A Mooish Wedding... How on Earth Does That Work Then? (Wedding Post 2)

Hello hello.
So, when it came to researching Mooish nuptials on the internet, it is no real surprise that we were left wanting. What was surprising however, was that there was literally nothing out there about Jewish Muslim marriages where the parents and family consented and everyone just wanted to celebrate together. Rather, I just kept encountering forum posts about difficulties people were experiencing and articles debating the religious validity and repercussions of such ill fated parings.

So, when it came to constructing our own religious blessing, we had absolutely no pointers or templates online to work from at all.

We therefore decided to screw it and sat down together and wrote our own. We researched marriage in Judaism and Islam respectively and built our ceremony around our favourite elements. We weren't trying to create a marriage in each religion, we just wanted to have our legal marriage and then follow that with a tasteful representation of our cultures and have our friends and family members read for us on our special day.

So, without further ado, and for all you Mooish lovers out there, here is the script for the "religious blessing" part of our wedding day:

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Our Jewish Muslim Blessing

Introduction

Welcome family and friends.  My name is xxxx and I've known the bride and groom for…..*(in your own words here is fine)*

On behalf of MyLifeAsAnImposter and Bob, we would like to thank you for taking the time to share and celebrate their wedding day.  Today MyLifeAsAnImposter and Bob have chosen to marry; their love unites two different lives, families and faiths and they therefore wanted to represent, and celebrate, both of their traditions and cultures in this religious blessing. MyLifeAsAnImposter and Bob have each asked members of their families to be a part of our proceedings today and I will be inviting MyLifeAsAnImposter’s (insert relative) and (insert relative), and Bob’s (insert relative) and (insert relative) to join me as we proceed.

Jewish Bit

The Sheva brachot, or Seven Blessings, are the real heart of the Jewish wedding ceremony; it is in this moment that themes of joy, celebration and the on-going power of love are expressed.  Taken from the pages of the Talmud, the blessings, from 1 to 7, begin with the Kiddush over wine, and increase in intensity in their imagery and metaphors.  It is no accident that there are seven of these blessings, since the number seven brings to mind the seven days of creations.  Significantly, the final blessing culminates with imagery of the entire community singing and celebrating with the Bride and Groom on their wedding day.

I would now like to ask Bob’s (insert relative) and (insert relative) to read the Seven Blessings in Hebrew and in the English translation.

1. Barukh ata Adonai Eloheinu melekh ha‑olam, bo'rei p'ri hagafen.

Blessed are You, LORD, our God, king of the universe, who creates the fruit of the vine.

2. Barukh ata Adonai Eloheinu melekh ha‑olam shehakol bara lichvodo.

Blessed are You, LORD, our God, king of the universe, who created everything for His Glory.

3. Barukh ata Adonai Eloheinu melekh ha‑olam, yotzer haa’dam.

Blessed are You, LORD, our God, king of the universe, who creates man

4. Barukh ata Adonai Eloheinu melekh ha‑olam, asher yatzar et ha-adam b’tzalmo, b’tzelem d’mut tavnito, v’hitkin lo mimenu binyan adei ad. Baruch atah Adonai, yotzeir ha-adam.

Blessed are You, LORD, our God, king of the universe, who creates man in your image*, fashioning perpetuated life. Blessed are You, LORD, creator of man.

5. Sos tasis v’tageil ha-akara b’kibutz baneha l’tocha b’simcha. Baruch ata Adonai, m’sameach Tzion b’vaneha.

May the barren one exult and be glad as her children are joyfully gathered to her. Blessed are You, LORD, who gladdens us with her Children

6. Sameiach tesamach reiim ha-ahuvim k’sameichacha y’tzircha b’gan eden mikedem. Baruch ata Adonai, m’sameiach chatan v’chalah.

Grant perfect joy to these loving companions, as you did your creations in the Garden of Eden. Blessed are You, LORD, who grants the joy of groom and bride.

7. Baruch ata Adonai Eloheinu melech ha-olam, asher bara sason v’simcha chatan v’kallah, gilah rinah ditzah v’chedvah, ahavah v’achavah v’shalom v’reut. M’hera Adonai Eloheinu yishammah b’arei Yhudah uv-chutzot Y’rushalayim kol sason v’kol simcha, kol chatan v’kol kalah, kol mitzhalot chatanim meichupatam u-n'arim mimishte n’ginatam. Baruch ata Adonai, m’sameiach chatan im hakalah.

Blessed are You, LORD, our God, king of the universe, who created joy and gladness, groom and bride, mirth, song, delight and rejoicing, love and harmony and peace and companionship. Soon, LORD our God, may there ever be heard in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem voices of joy and gladness, voices of groom and bride, the jubilant voices of those joined in marriage under the bridal canopy, the voices of young people feasting and singing. Blessed are You, LORD, who causes the groom to rejoice with his bride.

Muslim Bit

Marriage in Islam is considered a reflection of a nature and tendency that exists at all levels of creation. When something is created as one part of a pair, it is clearly incomplete without the other. The term Nikkah, which is used for Muslim marriages, is also used figuratively to describe the various aspects of creation. For example, it says in the Quran that “the rain married the soil” and goes on to describe how from this intimate mingling, something new springs forth – that the earth brings forth flowers and opens to new creations, new life and new potentials. So the act of marriage, the mingling through Nikkah, according to Islam, courses through all things and all creation. The bride and groom each bring something necessary and unique to their marriage. They are not identical, but complimentary to one another and their unique qualities, when they are mingled together, produce that which neither one could produce alone.

I would now like to ask MyLifeAsAnImposter’s (insert relative) and (insert relative) to read some passages in Arabic and in the English translation which are typically found in the Nikkah ceremony.

Bismi-llāhi r-raḥmāni r-raḥīm 

Ašhadu ʾal lā ilāha illa l-Lāh, wa ʾašhadu ʾanna muḥammadar rasūlu l-Lāh

In the name of God most gracious most merciful

I bear witnesses that there is no God but God

Al hamdu lillaahi rabbil ‘alameen
Ar-Rahman ar-Raheem Maaliki yaumid Deen
Iyyaaka na’abudu wa iyyaaka nasta’een
Ihdinas siraatal mustaqeem
Siraatal ladheena an ‘amta’ alaihim
Ghairil maghduubi’ alaihim waladaaleen
Aameen

Praise be to God, Lord of all the worlds.
The Compassionate, the Merciful.  Ruler on the Day of Reckoning.
You alone do we worship, and You alone do we ask for help.
Guide us on the straight path,
the path of those who have received your grace;
not the path of those who have brought down wrath, nor of those who wander astray.
Amen.

Huwal-ladhiy khalaqakum min nafsiw waaHidatiw wa ja’Ala minhaa zawjahaa li yaskuna ilayhaa

It is He Who created you from a single soul, and made his mate of like nature, in order that you might dwell with her in love. 

Wamin ayatihi an khalaqa lakum min anfusikum azwajan litaskunoo ilayha wajaAAala baynakum mawaddatan warahmatan inna fee thalika laayatin liqawmin yatafakkaroon

And among His signs is this that He created for you mates from among yourselves that you may dwell in tranquillity with them.

And He has put love and mercy between your hearts;

Surely there are Signs in this for those who reflect.

Barak Allahu laka wa baraka alayka wa jama'a baynakuma bikhayr

May God bless you and have His blessing descend upon you and unite you in goodness.

Ending

It is traditional in a Muslim wedding ceremony to ask the bride and groom 3 times if they accept one another as their partner to ensure that they enter into their marriage voluntarily and willingly.

MyLifeAsAnImposter, do you accept Bob as your husband? –  “Answer”  (x3)

Bob, do you accept MyLifeAsAnImposter as your wife –  “Answer”  (x3)

One of the most important parts of the Muslim wedding ceremony is the sharing of food. Traditionally, the sharing of food and celebrating together completes the marriage.  We will begin this by inviting MyLifeAsAnImposter’s mother (Mamma Imposter) to feed the couple some traditional sweets to signify a sweet beginning for their married life. 

* While sweets are given officiant says the following:* 

Let this married couple be helpers and protectors of one another, let them be a refuge and a comfort to one another, let them be beautiful garments for one another, and let them together experience the many treasures and beauties of marriage. May this marriage have a fair face and a good name... May your vows and this marriage be blessed, may it be sweet milk, may it be full of laughter, your every day in paradise.

We invite you all to share in this too.  When we exit, please help yourself to a sweet and think of the bride and groom and send them your warmest wishes for their marriage.

We would like to end the ceremony with the traditional Jewish custom of breaking the glass.  There is much debate as to where this custom originated, however one of the most commonly accepted beliefs is that it signifies the last time the groom will ever get to put his foot down!

As soon as the glass breaks, it is tradition to shout Mazeltov…. Or in this instance, Mazeltov, Mubarak or any other terms of congratulation you can think of…

(the key thing is that we all yelp and it’s loud and happy- so anything here that encourages people to join in would be great)

* Glass is broken *

* Bob and MyLifeAsAnImposter Kiss *

* Bob and MyLifeAsAnImposter Face Forward *

Officiant – “Ladies and Gentlemen, your Bride and Groom…. MyLifeAsAnImposter and Bob!”

*Applause*

*String quartet plays us out, Bride and Groom exit*

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Yippy!!!

Basically there was confetti.

And that's how we did our Mooish thing. For any other interfaith lovebirds out there... please feel free to use ours as a template for your big day. All our guests thought it was so lovely and tasteful and really enjoyed the balance of both customs and readings and how they worked together. It was paired with our order of service which explained a bit about each of our religions and various points of note for our guests so they didn't feel completely out of their depth.

Hopefully we'll see more of this sort of thing online as the years roll on. I think it's a beautiful thing when two people come together and are able to celebrate their differences alongside the things they have in common. We are very proud of our Mooishness and were thrilled to share it with our guests on our wedding day.

It's was all just bloody brilliant.. but then I'm a bit biased really.

My Life As An Imposter
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