*Release date:*
January 31, 2008
*Contact:*
Maria Goldrich
Huppahs.com LLC
maria@huppahs.com
"Green" Huppahs for Jewish Weddings
Jewish couples planning green weddings can now marry under a canopy made
of one hundred percent environmentally-conscious organic cotton.
Huppahs.com launched its new website with a line of organic cotton
Jewish wedding canopies and wedding accessories on January 28. "Huppahs"
is the term for Jewish wedding canopies.
"So many couples are planning weddings that express their commitment to
enlightened environmental management," said Huppahs.com designer Maria
Goldrich, "We wanted them to be able to carry that commitment through to
their huppah, the central symbol of the Jewish wedding ceremony."
The huppah is a canopy under which the bride and groom stand during the
Jewish wedding ceremony. It is held up by four poles and has four open
sides. The huppah recalls the tent of Judaism's Biblical patriarch and
matriarch, Abraham and Sarah.
"The huppah represents the couple's physical and spiritual home,"
explains Goldrich. "The traditional huppah ceremony begins with the
bride circling the groom under the huppah, thereby creating the
spiritual space in which the couple will live together."
"Environmental stewardship has always been a part of Judaism," said
Goldrich. "For example, the laws set out in the Torah require Jewish
farmers to leave land fallow every seventh year to regenerate. Jewish
law also prohibits destroying fruit trees during war. Ancient Jewish
sages taught that this law creates a more general ban against wasting.
Thousands of years ago, that meant not burning oil for light longer than
needed. Today, of course, it means turning off electric lights when they
are not being used and taking other steps to eliminate wasting
resources," Goldrich said.
"In keeping with good environmental practice, it was important to us to
create a huppah whose productive life would last for years beyond the
wedding ceremony," Goldrich said. "We gave the canopy a high-quality
finish that would look great even up close so that the bride and groom
could use it as a tablecloth on special occasions -- or any occasion.
It's a great way to bring the joy of your wedding day into your new life
together."
The company calls its line of organic wedding accessories "Nature's
Canopy". A Nature's Canopy huppah can be embroidered with a bouquet of
lavender designed by Hebrew calligrapher and artist Alisa Schreier, and
it can be personalized with initials of the bride and groom in Hebrew or
English.
The items can be ordered online at the company's website,
www.huppahs.com .
###
