Rabbi Yitzhak's Blog

Parashat Pekudeh continues the Torah’s discussion of the Mishkan, the portable Temple which Beneh Yisrael carried with them through the wilderness. The purpose of the Mishkan – which was also the purpose of the Bet Ha’mikdash, which later replaced it – is stated earlier, in Parashat Teruma (25:8): “Ve’asu Li Mikdash Ve’shachanti Be’tocham.” The Mishkan served to bring the Shechina, the Divine Presence, into the nation’s midst.

Our Sages teach that in the absence of the Bet Ha’mikdash, this purpose is served by the institution of marriage. Although we cannot, unfortunately, experience the Shechina as we did in the times of Bet Ha’mikdash, we can still bring the Divine Presence into our homes by building and maintaining strong and happy marriages. This concept is alluded to in the “Hareh At” declaration which the groom makes under the Huppa when he formally designates the bride as his wife. He announces, “Hareh At Mekudeshet Li” (“You are hereby designated for me”). The word “Li” brings to mind the aforementioned verse in which Hashem commands Beneh Yisrael to build the Mishkan: “Ve’asu Li Mikdash.” The building of a Jewish home takes the place of the building of a Mikdash as the vehicle through which the Shechina is brought into our lives, and we therefore include a reference to the Mikdash under the chuppa.

This may also explain the widespread custom to break a glass under the Chuppa after the ceremony. This unusual practice is widely understood as intended to commemorate the tragedy of the churban, the Temple’s destruction. Even in our moment of joy, we need to take a moment to reflect upon the fact that our joy remains incomplete without the Bet Ha’mikdash. The question arises, however, as to why this is done only at weddings, and not at other joyous occasions, such as a Berit Mila or Bar Mitzva. The answer, perhaps, lies in the association between marriage and the Mikdash. Since marriage replaces the Mikdash as the means of bringing down the Shechina, it is specifically then, when a couple marries, that we express our yearning for the restoration of the ultimate residence of the Shechina – the Bet Ha’mikdash.