torah aliyah aufruf yad

The Aufruf, A Pre-Wedding Aliyah

Either the groom or the couple is called up to the Torah for an aliyah on the Sabbath before their wedding.

It is traditional for the groom to receive an aliyah to the Torah [in which he recites blessings before and after the Torah reading] on the Shabbat prior to his wedding. In Reform, Reconstructionist, and [most] Conservative synagogues, both bride and groom are usually called to the Torah. This ceremony is called aufruf, which, in Yiddish, means “calling up.”

Are you planning a Jewish wedding? Let us help out! Sign up for Breaking the Glass, an email series that will help guide you to the wedding that’s right for you!

After reciting the blessings, the rabbi usually offers a Misheberakh blessing [said for someone who has an aliyah] for the couple.

After that, the groom (or couple), as they leave the bimah [pulpit], is showered with candy and raisins, symbolizing sweetness and fruitfulness; or nuts, because the Hebrew word for nut, egoz, has the same numerical value (17) as the Hebrew word for good (tov).

Excerpted with permission from Teaching Jewish Life Cycle: Insights and Activities (A.R.E. Publishing, Inc.)

 

Discover More

Before the Jewish Wedding Ceremony

Before the wedding, bride and groom are feted, the bride is veiled, and the groom dons a shroud-like garment.

After the Wedding Ceremony

After the wedding, bride and groom retreat to a seclusion room, rejoin their guests for a festive meal, and then celebrate with friends and family for the next seven days.

Nissuin: The Second of the Two Ceremonies

The substance of nissuin, the actual marriage ceremony, are seven blessings that reflect the themes of creation, joy, and bride and groom.