Rabbi Dr. Sharon Shalom, the founder and director of the International Center for the Study of Ethiopian Jewry at Ono Academic College, recently wrote an article in the “Shabbaton” newspaper, entitled “Between Breaking the Glass and the Meaning of Tradition: Custom, Culture, and Theology.”

In this article, Rabbi Shalom reflects on a question that seems small but touches deep issues in Jewish life: who may break the glass under the wedding canopy, and what that act truly means. He begins with a rabbinic response that rejects change simply because “this is not the custom,” and he argues that such answers avoid the real question. The issue, he explains, is not habit or comfort, but whether any true Jewish rule or core value is being violated.

Rabbi Shalom stresses the great power of tradition. Judaism, he writes, is not only a legal system but also a living web of memory, symbols, and shared identity. Still, he warns that repeating “we do not change customs” can block honest thinking. To respect tradition fully, one must ask where a custom comes from and why it matters.

Turning to history, he shows that breaking the glass at a wedding is not as ancient as many believe. While the Talmud speaks about limiting excess joy, the clear link between breaking a glass and remembering the destruction of the Temple appears much later. Scholars also suggest that the act itself may come from older European culture, later given a Jewish meaning. This leads Rabbi Shalom to highlight a key idea: the difference between the source of a custom and the meaning later attached to it.

This point becomes clearer through Ethiopian Jewish tradition, where breaking a glass at a wedding is forbidden. It is seen as a foreign act, tied to loss of control and non-Jewish practice. Ethiopian spiritual leaders, the kessim, approach such questions with care and responsibility, deciding what to preserve and what to release.

Rabbi Shalom concludes that the wider Jewish world has much to learn from this thoughtful, humble balance between faithfulness to tradition and honesty toward changing reality.

The original article in Hebrew can be read here: https://shabaton1.co.il/?p=44668