Last night as we sat with Rabbi Berman, I was so exhausted that I was loopy.  My new job at JPS is in my brain all the time and I was having a hard time turning my brain chatter down so that I could pay attention to the most important task at hand.

We were talking ritual.

Rabbi Berman is totally down with our questioning of rituals and our desire to make them our own.  This is exactly why we knew she would be the right fit.  We had so much to talk about and decide upon and I think in the end, we were left with more to ponder than we walked in the door with.  You know.  This is a good thing.

Something that came up, that Lu and I just love, is the idea of a Bedeken.

Now.  Traditionally a Bedeken Ceremony in an Orthodox wedding takes place right before the actual wedding ceremony and is the unveiling of the Bride.  The story here (traditionally speaking) is that the groom should see the bride’s face before the magic happens so that he doesn’t marry the wrong woman—Like how Jacob married Leah accidentally when he meant to marry Rachel in Genesis:29

So.  Not only is this custom out of date and totally weird, but you wouldn’t even think that it could be a positive thing—a spiritual moment–the connotation that the woman would be trying to get over on the man, and that the man is so distrusting of his wife-to-be that he has to check to make sure that she is who she claims to be. Preposterous!  Lu and I are just way too liberal for that!

So Rabbi Berman presented an alternative idea—Let me elaborate.

In the weeks leading up to the wedding, Lu and I will be hectic.  Crazy, pull out your hair, yell at each other, and maybe even start drinking-hectic.  We will be making last minute plans, gathering family, and working to make our wedding, a wedding.  On the big day there will be getting dressed and taking pictures and decorating and flower arranging.  We will be totally hectic right up until the moment when we stand there-under the huppah– and look into each other’s eyes.

So why not make THAT our bedeken?

As Lu and I meet, for the first time, under the huppah, on our nuptial day, we will take a moment.  We will be silent and we will ground ourselves.  We will be sure that we are there completely; leaving behind all of the hectic life that was the wedding-prep and we will unveil each other by taking a breath.  By looking into each others eyes and be sure that we are there with each other and for each other.

We know that we can only remain in silent meditation for a few moments without causing our guests to stir.  But with any hope, the moment will feel like an eternity.  It will be the most calming, grounding, humbling moment that a couple could ask for.

I for one am looking forward to that little break.

-Alx