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Friday, February 15, 2008

Grand rebbe issues new wedding laws and some quotes from Rachel Freier the female Hasidic lawyer 

A chief rabbi of the Satmar Hasidim has decreed new laws to cut down on the increasingly extravagant cost of weddings among Hasidic Jews in the United States and throughout the world.

Grand Rebbe Aaron Teitelbaum issued his new laws last month in a recording accessed by phone by many of the 100,000 Satmars around the world. More than 40,000 calls came in, many of them broadcast inside synagogues in the United States, Europe and Israel.

The guidelines, which regulate every aspect of the marriage process, from the arranged meetings of Satmar couples to the post-wedding celebrations, have an especially big impact for the Village of Kiryas Joel, the home of Teitelbaum's greatest number of followers.

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.

Keeping up with their Hasidic neighbors has never been harder these days, as rising expectations for weddings and other celebrations clash with the financial constraints of larger families.

The costs are particularly acute in Kiryas Joel, where family sizes have exploded.

The village grew by more than 50 percent to over 20,000 residents since 2000, the fastest-growing municipality in the state, according to recent U.S. Census data.

Teitelbaum issued a similar decree last year to contain the cost of bar mitzvahs.

"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.

The new decrees, among other things, limit food at the engagement celebration to light refreshments, such as soda and cookies; limit the number and cost of gifts that can be given to the bride and groom; and specify the manner in which wedding and subsequent banquets are held.

The rules might deal an economic blow to some businesses that supply the gifts and services associated with marriages, but they will likely come as a great sense of relief to everyone else, Freier said.

"It's, 'I don't have to buy the diamonds anymore, whew!' " she said.

http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080215/NEWS/802150349/-1/NEWS

Comments:
the new takanos will only have real validity if R'A.T. keeps them himself.

 

very brave to post without "Anonymous"! Maybe the K'suvah amounts should be lowered?!

 

it's a BIG INSULT for a Kallah to wear a CZ.

I personally know of kallahs that broke their engagement because they were told they were getting a CZ instead of the real diamond. All of their friends got the real thing and they felt they were being cheated.

A DIAMOND IS SOMETHING THAT A KALLAH TRULY DESERVES NOT A CZ.

 

To ANON 11:55

You personally know of KallahS that broke their engagement!!
Fat LIAR what you are.

 

THE IDEA IS THAT NOBODY HAS TO KNOW WHAT THE KALAH IS GETTING.
IT IS NOBODIES BUSINESS WHAT THE RING IS.
IF YOU WANT TO BUY A REAL DIAMOND WHO WILL KNOW THE IDFFERENCE.
IF YOU CANNOT AFFORD A REAL DIAMOND YOU HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO GET A CZ AND NOBODY HAS TO KNOW.
BY THE WAY I KNOW TOO MANY WOMEN THAT HAVE CZ'Z EITHER BECAUSE THEIR RING WAS STOLEN OR LOST, OR BECAUSE THEY DID NOT LIKE THEIR DIAMOND BECAUSE IT WAS TOO SMALL.
WHO REALLY KNOWS WHO WEARS WHAT.
I PERSONALLY KNOW MANY RICH PEOPLE WHO WEAR FAKE JEWELRY AND EVERYBODY THINKS IT IS REAL.
ON THE OTHER HAND MANY POOR PEOPLE BORROW MONEY TO BUY REAL JEWELRY AND PEOPLE THINK IT IS FAKE...
WHAT A FAKE WORLD!!!!!

 

What I want to know is why in Eichler's and all the other sefarim stores the gemorahs and other sifrei kodesh are out in the open, and the silver-plated heedur mitzvah items are locked away behind glass display cases.

What does that say about the frum people who visit these stores?

And why does a Kallah need a diamond ring? while the husband will be hanging out in the beis medrash, perhaps learning, perhaps not.

 

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