Chuppah

The Chuppah is the wedding canopy that the Jewish Bride and Groom stand under during the wedding ceremony. (Other spellings are chuppa, chupah, hoopa, huppa, huppah, and choopah.)
It is customary to have a Tallit (four-cornered garment that every Jewish man is commanded to wera daily) spread over the bride and groom during the chuppah ceremony.

Under the chuppah, the Rabbi makes a blessing over wine, the groom places the wedding ring on the bride's pointer finger, the Ketubah is read out loud, seven wedding blessings are recited, and the groom breaks a glass cup.

The chuppah should be held up by four poles. The chuppah canopy should be made out of cloth; one can even use the Tallit to be the canopy. Some have th tradition that the male Jewish singles hold up the Tallit, and that this will bring them their rightful shidduch (soulmate) promptly. There is also the custom to have the chuppah ceremony outside and under the stars, to suggest that the newly-wed couple should become plentiful like the stars.

As we mentioned, the Chuppah reminds us of the events on Mount Sinai whn th Jewish people received the Torah from G-d. Even though the Jewish nation accepted the Torah wholeheartedly, G-d insisted that they also keep the Torah out of fear, as well as out of love. This was done by lifting the mountain over their heads and stating that if the Jewish nation does not accept the Torah, the mountain will be dropped on them.

So too, one must enter the wedding covenant with immense love and also a sense of fear. Not a fear of what's coming, but rather a sense of reverence for the honliness of the aspect of marriage. Marriage is what keeps the world afloat and in harmony. All of nature is an amzing marriage and balance of different creatures and objects all working in harmony even though they are very different.

A man and woman are extremely different in their intrinsic nature. Therefore, much care, love, and reverence must be present in order for there to be harmony. If the couple only interact with each other when they are in a state of immense love, then there is a problem. They must understand that no matter what the situation, they must work together to build harmony. This is a life-long task and can be done if they have the right mindframe.

The chuppah represents that we must build harmony from all sides of our life, from all four directions of the world's winds, and we must be enclosed in our beautiful sanctuary called "marriage" no matter what happens.