hachnosas kallah

Pronunciations

hachnosas kallah (hach-NO-sas KOH-lah) listen

Definitions

  • n. Charitable support for poor young women to get married; the mitzvah of providing a bride and groom with what they need to marry.

  • n. A gathering of the bride and female guests before the wedding ceremony.

Example Sentences

  • "Good evening. I've come for hachnasat kala for girls in Israel." (Glinert)

  • "The entire membership of the society hakhnose kale [aid for indigent brides], with whom Shimen Yankev prayed, was invited to celebrate the event." (source)

  • "What do you do with a $5,000 Carolina Herrera wedding dress after you’ve gotten divorced? Do you donate it to the local hachnasat kallah for a Jewish bride in need?" (source)

  • "At the very beginning of a traditional wedding there is the Kabbalat Panim, Hachnasat Kallah and the Chosen’s Tish which are all intimate chances to see and speak to the bride and groom and celebrate in these traditional ways." (source)

Languages of Origin

  • Textual Hebrew
  • Yiddish

Etymology

  • הַכְנָסַת כַּלָּה, lit. 'bringing in the bride' > Y הכנסת־כּלה hakhnoses-kale

    • Who Uses This

      • Orthodox: Jews who identify as Orthodox and observe halacha (Jewish law)
      • Organizations: People involved in a professional or volunteer capacity with Jewish nonprofit organizations
      • Religious: Jews who are engaged in religious observance and have some Jewish education

      Regions

      • North America
      • South Africa

      Dictionaries

      • The Joys of Hebrew, by Lewis Glinert (New York, 1992).
      • The JPS Dictionary of Jewish Words, by Joyce Eisenberg and Ellen Scolnic, (Philadelphia, 2001).

      Alternative Spellings

      hachnasat kala, hachnasas kallah, hachnasat kallah, hakhnoses kale, hakhnoseh kale, hakhnose kale, hachnoseh kale, hachnose kale, hakhnasat kallah, hakhnasat kalla, hakhnasat kalah, hakhnasat kala, hachnasat kallah, hachnasat kalla, hachnasat kalah, hachnasat kala

Notes

  • "[At a hakhnasat kallah, f]riends will greet and bless the bride, who is seated in a special chair, and may sing and dance around her. At the same time, the groom and his guests will be gathered for the chossen’s tish." (JPS)

Edit     Something missing from this entry? Inaccurate? Feel free to suggest an edit.