The Jewish Wedding Contract

Over 2,000 years ago Jewish couples would sign a Ketubah to become legally married in the Jewish faith. The document was signed by witness to the fact that the groom had officially acquired his new bride and that agreed to support her. Once the marriage was final, the document became the property of the bride since it outlined her legal right in the marriage and in additional, her husband's obligations to her in the situation where they no longer wanted to be married.

Of course in those days the legal government that Jews were subject to were the kings in the land of Israel. Now that we live in a country not governed by our faith the ketubot still exist, but their purpose has changed. While they are no longer legal documents, they still outline what is expected in the marriage, although instead of a monetary value you would be agreeing to love and honor each other.

While the words in the ketubah can be beautiful, the actual ketubah are made to look like a piece of art, that can be displayed in the home of the couple through their marriage as a sign of their commitment to each other. We haven't decided on our ketubah, but I have at least been narrowing down our choices. Here's a few of my favorites, all from Ketubah.com

sourceThis one is called Shooting Star and "conveys the magic of a night sky that is illuminated by shooting stars." I really like the simplicity of it. Also since we'll be using an interfaith wording since the boy is Catholic, it doesn't feel overly religious to me.

sourceWhen I first saw this one I was sure that I had fond the version I wanted to use. Except they only have it available with Orthodox wording. And while they do give you an option to have it completely customized by their calligrapher, that almost quadruples the price.

sourceI love how this one reminds me of going to the mountains as a little kid. Except the boy and I have never been to the mountains together, so I'm not sure it's really us. Although I'd still love to have this hanging in our house.

sourceAgain I love the simplicity here. And while it is "nature-y" it isn't nearly as over the top as the last one.

sourceI'm not normally a big fan over the more "abstract-y" ketubot, but something about this calls out to me. It is meant to call the mind the night sky, so maybe the fact that it feels like something real instead of just a bunch of colors is what works for me.

sourceI really like this one, although I'm not sure how I feel about grapes being on the piece of art that's supposed to symbolize our commitment to each other. But from the description, "vines that work their way up to grow together at the top, symbolize the joining of the two lives as they become one," so their is more meaning there than just a pretty fruit.

I'd like to order our ketubah sooner rather than later to make sure we have it in time. But in order to do that I have to make a decision. So any input you have, or which one you'd choose if it was for you, I'd love to hear.

And just in case you were confused, ketubah.com has no idea I'm writing this post. I've just heard they are THE place to go for looking for ketubah, and given some of the ones I've already found I'm not really surprised.