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I have been to weddings where, during the recitation of the seventh bracha under the chuppah, the congregation sings "asher bara...". Sometimes it is along with the one reciting the bracha and other times he waits for them to sing it and then repeats it himself. Is this a halachic problem either because the chassan and kallah have not heard the entire bracha from the one saying the bracha or maybe because the pause in between is a hefsek?

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There is no question that the person saying the beracho should wait. The Chosson and Kallah need to hear every word of the beracho since it is being made on the wine for them. It is better that a minyan hears every word too. Thus, the standard practice among gedolim who say sheva Berachos is to wait until the singing stops and then continue. (Source: Numerous weddings I've been to, where the Rav saying the sheva Berachos is an expert in hilchos Tefilla and berachos and is a Baal Tefilla for Rosh Hashana/Yom Kippur). It is implied from the חשוקי חמד ברכות דף מ עמוד א that even if the chosson makes an interuption one can be lenient, and thus the pausing due to the person waiting for the singing to stop would not be considered a hefsek.

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  • At those weddings did the Rav say it was better that a Minyan heat every word or that a Minyan must hear every word? Do you see why this is a mediocre answer for us? It's an anonymous anecdote of what an anonymous alleged rabbi allegedly did and then your own drawn conclusions about various related laws. Not so valuable. Not terrible, but not so valuable.
    – Double AA ♦
    May 10, 2017 at 23:45
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There are 3 main problems with the person singing along:

  1. It is a hafsaka. This is much worse than waiting and not saying anything.
  2. The tune tends to repeat the words a few times over. This definitely invalidates the bracha.
  3. Sheva Brachot require a miniyan to hear and answer amen. That is not possible when 200+ people are singing.

A VERY late edit: At my wedding I was told not to sing along because the chattan also has to hear the whole beracha. The "mesader kedushim" was Rav Goldvicht zt"l so I suppose he counts as a good source.

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    theblitz, First of all some sources would be nice. Second, how is waiting while others sing worse than waiting? Alternatively how is singing along with them a hefsek? Also, how do you know that repeating words, while not proper to do lechatchila, would definitely invalidate the bracha? Finally, how do you know that it isn't good enough for a minyan to hear most of the bracha?
    – Double AA ♦
    Jun 10, 2012 at 15:08
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Halichos Shlomo 89:13 - Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Aurbach Zatzal - says that since it is being done to beautify the Bracha it is not considered a Hefsek.

כיון שהכוונה ליפות הברכה אין זה הפסק

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    Can you clarify what exactly he is saying is not a Hefsek? The pause? Singing along? What about needing a Minyan?
    – Double AA ♦
    May 4, 2017 at 17:18

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