JEWISH WEDDING: Ashkenazi and Sephardic traditions

Although the basic elements of the Jewish wedding are exactly the same, there are some customs which are different from community to community. 

In the following lines I will present shortly four examples of customs that vary between the Sephardic and the Ashkenazi tradition.

SHABBAT CHATAN: The Ashkenazi tradition is to have the Shabbat Chatan, i.e, the Shabbat in which the groom is invited to be called up to the Tora (alyia) before the wedding, This Shabbat is called "Aufruf" , which in Yiddish means "calling up". In Sephardic communities the groom's Shabbat takes place the Shabat after the wedding.  

BEDEKEN: In the Ashkenazi tradition, prior to the actual wedding ceremony the groom accompanied by his parents, friends, and the Rabbi  amidst joyous singing of his friends, coversthe bride's face with a veil. The bride wears this veil until the conclusion of the Chuppah ceremony. In most Sephardic communities the bride walks to the Chuppa veiled, and the groom unveils the bride. The unveiling of the bride reminds the event in which Ya'aqob Abinu took Leah as his first wife believing that she was Rachel.

UNDER THE STARS: In many Ashkenazi communities the custom is to get married under the stars, i.e., weather permitting, the Chupa would take place outdoors and at night.  In Sephardic communities there is no such custom and weddings take placeoutdoors or indoors indistinctly and preferably during the day. 

WALKING AROUND THE GROOM: In most Ashkenazi communities, when the bride comes under the Chupa she walks around the groom seven times. According to Kabbalistic sources, the seven rounds represent the seven days of Creation: "Since every marriage is a re-enactment of the creative process, she walks around the groom to indicate that these seven cycles are now repeated". Sephardic Jews don't practice this custom.  

SHABBAT: Using sound amplifiers on Shabbat

It is not permitted to use sound amplifiers on Shabbat. Some rabbis consider it a Biblical prohibition, and others a Rabbinical restriction.  This prohibition includes the usage of sound amplifiers, even if they were turned on or activated before shabbat.  Therefore, telephones, microphones and other devices that amplify or transmit sound are not allowed on Shabbat (Except, obviously, for a case of an emergency like giving birth, sickness, a security threat, etc.) 

What about hearing aids? Those small electronic apparatus that amplifies sound and are worn in  the ear to compensate for impaired hearing.

Some rabbis are opposed to its usage because they consider that they work following the same principle as sound amplifiers. (not by coincidence, the rabbis that forbid the use of hearing aids hold that amplifying sound is forbidden by Biblical, not by Rabbinical law). However, most rabbis in our day, Sephardim and Ashkenazim, authorize wearing hearing aids for those with impaired hearing.  Still, the device has to be activated before Shabbat and when it is removed from the ear before sleep,  it cannot be turned off, and during Shabbat the volume cannot be changed. 

Modern rabbis understood that in the case of the hearing device the voice is not directed deliberately into the sound amplifier, as in the case of a telephone device or a microphone. The voice is naturally caught by the hearing device, and that type of action falls into the category of "gerama", which more or less means anindirect action ("an expected or unexpected forbidden result of a permitted action". falls under a different category, see for example this)

In this sense, the case of a hearing device is close to the case of an open intercom, activated before Shabbat. Still, most modern rabbis would not authorize the use of an intercom but  in the case of an individual suffering from hearing impairment, the rabbis have authorized the use of a hearing device following the above mentioned conditions. 

(Adapted from Penine Halakha, Rabbi Eliezer Melamed, Shabbat B, 16-18)

Shabbat Shalom!

Candle lighting in NYC:    7:41

Shabbat ends in NYC:     8:48 

PROVING MEDIA BIAS, 

from Prager Universtity

The Tenth Principle: God knows everything.

The Tenth principle asserts our belief that the Creator knows all the thoughts and actions of man, as it is said, "He who molds their hearts alike, understands all their deeds." (Psalm 33:15). From this we learn that God is all-knowing, or omniscient.

Man cannot understand the nature of God's knowledge, i.e., how God knows what we are thinking or feeling, or how His knowledge of the future does not compromise our freedom of choice, etc. As the prophet Yesha'ayahu said (55:8): "My thoughts [God's thoughts] are not your thoughts, My ways are not your ways"  

One of the ramifications of our belief in God's absolute knowledge is our belief that God, and only Him, knows man's true potential. A math teacher will judge two students by the same standards: If student A answers right 8 out of 10 questions, his score will be 8/10. And if student B answers 6 questions right, his score will be 6/10.  God by virtue of His omniscience knows, for instance, that the student that got 8 had a potential for 10, but he did not make his best effort. Whereas the student that got 6 had a potential for 6, and he made every possible effort. For the math teacher, 8 is higher than 6. But from the point of view of God's knowledge B obtained a higher score than A.  Because, even though 8 is higher than 6,  mathematically 6/6 is higher than 8/10! God knows A' denominator (10). And therefore, He is the only one that can assess the real value of A's nominator (8). 

He knows what conduct should be expected of us by reason of our intelligence, potential, education or environment.  The greater our intelligence, the better our education, the more enlightened our environment, the higher are the ideals of conduct expected from us by God. 

READ 

"The Olympics and Completing the Talmud"  

The stark contrast of the two events sheds light on what it means to be a Jew.

by Rabbi Aharon Lopiansky, from Aish.