The
following article is reprinted with the kind permission of the author, Barbara P. Billauer
So,
you’re getting married. Mazal Tov!
You, like
your mother and grandmother and her mother and grandmother before her, will be married under a Chuppah – the
marriage canopy which represents the Jewish Home, open on all sides as was the
tent of Avraham, a sign the Jewish home is always open to visitors and
travelers. But the Jewish wedding ceremony wasn’t always like that. In biblical
times, the marriage was consecrated in the house of the groom and the tent
stood for what it was, the home:
Bereishis
Pereck 24
67 And Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah's tent, and took
Rebekah, and she became his wife; and he loved her. And Isaac was comforted
for his mother. {P}
|
סז וַיְבִאֶהָ יִצְחָק,
הָאֹהֱלָה שָרָה
אִמּוֹ,
וַיִקַח אֶת רִבְקָה וַתְהִי לוֹ
- -
לְאִשָה,
וַיֶאֱהָבֶהָ; וַיִנָחֵם יִצְחָק,
אַחֲרֵי אִמּוֹ.
{פ}
|
The first
actual reference to the word Chuppah comes from Tehilim 19:5
6 Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and
rejoiceth as a strong man to run his course.
|
ו וְהוּא - -כְחָתָן, יֹצֵא מֵחֻפָתוֹ;
יָשִיש כְגִבּוֹר, לרוּץ אֹרַח.
|
In the
time of David HaMelech, the term Chuppah represented the premises of the groom,
where the bride would ultimately sojourn. Later, it appears that the word
refers to the abode of the bride, which she would leave to begin her new life
with her husband:
Joel
2:16: "Let the bridegroom emerge from his chamber [chedro],
and the bride from her chuppah.")
16 Gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the
elders, gather the children, and those that suck the breasts; let the
bridegroom go forth from his chamber, and the bride out of her pavilion.
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טז אִסְפוּ עָם קַדְשׁוּ קָהָל,
-
קִבְצוּ זְקֵנִים - -אִסְפוּ --
עוֹלָלִים,
וְיֹנְקֵי שָׁדָיִם: יֵצֵא
חָתָן מֵחֶדְרוֹ, וְכַלָה מֵחֻפָתָהּ.
|
By the
time of the Talmud, the word Chuppah was used to mean the room where the marriage was
consecrated. But we also find reference to the canopy as a symbol of the
marriage rite in Gittin 57a, (Talmud Bavli) :"It was the custom when a boy
was born to plant a cedar tree and when a girl was born to plant a pine tree,
and when they married, the tree was cut down and a canopy made of the
branches".
The Medrash also relates that Mt. Sinai was held over the heads of Bnei Yisroel at the time of Mattan Torah. Like “a chuppah” of a bride and groom, HKBH was consecrated to his bride, B’nei Yisraoel. The Rosh held that in the days of the Talmud the decorated hand-carried coach that transported the bride to her wedding served as the Chuppah.
The Medrash also relates that Mt. Sinai was held over the heads of Bnei Yisroel at the time of Mattan Torah. Like “a chuppah” of a bride and groom, HKBH was consecrated to his bride, B’nei Yisraoel. The Rosh held that in the days of the Talmud the decorated hand-carried coach that transported the bride to her wedding served as the Chuppah.
By the
early Middle Ages customs varied from community to community. In some communities, the Chuppah
referred to the veil of the bride. In others, couples were married under a
tallit, or the robe of the groom spread over the couple, or a cloth draped over
them (as you can see in the illustration below). Only in the 16th century do we begin to see the
Chuppah in a form we would recognize today.
Wedding, Nuremburg, 15th Cent. Without a
Chuppah
but with musical accompaniment.
but with musical accompaniment.
The
tapestry or cloth canopy that we know today as a Chuppah was first
identified by Rabbi Moses Issereles (Rema) in the sixteenth century, but
the earliest illustration I could find dates to 1695.
Wood cut of a wedding in Amsterdam, 1695
R’
Isserles notes (before he composed his commentary to the Shulchan Aruch) that the portable marriage canopy was widely adopted by
Ashkenazi Jews as a symbol of the chamber within which marriages originally
took place. Other
scholars believe that the form originated from the weddings of the Catholic
Church (see Joseph Gutman, The Jewish Life Cycle, p.16). It appears more
likely that the Chuppah (and the Catholic adaptation of the concept, as well)
derived from the concept of the bride and groom considered as King and Queen.
It is just too coincidental that the Chuppah almost exactly resembles the Monarchial design of the Baldachin.
The word
Baldachin derives from Baldac, a Medieval Latin term for Bagdad, from where
fine silks and tapestries were transported to Europe. Merriam Webster
defines Baldachin as: 1) a cloth canopy fixed or carried over an important person
or a sacred object, 2) a rich embroidered fabric of silk and gold, or 3)
an ornamental structure resembling a canopy used especially over an altar.
Its use signified the elite status of the individual it covered.
The Solemn Entrance of Emperor Charles V,
Francis I of France, and of Alessandro Cardinal Farnese into Paris in 1540. By Zuccari
The first
baldachins were used as bed canopies, although the idea of a “Canopy of State”
which accompanied the regent, dates back to the Egyptian times and
Neo-Assyrians in Athens. By the late 5th century the parasol of the ‘elite’
women filled the same role.
“The Dream of St Ursula” by Carpaccio, c.
1500 (from “Baronial Bedrooms” by Barbara Billauer Bailey) (Notice how similar
the scalloped edges on the canopy are to the chuppah in the woodcut seen
earlier.)
Over the
years baldachins became more elaborate and their uses expanded. These canopies
were made of anything from muslin to heavy brocade. Transportable ones were
constructed of less flexible materials, and supported by poles, whether affixed
to a carriage, or carried by people walking on each side. By the mid 1800’s the
baldachins had become spectacular structures, commanding awe that might have
even surpassed that lavished on the Kings and Queens they were supposed to
grace.
The Bedroom of the tragic Maxmillian and
Carlotta in Miramare (from “Baronial Bedrooms” by Barbara Billauer Bailey) Max
and Carlotta abandoned this incredible room so he could go to Mexico and be
Emperor. There he was killed and Carlotta went insane. (She had a really nice
bedroom though – just not as grand as this.)
Baldachins
were later placed over thrones and carried over the monarchs. As the
monarchs themselves became more mobile, the travelling baldachin came into use (as you saw
previously). We find these on route to war, or in processions such as royal
entrances, coronations and funerals.
Wedding, Germany, 19th Cent. under Tallit
and hand-held Chuppah.
The Couple wear wedding belts.
The Couple wear wedding belts.
So, how
did I come to know so much about Baldachins?
It all
started when my husband told me our bedroom resembled a palace. Nice Yeshiva
girl that I am, I had no idea what he was talking about. Especially since our room was decorated using smoke, mirrors, paper and cardboard (I kid you not about the last three items).
So, I started researching what palatial bedrooms looked like. And I found they were all the same. Then how come they all look so different? – you ask. Much of it was just a matter of the colors and textures they chose (it’s amazing how much) and a couple of other ‘tricks’ that can be easily and cheaply copied.
I learned so much about bedrooms (and baldachins) that I decided to write a book which was just published, "Baronial Bedrooms: The Kama Sutra of Grand Design". In it I share both what I learned (it’s amazing what you find out about Kings and Queens when you limit your searches to "bedrooms") and the techniques I used to copy the ‘Beauty of the Baronial Bedroom” on bubkes. You can order this paperback on Amazon.
So, I started researching what palatial bedrooms looked like. And I found they were all the same. Then how come they all look so different? – you ask. Much of it was just a matter of the colors and textures they chose (it’s amazing how much) and a couple of other ‘tricks’ that can be easily and cheaply copied.
I learned so much about bedrooms (and baldachins) that I decided to write a book which was just published, "Baronial Bedrooms: The Kama Sutra of Grand Design". In it I share both what I learned (it’s amazing what you find out about Kings and Queens when you limit your searches to "bedrooms") and the techniques I used to copy the ‘Beauty of the Baronial Bedroom” on bubkes. You can order this paperback on Amazon.
Barbara Pfeffer Billauer
(Bailey) is a lawyer, science-educator, historical researcher and popular
Torah-teacher. She is a research Professor at The Institute of World Politics
by vocation and a designer by avocation. She lives in Zichron Yaakov where she
is giving Shiurim and researching an upcoming book on Aaron Aaronsohn and a
children’s book on Dona Gracia HaNasi.
Her design history and how-to
book, “Baronial Bedrooms” can be ordered from Amazon.com or from Westphalia
press. It will be available on Kindle shortly.
All pictures reprinted with the
permission of Barbara P Billauer
Copyright
Barbara P Billauer 2013
