How Does A Jewish Bride Prepare For Her Wedding?

A traditional Jewish wedding involves a bride visiting the mikveh within four days of her wedding, seven days after the end of her menstrual cycle. This timing is due to the laws of niddah, which prohibit sexual relations during and immediately after the wife’s wedding. The wedding process has two distinct stages: kiddushin (sanctification or dedication, also called erusin) and nissuin (marriage).

The Jewish wedding ceremony comprises two major sections: erusin (betrothal) and nissuin (marriage). The erusin ceremony begins when the bride and groom reach the huppah, where they are expected to welcome their bride to his home. The yichud is a Jewish wedding custom that emphasizes the importance of the sanctification process.

Before the wedding, an observant Jewish bride is educated in traditional Jewish marital etiquette, known as taharat. One of the most significant pre-marital practices is the immersion in the mikveh, a Jewish ritual bath. This immersion symbolizes an important milestone in a Jewish person’s life and should be done before weddings, bar and bat mitzvahs, and when someone converts to Judaism.

The bride and groom typically divide the kibbudim, giving each side ample opportunities to honor their family and friends. The bride (believers in Yeshua) should live consecrated lives, keeping themselves pure and holy in preparation for the Nissuin and the Wedding Feast of the bride.

During the ketubah signing, the groom approaches the bride for the bedeken, or veiling, and veils her face. Before the wedding, the bride is feted, the groom is veiled, and the groom wears a shroud-like garment.

Do Jewish brides walk down the aisle?

The groom’s parents walk him down the aisle. Then the bride is walked down the aisle by her parents. Some couples have both sets of parents stand with them during the ceremony.

Circling. The bride and groom circle each other under the chuppah. This symbolizes creating a new family.

Ring exchange. Jewish wedding rings are usually made of gold, silver, or platinum. Some couples don’t use stones in their rings because in ancient times the ring was the bride’s price. The weight of the ring determined the price (and the price could be less if there were stones inside the band).

Do Jews fast on their wedding day?

Fasting. Some couples fast on their wedding day, just as they would on Yom Kippur. Couples fast until their first meal after the wedding.

Ketubah signing. The ketubah is a Jewish marriage contract that outlines the groom’s responsibilities to his bride. It sets out what the groom must provide for the bride, what the bride can do, and what happens if the couple divorce. Ketubahs are part of Jewish civil law, not religion. They don’t mention God blessing the union. The ketubah is signed by the couple and two witnesses before the ceremony. It is read to the guests during the ceremony.

Bedeken. The groom veils the bride during the ketubah signing. He looks at her and covers her face. This shows that he loves her for who she is, not just her appearance. It also comes from the Bible. Jacob was tricked into marrying the sister of the woman he loved because she was veiled. If the groom does the veiling, trickery can’t happen.

What do Jews break when they get married?

Breaking the Glass. At the end of the ceremony, the groom (or bride and groom) steps on a glass inside a cloth bag to break it. The breaking of the glass has many meanings. Some say it represents the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem. Some say it shows that marriage is sad and happy at the same time. It shows that you will stick by your partner even when things get hard. The glass is collected after the ceremony and many couples use it to make a memento of their wedding day. Mazel tov! One of the most well-known Jewish wedding rituals is shouting Mazel tov! Once the ceremony is over, guests will cheer Mazel tov! Mazel tov means good luck or congratulations. The direct translation is closer to wishing good luck or good fortune. Mazel tov is the perfect thing to say at a wedding!

Yichud. After the ceremony, couples spend at least eight minutes alone. This wedding custom lets the newly married couple reflect on their new relationship and bond. The bride and groom also share their first meal together as husband and wife during the yichud. Meals vary from community to community. They can range from golden soup to chocolate chip cookies.

How many days before the wedding is Mikvah?

A bride visits the mikveh within four days of her wedding. This is because of the laws of niddah, which say that couples shouldn’t have sex during and after the wife’s period. They can only have sex again after the wife has been to the mikveh. Some mikveot (plural of mikveh) require a woman to wait at least seven days after her period before immersing. Others, like Mayyim Hayyim in Newton, Massachusetts, allow women to decide when to immerse. Some grooms also immerse in the days before their weddings. Some modern mikveot, like Mayyim Hayyim, welcome same-sex couples who want to immerse before their wedding or commitment ceremony. Parents of the bride and/or groom may also want to immerse.

Do Jews drink wine at weddings?

People argued about who should drink the wine. Some said the rabbi should drink first and then serve it to the groom and bride. Some said only the couple should drink the wine. Others said the rabbi drinks, but the bride and groom shouldn’t. Today, only the bride and groom drink the wine because they are performing the mitzvah. The rabbis bless them. The bride and groom can say the blessing, but it’s fine if they say amen after the rabbi’s blessing. You don’t have to drink the wine all at once. Just taste it. An interesting suggestion is that when the couple drinks the wine after the wedding, the groom should give it to his wife as the first thing he must do for her. These are just details of tradition, and there are many ways to do it.

Wine is important in Jewish tradition, especially on the Sabbath and at festivals. On the Sabbath and festivals, wine is a symbol of holiness. This separates the holiness of the Holy Day from the secular character of the ordinary day. At a wedding, wine symbolizes kiddush, sanctity, and havdalah, separation. The blessing says, “who has sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us about some things to separate us from illicit relations.” Wine is used at the threshold of the Sabbath to sanctify it and separate it. It is used at the threshold of marriage to separate it from the prohibited and sanctify the bonds of proper marriage.

How do Jews consummate marriage?

This word means “seclusion.” It’s a private affair. After the wedding, the couple goes to a private room for 15 minutes to stare into each other’s eyes. In the past, the bride and groom went to a tent to consummate the marriage. This is not done much these days, but newlyweds usually share a bite to eat.

Private Moment. I thought it would be romantic to have a few private moments with my husband before joining the party. So we did this. We had two chairs and a small table with champagne. This was set up on a small point jutting into the river. From the point, we could look back at the party and reflect. After the ceremony, I took off my wedding shoes and put on sneakers so we could walk through the woods to “Wedding Point.” (We got married at my parents’ house, so we call it Wedding Point.)

What do Jews do the week before the wedding?

In Jewish tradition, the bride and groom don’t see or speak to each other for a week before the wedding. The bride goes to the mikvah the night before the wedding. If the bride can’t immerse before the wedding, the newlyweds follow special rules until she can. The officiating rabbi should be told and he will tell the couple what to do.

It is customary to call the groom up to the Torah on the Shabbat before the wedding. After the Torah reading and blessing, the congregation sings and celebrates with the groom, throwing nuts and candies at him. The candies are soft, so no one will get hurt. Then the children run around the table and get their candy. The Zohar says that blessings from the previous Shabbat continue into the next week. We call the groom up to the Torah on the Shabbat before his wedding to bless the upcoming week. The candy pelting is a blessing for the couple: may they be fruitful and have a sweet life together! The young man is pelted with candy and nuts so that any hard times he faces will be taken care of by those who love him.