afinefellow718

OK. I"ll probably have to do this in pieces but here goes. Please keep in mind that whenever I respond to any question about Judaism, whether about laws, customs, beliefs and traditions, it is always from the Orthodox point of view. This discounts anything Conservative or Reform which will more often than not be a watered down version of the Orthodox practice (no offense intended here to anyone not Orthodox). First and foremost, it is important to note that each and every custom and tradition is drawn from and is designed to emulate what took place when G-d gave the Jews the Torah (Bible/10Commandments) at Mount Sinai some 3300 years ago and or the Bilical requirements for aquisition (for lack of a better or more elegant term). The Groom and Bride do not communicate in any way or see each other for at least one week before the wedding. At the wedding, before the ceremony, the groom is in a room with the male family and guests and the bride in a separate room with the ladies. Immediately prior to the ceremony, the Gromm and his entourage enters the ladies side of the venue takes a look upon the face of his bride and immediately covers her face with her veil which remains in place till the end of the ceremony. At this time, it is customary for the brides Father/Grandfather to place their hand on her head and bless her. The Ceremony takes place beneath a "Chupah" or canopy under the open sky. Therefore, even if the ceremony takes place indoors, the canopy must be placed beneath an open skylight. Major elements of the actual ceremony must include witnesses totally unrelated to both each other as well as the bride and groom, a pure gold or silver completely unadorned and uninscribed ring which the groom will place upon the brides index finger and a legally completed, executed, signed and wittnessed Marriage Contract called a "Kesubah". Additionally, the ceremony must be performed over a cup of wine of which both the Groom and Bride must partake from twice during the ceremony. The order in which the ceremony is executed is as follows: Rabbi makes the first two blessings over the goblet of wine Groom and Bride drink from the wine Groom places the ring upon the brides finger pronouncing the ages old wedding statement "Thou art betrothed (hallowed) unto me, according to the law of Moses and Israel." Rabbi reads the Kesubah (Marriage Contract) The wine is blessed yet again and seven blessings are recited Groom and Bride drink from the wine again A glass or goblet usually wrapped in a linen napkin to keep glass from flying all over the place is placed on the ground and the Groom stomps on it with his right foot so as to break it. This is a required act of the ceremony and is for the purpose of reminding us that on this, the happiest day of our lives, the Temple in Jerusalem, the House of the Lord lies in ruins and we must yearn for the day of it's rebuilding. Then everyone yells "Mazel Tov" the music starts playing and the celebratory dinner begins! Gotta catch my breath! How'm I doing so far? Any questions?

Yes indeed. People lined up around the block some days, waiting for us to open. Website (my area) was sizzleing. Finally settling down abit. So where shall I start?

Hi Pam, Well, I need to be motivated to tear myself away from my work, lol. As you know where I work and as Retail goes wild this time of year, I kind of had my head buried in the sand of the day to day. I hope to remember to tackle this tomorrow. Feel free to "remind me". All the best. HERSHEL

I'm guessing I might be that second Jew referred to earlier lol. Did anyone attack this yet? LOL HERSHEL

Thank you. The feeling is mutual. Sense of humor is courtesy of the pressure cooker I live in. HERSHEL

By the way, I was browsing through the site and on page 3 of the Gallery section I saw a pic labeled "LSD Girls". Might I remind you that I am from NYC and take things pretty literally, lol! Was that a typo and was supposed to read "LDS Girls" Because if it's not, I have to take a whole new look at the Mormon Religion, LOL! All the best, HERSHEL

Pam, It's not so much that you will sound foolish, but rather that to the uninitiated and those unpracticed in the art of pronouncing a throaty "ch" it more often than not results in the unintended launching of a great gob of spit in the direction of the recipient. So unless you don't particulary care for the person you are speaking to or they are wearing a wetsuit and divers mask, don't try this at home, lol. Besides, we Jews have long since come to terms with and have grown to accept Channukah being pronounced as Hannukah and names like Chaim being pronounced as Kaim, etc... Don't sweat the little details, we love you just the same, lol. HERSHEL

Hi Pam, It means "Happy Holiday" in Hebrew. As for it's pronunciation, it employs that throaty "ch" sound that is so common in Yiddish and Hebrew and that most Gentiles have so much trouble pronouncing. HERSHEL

I'm honored to be here and am pleased to make any positive contribution that I can. Thisbit of back and forth today certainly softened an otherwise crazy NYC day at work, lol! HERSHEL

Speaking of Light and in keeping with the exchange of interesting information, here's something that is timely (5 night of Chanukah) and even most Jews are not aware of: It’s passed down to us from the most ancient Kabbalists that the 5th night of Chanukah is the darkest night of the year. Therefore when someone lights the 5th candle (tonight) he should pray for all the souls that have fallen into the darkest places. And in the merit of this good deed tonight of lighting the 5th candle with this good intention, we ask that the the Allmighty in turn should enlighten even the most darkened souls. All the best. HERSHEL

John, I defer to your vastly superior knowledge on this issue as I've come here quite by accident. I was looking for photography related sites for work purposes and came accross the blog entry via a Google Alert. That aside, at the end of the day, something good came out of this possible "hit and run poster". We all broadened our circle of friends and aquaintances, demonstrated ourselves to be openminded, desireous of obtaining knowledge and having a tolerance for people with disparate views. I don't know about you all, but I come away enriched! All the best. HERSHEL

Please do not take exception to the term "agressive" as I didn't mean it to have have negative connotations. As Dravin accurately noted, Jews do not proselytize at all to other religions, so to me agressive means "out there" "obvious" "in the open" "pro active" "visible" etc... All the best. HERSHEL

Hi, Suddenly I don't feel so alone here, lol. I must agree despite the fact that LDS folk are known to be a bit agressive in their approach, the folks here seem to be a fine and mellow group of people. I think it both important and valuable that people like thekabalist and myself make ourselves available to others of different beliefs if for no other reason than to provide a a sane and rational answer to any question that may be posed regarding the Jewish religigion. I can speak with knowledge and leave myself open to answer any question posed about Jewish beliefs and religious practice and I hope folks here will be tolerant to any questions I may have regarding LDS as I am an avid student of other religions and cultures. I feel that ignorance is not bliss but indeed incredibly dangerous and we should all help each other learn and understand but stop well short of trying to impress our beliefs on others. Al the best. HERSHEL

Please forgive me, an extremely orthodox Chassidic Jew from Brooklyn, N.Y. for weighing in on this but I just could not contain myself from doing so. Is this person for real? Would someone from a different belief and religion actually entertain the notion of going to someone elses wedding, a religious ceremony held in their House of Worship and think to insult their host, the bride and groom by spouting what would no doubt be viewed as blasphemy? I can't envision in my wildest dreams, a Jew going to an LDS function of any kind or a Catholic, Muslim, or Buddhist or anyone else for that matter and go fishing for souls at that function. To even ask the question is near unforgiveable. Sorry to butt in as it is perhaps not my place to do so, but I just had to get this off my chest. All the best. HERSHEL