Hebrew document found in grandfather's attic—what does it state?

Question

I found this document in my grandfather's attic and would be thankful if someone could tell me (a) what this document is, (b) whether there are any names written, and (c) which, if any, religious meanings or implications could arise.

Thank you all.

Answer 1

As Danny Schoemann says, it's a ketubah. A Ketubah is a Jewish marriage contract. The text in this form matches the standard text presented and translated on this Chabad.org page.

People

• Groom: Yehuda Leib, son of Avraham Noah. He is also a Levi
• Bride: Toiba Rachel, daughter of Yisrael Arye
• Witness: Aharon Leib, son of Moshe the Levi
• Witness: Abba David, son of Baruch

Date

It is dated Wednesday the 12th of Cheshvan 5670, which corresponds to October 27, 1909 on the Gregorian calendar, or after dark on Tuesday, October 26th. Since they were in Russia, which didn't adopt the Gregorian calendar until 1918, it would have been Oct. 14th (or 13th after dark) on the Russian (Julian) calendar.

Location

The city is given as אוטייאן which is the Yiddish name for the former shtetl which is now the Lithuanian city of Utena. At the time Lithuania was part of the Russian Empire.

The form

The form was printed in Vilna by the Katzenellenbogen family printers. Vilna was one of the few places in the Russian Empire where Jewish documents and books were allowed to be printed, so their documents were used at the time all around Russia (and it doesn't necessarily mean your ancestors were in Vilna themselves).

As Fred and Nikolai translate, the Russian text at the bottom says (in old orthography): "Sample marriage record for a maiden. Approved by the censor 7 January 1876 city of Vilna. Vilna to printer A.G. Katzenellenbogen on Nikolayev Alley to d. Dombrowski No. 64/18 1876 city."

Other facts

It was a first marriage for the bride as she is referred to as a virgin.

The specific choice of wording "מבי אבוה" ("from the house of her father," rather than "מבי נשא") that was filled in appears to indicate that the bride's father was alive at the time of her wedding.

Any chance this is your grandparents' marriage contract? Perhaps their parents?

Answer 2

The religious implication of this ketubah is that it may be possible to use it to establish, in a Jewish court, certain facts about the listed bride and groom:

• That they were Jewish. On this basis, their children would also be Jewish, as would any children of their daughters, of their daughters' daughters, etc.

• That the man was a Levi. On this basis, he, his sons, his sons' sons, etc. (who were born to Jewish mothers) would be eligible for a certain slot in the Torah reading ceremony. In addition, first-born sons of any men in that patrilineal line or of any of their daughters would be exempt from the Pidyon Haben ceremony.

• In addition, as a Levi, the man was not a Kohen. On this basis, there are various restrictions that would not apply to him, his sons, his sons' sons, etc. Most notably for personal status purposes, they would not be prohibited from marrying converts.

• That they were duly married as of the listed date. Besides all of the uplifting spiritual results, the main technical result of a Jewish marriage is that it establishes, unless and until it is ended by Jewish divorce or death, a super-strict prohibition on the wife marrying or having an affair with any other man. If the wife transgresses this prohibition with another Jewish man and has children as a result, the children could have the technical status of mamzer, which would restrict whom they could marry. (The husband is prohibited from marrying another woman or having affairs, too, but the consequences of transgression are not a harsh.)

Of course, exactly how this document would be treated in a Jewish court is up to that court, the circumstances of whatever case is before them, and any other relevant evidence about the case or about the document itself.

Answer 3

this isn't a religious implication, but it could probably serve as document to help prove Jewish lineage if you were to ever consider Israeli citizenship (Aliyah). And maybe if you were looking for a Jewish name for a child, you might consider one of these names, or a variation in English, as is traditional to name a child after one of the ancestors. Names can be a useful tool for children to remember from where they come.