Permit me to share my daughter’s wedding with you. It was an incredible experience for me and with the chutzpah for which I am famous, I assume you are interested in it!!

TALI AND YOAV?S WEDDING

In my usual laid back manner, I got to Ramat Rachel about 45 minutes early. I sat in the lobby and waited for everyone to come downstairs and start the photo session. Suddenly, there was Tali Riva in her wedding gown standing in front of me. It was the first time I had seen her gown. I actually gasped. My daughter was a vision of beauty, radiant and beaming. She said, ?Dad, let?s go get some pictures.? So off we went and we had the time to enjoy each other?s company while the photographer worked.

I had some things to say to my daughter at that moment. Fatherly sort of things like ?I love you now and I will love you forever.? There was much more, but you can probably guess what it was.

What does a father think when he sees his daughter in her wedding gown for the first time? I think my dominant thought was that it was finally happening, that my daughter was a bride and in a few hours I would have a new son. The rush of emotions was fantastic and the photographer said I should probably find a smaller smile for the photos.

After Tali and I finished our photos, there were many others who wanted to be photographed with Tali. Everyone except Yoav. He was being kept far away in another part of the hotel, away from Tali. The first time he would see her would be at the bedeckin.

From Tali I went to the Chatan?s tisch. The rabbi of Efrat, Rabbi Riskin took charge in a most confident manner. The ketubah was signed, the mothers broke a dish together, and we set off for Tali so that Yoav could do the bedeckin.

Along the way, Rabbi Riskin (who is a cohen) gave Yoav his blessing. Then Eli gave his son the blessing, and then I gave Yoav a blessing. We all hugged and kissed as we were led by a huge crowd of dancing friends. Once we reached Tali, Eli, the Rabbi and I each blessed her, too. I took the time to offer my private prayer to God for her and her husband to be.

Then it was off to the chupah. I took Tali to the aisle and half way down the aisle. Her mother and step father took her down the other half of the aisle. Yoav came down from the chupah and took her up to it. What was really nice was that everyone seemed to know that Tali and her father have a really wonderful relationship, and there was a fair amount of applause for us as we walked down the aisle. I think I may have waved to the crowd at one point- I am not sure if I did or not. It was sort of a haze for me at that point.

Under the chupah, there was a crowd of people: Eli and Mirjam, I, Evie and Joe (Tali?s mom and step dad), Shai (who announced the honors given under the chupah) and six other people who were there to sing. The musicians were on the side of the chupah. All in all, adding Rabbi Riskin, we were quite a crowd.

What was really special for me was seeing the way Tali and Yoav looked at each other under the chupah. Never have I seen such love on people?s faces. A friend who stood at the back of the 400 person crowd said she could see the glow all the way in the back. I have never seen that look on Tali?s face (after all, the loving looks she gives me are different!), and I liked seeing it. It filled me with a confidence for them that theirs is, indeed, a marriage arranged in Heaven. Later on, during his toast, Shai (her brother) also mentioned the incredible look that Tali shows to Yoav. It was that special!!

The photographer said that he has never seen two people so in love. The fiddler (a Chasidic fellow in full mufti) later said that seeing the way the two of them looked at each other inspired him.

As the ceremony ended, a flood of young people ran to the chupah and dancing broke out under the chupah. I have never seen anything like that before and I was amazed at how suddenly 70 people fit under the chupah. As I danced with Yoav, he looked at me and said, ?I love you, dad.? And my world became bright and filled with song. Nothing will ever take that memory away from me. I danced with Tali and she said, ?Dad, tonight you will dance with me finally. Let?s show them how much we love each other.? Once again, my world grew bright and I heard music. Then again, it may have been the musicians!

I was so happy: what more could I ask for than to see my daughter stand under the chupah with the man she loves? I pray for them and ask God to bless them with the bounty of His love.

What can I say about the party? The party is a blur. Funny how the time flew by so fast. There were only four dances. Three of them were over 35 minutes each. No fooling- 35 minutes or more!

I got to dance with my beloved daughter finally! What a thrill that was. While Tali and I danced, people clapped for us. As our dance wound down, I took her face in my hands and blessed her once again. We kissed and she said, ?I love you.? I cried. Of course. Afterwards several people commented that they could feel our love for each other as we danced and as I blessed her. The banquet manager came over to me as I went back to the men?s circle and said that he had just seen something special and that he had asked the photographer for pictures for his office wall. Wow!!

Later on, Yoav and I danced. Soon, I was high in the air on the shoulders of some very strong young men. Yoav was hoisted high in the air. We danced for quite a while and then his father was also hoisted and joined our dance. It was amazing. I felt like I was flying. Never have I felt so much electricity in myself.

As the party wore on, much of what happened remains a blur. I remember seeing some of the most inspired and inspiring dancing I have ever seen. At one point, Tali broke into the men?s circle and asked Yoav to take a seat. She then danced for him with several of her friends. Later on, Yoav danced for her in the women?s circle. I have never seen so much dancing. There were circles intertwined with circles. Some did somersaults. Someone else juggled. Suddenly Cookie Monster appeared in the woman?s circle and did a truly funny dance. And on and on.

Charlie Greinsky of Staten Island got up and read a letter from Senator Hillary Clinton and announced that a similar letter was waiting for the happy couple from former President Clinton. (The signature had been delayed and the letter did not get to Charlie on time.) In addition, he announced that of the three extant signed copies of President Clinton?s book in Hebrew, one of them is signed to Yoav.

And still the dancing went on. Yoav asked me to dance with him again, and so we did. Yoav and friend Milton did the dance of the whirling dervish and the entire crowd cheered them on. As Milton?s kipah flew through the air, and Yoav actually left the ground briefly, the crowd roared its approval.

Some of Yoav?s Efrat crew wrote some silly songs and performed them for him and Tali. Actually, the Blues Brothers imitation wasn?t too bad! As for the rest: well, let?s just say that they were very enthusiastic!!

Through it all, I kept watching my daughter. As you all know, Tali is a most happy person, but throughout the wedding she was glowing. There is no other word to describe her. For me, I got to see my daughter as fabled storybook princess. And I loved it!!

The wedding started at 6:30 and all too soon it was midnight and time for birkat hamazon and the first of this week?s sheva brachos. There was a whole lot of kissing and love certainly filled the air. For a while, at least, it was easy to believe that the world is a very beautiful place. And, why not, for Tali and Yoav will give their love to it!

Baruch attah adoshem eloheinu melech ha-olam, sh?he?cheyanu v?kimanu v?higee?anu lazman hazeh. Blessed art Thou O Lord our God who has allowed me to reach this joyous occasion.

Amen.

I got this recipe from a friend. It is wonderful!

This makes a lot of hummus. Recipe should be halved unless serving at least 40 or more as an appetizer.

HUMMUS

2 tablespoons garlic — minced
3 15.5-oz can garbanzo beans
1 cup Tahini
3 large lemons
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon cumin seed — ground
1 teaspoon cayenne paprika — to taste

Drain 2 of the cans of garbanzo beans, reserving liquid.

Place the beans in a food processor along with the undrained beans and all other ingredients except the paprika. Blend until it is a smooth paste. You can adjust the consistency with reserved liquid.

Remove to a serving dish and top with paprika and some extra cayenne pepper. Cover tightly and chill before serving.

Serve with pita or other flat bread.

We have always heard from people that THE place in J’lem to eat is Olive. We also heard that reservations are a must, so five of us made a reservation and walked on down to the German colony and restaurant row along Emek Refaim.

The place was quite lovely. Eating outside is always a kick, and the tiered garden at Olive is no exception. Except for the facts that Israel allows smoking in restaurants and the tables are much too close together (making private conversation impossible), the place is really nice.

Prices are reasonable and the food is quite good. Portions are uneven: some are huge, some are miserly.

Between us we had pargiyot (baby chicken) in BBQ sauce, sesame chicken “fingers,” mixed grill, and mango chicken.

The pargiyot were moist and delicious. The BBQ sauce was both tangy and spicy. The meat was perfectly grilled.

The sesame fingers are listed as an appetizer, but the size of the plate was enough to feed the whole table! The chicken fingers were obviously freshly made. They were really quite tasty and not at all dry.

The mango chicken was tasty, but the portion was quite small: two strips of white meat.

The mixed grill was a strange dish. The meat was heaped on a platter, smothered with sauteed onions. The mixture was chicken livers, chicken, and steak. The portion was extremely large. The steak was served as a slab of meat underneath everything else. Except for the steak (our friend said the steak was not particularly good), the rest was very tasty.

The prices there range from about 85 NIS to a low of about 40NIS. All in all, the prices are good and the food is too. Waiter service is a tad loose, and water seems to be a most precious commodity.

Would we go back? Sure, but for now, there are too many other places to check out. Maybe on another trip…..
(RJR)

We have had the leisure to go wandering about in Jerusalem for three days now, and we have to say it is our favorite pastime. We love wandering and looking around. We especially love the glorious mosaic of the people we see.

We have managed to sneak in a few felafel and a few schwarma stops. That is so glorious! Somehow the felafel here is always so much better here than it is in the States. And what can we say about the schwarma? Here it is real schwarma and the fake (and much cheaper) stuff we get back in the States.

We stopped at one schwarma/felafel stand and a trio of young tourists heard me order in Hebrew. They asked if I would order for them as they didn’t speak Hebrew. I said “sure.’” and proceeded to order for them. After they left with their food, the counterman and I had a huge laugh. Why? When I approached the counter, the man had asked me in English “what do you want?” I answered in Hebrew. The trio did not hear the English, only my Hebrew and they assumed that the counterman did not speak English. After they left, he said to me, “Do you think we should have told them that I speak English?” Nah!!!

I spent a bit of time with a family from France who had just made aliyah. That was a most interesting conversation held both in Hebrew and French. It seems that huge numbers of French Jews are buying apartments in Israel due to the disintegrating situation in France.

Soon, we leave for Efrat for the Aufruf shabbat. It seems as if everyone who is anyone will be there. Nu? Join us!!
shabbat shalom.

This is an easy and less expensive version of your mother’s famous blintz casserole! Enjoy!

Blintzes Casserole

FOR LAYERS ONE AND THREE:
6 eggs
1 1/2 cups sour cream
1/2 cup orange juice
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 margarine, melted
1 cup flour
2 tsp. baking powder

FOR LAYER TWO:
8 oz. softened cream cheese
1 egg
1 pint cottage cheese
1 tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla

Beat each mixture in a bowl. Pour half of layer one mixture into greased 9×13 baking dish. Spoon layer two mixture on and top with remaining batter from layer one. Bake 45-55 minutes at 350 degrees. Serve w/ sour cream or fruit (I use pie filling).