Attend a Jewish wedding and meet the couples online

Never met them?

No problem. Now you can -- thanks to your computer and the Jewish superhighway.

But before we get to their chuppahs, some background about Jewish marriage. There are several excellent overviews of the customs and traditions leading from engagement through the wedding day. Visit Ohr Somayach's Jewish Wedding Ceremony at http://www.virtual.co.il/education/education/ ohr/judaism/articles/wedding.htm. In addition, check out the Shaarey Zedek Wedding Guide from the Conservative congregation in Southfield, Mich., at http://www.shaareyzedek.org/gwedding.htm and the Chabad Wedding Guide at gopher:// gopher.chabad.org:70/11/guide/wedding.

Groom Joel Snyder and bride Leslie Salba found themselves under a chuppah. But the couple walked away -- single. Actually Joel and Leslie never did intend to get married.

They were participating in a ceremony under the auspices of several Detroit rabbis and hundreds of teens who came to watch the "wedding" and gain an understanding of Jewish marriage traditions. You can read a full report on the simcha in the Detroit News at http://detnews.com/menu/stories/27419.htm.

I also recommend Eliezer Segal series of thought-provoking articles at http://www.acs.ucalgary.ca/~elsegal/Shokel/Weddings_Index.html. In another article, Segal documents the story of one of the most famous kallahs cap-tured in art, Rembrandt's "The Jewish Bride" (1666). It's at http://www.artchive.com/artchive/R/rembrandt/jewish_bride.jpg.html.

The painting shows a plump young lady, seated alongside her stylishly dressed husband and hangs in Amsterdam's National Museum.

Siegel unravels the fascinating tale of the two and says some art historians question whether the couple who sat for the painting really were Jewish -- or even married. In fact, some call the painting "The Loving Couple." However, others believe the husband was leading a double life, saying he was a Converso, descended from the Jews who left Spain during the Inquisition.

In Brussels, where he was forbidden to return to Judaism, he was a Christian, known as Captain Miguel de Barrios. While in Amsterdam, he was David Levi de Barrios. He settled there and married his love, Abigail de Pina, who was descended from a prominent Moroccan rabbinic family. For more on their tumultuous lives, I recommend Segal's article.

Rembrandt's couple aren't the only two Jewish lovers who have decided to put their faces on the Web. Several couples have decided to share their special moments with anyone who cares to click in. You can peak in on the ceremonies of Caroline Westbrook and Leslie Bunder at http://www.bunder.com/wedding/index.htm, Sandra and Andrew Cohen at http://gnv.fdt.net/~sandrew/wedding/wed.html and Russell Rothstein and Deborah Fass at http://rpcp.mit.edu:80/~rir/wedding.html.

Get to know the newlyweds as you look in on everything from shots of the invitation, the ring, photos of the ceremony, the dancing, the meal and even a honeymoon diary.

Tzvi Nussbaum has also shared photos of his wedding at http://www.wynn.com/jewish/wedding.html. You can take a glimpse at the very traditional ceremony during which the bride wears a traditional veil covering her face under the chuppah. However, we are never told the name of Tzvi's bride.

So all the best to Caroline and Leslie, Russell and Deborah, and Larry and Sherrie. And to everyone else planning their wedding both on the Jewish superhighway or the more conventional route, mazel tov!