Last night Shuie and I went to our friends Adiella and Binyamin Yitzchak’s Sheva Brachot (Sheva Brachot [Seven Blessings] are a series of dinners that take place each night for a week after a Jewish wedding). I had really wanted to go to their wedding, but one of the Jewish laws of mourning prohibits me from going to any sort of celebration for 11 months following my mother’s death. It was a double bummer because Adiella is my friend and because I really wanted to go to a wedding in Israel. Disappointment aside, the Sheva Brachot was lovely. It was thrown by Shuie’s yeshiva so all of his friends and their wives (my friends) were there. The thing I like about this chevra (community) is how chilled-out it is. One of the less pretty sides of the Orthodox world is the competition people have to make THE MOST FABULOUS wedding, bar-mitzvah, Sheva Brachot, etc. Instead of a fancy, catered shindig like some people would turn themselves inside out to throw, Adiella and Binyamin Yitzchak’s Sheva Brachot was a vegetarian potluck and the dress code was “Whatever”. Instead of some lavish catering hall, it was held at Kol Rina, the Carlebach shul in Nachlaot that used to be a bomb shelter, and everyone just relaxed, danced and enjoyed each other’s company.

I was touched by two things in particular during our evening out. The first was how gorgeous Adiella looked. It’s not that she wasn’t beautiful before she got married, but there was an unmistakable glow about her that I saw the minute she walked in. There is something special about being a bride, and I think even more so when you’re a Jewish bride, or “Kallah” in Hebrew. From the time you get engaged, you have Kallah status, and you keep it all the way through the first year of marriage. A Kallah and her Chatan (groom) are considered like a king and queen and are treated as such by everyone (hence the “thrones” they sit in at their wedding and the “feasts” thrown for them for seven nights afterward). The perks of Kallah-hood are that people fawn all over you and ask you how wedding plans/married life is and you’re not obligated to host any Shabbat guests for the entire first year so that you and your husband have ample quality time. I loved all the attention when I was a kallah and sometimes miss the romantic whirlwind of engagement and newlyweddedness (yes, it’s a word now).

The other thing I found particularly sweet was when Reb Aaron, Shuie’s rabbi, said after the meal, “Chevra, I think we should spend the rest of the evening singing and offering blessings to the Chatan and Kallah”. I have been to so many simchas (celebrations) where it just seems like one long cocktail hour with boring small talk and maybe a sliver of holiness before everyone attacks the smorgasbord. But this small group created a holy, joyful little gathering, and the blessings offered were so, so beautiful. Unfortunately, Shuie and I had to sneak out early to be home for the babysitter before we could offer one of our own.

I need to brag about Yonah for a minute in case someone doubted for one second that he wasn’t a genius. When I picked him up from Ruchama’s today she told me that when the other kids play with blocks, they just throw them around or line them up. Yonah used them to build a tower. I was so proud.

I can’t believe tomorrow is Thursday already. They say that Shabbat starts coming in on Wednesday night and builds over Thursday before coming to full flower on Friday evening. For me, Wednesday night means menu planning, Thursday means shopping and Friday means cooking my tush off. We may or may not have guests to stay this weekend and the Edens are coming for lunch. To be honest, I hope our potential overnight guests bail; I kind of want to keep things quiet even though I had last Shabbat off. It’s been a tiring, emotional week and I don’t really want to host anyone. Since nothing has been confirmed yet, is it impolite to tell them to seek lodging elsewhere? Bluch.

I am craving America. I want to drive my car and go to massive supermarkets and buy stuff I don’t need, in bulk, like a good American girl. I want to turn on the radio and hear people speaking in English. I want to pay for things in dollars. I want to see my family. I hope seeing my father next week will give me a temporary fix.