Jewish Babylonian Aramaic ( Aramaic : ארמית Ārāmît ) was the form of Middle Aramaic employed by writers in Lower Mesopotamia between the fourth and eleventh centuries. It is most commonly identified with the language of the Babylonian Talmud (which was completed in the seventh century), the Targum Onqelos , and of post-Talmudic ( Gaonic ) literature, which are the most important cultural products of Babylonian Jews . The most important epigraphic sources for the dialect are the hundreds of inscriptions on incantation bowls .
47-479: Bava Batra (also Baba Batra ; Jewish Babylonian Aramaic : בָּבָא בַּתְרָא , romanized: bāvā baṯrā , lit. 'The Last Gate') is the third of the three Talmudic tractates in the Talmud in the order Nezikin ; it deals with a person's responsibilities and rights as the owner of property. It is part of Judaism's oral law . Originally it, together with Bava Kamma and Bava Metzia , formed
94-416: A ketubah is 200 zuz for a virgin, and 100 zuz otherwise (such as for a widow, a convert, or a divorced woman, etc.). Today, such pledges are made in local currency, and often exceed that of the principal. Thus the content of the ketubah essentially dictates the wife's rights in the marriage and provides for her security and protection. ( Conservative Jews often include an additional paragraph, called
141-813: A battery of technical logical terms, such as tiyuvta (conclusive refutation) and tiqu (undecidable moot point), which are still used in Jewish legal writings, including those in other languages, and have influenced modern Hebrew . Like the other Judeo-Aramaic languages , it was written in the Hebrew alphabet . May his great name shall be blessed (Kaddish Shalem, 8th century) ַ ני נַטְרַנִי he supervised me נֵיעָרְבִינְהוּ וְנִכְתְּבִינְהוּ There are six major verb stems or verbal patterns (binyanim) in Jewish Babylonian Aramaic. The form pe‘al (פְּעַל) “to do”,
188-424: A contract to hold up as good. Thus said R. Yannai : "The conditions written in a ketubah , [when breached], are tantamount to [forfeiture of] the ketubah ." A woman who denied coitus unto her husband, a condition of the ketubah , was considered legal grounds for forfeiture of her marriage contract, with the principal and additional jointure being written off. King David decree regarding Jewish widows of soldiers
235-420: A disincentive for the husband contemplating divorcing his wife: he would need to have the amount in order to be able to pay to his wife. Unless the husband pledged otherwise, the minimum obligation towards a man's virgin bride is 200 silver denaria ( מאתים זוז ), known as the principal (or dower's price), and 100 silver denaria ( מאה זוז ) for a man who married a widow or divorced woman. This
282-404: A family, or the undertaking by a workman to prepare it (6:8). The burial-place is described as follows: "A cave hewn out in a rock 4 cubits broad and 6 cubits long (or, according to R. Simeon, 6 by 8 cubits); along the length of the cave on each side there are three graves of 4 cubits long, 1 cubit broad, and 7 handbreadths (' ṭefaḥim ') high; and 2 such graves in the back of the cave. In front of
329-408: A folded document. The latter was prepared in the following way: When a line or two had been written the parchment was folded and one witness signed on the back of the document; this operation was repeated as many times as the parties concerned liked. This method, requiring a longer time for the execution of the document, is said to have been originally introduced for the writing of a letter of divorce in
376-491: A non-Kohen receives that standard 200 Zuz, as a penalty for not marrying within the priesthood. A widowed bat-kohen would receive the standard 100 Zuz for widows, though at one point this sum had been raised to 200 Zuz. The ketubah is a significant popular form of Jewish ceremonial art . Ketubot have been made in a wide range of designs, usually following the tastes and styles of the era and region in which they are made. Today, styles and decorations on ketubahs are chosen by
423-634: A single tractate called Nezikin (torts or damages). Unlike Bava Kamma and Bava Metzia, this tractate is not the exposition of a certain passage in the Torah . The Mishnah is divided into ten chapters, as follows: Chapter 1: Joint owners of property may dissolve a partnership and divide the property, if the parties consent, except in the case regarding a volume of the Bible, which may not be divided (literally, torn in half) under any circumstances. Things which lose their value on division can only be divided if all
470-485: A sum equivalent to 200 provincial silver denaria . Based on the anatomical weight of 25 shekels in Tyrian coinage, the minimum amount vouched in a virgin's ketubah amounted to 504 grams of fine silver. Monies pledged in a woman's ketubah can be written in local currencies, but must have the transactional market-value of the aforementioned weight in silver. Most ketubot also contain an additional liability, known as
517-412: A two-way contract that formalizes the various requirements by Halakha (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. The principal endowment pledged in
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#1732764894578564-532: A variety of formats as well as the traditional Aramaic text used by the Orthodox community. Available texts include Conservative text, using the Lieberman Clause , Reform, Egalitarian and Interfaith texts. Some congregations have texts available for same sex couples too. In addition, Secular Humanist and Anniversary texts are also available today. In a traditional Jewish wedding ceremony , the ketubah
611-443: Is Active Frequentative . The verbal pattern itpa'al is Passive Frequentative . The verbal pattern aphel is Active Causative . The verbal pattern itaphal is Passive Causative . The language has received considerable scholarly attention, as shown in the bibliography below. However, the majority of those who are familiar with it, namely Orthodox Jewish students of Talmud, are given no systematic instruction in
658-493: Is an interesting one. The Talmud does discuss instances where King David had soldiers create conditional divorces. This was done to alleviate the concerns of soldiers who were going to war and wanted to ensure their wives' well-being in their capture or demise. The concept of conditional divorce, while not explicitly tied to King David's decree, is still a valid concept in Jewish law. Modern rabbinic courts have their own procedures and guidelines for handling such matters, especially in
705-408: Is handed to the bride (or, more commonly, to the bride's mother) for safekeeping. Ketubot are often hung prominently in the home by the married couple as a daily reminder of their vows and responsibilities to each other. However, in some communities, the ketubah is either displayed in a very private section of the home or is not displayed at all. Various reasons given for this include the fact that
752-560: Is practised by some communities. Rather, all financial obligations were written out as individual components, and had the same fixed sums for all persons. The Chief Rabbinate in Israel has sought to bring uniformity to the ketubah , particularly where Jewish communities in the Diaspora had upheld conflicting traditions. As in most contracts made between two parties, there are mutual obligations, conditions and terms of reciprocity for such
799-453: Is signed by two witnesses and traditionally read out loud under the chuppah between the erusin and nissuin . Friends or distant relatives are invited to witness the ketubah, which is considered an honour; close relatives are prohibited from being witnesses. The witnesses must be halakhically valid witnesses, and so cannot be a blood relative of the couple. In Orthodox Judaism , women are also not considered to be valid witnesses. The ketubah
846-863: Is taken by that of his grandson, Rashbam , from chapter 3 to the end of the tractate. [REDACTED] This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain : Singer, Isidore ; et al., eds. (1901–1906). "BABA BATRA" . The Jewish Encyclopedia . New York: Funk & Wagnalls . Retrieved February 4, 2013 . Its Bibliography: Ḥiddushe Geonim on Baba Ḳamma and B. Meẓi'a , Salonica , 1728; Ḥiddushe R. Solomon b. Adret on Baba Ḳamma, Berlin , 1756; Bezalel Ashkenazi , Shiṭṭah Meḳubbeẓet on Baba Ḳamma, Baba Meẓi'a, and Baba Batra; Naḥmanides (Ramban), Baba Batra; Maimonides , Mishneh Torah , books xi., xii., xiii.; Jacob ben Asheri , Ṭur Ḥoshen Mishpaṭ , p. cxxxv. to end; Moses Benjamin, Ma'aseh Rab , on The Tales of Rabbah bar Ḥanah ; E. Guttmacher, Ẓaphenath Pa'aneaḥ , on
893-454: The Bible and the prayer book , are of limited usefulness for this purpose, as they are in different dialects.) Talmudic Aramaic bears all the marks of being a specialist language of study and legal argumentation, like Law French , rather than a vernacular mother tongue, and continued in use for these purposes long after Judeo-Arabic had become the languages of daily life. It has developed
940-564: The Dead Sea , was discovered in 1960 in the Cave of Letters . Over two hundred ketubot were discovered, among other manuscripts, in the Cairo Geniza . They date between the 6th and 19th centuries and, whilst many consist of plain text, there are examples that use decorative devices such as micrography and illumination to elaborate them. The content of the ketubah is in essence
987-589: The Lieberman clause , which stipulates that divorce will be adjudicated by a modern rabbinical court (a beth din ) in order to prevent the creation of a chained wife .) The conditions written in the marriage contract may vary between communities, as in the case of the Yemenite ketubah , where the custom in Yemen was not to consolidate the different financial obligations, or pledges, into one single, aggregate sum as
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#17327648945781034-408: The mohar to be a part of the ketubah . Both the mohar and the ketubah amounts served the same purpose: the protection for the wife should her support by her husband (either by death or divorce) cease. The only difference between the two systems was the timing of the payment. A modern secular equivalent would be the entitlement to alimony in the event of divorce. The ketubah amount served as
1081-430: The "additional jointure" (Heb. תוספת = increment), whereby the groom pledges additional money to his bride. In Ashkenazi tradition, the custom is to consolidate these different financial obligations, or pledges, into one single, aggregate sum. In other Jewish communities, the custom was to write out all financial obligations as individual components. The ketubah of Babatha , a 2nd-century woman who lived near
1128-493: The case of hasty and passionate husbands (especially priests who were prevented by law from remarrying their divorced wives), to give them time to calm down. The massekta of the three Babas closes with a general remark on the educational value of the study of civil law. The Babylonian Talmud on Bava Batra consists of 176 folios (double-sided pages), making it the longest tractate of the Talmud. The two Gemaras discuss and explain
1175-404: The cave was the court (' hatzer ') 6 by 6 cubits, so as to afford sufficient room for the bier and the persons attending the burial." The laws of inheritance are based on Numbers 27:8–11 , as interpreted by tradition. Among these is the rule that the husband inherits the property of his deceased wife, her claim in case of the husband's death being settled in the ketubah . Another rule gives to
1222-490: The context of military service. It's important to note that Jewish law has evolved over time, and contemporary interpretations of these laws may differ from historical practices. The priestly court (prior to 70 CE ) established that a virgin bat-kohen would receive a ketubah of 400 Zuz (rather than the standard 200 Zuz for a Jewish virgin). However, the Talmud Yerushalmi opines that the bat-kohen who marries
1269-520: The contract that was being signed. Many contemporary ketubot have translations into English or other vernacular languages or an accompanying vernacular text. Many Conservative Jews and other non-Orthodox Jews use ketubot written in Hebrew rather than in Aramaic. Others may use Aramaic ketubot but also have an additional official version in Hebrew. In recent years ketubot have become available in
1316-459: The couple as a representation of their personal styles. This is contrasting to other Jewish legal or sacred texts (such as the Talmud , Mishnah , etc.), which cannot be decorated. Traditional ketubot are not written in the Hebrew language , but in Aramaic , the lingua franca of Jews at the time ketubot became standardized. This was done in order to make sure the bride and groom understood
1363-470: The details specify personal details, prominent display may invite jealousy or fears of the evil eye . Historically, the ketubah specified whether the bride was a virgin. In Sephardic communities, it still specifies the actual contributions of the family to the new household and the divorce settlement; Ashkenazi communities have adopted the custom of having set amounts for all weddings. According to Jewish law , spouses are prohibited from living together if
1410-504: The division. Depending on how the Mishnah is read, this division is either with a low row of wooden pegs (which shows that visual trespass is not damaging) or a four amot (approx. 72 inches) high stone wall (which shows that visual trespass is considered damaging). If both partners agree to the stone wall, it is built in the middle. The lesson taught here is that if one partner owns more property, he does not need to contribute more space for
1457-471: The event of his divorcing her or of his predeceasing her. Sefer ha-Chinuch suggests a different reason: "...the Torah has commanded us to perform an act before taking a wife, a matter that is intended to show that they are a couple united in wedlock before he lies down with her carnally, and that he not come upon her as one would do to a harlot , where there is no other act that precedes what goes on between them..." The rabbis in ancient times insisted on
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1504-433: The fact of prior or established rights ( Chazakah ). Chapter 3: Chazakah (presumptive right, possession de facto ) is proved by the undisturbed exercise of such a right during a certain period (three years), such as the usucaption of property, in spite of the presence of the rival claimant in the same "land." In this respect Israel was divided into three "lands" or districts (3: 2): Judah , Galilee , and Perea . In
1551-489: The first-born son a double share of his deceased father's property. Thus the daughters of Zelophehad are said to have claimed, as their father's property, three shares of the Holy Land (which is assumed to have been divided among the 600,000 men brought out of Egypt); namely, the share of Zelophehad and, as a first-born son of Hefer, a double share of the property of his deceased father (8:3). These laws do not interfere with
1598-540: The form Aph'el (אַפְעֵל) “let do”, and the form Pa'el (פַּעֵל) “like to do”, are all in the active voice. But the form Itpe'el (אִתְפְּעֵל), the form Itaph'al (אִתַפְעַל) and the form Itpa'al (אִתְפַּעַל) are essentially reflexive and usually function in a passive sense. The Aramaic verb has two participles : an active participle with suffix and a passive participle with suffix : |} The verbal pattern (binyan) pa‘el are frequentative verbs showing repeated or intense action. The verbal pattern pa'el
1645-499: The groom, in relation to the bride. In modern practice, the ketubah has no agreed monetary value, and is seldom enforced by civil courts, except in Israel. According to the Babylonian Talmud , the ketubah was enacted by Simeon ben Shetach so that it might not be a light thing for a man to divorce his wife. The enactment provides for a man's wife to receive a fixed sum of money, usually accruing from his property, in
1692-401: The husband or divorce . The biblical mohar created a major social problem: many young prospective husbands could not raise the mohar at the time when they would normally be expected to marry. So, to enable these young men to marry, the rabbis, in effect, delayed the time that the amount would be payable, when they would be more likely to have the sum. The mechanism adopted was to provide for
1739-424: The language, and are expected to "sink or swim" in the course of their Talmudic studies, with the help of some informal pointers showing similarities and differences with Hebrew. Ketubah A ketubah ( / k ɛ t uː ˈ b ɑː / ; Hebrew : כְּתוּבָּה ) is a Jewish marriage contract. It is considered an integral part of a traditional Jewish marriage , and outlines the rights and responsibilities of
1786-581: The laws of the Mishnah and add many fresh problems, especially the Babylonian Gemara. The Jerusalem Gemara is very short, and contains little new matter. The Babylonian gemara includes the following topics and passages: The Gemaras also contain the following interesting homiletic interpretation of Biblical passages: The commentary of Rashi on the Babylonian Talmud Baba Batra ends at the beginning of chapter 3; its place
1833-408: The like (5:1–5). In selling the produce of the field care must be taken that there be no deviation from the conditions of the sale as regards quality and quantity, lest the sale be declared invalid ( mekach ta'ut , 5:6–6:3). Various problems resulting from the sale of property, of a house, or of a piece of land are discussed in the Mishnah (6:4–7); among them the sale of land for a burial ground for
1880-404: The marriage couple entering into the ketubah as a protection for the wife. It acted as a replacement of the biblical mohar , the price paid by the groom to the bride, or her parents, for the marriage (i.e., the bride price ). The ketubah served as a contract, whereby the amount due to the wife (the bride-price) came to be paid in the event of the cessation of marriage, either by the death of
1927-544: The owners consent. Except in these cases, either party has a right to insist on a division of the property. In the case where a courtyard ( hatzer ) is owned by several partners, each of them has to contribute to the usual requirements of a court; if they divide it, a partition wall or fence must be erected in accordance with certain rules. The previous partners are now neighbors; and their relations are described in chapter 2. A courtyard less than 8 amot (approx. 18 inches × 8 = 12ft) can only be divided if both partners agree to
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1974-430: The property of the husband; while the other party contends that he died first, and that the wife's heirs inherit her property. As legal documents are of great importance in the problems dealt with in the three Babas, chapter 10 contains regulations concerning the writing of such documents. Of these one peculiarity may be mentioned; namely, the difference between get pashut , a simple, unfolded document, and get mekushar ,
2021-452: The right of a man to donate his property according to his pleasure (8:5). Complicated cases are dealt with in chapter 9; such as the simultaneous claims of the heirs, the wife, and the creditors of the deceased; or the conflicting claims of the heirs of the husband and of those of the wife, where the husband and wife are found dead at the same time; the heirs of the former contending that she died first, and that by her death her property became
2068-653: The same. Jewish Babylonian Aramaic language The language was closely related to other Eastern Aramaic dialects such as Mandaic . Its original pronunciation is uncertain, and has to be reconstructed with the help of these kindred dialects and of the reading tradition of the Yemenite Jews , and where available those of the Iraqi , Syrian and Egyptian Jews . The value of the Yemenite reading tradition has been challenged by Matthew Morgenstern . (The vocalized Aramaic texts with which Jews are familiar, from
2115-431: The stones of the wall. Chapter 2: The fundamental rule about neighboring property is that the owner of the adjoining property must avoid everything that might prove a nuisance to the neighbor, or become a source of injury to the neighbor's property. "The noise of a smith's hammer, of a mill, or of children in school, is not to be considered a nuisance" (2:3). Disputes as regards to injury or nuisance are generally settled by
2162-414: The transfer of a house, a court, a winepress, a bath, a township, or a field, much depends on the meaning of these terms, which are fully defined in chapter 4. For example: "He that sells an olive press has ipso facto sold therewith the lower millstone ( Hebrew : ים ) and the upper grinding-stone ( Hebrew : ממל ), etc." In the Mishnah similar definitions are given of a boat, a cart, a yoke of oxen, and
2209-466: Was paid in full from a man's property in the event of his divorcing her during her lifetime, or of his pre-deceasing her. This same sum, according to Mishnaic exegete Obadiah Bartenura , who cites Maimonides , is always 1 ⁄ 8 the weight of the 'Shekel of the Sanctuary' (Tyrian coinage), which for every 200 shekels in Tyrian coinage, only 25 were required to be pledged in a virgin's ketubah ,
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