We came to visit the champion of Torah, the honorable Todros, may God keep him, and found that he was on his sick bed but his speech and utterances were clear and certain, his mind was lucid and composed like any person walking in the market. He requested that we, the undersigned, listen to his words and record them truly to serve as a memorial, a witness and a proof before us, the undersigned.

I hereby declare before you today as one who declares before an important and worthy court, and you are my formal witnesses, that from this moment I am giving, as the gift of a quick person, an absolute and irrevocable gift from today forever to my dear wife Gitel, may she live, all of my chattels wherever they may be under the sky: silver, gold and pearls, copper iron and tin, silver and gold jewelry and clothing—anything that the mouth can call moveable property. It is all hers, to put her hand, to control, to sell, to loan, to bequeath and bestow, and to gift; it should be hers as money that is never paid back. Except she has no share in my books; they belong to my male children who will inherit them. But aside from [the books] all the chattels should be hers and she has the right to hold them and keep them in her possession both when I am alive and after my death. All of this is an addition to her ketubah which is in the amount of 3000 zlotys. And all of this is in accord with the gifts that he has previously given, formally, in our presence (the undersigned witnesses) on Wednesday, 25 Tevet, last month, in the presence and with the consent of his eldest son, Mr. Hayim, may God keep him, and now [Todros] has emphatically confirmed and affirmed the gifts anew, formally, in our presence (the undersigned witnesses) with all sorts of sureties and an effective power of attorney.

Over any estate that he should leave after him, a blessing, whether cash or merchandise, pawns, debt notes [or] accounts, the honored Todros has appointed his aforesaid wife as overseer, power, executrix and governor over the entire estate from the smallest to the greatest item, as of today, for all the days of her life. He has given her explicit right of credibility versus all of the heirs that whatever she vouches to be the case exempts her from swearing as to the [coverage of] her ketubah. No heir or receiver from anywhere has the right to make her swear or to place a ban [herem] on her from now until forever. There is to be no oath—not minor and certainly not major— nor any ban concerning any of the estate or the executorship or transactions that she should handle for the rest of her life. Mr. Todros attached to her as support to help and to effectuate her eldest son the aforementioned Mr. Hayim. He will be co-executor with his mother of the entire estate as against the other heirs. Thus she will conduct all business as she sees fit and as she desires as she always has, for her benefit and for the benefit of all of the heirs. She and all of her as yet unmarried heirs shall be supported from the household budget as before. Conversely, whatever she manages to earn from doing business of any kind shall go towards the household budget, except for the profits and interest from the 3,000 zloty that are hers by virtue of her ketubah; the interest and the profit on the interest belong solely to her. She does not have to contribute or spend anything for her needs or the needs of her household because all of her requirements are to come from the household budget. She and her son, the aforesaid Mr. Hayim, the executors, whatever they simply vouch to be the case with regard to the estate and the inheritance, will have complete credibility against the remaining heirs without having to take any oath, major or minor, and without a ban, as above. If one of the sons wants to take his portion in the estate of his father for whatever reason, then whatever she and her son, the aforesaid Mr. Hayim, determine to be the portion coming to him from the estate, is what he should take without any oath and no rabbi or court should deign to hear words of that appellant because it is truly known that his aforesaid wife’s [and son’s] heart[s] [are] trustworthy before him. They walked before him in truth and honesty all of the days and they have always dealt faithfully. He still presumes that they will keep faith and give each one what is coming to him...

When the time comes for their marriages, [Todros’s] two adolescent sons, Mr. Meir and Mr. Shlomo, should each be given one thousand zloty in addition to clothing as befitting their station and the value of the estate. This money should be given to them out of the household budget in addition to each one’s inherited portion. Two mamrans [letters of credit] with my signature for 1000 zloty each have already been set aside. They belong to the two sons and are being held on deposit by Mrs. Gitel.

Mrs. Gitel has authority to make matches for her sons, to take them into her household, to support them, to feed them, to keep them at her table, to host them always, with their wives, out of the household budget as she desires and sees fit, for however many years she wants to commit herself, and no one can protest. She also is entitled bring into the store in Kazimierz, to become part of the business there, whichever sons she wants, whether those currently married or those who are still single; the sons themselves, their wives or the couple together, for the rest of her life. Likewise she can remove from the business in the store her sons and their wives, all of them or some of them, as she wishes. Even her son, Mr. Hayim and his wife, who currently work with her, she may remove and fire them whenever she feels like it, from now until forever; for she is the lady of the house, the power and the overseer of the estate and the business as long as she lives. Of course, possession of the store itself will, after her death, remain with the male heirs and, so too, while she is alive, if she does not do business there herself. All the sons should share equally in the store.

[Todros] has ordered her to be the mistress and overseer of all of the real estate, whether houses of stone or wood or seats in the synagogue in either the men’s section or women’s section for the rest of her life. She can admit and remove tenants at will and should receive all of the rent from all of the houses and synagogue seats and add it to the household budget. She even has the power to go further and evict her sons and daughters from the houses and the seats and put others in their stead; or, if she wants, to collect rent from her sons from the houses and synagogue seats; it is up to her. And if she wants to let one of them off and maintain him for free in the houses or the synagogue seats, or she is not a stickler for collecting rent from some of her sons and daughters; it is up to her (except with respect to the apartment [inhabitant]s whom she is obligated to leave as they are, as will be explained below, with no ability to evict them or kick them out of [Todros’s] house).

[Todros] also explicitly and distinctly ordered that money be taken off the top of the estate to pay off all of the debts, secured by the house, owed to the distinguished Mr. Isaac R’Y so that house be free and clear of any encumbrance. Also the aforementioned Mrs. Gitel and her son Mr. Hayim, standing in for the distinguished Mr. Todros, formally renewed, affirming and confirming before us, the undersigned witnesses on the aforementioned day, the validity of the tena’im [betrothal agreement] that the distinguished Mr. Todros took upon himself with respect to the young Mr. Leib, son of the scholar Mr. Yoshia, may God keep him, as to the terms of the tena’im: the amount of the dowry, the amount of maintenance, housing, clothing and wedding expenses as specified in the tena’im, nothing may be omitted, everything should be honored as written and explained clearly, in general and in particular, in the tena’im—in addition to the apartment and shtar hatzi zakhar [writ of female inheritance entitling a daughter to a share in the estate one half the value of a son’s] that [Todros] is adding below.

His sons-in-law, Mr. Moshe Segal, Mr. Feibish, and Mr. Nahman, may God keep them, as well as the just mentioned bridegroom, son of the scholar, Leib, should each be given immediately following [Todros’s] death a shtar hatzi zakhar in the amount of 700 zloty. The bridegroom should be given his at the time of the wedding. [Todros] also gave each of his sons-in-law, as a gift, an apartment within his home, as follows: Mr. Moshe with Todros’s daughter is to get, as long as she lives, [a place] in the small upstairs heated room where they live now and if there is, God forbid, a fire or a building collapse, the heirs are required to rebuild this apartment as before, out of the household budget; or to give them an equivalent apartment in the house. [Todros’s] sons-in-law, Mr. Feibish and Mr. Nahman and their wives, his daughters, will each be given an apartment in some corner of some heated room at the discretion of Mrs. Gitel, as long as she or her heirs are alive, for a period of ten years, if their wives are alive. Mrs. Gitel or her heirs may choose to give any or all of her daughters fifty zloty a year for ten years or whatever years [remain] instead of the apartment and thereby fulfill the housing obligation. [Todros ] added on to the bridegroom, Mr. Leib, with his daughter the bride, Beila may she live, in addition to what is specified in the tena’im, an apartment in his house for another five consecutive years after the conclusion of the housing obligation specified in the tenaim. Concerning the additional five years [Gitel] or her heirs are also entitled to give their daughter, Beila, fifty zloty a year for either the entire five years or a portion of them; part of the time the apartment, part of the time money as they wish. If any of [Todros’s] sons-in-law does not live here in Cracow, even so his wife should receive in place of the apartment fifty zloty a year as delineated above.

However [Todros] explicitly conditioned all of these gifts to his sons-in-law and daughters on their not taking any legal action against Mrs. Gitel or his heirs concerning the bequest of the 700 zloty shtar hatzi zakhar. If any of them decides to protest, as soon as he goes to court this gift will be immediately cancelled and even if he loses his court case that plaintiff will not even get the full 700 zloty, but only what he is entitled to by law, because Todros knows that they are not entitled to such an amount and is only being nice to them out of the goodness of his heart.

However [Todros] explicitly conditioned all of these gifts to his sons-in-law and daughters on their not taking any legal action against Mrs. Gitel or his heirs concerning the bequest of the 700 zloty shtar hatzi zakhar. If any of them decides to protest, as soon as he goes to court this gift will be immediately cancelled and even if he loses his court case that plaintiff will not even get the full 700 zloty, but only what he is entitled to by law, because Todros knows that they are not entitled to such an amount and is only being nice to them out of the goodness of his heart.

Division of synagogue seats after [Gitel’s] death will be as follows: The seat in the men’s section of the Altshul that [Todros] himself sits in goes to his son Mr. Hayim. The seat to its left to his son Meir. The seat where his son-in-law Moshe Segal sits with Mrs. Gitel’s (may she live) seat go together to his son Mr. Shlomo. The other seats in other synagogues, whether in the men’s or women’s section, whether in the Altshul or other synagogues should be divided in half by their value. One half goes to his grandson Lemel and the other half to [Todros’s] grandsons, the sons of the late Avraham; except that the half seat that Mr. Todros owns in the women’s section, that used to belong to Mr. Evril Zekels, will be given as a gift to his daughter Mrs. Malka, the wife of the aforementioned Mr. Moshe Segal and her descendants. Her husband has no stake in it. As to the seat that belonged to his late son, Mr. Avra[ha]m, in the women’s section and his wife and son mortgaged it to Mr. Todros and after Reb Avram’s death they transferred it to him. Now [Todros] forgives the mortgage and grants the seat completely and in perpetuity to his daughter-in-law, Mrs. Rivka, daughter of the late Mr. Axelrod Bendet Segal, so that she might add this seat to her dowry when she remarries, with the proviso that when she marries she must get her husband to agree to maintain her two small children for six years after the marriage. Mrs. Gitel should give her money from the household budget for rental and child support for the orphans and deduct from the stipend she gives her now for the orphans in the future. Todros grants [Rivka] the seat but the mamran [signed by him] belonging to her, held by Reb Shmuel Sofer in the amount of 200 zloty is cancelled and should return torn to [Todros’s] heirs. However Todros ordered that immediately upon his death 200 zloty should be taken from the estate budget in cash and invested so that the interest compounded goes to his young orphan granddaughter, the daughter of Reb Avraham his son, for the purpose of her dowry only. Not one penny of the principal, interest or compound interest should be spent on the girl’s needs until her wedding. If, God forbid, the girl should die or if, after the marriage, in accord with takanot shum [due to her early death without children] the dowry money will be refunded, then the principal, interest and compound interest should be given back to Mr. Todros’s heirs. Mrs. Gitel is entitled to invest the two hundred zloty and its profits until the girl’s marriage. Each year the profits should be recorded and she should deposit a debt note with a trustee of her choosing.

[Todros] further explicitly ordered that Mrs. Gitel should not leave the middle section of his house and the rooms in that section for the rest of her life, but should utilize all of these rooms as she has done now, while he was alive. None of her married sons or daughters should live with her and even if she herself remarries she and her husband should reside in this space as long as Gitel lives. She can make this right of residence for as long as she lives part of her dowry, but she may not add to her dowry for her husband more than 1,000 zloty. Anything more than this in cash, jewelry or chattels and everything that remains with her, her husband forswear at the marriage ceremony; the principal, the interest and the compound interest, forever. By law she is also bound to get him to agree at the time of the match that he promises not to prevent her from doing business and trading for the benefit of Mr. Todros’s heirs, as she has always done. And the husband must forswear the principal, profit, etc.

[Todros] further ordered to take 500 zloty from the household budget and the real estate income for the dowry of his granddaughter, the eldest daughter of Mr. Hayim, at the time of her marriage. And thus for all of his granddaughters, whether the daughters of his sons or of his daughters, praised be God, 200 zl for the dowry at the time of the marriage from the real estate income. If any of them die, God forbid, before getting married, or the dowry is refunded in accord with takanot shum, then the money should be given back to Todros’s male heirs. If she is privileged to be alive, Mrs. Gitel should give this gift to each granddaughter at the time of her marriage. If, however, [Gitel] dies, God forbid, the heirs are not obligated to give these gifts to whichever unmarried girls may still be left by then—even the gifts due the daughters of his daughters—so that his sons-in-law will not protest the amount of the shtar hatzi zakhar.

The distinguished, august Mr. Todros and his wife Mrs. Gitel further declared before us, the undersigned witnesses, that all of the mamrans and debt notations that they possess to the debenture of their son-in-law, Mr. Moshe Segal, are all absolutely cancelled and have no validity, except for two mamrans: one in the amount of 500 zloty signed by him and his wife; and one in the amount of 300 zloty guaranteed by [a different] son-in-law, Mr. Nahman. These are valid. [Todros] also declared that he owes his son-in-law, Mr. Feivel, 700 zloty, such that the principal belongs to him and the interest and compound interest to [Todros’s] daughter, Feivel’s wife, for the rest of her life to do with as she sees fit. After she dies this reverts to Mr. Feivel and his heirs.

Before the upcoming 1647 Jaroslaw Fair, a 600 zloty loan via mamran should be given to the Cracow Kahal at 10% annual interest which should accrue and compound in perpetuity. Money from [this fund] should not be given in aid to any relative unless, God forbid, one of [Todros’s] direct descendants will need emergency support or [aid] to marry off his daughters. Then the kahal that will be in office at the time, may God keep them, will contribute no less than 50 zloty for the purpose of supporting the marriage and they may add to this sum as appropriate for the time and the situation, according to their discretion. The same applies to support for sons when they are in dire need, according to [the kahal’s] discretion. This practice should continue in perpetuity. So the sum should be given to the Kahal as aforementioned and in a way that will not result in general challenges to the estate.

[Todros’s] sister Sheindel should immediately be given fifty zloty to do with as she pleases. She will sit at Mrs. Gitel’s table who will maintain and feed her as long as Mrs. Gitel shall live. The 50 zloty mamran on his niece Mrs. Feierl of Zenzemin, that Yitzhak of Zenzemin stood surety for, should be returned to Mrs. Feierl, as part of her dowry property. Her son, Reb Yitzhak should get 50 zloty. Her daughter, Mrs. Bendin, should get 25 zloty. Reb Yosef of Prostitz should get 25 zloty. Avigdor ben Yosef, his brother-in-law, should get 50 zloty to subsidize the dowry of his daughter. Likewise his brother-in-law, Shmuel ben Yosef, should get 50 zloty to subsidize his daughter[‘s dowry]. The orphans of his late brother, Mr. Yitzhak, should get 100 zloty plus whatever Mrs. Gitel and her son Mr. Hayim see fit to give.

Avram, son-in-law of Zanvil Nihs, should get 50 zloty to subsidize his eldest daughter. Moshe ben Zanvil Nihs get 25 zloty and he can hold the cellar in [Todros’s] house, facing the main street, for ten years rent-free. All of this [Todros] gives as a gift. This does not, however, exempt his sons from helping to the extent that they can afford and as much as God favors them. The gift to aid these relatives will extend for two years from today, as needed. [Todros] has given his son Mr. Hayim three blank mamrans[…] for the purpose of trading at the 1647 Lwow fair.

All of this was done before us the undersigned witnesses…

Mrs. Gitel also formally confirmed and affirmed all of the above details…

Tuesday, 14 Adar 5407 [=19 February 1647]

Signed…

In our presence the distinguished Mr. Todros ordered his wife Mrs. Gitel not to match her sons Mr. Meir and Mr. Shlomo without the consent and agreement of the scholar Rabbi Yoshia, may God keep him, and with the agreement of the distinguished Mr. Eliya Segal, may God keep him, and with the agreement of her son, Mr. Hayim. Mrs. Gitel formally assented to this in our presence, signed…

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