Dena’s married

August 27, 2008 - 11:38 PM by Jessica

Another rite of passage for my family. My oldest niece, Dena, born when I was a senior in high school and couldn’t imagine that I was old enough to be an aunt, got married on Sunday night. She’s not just my oldest niece, or the first grandchild; she’s also our first Sabra, and even though she’s known as “Dena-with-a-resh” by her friends, because for some reason she doesn’t roll her resh in Hebrew, (probably because of her Long Island-bred and Brooklyn-born parents), I came to the conclusion the other night that she really is Israeli, or maybe we are, whatever that means in this land of ours.

Proof? Well, she’s the child of Americans and she married a guy from her neighborhood, whose family originally hails from Spain and Turkey. They’ve got deep black hair, we’re more dark brown to light brown, and from there, the traditions and customs are mixed.

Before the ceremony, we fressed on thin slices of sinta steak, lamb kebobs wrapped around cinnamon sticks and dainty bowls of mixed Jerusalem grill at the kabbalat panim, sweating in the humid, stick air of the shfela, and surrounded by voices speaking in English and Hebrew with a mix of Israeli, American, Russian, British and South African accents.

There was a procession — she’s watched a lot of American TV in her time — and prompted by ‘his’ side, we all clapped as each person walked down the aisle. They were married by a childhood friend who’s now a Chabad rabbi, but they played James Brown’s “I Feel Good,” at the end of the ceremony.

The band was Israeli, the dancing was fun, joyful and all about the bride and groom, until it switched to Israeli rock music and then a DJ later on in the evening, for a bit of trance. The program? Short and sweet, including a video montage about the couple made by their friends, and an Israeli folkdance, performed by the bride’s aunts, uncles and cousins.

In short, a fabulous party and a great event, and through it all, it was hard to believe that the next generation is already heading into this part of life. What’s more, they have their way of doing it, mixing and matching what they’ve learned from the family, from home and from their surroundings. The melting pot in action.

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