The Acts Of The Jewish Commitment Services

By Raymond Fisher


Jewish commitment services are also known as commitment ceremonies and they are in place of traditional wedding ceremonies. The whole principle behind this type of ceremony is to establish that one member of this community will now be committed to the other as a wedded couple. Here is an idea of what goes on in these types of ceremonies typically some interesting practices that they do.

A very important part of the entire ceremony is the glass breaking act done by both the bride and groom. This is a very symbolic act that represents the destruction of the Temple but also a new era for the people. For a married couple, it signifies them breaking away from their old life and entering a more committed relationship with God.

Another rite is where the bride will circle around the groom. Before the couple exchanges their vows, the bride has to walk in a circle around the groom seven times while holding the rings of each other making sure that their eyes are connected the whole time. This is known as the joining of souls to each other for a deeper meaning of commitment.

After that, the future spouses will then go into the first main rite of this service which is called the Eirusin. It is a rite that changes the official marital status of the bride and the groom. This is a symbolism that the bride will be giving herself over to the groom as per the halacha. The one who will host this main rite is the Rabbi and he will solidify the union through letting the bride and groom share a cup of wine.

The second main rite is known as the Kiddushin and is the actual marriage act. This is done first with the Kesef which is kind of like a dowry for the couple. The second act is the shtar and it is where the couple will sign the marriage documents signifying their actual union. Last is the biah which is the consummation of their marriage. This last part is now done through the exchanging of wedding rings.

After that, a document called the ketubah is read by the Rabbi in which the Rabbi will pass it over to the bride. This is the second to the last act where the Rabbi will unite the two in holy matrimony. It is very similar to how a priest or pastor will offer prayers and passages in a normal church wedding.

The last part of this ceremony is the Nisuin wherein the public will know of the celebration of this union. Aside from signing the marriage documents, the sheva berachot will be recited. Once the last sheva berachot is recited, the public will now witness the union of this couple in the holy presence of God.

As one can see, there are a lot of symbolic practices that are done in this type of wedding. In fact, some of these practices date up to way back in history when Judaism first came to. Of course, while these rites are a bit tedious and long, they are very beautiful because of a deeper meaning that is hidden behind them.




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