Erev Rosh Hashana, my husbands sister and long time love, were married.
This was no ordinary wedding.
The bride and groom decided to make their wedding more than a momentous occasion or a fleeting moment. But eternal- They decided to make their wedding fully halachic, while they themselves are not. It was uplifting and inspiring as a frum Jew, seeing their passion, devotion, sacrifice and commitment to do everything according to halacha. Rabbi Goldhar was at the helm guiding them ,and everything fell into place and was quite beautiful.
At their wedding, my husbands cousins family from out of town, showed enthusiasm and interest in getting our families together soon after.
"What a great opportunity", we thought to ourselves! That night at the wedding, we planned a succah party with the newlyweds and cousins and all of the kids. They all came to our succah on chol hamoed. The weather was beautiful, the kids were all smiling, the adults all sitting around the table telling over family stories, and just enjoying each others company. The cousins and their children, although traditional, did not know very much about the succah, and our children grabbed onto the opportunity by telling them about the succah, Torah, and so much more.
The evening came to an end, and I had to start preparing for the upcoming yom tovim. We made our way out of the succah into the kitchen. I had prepared the challah dough hours before, it was sitting on the counter, and everyone was curios about it. Then the most beautiful thing transpired. I decided to include everyone in the mitzvah of hafrashas challah.
The hour was late, the kids were already in their Pajamas, but for some reason the excitement of doing this next mitzvah trumped getting on the road. The men even pulled out their i phones and started filming! Everyone answered amen to the bracha, listened thoughtfully as I then davened and explained more about the mitzvah. Each person then made their own challah. The moment was very spiritual,and calm, it was perfect.
My newly married sister in law then looked up at me and said - I have never done this mitzvah before. I looked at her and something in me just felt so complete.
Hashem orchestrates from our inception each moment of our lives. The bechira we have in this world, is whether to draw closer to Hashem through his Torah and mitzvos- what my sister and brother in law did in choosing to make their wedding "al pi Torah" brought not only them, but all of us closer to Hashem. This mitzvah in turn brought my husbands cousins into our succah, introducing them to the miztvah and warmth of succos, and in turn opened the opportunity for the new kallah to partake in yet another mitzvah, hafrashas challah. This has inspired me, and will hopefully inspire our family to bring Torah and observance into their lives too.-
love, Reitza Sarah
For next weeks avodah, please only read the Bilvavi book 2, chapter 26 and 27. Do not do the other readings. Something very exciting is in these next two chapters that we really have to focus on! Thanks. Please see side tabs for call in number for class.
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