Satmar Rebbe Condemns Extravagant Chupahs: “As the Shaitel Grows Longer, So Does the Orchestra”
A fiery rebuke against the growing trend of elaborate chupahs echoed this week from the Satmar Rebbe, Rav Aharon Teitelbaum, who launched what he called a battle to restore the traditional kedushah of the chuppah.
Speaking before 1,500 bochurim at the opening of the new zeman in Kiryas Yoel, the Rebbe decried the transformation of weddings into performances, saying that the chuppah has turned from a holy event into a show.
“What has happened to the chuppahs in America?” the Rebbe asked emotionally. “This is something terrible that has taken root in America. The chuppahs have become a kind of show and celebration. A chuppah is something important and sacred, yet people bring in orchestras and singers and pay huge amounts of money for it.”
The Rebbe noted that at weddings in previous generations—such as those held by the Divrei Chaim of Sanz—there was a sense of awe and trembling. “People stood under the chuppah with fear and reverence,” he said. “The chassidim didn’t dare lift their eyes. They didn’t talk or laugh. Today, I see someone sitting under the chuppah smoking a cigarette! How can one smoke at a chuppah? One must stand there with awe and trembling. I am shaken by what I see!”
The Rebbe emphasized that the American influence has changed the tone of chasunos, leading to excess and spectacle. “There is terrible hefkeirus,” he lamented. “As the sheitel grows longer, so does the orchestra. The larger the wig, the bigger the celebration. They think they need to sing more and more songs for the chosson and kallah. The length of the chuppah festivities matches the length of the sheitel.”
He reminded his listeners that a chuppah should resemble Yom Kippur for the chosson and kallah, who fast that day and approach it with solemnity and humility. “This is not a time for parties or celebrations,” he said. “These American customs have crept into our community, and they do not belong here. We must return to the way chuppahs were once held—with simplicity, holiness, and yiras Shamayim.”
In a gesture just days earlier, the Rebbe was seen at a wedding in the United States approaching well-known singers Chaim Horowitz and Meilech Braunstein, instructing them to adhere strictly to tradition and sing only the time-honored “Mi Von Si’ach” at chuppahs.
Concluding his remarks, the Rebbe delivered a heartfelt appeal: “I am calling from here to all musicians and singers—stop these chuppah celebrations. There is no need for singing and dancing under the chuppah. I want chuppahs the way they used to be—Jewish and holy chuppahs, not the kind that follow the customs of America.”
{Matzav.com}
