Why is it said at a wedding, Shehakol bara L'chvodo, and not at other large public gatherings?
ANSWER:
A wedding is a special occasion, a memorial to what Hashem did once. When He married off Chava to Adam, Hakadosh Baruch Hu was the entire audience; nobody else. So He did the dancing, He did the singing, and He supplied the music. Melameid sh'naseh shushbin, Hakadosh Baruch Hu did shushbin. How did He do it? He made lights come out, splendor of lights, sounds of music, excitement, the Shechina was dancing up and down. He was where He was, m'lo kol ha'aretz Kvodo, but His Shechina was doing all the entertaining. It made a tremendous impression, there never was such a beautiful chasuna like the first one.
Vayevieho el ha'adam, He brought her to Adam, He didn't say, there she is go take her, no. How did He bring her? With the most glorious form of unterfeureri. So we see Hakadosh Baruch Hu wanted to do a kindliness to the Kallah, to make her important.
A Choson must know how important a Kallah is, because sometimes he might think he wears a black hat and she doesn't have a black hat. He has a beard and she doesn't have a beard. So he might start thinking the Kallah is not important at all. No!! Hakadosh Baruch Hu says, you're making a very big mistake, the Kallah is very, very, very important! And that's why He danced before the Kallah – in order to make her important to Adam.
That's why, keitzad merakdim lifnei ha'Kallah, we dance before the Kallah and we say Kallah noeh v'chasuda. The Choson is listening to all the good things you're saying about the Kallah, he's listening. It's for him to hear, he should hear all his life, and he should remember what was said.
Now, if Hakadosh Baruch Hu did that for the Kallah, it's a glory for Him if we remind ourselves. Whenever we have a chance, remind ourselves of Hashem's kindliness to the first Kallah, and that's why we say everything is a glory for Hashem. When you come together today at a wedding, everything we do is only an imitation, it's a memorial to repeat and review what Hashem did at the first wedding. So if you dance in front of the Kallah, and you sing and you play music, it's really a memorial to what Hashem did at that first wedding.
But suppose you're making another kind of gathering? We don't have any place where Hashem says He came to that gathering as a kindliness to anybody, therefore we don't say Shehakol bara L'chvodo, only at a chasuna.
The chasuna is an honor, a memorial of the kindliness of Hashem.
Good Shabbos To All
This is transcribed from questions that were posed to Harav Miller by the audience at the Thursday night lectures.
To listen to the audio of this Q & A please dial: 201-676-3210
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