Home
>
Marriage & Wedding
>
Jewish Wedding Traditions - The Wedding Day in a Nutshell

Jewish Wedding Traditions - The Wedding Day in a Nutshell

Many of the Jewish wedding traditions are derived from ancient Jewish wedding customs dating back thousands of years.

Orthodox Jewish weddings always include these customs. Conservative, Reform, and Reconstructionist Jews and others can gather meaningful Jewish Wedding traditions from these pages to incorporate into their wedding day.

In traditional circles, both the bride and groom do not see each other for a week before the wedding. They then both fast on the wedding day, unless it falls on the day of the new Jewish month.

Pre-Chuppah (Jewish Wedding Canopy) Festivities

The wedding itself begins with the groom's ketubah signing. The ketubah is the Jewish marriage contract that acknowledges the commitment and obligations the bride and groom have toward each other.

While this is happening, the bride sits like royalty in a separate area and greets all of the wedding guests. This is called Kabbalat Panim--where Hors d'Ouevres are often served.

After the groom signs the Ketubah, the crowd dances him to his bride for an ancient jewish wedding tradition called the Bedekin. The bedekin is where the groom lowers the veil over the bride's face. The reason for this Jewish wedding tradition comes from the Old Testament.

In the old testament of the bible, Jacob was fooled while trying to marry Rachel, and instead was married to a woman named Leah who was completely veiled before and during the ceremony.

Jewish grooms today do this tradition to symbolically acknowledge that the bride is indeed one's beloved.

The guests are then escorted to the main hall for the wedding ceremony.

The Jewish Wedding Traditions of the Ceremony

While the groom is being escorted to the chuppah, the bride sits in meditative prayer. This is a wonderful Jewish wedding tradition that allows the bride to reflect on both her single life that is ending and her married life that is beginning. The rest of the wedding attendants walk down to the chuppah and await the bride's entrance.

Her parents walk her down and when she reaches the groom she engages in the ancient jewish wedding tradition where she circles her groom three or seven times, symbolizing the "new family circle" she is creating with him.

The rabbi then welcomes the guests and invokes the blessing of G-d.

The rabbi or cantor then recites the kiddush, the blessing over a cup of wine, and the couple responds, Amen. The couple then drinks from the cup of wine.

The groom then takes a Jewish Wedding ring and gives it to the bride, while reciting the marriage betrothal statement in both Hebrew and English, "With this ring, you are consecrated to me in according to the laws of Moses and Israel."

In Orthodox weddings, there is only one ring, from groom to bride, signifying the groom's commitment to the bride with a valuable object.

After the bride accepts the ring, the rabbi or an honoree reads the ketubah for all to hear, and then hands it to the groom, who in turn hands it to the bride.

Generally, this is when the rabbi makes a short speech. Afterwards, the rabbi or an honoree(s) recite the sheva b'rakhot, or seven jewish wedding blessings, which praise G-d and wish the couple blessing in their new life.

Finally, the best-known traditions of Jewish weddings occurs-- the breaking of the wedding glass.

After the Chuppah Jewish Wedding Traditions

The breaking of the glass ends the actual ceremony. The crowd then dances the couple to a private room, where they spend 10-15 minutes alone, time to exhale and embrace.

In addition, they break their fast together, and in addition to digesting food, they have a moment to digest what has taken place.

The bride and groom then enter the dining hall for the first time as a married couple and the festivities begin.

Like any wedding, there is dancing, music, good food, and lots of booze. :)

An honoree(s) says the blessing over the bread, and the grand meal begins. After Birkat Hamazon-- the grace after meals-- is said, the Sheva B'rakhot are repeated.

Of course, this guide is a brief overview of all the intricate Jewish wedding traditions and customs found in Jewish Weddings.

About the Author:

Josh Singer and Shira Frimer are authors and owners of http://www.about-jewish-weddings.com, containing completely FREE articles on everything from A-Z you should know about Jewish Weddings and Jewish Wedding traditions.

Visit their website and receive with no strings attached, "101 ways to save on your Wedding Costs" - a $69.00 value, absolutely free.

They also offer beautiful, completely customizable Jewish Wedding Rings, hand-painted custom Ketubahs (Jewish Marriage Contract), as well as hand-painted silk Jewish Wedding Chuppahs.

? 2005 Josh Singer and Shira Frimer. This article may be republished, as long as it remains unchanged, carries this copyright and reprint notice, and has a live link to our site.

shuttle to Midway Maywood re">chicago limos St. Charles west of Randal .. Lockport Chicago limo O’Hare

In The News:

The FBI has issued a warning that scammers are impersonating doctors, police and banks using spoofed numbers as "smishing" texts surge nationwide.

Communities with unreliable internet service stand to gain after Amazon's Project Kuiper launched its first full batch of satellites into orbit April 28.

Tech expert Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson says unsubscribing from spam might actually backfire. Learn when to avoid it and stop junk effectively.

Tech expert Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson talks about how the first nonstop beating heart transplant, called zero ischemic time, at Taiwan hospital changes surgery.

Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson: FBI warns of "time-traveling" hackers.

Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson talks about a soft, vine-like robot called SPROUT that aids safe survivor rescues in collapsed buildings.

Health insurance giant Blue Shield of California confirmed it had been sharing private health data of 4.7 million users with Google for three years without even realizing it.

Delta and JetZero’s blended wing body aircraft marks a meaningful step toward a cleaner, quieter and more efficient future for air travel.

Recent reports show many common passwords can be cracked in literally seconds. Kurt the CyberGuy explains how to strengthen your passwords.

Stay up to date on the latest AI technology advancements and learn about the challenges and opportunities AI presents now and for the future.

Iron, a robot that stands 5 feet, 8 inches tall and weighs 154 pounds, combines advanced artificial intelligence with human-like movement and exceptional vision.

Hertz, the rental car giant, recently confirmed that customer information was exposed through a cyberattack on one of its software vendors.

There are a number of features with AirPods you may or may not know about to take your listening experience to the next level. Kurt the CyberGuy explains.

These 35 Chrome extensions have privacy and security concerns. Tech expert Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson says to delete them now.

Tech expert Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson says 329,000 mph fusion rocket promises to be fast, disruptive and enable deep-space missions.

Stay up to date on the latest AI technology advancements and learn about the challenges and opportunities AI presents now and for the future.

Tech expert Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson says a new autonomous AI is a game changer that also raises privacy risks. Is your data safe?

Tech expert Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson says robots and drones are revolutionizing fruit farming with faster picking and smarter handling.

Landmark Admin revises May 2024 cyberattack scope to show twice as many people were affected. Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson gives tips to help stay safe from an insurance data breach.

Tech expert Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson talks about how Yamaha’s hydrogen outboard motor could revolutionize boating with zero emissions.

Tech expert Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson reveals how to memorialize or remove a deceased loved one’s Facebook account and protect their digital legacy from misuse or scams.

Tech expert Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson says an Apple Watch saved psychiatrist Amanda Faulkner by detecting deadly leukemia early.

Scammers and fraudsters are increasingly targeting the most vulnerable, especially nursing homes and the personal data of their residents. Kurt the CyberGuy has safety tips.

Infected USB flash drives can spread malware among multiple organizations in ways that can easily bypass traditional security systems.

With a fully automated warehouse system and AI-powered robots, Ocado's Hive picks, packs and delivers grocery store orders in just a few minutes.

Jewish Wedding Traditions - The Wedding Day in a Nutshell

Marriage & Wedding