The Wedding Month Leading Up to the Big Day 1 | 2 | 3 | NEXT The next stage is a formal engagement period. Again, Chagall's works offer us examples. "Fiancee with Bouquet was featured on Antigua #994. Another famous painting (by Rembrandt) carries among its alternative titles "The Jewish Fiancee." The artwork was featured on Burundi #C60. This same painting appears on Antigua #1775 with the title of "The Jewish Bride," while others have suggested the couple represent Isaac and Rebecca, Tobias and his wife Sarah, or Ruth and Boaz (the meeting of the latter, incidentally, can be seen on Guyana's multi-stamp sheet for the story of Ruth -- #2833). Some suggest the subjects on the stamp are the Jewish poet Miguel de Barrios and his wife Abigail de Pina. Now we are ready for shopping and making arrangements for the wedding. A major focus is the bride's gown; it can range from simple to ornate. My Judaica stamp collection features an example of the latter -- as seen on Falkland Islands #348. It is the wedding gown of Princess Diana, which was designed by Elizabeth Emanuel, who is Jewish. Other wedding gowns can be seen on several of Chagall's paintings -- for example, Grenada-Grenadines #818 and #824. One of the most prominent symbols in a Jewish wedding is the "chuppah" or flower-covered canopy under which the wedding takes place. This custom is said to date back to the Middle Ages. Its roots are more traditional than religious. Some trace it back to the tents of ancient Israel; some say it is a reminder of the room in the groom's home in which the marriage was consummated. Others trace it back to Talmudic times and say it stems from a tradition of the bride and groom wearing a wreath of flowers (the original meaning of the words is said to be "to cover with garlands"). A chuppah can be seen most clearly on a cancel from Raquette Lake, N.Y. It can also be seen in Chagall's painting 'The Married Couple and the Eiffel Tower" (France #1076). Sometimes the chuppah is a mantel placed over the bride and groom. This can be seen in Joseph Israels' painting "The Jewish Wedding on Israel #432. This custom may reflect Ruth's words to Boaz (see Ruth 3:9). Part of the Jewish wedding ceremony involves saying the blessings over wine and drinking from a cup of wine. Wine is associated with celebrations and festivals in the Jewish tradition. Beautiful symbolic interpretations have been used to describe this sharing of a symbol of joy. A symbolic kiddush cup (wine cup) is featured on Israel #320. Another part of a Jewish wedding ceremony is the reading of the "ketubah" or marriage contract. Originally it spelled out the financial obligations of a husband toward his wife. Israel featured three ketubahs from 17th century Netherlands and 19th century Morocco and Jerusalem on a set of stamps (#685-7). The last ceremony in a Jewish wedding is the shattering of a glass. Today, the groom will stomp on one. But in the Middle Ages, the groom hurled the glass at a special stone, usually on the north wall of the synagogue. An example of such a "wedding stone" is featured on Israel #1244. A variety of explanations are offered for this custom. The most common interpretation says it is a reminder of the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem in 70 C.E. This reminder of sadness at a time of joy is given additional significance as a sobering message that every marriage has difficult times as well as joyous ones. But the tradition is more probably linked to superstitions of the Middle Ages. The noise of breaking glass was intended to frighten away evil spirits (the location of the wedding stone on the north wall stems from the belief that evil spirits came from the north). Rabbis today relate other symbolic interpretations, such as the glass suggesting the fragility of human relationships. After the Ball Is Over 1 | 2 | 3 | NEXT © 2002, J-Stamps/Murray Frost. All Rights Reserved. froststamps@yahoo.com