The Jewish Wedding

Understanding Kiddushin

The Bride’s Responsibility: The bride accepted the personal responsibility of preparing herself as a chaste and pure bride, committing her sole loyalty to her husband without distractions. She would begin to sew and prepare her wedding garments of white.

For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality; that each of you should know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor, not in passion of lust, like the Gentiles who do not know God…For God did not call us to uncleanness, but in holiness. Therefore he who rejects this does not reject man, but God, who has also given us His Holy Spirit. 1 Thes 4:2-7

Alleluia! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigns! Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready. And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. Rev 19:7,8

The Groom’s Responsibility: The groom accepted the responsibility to prepare a place for his bride and promised to come again when it was ready. This preparation time period was one or two years, until the father of the groom determined that the wedding chamber being built was appropriate for a bride. At the time of completion, the father would give his son the release to go and get his bride.

Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. John 14:1-3

The Cup of the Covenant

Once the groom had stated his complete covenant, itemized within the Katubah, then the bride and groom would drink from the Cup of the Covenant. This publically show that the bride and groom both accepted their personal responsibilities to prepare and the groom to perform the terms of the Katubah. Note Paul’s appeal to the Corinthians to keep themselves chaste and not behave in infidelity before the Lord, not to provoke our now officially wed Husband to jealousy.

The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? For we, though many, are one bread and one body; for we all partake of that one bread….You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of the Lord’s table and of the table of demons. Or do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than He? 1 Cor 10:16-22

The Matan

A Matan is a bridal gift. As the groom was leaving, he gave a significant token of his love and commitment to his bride as an assurance of his return. This custom was more than likely the origin of an engagement ring and the exchanging of wedding rings. Jesus gave us, those who have entered into this marriage agreement, the Matan of the Holy Spirit.

In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory. Eph 1:13, 14

This completed the Eyrusin - Kiddushin. Then the married couple would separate and begin their preparations, what is called the sanctification process, for the final part of their wedding, the Nissuin.

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