Take a tour of ketubot with Web as your guide

According to the Ohr Somayach site, "this contract is ordained by Mishnaic law (circa 170 CE) and according to some authorities dates back to Biblical times. The ketubah, written in Aramaic, details the husband's obligations to his wife: food, clothing, dwelling and pleasure. "

The site is at http://www.ohr.org.il/judaism/articles/wedding.htm.

The traditional ketubah is written in Aramaic, the language of the Babylonian Jews. You can find an English translation at the Information Page on Jewish Family Law at http://users.aol.com/agunah/family.htm. At the e-Judaica Web site, http://store.yahoo.com/ejudaica/huppaketubah.html, you'll find an explanation of the ketubah variations available.

For example, the Conservative ketubah includes the "Lieberman Clause" which was added to allow either the man or the woman to initiate a divorce.

Although the ketubah is essentially a document, its adornment is a cherished tradition. As Yale University's Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library eloquently puts it: "These decorations transform the ketubah from a dry legal document into a work of art, and a window into the world and culture of the Jewish communities that produced them."

The Web site is at http://www.library.yale.edu/exhibition/judaica/brbml.html.

There are many Internet sites where you can browse (and even order) contemporary ketubot such as The Complete Jewish Wedding at http://www.ketubahs.com, The Ketubah Collection at http://www.judaicconnection.com and Ketubah, Ketubah at http://www.ketubah.com. You'll find a huge selection of ketubot with names like Arch of Yemen, Flowers of Paradise, Shalom Bayit and even the Eco Ketubah.

And if you prefer something a bit more ancient, you can take a look at http://www.usisrael.org/jsource/loc/Ketuboth1.html for some of the treasures held by the Library of Congress.

No matter how beautiful your ketubah is -- or how long you have been married -- Anita Diamant says don't just admire your ketubah, read it regularly.

Diamant quotes the Baal Shem Tov, the 18th century founder of Chassidism who "advised couples to re-read their ketubah whenever they were fighting. It would remind them, he said, of how they felt as brides and grooms, hopeful, smitten, surrounded by good wishes."

You can find her column at http://www.jewishfamily.com/families/ former_columnists/displayfamily.php?text=anita_diamant/my_ketubah.txt.

Diamant adds that it shouldn't take a fight to get couples to re-read their ketubah. "It ought to be one of those health-and-safety habits, like checking your smoke detector when you change the clocks for daylight savings. Likewise, on every wedding anniversary, Jewish couples should sit down and read the contract they signed with stars in their eyes...Even the most exquisite ketubah is never simply a work of art. A ketubah always signifies the Jewishness of a love story, a marriage, a home, a family, a past and a future."