Ready to Take the Plunge?

Answer

Marriage is the biggest step of your life. Before taking the plunge, you need to plug into your source to gain strength and clarity.

The groom is called up to the Torah. He stands before the community and connects himself to G-d’s wisdom. He looks into the eternal story of the Jewish people that he is about to continue, and steps into it, becoming part of it. The Torah reminds him what makes a Jewish home stand strong: values, community, soul and purpose.

The bride does the same, but in a different language. Before the wedding, she also takes a plunge of her own. She immerses in the mikvah.

Water is the first creation, the womb of the world, the place where life begins. Like Torah, water allows all life to grow and flourish. In the quiet waters of the mikvah, the bride returns to her own source, to the purity and strength that Jewish women have passed down for generations. She enters those life-giving waters as she embarks on her journey to become a life-giver herself.

Both bride and groom are preparing themselves for the next big step. He connects with the words of Torah, the world of mind and meaning. She enters mikvah, the world of creation and life. Two ways of plugging in, each a different expression of the same truth. One through the wisdom of life, one through the water of life.

The masculine way is more conceptual. The feminine way is more actual. He enters the sea of Torah figuratively. She enters the waters of the mikvah literally.

And when they come together under the chuppah, wisdom and water meet. Theory and practice come together. Masculine and feminine unite. A new world can begin. They take the plunge together.