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Since the Jewish nation was expelled from the land of Israel, the Jewish people have been scattered all around the world. In the last two thousand years, Jewish communities have lived in many European and Muslim countries. After World War Two many Jewish immigrants came to America from the destructions of Europe to build a new future. Others returned to the land of Israel and established the Jewish state. In spite of all this turbulent times, Jewish customs have been preserved. Wherever you go around the world, almost every Jewish household keeps kosher, affixes a mezuzah case, fasts on Atonement day and kindles Hanukkah menorah.
If you examine popular Jewish customs in Jewish communities around the world, you will notice that there are differences between Sephardic Jews and Ashkenazi Jews. However, most of the prominent Jewish customs are largely the same. In this short article I will introduce to the most common Jewish customs that are observed by religious and non-religious Jews to this day.
Life-cycle Events:
Brit or Bris.
When Abraham is called by God in the book of Genesis, God commends Abraham to perform a circumcision in spite of his relatively old age. To this day, circumcision or Brit Mila, represents the contract between God and the Jewish people. According to this ancient Jewish custom, on the eighth day of a son's birth, the child is circumcised. In this service, the Mohel, an authorized circumciser, performs the ritual act while the baby is held by the godfather. On this occasion, the baby is publicly given his name.
Pidyon Haben –on the 30 th day after the birth, of a firstborn child, there is Pidyon Haben –a ritual that has been preserved since the destruction of the temple . The son has to be redeemed by Kohen – a male descendant of Aaron, brother of Biblical Moses, in order to symbolically free him from his obligation to serve in the sacred Temple of Jerusalem.
Bar Mitzvah and Bat Mitzvah.
Bar and Bat Mitzvah are much more than a birthday celebration. Bar Mitzvah means in Hebrew son of commandment. In Jewish tradition, when a boy turns thirteen, he becomes a man. At this age he is ready to take an active part in religious and community life. Since girls mature earlier than boy, the Jewish girl celebrates her Bat mitzvah one year earlier, at the age of 12. She too, becomes obligated by God's commandments.
Jewish Wedding Customs
If you ever attended a Jewish wedding, you already know that this is a very special ceremony. The groom and bride stand under a large canopy – a Huppa, a metaphor for the home they are building together. The bride and groom sign the Ketuba – this is how Judaism views marriage- as sacred contract between a man and a woman. The groom usually wears a Kippah and a Tallit. Among Sephardic Jew s, it is also customary that the bride purchases a new Tallit for the groom. According to Jewish law, the groom has to wed with a ring that must worth more than a dime. It is customary to bring gifts of domestic use, such as kitchenware, mezuzah cases or Shabbat candlesticks.
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