Testament (Jerusalem)

Behold, an agency was sent to me from the two groups of the yeshiva heads coming to judgment, in whose hand was a written deed, signed by fit and proper witnesses, that the widow, the aforesaid lady Rebecca, had written and delivered to them as a firm missive and as proof that she had designated this sum for them as and when the talmudic scholars would learn Torah on behalf of her and her husband’s souls after her death; and I reproduce a portion of the text of that deed—such matters as are legally relevant. This is what it says:

“Whereas the venerable R. ḥayim ha-Levi gave to his wife, the Lady Rebecca, the sum of eight hundred grush coins belonging to him, deposited with the Jerusalemite committee of officials in Constantinople by way of payment of the amount of her contractual marriage settlement with immediate effect, as was written in the deed of payment in her possession, dated the middle third of Elul, in the year 5490 from the Creation; now, in the presence of ourselves, the undersigned witnesses, the aforesaid Lady Rebecca came and said to us: ‘Be fully-fledged witnesses for me, and acquire from me, with a complete and perfect mode of acquisition, with a coin fit to make acquisition therewith in accordance with the enactment of our sages of blessed memory, and record, with every conceivable expression denoting entitlement and power of attorney, and sign it and hand it over to the sages of the new yeshiva founded here in the Holy City of Jerusalem called Tefa‘er Anavim bi-Yeshu‘ah that of my own volition and free will, without, etc., I designate with immediate effect as sacrosanct to the Almighty the sum of three hundred grush for the sages of the yeshiva that they may become entitled to the capital as from today and to the income as from my death—both they and their successors, so that they may fix a study of three Mishnahs with the commentaries of R. Ovadiah of Bartenura and the Tosafot Yom Tov [by Yom Tov Lipmann Heller (ca. 1579–1654)] so as to create tranquil spiritual joy for my aforementioned husband, R. ḥayim; and with immediate effect they shall acquire the sum of three hundred grush, and with immediate effect I fully obligate myself and my assets, and when all his possessions that I have acquired and will acquire shall have passed over to me, to hand over the sum of three hundred grush aforementioned to the sages of the aforesaid yeshiva.”

And accordingly, we, the undersigned witnesses, have acquired from the aforesaid Lady Rebecca, with a complete and perfect mode of acquisition, with a coin fit to make acquisition therewith in accordance with the enactment of the sages as regards confirmation of the aforementioned sum designated for holy purposes, not, etc. And the aforesaid Lady Rebecca swore with the authority of the Almighty and of those swearing truthfully and of the public, to verify and establish the aforesaid sacred liability, and she accepted the opinion of the halakhic authority validating the above sacred liability even if he were alone against all the sages of Israel, and by way of truth and righteousness, in Tishri of this year, 5490. And she wrote out another deed with identical phrases to this one, and handed it to the talmudic scholars studying in another yeshiva as proof that she had designated the sum of three hundred grush for them too—the two deeds being identical in their content and their dates.