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A chuppah at the Sixth & I Synagogue in Washington D.C.

Orthodox Jewish wedding with chuppah in Vienna's first district, close to Judengasse, 2007.

A chuppah (Hebrew: חוּפָּה‎, pl. חוּפּוֹת, chuppot, literally, "canopy" or "covering"), also huppah, chupah, or chuppa, is a canopy under which a Jewish couple stand during their wedding ceremony. It consists of a cloth or sheet, sometimes a tallit, stretched or supported over four poles, or sometimes manually held up by attendants to the ceremony. A chuppah symbolizes the home that the couple will build together. While a Jewish marriage is still considered valid in the absence of a chuppah,^{[citation needed]} a chuppah is still considered a basic requirement for a Jewish wedding.

In a more general sense, chupah refers to the method by which nesuin, the second stage of a Jewish marriage, is accomplished. According to some opinions, it is accomplished by the couple standing under the canopy; however, there are other views.^[1][2]

Customs[link]

A traditional chuppah, especially within Orthodox Judaism, recommends that there be open sky exactly above the chuppah.^[3] If the wedding ceremony is held indoors in a hall, sometimes a special opening is built to be opened during the ceremony. Many Hasidim prefer to conduct the entire ceremony outdoors.

History and legal aspects[link]

The word chuppah originally appears in the Hebrew Bible (e.g., Joel 2:16; Psalms 19:5). Abraham P. Bloch states that the connection between the term chuppah and the wedding ceremony 'can be traced to the Bible'; however, 'the physical appearance of the chuppah and its religious significance have undergone many changes since then.^[4]

In biblical times, a couple consummated their marriage in a room.^[5] In Talmudic times, the room where the marriage was consummated was called the chuppah.^[6]

Jewish weddings consist of two separate parts: the betrothal ceremony, known as erusin or kiddushin, and the actual wedding ceremony, known as nisuin. The first ceremony (the betrothal, which is today accomplished when the groom gives a wedding ring to the bride) prohibits the bride to all other men and cannot be dissolved without a religious divorce (get). The second ceremony permits the bride to her husband. Originally, the two ceremonies usually took place separately.^[1] After the initial betrothal, the bride lived with her parents until the day the actual marriage ceremony arrived; the wedding ceremony would then take place in a room or tent that the groom had set up for her. After the ceremony the bride and groom would spend an hour together in an ordinary room, and then the bride would enter the chuppah and, after gaining her permission, the groom would join her.^[6]

In the Middle Ages these two stages were increasingly combined into a single ceremony (which, from the sixteenth-century, became the 'all but universal Jewish custom'^[7]) and the chuppah lost its original meaning, with various other customs replacing it.^[7] Indeed, in post-talmudic times the use of the chuppa chamber ceased;^[6] the custom that became most common instead was to 'perform the whole combined ceremony under a canopy, to which the term Chuppah was then applied, and to regard the bride's entry under the canopy as a symbol of the consummation of the marriage'.^[8] The canopy 'created the semblance of a room'.^[6]

There are legal varying opinions as to how the chuppah ceremony is to be performed today. Major opinions include standing under the canopy, and secluding the couple together in a room (yichud)^[1]. The bethothal and chuppah ceremonies are separated by the reading of the ketubah.^[9]

This chuppah ceremony is connected to the seven blessings which are recited over a cup of wine at the conclusion of the ceremony (birchat nisuin or sheva brachot).

There were for centuries regional differences in what constituted a 'huppah.' Sperber notes that for many communities prior to the 16th Century, the huppah consisted of a veil worn by the bride. In others, it was a cloth spread over the shoulders of the bride and groom (The Jewish Lifecycle, pp. 194-264). Numerous illustrations of Jewish weddings in medieval Europe, North Africa and Italy show no evidence of a huppah as it is known today. Isserles notes that the portable marriage canopy was widely adopted by Ashkenazi Jews as a symbol of the chamber within which marriages originally took place, in the generation before he composed his commentary to the Shulchan Aruch.

Symbolism[link]

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" initially lacks furniture as a reminder that the basis of a Jewish home is the people within it, not the possessions. In a spiritual sense, the covering of the chuppah represents the presence of God over the covenant of marriage. As the kippah served as a reminder of the Creator above all, (also a symbol of separation from God), so the chuppah was erected to signify that the ceremony and institution of marriage has divine origins.^{[citation needed]}

Before going under the chuppah the groom covers the bride's face with a veil, known as the badeken (in Yiddish) or hinuma (in Hebrew). The origin of this tradition is in the dispute of what exactly is the chuppah. There are opinions that the chuppah means covering the bride's face, and that by this covering the couple is to be married. Thus, some insist that the marriage witnesses also see this act of covering, as it is a formal part of the wedding.

The groom enters the chuppah first to represent his ownership of the home on behalf of the couple. When the bride then enters the chuppah it is as though the groom is providing her with shelter or clothing, and he thus publicly demonstrates his new responsibilities toward her.^[10]

Modern trends[link]

A chuppah can be made of any material. Silk or quilted chuppot are increasingly common, and can often be customized or personalized to suit the couple's unique interests and occupations.^[11]

See also[link]

• Jewish view of marriage
• Niddah at marriage

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Abraham P. Bloch, The Biblical and historical background of Jewish customs and ceremonies (KTAV Publishing House, Inc., 1980 ISBN 978-0-87068-658-0)
• Isaac Klein, A guide to Jewish religious practice (KTAV Publishing House, Inc., 1979 ISBN 978-0-87334-004-5)
• Rabbi John Rayner, Guide to Jewish Marriage (London: 1975)

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This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (August 2010)

Rabbi Aaron Teitelbaum (born October 1947) is one of two Grand Rebbes of Satmar, and the chief rabbi of the Satmar community in Kiryas Joel, New York. He is the elder son of Grand Rabbi Moshe Teitelbaum, the late Satmar Rebbe of Williamsburg, Brooklyn, who was the nephew of the late Satmar Rebbe, Grand Rabbi Joel Teitelbaum, who founded the village of Kiryas Joel in the town of Monroe, New York. Rabbi Teitelbaum is the son-in-law of Grand Rabbi Moshe Yehoshua Hager, the Viznitzer Rebbe of Bnei Brak, Israel.

Background[link]

Rabbi Aaron Teitelbaum has written a number of scholarly commentaries on the Torah and Talmud. Over fifteen volumes of his teachings have been published. Rabbi Aaron was appointed as the chief rabbi of the Satmar congregation in Kiryas Joel in 1984. Prior to that he was the rabbi of Atzei Chaim of Siget Synagogue on Hewes Street in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, NY.

His followers point out that since 1980, when his father was named successor to Rabbi Joel Teitelbaum, Aaron has become the most prominent Satmar voice against Zionism both at community events as well as at anti-Zionist street demonstrations in New York and Washington DC. His famous anti-Zionist addresses include a speech delivered in Bnei Brak in the summer of 1994 where he specifically articulated the Satmar position against speaking Modern Hebrew. His father also mentioned that Aaron’s family ties to Agudat Israel, meaning his father-in-law's participation in it, would not weaken his anti-Zionist stand.

Presently, Rabbi Teitelbaum has control of the main Satmar synagogues in Kiryas Joel. In Williamsburg his main centers of operation are the great Satmar synagogue on 14 Hooper Street and the Sigeter synagogue on Hewes Street, his father's first home in America and his own home after his father moved to Boro Park. He is the official leader of 10 other synagogues in Williamsburg; the main Satmar shul in Boro Park and its branches; the main Satmar shul in London and its branches; the main Satmar shul in Bnei Brak and its branches; the Satmar shul in Jerusalem named after the work authored by his late father, Beirach Moshe.

Satmar succession feud[link]

Grand Rabbi Aaron Teitelbaum on the Jewish festival of Hannukkah in front of the menorah

In 1999, a major turn of events transpired in Satmar with respect to the future succession of the late Rebbe, Grand Rabbi Moshe Teitelbaum. The - until then unthinkable - idea of splitting up the dynasty into two separate sects, started to circulate and gain momentum.

Up to 1999, the wide perception within the community was that after the death of Rabbi Moshe, Satmar would remain one united sect under one rebbe, presumably Rabbi Aaron, since he is the eldest son and a prominent Talmudic scholar, and being the leader of Kiryas Joel, he held the highest post in Satmar, besides his father. There was no real talk about any other candidate besides Aaron.

On about May 1999, it was announced that Rabbi Moshe decided to change course completely and place his third son, Rabbi Zalman Teitelbaum, as the local leader of the Williamsburg congregation, a new position that never existed.

The then leaders of Satmar, which mainly supported Aaron, and always fought for the unity, pride and power of Satmar, were devastated and in shock. They have always been the most loyal and closest allies of Rabbi Moshe, and believed that is not the real true wish of the Rebbe. Aaron supporters in Williamsburg were stripped of their positions. The supporters of Aaron scrambled to reverse it; initially they attempted for about a year to settle it at a Beth Din, but disagreements as to which Jewish tribunal is qualified to judge this case, stalled it. Then secular court litigation ensued,^[1] but the court declined to render a decision.^[2][3][4]

See also[link]

Biography portal

• Satmar (Hasidic dynasty)
• Hasidic Judaism
• Haredi Judaism

References[link]

External links[link]

• A Seudah Shlishit service on the Shabbat evening led by Grand Rabbi Teitelbaum at Google Videos (Adobe Flash video)
• Lag B'Omer Celebrations in 2006 led by Rabbi Aaron Teitelbaum at Google Videos (Adobe Flash video)
• Shushan Purim Celebrations in 2007 led by Rabbi Aaron Teitelbaum at Google Videos (Adobe Flash video)
• Video clips of Rabbi Aaron Teitelbaum