Page 26 - FINAL catalogue.cdr

religious tradition

the cycle of life

Customs surrounding birth, marriage and death developed by the Jews of
Rhodes, testify as to the uniqueness of their identity, but also show how
the different communities living in the same locality influenced one
another.
Most marriages were arranged within the Community, by the families
through the process of Shiduhin, or betrothal; this may have lasted four or
five years and was sealed with the signing of the Kinyan contract and the
exchange of gifts, the Sivlonot. Two weeks prior to the wedding the bride
displayed her dowry, or Asugar, in her family home, along with
household linen and clothes, for her mother-in-law, relatives and friends
to see, but also, so the dowry evaluators and writers of the Ketubbah could
see them. On the eve of the wedding the bride performed the Tevilah, a
purification ritual in a special area of the public baths, reciting prayers and
immersing herself in the water to achieve spiritual cleansing and
purification. Wedding ceremonies were usually held on a Friday
afternoon and consisted of the reading and signing of the marriage
contract, the Ketubbah, in which the dowry was described and the marital
duties of either spouse stated, and the reading of the seven blessings of
marriage. There followed a celebration in the house of the groom and the
Huppah began; this was a seven-day period during which the newly-weds
did not set foot outside their home.

The birth of a child was an important event, especially if it was a male
Γαμήλια πομπή, η οποία με τη συνοδεία παραδοσιακών μουσικών child. On the eighth day after the birth, Brit Milah, the circumcision, was
διασχίζει την εβραϊκή συνοικία της Ρόδου πριν φτάσει στη carried out, sealing the divine covenant with the Jewish people, and this
συναγωγή Καχάλ Καντόσς Σσαλώμ, 1930. was followed by the naming ceremony. On Rhodes this ceremony was
Wedding procession, passing through the Jewish quarter of
Rhodes accompanied by traditional musicians, on its way to the performed by the Mohel and took place in the synagogue, to which the
Kahal Kadosh Shalom Synagogue, 1930. child had been carried in a procession, accompanied by a small band of
musicians. At the ensuing social gathering guests were offered almond
sweets in the shape of a hand. Naming ceremonies for girls were less
ostentatious affairs with a godmother being chosen and a gathering of friends and relations taking place at home. This ceremony
was called Fadas in Judeo-Spanish, meaning 'good fairy godmother'.

At the age of thirteen, boys reached religious maturity and became equal members of the community and responsible for up-
holding the Law. This was celebrated with the Bar Mitzvah. On Rhodes this took the form of a morning service in the synagogue
on a Monday or Thursday. There followed the giving of certain gifts; the Tefillin or phylacteries, which was a set of leather cases
containing verses from the Torah, a Tallit, a prayer swawl to be worn at the synagogue, a Kippah, a prayer cap, and a Siddur, a
prayerbook for everyday use. The family then treated their guests with refreshments. On the morning of the first Saturday after the
Bar Mitzvah the boy read a passage from the Torah (Perashah). Bat Mitzvah, the coming-of-age ceremony for girls, was not
celebrated on Rhodes.
Death was marked by simple preparations conducted by the Hevrah Kedoshah in accordance with Jewish law, the Rohesas for
women and the Rohesim for men. The deceased was taken to his or her final resting place in one of the city's four Jewish
cemeteries in a procession in which there were no flowers and no participation of women. The immediate family mourned for a
period of seven days, upholding the Shivah, a time of abstention from normal life. Women wore black for a year and a candle
burned in memory of the deceased. Gravestones were put in place a year later, when the ground had settled. On Rhodes the dead
were honoured with memorial services, Meldados, and with visits to the cemetery at a certain time of the year. There, as was
customary, the loved ones were lamented loudly, even
when a long time had passed since their death. Finally,
belief in superstitions and the evil eye was quite popular
in Rhodes.

Η νεκρική πομπή του
αρχιραββίνου Ρουμπέν Ελιάχου
Ισραέλ, τελευταίου
αξιωματούχου της μεγάλης
ραββινικής οικογένειας Ισραέλ,
Ρόδος 1932.
The funereal procession of the
Chief Rabbi Reuben Eliahu
Israel, last officiator of the
prominent rabbinical Israel
family, Rhodes 1932.