(2) What does Jewish law dictate about the design of the Wedding ring used in a Jewish Wedding Ceremony ?

Answer 1

According to Jewish law, the ring should not have any breaks in it, it must be smooth all around. The reason for this is because the marriage, like the ring, should be smooth the whole way through with no bumps along the way, and you aren't supposed to be able to tell the beginning from the end, so that the marriage will last for eternity. Depending on the Rabbi, this can be interpreted as no stones and/or no design. A lot of brides still follow the tradition, and others are just restricted by what the Rabbi will allow. (Some Rabbis will only allow a plain band, some are more flexible, and others don't care at all.) However, a lot of brides who follow this tradition will get married with a ring that meets the qualifications, but they will later wear a ring with diamonds in it.

Answer 2

In the Talmud, masechta Kiddushin, where the laws of marriage are discussed, it states that one of the way a man marries his wife is through a gift of value. Their is an argument over exactly how expensive the gift has to be but we follow a ruling that a relatively small gift (around 50c) is actually all that is needed, since it is symbolic.

So the ring is used as this gift on the modern ceremony- though we traditionally use a gold ring, with no breaks in it to symbolise the eternal bond of the two, and that the marriage should be perfect. A plain gold band is the most common ring used. Note: This design is a custom, not a law- there is no law about a ring, though since the custom has become universally accepted by a majority of the community, it counts as being like a law de'chukas.

The woman CANNOT give the man a ring under the chupah (marriage canopy) as this would imply that the woman was aquiring the man, and this is the opposite of the law, and thus would not effect a marriage. Many woman do give their husbands a ring AFTER the ceremony, as a sign of their marriage (I wear one since I work in a non-Jewish company and got tired of telling a particular woman in the firm I was married, something she seemed to treat as nothing until I started wearing a ring...)

Also, the groom MUST own the ring, he cannot borrow money from the bride or anyone in her family to purchase the ring, though he may buy it on his own credit resources or with money loaned from his own family- it is preferable that the ring be fully paid for by the time of the wedding.

Answer 3

it dictates nothing

Their is nothing in Jewish law that specifically requires a wedding ring so their is no law on how it is designed.

Answer 4

i have known very many Jewish married people (and was married to a Jewish man) their are no laws about the ring that i know of

Answer 5

I think it basically has to be a simple ring that's nothing all that special. As far as I know there are no real laws about it....you can try asking on askmoses.com though-you can chat with a rabbi live over there.