At the most recent marriage ceremony in my extended family, my cousin's son, crushed a glass under his shoe. Yes, that was what was reported by a cousin who was there.
You're probably wondering what's so strange about it. Well, the groom, descended from my saintly grandfather, a man who refused to work on Shabbat and knew the famous cantors of his time personally, got married to a non-Jewish woman in a church.
In a traditional Jewish Wedding, this is the statement said just before the glass is broken:
ה אִם-אֶשְׁכָּחֵךְ יְרוּשָׁלִָם-- תִּשְׁכַּח יְמִינִי.
5 If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning.
The broken glass is to signify that our Holy Temple was destroyed and that even at a joyful event like a wedding, we mourn. And the sentence from Psalms, which I don't think was actually said at that wedding, means that if we forget the importance of Jerusalem to the Jewish People, may we lose all of our power and intelligence. Jerusalem is the key to our survival.
That broken glass is more like the shattered glass of "Krystallnacht" but worse.
11 comments:
I cry with you.
It's a loss for all Am Yisrael.
Thanks for being there...
B"H Yes, especially with evil people in our country plotting to auction off land for false promises, land which is not even ours to sell nor give away for anything. However, a man getting married al pi haTorah, who is descended from a man who did not, could be a tikkun, and is a welcome sign of hope for Am Yisrael. Mazal Tov.
Was he raised in Jewish tradition?
Or was he a typical assimmilated american?
Perhaps I have become a cynical alter fortzer, but when a non Jewish Jew marries out I no longer get upset.
That means there is one fewer Jew to become the next Chomsky, adam shapiro, olmerde, yoffie,trotsky or the everpresent letter to the editor of the NYT who statrs the letter" even though I am a concerned pro-Israel Jew, the latest actions by Israel have outraged me....."
b-y, a,
He was raised, as far as I know, "typical" meaning both Jewish and goyish stuff, plus a high school trip to Israel of about 10 days.
Considering what the rest of his immediate family is doing Jewish-wise, his marrying out is no real surprise.
What surprised me was the fact that he broke the glass at his church wedding.
The glass is, metaphorically, the thread he keeps to his Jewish tradition. He chose it in purpose, I am sure, and he can always use this thread to find his way back to the Jewish people, should he wish to do tshuvah.
This is exactly the right time of year to remember that one may repent for (almost) any sin ... may we all see in this tragedy a reflection of our own failings, that we may correct and improve ourselves for the upcoming year.
l'shana tova umetuka ....
G-d willing
Thanks for looking at it that way. One never knows...
Unfortunately many Jews are unfamiliar with what is supposed to happen at a Jewish wedding and why we do what we do.
However stomping on the glass happens to be one of those things that they have seen. As it is not uncommon for people to yell Mazal Tov at its conclusion its not totally surprising that they think of it as being a positiive.
At least nobody reported a hora to make it "kosher."
Having a relative marry out is upsetting. I know this from experience, unfortunately: It's happened in my family more than once, I'm sorry to say. But don't write this couple off: The wife of one of my cousins converted to Judaism several years after their wedding. One can always hope.
Believe me there has been lots of intermarriage in my family, though not all in a church, B"H, bli eyin haraa.
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