Weddingbee boards

We are planning on saying the traditional Sheva Brachot during the ceromony and I wanted to add a little twist, and wanted some help/insight. I grew up conservative and actually all my (unrelated) BMs are from a Jewish camp, needless to say we are all comfortable with Hebrew. FI was raised Catholic (my mother still hasnt forgiven me - but that is a different story), and his side know NO hebrew.

We were thinking of having my BMs/family/special (7 of them) each say one of the prayers in Hebrew then have someone from FIs side say it in English. Here is where the help comes in. We dont want them to just say the exact translation. I have been searching for some nice translations that are either in poem form, or just a little more fun (does this make sense??).

Does anyone have a good place to find something this? Or did you write something yourself?

Here are the seven blessing's in exact translation:

1: "Blessed are You, LORD, our G-d, sovereign of the universe, who creates the fruit of the vine."

2: "Blessed are You, Hashem, our G-d, sovereign of the universe, who created everything for his Glory.

3: "Blessed are You, LORD, our G-d, sovereign of the universe, who creates man

4: Blessed are You, LORD, our G-d, sovereign of the universe, who creates man in your image, fashioning perpetuated life. Blessed are You, LORD, creator of man

5: May Zion rejoice as her children are restored to her in joy. Blessed are You, LORD, who causes Zion to rejoice her children’s return

6: Grant perfect joy to these loving companions, as you did your creations in the Garden of Eden. Blessed are You, LORD, who grants the joy of groom and bride

7: Blessed are You, LORD, our G-d, sovereign of the universe, who created joy and gladness, groom and bride, mirth, song, delight and rejoicing, love and harmony and peace and companionship.

To make it even more difficult, any way we can leave out the term G-d in the English? (FMIL's request).

Sorry for such a long post!!

We still havent found a Rabbi who will marry us. I would like a (mostly) traditional Jewish wedding and FI is fine with that. However, he will not convert. We had this discussion on our first date (weird, yes), and he said he would be fine living in a Jewish home and raising Jewish children but would not feel comfortable converting. So, this limits who will agree to marry us.

I did find a website that had a little bit of insight to some translations: http://www.rabbi-mercy.com/02Marriage.htm

He has:

1 ~ Blessed are you, Oh G-d, your presence fills the universe: you have created the fruit of the vine.

 

2 ~ May you be filled with awe as you find your place in the world. Blessed is the One who created human beings: all creation reflects your glory.

 

3 ~ May your hearts be always filled with love. May you always sense the love of your family and friends whether they are close by or across the distances.

 

4 ~ May you joy in one another overflow into the world which surrounds you. May you find wonder as you live, love and perpetuate life. May those in need find good friends in you.

 

5 ~ May you rejoice and be glad:_________ and __________who have searched the world for one another. Blessed is the joy of our gathering here with you today.

 

6 ~ May your children bless you and your friends support you. May all people live with you in peace.

 

7 ~Blessed are you, Oh G-d, your presence fills the universe you have created joy and celebration, bride and groom, gladness and jubilation, pleasure, delight, love, unity, friendship and peace. Soon may we hear in the streets of the city and on the paths of the fields: the voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of lovers from under their canopy and the voices of their friends and family from their feasts of celebration. Blessed are you, Oh G-d, who blesses_________ and _________ with their love for one another.

 

I kind of like them. I just dont want them to sound overly religious or boring.

 

@phillybridetobe: The book Celebrating Interfaith Marriages by Rabbi Devon Lerner has a few different English translations...maybe one of them would work. I bought it for like 4 dollars on Amazon and it's been really helpful! A lot of bees have suggested this book elsewhere as well. I highly recommend it-- I think it's also good for family members to read to get an understanding of the different traditions.

And also, I think having people special to both of you read in Hebrew and English is a really awesome idea!

Thank you ladies! I just put in my order on amazon for it. Ill let you know how it goes :)

@hermitcrab My mum is worried this will take too long and just have the Rabbi do the whole thing, which I can appreciate. How did the flow go? Was it choppy/did it work well/etc. I would have thought this would be more common, but I have only ever seen a Cantor or Rabbi do the prayers.