of Jewish premarital agreement, signed by two witnesses. Nowadays the solemn wedding ceremony under the chuppah takes place at together with the enga-gement festivities.

During the ceremony the seven blessings (sheva brachot, or birkat nuisin) are recited to endorse the marriage, and the bridegroom places the ring on the bride's finger as a symbol of her “sanctification.” The bridegroom breaks a glass in remembrance of the destruction of Jerusalem. The mourning for Jerusalem is ever present, even during such joyous events like a wedding day.

The images show traditional Jewish wedding rings. The ring often had a small piece of the ketubah, the marital agree-ment, kept inside. As a ritual object the wedding rings were only used during the chuppah ceremony and then remained property of the family.

KIDDUSHIN

Kiddushin means “sanctification”, and marriage is understood as a religious act. During the wedding ceremony under the wedding canopy known as chuppah, the groom places the ring on the bride’s finger and recites the declaration: “Behold, you are consecrated to me with this ring according to the law of Moses and Israel.”

The Jewish wedding process has three phases, the betrothal (erusin), the wedding (kiddushin) and the ceremony (chuppah).

In biblical times, it was customary for the erusin, the engagement, to be a celebration in the presence of the bride and groom, their parents and relatives. Its purpose was to establish a verbal prenuptial agreements and the recitation of the birkat erusin, the betrothal blessings.

Before the wedding, the bride visits the ritual bath (mikveh), and the bridegroom acknowledges the Ketubah, a special kind