The document summarizes key differences between a ketubah (Jewish marriage contract) and a Jewish prenuptial agreement. It explains that a ketubah promises payment to the wife if her husband dies or divorces her, while a prenup is an arbitration agreement requiring a couple to use a Beth Din (rabbinical court) to settle disputes. The document also discusses how to persuade couples to sign a prenup by emphasizing its importance for protecting women's rights, and notes that prenups should be signed close to the wedding date and involve a notary.

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Kallah Teacher Workshop:
The Jewish Prenup
Esther Macner, Esq.
The Four Questions
• How does the Ketubah differ from the Jewish prenup?
• What are the halakhic issues that the prenup addresses?
• How does a beit din decision get enforced by an American
civil court?
• How do you persuade the Kallah/Chosson and their families
to use the prenup? How and when does it get signed?
How does the Ketubah differ from the Jewish prenup?
• Where did the Ketubah come from?
• The Ketubah was created to avoid a husband divorcing a wife
against her will
• “When a man takes a wife and possesses her, (if) she fails to
please him because he finds something unseemly about her,
he writes her a bill of divorcement, hands it to her, and sends
her away from his house.” Deuteronomy 24:1
• “A man who gives a divorce is not like a woman who is
divorced. For while a woman can be divorced with her
consent as well as without it, a man divorces only with his full
consent.” Mishnah Yevamot 14:1
• The ketubah was already developed by the time of the
mishnah
• There are three ways to get married – intercourse (be’a),
shtar (contract) and kesef (money/exchange of valuables)
• The ketubah is NOT the shtar, rather it is a takanah on the
kesef route for marriage
How does the Ketubah differ from the Jewish prenup?
• What does the ketubah do?
• It promises 200 zuzim to the wife in case of death of or
divorce from her husband
• Originally, the husband would use the year between erusin
and kedushin to amass the 200 zuzim
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• There are three ways to get married – intercourse (be’a),
shtar (contract) and kesef (money/exchange of valuables)
• The ketubah is NOT the shtar, rather it is a takanah on the
kesef route for marriage
How does the Ketubah differ from the Jewish prenup?
• What does the ketubah do?
• It promises 200 zuzim to the wife in case of death of or
divorce from her husband
• Originally, the husband would use the year between erusin
and kedushin to amass the 200 zuzim
• However, the money began to prevent people getting married
• Thus! The 200 zuzim is only given after the death or divorce,
rather than right at the wedding
• AND no one could be married without it (even, for example, if
the wife didn’t need the 200 zuzim because she was
independently wealthy)
How does the Ketubah differ from the Jewish prenup?
• What does the Jewish prenup do?
• The Jewish prenup is an arbitration agreement – meaning
that it binds the chosson and kallah to use a particular
method to settle a certain kind of dispute
• In this case, it binds them to the Beth Din of America if their
marriage is coming to an end and they need a get
• It is partially a response to the fact that the Jewish community
for the most part does not have the power of enforcement on
its own legal documents (following emancipation)
• It is not a religious document, but rather a legal document to
help avoid the legal problems that have cropped up due to
the status change mentioned above
Beth Din of America
What are the halakhic issues that the prenup addresses?
• Why not just say, “if she calls him to a beit din, he agrees to
give him a get” ? Why an arbitration agreement?
• Asmachta:
o In Jewish law, in order for a contract to be valid, both
parties must have fully intended to accept what he or she is
obligating him or herself to.
o Since we assume that people don’t get married with the
expectation of a divorce, neither party can sign an
agreement obligating them to give or accept a get in the
future.
o The prenup, therefore, is based on the present obligation to
support the other spouse for so long as they are Jewishly
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• Why not just say, “if she calls him to a beit din, he agrees to
give him a get” ? Why an arbitration agreement?
• Asmachta:
o In Jewish law, in order for a contract to be valid, both
parties must have fully intended to accept what he or she is
obligating him or herself to.
o Since we assume that people don’t get married with the
expectation of a divorce, neither party can sign an
agreement obligating them to give or accept a get in the
future.
o The prenup, therefore, is based on the present obligation to
support the other spouse for so long as they are Jewishly
married.
• Get me’usah
o A get not given voluntarily by the husband is deemed
coerced and therefore invalid (remember Yevamot above).
o A financial penalty for not giving a get might be considered
coercion. However, since this is about the fulfillment of an
obligation rather than about a penalty, we avoid the get
me’usah issue.
Obligations
How does a beit din decision get enforced by an American
civil court?
• Doesn’t it violate the separation of church and state?
o The 1st amendment states, “Congress shall make no law
respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the
free exercise thereof.”
o But the courts CAN uphold a beit din’s decision (having
nothing to do with HOW they got to the decision) because
of ‘neutral contract principles’ because both parties agreed,
in a legally enforceable contract, to arbitrate.
• Freedom of Contract – Any two people can agree to use any
kind of system to settle a dispute.
o Example: Two people could agree to use a crystal ball, and
the court could uphold it, if both parties signed a legally
enforceable contract to arbitrate using the crystal ball
o Therefore, the beit din functions as an arbitration forum,
whose decisions are enforceable in civil court (so long as
they don’t violate other secular laws or policies)
o The dayan or borer is the arbitrator and the psak is the
award
How do you persuade the Kallah/Chosson and their
families to use the prenup?
• No one wants to think about their own marriage falling apart,
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the court could uphold it, if both parties signed a legally
enforceable contract to arbitrate using the crystal ball
o Therefore, the beit din functions as an arbitration forum,
whose decisions are enforceable in civil court (so long as
they don’t violate other secular laws or policies)
o The dayan or borer is the arbitrator and the psak is the
award
How do you persuade the Kallah/Chosson and their
families to use the prenup?
• No one wants to think about their own marriage falling apart,
especially not close to the wedding
• Every woman needed a ketubah, even if they were
independently wealthy and didn’t need the 200 zuzim to
survive
o This is so that the ketubah becomes accepted by everyone,
not stigmatized as something that only poor women need
o It is about the social change that the rabbis are trying to
achieve to protect women
• The prenup is trying to do something similar. In our times,
women need more protection than the ketubah offers.
• Probably not you, but do it for all those women out there who
do need it. Help it to become the norm so that no one has to
suffer because they couldn’t get their get even though the
marriage is dead.
How and when does it get signed?
• Both the bride and groom sign it
• It should be done close to the wedding – some rabbis like to
do it publicly at the wedding to continue making it the norm
• You need a notary to make it a legal document
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