Titles awarded to the recipients of two special honors on the Simḥat Torah festival (coinciding in Israel with Shemini Atseret), when the annual reading of the Pentateuch is concluded and the cycle begins anew. During the early Middle Ages, it was apparently the custom for one man to chant the final section of Deuteronomy and the opening section of Genesis from the same scroll. By the 12th century, however, this practice had changed: the readings were now divided, two scrolls were employed, and the original "Bridegroom of the Law" (ḥatan Torah) was joined by a "Bridegroom of Genesis" (ḥatan Bereshit). One "bridegroom" continues to read both passages in the Yemenite tradition. According to standard practice, Deuteronomy 33:27-34:12 is the reading prescribed for the Bridegroom of the Law and Genesis 1:1-2:3 is the one reserved for the Bridegroom of Genesis. Both honors are now usually allocated on the basis of piety and learning, seniority, or services to the congregation. At one time, the first honor was the rabbi's prerogative and the second that of a warden (Parnas or Gabbai). In Western Sephardi congregations, voting formerly took place each year to choose the recipients; both Sephardi and Eastern Jews once gave preference to an actual bridegroom---a congregant who had married during the past year. The reader chants elaborate introductory piyyutim when each of the two "bridegrooms" is summoned to the Law on the morning of Simḥat Torah. With textual variations, these Ashkenazi as well as Sephardi-Eastern poems emphasize the privileges inherent in each title and the blessings accompanying their bestowal.
Customs dating from the Middle Ages include handsome donations to charity by the two "bridegrooms" and their throwing candy to children in synagogue. In Eastern Jewish communities the process was reversed, sweets being scattered over the "bridegrooms" as they went up to and left the reading platform. In Sephardi congregations, the two "bridegrooms" are often seated in special chairs of honor under a canopy. Deputies were sometimes appointed to receive additional, minor honors, one of which (universal among Ashkenazim) involves to this day the spreading of a large woollen prayer shawl (tallit) as a canopy over the heads of all small children present ("kol ha-ne'arim"), who then repeat the Torah blessings in unison. To keep the revelry within bounds, "for the sake of decorum," strict communal regulations once had to be enforced in certain Western congregations. It was a widespread custom to escort both "bridegrooms" to and from the synagogue in torchlight processions on Simḥat Torah eve, sometimes to the accompaniment of salvoes. Nowadays, a festive Kiddush or more elaborate meal (Se'Udah) is usually tendered by the Bridegrooms, all worshipers being invited to partake after the services. In some congregations (e.g., in Italy) the wives of the Bridegrooms of the Law were called "Brides of the Law" (Kallot Torah) and were also honored. In contemporary Reform and Egalitarian communities, women, also known as Kallot Torah, may be honored with the special readings on Simḥat Torah.
In many Conservative congregations, it is the practice for the wives of the Bridegrooms to accompany their husbands as they are called to the Torah reading.
