Things to Remember with an Interfaith Ketubah

If your Ketubah will be an interfaith ketubah, then there are a few issues to keep in mind that you might want to remember:

  • Decide if you want to include the Hebrew text or not. One question we’ve seen many interfaith couples debate among themselves is, how much do you want to emphasize the Jewishness of the Ketubah? It’s a complex question because a Ketubah, by its very nature, is already deeply Jewish! We’ve seen many couples opt for both the Hebrew and English (Interfaith) texts; but often, they want only the English Interfaith text as well.
  • If there is an officiant but no rabbi, then, do you want the officiant to review the Ketubah text? Some officiants care deeply about the text of the Ketubah contract; others view it as a quaint traditional and formality. There is space for either tradition–but your Ketubah Team needs to know whether to review the ketubah text with your interfaith officiant!
  • Usually, the non-Jewish spouse’s parents won’t have Hebrew names. This can create some confusion if we use the Hebrew text for the Ketubah: should we transliterate the names into Hebrew? Or should we remove the mention of the parents altogether? We can do both; most couples vote for the transliteration.
  • Do you want to incorporate themes from the non-Jewish partner’s tradition? There are many ways to incorporate themes from both religions or traditions into the Ketubah: a Celtic ketubah with Celtic symbols; or a trilingual Ketubah with three texts is another.
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