A seudat nissuin (Hebrew, 'wedding feast' or 'marriage supper') is a seudat mitzvah that observant Jews eat after a Jewish wedding. It is a mitzvah to have a joyful wedding reception.Aish: Guide to Jewish Wedding
Order of the meal Before the meal begins, the newlyweds are blessed. Next, the kosher wine and challah to be served are blessed.Jewish Wedding Photography: Blessing of the Challah 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 ('seven blessings') 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.Documents And Designs: Jewish Wedding Program TemplatesJoseph Judah Chorny, Sefer HaMassa'ot, 1884 (published posthumously)Abraham Danzig, Chayei Adam (Wisdom of Man) 129:4
Reference in the Bible
Old Testament In Tobit 7:14, after marrying, Tobiah and Sarah "began to eat and drink" with their parents.USCCB Tobit 7:12-14 Genesis 24:54 is also a possible reference to a seudat nissuin.USCCB Genesis 24:54
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.Biblehub: John 2:1-11 In Revelation 19:9, the Lamb of God is depicted holding a seudat nissuin.Biblehub: Rev. 19:9
Reference in rabbinic literature Adam in rabbinic literature enjoys a seudat nissuin with his wife Eve. Angels serve them the meal. After the meal, Adam and Eve dance with the angels.Sefaria: Sanedrin 59b In Jewish eschatology, the messiah will hold a seudat nissuin with the righteous of every nation, called a Seudat Chiyat HaMatim, and they will feast on the cooked flesh of the Leviathan.Jewish Encyclopedia: Leviathan and Behemoth
Reference in Christian writings In the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the Eucharist is called the wedding feast of the Lamb "where he gives his body and blood at the request of the Church, his Bride."CCC 2618CCC 1617
See also Ancient Israelite cuisine Jewish cuisine Kashrut
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