Jewish Life Cycle Ritual Of Marriage

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A ritual can be defined as ‘a religious or solemn ceremony consisting of a series of actions performed according to a prescribed order.’ (Oxforddictionaries.com, 2014) A religious ritual is generally seen as indispensable in deepening of spiritual insight. Marriage within Judaism is recognized as the ideal human state; it is believed that one who does not marry is an incomplete person. Marriage hopes to join two people spiritually and contractually in the hope for companionship and the creation of new life. This essay will support the hypothesis that while all branches of Judaism share core beliefs about the life cycle ritual of marriage, they are divergent as a result of cultural and modern influences. This will be analyzed specifically within …show more content…

The purpose of marriage is the fulfilment of God’s commandments. Marriage enables fulfilment of the first commandment: “Be fruitful and multiply.” (Gen. 1:28) (Chabad.org, 2014)
Orthodox Judaism believes that both the Written and Oral Torah are of divine origin, containing the exact words of God without any human influence. (Katz.L, 2014) This belief therefore directly influences Orthodox wedding ceremonies. Traditionally the ceremony begins one week preceding the wedding, whereby the groom (Chattan) and bride (Kallah) will not meet; as it is believed that the couple should have a fresh feeling of love for one another. The wedding ceremony starts with the Kabbalat panim (reception), which is performed separately for men and woman. Most traditional ceremonies within Orthodox weddings are celebrated separately as it is believed that the preservation provides a special connection between the genders. A man who is not permitted to see another woman dance, sing or with arms and legs uncovered, will not become desensitized to a woman’s sensuality and appreciate and be attracted to his wife without any kind of distractions. (Chabad.org, 2014) The groom will greet his guests, who will …show more content…

Between Orthodox and Liberal marriage the rituals of; circling of the bride, ring exchange, marriage contract, dancing at the wedding and blessings are varied in practice. These diverging rituals are because of the underlying modern belief of quality of the sexes within Liberal Judaism. Within Orthodox Judaism the bride circles the groom seven times, whereas within modern liberal ceremonies the bride circles the groom anywhere from three-seven times or the couple do it together. Another ritual that has been modified is ring exchange. Traditionally the man would only give the bride a ring, within liberal Judaism both man and wife exchange rings. The old traditional Chuppah (ring exchange) ceremony perpetuates the ancient perception of ownership the groom sanctifies the bride with the ring and gives her the Ketubah (marriage contract) which in essence is a declaration of obligation while at the same time serving as a bill of ownership. (Reform.org.il, 2014) Equality of the sexes is an essential teaching of liberal Judaism. The movement believes is the right of the couple to participate in shaping the ceremony in a way that properly reflects the nature of the couple’s relationship. Men and women have equal rights in the services and within the ritual of

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