If you are unfamiliar with the Hebrew word mitzvah, it literally means "commandment." Hence, when a boy turns 13, he usually has a bar mitzvah, meaning he becomes a "son of the commandments [Torah."
But, a mitzvah is also used to mean a "blessing," be it an honor bestowed on another or a good deed done. When I was practicing Famly Law in Southern California, Yiddish terms - many of which are Hebrew terms - would be exchanged among lawyers, and I can remember times a Jewish lawyer might ask me for a favor, adding "It would be a mitzvah . . ."
The loveliness of that term is exemplified here in a video that a friend put together for mutual friends of ours. Some background: the lovely bride in these photographs is named Tamar, and her knight that she married is Jonathan. As you can tell, they are religious Jews and some particularly lovely shots can be seen where Tamar is paruing before her wedding at the Wetsern Wall. In Israel, it is considered a mitzvah to ask a bride for her blessing on her wedding day, hence why you see pictures of women apporaching Tamar and her extending her hand. Her grandmother told me, her soon-to-be husband had arranged for security to take his bride to the Wall for her prayers, and at the very end the bodyguard asked her for one last blessing. Tamar laughed and blessed him saying, "I bless you . . . and the whole kit-and-caboodle!"
Warning: you will need a Kleenex to watch this. If you don't, you need some soul food to nourish what is missing in your soul!
2 comments:
Thank you Dear Stephanie. You gave us a wonderful mitzvah putting my Darling Grand on your blog. She gives us such joy and will be a Blessing to her husband, her family and friends.
A beautiful dress! I wonder if she had it handmade for her? Dresses like that are so hard to find.
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