When a couple from Washingtonswerteplay, D.C., a Baha’i man and a Jewish woman, married in 2012, they wanted a ketubah, or Jewish decorative marriage contract, that reflected their diverse backgrounds.
As a nod to their meeting in an Arabic language program, they imagined a ketubah that included phrases in Arabic and Farsi (Baha’i is a religion that originated in Iran, and Farsi is Iran’s predominant language), as well as standard Hebrew and English text.
They wondered who might have the linguistic and artistic skills to create such a bespoke item.
Enter Josh Berer, who is also based in Washington. Mr. Berer makes his living as an Arabic calligrapher, and most of his work comes from designing Arabic tattoos. However, since that job in 2012, a small subset of his business has become multilingual nikahnamas-ketubahs. (A nikahnama is an Islamic marriage contract.)
Mr. Berer, who is Jewish, created the ketubah for his own wedding in 2014. After earning a bachelor’s degree in Arabic from the University of Washington and doing graduate studies in the Uzbek, Dari/Farsi languages at Indiana University, he was certified as a master Arabic calligrapher in 2020 after eight years of full-time study with a private teacher. Arabic calligraphy is so exacting that a student only passes when they can copy a sentence without needing a correction. Mr. Berer said it took him two years to pass the first lesson and eight years to complete all 15 or so lessons in the curriculum.
Mr. Berer’s personalized ketubahs start at $1,200 and often vary between $2,500 and $3,000 for more detailed ketubahs that include a decorative border with illuminated gold work or paper-cut designs, with at least a month’s lead time required for completion.
This interview has been lightly edited and condensed.
ImageMr. Berer makes paper, grinds ink, and pulverizes gold for his custom ketubahs.Credit...Alyssa Schukar for The New York TimesImageHis personalized ketubahs start at $1,200, with prices rising to $3,000 for more intricate ones with illuminated gold work or paper-cut designs.Credit...Alyssa Schukar for The New York TimesWe are having trouble retrieving the article content.
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