Just a quick question. Why does the gemara have to prove from a cohen (since they are found in the same posuk) that a choson sits at the head (all we see from cohen is that he does devarim shbikdusha first, is'nt "choson dome l'melech" sufficiant?
Dovid Bleeman, Jerusalem
The source for the rule of "Chasan Domeh l'Melech" is a Midrash (Pirkei d'Rebbi Eliezer). It is not mentioned in the Gemara.
D. Zupnik
Your mentioning of "choson dome l'melech" affords me the opportunity to share with your readership a mistaken impression that the olam may have in regard to the inyan of people standing when the choson comes down the aisle. Many think/say that it is because of "choson dome l'melech" that they are getting up yet they should be aware that Rav Moshe Feinstein never stood because he used to say, "doi-meh (L)melech NOT (Ki)melech. (Watch his sons or talmidim muvhakim at the next chasuhah.)
Reb Yaakov Kamenetsky stood but for a totally different reason. The question of L'melech or K'melech never entered into consideration as the "choson" is not a true choson until AFTER the chuppah. Reb "Yankev" stood purely because of the mishna in Bikurim, perek gimmel, mishnah gimmel, that discusses the bringing of bikurim and the rule of standing "lif-nai oisei mitzva" and since the choson is entering into a chupah which will enable him to be mekayeim the mitzvah of pe'ru u'revu, we stand. The Rav expands on this and brings down the inyan of standing for nosei mais and ma'vee tinok l'bris. We are therefore not standing for the mais or the kvatter, which is a mistaken impression, but for the people involved in doing the mitzva, the oisei mitzvah. As to why we don't stand for everyone doing a mitzvah, it's for a miztvah that is mei-kama zman l'zman, not a regular occurrence (see nosei kalim).
The question remains as to a justification for why people stand for the kallah since she is not K' malka (see rav Moshe and Reb Yaakov above) and is patur from mitzvas peru u'revu. Rav Avraham Kamentsky, Rav Yaakov's son, told me that one can say that since the choson cannot be mekayeim the mitzvah without her, she has a chelek in the mitzvah and thus qualifies for "lif-nai oisei mitzvah." He also said that his late father used to say that the best thing you can do for someone is to provide them with a new thought that takes them to a new/higher derech. In the Rosh Yeshiva's zehus, may we be zocheh.
Kol Tuv and keep up the wonderful work of being marbitz Torah l'rabim.
Joel Schnur