OBJECTS OF RELIGIOUS CEREMONIAL 19 



which is called sanctification or consecration (JciddusTiin), in itself 

 makes the marriage valid. Then the marriage contract is read. This 

 is written in an Aramaic dialect after an established form usually 

 beginning with the words: "Under good auspices, and with good 

 luck to bridegroom and bride, 'Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good 

 thing, and obtaineth favor of the Lord.' " It says that the bridegroom 

 agrees to take the bride as his lawful wife, and that he will keep, 

 maintain, honor, and cherish her, etc., and also specifies the sum he 

 settles upon her in case of his death. The minimum of the dowry is 

 fixed by the law to be 200 zuz (about $30) for a virgin and 100 (about 

 $15) for a widow or divorced woman. To tliis is usually added what 

 the bride has received from her parents and what the husband settles 

 on her voluntarily, all of which she gets in case of the death of the 

 husband, or of divorce. 



After that the bridegroom crushes an empty glass with his foot in 

 remembrance of the destruction of Jerusalem. (Compare Psalms 

 cxxxvii, 5.) The rabbi, or whosoever performs the ceremony, takes 

 another cup of wine, pronounces over it seven benedictions, and hands 

 it again to the bride and bridegroom, who taste it, and the ceremony 

 is then concluded. 



The contract is dated Rome, in the year of creation 5576 (1816). 

 The contracting parties are Elijah Said and Masal-Tob (Fortune), 

 of Castlenuovo. The witnesses to the contract are Joshua Gerson 

 Ashkenazi and Michael Hayim Megula. 



The margin is decorated with various symbolical figures, and con- 

 tains the liturgy of the wedding ceremony and passages from the Bible 

 and the Talmud referring to marriage and married life, artistically 

 intertwined in garlands. Above, in the center, are probably the arms 

 of the bridegroom ; to the right a boy standing on a wheel pouring out 

 the horn of plenty, with the motto: "All depends on merit and good 

 luck"; to the left a female figure with tambourines, and the words: 

 "Peace and welcome to those nigh and far." Belov/, to the right, is 

 a female figure holding two burning hearts linked together by a 

 chain, with the adage: "A well-mated couple is chosen by God" 

 (marriages are made in heaven); to the left another female figure 

 holding a tambourine and a flower, with a quotation from Isaiah xxxii, 

 8. The representation at-'the bottom, of Elijah ascending to heaven 

 in a fiery chariot, his mantle falling on his disciple and successor 

 Elisha (compare II Kings ii, 11-13) was probably suggested by the 

 name of the bridegroom. Measurements, 30 by 19 inches. (Plate 

 5, Cat. No. 154633, U.S.N.M.) 



57. Marriage contract. — Manuscript, written on parchment and 

 illuminated. Dated Rome, 5590 A. M. (1830 A. D.). The contract- 

 ing parties are Mahalalel of Susa and Virtuosa Binah. The witnesses 

 are Joshua Gerson Ashkenazi and Moses Milano. The margin is 



