Unidentified photographer
1866
Beth din (rabbinical court) (?) [Vilna Guberniya]

Salt paper print
Russian Museum of Ethnography
Number: ??? 8764-21540
 
Curatorial description (Accessed: 5 August 2021)
The photograph was received from Vilna Statistical Committee.
 
Beth din was a rabbinical court of law guided by Halakha (traditional law) in examining cases.
 
The rabbinical court examined all matters related to the personal status of a Jewish community's member (conclusion of marriage; property and other disputes), and looked into public issues related to observing the Jewish laws - kashrut, Shabbath, activities of synagogues, appointment of rabbis etc. In the second half of the 19th century, the rabbinical court was gradually losing its importance, especially after the 1860s, the epoch of the “Great Reform” of Alexander II.
 
The photograph was displayed at the Russian Ethnographic Exhibition of 1867 in Moscow.
 
LL/112524