Wedding Eve

story #1 by Odelia Ben Yehuda

“I love you, not only for what you are, but for what I am when I am with you. I love you, not only for what you have made of yourself, but for what you are making of me.”

Roy Croft

On the eve of my wedding, I went to the mikvah along with all the women from my family, to dip in the water and celebrate a special traditional ceremony.

I was very young, and on the one hand, the ceremony seemed to me very strange, but at the same time, very exciting.  At the ceremony, the bride is wrapped three times by her mother with a large white sheet, from the head to toe. Then, she has to pass near the girls, presenting at the ceremony, and bless each of them.

As my mother died, when I was two years old, my aunt (mother’s sister) wrapped me with a sheet. There is no doubt that for me, maybe because I was very young, the ceremony was shocking, I couldn’t stop trembling. On the one hand, it was weird, on the other hand, touching to tear to know that my mother was covered in the same sheet.

At the end of the ceremony, my aunt put the sheet into a special box, which is inherited to other brides in the family.

My grandfather

Story #2 : by Shani Bar-On Neiger

“Grandpa has ears that truly listen, arms that always hold, love that’s never ending and a heart that’s made of gold”.

– Louis Adamic

My grandfather was my favorite person in the world.

He was tall and strong with wide shoulders. He looked as if nothing could ever break him. He always wore his hat and had Backgammon dice in his pocket.

One day, after school I decided to ask him some questions about his identity. I was approximately 13 years old back then and every day after school I used to go to my grandparents’ house and eat lunch with my grandfather. My grandfather did not like to talk about himself but that day he started speaking and I was fascinated with every word.

He was born in Baghdad, Iraq in 1923.

In the midst of World War II the regime in Baghdad changed and violence against the Jews appeared. My grandfather took an impossible decision to run away and do an illegal Aliyah to Israel, leaving his family behind at the age of 18.

I have admired and respected my grandfather my whole life but that day I learned about his enormous strength. Against all odds he succeeded to come to Israel. His deep connection to Israel and to his Jewish identity left a huge mark on me. The fact that my nation was built by people as my grandfather, helped formed my Jewish identity.

I am proud to be Jewish and Israeli and I love my country almost as I love my grandfather.

One evening in Aushwitz, a drunken SS decided to shoot with his gun, just for the fun of it….

My grandfather put his hands in front of his eyes and a bullet went through the finger, into his eye.

He lost his eye, but he was alive!! Thank G-d!!

He was grayeful, because he was sent to the “hospital”. Dr. Mengele took one look at my grandfather and wanted to send him to the gas chambers. Miraculously, his secretary  started pleading and begging that Dr. Mengele should let my grandfather live!!

In the end, he told the secretary she should do what she wants with him…

She quickly ran to the city to find a doctor…

We will always be grateful to this secretary who saved my grandfather’s life!

My Grandmother Story

Story num. 5

By: Haneen Badarneh

One day, my grandmother told me how she got married. In the past, girls got married when they were little girls. My grandmother parents make her marry her cousin when she was 12. She was playing in the neighborhood with her friends when her parents came and told her that she will marry this guy. She was so young, so she did not even understand what she should do after marriage. Unfortunately, All girls were treated the same. She got married and gave birth to 10 boys and girls. Until now she does not know how all that years passed. Their life was really tough and they did not enjoy life how we are now.

She always tells me to live my life and to learn since she could not do anything except of giving birth.

Her famous sentence is that “Education is the woman’s best weapon”.

I admit that it is true.