Please see my new article in The Times of Israel called, “There’s Someone For Everyone.”
I’m sitting resting on Shabbat, minding my own business, and reading the Favorite Tales of Sholom Aleichem, but then my wife tells me a story circulating in the news that seemed like it could even be one better. At least my exaggerated version of it did as a tall tale in the making.
It starts like this: There is a woman who did not have a lot of luck with men…
(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
It was a fun time at The Amish Experience today in Lancaster Country, Pennsylvania.
One and a half hour bus tour of Amish country.
45 Minute movie about Jacob, an Amish teen, trying to decide whether he wants to be in the outside world or in the Amish one.
And another hour of so tour of an Amish school house and home.
Felt like I learned a lot about their culture (including no TV, internet, electricity [just batteries and solar], and education only through 8th grade).
Honestly, it doesn’t seem like they really have much a choice in whether to choose the church and become Amish or leave, because if they choose to leave they are shunned (i.e. excommunicated)!
So you either choose you family, church, community, and a wife (and there is no divorce) or you run off to G-d knows where completely alone and “divorced” from everything you know.
The video is when we stopped at an Amish farm and I went in to the big barn with all the cows.
After so much time on the bus, I needed to ham it up a little and have fun with:
“How now brown cow. It is so nice to eat you! You are beautiful animals. And thank you Hashem for making you!” 😉
(Credit Video: Andy and Dossy Blumenthal)
Blessed are you, Hashem our G-d, Sovereign of all, who has kept us alive, sustained us, and brought us to this season.
Let me express today my complete joy and thanksgiving to G-d for bringing us to this sacred time, when we join the handsome chasan, Naftali (Nafi) Meles to my beautiful daughter, Michelle (Minna) Blumenthal.
I was blessed with my wife Dossy to have two absolutely beautiful and incredible daughters, Minna and Rebecca. All three of these women are the loves of my life and the apples of my eyes. They are beautiful outside of countenance and most importantly, inside in their neshamas (souls).
Now as well I must thank the Almighty for blessing me with two amazing sons, both after my namesake. My Hebrew name is Abraham Naftali, and 3 years ago we were blessed to have Itzchak from Israel come into our lives and marry my daughter, Rebecca and become a son unto me. If you remember in the Torah, Itzchak was the son of Avraham and also he married Rivkah (Rebecca).
And again, today, Hashem has shown me his blessings and mercy and brought Naftali into our lives to marry our daughter, Minna. My middle name is Naftali and again, I welcome my namesake Naftali Meles into our family as my second son.
So truly I am blessed and have so much to be grateful for, bli ayin harah, with now 2 lovely daughters and 2 wonderful sons.
Both Minna and Nafi are the mezinkahs, Minna in our family, the Blumenthals, and Naftali in the Meles family—the last child of each of our families to be married off, so this is a great and truly joyous occasion.
I want to tell you a little about Minna and Nafi today.
Minna is an incredible young woman. She is a deeply religious person with a heart of gold, who always looks to do right by Hashem and others. Minna is also thank G-d celebrating the completion of her Master’s Degree in Communications just a few months ago, in June, from Georgetown University and she has been working for Homeland Security, since she was just 16 years old. She has brought us so much nachas and please G-d this is just the beginning for many more accomplishments in her life.
Nafi, who I have come to know this last year, is an incredible young man. Nafi is a wonderful Jew who learns weekly with a Torah partner, and is dedicated to making a wonderful Jewish home with Minna. Just last month Nafi completed a highly prestigious internship with the Department of Defense, and is moving forward, please G-d, with his career ambitions as a permanent government employee and rising star. As many of you know, Nafi is also an accomplished drummer and he comes to us in Rockville with drum set and all. I think eventually they’ll need a bigger apartment.
Minna and Nafi are joining together today to build with G-d help a bayit ne’aman B’Yisrael, a lasting house in Israel. They have a wonderful love and understanding for each other and with Hashem as the 3rd partner in their marriage, I am confident they will be very successful in building their home and family.
I want to take the opportunity to thank the Meles family for having such a wonderful son as Nafi to share with Minna and us, and for joining our families together. I pray that Hashem will bless this beautiful loving couple with many, many years of health, joy, parnasa, and peace! And of course grandchildren for all of us! Amen!
I also want to thank each and every one of you for joining in our simcha today. Unfortunately Covid has limited the quantity of the attendees, but it allowed us to focus on the quality instead! Please G-d many more simchas with all of you in the future!
(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
Mazel Tov to Minna And Nafi on their big wedding day today!
So grateful to Hashem and happy for them to start their new life together.
May Hashem grant them all the blessings with much happiness, health, prosperity, peace, and a beautiful growing family.
Special thank you to Minna for the beautiful socks for us to walk her down the aisle today.
And yes, she will always be my little girl!
With all my love,
Dad
(Credit Photo: Andy Blumethal)
