Perpetual Change

Hold the Chuppah on the side

I was honored to be a Chuppah holder for the wedding of Lauren and Toby Schmidt, this past weekend in Brentwood, Tennessee (near Nashville). It was wonderful. Held outside on a beautiful plantation, then feasting family style on southern specialties and dancing up a storm in the refurbished barn. It was special to be a part of it, from set up to break down, and great to see all of my college friends.

If you are unaware what a Chuppah is, don't worry; so was I until Saturday of last week. It is a traditional cloth of the Jewish faith that is hand embroidered for the new bride and groom. It is held on staffs in the four courners, over their heads during the marriage ceremony. It represents the shelter that they will build together for their new lives, supported by friends and family (the holders), and yet it is open, symbolizing that they will keep no secrets from each other. It was very special.

However, this was a joint Jewish/Christian ceremony (they were married by a very dapper sea captain), and unfortunately they got four non-Jews to hold the Chuppah. After the ceremony, we were somewhat reprimanded for not doing it correctly by the family embroiderer. I was distressed, but what do you expect when you send Gentiles to do the work. The bride said we did fine, thank goodness.

On a side note: I haven't written in so long because except for 3 occassions, I have spent 3 consecutive nights in the same place in the last 7 weeks, and many times I haven't even spent 2 consecutive nights. I will hopefully write in two weeks to explain how that all unfolded, but for now, my stone hasn't quite rolled to a stop. Stay tuned.

Labels: wedding

posted by jjs @ 10:39 AM