Sheva Brachot : Blessing 6

Sameiach tesamach reiim ha-ahuvim k’sameichacha y’tzircha b’gan eden mikedem. Baruch ata Adonai, m’sameiach chatan v’chalah.

Loving companions will surely gladden, as you gladdened your creations in the Garden of Eden in the east. Blessed are You, LORD, Gladdener of groom and bride.

Emotions cannot be felt by the physical senses, but certainly have an impact on, and express themselves in, people's physical behavior. They determine whether people walk with a bounce in their step or slouch along miserably. Joyful emotions are expressed through dancing; a person who is happy naturally "dances for joy."

There are two general sorts of dances, each one expressing a different level of joy. There is the choreographed dance which is composed of different steps and movements. All participants follow a rhythm; their steps determined by the rules of the particular dance.

Then there is a dance which is not choreographed at all. When King David first brought the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem, he is described as "hopping and dancing" with joy.3 The unbridled joy which consumed him at the moment didn't allow him to restrict his movements to the orchestrated steps of a given dance. His whole being danced and jumped.

While choreographed dances are tasteful and beautiful, and are a staple of all weddings, the intense joy experienced at a wedding is expressed in the circles of "free dancing" which characterize traditional Jewish weddings.

Every Jewish person is a part of the larger Jewish body — a body which includes every Jewish soul throughout the generations. A Jewish marriage creates a link between all the past generations and all the future generations. Thus, every Jewish marriage is a historic and momentous event, not only for the couple and their families, but also for the community at large. This is evidenced by the participation of all the invited guests in the dancing and singing — every individual rightfully feeling him or herself to be very much a part of this momentous occasion.