When the kallah reaches the chupah she circles the chatan seven times. Some sources indicate that this is done to represent the seven revolutions that the earth made during the seven days of creation. As the marriage represents the creation of a new world, the kallah walks around the chatan to indicate that these seven cycles are now being repeated. While there are many interpretations of the kallah's symbolic path, one explanation holds particular resonance for us. When Joshua, the son of Nun and the student of Moses our teacher, led the children of Israel against the city of Jericho, he was instructed to circle the city seven times thereby inducing the walls of the city to crumble. As two people enter into marriage there are many 'walls' that exist between them. The couple faces the challenge of breaking down these walls so that they may learn to communicate and share more completely while they continue their growth as individuals.

The Wedding Ceremony is in two parts, separated by the reading of the ketubah. The kiddushin or erusin (consecration or betrothal) begins with two blessings recited by the Rabbi over a cup of wine. Both Chatan and Kallah partake of the wine. The chatan declares, "Harey-at mikudeshes li, kidas Moshe v'Yisroel", "Behold, you are consecrated unto me with this ring in accordance with the laws of Moses and Israel." This traditional formula known as the Harey-at contains 32 letters. In Hebrew, the number 32 is written out using the letters lamed and beth. This spells out the word lev, which means heart. The chatan then places a simple band on the forefinger of the Kallah's right hand. This custom made it easier to show the witness that the bride had received the ring. By accepting the ring, the kallah agrees to enter the marriage. The first ceremony is completed.

The ketubah is then read and seven nuptial blessings (sheva brachot) are recited (nisuin, or elevation) by seven different people. These seven people are called up separately to the chuppah and are honored with a blessing, a bracha, to recite in front of the Chatan and Kallah. These blessings acknowledge the creation of humanity not only in a physical sense but in a spiritual sense, transcending time and spanning the generations of Jewish existence. While only the last two blessings mention the chatan and kallah explicitly, read as a whole the seven blessings place the couple in the chain of Jewish history and express their wish for personal and universal joy and peace.

Concluding the ceremony, the chatan breaks a glass as a reminder of the destruction of the second Beit Hamikdosh, the second Holy Temple, the frailty of human relationships and the existence of human suffering. This action is a personal reminder that just as we accept joy into our lives we recognize that there may also be times of sorrow.