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To the new couple, mazel tov!

Two hearts healed by God are joined in a first century-style Jewish wedding.

By GAIL HOLLENBECK
Published July 29, 2006

OCALA - The blowing of a shofar, or ram's horn, to call forth the wedding procession was the first indication that the marriage of Inez Castro and Shepperd November would be something special.

The 40-something couple were married last Saturday evening in a biblical, first century-style Jewish ceremony at Mishkan Messianic Congregation.

Rabbi Jerry Keyes officiated.

"Today there will be simcah, joy, for all of those who witness the joining of these two lives," Keyes said to the audience.

"It's never too late to live happily ever after" was heard often during the ceremony. It was the theme of the wedding.

The groom led the wedding procession to the front of the synagogue as the music from Holy, Holy, Holy played. He was followed by the groomsmen, flower girls and bride's attendants.

Then came the radiant bride.

After greeting her with a kiss under a flower-covered arch, the groom ushered her to the front of the synagogue, where they would stand under a chupah - a canopy with lace covering - for the remainder of the ceremony.

"As the heavens cover the earth, so the chupah shelters the bride and groom and symbolizes that God is their covering," Keyes said.

The rabbi took a few minutes to explain the beliefs of Messianic Jews and then prayed in the name of the Messiah.

In an e-mail last week, Rabbi Keyes talked about marriage and quoted from Proverbs 18.

"He who finds a wife finds a good thing, and obtains favor with God," he wrote.

"The sages, wise men of old, taught: A man without a wife lives without blessing, without life, without joy, without good, and without shalom, peace."

Keyes said the ceremony would be similar to that of Isaac and Rebekah in the Old Testament.

"Through reading all of Chapter 24 of Genesis, you will discover biblical first century attitudes toward marriage," Keyes wrote. "It is rare among traditional Jewish groups; however, we as messianic believers, Jewish and non-Jewish, incorporate Messiah in our services. It is always important to keep God's biblical traditions, because he said, 'Keep these in all your generations.' Our weddings are 90 percent Bible-based."

Indeed, God had a prominent part in the festivities, and the name Yeshua was mentioned often. Keyes told the wedding guests that it was because the couple chose to look to God that they found each other, while attending studies at the synagogue.

They each come from long-term marriages that were devastated, he said.

"Both of these people came to Synagogue Mishkan with heavy hearts," the rabbi said.

"As they came to a personal understanding of God, each accepted him in their hearts. Slowly the past was put away and they began the healing process. As they reached out to each other, they began to care. Soon they were engaged."

Like 200 other couples Keyes has married, Castro and November spent six months in counseling with the rabbi before being wed.

"They want to follow the ways of HaShem and walk in Messiah's footsteps," Keyes said. "God is always the God of second chances and new beginnings."

The ceremony was rich with symbolism. The bride circled the groom seven times.

"It is because the phrase 'and a man takes a wife' is found seven times in the Bible," Keyes explained.

As "their" song, When God Made You, played, the couple lit seven candles.

"At all joyous occasions wine is blessed and shared," the rabbi said as the couple shared a glass of wine.

"The Bible tells us 'wine gladdens the heart.' A wedding, the ultimate joyous event, demands a Kiddush (a prayer of sanctification). At a traditional messianic wedding, Kiddush is recited twice, once for the celebration of betrothal and once more during the Seven Blessings."

In the past, the bride was purchased with a valuable coin. Now a ring has been substituted.

"During the ring ceremony, the ring is placed on the right index finger," Keyes said as the couple exchanged rings. "Romantically speaking, it was believed that a vein in this finger goes directly to the heart. Practically speaking, the groom gives her possession of his household."

The groom wrapped a tallit, or prayer shawl, around his bride.

When the couple exchanged their personal vows, the groom chose his own words to pledge his love, provision and protection.

The bride chose to use words from the Book of Ruth: "Entreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for wither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God."

After showing the couple the Ketubah, a marriage contract that legally confirms the covenant, which they would sign after the ceremony, the rabbi placed the emptied wine glass on the floor for the groom to step on and break.

"Most commonly it is thought to be a reminder of the destruction of the temple by the Romans," Keyes said. "It is also saying, 'As this glass shatters, so may our marriage never break.' "

After one more kiss, the couple were officially wed.

The audience joined in congratulating them in a chorus of mazel tov!

[Last modified July 28, 2006, 22:39:04]