Q&A: Veiling the Bride
Originally published:
This is an English translation (via GPT-5.4). Read the original Hebrew version.
Veiling the Bride
Question
As far as I know, according to some views, the bridal veil is the act of marriage itself, and therefore people are strict to place the veil on the bride. But according to common practice this is done before the betrothal, so how can one perform an act of marriage before betrothal? (And perhaps the question applies to the wedding canopy itself as well, since ostensibly one would have expected the veiling, the canopy, and the seclusion room to be done after the betrothal.)
Answer
I didn’t understand the question. In the time of the Talmud, going out veiled was not marriage but a form of betrothal. At least in places where the custom was that a virgin went out veiled, this was part of the betrothal.
Discussion on Answer
It’s a custom, and its status is that of a custom.
Can one forgo the bridal veil nowadays?