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August 14, 2022
St. Paul, MN
#PaulGetsKerriedAway

Kerry & Paul

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FAQs

Question

What are the COVID-19 Precautions?

Answer

Weather permitting, our ceremony will take place outside. The reception will be indoors. We will be requiring all of our guests to provide proof of vaccination. Please be prepared to share a copy of your vaccination card with us in June, 2022. We will follow up with more details.

Question

What is an Aufruf?

Answer

An aufruf is a traditional Jewish ceremony that takes place on the Saturday prior to the wedding (usually in a synagogue). The couple is called to the Torah for an aliyah, or blessing. When the blessing is completed, the congregation wishes them luck and happiness by showering them with candies.

Question

What is a Ketubah?

Answer

The Ketubah is a Jewish marriage contract that is signed prior to the wedding ceremony. Traditionally, the ketubah was written in Aramaic, outlining the groom’s financial obligations to the bride, and was signed by two male witnesses. The Ketubah continues to be an integral part of the Jewish marriage ritual, however, in modern practice, it has no monetary value and is seldom enforced by civil courts (except in Israel). Today, couples can choose from a wide variety of Ketubah texts, many of which come from Psalms and focus less on legalities than on the couple’s love for one another and hopes for their shared future. Two close friends of Kerry and Paul will serve as their non-family witnesses by signing their Ketubah.

Question

What is a Chuppah?

Answer

The word "chuppah" means "covering" or "protection." The chuppah is a tapestry sitting atop four poles that serves as a roof for the bride and groom at their wedding. It symbolizes the actualization of the couple's marriage and the new home that they will build together.

Question

What is Kabbalat Panim?

Answer

Prior to the chuppah ceremony, we invite you to join us for Kabbalat Panim ("receiving of faces"), a pre-nuptial ritual which consists of the tisch (with the groom) and bedeken (with the bride). Traditionally, the tisch was attended only by men and the bedeken only by women, but, at our wedding, you will be welcome to go back and forth between the two rooms as you please.

Question

What is a Tisch?

Answer

The word "tisch" means "table" in German/Yiddish and refers to the table that friends of the groom will sit around to sing, give speeches, and make toasts. Paul will deliver a D'var Torah, a speech relating to the week's Torah portion and his marriage to Kerry. Traditionally, the groom's speech is interrupted by his friends with lively singing and clapping. The custom is not intended as an act of disrespect but is designed to protect the groom, who may be less than scholarly, from potential shame on his most joyous day.

Question

What is a Bedeken?

Answer

At the end of the Tisch, Paul will be danced and sung to Kerry --who will be celebrating with friends and family in a separate room-- for the Bedeken (Yiddish for "covering" or "veiling"). The Bedeken ritual originated in biblical times when Rebecca covered her face upon the approach of Isaac, her betrothed. The custom is also a reminder of Jacob's father-in-law passing off the heavily veiled Leah as her sister Rachel. As the chuppah approaches, Paul will lower Kerry's veil over her face as a symbol that he accepts her as his life partner.

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