Choosing a Kesubah: Handwritten, Fill-in-the-Blanks or Computerized?

Choosing a Kesubah: Handwritten, Fill-in-the-Blanks or Computerized?

The content of any legal document can be divided into two components: tofes (standard text) and toref (specific information). The toref aspect of a get (Jewish bill of divorce) must be inscribed l’shmah (“for her name” i.e., personalized and written on the spot upon instruction from the husband)—and a gezeiras Chazal (Rabbinic decree) was instituted that the tofes must be l’shmah as well.

A custom-made document is not necessary for other situations requiring a shtar (contract)—including a kesubah (marriage contract). According to many poskim, a fill-in form that is personalized with the date of the wedding and name of the kallah (bride) and chosson (groom) suffices.

However, some Rishonim state that we should be machmir (stringent) that all toref details of shtaros be personalized: gazrinan shtaros atu gittin (they decreed on [all] contracts on account of bills of divorce), as a precaution against mistakenly accepting a get that contains toref that was prepared in advance. Nevertheless, there is no tradition to write an entire kesubah l’shmah; creating a gezeirah l’gezeirah (a decree upon a decree) regarding the standard tofes of any shtar besides a get is outside normative halachah.

A form with blanks may be used for a kesubah according to this shitah (opinion), but the standard store-bought kesubah can present issues, as it includes some preprinted information that is considered toref—such as the year of the marriage and the monetary value of the shtar.

Another reason some are stringent to fill in the toref details of a kesubah on site is to avoid mechzeh k’shikra (the appearance of falsehood) by describing an event that has not yet occurred. Since the kinyan had not been made when the rest of the kesubah is written, some Rabbonim have the custom of specifically filling in the word “vekeneina” (…and we made a kinyan—acquisition) only after the kinyan is actually made.

A pre-purchased form also creates a discrepancy in the appearance of the standardized text versus handwritten information in the blanks. This lack of uniformity is a general halachic issue regarding any legal document—that the inconsistent writing may later make it suspect as a forgery.

An alternative to a preprinted form is writing a kesubah entirely by hand. But this creates a different set of difficulties: handwritten documents are susceptible to mistakes, which can pose serious halachic issues. A no-compromise solution is offered by modern technology: a computer-generated document that can be reviewed for mistakes and has all the pertinent details filled in at the right time with letters that are uniform in appearance.

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Practical Halacha: One minute a day. By Horav Yosef Yeshaya Braun, shlita, Mara D'asra and member of the Badatz of Crown Heights.