The Jewish Wedding

A traditional Jewish wedding is full of meaningful rituals, symbolizing the beauty of the relationship of husband and wife, as well as their obligations to each other and to the Jewish people.

THE WEDDING DAY
The dawning wedding day heralds the happiest and holiest day of one’s life. This day is considered a personal Yom Kippur for the groom and bride, for on this day all their past mistakes are forgiven as they merge into a new complete soul.

KETUBAH (Marriage Contract)
A ketubah is a Jewish prenuptial agreement. It is considered an integral part of a traditional Jewish marriage. It states that the husband commits to provide food, clothing and marital relations to his wife, and that he will pay a specified sum of money if he divorces her. If he dies, leaving her a widow, the ketubah amount is the first charge on his estate.

The ketubah is one of the predominant forms of Jewish art, or judaica. They are usually hung prominently in the home by the married couple as a daily reminder of their vows and responsibilities to each other.

BEDEKIN
(Veiling Ceremony)
The groom is accompanied by his father, the bride’s father, relatives and other guests to greet his bride where he sees her for the first time in seven days and lowers the veil over her face.

CHUPAH
(Wedding
Ceremony)
The groom is escorted by his parents to the chupah first and the bride, accompanied by her
parents, is brought to him, just as Eve was brought to Adam. Open on all four sides, the chupah is reminiscent of Abraham, our forefather’s house which had entrances on all four sides in order to warmly welcome any approaching guests. When the bride arrives at the chupah, she circles the groom seven times with her mother and future mother-in-law, while the groom continues to pray. This symbolizes the idea of the woman being a protective, surrounding light of the household that illuminates it with understanding and love from within. The number seven parallels the seven days of creation and symbolizes that the bride and groom are about to create their own “new world” together.

THE KIDDUSHIN (Betrothal)
During the Kiddushin, the Rabbi makes two blessings. The first blessing is over the wine, the traditional symbol of joy, signifying the sanctification of the marriage and the second blessing is thanking G-d for the sanctity of marriage and giving us the opportunity to perform this Mitzvah. The groom then takes a plain gold ring and places it on the finger of the bride and recites, “Behold you are sanctified to me with this ring, according to the Law of Moses and Israel”.

SHEVA BRACHOS (Seven Blessings)
After this, the sheva brachos are recited, either by one Rabbi, or at many weddings a different blessing is given to various people the families wish to honor: (1) You are blessed, Lord our G-d, the sovereign of the world, who created everything for his glory. (2) You are blessed, Lord our G-d, the sovereign of the world, the creator of man. (3) You are blessed, Lord our G-d, the sovereign of the world, who created man in His image, in the pattern of His own likeness, and
provided for the perpetuation of his kind. You are blessed, Lord, the creator of man. (4) Let the barren city be jubilantly happy and joyful at her joyous reunion with her children. You are blessed, Lord, who makes Zion rejoice with her children. (5) Let the loving couple be very happy, just as You made Your creation happy in the garden of Eden, so long ago. You are blessed, Lord, who makes the bridegroom and the bride happy. (6) You are blessed, Lord
our G-d, the sovereign of the world, who created joy and celebration, bridegroom and bride, rejoicing jubilation, pleasure and delight, love and brotherhood, peace and friendship. May there soon be heard, Lord our G-d, in the cities of Judea and in the streets of Jerusalem, the sound of joy and the sound of celebration, the voice of a bridegroom and the voice of a bride, the happy shouting of bridegrooms from their weddings and of young men from their feasts of song.
You are blessed, Lord, who makes the bridegroom and the bride rejoice together. (7) You are blessed, Lord our G-d, the sovereign of the world, creator of the fruit of the vine.
 

BREAKING OF THE GLASS
A glass is now placed on the floor, and the groom shatters it with his foot. This serves as an expression of sadness that even at the height of our personal joy, we must still remember the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem.