Obj. ID: 54805
Jewish printed books  Yitein Adonai et ha-Ishah, Jerusalem, 1913

The following description was prepared by William Gross:

A Ketubah (Hebrew: כְּתוּבָּה ; "written thing"; pl. Ketubot) is a special type of Jewish prenuptial agreement. It is considered an integral part of a traditional Jewish marriage, and outlines the rights and responsibilities of the groom, in relation to the bride. The content of the Ketubah is in essence a one-way contract that formalizes the various requirements by Halacha (Jewish law) of a Jewish husband vis à vis his wife. The Jewish husband takes upon himself in the Ketubah the obligation that he will provide to his wife three major things: clothing, food and conjugal relations, and also that he will pay her a pre-specified amount of cash in the case of a divorce. Thus the content of the Ketubah essentially dictates security and protection for the woman, and her rights in the marriage.

This document is signed and then given to the bride as her property. In Italy and most of the Islamic countries in which Jews resided, such a Ketubah was often decorated, a tradition originating with the Jews in Spain. Today, generally, printed Ketubot are used.

This Ketubah was printed exclusively for use in Jerusalem, as the name of the city is printed in the text. The document is colorfully printed in purple and gold using Jugendstil style decorations. It was printed by Shmuel Zuckerman. Shmuel ben Ya’akov Halevy Zuckerman was born in Mesiritch in 1856. As a six-year-old child he made Aliyah with his parents. He learned the printing trade while working for Yisrael Bak, after whose death he continued in the printing house of Bak’s son Nisan. He soon went to London, however, and worked in printing there before returning to Eretz Israel to work in the shop of Ag”n. By 1885 he was a partner in that enterprise and from 1886 became the sole owner, publishing books under his name, and becoming one of the foremost printers in Jerusalem. The press operated in the Old City of Jerusalem until Zuckerman moved it to the new city in 1926. Up to 1890 almost 80 books were printed from his press in addition to many single sheets. More than 150 items from the Zuckerman printing house exist in the Gross Family Collection.

Bride:                                Mindel bat Chaim Shmuel

Groom:                             Yitzhak Leib ben Gershon Yosef Levin