Letter from Abicasis, J. to Morais, Sabato. New York, NY; Dec 1868
- Title
- Letter from Abicasis, J. to Morais, Sabato. New York, NY; Dec 1868
- Date Created
- 5 December 1868
- Format
- 4 pages on 2 sheets
- Language(s)
- English
- Source
- Katz Center for Advanced Judaic Studies
- Sabato Morais Collection, Box 1, Folder 27
- Has Format
- https://colenda.library.upenn.edu/items/ark:/81431/p3rb6wm68/manifest.json
- Link to Colenda
- https://colenda.library.upenn.edu/catalog/81431-p3rb6wm68
- Provenance
- Transfer of Custody from the Hebrew Education Society, 10 March 1913.
- Is Format Of
- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/judaicadh/morais/main/TEI/SMBx1FF27_3.xml
- content
-
New York 5th decr 1868
Sunday mrg
Revd S. Morais
My dear sir
I must crave your pardon for now & then trespassing on your valuable time to make a Religious inquiry but I have no portuguese authority here & do not like taking "Dew" of the Germans Dayanim here
You can see the fuss which has been made about the "Kursheedt" marriage. The [crossed-out] of "Times" of to day has the article upon it & gives the approval of [?] [?] of Jerusalem & [?] Dr. Arbons. [?] the day after the marriage was celebrated here lay an obscure German Beth Amedrash man.
I think it very ill advised to bring these matters into Christian papers & especially as M. S. is one of the family, but enough of this.
My question now concerns "Tebila" In this country where every house possesses a Bath
of running water, I desire to know, if this is not all sufficient for a Lady to use every month instead of going to the public "mikve"
The only difference in the two as I can see consists in the one being made deep in the ground to go down with steps. But no other difference. The water used in one House is the same & introduced in the same way by pipes as at the 'Mikve' Hence why should not the Bath at home be as much according to Din as the public Mikve? Provided it is taken properly viz by entire submersion of the whole Body head & all.
An early reply to this question will be esteemed a great favor as my wife is very particular but as the distance is great & the Mikve being badly [?] (our congregation has none) Wed like to
spare her the extra trouble.
Another question is this A Lady has sprained her finger so she cannot get her wedding over the joints without cutting it off. Is the Tebela perfect & according to Din if she keeps on said Ring. Provided the water can pass between the Ring & the flesh with it on
We are having very unpleasant weather now & I suppose you are no better off. New Year's day (1st January) seems to be always wet & dreary.
I trust yr. good Lady & family are all well & hearty. Why do you not come on to New York sometime & pay us a visit. We'd be delighted to see you here.
Wishing you well over the [?]
yours very Truly
J. Abicasis[?]
address
Box 481. P. O.
New York
J. Abicasis Esqre
Phila January [?] 1868
My dear sir
I hasten to reply to the questions propounded in your favor just received. An ordinary bath-tub, will not—rabinically--be considered sufficient for the purpose you need; but you might have one expressly made with the proper dimension, and according to the rules laid down in the Talmud, and embodied in the [Hebrew] par 201. There is, no doubt, in your city some person on whose knowledge and honesty you could depend, to superintend the construction thereof, Regarding the ring, that cannot be taken off, by reason of an accident to the finger, we are explicitly told by the sages, and Mai-monides records their words in treatise [Hebrew], that when the water passes through, the Tebilah is perfect.
Like yourself, I regret what has happened respecting the [Hebrew] given by Mr H. and the more deeply because it has proved a [Hebrew], yet, if the party had only waited, till the favorable answer (which I always believed it would be received) had come, all the unpleasantness would have been avoided.
Trusting that your dear ones are all in the enjoyment of good health, I remain
Yours respectfully
S. Morais - Identifier
- p3rb6wm68
- identifier
- SMBx1FF27_3
Part of Letter from Abicasis, J. to Morais, Sabato. New York, NY; Dec 1868
Abicasis, J. and Morais, Sabato, “Letter from Abicasis, J. to Morais, Sabato. New York, NY; Dec 1868”, Sabato Morais Digital Repository, accessed October 18, 2024, https://judaicadhpenn.org/legacyprojects/s/morais/item/84443