Wedding Season

Search more Parsha Points by Sefer:

Breisheet | Shmot | Vayikra | Bamidbar | Devarim| Holidays and Special Shabbatot

This Thursday night and Friday we will celebrate Yom
Yerushalayim, Jerusalem Day.

Yom Yerushalayim comes at the height of the spring wedding
season in Israel which begins on Lag Ba’Omer and goes until early July.

Unfortunately, there was a small glitch in the kickoff of
the wedding season this year, Operation Shield and Arrow, a war on the border
of the Gaza strip.

Brides and grooms who were supposed to get married in
Southern Israel last Tuesday, on Lag Ba’Omer, received calls from their wedding
halls on the morning of their wedding that their celebrations would have to be
moved as there was a chance that rockets would be launched from Gaza. Those who
wanted to keep the special date of Lag BaOmer had to find a new hall further
north that could accommodate them on such short notice. It was a nerve racking
experience for many couples but in the end the Jewish people came together and
made it happen! Thanks to the help of social media, networking and television
coverage, the weddings were moved to the Jerusalem area or further north.

On Yom Yerushalayim we read the Haftara from Yishayahu 61:10-63:9
which compares the covenant between God and the Jewish people to the commitment
of a bride and groom.

The opening sentence of the Haftara, “Sos asis b’Hashem
tagel nafshi b’Elokai”, “I will rejoice intensely with HaShem, my soul shall
exult with my God” reminds us of the fifth of the Sheva Brachot, seven blessings,
read under the chuppa, “Sos tasis v’tagel HaAkara, bikubutz baneha litocha
bisimcha”, “Bring intense joy and exultation to the barren one through the
ingathering of her children amidst her in gladness.”

We pray that the joy and gladness of both Jerusalem and the
new couple will be intense and never ending.

In Yishayahu 62:6, God assigns guardians to protect the
walls of Jerusalem to keep the city safe, “Al chomotayich Yerushalayim
hifkadeti shomrim kol hayom vikol halayla.”

The prophecy of Yishayahu was fulfilled in the days of
Nechemia when the Jews returned from exile and rebuilt Jerusalem and it is
being fulfilled today by the Israeli soldiers who work around the clock to make
sure that we are protected and safe and ensure that the weddings during this
very busy season go on as planned!

To order Parsha Points Books:

Parsha Points:Torah from the Land of Israel
and Parsha Points: More Torah from the Land of Israel

Please contact Sharona at 058-656-3532, toratreva@gmail.com