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A ketubah (; (2025). 9780550101051, Chambers. ISBN 9780550101051 ) 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.
The 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).Mentioned in , , , , 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 of Bertinoro, who cites Maimonides, is always the weight of the 'Shekel of the Sanctuary' (Tyrian coinage),, Bekhorot 8:7, s.v. 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.cf. (reprinted from Jerusalem editions, 1907, 1917 and 1988) Based on the anatomical weight of 25 shekels in Tyrian coinage, the minimum amount vouched in a virgin's ketubah amounted to 504 gram of fine silver.Shelomo Qorah, ʿArikhat Shūlḥan - Yilqūṭ Ḥayyīm, vol. 13 (Principles of Instruction and Tradition), Benei Barak 2012, p. 206 (Hebrew title: עריכת שולחן - ילקוט חיים) . Based on the computation of Rabbi Shelomo Qorah, chief Rabbi of Bnei Brak until his death in 2018, the Tyrian shekel weighed 20.16 gram; the five shekels for the redemption of a man's firstborn ( Pidyon haBen) amounted to 100.08 grams of fine silver in Tyrian coinage.
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.
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 and illumination to elaborate them.
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, when, are tantamount to forfeiture the ketubah."Babylonian Talmud (Ketubbot 54b) 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.According to the Midrash Rabba (Numbers Rabba 9:8), as well as Mishnah Ketubbot 7:6, whenever a married woman goes out publicly with her head uncovered, it is an act tantamount to exposing herself in public while naked, or what the Torah calls "erwah" (Heb. ערוה), and such an act would constitute grounds for a divorce without a settlement, as it is written: "…for he found in her a thing of nakedness" – (Heb. כי מצא בה ערות דבר) – Deut. 24:1. King David 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. Response of Rabbi Dov Stein 11-24-2024
Traditional ketubot are not written in the Hebrew language, but in Aramaic language, the lingua franca 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.
However, in some communities, the ketubah is either displayed in the private wing of the home or 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. Historically, the ketubah specified whether the bride was a virgin. In Sephardic communities, it still specifies the actual contributions of the family to the new household and the divorce settlement; Ashkenazi communities have adopted the custom of having set amounts for all weddings.
==Illuminated ketubot==
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