Manuscript on paper. In Hebrew and Judaeo-Arabic. Various cursive Sephardic scripts and signatures. Official confimation in Dutch, dated 1766

(AMERICAN - MOROCCAN JUDAICA)

Tetuan, Morocco

1763

Official responsa and judgement of the Bet Din of Tetuan concerning the status and estate of Esther, the widow of Joseph Abuzaglo (formerly of Marrakesh). Although she had no children, her husband had a son from a previous marriage. The question arose as to whether this son was still considered alive (he had since traveled to far-away Dutch Guyana and had not been heard from since) - and whether Esther is allowed to remarry without Chalitzah. A listing of the estate of the husband is delineated with a confirmation by the Rabbis of Tetuan that the widow solemnly swore that she did not previously receive anything from her husband’s representative, the Dayan R. Eliezer Di Avila. The Dutch text at the end of the document would seem to indicate that an emissary was sent to Dutch Guyana to investigate the whereabouts of the son. Although the husband’s brother maintained that the son was probably not alive, the Bet Din ruled that according to the Halacha it is presumed that he is still alive withjout evidence to the contrary. Contains seven signatures including the Rabbis of Tetuan, R. Yaakov ibn Malka and Ephraim Monsonaigo. For more information on the Rabbis of Morocco, see Yoseph ibn Naim, Malkei Rabbanan, Jerusalem, 1931.