The Pomegranate Vine Ketubah
Pomegranates are a beautiful theme for a modern ketubah. They have grown on our earth for thousands of years, showing up during much of that time within Jewish art and décor. Even biblically we find pomegranates adorning all sorts of items, such as the priestly garment: “And on its bottom hem you shall make pomegranates of blue, purple, and crimson wool, on its bottom hem all around, and golden bells in their midst all around. A golden bell and a pomegranate, a golden bell and a pomegranate, on the bottom hem of the robe, all around” (Exodus 28).
As one of the “seven species” mentioned in the Torah, pomegranates have a special connection to Israel. They are mentioned in Deuteronomy 8: “A land of wheat and barley, vines and figs and pomegranates, a land of oil producing olives and honey.”
Pomegranates have a special connection to the Torah, since they “always” contain precisely 613 seeds – exactly the number of mitzvot in the Torah! On Rosh Hashana, we recite a blessing that asks that we be as filled with mitzvot as pomegranates are filled with seeds.
When I look at the Pomegranate Vine Ketubah, the flavor of the pomegranate comes to mind. The pomegranate flavor is powerful and tangy and distinctive. The color is magnificent. Great patience is required to open the fruit and release the seeds. And there is something magnetic about the shape of a pomegranate. I have spent whole afternoons crafting pomegranates from clay and can’t ever seem to make enough of them. I include pomegranates in all sorts of creations.
Pomegranates are gorgeous symbols of good fortune, of wisdom, and of righteousness. On Pomegranate Vine Ketubah, they serve as good omens to a long marriage filled with all the best of life together.
