Nesuin is the formal marriage ceremony. The ceremonys name
is derived from nasoh, to accompany, and referred to
the brides as she was escorted to the grooms home.
Nowhere does the Jewish admiration of marriage come through as
strongly as it does in the nesuin. Five of the seven marital
blessings, sheva berachot, speak of creation. Each marriage
is seen as the beginning of a new world. The children who will be
born figure into this thought, but each couple renews the world as
they radiate with the light of committed loving to the world.
Another reference to the new world created by the newlyweds is the
seven blessings which recall the Torahs seven days of creation.
Seven is a particular significant number in Judaism. Shabbat is on
the seventh day. Rosh Hashanah, the New Year, is in the seventh
Biblical month. There is a biblical command to let the land lay
unplanted every seventh year.
Some Sephardic Jews cover the bride and groom with a tallit
during the sheva berachot..
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