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Judaism traditions and customs
Features in Christian weddings
Judaism traditions and customs
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Introduction
As Christians, and not necessarily Jews or more precisely Orthodox Jews, we miss out on so much symbolism and deeper understandings of the teachings of Christ. In no way does this take away anything in terms of our salvation or the Good News to all people, but at times, it does sadden me when I realize how much I do not even grasp in the teachings and parables of Jesus. As a follower of Christ and growing up in a Christian home, I have been to numerous church weddings, but never an Orthodox Jewish wedding. It was only after someone explained the similarities between the Last Supper and the steps of traditional Orthodox Jewish wedding that I realized that once again I missed a whole lot of truths and promises in that single teaching.
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In a very special way, Jesus follows the steps normally taken by the bridegroom to select, approach, propose marriage, make payment, prepare the house and finally return to the bride to commence with the wedding ceremony and celebration.
It all starts with the “Shiddukhin” or preliminary arrangements before the betrothal.
Shiddukin is the first step taken in the process of getting married and this step is usually taken by the father of the groom. The father would typically view all available brides and through a rigorous process select a bride worthy of his son. Evidence of this can be found in Genesis 24 where Abraham makes the relevant arrangements for his son Isaac’s wedding.
God the Father originally selected the Jewish nation to be the Bride for His Son Jesus Christ, but as we know, they rejected Him. Jesus then selects all His followers, starting with the twelve disciples, to be His bride. According to Ephesians 1:4 we are selected as the bride of
Most weddings are done in church. The newly wedded couple is supposed to hold on to their faithfulness in God. Praying and fasting are major activities that are recommended for the couples. Church, best maids and the altar are a symbol of holiness in marriage and that still applies in today’s life. Church weddings are upheld in the society and people take pride being associated with weddings.
Engstrom (2008) argues in his paper that weddings are considered hegemonic practices due to the fact that getting married is considered “the life goal for women” (p. 61). He believes that the media and publications surrounding weddings and wedding materials (for example, dresses, veils, flowers, etc.) make weddings seem glamorous. Engstrom’s focus on hegemony and women is the media that surrounds weddings. Engstrom (2008) writes, “these bridal media serve as an example of hegemony…as the exercise of indirect power as exemplified by civil institutions, among which he includes the media industry” (p. 61). In that, weddings have become part of this category of dominant practices due to the media presenting ideas around weddings. The media portrays weddings as a goal that should be fulfilled by the entire population. Examples of media would be reality TV shows, magazines, advertisements, and even movies surrounding the idea of marriage. All of these examples help support the notion that marriage is considered a ‘hegemonic practice’
The groom would wear a black and white tuxedo with either a bow or a tie.
A Jewish Marriage Ceremony In Hebrew, marriage is referred to as Kiddush (sanctification) or nisuin (elevation) - a nisuin Marrying a Jewish partner is important mainly for the sake of the children, because whether a child is Jewish or not is determined only by its mother. Before the wedding, the bride-to-be goes to the Mikveh, the special. immersion pool where women go to cleanse themselves from impurity. usually menstruation and to start fresh.
Marriage is looked at as a lifelong venture. If a man wants to marry a certain woman he has to ask both his and her parents for their permission. If both parents agree then a priest is told. On the morning of the ceremony the priest prays asking for a sign as to whether a couple should marry or not. To get the sign that he is looking for he holds two roots in his hand. If the roots moved together in his hand then it was okay for a couple to marry. But if the roots did not move or moved together and one died then the marriage would be forbidden. When the roots came together with no problem, the ceremony went on. The priest prayed over the couple and warned them about being unfaithful because if they did then they would go to a “bad place” when they died. Divorce did happen but was a rare occurrence. All that had to be done was the dividing of blankets. Once a couple is married they can focus on having children.
As the ages have past weddings have changed, the most interesting weddings took place in the middle ages. Middle ages were full of mystery and lust, women were not merely wives but prizes and a possession, rarely was it love. The reasons of which people were married was determined by their class. Most of the marriage laws we know today evolved during this era. The celebrations were extravagant, full of color and magnificent entertainment and exquisite feasts, radical compared to prior ages. The middle ages were truly a turning point as weddings evolved.
A wedding is a great social event in our society, which establishes a new bond between two individuals and families. Marriage is a joyful occasion with plenty of music, dance, partying and merrymaking. It also brings together long-lost friends, relatives and acquaintances. In India, the parents choose the mate for their child, which is called an arranged marriage. In most cases, the bride and groom do not even talk to each other until after they are married.
Marriages in Biblical Tradition typically represent a symbolic expression of the covenantal union between God and his people. A wedding banquet during this time period in history was a joyous occasion that had a great importance in the lives of the betrothed. “The Gospel of Matthew, like all the New Testament Gospels, was composed as a literary work to interpret the theological meaning of a concrete historical event to the people in a particular historical situation” (Boring 89). Mt. 22:1-14 utilizes this tradition and expresses wedding celebrations in order to exemplify the significance of Jesus’s goal to bring salvation to those on Earth. The parable of the wedding feast unfolds into three parts: the inviting of guests, a call to the outcasts, and a removal.
The Hindu wedding is a complex ceremony whose various components has all a specific meaning and has all a relation to
Finally after what seemed like years, I walked out to greet my new father-in-law and my new wife. I shook his hands as he gave away his youngest daughter to start our own family, and then I reached out for the arm of my bride. Together we walked the rest of the way down the aisle and stood in front of the pastor’s
Wedding customs in the 16th century were very different than now. In the 16th century woman had very little, if any choice in which her husband might be. Marriages were mostly arranged so that both families involved would benefit. Marriages would be arranged to bring value or wealth to the family. For example the children of property owners would be expected to marry someone with property to increase the size of their land. Many couples would meet for the very first time on their wedding day due to the arrangement their parent did. Amongst the upper classman, people often got married quite young, perhaps in their early teens age, and marriages were often arranged by the families.
A Hindu Wedding In Hinduism marriage is not just the joining of two people, whose souls are brought together mentally and physically, but of two families. There are sixteen sacraments that must be performed whilst a Hindu is alive to make the life of the individual prosperous and noble, one of these is marriage. Many Hindu wedding ceremonies follow the same sequence of events, whether it is an arranged marriage or not. I went to the wedding ceremony of Anika Shah and Arun Patel. Many events happen before the main wedding ceremony.
Marriage occurs after a partner is selected. In history a person’s marriage partner was selected by their parents. The bride and groom would not have a say in the issue, their father would generally set up an arrangement for the marriage of his daughter dealing with the head of the other family. The girl’s family would seek a husband for his dau...
During the Mesopotamia period, the first ever recorded marriage contract and ceremony dates to 4000 years ago. Woman had no rights in their marriage, even the lower class had no say in marriage, and therefore wives could not divorce unless the husband asked for it. Husbands were allowed to divorce their wife if she didn’t fulfill her duties (give birth to children.) During the Mesopotamia period, marriage was not because the two people loved each other, but because of preserving power, fathers’ of ruling class would even marry off their daughters. By doing this, it allowed the families to form alliances, acquire land, and produce legitimate heirs. Future husband, and bride-to-be’s father agreed on a contract that was a price for the maiden’s hand. If the marriage did not go well, and they divorced the father-in-law was entitled to satisfaction. The contract they made, had said, that if a child was not born, the husband got...
He usually arrives dressed in his wedding attire on the back of a horse, or sometimes on the back of an elephant. “The wedding altar (mandapa) is built the day of and the groom is welcomed by his future mother in law where his feet are then washed and he is offered milk and honey. His sister in law will attempt to steal his shoes and if she succeeds, the groom must pay her to get them back” (beau-coup.com). At the wedding venue the bride waits for the groom in a room covered in garland, when the groom arrives they exchange garland. After this, the brides family will welcome the grooms family to the wedding. Like Christian weddings, the father of the bride gives the bride away at the wedding, this is called a Kanyadaan. A priest will facilitate the marriage by reciting mantras or holy hymns, but the bride and groom marry each other. The bride and groom are considered married when the groom ties a thread that symbolizes his vow to care for the bride. He ties it in three knots that symbolizes the gods, Brahma, Vishnu and Masheshwara. The ceremony takes place around a fire and the god, Agni is considered the witness to the union. “The bride and the groom then circle the fire seven times, in a clockwise direction, called Saat Phere which signifies seven goals of married life which include religious and moral duties, prosperity, spiritual salvation and liberation, and sensual gratification” (Gullapalli