Seudat nissuin


A seudat nissuin is a seudat mitzvah that observant Jews eat after a Jewish wedding. It is a mitzvah to have a joyful wedding reception.

Order of the meal

Before the meal begins, the newlyweds are blessed. Next, the kosher wine and challah to be served are blessed. After the day's meal is over, Birkat Hamazon and Sheva Brachot are recited, and the newlyweds dance. A seudat nissuin typically lasts a week called a sheva brachot week. If the newlyweds were married before, the seudat nissuin lasts three days instead of seven, and the blessings are only recited after the first day's meal.

Old Testament

In Tobit 7:14, after marrying, Tobiah and Sarah "began to eat and drink" with their parents. Genesis 24:54 is also a possible reference to a seudat nissuin.

New Testament

In the New Testament, Jesus tells two parables about a seudat nissuin called the Parable of the Wedding Feast and the Parable of the Great Banquet. Jesus also attends the Wedding at Cana, turning water into kosher wine for the seudat nissuin. In Revelation 19:9, the Lamb of God is depicted holding a seudat nissuin.