Translating the Ketubah
The Jewish Marriage Contract in America and England
A groundbreaking exploration of the Jewish marriage contract and its evolution in English translation
Translating the Ketubah offers a fresh perspective on the ketubah, the Jewish marriage contract. Traditionally composed in Aramaic, ketubot have been examined in other books within the frameworks of Jewish law and Jewish art. Here, however, Benjamin Steiner shows how translations of the ketubah into English helped Jews adapt to changing social and economic circumstances across more than two centuries.
Steiner uses ketubot to trace the intricate relationship between religious law and secular law, the changing status of women within and outside Judaism, and the complex desire of Jews to be both authentically Jewish and fully acculturated. Steiner further shows how ketubah translation aided Jews to achieve different cultural goals. It has been used to uphold rabbinic law in communities where religious affiliation was voluntary to ensure women's economic security. It has also facilitated socialization with non-Jews and addressed perceived crises within the Jewish family.
Through a nuanced analysis of ketubah translations from England and various regions of the United States from the late eighteenth century to the present, Steiner offers a detailed look at how Jews have adapted ancient tradition to meet the challenges and opportunities of different historical contexts. His work sheds new light on the rich history of American and British Jewry.
An indispensable addition to the study of Jewish marriage customs and women’s legal rights, this meticulously researched manuscript offers a fascinating journey through the history of English translations of ketubot in America and England from the eighteenth to the twenty-first centuries.' —Ellen M. Umansky, author of From Christian Science to Jewish Science: Spiritual Healing and American Jews
Translating the Ketubah is a most welcome contribution to scholars, students, and anyone eager to enjoy a pathbreaking approach to religious studies and American Jewish history.' —Zev Eleff, author of Who Rules the Synagogue? Religious Authority and the Formation of American Judaism
List of Figures
Acknowledgments
Introduction: Tales of the Jewish Marriage Contract
Chapter 1. Dower Rights and Ketubah Rites in Early New York
Chapter 2. Bridging Religious and Secular Law in Antebellum South Carolina and Georgia
Chapter 3. Marriage, Acculturation, and Upward Mobility among Nineteenth-Century California Jews
Chapter 4. Translation and Jewish Social Integration in Victorian London
Chapter 5. Saving the Jewish Family in Postwar America
Epilogue: Who Owns the Jewish Marriage Contract Today?
Appendix: Ketubah Translations from America and England, 1775–1960
Notes
Bibliography
Index
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