Preserve the memory of your loved one with a plaque on our Yahrzeit(Yiddish) The anniversary of a death, usually marked by the lighting of a 24-hour yahrzeit candle and the recitation of Kaddish, the memorial prayer. For U.S. Jews, the unveiling of the headstone usually takes place on or around the first yahrzeit. Wall. Learn More ->
Intimate relationships bring two people together in a unique emotional and physical connection. This is something to celebrate, whether through the public festivity of a wedding, or in the private reflection of immersion in the mikvehThe ritual bath. The waters of the mikveh symbolically purify – they are seen as waters of rebirth. A convert immerses in the mikveh as part of conversion. Many Orthodox married women go to the mikveh following their period and before resuming sexual relations. Couples go to the mikveh before being married. Many, including some men, immerse before Yom Kippur; some go every Friday before Shabbat.. Sanctifying our intimate relationships elevates these unions and gives them a context of meaning and joy.
A look at the sociological and demographic implications of intermarriage in the Jewish community along with things a prospective interfaith couple should know about Jewish attitudes, family, rabbinic officiation, the ceremony, negotiating the Jewish community after the wedding, and conversion
A certificate by which a non-Jew joins his/her fate to the Jewish people without formally converting and a marriage contract for a Jew and a ger toshav (resident stranger)
Sue and Ben wrote a “verbose but helpful guide” to their wedding which is both traditional and egalitarian (incorporating both kiddushin and shutafut)
An informative wedding booklet which walks the reader through all the traditional elements of a Jewish wedding ceremony
A wedding booklet describing one couple’s choices for a traditional-egalitarian Jewish wedding
There is a folk tradition that the gates of heaven are particularly open to the prayers of the bride and groom. In some communities, wedding couples are handed small pieces of paper prior to the processional on which personal prayers are written. They read these prayers as they walk down the aisle and while circling one another. This prayer is offered in that tradition.
A brief article describing the practice of kiddushin (the first part of the wedding ceremony) and modern variations and alternatives
These words are addressed to stepchildren standing under their new parents’ huppah
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Modeling respectful conversations on pressing Jewish issues
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