- Q. See question above.
As we were discussing this Shaila, someone asked the following.
He was also invited to be an “Eid” (witness) on the Chupa wedding ceremony of the daughter of a good friend. Yet since he is already elderly he can’t stand and only moves on a wheelchair, can he accept since he won’t be able to stand together next to the other witness, Should he refuse?
A. In principle the witnesses by the chupa should be standing apart from the rest of the participants. This is important since in Halacha, a whole group of witnesses is invalidated by the presence of even one unfit witness.
Separating out two witnesses to observe the ceremony ensures the legitimacy of the whole process. The Chuppah itself qualifies as a private room, separating the witnesses, who stand under the Chuppah, from the rest of the guests.
However, Horav Shlomo Miller’s Shlit’a opinion is that when in need, as in this case, the authority being Mesader Kiddushin or performing the ceremony, should clearly announce who the witnesses are before the ceremony begins, and that should exclude anyone else.
Rabbi A. Bartfeld as revised by, Horav Yaakov Hirschman, Horav Dovid Pam, Horav Aharon Miller, Horav Chanoch Ehrentreu and Horav Kalman Ochs Shlit’a
Important Numbers
