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 Hachnosas Kallah/ |
 It is a mitzvah to participate and celebrate at a
wedding and make joyous the groom and bride. Although the wedding feast in itself is a mitzvah,
the emphasis is on entertaining the newlyweds. By dancing around the 'Choson' and 'Kallah', the community expresses its support for the couple.
As a part of the Jewish people, they never need fear facing life alone. Even just celebrating at the chupa (wedding ceremony) fulfills this mitzvah.
 Talmud: Kesuvos 17a, Brachos 5a
 The Talmud relates many instances where the greatest of our sages have set aside their diligent study of Torah for the sake of celebrating at a wedding with the "chassan v'kallah". This underscores the importance of this mitzvah and that when a Jewish couple embarks on creating a "Bayis Ne'eman B'Yisrael," a faithful Jewish home, is cause for communal celebration.
 It is Jewish practice that the couple begins their new life together with their community. For seven days, including the wedding, it is customary for friends and family to host or attend festive meals in their honor. The "Sheva Brachos" (so called since the seven blessings recited under the chupa are again recited at the conclusion of these meals) recalls the "seven-day celebration" after the marriage of Jacob to Leah. This extended communal celebration expands on the mitzvah of M'sameach Choson v'Kallah, while helping to give the "new house in Israel" a solid foundation in God's ways of holiness.
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