Helpful Tips for Your Party - Jewish Weddings

Jewish Parties

Make sure you discuss any special Jewish traditions you want to incorporate into your reception. Here are some common traditions you'll need to work out with your entertainers:

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  The Hora is probably the most well known feature of Jewish celebrations. The music is usually very upbeat (Hava Nagilah, Oseh Shalom,
  etc.). Many DJs use a 7-minute Hora medley from the Bobby Morganstein series. It is traditional for the guest(s) of honor to be lifted in chairs in the middle of the hora. At a wedding, the Bride will be given a handkerchief to hold one end of as she is lifted in the chair, and the Groom (also lifted in a chair) will
  try to grab the other end. These days, the chair lifting is optional, so be sure to indicate who (if anyone) is to be lifted.
  
  

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  Perhaps a little less well known is the Mezinke Tantze (sometimes called a Krenzl). Traditionally, at the wedding of the last daughter (Mezinke) to be married, the Bride's mother is seated in the middle of the dance floor and crowned (Krenzl) with flowers. Lively Klezmer music is played as the guests dance in a circle around the mother (sometimes dancing up to greet/kiss her as they dance by). These days, as Jews have become more egalitarian, this tradition
  is sometimes observed for the last child (male or female), and the mother and father may both be seated and crowned.
  
  

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  Many Bar/Bat Mitzvah receptions today feature a candle-lighting ceremony. 14 candles
  are placed in the cake. Different people are called up for each candle. The usual order for candle lighting is: Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, Older relatives, Younger relatives, Friends of parents, Friends of Bar/Bat Mitzvah, Parents,
  Siblings, Bar/Bat Mitzvah. Either the MC or the Bar/Bat Mitzvah can announce each candle. If the MC is announcing the candles, be sure to review name pronunciations, and write the introductions as the Bar/Bat Mitzvah would (i.e., Bubbe and Zayde, Aunt Sarah and Uncle David, etc.). Sometimes the Bar/Bat Mitzvah may choose to introduce each candle with a poem rather than simply calling the people up. As the people walk up to the cake, the
  DJ or band plays music. The same music can be played for all of the candles (many DJs have the 15 minute Bobby Morganstein candle-lighting medley available for this), or different music can be played for each candle (with the music usually relating to the people coming up). The music should fade out for the introduction of the next candle.
  
  

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  Be sure to discuss how much Jewish music you want played during the reception, what types (Klezmer, Israeli folk or pop, modern American Jewish music like Safam and Debbie Friedman, etc.), and if you want additional Israeli folk dancing (in addition to the typical Hora).
  

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