Marriage customs of the ancient jews

It's interesting:
"Oh. Is there a wedding going on? .... You may never see a wedding like this one again … not now that they've banned multi-buys on supermarket booze. ..."

In ancient times, marriage was not the agreement and joining of two individuals, but the joining of two families. The ancient Jews had a procedure for which a man and a woman were to be wed, and some elements of this procedure are still evident today. The contract between the families was agreed on, the couples were betrothed for a period of time, and then wed in a joyous ceremony.

1. Bride selection

   • Typically, the father of the groom would have chosen the bride for his son, most likely by sending his most trusted servant in search of her. In ancient times, people were married young and within a small circle of the clan. The children were expected to accept the decisions of their parents in regards to their spouse selection and often did not meet their spouse until the betrothal.

   Negotiation and Purchase

   • Once a bride was selected, the groom and his father would visit the home of the prospective bride. The father of the bride and the father of the groom would negotiate the conditions of the marriage contract. This involved setting the "mohar," or purchase price to be paid for the bride. Traditionally, this price correlated with the cost to the bride's family of losing the bride as a worker. The mohar was not always paid in cash, at times it was paid in service or livestock.

   Betrothal

   • In ancient Jewish marriage, betrothal was the establishment the marriage covenant and contained much more ceremony than the actual marriage. The betrothal involved a public ceremony in which the bride and groom stated their intentions to marry. Items would be exchanged, often rings, and the couple would ceremoniously drink of a cup of wine. This ceremony would begin the betrothal period, and from this point forward the couple was legally and morally bound.

   Separation

   • Following the betrothal ceremony was a period of separation, typically 12 months, during which the bride and groom would return to their respective homes. The bride would use this time to prepare herself for married life and to prepare her gown for the wedding day. The groom would prepare living quarters within or adjacent to his father's home. The period of separation ended when the rabbi had determined that the bride's new living quarters had been adequately prepared.

   Wedding ceremony

   • The bride did not know beforehand the date of the wedding ceremony and was expected to be ready throughout the betrothal period. When the betrothal ended, the groom would visit the home of the bride and take her to her new home. Often this visitation took place at night, in the form of a torch-lit procession involving the groom and his male escorts. The bride and her attendants would then return to the groom's father's house, where the wedding guests would be assembled for the ceremony.

   Consummation

   • During the ceremony, the bride and groom departed to a wedding chamber, or "huppah," where they would consummate their physical bond. Traditionally, women were veiled during the ceremony. Afterward, the groom would announce the consummation to the wedding guests, and the celebration would commence. The celebration lasted for seven days, during which the bride remained hidden within the wedding chamber. After the seventh day of celebration, the groom brought the bride out of the chamber, where she removed her veil.

Source: www.ehow.com

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