A piece of paper ornately decorated with painted vines and red birds along the border, along with two tigers at the top and two fish in the middle of the page; the rest of the paper is filled with text in Hebrew.
Photograph by Robert Kato

Ketubbah
1866
Dorot Jewish Division

Ketubbah

The ketubbah, the Jewish wedding contract, outlines the legal and financial responsibilities of a husband to his wife. Signed by witnesses, the document is typically hung prominently in a couple’s home, since Jewish law forbids a couple from cohabitating if their ketubbah is lost or destroyed. This particular contract, between a bride named Hanah bat Avraham Yosef Dvek ha-Kohen [Hanna Dwek] and a groom, Netanel Hai ben Yosef Tsemah Dvek ha-Kohen [Netanel Hai Dwek], was signed on 8 Elul, 5626 [August 19, 1866], in Calcutta, India. The pair of fish symbolizes fertility, and the tigers, strength.

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