On June 7, 1925, corresponding to the sixteenth of Sivan 5685 – exactly a century ago – a 28-year-old named Moses Horwitz tied the knot with Helen Schonburger. It should be no surprise that the kesubah still exists a century later; after all, we have kesubos of much greater vintage. This kesubah was not a work of art of the kind that is so common today; it was a fill-in-the-blank kesubah following an Orthodox text. The chosson was identified as Moshe ben Shlomo Nosson HaLevi, the kallah as Chana bas Zev. What is remarkable is that the kesubah was sold at auction three years ago by Nate Sanders Auctions for the not insignificant sum of $21,889.
The reason it was considered so valuable was the identity of the chosson. Moses Horwitz, who signed his name as Moe, went by the stage name Moe Howard – a.k.a. Moe from the Three Stooges. No doubt that as he stood under the chuppah, a kippah sat atop his famous bowl cut. Helen was a scriptwriter for the Three Stooges, and a cousin of the magician Harry Houdini.
The physical gags of the Three Stooges continue to be classics, and the kesubah of Moshe and Chana has stood the test of time. So did the marriage the kesubah solemnized. Moe and Helen Howard were married for fifty years until Moe’s passing in May of 1975, with Helen passing away just a few months later in December of the same year.
