Uzhhorod Synagogue Holds First Wedding in 70 Years

For the first time in 70 years the Synagogue in Uzhhorod (which now houses the Zakarpatska Oblast Philharmonic) conducted a Jewish wedding ceremony, Mukachevo.net reported with reference to the newspaper Yevropa-Tsentr.

The ceremony was attended by the Chief Rabbi of Central, Northern and Western Ukraine Shlomo Wilhelm, as well as by the Chief Rabbi of Transcarpathia Menakhem Mendel Taykhman, guests from Israel, Russia, Moldova, and other CIS countries. They congratulated the young couple – Uzhhorod native Gozd David Shlomo and Siumbelli Hanna-Shulamit from Jerusalem.

Traditionally, the Jewish wedding ceremony takes place under a special canopy, a chuppah, which represents a common home for the newly formed family. Therefore, the word “chuppah” is synonymous for a wedding.

The groom signs a document (ketubah) promising to take care of his wife and provide “food, clothing and other necessities and to live with her as husband, according to the customs.”