I was on ebay searching information about an ancient Jewish coin, when I noticed something I had never heard about before, let alone seen before. It was a breath-taking very large sterling silver Jewish communal wedding ring approximately four and a half inches high, that was in the shape of a three story synagogue. The huge ring could be opened up revealing a bima on which an open torah scroll was displayed, and underneath that there was a compartment for spices. (see photos) . On the shank of the ring it is written Mazel Tov (Good Luck) in Hebrew, and there were also the Hebrew words "Kol Sason VeSimchah, Kol Chatan VeKalah" inscribed near the base of the ring.
I was fascinated by this piece of Judaica with which I was completely unfamiliar and decided to stay up the better part of the night bidding on it. The description given on ebay about the ring said it came from "a fine San Diego estate" and was genuine. Wisely at the last moment I decided to give a maximum bid 5 dollars higher than I had intended, and as a result I became the highest bidder, and now own it. (I believe that I rather underpaid for this rare antique and will be taking it to Israel to confirm it is genuine as opposed to an antique style reproduction which at least one company in Israel makes. Even if it is a reproduction, I did not overpay since thankfully there was only one other bidder I had to outwit. But my gut says it is genuine).
Once I obtained the ring, I began to research what a Jewish communal wedding ring was used for.
In order to answer this question, I first had to learn what a "Jewish house ring" was. l learned that there was an Ashkenazi tradition since as long ago as the 14th century that few Jews today know about (probably since it became a lost tradition as a result of the Holocaust) whereby the groom at a Jewish wedding would give the bride an ornamental ring in the shape of a house. The "Jewish house ring" signified that the couple would share a home together, it gave an opportunity for the couple's new relationship to be blessed, and it was also thought to symbolize the Temple in Jerusalem. (The destroyed Temple in Jerusalem is remembered at Jewish wedding ceremonies when the glass is smashed). From a legal point of view, the groom's giving of the ring and the bride's acceptance of it is the is central legal act of a Jewish wedding ceremony, along with the recital of a vow–thus, the house ring was a very important family heirloom passed down from generation to generation.
The Jewish house rings in general were oversized as they were designed to be worn during the wedding ceremony, not necessarily thereafter (although I think that changed over time as smaller house rings came to be worn for the duration of the marriage). There is literature suggesting that the Jewish house ring tradition first began in Italy in Venice.
So what was a Jewish communal wedding ring?
In Europe, Jewish couples who were too poor to afford individual house rings used a large communal wedding ring for their marriage ceremony. This communal wedding ring was provided by their synagogue in their shtetl, and was shaped in the form of a synagogue with a torah scroll in it. This means that the Jewish communal wedding ring I obtained from ebay, assuming it is genuine, was likely used in countless Jewish marriages by poor couples. The ring appears to be the creation of a skilled craftsman, imparts joy and strength of community and love, family and tradition. It a testament to the strength of a Jewish community and to the centrality of marriage in Judaism and also shows that that contrary to anti-Semitic stereotypes, many Jews in Europe were poor.
After buying this antique Jewish communal wedding ring, I began searching the internet and found one, which is part of the collection of the Sydney Jewish Museum of Australia that looks very similar to the Jewish communal ring I bought on ebay. It too opens up to display a bima with an open torah scroll. [To see the Jewish communal wedding ring from the museum in Australia, click here: http://www.sydneyjewishmuseum.com.au/Collection/Communal-Wedding-Ring/default.aspx. ]
Interestingly enough, the website of the Sydney Jewish Museum explains the origins of the communal wedding ring in its collection as coming from Poland, and being saved before the advance of the Nazis. It belonged to American-born Marilyn Smith:
"Marilyn’s grandparents were from the village of Suchowola, a satellite of Bialystok, Poland. When the Germans were advancing, Marilyn’s grandfather, who was involved in the local synagogue, saved the ring and took it to America. He passed it on to his granddaughter, who attached a chain so she could wear it around her neck.
It is believed that couples too poor to afford individual wedding rings used a communal one for their ceremony. The elaborate ring features the congratulatory Hebrew words “Mazel Tov” at the base.”
http://www.sydneyjewishmuseum.com.au/Collection/Communal-Wedding-Ring/default.aspx .
Since my ring looks like the one that came from the village near Bialystok Poland now in the Sydney Jewish Museum, I have wondered whether it too originated from Poland or nearby, yet mine also appears more Venetian. Both the ring I have and the one in the Sydney Jewish Museum have two hands on the side of the synagogue structure which I assume symbolizes the way women hold their hands up to say the Shabbat blessing over the candles or other blessings.
I have shown this Jewish communal wedding ring to a number of people, none of whom have ever heard anything about such rings. All have marveled at its beauty and the beauty of the tradition behind it. I have even polished it a couple of times, and I never manage to find time to polish silver.
The best, however, was showing the Jewish communal wedding ring to my children and my sister's children, who were interested in seeing it. It is a beautiful family heirloom. Someday, hopefully, each of them can use it as a ceremonial ring during their own wedding ceremony.
For those who are interested in seeing samples of genuine Jewish house rings, the Jewish Art Museum of Minnesota has a handful of them from the 14th century on display which can be seen here:
http://jewishartmuseummn.blogspot.ca/2008/03/14th-century-jewish-wedding-rings-and.html
http://jewishartmuseummn.blogspot.ca/2008/03/14th-century-jewish-wedding-rings-and.html
http://www.pinterest.com/pin/282108364133249144/.
You can see one that is part of the Israel Museum Collection-an Austrian gilt silver Jewish wedding ring (possibly 19th century) incorporating a symbolic house with a star of David at http://www.pinterest.com/pin/282108364133249137/
On ebay, you can find reproductions of ancient Jewish house rings that are referred to as antique style sold by Psarel
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Antique-Style-Sterling-Silver-Large-Traditional-Jewish-Marriage-Wedding-Ring/331208483933?_trksid=p2047675.c100011.m1850&_trkparms=aid%3D222006%26algo%3DSIC.FITP%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20140107083349%26meid%3D7302348584819943103%26pid%3D100011%26prg%3D20140107083349%26rk%3D3%26rkt%3D10%26sd%3D251313510704.
