Above My Greatest Joy

Yikes. Exactly four months since my last post.

About three months since a very snowy Purim.

Eight weeks since we threw out the chametz (leavened bread);

seven since we re-stocked.

Just over a month since Bill and I finally had our 3-day vacation in Florida.

And somewhere in the middle

of it all, our son announced his engagement to the lovely Rachel.

Wedding plans are in full swing so I'm going to keep this short but before I walk my son down the aisle to his chuppah I must share the following with you:

On the night that they announced their engagement, we threw together a "l'chaim" (lit. "to life" - basically, a spontaneous engagement party) that didn't end until midnight and didn't get cleaned up until 1:00 a.m. With my adrenaline rushing, sleep was clearly not an option. So at 2:00 a.m. I went to my computer to send the good news out to a sleeping world that would read all about it in the morning. And then the most wonderful unexpected thing happened. Replies to my email blast starting pouring in - each one heaped with happiness and bursting with blessings. And all of them...from Israel! Well, sure - it was 9:00 a.m. there. Everyone was either at his/her office or relaxing with a cup of coffee at their home computer after sending the kids off to school.

I responded to every email that night - feeling so connected; so close to Home - as I thought about a verse that is traditionally recited or sung at many Jewish weddings: "...if I do not elevate Jerusalem above my greatest joy" (Psalms 137:6). King David's words were said in a more solemn context but the sentiments are similar. Even as I was exulting in the very personal excitement of the first of my children to be engaged, I was reminded by my dear friends in the holy Land to Remember Jerusalem. What a special gift that was!

As their wedding date nears, I wish our new couple everything a mother can possibly wish for her children - from the tangible to the spiritual and everything in between.

Please join me in my blessings for them and
may you be granted endless opportunities to elevate Jerusalem above your greatest joy.