lethargic_man | Genealogy, and Jewish betrothal certificates

For reasons which have nothing to do with the current BBC series "Who Do You Think You Are" (with interactive coverage by yours truly :o)), I've started typing up all my genealogical information, with the intention of burning it onto a CD-ROM for family members.

I mentioned to

livredor I had a copy of my great-grandparents' betrothal certificate, and she expressed interest, so, as I suspect it would also interest

black_herring and possibly other people too, I'm posting about it here.

As some of you know (Bob), the Jewish wedding ceremony normally consists of two parts: ארוסין (erusin), betrothal, and קדושין (kiddushin), the wedding itself. Because betrothal in Jewish law is considered as binding as marriage itself, these two are normally performed immediately after each other.

However, for reasons unknown to me, my great-grandparents were betrothed almost two years before they were married.

Here is their betrothal certificate, in his and hers copies. (Who needs a scanner when you've got a digital camera? Well, okay, a scanner would have helped, but this is a good deal better than nothing.)

No, I couldn't read any of that either; I had to get someone to transcribe it for me, as follows:

בעי״ה?] יעלה ויצמח כגן רטוב, מצא אשה מצא טובה ויפק רצון מה׳ הטוב, האומר לדבק טוב׃

המגיד מראשית אחרית, הוא יתן שם טוב ושארית, לאלה דברי התנאים והברית, שנדברו והותנו בין ה? תרי הצדדימ, היינו מצד האחד החתן מ״ר אהרן ב״ר בנימין הכהן העומד מצד עצמו ומצד השני הכלה הבתולה פייגה בלומה בת ר׳ שמואל חיים הכהן העומדת מצד עצמה ואמורה הן׃

ראשית הדבר, ה״ה החתן הבחור מ״ר אהרן ב״ר בנימין הכהן הנ״ל ישא בשעה טובה מוצלחת את הכלה הבתולה מרת פייגא בלומה בת ר׳ שמואל חיים הכהן בחופה וקדושין כדת משה וישראל ואל יבריחו ואל יעלימו לא זה מזו ולא זו מזו שום הברחת ממון שבעולם רק ישלטו בנכסיהון שוה בשוה כארוח כל ארעה׃

החתן הנ״ל התחיב את עצמו לתת מתנות להכלה כנהוג׃

החתונה תהיה ר״ח טבת שנת התרס״ד׃

וקנינא מהתתן והכלה על כל מה שכתוב ומפרוש לעיל מאנא דכשר למקניא ביה אור ליום ב׳ כ״ח ימים לחודש שבט התרס״ב ניוקאסטל אן טיין׃

והכל שריר וקים׃

נאום החתן אהרן [?אקן] קראנץ
נאום הכלה פייגה בלומה בלומה כרוז
נאום יחיאל מאיר סנדעלסאן רב דפה
<squiggle> נאום

The wording is a standard betrothral document, written in Rabbinical Hebrew (i.e. with an admixture of Aramaic). The opening verse, my notes say, is the opening of תנסוים -- what is this?. (I think the person who transcribed this was using a standard text. I have noticed a few slight differences which I have corrected in the transcription; and there may be some more I have not noticed.)

My translation, which starts bad and gets worse (as I gave up trying to improve it) is as follows; help fixing it is:

[?With the help of G-d]
May he arise and flourish like a wet garden, bring forth a woman, bring forth good; and may it result in good will from G-d, he who says to cleave to good.

Reading from the beginning onwards, he will give there good and descendants, to these words of the Mishnaic Rabbis and the Convenant, as it was said there were between the two parties. We were from the one party the bridegroom Mr Aaron ben-reb Binyamin ha-Cohen, representing himself. From the other party, the bride, the maid Fege Blooma bas-reb Shmuel Chaim ha-Cohen, representing herself; and she has said "[?yes]".

First of all, ה״ה the bridegroom the bachelor Mr Aaron ben-reb Binyamin ha-Cohen הנ״ל will marry in a good and correct hour the bride, the maid Miss Fege Blooma bas-reb Shmuel Chaim ha-Cohen in a chupah and with the consecration of the Law of Moses and Israel. They will not run away, nor will one hide from the other, or the other from the one, any property whatsoever. They shall have equal power over their property, according to the custom of all the land.

The bridegroom הנ״ל obligates himself according to the custom to give gifts to the bride.

The wedding will be on Rosh Chodesh Teves in the year 5664 [20 December 1903].

The means by which the contract is established, from the bridgegroom and bride, on all which is written and .... is a vessel which is kosher, to acquire in it on the evening of Monday, 28 Shevat, 5662 [5 February 1902], Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

All is valid and confirmed

Signed: The bridegroom Aharon [?אקן] Krantz
Signed: The bride Fege Blooma Kruss
Signed: Yechiel Meir Sandleson Rov דפה
Signed: <squiggle>

Note that both bride and bridgegroom were representing themselves: none of their parents were in the country at the time. This may (at a guess) be why the wedding was delayed for so long after the betrothal.

Can anyone work out the word between Aaron's first name and his surname in his signature? (And why "אהרן" looks like "הארן"?) And what the second witness's name is. Also, I would be grateful for expansion of the abbreviations which I've left untranslated.