Sheva Berachos

The time between the Three Weeks and the Yamim Noraim is a popular time to schedule weddings

May Panim Chadashot Leave Sheva Berachot Early?

Do Panim Chadashot have to stay until Birkat Hamazon?

Sheva Berachot Every Day of Sheva Berachot?

Is it necessary, proper, or at least recommended to have a sheva berachot celebration every day of the week of Sheva Berachot?

Stories from the Mikveh

Translated by Hillel Fendel

Two small stories on how keeping the family purity Halachos come with devotion.

A Layman's Guide to Marriage

I was told that I should not include quotations from pesukim on my daughter’s wedding invitation. Yet, I see that ‘everyone’ does! Could you please explain the halacha? "I wish someone could walk me through all the halachic steps that we need in planning our daughter's wedding. I am afraid I'll forget to take care of something.

Is It a Jewish Custom to Wear White at a Wedding?

How Can I Improve My Spouse?

Translated by Hillel Fendel

My husband comes from an anti-religious family, and it took me a long time to help him overcome the obstacles and agree to build a traditional home. Unfortunately, I have still not been able to convince him to wear tefillin. Do you have an idea how I can help him to want to do so?

An Intimate Conversation

Is there any problem with having an intimate conversation with a woman who isn't your wife? Does it harm the connection with one's wife? Based on an article by rabbi Yoni Lavi.

When Compassion & Holiness Come to a Head

Translated by Hillel Fendel

Two issues have surfaced recently. Public calls have been made, to allow occasional light physical contact between spouses during the period of niddah, and to officially accept same-sex couples into our communities. How does the Torah instruct us to deal with them?

the Book of Complaints

My wife and I labored long and hard over the invitation list and over the seating arrangements for the wedding dinner. We invested a great deal of effort and energy in trying to make sure that, to the best of our ability, everyone would be satisfied, and no one would be unduly disappointed.

A Tale of Two Weddings

Partial Participation in a Wedding

If one does not have enough time to take part in a whole wedding, is it better to come for the Chupa or for the meal?

Fasting on the Wedding Day

Do the Chatan and Kalla Need to Eat at Sheva Berachot?

Must the chatan and kalla eat (bread) at Sheva Berachot (upper case for the week and the meal; lower case for the berachot recited) in order to recite the berachot? (Sometimes one does not feel well and eats little or nothing.)

Is Your Kesubah Kosher?

Filling in a Copy of the Ketuba Late

A mistake was made in filling out my ketuba and the identical copy for the certifying beit din. We had a spare ketuba but not an additional one to use as a copy. Now, several days after my wedding, can I ask the witnesses to sign a copy with the same information, including the date of the wedding? (The mesader kiddushin and witnesses are talmidei chachamim but not poskim, and they encouraged me to ask this shayla.)

A Woman who Relinquished Rights to her Ketuba

Sarah relinquished her rights (mechila) to her ketuba in order to encourage her husband, Reuven, to give her a get. Now she wants to back out of this step. Perhaps we should say that simple oral mechila without a kinyan is not effective when the creditor (i.e., the wife) still has a document (i.e., the ketuba) that states that the debtor owes her money.

Memories of Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu zt”l

Heaven and Earth

(or How to Mix the Wine)

Our Rabbis teach us that when the couple stands under the chuppah, all their sins are forgotten. The custom to fast on the day preceding the wedding, and to recite the vidui (confession) prayer indicate the parallel between a wedding and Yom Kippur. In the mixing of the two cups of wine, that of Birkat Hamazon and that of the blessings for the couple, we see another parallel, this time to the sacrificial service of Yom Kippur.

To Connect or Divide

(or Where the devil comes in)

Was Chava formed from Adam's rib, or was rather separated from his backside. What is the meaning of such a process?