Ileya and Adam
The two moms--
Breaking the Plate Ceremony
Inlaws
This custom to break a ceramic plate is at the vort. This symbolizes the seriousness of their commitment to each other: Just as breaking the plate is final, so too the engagement is final and not easily terminated.
Breaking the plate also tempers the intense joy of the occasion, similar to the glass which is broken under the chupah. It reminds us that the Temple is not yet rebuilt.
Customarily, the couple's mothers are the ones who break the plate. They hold the plate together and drop it onto a hard surface.
Some have the custom to make a necklace for the bride from the broken pieces. Others give the broken pieces to eligible "singles" as if to say "may a plate soon be broken for you." Some break the plate at the wedding just before the chuppa. Being the mosiac tile artist that I am, I'm planning on making some type of art piece for them with the pieces.
InlawsLast weekend, Ileya's mom, Ellen, had an engagement party for Adam and Ileya. It gave the two families time to meet and greet, although we have known Ellen for many years now. In fact, we will soon be her new neighbor...
As part of the party, the two moms performed a very special ceremony. This is an almost un-heard of ritual performed by the bride's and groom's mothers to emphasize the seriousness of the commitment of the man and the woman who formally announced their plan to marry. It is, the act of breaking a ceramic plate. Customarily, the bride's mother and the groom's mother, drop the well wrapped plate onto a hard surface. Breaking the plate indicates that just as breaking the plate is final, so too the engagement is final, not to be terminated.
When a couple decides to marry, they announce the occasion with an engagement party. In Yiddish this event is called a vort, which means a "word." At the vort the man and woman traditionally give their "word" and formally commit to marry.
This custom to break a ceramic plate is at the vort. This symbolizes the seriousness of their commitment to each other: Just as breaking the plate is final, so too the engagement is final and not easily terminated.
Breaking the plate also tempers the intense joy of the occasion, similar to the glass which is broken under the chupah. It reminds us that the Temple is not yet rebuilt.
Customarily, the couple's mothers are the ones who break the plate. They hold the plate together and drop it onto a hard surface.
Some have the custom to make a necklace for the bride from the broken pieces. Others give the broken pieces to eligible "singles" as if to say "may a plate soon be broken for you." Some break the plate at the wedding just before the chuppa. Being the mosiac tile artist that I am, I'm planning on making some type of art piece for them with the pieces.
