It contains ketubbot from dozens of different countries, covering a time period of over 900 years and is a major resource for research in Jewish history, law and art. For over 2000 years Jewish law has required that every husband present his wife, at the time of their marriage, with a marriage contract or ketubbah, guaranteeing the wife's financial rights in case of the husband's death or divorce. Over generations, various local customs found their way into the legal text of the ketubbah and ketubbah decorations reflected the Jewish art of each locality and period. Ketubbot are therefore a rich source of material on Jewish history, customs and art. The fact that, as legal documents, ketubbot always contain exact dates and place names allows their absolute identification with specific communities and periods.
Users can browse the collection by country, or use the search facility.
My goal in creating this web site is to make freely available a wide variety of basic, general information about Judaism, written from a traditional perspective in plain English. A version using frames and Javascript is also available. The Judaism and Jewish Resources site is extrodinarily comprehensive, with informative links to sites in Israel and in the United States. It contains information on libraries, museums, art, archaeology, and the Hebrew and Yiddish languages, as well as Israeli culture and government, U.S. agencies in Israel, and several mailing lists. The site has links to Passover usenet archives and Kosher resources.