Take 2, add 10, to gain 7 blessings
7 Brachos [blessings]
The nesuin part of the wedding
ceremony takes place after the kethuba is read. A minyan [quorum
of ten] must be present for the recitation of the sheva brachos [the seven
blessings]. The Biblical source for this appears in Megillas Ruth.
Boaz publicizes his marriage to Ruth by gathering ten men (4:2). The blessings
begin with a blessing on a cup of wine, which is separate from the cup used as
part of the order of the birchas erusin [blessings on betrothal].
These blessing resonate with significance
inherent in the number seven. There are, of course, seven days to the week,
which culminate in the Sabbath. The cup of wine is passed to
groom and bride after the conclusion of all seven blessings, so that they may
each sip from it.
Reciting the blessings is considered an honor. While one person may be designated to recite all of them, they are usually distributed among six different people. The one who recites the blessing on the wine also recites the blessing that follows it, shehakol bara lichvodo [who created all things for His glory], so that there are six parts in all.
The third blessing is yotzer ha’adam [creator of man]. The fourth blessing is a longer version of that begins asher yatzar es ha’adam betzalmo [who created man in His image].
The fifth
blessing evokes the rejoicing of the barren land when its children are gathered
back to Zion in the future,sos tasis vethagel ha’akara, bekibutz baneyha
lethocha besimcha. Rabbi Kaplan points out inMade in Heaven: A Jewish
Wedding Guide, (Moznaim Publishing, 1983 p. 193) that this blessing
precedes the blessing of joy for the couple in keeping with the principle of “na’ale
es Yeushalyim as rosh simchasi” [I will place Jerusalem on top of my
joy] (Psalms: 137:6) which is also evoked by breaking a glass at the
culmination of the nesuin.
The sixth blessing is sameach tisamach
reyim ahuvim, kesamchecha yetzircha began eden midedem and concludes, mesameach
chasson vekallah [May you gladden these beloved friends as You
gladdened the work of Your hands in the Garden of Eden long ago . . . the One
who gladdens the groom and bride. The seventh is the longest and is sometimes
sung. It is the one that juxtaposes the happiness of the wedding celebration
with the rejoicing of brides and grooms to be heard in the cities of Judah.
After all the blessings are recited, and the bride and groom have sipped from the cup of wine, a glass is broken to remind us that we are not completely joyful in while our Temple remains in a state of churban [destruction].
As people have become accustomed to taking the sound of stomping on the glass to signal the culmination of the wedding ceremony, they usually shout out “Mazel tov!” right after hearing it. Consequently, some people have taken to singing “Im eshkachech Yerushalayim tishkach yemini” [If I forget you, Jerusalem, let my right hand be forgotten (from Tehillim [Psalms] 137) to remind the assembled of what the broken glass is intended to signify. Some frown on the addition to the traditional ceremony and so will refrain from singing. In any case, it is proper to pause between the sound of the breaking glass and the shouts of congratulations to mark that one is a memorial and the other a celebration.
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