The Parable Of The Five Wise And Five Foolish Bridesmaids

Today, as we read in the Gospel Jesus’ parable about the Ten Bridesmaids, I couldn’t but reminisce two

memorable experiences I had in September 2013.

First, my experience of visiting the Holy Land during the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah.

Rosh Hashanah is one of Judaism’s holiest days. It begins on the first day of the seventh month of the

Hebrew calendar, which falls during September or October. The Jewish Calendar is based on the lunar

cycle; therefore, the exact date changes yearly. In 2013, Rosh Hashanah was celebrated from Wednesday the 4th to Friday the 6th of September.

Rosh Hashanah celebrates God’s creation of Adam and Eve.

Second, I experienced attending the marriage ceremony of my young friend Rabbi Eliyahu Aaronson, who was marrying his high school sweetheart Ayala. The wedding was planned to take place on the 10th of

September, which was the Tuesday following the New Year. My birthday was on Saturday that week.

Since all these days fell within the period of less than a fortnight, Rabbi Eliyahu invited me to

Jerusalem for the Jewish New Year and for his wedding. I accepted his invitation with joy.

It was an honour to receive an invitation to the wedding of this dear friend. The invitation also came with

the opportunity to experience the Jewish New Year in its native land and to witness a Jewish wedding. I

had never experienced the Jewish New Year or a wedding before.

I flew into Tel Aviv (from Dubai via Austria) on the 2nd of September. I was very blessed to be offered a

single-room flat next to Aaronson’s villa for the time I was going to be in Jerusalem.

The New Year was celebrated grandly by hearing the sounding of the ram’s horn on Wednesday, and

Thursday morning, eating festive meals with sweet delicacies during the night and day. The eating festive

meals included a prayer ceremony over wine (and grape juice for children), eating pomegranates, raisin

challah bread and apples dipped in honey, and so on. I even attended a New Year’s service at my friend’s

synagogue.

If the new year was celebrated grandly, the wedding was celebrated with style. While the

celebrations started in the afternoon, the wedding ceremony was held after sunset. What I witnessed and

learned at the wedding ceremony was so wonderful that it helped me understand the message

of Jesus to us in the Parable of the Bridesmaids.

Before coming to the parable's teaching, I want to share two allusions to the wedding

being held on a Tuesday and the night. Although all Jewish weddings do not occur on a Tuesday and at night, some Jews prefer to have their weddings on a Tuesday and in the evening.

I learned from Rabbi Eliyahu that Jews prefer Tuesdays to hold their weddings because in the account of

the creation of the third day in the Creation Story, the phrase “… and God saw that it was good” (Genesis

1:10,12) appears twice. Therefore, they believe Tuesday is a doubly good day for a wedding. Interesting;

ha!

Then, why hold the wedding ceremony at night? This is also interesting. While there is no such

requirement in the Hebrew Scriptures, Eliyahu told me that, in the Scriptures, the descents of Patriarch

Jacob (whom God renamed Israel) is compared to the stars in the skies (Genesis 26:4). Therefore,

weddings should be held at night so that there will be many children due to these weddings. We had some laughter around this custom.

Although Jesus’ parable does not say whether the wedding mentioned there took place on the third day of

during the week, it was interesting to see that it happened at night.

In the parable, the bridesmaids are expected to await the bridegroom's arrival and greet him

with a procession of light in the darkness. As was the custom, bridesmaids waited either at the bride’s home for the groom to come and fetch her or at the groom’s family’s home where the wedding would

take place. All the maids have lamps. All are waiting with their lamps lit, eagerly expecting the

groom’s appearance.

I experienced a modern version of this custom at Eliyahu’s wedding.

Ayala, Eliyahu’s bride, stayed at her home so Eliyahu could come and fetch her and take her to the synagogue for the wedding ceremony. About 300 meters from Ayala’s house, eight bridesmaids assembled with family and friends from both sides at a friend’s home to wait for the groom to arrive. They were there, ready to form a light procession in the darkness to take Eliyahu to the house to fetch Ayala.

Although there weren’t any oil lamps as in the parable, I remember seeing eight electric lanterns plugged

into a charger as we gathered at Ayala’s friend’s house. From time to time, the guy responsible for