Steps of the ancient jewish wedding ceremony

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In the Jewish faith, marriage is seen as a bond which includes the husband, wife and God. For this reason, two single people are often thought of as being incomplete with marriage bringing about the merging of two souls. In all, there are 12 steps in the traditional Jewish wedding ceremony. As each of the steps is completed, the couple becomes closer to being united as husband and wife.

1. Arrangement

   • Traditionally, the couple's fathers arrange the match. Sometimes, the bride and groom have never seen each other before the engagement. Leading up to the wedding day, the groom visits the bride's father to solidify the match. He brings a skin of wine, his monetary assets and a marriage contract (ketubah). When the contract is signed by the bride and groom, the betrothal is legal and the two drink from a cup of wine to seal the arrangement (kiddush).

   Preparing the Home

   • After the arrangement is made valid, the groom returns home to prepare a place for his bride, which is called a chuppah. The couple is not allowed to marry until the groom's father approves of the chuppah. The waiting period may last for as long as two years. During this time, the couple cannot be alone together. After the groom's father approves of the chuppah, the groom goes to the bride. Traditionally, the couple didn't know their wedding date until this had occurred.

   The Approval

   • Though the bride knew that her groom would come for her, she had no way of knowing exactly when he would come to complete the marriage contract. Therefore, she remained constantly ready for the marriage to take place. During the time of preparation, both the bride and groom took part in separate ritual immersions called the mikvah to prepare their souls for the event. When the groom's father approved of the chuppah, the groom would go to the bride's house -- sometimes in the middle of the night -- and they would be married. In some cases, the bride would be "abducted" and taken to be dressed and crowned for her wedding. This was done by the bride's unmarried friends, who also carried the light which illuminated the groom's path on his way to meet the bride.

   The Ceremony

   • When the groom arrived at the bride's house, he would present her father with the marriage contract and claim the bride as his own. They would then go back to the groom's father's house, where he would place the bride's hand into his son's hand. In that moment, the marriage was considered valid. The groom would then present the bride to all his friends and those who had come to celebrate the wedding. They would then attend the marriage feast and celebrate for seven days.

Source: www.ehow.com

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