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Why do some grooms wear a white "kittel" under the chupah?

by Rabbi Naftali Silberberg

  

Library » Life Cycle » Marriage » The Wedding | Subscribe | What is RSS?

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Indeed, it is customary in Ashkenazi communities for the groom to wear a kittel during the Chupah ceremony.1 There are several reasons for this custom, the following are two of them:

1. King Solomon says2 "at all times your clothing should be white." This means that one should endeavor to remain pure and not become dirtied and sullied by falling victim to the various temptations of the world. When the groom and bride are getting married they wear white in order to remind them that although they are currently entering the big world -- remember to keep your clothing white and pure!

When the groom and bride are getting married they wear white to remind them that although they are entering the big world - remember to keep your clothing white and pure!
2. A kittel is normally worn on Yom Kippur. Our sages tell us that the wedding day is considered a minor “Yom Kippur” for the bride and groom; all their sins are forgiven.3 The white clothing symbolizes the purity that comes from the absence of sin.

Footnotes

  • 1. It is also customary for the groom to wear an overcoat which covers the kittel.
  • 2. Ecclesiastes 9:8
  • 3. See Rashi Genesis 36:3
TAGS: kittel

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Yom Kippur
Day of Atonement. This late-autumn high-holiday is the holiest day of the year. We devote this day to repentance and all healthy adults are required to fast.
Ashkenazi
(pl. Ashkenazim). A Jew of Northern or Eastern European ancestry.
Solomon
Son of King David, and succeeded him on the throne of Israel in the year 836 BCE. he was the wisest man to ever live. He built the first Holy Temple and authored several books of the Bible.
Chupah
Wedding canopy. Under this canopy, the groom betroths the bride with the customary ring, and the traditional marriage benedictions are recited.
kittel
(Yiddish) A long white garment, normally made of cotton or linen, customarily worn by Ashkenazi married men on Yom Kippur. A kittel is also worn by Ashkenazi men beneath the wedding canopy.