Dressed from the
old shtetl, a very young kallah begins her new life with a special Shabbas
prayer. She asks that she and her chazon (husband) live honorably in Torah
and mitzvot and that the new union be blessed with inspiration, sholem bayis (peace), and
children... that they might share good parnossah (livelihood) without
hunger or strife. Her lit image is in the shape of the candlelight flame
which emphasizes a woman's great spiritual light, reminiscent of a woman's higher spiritual elevation compared to
that of a man's. According to modern Jewish thought, the woman's greater elevation is the significant factor
that has fostered the Jewish family and kept the Jewish nation from
assimilating throughout history.
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