Vermont
Bride Magazine Spring 2011 issue
Download the complete issue PDF (19 MB)
Download just the Bridal Resource Guide PDF (5.2 MB)
LOVE STORIES:
CONTENTS FROM THE SPRING 2011 ISSUE
Cover photo by Around the Bend Photography www.aroundthebendphotography.com
The cover bride for Spring 2011 issue is Jeanna (Bowen) Brochu
The SPRING 2011 ISSUE - - OUR LARGEST ISSUE YET! Weighing in with 116 pages of information, resources, beautiful photography and extensive vendor lists, Vermont Bride Magazine is the guide to bridal events for this 2011 Wedding Season. Look for a copy available throughout the state of Vermont.
...a Jewish wedding is more than just an event. It is a learning and growing process.Mazal tov!
... you found your beshert (Hebrew for intended one). You located a rabbi to officiate at your ceremony. You picked out a ketubah (Jewish marriage license). Color schemes are resolved and all necessary deposits are paid. Now let’s take a few moments and explore one of the most widely recognized rituals of a Jewish wedding, the breaking of a glass at the end of the ceremony.
The origin of this tradition dates back over two thousand years.
It is first mentioned in the Talmud in two places. In one version Mar, the son of Ravina, thought that the rabbis were getting too merry at his son’s wedding. For reasons not stated he felt this was inappropriate so to sober them up he took a valuable glass object and smashed it. The other version describes the same situation only the name of the father of the groom was Rav Ashi. These two stories differ from how the tradition has come down to us in two ways.
First, it is the father who breaks the glass, not the groom. Second, the purpose is intended to subdue the revelers, not initiate the celebration of the wedding.
It is not clear why these two fathers felt it was important to sober up their guests. However, the most enduring explanation provided by later rabbis linked Mar’s and Rav Ashi’s actions with the sadness associated with the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem in 70 CE. Thus, the purpose of smashing the glass is to remind us that even in times of great joy, like a wedding, we should not forget that there is much sadness in the world. Of course this explanation does not provide insight into how the ritual evolved into it being the groom, and often the bride as well, that breaks the glass. This will have to remain a mystery for now.
Today many people continue to embrace the ritual as a way of remembering that there are still people, Jewish and non-Jewish, that lack the freedom to freely celebrate their religion. Others like to understand it homiletically: Just as the glass, when it is broken, enters a state from which it will never emerge, so too may it be that this couple will never emerge from their married state. Alternatively, some prefer explaining it allegorically by pointing out that although glass is made from sand, a very common and cheap material, it can be turned into something of beauty and value.
But if one is not careful the glass can be broken. So too, a marriage is something common yet beautiful, but if one is not careful it can be broken like glass. Lastly, those with a penchant for the arcane might prefer seeing it is an action intended to chase away demons that might threaten the couple as they pass through the liminal period between being unmarried and married.
The ritual of breaking a glass has evolved in many ways over the years. Regardless of what interpretation with which we invest the ritual, it nevertheless calls upon us to reflect on the holiness of the moment and consider that life and marriage are fragile, holy and beautiful.
Rabbi Howard Cohen an outdoor adventurer, canoe builder, volunteer firefighter, and parent of three children, husband, congregational consultant, free-lance rabbi and pastoral counselor. He is affiliated with both Reconstructionism and Jewish Renewal.
