Yibum ketubah, for wedding of Yadgar son of Yosef Atzil and Dawrati[?] daughter of Yashya Atzil (wife of his deceased brother).
Iranian Jews, also Persian Jews, Parsim or Kalīmī, constitute one of the oldest communities of the Jewish diaspora. Dating back to the biblical era, they originate from the Jews who relocated to Iran (historically known as Persia) during the time of the Achaemenid Empire. Books of the Hebrew Bible (i.e., Esther, Isaiah, Daniel, Ezra, and Nehemiah) bring together an extensive narrative shedding light on contemporary Jewish life experiences in ancient Iran; there has been a continuous Jewish presence in Iran since at least the time of Cyrus the Great, who led Achaemenid army’s conquest of the Neo-Babylonian Empire and subsequently freed the Judahites from the Babylonian captivity. After 1979, Jewish emigration from Iran increased dramatically in light of the country’s Islamic Revolution and fall of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the last Shah of Iran. Today, the vast majority of Iranian Jews reside in Israel and the United States.
According to Sharon Mintz, who is Curator of Jewish Art at the Library of The Jewish Theological Seminary; specializes in the fields of illuminated Hebrew manuscripts and rare printed books; and the Senior Consultant for Judaica at Sotheby’s since 1995, “I am particularly intrigued by this Yibum Ketubah – one rarely sees this sort of item (and never for sale).”
Yibbum (pronounced [jibum], Hebrew: ייבום) is the form of levirate marriage found in Judaism. As specified by Deuteronomy 25:5–10, the brother of a man who died without children is permitted and encouraged to marry the widow. However, if either of the parties refuses to go through with the marriage, both are required to go through a ceremony known as halizah, involving a symbolic act of renunciation of their right to perform this marriage. Jewish law (halakha) has seen a gradual decline of yibbum in favor of halizah, to the point where in most contemporary Jewish communities, and in Israel by mandate of the Chief Rabbinate, yibbum is prohibited.
