'From One End of the Earth to the Other' »

The emancipation of the Jews of England was largely complete when George III came to the throne in 1760. Free to live how and where they wished, the Jews had been specifically exempted from the provisions of the 1753 Marriage Act which made Christian marriage the only legal option for all others. The effect of this exemption was to put the matrimonial causes of the Jews of England exclusively in the hands of their Rabbis and Dayanim (Jewish ecclesiastical judges) for the next one hundred years. No Bet Din (Jewish ecclesiastical court) anywhere in the world has left such a complete record of its transactions - matrimonial and proselytical - as that contained in the extant Pinkas (minute-book) of the London Bet Din from 1805 to 1855.

Pt. 1 The Coming of Jews to England and Australia 1

Ch. 1 The Resurrection of English Jewry 3

Ch. 2 The Penal Transportation of Jews to Australia 46

Pt. 2 The First Bet Din of the Jews of England 73

Ch. 3 The Establishment of the London Bel Din 75

Ch. 4 The Pinkas Record 110

Ch. 5 Giur and Gerim in London 145

Pt. 3 The First Bet Din of the Jews of Australia 189

Ch. 6 Australia Bound 191

Ch. 7 The Sheerness Connection 209

Ch. 8 Esther Solomons 246

Ch. 9 Reb Aaron Levy 280

Ch. 10 Giur and Gerim in Australia 309

App. I Extant works written or owned by R. Aaron Levy of Lissa 321

Bibliography 323

Notes 325

Index 346