Seven Blessings

Jewish wedding ceremonies are very different than the civil ceremonies with which we may be more familiar.
Steeped in tradition, Jewish weddings can vary according to the sect within Judaism.  

Our officiator is Rabbi Zvi Dershowitz, a conservative Rabbi emeritus of Sinai Temple in Los Angeles, who taught the conversion class that Dave and I attended together at the University of Judaism in 1998.

In [the Kabbalah, seven is a] magical number – seven blessings, seven seas, seven pillars of wisdom. The bride circles her groom seven times. The rebbes dance seven rings around clay when they shape the golem.  Before we reach seventh heaven, we’ll all pass seven spheres.

    by Michelle Cameron

Before the ceremony begins Stephanie will circle David seven times counterclockwise.  There are several interpretations of this tradition based on the passage from Jeremiah 31:21, where the prophet says that a woman encompasses and protects a man.

As Joshua circled the wall of Jericho seven times, and then the walls fell down. So, too, after the bride walks around the groom seven times, the walls between them will fall and their souls will be united.

Symbolically, the bride is thought to be entering the seven spheres of her beloved’s soul.

Our ceremony will be in Hebrew and English and will include: the blessings over wine, a ring ceremony, the reading of our Ketubah, our nuptials, the Seven Blessings, and the breaking of the glass.  

The wine glasses that are used include the wine glass Stephanie gave Dave from after his conversion to Judaism, and the wine glass Stephanie gave her father when she visited Israel in 1987.

A beautiful translation of the Seven Blessings is found in The New Jewish Wedding, by Anita Diamant:

We acknowledge the Unity of all within the sovereignty of [G-d], expressing our appreciation for this wine, symbol and aid of our rejoicing.

We acknowledge the Unity of all within the sovereignty of [G-d], realizing that each separate moment and every distinct object points to and shares in this oneness.

We acknowledge the Unity of all within the sovereignty of [G-d], recognizing and appreciating the blessing of being human.

We acknowledge the Unity of all within the sovereignty of [G-d], realizing the special gift of awareness that permits us to perceive this unity and the wonder we experience as a man and a woman joined to live together.

May rejoicing resound throughout the world as the homeless are given home, persecution and oppression cease, and all people learn to live in peace with each other and in harmony with their environment.

From the Divine, source of all energy, we call forth an abundance of love to envelop this couple.  May they be for each other lovers and friends, and may their love partake of the same innocence, purity, and sense of discovery that we imagine the first couple to have experienced.  

We acknowledge the Unity of all within the sovereignty of [G-d], and we highlight today joy and gladness, bridegroom and bride, delight and cheer, love and harmony, peace and companionship.  May we all witness the day when the dominant sounds throughout the world will be these sounds of happiness, the voices of lovers, the sounds of feasting and singing.

Praised is love; blessed be this marriage.  May the bride and bridegroom rejoice together.

    by Rabbi Daniel Siegel

The breaking of the glass is purely symbolic and has had many interpretations throughout time.  We connect with the interpretation Diamant shares, "A broken glass cannot be mended; likewise, marriage is irrevocable, divorce not withstanding.  It is a transforming experience that leaves individuals forever changed.  It is a covenant between two people and also between a couple and [G-d}. "

The bag that holds the glass is custom made from a remnant of the shawl Stephanie is wearing.