We Married Off Our Oldest In Jerusalem Last Week

Last week we married off our daughter, our eldest, to a wonderful young man, in the hills of Jerusalem. The groom, like our daughter, chose to leave the place he was born and return to our ancestral homeland. He chose to bravely serve his land. Even though it is only days after the wedding, he continues to do so as I type these words. (The sacrifices our children are making for our land is awe-inspiring.)

May be an image of 8 people and wedding

In our families, both the bride and groom have two sets of baal teshuva grandparents – Jews who were raised more secularly and chose to adopt observant lives. That made the celebration uniquely special. While Jews are under attack in increasing frequency, gunned down, burned up, missiles fired, the mood of the wedding was exuberantly joyful. Here, we weren’t only fulfilling the dreams of our ancestors from millennia past, who saw Jerusalem’s destruction but only prophets spoke of its rebuilding, our children, the grandchildren of those baalei teshuva continue to actualize the hard work and determination of living committed Jewish lives that have only recently been rebuilt.

The links of tradition had been lost in our families, but with every passing generation they are fortifying. How can we fret about the Jewish future when we were witnessing its joyful growth?

Last week’s Torah portion was Numbers. It is called Numbers because of all the counting of the tribes of Israel. Twelve brothers, in a matter of generations, became a mighty nation.

Our four sets of grandparents in their humble ways also built back generations that continue to grow. In an age of increasing intermarriage, assimilation and loss of Jewish life, we were witnessing the next link of the Jewish future, building their lives in our land, dedicating their lives to our traditions, standing up for our people, and unapologetically serving our God with joy.

May we continue to celebrate many more simchas, may our chasan and kallah merit to build a bayis Neeman (a faithful home) b’Yisrael and live to see a time where peace prevails over war. Mazel tov to our dear children! We love you so much and are so excited for your future together! 🎊 🥳

May be an image of 3 people and wedding

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Allison Josephs

Allison Josephs is the founder and executive director of Jew in the City has been involved in the field of Jewish Outreach for over twenty years and is the Partner in Torah mentor to actress Mayim Bialik. She was named one of NJOP’s Top Ten Jewish Influencers and one of the Jewish Week’s 36 under 36. Allison has been quoted or written about in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, People Magazine, NYPost, Daily News, TMZ, The Daily Beast, and Hollywood Reporter. She has appeared on numerous television and radio networks including CBS, ABC, Fox5, TLC, Associate Press TV, and NPR; her articles have appeared in publications including The Washington Post, JTA, Jewish Week, Jerusalem Post, The Forward, and Kveller. Pearson Education, the largest textbook company in the world, produced a video segment on Allison’s life for the Judaism chapter of their textbook. She is a sought-after international lecturer whose corporate clients include Con-Edison and NYU Langone and hosts a weekly podcast on the Nachum Segal Network. She received her Bachelor of Arts from Columbia University in Philosophy and lives with her husband and four children minutes from the George Washington Bridge.