Introduction
Meant to commemorate the passing of a loved one by recounting their attributes and good deeds, seventeenth- and eighteenth-century Ashkenazic communal memorial books (commonly called yizkor books or memorbücher) include numerous entries praising women who assisted in various aspects of childbirth. Although sources permit only a partial view into the array of caregivers involved in childbirth within Ashkenazic Jewish communities, memorial books offer evidence of a class of women who, unlike midwives, never underwent formal training or licensure, yet played important roles in childbirth nonetheless. Entries for these women rarely include any sort of career designation, but instead frame their childbirth work as merely one aspect of a larger constellation of charitable contributions they made to the community.Formulaic in nature, individual entries offer little information about the mechanics of childbirth as it played out within the Ashkenazic world. But taken in the aggregate, these sources demonstrate that childbirth care extended far beyond the scope of a midwife. The provision of food, talismans, postpartum assistance, and spiritual guidance were as integral to childbirth as the participation of midwives at delivery. Even more so, these sources suggest the need for a more holistic conception of early modern healthcare, which was not limited to ‘official’ practitioners or professionals and encompassed a much wider spectrum of individuals than has often been assumed.
Bibliography:
Backhaus, Fritz. “„Im Heckhuß die Lahmen, Blinden und Hungerleider…“. Die sozialen Institutionen in der Frankfurter Judengasse.” In Juden und Armut in Mittel- und Osteuropa, edited by Stefi Jersch-Wenzel, 31-54. Cologne: Simon-Dubnow-Instituts für Jüdische Geschichte und Kultur, 2000.
Kaplan, Debra. The Patrons and Their Poor: Jewish Community and Public Charity in Early Modern Germany. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2020.
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———. Ba’al ha-shem ve-ha-rofe: refu’ah ve-magiyah be-kerev yehude Germaniyah be-reshit ha-et ha-hadasha. Haifa: University of Haifa Press, 2017.
Source 1 Translation
National Library of Israel, Jewish Community of Metz, Metz France Ms. 1 (microfilm F 4370)
Memorbuch of the Community of Metz
Scan 23: May God remember the soul of the esteemed, pure, pious, upright woman, Marat Mindle Rivkah bat Yaakov ha-Levi, of blessed memory, together with the souls of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, and Leah, on account of the fact that all her days she followed a straight and honest path, and she performed kindness with the living and the deceased, and especially with the parturients, and she also visited the sick … and she fasted each day for eighteen years, and more so, she also spun (thread for) tzitzit for our community almost all her days. On account of this, her children gave money to charity. As reward for this, may her soul be bound up in the bonds of life with the rest of the righteous individuals in the Garden of Eden.
Deceased on Tuesday, 2 Heshvan 5415 1654
Buried on Wednesday, 3 Heshvan the following day
Scan 35: May God remember the soul of the pious, esteemed, upright woman, Marat Mikhlen bat Yeshaya Yaakov, of blessed memory, together with the souls of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, and Leah, on account of the fact that all her days she followed a straight path, and at every opportunity attended synagogue, and her prayers were with great concentration with many supplications. For many years she also fasted on all days of Tahanun, and also gave her spirit to accompany her husband, the pious R’ Feivish Halfon, of blessed memory, to the holy city of Jerusalem (?), and there and also here in the holy community of Metz, she was with all midwives and parturients, to perform kindness with them, whether with her body or her radiance. Her children also gave charity on her behalf. As reward for this, may her soul be bound up in the bonds of life with the rest of the righteous individuals in the Garden of Eden. Amen.
Deceased and buried in the Holy City of Jerusalem
24 Elul 5430 1670
Scan 39: May God remember the soul of the dear, upright woman, Marat Malka bat Avraham, of blessed memory, of Charleville, on account of her charitable activities with the living and the dead, for she was a midwife to women and would prepare the newborn. For all her days, she would also make clothing for the poor, and practiced self-denial by fasting for many years, and she did not derive benefit from any person in eating or drinking outside of her home for all her days on earth. She would give medicines and bandages to all people for free, to heal their wounds, and for all her days would visit the sick. She would attend synagogue at every opportunity, and for all her days she acted honestly with all people, and was exceedingly modest in all her deeds. And she possessed countless other good attributes.
She died with a good name and her husband gave charity on her behalf. She died and passed on Thursday, 6 Menahem Av and was buried Friday, Erev Shabbat Kodesh, 7 Menahem Av 5436 1676
On account of this, may her soul be bound up in the bonds of life with the rest of the righteous individuals in the Garden of Eden. Amen.
Scan 51: May God remember the soul of the dear, esteemed, righteous, upright woman, Marat Breinle bat parnas ha-haver R’ Moshe Yirmiya ha-Levi, of blessed memory, together with the souls of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, and Leah, on account of the fact that she acted charitably all her days, whether with her body or her money, to the poor and rich alike, with the living and the dead, men and women, and especially with the parturients, for she would feed and deliver many, many women without midwives, and she would prepare the child like Shiphrah and would make a comforting sound as she would remove the child like Pu’ah.1 And she was entrusted to collect coins (?) from modest women’s talismans in order to clothe the poor and to revive the population. She stretches out her hand to the poor; she reaches forth her hands to the needy.2 And she supplied medicine, bandages, and dressings for free to all people, in order to heal their wounds, and she herself healed many individuals near and far, and would visit the sick day and night, and would never derive benefit from any person, and would not eat outside of her home. She practiced self-denial for over 25 years when she would fast each day and did not eat meat or drink wine and did not consume fruit. All her deeds were modest, and at every opportunity she attended synagogue, and her prayers were with great concentration. For all her days, she acted honestly with all people and was modest in all her deeds. Her husband gave charity on her behalf, and as reward for this, may her soul be bound up in the bonds of life with the rest of the righteous individuals in the Garden of Eden. Amen.
Deceased with a good name on Thursday evening and buried on Friday, Erev Shabbat Kodesh, 10 Heshvan 5448 1687 to the small counting
Scan 88: May God remember the soul of the esteemed, pious woman, Marat Yekht, daughter of the officer, the deceased parnas (?) R’ Eli Maklif, the righteous of blessed memory, together with the souls of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, and Leah, on account of the fact that her home was open to all
[……]
and she performed great deeds by supplying all sorts and types of segulot (talismans) to parturients who had difficulty giving birth so that they would not endure difficult births…
[…]
1709/1710
Source 2 Translation
National Library of Israel, Ms. Heb. 8°1465, f. 80
Memorbuch of the Community of Frankfurt am Main
May God remember the soul of the important, esteemed, pious woman, Marat Frometle daughter of R’ Meir Schnapper Segal, of blessed memory, together with the souls of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, and Leah, on account of the fact that she was modest and decent. She would go to the synagogue at every opportunity to pray to the Dweller of the Realm Above and would pray with concentration. She performed kindness with the living and the dead, and would prepare the children that were born in the communal hospice like Shiphrah and Pu’ah. She was careful in all her mitzvot in every time and season, and wanted to perform the will of (her) Maker. She did not neglect any mitzvah, great or small, and made medicines for free for both the rich and the poor. Her husband also gave an amount so that her soul would be bound up in the bonds of life with the rest of the righteous individuals in the Garden of Eden. Amen.
Deceased on Thursday evening and buried with a good name on Friday, Erev Shabbat Kodesh, 8 Elul 5513 1753
And she was known to all as Frometle the wife of Yaakov Weil
Source 3 Translation
Universitätsbibliothek Mainz, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz, Jewish Community of Mainz, Mainz Germany, Ms. 16, fol. 1r
Pinkas Hevra Kadisha of the Community of Mainz
The text states, “and your righteousness shall go before you.”3 “Righteousness delivers from death”4 – it is taught that this means from death itself. And (righteousness) shall go before Him5 to seek rest in the land of the living, and return the charge to its first place, to fulfill “Blessed are you in your comings; blessed are you in your goings.”
May the name of the modest, pure woman be remembered for her good, Marat Gitle Afinim, who was an attendant to parturients for several years here in Mainz, like Pu’ah and Shiphrah, who flourished in her deeds. And God awakened her spirit and her soul to command her, before her soul blossomed, with clear-headed knowledge, to watch over her us? after her soul departed, to study a section of Mishnah in her soul’s merit in a holy quorum of ten, during the seven days of mourning, and to light an eternal flame for her in the first year, as is customary.
…
She died, and passed away on Erev Shabbat Kodesh, the second day of hol ha-moed Pesah 5523 [1763] to the small counting, in Mainz
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