Dating Jewish Men
the engagement ceremony

Dating Jewish men for marriage

Dating Jewish Men For the Orthodox Jew in the Jewish dating network or using Jewish dating services, marriage is generally foremost on the mind. Casual dating is generally not heard of in the world of religious Judaism; marriage is always the end goal.

ENGAGEMENT CONTRACT

Dating Jewish men and women who are looking for a lifemate can learn all about what will take place before and after a wedding. One important part of the Ashkenazi tradition are tena'im, literally "conditions", which are documents of betrothal. The document is written in Aramaic, and is a generic form with lines to be filled out. The tena'im are read, agreed upon and signed by representative of the groom and a representative of the bride. Since it is considered to be a terrible breach to break this contract, in recent days, it has become normal to sign this contract right before the chuppah, or wedding.

The ideas of having an engagement contract came from the Talmudic sages, dating back to the 3rd century. There is an idea that marrying without being engaged leads to the idea that one may have made a hasty decision and may not really be prepared for what is to come. With these arrangements, the man and woman formalize their commitments to one another at an agreed date and time. While quite prevalent in many communities, tena'im are not required by Jewish law, but have become a strong custom in some communities.

These documents not only detail the date and time of the wedding, but monetary details such as to wedding expenses and starting up a new household. Because of these monetary details, it's also necessary for each side to have a guarantor sign for both the groom's side and the bride's side.

THE CEREMONY

In some Ashkenazi circles, a custom known as a vort, which is Yiddish for word, is celebrated as part of the engagement announcement. There is a festive meal during which the groom-to-be, the rabbi or both give a dvar Torah, or a Torah teaching.

Often, a plate is smashed on the ground during the festivities, usually by the couple's mothers. This symbolizes "sealing the deal."

THE DATING WORLD

When dating a Jewish man or woman, it's a good idea to use the best Jewish dating websites. Some of the best Jewish websites geared to the Orthodox Jew are Saw Your at Sinai, Frumster and Dosidate, though there are many more to choose from. These Jewish dating services are a great way to connect with the Jewish dating network and find dating Jewish men and women, but they will generally not go into such details as the bethrothal documents, since they are mostly concerned with bringing together the dating Jewish men and women, allowing to sort out the wedding details themselves. Jewish dating services in the Orthodox Jewish dating network concern themselves with helping people find their bashert, their predestined mate.

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