Comments for Between Wanderings: Jewish Life and Culture, 1850s-1920s

Comment on The Jew who told Immigration he was Muslim, and the Ladino newspaper that helped him (1911) by SUSAN CAPELOUTO

SUSAN CAPELOUTO — Sun, 27 Sep 2020 00:39:19 +0000

I am a granddaughter of Gabriel Capeloto. My father, Abel, was his youngest son and took over the Palace Shoe Shop in Tallahassee, FL when my grandfather retired. He was a very respected man in Tallahassee and loved by many. Every year he carried a bottle of wine to Gov. Leroy Collins during the Christmas season. All of his sons proudly served in the military during WW II and he loved America. His wife was a woman of courage who waited in Turkey with two children for ten years until he sent for her. He spoke seven languages and insisted that his children learn English, the language of his beloved America.

Comment on Eighteen Sephardic/Ladino proverbs by Sylvia Silverstein

Sylvia Silverstein — Sun, 19 Jul 2020 19:12:18 +0000

Thank you for reminding me of my youth!

Comment on Jewish women beyond the balcony, Pt. 2: A forerunner to the modern Bat Mitzvah by Steven Capsuto

Steven Capsuto — Sat, 15 Sep 2018 14:54:07 +0000

In reply to Samuel Gruber.

Thanks for your reply, Sam.

You’re right, of course: these are not bat mitzvahs per se, which is why I referred to them in the blog post as “forerunners” and “precursors” to the modern bat mitzvah. They were a “foot in the door” at a time when having girls participate so openly at the front of a synagogue was considered strange and novel. And thank you for sharing the link to your wonderful blog! I’m enjoying it very much.

BTW, you might also find my previous blog post of interest: https://betweenwanderings.com/2016/09/19th-century-jewish-women-beyond-the-balcony-part-1/.

Comment on Jewish women beyond the balcony, Pt. 2: A forerunner to the modern Bat Mitzvah by Samuel Gruber

Samuel Gruber — Fri, 14 Sep 2018 16:44:14 +0000

I’ve only just come across this post fomr 2 years ago – thank you! I would not call these ceremonies either bar or bat mizvahs, but rather confirmations as Rabbi Bassi himself calls it. Confirmation (explainign and accepting tenets of Jewish “faith” rather than reading from the Torah as at a bar Mitzvah was begun in German Reform congregations in the early 19th century (1803 or 1814 depending on definition) and girls were soon included. confirmation was meant to focus more on understanding than on ritual performance. Despite being held on Shavuot – the marking fo the receipt of the Torah by Moses – the confirmation cermet itself downplayed the importance of an specificity of the Torah as opposed to the concept of the Torah. In America, Isaac Wise began the tradition in Albany in 1845. I had not considered the adoption of the custom so completely in the still nominal Orthodox Italian synagogues…and I found it difficult to imagine the ceremony and where the girls sat and where the “patronesses” sat during the service. Normally in the Spanish and Levantina synagogues women were relegated to a very high and mostly enclosed gallery. I am particularly interested in tracing “where were the women” in the synagogue in Europe and America, and studying more the actual physical spaces and experiences of women who chose to attend synagogue. The letters you’ve included here give me something more to think about …Thank you so much! Sam Gruber
You can follow one of my blogs on Jewish art and Architecture at http://samgrubersjewishartmonuments.blogspot.com/
I’ve begun posting more about the experience of women the synagogue and will link to your post, too.

Comment on Jewish women beyond the balcony, Pt. 2: A forerunner to the modern Bat Mitzvah by Steven Capsuto

Steven Capsuto — Mon, 05 Jun 2017 18:09:14 +0000

Thanks for your comment. I’m not sure, though, what point you’re raising. Could you clarify?

This post was about bat mitzvahs in the nineteenth century. At that time, the few synagogues performing bat mitzvahs did tend to be somewhat progressive. The Orthodox synagogue in your link didn’t have them until the 1930s.

Comment on Jewish women beyond the balcony, Pt. 2: A forerunner to the modern Bat Mitzvah by ineroc

ineroc — Sun, 04 Jun 2017 07:14:46 +0000

“They tell us much about attitudes towards women and gender, even in the relatively progressive temples that embraced these ceremonies.
”
I disagree that http://stkildashule.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Bat-Mitzvah-ceremony-brochure_v2.pdf