A Jewish Wedding · 2 days ago · The bride and groom then sign the ‘ketubah’. This is a...

A Jewish Wedding

A Jewish wedding is a great celebration of joy and happiness. It unites twopeople together in front of God and all their friends and family. There aremany traditions in a Jewish wedding ceremony and during the weeksbefore the actual day.

The Bride and Groom

Traditionally, Jewish parentshad help from a matchmakercalled a ‘shadchan’.

The ‘shadchan’ would suggest asuitable match for a girl or boy.

The groom would then ask thebride’s father if he could marryhis daughter.

Did You Know…?

The groom is the chatan whichis Hebrew for ‘groom’ and thebride is the kallah.

Tena’im

When the engagement is agreed, there is a special ceremony. This is knownas ‘tena’im’. This ceremony includes the breaking of a plate to representthe destruction of the temples in Jerusalem as mentioned in the JewishBible.

The purpose is to remind thosepresent that even in the joy of thecelebration, there is sadness for theloss of the temples in Jerusalem.

Aufruf

Traditionally, the bride andgroom do not see one another inthe week before the wedding day.

There will be a ceremony called‘Aufruf’ where the groom will goto the synagogue and take part inthe service. During this service,sweets are showered on him andthen food and drink are served tocontinue the celebrations.

A synagogue is a Jewish place of worship.

Mikveh

Often, a Jewish bride-to-be will take part in a ritual bath called the‘mikveh’. As the bride-to-be enters the water, she says a special prayer.Traditionally, this represented her being spiritually cleansed beforebeginning the marriage.

Kabbalat PanimOn the day of the wedding, the bride andgroom will traditionally fast. This is to showthat they have cleansed themselves of all pastmistakes and are entering into the marriage ina pure state.

The groom will wear black tie or morning suitand the bride will wear a white wedding dress.

Before the wedding ceremony, the bride andgroom will usually greet their guestsseparately, which is called ‘Kabbalat Panim’.The bride will be seated on a throne; thegroom will stand and be surrounded by theguests who will raise a toast to him.

Did You Know…?

The wedding day can beheld on any day exceptbetween sunset on aFriday and before sunseton the Saturday, as thisis the Jewish Sabbath.

Bedeken

A rabbi (the Jewish spiritual leader)does not have to conduct the ceremonybut they do need to supervise it.

Bedeken is the part of the ceremonywhere the groom places a veil overthe bride’s face. Traditionally, thisshowed the groom’s promise to clotheand protect his wife.

In the Torah, there is a passage thatexplains how when a lady calledRebecca married Isaac, she coveredher face before the wedding.

ChuppahThe ceremony takes placebeneath the chuppah. This isa small, white canopy andrepresents the home thecouple will share together.

Traditionally, the bride walksto the chuppah with herfather. She then walks aroundthe groom seven times. Sevenis a symbolic number in theJewish faith. It representsthe completeness which thecouple will find together.

Traditionally, the ceremony beneath the chuppah takes place outdoors but

it can also take place indoors.

The bride and groom then sign the‘ketubah’. This is a marriage contractand explains the groom’s responsibilitiesto look after and care for his wife. It issigned in front of four witnesses.

The Wedding CeremonyThe groom then gives the bride a gold ring. It should be a plain band withno stones or patterns. This represents the simple beauty of married life.

As he gives the ring to the bride, the groom says,“Behold you are betrothed unto me with this ring,

according to the law of Moses and Israel.”

They will then rejoin theirguests and celebrate witha special meal, music anddancing.

Blessing the MarriageThe rabbi or person conducting the ceremony, will then bless the couple’sfuture. The ceremony ends when the groom stamps on a glass. This is atime when Jews remember how Jerusalem was destroyed in the past.

Guests will shout, “Mazel Tov!” whichmeans congratulations or good fortune.

The bride and groom are then taken toa private room, where they have sometime together and eat something forthe first time that day.