Stories of Cloth

Shosh

A Jewish wedding

When my husband proposed to me, I asked for the wedding to be held in Israel, under the full moon, on the eve of the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Av. This is the day that was celebrated in biblical times as ‘The festival of Lovers.’

Traditionally weddings in Israel take place in the open air, under a canopy, which represents the future home. For the wedding ceremony both my husband and I wore traditional white. The wedding took place at sunset on a hot summer’s evening. We were on the flat roof of a field school, overlooking the Mediterranean sea at Achziv in the north of the country, just as the full moon was appearing in the sky.

Preparations for a Jewish bride include ritual bathing, often taken at a spa, in the presence of the rabbi’s wife. This cleanses the bride so that she might be presented pure to her husband. In Israel a pre-wedding party also takes place. The bride wears traditional black clothing and has a ball of henna placed on the palm of her hand in a leaf. There is dancing and music and to add to the celebration soft sweets are thrown at the bride and groom and platters of sugared almonds are distributed to the guests.

On the wedding day most Jewish brides wear white. The ketubah or marriage contract must be signed before the ceremony can begin. Before going to the chuppah, the cloth canopy under which the ceremony takes place, the bride is veiled by the groom who checks he is marrying the right girl. This is in remembrance of the Bible story of Isaac and Rebecca. This is called the badeken. The bride then circles the groom three times before they recite seven blessings. After exchanging rings they drink wine together and the groom smashes a glass with his right foot, symbolizing the destruction of the temple; this little white bag was used to hold the glass fragments when they broke.

A festive party and meal with traditional songs and dancing follow the ceremony. The bride and groom are raised high on chairs above everyone’s heads and all the guests participate to make this a very joyous occasion.