Traditional Jewish weddings are graced with a number of pre-ceremony events – Bedeken (Badeken) being just one.

Bedeken , which translates as veiling, is the grooms act of veiling his bride immediately before the ceremony.

There are two explanations of the tradition.

1.  This custom is based on the Biblical story where Jacob – who intends to wed Rachel – actually weds Rachel’s sister Leah.  He was tricked because she had a veil over her head.  To avoid mistakes, Modern Jewish Grooms come to the Bride after his Tish (another pre-ceremony celebration) to place an opaque veil over her head.  He does this just to make sure – just one more time -that he is marrying the correct woman.

2.  The veil represents modesty and conveys the lesson that no matter how attractive the Bride – beauty fades and the soul and the character remain paramount.  The veiling symbolizes the Grooms responsibility to clothe and protect his wife.

The Bedeken ceremony is traditionally public, but can also take place at a private location if it suits the Bride and groom.

Whatever the origins, the ceremony is beautiful and meaningful for the entire family.

Happy planning!

Thanks to Thomas Graves for this beautiful photograph

Tags: Ethnic Wedding traditions, Wedding Inspiration, Wedding traditions

This entry was posted on Thursday, March 25th, 2010 at 5:26 am and is filed under Blog. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.