Kiryas Joel, NY - A chief rabbi of the Satmar Hasidim has decreed new laws to cut down on the increasingly extravagant cost of weddings among Hasidic Jews.
Rebbe Aaron Teitelbaum issued his new laws last month in a recording accessed by phone. More than 40,000 calls came in, many of them broadcast inside synagogues in the United States, Europe and Israel.
The new rules:
Engagement: Only light refreshments - soda and cookies - can be served at engagement parties.
Gifts: No other gifts should be given except four pieces of jewelry: a watch, a pearl necklace, earrings and engagement ring with a cubic zirconia diamond for the bride; and the book of oral law, a Sabbath blessing cup and a menorah for the groom (in addition to the customary gift of prayer garments and accessories).
The wedding banquet: The last grace should occur no later than 11 p.m., and the wedding shall end no later than 1:30 a.m. During the mitzvah dance, grandfathers should dance first, followed by all other male relatives together (and not individually) with the bride, then the father of the bride, then the father of the groom.
Such decrees, known as "takanos," are embraced by Hasidic cultures that see them as effective means of addressing social ills, said Rachel Freier, a Hasidic attorney who works in Kiryas Joel. They usually follow grass-roots efforts to bring the problems of commoners to the clerical leadership's attention, she said.
"It's, 'Tell us, we need limitations to help us avoid problems,' " Freier said.
"What used to be affordable many years ago is now not," Freier said. She declined to estimate the cost of Hasidic weddings because of the range of family incomes, as well as to avoid embarrassment for her culture, she said.
Kiryas Joel residents usually spend less on weddings than Hasidim living in Brooklyn, where Freier lives, she said. [Record]
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