Rabbi Malka Packer-Monroe
Wedding Resources
& Customs
Rabbi Malka creates personalized wedding
experiences for couples of all different Jewish
backgrounds and for interfaith couples. She believes
that your wedding ceremony should represent you as
individuals and as a couple.
Creating the perfect wedding ceremony gives the couple many
opportunities to really make their wedding their own. Below are
resources that can help make sure you plan the ceremony that bridges all of the customs and traditions that will be reflect the couple's beliefs, personality, and the future they envision for themselves.
Traditional Jewish weddings have several special and meaningful rituals that couples may want to learn more about. Rabbi Malka will help you incorporate these and any other meaningful traditions that would like to share with your family & friends.
Signing of the Ketubah A Ketubah is a Jewish “wedding contract.” In ancient times, a Ketubah was a feminist legally binding document, signed by witnesses, describing a groom’s "acquisition" of his bride. It included the amount the groom would have to pay the bride in case of divorce; the original prenuptial. Modern liberal Ketubot (plural) are spiritual, egalitarian covenants that honor LGBTQ and interfaith couples. Rabbi Malka can help you write your own text to reflect your values and commitments. A ketubah confirms your willingness to accept each other and assume obligations to one another. She can also help you find something meaningful using different texts.
Seven Circles Circling is a very old Jewish custom and is usually the first ritual to take place under the huppah. While in traditional Jewish weddings the bride circles the groom 7 times, in egalitarian weddings, each person circles their beloved 3 times and then they circle together one time. The 7 circles parallel the seven days of creation and evokes a sense of wholeness and completeness. Circling creates sacred boundaries, recognizing the unique yet shared space that each of us embodies and upholds for the other. At a wedding Rabbi Malka officiated in Atlanta, grooms Micah & Jason "circled each other seven times (while Rihanna’s “Love on the Brain” played)." Read more about their wedding and take on these traditions here.
Sheva Brachot (Seven Blessings) During the wedding ceremony, the "Seven Blessings" are a beautiful way for a couple to receive blessings from their community. These blessings can be given by seven different people or by one, depending if you have friends or family you would like to incorporate into your ceremony.
Ring Exchange The traditional language at the ring exchange is "Behold you are consecrated to me with this ring according to the laws (or customs) of Moses and [the people] Israel." Couples can also say "I am my beloved's and my beloved is mine.” This can be done in both Hebrew & English.
Breaking of the Glass At the end of a Jewish wedding ceremony, one or both of the partners breaks a glass, crushing it with their right foot as their guests shout: "Mazel tov!" (congratulations). To learn more about the history and interpretations of this popular ritual, read more here.
Wedding Program Help your guests connect with the meaning and beauty of the rituals you've chosen to include in your wedding ceremony and enable them to celebrate each moment with you by offering them a wedding program. Use this link to find texts that resonates with you and your partner. There are options for more modern interpretations as well as more traditional versions—all are inclusive and will help your guests to follow along.
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