Artistic Ketubot

One of the many ways that Jewish Milestones serves as a resource is to function as consultants, not only with individuals and families, but also with communal institutions. One such relationship was forged with the Peninsula Jewish Community Center (PJCC) as they developed a yearlong cultural arts celebration of the Jewish lifecycle.

As part of the “Love and Companionship” segment, PJCC community members—including, staff and board—took ketubot (Jewish marriage contracts) off the walls of their own homes to create an art exhibit. It was displayed from December 2007 to February 2008 in the Center’s gallery space (http://www.pjcc.org/arts/arts-exhibits.html.)

Rachel Brodie, Executive Director of Jewish Milestones, wrote the text panel that accompanied the exhibit.

An article describing the exhibit and mentioning Jewish Milestones appeared in the San Mateo Times on January 17, 2008
Jewish Marriage Contracts More Than Art:
Exhibit in Foster City sheds light on ketubah tradition

Imagine asking a fine artist to turn the deed to your house into a work of art, or a calligrapher to write out the terms of your employment in decorative script. At first glance, there might be something equally eccentric about an illustrated ketubah. After all, the traditional Jewish marriage document, known as a ketubah (kih-TOO-bah), is a contract, a legal document notarized by two witnesses, who attest to the groom’s commitment to fulfill the obligations outlined in the document. These include providing for his wife’s basic needs, from food and clothing to sexual satisfaction. Today egalitarian options are popular too. Hundreds of years ago, Sephardic and Mizrachi Jews developed a tradition of decorating these documents, not only for aesthetic reasons, but also for practical ones. The rabbis wanted to be sure that no changes were made to the document after it had been signed, so they filled the empty spaces with ornamentation. But it wasn’t until the late 20th century in America that the practice of embellishing ketubot (the plural) became popular. In addition to custom-made versions, it is now possible to find pre-printed ketubot with variations on the text that honor the diversity of Jews today, including those in mixed marriages, same-gender relationships, self-identified atheists and egalitarian modern orthodox Jews who add a clause that—quite radically for that community—allows the wife to initiate a divorce. Today, a ketubah—both the text and the design—can be as unique as the couple for whom it is made. As part of the PJCC’s celebration of the lifecycle, and this season’s focus on love and partnerships, community members—center, staff and board—took ketubot off the walls of their own homes to create this exhibit. When you look at these personal examples from people who live, work and work out[in our community, take note of the overall variety and then, ketubah by ketubah, look for elements that hint at something unique about the couple who have shared it with us. Whatever you may find, these pieces make one thing clear: in love and in Judaism, even a legal contract can become meaningful art.