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Chuppah



A Chuppah (Hebrew word, plural: chuppot) is a canopy traditionally used in Jewish weddings. It consists of a cloth or sheet — sometimes a tallit ("prayer shawl") — stretched or supported over four poles, and is sometimes carried by attendants to the location where the ceremony will take place. It is meant to symbolize the home which the couple will build together.

The word Chuppah originally appears in the Hebrew Bible (Joel 2:16 "let the bridegroom go forth from his chamber and the bride out of her retreat [chuppah]"; Psalm 19:5 "which comes out like a bridegroom from his wedding canopy [chuppah]"). The Chuppah represents a Jewish home symbolized by the cloth canopy and the four poles. Just as a Chuppah is open on all four sides, so was the tent of Abraham open for hospitality. Thus, the Chuppah represents hospitality to one's guests. This "home" is also initially devoid of furniture as a reminder that the basis of a Jewish home is the people within it, not the possessions.

Historically, in Talmudic times, Jewish weddings in the past comprised two separate parts. The first of which was the betrothal ceremony. The second part was the actual wedding ceremony. These two ceremonies usually took place about a year apart. The bride lived with her parents until the actual marriage ceremony, which would take place in a room or tent that the groom had set up for her. Later in history, the two ceremonies were combined and the marriage ceremony started to be performed publicly. At this new ceremony, the Chuppah, or the portable marriage canopy, was included as a symbol of the chamber within which marriages originally took place.

In a spiritual sense, the covering of the Chuppah represents the presence of God over the covenant of marriage. As a man's Kipa (skull cap) served as a reminder of the Creator above all, so the Chuppah was erected to signify that the ceremony and institution of marriage has divine origins.

Before going under the Chuppah the groom covers the bride's face with a veil. There are opinions that the Chuppah means covering the bride's face, and that by this covering the couple is getting married. This opinion is based on the Verse: "Then she took her veil and covered herself" (Genesis 24:65) in which Rebecca meets Isaac. Some are strict to make sure that the witnesses will see the covering, for them to actually be considered as witnessing the marriage.