May 17-Moshe's Wedding
A little background for those who have not read my blog and refresher for those who have. Moshe Bronstein, Renay and I met in 1998 when we participated in a Jewish Federation Mission to Israel.Moshe was the guide. We stayed on for a week or so after the Mission left for the States and engaged Moshe to plan our extended stay. He took care of everything from arranging guides in Jordan to taking us to places in Israel not usually included in the usual tour. He has an uncanny knack of tying the political, religious and historical together. He is a true character and does things to amuse me, respect him and piss me off. These, I am sure will become evident throughout this blog. We have become great friends, much of what I do here centers around him. I love the guy.
Moshe's hectic schedule such as leaving the house at 6 a.m. and not returning until late at night due to the nature of his profession wore thin over time with his wife. A few years ago Dahlia moved out and subsequently they were divorced. Last December, Moshe showed up with this woman about 12 years his junior and a few months later they were married in Minnesota where she apparently comes from. I don't know much about her. I met her once. She is attractive, smart and apparently very much in love with Moshe. The same can be said for Moshe sans the attractive part.
The best I can piece together is that they had a civil marriage in the U.S., she converted and now they are having some kind of religious ceremony in Israel. I was told to dress casually so I wore a sriped long sleeve shirt and a pair of Khakis. Yair picked me up at 6:45 as the wedding was scheduled for 7:30. We arrived a little early and were immediatley greeted by Moshe and Karin. We took some photos and I then took in the amazing scenery and enjoyed the calm aromatic night air. For the next 1 1/2 hours I indulged in some of the finest middle east food imaginable, was entertained by the 3 piece ensemble and mingled. It was then time for the wedding, which was attended by my estimate to be 127 people. We walked down a path behind the bride and groom to the ceremony area. As I started to find a seat Moshe called me over and told me I was to give him away. I suppose this is a big honor. At any rate i was taken aback and then the Rabbi approached and told me to go under the chupah. So there I was with Karin's parents. No one else. The Rabbi then came and Moshe and Karin walked toward the chupah. So there I was standing with my great friend who knows every big shot in Israel and many more in the States. Not bad. The Rabbi is conservative and that makes sense as I am sure the orthodox would want no part of this. The Rabbi spoke, performed the ceremony. The cantor sang a few prayers, a guy came and blew one of the many shofars Moshe had brought from his huge collection. It was a moving ceremony and certainly nothing like the weddings we are accustomed to in the U.S. Truly, a Moshe Bronstein production. Then it was off to dinner and music. A very good band and only in Israel could the lead singer be the cantor. Of course, it was all outside and I sat with Eli Berger a dear friend of Moshe who grew up with him in Israel and now lives in the U.S., Yair, Sagi, Moshe's son, and a few other Israelis. There was one other person, David Baker from Chicago who owns a technology company with worldwide offices. He is planning on purchasing property in Jaffa. He visits Israel every often and would be a good friend to have here. I have so many friends here now which inspired me to utter my famous line I gave to Ed Kornberger shortly after we first met: "I don't need any more friends, you just got in under the wire". As Ed, David roared.
Went homne stuffed with food and a little under the bag from wine.
Oh well. What a day.
Moshe's hectic schedule such as leaving the house at 6 a.m. and not returning until late at night due to the nature of his profession wore thin over time with his wife. A few years ago Dahlia moved out and subsequently they were divorced. Last December, Moshe showed up with this woman about 12 years his junior and a few months later they were married in Minnesota where she apparently comes from. I don't know much about her. I met her once. She is attractive, smart and apparently very much in love with Moshe. The same can be said for Moshe sans the attractive part.
The best I can piece together is that they had a civil marriage in the U.S., she converted and now they are having some kind of religious ceremony in Israel. I was told to dress casually so I wore a sriped long sleeve shirt and a pair of Khakis. Yair picked me up at 6:45 as the wedding was scheduled for 7:30. We arrived a little early and were immediatley greeted by Moshe and Karin. We took some photos and I then took in the amazing scenery and enjoyed the calm aromatic night air. For the next 1 1/2 hours I indulged in some of the finest middle east food imaginable, was entertained by the 3 piece ensemble and mingled. It was then time for the wedding, which was attended by my estimate to be 127 people. We walked down a path behind the bride and groom to the ceremony area. As I started to find a seat Moshe called me over and told me I was to give him away. I suppose this is a big honor. At any rate i was taken aback and then the Rabbi approached and told me to go under the chupah. So there I was with Karin's parents. No one else. The Rabbi then came and Moshe and Karin walked toward the chupah. So there I was standing with my great friend who knows every big shot in Israel and many more in the States. Not bad. The Rabbi is conservative and that makes sense as I am sure the orthodox would want no part of this. The Rabbi spoke, performed the ceremony. The cantor sang a few prayers, a guy came and blew one of the many shofars Moshe had brought from his huge collection. It was a moving ceremony and certainly nothing like the weddings we are accustomed to in the U.S. Truly, a Moshe Bronstein production. Then it was off to dinner and music. A very good band and only in Israel could the lead singer be the cantor. Of course, it was all outside and I sat with Eli Berger a dear friend of Moshe who grew up with him in Israel and now lives in the U.S., Yair, Sagi, Moshe's son, and a few other Israelis. There was one other person, David Baker from Chicago who owns a technology company with worldwide offices. He is planning on purchasing property in Jaffa. He visits Israel every often and would be a good friend to have here. I have so many friends here now which inspired me to utter my famous line I gave to Ed Kornberger shortly after we first met: "I don't need any more friends, you just got in under the wire". As Ed, David roared.
Went homne stuffed with food and a little under the bag from wine.
Oh well. What a day.
posted by Harris Berman at 10:45 PM
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