Rabbi Hagai Lundin
Rabbi Hagai LundinCourtesy

To all those now celebrating life events - passages -

Birthdays, Bar Mitzvahs, Bat Mitzvahs

And, of course, the bride and groom, the bar and bat mitzvah youngsters,

It's not the event you envisioned

For years you dreamed of the evening

When all your friends will be around you

The whole family will come and dance and be happy with you.

And this year, it looks like this will not be happening

But we are people who believe, and we know there is a God in heaven

And if the Holy One Blessed be He caused your event to fall right at this point of time

Then apparently, this time is a huge opportunity for you.

To grow specifically from here

For every person, for every young man, for each young woman, for each couple,

There are the challenges that the Holy One Blessed be He brings into life

in each generation.

And your challenge is to rejoice in the event.

That maybe from the technical point of view is not going to be big

But is going to be big in your heart.

And when you stand under the wedding canopy you will know

That you are not alone.

We will all be with you there.

We all will think about you.

We all love you

And most importantly, God is together with you.

He loves you.

And that will stay for life

"Let there soon be heard in the cities of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem, the sound of joy and the sound of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride"

Mazal Tov! Congratulations!!

Rabbi Hagai Lundin is a Ra"m (Talmud educator) at the Afikey Daat Yeshiva in Sderot and a popular lecturer who heads the Beit Midrash in the Kiryat Ono Academic College, and has written books on the writings of Rabbi Avraham HaCohen Kook zts"l.