Hadassa Cohen, daughter of late Rabbi Daniel Beller, rabbi of the Shivtei Yisrael community in Ra'anana who passed away in the prime of his life following an arduous battle with cancer, turned to the hundreds of happy couples her father helped marry, with a request to take part in a special project to mark his memory.
Rabbi Beller was one of the most beloved individuals in Ra'anana as well as the country's South African community. The rabbi hosted hundreds of weddings – religious alongside secular ones administered by the Tzohar organization.
Rabbi Beller's daughter is reaching out to the hundreds of couples married off by her father, asking them to send her clips of the beloved rabbi dancing underneath their wedding canopies in an effort to combine the clips into one single video presentation. She also hopes to assemble her father's most memorable Torah lessons and have these published in memoriam to the late rabbi.
Hadassa posted the following message to her FB page:
A project in memory of my dear father Rabbi Daniel Beller z”l.
Nearly five years ago, I stood under the wedding canopy with Gilad and my father sat next to me on a chair. He was already sick with cancer and only my mother and a few family members knew. My amazing parents wanted to spare me the tremendous hardship of dealing with such devastating news and told me only a week after the wedding when all the celebrations were over. My father sat on a chair at the chuppah because he was too weak to stand.
I remember that the entire month before the wedding, hearing him coughing and suffering, and every time he went for a “checkup” at the hospital I had a terrible gut feeling that something bad was happening.
Half a year later my dear father passed away and my world changed. The truth is that I remember my wedding day as one of the happiest days of my life. I enjoyed every minute and was full of joy. I danced like crazy and tried not to think of the fact that my father was sitting on the side, pale and sick from the cancer.
My father married hundreds if not thousands of couples throughout his lifetime as a communal rabbi. He married couples from his community and many secular couples through Tzohar or through his many projects in Ra'anana. He was a very sought after Rabbi for weddings. Why? Because he put his heart and soul into every single wedding. He had a unique ability to say the right words to each couple that also spoke to their guests and connected everyone there to the essence of the occasion. With his amazing energy and sensitivity, he managed to combine depth, humor and spirituality in a way that every couple remembered forever. I have heard multiple times over the years from couples about how he made it so special for them and they remember it to this day.
Those who also had him as a guest at their wedding were privileged to see him “tear up” their dancefloor, dancing, doing breakdancing and getting everyone up on their feet. He loved music and loved to dance.
The pain I have over not being able to dance with my father at my wedding will never leave me. The fact that he was too weak to stand and speak at the wedding canopy sears my soul.
I miss him so much and so want to feel his energy and voice again.
So I’ve decided to start a project in his memory and collect clips of my father speaking under the canopy to couples he married off.
The clips will be edited into one video and the most unique speeches and [Torah lessons] will be put together into a booklet.
So what am I asking of you?
1. If my father married you, please send me the clip from your wedding video in which my father is speaking and comment below.
2. If my father danced at your wedding, please send me the clip of that and comment below.
3. If you know of people who my father married, please tag them in the comments below.
4. Please share this post.
What to do:
Please send it to: [email protected]
You can send it through a google drive link.
If you aren’t sure how you can email your question or WhattsApp me directly to: 0525366268