The wedding that took place this Tuesday at a synagogue in Givat Shmuel was no ordinary ceremony. It was the culmination of two weeks’ worth of hard work and chesed on the part of 11th-grade students at Ulpanat AMIT Givat Shmuel.
The girls heard about a young couple from Ra’anana through one of the students’ fathers. The young man and woman, both 29 years old, couldn’t afford to have a wedding ceremony. He’s an orphan with limited means and she is a recent immigrant to Israel and a recent convert to Judaism.
In just two weeks, the girls put together a wedding for the couple that relied entirely on volunteers and donations – including securing a wedding hall, flowers, makeup, a band, and drinks. Donations from the girls’ parents and the community helped pay the caterer.
The girls split up into groups that then worked together to cover every last detail for the grand production.
The students spread the word about their undertaking and managed to get various professionals to donate their services or skills for the wedding. The students acted as waitresses in the women’s section of the wedding, while boys from Yeshivat AMIT Bar Ilan helped out in the men’s section.
The wedding took place on February 13, and the students accompanied the couple on the way to the chuppah to partake in the joyous wedding ceremony. There were 250 guests in attendance.
Hadar, one of the students involved in the project, said that they realized planning a wedding in two weeks wasn’t an easy feat. “It was worth it all just to see the couple’s joy,” she said.
Chanit Freshtand, the ulpana’s principal, said that her students proved that real joy is that of giving.
“The wedding was absolutely amazing,” the bride told Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth. “The girls kept asking me what I wanted, and they managed to fulfill my every wish within two weeks. We are very grateful to the girls for everything they have done for us. We could not have asked for more.”
