Royal wedding fever hits the streets of... Modi’in
British immigrants to host a Sheva Brachot/Shabbat Dinner/Street Party in honor of Prince William and Kate Middleton's impending nuptials.
By LAHAV HARKOVroyal wedding party 311(photo credit: 2Dphotography.co.il)
As Anglophiles around the world prepare for the upcoming nuptials of Prince William and Kate Middleton, British residents of Modi’in plan to offer their own special mazal tov to the royal couple.Over 200 people are set to attend a sheva brachot celebration in the streets of Modi’in hours after the royal wedding. The Shabbat dinner will take place in the Shvatim and Moriyah neighborhoods, which are popular with Anglos and have many British residents.RELATED:British ambassador adds a sabra baby girl to his familyJews make guest list for Prince William’s weddingRoyal couple to receive Hebrew scroll for weddingThe dinner will be potluck, with attendees bringing Shabbat food like chicken, schnitzel and rice as opposed to fish, chips and other British fare. The street will be decorated with Union Jack bunting, and the seven blessings traditionally bestowed on a newly married couple will be recited. Each guest will receive a commemorative bencher (a grace after meals booklet) featuring a message from UK Ambassador to Israel Matthew Gould.“I am very sorry I can’t be with you to celebrate the royal wedding today, but I hope you can toast the royal couple on my behalf,” Gould wrote to event organizer Dov Newmark, Director of UK Aliyah for Nefesh B’Nefesh. “As you celebrate the royal wedding... you show that it is possible to be proud Israelis and also proud of your connections to Britain. So I hope you can celebrate not just the royal wedding, but also everything that you contribute to Israel and to the friendship between our countries.”A transcript of Friday’s edition of UK Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks’ “Thought for The Day” from BBC’s Radio 4 will be also be read at the event. Newmark, who made aliyah in July 2008 from London, said the Chief Rabbi’s office plans to send a copy of the rabbi’s sermon as soon as it is broadcast. In addition, a guest will give a sermon related to the royal wedding."We hope this will be a fitting tribute to the young couple, and a great opportunity to bring the community together to celebrate,” organizers Newmark and Leah Goldstein said. “We all wish the royal family, and of course the prince and his future bride, a hearty mazal tov and a life of happiness.”“We hope they will come and visit us in the Holy Land soon,” they added.
