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Husband and Wife

The Wedding

The rejoicing at a wedding is of great significance. It is a mitzva to bring joy to a bride and groom, who on their wedding day are likened to a king and queen.

The Sages taught: One should interrupt Torah study to attend the removal of a corpse, to attend a funeral, and to attend the entry of a bride to the wedding feast.

Anyone who partakes in the wedding feast of a groom but does not cause him to rejoice contravenes the five voices [kolot] written in the context of a wedding celebration, as it is stated: “The sound of gladness and the sound of joy, the sound of a groom and the sound of a bride, the sound of those who say: Give thanks to the Lord of hosts” (Jeremiah 33:11).

What is his reward if he causes the groom to rejoice? Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi says: He is privileged to acquire the Torah, which was given with five sounds [kolot]…Rabbi Abbahu said: Causing a groom to rejoice is as though one offered a thanks offering in the Temple…Rav Nahman bar Yitzhak said: It is as though he rebuilt one of Jerusalem’s ruins.

A groom is like a king: Just as a king does not venture out into the marketplace alone, so too a groom does not venture out into the marketplace alone. Just as a king wears splendid vestments, so too does a groom wear splendid vestments all seven days of rejoicing following the wedding. Just as everyone praises a king, so too do they praise a groom. Just as the face of a king shines like the light of the sun, so too does the face of a groom shine like the light of the sun. (Ketubot 17a; Berakhot 6b; Pirkei deRabbi Eliezer 16)