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CCAR RESPONSA

New American Reform Responsa

227. Hebrew or Russian Names

QUESTION: A middle aged couple who recently emigrated from the Soviet Union have brought their ketubah; it is actually closer to a wedding certificate as it simply states that they have been married. It is written in simple Hebrew and signed by two Jewish witnesses. All the names are, however, Russian first names followed by ben and the Russian name of the father. All the names are written in Hebrew. Is this an adequate ketubah or should they prepare another with a different set of witnesses? They hesitate as they have been married for many years and the document is dear to them. (Boris Krokovsky, Trenton NJ)ANSWER: The couple can certainly consider themselves Jewishly married even if the document does not follow the standard form. They had a ceremony, two Jewish witnesses, and at some risk prepared a simple ketubah. This should be properly appreciated. Throughout our history we had adopted many foreign names and simply added them to our Hebrew list. In the last centuries numerous Yiddish names have entered our vocabulary and earlier Greek, Arabic, Spanish, and German names. Even some of the Biblical characters had foreign names, possibly even Moses. There is no problem with the Russian names. We wish the couple a long and happy life together in this country.October 1989

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