I just got back from the lovely experience of attending my first Jewish Wedding. The story is that one of my knitting students has been meeting with me for over 4 years and we’ve become true friends. When her daughter got engaged, I remembered a pattern I had found for a knitted lace Chuppah, which is the canopy under which the marriage takes place. I suggested to M. that she knit it for her daughter and, even though it was a challenging and large project, (8 feet square) we undertook it together. She worked steadily on it for the last nine or ten months and got it finished in plenty of time about a month ago. It turned out beautifully.The photo above is from the pattern. Today’s wedding was actually outside in the sunshine with a lovely breeze playing with the fringe, but this is exactly how the Chuppah itself looked. It became a very special project because M. went so far above and beyond her former skills as a knitter and grew so much. She was eventually able to finish the bulk of the work without much involvement from me and it was a joy to see. There is nothing better for a teacher than to see a student finally grow wings to fly. Her love for her daughter and her desire to contribute this important traditional part of the wedding spurred her onward and upward. Those moments are when art really has meaning for me, when it transcends an empty existence solely for it’s own sake and edifies all those who participate in it.
So, since I had a part in the creation of the Chuppah , we got invited to the wedding and I enjoyed it so very much( I was even mentioned in the program, and got introduced in one of the toasts, much to my surprise and embarrassment). I got to meet all of M.’s family and learn about the beautiful symbolism of each part of the wedding. I related to that because in my faith, marriages are performed in a very special and prescribed way that also includes deep symbolism which helps a couple to put their union in a spiritual perspective right from the beginning.
My Red Door Days 