Today, the Ketubah, or Jewish marriage contract, is an essential part
of the Jewish marriage ceremony and of Jewish married life. While certain obligations of a Jewish
husband towards his wife are mentioned in Sh'mot 21:10 and 11, there is
no specific mention of a Ketubah or any formal marriage contract in the
Torah. It is believed that the first
Jewish marriage contracts were written during the Babylonian exile (586-536
BCE); essentially to protect the woman's right to her property that was held in
her husband's name throughout her married life.
Over the
course of the next few centuries, the Ketubah developed as a
legally-binding document fundamentally protecting a Jewish woman's rights in
her marriage. The document encompasses
a rather well-rounded list of the husband's obligations to his wife, including
her physical wellbeing, her relationship with her husband, her financial
rights, as well as a sum to be paid by the Jewish husband (or his estate) to his wife upon his
death or dissolution of the marriage.
I believe it
is also interesting to note that the phrase "according to the custom of
the daughters of Israel" or "according to custom" is used in the
Ketubah to indicate the measure or extent to which the groom must
provide for his bride's needs. These
phrases are used since specific customs, personal and communal circumstances
and associated traditions may change from one period to another and from one
country to another, but the Jewish husband's basic obligations to his wife must
never change.
In the
ancient world, a husband had no specific legal obligations toward the woman (or
women) he married and a husband could dissolve a marriage at his own whim,
leaving his wife destitute, desperate and without any rights or
protections. The standardization of a
written, structured marriage contract, the Ketubah, helped to ensure
that the idea of divorcing a wife was not treated as an "offhand" act
that could easily be accomplished or carried out without any consequences. The original Ketubah wording, written
in Aramaic, was set down in the Talmud and this version (with minor
modifications) is still used today in Orthodox Ashkenazi weddings.
Originally
the groom read the Ketubah out loud to the bride and in the presence of
others. Two witnesses, unrelated to the
bride or groom, would then sign the document; thus attesting to the groom's
agreement to the Ketubah's conditions.
Today, a rabbi usually reads the Ketubah, as he stands under the
chuppah with the bride and the groom (and usually with a large gaggle of family
members and friends). The rabbi then
hands the Ketubah to the groom, who then hands the Ketubah to the
bride. The bride's acceptance of the Ketubah signifies her acceptance of
her marriage to the groom. Today, in orthodox
tradition, only the two witnesses must sign the Ketubah in order to make it valid and binding.
From its
humble beginnings as a simple, hand-written legal document meant to protect the
Jewish wife throughout her marriage, the Ketubah has become a large-format,
colorfully illuminated document handwritten or machine printed and adorned on vellum or
high-quality paper. The Ketubah has become a treasured piece of artwork,
mounted and framed and given pride of place on walls in Jewish homes throughout
the world. I've read that for many new
couples, the Ketubah is the first piece of artwork they hang on the wall
in their new home.
The concept
of decorating and illuminating religious documents and ritual objects is a
Jewish tradition dating back centuries and is based on the concept of He'dur
Mitzvah (beautifying a mitzvah). From the times of the Mikdash and later in
both Ba'tey Ha'mik'dash, ritual objects such as the menorah, the priestly robes
and so much more were designed in gold, richly decorated and embellished.
Through the centuries this idea of beautifying and embellishing religious
articles both for the synagogue and the private home has expanded to include
everything from mezuzot and washing cups, to Shabbat candlesticks, challah
boards, Seder plates, tablecloths, hav'dallah sets, challah and matza covers,
charity boxes and the list goes on and on and on.
The beautification
and illumination of religious manuscripts and documents have a special place in
the world of He'dur Mitzvah; scribes and artisans have illuminated and
embellished Megilot, Ketubot and Mizrach signs* for many hundreds of years.
The level of
sophistication of decoration and illumination of a Ketubah was as much a
sign of the prosperity of the families, as well as a sign of the prevailing
cultural climate of the Jewish community and the surrounding gentile community.
Ketubot have been illuminated with everything from symbols of state, national flags, paper cuts and crowns to biblical symbols and mythical creatures. Today there are perhaps hundreds of examples
of illuminated Ketubot, with surviving fragments of Ketubot from as early as the 10th
and 11th centuries. I believe
the reason these ancient illuminated Ketubot have survived is because these
documents have been passed down from generation to generation as part of a
family legacy.
Lea Haviv, the talented Judaica artist,
has given her kind permission to re-print two examples of her gorgeous, hand-illuminated ketubot
for this article.
Beautifully illuminated Ketubah in a traditional format
Ketubah with text written as a micrographic design of the Holy Temple
The
following is a basic English translation of the Ketubah's aramaic text.
On the Jewish day of the week, on the Jewish date of the Jewish Month,
in the Jewish
year from the time of the creation of the world, as we reckon time, here in Name of City,
the Groom's
name, son of the Groom's father said to the Bride's name,
daughter of the Bride's father, "Be my wife according to
the practice of Moses and Israel, and I will cherish, honor, support and
maintain you in accordance with the custom of Jewish husbands who cherish,
honor, support, and maintain their wives faithfully. And I here present you
with the marriage gift in the amount of (usually
two hundred) silver zuzim **, which belong to you, according the Law; and I
will also provide you with food, clothing and necessities, and live with you as
husband and wife according to universal custom."
And Name of Bride consented to
become his wife. And this dowry that she brought from her name of her father 's (if he is living) house, whether in silver, gold, jewelry, clothing, furnishings
or bedding, the Name of the Groom accepted
responsibility for all in the amount of
(usually one hundred) zuzim, and agreed
to add to this amount from his own assets the amount
of zuzim, for a total amount
of zuzim. The Name of the Groom
said: "The obligation of this Ketubah,
this dowry and this additional sum, I accept upon myself and my heirs after me,
to be paid from all the best part of all my property that I now possess or may
hereafter acquire, real and personal. From this day forward, all my property,
even the shirt on my back, shall be mortgaged and liened for the payment
of this Ketubah, dowry and additional sum, whether during my lifetime or
thereafter." The obligation of this Ketubah, this dowry and this
additional sum, was accepted by Name of the Groom
with the strictness established for ketubot and additional sums
customary for the daughters of Israel, in accordance with the decrees by our Sages of blessed memory. This Ketubah
is not to be regarded as a formality or as a perfunctory legal form. We have
established the acceptance on the part of Groom's name, son of the Groom's father to Bride's name, daughter of the Bride's father, of this contract, all of which is stated and specified
above, with an article (or garment) for that purpose.
And all shall be valid and binding.
Witnessed by _________________
Witnessed by _________________
Notes:
* Mizrach sign: Mizrach, in Hebrew, literally means East. The word, illuminated and framed is hung on
the wall facing Jerusalem in homes, religious schools and synagogues around the
world. The wall facing Jerusalem is the
direction in which all Jews pray three times a day.
** In Israel, this sum is sometimes written in
Israeli Shekels. Just as a few interesting points: I have attended weddings
where the ceremony was halted mid-way through the reading of the Ketubah
when the bride's family did not agree to the amount stated and there have been
cases where the amount stated was so large that, under the Chuppah and in the midst of reading the Ketubah, the rabbi inquired whether the
groom truly understood the full implications of this financial promise.
