Dear friends and family,
Merry Christmas! Though there are no signs of Christmas here in Yerushalayim, I am aware that it is the 25th and I hope that those of you who celebrate this day have a wonderful holiday filled with love, happiness, and family.
Last night, I went to the wedding of one of my (former) apartment-mates. The wedding was truly breathtaking. It took place at this huge and spectacular synagogue in Jerusalem. Unlike the last wedding that I went to, I could actually see everything that was happening--there weren't tons of men in black hats surrounding the chuppah blocking me from seeing! The bride looked beyond beautiful and incredibly joyful. My friends and I stayed there dancing until the band finally stopped playing sometime close to midnight. One of the really cool things about religious weddings is that unlike typical weddings where the bride and groom are supposed to mingle and entertain the guests, the guests are supposed to bring joy to the bridge and groom! It is a great mitzvah to bring simcha (joy) to the bride and groom. The bride and groom are literally sat down and have people dancing and doing generally goofy stuff in front of them to make them laugh. I peered over to the men's side and watched one of my most reserved rabbis dancing and spinning around in front of the groom to make him laugh. It certainly worked for me! At one point, I saw a woman running over to the bride dressed in a kimono-type outfit with one of those Asian pointy-hat thingies on her head. She saw me and beckoned me over and gave me a pink kimono-thing and a pointy hat and we went and danced in front of the bride! It was such a blast. I really had an amazing time.
I'm also enjoying having a couple of days off for Chanukah. I've slept in two days in a row, which is pretty exciting, and today I get to baby-sit for a super cute little baby girl. Then I'm going to get to meet up with my brother and his fiancee again to spend some more time with them, which is so nice. :-)
Lots of love!
3 comments:
You folks are silly. Dancing around in Kimonos...
I haven't commented in a while, because I've been distracted by my last scary final, freezing rain, driving home, house cleaning, parties, etc. But I have been reading. I really enjoy all of your posts even more now, because I just realized that in one of my sociology classes we read a book all about the Haredi and had discussions about culture and things like weddings, which you get to experience firsthand, which I find quite cool.
Also, thanks for the Christmas wishes and more happy Chanukah wishes to you. I'm also happy that you get to spend so Chanukah in a city so filled with Chunkah-y goodness. Although I do find it weird that you're in a place with no Christmas. I'm not just saying that because I'm used to being in the U.S. where it's all Christmas all the time -- okay, I'm sure that's probably some part of it -- but the other part is that you're so close to Bethlehem, which is kind of a big deal at Christmas. I realize that the whole Israeli-Palestinian conflict makes those five or so miles between Yerushalyim and Bethlehem a lot farther away and that the numbers of Christians in Bethlehem have been falling for decades, so realistically there wouldn't be any sign of Christmas in Yerushalyim, but it still seems weird. I guess I'm just rambling about how sad it is that conflict (religious or otherwise), can keep two holidays that -- although, distinct in their history and traditions -- share a message of unity, hope, and love so far apart.
Okay, I hearby promise not to leave you long rambling posts in the future...sorry about that. ;)
Was this Karens wedding? Wish I was there to celebrate with everyone... I cannot believe shes married!
Did anyone take pictures? I'd love to see...
missing you
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