Proclamation and Ruling

To the esteemed rabbis and the Bukharian Jewish community of New York,

In recent years, a ruling has been issued by certain rabbis in Queens to change the long-standing Bukharian custom — to recite the Sheva Brachot (Seven Blessings) only in the groom’s home, contradicting our generations-old tradition of reciting the Seven Blessings at every meal in which the groom and bride are present.

The great Torah sage, Chief Rabbinical Judge of Jerusalem, Rabbi Eliyahu Abergel, may he live and be well, wrote in his responsa Dibrot Eliyahu, Volume 7, Siman 92, the following:

“From all the above, it is clear that this custom — practiced by many Sephardic communities, especially those from North Africa and Morocco — to recite Sheva Brachot at every location where the bride and groom are invited and a festive meal is prepared for them with new faces (panim chadashot) — is firmly grounded in sacred tradition. Perhaps even Maran (the author of the Shulchan Aruch) would agree in our times, when there is no designated wedding canopy (chuppah) throughout the seven days for the bride and groom except for the initial ceremony in the synagogue or hall. Afterwards, the chuppah is taken down. Certainly, then, every place where the bride and groom are invited becomes their ‘chuppah location,’ and is referred to as the 'groom’s house' (beit chatanim), as clarified by the aforementioned halachic authorities. Those who follow this practice should continue doing so. And those who challenge it — their position is the weaker one, especially in the face of a custom firmly established upon the foundations laid by early and later halachic authorities.” (end quote)

So too ruled the esteemed Rabbi Eliyahu Ben Chaim, Chief Rabbi of the Mashadi community and Av Beit Din of Badatz Makor Chaim, may he live and be well. So too ruled the revered Rabbi Meir Mazuz zt"l, in his works Beit Ne’eman and Makor Ne’eman, Part I. So too ruled the Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem, the great Rabbi Shalom Messas zt"l, in his work Shemesh uMagen, Vol. III, Even HaEzer, Siman 24. See also MiShulchan Avoteinu, p. 461; Minhagei Alma, Siman 18; Knesset HaGedolah, Hagahot Tur, Ot 27; Pachad Yitzchak, entry “Birkat Chatanim”; Ruach Chaim by Rabbi Chaim Palagi; the Siddur Beit Oved (Livorno); Pe’ulat Tzadik, Vol. III, Siman 252; and Nishmat Chaim by Rabbi Yosef Mashash, p. 222.

The esteemed Torah giant of the Bukharian community, Rabbi Shlomo Moussaieff zt"l, in the edition of his prayer book published in 1892 (year 5653), wrote in the section of the laws of Sheva Brachot as follows:

“There are those who say that if the groom leaves his chuppah, even if his bride is with him, and they go to another home — the Seven Blessings are not recited there. This applies only if he intends to return to his original chuppah location. But if he goes to another house with the entire group, and that place becomes the central location — it is then called a chuppah, and the Seven Blessings are recited. Similarly, if the bride and groom go to another city within the seven days and they do not plan to return, the blessings must be recited there as well (see Shulchan Aruch and its glosses). The Taz wrote that nowadays, the Seven Blessings are recited even in a place where no chuppah was held. So ruled the Maharal of Prague. He explained that although the Talmud states 'there is no joy without a chuppah,' that refers to a situation where the joy is incomplete — but in general, there is indeed joy, and the blessings are recited even if not under a chuppah. This is also the view of the Beit Shmuel.” (end quote)

From here, it is evident that Rabbi Shlomo Moussaieff zt"l ruled in accordance with the Taz, Beit Shmuel, and Maharal of Prague — following the customs of Livorno, North Africa, Djerba, Yemen, Morocco, Greece, and others.

The revered rabbi, Rabbi David Yehudayoff zt"l, would also recite Sheva Brachot even at meals that were not in the groom’s home, without concern for a blessing in vain (see Judaism of Bukhara: Its Greats and Customs).

In any case — “where there is an established custom, we do not apply the rule of ‘safek brachot lehakel’ (to refrain from a blessing in doubt)” (Yabia Omer I:44).

Conclusion: The Bukharian custom is to recite the Seven Blessings at every meal where the groom and bride are present, and one should not be concerned with the opinions of the rabbis in Queens who seek to alter our custom and who mock us.