Seven Blessings: a modern interpretation of a beautiful Jewish ritual

One of the most precious things of being a celebrant is learning a lot about the richness of rituals and ceremonies from all over the world. As an independent celebrant, I deliver ceremonies for people from all kinds of backgrounds: secular, religious and interfaith. My starting point is always with the people I meet and their unique story. If any beliefs or rituals are part of that story, I help them in incorporating these meaningful elements into the ceremony.

I recently delivered a wedding ceremony for a couple of which the groom had a Jewish background.  Although he is not practising the religion, the groom and bride wanted to honour these roots and the underlying values that are still meaningful to them.

We decided to incorporate a modern interpretation of the Seven Blessings. The Seven Blessings are traditionally shared at Jewish wedding ceremonies. The blessings are adapted from ancient rabbinic teachings, beginning with the blessing over the wine and ending with a communal expression of joy. The blessings are about the creation of the world, the creation of humankind, the unity of loving people and the joy of marriage.

The traditional Hebrew transliteration, as well as some modern English variations on the blessings, can be found here.

The couple chose an interpretation by Rabbi Jon HaddonFor each of the blessings, we highlighted the central theme: love, a loving home, humour and play, wisdom, health, art and community.

We asked seven family members to read a blessing each, and to add a personal text. Some family members took a humorous approach, whereas others preferred a more serious angle. This resulted in seven beautiful, very personal and moving blessings, bringing emotional tears to the eyes of the bride and groom.

1. Love

May you be blessed with love. May your admiration, appreciation and understanding of each other foster a love that is passionate, tranquil and real.  May this love between you be strong and enduring, and bring peace into your lives.

2. A loving home

May you be blessed with a loving home filled with warmth, humour and compassion.  May you create a family together that honours traditions old and new.  May you teach your children to have equal respect for themselves and others, and instil in them the value of learning and tikkun olam (making the world a better place).

3. Humour and play

May you be best friends and work together to build a relationship of substance and quality. May your sense of humour and playful spirit continue to enliven your relationship.  May you respect each other’s individual personality and perspective, and give each other room to grow in fulfilling your dreams.

4. Wisdom

May you be blessed with wisdom. May you continually learn from one another and from the world. Together, may you grow, deepening your knowledge and understanding of each other and of your journey through life.

5. Health

May you be blessed with health. May life bring you wholeness of mind, body and spirit. May you keep each other well-balanced and grounded, and live long that you may share many happy years together.

6. Art, beauty, creativity

May your life be blessed with the art and beauty of this world. May your creative aspirations and experiences find expression, inspire you and bring you joy and fulfilment.  May you find happiness together in adventures big and small, and something to celebrate each day of your lives.

7. Community

May you be blessed with community. May you always be blessed with the awareness that you are an essential part of a circle of family and friends. May there always be within this group love, trust, support and laughter, and may there be many future occasions for rejoicing in their company.

32 thoughts on “Seven Blessings: a modern interpretation of a beautiful Jewish ritual

  • My brother suggested I might like this web site.
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    • Thanks and good luck with the info. Please let me know if you have any other questions about contemporary rituals and ceremonies. I am happy to answer your questions!

  • Hello Rosalie and thank you for this passage. I am interested in incorporating the Seven Blessings in to my ceremony, and am curious- at what point in the ceremony did you do the reading? And- did each family member deliver their own, or was it delivered by a speaker on behalf of the group?

    Thank you! Amiee

    • Hi Amiee, thanks for visiting my website and for reading this article. We did the Blessings before the vows and exchange of rings. Each family member delivered their own. One did this even on Skype as she couldn’t attend the wedding in person! Don’t hesitate to contact me should you have any further questions. Congratulations on your forthcoming wedding, wishing you and your partner a wonderful day and a very happy life together. Rosalie x

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  • Thank you Rosalie, those are wonderful blessings indeed. My son who is Jewish asked to say these blessings at his ceremony coming soon. What an honor and how appropriate that these blessings are so exactly what every member and friends would wish for the new bride and groom. Mazel-Tov.

    • Thanks for your kind words. Wishing the newly-weds all the love in the world. May these blessings guide them on their way forward.

  • Thank you Rosalie, those are wonderful blessings indeed. My son who is Jewish asked me
    to say these blessings at his ceremony coming soon. What an honor and how appropriate that these blessings are so exactly what every member and friends would wish for the new bride and groom. Mazel-Tov.

  • I’ve been looking for blessing guidelines for my son’s wedding next month that we, his parents will have to attend virtually due to the pandemic. We are Reform Jews, and he is marrying into a modern Orthodox family. Your modern interpretation of the seven blessings was a perfect starting place! Thanks for this inspiration.
    Erica

    • Dear Erica,

      Thanks for your feedback, I am really pleased to learn that this article has been an inspiration. I am so sorry that you won’t be able to attend your son’s wedding in person. Wishing the newly-weds a blissful marriage and congratulations to you too! Warm wishes, Rosalie

  • Thank you for these! I’m officiating a friend’s wedding, and the program he wrote included the standard Sheva Brachot. He complained it was too sectarian for him, so your site provided the best option I’d seen yet. Not only that, instead of having me read it, I printed each on a separate card for the guests to read at the appropriate time. I think we’re going to have a blast!

    • That’s amazing! I am so pleased to learn that my version of the Sheva Brachot expressed the right sentiments for your friend. All the best with the wedding, it sounds like it’s going to be a memorable day. Rosalie x

  • Hello Rosalie
    Thanks for your detailed explanation
    I have a similar situation
    My son Max is from Masorti family, conservative if you will.
    He lives in Oaxaca ,Mexico with his girlfriend Anna who has two children from a previous relation
    They are marrying the 17 of april and want for me to be the persona that carries the wedding, ritual-spiritual ceremony… Of course it will be in spanish
    I like your idea of the seven blessings…I would ask you to help me to make it a real wedding with some Jewish spiritual meaning
    The seven blessings ar from the Torah?
    Is there an origin for each of the blessings?
    How about the broken glass? where does it fit here’
    All your help will be more that appreciated
    Best to you
    Thanks
    Ricardo

    • Dear Ricardo, Thanks for reading my blog and for your additional questions. I am not an expert in Jewish wedding traditions. At this wedding we did not include the broken glass. A useful website is http://www.ritualwell.org. Perhaps you will find some of your answers and more inspiration there! Good luck with conducting the wedding, such an honourable role.

      • thanks for replying Rosalie
        I am studying and hope it will turn alright
        Will let you know afterwards how it did go
        Thanks very much
        Ricardo

  • Hi Rosalie, as a fellow Celebrant, I just wanted to take a moment to say Thank you. I am creating a multicultural ceremony for a lovely couple, Hindu and Jewish and your interpretation of the 7 blessings has been most useful. We have something similar in the Hindu tradition called the Saptapadi but I wanted to ensure that I was able to get this right for my couple. Thank you so much.

    Sonal

    • Hi Sonal, Thanks so much for your lovely comment. I am pleased to learn that my blog post about the Seven Blessings has been helpful. Isn’t it wonderful that, as celebrants, we can tailor our ceremonies to people of all faiths and beliefs? Wishing you all the best on your celebrant journey xxx

  • Hello! I came across this interpretation of the seven blessings and my husband and I would like to use it in our celebration (we had a small legal ceremony last year and are doing the bigger ceremony/celebration in a couple of months). What would you say would be the best place/person to give credit to for this reading? It looks like it was assembled by a number of people.
    Thank you!

    • hi Anna,

      As far as I know the source is unknown. The couple mentioned in the blog and I found it on a US wedding forum. Perhaps you can refer to it as follows: ‘Source unknown, as seen on https://www.ritualstoday.co.uk‘ Hope that makes sense?

      Wishing you a blessed and beautiful ceremony and a happy and long marriage,
      Rosalie

  • I am Jewish (divorcee) getting married to a Jamaican athiest. We are having a non-religious civil marriage ceremony and looking for a way to bring some essence of my Jewish Culture to our day.
    As we cannot bring anything religious to the ceremony, would it be appropriate to include the smashing of the glass and the reading of the 7 blessings at another point during the day? Any advice gratefully received.

    • Hi Mandi, Thanks for your question and apologies for delayed response! Congratulations on your forthcoming marriage. It’s a lovely touch to bring in some Jewish elements. I have seen the smashing of the glass ritual at non-religious weddings with a Jewish touch, as well as the reading of the Seven Blessings. You may want to check though with a rabbi or someone who had in-depth knowledge of these rituals if there is specific wording you should avoid as some may be restricted to be said by a rabbi only. Wishing you lots of happiness, Mazal Tov! x

  • My Son is getting married next month. I wish to use some of your interpretations of the seven blessings as my sons future wife is not Jewish. We are having a simple ceremony performed by our family friend. WHO should be credited with these interpretations of the Hebrew Blessings?

    • Dear Catherine,

      Thanks for reading my blog post. The blessings are inspired by a version by Rabbi Jon Haddon as mentioned in the blog (if you click on the Rabbi’s name in the blog you’ll be redirected to a website that mentions the blessings).

      Wishing your son and his future wife a happy marriage!

  • I discovered your website while working on my wedding album – as my husband & I will celebrate our 18th wedding anniversary on 7/11/2023. Thank you for posting! God Bless…

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