Question
I’m doing historical research and found many records of Jewish marriages from the region historically known as Bessarabia. Where there is a record of a dowry amount, it’s always either 48 roubles or 24 roubles if a woman was previously married. This is from what was a large and diverse region and the records mentioning this span from mid 1800s to early 1900s. So it’s unlikely to have been just a local custom. What is the significance or origin of this number and/or custom?