28 Oct 2014
Posted by Aliyah 
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THE CHUPPAH
The chuppah is the canopy under which all Jewish weddings are performed. It is composed of a piece of fabric held up by four poles; the poles are sometimes fixed in place, and sometimes held for the duration of the ceremony by four honored guests.
The chuppah has its roots in Biblical Jewish life. The word is used in the Torah to refer to the tent set aside for the bride and groom to use on their wedding night. The tent was covered with purple cloth, as an indication of its celebratory nature: purple was the color associated with royalty, and newly married couples are often compared to kings and queens in Jewish thought.
“The practice of having a separate tent for the couple was gradually replaced by the use of a symbolic representation of their household during the wedding ceremony – the canopy we are familiar with today.”
As Jews were dispersed through the Diaspora, and began to live in more crowded conditions, newly married couples typically did not have the means to set up independent households when first married, and would most often live with their families. Thus, the practice of having a separate tent for the couple was gradually replaced by the use of a symbolic representation of their household during the wedding ceremony – the canopy we are familiar with today. This canopy was a visible sign that a new household was coming into being with the wedding ceremony. A lovely ancient custom was to plant a tree at the birth of each child: a cedar for son and a cypress for a daughter. When that child grew and the time came for his or her marriage, branches of that tree were used as the four poles of the chuppah used in the wedding.
A lovely ancient custom was to plant a tree at the birth of each child: a cedar for son and a cypress for a daughter.
The configuration of the chuppah – a canopy that is open on all four sides – also derives from the Bible. The Talmud teaches that the chuppah evokes the home of Abraham and Sarah, which was always welcoming to strangers and guests. Abraham and Sarah’s tent, and the chuppah used in a wedding, are both symbols of the importance of the principle of hachnasat orchim, the hosting of guests, in Jewish life. By beginning their married life under a chuppah, a couple symbolically creates a household that is both special to them and a welcoming haven for others.
The chuppah is traditionally considered sacred space. Some strands of Jewish thought hold that God himself dwells wherever a chuppah may be found. It is also often said that a bride has a special connection to God while under her wedding canopy and can intercede with certain requests at this time. In some traditions, therefore, wedding guests will ask the bride to pray for the health or wellbeing of those especially in need of help when under the chuppah.
While any synagogue should be able to provide you with a chuppah, there is a growing custom according to which a couple creates a personalized chuppah to use during their ceremony and keep afterwards as a keepsake. Chuppot are ceremonial objects and as such, fall under the principle of hiddur mitzvah. Hiddur mitzvah is the principle that material objects used in the performance of religious obligations be made beautiful. Some couples design and make their own chuppah, while many others have one made for them by their friends and family. There are no religious prescriptions as to the construction of the chuppah canopy. Iit may be made of any material and set with any pattern that you enjoy and find meaningful. After the wedding the canopy may be hung on the wall or even kept for one’s children.
There is also a longstanding tradition of using a tallit – a traditional prayer shawl – as a chuppah. This custom is especially prevalent in Israel and in Sephardic weddings, which goes back hundreds of years.
