Wedding In Jerusalem Draws 25,000 Guests [Video]
Bridezillas-in-training, watch out, you've got some serious competition on your hands. The marriage of two members from one of the largest Ultra-Orthodox Jewish communities in the world, the Hasidic Belz Rebbe of Jerusalem, garnered 25,000 onlookers.
The overwhelming amount of guests was largely due to the people getting married. The groom is Shalom Rokeach, the grandson of the community's Chief Rabbi and the only male descendant of the rabbi. It is believed that Rokeach, 18, will succeed his as the leader of the Belz Rebbe.
The bride was 19-year-old Hannah Batya Penet, also a member of the Belz Rebbe. Not much is known about her -- even Penet's identity was kept under wraps during the ceremony, as tradition requires that she wear a veil during the wedding.
The wedding itself was, of course, an intricate affair. Traditional Jewish ceremonies are awash in tradition and are known for their great length, especially when the groom is the future chief rabbi and more than 25,000 people are watching.
"Traditional Jewish weddings consist of two separate parts, the betrothal ceremony, known as erusin or kiddushin, and the actual wedding ceremony, known as nisuin," said the DailyMail.
In between the two portions of the wedding, the bride and groom get roughly an hour-long break by themselves. As the DailyMail indicates, unlike traditional American weddings, Hasidic Jews exchange the wedding ring at the beginning of the ceremonies, long before anything is finalized.
"The first betrothal ceremony sees the groom give a wedding ring to the bride. During this part of the service, the bride is prohibited from talking to all other men. The wedding ceremony then takes place underneath a canopy known as a chuppah so the couple may get married beneath the sky," the DailyMail said.
The Belz Rebbe are actually from Poland, after officially forming there in 1817 and living in the country until World War II, when they were transplanted to Israel. There are roughly 7,000 families in the community, meaning that practically ever Belz Rebbe attended the ceremony.
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