Let’s take a look at a Jewish wedding that is full with custom and traditions dating back several decades ago. Quite a few of these rituals that happen to be an important part of a Jewish wedding ceremony could very well be strange to a wedding guest coming from a different religious beliefs. Let this guide us to better understand a Jewish wedding. If you want to know more about these wedding traditions, check out our interesting article about various odd wedding customs worldwide.
Jewish Wedding Traditions
A few days prior to the wedding, the bride and groom may not see one another as they greet their wedding guest separately during the Kabbalat Panim. Fasting is expected from couples and carried out from sunrise until the marriage ceremony ended.
It is traditional for the bride and groom to set up pre-nuptial receptions not long prior to the chuppah ceremony. The bride serves a women reception in a room while the groom hosts for the men in a nearby room. Also, the couple will sign their marriage contract known as ketubah.
The bride and groom will walk to the chuppah as they were accompanied by their parents. The groom go first while the bride do the hakafot or circles the groom seven times under the chuppah as the rabbi bless them together in holy matrimony.
In a Jewish wedding tradition, the wedding ring needs to be plain with no stones or engravings. When the groom put the wedding ring to the bride’s right forefinger, the marriage becomes official while the groom breaks a wine glass with his foot shouting Mazel Tov!
Bukharan Jews
The word Bukharan was originated from European tourist who traveled to Central Asia in the 16th century. As the majority of Jewish community back then were living under the Emirate of Bukhara, they become known as Bukharan Jews wherein the community referred itself as “Isro’il” or Israelites.
The essential traditions of the Bukharan Jews are similar to those practiced by Jews worldwide. In today’s modern wedding, the bride still continue to put on the traditional kaftan with an elegant stitched fur-lined cap for the wedding dances.
Inside the Bukharan community, marriages are endogamous for they tend to marry other Bukharan Jews with the consent of the parents . A matchmaker sent by the parents of the groom will go to the parents of the bride to settle both the dowry and bride prior to the engagement.
Wedding Album of Barukh and Khanna in 1870
These are uncovered photographs in the Library of Congress file revealing the Bukhari Jewish existence around Samarkand about 140 years back. When this wedding photographs were captured, the Bukhari Jews started to relocate to Israel and set up an early village in the Bukharan quarter of Jerusalem.
1. Portraits of the groom Barukh and the bride Khanna.
IMAGE SOURCE: 2. Signing the ketuba or marriage contract.
3. Wedding party for the women.
4. Wedding party for the men.
5. Group of people escorting the bride and groom to a house.
6. Groom meeting with Khanna and her parents
7. Bukhari Jewish families discuss the dowry prior to a wedding
When you plan your wedding, consider the wedding traditions you grew up with in your country and be open to not so big stuff that may possibly bring meaning to your marriage. Dazzling items may be all over the place, needing you to discover them. Those treasures could supercharge your wedding experience in unexpected ways. Make note that your wedding photos will retain the memorable stories of your event. To record this wonderful occasion, you might want to get the service of a professional wedding photographer and spend further if needed.
Wedding News Around the Web
1. Prince Charles’ 31-year-old uneaten wedding day toast bread on sale via Metro.co.uk
2. First gay military wedding couple chats on facebook via Slate.com
3. Colorado shooting survivor proposes after family escapes death via Huffingtonpost.com
IMAGE SOURCE: Lead Photo by laaphotography
Aurora Gatbonton and the rest of the WPD Blog Team wants you to get hitched with creativity, style, and technology.