. (General Huppah FAQ
- What makes a huppah a huppah?
- Why do Jewish couples marry under a huppah?
- How old is the practice of using a wedding huppah?
- Huppah, Huppa, Chuppah, Chupa, Khupa — Which spelling is right?
Huppahs.com Huppah FAQ
- Can I order a fabric swatch?
- Do Huppahs.com huppahs contain sha’atnez?
- When will I receive my huppah?
General Huppah FAQ
What makes a huppah a huppah?
The structure of the huppah evokes a tent; specifically, the tent that was the home of Judaism’s first couple, Abraham and Sarah, 5,000 years ago. A huppah has a fabric canopy held aloft by four poles or a frame with four legs. The huppah is open on all four sides, as the tent of Sarah and Abraham is said to have been because of their great hospitality.
Why do Jewish couples marry under a huppah?
The huppah serves as a visible representation of the home, both physical and spiritual, that the bride and groom will share as a married couple. The bride creates their shared spiritual space as she steps under the huppah and circles the groom.
How old is the practice of using a wedding huppah?
Die Trauung, The Wedding, Moritz Oppenheim (1866).
Huppahs became a part of the Jewish wedding ceremony during the Middle Ages in Europe, about the same time and place that men began covering their heads with kippot (yarmulkes). The earliest huppah poles were only a few feet tall. Four young men would hold the poles as they escorted the bride, who walked under the huppah, from her home to the synagogue. The Middle Ages sounds like a long time ago, but when you consider that the history of Judaism goes back 5,000 years, the wedding huppah is a practice that still has a lot of youthful energy.
The painting on the right shows a wedding ceremony in the European medieval Jewish tradition. The bride and groom are marrying outside a synagogue, surrounded by family and community. The couple stand together, with a tallit (prayer shawl) draped over their heads and across their shoulders.
Huppah, Huppa, Chuppah, Chupa, Khupa — Which spelling is right?
All these spellings are correct, and you might even see others. The word originally comes from Hebrew, and the Hebrew alphabet has some letters and sounds that English doesn’t have. Different people substitute English letters for the Hebrew letters in different ways. We like the spelling “huppahs” because the English sounds in “huppahs” are closest to the Hebrew pronunciation than the English sounds of other spellings, like “chuppahs” or “khupas.” We also like huppahs because it is the spelling used in our favorite Jewish wedding planning book, The New Jewish Wedding
Interested in a more detailed discussion? Buckle up and read on:
This is how the word huppah looks in Hebrew:
The first letter: Het. The first letter is the letter on the far right (Hebrew is written right to left, unlike English, which is written left to right). This letter, called het, makes a sound that doesn’t exist in English. It’s a kind of raspy, rolling h sound that you make with the back of your tongue against the roof of your mouth. If you’re not a native Hebrew speaker it can take some practice. If you haven’t heard a Hebrew speaker pronounce it, the sound is difficult to get just from a written explanation.
In prayer books, the het “h” is often shown with a dot underneath it, as in our logo for Huppahs.com:
Second letter: Vav. The second letter from the right, vav, can make three different sounds depending on the word. It can sound like the English v, or the long vowel sound o, but in “huppahs” it makes a sound like the English u.
Third letter: Peh. This letter sounds like the English p. When our word is written in English, it is most often written with two p’s, although you’ll sometimes see it with one p.
Last letter: Hay. In our word, the letter hay has a soft “ah” sound which some people write with an ah and some people write with just an a.
We hope we’ve explained all this in a way that makes sense. Now, the difference between making nouns plural in English and Hebrew is a whole other can of worms. If you’re interested, send us an email (maria@huppahs.com) and we’ll send you additional information.
General Huppah FAQ
Can I order a fabric swatch?
Absolutely. We want you to be confident about purchasing or renting your huppah. The price for a swatch, including shipping and handling, is $5.00, which we’ll apply toward the purchase price or rental cost of your huppah. To request a fabric swatch, contact us by email (customer-service@huppahs.com).
Do Huppahs.com huppahs contain sha’atnez?
At Huppahs.com, none of our huppahs contain either wool or linen. (Sha’atnez, if you’re not familiar with the term, refers to any fabric that contains both wool and linen fibers. The Torah forbids the wearing of clothing that contains sha’atnez, and some people carry this restriction into huppahs.) We are pleased to provide fabric swatches for your testing. The price for a swatch, including shipping and handling, is $5.00, which will be applied toward the purchase price or rental cost of your huppah. To request a fabric swatch for testing, contact us by email (customer-service@huppahs.com).
When will I receive my huppah?
Purchased huppahs: All of our huppahs are made by hand to order, and you will receive your huppah within three weeks from the day you place your order. If you need your huppah more quickly than three weeks, we recommend that your consider renting a huppah.
Huppah rentals: Our rental stock is ready to ship within 24 hours after you place your order. Our general shipping time is three days. Faster shipping will require an additional shipping charge. The rental huppahs are hand made to the same quality standards as our huppahs that are made for purchase. Your choice of style might be limited by the styles that we have available at the time of your wedding or the time you place your order. For the best selection, we recommend that you contact us as soon as you know the date and place of your wedding. Contact us calling 301-300-0950 or use the short Take a look at our online rental form.
Huppahs that Have Already Been Shipped: Track your shipment at UPS.com. Use the tracking number that you received in your shipment confirmation email from Huppahs.com.
You might also like:
Feel free to post this article on your website. We only ask that you include a note giving the source as Huppahs.com and linking the article to the Huppahs.com homepage (http://www.huppahs.com). We would also appreciate you sending us an email telling us that you are posting the article. We might in turn link to your website.
