Tena'im
The conditions
Tena'im is the traditional version of engagement: a written contract (the 'conditions' of the upcoming wedding), blessings, the future mothers-in-law breaking a plate together. More solemn than a modern engagement party, more religiously binding. Tov handles the invitation, the RSVP, and Hebrew for traditional guests.
Why Tov for a Tena'im
Tradition
preserved
Perfect Hebrew
Tena'im is a ceremony where Hebrew is central — the contract text, blessings, sometimes Mazel Tov sung in Hebrew. The Tov invitation detects each guest's language and shows Hebrew correctly (RTL, Frank Ruhl Libre).
Intimate format
A Tena'im typically gathers 40-80 people: close family from both sides, the officiating rabbi, witnesses, intimate friends. Smaller than a wedding, more solemn than a modern engagement.
Precise timing
Tena'im typically happens 3-6 months before the wedding. Tov lets you specify the exact timing (day, exact hour, expected duration), critical for guests planning their travel.
Questions about Tena'im
Your questions,
our answers.
Are Tena'im required?
No — it's more a custom (minhag) than a strict halachic requirement. Many Sephardic families do them, many Ashkenazi families do them in a simplified form, many liberal families skip them entirely. Up to you and your rabbi.
Why break a plate?
Symbolically, the break represents the irrevocable commitment — a broken plate doesn't reassemble. The two mothers (sometimes the engaged couple themselves) break a porcelain plate together. The shards are sometimes kept as a memento.
Who signs the Tena'im contract?
Both engaged partners + two male witnesses (per orthodox tradition). The contract specifies the 'conditions' of the upcoming wedding: date, location, symbolic dowry. More religiously binding than a modern engagement.
How long before the wedding?
Tradition: 3 to 6 months before the wedding. Close enough that the wedding is the logical continuation, far enough that the two events don't blur together.
Mazal tov on the engagement
Announce your Tena'im
now.
Sober, traditional, Hebrew included. 3 minutes, free.