Marriage contract, being a legal document prepared prior to a Marriage and handed to the bride during the wedding ceremony. In it are set forth the husband's obligations (largely financial) towards his wife. These obligations include those specified in the Bible (cf. Ex. 21:10) and many added by the sages of the Talmud. The standard text of the ketubbah is written according to regulations found in Tractate Ketubbot and the codes of Jewish law such as the Mishneh Torah of Maimonides and the Shulkḥan Arukh, Even ha-Ezer. The obligations set forth in the ketubbah are statutory and hence binding, even though they may not have been specified. Beyond the traditional text, the ketubbah may also list other conditions of the marriage which have been agreed upon by the couple before the wedding. In countries where polygamy was permitted, a clause was often added pledging the groom not to take another wife; in Syria, a further clause released the groom from such a pledge after ten years if his bride proved to be barren. Another provision appearing in many ketubbot in the past committed the couple to making their home in the Land of Israel.
The development of the ketubbah since ancient times may be traced back to a statement in the Talmud (Ket. 82b). In biblical times marriage was a contractual arrangement in which a man acquired a wife through payment of a sum of money called mohar (cf. Gen. 34:12), or bride-price, paid by the groom's father to the bride's father. Because of economic hardship in the early Second Temple period, families could not afford the bridal payment and men could not marry at the customary early age. An arrangement was therefore instituted whereby, in lieu of an actual payment, the groom would pledge in writing to make the payment at some future date. To retain the custom of actual payment, the groom would give the bride an object of minimal value as a token of marriage (Kid. 1:1). A minimum sum for the marriage contract was fixed: 200 zuz (dinar) for a virgin, corresponding to the 50 silver coins (shekels) established by the Bible (Deut. 22:29; cf. Ex. 22:16), and 100 zuz for a widow or a divorcee. The groom, however, was not limited to this amount and, if he were so inclined, could add any amount he wished.
Since postponing the actual payment of the bride-price was not to the liking of the bride's family, it became mandatory for the groom to deposit as surety some household item or other object equivalent in value to the sum stipulated in the marriage contract. Even this did not provide satisfactory security for the wife, for in a fit of anger the husband could effectively divorce her merely by saying: "Take the surety and get thee hence." In the first century BCE this problem was mitigated by Simeon Ben Shetaḥ, head of the Sanhedrin, who ruled for all time that all the husband's property, both that which was already in his possession and that which he might acquire in the future, would be security for the marriage contract. The full payment became due either upon divorce or the death of the husband; a claim upon the husband's estate had to be satisfied prior to any oclaims which originated after the marriage. It thus appears that the ultimate aim of the ketubbah was "that it should not be easy for a husband to divorce his wife" (Yev. 89a).
The contract also included a statement of the value of the household goods (nedunyah) which the bride brought as a dowry from her father's house. The groom accepted financial responsibility for the dowry, enlarging it with a sum of his own. Since the ketubbah served as a contractual obligation, it called for a symbolic gesture affirming it. This was the kinyan (meaning, literally, an acquisition of goods): in the presence of two witnesses, a member of the bride's family handed a kerchief over to the groom. The witnesses would then sign the contract, attesting to all its provisions. The custom arose among Ashkenazim for the groom to sign the document as well, the witnesses signing on the right-hand side and the groom on the left---a custom generally followed today in Israel.
Throughout the centuries, the text of the ketubbah has been written in Aramaic, the daily language of the Jews in the days of the Mishnah (2nd cent. Palestine). At times a translation also appeared: in some Sephardi communities, for example, Ladino was used alongside the Aramaic. Special provisions could be written in phraseology and language determined by the families themselves, unrestricted by any stipulations of the sages (BM 104a). Although it has been suggested that the contemporary ketubbah be written in Hebrew, Israel's Chief Rabbinate has yet to approve the idea. However, after reading the Aramaic text aloud, many officiants at contemporary wedding ceremonies then read an extract from the text in the language of the bride and groom.
In the Talmud, there is a difference of opinion among the sages as to whether the ketubbah is a requirement of biblical law, or only a requirement of the rabbis. Where the former opinion is followed (generally by the Ashkenazi authorities) after the words "200 silver zuzim due you" the word mi-de-orataita (by the Torah) is added; where the second opinion holds sway (now generally in Israel) this word is omitted.
Today the financial provisions of the marriage contract are not enforced in most countries. In the event of the death of the husband, the wife in any case inherits a portion of his estate (see Inheritance); in the event of Divorce, Alimony and distribution of property is generally settled by a suit in the civil courts. Nevertheless, the writing of a ketubbah is to this day an absolute requirement of Jewish law and an indispensable component of a religious wedding ceremony.
The oldest known ketubbah, dating from the fifth century BCE, comes from Yeb (Elephantine) in southern Egypt, where there was a Jewish settlement. Although written in ancient Aramaic, its language is very similar to that in use today. Another ancient marriage document, from about 120 CE, was found in a cave near the Dead Sea. The first specific reference to the ketubbah is in the Apocryphal Book of Tobit, dating from Second Temple times. Most of the subsequent laws and practices regarding the ketubbah were related to its wording; they prescribed no set form or format for its visual aspects. Thus the scribes had the rare freedom to arrange the text and draw its letters as they wished, and could let their imaginations reign when they turned to illustrate or design a ketubbah.
One of the oldest known illustrated ketubbot comes from Fostat (Egypt) and dates from the 10th-11th century. The oldest such Ashkenazi ketubbah, from Krems, Austria, was designed in 1392. From the Middle Ages on, many ketubbot were artistically illustrated and decorated with relevant verses, such as "Who finds a wife has found happiness" (Prov. 18:22).
The illumination of ketubbot reflected the art of the countries in which they were made, and their decorative elements---such as flags, portals, and flora and fauna---were often identical to those seen in other ritual works. In Italy, hand-painted ketubbot became fashionable in the 17th century and were clearly the products of Renaissance taste. In 19th century Persia, each major city had its own distinctive ketubbah style, derived largely from local decorative modes and at times closely resembling Muslim ritual texts. In the Muslim world in general, ketubbah artists usually followed Muslim custom and refrained from depicting human figures.
The changes in Jewish life in the 20th century have been reflected in the ketubbah. The Conservative movement introduced an English-language ketubbah with a clause in which both husband and wife agree to accept the decision of the rabbinical court in the event of divorce, thereby avoiding the halakhic problem of the recalcitrant husband who refuses to grant his wife a get (bill of divorce according to Jewish law).
The Reform movement does not use the traditional ketubbah. Some Reform Jews prefer a simple marriage certificate attesting to the fact that the marriage ceremony has taken place. Others use a modern "egalitarian ketubbah" calling on the bride and groom to found their relationship upon mutual spiritual obligations, openness, and sensitivity to each other's needs. These ketubbot, composed by rabbis of the Reform movement, are written in the vernacular, with or without a parallel Hebrew text, and usually omit the financial and legalistic elements which were the basis of the traditional ketubbah.
The late 1960s saw a renaissance of the hand-illuminated ketubbah, starting in the United States and eventually spreading to Israel and other countries. The artists ranged from amateurs---sometimes the newlyweds themselves---to highly professional calligraphers and graphic designers specializing in this art form. While most of the contemporary ketubbot derived their general formal style and symbolism from older European or Oriental models, a notable few were boldly innovative, combining both traditional and contemporary techniques with late-20th century aesthetic sensibilities. The popularity of the original painted ketubbah also bred a new generation of more popular-priced printed ketubbot; a number of them were hand-tinted to satisfy the demand for "hand-made" works of art.
