Ketuba

A ketubah (; he, כְּתוּבָּה) is a Jewish marriage contract. It is considered an integral part of a traditional Jewish marriage, and outlines the rights and responsibilities of the groom, in relation to the bride. In modern practice, the ''ketubah'' has no agreed monetary value, and is seldom enforced by civil courts, except in Israel.

History

According to the Babylonian Talmud, the ''ketubah'' was enacted by Simeon ben Shetach so that it might not be a light thing for a man to divorce his wife. The enactment provides for a man's wife to receive a fixed sum of money, usually accruing from his property, in the event of his divorcing her or of his predeceasing her. Thirteenth-century rabbi, Aharon HaLevi, adds a different reason, writing: "Of the logic behind this one commandment, e findthat the Torah has commanded us to perform an act before taking a wife, a matter that is intended to show that they are a couple united in wedlock before he lies down with her carnally, and that he not come upon her as one would do to a harlot, where there is no other act that precedes what goes on between them..."

At any rate, the rabbis in ancient times insisted on the marriage couple entering into the ''ketubah'' as a protection for the wife. It acted as a replacement of the biblical ''mohar'' – the price paid by the groom to the bride, or her parents, for the marriage (i.e., the bride price). The ''ketubah'' served as a contract, whereby the amount due to the wife (the bride-price) came to be paid in the event of the cessation of marriage, either by the death of the husband or divorce. The biblical ''mohar'' created a major social problem: many young prospective husbands could not raise the ''mohar'' at the time when they would normally be expected to marry. So, to enable these young men to marry, the rabbis, in effect, delayed the time that the amount would be payable, when they would be more likely to have the sum. The mechanism adopted was to provide for the ''mohar'' to be a part of the ''ketubah''. Both the ''mohar'' and the ''ketubah'' amounts served the same purpose: the protection for the wife should her support by her husband (either by death or divorce) cease. The only difference between the two systems was the timing of the payment. A modern secular equivalent would be the entitlement to alimony in the event of divorce.

The ''ketubah'' amount served as a disincentive for the husband contemplating divorcing his wife: he would need to have the amount in order to be able to pay to his wife. Unless the husband pledged otherwise, the minimum obligation towards a man's virgin bride is 200 silver ''denaria'' (), known as the principal (or dower's price), and 100 silver ''denaria'' () for a man who married a widow or divorced woman. This was paid in full from a man's property in the event of his divorcing her during her lifetime, or of his pre-deceasing her. This same sum, according to Mishnaic exegete Obadiah Bartenura, who cites Maimonides, is always the weight of the 'Shekel of the Sanctuary' (Tyrian coinage), which for every 200 shekels in Tyrian coinage, only 25 were required to be pledged in a virgin's ''ketubah'', a sum equivalent to 200 provincial silver ''denaria''. Based on the anatomical weight of 25 shekels in Tyrian coinage, the minimum amount vouched in a virgin's ''ketubah'' amounted to 504 grams of fine silver.

Monies pledged in a woman's ''ketubah'' can be written in local currencies, but must have the transactional market-value of the aforementioned weight in silver. Most ''ketubot'' also contain an additional liability, known as the "additional jointure" (Heb. = increment), whereby the groom pledges addition money to his bride. In Ashkenazi tradition, the custom is to consolidate these different financial obligations, or pledges, into one single, aggregate sum. In other Jewish communities, the custom was to write out all financial obligations as individual components.

Archaeological discoveries

The ''ketubah'' of Babatha, a 2nd-century woman who lived near the Dead Sea, was discovered in 1960 in the Cave of Letters.

Over two hundred ''ketubot'' were discovered, among other manuscripts, in the Cairo Geniza. They date between the 6th and 19th centuries and, whilst many consist of plain text, there are examples that use decorative devices such as micrography

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