Presenter Information

David Horowitz, Columbia University

Description

These documents represent one of the earliest calls for state intervention by the Hamburg authorities into the internal decisions of the bet din. The bed din of the Triple Community of Hamburg-Altona-Wandsbek compelled Joseph Jonas, a resident of Hamburg, to divorce his wife after she was suspected of adultery. When he refused, the chief rabbi and kahal put him and his wife in the ban (herem). Jonas turned to the Hamburg Senate for assistance in reversing the decision and removing himself from the ban. The documents comprise letters from Jonas and the Hamburg kahal in defense of their respective positions as well as the internal Senate records regarding the case.

This presentation is for the following text(s):

  • Supplication of Josel Josef Jonas of Hamburg (September 8, 1732)
  • Decree of the Hamburg Senate in Response to Josel Joseph Jonas' Petition (September 22, 1732)
  • Petition of the Jewish Elders of the Ashkenazi Synagogue in Hamburg (September 26, 1732)
  • Letter of Josel Joseph Jonas to the Senate in Hamburg (October 3, 1732)

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Event Website

http://wesscholar.wesleyan.edu/emw/emw2008/

Start Date

18-8-2008 12:00 PM

Location

Yeshiva University, New York

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Aug 18th, 12:00 PM

Challenging Herem in Hamburg, 1732

Yeshiva University, New York

These documents represent one of the earliest calls for state intervention by the Hamburg authorities into the internal decisions of the bet din. The bed din of the Triple Community of Hamburg-Altona-Wandsbek compelled Joseph Jonas, a resident of Hamburg, to divorce his wife after she was suspected of adultery. When he refused, the chief rabbi and kahal put him and his wife in the ban (herem). Jonas turned to the Hamburg Senate for assistance in reversing the decision and removing himself from the ban. The documents comprise letters from Jonas and the Hamburg kahal in defense of their respective positions as well as the internal Senate records regarding the case.

This presentation is for the following text(s):

  • Supplication of Josel Josef Jonas of Hamburg (September 8, 1732)
  • Decree of the Hamburg Senate in Response to Josel Joseph Jonas' Petition (September 22, 1732)
  • Petition of the Jewish Elders of the Ashkenazi Synagogue in Hamburg (September 26, 1732)
  • Letter of Josel Joseph Jonas to the Senate in Hamburg (October 3, 1732)

https://research.library.fordham.edu/emw/emw2008/emw2008/7