Crustaceans Poem by gershon hepner

Gifts to brides are called prestations.
Jewish men give them to girls
who are revolted by crustaceans,
preferring diamonds and pearls.

Inspired by a paper by Gail Labovitz of the American Jewish University given at UCLA on April 1,2009, entitled “’Go to Your Ketubah: Bridewealth, Indirect Dowry, and the Rabbinic Marriage Contract.” She pointed out that payments, gifts and exchanges exchanged between the bridal couple and their families are often referred to as prestations, and discussed whether the Jewish ketubah falls into this category. When Carol Bakhos asked me whether I had a poem to read to Gail before asking her my questions, I waxed enthusiastically about the new rhyming word for crustaceans that Gail had taught me.

4/1/09