Sephardi Family Life in the Early Modern Diaspora

2. Mothers and Children as Seen by Sixteenth-Century Rabbis in the Ottoman Empire

h 2 i Mothers and Children as Seen by Sixteenth-Century Rabbis in the Ottoman Empire ruth lamdan Following the expulsion of the Jews from Spain, many Jewish communities settled in the eastern Mediterranean Basin, within the far-reaching boundaries of the Ottoman Empire. During the course of the sixteenth century, Jews of diverse ethnic origins made their way to this region: Sephardi, Maarvim (from the Maghreb, North Africa), Ashkenazim, Italian, Romaniot (originally of Byzantine origin, whose language was Greek), and so on. In Syria, Egypt, and Eretz-Israel, they encountered their local brethren, the Mustarbim—who spoke Arabic and looked and behaved like Arabs. Integration among the communities and ethnic groups was not a simple matter, and over time many demographic , social, and familial changes took place. Toward the end of the century , the Sephardi influence grew, and most of the groups were either absorbed into those communities descended from the Iberian Peninsula, or, at the least, acknowledged their cultural, economic, and numerical superiority.1 The exiled Sephardic community was distinguished by its many expectations and the hope for national and personal resurrection, to be realized by the establishment of a new generation. The traditional role of women within the family—to bear healthy children, preferably males—was more sensitive and emotionally charged than ever before. Many exiles lost their children during the course of their wandering. In the written records that survived, we sense the yearning for sons who would perpetuate the family dynasty, which was often brought to an abrupt halt due to the hardships of the expulsion, and there is a markedly profound concern for the fate of the children, in view of the distressing times. These fears continued to affect the second and third generations of exile.2 Mothers and Children in the Ottoman Empire 71 However, the sources describing the anguish of expulsion and its results are strictly male, and although perpetuation of the family is a principle objective of matrimony, and Jewish society is greatly concerned with every detail regarding the birth of healthy offspring, the Hebrew sources regarding women and children are extremely limited. Only a few of the documents preserved from the Ottoman Empire include letters written by or dictated by women, mainly in the absence of a husband. These letters primarily contain complaints about their economic straits and separation from their married children. Information concerning women’s experiences and family life is particularly scanty. Sermons, letters, and travel diaries were all written by men, and made very little reference to women or children. Even personal lists that have been preserved on the births and deaths of children contain no reference to the mother.3 Consequently, in the sixteenth century, personal stories and details of the lives of Jewish women can be found mainly in halakhic (legal) sources, in accounts related in the responsa literature in the context of lawsuits involving women. Using some selected examples of cases discussed in halakhic literature, I will try to delve more deeply into the relationship between mothers and their offspring , and the approach of the leading sages of the times—almost all of Sephardi descent—to the maternal bond. I am referring to controversial issues, some of which were purely theoretical halakhic discussions, in which the voice of the women is detectable only between the lines.4 Pregnancy and Birth In view of the reality of the sixteenth century, every pregnancy and birth caused great apprehension.Aside from frequent miscarriages resulting from the tender age of the mother-to-be, the very act of childbirth constituted mortal danger. R. David ben Zimra (Radbaz, 1479–1573), a Spanish expellee and one of the greatest sages in Egypt and Eretz Israel in the sixteenth century, noted that:“The death of women in childbirth is a daily occurrence in Egypt.”5 R. Shemuel de Uzida of Safed wrote about the anguish of labor: “Sometimes the [woman giving birth] will scream so hard that she can bear no more and she will die, and the time of birth and death are as one.”6 A rare description of a woman in childbirth surrounded by her friends, who encourage her and pray for her with great fervor, is found in a question addressed to the R. Yom Tov Zahalon of Safed. The mother-to-be and the women 72 ruth lamdan surrounding her cried out to God, which led to the question of whether...