Under the watchful eyes of their loved ones, 10 couples accompanied by 10 separate Rabbis bunched together under the traditional chuppah.

Each bride and groom signed a Ketubot (marriage contract), each witness added his signature and the performance of Kiddushin (lit. sanctification), the final, if somewhat delayed step in joining of man and wife took place.

Although all the participants had been married years ago in civil ceremonies in the Soviet Union, none had ever taken part in the traditional Jewish ceremony of marriage.

"At first some were skeptical and thought they were involved in some kind of a charade", explained Rabbi Mordechai Kanelsky, Director of the Bris Avraham Center in Hillside, NJ. "As the preparations commenced and the couples saw the invitations and what we had planned, they realized we meant a real Jewish wedding -- we meant business!"

Rabbi Kanelsky established the Bris Avraham center 15 years ago to offer Jews, mainly immigrants from the former Soviet Union, kosher circumcisions and kosher weddings.

The past week's ceremony was complete with a meal, music and dancing and gifts for the "newlyweds."

"Although the couples have been together for a long time, they were troubled by a sense that something is not complete, because all they had was a secular ceremony," said Rabbi Kanelsky. "The Jewish ceremony is one of the most beautiful experiences in the world and its excitement can revive the interest in Judaism within these families."