Sept. 4, 1637

“Jewish Ordinance” issued in Hebrew by the Jewish Council of Lithuania [Lithuania]: “With respect to banquets: Inasmuch as people are spending too much money unnecessarily on festive meals (at marriages, circumcision, etc.), every Jewish community and settlement that has a rabbi is expected to assemble its officers and rabbi and to consider the number of guests suitable for the occasion. No one is permitted to come to a banquet unless he has been invited by the beadle. In a settlement where there is no rabbi the nearest Jewish court will enact such an ordinance for them.” [Researcher’s note: This ordinance was issued by the autonomous “Jewish Council of Lithuania” which existed between 1623-1764.]
Rader Marcus, Jacob and Marc Saperstein: The Jews in Christian Europe. (2015); Researched by Ziba Shadjaani 11/14/2016