Customary Dress Code When Attending a Jewish Wedding

A Jewish wedding being strictly a religious ceremony and a civil one as well, requires that not only the bride and groom observe proper dress codes but also the guests. When inviting friends, make sure that you advise them accordingly on the customs and traditions that are observed so that they would not be out of place during and after the wedding ceremonies. Since there are no special requirements aside from modesty and conservatism, it is better to do so than spoil the happiness of the occasion.

Getting invited and attending a wedding of friends that have a different religion or culture than yours is a problematic situation for most people because of the predicament of what to wear. This subject is a very sticky situation as weddings and celebrations of the like are very sensitive in nature that dressing in the right clothes requires tact and elegance at the same time.

If you get invited to a Jewish wedding, the safest bet for men is to wear a suit and tie whereas a dress with sleeves and a modest neckline is the recommended attire for women.

You have to make sure that your clothes are appropriate as the various branches of Judaism have differing specifications for dress codes. Reform synagogues are more accommodating regarding dress codes however, Orthodox Jews require that women’s dresses be full body length and shoulders must not be visible.

Not only are you expected to observe the proper dress code, you are also required to participate in the festivities during a Jewish wedding. So as not to feel out of place, you should therefore know what to expect.

On entering the reception area, make sure to use the traditional greeting of Good Luck (Mazel Tov) to the celebrants, other guests and relatives and friends of the bride and groom.

It is significant to know that the breaking of glass is a symbolic recollection of the destruction of the Temple and that the happiness of the Jews will never be complete until the temple is rebuilt. The tradition also symbolizes the pogroms, the Holocaust, and the dangers faced by Jews throughout the Middle East. For some, it is to remind the newlyweds in order to make a good and happy marriage is not limited to the celebration of joy but also the ability to withstand sadness, pain, anxiety, loneliness, emptiness, frustration that any type of relationships may undergo as time passes by.

The signing of the ketubah (marriage contract) is a ritual that is an integral part of the wedding ceremony. It is a beautiful document, often written in calligraphic Aramaic, with the text going back almost 2,000 years. The ketubah embodies the legal ascendancy of the bride over their conjugal properties should the groom die at an early age.

However, liberal Jews have modified the wordings of the Ketubah to provide equal protection for both husband and wife.

Think of the ketubah as a sort of prenuptial agreement – actually the very first one as the tradition goes back thousands of years ago!

Source: http://www.devorah.us

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