page_title: Veil
section_title: Judaism
hierarchical_section_title: Veil / Bridal veils / Judaism
caption_attribution_description: Orthodox Jewish wedding with chupah in Vienna's first district, close to Judengasse.
context_page_description: A veil is an article of clothing or hanging cloth that is intended to cover some part of the head or face, or an object of some significance. Veiling has a long history in European, Asian, and African societies. The practice has been prominent in different forms in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. The practice of veiling is especially associated with women and sacred objects, though in some cultures it is men rather than women who are expected to wear a veil. Besides its enduring religious significance, veiling continues to play a role in some modern secular contexts, such as wedding customs.
context_section_description: In Judaism, the tradition of the bride wearing a veil during the wedding ceremony dates back to biblical times. According to the Torah in Genesis 24:65, Isaac is brought Rebekah to marry by his father Abraham's servant, and Rebekah took her veil and covered herself when Isaac was approaching.
  In a traditional Jewish wedding, just before the ceremony, the badeken takes place, at which the groom places the veil over the bride's face, and either he or the officiating rabbi gives her a blessing. The veil stays on her face until just before the end of the wedding ceremony – when they are legally married according to Jewish law – then the groom helps lift the veil off her face. The most often cited interpretation for the badeken is that, according to Genesis 29, when Jacob went to marry Rachel, his father-in-law Laban tricked him into marrying Leah, Rachel's older and homelier sister.
  Many say that the veiling ceremony takes place to make sure that the groom is marrying the right bride. Some say that as the groom places the veil over his bride, he makes an implicit promise to clothe and protect her. Finally, by covering her face, the groom recognizes that he is marrying the bride for her inner beauty; while looks will fade with time, his love will be everlasting. In some ultra-orthodox communities, it is a custom for the bride to wear an opaque veil as she is escorted to the groom. This is said to show her complete willingness to enter into the marriage and her absolute trust that she is marrying the right man.
  In ancient Judaism, the lifting of the veil took place just prior to the consummation of the marriage in sexual union. The uncovering or unveiling that takes place in the wedding ceremony is a symbol of what will take place in the marriage bed. Just as the two become one through their words spoken in wedding vows, so these words are a sign of the physical oneness that they will consummate later on.  The lifting of the veil is a symbol and anticipation of this.
caption: An Orthodox Jewish wedding in Vienna, where the bride is wearing a traditional veil
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