It was the frantic search for the jewelry that led Gloria to the prayer book. She hadn’t seen it since the day of her wedding over 60 years ago and didn’t even know she possessed it! But it seems her grandmother, Tova, wanted her to find it. For just as Tova and Gloria treasured it on their wedding days, the book of Bridal Prayers could now be passed on to Faryn, Gloria’s beloved niece, who was getting married in just a couple of weeks.
Whenever a bridal couple signs the ketubah in a Jewish wedding, which is a spiritual agreement between the couple and takes place before the ceremony, my husband, Rabbi David, and I always feel the sacredness that fills the room. Usually the bride and groom become emotional for they too feel it. But as we gathered in the room to sign Faryn and Jason’s ketubah, there seemed to be an additional layer to that sacredness. When Faryn showed me the prayer book and shared the story of how her aunt found it, I understood why. I was feeling the presence of Tova. I knew she was smiling with Joy!
Along with the Bridal Prayers which was something old, (over 100 years) Faryn also wore something new, something borrowed, something blue. And of course her mother, Abbey, wore the jewelry from her mother grandmother and the found jewelry belonging to Gloria that all along was hiding in the safe!
We all lead such busy lives. But during the moments when we pause and honor our traditions, it just fills me with such Hope! Perhaps it is because then, we are truly connecting. Connecting to our past, connecting to our future, connecting to each other, connecting to God.
I always love the scene in the movie, Fiddler on the Roof, when it is time to welcome Shabbat (the Sabbath) and all are transformed from the daily worries and struggles. It is the pausing and connecting.
Whatever traditions we each follow, may we all connect to each other with Love! For this is the secret of how we will transform our world!
💕Love always, Lee
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