Weddings

Mazel Tov/Congratulations! Love is a beautiful thing to celebrate.

Humanistic Judaism has always wholeheartedly embraced intercultural, interfaith, and same-sex marriage (long before other most Jewish denominations). Rabbi Chalom has officiated at over 400 wedding ceremonies, and each was a unique expression of the couple and their bond. 

If you are a wedding couple and interested in more information, please feel free to be in touch with Rabbi Adam Chalom by phone (847-602-4500) or email (rabbichalom@kolhadash.com). Make sure to include the date, time, and location of your ceremony if those have been set.

8 Ways Kol Hadash Does Weddings Differently

1. Rabbi Chalom creates personalized ceremonies for wedding couples, including what they want and avoiding what they don’t. He never forces a pre-written ceremony template on wedding couples, instead helping them to make their own choices for their ceremony.

2. Subject to Rabbi Chalom’s availability, weddings can be any day and time a couple wants it to be. Wedding couples can schedule their ceremony any time during the day on Saturday/Shabbat, regardless of when sundown may be. The same is true for traditional Jewish ceremony “blackout dates” through the summer and minor Jewish holidays.

3. Humanistic Judaism has always joyfully celebrated interfaith and intercultural marriages, respecting the diverse backgrounds and culture of each partner. Meaningful and relevant rituals and/or symbols from both family backgrounds are often incorporated into the ceremony, as the couple chooses. All Hebrew is instantly translated (to be honest, plenty of the Jews attending may not know what it means either!).

4. Humanistic Judaism has always recognized the right to freely choose one’s marriage partners. Rabbi Chalom is very happy to celebrate same-sex weddings with just as much joy and enthusiasm as every wedding.

5. Rabbi Chalom is happy to co-officiate with other clergy, provided that together they create a balanced ceremony with inclusive language (all Hebrew translated, non-Jewish clergy use generic “God” rather than “Jesus Christ”). 

6. Rabbi Chalom is very capable in French, Spanish and Hebrew (and passable in Yiddish) and can include elements of any of these languages in the ceremony in readings, ketubah (marriage agreement) texts, vows and/or blessings..

7. Rabbi Chalom has been officiating weddings for over 20 years. His professionalism, knowledge, experience, expertise, intelligence, insight and humor are invaluable to creating the perfect wedding ceremony.

8. You don’t have to be a member of Kol Hadash for Rabbi Chalom to officiate a wedding ceremony for your family, though there is a fee. If you do want to explore membership, our flexible Contributing Membership enables you to choose your own annual financial commitment, and life cycle celebrations are included in membership.

How Humanistic Jews celebrate Loving Partnerships 

If you are a wedding couple and interested in more information, please feel free to be in touch with Rabbi Adam Chalom by phone (847-602-4500) or email (rabbichalom@kolhadash.com).  Make sure to include the date, time, and location of your ceremony if those have been set.