The Perfect Marriage

Imagine being married to the perfect husband.

He is the wisest kindest most caring being you have every encountered. He is the quintessential baal chesed and has not a single flaw. His love is constant and enduring and his greatest desire is to take care of you. He is always there for you and has unlimited means to provide you with all that you desire.

There’s no need for you to imagine. Each of us in Klal Yisrael is already in the perfect marriage. Each of us is wed to the Ribono shel Olam Himself. The marriage took place at Har Sinai when Hashem and Klal Yisrael entered into a covenant a commitment to be loyal to each other for eternity.

Many laws and customs of the Jewish marriage ceremony are patterned after the marriage that took place at Har Sinai. Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan z”l in his book Made in Heaven highlights some of these parallels:

• The chassan gives his kallah a circular ring which has no beginning and no end. This parallels Hashem giving Klal Yisrael the Torah which is endless (Mataamim 135).
• Before the chasunah the chassan signs the kesubah which spells out the obligations between husband and wife. The kesubah represents the Sefer HaBris the Book of the Covenant that Moshe wrote prior to the revelation at Har Sinai (Sefer HaKaneh).
• The chassan and kallah stand under a chuppah which represents the mountain that Hashem held over Klal Yisrael (Rokeach).
• Those leading the chassan and kallah to the chuppah customarily carry candles — reminiscent of the flashes of lightning and fire at Sinai where Klal Yisrael was accompanied by lightning and Hashem by fire (Rokeach).
• The words the chassan says “Harei at mekudeshes li …” begin with the letter heh which has the numerical value of five alluding to the five books of the Torah — the wedding ring of the marriage between Hashem and Klal Yisrael (Tashbatz 466).
• Hashem’s name appears 14 times in the sheva brachos corresponding to the 14 times Hashem’s name appears in the Aseres HaDibros (ibid.).

As we know everything in the ruchniyus world has a parallel in the physical world.