All photos courtesy of Machon Keren HaTzaddik
Last week was the wedding celebration of the grandson of our Rebbe Rav Eliezer Berland shlit”a, Avraham the son of Rav Natan Rubenstein, and the grandson of Rav Yehoshua Dov Rubenstein, with the daughter of Rav Nachman Goldshmidt. The wedding was held at the Kinor David events hall in Beit Shemesh.
At 8:00 pm, the wedding ceremony began with Rav Berland shlit”a honored as “mesader chupa v’kidushin.” The Rav also read the Ketubah and placed the ashes on the head of the groom, as well as being honored with the seventh and final blessing of the Sheva Brachot. Afterwards the Rav went out to sit and learn with yeshuv da’at in an apartment near the events hall.
After the wedding meal at 10:15, the dancing began with great excitement and simcha, with the Rav’s grandsons and great-grandsons singing in a choir. At 12:00 am, the dancing reached its peak when the Rav shlit”a returned, with members of the community coming from all over Israel to take part in the celebration.
After nearly an hour of dancing together with the Rav shlit”a, the Rav sat at the table of the groom and his family during the Kozak dance by skilled bachurim who merited to perform the mitzvah of simchat chatan v’chalah. Afterwards the bachurim came to the Rav shlit”a to receive a bracha and to say mazal tov to the groom. Immediately after this began the dance of the “7 Beggars” with a number of avreichim entering dressed as the seven beggars from the story of Rebbe Nachman.
Students at Yeshivat Chochma V’Daat took onto themselves to learn continuously until the end of the days of the Sheva Brachot – thousands of pages of Gemara, and thousands of consecutive hours of learning.
As a sign of appreciation for the considerable activity of the groom Avraham Rubenstein for the youth group in our community, after the dancing, more than a hundred young men of the group sat on the floor in front of the Chatan’s table and began, along with Rav Berland shlit”a, a “zetz” — to sing songs of holy arousal.
After the “zetz” was Bircat HaMazon, with Rav Yehoshua Dov Rubenstein being honored with the zimun, and Rav Berland shlit”a honored with all the Sheva Brachot. Afterwards, the Rav shlit”a gave over a short shiur and, at 2:30 am at night, returned to his home in Jerusalem, the holy city, escorted with singing from members of the community.
