Weddings in Israel

Conservative Movement launches new wedding campaign | Jerusalem Post

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Shas is asking the court to stop our radio campaign as they claim we
are being deceptive by calling ourselves "Masorti."
Andy


Conservative Movement launches new wedding campaign

By MATTHEW WAGNER

The Conservative (Masorti) Movement launched a new campaign this week
to promote its style of a wedding ceremony to Israeli couples.

The campaign includes radio advertisements and a new Internet site
offering young couples a ceremony that combines tradition with
modernity and Jewish content with egalitarianism.

A Conservative rabbi will not marry a Jew and a gentile, and some
will not allow a Cohen to marry a divorced woman or a convert. But in
the Conservative ceremony he or she will permit the woman to break
the glass and some allow the bride to sanctify the husband with a ring.

"We will offer couples a more human touch that is sensitive to their
needs," said Rabbi Andy Sachs, Chairman of the Conservative
Movement's Rabbinical Assembly.

"We will also teach the couple about the laws of family purity if
they want to, but we will do it in a way that makes it significant
and meaningful."

However, since Orthodoxy has a monopoly over the registration of
marriages between Jews inside Israel, Conservative marriages
performed within the state are not recognized. The Conservative
Movement, therefore, recommends marrying abroad in a civil marriage,
which is recognized by the state, and then conducting a Conservative
wedding afterward.

However, modern Orthodox Rabbi Benny Lau said in response that the
Conservative Movement's initiative did not answer a real need.

"Most people who want a traditional wedding ceremony are interested
in connecting themselves to their Jewish past," said Lau. "They want
a ceremony that their parents, grandparents and previous generations
chose." Lau also said that the Orthodox ceremony was flexible enough
to allow for more feminine expression.

"The bride can give the groom a ring under the chuppah if she wants
to as long as she does not sanctify him. The woman can also make a
speech under the chuppah. If the right rabbi performs the ceremony
the needs of the couple can usually be fulfilled without compromising
on Halacha."


Shas is asking the court to stop our radio campaign as they claim we
are being decptive by calling ourselves "Masorti."
Andy