An Early 17th Century Ketubah from Sefer Tikun Sofrim by Rabbi Itzhak Zabakh

Abstract

In Jewish Law, the halakha, there is an extensive importance to the accurate scribing of legal documents (shtarot). Any slight deviation from the standard formula of one word, or even of one character, might invalidate a formal bill or cancel a personal or commercial obligation. The importance bestowed on each word encouraged many famous rabbis to write and edit books of standard legal bills, and Hebrew scribes used to copy samples of bills for their personal use in the future. Qualified scribes made exemplary collections of documents for their students, and young trainees would copy such samples – as well as original bills – in order to practice their profession. Quite a number of early and medieval collections survived, none of them is complete. This presentation is for the following text(s): Formulae of a Jewish Maid’s Marriage Contract (ketubah)