Questions?What?
Questions you might ask at the wedding
Our wedding is going to be "Traditional Hebrew Wedding".We will be doing certain traditional practices during the wedding that you may or may not understand.This page is to better aquaint you with what will be going on before you get there.Remember this is a Ancient Hebrew wedding therefore we are trying to stay as close to what a wedding would have been like for a believer in Ancient Israel......
Many people are surprised as they are accustomed to seeing very large oil lamps in the movies. Generally, the clay lamps used in movies are not historically accurate. Most lamps in television and movie production are based on today's concept of how much light is needed with no thought to how much a typical ancient person expected, or could afford to spend for lighting oil. Ancient clay lamps came in many sizes and most are very small.You can read "The Parable of the 10 Virgins from Matthew 25:13" at our wedding party page.Now you will have a better understanding of how much oil was needed to fill the lamps.It is also interesting how small the flask of extra oil in Matthew 25:13 are. Ancient oil jars where about 4" high x 2.75" wide and held enough oil to refill the lamp once!!(click here to see two examples) See below how big the origional lamps were..
You may here this term at the beginning of the wedding.This is the name of the document that is signed by the groom and the bride.The ketubah lays out rights of the wife (to monetary payments upon termination of the marriage by death or divorce), and obligations of the husband (providing food, shelter, clothing, and etc.to the wife)Some Ketubahs can be very elaboratly decorated and beautiful to behold.In ancient times this document was rolled up and kept in a decorative tub by the wife.In modern times it is placed in a frame and displayed on a special wall of the couples home
A chuppah (also spelled huppa, chupah, or chuppa - plural chuppot) is a canopy traditionally used in Jewish weddings. It consists of a cloth or sheet — sometimes a tallit ("prayershawl") — stretched or supported over four poles, and is sometimes carried by attendants to the ceremony location. It is meant in a spiritual sense, the covering of the chuppah represents the presence of God over the covenant of marriage.
The breaking of the glass is probably the best known part of the Jewish wedding. It comes right at the end of the ceremony and is followed by festive shouts of "Mazel-Tov" ("congratulations")and the bride and groom's first kiss as a married couple.
What is the meaning of the breaking of the glass? There are many explanations for this time honored tradition:
-Even in times of great joy, we reserve a moment to mourn the destruction of the Temple, without which our lives are incomplete.
-We should remember the fragility of relationships.
-It is the last time the groom gets to put his foot down!-(this one is my favorite!! J/K )
Why do we dance so much in church?
1. Dancing seems to have occurred at certain very great occasions in Israel’s history. Here are some of the best know Old Testament occasions of dancing on momentous occasions:
a. Dancing was prophesied as a future event at the restoration of Israel from bondage and captivity. The Lord said, “I will build you up again and you will be rebuilt, O Virgin Israel. Again you will take up your tambourines and go out to dance with the joyful.... Then maidens will dance and be glad, young men and old as well. I will turn their mourning into gladness” (Jeremiah 31:4,13).
b. Dancing at the return of victorious armies. Two instances are recorded in Scripture: (1) the return of Saul and David from battle after Goliath was slain and (2) the return of Jephthah from victory over the Ammonites.
The Bible says, “When the men were returning home after David had killed the Philistine, the women came out from all the towns of Israel to meet King Saul with singing and dancing, with joyful songs and with tambourines and lutes. As the danced, they sang: ‘Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands’ ” (1 Samuel 18:6-7).
This incident is referred to by the servants of Acish king of Gath, who asked, “Isn’t this David, the king of the land? Isn’t he the one they sing about in their dances: ‘Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands?’ ” (1 Samuel 21:11). Again, the Philistine commanders are quoted as asking, “Isn’t this the David they sang about in their dances: ‘Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands?’ ” (1 Samuel 29:5). Note that we have here three separate occurrences of the word dance, but they all refer to the same instance of dancing in honor of the returning military heroes.
The other mention of dancing at the return of a victorious army is this: “Jephthah made a vow to the Lord: ‘If you give the Ammonites into my hands, whatever comes out of the door of my house to meet me when I return in triumph from the Ammonites will be the Lord’s, and I will sacrifice it as a burnt offering.’ Then Jephthah went over to fight the Ammonites, and the Lord gave them into his hands.... When Jephthah returned to his home in Mizpah, who should come out to meet him but his daughter, dancing to the sound of tambourines!” (Judges 11:30-34). I do not intend to comment on Jephthah’s tragic vow, but simply to note that the daughter came out dancing, apparently to celebrate her father’s victorious return.
c. Dancing at the miraculous crossing of the Red Sea. Here is a very great event in Israel’s history. “When Pharaoh’s horses, chariots and horsemen went into the sea, the Lord brought the waters of the sea back over them, but the Israelites walked through the sea on dry ground. Then Miriam the prophetess, Aaron’s sister, took a tambourine in her hand, and all the women followed her, with tambourines and dancing. Miriam sang to them” (Exodus 15:19-21).
Here again let’s note that only the women are dancing. And in fairness it should be noted that this dancing is to the Lord, not something done in a carnal way.
On this occasion, “David, wearing a linen ephod, danced before the Lord with all his might, while he and the entire house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with shouts and the sound of trumpets. As the ark of the Lord was entering the City of David, Michal daughter of Saul watched from a window. And when she saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord, she despised him in her heart. They brought the ark of the Lord and set it in its place inside the tent that David had pitched for it, and David sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings before the Lord” (2 Samuel 6:14-17).
Note that it was not a moderate, restrained, or choreographed dance; the Bible records that he was leaping and dancing.
This same event is recorded later in the Bible: “As the ark of the covenant of the Lord was entering the City of David, Michal daughter of Saul watched from a window. And when she saw King David dancing and celebrating, she despised him in her heart” (1 Chronicles 15:29). So we have two occurrences of the word dance referring to one occasion.
Dancing seems to have occurred at certain great occasions in Israel’s history as well. I have listed dancing after the miraculous Red Sea crossing; dancing at the prophesied restoration of Israel from bondage and captivity; dancing at the return of victorious armies; dancing at the return of the ark to Jerusalem; These are all the Old Testament’s occurrences of dancing on momentous occasions.
- The Bible does say there is a time to dance. “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven: ... a time to mourn and a time to dance” (Ecclesiastes 3:1,4).
David dancing at the return of the ark (2 Samuel 6)
Miriam and the women dancing on the far side of the Red Sea (Exodus 15)
After reading all this information you may better understand why we do it.The word has
very clearly shown us that this is the way ELohim wants us to worship him,here are two more-
