Broken Glass to Heal a Broken Heart
At the very end of the marriage ceremony, the last thing a Jewish bride and groom do before becoming husband and wife is shatter a glass.
The common explanation of this custom is to bring to mind the exile and destruction of the Temple even at the very height of one’s joy.
And perhaps there is something deeper as well. Perhaps the last message the fledgling couple is being sent is:
Your marriage, your commitment to each other, is strong enough to contain brokenness.
It can hold the brokenness WITHIN you and the brokenness and pain BETWEEN you when you cannot find one another.
If you allow, not only can it hold it, it can heal it as well.
And that may be why you are getting married in the first place.
