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Jewish%20Wedding%20Ceremonies.pptx

Many of the traditions of Jewish wedding ceremonies are symbolic of events that occurred in the Hebrew Scriptures, such as creation and events in the lives of the Patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. In fact, the Talmud, (Jewish religious commentary) says that it is through marriage that we become a complete person. Marriage is often considered by Jewish thought to be a representation of the union of God and the nation of Israel. Because of this, there are many regal aspects to Jewish wedding customs.

A very important part of the Jewish wedding ceremony is the Ketubah, or marriage contract. The first record of the use of a Ketubah was for recording how much the groom had paid the father of the bride for her, and also named the bride as the beneficiary in the case of the husband’s death. Now, the Ketubah is used for outlining religious and financial expectations for the couple. It is signed by the two witnesses as well as the bride and groom and the rabbi.

According to Jewish Law, the only people that must be present at the wedding are the bride, the groom, and two witnesses in order for the marriage to be legal and binding. These witnesses must be Jewish, adults, and not related to either the bride or groom by either blood or marriage. Their jobs are to ascertain that the bride and groom meet the standards outlined in the Ketubah, that the rings meet the standards for Jewish law, and are also responsible for witnessing Yichud, which are the few minutes the Bride and groom spend together directly after the ceremony to symbolize the consummation of their marriage.

Another part of the ceremony is Bedeken, the veiling ceremony. Bedeken symbolizes when Rebekah, covered herself when she first approached Isaac, her husband, and the tradition of the groom covering the bride is in remembrance of how Jacob was tricked into marrying Leah because she veiled herself.

During the Processional, usually the groom and the bride are both escorted to the chuppah by their parents, and it is customary for the groom to arrive at the chuppah first, symbolizing how Adam was created first and then Eve, and Eve was escorted by God to Adam.

Hakafot, the custom of the bride circling the groom, has several different interpretations, such as creation of a new household, the seven days of creation, walking around Jericho seven times symbolizing the breaking down of walls in their relationship, etc.

A sample of the Sheva Brachot, or Seven Blessings that are spoken over the couple during the ceremony is “Blessed art Thou, O Lord our God, King of the Universe, creator of joy and gladness, groom and bride, mirth and song, delight and rejoicing, love and harmony, peace and friendship.”

The marriage ceremony takes place under the Chuppah. In ancient times, the Chuppah symbolized the passing of the bride from her father’s authority to that of her husband. However, throughout the Middle Ages the meaning changed throughout different regions, to mean either a representation of the wedding veil, or just simply a canopy under which the ceremony is performed.

Jewish wedding customs have evolved into several different times, including Conservative, in which the Ketubah is in original Aramaic. However, Jewish Law now requires the addition of the Lieberman Clause, which allows the wife the right to divorce as well, a right she was not given by the original Ketubah contract. During Reform weddings, the husband and wife take part in the ceremonies equally, doing such things together as the reading of the Torah, or the veiling ceremony, that were previously only done by men. Deviating from the traditional where they see fit, Secular Humanist weddings focus on identification with cultural Judaism, with less emphasis on religious law. And finally, Reconstructionist weddings reinterpret traditions with values of openness and community acceptance, with a focus on social justice.

The use of traditional customs and laws mixed with values that the bride and groom see as relevant to their relationship and their views on life create an endless array of options to chose from in designing a wedding ceremony, reflective of the way Jewish people have maintained their cultural identity while still remaining attuned to their role in the global community.

From seeing the cultural presentations of my classmates, it is interesting to note how different cultures have different aspects of life on which they focus their attention, and through which they create meaning for themselves as individuals and as a community. The evil eye and the superstition surrounding it plays a large part in Turkish culture, while for Jewish/Israeli culture there are many ritual cleansings and ceremonies that take place for many occasions. Both kinds of traditions, however, are designed to represent spiritual forces or deities beyond the control of the people. Every culture, it seems, has their own unique way of representing their spiritual aspects. These forms of representation have evolved from their role as spiritual symbols to being a focal point of the entire culture, such as the way the symbol that defends against the evil eye has become standard on everything from socks to cookies in Turkey. Even Jewish/Israeli foods, such as latkes, represent aspects related to the spiritual; the oil in the latkes represents the oil in the temple that miraculously did not burn out.

Religious influences rise to a whole new level in Iran when the government regulates filmmaking in accordance with the strict Islamic fundamentalist moral and religious code, and cultural representation is not allowed to flourish through the medium of the media. Therefore, depending on the level of control and regulation imposed on religious customs, customs will either evolve and broaden in meaning or be forced to remain the same.

The word “Aliyah” means “to go up”, or “ascension”, and signifies the return of Jewish people to their historic homeland of Israel. The 1948 “Declaration of the Establishment of the state of Israel” states that “The State of Israel will be open for Jewish immigration and the ingathering of exiles; it will foster the development of the country for the benefit of all inhabitants; it will be based on freedom, justice and peace as envisaged by the prophets of Israel”. Furthermore, the 1950 Law of Return states that any Jewish person immigrating to Israel will be granted citizenship.

Since its founding, the nation of Israel has experienced immigration on a huge scale. Some immigrants come, motivated by the historic and Biblical ties of the Jewish people to the land that forms the nation of Israel, that was promised by God to Abraham in a covenant to belong to him and his descendants forever. Others come motivated by the ideals of Zionism, seeing Israel as a place for the persecuted, oppressed Jewish people to seek refuge and form a national identity of their own. Throughout Israel’s short history, waves of Jewish immigrants have come to the country, many from war-torn, impoverished areas, or from Arab countries in the Middle East where they were no longer welcome after the establishment of the nation of Israel. Many of the large scale immigration movements could be equated to rescue missions, such as Operation Magic Carpet in 1949 that airlifted 46,000 Jews from Yemen, Operation Ezra and Nehemiah in 1951 that airlifted 121,000 Jews from Iraq, and the evacuation in the years 1984 and 1991 Operations Moses and Solomon secretly evacuated 22,200 Jews from war-torn and famine ridden Ethiopia.

Israel has worked hard to make the transition process as smooth as possible for their new immigrants, providing help with housing, job training, and whatever else the immigrants are in need of, including offering Ulpanim, or intensive Hebrew language courses. The many different ethnic groups that have come to Israel as a result of their openness to new Jewish immigrants has created a very diverse culture, but one that is held together by a common bond of being Jewish. The mandatory military service that all able citizens must take part in is another factor contributing to the national sense of unity. Today, Israel keeps watch over Jewish communities in high risk areas, waiting in readiness to receive them. The ideals of a Jewish state that is a sanctuary for the faith and culture of the Jewish community endeavors to create a desire to make Aliyah and return to the homeland among the Jewish community throughout the world.

The Journey of Vaan Nguyen was a film that gave a compelling, realistic look at the struggles of a Vietnamese refugee family trying to assimilate into Israeli culture. Vaan and her sisters and parents mostly stay together as a family unit, and there are very few friendships portrayed between the family members and others, with the exception of Vaan’s interaction with an Arab girl at school. Vaan faces discrimination almost to the point of persecution from her classmates, who marginalize her for looking different and not being Jewish. Growing up in Israel and speaking Hebrew, it is difficult for Vaan to understand the reasons behind her exclusion, other than that she doesn’t look like everyone else. When the father of the family decides to return to Vietnam to attempt to regain the family lands lost during the war, Vaan decides to accompany him, resolving bitterly that she is done with Israel, and is ready to be among her own people, where she doesn’t stand out, but can build herself a new life. However, she experiences difficulty in fitting in with the Vietnamese culture because she doesn’t speak Vietnamese fluently. The Vietnamese people even have a special term for her as a Vietnamese person who is trying to be part of Vietnamese culture after having formed an identity elsewhere. This conflicted identity causing Vaan to be unable to feel truly at home in either Israel or Vietnam dominates who she is as a person, and highlights the exclusive tendency of different cultures, from an Israeli culture hesitant to except her because of her background, to a Vietnamese culture that will not except her because she is no longer a ‘true’ Vietnamese. Languages play an immensely important role in this identity; if Vaan had been able to speak Vietnamese fluently, becoming part of the culture would have been far easier because the Vietnamese people would have far less reason to focus on the difference of her upbringing. On the other hand, Vaan was compelled to learn Hebrew if she was to participate in school and be a part of the community in Israel, but just knowing the language was not enough to gain acceptance into Israeli culture.

Coming from Israel’s identity as a nation of immigrants, traditional and modern dance in Israel has been influenced by different ethnic groups throughout Israel’s existence. In Biblical times, such as the time of King David, dancing is referred to repeatedly. As a result, the use of dancing to express emotion became an essential part of Judaic and, therefore, Israeli culture. For example, when European immigrant Jews exchanged their urban lives for more rural, farming lifestyles in Palestine in the 1920’s, dancers were barefoot and wore lose, flowing clothing, and there were many leaping and running movements in the dances. Thus, the dances reflected the joy of returning to the land.

One song and dance that illustrates well the use of dance in the expression of feeling is Yerushalayim Shel Zahav, or Jerusalem of Gold. Performed at the Israeli Music Festival on May 15, 1967, just before the Six Day War, the first three stanzas express the beauty of Israel. After the war the stanza with the words “We have returned to the cisterns/to the market and the market place/A ram’s horn calls out on the Temple Mount/in the Old City”, reflective of the liberation of the Old City of Jerusalem. There is a beautiful dance that accompanies the song, which can be viewed here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VyoLaN5ACms

Also, a transliteration and translation of the song can be viewed here:

http://hebrewsongs.com/?song=yerushalayimshelzahav

Additional sources:

http://judaism.about.com/library/1_culture/bl_dance.htm

Earlier in the semester I attended a Havdalah service with Hillel of Richmond. Havdalah is the traditional ceremony marking the end of Shabbat, and takes place on Saturday evening after sundown. The entire ceremony is of course conducted in Hebrew, and it was really enjoyable to listen as they progressed through the ceremony with a series of recitations and songs.

The word “Havdalah” means separation, and in the same way the candles of Friday night welcome Shabbat, the candle of Havdalah shows the separation of Shabbat from the rest of the week. At one point in the ceremony, everyone holds their cupped hands to the light from the candle so that a shadow is cast on their hands, symbolizing this separation. The blessing that accompanies this part reads “Blessed are you, Adonai our God, Ruler of the Universe, Who distinguishes between sacred and ordinary, between light and darkness, between the seventh day and the sixth days of creation. Blessed are you, Adonai, Who distinguishes between sacred and ordinary.” After reflecting on this, it occurs to me that the fact that these American, Jewish, college students gathering on a Saturday night to recite blessings and prayers in a language very few, if any, of them understand outside of taking part in religious services, is in itself an example of separation. The Hebrew language helps set them apart from others, and provides a meaning to the ceremony that would be lost if it were to be performed in English.

Looking back over my learning journals, it is interesting for me to observe how my ideas about self-directed language learning have progressed. In one of my journal entries, I talk about how I saw the most progress in my ability to speak Spanish when I was immersed in the culture. While this is true, I used it to justify my decision to direct my study towards more broad, extensive listening tasks while avoiding the task of working through a grammar textbook. I know now that without at least a basic grammar base the benefits received from extensive listening are minimal. Truly effective language learning must have a good balance of listening, speaking, and grammar study if the learner is to progress with any kind of speed.

I liked the self-directed learning structure because it allowed me to approach the study of the language from the areas of my learning strengths. The evaluations we took at the beginning of the semester confirmed my previous knowledge that I was a solitary learner who learns best from the written word. Also from these evaluations, I saw that my weakness was Aural learning, and I was able to work on improving this area with listening to Hebrew clips online and watching Israeli TV and film. In short, I have learned that teaching yourself a language is a balance of using different types of mediums for study.

Also, an area I had not put much thought into before this course is that of understanding how a language is used by a culture, such as which conversational topics are culturally acceptable, and how cultures can range from those who are very explicit in expressing themselves to those who leave much unsaid. Thus, to truly be able to communicate in a culture and participate in conversation smoothly, one must understand the way the culture uses their language. Short of actually going to the country where the language is spoken, I feel like one of the best ways of learning these types of cultural patterns is by watching television from that culture. Between interviews, news reports, and drama there are many examples of cultural interaction that can be studied and understood by watching TV.

In summary, I feel the skills I have learned regarding how to teach myself a language will be useful in the future as I continue to study languages. As an example of how I will be and have been able to apply these skills to life, I recently had a conversation with my suitemate, who was born in the U.S. to Filipino parents. She explained how her parents raised her only speaking English so that she would have no difficulty assimilating to American culture, but as a consequence she can only understand the Tagalog language but not speak it. A few days later after doing a little research in the same way I had been doing for Hebrew, I was able to say a few phases to her in Tagalog. Her face instantly lit up, and it was rewarding to me to see how meaningful it was for her to hear me speak her language. I know the skills I have learned through my journey of self-directed language learning will continue to be applicable to many kinds of situations throughout my language learning career.

I wrote a short picture story about my family and what I like to do. I used several Turkish dictionaries, along with the help of a native speaker, to compose this. I hope you enjoy!

I took a page out of Pete's book (figuratively) and translated a children's book that I found online on a blog for those who want to learn Turkish. I've scanned the text, as I wrote it in a journal. I did not translate the entire book; it's pretty long for a children's book. But there is enough to get a feel for a storyline.

Shabbat is the most important ritual observance in Judaism. It is the only ritual observance instituted in the Ten Commandments. Shabbat is primarily a day of rest and spiritual enrichment. The word "Shabbat" comes from the root Shin-Beit-Tav, meaning to cease, to end, or to rest. At about 2PM or 3PM on Friday afternoon, observant Jews leave the office to begin Shabbat preparations. The mood is much like preparing for the arrival of a special, beloved guest: the house is cleaned, the family bathes and dresses up, the best dishes and tableware are set, a festive meal is prepared. In addition, everything that cannot be done during Shabbat must be set up in advance: lights and appliances must be set (or timers placed on them, if the household does so), the light bulb in the refrigerator must be removed or unscrewed, so it does not turn on when you open it, and preparations for the remaining Shabbat meals must be made. Shabbat, like all Jewish days, begins at sunset, because in the story of creation in Genesis Ch. 1. Shabbat candles are lit and a blessing is recited no later than eighteen minutes before sunset. This ritual, performed by the woman of the house, officially marks the beginning of Shabbat.The family then attends a brief evening service, and then the family comes home for a festive, leisurely dinner. Before dinner, the man of the house recites Kiddush, a prayer over wine sanctifying Shabbat. The usual prayer for eating bread is recited over two loaves of challah. After dinner, the birkat ha-mazon (grace after meals) is recited. The next morning Shabbat services begin around 9AM and continue until about noon. There is another meal, and the family reads the Torah and engages in other leisurely activities until nightfall. At the end of Shabbat, the family performs a concluding ritual called Havdalah (separation, division). Blessings are recited over wine, spices and candles. Then a blessing is recited regarding the division between the sacred and the secular, between Shabbat and the working days.

Bar Mitzvah literally means "son of the commandment." "Bar" is "son" in Aramaic, which used to be the vernacular of the Jewish people. "Mitzvah" is "commandment" in both Hebrew and Aramaic. "Bat" is "daughter" in Hebrew and Aramaic. Technically, the term refers to the child who is coming of age, and it is strictly correct to refer to someone as "becoming a bar (or bat) mitzvah." However, the term is more commonly used to refer to the coming of age ceremony itself, and you are more likely to hear that someone is "having a bar mitzvah" or "invited to a bar mitzvah." A Jewish boy automatically becomes a bar mitzvah upon reaching the age of 13 years, and a girl upon reaching the age of 12 years. The bar or bat mitzvah is a relatively modern innovation, not mentioned in the Talmud, and the elaborate ceremonies. It is important to note that a bar mitzvah is not the goal of a Jewish education, nor is it a graduation ceremony marking the end of a person's Jewish education. Jews are obligated to study Torah throughout their lives. To emphasize this point, some rabbis require a bar mitzvah student to sign an agreement promising to continue Jewish education after the bar mitzvah. Gifts are also a common part of a bar or bat mitzvah. They are ordinarily given at the reception, not at the service itself.