Tips For Jewish Christian Interfaith Wedding

By Joshua Patterson


It is a great day to be had and preparing for it can be stressful and full of to dos to do. Jewish Christian interfaith wedding has become something of the norm as people from these two Religions find that they want to be together for the rest of their lives. Should this occasion be of a Jewish flavour then there are some points of interest that one may want to follow.

The first step is securing a venue and there are many to be had. Unfortunately, Orthodox Synagogues will not allow this as this type of occasion, an interfaith one, is not allowed in Orthodox communities. Be this as it may, interfaith couples do meet and do want to get married, so with time this is catered for and has become the norm. The best place to start is to agree upon where and how this special day will take place.

For one, one may want to include a Chupah which in a nutshell is a prayer shawl strung up by four poles. The couple stand under it during the prayers and blessings and this has been tradition for centuries gone by. It is a b eautiful touch and is loaded with sentimentality and it gives one a great chance to include pole holders.

These can be friends or family members that one may want to include in the proceedings. It is also customary to smash a glass which commemorates the destruction of both temples in years gone by. It is a nice touch and is followed by the saying Mazel Tov shouted out by guests. This basically means Good Luck and it is a traditional saying on this day.

An occasion is never without food to eat and drinks to drink. For those that do not know, there are laws that govern what a Jew can eat and what they cannot. All food must be kosher and especially bearing in mind that meat and milk dishes cannot be served together.

There are many laws that govern kashrut and the basis of it all is that one is not allowed to eat meat with milk products. Apart from this animals that are consumed must be slaughtered by a Shochet, someone who has studied to do this and has met all the criteria pertaining to these laws. One does not have to get too involved in the nitty gritty of it, just to ensure that a kosher caterer is used.

Fish is termed Parev meaning that it can be consumed with both meat and milk dishes. As said, this is no trouble for a caterer and they will be able to suggest varying dishes for the occasion. It is best to go this route especially should guests be coming who will expect this as they may keep these laws in their own homes.

There is a lot of reading material on the Internet so this is the best place to get started. If in doubt, ask a Rabbi. They are always there to assist when pertaining to laws that are unfamiliar.




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