And to me, it's always been a symbol of good luck, which comes from my uber-superstitious Jewish mom. Since breaking a glass is usually bad luck, doing it on purpose winds up bringing the opposite. So stupid.
But I like your symbolism better :)
And my completely non-religious FH will be breaking a lightbulb, yes.
Yes to the light bulbs. We actually used the glass from a yartzheit candle. The light bulb actually has a great pop to it.
I've never, ever, ever heard of anyone putting the glass back together. I have heard of people using it in art later on (particularly for making mezzuzahs.)
Interpretations I've heard...all of which make sense:
The fragility of a marriage-one careless or thoughtless act or word can do damage that can't be undone, That we must, even in times of joy think of people who are less fortunate than we are, That like breaking a glass, a marriage is permanent That we are all responsible for tikkun olam (repairing the world) That we do it as a reminder of the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem That we do it because it's believed to ward off evil spirits
If she was talking about using it in an art piece or mezzuzah as "putting it back together" that would make sense to me. But to rebuild the glass...that's just kind of out there.
Thank you! That is extremely helpful. I'm also glad I'm not completely clueless about the Jewish culture, considering I'm marrying into it.
I guess her nieces and nephews took their glasses to a place where they were actually rebuilt and are displayed in their china cabinets or something. I just think all my guests would comment on the glass and say, "Aaw, what a shame. What happened?" =)
But stomping on a light bulb would alleviate the problem altogether, so that's good!
At a lovely jewish wedding I recently went to, the rabbi said that it was meant to symbolize the fact that, just as no glass will ever break in the same way as that glass broke, no marriage will be just the same as theirs - that it is unique because it is between them. I loved it!
Yep, lightbulb breaking seems to be the norm. From my DH's side of the family, the breaking of the glass was always joked about as well, erm, symbolizing breaking the bride's hymen--but I really think that is a super "old school" interpretation and something I've always found crass and distasteful. It's also the reason my FH's was adamant about not including it in our ceremony. :\
As for me, I've always heard it talked about sort of like Tikkun Alum, and that the shards of glass are about remembering in your moment of joy the sorrows and plights of everyone around the world, but that a marriage is a symbol of hope and joy and bringing light to the world. Until I ran across the hymen thing, I always considered it a really beautiful act. :)
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And to me, it's always been a symbol of good luck, which comes from my uber-superstitious Jewish mom. Since breaking a glass is usually bad luck, doing it on purpose winds up bringing the opposite. So stupid.
But I like your symbolism better :)
And my completely non-religious FH will be breaking a lightbulb, yes.
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I've never, ever, ever heard of anyone putting the glass back together. I have heard of people using it in art later on (particularly for making mezzuzahs.)
Interpretations I've heard...all of which make sense:
The fragility of a marriage-one careless or thoughtless act or word can do damage that can't be undone,
That we must, even in times of joy think of people who are less fortunate than we are,
That like breaking a glass, a marriage is permanent
That we are all responsible for tikkun olam (repairing the world)
That we do it as a reminder of the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem
That we do it because it's believed to ward off evil spirits
If she was talking about using it in an art piece or mezzuzah as "putting it back together" that would make sense to me. But to rebuild the glass...that's just kind of out there.
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I guess her nieces and nephews took their glasses to a place where they were actually rebuilt and are displayed in their china cabinets or something. I just think all my guests would comment on the glass and say, "Aaw, what a shame. What happened?" =)
But stomping on a light bulb would alleviate the problem altogether, so that's good!
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As for me, I've always heard it talked about sort of like Tikkun Alum, and that the shards of glass are about remembering in your moment of joy the sorrows and plights of everyone around the world, but that a marriage is a symbol of hope and joy and bringing light to the world. Until I ran across the hymen thing, I always considered it a really beautiful act. :)
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