Mitzvah tantz
Hasidic men dance before the bride on her wedding night.
The mitzvah tantz is a Hasidic custom in which men dance before the bride on her wedding night after the feast. The bride typically stands still, holding one end of a long sash or gartel while the dancer holds the other. It is often a highly emotional moment, with the dancer silently praying for the couple's success.
Quick Facts
- Liturgical meaning
- mitzvah-dance
- Language of term
- Yiddish
- First mentioned in
- Machzor Vitri
- Talmudic basis
- Ketubot
- Participants
- men
- bride
- close relatives
- leading rabbis
- Common prop
- long sash or gartel
Facts from the source article.
Background
The custom predates Hasidism and was first mentioned in the medieval Machzor Vitri, with its basis in the Talmud (Ketubot), which asks how one dances before the bride. Dance and behavior during dance appear in Jewish texts such as the Talmud. Most Orthodox groups do not observe this practice, but Hasidim maintain it as a great honor to dance before the bride after guests depart, with only close relatives participating. Variations of the dance appear in authoritative Jewish texts from the fourth century onward.
Debates
The dance's varied versions relate to issues of purity, modesty, and menstruation as Hasidic communities sought to retain modesty while participating. The practice is debated largely because of earlier communities' values; Jewish law concerns proper behavior, especially regarding gender. For ultra-orthodox groups, if contact with the opposite sex was not allowed at social events, appropriate contact during the dance was questioned. Holding a handkerchief between dancers of opposite sexes became common as a substitute for holding hands. Most rabbis of that period favored some covering or separation, and handkerchiefs were acknowledged as the least evil way to perform the dance with both sexes.
Bride and groom rejoice
During the mitzvah tantz, the bride and all women are brought to the men's section without a mechitza separating them; sometimes the mechitza is moved aside entirely. The groom and most of his male relatives take turns rejoicing before the bride. At weddings of notable rebbes, the entire community watches as leading rebbes and rabbis perform the mitzvah tantz, which may continue until dawn.
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