A comprehensive new book delineating the wide range of customs, ceremonies, traditions and practices that have become part of the Jewish heritage for nearly four thousand years. This is a sensitive, insightful, carefully-researched look at Judaism's most important rite of passage. David C. Gross has spent many years - along with his co-author and wife - assembling material that will throw new light on the vast, complex world of Jewish marriages. Among the topics covered are marriage in biblical, medieval, and modern times; the legal aspects of the wedding ceremony; and selected marriage-focused Jewish legends and folktales - with a special emphasis on the closing years of the twentieth century in America.