Decorated paper ketubah for the wedding of Berachah son of Shlomo and Kanish daughter of Yaakov. "Karaite community of Qırq Yer", Chufut-Kale, Crimean Peninsula, Ukraine, 22nd Sivan 5586 [27 June 1826].
Ink and paint on paper.
Written on a large paper sheet, reflecting the unique customs and rite of the Karaite community of Chufut-Kale in the Crimean Peninsula. The ketubah text is written in Hebrew (rather than Aramaic), the document is divided into two parts – the ketubah on the top and the dowry on the bottom, and no fewer than ten witnesses sign (fifteen signed the present document). The ketubah text also mentions "Emperor Nikolai Pavlovich I" (Tsar Nicholas I), and includes a commitment to the "covenant of Mount Sinai and the laws of Mount Horeb, to observe G-d's festivals, consecrated by observation of the moon and the presence of Spring in the holy Land of Israel…", in accordance with the Karaite custom. Below the witness' signatures, the dowry is also detailed in Russian translation, at the request of the bride's heirs after her passing, dated 23 December 1852.
The text is written in an arched frame, and the borders are decorated in a rectangular frame with colorful vegetal and geometric patterns.
Chufut-Kale (Çufut Qale, or Jewish Fortress) served as the center of Crimean Karaite Jewry until the end of the 19th century. The city was an important location, since Crimean Jews were forbidden from living in the capital city until 1783, leading them to settle in the nearby Chufut-Kale. After the Crimean Peninsula was conquered by the Russian Empire and Karaites were allowed to settle throughout Crimea, the city was abandoned, becoming a ghost town by the turn of the 20th century. Avraham Firkovich, the leader of the Eastern European Crimean community, was one of the last Karaites to live in the city.
40.5X50.5 cm. Fair-good condition. Folding marks, tears and stains, slightly affecting text and decorations, with loss of some words. Tears and defects, professionally restored. Holes to upper margins.
The present ketubah is also documented on the NLI ketubah site, listing 990003035720205171.
