Mariage juif a Mogador-fran-angl

Foreword – Besimana Tava

This work is a celebration of the past.חתונה במוגדור כתובה 1 001

The institution of marriage today is no longer what it was. In Mogador, as in the entire Jewish world, the celebration of a marriage was once so important that it took place over several weeks and monopolised the attention of the entire community.

A lyric poem glorifying marriage customs of the past in Mogador and a vast choice of ketubot, or marriage certificates, illuminated by Mogadorian artists form the basis of this book. What could be better than a poem to evoke not only the details of marriage, but also the emotions, the thrills, the tears, the laughter, in short, the very distinctive ambience of a marriage in Mogador!

Marriage in Mogador, written in the tradition of the piyout (songs of praise to G-d), was composed based on information received from the late Shlomo-Hax Knafo and his wife Esther. The illuminated ketuba is a marvellous tradition jealously kept by the Jewish community of Mogador.

During the 2000 Montreal Sephardic cultural festival la "Quinzaine sepharade", under the chairmanship of David Bensoussan a beautiful exhibition of Judeo- Moroccan ketubot, mostly from Mogador, was on display at the National Library of Quebec. Asher Knafo, himself an illuminator of ketubot, presented some of his works as well as a major unpublished poem, Marriage in Mogador. It was an astounding meeting, as Asher Knafo and David Bensoussan, each of whom had written books about their beloved city, decided on the spot to devote a book to the poem Marriage in Mogador and the tradition of illuminated ketubot.

This was the start of a fascinating adventure. During their research of the ketubot, Knafo and Bensoussan came to know a great number of families, who made available their illuminated manuscripts kept so carefully over the years, at times for over a century. These families merit our heartfelt thanks. We saw fit to include texts of Isaac D. Knafo (1912-1979), Mogadorian poet and illuminator of ketubot.

The authors acknowledge the help of various institutions and organisations which made it possible for this project to come into being : The National Library of Quebec, the Jewish Community Foundation of Montreal, the Foundation for Sephardic Culture, the Jewish Community Centre of Montreal, The Israel National Lottery, National Library of Israel, the Israel Museum in Jerusalem, the Ben-Zvi Institute in Jerusalem, the Bernard Gallery in Tel Aviv and the Bill Gross Collection.

Rabbis Israel Maïmaran, David Sabbah and Moshé Amar also deserve thanks for their help in deciphering some difficult parchments. Special appreciation is due to Daniel Martel and Avraham Elarar for their artistic advice, Janice Rosen for her translations, Raphaël Serfaty, Marsha Bensoussan, Barry Orkin and Melina Stojanac for their linguistic revisions and Aimé Bensoussan for taking on the delicate task of overseeing the funding for the work.

The reading of the ketuba is one of the most solemn moments of the marriage ceremony. It begins with the phrase Besimana Tava – Under the sign of good fortune. May the reading of this work also be undertaken under the favourable auspices of these words : Besimana Tava!

הירשם לבלוג באמצעות המייל

הזן את כתובת המייל שלך כדי להירשם לאתר ולקבל הודעות על פוסטים חדשים במייל.

הצטרפו ל 219 מנויים נוספים
פברואר 2016
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