Ketubot 7b (ז:) — the Talmud in English

The Gemara raises an objection to what was explained above—that when a widow marries a bachelor, she requires a blessing throughout all seven days:

concerning what was explained above, that when a widow marries a bachelor, she requires a blessing throughout all seven days:

This is from that which was taught in a beraita:

One recites

the birkat chatanim

for a virgin

throughout

seven

days,

but for a widow

one recites the blessing

for one day

only.

Is that not

what was explained above—that a widow who marries a bachelor requires a blessing for all seven days—

even a widow who marries a bachelor

is intended, so that one recites the blessing for her only for one day? And we answer:

No!

And what we learned, that one recites the blessing for a widow for one day, applies specifically to a widow who marries

a widower.

The Gemara challenges this:

But

a widow who marries

a bachelor—

according to your statement—

what

how many days does one recite the blessing?

Seven

days!?

But

if so,

then

let the beraita teach

the following:

For a virgin, one recites the blessing for seven days—

and for a widow who marries a bachelor, seven days—

and for a widow

who marries a widower—

one day!?

And we answer: The beraita does not distinguish between one widow and another; rather, it

states an unequivocal matter [דבר ברור ומוחלט] [a clear and definitive statement]

[a clear and absolute statement]

teaches

in the beraita:

There is no virgin for whom the blessing is for fewer than seven days [אין בתולה שטעונה ברכה פחות משבעה ימים], [for there is no virgin who requires a blessing for fewer than seven days],

since even if she marries a widower, she requires a blessing for seven days.

And there is no widow for whom the blessing is for fewer than one day [אין אלמנה שהיא טעונה ברכה פחות מיום אחד], [there is no widow who requires a blessing for fewer than one day],

since even when she marries a widower, her blessing is for no fewer than one day.

With regard to the matter itself: Rav Naḥman said that Huna bar Natan said to me:

A tanna

in a beraita

From where is it derived that the birkat chatanim

must be recited

in the presence of

the presence of

ten

people, at least?

As it is stated

in the Scroll of Ruth (4:2), in the account of the marriage of Boaz and Ruth:

“And he took [בועז] [Boaz]

[Boaz]

ten men from the elders of the city and said: Sit here.”

The marriage itself requires only two witnesses; therefore, the ten men whom Boaz took were necessarily for the birkat chatanim.

And Rabbi Abbahu said

that there is another source for the law that the birkat chatanim requires ten people—

from here:

As it is written in the Book of Psalms (68:27):

“In assemblies bless God, the Lord—

from the source of Israel.”

The verse teaches that the “blessing of the source”—the blessing to the Lord God concerning marriage, whose purpose is the procreation of the people of Israel [from the woman’s source]—requires an “assembly” [“in assemblies”].

] And an assembly consists of no fewer than ten people.

The Gemara asks:

And Rav Naḥman,

who derives from Boaz that the birkat chatanim requires ten people,

with regard to this verse cited by Rabbi Abbahu—

what does he expound from it?

Rav Naḥman requires

this verse

for that which was taught:

Rabbi Meir would say: From where is it derived that even fetuses in their mothers’ wombs sang song at the sea

at the time the Sea of Reeds was split?

As it is stated

in that passage in Psalms:

“They saw Your processions, O God, the processions of my God, my King, in holiness.

The singers went first, followed by musicians, among maidens playing timbrels.”

That is: It is fitting for You to redeem these people, for when they saw Your processions in Your holiness at the sea, the singers went first to sing the Song of the Sea before You. After them came the “musicians”—these are the angels—“among maidens playing timbrels,” among Miriam and her maidens, who took the timbrel in her hand, according to Rashi.

“In assemblies bless God, the Lord—

from the source of Israel.”

That is: Even the fetuses in the “source of Israel,” in their mothers’ wombs, blessed God at the sea.

The Gemara returns and explains:

And the other one,

Rabbi Abbahu, who derives from the verse “in assemblies” that the birkat chatanim requires ten—how does he expound the verse in this manner? It is explicit in the beraita that the verse speaks of the Song of the Sea, and this is also demonstrated by the continuation of the verses.

Rabbi Abbahu could say to you:

If so—

that the verse comes to teach only about the Song of the Sea—

let the verse say, “from the womb

of Israel,” which would imply fetuses in their mothers’ wombs—

Why does it say, “from the source”?

To teach you something further: that one must bless in assemblies

concerning matters of the source.

The Gemara further explains:

And Rabbi Abbahu, with regard to this verse cited by Rav Naḥman,

the ten men whom Boaz took when he married Ruth—

what does he expound from it?

That

verse

is needed for him to expound

from it that Boaz then publicized before the masses that only

an Ammonite

is prohibited by the Torah from entering the congregation of the Lord’,

but not an Ammonite woman,

who is permitted to enter the congregation of Israel; and likewise,

a Moabite man

is the one whom the Torah prohibited from entering the congregation of the Lord’,

but not a Moabite woman.

Boaz did not gather ten elders for the birkat chatanim, but in order to state before them the halakha that Ruth the Moabite woman was permitted to enter the congregation of the Lord and was permitted to him.

For if it enters your mind

that Boaz gathered them

for the blessing—

then is it so that

it is not sufficient

for the blessing to have ten people

who are not “elders” [האם צריכים "זקני העיר", שהם החכמים, לשם כך] [must they be “the elders of the city,” who are scholars, for this purpose]? The verse could have said that he took ten ordinary people for the blessing; why, then, does it say, “And he took ten men from the elders of the city”!?

[that is, was it necessary to have the “elders of the city,” who were scholars, for this purpose]? For the blessing, he could have taken ten ordinary people. Why, then, does the verse say, “And he took ten men from the elders of the city”!?

And the other one—

Rabbi Abbahu, who holds that Boaz gathered them for the birkat chatanim, could say to you: On the contrary,

if it enters your mind

that in order

to expound

before them the permissibility of the Moabite woman Boaz gathered them, this is difficult: Is it so that

it is not sufficient

to expound this before several scholars

who are not “ten”

people!?

The Gemara explains the view of Rav Naḥman, who holds that Boaz gathered them in order to expound the matter before them:

No,

indeed, ten people are required in order to expound the matter. This is in order

to publicize the matter [לפרסם את דבר ההיתר] [to publicize the matter of the permission].

[to publicize the fact of the permission].

And similarly

we find

that Shmuel said to Rav Ḥana of Baghdad [מן העיר בגדת שבבבל] [from the city of Baghdad in Babylonia]:

[from the city of Baghdad in Babylonia]:

Go out and bring me ten [צא והבא לי עשרה איש] [go out and bring me ten men],

[go out and bring me ten men],

and I will state a ruling to you in their presence [ואומר לך הלכה בפניהם] [and I will state a halakha to you in their presence], so that this halakha will be publicized:

[and I will teach you the law in their presence], so that this law will be publicized:

One who grants

a gift through another person

to a fetus

in its mother’s womb—

the fetus acquires it

the fetus, since Shmuel held that a fetus can acquire property.

The Gemara adds that although Shmuel publicized this as the halakha, one should not act accordingly in practice, since the halakha is not in accordance with his view. Rather—

And the halakha is: One who grants property to a fetus—

the fetus does not acquire it

the fetus.

The Sages taught:

One recites

the

“birkat chatanim”—

in the house of the bridegroom,

when the bride enters the wedding ḥuppa.

Rabbi Yehuda says: Also in the betrothal house,

at the time he betroths her

one recites the blessing for her,

all the blessings of the birkat chatanim.

Abaye said: They taught this with regard to Judea

This applies only to the practice in Judea; Rabbi Yehuda’s statement was taught with regard to Judea alone.

And

because

in Judea the bridegroom would

seclude himself with her

during the betrothal period, while she was in her father’s house, in order that his heart would become “familiar” with her [רגיל בה, וכדלקמן יב א] [accustomed to her, as below, 12a]. Therefore, they first recited the birkat chatanim, because we learned in Tractate Kallah: “A bride without a blessing is forbidden to her husband like a menstruant.”

Another beraita was taught: One recites the birkat chatanim—

in the house of the bridegroom

when he marries her.

And the betrothal blessing—

in the betrothal house

when he betroths the woman.

The Gemara explains:

The betrothal blessing—

what does one recite?

,

Ravin bar Rav Adda and Rabbah bar Rav Adda both said in the name of Rav Yehuda

that this is how one recites the blessing:

Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the universe:

Who sanctified us with His mitzvot and commanded us concerning forbidden relationships [שאסר לנו לבוא עליהן] [which He prohibited us from engaging in]—

[for He prohibited us from engaging in them]—

and prohibited to us

betrothed women

by rabbinic enactment—

and permitted to us married women through ḥuppa and betrothal [חופה שלאחר קדושין] [a ḥuppa following betrothal].

[a marriage canopy that follows betrothal].

And he does not conclude the blessing with “Blessed.”

Rav Aḥa, son of Rava, concludes it

he would conclude it, and said this

in the name of Rav Yehuda

that it should be concluded as follows:

Blessed are You, Lord, Who sanctifies His people Israel through ḥuppa and betrothal.

The Gemara explains the reason for the dispute over whether the blessing should be concluded with “Blessed”:

The one who does not conclude it,

who holds that the betrothal blessing should not be concluded—

It is analogous to the blessing over fruits and the blessing over mitzvot!

For it resembles a blessing over fruits, such as the blessing “Who creates the fruit of the tree,” which begins with “Blessed” but does not conclude with “Blessed

” And likewise the blessing over the mitzvot of slaughtering and circumcision does not conclude with “Blessed

” The reason for these blessings is that the entire wording of the blessing is one expression of thanksgiving, with no interruption for a request or the like within the blessing. Therefore, one should not add a concluding formula, since the conclusion parallels the beginning of the blessing and is intended to repeat the theme of its beginning when the wording of the blessing is long and includes several matters.

Therefore, the betrothal blessing as well, which is entirely one expression of thanksgiving and contains no interruption, does not conclude with “Blessed

”. And the one who does conclude it [הסובר לחתום] [who holds that it should be concluded],

his reason is—

It is analogous to kiddush [הקידוש בליל שבת] [the kiddush recited on Friday night].

[the sanctification recited on Friday night].

Since this blessing too is recited in the language of sanctification, it is comparable to the sanctification of the day.

And just as the sanctification of the day concludes with “Blessed”—the reason there being that there is an interruption within the thanksgiving, as one adds and says, “for it is the first day of the holy convocations”—the Sages instituted that every blessing whose subject is sanctification requires a concluding “Blessed” at its end.

The Sages taught:

The Benediction of the Bridegrooms is recited -

for a bachelor or a virgin bride -

in the presence of ten

men

throughout all seven

days.

Rav Yehuda said: And this

that we said, that the Benediction of the Bridegrooms is recited throughout all seven days, applies only when

they come

to the groom's feast

as new faces (panim hadashot).

Introduction to the order of the marriage blessings:

The blessings are divided into three categories:

A. Blessings that begin with “Blessed” and conclude with “Blessed.”

These are the blessings whose formulation contains several requests or several expressions of thanksgiving.

B. Blessings that begin with “Blessed” but do not conclude with it.

These are the brief blessings, whose subject contains only a single expression of thanksgiving, such as “Who creates the fruit of the tree.”

C. Blessings that conclude with “Blessed” but do not begin with it; these are a “blessing adjacent to another blessing.”

This law of a “blessing adjacent to another blessing” applies wherever the Sages instituted

an order of blessings, to recite them in sequence

, one after another.

For example, the series of blessings in the Amidah, in Grace after Meals, in the blessings recited after the haftara, and in the marriage blessings.

The first blessing in the series always begins, “Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the universe,” and its formulation, after mentioning the kingship of God, is in

the third person and not the second person,

since when the kingship of the Holy One, blessed be He, is mentioned, one must speak only in the third person, to indicate that we have no conception of apprehending His kingship; and it concludes, “Blessed are You, Lord.”

The remaining blessings in the series do not begin with “Blessed are You, Lord,” since the mention of “Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the universe” in the first blessing also refers to them, because of their adjacency to it; and they are recited in the second person [“You are mighty,” “We give thanks to You,” “Gladden, O gladden”], since they themselves do not contain a mention of kingship.

Yet they conclude with “Blessed are You, Lord.”

The “Seven Blessings” of the marriage blessings consist of six blessings, and together with the blessing over the wine, they total seven.

The first two of the six blessings [“That He created everything for His glory” and “Who formed the human being”] are not considered part of the series of blessings; rather, they are blessings instituted to be recited together with the marriage blessings, as will be explained below.

And since they are brief blessings, each containing only a single expression of thanksgiving, they do not conclude with “Blessed are You, Lord.”

Thus, it is only with the third of the six blessings [the blessing “Who formed the human being in His image”] that the order of the marriage blessings begins.

Therefore, it begins, “Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the universe,” and its formulation is in the third person [“Who formed”], and it concludes, “Blessed are You, Lord.”

The blessings that follow it, however, being in the category of a “blessing adjacent to another blessing,” do not begin with “Blessed”; they only conclude with “Blessed are You, Lord,” and their formulation is in the second person [“Gladden, O gladden”].

The final blessing, however, since it is recited even where all the other blessings are not recited, as will be explained below, begins with “Blessed” and concludes with “Blessed,” and its formulation is in the third person [“Who created”].

What does he recite

in the Benediction of the Bridegrooms?

Rav Yehuda said:

He recites six blessings in addition to the blessing “Who creates the fruit of the vine.”

These six blessings are divided into two blessings and four blessings: the first two do not concern the union itself, while the last four blessings concern matters relating to the union; and these are: