SELECTED REFORM RESPONSA

Then further, modern Orthodox weddings generally take place in the presence of men and women sitting too"ether. This has been strongly denounced by many Orthodox authorities. Some rabbis turn over the task of reciting the seven blessings to some bystander in order not to recite them in a mixed company. What about the witnesses at these Orthodox marriages? Is the rabbi sure that they are valid witnesses, truly kosher witness, and not violators of the Sabbath , and so on(Hoshen Mishpat 34, 2, 3, 17 ff)? If the mood of belligerence is permitted to hold sway, as it does in some quarters, then perhaps fifty percent of the Orthodox marriage in England and in America can be deemed improper.

In this regard Orthodoxy is indeed more vulnerable than we are, for to Orthodoxy no commandment is minor and all established customs have their importance. Ben Zion Uziel and also Hillel Posek, of Tel Aviv , both bitterly objected to the mood surrounding the breaking of the glass at weddings(Mishptei Uziel 11, Even Haezer, p. 431; Omer Hillel, Even Haezer 59). But both indicated that they dared not abolish this aged custom. How, then, can Orthodox rabbis permit the modern custom of holding marriages in the synagogue or in the midst of a mixed company of men and women, and with witnesses of dubious eligibility

Our own attitude to these variations of observance in both Orthodox and Reform Judaism is based on our general attitude to Jewish tradition. We respect the spirit of both Bible and halakhah, but we seek to find this spirit according to our conscience and judgment, rather than to be bound by specific enactment. We ask ourselves, therefore: What is the spirit of Jewish law in relation to variant types of marriage and the families derived from such variant marriages?

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