A Traditional Jewish Marriage Song
Listener Submission: Most Meaningful Wedding Music Story

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For many years, my then-fiance Dan had thought he couldn't sing, but for our wedding in 1997, my husband and I decided to sing our wedding vows to each other. David Harris, music director at Shir Tikvah synagogue (but perhaps better known for his wonderful work with Voices of Sepharad ensemble) agree to set the words that traditionally formalize a Jewish marriage "Harei aht m'kudeshet li b'taba'at zo, k'dat Moshe v'Yisrael" —"Behold you are consecrated to me with this ring according to the laws of Moses and Israel"— to music for us.

During the ceremony my husband, Dan, sang it to me, then I sang it to him, then we sang it together as a round. Bringing music into this the key moment in our wedding ceremony, the moment we actually became husband and wife in the eyes of Jewish law, made the experience all the more beautiful and transporting for us. For my husband, who was singing for the first time in public since he was a child, it was also a moment of personal triumph.

Lara Friedman-Shedlov
Minneapolis, MN