Regulations

With the help of the Almighty; this is a true copy of the original.

We, the undersigned, hereby confirm that the guild of kayīkjis [caique-owners; boatmen] of Ortaköy have undertaken the obligation to unite to form a benevolent society. They have mutually established a charity box for weekly individual donations, each contributing whatever sum he wishes, for the support of the poor and needy among them on occasions of their joyful celebrations and the converse—heaven forbid!—when someone dies without the means to fund his essential funeral expenses. These are to be defrayed from the aforesaid charity box. It is also for providing the post-burial meal for his mourners and supplying them with food during the [seven-day] mourning period. Furthermore, if—heaven forbid!—they hear in town that a Jew has drowned at sea, they are to send three or four of their men to undertake a one- or two-day voyage to search for the drowned individual in order to bring his body to burial, as this is the truest form of loving-kindness [see Genesis 47:29, and Rashi’s commentary] that can be performed for the dead and the living.

Since, with the passage of time, a few members began to slacken in the performance of this duty, their elders took the initiative and assembled all the members of the society to renew this obligation upon themselves. They all consented and reaffirmed their former undertaking, and obligated themselves to hand over individual contributions weekly, of whatever amount they each decided, to the charity collectors, who were to keep for performing deeds of kindness for poor and needy boatmen, as stated above. Furthermore, they gladly undertook that each individual would hand over his contribution to the collectors of the fund weekly. If some individual happened to be unable to donate in one particular week, he would provide the missing sum in the second or third week, or by the fourth week at the latest, at which point he would hand over the money for the four weeks all together, without any excuse or objection whatsoever. If he shows a stubborn attitude and does not wish to give, the elders have the authority to extract a penalty of one silver coin from him, even through the gentile courts.

All this they have undertaken to observe, perform, and fulfill from this day onward. Additionally, they have long since been granted permission to make one weekly collection for charity in the synagogues and houses of study, and in homes and courtyards, as the obligation they have undertaken is huge and they require support, for these guildsmen are poor people. Moreover, the tavern owners who transport wine vats have volunteered to bring four metros [in Ladino, a measure of volume] in vats gratis, without claiming any expenses whatsoever, with the profit from those four metros to be added to that charity box. Furthermore, fruit sellers in the village who sail in their boats [caiques; Turk. kayīk] are likewise considered to be members of the kayīkjis, and they shall contribute weekly to the charity box.

These are the regulations formerly instituted by them, which they have now enacted afresh. As the matter is good and correct in the sight of God and man, we are obliged to stand at their right hand to ratify and support all their activities, against which no one shall protest. We hereby append our signatures with a view to providing our backing, in the final third of the month of Tevet, in the year 5472, in Constantinople [1712]. It is affirmed and established.