“Many of the Minhagim books tell how the dignitaries of the community would accompany the bridegroom on the wedding day, greeting and welcoming the bride, and placing a veil over her face.

The custom was known as the Badecken, i.e. covering the face, of the bride (…). Its origin is ascribed to the biblical story about Rebecca. When she saw Isaac for the first time, “she took the veil and covered herself” (Gen. 24:65). The covering of the bride with a veil is also mentioned in the Mishnah (Ket. 2:1)…

A number of interpretations of the custom have been proposed:

1. It is an indication of modesty and piety (…).

2. It serves to distinguish the virtues of Jewish womanhood; the bride’s beauty is reserved for her husband.

3. It reminds us of the first woman to be betrothed to a man of Jewish birth (…).
(Isaac Klein, A Guide to Jewish Religious Practice, 401)

These attempts at grounding the custom in the description of the meeting of Rebecca and Isaac in parashat Hayei Sara, inherently interpret the biblical text in accordance with their understanding of the custom. Professor Eliezer Schweid presents a different understanding of Rebecca’s conduct:

“When she saw before her ‘the man’ at ‘the spring’ gazing upon her from his camel, she knew that she was being called to fulfill her destiny.  But ‘that man walking in the field’…was not the man she had imagined as the son of Abraham represented by ‘the servant’. Her alighting from the camel so as not to be higher than her intended husband, who stood before her on two feet, and veiling her face could be interpreted as expressions of modesty and acceptance, when viewed from the outside, but internally they are expressions of deep disappointment and of a decision to assume the leadership of her household in accordance with her destiny” (Eliezer Schweid, The Philosophy of the Bible as a Cultural Foundation in Israel (Hebrew), 125 (2004)).

Professors Avigdor Shinan and Yair Zakovitch take yet another approach to Rebecca’s veiling:

“Rebecca covers herself with a veil when she sees her future husband. Covering with a veil appears in only one other instance in the Bible, in the story of Tamar who disguises herself as a prostitute so that her father-in-law, Judah, will not recognize her, and will lie with her by the roadside (Genesis 38:14). Here, too, the Sages sensed a connection between two stories: ‘Two covered themselves with veils and gave birth to twins’ (Genesis Rabba 60:15). In general, many folk myths view the birth of twins as a result of adultery” (Avigdor Shinan & Yair Zakovitch, That’s Not What the Good Book Says, (Hebrew) 216 (2004). The authors suggest three possible approaches to this tradition that casts suspicion upon the conduct of Rebecca and Eliezer on their trip back from Haran: “(A) It is an external, non-Jewish tradition rooted in a desire to ridicule the holy texts of the Jews and the nation’s founders; (B) It is a Jewish tradition that develops the biblical story in accordance with its special approaches to reading, and with the thematic words to be found in it (…); (C) It is, in one form or another, an ancient folk tradition that, for obvious reasons, was rejected by the Torah, which provided an alternative tradition.”

1. How can we square the traditional association of badecken with the veiling of Rebecca, in light of the clear connection to the story of Tamar? Was this connection deemed unimportant in Jewish tradition, or did the tradition not view the story of Tamar in a negative light?

2. Each of the above approaches is based upon a close reading of the biblical text. What is the textual basis for Schweid’s “psychological” approach? Is this interpretation consistent with the biblical description of Rebecca’s character?

3. As Shinan and Zakovitch show, the language and imagery of the biblical text hint at a connection between Rebecca and Tamar. Biblical language and narrative devices also clearly point to a connection between Rebecca and Abraham. Is there a common denominator? What do these linguistic and stylistic hints tell us about the complexity of Rebecca’s character, and about her role and destiny?