A Hassidic Ritual Dance: The Mitsve Tants in Jerusalemite Weddings

The aim of the present paper is to describe the ritual dance ('mitsve tants' or 'kosher tants' in Yiddish) performed, as a norm, by several male guests (mostly relatives) and the bridegroom with the bride, as the final public event of the wedding in most Hassidic communities. In our description we present some of the different forms of this ceremony in various Hassidic communities in Jerusalem. We also try to shed some light on the significance and function of the mitsve tants according to Hassidic thought. To this end we present a description of the ceremony in its totality, and focus in particular on the structural analysis of its musical and textual aspects.