Mickella's Marriage

Mickella Ross doesn’t consider religion to be a major part of her life. Judaism, however, will have an impact on perhaps the most important moment in her life – her marriage.

Ross, a senior, recently got engaged, and her fiancé is South African. This by itself does not present a problem for Ross. However, if the wedding takes place in South Africa, it will be in an Orthodox temple, with full Jewish rules and traditions in effect. Ross considers herself Reformed.

“I believe that people should have the freedom to do what they please,” she said. “I don’t think that your life should be controlled by religion.”

Should her wedding follow Orthodox Jewish tradition, Ross and the bridesmaids would be covered from head to toe, among other religious rituals. The defiant Ross, a self-proclaimed “bacon cheeseburger-eating Jew,” said she was having none of that.

“I did get into a slight battle over how my wedding was going to be here in the States,” she said. “There was a great debate. No one winner, but there was some negotiation.”

As to the extent of the compromise, Ross wouldn’t elaborate. But she did say she and her husband to be would honor some Jewish traditions and practices, even well into the future.

“Both of us are extremely reformed,” she said. “But I do see us continuing with the traditions of following [Jewish] high holidays.”