A ketubah (; ) 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 Talmud (; ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the centerpiece of Jewi ...

, the ''ketubah'' was enacted by

Simeon ben Shetach Simeon ben Shetach, or Shimon ben Shetach or Shatach (), ''circa'' 140-60 BCE, was a Pharisee scholar and Nasi of the Sanhedrin during the reigns of Alexander Jannæus (c. 103-76 BCE) and his successor, Queen Salome Alexandra (c. 76-67 BCE), wh ...

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. ''

Sefer ha-Chinuch ''Sefer ha-Chinuch'' (, "Book of Education") is a rabbinic text which systematically discusses the 613 commandments of the Torah. It was written in 13th-century Spain by an anonymous "Levite of Barcelona". Content The work's enumeration of th ...

'' suggests a different reason: "...the

Torah The Torah ( , "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. The Torah is also known as the Pentateuch () ...

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..." The

rabbi A rabbi (; ) is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi—known as ''semikha''—following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of t ...

s 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 Bride price, bride-dowry, bride-wealth, bride service or bride token, is money, property, or other form of wealth paid by a groom or his family to the woman or the family of the woman he will be married to or is just about to marry. Bride dowry ...

). 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 Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganising of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the M ...

. 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 Alimony, also called aliment (Scotland), maintenance (England, Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland, Wales, Canada, New Zealand), spousal support (U.S., Canada) and spouse maintenance (Australia), is a legal obligation on a person to provide ...

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 of Bertinoro Obadiah ben Abraham of Bertinoro (; 1445 – 1515), commonly known as "The Bartenura", was a 15th-century Italian rabbi best known for his popular commentary on the Mishnah. In his later years, he rejuvenated the Jewish community of Jerusale ...

, who cites

Maimonides Moses ben Maimon (1138–1204), commonly known as Maimonides (, ) and also referred to by the Hebrew acronym Rambam (), was a Sephardic rabbi and Jewish philosophy, philosopher who became one of the most prolific and influential Torah schola ...

, 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 additional 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 The Dead Sea (; or ; ), also known by #Names, other names, is a landlocked salt lake bordered by Jordan to the east, the Israeli-occupied West Bank to the west and Israel to the southwest. It lies in the endorheic basin of the Jordan Rift Valle ...

, was discovered in 1960 in the Cave of Letters. Over two hundred ''ketubot'' were discovered, among other manuscripts, in the

Cairo Geniza The Cairo Geniza, alternatively spelled the Cairo Genizah, is a collection of some 400,000 Judaism, Jewish manuscript fragments and Fatimid Caliphate, Fatimid administrative documents that were kept in the ''genizah'' or storeroom of the Ben Ezra ...

. 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 Micrography (from Greek language, Greek, literally small-writing – "Μικρογραφία"), also called microcalligraphy, is a Jewish form of calligrams developed in the 9th century, with parallels in Christianity and Islam,illumination to elaborate them.

Composition

Content

The content of the ''ketubah'' is in essence a two-way contract that formalizes the various requirements by

Halakha ''Halakha'' ( ; , ), also Romanization of Hebrew, transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Judaism, Jewish religious laws that are derived from the Torah, Written and Oral Torah. ''Halakha'' is ...

(Jewish law) of a Jewish husband ''vis-à-vis'' his wife. The Jewish husband takes upon himself in the ''ketubah'' the obligation that he will provide to his wife three major things: clothing, food and conjugal relations, and also that he will pay her a pre-specified amount of cash in the case of a divorce. The principal endowment pledged in a ''ketubah'' is 200 '' zuz'' for a virgin, and 100 ''zuz'' otherwise (such as for a widow, a convert, or a divorced woman, etc.). Today, such pledges are made in local currency, and often exceed that of the principal. Thus the content of the ''ketubah'' essentially dictates the wife's rights in the marriage and provides for her security and protection. ( Conservative Jews often include an additional paragraph, called the Lieberman clause, which stipulates that divorce will be adjudicated by a modern rabbinical court (a beth din) in order to prevent the creation of a chained wife.) The conditions written in the marriage contract may vary between communities, as in the case of the Yemenite ''ketubah'', where the custom in Yemen was not to consolidate the different financial obligations, or pledges, into one single, aggregate sum as is practised by some communities. Rather, all financial obligations were written out as individual components, and had the same fixed sums for all persons. The Chief Rabbinate in Israel has sought to bring uniformity to the ''ketubah'', particularly where Jewish communities in the Diaspora had upheld conflicting traditions. As in most contracts made between two parties, there are mutual obligations, conditions and terms of reciprocity for such a contract to hold up as good. Thus said R. Yannai: "The conditions written in a ''ketubah'', hen breached are tantamount to orfeiture ofthe ''ketubah''." A woman who denied coitus unto her husband, a condition of the ''ketubah'', was considered legal grounds for forfeiture of her marriage contract, with the principal and additional jointure being written off.

King David David (; , "beloved one") was a king of ancient Israel and Judah and the third king of the United Monarchy, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament. The Tel Dan stele, an Aramaic-inscribed stone erected by a king of Aram-Damas ...

decree regarding Jewish widows of soldiers is an interesting one. The Talmud does discuss instances where King David had soldiers create conditional divorces. This was done to alleviate the concerns of soldiers who were going to war and wanted to ensure their wives' well-being in their capture or demise. The concept of conditional divorce, while not explicitly tied to King David's decree, is still a valid concept in Jewish law. Modern rabbinic courts have their own procedures and guidelines for handling such matters, especially in the context of military service. It's important to note that Jewish law has evolved over time, and contemporary interpretations of these laws may differ from historical practices.

Bat-Kohen variation

The priestly court (prior to 70 CE) established that a virgin bat-kohen would receive a ketubah of 400 Zuz (rather than the standard 200 Zuz for a Jewish virgin).Mishnah Ketubot 1:2; J. Ketuboth 1.5; B.Ketuboth 12b However, the

Talmud Yerushalmi The Jerusalem Talmud (, often for short) or Palestinian Talmud, also known as the Talmud of the Land of Israel, is a collection of rabbinic notes on the second-century Jewish oral tradition known as the Mishnah. Naming this version of the Talm ...

opines that the bat-kohen who marries a non-Kohen receives that standard 200 Zuz, as a penalty for not marrying within the priesthood. A widowed bat-kohen would receive the standard 100 Zuz for widows, though at one point this sum had been raised to 200 Zuz.

Design and language

Ketuba for Benjamin Levy and Esther Solomon

The ''ketubah'' is a significant popular form of

Jewish ceremonial art Jewish ceremonial art, also referred to as Jewish ritual art, Jewish sacred art, and Jewish liturgical art, refers to objects used by Jews for ritual purposes. Because enhancing a mitzvah by performing it with an especially beautiful object is ...

. ''Ketubot'' have been made in a wide range of designs, usually following the tastes and styles of the era and region in which they are made. Today, styles and decorations on ketubahs are chosen by the couple as a representation of their personal styles. This is contrasting to other Jewish legal or sacred texts (such as the

Talmud The Talmud (; ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of Haskalah#Effects, modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cen ...

Mishnah The Mishnah or the Mishna (; , from the verb ''šānā'', "to study and review", also "secondary") is the first written collection of the Jewish oral traditions that are known as the Oral Torah. Having been collected in the 3rd century CE, it is ...

, etc.), which cannot be decorated. Traditional ''ketubot'' are not written in the

Hebrew language Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and remained in regular use as a first language unti ...

, but in

Aramaic Aramaic (; ) is a Northwest Semitic language that originated in the ancient region of Syria and quickly spread to Mesopotamia, the southern Levant, Sinai, southeastern Anatolia, and Eastern Arabia, where it has been continually written a ...

, the

lingua franca A lingua franca (; ; for plurals see ), also known as a bridge language, common language, trade language, auxiliary language, link language or language of wider communication (LWC), is a Natural language, language systematically used to make co ...

of Jews at the time ''ketubot'' became standardized. This was done in order to make sure the bride and groom understood the contract that was being signed. Many contemporary ''ketubot'' have translations into English or other vernacular languages or an accompanying vernacular text. Many Conservative Jews and other non-Orthodox Jews use ''ketubot'' written in Hebrew rather than in Aramaic. Others may use Aramaic ''ketubot'' but also have an additional official version in Hebrew. In recent years ''ketubot'' have become available in a variety of formats as well as the traditional Aramaic text used by the Orthodox community. Available texts include Conservative text, using the Lieberman Clause, Reform, Egalitarian and Interfaith texts. Some congregations have texts available for same sex couples too. In addition, Secular Humanist and Anniversary texts are also available today.

Usage

Role in wedding ceremony

In a traditional Jewish wedding ceremony, the ''ketubah'' is signed by two witnesses and traditionally read out loud under the

chuppah A ''chuppah'' (, ) is a canopy under which a Judaism, Jewish couple stand during their Jewish wedding, wedding ceremony. It consists of a cloth or sheet, sometimes a tallit, stretched or supported over four poles, or sometimes manually held u ...

between the

erusin ''Erusin'' (, also Babylonian ''ʾirrusin'') is the Hebrew term for betrothal. In Modern Hebrew, ''erusin'' means engagement, but this is not the historical meaning of the term, which is the first part of marriage, the second part being the '' ...

and

nissuin A Jewish wedding is a wedding ceremony that follows Jewish laws and traditions. While wedding ceremonies vary, common features of a Jewish wedding include a ''ketubah'' (marriage contract) that is signed by two witnesses, a ''chuppah'' or ''hu ...

. Friends or distant relatives are invited to witness the ketubah, which is considered an honour; close relatives are prohibited from being witnesses. The witnesses must be halakhically valid witnesses, and so cannot be a blood relative of the couple. In

Orthodox Judaism Orthodox Judaism is a collective term for the traditionalist branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Torah, Written and Oral Torah, Oral, as literally revelation, revealed by God in Ju ...

, women are also not considered to be valid witnesses. The ''ketubah'' is handed to the bride (or, more commonly, to the bride's mother) for safekeeping.

Display

Ketubot are often hung prominently in the home by the married couple as a daily reminder of their vows and responsibilities to each other. However, in some communities, the ketubah is either displayed in a very private section of the home or is not displayed at all. Various reasons given for this include the fact that the details specify personal details, prominent display may invite jealousy or fears of the

evil eye The evil eye is a supernatural belief in a curse brought about by a malevolent glaring, glare, usually inspired by envy. Amulets to Apotropaic, protect against it have been found dating to around 5,000 years ago. It is found in many cultures i ...

. Historically, the ketubah specified whether the bride was a virgin. In

Sephardic Sephardic Jews, also known as Sephardi Jews or Sephardim, and rarely as Iberian Peninsular Jews, are a Jewish diaspora population associated with the historic Jewish communities of the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal) and their descendant ...

communities, it still specifies the actual contributions of the family to the new household and the divorce settlement;

Ashkenazi Ashkenazi Jews ( ; also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim) form a distinct subgroup of the Jewish diaspora, that Ethnogenesis, emerged in the Holy Roman Empire around the end of the first millennium Common era, CE. They traditionally spe ...

communities have adopted the custom of having set amounts for all weddings.

''Conditio sine qua non''

According to

Jewish law ''Halakha'' ( ; , ), also transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Jewish religious laws that are derived from the Written and Oral Torah. ''Halakha'' is based on biblical commandments ('' mit ...

, spouses are prohibited from living together if the ketubah has been destroyed, lost, or is otherwise unretrievable.

Shulchan Aruch The ''Shulhan Arukh'' ( ),, often called "the Code of Jewish Law", is the most widely consulted of the various legal codes in Rabbinic Judaism. It was authored in the city of Safed in what is now Israel by Joseph Karo in 1563 and published in ...

Even Haezer ( "The Stone of Help" or "The Rock of the ") is a section of Rabbi Jacob ben Asher's compilation of halakha (Jewish law), ''Arba'ah Turim''. This section treats aspects of Jewish law related to marriage, divorce, and sexual conduct. Later, Rabbi ...

66:3 In such case a second ketubah is made up (called a Ketubah De'irkesa), which states in its opening phrase that it comes to substitute a previous ketubah that has been lost.

Illuminated ketubot

File:-Ketubbah. Venice, Italy, 1750-.jpg, Marriage contract from Venice, Italy, 1750 File:Ketubah (16).jpg File:Ketubah (1).jpg File:Ketubah (11).jpg File:Ketubah (12).jpg File:Ketubah (13).jpg File:Ketuba from Yeman.jpg, Yemenite Ketubah from 1794, now at the

Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design () is a public college of design and art located in Jerusalem. Established in 1906 by Jewish painter and sculptor Boris Schatz, Bezalel is Israel's oldest institution of higher education and is considered the ...

File:Ketuba from Yemen.jpg, Marriage contract from Yemen, 1890 File:Ketuba from Iraq.jpg, Marriage contract from Iraq File:Ketubah fron Ukraine.jpg, Marriage contract from Ukraine

References

External links

Responsa on Ketubbot
from the

Rabbinical Assembly The Rabbinical Assembly (RA) is the international association of Conservative rabbis. The RA was founded in 1901 to shape the ideology, programs, and practices of the Conservative movement. It publishes prayerbooks and books of Jewish interest, an ...

Conservative Judaism Conservative Judaism, also known as Masorti Judaism, is a Jewish religious movements, Jewish religious movement that regards the authority of Jewish law and tradition as emanating primarily from the assent of the people through the generations ...

Ketubbot collection

National Library of Israel The National Library of Israel (NLI; ; ), formerly Jewish National and University Library (JNUL; ), is the library dedicated to collecting the cultural treasures of Israel and of Judaism, Jewish Cultural heritage, heritage. The library holds more ...

Art of the Ketubah: Decorated Jewish Marriage Contracts
From the digital collection of the

Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library The Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library () is the rare book library and literary archive of the Yale University Library in New Haven, Connecticut. It is one of the largest buildings in the world dedicated to rare books and manuscripts and ...

at Yale University {{Authority control Jewish marital law Prenuptial agreements Hebrew words and phrases in Jewish law