Are you planning a wedding with traditional Jewish elements? If you're looking for the right terms -- or just a little confused -- this is the place to be! While you're here, check out how one couple planned their own interfaith dream wedding by combining Catholic and Jewish traditions. Good luck!
Aliyah or Alyah: "To go up," the honor of reciting a blessing before and after a Torah reading.
Aufruf: A ceremony honoring the groom (and in some cases the bride) by calling them to the Torah on the Shabbat (Sabbath; Saturday) before their wedding.
Aramaic: Semitic language related to Hebrew.
Askenazic: Jews whose traditions and customs originate in Central and Eastern Europe.
Badchan: Emcee of wedding celebration.
B'deken or Bedeken: Ritual where the groom puts a veil over the bride's face before the wedding ceremony.
Benchers or Bentshers: Prayer booklets containing the blessings for a meal.
Bimah: Platform on the reader's desk.
Birkat Hamazon: Blessings recited after a meal.
Breaking the glass: Symbolic smashing of a glass by the groom at the end of the wedding. Guests respond with "Mazel tov" ("Congratulations").
Chatan: Hebrew word for groom.
Challah: Braided egg bread used on Shabbat and other Jewish celebrations.
Chossen: Yiddish word for groom.
Circling: Ritual walk around the groom, taken by the bride before going under the huppah. The circles are thought to protect the groom from evil. It's also a way for the bride to symbolically bind herself to the groom and begin a new family circle.
Conservative: A religious movement that offers a more traditional approach to Judaism than does the Reform movement, which is more progressive.
Erusin: Betrothal ceremony.
Freylakh: Festive dancing song.
Get: Religious decree of divorce.
Ha-Motzi: Blessing recited over bread.
Haray Aht: Aramaic phrase recited during the ring ceremony.
Hatan: The groom.
Hava Nagila: Traditional klezmer song played at Jewish weddings.
Hazzan: Cantor.
Henna: A plant dye used to stain the skin of brides.
Hiddur mitzvah: The beautification of a ritual object.
Hora: Celebratory dance in which guests join hands, circle the bride and groom and lift them up on chairs. Typically sung to the tune of "Hava Nagila."
Huppah: Wedding canopy that signifies a home or shelter; literally means "that which covers or floats" in Hebrew.
Kallah: Hebrew word for bride.
Kashrut: Jewish dietary law.
Ketubah: Marriage contract with spiritual significance but not legally binding.
Kiddush: Blessing said (usually twice) over wine.
Kiddushin: Betrothal ceremony.
Kinyan: An act to demonstrate ones free will.
Kippot: Small caps, also called yarmulkes, that guests wear to cover their heads at a Jewish wedding.
Kittel: A short, white ceremonial robe worn by the groom on the wedding day.
Klezmer: Traditional Yiddish celebratory music.
Kosher: Food that meets Jewish dietary restrictions.
Krenzel: Yiddish word for crown. Common term for the honorary dance Mezinke Tanz in reference to the crown of flowers placed in the mother of the bride's hair during the dance.
Mazel tov: Congratulatory wish meaning "Good luck!"
Mesader kiddushin: One who officiates or leads the wedding ceremony.
Mehuton: Father-in-law.
Mezinke tanz: Dance to honor parents who have married their last child.
Mikvah: Ritual bath for brides.
Minhag: Jewish customs.
Mitzvah: A good deed.
Mizinke: Festive dance honoring parents whose last single child has married.
Mizrahi: Jews of Middle Eastern descent.
Nissuin or Nuisin: Nuptial ceremony.
Noche de Bano: Sephardic celebration after the bride visits a *mikvah* before her wedding.
Orthodox: Very strict, traditional interpretation of the Jewish religion and its customs.
Oyfruf: Torah honor to the groom (and sometimes bride) on the Sabbath before the wedding.
Rabbi: Officiant who usually presides over a Jewish wedding but does not marry the bride and groom per se -- they marry each other.
Reconstructionist: Movement advocating a naturalistic understanding of Judaism as the product of the religious experience of the Jewish people throughout history.
Reform: Movement that aims to combine Jewish tradition with modernity.
Sephardi: Jews of Spanish, Portuguese and North African descent.
S'eudah Mitzvah: Celebratory meal following a religious ritual.
Shabbat: Jewish Sabbath, beginning Friday at sundown and ending Saturday at sundown. It is forbidden for a Jewish wedding to take place on Shabbat because in Jewish law, Jews should celebrate each joyous occasion independently and not combine two joys.
Sheva Brachot: Seven marriage blessings recited under the huppah: praising God for creating the fruit of the vine, the Earth and humanity, for creating man and woman in God's image, for the miracle of birth, for bringing the bride and groom together and for the joy of the bride and groom.
Simcha: Celebration of joy.
Tallis: Prayer shawl.
Tenaim: Formal engagement contract.
Tish or Tisch: Yiddish for table, the light-hearted discussion held before the wedding ceremony.
Torah: First five books of the Hebrew Bible (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy).
Yarmulke: Head covering.
Yihud or Yichud: Brief seclusion (10-15 minutes) of bride and groom immediately after the wedding ceremony. In Hebrew, yihud means "union." It is a symbolic and emotional consummation of the marriage.
Zivuk: One's preordained mate, the perfect match.
Want more information on Jewish wedding ceremonies?
- Find out how one couple planned their interfaith wedding beautifully.
- Read an interfaith ceremony wedding program here.
