Recently, my friend Michelle got married. Michelle´s flower girl at the wedding is one of her little cousins and not Jewish. After the wedding she said to Michelle: "Now I know why you are Jewish." Michelle paled as anyone who has to live with the tensions of a household with two religions knows how to pale when such a thing is said by your very very young cousing. "It is because your parties are so much better." (Michelle, I am sorry I do not remember the story verbatim but the punchline is something like that).
The point of the story is that Jews are, all in all, a happy people. This may seem strange for someone for whom the quintessential Jew is Woody Allen panicking over some silly detail in the New York Times. Yet, regardless of our very difficult history and the challenges of the present (with a nuclear Iran breathing down our necks) or maybe just precisely because of this, we seem to take every opportunity for a little, material, down to earth joy very seriously. Every "simcha" (joy) that we are privy to experience in this life must be experienced with the utmost dedication and abandon. This even finds expression in certain religious manifestations of Judaism that claim that "It is a great commandment to always be happy."
The reason that I am bringing this (aside from the fact that this blog has been somewhat somber during the past few weeks) is because this morning my very good friends Tim and Ashira announced their engagement. Mind you, this is eight thirty in the morning. Mind you, this is a synagogue we are talking about. Mind you, the people there were not all friends but also some classmates. Nevertheless, this was the result (one point of note, this is not hugging, this is very very fast circle dancing):
The point of the story is that Jews are, all in all, a happy people. This may seem strange for someone for whom the quintessential Jew is Woody Allen panicking over some silly detail in the New York Times. Yet, regardless of our very difficult history and the challenges of the present (with a nuclear Iran breathing down our necks) or maybe just precisely because of this, we seem to take every opportunity for a little, material, down to earth joy very seriously. Every "simcha" (joy) that we are privy to experience in this life must be experienced with the utmost dedication and abandon. This even finds expression in certain religious manifestations of Judaism that claim that "It is a great commandment to always be happy."
The reason that I am bringing this (aside from the fact that this blog has been somewhat somber during the past few weeks) is because this morning my very good friends Tim and Ashira announced their engagement. Mind you, this is eight thirty in the morning. Mind you, this is a synagogue we are talking about. Mind you, the people there were not all friends but also some classmates. Nevertheless, this was the result (one point of note, this is not hugging, this is very very fast circle dancing):
Od Yishamma Be'arei Yehudah Uvechutzot Yerushalayim, Kol Sasson Vekol Simcha, Kol Chatan veKol Kallah. (Again shall it be heard in the cities of Judah and in the outskirts of Jerusalem, the sound of joy and the sound of happiness, the voice of the groom and the voice of the bride.) Jeremiah 33:10-11
This strapping young man in blue is the groom. The beautiful girl whose face you cannot see because of her hand and a shoulder is the bride. (May they be very happy)The reason there are no more pictures is that yours truly was busy pouring lechayims (shots of whiskey) for everyone and then joined the dancing and the singing. It's 8.30 a.m. but there is simcha to be had! Even at our holiest site (the Western Wall, mistakenly called by non-Jews the "Wailing wall") there is often spirited dancing and singing.
God gave you life and the whole universe for your delight! Enjoy it! Be happy!
God gave you life and the whole universe for your delight! Enjoy it! Be happy! 
8 comentarios:
I like happy people. Sometimes they're small, sometimes they're big, sometimes they defend themselves, sometimes they couldn't care less, sometimes they're proud, sometimes they're humble, sometimes they are plain happy. Happy si great, I think it must be the people part that sometimes annoys me. Sometimes I'm happy myself. I hardly ever dance in circle though. I'll stop now.
¡kol simcha! ¡qué cosa tan fabulosa, su celebración a las 8:30! quedo contagiado de esa alegría vía blog - con la cabeza me uno al baile y a los lejaims
¡Los videos de YouTube están muy buenos!
Algún día va a tener que colgar uno de usted mismo bailando así.
Hakuna matata.
Anónimo, no sé cómo corregir los comentarios. Sólo sé borrarlos. Lo siento. Sé feliz, anónimo.
Pues esto es verdaderamente un bien. Recientemente iba a un curso en un centro budista y el conferencista reiteró cuanto pudo que en los grabados y dibujos tradicionales los budas siempre aparecen sonriendo. Uno aprende mucho de eso. Los santos y maestros no son gente de caras adustas.
Yay for happy dancing! Save one dance for me when I get there!!!!
Two more observations -
1. Ooh - 8:30 am and at minyan? So late! So jealous....
2. Is that Ute, with, with actual HAIR?
joyful people are go to hang out with. :D
Publicar un comentario