Halachic Highlights

Question: Should the one who makes the Birkas Eirusin under the chupah drink from the cup, or should he just give it directly to the chasan and kallah to drink?

Short Answer: Many reasons are given to support our minhag that only the chasan and kallah drink from the cup. However, some were makpid that the reciter of the Birkas Eirusin also drinks from the cup.

Question: Should the chupah take place outside and under the stars?

Short Answer: Ideally, yes, the chupah should take place outside and under the stars, as this was minhag Ashkenaz. However, various Acharonim, as well as Sefardim, are not makpid to observe this custom.

Question: May an elderly rabbi who is confined to a wheelchair (and thus cannot stand up) serve as an eid kiddushin – a witness to the marriage ceremony?

Question: Should ashes be placed on the forehead of the chasan at the chupah?

 Short Answer: Yes, but some replace this remembrance to the destruction of the Beis HaMikdash with the breaking of a glass under the chupah. There is a dispute when the ashes should be placed on the chasan’s head, and for how long they should remain there. 

Question: May a chupah take place in the sanctuary of a shul?

Short Answer: While many Acharonim forbid holding a chupah in the sanctuary of a shul, the minhag today is to rely on Rav Moshe Feinstein’s ruling permitting such a chupah. 

Question: Who should walk the chasan and kallah down the aisle to the chupah?

Short Answer: The Rama cites the minhag for the fathers of the chasan and kallah to walk down the chasan, and the mothers of the chasan and kallah to walk down the kallah. While others have the minhag that the parents of the chasan walk down the chasan and the parents of the kallah walk down the kallah, the main thing is for there to be no fighting over this unimportant issue.