Weddings
Jewish weddings were celebrated in strict compliance with Talmudic regulations. The successful negotiations between the two families about the dowry and the support of the young couple were followed by the engagement. Rabbi Isserlein explained the legal differences between engagement and marriage, and stressed that the ceremony held under the Chuppah, the wedding canopy, is the actual moment of the religious marriage. The engagement was performed by "Kinyan Sudar", a simple ceremony with a cloth. On this occasion the day of the wedding was fixed and the mutual financial obligations of bride and bridegroom were fixed. During the engagement period, the bridegroom sent presents to the bride. On Shabbat before the wedding a special party in honor of the bridegroom was held, which was called "Vorspiel" in Austria. Usually the marriage ceremony was held shortly before the Shabbat, probably to save expense and to have the wedding meal and the Shabbat meal together. The women liked to dance and sometimes non-Jewish musicians played at weddings.