Educational Resources

This Digital Resource Library was created by the Jewish Museum London learning team. The Library brings together objects, video and audio that relate to the Jewish experience in Wales from collections across the country and is specifically designed for teachers and students.

Photograph (Object)

Copyright/attribution: St Fagans National Museum of History

What do you see?

We see a large group of people sitting for a photograph. We see that the woman in the middle is wearing a wedding dress and veil. What do you see?

What do we know?

This photograph shows the marriage of Joel and Ada Reed at the Cardiff United Synagogue, Cathedral Road in March 1918. In the front row (left to right), Mr Abe Lewis & Mrs Lewis, Mr Leo Reed & Mrs Reed, Cyril Goldman, Stanley Reed, Muriel Goldman, Mr & Mrs W. Cantor, Unknown. In the middle row, Rev. Shriberg (Tonypandy). In the back row (left to right), Unknown, Unknown, Freda Reid, Rupert Reed, Unknown, Mr & Mrs Alf Green, Rebecca Goldman, Joe Goldman, Morris Rosen, Isadore Rosen.

A Jewish wedding is a joyful occasion. The ceremony can vary according to the couple’s stream and beliefs. The couple usually gets married underneath a huppah (canopy) which symbolises the home. Many people have the tradition of wearing a veil at their wedding to partially cover their face before being unveiled at their wedding ceremony. The first record in Judaism of veiling connected to weddings is in the Torah when Rebecca covers herself with a veil before marrying Isaac. Other Jewish wedding traditions include breaking a glass, reciting seven blessings and the bride encircling the groom. However, different streams of Judaism celebrate weddings in different ways.

What do we wonder?

We might wonder if Joel and Ada Reed had a traditional Jewish wedding? We might wonder how they felt taking this photograph? What do you wonder?

Discussion Questions

Have you ever been to a wedding? What do you remember?

Why do we mark important life cycle events such as weddings with a ceremony and celebration?