac signs and an intricate love knot borrowed from Italian folk culture. The wording says that the bride and groom “agree to conduct their mutual life with love and affection, without hiding or concealing anything from each other; furthermore, they will control their possessions equally.“

Although hand-decorated ketubot began to go out of fashion in the late-19th century, there was a revival in the 1960s along with a new interest in Jewish identity. Examples include:

• A 1999 Archie Granot muti-layeredpapercut.
• 1961 ketubah by artist Ben Shahn, showing his fascination with Hebrew calligraphy.

Two related JTS faculty lectures are scheduled:

• Monday, March 14: Dr. David Kraemer, Abbell Librarian and Professor of Talmud and Rabbincs at the JTS, will discuss the history of Jewish marriage contracts.
• Monday, March 21: Exhibition curator Sharon Liberman Mintz will speak about the art of the decorated marriage contract.

The Jewish Museum was established in 1904, when Judge Mayer Sulzberger donated 26 ceremonial art objects to The Jewish Theological Seminary of America as the core of a museum collection. Today's collection numbers some 26,000 objects, including paintings, sculpture, works on paper, photographs, archaeological artifacts, ceremonial objects and broadcast media.

Museum hours: Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday: 11am-5:45pm; Thursday, 11am-8pm; and Friday, 11am-4pm. Admission: Adults, $12; seniors, $10; students, $7.50; no charge for Jewish Museum members and children under 12. Admission is free on Saturdays.

For information on The Jewish Museum, click here  For program and ticket information, click here.

The Museum is at 1109 Fifth Avenue (at 92nd Street), Manhattan.

JGSLA 2010: Postcards, Sephardi Ketubot

A picture is worth a thousand words, according to the JGSLA 2010 program committee.

Since 1869, European and American Jews participated in the new postcard phenomenon.

As early as the 14th century, Jews sent New Year's greetings. The Maharil, Rabbi Jacob of Moellin (1360-1427) documented the custom and recommended that, during Elul (the Hebrew month when the High Holidays are celebrated), Jews should include wishes for a good year in all written correspondence.

Both postcards and greeting cards are popular collectibles today. Researchers can find postcards of their ancestral towns and villages, or find greeting cards sent to their ancestors. A popular genealogy blogging event is the Carnival of Postcards, for which geneabloggers write about a postcard they might have. Find out more about postcards in general at Geneabloggers.com.

At JGSLA 2010, Professor Shalom Sabar of Hebrew University will present "Between Germany and Poland -- Jewish Life and Rituals on Late 19th to Early 20th century Illustrated Jewish Postcards."

a fascinating visual resource, Jewish postcards provide rare documentation of important events in Jewish life and Jewish history.

Sabar's second lecture will be "Sephardi Ketubah - Before and After the Expulsion (as a research tool for genealogy) and Childbirth and Magic - Jewish Amulets and Popular Beliefs in the Pre-Modern Era." Included in that program will be an exploration of Jewish midwife customs.

SephardicGen: 30 medieval ketubot, an index

SephardicGen.com has now posted a database of 104 surnames from 30 medieval ketubot (Jewish marriage contracts) originating in 14 communities in medieval Hispanic kingdoms, from the book by the late Professor Jose Luis Lacave.

See the index here.

An expert in Semitic philology and the history of the Jews in Christian Spain. Lacave gathered 30 ketubot (Jewish marriage contracts) from 14 communities in various medieval Hispanic kingdoms.

He examined the historical and legal aspects of the documents and includes in his research a study of each one and a detailed comparison between them. The book includes illustrations of the ketubot in full color.

The index includes given names, year, locality and occasional annotations. The 14 communities are Barcelona, Bellpuig, Borja, Cervera, Ciudad de Malljorca, Jaca, Manresa, Milagro, Montbui, Segura de Leon, Torrelobaton (Vallodolid), Tudela and Valencia.

Here are the nine names for Barcelona and example of what the index shows for each:

ABEN BASA, Astruga, 1386, "Barcelona 1, p.31"
CABRIT, Moshe b.Yehuda, 1386, "Barcelona 1, p.31" (Note: royal surgeon; 1392: converted called Gabriel BONI)
CAP, Abraham, 1261, "Barcelona 5, p.34"
CARCASONI, Astruga b. Reuven, 1390, "Barcelona 2, p.32"
CORAYE, Blanca, 1343, "Barcelona 4, p.34"
DALELL, Yzhak b. Yehuda, 1343, "Barcelona 4, p.34"
LECIMI, Astruga, 1383, "Barcelona 1, p.31"
SHALTIEL HEN, Yehuda, 13th century, "Barcelona 6, p.36"
SULLAM, Samuel, 1390, "Barcelona 2, p.32"

There are 25 names (and additional names for the individual) for the city of Tudela:

ABASI (Abenabez), DE ABLITAS, ALBORGE, ALCASTIEL, ALPARGA, AYNCON (Ainzon), AZAFAR, BEN CIDA (Vencida), BEN MENIR (EvenMenir), BENDEUT (Ben Daud), BENJAMIL (Ben Jamil, Ben Gamel), BENZOAR (Benzohar, Evenzohar), CAMIZ, COCOLEQ (Cocola), EFLAH, FALAQUERA, FARACH, GABAY, GALAF (EvenGalaf), GORMEZANO, GRISA (De La Grisa), HANONI, NAZIR (Annazir, Abennazir), DE LA RABICA, and SARSHALOM.

There are 11 names from Valencia:

ABEN ISAMAILAT, AGOL, ALHUYAT, AYUB, CABALMALE, COHEN BAHBATI, COHIL MORCAT, HAPAROS, TANNIRA and UMRACH.

There are 11 names from Ciudad de Mallorca:

ADDA, ALATZARACH, AL-AZRAQ, ALMAGUILI, BEN ADDE, DAYEN, MALEQUI, DELS PILAS, SALADI and SES PORTES.

Always read the FAQ for each database on SephardicGen, which provides tips for searching and more about the index or the original work from which the index was taken.

More is coming up on additional SephardicGen databases.