Why do they put the ring on the index finger in Jewish weddings?

The reason that the index finger on the right hand is used is that we believe that for anything sacred or holy, the right hand should be used, the right side of the body should take precedence etc. The giving of a ring by the groom to the bride is essentially seen as a form of acquisition for holy purposes- thus the ring, symbolic of the purchase, is given via the right side. The index finger is used as when performing a mitzvah, one should hurry to do so and to complete it as quickly as possible- since the index finger is longer it can be put on that much quicker!

In an Orthodox marriage- the woman NEVER gives a ring during the ceremony; doing so would invalidate the marriage and mean that no marriage had taken place. After the wedding she may give her husband a ring, but it is never done as part of the ceremony.

When do most women move the ring? Once the chuppah (wedding canopy) has been held, the marriage has been witnessed and many move it then- this is usually practical as often the ring will not fit on the index finger as it has been sized to the ring finger.

Note; As a matter of interest: giving the ring, which side, which finger etc are all customs and are not actually needed for a wedding. The Talmud in mascheta Kiddushin in the first Mishnah (statement of the oral law) states that you can get married in three ways

1) Through a document (nowadays we represent this with the Ketuvah being read at the ceremony)

2) Through a gift of value (the exact value is argued- we follow the ruling of Beis Hillel which would equate to around a dollar)- the ring in the modern ceremony

3) Through having sex- a specific statement of intent has to be made to witnesses prior to the act- they have to observe the couple enter a private area and to remian alone there long enoiugh for them to have consumated their marriage. This last method is frowned on and while it creates a valid marriage, the man receives lashes for using such a demeaning method to marry his wife.

Even with the first two methods, a formal, public ceremony is not needed- a declaration of the intent to get married followed by the giving of a gift of sufficient value in front of two Kosher witnesses creates a wedding; as would signing a document in front of witnesses or a declaration of cohabitation for marriage in front of witnesses

edit: seeing the article by a Conservative rabbi on aboutjudaism.com- it is actually depressing that liberal Judaism has moved so far from the Halachah. what he describes in exchanging rings would not even qualify as a marriage in the Torah!

Index Finger Rings

When Jewish men marry, they place the ring on the index finger of the right hand. After, most women move it to the customary "ring finger" of the left hand.

The reason goes back to the time of the Talmud and the differences in beliefs at that time about which finger is closer or more direct to the heart! Christianity taught the ring finger; Judaism taught the index finger. Of course the heart is essentially in the middle anyway.

In most traditional Jewish ceremonies, the bride does not give a ring to her groom nor does she make a statement as does the groom to the bride. This is because of the ancient legal essence of the wedding or marriage ceremony, from a Jewish point of view. It wasn't a sacrament as much as a public statement of responsibility.

However, today most brides want to give a ring to the groom and most grooms are willing to wear a ring. In this case, the bride also puts the ring on the groom's index finger and afterwards the groom would make the same "shift" to the "other" finger.

Pointer Finger Rings

The rings usually get moved to the "right" finger directly following the Chuppah. The exact moment when the ring is placed on the index finger of the bride during the ceremony is when the groom says the following line: "With this ring, you are hereby sanctified to me according to the law of Moses and Israel" This moment represents the minute when the two souls, that of the bride and that of the groom, become one.