In the wake of a sudden notice from the Australian government last week about an impending lockdown in Melbourne beginning on Friday at midnight, three frum families decided to move up their children’s wedding until erev Shabbos, with one wedding taking place on the beach.
One set of mechutanim sent the following letter to the members of their community. “Last Friday, after the lockdown was announced, our children made the choice to get married that afternoon, rather than wait until weddings would be allowed again.”
“We chose to invite the whole קהילה to the wedding, so that everyone could experience this unusual wedding, and be given the opportunity to be משמח חתן וכלה.”
“We are forever grateful for the way in which the קהילה responded to this. We know of many people who immediately dropped everything and went out of their way to make sure that the שמחה could be enhanced in the best possible way. However, we also know that there are many people who helped in their own way, who we are not aware of.
“So, we would like to thank the entire קהילה for the support and effort made to enable us to celebrate the חתונה of our children last Friday. To every person that helped, whether by serving food, by putting out tablecloths, by helping to build the Chuppah and for all the other ways in which people helped, and for simply attending, we thank you very much.
“Our children are very lucky that many additional מצותwere performed on Friday afternoon because they chose to bring their חתונה forward. We trust that this will be a wonderful זכות for them and for the Melbourne קהילה.”
(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
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11 Responses
“MI K’AMCHA YISROEL”?? I’d think it’s more like “לֹא תַעֲמֹד עַל דַּם רֵעֶךָ” or a חילול השם! Especially at a time when the world has an extra large magnifying glass on our every move, why display hundreds of people crowding around for a wedding? Halacha doesn’t require more than a few men in attendance for the chuppah. At a time when so many are downsizing their wedding attendance list, and making the tough decision to exclude relatives and friends, and livestreaming the ceremony on Zoom- this huge display of the 3 couples is distasteful and insensitive. A Kiddush Hashem would’ve been to make the chuppah in a Rav’s office, followed by a small get-together for the close family members or a sponsored shabbos sheva brachos for the extended family. We should learn from Purim the value of modesty, humbleness, and sometimes certain mitzvos performed in a hidden fashion. Another example of more “Bar” than “Mitzvah”.
Do they have different rules there? Is the fear of Covid less than here?
I can’t see any masks and not a lot of social distancing.
What are Melbourne Jewry’s plans for
1) פרשת זכור
2) מגילת אסתר
3) שלח מנות
YWN is so interesting. On the one hand they want everyone to sit muzzled at home, then they show these pictures, and pictures of mass levayas in Israel. Kudos to normal Jews in Australia and all over the world. It is a great zechut that we are able to live according to actual reality in front of our nose and not the leftist media lies and hype. Whoever is afraid of corona didn’t have to come to the weddings. Its personal choice. It is not the governments job to force us into safety. We are responsible for our own selves.
These commenters clearly have idea about the situation there.
There have been a few hundred cases in the country since this started.
Whenever there is an outbreak, in Victoria they lock the place down. Then slowly reopen. There was no tequirement to where masks then, that started from Friday night when the lockdown began. They have already started easing up, although not completely.
When there is no requirement to, no one wears masks, or worries about social distancing, because there is no covid around!
TGISunday:
Yes. “It’s Mi KiAmcha Yisrael”.
Maybe these people are already immune?
They’re doing a great chesed.
The world doesn’t particularly care about some Australian Jewish wedding. That’s silly. Some evil state/municipal authorities, on the other hand, are a different matter.
Melbourne has 17 active cases COVID.
The Govt locks the state down as soon as a new case gets leaked from hotel quarantine.
Chasunah was in a perfectly safe environment.
Tgi. where do u live, when reading many of your comments passionately written, I wonder if I am on a different planet
In Melbourne, the lockdown was made as a precaution bc of 19 cases and for 5 days.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-56092753
This is obviously not a Chilull Hashem
as of today – thursday – there are no restrictions. and 1) פרשת זכור
2) מגילת אסתר
3) שלח מנות
can continue as normal
Prior to this outbreak, Victoria had not seen a local infection for over 28 days and the state had largely eliminated the virus.
@tgishabbos and @shloimeb in melbourne the lockdown was instituted because there had been zero cases but the uk strain came into the city from hotel quarintine and infected only 18 people in the end. The reason there was a lockdown was to go hard on it quickly and only have a short lockdown. Therefore the weddings weren’t a chill hashem because large gatherings were allowed and not frowned upon. This is also why there were no masks because there is almost no concern of catching it. @147 the lockdown was only 5 days and is already over