A Day of Love - in Jerusalem and Jersey...
Tonight was the first time I genuinely missed my Home. Not Fort Wayne, Indiana, a place I once called home. Not Knoxville, Tennessee, the place my parents most recently began to call home after a 20 year exile... And not Bloomington or Washington, DC, either.
Beginning at sundown tonight is Tu B'Av - essentially like Valentines Day - a Day of Love. This day falls after a period of time in the Jewish calendar specifically set aside to commemorate various moments of destruction in Jewish history - such as the fall of the Temple in Jerusalem and in modern times, the Holocaust. On this day, Tisha B'Av, and in the preceding days, weddings do not generally happen in Jewish communities.
Tonight I was walking to a birthday party Beer-Luck (we're working on the wikipedia entry at press) and passed the courtyard to Jerusalem's "Great Synagogue." You'll be shocked to know that "The Greatest Synagogue," the "OK Synagogue" or "Not as Great as the Great Synagogue" don't currently exist, so the superlative to describe this synagogue may be a bit unfounded. The shul faces a trafficked Jerusalem street and in the the courtyard was a beautiful Chuppah (wedding canopy) veiled in white lace, underneath which stood a Bride and Groom. The bride's face was covered with a heavy veil - which I imagine was stifling in the Jerusalem heatwave. My friend joked that the veil was so hardcore that the Groom would have no idea if he was actually marrying the right woman or not, a challenge of biblical proportions.
My friends ran ahead to the Beer-Luck but I hung around to see the rest of the wedding. I heard the rest of the Sheva Brachot (7 wedding blessings) and finally the breaking of the glass - which according to one interpretation, reminds us of the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem. The breaking of this glass was quite timely given the proximity to Tisha B'Av and the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem - less than a mile away.
This weekend, my parents, Ron and Leslie, are all gathered in New Jersey with the friends and family of our dearest friends from Fort Wayne to celebrate the wedding of their daughter, Alana. Many of my fondest childhood memories are a result of our close family friendship with the Sarratore family. While our parents chilled upstairs, Alana, Andrew, Ron G, and I would spend hours in their basement playing Nintendo (since our parents wouldn't let us have one) or throwing He-Man figures at each other in a game known as "RAMBOOOO." The games often ended with me crying and tattle-tailing on Ron and Andrew for one reason or another. Leslie spent her very first New Years at their home - merely four days after her birth (clearly my parents were uber responsible and awfully anxious by the time they had their third kid.)
Eventually, Alana and I started a jewelery "business" called "A & J jewelers." Expertly we molded hot plastic into less than desirable pieces of jewelery and attempted to sell them at various craft fairs in the Fort. As Alana moved to New Jersey for college and to start her own life, Andrew and I were sharing memorable experiences as we prepared for our Bar/Bat Mitzvah, traveled to Israel for the first time, and graduated from High School and IU together - true womb friends.
Ultimately, I ended up in DC, now Israel and soon NYC, Drew joined Teach for America (TFA) in LA, Ron G blazed TFA and hip hop trails in St. Louis, Alana represents Kenny G in Jersey, and little Leslie remained in the Fort, often vacationing down the street with the parental Sarratores, but soon will follow route 37 to Bloomington. The parental Sarratores reside in the Fort and the Gubilicious parents moved to the Mecca of TN - Knoxville.
Leslie called me after the ceremony, took her cell into the party room and I got to speak to Andrew, Daddy Sarratore, and the bride herself. It was touching to hear in each of their voices the joy they were clearly feeling.
Tonight was the first time I genuinely missed my Home. Not the Fort, or B'town, the District nor the boonies of Tennessee. Certainly it is not a specific place, rather those who made each part of my life special and secure. I realized that the breaking of the glass at the Great Synagogue was nearly simultaneous to the glass which Alana's groom, Greg, broke in the not-so-promised land of Jersey.
There are not so many people in my life who I can easily end a conversation with a casual but meaningful "I love you." Not even to think twice at the close of each brief chat - was refreshing. "Mazel tov! I can't believe you're on the phone all the way from Jerusalem! I can't believe you're married! Have some whiskey with Rabbi K for me! Did you know its the Day of Love in Israel? I love you! Be safe! I love you, too!"
Beginning at sundown tonight is Tu B'Av - essentially like Valentines Day - a Day of Love. This day falls after a period of time in the Jewish calendar specifically set aside to commemorate various moments of destruction in Jewish history - such as the fall of the Temple in Jerusalem and in modern times, the Holocaust. On this day, Tisha B'Av, and in the preceding days, weddings do not generally happen in Jewish communities.
Tonight I was walking to a birthday party Beer-Luck (we're working on the wikipedia entry at press) and passed the courtyard to Jerusalem's "Great Synagogue." You'll be shocked to know that "The Greatest Synagogue," the "OK Synagogue" or "Not as Great as the Great Synagogue" don't currently exist, so the superlative to describe this synagogue may be a bit unfounded. The shul faces a trafficked Jerusalem street and in the the courtyard was a beautiful Chuppah (wedding canopy) veiled in white lace, underneath which stood a Bride and Groom. The bride's face was covered with a heavy veil - which I imagine was stifling in the Jerusalem heatwave. My friend joked that the veil was so hardcore that the Groom would have no idea if he was actually marrying the right woman or not, a challenge of biblical proportions.
My friends ran ahead to the Beer-Luck but I hung around to see the rest of the wedding. I heard the rest of the Sheva Brachot (7 wedding blessings) and finally the breaking of the glass - which according to one interpretation, reminds us of the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem. The breaking of this glass was quite timely given the proximity to Tisha B'Av and the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem - less than a mile away.
This weekend, my parents, Ron and Leslie, are all gathered in New Jersey with the friends and family of our dearest friends from Fort Wayne to celebrate the wedding of their daughter, Alana. Many of my fondest childhood memories are a result of our close family friendship with the Sarratore family. While our parents chilled upstairs, Alana, Andrew, Ron G, and I would spend hours in their basement playing Nintendo (since our parents wouldn't let us have one) or throwing He-Man figures at each other in a game known as "RAMBOOOO." The games often ended with me crying and tattle-tailing on Ron and Andrew for one reason or another. Leslie spent her very first New Years at their home - merely four days after her birth (clearly my parents were uber responsible and awfully anxious by the time they had their third kid.)
Eventually, Alana and I started a jewelery "business" called "A & J jewelers." Expertly we molded hot plastic into less than desirable pieces of jewelery and attempted to sell them at various craft fairs in the Fort. As Alana moved to New Jersey for college and to start her own life, Andrew and I were sharing memorable experiences as we prepared for our Bar/Bat Mitzvah, traveled to Israel for the first time, and graduated from High School and IU together - true womb friends.
Ultimately, I ended up in DC, now Israel and soon NYC, Drew joined Teach for America (TFA) in LA, Ron G blazed TFA and hip hop trails in St. Louis, Alana represents Kenny G in Jersey, and little Leslie remained in the Fort, often vacationing down the street with the parental Sarratores, but soon will follow route 37 to Bloomington. The parental Sarratores reside in the Fort and the Gubilicious parents moved to the Mecca of TN - Knoxville.
Leslie called me after the ceremony, took her cell into the party room and I got to speak to Andrew, Daddy Sarratore, and the bride herself. It was touching to hear in each of their voices the joy they were clearly feeling.
Tonight was the first time I genuinely missed my Home. Not the Fort, or B'town, the District nor the boonies of Tennessee. Certainly it is not a specific place, rather those who made each part of my life special and secure. I realized that the breaking of the glass at the Great Synagogue was nearly simultaneous to the glass which Alana's groom, Greg, broke in the not-so-promised land of Jersey.
There are not so many people in my life who I can easily end a conversation with a casual but meaningful "I love you." Not even to think twice at the close of each brief chat - was refreshing. "Mazel tov! I can't believe you're on the phone all the way from Jerusalem! I can't believe you're married! Have some whiskey with Rabbi K for me! Did you know its the Day of Love in Israel? I love you! Be safe! I love you, too!"
Your blog is good reading, Jen. It is (and will be) interesting for me to hear your perspective on all things Israel, HUC, and life in general. By the way, I went to College of Charleston with PJ Schwartz; I told him some time ago that I was bound to know someone who would be starting HUC with him. Lo and behold....One of the perks of being an OVite, I guess.
ReplyDeleteTake care and Shabbat Shalom,
Alan Sea
My cousin recommended this blog and she was totally right keep up the fantastic work!
ReplyDelete