The Jewish Wedding Summer is a popular season for weddings. Rabbi Woznica considers adding a custom he recently witnessed. A Beautiful and Meaningful Custom Allow me to set the scene: During the wedding processional, the groom stood under the chuppah with his family. They were followed by the bride, flanked by her parents. Then, as they walked down the aisle toward the chuppah, they paused. The groom walked back toward his bride. She embraced her parents, as did the groom. Her parents walked toward the chuppah. The bride and groom remained behind. What happened next was, for me, a first. As the bride and groom approached the chuppah, their respective fathers took a few steps in front of it. They each held a Chumash, the Torah in book form.  Standing on each side of the runway, holding their respective Chumashim (books) high, they raised them across the aisle until the books touched. [...]

The Jewish Wedding Summer is a busy season for weddings. Rabbi Woznica shares thoughts on an ancient ritual that can prepare the couple.  A Trip to the Mikvah – Really? When meeting with a couple to be married, I enjoy sharing the many traditions which lead up to, and occur during, the Jewish wedding; encouraging them to incorporate those which they believe will be meaningful. Some couples are pleasantly surprised when I suggest they consider a trip to the mikvah. The mikvah is a Jewish ritual bath. There are various reasons as to why women and men immerse in the mikvah (separately, of course). Many traditional Jews use the mikvah regularly before Shabbat and Yom Kippur, as do women who observe the laws of family purity. Immersion in a mikvah is also part of the process of conversion to Judaism. I invite the bride and groom to consider immersion in the mikvah before their wedding. While many in our community may [...]

The Jewish WeddingSummer is a busy season for weddings. Rabbi Woznica shares thoughts on how one central aspect of a Jewish wedding ties us to Israel. The Seventh Blessing and IsraelYesterday (found here), I reflected on the question of rejoicing at this very difficult time for Israel and the Jewish people worldwide. Today, I’d like to focus on one aspect of the ceremony.At a Jewish wedding ceremony, it is traditional to recite what are known as the sheva brachot (seven blessings). I especially look forward to chanting them and always encourage a collective, rousing, “amen” after each one.I typically pause before the seventh blessing to read it aloud in English. Part of that blessing reads: “… O God, may there always be heard in the cities of Israel and the streets of Jerusalem: the sounds of joy and of happiness, the voice of the groom and the voice of the bride, the shouts [...]

The Jewish Wedding Summer is a busy season for weddings. Rabbi Woznica shares thoughts on the challenge of celebrating during difficult days.  Should We Rejoice at a Time Like This? Summer is the season of weddings, and clergy are particularly busy. Officiating a wedding allows us to meet couples at one of the best times in their lives.  It is among the most elevating, satisfying, and happiest aspects of my work. Except… these are very difficult times for our people. How can one rejoice in a wedding knowing that Israel is at war and our hostages enslaved? Indeed, should we rejoice under these circumstances? We had a family wedding planned on October 14, 2023. Given the events of October 7th, we contemplated cancelling the plans and changing the date. A colleague, Rabbi Lisa Malik, influenced us. She noted that Jewish weddings typically conclude with the groom smashing a glass. While many explanations [...]