Two weeks ago, a man and his son were murdered in a terror attack while on their way to their future son-in-law's/brother-in-law's aufruf (the celebration of an Ashkenazic Jewish man on the Sabbath before his wedding).
Because the murder took place before the wedding and the daughter/sister knew about it, she could not be married until after the shiva.
The wedding took place in Jerusalem tonight, and the entire country (literally) was invited. At 11:00 pm, there will still people waiting to get in.
Let's go to the videotape.
You can find many more videos of the wedding here (you'll have to change the filter if you're viewing this post after 24 hours are up).
Mi k'amcha Yisrael (who is like your people Israel)?
A reminder that I am in Boston where the Sabbath does not start for several more hours and therefor I am able to still be online.
Just before the Sabbath started in Israel, Kiryat Arba (a Jewish suburb of Hebron) resident Yaakov Litman and his 18-year old son Netanel were murdered by 'Palestinian' terrorists.
TERROR VICTIMS: 2 Israelis shot dead by Arab terrorist identified as Yakov Litman from Kiryat Arba & his son Natanel pic.twitter.com/MzC5GX4Oe0
It seems that Yaakov and Netanel were on their way to their future son-in-law and brother-in-law's aufruf (the calling to the Torah that takes place the Sabbath before the wedding) in Meitar, which is just outside Be'er Sheva. Yaakov's daughter, Netanel's sister is scheduled to be married on Tuesday night (Hat Tip: Leah P via Yeshiva World News).
In case you're wondering, under Jewish law, I believe that the wedding is postponed until after the shiva (one week) mourning period (the rule is different if the bride does not know of her father's death before the wedding).
In Ashdod, where at least some of the yeshivas in town have shut down and sent their students home according to a friend who has a son studying there, a wedding ceremony was interrupted on Tuesday night by rockets from Gaza.
Let's go to the videotape.
The guy you heard shouting in the background said that everyone should go into the hall because it's a protected area (Orthodox Jewish wedding ceremonies are generally held outdoors or at least in a place where the roof can be opened).
According to the runner, who cited a friend close to the organizing
committee, the couple getting married insisted the roads in the area
remain open to allow guests easy access.
The
venue's management said it hadn't heard of the unusual heat that
supposedly warranted a delay. The real reason for the postponement, it
said, was to allow "guests and athletes to leave the village at that
time." The decision was made following a discussion with the
municipality.
"It
was a bit of a crisis," said Rami Levy, the head of the athletics
department at the Ramat Gan municipality, which is involved in planning
races that pass through the city. Levy also confirmed the runner's
account.
"The police got involved at one point. Listen, postponing a wedding is a big deal," he added.
The police said in response that they were "aware of the wedding and are preparing accordingly."
This
is yet another testament to the unprofessional manner in which the
Maccabiah has been organized. Some of the 9,000 athletes who arrived in
Israel for the "Jewish Olympics" were left without accommodations, while
others were struggling to find transportation to the sporting events.
"Many
people are disappointed by this whole thing," said Kobi Tzvila, another
participant in the half marathon. "Some people will start running at
9:20 P.M. and finish the race at midnight.
"These are regular people who have to be at work tomorrow," he added. "Who can even conceive of holding a race at that hour?"
If correct, the complaint about lack of accommodations is legitimate. And certainly you shouldn't change the starting time of events unnecessarily. But starting a half marathon at 9:20 and finishing at midnight? If you're that slow, you don't belong in the Jewish or any other Olympics.
I was far from being a professional runner (my Marathon best was 3:24:22 while the top male runners are in the 2:10 - 2:15 range), and my half marathon best was 1:31. If you can't finish a half marathon in less than 2:40, you don't belong in any Olympics.
Only in Israel: Grad rocket barely misses wedding party in Netivot
On Monday night, a Grad rocket from Gaza landed in Netivot. As you will see in this dramatic security camera footage, it barely missed a wedding party (Hat Tip: Honest Reporting).
I am an Orthodox Jew - some would even call me 'ultra-Orthodox.' Born in Boston, I was a corporate and securities attorney in New York City for seven years before making aliya to Israel in 1991 (I don't look it but I really am that old :-). I have been happily married to the same woman for thirty-five years, and we have eight children (bli ayin hara) ranging in age from 13 to 33 years and nine grandchildren. Four of our children are married! Before I started blogging I was a heavy contributor on a number of email lists and ran an email list called the Matzav from 2000-2004. You can contact me at: IsraelMatzav at gmail dot com
