Mazel Tov!

Jim's good friend Ian finally tied the knot yesterday. (They've known each other since they were 8 years old in 1984.) He's been dating his lovely Julie for 7 years, thus causing me to say finally. It was held in beautiful western Maryland, near Sugarloaf Mountain at the Strong Mansion. (www.sugarloafmd.com/strong_mansion.html) A beautiful and picturesque place with sweeping views of the valley below. We learned from Ian (who prides himself on informing you on all the trivia) that the mansion belonged originally to a friend of President Roosevelt, and before his death had decided that he did not want the Mansion to fall into the hands of the federal government, so he set up a trust that would keep it open to the public.







Here is the study just inside. the other end of the very large room was where the grand piano and organ stood- to play music while the others read at the other end I suppose, back in the day.






The grounds outside were stunningly gorgeous, as was the bride's Vera Wang gown.



The ceremony was held outside, with the bride and groom facing the back of the mansion and this fish pond.

The ceremony was very interesting at it was done in the traditional jewish style. The Chatan (groom) and Kallah (bride) are led by their parents to the chuppah, a wedding canopy that symbolizes the future home they will build together. Like their home, it is open on all sides to their family and friends. (It's kind of behind the speaker there, sort of hard to see.) It is customary to stand for the bride and groom as they enter. The bride and groom circle each other a total of 7 times representing the seven days it took to create the world, as they begin to build a life together. The rabbi then greets and welcomes everyone, and then they proceed with the Kiddushin, or sactification. A blessing is said over a cup of wine and the bride and groom drink the cup together.

Next, for the Erusin (Betrothal), the groom places the ring on the finger of the bride (left index finger, as it leads to the heart) while saying in Hebrew, "Be sanctified to me with this ring in accordance with the law of Moses and Isreal."

Then the Nisuin (nuptuals) is presented: The Ketubah (marriage contract that was accepted by the bride earlier in the day) is read aloud for everyone to hear what she is getting herself into. By accepting the ketubah earlier, she has agreed to be married under Jewish law (she, herself not being jewish). After the reading of the ketubah, the bride then places the ring on the groom's finger, saying (in hebrew), "I am my beloved's and my beloved is mine." Then the sheva brakhos (seven blessings) are read by seven people close to the couple, and the bride and groom drink another glass of wine. Then, you better believe it!, the groom stomps on a glass reminding us of the fragility of life and the care we must take of each other, our friends and the world. It is traditional at this point to shout, "Mazel Tov!" They never kissed in front of us.

Then we all dispersed to eat from the hors d'euvres tables, which consisted of fresh sliced cumumbers, grapes, several types of cheese, pita bread and hummus. Delish! At that point the bride and groom separated from the guests for their "Yichud", where they spend their first few minutes of married life together alone before they come back out to celebrate with everyone.

I don't have many pics of the rest of the night. We pretty much just sat and ate, and talked. It was so enjoyable for Jim as he got to see a few old friends he grew up with and relive all the memories. I enjoyed myself as well, (except for the ants on my fig salad), by talking to Lisa, a friend of the family. She was fascinated by our being Mormon and asked a lot of questions. So, I was more than happy to explain things to her! It was so cool to share my mission and answer the other things she wondered about. It seemed the most unlikely place to have a "missionary moment", among a majority of very traditional Jewish people. We felt so accepted and never felt like outsiders. They didn't make Jim wear a Yamaka, although they provided them for those who wished to. It was also interesting to see how they had to have all their food separated from ours. They used the kitchen themselves to pack theirs separately in plastic containers with lids- to keep it "kosher". It seems like a lot of work to me, but I thought of all the things I do for my religion that may seem like a lot of work from the outside. I've always been fascinated with the Jewish faith, because of the many parallels it has to Mormonism.

Here's a group shot of the family as they were gathered. We left pretty soon after that, as it had already been 5 or 6 hours and we had to get back to the kids, (the only kids allowed were from the family.) They were just starting up the dancing inside- just in time for us to go!

It was a scary, windy road down the mountain, and we didn't want to have to worry about sharing the road with all the revellers and their inebriation. It was a very enjoyable, and educational evening, to say the least!

Mazel Tov to Ian and Julie!