thumb|1902 postcard showing a badkhn addressing a bride at a Jewish wedding

A badchen or badkhn (, pronounced and sometimes written batkhn) is a type of Ashkenazic Jewish professional wedding entertainer, poet, sacred clown, and master of ceremonies originating in Eastern Europe, with a history dating back to at least the sixteenth or seventeenth century. The badkhn was an indispensable part of the traditional Jewish wedding in Europe who guided the bride and groom through the stages of the ceremony, acted as master of ceremonies, and sang to the bride, groom and in-laws with the accompaniment of klezmer musicians. They also had a traditional role on holidays such as Hanukkah or Purim. Today they are primarily found in Hasidic communities.

History

thumb|left|A 1903 postcard showing a badkhn addressing a wedding

There is a long history of entertainers at Jewish weddings dating back to the Talmudic era. The traditional role of the Eastern European badkhn evolved from older Medieval and Early Modern Jewish wedding entertainers, such as the lets () or marshelik (, sometimes written marshalik), taking on a recognizable new form in seventeenth century Poland. (Some sources may use the terms badkhn, lets and marshelik interchangeably, whereas others treat them as distinct.) The earlier type of marshelik guided the ceremonies of the wedding in a more serious manner, but the badkhn turned the role into that a of a religiously-informed, moralistic comedian. In this role they also drew on Yiddish Minstrels and Maggids who had been traveling entertainers in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. The tradition spread across Jewish Eastern Europe and seems to have reached its height of popularity during the nineteenth century. Some modern cultural critics in the early Twentieth century even disdained their art form, such as Saul M. Ginsburg and Pesach Marek who called the badkhn a "mere mood manipulator at weddings" who "richly deserved the low status accorded to him in society". Judah Leib Cahan said that their arcane humor contributed to the "dry atmosphere" of petit-bourgeois Jewish life. In this new context, the role of the badkhn is more limited than it traditionally was in Europe, and is often performed alongside a single keyboardist rather than a klezmer orchestra. Some badkhns also worked as klezmer musicians in other contexts, and hereditary families of both professions often intermarried. He would also direct the ceremonies and organize the collection of money at various stages of the wedding. It was also possible for a particularly rich wedding to hire multiple badkhns. A further procession would take place later in the morning to the place where the wedding was to take place. and Yoel Lebowits.

Various forms of modern Jewish entertainment which arose in the Nineteenth century were created by former badkhns, or drew on aspects of the tradition, including Yiddish song, Yiddish poetry, Yiddish Theatre, and Broderzingers. Satirical Yiddish songs of the late Nineteenth century also drew on the tradition of the badkhn, especially in their use and parody of liturgical music, and many pioneering Yiddish-language recording artists of the early Twentieth century were former badkhns, including Solomon Smulewitz and Frank Seiden. Julius Guttman, Molly Picon, H. I. Reissmann, and the aforementioned Seiden and Smulewitz. Later the traditions of Jewish comedy and vaudeville in the Borscht Belt also drew on aspects of the badkhn's performances. The group Budowitz, in their attempt to recreate a Nineteenth century Jewish wedding sound, also included badkhn-style performances on their albums Mother Tongue (1997) and Wedding without a Bride (2000).

References

  • YIVO Encyclopedia article "Badkhonim"