Living Torah Archives

Rabbi Shmuel Lew recalls that his father-in-law, Zalman Jaffe, tried every angle he could in an effort to convince the Rebbe to officiate at his daughter’s wedding, a practice that the Rebbe had ceased several years earlier. (1963)

At Mount Sinai, Moses and Aaron served as "marriage ushers," escorting G-d and the Jewish People to one another to unite in an eternal covenant. Chassidic teaching explains that Moses represented the "masculine" Divine force, and Aaron, the "feminine" Divine force - so from this derives the custom for a man and a woman to escort bride and groom to the Chupah.

When G-d and the Jewish People were "married" at Mount Sinai, there were two "marriage ushers": Moses and Aaron. In commemoration of this, at a Jewish wedding two ushers escort bride and groom to one another. But there is a surprising regulation that demands explanation: a pregnant woman may not serve as marriage usher.