Past Exhibits

Artistic Unions: Ketubbot in Oregon
May 4 - August 31, 2003

Artistic Unions - Ketubbot in Oregon featured a selection of Jewish marriage contracts from the community, sometimes showing three generations within the same family, along with wedding photographs and related artifacts borrowed from the community. These contracts represented a wide range of history and artistry. Some were simple printed forms; others were decorated and personalized with a wealth of symbolic and narrative motifs. The oldest ketubbah in the exhibit dated to 1888 and was given to Sarah Solomon when she married Sigmund Sichel. The ketubbah that belonged to Etta Groa and Kadish Kosky married in London in 1903, typified the pre-printed, formulaic documents on which the officiating rabbi inserted the necessary details and the witnesses signed. Deborah Budner and Steven Eisenbach, married 89 years later, chose to add their own prose.

There were also spectacular artworks by professional scribes and artists, such as Shonna Husbands-Hankin, Amy Fagin, Mina Cohen and Fran Sloan all of whom create pieces of Judaica for new generations to cherish. The documents testified to wonderful moments in the lives of Oregon Jewish families. All revealed social, cultural and historical information that shed light on Jewish life in Oregon.

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Past Exhibits