Wedding Pic

My good friend Denes from Budapest and me at the wedding in Bnei Brak.

Bnei Brak Wedding

The other night, my friend Denes and I went to a wedding in the city of
Bnei Brak, spelled בְּנֵי בְּרַק
The city on the central coastal strip, just east of Tel Aviv, and part of the metropolis known as Gush Dan, the Tel Aviv District.
It was a beautiful wedding and had the biggest chuppah I have ever seen as you can see in the picture above. I ended up meeting up with a family I am friends with at the wedding, I didn't expect to see them there, but that is not unusual here in Israel.

Mentioned as one of the cities in the portion of the Tribe of Dan (Joshua 19:45), Bene-berak is famous in the Talmud (Sanhedrin 32b) as the seat of Rabbi Akiva's court, and in the Passover Haggadah as the site of the all-night Seder of Rabbi Akiva and his distinguished colleagues.

fyi

Dear Nathan,
Right now many of your friends are making plans for Winter/Semester break. I want to remind you that we are still offering grants of either $ 500 or $ 250 to come to Israel. As a recipient of this scholarship, you know what a difference it can make, please spread the word to your friends, message boards… We are more than happy to spend the Foundation’s money! For more information and to apply go to http://www.jeffseidel.com/.
Jeff Seidel

Osher's Wedding

Last night I went to a wedding of my friend Osher Cohen. We met 5 years ago in Shanghai through the Jewish community. We became really good friends and stayed in touch over email till this day. The wedding took place in Kfar Chabad, near Tel Aviv and was a Chasidic wedding. The ceremony was very beautiful and Osher did not see his fionce for one full week before the wedding. Even during the ceremony, her face was covered until they both entered the 'yichud' room where they see each other for the for the first time after a week to spend time together. They also eat some food as they both fasted during the day of the wedding. During the meal a fellow guest called me over to say hello, we also knew eachother in Shanghai and it was really nice to see him again. See below for some info on the Jewish wedding:

Marriage ceremony
The marriage ceremony is based on the rules for transfer of property or of rights in antiquity. In marriage, the woman accepts a ring (or something of value) from the man, accepting the terms of the marriage. This is called betrothal, or kiddushin or erusin. A ketubah ("[marriage] contract") is read publicly. Witnesses are required for both the signing of the ketubah and the ceremonies.

At the giving of the ring the groom makes a declaration "You are consecrated to me, through this ring, according to the religion of Moses and Israel." Traditionally there is no verbal response on the part of the bride. She accepts the ring on her finger, and closes her hand, signifying acceptance.

Finally the couple are joined in matrimony under the chuppah, in the ceremony of nissuin, symbolizing their setting up house together. Very often the chuppah is made of an outstretched tallit (Jewish prayer shawl), but it can be any sort of canopy.

The ceremony reaches its climax with both the bride and groom drinking wine. The groom then steps on the wine glass to break it. The origin of this custom is shrouded in mystery, and various understandings of this custom exist:

The oldest source seems to be from the Babylonian Talmud, tractate Berakhot 31a; it has a story about the wedding of Rav Ashi's son. When the celebrants began to get carried away, Rav Ashi brought out and broke a crystal glass in front of them. The interpretation by the Tosafot (early medieval Talmudic commentators) is that even during moments of great celebration, one must maintain proper decorum. It may be related to the belief that it is best to temper one's joy, in order to avert inviting bad fortune.
The breaking of the glass represents the Jewish community's continuing sorrow of the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem; no celebration is totally complete without the Temple.
Among Kabbalists (adherents of Jewish mysticism), this custom is said to be a reminder of the broken fragments of Creation, and our need to engage in Tikkun Olam, the repairing of the world on a spiritual level.

Mazal Tov Osher!