Last night many of us had the pleasure of participating in the marriage of Libby, daughter of Rabbi Yossie and Chanie Nemes to Zalman Groner. It was a wonderful affair and I am sure you all join me in wishing them and their families a hearty Mazel Tov. A bride from New Orleans and a groom from Charlotte, NC. You would think there would have been an abundance of seersucker suits and mint julips. Actually black hats & coats and vodka seemed to be the preferred male attire and beverage respectively. Aside from a few veiled references to some sort of football rivalry (anyone know what they may have been talking about?) and the weather, there wasn’t much about this wedding that was southern. (Unless you count the violinist sneaking in Dixie after the Chuppah.)
So why would Chassidic Jews choose to live in Metairie or Charlotte and have their wedding in New Orleans? Especially since both sets of parents are decidedly northern in origin (and accent). At the wedding reception Rabbi Yossi Groner (father of the groom) gave a toast during which he mentioned that the one truly rejoicing is the Rebbe. It is the joy of seeing two families who devoted their lives to Shlichus (the Rebbe’s emissaries to make the world a better and more G-dly place) marrying off their children to each other in the presence of beautiful delegations from both communities.
So the Rebbe inspired these two couples (among thousands of others around the world) to move to the South where they have both had a great influence of the development of their respective Jewish communities and on countless people that have been touched by the work of Chabad in those places. Now their southern born children have been united in marriage to the delight of the Rebbe and their families. We wish them all the best for a wonderful life in emulating the dedication of their parents to the Rebbe’s ideal of turning this world into a dwelling place for Hashem.
Mazel Tov to former New Orleanians Binyomin and Gittel Kaplan upon the engagement of their daughter Mushka to Mendy Drihem.
Have a good Shabbos
Rabbi Mendel Rivkin