What makes the Shabbos before the wedding so special?
It’s said that when a girl’s family prepares for a wedding, it’s like Erev Pesach, and for the boy’s family, it’s like Erev Shabbos. But because the chassan’s family hosts an aufruf (in Ashkenazi tradition), the Shabbos before the wedding isn’t just any Erev Shabbos, it’s like Erev Shabbos Hagadol.
What makes the Shabbos before the wedding so special? What does aufruf mean? And how does the kallah celebrate on this Shabbos?
Aufruf is a Yiddish word that means “to be called up.” On the Shabbos before the wedding (or the last Shabbos a chassan is in his hometown, if he’s traveling for the wedding), the chassan is called up to the Torah for an aliyah.
This is replete with symbolism. Pnei Menachem explains that Yaakov Avinu learned Torah for 14 years prior to his marriage. Torah is the foundation upon which a Jewish person builds his or her future home. In receiving an aliyah to the Torah, the chassan is reminded that the Torah needs to be the bedrock of his future home.
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