The Jewish National and University Library (JNUL) is proud to announce
the opening to the public of its digitized ketubbot collection, the
first stage in the David and Fela Shapell Family Digitization Project.
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 contain
exact dates and place names allows their absolute identification with
specific communities and periods.
The Jewish National and University Library's unparalleled collection
of ketubbot is one of the largest in the world (over 1200 items). It
contains ketubbot from over fifty different countries, covering a time
period of over 900 years and is a major resource for research in
Jewish history, law and art.
The JNUL collection is an eclectic one ranging from an Eretz Israel
ketubbah from the Cairo Geniza dated 1023, through ketubbot from
pre-expulsion Spain, beautiful illuminated ketubbot from Italy and
Afghanistan, and up to mid-20th century printed ketubbot. Among the
ketubbot of historical interest can be found the Paris 1890 ketubbah
given by Alfred Dreyfus to his wife Lucie Eugenie, and an early
American ketubbah (Philadelphia 1782) witnessed by Hayim Salomon,
one of the most important Jewish personalities in Revolutionary
America.
The entire collection has now been scanned and cataloged. The catalog
includes all names appearing in the ketubbah (bride, groom, witnesses,
scribe) and can be searched via a wide range of parameters. A simple
country and city list is also available. The ketubbah images can be
viewed in several resolutions, the highest of which is equivalent to
examining the ketubbah under a magnifying glass.
A series of "virtual exhibits" based on the collection is planned.
The full collection may be accessed via the Internet at the JNUL homepage:
http://jnul.huji.ac.il
or directly at:
http://jnul.huji.ac.il/dl/ketubbot
The JNUL hopes to incorporate additional collections of ketubbot into
this site in the near future. Institutions interested in cooperating
in this project should contact: elhanan@libnet.ac.il
During the coming years additional digitized collections of the JNUL
will be made available to the public, including digitized music from
the Jewish National Sound Archives.
Elhanan Adler
Benjamin Richler
Jewish National Library, Jerusalem