HSC RELIGIOUS TRADITION DEPTH

STUDY:JUDAISM

MARRIAGE

Students learn about :SIGNIFICANT PRACTICES IN THE LIFE OF ADHERENTS

ONE significant practice within JUDAISM drawn from:

Death and Mourning Marriage Synagogue Services

Students learn to: Describe ONE significant practice

within Judaism drawn from - death and mourning; marriage; and synagogue services.

Demonstrate how this practice expresses the beliefs of Judaism

Analyse the significance of this practice for both the individual and the Jewish community.

RELIGIOUS RITES

Are a method by which members of a religious community celebrate what is important in their lives and is an important medium for bringing the individual and the group into contact with the transcendent.

The effect of religious rites is to give meaning to the events of life (human experience) and place them in the context of the groups’ beliefs. In this way they touch that which is most important to group identity, and inspire us towards an ideal.

RELIGIOUS RITES IN JUDAISM:

Such as rites of passage, are important elements

of religious identity within the Jewish tradition.

They are celebrations of, and memorials to the covenants by which Jews understand their relationship with God as expressed in the Torah.

For community worship, the synagogue is the focus, where the central place of the Torah is evident, and the rituals cement the individuals place within the community.

Religious rites and their effect on the everyday lives of believers :

Provide continuity within the tradition – because religious rites are usually based on foundational events/stories.

Provide opportunity for transformation of the individual.

eg. rites of passage =transformed statuseg. rites of public worship = transformed

individually to live closer to the ideal as a result of communion.

RITES OF PASSAGE

A rite of passage is an important and often complex ritual that allows an individual or individuals, to be transformed from one stage to another i.e. from an

old status to a new status.

Rites of passage affect this change of status as well as proclaiming it to the community. Thus

there is a strong community element in rites of passage – it confirms the beliefs of the group,

encourages group cohesion, and teaches moral lessons.

BEFORE

PRE-LIMINAL

The pre-ritual status of the

individual who is in the old

role, phase of life or social

status, preparing for the new role, phase of life

or social status.

DURING

LIMINAL

When the individual is

educated and transformed so as

to learn those things necessary

for their new

status.

AFTER

POST-LIMINAL

This stage is characterised by absorption into

the faith community as a

member who has achieved a new,

higher status.

Religious Rites of passage results in Judaism-

Spiritual growth A deeper relationship with God A new, often higher status in the

religious community Additional rights and responsibilities A reminder of the history of Israel

DESCRIBE…

Provide characteristics and features

Describe ONE significant practice within Judaism drawn from - death and mourning; marriage; and synagogue services.

Jewish Marriage as a rite of passage

The time The couple are required to be over the age of 18 years. Jewish weddings can take place on any day except the Shabbat and festivals. Most Jewish weddings take place on a Sunday, usually in the afternoon.

The place The wedding ceremony may takes place in the synagogue or outside. It always takes place under a chuppah or canopy.

The participants

The rite of marriage is a public ceremony- the couple are required to make their vows in public. Also present are 2 witnesses, families and friends and a rabbi usually officiates, though it can be any observant Jew – marriage under Jewish law is a contractual agreement between a man and a woman. A minyan is required to be present for the blessing.

The charter In Judaism marriage is seen as the ideal human state. Marriage is rated very highly, it is seen as the way to emotional and spiritual fulfillment.Marriage is the basic social institution in Judaism.Marriage provides physical fulfillment in the form of sexual expression.Marriage is seen as a personal relationship.Marriage is a holy covenant- bound by contract.

The set form

The bride visits the mikveh- immersion pool (Orthodox)On the shabbat before the wedding, the groom is called to read the Torah.The couple may fast before the ceremony (Orthodox)Lifting of the veil.Wedding takes place under the Chuppah.Bride is escorted by either her parents or both mothersEscorts carry candlesBride circles groom seven timesInitial blessings are recited – over wine as both partners drink from a cupThe giving of the ring – where life long commitment is implied by the words spokenMarriage contract – ketubahMarriage closes with blessings recited over a cup of wine.Recitation of the seven blessings.The breaking of a wine glassYichud and fast is broken.

The symbol system

ChuppahTwo escorts

Nuts, raisins, sweets, fasting before the ceremony

Initial blessings over the wineGiving of the ring and recitation of marriage

vowsThe ketubahHandkerchief

The reciting of the seven blessingsBreaking of the wine glass

Retirement to a yichudFinal blessings over wine

Lighted candles

The hierarchical and role relations

Once married, the wife has responsibility for the home in order to free her husband to study the Torah. The wife is required to keep a kosher home and to bring up and teach the children. Her responsibility is to ensure that all that goes on in the home is expressive of Judaism. The role of the husband is to provide for and protect the family. Both roles are seen as equally important, and marriage is viewed as an equal partnership.

The transformation

Prior to marriage this couple were single and from 2 separate families. Marriage unites these two people together in love, forming a new family unit in which husband and wife are responsible for one another and for their children. Together the couple are now responsible for continuing the Jewish Nation by starting a family, keeping the mitzvah and bringing up children in the Jewish tradition.

DEMONSTRATE…

Show by example

Demonstrate how this practice expresses the beliefs of Judaism

How the Jewish Rite of Marriage makes present

the central beliefs of the tradition:

Sacred Texts

Provide a basis for the ethical teachings about marriageTalmud explains the form of the marriage rite- this ensures that key beliefs about marriage are made present in the rituals.The Torah gives little guidance regarding the procedures for marrying.The marriage rite does not rely on the use of sacred texts to make present the ethical teachings about marriage to any significant extentVarious rituals are derived from the Hebrew scriptures and these assist the practising Jew in maintaining a knowledge of certain parts of the Torah and other parts of the Hebrew Bible. Marriage is seen as a personal, contractual relationship. The Talmud specifies the role played by the ketubah in the marriage rite, reinforcing the belief that marriage is a holy covenant, a contractual relationship.

How the Jewish Rite of Marriage makes present

the central beliefs of the tradition:

The Symbols

The chuppah symbolises the marital home into which the groom now brings his bride. It is used to make present to the believers the centrality of the home, and the role of the wife as homemaker, and in bringing up and teaching the children..The initial blessings over wine symbolise the joy which the couple now share together, they also fulfill a mitzvah. Jews believe that they communicate with God and grow in their relationship with God by carrying out the mitzvot.The ketubah reinforces the belief that marriage is a holy covenant.The seven blessings praise God for the creation of all things, of Man, and of man and woman in God’s image, and link the couple to the story of creation and the history of Israel.The smashing of the wine glass further links the couple to the history of Israel.

ANALYSE…

Identify components and the relationship between them; draw out and relate implications.

Analyse the significance of this practice for both the individual and the Jewish community.

The significance of MarriageJudaism considers marriage to be a religious

obligation for three major reasons:1. To bear children in fulfilment of God’s blessing –

Genesis 1:28;2. To provide a strong foundation for one’s dealings

with society;3. And to establish family life in a loving home.

Indeed Jewish people consider the home to be like a ‘little temple’ Ezekiel 11:16 – where family members find rest and serve each other with love and compassion.

The significance of MarriageFor Judaism, marriage serves three interrelated purposes.

1. The propagation of the human species, as commanded in Genesis 1:28, "Be fruitful and multiply". According to talmudic law, this obligation is deemed to have been fulfilled when a man has begotten at least one son and one daughter, just as God created male and female in the Garden of Eden.

http://www.liberaljudaism.org/lj_wherewestand_marriage.htm

The significance of Marriage

2. Marriage affords loving companionship. Again in the words of the Book of Genesis, "It is not good that man should be alone.... Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave to his wife, and they become one flesh" (Genesis 2:18 and 24).

http://www.liberaljudaism.org/lj_wherewestand_marriage.htm

The significance of Marriage

3. Marriage establishes the family as the basic social unit, and the home as the "little sanctuary" (Ezekiel 11:16) in which the father corresponds to a priest, the mother to a priestess, and the table to an altar. It is where children can grow up under the loving protection and guidance of their parents, and where the Jewish religion can be practised and transmitted from generation to generation.

http://www.liberaljudaism.org/lj_wherewestand_marriage.htm

The significance of marriage for both the individual and the community:

Marriage is seen as a personal, contractual relationship.

Marriage is seen as the fulfilment of the Mitzvah. All Jewish men and women are expected to marry. This is the first commandment – located in Genesis.

Marriage is a holy covenant. Marriage is a religious obligation. Marriage structures the lives of the couple and

assigns clear roles to each partner. Marriage fulfils a mitzvah as it is a positive

religious duty. Marriage signifies the beginning of a new family.

The significance of marriage for both the individual and the community:

Marriage focuses on the centrality of the home and family, and thus the continuation of the Jewish nation.

Marriage is a way of holiness for the couple. It is through their relationship and the following of the mitzvah that the couple builds their relationship with God.

The significance of marriage for both the individual and the community:

Within the marriage ceremony, the seven blessings praise God for the creation of all things, linking the couple to the story of creation and the history of the Jewish people.Elevates the ordinary/mundane to the supernatural. It is a means of contact with God, who is present at the ceremony. For example, the recitation of the seven blessings, is designed to sanctify the ordinary, to transform this particular couple as their love embodies God’s creation, revelation, and redemption in the here and now.

The significance of marriage for both the individual and the community:

A means of identification with Judaism and with the Jewish community. It helps the couple to understand more clearly the central beliefs of Judaism. The marriage ceremony also strengthens the community of believers by putting the couple on equal footing with other married couples within the community and making them responsible for ensuring their lifestyle is in keeping with Jewish teaching and tradition.