[Avodah] woman reading a ketuba

[Shoshana L. Boublil]

> From: Zev Sero <zev at sero.name>
> Subject: Re: [Avodah] woman reading a ketuba
> Micha Berger wrote:
>
>> The flaw is that if we really felt this line of reasoning, we wouldn't
>> give the job out as a kibud. Mesadeir qedushin has to be qualified. The
>> berakhos should be from people whose berakhos are more likely to
>> matter. So giving these out are compliments, and thus kibudim.
>> But reading the kesuvah?
>
> The kesuvah-reader also has to be qualified - he has to be able to read
> Aramaic without breaking his teeth.  Unfortunately, it seems that people
> are not aware of this requirement, and too often give it to someone who,
> however good he is at rabbonus or teaching, is unqualified for this job.


It is absolutely true that the reader of the Ketuba has to be qualified. 
But not just with the ability to read Aramaic as RZS mentions.

Rav Yaakov Ariel recommends that the Ketuba only be given to a rabbi 
qualified to pasken on the Ketuba.  There are a number of other Chief Rabbis 
of cities in Israel who do not allow others to read the Ketuba when they are 
Mesader Kedushin. This is especially important nowadays, when many couples 
bring their own "hand made", decorated Ketuba - not realizing that there may 
be a problem of Nusach.

While the Mesader Kedushin is supposed to catch any problems prior to the 
chuppa, sometimes they don't read it through, and this rabbi who reads the 
ketuba can save the couple a lot of problems in the future.

That said, one member noted that at a wedding where a woman read the ketuba, 
she was the kallah's teacher, and perhaps she was indeed knowledeable about 
ketuba so that this too wouldn't have been a problem.

Shoshana L. Boublil