Glossary

The entries selection comes from the book “Dictionary of Judaica” (2005), which was written by a group of authors led by Eva Kosáková . Entries were further processed by Jaroslav Kuntoš, Dana Veselská, Olga Sixtová, Michaela Scheibová and Lenka Uličná. The book can be purchased at our e-shop.

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Wedding canopy (Heb. huppah)

A large rectangular textile, sometimes with four valances along the sides, which is raised about the heads of the bride and groom during the wedding ceremony. This is a reminder of the biblical tent into which the bride was taken (Gen. 24:65–67). It is supported by four poles and usually carried by four single men during the ceremony. An important and irreplaceable part of the wedding ceremony, the canopy represents the future home of the newlyweds. The Hebrew term huppah sometimes refers to the ceremony itself. The wedding canopy is often adorned with the embroidered text of the biblical quotation, “the voice of joy, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride” (Jer 7:34, 33:11), the words Mazal Tov (good luck) or general symbols of marriage (e.g. a wreath, joined hands). Blue canopies with dozens of little stars embroidered along the bottom sides – in reference to the biblical verse “I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven” (Gen. 22:17) – are rare. In the past, the dedication of a new Torah scroll was celebrated by carrying the scroll under a wedding canopy to the synagogue in a procession with music and dance.

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