An Exploration of Sephardic & Ashkenazi Wedding Customs through Ladino & Yiddish Folk Songs

This link opens a well-researched article by Batya Fonda exploring what can be learned about traditional Sephardic and Ashkenazi weddings from Ladino and Yiddish folk songs. After summarizing the Jewish marriage ceremony, the author presents songs and customs from both traditions, explaining their origins and providing relevant videos. Just one of the many songs in this article, the featured video presents The Barry Sisters, popular American Klezmer/Jazz entertainers from the mid 20th century, singing “Der Nayer Sher,” a Yiddish song by Abraham Ellstein describing the ecstatic joy of a wedding dance, despite persecution. Fonda, an educator and singer, uses Jewish folk songs as a way to explore the vast world of Jewish customs, folklore, history and texts, as well as their relationship to the surrounding culture.