Catholic vs. Jewish Marriage Ceremonies Comparative Essay Example

Within Judaism the rituals within an Ashkenazi Wedding are split into two groups; kiddushin and nisuin. Yet before the wedding and ceremonies begin there are some traditions that are to be upheld before the ceremonies occur, these are that the groom and bride are not to see each other for a week before the wedding, a well as that the men are to have the honor to recite a blessing over the Torah which in these actions themselves are so celebrated because of how much of a grandiose and sacred moment it is for them. The day before the wedding both the bride and groom are fast, on the wedding day the bride is to wear a veil and this is placed on her by the groom, the veil itself is a reflection of the Torah when Rebecca veiled herself to marry Issac. The whole veiling process is to symbolize the idea of modesty for the bride as well as to symbolize a commitment of protection and treasuring for the groom. The next portion of the wedding takes place under a wedding canopy which is to symbolizes the home that is to be built by the couple. To match the bride wearing a veil, the husband will wear a white robe that is to represent and emulate his spiritual purity during the marriage. At the beginning of the wedding, the kiddushin is taking place. This is when the rabbi that is conducting the marriage blesses the wine and then essentially tells the groom and bride what is permitted and forbidden in the Jewish law. After the blessing and rules occur, both the groom and bride drink from the cup, once this is done the marriage contract is read aloud in the original Aramaic text. This is something that has to be signed by two witnesses and it is something that clearly states what is expected from both people to fulfill within the marriage. Although a ring is not necessary to signify the marriage, traditionally the man has to give his wife something of value, and now it had become more common for that object of value to be a wedding ring. To complete the marriage ceremony, nisuin occurs, this is when the couple stands under the canopy and recite the seven blessings, they then drink the wine, and the groom proceeds by smashing a glass to symbolize the destruction of the Temple that King Solomon had destroyed. To tie things up the couple then retreat to a private room which is symbolic of the groom bringing the wife into his home, this is then followed by a festive meal and dance which concludes the Azkenazi Jewish marriage ritual. 

On the other hand, Roman Catholicism has a slightly different ritual for when it comes to getting married. typically a Catholic Marriage involves the same traditional and significant objects which are the candles, the rings, the veil, and a cord. The candle represents the flame of love between the couple, the ring signifies the sacredness of the ceremony as well as of the unity between the man and woman, the veil that the bride wears throughout the ceremony is to represent the protection that he is offering his wife. The final object being the cord represents the binding love and the shared life together between the newlyweds, something to keep in mind with these sacred objects is that depending on the region that the people originate from there are some other inclusive items or variations of them. During one of these ceremonies, the bride and groom are not allowed to see each other until the moments of the ceremony, these sacred moments are held within a catholic church and typically at the alter up in an area that is in front of Christ. When the ceremony commences the couple is up at the altar and the priest that is to sanction their holy union reads them a specific section from the bible regarding the married life as well as promises and commitment that is to be upheld within the marriage. After he reads the sections, the couples are to recite their vows which are found within the bible. Once the vows from the bible are recited then they are presented and they themselves present their gifts to God such as the brides' flowers and arrangements at the altar and then the "godparents" come up and present the rings, the cords as well as some coins (*which are used in some ceremonies) to the couple as they solidify their union and finalize it with a prayer to God and the traditional kiss. The whole process is signifying the process of leaving their personal family to start one that is blessed by God with whomever they are marrying. 

Some similarities between both religions when it comes to marriage ceremonies is that they both include veiled brides, blessings as well as rules that are to be obeyed within the marriage with the rings being placed upon each other during the ceremonies. Some of the major differences are that there is a canopy within the Jewish marriage while in a Catholic marriage it is only required to be within a church. A second thing that was a surprising difference is that in a Jewish wedding the men wear white, while in a Catholic marriage only the bride wears white. To me, that was so very interesting because it makes sense so I wonder as to why it isn't something that isn't prominent within the Catholic religion. Some factors that I think are responsible for this is first of the Bible, more so the interpretations within the Bible, this is because it must have been interpreted in the same way to some degree leading to some commonalities during such ceremonies. Yet with the canopy being something that is to be circled seven times, that comes from the Torah as well as their belief in the origin of the creator of the world. Another large thing that I think creates these differences is that the regional as well as language barrier that developed over time, I think that this was something that influenced the changes slightly but significantly over the years.