Jewish Weddings: The Chuppa
Everyone knows that at a Jewish wedding, the chuppa is technically the canopy under which the bride and groom get married. Join Rabbi Dr. Stuart Fischman as he explores the different parts of the chuppa ceremony in halacha and minhag.
Jewish Weddings: The Chuppa: The Jewish Wedding
Hello Everyone
Welcome to this series of five sessions titled “The Jewish Weddings: The Chuppah.”
Jewish weddings are joyous affairs which celebrate the creation of a family.
The Jewish wedding itself is a Halachic process (the contemplation and study of which is perhaps not very romantic) and it is these Halachot that we will study together.
I hope that this study will be interesting and that we will understand how the bond between the woman and the man is created.
If anyone has any questions or suggestions for this series of meetings please contact me at <[email protected]>
Thank you
Stuart Fischman
Jewish Weddings: The Chuppa: The Jewish Wedding
Hello Everyone,
Here is my plan for today’s second discussion of the chuppah we will start with a summary of the definitions of “chuppah” as presented in the Aruch haShulchan.
Next we wiךך see the opinions if witnesses need to be present when the “chuppah” (however we define it) takes place.
Finally we will begin a study of ברכת אירוסין and see the various views of the Rishonim and how they understood it.
I hope you enjoy the class.
Stuart Fischman
Jewish Weddings: The Chuppa: The Jewish Wedding
Hello Everyone,
In our discussion of the חופה we have seen that in various communities and in various times different versions of the חופה arose.
Today we will see a more recent development. The question of having a “wedding” (both אירוסין and חופה /נישואין) in the synagogue was discussed by the Poskim. Interestingly having a wedding in the synagogue was taken for granted in 14th century Germany, then it fell out of favor , and then the Reform movement resurrected it in the 19th century.
So today we will study this change in practice.
Jewish Weddings: The Chuppa: The Jewish Wedding
Hello Everyone,
Today we will study one of the most famous teshuvot of Rav Moshe Feinstein zt”l. It is the teshuvah regarding the giving of a ring by the bride to the groom at the wedding.
This teshuvah teaches important ideas not only about the wedding but how changes are accepted ( or not) in our practices.
Jewish Weddings: The Chuppa: The Jewish Wedding
Hello Everyone,
Today’s subject is fictitious weddings. There are two types of fictitious weddings. One type is the joke wedding. A boy gives a girl a ring and says הרי את מקודשת לי כדת משה ושיראל. This happens in schoolyards many times. A second type of fictitious wedding is the wedding that is entered into in order to obtain some sort of benefit. Usually the sought after benefit is citizenship in the country of the fictitious spouse.
The salient point which the Poskim take very seriously is that the act of executing a marriage is not taken lightly. Claims such as “I was kidding,” “We were kidding,” or “We really didn’t mean it” are not automatically accepted in the Halacha when the subject is marriage. Marriage is in this respect different from other areas of contract law ( and the marriage is a sort of contract between the man and woman).
Today we will see how the Poskim ruled in various cases of fictitious marriage.
Rabbi Dr. Stuart Fischman graduated from Yeshiva University in 1980 and the dental school of Columbia University in 1985. In 1989 he began studying and teaching at Yeshivat Hamivtar and now studies and teaches at Yeshivat Machanaim in Efrat. He has rabbinic ordination from Rav Zalman Nechemia Goldberg.