Obj. ID: 43874
Sacred and Ritual Objects  Archie and Susan Granot Marriage Contract, Israel, 1989

The artist describes the piece the following way:

"The Torah crown at the head of the ketubah symbolizes the rebirth of the Jewish people with the founding of the State of Israel. The pomegranates, above the menorah at the base of the papercut, derive from coins dating from the period of the Bar Cochba revolt against the Romans. Pomegranates are also a symbol of fertility and Hassidic wisdom informs us that every child is born in covenant between G-d and both parents. The single fruit facing two others reminds us of this. The vine that climbs around the ketubah is a reference to the Biblical promise that the elderly will sit under the shade of the vine that they had planted in their youth. The Simanim (Sign of...) text around the inner border of the papercut is believed by some to originate from the now-defunct Jewish Community in Herat, Afganistan. It reads:

"With a good omen. A sign of light; A sign of blessing; A sign of rejoicing; A sign of delight; A sign of glory; A sign of fellowship; A sign of song; A sign of life; A sign of goodness; A sign of salvation; A sign of honour; A sign of companionship; A sign of food; A sign of comfort; A sign of forgiveness; A sign of help; A sign of fruitfulness; A sign of righteousness; A sign of uprightness; A sign of good health; A sign of peace; A sign of Torah; A sign of prayer." (The Hebrew appears in alphabetical order]

The text around the outer border of the papercut reads:

"And all the people that were in the gate, and the elders, said, We are witnesses. May the Lord make the woman that is come into thy house like Rachel and like Leah, which two did build the house of Israel, and be prosperous in Efrata, and be famous in Bethlehem: And let thy house be like the house of Perez, whom Tamar bore unto Judah, of the seed that the Lord has given thee of this young woman."
Ruth 4:11-12"