Marriage Lessons Inside The 7 Blessings At A Jewish Wedding

[Music] I was at a wedding the other day and I overheard one guest asked the other, "What exactly are the rabbi saying under the" And he responded, "Well, they're making the chevraas, the seven blessings for the bride and groom." And he's right, but that's not the entire picture because the Talmud doesn't refer to those blessings as the Talmud actually calls them blessings of the groom. Why are they called blessings of the groom? Because in addition to being seven blessings, they're also seven tips for marriage we want the bride and groom to focus on. The first blessing is blessed are you Lord our God who created everything for his own honor. Now what does that have to do with the wedding and how is it possibly a tool for a marriage? The Torah teaches us that first blessing is in honor of all of the guests who came from far and near to bring joy and honor to the bride and groom. And we know that the first wedding in the Torah was between Adam and Eve. And who was the honored guest? none other than God himself, who as it were came from the heavens, fought traffic, found a place to park, and stayed the entire time. The Talmud uses the term shushin to refer to a person who brings honor to the bride and groom by participating in the wedding. The idea of being a shushin, a special guest at a wedding, actually answers a famous question. Let's say a great rabbi comes to a wedding and the caterer is nowhere to be found. Is the great rabbi allowed to act as the caterer? Can he serve the fish, take away the chicken, pour the wine? Good question. The answer is of course he can because a wedding, it's not like other events. It's impossible for anyone, even a great rabbi, to damage his own honor. On the contrary, if God brought honor to the first couple by participating in their wedding, then there's nothing more honorable than doing whatever a person can to make a bride and groom happy. Even a great rabbi acting as a caterer. How is this a lesson to the bride and groom? It's simple. As we make the blessing, we whisper in their ears. During your marriage, there'll be many times you don't want to help. You may not want to take out the trash or change the diapers. You are certainly not going to want to keep quiet when your in-laws come to visit. But a marriage, it's not like other relationships. When you do something for your spouse, it's not a burden. It's not beneath your dignity. On the contrary, it brings you honor. It brings honor to you, your spouse, your marriage, and most importantly, to God, who created everything for his own honor.