A Wedding Parable

The wedding hall

Jumping, screaming, smiling, singing, dancing.

The bride at the center, pulling people in.

The music is throbbing with our hearts. This is everyone's happiness.

The joy is unbridled, and we're all feeling light and limitless.

The dancing is coming from another place.

Suddenly, over yonder, the brides groom can be seen, bopping up and down.

There he is. There he goes. There he is. There he goes.

Atop a circular table being supported by his enthusiastic friends, he is waving his hands.

He is looking for his bride.

On our side, the girls are racing to clear the closest table.

Plates. Off. Cups. Off. napkins. Off. Cell phones. Off. Centerpiece. Off. Tablecloth. Off.

We bring the table to the bride. She looks a little apprehensive.

But her groom is waiting. There's no time to waste.

She climbs onto the table. And here we go. Let's do this, ladies.

We surround the table, putting our hands under the edge and lifting.

Up she goes.

But the table is heavy. And we're all a different height and a different strength, so the table is wobbly.

The bride can't stand straight. She's looking down, watching the floor, fearing her fall.

But with unity is balance. We all do our best, lifting our hands to the same level. For the short, they hold high. For the tall, they hold low.

All of a sudden, the bride is standing straight. She looks up. She sees her groom.

And us below her, we're in a momentum. The table is not heavy anymore. When you have many hands all doing their best, it's a lot easier on everyone. And, of course, there's that one person who's trying so hard that it lightens our load, and motivates us. And then, it's like the table is just floating.

The bride is smiling. The balance has brought her groom into clear vision. She is waving her hands, eyes focused on her new husband.

Using only her smile and her eyes, the bride tells her husband, "I want to hold you, and never let go."

We're all cheering.

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The Jewish people are jumping, screaming, smiling, singing, dancing.

Hashem is looking for his bride. But he wants to meet us halfway. So he's bopping up and down.

Now we see Him, now we don't. Now we see Him, now we don't.

He's waiting for us to climb to him, to do everything in our might to put him in sight. To sweat just a little bit.

We, his betrothed, catch sight of him. We go racing. We want him.

Our desire makes us irresistible to G-d.

First, we have to clear our tables. We have to clean the surface, removing all barriers. There cant be any mess. There can't be a brick wall in between. On our journey to G-d, we need a strong support and internal strength. This way, our marriage comes from within - we can't easily fall.

Distractions. Off. Sadness. Off. Hatred. Off. Ego. Off. More ego. Off.

There is a sense of urgency. Every second of not seeing Him is an eternity. Hurry.

We want to be close. We want to be close. We want to be close.

Clear the table.

Joy reigns. Breaking down limits to let him in. Let him in. We're getting closer.

But we're a little scared, a little apprehensive.

Life on the ground is so much better. Raising higher to make heaven meet earth is a tremendous feat. What if we wobble? What if we fall?

Alas, sometimes you just have to jump. You just gotta do it.

And at first, we do wobble. We're looking down. We can't seem to let go.

So we try harder. We all do our best to find the balance. We have to stand straighter than this. We're G-d's people.

So, the more we do our part, the easier it is for everyone. We're all one. Totally connected. Our efforts together make it easier for the entire nation. I'm conquering this here in Brooklyn, and the burden lightens for a Jew in Jerusalem.

And then there's that one leader who comes with his strong arms to help us move forward a little quicker. He champions our cause, beseeches on our behalf, and listens to our successes, our failures, our souls. We all feel him bringing us closer, higher.

Now, we're gaining momentum. We're all doing what we got to do. With joy. With unity.

And now, with G-d in our sight but still distant, we're moving mountains to get to his heart.

Soon, we will finally see him.

Hashem will have his bride.

We will both smile. And it will be a moment full of transcendence and love.

We will look at Hashem and say, "I want to hold you, and never let go."

And the whole world - all the nations, the oceans, the birds, the trees - oh, how they'll cheer.