Honoring the New Year of Trees, 5781

Ketubah with Tree, Ketubah and Tree, Ketubah of Tree, Ketubah in Tree….

Happy Tu B’Shevat, aka New Year of the Trees and Jewish Arbor Day, observed on this, the 15th (tu) of the Hebrew month of Shvat!

May this next year be a time of growth, better health, renewal, and greater awareness of our environment and impact.

Images left to right: Poetic Hebrew phrase with cut paper details, Red Earth ketubah text next to vintage paper with a red tree motif, Ketubah text written on a large piece of sanded and polished wood, circular Ketubah text written for collaboration with artist Ali Dachis of @mayimarts.

Going Dutch for a Trilingual Ketubah

Adding additional languages to a ketubah is a special way to honor your various backgrounds, be inclusive of different sides of your family and make the reading and ritual of the ketubah more accessible, and offer an opportunity to include even more color as well as texture into the ketubah.

I have previously hand-lettered up to four languages side-by-side on a ketubah. This is the first time writing in Dutch, and the first time a couple has requested my interlinear format for three languages. Whenever possible I try to match up lines so that what you read in one line is echoed in the other language underneath. Luckily, for this trilingual ketubah in Hebrew, English, and Dutch, I was able to sync all three languages from start to finish.

This ketubah is written in the ink colors pearlescent Dutch Blue (naturally!), pearlescent Birdwing Copper, and Cool Grey (all made by Daler-Rowney), surrounded with the ’Infinite’ border design, and further decorated with a Hebrew poetic phrase which translates to, “When I go forth to find you, I find you seeking me.”