CCAR RESPONSA
New American Reform Responsa
232. Destroyed Ketubah*
QUESTION: The family has lost their decorative ketubah in a fire. They wish to know if it is possible to replace it and if this will have the same validity as the earlier document. The document followed the standard form and did not contain any unusual stipulations, financial or otherwise. (Frieda Blumenthal, Cleveland OH)ANSWER: We should begin by assuring the couple that the marriage remains perfectly valid even without a ketubah. The Talmud, after all, cited three ways of effecting a marriage: (a) The most common form featured a deed witnessed by two competent individuals and handed by the groom to the bride (Kid 9a; Shulhan Arukh Even Haezer 32.1-4). This has remained the essential covenant of the modern wedding. The document is akin to the modern ketubah signed by the two witnesses. (b) In addition, it was possible to effect a marriage through the transfer of an item of value (kesef) in the presence of two competent witnesses. This remains as part of the modern wedding in the form of giving a ring with the formula “harei at mekudeshet…” (Kid 2a, b; Shulhan Arukh Even Haezer 27.1). (c) Finally, marriage can be effected through intercourse (biah) preceded by a statement indicating the wish to take this woman as wife in the presence of two witnesses who saw the couple leave for a private place (Kid 9b; Shulhan Arukh Even Haezer 33.1) The last method was, of course, severely frowned upon by the rabbis, but, bediavad, it is certainly valid. We are, therefore, dealing more with the aesthetics of the wedding and the desire to have a beautiful ketubah on display rather than with the legal implications of this document. As this was a standard document, it can be drawn up again in precisely the same form as before. If it is at all possible, the same witnesses who signed the original document should sign it again. Somewhere on the document, in order to assure that there is no intent of fraud, it should note that the original document was destroyed in a fire and that this is a replacement drawn up much later than the wedding itself.February 1989
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