Question:

I am getting married in a few weeks and am really excited. But I have this crazy fear that something will go wrong, like I will trip under the Chuppah and the whole structure will collapse on our heads. Or the rabbi will sneeze and spill the wine over me. How am I going to relax enough to be present at my own wedding ceremony?

Answer:

Bad news. It is going to happen. At every wedding something has to go wrong.
One of the laws of nature is that nothing is completely perfect in this world. We live in a world where good and evil constantly battle for control, and so whenever something good is happening, like a wedding, the forces of evil try to stick in their noses and sabotage it.

We can't expect a glitch-free wedding. So we have a strategy to deal with it. At every Chuppah, we break a glass. By stomping on a glass, we are pre-empting this inevitable stuff up. We are saying to the forces of chaos, "We know you intend to interfere in this wedding. So here, we smash this glass to give you a part in our celebration. Now leave us alone to enjoy it without any other glitches." If something has to go wrong, let it be a glass breaking.

Now imagine if, when the glass was shattered, someone shouted, "Oh no! You just broke a beautiful glass. How terrible!" We would look at him like a madman and say, "What are you talking about? We are at a wedding. Who cares about a glass?" No one is bothered by a glass breaking at such a happy time. In fact, we all say mazel tov immediately after the glass breaks. Because in context, a glass breaking is so insignificant. We are at a wedding, two wonderful people are being united as one. So a glass broke? Big deal.

This is a great message for the couple to take with them in their future life together. Life is full of glasses breaking, those little and not so little disappointments and setbacks that every person faces. But when you are facing a setback, put it into context. I am standing next to my soulmate, whom I have just married. I am surrounded with so much love and goodness. I am so blessed. So am I really going to let a little broken glass ruin my day?

Glasses will break, at your wedding and in your marriage. But as long as you remember how blessed you are, you can smile all the way through.

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