ViewMate - Image Archive, Image 115298 - Translation - Hebrew - Poland


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Information

Picture

Question

Category: Translation - Hebrew
Approval Date: 9/6/2026 6:05 PM
Family Surname: Karmel
Country: Poland

Click the picture to enlarge

I am looking for a complete translation of this ketubah from Hebrew/Aramaic into English, including both the printed text and all handwritten additions. In particular, I would appreciate help deciphering the names, dates, places, and amounts written by hand. If possible, I would also like an explanation of the different clauses. I am particularly interested in finding someone with experience reading and translating ketubot or historical Jewish documents. I'm from Argentina, and this Ketubah most likely corresponds to the marriage between my great grandfather and great grandmother, and i'm not quite certain if it took place in Buenos Aires- Argentina, or in Poland before they came here. Thank you very much for your help.

Response

9/9/2026 10:15 PM

on Wednesday the 3rd day of Adar 5723(Feb 27 1963) in Buenos Aires in America
Groom Yoseph Shaul (Saul) son of Yehuda ___ Karmel
Esther daughter of Avraham

9/9/2026 11:36 PM

the only written amount is hundred
this is a very standard kesubah

9/10/2026 7:28 AM

The name of the groom's father is Yehuda Arye. The bride was a convert, which is what "daughter of Avraham" refers to (converts are traditionally described on ketubas as children of the patriarch Abraham, instead of using their real fathers' name).
Explanation for the standard printed text used here can be found readily online.

9/11/2026 12:33 AM

This is a standard printed Ashkenazi ketubah (marriage contract), with the genealogical details entered by hand into the blanks. The printed Aramaic is the traditional formula; I translate its framework first, then give my reading of each handwritten field with a confidence note. The scan is a little small for the cursive, so several readings are flagged as uncertain, and I end with the four spots where a closer photo would let me finish the job.

THE PRINTED FORMULA (framework translation): "On the [day] of the week, the [date] of the month of [month], the year five thousand seven hundred and [ ] since the creation of the world, by the count we keep here in [place], in the country of America: the groom [name] son of [father], known as [ ], said to this [status] [name] daughter of [father], known as [ ]: Be my wife according to the law of Moses and Israel, and I will work for you, honor, feed and support you, as Jewish husbands faithfully do, and I give you the bride price of [ ] silver zuzim which is due you by [Torah or rabbinic] law, plus your food, clothing and needs, and to live with you in the way of all the earth. And she consented and became his wife. And this dowry that she brought from her father's house, whether in silver, jewelry, clothing, house furnishings or bedding, the groom accepted at [ ] zekukim of refined silver, and the groom added from his own another [ ] zekukim, together [ ] zekukim. And thus said the groom: the surety for this ketubah, dowry and addition I take upon myself and my heirs after me, to be paid from the best of all my property under heaven, acquired or to be acquired, movable or immovable, even from the cloak on my shoulders, in my lifetime and after, from this day forever. And we have made the kinyan (formal act of acquisition) from [groom] for [bride], with an instrument valid for the purpose, and everything is firm and established. Attested [witness], witness. Attested [witness], witness."

THE HANDWRITTEN FIELDS, as I read them:

Day of week: the fourth day, Wednesday. Clear.

Day of month: shelosha asar, the 13th. Confirmed by the calendar check below.

Month: Elul, moderately confident.

Year: five thousand seven hundred and... the tens word reads to me as thirty-two, i.e. 5732; twenty-two (5722) is possible.

Calendar cross-check: 13 Elul falls on a Wednesday in all the plausible years, so the weekday supports the 13th: Wednesday 3 September 1952 (5712), Wednesday 12 September 1962 (5722), Wednesday 23 August 1972 (5732). My best combined reading is Wednesday, 13 Elul 5732 = 23 August 1972; the family's generation should settle the year word. My alternative reading of the day, the 23rd, lands on Shabbat in these years, which is impossible for a wedding, so the 13th it is.

Place: Buenos Aires, followed by the printed "in the country of America" (a generic form printed for the Americas).

Groom: Yosef, second word reads like Taub, son of Yehuda plus a word I cannot resolve at this size (possibly a second given name).

Bride: her given name defeats me at this resolution; it opens with a looping letter, something in the Golda or Zisl family. Daughter of Avraham, fairly clear where it repeats in the kinyan line near the bottom.

Bride's status: three separate fields agree she was a widow. The word after "this" in the opening reads like armalta, the bride price reads meah (one hundred) zuzim, and the word after it reads mi-derabbanan, by rabbinic law, which is the widow's formula. A first marriage would say betulta, two hundred, and mi-deoraita.

Amounts: the dowry follows the standard pattern of fifty zekukim accepted plus fifty added, one hundred in total; the first "fifty" (chamishin) is legible, the others less so.

The two "known as" (ha-mechuneh) blanks, which usually carry the everyday names, are filled in but too small for me to read here.

... ran out of max chars....

9/11/2026 12:34 AM

... finishing my response ...

Witnesses: two signatures, and I cannot do them justice at this scan size. Worth the effort though: witness names are often the genealogical gold, since they were commonly relatives.

If you can re-photograph four spots close up and straight on, I will gladly refine all of this: (1) the year words in the third line, (2) the groom's name mid-document, (3) the bride's name in the line just before ve-hakol sharir ve-kayam, (4) the two witness signatures at the bottom. One structural note: the ketubah gives patronymics only, no surnames for the bride's side, so if Karmel is the family you are researching, it would attach through the bride's or a witness's identity rather than appear in the text itself.

9/16/2026 2:19 AM

convert is correct, not widow. It say 'giyorta', not 'amartala'. Otherwise Yosef Shaul ben Yehuda Aryeh and Ester bas Avraham are correct.

ViewMate Posting VM 115298

Submitted by Uriel Elian Karmel

Learn more about our organizational leadership, mission, and values. There are numerous opportunities to get involved yourself!

Search millions of records from around the globe, including more than 4 million records related to the Holocaust, and more than 4.2 million burial records. Records are continually added each month - check back often for new information!

Discover your ancestral town, explore geographic/regional based sections of the JewishGen site (Research Divisions), and explore what daily life was like for your ancestors - and what we can learn from them today.

Enhance your research with online classes and dozens of helpful articles. University students can apply for the Bennett & Robin Greenspan L'dor V'dor Legacy Program, and those "out of school" can help preserve Jewish Heritage in Poland with unique study & volunteer experiences.

Connect with tens of thousands of other JewishGen members via the Family Finder, Discussion Group, Facebook Group, and ViewMate. It's a great way to share success, ask questions, and stay informed of the happenings throughout the Jewish genealogical community.

The JewishGen site is offered as a free public resource. However, it costs a lot of money to maintain and expand our services. If you are in a position to do so, please consider a contribution today - your support will make a difference!

ViewMate Posting VM 115298

Submitted by Uriel Elian Karmel