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| MODERN TEXTS |
| COVENANT TEXTS |
| INTERFAITH TEXTS |
| TRADITIONAL TEXTS |
| TRADITIONAL EGALITARIAN TEXTS |
| SAME GENDER TEXTS |
| SECULAR TEXTS |
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Which ketubah text is right for you? Click on a link below to learn about the historical background, purpose and unique quality of each text.
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Information about the Orthodox text
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The Traditional Orthodox ketubah text originates in Babylon and is written in Aramaic. Originally it incorporated individual stipulations but it became standardized about 200 B.C.E. During the Gaonic period (mid-seventh to eleventh centuries), the Babylonian academies struggled for hegemony over their Palestinian counterparts. One of the results was the eradication of the Palestinian ketubah and the establishment of the standardized Babylonian ketubah in the practices of Jewish communities.
The Traditional Orthodox ketubah text creates a traditional, halachic Jewish marriage. The contract is not egalitarian. The ketubah text is both a record that the groom proposes marriage and the brides accepts his proposal as well as a document of the promises that the groom makes to the bride. Several legal responsibilities detailed in the talmudic tractates kiddushin and ketubot are assumed but not written in the text. Another subtext is that traditional Jewish marriage is based upon the quality of Hesed, sometimes translated as lovingkindness. Hesed means a total shift of one's concern from oneself to the other, eliminating sef-centeredness and replacing it with a genuine concern and identification with the pain and problems of those around us. In marriage, concern becomes focused primarily upon one's spouse and children. The Orthodox text connects the marrying couple to God, Israel and Jewish history through the phrase that the groom says to the bride at the wedding: "Be mine in wifehood according to the laws and traditions of Moses and Israel". Also, the groom's monetary promises are from "the custom of Jewish men" that are "customary for daughters of Israel, according to the ordinances of our Sages, of blessed memory." The concluding lines of this text refer to a kinyan that is made from the groom to the bride. Feminists claim that this refers to the acquisition of the bride by the groom. Rachel Adler writes: "kinyan [is] an act by which a subject unilaterally acquires specified rights over an object. Kinyan is essential in commercial transactions." Traditionalists claim this is a misunderstanding of traditional Jewish marriage. As Moshe Meiselman explains, this contract is a "kinyan issur, a contract whose basic purpose is to effect a change in personal or ritual status furthermore, the word kinyan has been used metaphorically in biblical and rabbinic writings to indicate the establishment of a close and intimate relationship". The Torah names the man as the initiator of the marriage contract. R. Shimon in the Talmud explains this choice: "it is the nature of a man to be active in the pursuit of a wife rather than for a woman to pursue a husband." In the same way, the man is the iniatiator of the divorce contract. The Orthodox text prepares the marrying couple for disasters by elaborating the monetary provisions that the groom has made for the bride in case of divorce and/or his death. These provisions are standard and stated in "zuzim". The amounts are traditional/ historical and do not really signify divorce settlement-- that is determined by state law. By elaborating these provisions, however, the marrying couple is reminded that marriage and divorce entail financial consequences. In order for the divorce to be complete, the man must send her a Get and she must willingly receive it. Without a Get, neither bride nor groom can remarry in a Jewish wedding. If she remarries without a Get, any children of this second marriage would be considered "mamzerim" or bastards, as they are children of an adulterous union. "Mamzerim" and all of their descendents cannot marry in a traditional Jewish wedding. The problem of a man refusing to give a woman a Get creates an "agunah", literally a "chained woman" whose marriage has been terminated de facto but not de jure. In the Orthodox world, this problem has not been universally solved in a legal manner. Some Orthodox Rabbis require marrying couples to sign a prenuptial agreement referring to the Get. Others rely on social pressures to convince a man to grant a Get. |
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Traditional Orthodox (English)
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On the day of the week, the day of the month of in the year 57 , according to the manner in which we count (dates) here in the community of , the bridegroom, , said to this virgin, : "Be my wife according to the laws and traditions of Moses and Israel. I will work, honor, feed, and support you in the custom of Jewish men, who work, honor, feed, and support their wives faithfully. I will give you the settlement (mohar) of virgins, two hundred silver zuzim, which is due you according to Torah law, as well as your food, clothing, necessities of life, and conjugal needs, according to the universal custom." Miss agreed and became his wife. This dowry that she brought from her father's house, whether in silver, gold, jewelry, clothing, home furnishings, or bedding, Mr. , our bridegroom, accepts as being worth one hundred silver pieces (zekukim).
Our bridegroom, Mr. agreed, and of his own accord, added an additional one hundred silver pieces (zekukim) paralleling the above. The entire amount is then two hundred silver pieces (zekukim). Mr. , our bridegroom made this declaration: "The obligation of this marriage contract, this dowry, and this additional amount, I accept upon myself and my heirs after me. It can be paid from the entire best part of the properties and possessions that I own under all the heavens, whether I own (this property) already, or will own it in the future. (It includes) both mortgageable property and non-mortgageable preperty. All of it shall be mortgaged and bound as security to pay this marriage contract, this dowry, and this additional amount. (It can be taken) from me, even from the shirt on my back, during my lifetime, and after my lifetime, from this day and forever." The obligation of this marriage contract, this dowry, and this additional amount was accepted by Mr. , our bridegroom, according to all the strictest usage of all marriage contracts and additional amounts that are customary for daughters of Israel, according to the ordinances of our sages, of blessed memory. (It shall) not be a mere speculation or a sample document. We have made a kinyan from Mr. , our bridegroom, to Miss , this virgin, regarding everything written and stated above, with an article that is fit for such a kinyan. And everything is valid and confirmed. |
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Traditional Orthodox (Aramaic)
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