A Jewish wedding is two ceremonies that were once a year apart, merged: kiddushin, betrothal, and nisuin, marriage. The ketubah is signed beforehand by two witnesses who must be observant and unrelated to either party, written in Aramaic, and read aloud under the canopy — it is a financial instrument, specifying what the husband owes his wife in maintenance and what she receives if he dies or divorces her, and it was a genuine protection when it was written. The groom veils the bride, which is read against Jacob and Leah. Under the chuppah the bride circles the groom seven times in Ashkenazi practice; he gives her a plain unbroken ring of his own and says eleven Hebrew words consecrating her to him according to the law of Moses and Israel; the seven blessings are recited, and a glass is broken underfoot for Jerusalem. Then yichud, a room alone, which is the legal act of completing the marriage. The Mizrahi and Yemenite henna night beforehand is a full second celebration with its own costume, music and food, and has been enthusiastically adopted by Ashkenazi Israelis who have no ancestral claim to it. The system's weakness is the exit: the marriage is created by the man's act and can only be ended by his act, which is where the agunah problem comes from.