History of the Ketubah
The ketubah (Jewish marriage contract, plural is ketubot) is an ancient and beautiful element of the Jewish marriage ceremony. In its most traditional form it is a prenuptial agreement, outlining the responsibilities of the groom to his bride, to protect her in case of divorce. This original text, written in Aramaic, represented a great advance for its time (the end of the first century, C.E.), and is still in use today within the Orthodox Jewish community. Today, however, many couples prefer a more egalitarian ketubah, expressing their mutual commitments to one another.
Tradition and Lasting Beauty
Judaism has a precept known as hiddur mitzvah (lit: “beautification of the commandment”), which states that if an object is required for ritual purposes, it should be made as beautiful as possible — hence the custom of highly illuminated ketubot. A decorated ketubah, with images, motifs and colors that represent the bride and groom’s personal style and symbolizes their relationship, is one of the few parts of the wedding that actually endures beyond the wedding day. Whether it is a unique piece of commissioned fine art, or a lithograph or giclée print, a ketubah is an instant heirloom.
Ketubah Prints and Texts
I began creating custom ketubot and marriage certificates for clients on a commission basis since 1995. Due to increasing demand for more affordable ketubot, I created my first ketubah print, Tree of Life, in 2001. Since then I’ve added more ketubah print designs, and I continue to increase my offerings.
Each of my ketubah prints is available with a selection of texts, from the most traditional Aramaic text for Orthodox couples, to modern interpretations in Hebrew and English for liberal, interfaith and same sex couples. At Ketubahworks, whether you are traditional or progressive, you can find a design and text combination that suits your needs.
Calligraphy and Personalization
The texts on all of my giclée ketubah prints are added to the ketubah in my exclusive calligraphic fonts, digitized from my calligraphy. I drew each letter by hand, with specialized calligraphy pens and ink, then scanned the letters, created digital outlines, and worked with a type designer to turn these pen-drawn letters into special fonts.
I use these custom fonts to combine the text of your choice with my original designs to create the final ketubah prints. For the most elegant presentation, couples can pay a personalization fee to have me seamlessly fill in their personal information. Or if you prefer you may choose to handle this personalization yourselves.
If you would prefer to use different wording from the texts I offer, I can add your custom text to any ketubah design (except for the lithograph version of Illuminated Letters). Just makes sure to obtain copyright permission from the author, if you did not compose the wording yourself.
Type vs. Calligraphy
Calligraphy — hand lettering (literally “beautiful writing”) — has a warmth and handmade quality that is simply unrivaled by type. No matter how skilled the scribe, every hand-written letter will have subtle variations from every other similar letter. In the hands of a skilled calligrapher, the quality that this variation lends to a piece of calligraphy can elevate it to a true work of art.
On the other hand, calligraphy is also very time-consuming. Think about how much longer it would take you to hand-write a letter — even in your sloppiest writing — than to type it on your computer.
Calligraphy, which is actually a specialized kind of drawing, is vastly more time-consuming than plain old handwriting. A typical ketubah text in English and Hebrew can take 8 to 12 hours or more to design, lay out and write by hand. This kind of time investment makes calligraphy expensive as well.
Type, while not as warm and “human” as calligraphy, has the advantage of being much less time-consuming. Calligraphy is truly a luxury item; not everyone can afford an entire hand-lettered custom text.
In order to accommodate couples who would like to add their own text to one of my prints, I am pleased to be able to offer custom texts in my exclusive calligraphic typefaces, digitized from my own calligraphy – next best thing to authentic hand-lettering.
(Or if you prefer, I’m happy to use any font(s) in my type catalogue. If there is a particular font you’d like that I don’t have, point me to the website where I can download it, and I will just add the price of the font to your order.)
Please inquire if you would like to see samples of the typefaces I use on any of my prints.