COMMUNITY MAGAZINE May 2008

64 COMMUNITY MAGAZINE selected by the Council to direct the affairs of the office and to assist the Chief Rabbi in managing the SRC. Though the meetings of the SRC have been kept low key for the most part, their outcomes have been felt throughout the community. Most significantly, in response to the groundswell of requests by people from across the community, the rabbis have clearly defined the minimum standards of dress for women who will be part of a wedding ceremony. Until now, many brides and their families were distressed that some in their own bridal parties were sometimes not fully mindful of both the sanctity of the wedding ceremony and the specific requirements of proper dress for the holy occasion (this issue was the subject of another recent Community magazine cover story entitled: The Most Important 20 Minutes of Your Life). Often feeling awkward or uncomfortable about speaking directly to members of the bridal parties about their wishes, a significant number of families have repeatedly approached many rabbis over the years to request that they set guidelines for weddings which adhere to the Sephardic tradi- tions we hold so dear. With the advent of the Sephardic Rabbinical Council, a uniform set of guidelines which will apply to every wed- ding performed throughout the community is finally a reality. “The new Marriage Guidelines prove that the Rabbinate can work in unison to lead our people in compliance with Shulkhan Arukh and in the traditions of our fathers,” said Rabbi Y.Ari Azancot of Beth Torah Congregation. The Marriage Ceremony Guidelines will go into effect with the new wedding party season beginning on Lag LaOmer (May 23rd). The guidelines outline the specific criteria required, according to the code of Jewish law and the customs of our parents and grandparents, at the holy event of the union between a man and a woman in mar- riage before the Almighty (see the official copy of the guidelines on the following page). Rabbi Shaul Maslaton, Rabbi of Ahi Ezer Congregation and Dean of B’not Rachel High School added, “The modesty we display brings blessing to our community. We will not only benefit from an abundance of all that is good, but Hashem will bless us so that we are happy with our lives and have shalom bayit in our dwellings. The Marriage Guidelines is a great beginning for our Council.” As per our tradition, these guidelines apply to everyone who is part of the ceremony – those under the huppah (wedding canopy) and those marching in the wedding party. In drafting the guidelines, the rabbis labored intensively to ensure that they are both manageable and at the same time in compliance with the clearly defined laws of the Shulhan Aruch. The result appears to be a great success as feedback from the community has been resoundingly positive. Those who have been informed of the guidelines are by and large wholeheartedly embracing and accepting them in the same noble spirit in which they were written. One group of young women who were preparing for an upcoming wedding, soon after Lag LaOmer, reported a great sense of relief that they will now no longer feel the unseemly pressure to march in fashionable gowns which do not quite constitute proper attire for a synagogue. The work of the united Sephardic Rabbinical Council has only just begun. Initiatives dealing with protecting the sanctity of Shabbat, and establishing a community-wide database, among others, are already well under way. “The task is huge and the responsibility very sobering but I know that our rabbis have enthusiastically accepted the challenge to direct our people to a bright future’’ commented Rabbi Raymond Beyda, “The Sephardic Rabbinical Council, working l’shem Shamayim, with the support of our people will be successful. More than ever we must be successful.” CM Photos: Morris Antebi Rabbi Raymond Beyda, Shaare Zion Torah Center Chief Rabbi Shaul Kassin, Sephardic Rabbinical Council (from left to right) Rabbi Haim Shaul, Magen David Sephardic Congregation; Rabbi Shimon Alouf, Ahava VeAhva; Rabbi Yosef Hamra, Shevet Achim; Rabbi Joseph Dweck, Shaare Shalom; Rabbi David Jemal, Har HaLebanon; Rabbi Hillel Haber, Yeshivat Shaare Torah Rabbi Yoshayahu Shammah, Shevet Achim Rabbi David Maslaton, Bnei Shaare Zion Congregation Rabbi Raymond Haber, Shaare Zion Congregation Rabbi Meyer Yedid, Shaare Zion Congregation