today i'm so excited because i'm inviting you to come with me to an orthodox sephardic jewish
wedding where i will share with you all the rituals of a jewish wedding ceremony and i will
explain their deeper meaning as we go along i will also share some of our wedding pictures throughout
the video as unfortunately our wedding videos were accidentally deleted by our photographer
a big thank you to the bride and groom to have allowed us to film their wedding
as well as Shimmy Rubenstein if you're new here hi my name is Sarah Malka
here on my channel i share every facet of my sephardic orthodox jewish life
as a full-time working mom with small kiddos so please leave this video a big
thumbs up and subscribe to our channel let me put on a pretty tichel and let's jump into it
when you enter the hall you will see cards with names and table numbers that are different for
men and women as men and women do not celebrate orthodox weddings together then the men and women
are directed to different halls the first part of the jewish wedding is kabalat panim it is a
pre-chuppah reception it is usually an open buffet style where a lot of food and drinks
are served to sustain the guest until the main meal which will be served in about two hours
the reception is a time to say mazal tov to the bride and groom and family members in this wedding
the kallah preferred to be kept in a separate room but in our wedding i was seated on the throne
and i was giving blessings to other women as according to our custom the day of our wedding
we are reborn and are pure like angels hence people asking for blessings from the kallah
and the chatan in another room there is a signing of the ketuba by the witnesses of the chatan and
the kallah with the rabbi the to buy is a contract to protect the woman's right and the marriage
and it will be given to her during the wedding ceremony just before the chuppa in our wedding to
honor my ashkenazi part of the family my husband agreed to do the bedecken which means covering
my chatan came with his entourage and verified that i am the one he wants to marry
this custom comes from the torah to avoid what happened to Yaakov when Lavan tricked him to marry
Leah instead of Rachel by concealing her identity once my chatan confirmed my identity he covered
my head with a veil and the bedeken ceremony was completed the parents give a blessing to
their children and the wedding ceremony continues under the chuppah the word chuppah means covering
or protection and it signifies the beginning of the chatan and kallah creating their own
home or bait ne'eman the chuppah is open on all four sides it signifies that their house will
always be open to friends family and guests like the tent of Avraham avinu and Sarah imenu
how the chatan is brought to the chuppah is different from family to family he can
be accompanied by his father and father-in-law or he can also be accompanied by both of his parents
at our wedding my chattan was accompanied by both of our fathers and they also held a candle
to include our family members who passed away to make them a part of the ceremony
on a side note if you're wondering why my husband is on crutches it is because he triple fractured
his ankle a few days before the wedding hence the crutches the kallah makes her grand entrance and
everybody stands up for her this is often the first time the chatan sees her kallah as many
sephardic circles have the custom to separate the chatan and the the day of the wedding until this
part it is a moment that is filled with emotions for everyone at our wedding i absolutely love
to be covered with the opaque veil as it really helped me to focus on the spiritual aspect of the
wedding as i had no distraction it was a very intense time of communion with god when i was
walking to the chupah i prayed to god for people in need of a recovery for friends and family to
get married for childless couples to have children and for us to have a good happy and peaceful life
once at this chuppah this beautiful couple started right away the ceremony
but in our wedding my mother-in-law and mother with me circled my groom seven times as some of
our sages say that the number seven symbolizes the completion and holiness within time
and space and that finally the husband and wife are complete during the chuppa there will be seven
blessings of gladness exaltation pleasure love brotherhood peace and friendship for the broom
and the bride it is a great honor to say one of the seven blessings after the first blessings
the chatan will offer a ring to the kallah as a symbol of his promise of marriage to her
the ring represents the cycle of life the groom takes the ring and recites the proposal
he then places the ring on her index finger
then there is the reading of the ketubah or marriage contract that the husband offers
to his bride where he describes how he will take care of her provide for her and fulfill her needs
after the reading of the ketubah it is given to the kallah
after the blessings and the reading of the ketuba the chatan will break a glass symbolizing that
our joy can not be complete because our Beth HaMikdash or holy temple is not yet rebuilt
as soon as he breaks the glass everybody screams
and the bride and groom are embraced and blessed by the people around them it is a
moment of tremendous sicha where smiles and tears of joy are " au rendez-vous" after that beautiful
moment the chatan and kallah are accompanied by singing and dancing by the people around us
in some supporting circle the bride and groom are taken to the Yichud (private) room where
they will be spending the first few minutes as husband and wife together but here the
chatan and kallah are brought back to the main hall where they are greeted by friends
and family usually the mother of the bride will dance with the kallah first
then the mother-in-law then all the family members together and friends as guests we
are dancing around the chatan and the kallah respectively in a circle showing them albeit
there creating their own new family unit we will always surround them accompany them support them
and be there for them we are all part of the link in the chain of generations
as a guest to an orthodox wedding our role is to rejoice the chatan and the kallah by
dancing with them and taking care of them as our sages teach us whoever celebrates
with a bride and a groom it is as if they will rebuild one of the ruins of Jerusalem
you can expect people to perform silly routines on the dance floor summersaulting
juggling and even wearing costumes all part of the effort to bring joy to the bride and groom
albeit men and women celebrate the wedding separately there is usually a moment in the
wedding when we are propped on a chair and we dance together via napkins knotted together
typically after the first dances the meal will be served and the chatan and kallah will be seated at
a separate world table it is usually the time when the chattan and the kallah will receive
their Mazel TOV or congratulations together at the table after what seems like just a quick
bite we have the second dances which usually are even more energetic than the first one
closer to the end of the wedding in more traditional moroccan sephardic weddings there
will be a henné or henna it is the time where the bride and groom wear traditional moroccan clothes
and the guests are given balls of henna in their hands as a singular for good tidings at the end of
the evening they served a sweet table with tons and tons of desserts the dancing comes slowly
to an end and Birkat Hamazon or blessing over bread is recited followed by the Sheva Berachot
the same seven blessings that were said during the wedding ceremony will be repeated now the cheva
brachot will be said every night at a special meal as the joy of the wedding lasts for an entire week
after the Sheva Brachot recited the wedding ceremony and festivities of the day are completed
the bride and groom will go to their new home and will start their new life as husband and wife
thank you so much for being here it means the world to me
know that in my book you are part of my inner circle
i would like to dedicate this video to tonton Emile, Tonton SAmmy, Yvonne Simcha bat Solika
and my dear father-in-law avi mori rabbi Michael who were taken from us too soon and were all the
epitome of what unconditional love for the other should be and look like if you are here until the
end write in the comments I LOVE JEWISH WEDDINGS so i know you were with me and i was not alone
if nobody told you today know that YOU ARE LOVED and YOU ARE ENOUGH just the way you are
until next time stay safe stay blessed and don't forget to FRUM IT UP