Thursday, January 3, 2008

Happy Anniversary, Mom & Dad

Today is my parents' 38th wedding anniversary. In honor of them, I present 13 things about Jewish weddings.

1. First, you gotta get engaged. The engagement can be celebrated at an engagement party/announcement party, known in frum circles as a "vort". The parents of the bride and groom may sign an agreement, called "tenaim" or, in most modern circles, probably not. An old custom is for the mothers of the bride and groom to break a plate together to symbolize that their children will no longer be eating at their tables. Also, it symbolizes the unbreakable nature of the engagement.

2. There are restrictions in the Jewish calendar as to when a wedding can take place. No weddings on Shabbat - from Friday sundown to Saturday sundown. Traditionally, Jews have been prohibited from getting married during the period of the Omer, the days between Passover and Shavuot. In addition, the three weeks before Tisha B'Av (usually August) are also considered prohibited. Most of these restrictions are eased by Reform and some Conservative rabbis because these are considered "semi-mourning" rather than full mourning periods. For more information on this, go here. On the upside, Tuesdays are considered auspicious days to get married, as is Rosh Chodesh, the new moon. The month of Elul, preceeding the High Holy Days, is very busy but also considered a good time to get married because the name Elul is an acronym for the Song of Songs phrase "I am my beloved and my beloved is mine."

3. It is customary for both the bride and groom to go to the mikveh, the ritual bath, before their wedding. Read more about my experiences with the mikveh here.

4. Before the wedding, a marriage contract called a Ketubah is signed. (This is in addition to a civil marriage license.) Historically only the groom signed the document (and still the way things go in the Orthodox community) but most modern Jews choose to view the ketubah as a more egalitarian document. Many ketubot (plural of ketubah) are beautiful pieces of art that the bride and groom later hang in their home. My favorite thing about the ketubah is that even in the past, it was always considered the property of the woman, and was her insurance that is her husband wanted a divorce, she would receive back her bride price (goats...).

5. After the signing of the ketubah, it is customary to veil the bride, a ceremony known as the bedeken. The groom himself places the veil on his bride, to ensure that he is marrying the right woman. This tradition stems from Jacob's experience with Leah & Rachel in the Torah.

6. Traditionally the bride wears a white dress and the groom a white garment called a kittel. The kittel is also worn on Yom Kippur, and symbolizes personal purity. On the day of one's wedding, it is a chance to start fresh, and considered an opportunity for personal repentance.

6. Bride and Groom stand together under a chuppah, a marriage canopy that symbolizes the home they are about to create. It is probably the most recognizable symbol of a Jewish wedding.

7. There is a custom among many Jews that after walking down the aisle to the chuppah, the bride makes seven circles around the groom, to symbolize the protective circle of their marriage. Modern interpretations of this custom have the bride making 3 circles around the groom, the groom 3 around the bride, and 1 circle together.

8. The wedding ceremony itself is actually 2 ceremonies joined together. Wine is blessed and rings are exchanged (traditionally only the bride receives a ring but many couples exchange rings now). Rings are required to be unbroken circles, traditionally unadorned, to symbolize the never-ending circle of their love.

9. A Jewish wedding can be performed by any Jewish adult. A rabbi isn't exactly necessary. Civil law requires an officiant, however, who is licensed to perform marriages, and rabbis do fit the bill. In addition, a rabbi is likely to help the couple view their wedding as part of the whole of the Jewish community.

10. The Sheva Brachot, or Seven Blessings, are really considered the heart of the wedding ceremony. Asking for abundant blessings for the bride and groom, the blessings are usually sung beautifully and can provide an opportunity for involving friends and loved ones as readers in the ceremony. They are also repeated during the Grace after Meals at the wedding meal and traditionally at seven dinners for seven nights after the wedding. (The couple is usually hosted by friends and relatives each night, the dinners are known as sheva brachot.)

11. The final piece of a wedding ceremony is the breaking of the glass. The custom has many rationales. I like a few of them: the broken glass reminds us the brokenness of the world, even in the midst of our happiness; reminds us of those who wait for a day as happy as this one; defines the unbreakable bond of the couple; the thousands of pieces of the glass are the number of times by which the happiness of the couple will be multiplied.

11. After the ceremony, the couple gets a few moments of seclusion, known as yichud. It's a chance for the couple to connect, eat (traditionally they've been fasting all day), and share a few moments alone before the rush of the festive meal to follow!

12. Many consider the first year of a couple's married life to be special. Some follow "sweet" customs, such as dipping their Shabbat challah in honey each week instead of the customary salt. It is a chance to begin their lives together!

13. Every Jewish wedding is unique, and every community has its own customs and standards. Attending a Jewish wedding? Don't hesitate to ask questions. One great resource for attending all religious experiences is How to Be a Perfect Stranger: The Essential Religious Etiquette Handbook.

Happy Anniversary, Mom & Dad! May this year be the best yet.

See more Thursday Thirteen here.

19 comments:

Maggie said...

That was so interesting - thanks for sharing. And Happy Anniversary to your parents!

Dane Bramage said...

How very interesting. Best of wishes to your folks!

My Thursday 13 #63 is up early. It is 13 Celebrity Births in 2007 kind of the opposite of last week's post. Stop by if you get a chance.

SJ Reidhead said...

Absolutely fascinating!

SJR
The Pink Flamingo
http://thepinkflamingo.blogharbor.com/blog

Gattina said...

Your TT is very interesting, most of the traditions I knew through friends , I very much like to know more about other traditional wedding traditons, because nowadays it has all changed and simplified or forgotten.

cindy kay said...

This was very interesting and informative. Thank you!

Karla Porter Archer said...

Happy Anniversary to your parents!

This was so interesting. I always enjoy learning more about Jewish celebrations.

Blessings,
Karla

Keli Ata said...

Happy Anniversary to your Mom and Dad!

Great post, too. I'm curious, do Jews ever renew their wedding vows on their wedding anniversaries? I know many Catholics do but it always seems redundant to me though it is sweet to see and attend the weddings of elderly parents or grandparents that you were obviously not around to see for the first time :)

Robin said...

When I was doing the 7 circles thing my MIL, not realizing that there were microphones up there said as we were circling round "If I'd have known it was going to take this long I'd have taken a bus!" Brought the whole house down LOL.

Anonymous said...

Very interesting! I have attended only one Jewish wedding, and I never had so much fun!

Happy Anniversary to your parents.

Anonymous said...

Those are beautiful customs and I really enjoyed reading this. It sounds like a lot of fun.

13 Unresolved Issues from 2007

Anonymous said...

I had no idea! So interesting. I learn something every time I visit.

Anonymous said...

Thank you for the anniversary wishes. Love Mom

Head Gaggler said...

Happy Anniversary to your parents. What an interesting TT. Thanks again for educating me more.

Lylah Ledner said...

Shalom Phyllis - Thought I'd stop over to pay you a visit (thanks for visiting MMM Blog. What a great blog of info you have - one that I'll be able to refer back to.

Blessings - Lylah
www.moneymakingmamas.org

Anonymous said...

Mazal tov to your parents! Great blog entry, BTW.

It is so interesting how different rabbis convey the same information in different ways. So I love reading how you do it.

I don't even suggest the 3-3-1 option of circling. I don't like it and have a whole reason why I don't like it. But I do know that there are couples who opt for it.

Have fun at camp!!

~*angelle*~ said...

All sorts of things I did not know! Interesting list!

My list

Anonymous said...

Very interesting to read! Thanks for sharing!

Mamacita said...

Hello! Thank you for stopping by my blog! As soon as I have a spare minute, I am going to sit down read your posts, which look so interesting!

bella said...

Thank you for sharing this. It was interesting to learn. I love that about coming here. :)
Happy Anniversary to your parents.