ViewMate - Image Archive, Image 113816 - Translation - Tombstone - Germany - Karlsruhe - Ettlinger


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Information

Picture

Question

Category: Translation - Tombstone
Approval Date: 3/1/2026 2:13 PM
Family Surname: Ettlinger
Country: Germany
Town: Karlsruhe
Date of Image: 1988

Click the picture to enlarge

I would be grateful for an English translation of the text. Hopefully it is mostly readable. Married name was Ettlinger; maiden name unknown. From Orthodoxer jüdischer Friedhof, Karlsruhe (in 1988).

Response

3/1/2026 8:54 PM

This stone is almost as challenging as the one that you posted recently, even though none of the text is missing. Some of the stylized letters/words are hard to decipher, and there are many abbreviations.

================================================
Here is interred

the respected and modest woman

_________ [a wild guess: the oldest daughter of?] Baruch and Sarah

Berkhov' [this is an abbreviation, possibly for Berkhovitz or similar?] __ she was [?]

______ Mrs. MALKAH wife of

the honored Layb Et' [abbreviation for Etlinger?], she passed away

on Monday and was buried on Tuesday the 24th of Kislev 5531 [?]

May her soul be bound up in the bond of life.
=============================================
This stone is a bit unusual in that it seems to include her mother's name. It also includes her husband's name, which normally indicates that he was a prominent member of the Jewish community. If the stone is as old as it seems to be, perhaps it was the custom at that time to include the names of the mother and husband, rather than just the name of the father.

If I have read the year of death correctly, the corresponding secular date [of burial] was the 10th or 11th of December, 1770. Do you have confirmation of any of these educated guesses?

3/3/2026 6:32 AM

This is a nice epitaph using several abbreviations.
Sometimes it was hard to discern the letter Daled from the letter Resh but I think i have read it accurately, although always open to correction.

Top Circle: Two Letter acronym for Here is buried
The prominent woman and modest
She was complete in the path of integrity of God
With fair righteousness she was wise
(and) careful (in her observance of the commandments)
M" (Madame) Malkah wife of the pious (Leader-Priest) Leib
Et" (Ettlinger). she passed
on the 2nd and was buried on the 3rd day of (the Jewish month of) Kislev (in the year) 5536 (500 + 5 + 31 + 5000 years since the world was created)
The five bottom letters are an acronym for a verse "May his/her soul be bound in the bundle of life," A direct quote from the Book of the Prophet Samuel / Shmuel A, 25: 29, that is traditionally engraved on Jewish tombstones.

OBSERVATIONS:

In our tradition, the words " אשה חשובה ishah chashuvah" used to describe her, don't just mean "prominent woman," it implies that others held her in high esteem due to her piety, observance of the mitzvos (commandments) and/or her communal good deeds.

The name Leib is a Yiddish name.
In the Torah in Bereishis (Genesis) (49:9) When Yaakov (Jacob) blessed his 12 sons before he died, he blessed his fourth son, Yehuda, (Ancestor of King David) with
גּוּר אַרְיֵה יְהוּדָה מִטֶּרֶף בְּנִי עָלִיתָ כָּרַע רָבַץ כְּאַרְיֵה וּכְלָבִיא מִי יְקִימֶֽנּוּ
"A cub [and] a grown lion is Judah. From the prey, my son, you withdrew. He crouched, rested like a lion, and like a lion, who will rouse him?"
The first word for lion at the beginning of the verse is "Aryeh" & the 2nd word used for lion at the end of the verse is "Lavie or Labie." Both words are Hebrew words for lion used till today.
Thus the symbol for the tribe of Yehudah is the Lion. Also as a result, the name Leib became a common Yiddish sobriquet for males named Aryeh or Yehuda.
i.e. There was a famous Hasidic Rebbe 200 years ago Rabbi Moishe Leib of Sassov. The last Rabbi of the city of Slonim, Poland killed by the Nazi's in 1941 was Rabbi Yehuda Leib Fein HY"D.
One of the worlds most renown Cantors was the famous Chazan /singer, Arye Leib Schlossberg (1860-1925),
My neighbor named his son Yehuda Leib.
In my own family tree research, I have found relatives named Yehuda Leib and Aryeh Leib, whose civil names varied between Juda, Leopold, Lipot, and Leon.

The year 5536 was spelled out breaking the 36 into 31 + 5 in order to spell the Biblical word Tehila and God - Praised is G-d.

It was a doubly hard week for the family. She passed on the 25th of Kislev, the first day of Chanukah, and was buried on the 2th, the second day of Chanukah. what should have been a happy for the Ettlinger family turned into a week of mourning.

3/3/2026 1:26 PM

To clarify what I wrote above.

she passed on the 2nd day (Monday) and was buried on the 3rd day (Tuesday of the week) which was the 26th day of the Jewish month of Kislev

ViewMate Posting VM 113816

Submitted by Susan Wight Swanson

Learn more about our organizational leadership, mission, and values. There are numerous opportunities to get involved yourself!

Search millions of records from around the globe, including more than 4 million records related to the Holocaust, and more than 4.2 million burial records. Records are continually added each month - check back often for new information!

Discover your ancestral town, explore geographic/regional based sections of the JewishGen site (Research Divisions), and explore what daily life was like for your ancestors - and what we can learn from them today.

Enhance your research with online classes and dozens of helpful articles. University students can apply for the Bennett & Robin Greenspan L'dor V'dor Legacy Program, and those "out of school" can help preserve Jewish Heritage in Poland with unique study & volunteer experiences.

Connect with tens of thousands of other JewishGen members via the Family Finder, Discussion Group, Facebook Group, and ViewMate. It's a great way to share success, ask questions, and stay informed of the happenings throughout the Jewish genealogical community.

The JewishGen site is offered as a free public resource. However, it costs a lot of money to maintain and expand our services. If you are in a position to do so, please consider a contribution today - your support will make a difference!

ViewMate Posting VM 113816

Submitted by Susan Wight Swanson