# Why do you break a glass at a Jewish wedding?

The glass at the end of the chuppah: where the custom comes from, what it means and how the moment really unfolds, measured on a real wedding film.

**At the end of the chuppah the groom stamps on a glass and everyone shouts Mazel Tov. The best known explanation: even at the happiest moment, you remember the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem.** Our brand is named after exactly this moment.

## Where the custom comes from

The oldest source is the Talmud (Berakhot 30b to 31a). Mar, son of Ravina, breaks an expensive cup at his son’s wedding because the guests are getting too merry. So the first idea was to temper joy. The link to the Temple came later, together with Psalm 137: “If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand wither.” Exactly when the custom began is not certain.

Many communities say or sing this verse just before the glass. At Tyron and Karen’s wedding in Munich the singer sang it at 19:03, just under two minutes before Tyron stamped.

## How it works in practice

The glass is wrapped so nobody gets hurt, usually in a cloth or a napkin. At Tyron and Karen’s wedding it was foil. The groom stamps once, hard, and some couples do it together. That is the moment the cheering starts.

## Why this moment is so hard to film

The stamp takes less than a second and cannot be repeated. In our film Tyron’s shoe hits the glass, and 0.8 seconds later the room erupts. For that you need a camera just above the floor by the glass, one on the couple and a wide shot of the guests.

[See it in our films](https://breakyourglass.com/en/#filme)

Break Your Glass, https://breakyourglass.com/en/guide/why-break-a-glass/