ABSTRACT
Matters concerning the Jewish family in the Ottoman Empire are very revealing about Ottoman lives and the Ottoman mentality and folklore. We are still lacking a comprehensive research on it, and this is in a way an introduction to this topic. Up until the nineteenth century, the Ottoman-Jewish family was a traditional body shaped by two factors: the inner Jewish one, and that of the surrounding Muslim society, its şari’a law, customary law, norms, and values. Jews were acculturated in Ottoman society, and that took many forms, some of which were the nature of the patriarchal family, its folklore, its values, and the mechanisms which dictated its life. The patriarchal system dictated much —from patterns of dwelling to decision making and wills. The social standing and the economic situation were also an important factor in shaping its character, as social norms were much stricter in relation to the middle and upper classes. The family had formal and informal functions, which included continuation of Jewish life and socialization. Procreation and bringing up male children who bore their ancestors’ names were highly considered values. The gendered society in which they lived destined different roles for men and women and demanded different requirements—even different values—from each. Men and women lived their lives in parallel, almost separated, spheres. Women were subjected to various restrictions, most of which stemmed from their menacing sexuality. Notwithstanding the basic scheme of power relations, we now know that women had much more power and much more freedom than was formerly believed. We know very little about feelings—between husband and wife, between parents and their children, between a first wife and the second—but the sources allow us a glimpse into this world.