St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1890-08-15
DIVORCED IN PRISON.
Separation of Mr.. and Mrs. Cohen
According to the Old Jewish
Usage.

Separation of Mr.. and Mrs. Cohen
According to the Old Jewish
Usage.
Louisville Courier Journal.
One of the queerest of ceremonies I'M
aginable was performed at the county
jail in Jacksonville yesterday. 1t was
Jewish divorce, and was conducted
after the manner of the old lSraelItish
custom instituted 5000 years ago. Mary
Cohen was granted an absolute separa-
ton from Abraham Cohen. The latter
is prisoner awaiting trial for horse
stealing. He but recently finished
term in the Jefferson penitentiary for
this offense, and was rearrested just as
he left the door of the institution.
When the new charge was brought
against him his wife, who had remained
faithful during his previous incareera-
ton. applied for and received divorce
in the ehancery court in this city. But
the law of the church does not recog-
nIZe court decree, and, accor ding 10
the Jewish religion, she was still his
wife. There is no rabbi in this city who
is high enough in pontifieaf authority to
conduct such ceremony, and Rabbi j.
Finglestein, of Cincinnati, was sent for.
With Rabbi M. uenberg, of the First
street church. and the relatives of Mrs.
Cohen, he crossed over to JeffersonvIlle
yesterday morning.
Arriving at the jail, they informed
Sheriff Donovan of the object OF their
visit, and the prisoner was brought into
the Office. He was notified by the Cln-
cinnati rabbi that, according to the Gus
tom, they had come to perform the
divorce ceremony. Cohen was not in
the least affected, and co0lly stated that
he had no objections. Then the rabbi
seated himself at the desk and pro-
ceeded to draw up two papers, COW
cred with apparently undecipher-
able Hebrew heiroglyphics. just
what they meant he declined to tell the
COurier-Journal reporter, who was
present, but it was no doubt a certificate
testifying to the fact that divorce had
been granted. The mere writing OF
them consumed about four hours, and
1t took about three more for the ink on
them to dry. This was necessitated BE-
cause no blotter is permitted to be used,
and the ink had to dry of its own ae-
cord. At $50 o'clock the entire party
arose and Rabbi Finglestein read both
OF the papers aloud in the Hebrew lam
guage. The others repeated it after
| him, and Cohen and his wife advanced
COWdFu HILL. lHcu tiiC ldobi loou
the paper to Mrs. Cohen, and amid
much sobbing she repeated it. Turn
| ing to Cohen the rabbi placed the
| first two fingers of his left hand on the
prisoners wrist and again read the
paper. Cohen also repeated it. At this
| juncture Mrs. Cohen held her hands In
position similar to an out-felder wait
| ing for long fly, and The rabbi handed
| the document to Cohen. The latter
| threw it to his wife. who caught it, and
| in turn handed it to the rabbi. The other
paper Rabbi lIenberg then drew knife
across, while Rabbi Finglesteln per
! formed the same operation on the first
one. Both papers were then folded
and placed in the pockets of the church
] men.
| This ended the proceedings, and the
| divorced wife and the free Jews re-
| turned to this city, after bidding Cohen
| gOOd-by