[Granville-Hough] 3 Jun 2009 - Good Riddance Dec 1778

[Trustees for Granville W. Hough]

Date: Wed, 03 Jun 2009 08:21:33 -0700
From: Granville W Hough <gwhough at oakapple.net>
Subject: Good Riddance Dec 1778 - 3 June 2009

Good Riddance!

In searching for ships and sailors for the American Revolution, I came 
across an interesting gem in the British ôAnnual Register,ö Vol. 21, Dec 
1778, page 207, which reports the following event for 29 Dec 1778:

The Jew Priest of the Hamburgh Synagogue, in Fenchurch Street, was 
divorced from his priestess. The ceremony observed on this occasion was 
very solemn; there were four Jew Rabbins; two attended each party. After 
the parties had stated their complaints and objections to each other, 
they asked the priestess if she was willing to part with her husband; 
she replied, ôYes,ö the priest then spit in her face to show his 
contempt for her; she in return did the same; the priest threw the bill 
of divorcement at the priestess; she with open arms, and hands expanded, 
received it with such avidity as convinced the whole assembly with what 
satisfaction she was willing to separate from her husband. That done 
they again spit in each otherÆs face, and exclaimed, ôCursed be they who 
ever wish to bring us two together again.ö

Well, well, what do we learn from this? Perhaps if you ever need to talk 
about two or more rabbis, we can lump them together as an entourage of 
rabbins, as in a mob of crows or a gaggle of geese. The other lesson is 
that divorce can get nasty and vicious, best avoided by cautious 
marriage and careful and fair-minded attendance to the spouseÆs needs 
and preferences. Grampa.