Ketubbot

("Marriage Contracts"). Second tractate of Order Nashim in the Mishnah. Its 13 chapters deal with the laws of the marriage contract (Ketubbah), the document which contains the written obligations of a husband towards his wife (cf. Ex. 22:15,16; Deut. 22:13-29). Included in the ketubbah is the amount of the dowry which the wife brings into the marriage and the monetary settlement paid to her in the event of divorce or the death of the husband. The Mishnah also discusses the marriage ceremony, the penalties for seduction and rape, grounds for Divorce, and the laws of Inheritance. The last Mishnah speaks of the greatness of Erets Israel and of Jerusalem in particular, stating that a husband may force his wife and children to move there, but neither can be forced to move away from the Holy Land or the Holy City. The subject matter is amplified in both Talmuds and the Tosefta.

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