• About
  • Find a Vendor
  • Submit
  • Advertise
  • Brides Club
  • Your Jewish Life
  • Contact

Smashing the Glass | Jewish Wedding Blog

Inspired Jewish Weddings

  • Real Jewish Weddings
    • City Chic
    • Fashion Forward
    • Outdoor
    • Destination
      • Israel
      • Italy
      • Spain
      • France
      • Beach Weddings
    • Super Luxe
    • Budget
    • DIY
    • Same Sex
    • Covid Weddings
  • Jew-ish Weddings
    • Real Jew-ish Weddings
    • Jewish-Catholic Weddings
    • Jewish-Chinese Weddings
    • Jewish-Christian Weddings
    • Jewish-Greek Weddings
    • Jewish-Hindu Weddings
    • Jewish-Humanist Weddings
    • Jewish-Irish Weddings
    • Jewish Japanese Weddings
    • Jewish-Muslim Weddings
    • Same Sex Jew-ish Weddings
  • Inspiration + Guidance
    • Engaged? Start Here
    • Ceremony
      • Chuppah ideas
      • Jewish ceremony music
      • Jewish wedding ceremony 101
      • Jewish ceremony traditions
      • Ketubah Ideas
      • Jewish wedding legalities
      • Jew-ish ceremony ideas
    • Reception
      • Music
      • Speeches
      • Entertainment
      • Venues
    • Food & Drink
      • Kosher catering
      • Wedding cakes
      • Drinks
    • Decor
      • Decorations
      • Favours
      • Floristry
      • Guestbooks
      • Stationery
    • Style
      • Brides dresses
      • Shoes & accessories
      • Grooms
      • Bridesmaids
    • Advice
      • Converting to Judaism
      • Real blogging brides
      • Dear Karen…
    • Honeymoons
    • STG Live
    • Five Minutes With
    • Wedding Must-Haves
    • Wedding Consultancy
  • Jewish Brides Club
  • Find a Wedding Vendor
Home > Jewish Wedding Traditions Explained – The Ketubah

Jewish Wedding Traditions Explained – The Ketubah

11/01/2023 by Karen Cinnamon

Ketubah
All imagery by Blake Ezra Photography. 

Welcome to the first post in our 8-part series of Jewish Wedding Traditions explained.

This week it’s all about the Ketubah. The Ketubah is the name of the traditional Jewish marriage certificate; in Hebrew the word Ketubah literally means ‘something written’.

The content of a Ketubah has always traditionally been a one-way document detailing what the groom must provide to the bride in their married lives together, which includes three main things — clothing, food and physical relations.

This ancient document used to deal with concepts such as payments for marriage, which in today’s modern world simply aren’t applicable to most of us. One passage says, “All my property, real and personal, even the shirt from my back, shall be mortgaged to secure the payment of this marriage contract.” We can understand it not as a way to “secure the payment” of the marriage, but as the groom saying to his bride, ‘everything I have is also yours, down to the shirt on my back’.

The Ketubah - Jewish Wedding Traditions Explained
If you’re planning a wedding the Ketubah can be a great thing to personalise to make it more relevant to you. A Ketubah can be decorated in many different ways, with illustrations around the text or colours that represent something about you, indeed there are many artists who custom-make Ketubot, all with a presence on the internet.

The Ketubah is, traditionally, not written in Hebrew but in Aramaic. Nowadays there’s often a translation into whichever language is best understood by the couple, either to the side of the traditional text, or on the reverse. In recent years, Ketubot in texts other than the traditional Orthodox Jewish text have become more readily available, so whatever Judaism is your Judaism, there should be something out there for you… whether your ceremony is Reform, Conservative, Egalitarian or Interfaith.

The Ketubah is usually read by the Rabbi during the ceremony too, so all the guests can hear these obligations and understand the contract. It is often read in Aramaic, followed by a translation into the language understood by most guests. Within the Ketubah is also the location of the wedding, so there’s on occasional funny moment when in the midst of many strange words than none of the guests are familiar with, a word like “Watford”, “Connecticut”, or “Adelaide” pops up.

One of the great reasons behind having a beautiful and personal Ketubah, is that after the wedding, the Ketubah is often hung prominently in the home by the married couple as a reminder of their vows to each other, and a reminder of one of the most momentous occasions of their life.

I hope this has been useful if you’re in the planning stages for your Jewish wedding, next week in Jewish Weddings Explained, we’ll be looking at the Tisch.

Words and imagery by Blake Ezra Photography.


Download our guide on all the Jewish Wedding Traditions (And how to make them your own!)

 


Share this post:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)

Filed Under: Jewish Wedding Rituals Tagged With: Jewish wedding rituals, Jewish Wedding Traditions Explained, Blake Ezra Photography, Ketubah, guest post

You might also like...

  • The Ketubah – Jewish Wedding Traditions Explained #2The Ketubah – Jewish Wedding Traditions Explained #2
  • Jewish Wedding Traditions Explained – Jewish Wedding Dancing (The Hora)Jewish Wedding Traditions Explained – Jewish Wedding Dancing (The Hora)
  • Jewish Wedding Traditions Explained – The YichudJewish Wedding Traditions Explained – The Yichud
  • Jewish Wedding Traditions Explained – Breaking The GlassJewish Wedding Traditions Explained – Breaking The Glass
  • Jewish Wedding Traditions Explained – The Seven Blessings (Sheva Brachot)Jewish Wedding Traditions Explained – The Seven Blessings (Sheva Brachot)
  • Jewish Wedding Traditions Explained – The ChuppahJewish Wedding Traditions Explained – The Chuppah

Jewish Weddings by Country

Vendors We Love

Weddings by Colour


Jewish Wedding Gift List


Awesome Jewish Gifts

Vendors We Love

Get posts directly into your inbox

Enter your email address below and get the latest posts delivered straight to your inbox.

Mr And Mrs Smith Honeymoons
Biscuiteers Baking Company
Kate Spade UK Limited
Monica Vinader
Liberty London

Today’s Top Posts

  • An Ines Di Santo Bride for a Vibrant Jewish Wedding in Orange and Pink at Mizner Country Club, Delray Beach, Florida, USA
    An Ines Di Santo Bride for a Vibrant Jewish Wedding in Orange and Pink at Mizner Country Club, Delray Beach, Florida, USA
  • Dates in 2023, 2024 and 2025 to avoid for a Jewish wedding plus a 12 Month Wedding Planning Monthly Checklist
    Dates in 2023, 2024 and 2025 to avoid for a Jewish wedding plus a 12 Month Wedding Planning Monthly Checklist
  • A guide to the Jewish Wedding Ceremony and Order of Service under the chuppah
    A guide to the Jewish Wedding Ceremony and Order of Service under the chuppah
  • Breaking The Glass – Jewish Wedding Traditions Explained #7
    Breaking The Glass – Jewish Wedding Traditions Explained #7
  • Chuppah ideas
    Chuppah ideas

Subscribe by Email

Enter your email address below and get the latest posts delivered straight to your inbox.

Connect

Instagram
TikTok
Facebook
Pinterest
YouTube
Twitter
Advertise
Mailing List
Email Karen

Receive Smashing The Glass posts via Email

Enter your email address below and get the latest posts delivered straight to your inbox.

closeClick Here To Get The Ultimate Jewish Wedding Checklist

All content © Smashing The Glass 2023