A wedding album for Dan Blacksberg and Christiana Kugel - in words. Not so brief, but I hope worth the time to read. November 23, 2014 dawns, delightfully clearer than forecast but days before, temperature warming, ready to celebrate. A bit of annoyance dodging and stuck in the traffic and closures of the Philadelphia marathon. Lets think all those runners were building the citys positive energy for our celebration. Cars ferrying things and people to Landsdowne. Enter Landsdownes 20th Century Club, a most comfortable building to celebrate, its vaulted celebration hall with small stage, shining wooden floor, gracious library, now filling with tables, tent ready to welcome guests. We gather first in sprinkles, greeted in the tisch hour by Scotch, cookies and Susan Levitons most beautiful ketubah, her art surrounding a very personal text in English and Yiddish. Christiana declaims its text in a clear loving voice, and Dans, Christianas, Nick Millevois and Sarah Browns hand sign and witness, while Aaron and Matthew bear witness for the civil license. Soon enough the sounds of Michael Winograds clarinet, Patrick Farrells accordion and David Lichts poyk and chuppah born by Aaron, Nick, Sarah and Katie Rey lead all of us into the tent, Dawn Obergfell and Ron Kugel accompanying Christiana, Terry Novick and I with Daniel, walking ahead and amongst the guests. The tent houses three circles of chairs. The chuppah bearers enter at the center, and Dan and Christiana take seats at the center, facing each other, holding hands, eyes locking, faces glowing. Joey Weissenberg invites us to sing Dan and Christiana into marriage, the wordless Bobover nigun growing with each repetition, a chorus needing no training or practice bathing each other a joyful sound. We sit in the first circle, just outside the chuppah, but well within the radiance of Dan and Christiana. Three texts. First, from Philip Glasss opera Einstein on the Beach: two lovers sat on a park bench with their bodies touching each other holding hands in the moonlight there was silence between them so profound was their love for each other they needed no words to express it and so they sat in silence on a park bench with their bodies touching holding hands in the moonlight finally she spoke do you love me, john? she asked you know i love you, darling he replied i love you more than tongue can tell you are the light of my life my sun, moon, and stars you are my everything without you, i have no reason for being again, there was silence as the two lovers sat on a park bench their bodies touching holding hands in the moonlight once more, she spoke how much do you love me, john? she asked he answered, how much do i love you? count the stars in the sky measure the waters of the oceans with a teaspoon number the grains of sand on the seashore impossible, you say? Second, the ketubah, read by Sarah Gordon, first in Yiddish, then English. Promises of love, support, music, art, beauty, and commitment, crafted in their own words. Third, rings committing the marriage, then two glasses shattered synchronously. The cheers and mazel tovs erupt from the crowd and we parade back inside, then dance, eat, drink, play in a community of joyous energy, circling, winding, over and under, theirs and our smiles worn so easily. A place and company where the celebration was the decoration, growing completely from Dan and Christiana surrounding them. I realized at some point in the opening hora set that we were a frenzy of joy and they werent yet among us. Then, just as we might have felt ready to stop, they emerged, and we drew fresh strength as they entered the center of the whirl. It could not have been better - a wedding so much more than perfect. Thank you, Dan and Christiana for all that you are and all that you do. All my love, Bob
Posted on: Mon, 24 Nov 2014 12:26:04 +0000