One of the most exalted mitzvot or divine commandments is to welcome converts into the Jewish faith. Another highly exalted commandment is to contribute to the wedding of a needy couple.
The girls at the religious high school in Kfar Pines, a village in northern Israel, have embarked on a mission of fulfilling both commandments through organizing a wedding for a poor couple from India who are recent converts to Judaism. The month of Adar is traditionally the time of year when yeshivot (religious boys' high schools) and ulpanot (religious girls' high schools) undertake such mitzvot.
Aviya Glez, a 12th grade student, elaborated on her school's project as follows: "We are a group of 120 girls from throughout Israel with diverse talents who wanted to undertake a big project that would be of help to others. This is the third time that the 12th grade has organized a wedding. We spoke to someone from the conversion center since we especially wanted to help new converts feel at home in Israel and at home among the Jewish people. This is a great mitzvah since so many people are a part of it both from inside and outside of the high school."
The girls will be involved in all aspects of the wedding, from decorating the hall to musical accompaniment to photography of the event, not to forget hair styling and make-up of the bride. Contributions for the wedding and the couple are also being solicited throughout the country.
The bride and groom converted to Judaism in India under the auspices of Bnei Menashe and only met each other in Israel.