Language of the Bridegroom

Thank you very much.

Praise God.

Cool.

Good men.

Blessed are you, Adonai, our God, King of the universe, who has sanctified us with his commandments

and has commanded us to engross ourselves in the words of the Torah.

Please, Adonai, our God, sweeten the words of your Torah in our mouth and in the mouth of your people, the family of Israel.

May we and our offspring, the offspring of your people, the house of Israel, all of us,

know your name and study your Torah for its own sake.

Blessed are you, Adonai, who teaches Torah to his people, Israel.

Blessed are you, Adonai, our God, King of the universe, who has selected us from all the peoples

and gave to us his Torah.

Blessed are you, Adonai, giver of the Torah.

Amen.

Thank you very much.

As we said, this is the seventh lesson.

Actually, it's the eighth lesson because we always have that zero lesson.

The intro lesson.

But if you would like, let's read this out together.

I apologize that it's not our scroll translation, but you know this song very well.

Psalm 29.

Tell me why we know this song.

It's in the prayer.

It's in Shakarit.

That's right.

But did you know why it's in Shakarit?

Ascribe to Adonai.

O heavenly beings, ascribe to Adonai glory and strength.

Ascribe to Adonai the glory due to his name.

Worship Adonai in the splendor of holiness.

The voice of Adonai is over the waters.

The God of glory thunders.

Adonai is over many waters.

The voice of Adonai is powerful.

The voice of Adonai is full of majesty.

The voice of Adonai breaks the cedars.

Adonai breaks the cedars of Lebanon.

He makes Lebanon swift like a calf and Sirion like a young wild ox.

The voice of Adonai flashes forth flames of fire.

The voice of Adonai shakes the wilderness.

Adonai shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.

The voice of Adonai makes the deer give birth and strips the forest bare.

And in his temple all cry glory.

Adonai is his name.

Adonai sits enthroned over the flood.

Adonai sits enthroned as king forever.

May Adonai give strength to his people.

May Adonai bless his people with peace.

Amen.

And, so that you know why we do that for Shacharit, in particular on Shabbat, this is because it's Shadrach.

As you note, it's seven times the voice of Adonai is there.

And so, Sinai was the marriage site.

It was the ceremony.

It was the giving of the seven blessings.

And so we read this song on Shabbat in memory of the fact that we've been wed to the king.

I love it.

That's very cool.

Yeah.

So, why is it important to have the seven blessings?

Yes.

Whoa.

Right there.

The voice.

All right.

The voice.

And actually there's a correlation.

They try and match them up.

They're not sequential, but they try and match them up with the seven blessings.

Yeah.

That's pretty cool.

Yeah.

That's pretty cool.

But now you know why we actually include Psalm 29, where we include it as part of

Shavuot.

Because it is an expression of a covenant relationship that was formed at Sinai.

So, we have spent time examining the practical aspects of the Jewish wedding.

We kind of have an idea.

Well, you know, most of you already know it, but a lot of people don't know about the weddings

because they haven't participated in it.

Who has not been to a Jewish wedding yet?

So, as you know, this is why we kind of like, maybe we take it a little bit for granted.

But people that don't have a fundamental understanding or have not experienced it, come in.

Come in.

Oh, please.

Oh, yes.

Fine young men here.

Right.

Somebody give some outlines to these young men.

Please.

Thank you.

But nearly all of their conscious life, they have prayed Shacharit.

They know the psalm, Psalm 29, as part of Shacharit prayer and Shabbat.

And Shacharit prayer and Shabbat includes the psalm because it is the wedding ceremony.

It's the wedding ceremony where Israel was wedded by covenant to Hashem at Sinai.

And so this voice of Adonai is repeated seven times,

correlates to the seven blessings in the Shed of Raphok,

which is part of the wedding ceremony.

I'm using the word ceremony very loosely.

I never noticed it was there seven times.

It is seven times.

It's amazing.

You know, the thing that I think most won me over to the Jewish wedding ceremony,

and the reason...

The fact that you had one?

Well, not the only reason, but one of the main reasons why I really wanted to do it myself

for many years before I got married, were the Shed of Raphok.

Because the seven blessings...

We're going to get into them more.

But I feel like they're so cool because they turn what is a somewhat of a man-focused ritual,

the wedding ceremony,

Absolutely.

into a beautiful expression of worship, praising God for what's happening.

And that's not to say that a Christian ceremony doesn't also try to incorporate God's worship.

But the difference, I feel like, is a Christian ceremony oftentimes tries to worship God in the midst of the wedding,

whereas I feel like the Shed of Raphok worshipped God for the wedding.

Which is so cool.

That's absolutely true.

Anyway, we were talking about the fact that wedding customs give us a key understanding into a relationship between God and his people.

The relationship between God and his people is an intimate relationship.

Is every relationship between God and his people intimate?

No.

How about a king and his subjects?

Is a king and his subjects, is that intimate?

No.

Not really.

Not very.

Maybe fear and trembling, like a joke.

That's right.

How about a relationship between father and child?

That's more intimate.

Yes, absolutely.

So we see that in scripture, a father and his child, that's certainly more intimate.

But the most intimate relationship in all of human relationships is the relationship between a bridegroom and his bride.

That's why it is very important.

To understand that relationship in order to understand the relationship, why God uses this language.

And he doesn't just use this language in the marriage life.

It's all focused on the wedding.

Which is a really interesting thing.

Think about it.

Well, don't you grow much closer over years?

I've been married almost 35 years.

I can promise you I love my wife far more now than I did then.

I thought I could.

I think she loves me.

So why is it focused on the beginning?

Why is the beginning the focus?

Is that not the foundation for what will come?

So you have to have a good wedding in order to have a good marriage?

No.

If you're looking for an answer.

I am.

I mean, it's rhetorical, but I have an answer.

To me, I think one of the things that stood out from doing this study that she did,

and then also just from my own experience,

I feel like the wedding is all about joy.

And that's the thing I think that's so cool.

It's a party.

It's a celebration.

It's all about joy.

Not to say that marriage life is not also about joy.

Marriage life also has normal things like work.

I have to go to work.

I have to be away from my wife for eight, ten hours a day.

There's other types of things in life that are just tedious and normal, mundane.

But the marriage, the wedding ceremony is different.

It's like a...

It's in some sense a glimmer of the world to come

in which there is rejoicing always.

He took my thunder.

The ceremony represents the ultimate.

The perfection.

Exactly right.

And if we can live up to that...

That's right.

Over time, we grow in a wedding, in a marriage relationship.

We grow over time.

But you can't grow over time if you didn't have a wedding.

So the focus is...

As the ideal.

This is.

So all that benefit afterwards comes because of the wedding.

One of the cool things that I notice is that a lot of times you see at Christian weddings,

you see a lot of the younger folks and even the older families saying,

oh well, it's all over now.

It's all over.

And what I've noticed at Joshua and Juliana's wedding,

just in my wedding,

that people were so astounded at God's presence

and the sanctity of the wedding.

And they were just so supportive of what we were doing.

It wasn't, you guys, it's all over, guys.

Hope you enjoyed your singledom.

But now it's...

It starts to...

You know, I think part of that, if you think about it,

for people my age, you know, it's the Carpenters.

We just...

.

Really, seriously, though.

I mean, it's just like I said, you know.

I have a much richer relationship with my wife now than I did then.

But it's almost like the Jewish cultural perspective on wedding and marriage

as it's tipped on its head.

The best is first.

The best, we're not talking about the best time or closest relationship.

But the best is first.

The ideal is first.

And then we live it out.

I think you're right.

I think, to go back to your original question,

original question you know it's a starting point like i've been close with my fiance for three

years but it's probably nothing compared to the closest we'll have after we're married

because it's a different absolutely relationship and it gets better but that's a relationship

that's not the concept right so we spent time examining the wedding language used as well so

yeah go ahead uh it also gives you something to look back on like passover when you wear

absolutely things like that absolutely my wife is not watching this so anything that i say here

today please be careful and do not refer to her anything that i say because i was looking through

pictures today our wedding anniversary is coming up so i was looking through pictures old pictures

don't tell her because that would tip something off really old really old pictures scanning

and uh wow man i mean that's

that's a long time ago but i i was it was i tell you what you know it just kind of goes with that

is that those memories every time i pull out a picture of my life's like wow she was gorgeous

i mean all the way through the you know 35 years of marriage like i'm going back it's like 10 years

15 years 20 years like man man i want to marry that woman oh wait i did marry her

but we also

looked at the language you know we blocked the actual weddings that helps us but we also looked

at the language through scripture because you know even song of psalms carries even though it has

mystic connotation it carries some that language is being used for a reason why does god use a

language because he thinks we should relate to it unfortunately most of the people that read

when i say most i mean most actually almost all of the people that read the scriptures

do not know what this is talking about because they don't have to

they don't have that experience it's not even it's beyond them they think they know it oh yeah it's

about a man you know where the preacher stands but they don't really understand it's not part

of their experience it's it's not their fault but it's not part of their experience but making it

part of our experience and knowing the language that's being used now we like okay those are the

touch points like we're minutes we we pin the various expressions of our relationship on the

wall we have them all mapped out yes so when we hear that language we we have a personal and a

understanding what that language means.

But notice this.

I had it in bold.

It's in context of the Jewish wedding.

Not to detract from any wedding,

even if it's a Buddhist wedding.

Honestly, when God brings two people together,

however weirdly that happens,

there is something good from that.

Well, first of all,

hopefully they're fulfilling the first commandment.

But there is something good from that.

It is a spiritual experience,

not just a physical experience.

It's a good spiritual experience for those people,

even in a relationship with God that they may not have.

But in the full understanding,

a Jewish wedding is different.

It is far better to understand

using the Jewish wedding,

the culture of the Jewish wedding.

We've already talked about all this,

but now we're going to focus on one particular part of that wedding.

You did the ceremony, and we did the ceremony.

Remember, the ceremony is divided into two parts.

Does anybody remember the parts?

Yes, sir.

Tatooine.

That was for you guys.

Star Trek.

Excuse me.

How's Star Wars?

Kiddushin.

We'll find a Star Trek reference here in a second.

Kiddushin.

Okay.

So we have the two parts.

Remember Kiddushin?

Remember over time they've been split into two.

It's really almost put together here.

There are still two separate parts of the ceremony,

but they're kind of together.

But do you remember when we did Kiddushin,

we said, okay,

and we said, well, hold off.

This is a big piece.

We're going to hold off to the end.

And the reason why is because that's the ceremony.

So when you're blessing him,

it's like you're telling him to live long and prosper.

All that's...

There we go.

There it is.

All right.

I salute you, sir.

Yes.

Nimoy and Shatner will go through with me.

That's right.

There we go.

Everybody's...

So sanctified without sanctification.

Don't look at your notes, please.

What is sanctified?

What does sanctified mean?

Set apart.

Set apart means who?

Without sanctification.

What's sanctification?

Without sanctions.

Excuse me.

Without sanctions.

They're the same root, y'all.

Do you understand?

What is a wedding?

It is the church and the state

sanctioning the union legally

and for the sake of children

establishing new identities.

True?

Everybody agree with that?

Sure.

Sanction.

State sanctions?

The church sanctions.

In fact, if you go to the state of Israel today,

you cannot get married

if you are not orthodox

and marrying an orthodox.

You can't.

The state does not sanction it.

Okay?

In the United States today,

the state sanctions if you want to marry a puppy.

You can do that.

Not saying that that's acceptable,

but the point is the state sanctions it.

Okay?

But it's sanctified without sanction.

A Jewish wedding,

this is where the state of Israel is wrong,

biblically,

because a Jewish wedding requires no sanction.

No.

Zero.

How do I say that?

Well, look,

Christian and Protestant,

we're really big on this.

Everybody's got to have a vote.

Did you sign a marriage license?

No.

I've signed marriage licenses before.

If anybody in here has signed a marriage license,

I'm sorry,

it probably is not valid.

But the point is,

the state requires us to sign a marriage license,

which is silly because

we don't need a signature on a marriage license.

We didn't even need a marriage license to start with,

but we certainly don't need a signature.

By whom?

Who is supposed to sign a marriage license in the United States?

Every state in the Union.

Clergy.

We don't got clergy.

A man who's been ordained.

Yeah.

I mean, Jews don't have clergy.

Did you know that?

Jews don't have clergy.

There are no men of the cloth.

Judaism.

None.

Backwards collars,

none.

We wear kippot,

but we don't wear collars.

Why?

Because we don't have dogs.

We don't have dogs.

Why do we not have clergy?

Why does Judaism not have clergy?

We have rabbis.

Are they clergy?

They're treated as clergy in the United States

and various places around the world.

They're even treated,

in some respect,

treated as clergy in the state of Israel as well.

But are rabbis clergy?

None.

Technically speaking,

clergy really has an institutional aspect.

So,

yes, ask,

and whose synagogue is this?

The clergy.

The rabbi won't say,

it's my synagogue.

But if you were to ask,

whose pastor,

you know,

back in the 80s,

whose pastor at First Baptist Atlanta?

Charles Stanley.

It's his church.

His church?

I mean,

people say it,

and they don't even blink at it.

Today,

Pastor Curtis,

Ryan's brother,

there you go.

It's his church.

Oh, he's at such and such.

People say that.

That's just really a remarkable thing.

Break that down in language.

What does that mean?

I mean,

scripture tells us very strongly

that that's not true.

Right?

So,

the presence of a rabbi at a wedding

is simply a state requirement type thing.

It's people,

it's culturally,

they want to fit in with a western idea,

and you've got to have a clergy.

So,

a rabbi's there,

he does some stuff.

He signs the marriage license.

In the United States,

he does.

Not every Jewish wedding has a rabbi,

but if they do,

that's kind of what it is.

He's fulfilling the role of clergy,

even though he's a monk.

Okay?

We have Mr. Calvin to thank for that.

Yes,

thank you,

John Calvin.

The sanctity of the Jewish wedding

is brought by the groom and the bride.

I want you to remember this.

The groom and the bride

are the ones that bring sanctity to the wedding.

It is not a church,

or a synagogue,

or a clergy being present.

It is the groom and the bride

and the blessings.

His seven blessings.

That's what makes it sanctified.

Okay?

The union is not created by a state or clergy.

As the Bible describes,

thank you very much,

we have Genesis the first way.

Right?

There's just two,

and God blesses them.

And that's it.

There's no like,

did she wear it?

Did she walk an aisle?

You know,

did she walk an aisle?

Well,

you know,

we don't want that image.

Please,

erase that from your minds.

She was clothed in light.

Fingernails.

Yeah.

Fingernails,

that's right.

Hard light.

She was not naked.

The blessings that sanctify the groom and the bride,

I shouldn't say the blessings,

the two and the blessings sanctify the union

are known as the Shema Rukul,

the seven blessings.

So,

we'll start with the first one.

Blessing one,

created for his glory.

We're going to read it in English.

I'll sing them for you.

Blessed are you,

Adonai our God,

King of the universe,

who has created everything for his glory.

Well,

that's very nice.

It's like,

okay,

we'll start off by blessing God,

that he created everything for his glory.

Consider why that is the first blessing.

Someone look up Isaiah 43,

6,

through 7.

Don't look.

No.

I have it.

6,

through 7.

6,

through 7,

please.

Thank you.

I will say to the north,

give up,

and to the south,

do not withhold.

Bring my sons from afar,

and my daughters from the end of the earth.

Everyone who is called by my name,

whom I have created for my glory,

whom I have formed and made.

Everyone's created for a purpose.

Do you believe that?

Something good that John Calvin did

is infuse in Protestant Christians,

and the fundamental concept

that man was created for the glory of God.

That's absolutely true.

Biblical.

It is the pinnacle of our purpose.

Created for the glory of God.

What is it to be created for the glory of God?

What does that mean?

What's God's glory?

Is it shiny?

What's boring?

Wait.

Come on.

It's waiting.

What is waiting?

What am I trying to implicate when I say

man was created for God's weight?

His weightiness.

Give him worship.

What's that?

Worship is to give weight, right?

But obedience.

Obedience is to give weight.

Absolutely.

These are describing what it is to give glory,

but what is glory?

What is that weight?

What is it?

It's defining and revealing God as He is.

I mean, that's pretty simple, but yeah.

As He is?

A demonstration.

Wow.

That's...

Man was created to reveal God as He is.

He's unknowable.

How can man possibly reveal Him?

He reveals Him by worshiping Him.

As He is.

And has He?

He defined Himself and defined His worship, right?

So this is how man brings glory to God.

Which men?

This is the first blessing.

Which men?

Men in general?

Absolutely.

It's not the men that I advise.

It's His people.

Number one is people.

And we're going to see later.

Rashi says not only His people,

but this holy congregation that are here to observe this.

The witnesses.

Yeah.

So when you think about that,

that makes this a pretty powerful blessing.

It's like everyone in this room had a Jewish wedding.

You were brought here for this purpose.

And this purpose is to glorify, to add weight.

Not add.

To show the weight of our God.

The black holes.

Can't see them.

Yeah.

But they're described.

And they're evidenced by what happens around them.

By what happens around the shlake.

Yeah.

And by the actions of the bodies around the black hole,

the black hole is defined.

I never thought about that, what you just said.

That God is glorified and described by our actions.

Because we can't see Him.

You know, we can't see Him.

We can't feel Him.

We can't know His presence except that He reveals Himself through people.

Word.

Nature.

But most importantly through people.

All nature brings glory to God.

All of His creation.

However, it requires nefesh in order to soul.

In order to meet this requirement.

You know, you can have dogs barking.

That's great, man.

Birds flying.

Fish swimming.

All that's wonderful.

All that brings glory to God.

No question about it.

But not in the way that men bring glory to God.

Because we were created for this.

Okay?

So He wants to reveal His glory to His people.

For His reason they were created to participate in the Jewish wedding

is the most important example.

That seems pretty overreaching.

But I want to remind you, what's the first commandment?

Be fruitful and multiply.

Think about it for a second.

Two.

Can multiply.

Two.

Become one.

Can multiply.

Have more creatures who are created in order to bring glory to God.

That's astounding.

Talk about pro-life.

That's like, whoa.

That makes pro-life to be just the pinnacle of our being.

Think about it.

Not just two.

Create one.

Or two.

Or three.

Or four.

Or five.

Or six.

Or seven.

Or eight.

Or nine.

Or ten.

Or eleven.

Or twelve.

Or thirteen.

Or fourteen.

Or fifteen.

Or sixteen.

Or seventeen.

Or eighteen.

Or twelve.

But those create three.

Or fifty.

Or one hundred.

And those create two hundred, or five hundred, or a thousand.

This is an important moment that everybody here in the Jewish wedding is here to bring

glory to God.

And so we thank Him that He created us for this purpose.

just how real that is. I saw a story one time where there was a woman who was having like her 96th birthday in Israel

and her entire family, people descended from her, showed up to the party. There were over a thousand people.

From one woman. From one woman. Holocaust survivor. That's incredible.

So I mean, it can be done. I think she was a great great grandmother maybe.

Fucking four, maybe five generations at most. Over a thousand people.

That's pretty cool. Very cool.

So, blessing two. Any questions or comments on blessing one before we go on?

That was really cool.

Blessing two. Blessed are you, Adonai, our God, King of the universe, who fashions the man.

Ha'adah. Do not.

Missed that. The.

The definite article. Ha'adah. The man. Not man.

Oh, that's nice. He hates man. Yes, he does.

Mankind are definitely his creation.

But who did he create first?

The man. Adam.

And who today, during this wedding, is Ha'adah?

The groom. The bridegroom. Absolutely.

So, somebody look up Genesis 2-7.

Then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life.

And the man became a living creature.

Do not minimize the creation of woman. And I don't mean to.

We're going to move on to that in a second. So I don't want you to misunderstand me when I say this.

Only man had God breathe into him.

And he became a soul.

The male.

The man, Adam, is the only one who was breathed into.

Eve was not breathed into.

Does she have a soul? Of course.

That's not the point. The point is God's breath.

Give me, give me a...

Y'all know Michelangelo's painting on the Sistine Chapel, right?

What's the finger?

What's the significance of the fingers not touching?

What is that significance?

We're given the view that they may have touched or about to touch.

But what's the significance?

Hands breathed from God.

That's right. That close. That close.

How close is breathing into?

That's mouth to mouth. Right?

It is. Absolutely.

God breathed into Adam mouth to mouth.

We bless him for this.

So...

Who's the one here that's representing Adam during a Jewish wedding?

The groom.

The groom. Wow.

Whoa. Thank you for making that guy.

In addition, the ceremony itself is emphasizing this Adam-like link.

That's right.

Because the first one to come out is the guy.

That's right.

The man walks out and takes his place underneath the chuppah.

Absolutely.

As though it's his domain. It's his place.

Then the woman is brought to him out of that.

Rabbi Lapin highlights this idea.

It's like the man, by having territorial dominance, it demonstrates that he's the leader.

Even in nature, like if you put fish in a fish tank, the one that gets there first ends up being automatically looked to as the leader.

And Rabbi Lapin argues that from this point, he says that women naturally want men who are leaders.

Absolutely.

And so this whole ceremony goes back to the garden.

So who shows up first?

Man.

And then woman is brought to him.

That's right.

Feminists will not like this lesson.

Man was created by the deliberate display of Hashem's condescending power.

The deliberate display.

That's not to say Eve or woman was not created by deliberate display.

Because she was.

We're going to see here in a moment.

But remember, it's God's breath that makes Adam a living soul.

This is a blessing not merely for all mankind, but also for the bridegroom specifically.

And we say, this is like Adam before us today.

Now I know that in a Christian or a Protestant, Catholic or Protestant wedding, generally that picture of the second Adam is being portrayed.

I agree that that is probably a good representation.

It is, absolutely.

It's a very good representation.

This is a little bit more fundamental.

Because this is not the second Adam right there.

We want to get you.

Don't start thinking, you know, this is a Messiah figure.

Because that's not what's going on.

This is like Adam.

What relationship was that?

Imperfection.

I mean perfect creation.

God breathes into him life.

No sin there.

This is the first Adam.

Okay?

Blessing.

Any questions on blessing?

We're moving forward.

This is pretty good.

We started off with a bunch of people.

We went to this group here.

And we got down to one guy.

Blessed are you, Adonai our God, King of the universe, who fashions the man in his image.

Well, that's good.

Didn't we already do that?

In the image of his likeness, and prepared for him, for himself, a building for eternity.

Blessed are you, Adonai, who fashions the man.

Even when we're blessing God for the woman, we still got to mention the man.

Why?

It's a very important reason.

Why?

Let's go to Genesis chapter 2, 20 through 24.

Amen.

Thank you.

The man gave names to all the livestock, and to the birds of the heavens, and to every

beast of the field.

But for Adam there was not found a helper to fit him.

So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man.

And while he slept, he took one of his ribs, and closed up its place with flesh.

And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man, he made into a woman, and brought

her to the man.

Then the man said, This at last is bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh.

She shall be called woman, because she was taken out of man.

Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother, and hold fast to his wife, and

they shall become one flesh.

That's pretty cool.

So, what's the relationship between, we're not saying woman, but Eve and God?

Through Adam.

She was created.

Did God breathe into her the breath of life?

Yes, because he breathed into Adam.

Does that make sense?

In the same way that we all come from women, every one of us, we look to our mother and

we go, You gave me life.

That's a good thing to say, right?

We honor her, maybe above all others that are human beings, because, maybe except your

wife, because she gave us life.

It's a pretty big deal.

In the same way, Eve.

Has life.

Through Adam.

So, but it's interesting to me.

So who's the building?

This is the point.

This is kind of funny.

Who's the building?

You may not have known that the third blessing was actually a blessing for the bride, when

you read it.

But it is.

She's the building.

The building?

She's a building?

Why is she a building?

Oh, she keeps me comfortable.

The stages actually refer to a man's wife sometimes as his wife.

Yeah.

And this is kind of a finding about moms sometimes, thatutz was not sitting out

at all, nor was she at ARM's .

She tried to talk about Abraham the Great then.

Okay.

Yeah.

All those things you said last time were value.

Yeah.

There were value points.

There was었습니다 there.

Right?

Yeah.

And so came a great base for her.

I think one of the things she walleye that convinced me is into correctly вари Gesundheits

as a relationship, right, about the internet.

Yeah.

So, this play-in is really great.

Like, um, not necessarily about music.

Yeah.

of security a sense of comfortability a sense of openness a sense of peace in the

same way that should be what I find absolutely absolutely interesting thing

is when Adam says she's bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh do you remember

relating that back to Song of Songs remember what bones were when we say

that prayer all my bones will praise you bones are the in our bodies bones are

what holds us up so when it says that you are bone of my bone and flesh of my

flesh it is an acknowledgment that you support me now that's not the way that

this may come across she's a building for me but saying my strength is in the

fact that I have this woman

Wow that cool all right there's nothing

egalitarian that's true this is not very egalitarian however before people get

off on as she's a building for him the woman's created from man but it's not to

denigrate her it's to compare her to the temple she is the temple for his

presence so she's the visible representation where he cannot go or be

involved

or provide influence in the same way that temple provides a visible

representation for people when they want to go be near God but never get to see

him does that make sense anybody that's married knows this is

exactly the way it works I mean she is I mean she's the building she's definitely

the building she's definitely represents me right in ways I can't do she's the

building she's the resting place she is Hakon in kind of interesting little

string of pearls imagery here we see this even within the apostolic writers in

the way that they talk about the Bride of Messiah Bride of Messiah is also

compared to the temple so she is the dwelling place of God at the same time

also the bride so there is like that if you string all the little analogies

together she is building the two are one and I don't want you to misunderstand

what I'm about to say. The two are one,

but there is a Kabbalistic application

to this as well. She is the

Shekinah.

If we are

who we're supposed to be,

she is the Shekinah,

the visible manifestation

of us.

So, if you have a beautiful wife,

you can be happy that you are

a very handsome person.

Because your wife's beauty is not

on the outside of the situation, so you're

handsome, but you're not on the outside either.

But the point here is that

she becomes

the Shekinah

for the man.

Hanukkah.

I'm so disappointed.

Because I thought I was

the only guy.

The Jews have had it all.

I didn't know.

It's so smart.

I mean,

you get home, it's been a long day,

and you're

and you see your bride,

and she looks at you, and she looks right

into you, and says,

Sir, tough day?

Yeah, sweetie?

It was a long day.

And you just,

I mean, I'm sure it's kind of the same for you guys

that have been married, right?

You can just

relax, or

as you put it, rest.

I'm home.

And I'm

That's so cool.

Yeah.

Any more comments or questions on

number three?

We're moving in.

Let's see.

So we started out here, big group,

congregation,

those assembled for the wedding.

Bless God for the man.

He's like Adam.

Bless God for the woman.

She's like Eve.

She's a building.

She's Hanukkah.

And then we bless God for the joyous in-gathering.

Wait a minute.

It was all about a wedding,

and now we're moving outside the wedding.

That's what it is.

Bring intense joy and exaltation

to the barren ones

through the in-gathering of her children.

And they hear gladness.

Blessed are you, Adonai,

who gladdens Zeon through the church.

Amen.

We have three passages to look up,

if you don't mind.

Somebody go to Isaiah 35, 10.

And then someone look up 51, 3.

And someone look up Isaiah 56, 7.

Great.

Perfect.

Thank you.

Have a good one.

All right.

Thank you.

Very good.

And the ransom of the Lord shall return

and come to Zion with singing.

Everlasting joy shall be upon their heads.

They shall obtain gladness and joy,

and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

Okay.

Just the one verse...

We have two...

You're doing two or...

I was doing two, but...

You got two back there?

Y'all fight over.

No, I just have the last one.

Oh, yes, okay.

All right.

For the Lord will comfort Zion.

He will comfort all her waste places.

He will make her wilderness like Eden

and her desert like the Garden of the Lord.

Joy and gladness will be found in it.

Thanksgiving and the voice of Melody.

And is it just the words?

Yes.

All right.

just for one verse, because it's sort of in the middle.

Well, you can read about it, sure.

It's in the middle of the verse.

And for those who bind themselves to the Lord to serve him,

to love the name of the Lord and to worship him,

all who keep the Shabbat without desecrating it

and who hold fast to my covenant,

these I will bring to my holy mountain

and give them joy in my house of prayer.

Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on my altar,

for my house will be called a house of prayer for all nations.

So we see here, intense joy and exaltation for the barren.

What's the significance of the barren?

Who's the barren one?

Actually, throughout Isaiah, in the Songs of Consolation,

there's a reference, constant reminder of the barren one.

Why is the barren one being named here?

First of all, who's the most famous barren woman?

Sarah.

Who's the next famous barren woman?

Rizk.

All right, so we've got a theme going here.

We're barren women.

But apparently, this is a big theme.

What is the significance of one and a half million coming out of Mitzrayim

over several hundred years?

Man, how many children can you people have?

These are not barren people.

So what's the significance of barren here?

The son of the exile.

It is the son of the exile, but why the exile?

What's the correlation of the exile?

What's the correlation of the exile and barrenness?

Is it related to faith?

It is.

Go back to Leviticus.

Tell me about...

There's an odd ceremony in Leviticus

about a woman who's caught in adultery.

Or is suspected of adultery.

Barren water stuff?

Yeah.

Bitter water stuff.

So she drinks the dust of the tabernacle.

With the name of God.

With the name of God on it.

If she has been unfaithful, she becomes barren.

So what's the significance here?

She's been found unfaithful.

That's the point.

She's been found unfaithful.

So what we're asking God to do here,

in the midst of this blessing,

I mean, this is like, can we not make it a little bit less uncomfortable?

We're having a wedding,

and you're bringing up barren people?

That means someone's been unfaithful.

Barrenness is not a sign of unfaithfulness.

But that was that sign,

that person that was caught,

or was suspected of being caught, right?

That was the fruit. There you go.

So what's the point here?

She's got children.

We're not fruit. We're not barren.

She's got children.

She has children.

Bring intense joy. She has children.

She was barren. She no longer is barren.

That's power.

Why is she no longer barren?

Because his favor is still with her.

Remember, we're having a wedding

and we're being given the imagery

of relationship between God and his people.

That image has been tarnished.

Certainly, 2,000 years of

supersessionism

has tarnished it even more.

How is it tarnished? First of all,

it was tarnished by Israel's unfaithfulness.

But then it was tarnished

because everybody picked that up

and said, yeah, you Jews,

you don't even know the God that you claim to know.

And the proof of it is,

you're scattered around the world.

And he's saying, no, no, no.

You're barren. You have many children.

And in fact, I'm going to bring them all here.

So it's a prophetic statement.

And the proof of it is, look here.

We're in this wedding ceremony. Look around.

We're all Jews.

And we're here celebrating

a Jewish wedding. Thank you.

So apparently, we haven't been

wiped out and God does keep his promises.

It's a prophetic proclamation.

That it's going to get a whole lot better.

Many more weddings are coming.

Any final comments

on number four?

When we were talking about

how the wedding kind of kicks everything off.

The wedding is always, you know,

it's sort of the personal yom kippur

before you get married. That's right, you do that.

And I feel like that emphasizes that unconditional love.

Because it's one of the first moments

in our life when we feel an unconditional

love for something. Because we haven't had children yet.

We haven't been married yet. So you get married.

But then children are the next time that happens.

That's right. With every child that comes.

You have another reminder

of unconditional love. Very good.

So it is

our first glimpse in the ceremony

of the Messianic age.

No, the bridegroom is

not Messiah.

Blessing five.

Gladden the bridegroom and his bride.

We'll get some more

here for

the Messianic picture.

Gladden the beloved companions.

As you gladden your creature

in the Garden of Eden to the east.

Blessed are you, Adonai, who gladdens

groom and bride.

Gladden your beloved companions.

Who are beloved

companions?

As you gladden your creature.

Whose creature?

In the Garden of Eden. Well, we'd have to say

it's in the Garden of Eden.

Who is the creature in the Garden of Eden?

Adam.

That is, that really highlights the fact

that it is,

they are two who become one,

but they're two who become one

who were originally one.

That's right. That's one of the things

in Ben. Two become one

that were one. That were one.

Because according to Jewish

tradition, and they're basing it off of the scriptures

really, is that

man, when he is first

created, is in a sense

man and woman to a degree. Right.

And then they're separated to be

two. But then the job

in a sense is to reform them according to

more mystical teachings

that even their souls were originally

one. And so according to Jewish

tradition today, when a man

We have a

soul mate. Your soul mate,

I mean it's not a, I know it sounds kind of

70ish, it's not.

It's actually very Jewish. You have a soul mate.

I mean the mystical teaching,

whether you want to accept it or not, the mystical teaching is

that you have a soul mate, that you were one soul

that were divided

as Adam and Eve was divided.

And that when you come together, you become

one soul again. Doesn't mean you're not

responsible for your own actions, a moral soul.

But the idea is that there's a union that

takes place that reunites

you with the one that you were made

with. And that's why

And connected to that teaching

is why there's a natural longing

for a man towards

a woman and for a woman towards a man.

It's that natural drawing.

Trying to come back together to that

original statement. And

even if you don't want to accept the concept

of the sheikh,

that soul mate, it is

something that everybody that's married

has an inkling there was

something like that.

It's not just a

physical attack, there's something about it.

There is also, I don't know

if it's true for everyone,

I know for me, there is an odd feeling

almost like, especially after you get

married, where it almost feels like

this is new,

but this is always there.

It's like,

it's not so much that,

it's like life before this

was a separate lifetime.

This is the life

and this life is always there.

The lake house?

It was a lake house.

But it is kind of cool, you've got like this

it looks like an out of time experience.

It is. It absolutely is.

No question about it. I'm not trying to make it weird.

I'm just saying, there's something

more than just two people.

We're with you.

Sanctioned by the state and the church.

Somebody look up this

scripture here if I can find it. Song of Songs.

Oh, I love that book.

Chapter 5, verse 16.

His mouth is most sweet,

and he is altogether desired.

This is my beloved and this is my

friend, the daughter of Jerusalem.

Absolutely.

This particular bridegroom. Okay, we're in the

ceremony. This bridegroom right here

in front of us. This bridegroom

and this bride that we see here

are gladdened as the

first bridegroom and the bride

in the Garden of Eden. The creature.

Singular. Okay?

Their joy increases

as their union is

witnessed by the group here

and share in the promises

of Jerusalem. This is really important because we're moving

on into the next blessings. Jerusalem is going to

keep coming back.

Anyway,

that one, I'm glad you

brought up the Beshared idea because the Beshared

actually is specifically being

identified in

Song of Songs, or the concept of Song of

Psalms 560.

There are voices in Jerusalem.

Yeah, this is the weird

I have to say, before, and I don't want

to denigrate anybody here, but

those of you who know my

middle son didn't have a Jewish

wedding. He had Jewish elements in his Jewish wedding.

Because his

wife

didn't want that kind of wedding.

That's fine. But

at the same time, there were others that

were helping him prepare for the wedding

that were chosen to help him prepare for the wedding

that thought they did have it all figured out.

And it was really kind of funny

to listen to them

trying, well, we need to do this Jewish stuff.

This is what this Jewish stuff means.

And

no, actually, you're really

missed it. It was not even close.

The example

that I wanted to bring up was the breaking

of the glass. Jeremiah broke a glass

at the very end, and

the person that was performing the wedding

the state-sanctioned wedding

describes what that

means. Well, the glass

is all about how fragile

our lives are. And that

when the glass is broken,

we just have to

pause for a moment and remember we're so

fragile, so we should cherish every moment.

And I actually thought that was very good.

That was awesome.

That's a great little lesson.

Absolutely. But that is not what we

do.

And we didn't do the sad song

for Jerusalem because that would be too depressing

at a wedding. It's like, no, you missed the point.

You've got to do the sad song

for Jerusalem. Why?

Because you need to understand what it means.

Because

weddings are important.

Weddings are so important

that we have to understand

what that

sad song for Jerusalem means.

And this is part of that.

So we do the sad song

for Jerusalem before we say this blessing.

Blessed are you, Adonai our God,

King of the universe, created joy

and gladness, groom and bride,

mirth and glad song, pleasure, delight,

love, brotherhood, peace, and companionship.

Adonai our God, let there

soon be heard in the cities of Judah and the streets

of Jerusalem the sound of joy

and the sound of gladness, the voice of the groom

and the voice of the bride, the sound

of the groom's jubilescence

from their canopies

and the hues from their

song-filled feasts.

It's not that more difficult to say in Hebrew.

Blessed are you

who gladdens the groom with his bride.

Somebody read Jeremiah.

The funny thing is

everybody that does the glass thing

knows this passage wherever they're from.

But they don't get the point.

Somebody read Jeremiah

33, 10 through 11.

Thus does Adam

Adonai again will be heard

in this place of which you are saying

it is a waste without people and without animals

in the towns of Judah

and in the towns of Jerusalem that are desolate

without people and without inhabitants

and without animals, the voice

of jubilation, the voice of joy,

the voice of the bridegroom

and the voice of the bride, the voices

of those who say praise

Adonai of hosts for Adonai is good

for his loyal love is forever.

The voices of those who bring

thank offerings to the house of Adonai

for I will restore the fortunes of the land

as in the beginning says Adonai.

So here's the idea

and I misspoke the actual sad song

for Jerusalem, whatever it is

if I forget your Jerusalem, it can be anything

but it's a sad song about Jerusalem

it's actually after we've done the blessings

the reason why we do it before breaking the glass

is this, because of this

right here, this blessing

this blessing is to remind everybody present

that weddings

are about

the relationship between God

and people and that relationship

will not reach its fulfillment

until

King Messiah is in Jerusalem

and so our moment

for pausing

considering, we're joyful here by the way

this is usually a happy one

but

the reason for pausing before breaking the glass

is because we're reminding everybody

here, listen, you've just heard the voice

of the bridegroom, you've just heard the voice

of the bride, and especially

if you're doing this outside the walls of Jerusalem

which is a giant wedding platform

and you mean Moshe

today, where weddings take place in Jerusalem

everybody wants everybody to know

this ain't that wedding

the

weddings that are going on in that wedding platform

this is not the wedding that's being described

in Jeremiah 33

so every time

we get together and have a wedding, everybody needs to know

this is fun, this is

not that wedding

there's something even better coming, this is great

this is wonderful, this is a picture of what wedding is

this is what we're about to do, because when Messiah comes back

all you're going to hear all day long

is weddings, weddings, weddings

that's a, wow

I mean, you want to know a messianic sign

wedding is a messianic sign

the biggest

I think what's so powerful about this particular

part of the ceremony is

it is a

like an interest for that

it's a promise

for those prophecies

it is a glimpse, a vision of what it's going to be

it's not a fulfillment

it's a reminder

that God has kept his promises

and he will keep them, especially today

when you've got a wedding in Jerusalem

there's only one way that's possible

and that's because God

Jews are there

and that's because God has kept his promise

to this point, and it's a proof text

that he will keep his ultimate promise

anybody was, for our discussion

this past Shabbat

Rav Upham brought up

a wonderful, wonderful perspective

with regard to Joseph's bones

how prophetic Joseph's bones

being carried into the land were

and the fact that an empty tomb

in Egypt was proof

that God keeps his promises

and that allusion to a messianic

empty tomb

this is the end result

this is like

the final touchdown here

we're talking about

you want to know what the messianic age looks like

it's weddings taking place in Jerusalem

that's it

how will you know

it's here, weddings in Jerusalem

so we need to be careful every time we have a wedding

this is not that one

we're not there yet

it's nice that you thought about it

but this isn't it

that's why we do the sad song

not because

we can't go to Jerusalem

but because we're not forgetting

in our moment of joy

we are not forgetting

there is something more joyous

so it's prophetic

this sign

this sign trumps two millennia

Christian dogma

period, shuts it all down

when we talk about a messianic sign

nothing compares to this one

it's not to denigrate

or demote the sign of an empty tomb

but an empty tomb

is just an empty tomb

a risen Lord

is good

wonderful, it's great

but ain't it

when he's here

that is the sign

right, everybody agree?

it's like wow

it's great, wonderful, great

most important thing that has ever happened to our lives

but when this happens

that will kill you

in comparison

this trumps it all

and the wedding is the picture

that's pretty cool

blessing seven

go click on the sixth one

that one is my favorite

it is mine too

everybody is clapping and singing along

even if they don't know the Hebrew

they still sing along

it's a great tune

but then on top of that

it's my favorite because the way that it ends

the way that it ends is

God who gladdens bridegroom with the bride

and that's what I was talking about earlier

saying that it turns the wedding into a worship experience

because it's in that moment

we're actually thanking God

blessing God for the wedding that's taking place

right

you can see the wedding ceremony

and ultimately the bridegroom

rejoicing over his bride

as being the most fleshly, the most carnal

expression of humanity

because it's basically

the guy got the chick

guy gets the girl, end of story

good for him, whatever

but the point is

that's the exact opposite of what's happening here

the reality is that

when man and woman come together in marriage

it's actually the height of worship

it is the ultimate expression of

well sort of obviously the temple

or anything like that

but for us in our daily lives

it is the greatest display

of who God is

and so that rejoicing

of the bridegroom

rejoicing the bridegroom with the bride

is in fact a gift from God

and it is so cool that in this moment

especially in this moment

because that is the bridegroom

when this song hits

you're like some of the happiest

you've been up in your entire life to that point

but in this moment to be able to realize

that this is a gift from God

and to thank him for it

it's just beautiful

Isaiah 62.5

really comes to mind

with respect to the sixth blessing

which says

for as a young man marries a virgin

so your sons will marry you

as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride

so your God will rejoice over you

and that's really

the essence of the bridegroom

and thank you for bringing that up

how is Jerusalem described

in the book of Revelation

as a bride adorned

it's like

wow now you got it

now you understand a little bit about

Revelation and maybe you didn't before

if you didn't know the Jewish wedding

it's like wow

so the blessing seven

kind of like seems

ok well we do this all the time

but maybe you don't know why we do it all the time

yeah I mean

it is a blessing

it is about joy

we need to have some wine

it's a great thing to have some wine

thank God for the wine

it's not like thanking God for the wine though

don't misunderstand

any time you do Borei Pre

you're not thanking God for the wine

there's something else going on

ok

blessed are you

I am our God

King of the universe

who creates the fruit of the vine

it's pretty simple

shall I leave my wine

that cheers God and men

and go hold sway over the trees

ok so for all the teetotallers

you have to close your ears down for a second

ok

because God likes it

but God doesn't just like it in the sense that

we like it

there's something else here going on

there's something about wine

and an expression of

thanking him for it

blessing him in the process of

drinking the wine

in a community setting

whether it's two or more

right

is because that gladness

it's not the alcohol content

don't misunderstand

that's why men may like wine

but that's not what God likes

it's because it has a

it has an intimate relationship

connotation

there's a spiritual infusion

between God and man

so when we drink wine

in a group setting

and bless God

we are inviting him as a

member of our group

where two or three are gathered

that kind of idea

it's pretty profound when you start thinking about it

it's like wait that's why the Passover

wine cups are so cool

and that's why Christianity adopted

the Lord's supper thing

they do kind of have this idea

that somehow

I wouldn't go so far as to say that

this is not a promotion of

transubstantiation

even though there is something

about the presence of God being

in the group

as a result of this blessing

can we relate this then

to the wedding feast

where Yeshua returned the wine

that wasn't accidental

as we talked about previously

in this course

there's a reason why that's the first miracle

if you know the wedding

by the way you know that

there's two blessings

or there's three blessings

prior to this

that are not considered part of the Shadrach

and one of those is actually

blessing God with the wine

you're going to bless God with the wine

before you do all this stuff

and then you're going to bless God at the end

to drink the wine

well this one at the end

is kind of like the culmination

this group here has experienced

and now has brought glory to God

and his presence is here

that's the point

it gladdens God and his people

and his participation

and his delight

these two become one

he's delighted in this

this makes him happy

think about it for a second

God may not smile

but in our minds

he would smile over this

these two become one

it's so cool that you bring up

the participation

and the being here with us

because of course then you think of

Yeshua saying do this in remembrance of me

a reminder of the time

that God was most humbly

and closely associated

with his people

I have desired to have this Passover

it's like a

earnestly desire

to have this Passover

absolutely

ok so Rashi's explanation

I really love Rashi's view of these

seven blessings

because he makes it

we've explored the grand picture

Rashi makes it real practical for us

Rashi does

the assembled guests are blessed

for they emulate God

who is a member of the wedding party

of Adam

that's neat

that's the first blessing

well God was the member of the wedding party

so here we have a wedding party

isn't this cool

we're taking his place

we're stand-ins for him

God created Adam the first human being

that's the second one

God created everybody else

without having Adam

I'll hold until later

God separated Eve from Adam

they were one

he made two

so they can become two distinct people

and then he can put them back together

that's pretty good

it's a nice blessing

how can we rejoice while our mother city Jerusalem

is barren with all her children in exile

so we plead with God

bring your children back

it's like gathering your four corners

just before the Shema

may God allow young people

who are about to become life-long companions

these damn people

who are about to become life-long companions

to enjoy success in all their lives together

just as he gladdened Adam and Eve in the garden

finally we thank God for gladdening

this particular couple

in their shared joy

and we pray that he will return pure joy

to the streets of Jerusalem in the messianic age

and the last one

closes with the blessing of the wine

which is a symbol of joy

combined with devotion to God

that's where I gotta get the idea of participation

is that when the blessing of the wine is said

wherever it's being said

with more than one person present

is that it is

it is the combining of

whatever abouts going on

whatever's going on

and making it a devotion to God

like an altar

alright so summary

throughout scripture various aspects

of the relationship between God and his people

are described with human relationships

we know the relationship between a father

and his children

a king and his subjects

this of course is our priest

and those who are brought

and everybody to redemptive work

but this relationship is about

the most intimate relationships

and so it speaks in ways

the other relationships cannot speak

so we need to know this language

we need to know this language

because isn't that the real essence of a relationship with God?

we are certainly his subjects

he is certainly our father

we are his children

Messiah is certainly our priest

who brings us near

but we talk about

a day to day relationship with God

it's that

marriage relationship

where we corporately and individually

but corporately

are united to him

in this sense of the bridegroom and the Jewish bride

the language of the bridegroom

is specifically revealed in the Jewish wedding

there is no other language

or any other culture

that describes it

like the Jewish wedding does

anything final?

comments?

questions?

disagreements?

yes

another wedding

who's next by the way?

Brock is next

after Brock anybody else?

Pete?

well we can assume

maybe

oh yeah that would be true

maybe

possibly August

possibly

I've not been yet to hold a date

I'm not in the circle

by the way

I've been to lots of Jewish weddings

I have

I've been to lots of Jewish weddings

they're awesome

everyone I like is even better than the last

we could probably

well yeah to be the wedding singer

is a special blessing

what I would encourage everybody here

everybody here is a guy

you can do this

everybody here should know how to sing

are you going to sing them for us?

actually I don't have the

are you going to whine at us

I may or may not be able to

I didn't come prepared

everybody here should be able to sing it

why do I say that?

why should every man be able to sing

well not just at the wedding

not just at the wedding

remember we talked about Sheva Baruchot

the seven dinners

that you have prepared

a week before you need to have somebody

that can do the Sheva Baruchot

generally it's great to have

different people do it at every house

that's wonderful too

not to detract from that

but just in case somebody doesn't know how to do them

it would be good to be able to do them

I probably can't do it

pick your favorite

do the whining

that sounds like

John Doe of Sioux

here

Baruch atah Adonai Eloheinu

Melech ha'olam

Shehako Baranikpodo

Amen

Baruch atah

Adonai Eloheinu

Melech ha'olam

Yotzer ha'adam

Amen

Baruch atah Adonai Eloheinu

Melech ha'olam

Asher yasa'et

ahtam betzamo

betzerem demutav nito

v'hikin lo mimeinu

binyam ha'de'ad

Baruch atah Adonai

Yotzer ha'adam

Amen

Sos tasis netagah ha'akara

Bekebutz paneh letoka b'simcha

Baruch atah Adonai

Misameach Tion beveneha

Baruch atah Adonai

Misameach Tion beveneha

Amen

Sameach t'samach re'im ha'achuvim

K'sed kekecha yitzircha

Began edem mikedim

Baruch atah Adonai

Mitzameach atah nehala

Baruch atah Adonai

Eloheinu melech ha'olam

Asher barasah

som besimcha

ka'atan bethala

Asher barasah

som besimcha

ka'atan bethala

Ki darina

di'itza

dekecha

T'ahava

v'ahava

v'shalom verehu

Ki darina

di'itza

dekecha

T'ahava

v'ahava

v'shalom verehu

Mehera Adonai Eloheinu

Mehera Adonai

Yishema b'arach yudah

U'bechutzot e'ushadayim

Kol sasom

v'kol simcha

Kol sasom v'kol simcha

Kol hatan v'kol chala

Kol sasom v'kol simcha

Kol hatan v'kol chala

Kol mitzarot

de chatananim

mechupatam

um na'arim mimishte naginatam

Baruch atah Adonai

mitzameachatan

im hachala

Amen

Somebody that's going to drink wine

if you'll say a blessing for

If I'll say it? Come on, you say the blessing.

I'll sing with you, but I'm not going to drink any, so I can't do that.

Baruch atah Adonai Eloheinu

melech haolam

Horei v'rihagafen

Amen

Well done, my friend.

Thank you very much.

May you taste

When the tzaddikim take leave

of each other at the study of

Joseph

They would say to one another

May you taste of the sweetness of the world to come

in this life

May you see your children's children come to faith

May your end be with the life of the world to come

May your deeds affect the hope of many generations

May your heart ponder and achieve

understanding of Torah

May your mouth speak wisdom to everyone you meet

And may your tongue bring forth song

As you praise the Holy One, blessed is He

May you have the self-control to look

straight before you

May your eyes be enlightened by the light of Torah

May your mind like the brightness of the sky

May your lips utter knowledge

Your heart rejoice in righteousness

And your feet run to hear the words of the ancient of days

Amen

God bless you

Thank you