Libyan Jewish Women's Lore: from Homeschooling to Formal Education

Libyan Jewish Women’s Lore

Libyan Jewish Women's Lore: From Homeschooling to Formal Education

Rachel Simon, Princeton University, Princeton NJ, USA

Abstract

The source of Libyan Jewish women's lore was the environment in which they lived, which was shaped— intellectually, socially, and economically—by the gender norms of Libyan Jews. These norms were based on Jewish traditions and the surrounding Muslim society, which since the mid-sixteenth century was under Ottoman rule, until the Italian occupation of 1911. Since Jewish women were not expected to actively participate in formal religious activities and lead the community, it was not deemed necessary by the all-male communal leadership to provide them with formal Jewish education. Until the late nineteenth century most women were trained at home by older female relatives how to properly run a Jewish home. Formal education for Jewish girls became available in Libya from the 1870s, first through European enterprises and from the 1930s also by the community. This does not mean, though, that women had no spiritual life, but it differed from that of the men: their spirituality was manifested first and foremost orally in female poetry in the local Judeo-Arabic dialect as well as in material culture. This paper examines Libyan Jewish women's lore and what was the impact of the developing educational, social, and economic opportunities for growing numbers of Libyan Jewish women, mainly in the urban society, on their cultural capital from the late nineteenth century until the mass Jewish emigration from Libya starting in the late 1940s. The Education of Libyan Jews In order to be competent to actively participate in synagogue services and lead the community, men had to be able to follow Hebrew and Aramaic texts of the Bible and prayer books. It was usually the community who took care of boys' formal education, which provided them with the basic skills of reading 1 Women in Judaism: A Multidisciplinary e-Journal Volume 17 Number 2 (2020) ISSN 1209-9392 © 2021 Women in Judaism, Inc. All material in the journal is subject to copyright; copyright is held by the journal except where otherwise indicated. There is to be no reproduction or distribution of contents by any means without prior permission. Contents do not necessarily reflect the views of the editors.

Libyan Jewish Women’s Lore texts in the Hebrew alphabet, gradually advancing to recite complete texts. Since, however, the spoken language of most community members was Judeo-Arabic, boys usually did not understand what they read. This kind of education was the basic one for the majority of the men for most of the period; only few continued in more advanced Jewish studies, preparing them to become religious functionaries. Even the continuing education provided for adult men, which was in the form of listening to readings of religious texts, did not enrich most men, since they could not understand those recitations, which were in Hebrew or Aramaic. Thus, although most men acquired an important tool for intellectual growth, they were in fact functionally illiterate, because they did not understand the texts they recited or listened to. Consequently, only few could contribute to Jewish studies and culture.1 Since women's role in life was different from that of the men, girls were prepared towards it differently than boys. Just like most boys, girls often understood only Judeo-Arabic, but they usually were not taught to read the Hebrew alphabet. Instead, theirs was an experience-based education. They were orally taught at home by their older female relatives how to run a Jewish home, namely, how to apply Jewish laws and local practices to everyday life, such as Jewish dietary laws (kashrut) for every day with special rules for Passover, as well as laws regarding work and rest, governing activities during the week, the Sabbath, and holidays, and regulations concerning ritual purity. Thus, although women could not read the laws and regulations which they had to follow, they knew how to execute them properly.2 While most girls were home trained in this manner, few also received some formal education. This could happen when a girl had no brothers and her father chose to teach her to read, in addition to the training she received from her female relatives. In other cases, girls listened while their brothers were tutored at home, or even joined them in their studies. In few exceptional cases, girls actually attended classes arranged for boys by the community.3 But just as it was the case for the boys, this formal education did not enable girls to further their spiritual growth. Women who could read were even ridiculed at times: in the Dar Barukh synagogue in Tripoli, which was mainly attended by Jews with European nationality, some women followed the service in their prayer books, and were mocked by the indigenous ones,4 apparently because they were perceived as pretending to be able to perform functions reserved for men. In addition, few girls, usually from Tripolitan families with economic and social ties with Europe, studied in a Christian school run by nuns, who taught in a foreign language and excluded Jewish subjects.5 A major change in Jewish girls' educational opportunities in Libya started in the 1870s when formal girls' education became available through European enterprises (first Italian, from 1877,6 followed by French,

2 Women in Judaism: A Multidisciplinary e-Journal Volume 17 Number 2 (2020) ISSN 1209-9392 © 2021 Women in Judaism, Inc. All material in the journal is subject to copyright; copyright is held by the journal except where otherwise indicated. There is to be no reproduction or distribution of contents by any means without prior permission. Contents do not necessarily reflect the views of the editors.

Libyan Jewish Women’s Lore by the Alliance Israélite Universelle [AIU], from 18967), in both cases subsequently to the establishment of Italian and French boys' schools in Tripoli. The Italian boys' school was founded at the initiative of local Jews who wanted to prepare their sons to join them in their commercial enterprises with Italy and be ready for social interactions with Europeans. It soon became apparent that, in order to improve the social and economic relations of Libyan Jewish men with Italians, a companion institution for girls would be most beneficial. Similar feelings prompted the opening of the AIU girls' school. The main focus of both networks was on Italian or French language and subjects, based on curricula common in Italy and France, complemented with few Jewish topics, including the Hebrew language, as well as some vocational training, especially in the AIU school. Following the 1911 Italian occupation of Libya, the official state educational network in which Jews participated was Italian.8 Consequently, until a local Jewish network, which was open to women, was established, most Jewish girls who attended school received Italian education. Community-based formal education for women started only in the 1930s at the initiative of local young Zionist men in Tripoli, the founders of the Ben-Yehudah Society for the spread of the Hebrew language, who wanted to make Hebrew the primary language of the community. Starting with afternoon and evening classes for boys and men in Tripoli, the founders felt relatively soon the need to include girls and women in this program. Their reasoning was that the role of women as the initial primary educators of the new generation is imperative in order to transform the community to a Hebrew speaking one. Thus, in 1931, classes for girls and women were established and soon witnessed a growing number of students, with women outnumbering men (498 compared to 369 in 1935/36). Contrary to men, who had other options to learn Hebrew, but often did so in the traditional manner, which basically left them functionally illiterate, women studied Hebrew only in a modern way, which aimed to enable them to understand, speak and write modern Hebrew, within a comprehensive national framework. Women were at first instructed by men, but pretty soon female graduates of these classes acquired teaching experience, and started teaching girls and older women. As a result, in a short period of time, girls were taught subjects which had been traditionally exclusive for boys, and even advanced to a prestigious profession: teaching, which was hitherto reserved for men.9 Jewish education suffered during World War II due to the Italian anti-Semitic racial legislation, which prevented Jews from attending state schools and due to the war situation, which also forced the AIU to stop its operation in 1939 (returning in 1947). The community tried to provide some form of education,

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Libyan Jewish Women’s Lore but most Jewish children were deprived of formal education during this period. A huge change followed the Italian surrender and the British military occupation of Libya in 1942-1943. Not only were the state schools once again available to Jews and the traditional Jewish schools reopened, but the character of Jewish education was gradually transforming due to the initiative of Jewish Palestinian soldiers in the British army, thus instituting the formalization of communal education for women.10 Starting in Benghazi, Jewish soldiers established a Hebrew school for boys and girls with a curriculum based on the one common in Jewish schools in pre-state Israel, thus, changing both the curriculum and gender composition of Jewish education. Later on, Hebrew schools opened also in Tripoli and the countryside, but were more common in the urban than in the rural areas. Some schools were opened by local initiative and without outside teachers, although they often asked for and received teaching materials from pre-state Israel. Several local teachers, mostly instructors and graduates of the Ben-Yehudah Society, were involved in this enterprise from the beginning. Even some rabbis took part in women's education.11 The soldiers felt the need to train local teachers so that the latter could replace them in the event of troops movement to Europe and due to the growing obstacles, the British military command had put on the soldiers to prevent their involvement in communal affairs. Consequently, the soldiers provided some teacher training for both men and women, and the number of Jewish female teachers increased. Later on, during the period of mass emigration to Israel in the early 1950s, when Israeli representatives were officially present in Libya, several of them conducted teacher training courses in Tripoli for both genders. As a result, by the early 1950s, there were quite a few women teachers who joined the newly established Jewish teachers' union. Contrary to boys, who received both traditional and modern formal education, the girls’ formal education was completely modern; this was more common among Jews than among Muslims during the period until the mass Jewish emigration. Thus, the number of Jewish female students in Tripoli grew from a few dozen annually in the 1870s to about 900 in 1949. Except for short teachers' training courses in which Jewish women participated, Jewish female education in Libya (including in the AIU school) was restricted to the elementary level, usually lasting no more than four years: there was no opportunity for post-primary education, which the Italian schools offered following the Italian occupation. The AIU continued to operate under Italian rule, but since the official state language was Italian, and the common language at home was Judeo-Arabic, gradually complemented with Italian, the cultural impact of the AIU schools was secondary. Consequently, although several hundred Jewish girls acquired the basics of French culture, it could not become a major

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Libyan Jewish Women’s Lore foundation for their spiritual life. The education provided by the Italian and AIU schools, was immersed in Italian and French culture, and geared toward different goals than those of the community. It provided graduates with some qualifications that benefited them economically, such as foreign languages and modern professions, but also created high expectations which could not easily be met, because individuals changed faster than the society at large, which remained reluctant to accept changes in women's role in society.12 While the communal Jewish and Hebrew education for women was embraced enthusiastically and was quite successful, it lasted for a short period of time before the mass emigration. Consequently, the majority of Libyan Jewish women were still shaped spiritually by their traditional home-based education, and most of their spirituality remained oral and material. Libyan Jewish Women's Lore: Female Poetry Libyan Jewish women's spirituality was manifested first and foremost in oral female poetry in the local Judeo-Arabic dialect. It dealt with a wide range of subjects covering the profane and the sacred: daily and life cycle events, work, and specific women's issues, as well as the Torah, saints, and Jewish festivals. It was sung by women of all ages in their leisure gatherings, at family feasts, during work, and in the synagogue. Many songs had a known structure and text, but they were also flexible, and individuals could introduce personal contributions as fitting to the occasion, at times even expressing criticism regarding the treatment of women. Some women were renowned for their fine voice and contributions as well as leading group singing. Still, this was not based on formal learning, status, or age but on individual capacity, and theoretically any woman could fulfill this role, since all grew up in this spiritual and nourishing environment. Inspiration could be internal and external. As a result of the prevailing gender norms, women were basically restricted to their home, though the definition of “home” was wider in the rural areas than in urban society. As a result, Jewish women had more opportunities to meet Muslim women and be influenced by their behavior in the village than in town. This had some impact upon female poetry in both directions, because women heard each other songs. A major category of female poetry related to life cycle events, from birth, through wedding to death.13 When a son was born, female relatives and friends would gather by the mother's side for a week performing songs celebrating the event. Prior to the circumcision ceremony, elderly women (known as “zamzamat”) were singing special songs while crushing spices and dried flowers in preparation of the fragrances which were used at the ceremony. These songs were about the Messiah, the Prophet Elijah, the Patriarchs, Moses, Aaron, Joseph, Jerusalem, the Land of Israel, and the Torah, and were known as

5 Women in Judaism: A Multidisciplinary e-Journal Volume 17 Number 2 (2020) ISSN 1209-9392 © 2021 Women in Judaism, Inc. All material in the journal is subject to copyright; copyright is held by the journal except where otherwise indicated. There is to be no reproduction or distribution of contents by any means without prior permission. Contents do not necessarily reflect the views of the editors.

Libyan Jewish Women’s Lore the Songs of the Book (Ghna ha-Sefer, the “Book” referring to the Torah). Some songs praised the mother as well as the midwife.14 Later, when a boy was starting his formal education, his mother brought him to the Talmud Torah, celebrating the event with special songs.15 One of the most celebrated events in a person's life was one's wedding. Much singing was performed by women as part of the wedding celebrations, which lasted for two weeks, one preceding and another one following the wedding ceremony itself, which took place on a Wednesday.16 A major event during this period was the Sabbath of the Girls (Sabat l'bnat) on the Sabbath before to the wedding. On this occasion, the bride and her girlfriends had a festive Sabbath eve dinner following which they walked around the Jewish quarter of Tripoli in what was referred to as duran al-'arusah (the circling of the bride), during which the neighborhood women got out, all joining the parade, singing and rejoicing. A similar parade took place on Sabbath afternoon, and the singing continued when the girls returned home. On Sunday evening, a festive henna ceremony17 took place, during which special songs praising the bride were sung. Another parade took place on Tuesday afternoon, referred to as laylat al-raḥlah (the night of the parade) when the bride was brought to the miqveh (ritual bath) accompanied by her and the bridegroom's female relatives and friends, all singing and rejoicing.18 At times during the wedding ceremony, women's songs expressed their feelings regarding the marriage. For example, in 1916, when an eighteen years old orphaned woman was forced to marry a wealthy seventy years old man, who lost contact with his first wife due to the war situation, women sang: “By the table my father sold me and married me to an old man of his own age.”19 Upon the death of a person, special female mourners were performing monotone wailing, while hitting themselves, moving slowly, and knocking rhythmically with sticks on a table or a crate.20 The mourning was usually for community members, but on rare occasions also for non-Jews who showed favor to Jews. Thus, when the Tripolitanian rebel leader of the Misrata region, Ramadan al-Shitawi, was murdered in 1920 by a rival tribe who collaborated with the Italians, Jewish women composed a dirge, which they sang while grinding flour, praising him and condemning his murderers.21 Other songs related to places of worship and sacred people. Women would gather on the eve of the Sabbath and Holidays to clean the floors of the main synagogue in Tripoli and some other synagogues, clean the oil lamps and prepare their wicks in front of the Holy Ark while singing special songs in honor of the Torah (referred to as the Sefer).22 Women also sang in praise of Jewish pious men, including some whom the more conservative rabbis

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Libyan Jewish Women’s Lore regarded as controversial. Such was the case with Shabtai Zevi, the seventeenth century false Messiah. There was a candle in honor of Shabtai ben Tziva in the old synagogue (known as “the Third”) in Tripoli, which women used to frequent, lit the candle and sing in his honor, referring to him as the Messiah. Some rabbis tried to stop the practice by breaking the candle, rebuking the women and changing the words of the song, eliminating the mention of the names of Shabtai and his disciple Nathan.23 Still, women continued to express their belief in the two. During the week of the 9th of Av, commemorating the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple, women in Misrata wailed about calamities that fell on the Jews, such as the destruction of the Temple, and on Hanna and her seven sons.24 Women's daily life was another source of female poetry. The first day of the month of Tevet was known as rosh ḥodesh l'bnat (the new month of the girls) during which women visited each other and had parties accompanied by special songs.25 Some songs related to women's work. They used to sing in groups26 and in solitude in the early morning hours while grinding flour: this eased their hard work and also made everyone aware that they were not lazy but awake and working hard.27 It was believed that some women had mystical powers to prevent disasters. Thus, for example, when there was drought in Zawiyah (in western Tripolitania), an old woman would gather women of all ages. Holding candles, spices, and sticks, and wearing patched clothing, they went to the cemetery, which was regarded as a sacred ground. There they would crawl, kiss the old tombstones, and sing and pray for rain. It was told that already while there, they would see a small cloud forming on the horizon, and as they reached home, they were soaking wet from the rain, joining the community in celebration.28 Material Culture Female creativity was also expressed materially in various kinds of handicrafts, some of which related to life cycle events. For instance, the maternal grandmother would prepare an embroidered clothing for the baby for his circumcision ceremony as well as all the clothes (known as thiyab) for the first-born son and daughter.29 As for the bride, in preparation for her marriage, she used to sew and embroider her clothing, often with the help of a professional seamstress.30 Food preparation was another venue for creative expression. One special Libyan treat was prepared for Shavu'ot when women baked pretzels in various symbolic shapes (such as a ladder, the Tables of the Covenant, a bird, scissors, a bag, a basket, and spectacles) to be hung on a string by the children.31 While the shapes were traditional, women could improvise on them. Another form of artistry was cosmetics, usually performed on brides, and mostly by professional Jewish

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Libyan Jewish Women’s Lore women. Beautifying the Jewish bride took place during the henna ceremony, which was performed on the Sunday prior to the wedding. The bride's hair was rubbed with henna as were her fingers and toes. At times a second henna feast was conducted on Monday night, during which the bride's fingers and toes were colored with henna once again.32 The Impact of Cultural, Social, and Economic Changes on Women's Lore Women's creative activities, which could be performed by all, followed traditional patterns, although they allowed for individual expressions. These manifestations continued when formal education became available for women, but changes had been felt over time. European norms entered gradually, with different impact among Jews and Muslims, within the urban and rural societies, and influenced by social class. As time passed, Jewish women, especially in the urban centers, were able to develop intellectually in new ways and enter the workforce, but their status in society was slower to change. Formal education had several profound implications on women's intellectual, social, and economic life. The introduction of new languages (mainly Italian and Hebrew) and concepts (mainly European and Zionist) influenced women's perceptions and creative expressions. Jewish women were educated in languages which were not the spoken language of their society and especially not of their older female relatives, who had been their informal mentors in all traditional ways of life. Many girls started to spend several hours each school day outside their home, contrary to the past, when they were at home most of the time or chaperoned by other family members when outside on restricted occasions. As a result, female students were not participating in the daily female work and leisure activities to the degree that was previously customary. The same goes for those women who started to engage in waged work outside the home, mostly as teachers, clerks, nurses, factory workers, and domestic workers. These women, although they still continued to perform many of the tasks, had been in charge of at home, became gradually less involved in these activities, and spent many hours a day with non-kin and occasionally even non-Jewish and male company. Moreover, teachers strove to instill in their students’ foreign customs, including spiritual expressions, at times ridiculing traditional ones, causing confusion and possible conflicts at home. In addition, due to the growing national feelings among Jews and Muslims, their mutual interactions decreased, impacting women's lore. Women were thus stuck regarding spiritual growth and contribution: since they did not study in depth Hebrew, Italian, or French as well as Jewish religious subjects, they were hardly able to contribute in these venues and fields. While it is true that women could speak Hebrew and few became teachers, their

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Libyan Jewish Women’s Lore recent delving into these cultural spheres restricted their literary production. A rare example relates to students at the Hebrew schools, who were encouraged by the local Hebrew youth periodicals to contribute Hebrew poems, which the periodicals later published, and few of these contributions were by girls.33 The impact of modernization and Zionism was also somewhat reflected in women's songs, which included new songs on the situation on the eve of the mass emigration, the foundation of the state of Israel, as well as the absorption in Israel and current affairs,34 but this did not match women's involvement in female poetry in Judeo-Arabic in the past. The participation of women in formal education and in the youth movements enabled some additional creative artistic expressions. School and community theater productions in both the major urban centers as well as in some smaller towns enabled some female participation. This occurred mainly in the Hebrew schools and clubs which staged historical and Zionist plays, mostly in Hebrew and written by men. These productions were communal events, whose audience included men, and occasionally even non-Jews. Public performance by women was an innovation, not only because theater productions as such were a novelty, but because previously women used to perform their own compositions and only among themselves: performing in front of men, especially non-kin and even gentiles, had been regarded as disreputable behavior, and the moral standing of such women was even questioned.35 These developments in women's lore were not unique to Libya, and duration, amount and patterns differed according to place and circumstances. It does not mean, either, that formal education in itself is blocking spirituality and creativity. In Libya, the dimensions of formal education—its overall short period, the few years of study, and the relatively small number of students—slowed the transformation of the local cultural environment, which contributed to the cultural capital of Libyan Jewish women.

References

Ben'atiyah, Pedahtsur. Shiru lanu mi-shire Tsiyon (Bat-Yam: Merkaz Or Shalom, 2001). [Hebrew]

Ben David Gian (Gi'an), Joseph. “Theatre in the Zionist Movement in Libya,” in Haim Saadoun (ed.), Libya (Jerusalem: Ben-Zvi Institute, 2007): 173-182. [Hebrew]

Buaron, Zevulun. Meqor ha-Semaḥot: Minhage Ḥatunah bi-Qehilot Luv (Netanya: Hafatsat Moreshet Yisra'el, 1994). [Hebrew]

Gian, Mosheh & Yosef Gian. Gesher Ḥason (Netanya: Be-Gane ha-Ḥayim, 1998). [Hebrew]

Gian, Yosef & Mosheh Gian. Ma'aleh ha-Rekhes (Netanya: Be-Gane ha-Ḥayim, 1993). [Hebrew] 9 Women in Judaism: A Multidisciplinary e-Journal Volume 17 Number 2 (2020) ISSN 1209-9392 © 2021 Women in Judaism, Inc. All material in the journal is subject to copyright; copyright is held by the journal except where otherwise indicated. There is to be no reproduction or distribution of contents by any means without prior permission. Contents do not necessarily reflect the views of the editors.

Libyan Jewish Women’s Lore

Gian, Yosef & Mosheh Gian. Zohar Mosheh (Netanya: Be-Gane ha-Ḥayim, 1992). [Hebrew]

Hacohen, Mordecai. Higgid Mordecai ((Jerusalem: Ben-Zvi Institute, 1978). [Hebrew]

Haggiag-Liluf, Yaacov. “The Life Cycle,” in Haim Saadoun (editor), Libya (Jerusalem: Ben-Zvi Institute, 2007): 183-194. [Hebrew]

Haggiag-Liluf, Yaacov. Storia degli Ebrei di Libia (Or Yehuda: Centro di Studi sull'Ebraismo Libico, 2000). [Hebrew]

Koch, Mali. “The Kitchen,” in Haim Saadoun (editor), Libya (Jerusalem: Ben-Zvi Institute, 2007): 239- 252. [Hebrew]

Marks, Esika and Edwin Seroussi. “The Musical tradition of Libyan Jewry,” in Haim Saadoun (editor), Libya (Jerusalem: Ben-Zvi Institute, 2007):159-172. [ Hebrew]

Paggi, Ariel & Judith Roumani. “From Pitigliano to Tripoli, via Livorno: The Pedagogical Odyssey of Giannetto Paggi”, Sephardic Horizons (2/4: 2014) http://www.sephardichorizons.org/Volume2/Issue4/paggi.html

Rodrigue, Aron. Images of Sephardi and Eastern Jewries in Transition: The Teachers of the Alliance Israélite Universelle, 1860-1939 (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1993).

Simon, Rachel. “Between the Family and the Outside World: Jewish Girls in the Modem Middle East and North Africa,” Jewish Social Studies (7/1: Fall 2000): 81-109.

Simon, Rachel. Change Within Tradition among Jewish Women in Libya (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1992).

Zuaretz, Frigia (ed.). Yahadut Luv (Tel-Aviv: Va'ad Qehilot Luv Be-Yisra'el, 1982). [Hebrew]

1Simon, 1992, p. 109; Simon, 2000, pp. 87-88; Marks & Seroussi, pp. 170-171. As a result of this situation there were very few Libyan Jews who wrote Rabbinic books (such as commentaries, exegeses, etc.) or poetry. These works were relatively few, but since they were composed by renown authors and at times written down (although rarely published), these texts were more likely to be kept and preserved in their original form than female poetry. Men also had folk poetry, mostly in Judeo-Arabic, but this was less prestigious and often lost. 2Simon, 2000, pp. 81-82, 88-89. 3Simon, 1992, p. 109. 4Higgid Mordecai, pp. 248-249; Simon, 1992, pp. 110, 155. 5Simon, 1992, p. 109. 6For the development of Italian education in Libya, see Paggi & Roumani; Simon, 1992, pp. 111-114, 127-130. 7On the AIU in general and its schools in Libya, see Rodrigue; Simon, 1992, pp. 114-126. 8Muslims had their own schools. 9On the activities of the Ben-Yehudah Society, named after Eliezer Ben-Yehudah, one of the major advocates for the revival of the Hebrew language, see Simon, 1992, pp. 131-138. 10On the Hebrew schools, see Simon, 1992, pp. 138-153. 11On R. Mosheh Balulu who tried to organize separate afternoon classes for girls in Sirt, teaching them reading and writing 10 Women in Judaism: A Multidisciplinary e-Journal Volume 17 Number 2 (2020) ISSN 1209-9392 © 2021 Women in Judaism, Inc. All material in the journal is subject to copyright; copyright is held by the journal except where otherwise indicated. There is to be no reproduction or distribution of contents by any means without prior permission. Contents do not necessarily reflect the views of the editors.

Libyan Jewish Women’s Lore

in the script common among Libyan Jews, but only few girls attended and stopped coming after a short period of time, see: Zohar Mosheh, p. 83. 12Simon, 2000, pp. 91-92. 13Marks & Seroussi, pp. 171-172. 14Yahadut Luv, pp. 386-389; Haggiag-Liluf (2000), pp. 322-324; Haggiag-Liluf (2007), p. 184. 15Haggiag-Liluf (2000), p. 329; Haggiag-Liluf (2007), pp. 186-187. Boys’ education usually continued no later than when they reached the age of thirteen and celebrated their Bar Mitzvah 16On the wedding related events, see: Buaron; Haggiag-Liluf (2000), pp. 331-341; Haggiag-Liluf (2007), pp. 188-192; Yahadut Luv, pp. 393-395. 17On the henna ceremony, see below note 32. 18Buaron, pp. 10-15, 27-28 (for the texts of some songs in Judeo-Arabic and Hebrew translation); Haggiag-Liluf (2000), pp. 335-338; Haggiag-Liluf (2007), p. 190. At the miqveh the bridegroom's female relatives checked the body of the bride for any physical defects; no similar inspection is mentioned regarding the bridegroom. 19Gesher Ḥason, p. 190. A widowed mother remarried a man who saw financial advantage in marrying his stepdaughter to a wealthy old man who had close connections to the Tripolitanian rebel leader of Misrata. The local rabbi who opposed this marriage was forced to conduct it by the regional Tripolitanian leader. When the Italians took over, they arrested the old man who disappeared, and the young woman stayed agunah for some sixty years, for the rest of her life (pp. 188- 226). There were men who criticized such marriages. One of them was R. Mosheh Balulu of Zawiyah who composed a song in Judeo-Arabic, expressing the wife's suffering. See Zohar Mosheh, pp. 37-38. 20Haggiag-Liluf (2007), p. 192; Zohar Mosheh, p. 68, referring to this as “mandabah.” 21Gesher Ḥason, p. 207. 22Yahadut Luv, p. 387. These songs were known as Ghna ha-Sefer (Songs of the Book). After settling in Israel, some of these women continued in their habit of weekly cleaning of the synagogue. See Ma'aleh ha-Rekhes, pp. 297, 313 on women in the moshav 'Alma (singing was not mentioned, but renovating a sacred tomb was). 23Yahadut Luv, p. 389; Higgid Mordecai, p. 93. 24Gesher Ḥason, p. 279. 25Yahadut Luv, p. 373; Haggiag-Liluf (2000), p. 300. 26Marks & Seroussi, p. 172. 27Higgid Mordecai, p. 308; Gesher Ḥason, pp. 210-211. 28Ma'aleh ha-Rekhes, p. 136. 29Haggiag-Liluf (2000), p. 326; Haggiag-Liluf (2007), pp. 185-186 (including an illustration). She worked on them when the prospective mother reached her seventh month of pregnancy. 30Haggiag-Liluf (2007), p. 189. 31Yahadut Luv, p. 380; Haggiag-Liluf (2000), pp. 314-315; Koch, p. 251 (both last two references have pictures of the various forms of the pretzels and pretzels hung on a string). 32Buaron, pp. 12-15; Haggiag-Liluf (2000), p. 336-337 (with illustrations); Haggiag-Liluf (2007), p. 190; Author, 1992, pp. 55-57, 92. This profession was usually in Jewish hands. 33For an example of a poem written by a girl in 1934, see Ben’atiyah, p. 52. 34Marks & Seroussi, p. 172. 35Gesher Ḥason, pp. 377-378 on a girl participating in performances in Zliten; Ben David Gian (Gi'an), pp. 180-182.

11 Women in Judaism: A Multidisciplinary e-Journal Volume 17 Number 2 (2020) ISSN 1209-9392 © 2021 Women in Judaism, Inc. All material in the journal is subject to copyright; copyright is held by the journal except where otherwise indicated. There is to be no reproduction or distribution of contents by any means without prior permission. Contents do not necessarily reflect the views of the editors.