What Does She Bring With Her?

In the past, young women and their families would traditionally collect objects in preparation for her future married life, long before these young women met young men. The goal was to make it easier for her to move into her new home. The dowry was collected in a unique hope chest “trousseau” and was a combination of warmth from her mother’s home and useful items for life.

Modern life has transformed the way the dowry is collected. As a result of changes and developments in the status of women and their traditional roles, ready-made, store-bought items have replaced “embroidery and handicrafts” in accordance with the new needs of the modern home. This has led to the loss of the symbolic and traditional meaning of the dowry.

In Judaism, the dowry that the wife brought to her husband, such as real estate, slaves or personal belongings, was recorded in the marriage contract “Ketubah”.

Today, the woman studies, works, lives alone. The woman is independent. She decides and chooses on her own. What does the modern bride bring to her marriage? What is in her hope chest? Is it her education, her career? Is it her laptop? In what position does the woman want to be in the transition from her parents’ house to a new life? What is today’s dowry?

This exhibition presents a contemporary interpretation to the dowry and a new dialogue of the woman with tradition and life in our age. It exposes the emotional layers of her place in the home and marriage.