Rabbi David Wilfond's Message - Friday, September 29th , 2023
Something Extraordinary

Dear Friends,

Thirteen years ago, something extraordinary happened. I stood with a couple under the chuppah and officiated at their wedding on a hill overlooking the Old City of Jerusalem.  After the ceremony, as I was about to leave, I asked the couple about their hopes. They said they were praying for a child. They asked about my hopes.  I said I was praying for a bride.  We held hands and stood in a moment of prayer. A few days later I met the woman who would become my wife. Years later I learned that wedding couple had a son, exactly nine months after the wedding.  
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About ten or eleven years later I get an email from this lovely couple asking if I would officiate at their son’s Bar Mitzvah. They thought I was still living in Jerusalem. When I told them I was in Westchester, we were both amazed to discover they had just moved a few miles away from Shaaray Tefila. They have since joined the Temple.

In a few days, I will be flying to Israel with this wonderful family from our community to conduct their son’s Bar Mitzvah by the Western Wall in Jerusalem, the holiest site for the Jewish People. This will be my first time back in Israel since my family emigrated here in 2020 during the pandemic. So much has occurred in Israel in the past few years. After I return I look forward to speaking to the congregation with an update about Israel today.

I invite you tonight to join me in our Sukkah as we celebrate Shabbat Sukkot with the Lulav and Etrog. Next Friday you are invited to dance with the Torahs for Simchat Torah. We will unravel the entire Torah. If you have never seen this before it is an inspiring site to behold.

From my family to yours, Deborah and I, along with our three children Isaac, Eli and Rafi, wish you a Hag Sukkot Sameach,

Rabbi David Wilfond