The Kallah and Speed Davening

I have written about the Kallah’s pre-chuppah prayers in the past; the bride reads a personal prayer for herself and her chatan, just before the chuppah. http://yochieisner.blogspot.co.il/2012/11/the-kallah-is-queen-guide-to-brides.html    Now I would like to discuss the prayers the bride says for others.

Bridal Prayer with Kotel background

As I have discussed, the day of the wedding is considered Yom Kippur Katan for the bride and groom; a time when all their prayers are answered.  As a result of this belief, the bride, on the day of her wedding, would receive the names of people for whom she could pray. 

When I got married, on the day of the wedding the bride would be handed a few names hand-written on strips of paper to pray for.  Additionally, as she sat on her bride’s chair, she would receive a stream of friends and relatives for whom she would give brachot. 

Well, times have changed.  On the morning of her wedding day, one of my recent Kallahs – I am not exaggerating – was handed six single-spaced printed pages of people to pray for.  Her friends had compiled a list of singles hoping to find a marriage partner, people needing help with their livelihoods and people who are seriously ill.  In addition, throughout the day, the kallah’s friends were continually getting SMSs and collecting further requests and names, including prayers for soldiers and many others.  While this is a lovely and important minhag; it can also become a burden for the bride; especially a bride who is fasting.

The friends’ of the bride told me that today, these long lists are handled a bit differently than in my day; today the bride will read Tehilim and pray for blocks of names throughout the day - even before she gets to the venue.  During quiet moments when I was not working on her makeup or hair, she would read tehilim and say brachot for sets of people on her list.

Additionally, there is also a minhag to read the entire Sefer Tehilim on the wedding day.  If the Kallah is not a quick reader, then the effort can be distributed among her friends and female relatives.

Want to know more about the bride on her wedding day?  Read my article: http://yochieisner.blogspot.co.il/2012/11/the-kallah-is-queen-guide-to-brides.html

Purchase my customized bridal prayers exclusively found on Fiverr!  https://www.fiverr.com/yochieisner/personalize-jewish-bridal-wedding-prayers

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