Sheva Brachot
Last week we hosted Sheva Brachot in our home for my husband’s nephew and his new bride. It was a wonderful and joyous occasion.
I very much want to share all my recipes from the event, but, I think that I need to spend a few minutes explaining what Sheva Brachot are.
Trying to explain this has become a bit of a challenge. I humbly submit that my area of expertise is in preparing kosher food, not on the finer points of Judaism. So, I am going to use my own words to explain Sheva Brachot and then include references at the end of this post for anyone who might be interested in learning more about the Jewish wedding ceremony and its traditions.
So, here is some background:
Eating is considered a holy act. Whenever we eat, we always say a blessing before and after.
Bread is particularly holy, and before eating bread, we wash our hands, say a special blessing and then say a blessing over the bread.
After eating a meal that includes bread, Grace After Meals (Birkat Hamazon) is recited.
After reciting the Grace After Meals, in the presence of 3 people, a cup of wine is used and an additional blessing is also said. This cup of wine is called a “Cup of Blessing” or “Kos Shel Bracha.”
A minyan is a prayer quorum of ten men over the age of 13 required for traditional Jewish public worship.
The week following a wedding is known as the week of the Sheva Brachot.
During this period, the seven blessings that were recited under the marriage canopy (chupah) are repeated after each meal attended by the newly married couple that is attended by a minyan (a prayer quorum of 10 men). The minyan also must consist of a person who was not at the wedding or present at the couple’s earlier meals.
Following the completion of the meal, a cup of wine is used to lead the Grace After Meals. The seven blessings that were recited under the marriage canopy are repeated.
People are honored with reciting each of the first six blessings.
Then, the person who led Grace After Meals recites the seventh blessing over the first cup of wine and a second cup of wine is filled.
The 2 cups of wine are then poured together into a third cup.
One cup of wine is given to the bride, and another to the groom. The third cup is then shared by the community.
I have seen it done where the cups of wine are 2 different colors which are then mixed together to become unified.
The symbolism of this ritual is very beautiful. It symbolizes the bride and groom joining together and entering the larger community with a new identity as a married couple .
I will post some of the recipes following this post.
Thank you for reading!
References:
A-Guide-to-the-Jewish-Wedding
Thanks for sharing! What great traditions!
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My pleasure! It’s a wonderful way to start a marriage.
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Very interesting and I will follow your blog – thanks to Lynn for sharing!
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Thank you for reading!😊
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Reblogged this on lynz real cooking.
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Very interesting – I learned something new today! Thank you.
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I am so happy! I am grateful that people are actually reading it. 🎁
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This is such a beautiful and interesting post Carol. Thank you for sharing 🙂
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😊💕💕💕
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Beautiful tradition .First time heard about this.Thanks for sharing..Carol
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My pleasure. Thanks for reading! I feel like it is a tradition that involves food, and might be distracting without some kind of explanation.👨❤️💋👨🎉
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Beautifully explained. מזל טוב! 🙂
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Thank you!🎉
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Thank you for sharing this tradition and the symbolism behind the rituals! Best wishes to the happy couple! Now I’m looking forward to seeing what you served… 😊
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Great food! Good times were had by all.♨️
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Beautiful tradition, thanks for sharing this Carol 🙂
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Thank you for reading! It is beautiful and a memory to treasure for a lifetime.
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I know practically nothing about Jewish ceremonies, since I was raised Catholic. Thank you for the enlightenment! It looks like a beautiful ceremony. 🙂
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It is beautiful and very meaningful. Plus, it’s a wonderful way to forge a new identity and adjust to marriage. It also allows the whole community to celebrate and the families to get to know each other better. 🎉
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Nice!
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Learned a lot from reading this post as I was new to the ceremony and its traditions. Sounds like it was a fun time. Looking forward to the recipes.
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It was very fun and very happy. 🎉
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Carol this is so very special! Thanks for sharing this with us. I love the pictures and the traditions. You explained very nicely so it was easy to grasp! Thanks xxx
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You were my inspiration. I figured I needed to explain it so once I post the recipes, it wouldn’t be distracting. Raizel told everyone about your video. She is very excited about it. You made her feel really special!💝
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I am so happy, she is so special and so are you! I love hearing about these cool traditions! I would love to see more. I like your pictures, you let us see the table and the men part of them, which I felt was really stylish! I loved it all!
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Thanks! I am going to post on my centerpieces next. It’s was a real creative outlet.🎨
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I can’t wait! So interesting for all of us!
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Beautiful ceremony! The salad bowl looks yummy..
http://clairneriah.com/
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The salad was made with love by one of my sister-in-laws. I could taste it!💝
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