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Wedding and Anniversary Wedding In Talmudic times, a cedar, symbol of strength and hardiness, was planted when a son was born, and a cypress, symbol of beauty and grace, was planted when a daughter was born. Poles for the marriage canopy, or chuppah, were often made from branches cut from these trees. Before the wedding ceremony, the bride and groom sign a document, the ketubah. This spells out the husband's obligations to the wife. The ketubbah is written not in Hebrew, but in Aramaic. The bride and groom stand under a chuppah, or marriage canopy. The chuppah is open on all four sides, to represent the hospitality that the couple will show to their community. During the wedding ceremony, the groom places a ring on the bride's finger. Jewish tradition specifies a smooth, unadorned, unengraved ring of a single pure metal. The groom gives, and the bride accepts, this object, thus making the marriage legally binding. A familiar scene at a Jewish wedding is the breaking of the glass after the ceremony. This ritual has no religious significance but is a powerful tradition. Some say the act is to remind us, during our happiest moments, of the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem. During the dancing after the wedding, the bride is lifted above the shoulders of her guests, usually on a chair. The bridegroom is similarly carried aloft, and they often hold onto either end of a handkerchief. The origins of this custom are murky, but it surely follows the injunction to "rejoice the bride and groom." The bride and groom enjoy their first dance together as husband and wife. Anniversary B'yachad is the Hebrew word for together, an appropriate word to represent a wedding anniversary. Each anniversary is important, from the first to the golden fiftieth and beyond. It has become a custom among American Jews to give each other the gift of an elaborately decorated anniversary ketubah for one of their anniversaries. |
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