Weddings

In addition to overseeing their "conversions," the Abayudaya had another request of the Bet Din. There had never been a Jewish wedding ceremony in the community -- or anywhere in Uganda, for that matter. (Unlike Kenya, for example, which has a small but still active expatriate synagogue, there had never been a British Jewish communal presence in Uganda.) Once they would be "officially" Jewish, Abayudaya couples wanted what every Jewish couple wants

-- an authentic, traditional wedding ceremony -- chuppah (the wedding canopy) v'kiddushin (the rituals and blessings of consecration and sanctification). It was our pleasure to accommodate them.

No question about who the first couple would be. That honor would go to the community's spiritual leader, Rabbi Gershom Sizomu, and his wife, Tziporah Naisi. Gershom is an an unusually talented man. He is the community's mohel (ritual circumciser) and shochet (ritual slaughterer); he is also the headmaster of the Semei Kakungulu High School and a talented musician who composes as well as performs. As spiritual leader of the community, he has undertaken many new initiatives, including the Yeshivah that meets on Sunday mornings and provides Jewish education for adults as well as teenagers. [Gershom is now an ordained rabbi, having completed the required studies at the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies at the American Jewish University in Los Angeles.]

The community was electric with excitement: their rabbi was going to married, the first time a chuppah was to be raised in Uganda. In honor of this historic occasion, Gershom's niece, Rachel Namudosi Keki (JJ Keki's daughter), composed a melody to be chanted with the words of
the ceremony's invocation: "B'rukhim ha-baim b'Shem Adonai" - "Blessed be those who are here in the name of Adonai; we bless you from this House of God. May the One who is supreme in power, blessing and glory bless this bridegroom and this bride." (Photo by Howard Gorin)

Wood is scarce in Uganda, much harder to obtain than one might imagine. As for lumber yards, they simply do not exist, certainly not in this part of rural Uganda. What, then, would we use for chuppah poles?

Good ideas - creative and usable ones - come to me so infrequently that, when they do, I tend to boast. This is one such idea of which I am particularly proud. I asked two young men to go into the fields and cut down four stalks of sugar cane. The stalks needed to be cleaned; they were still wet with the morning dew and covered with mud. They were then cut to a uniform height. Nails, for which we had to scavenge, were driven into the tops of the stalks, and a large tallit was draped over the nails. That is how our chuppah came into being. After the last wedding ceremony, the poles were cut up into small pieces and served to the younger members of the community. (This is their "penny candy." The hard outer layer of the sugar cane is peeled off, and the sweet inner fiber is chewed. After all the sweet sugary juice is gone, the fiber is spit out.) We wanted to leave a sweet taste -- literally -- in the mouths of the community's children and teenagers. (Photo by Ed Samiljan)

The bride was something to behold. At first she told us that she "had nothing to wear." Tziporah is familiar enough with American culture to know that brides traditionally wear long, white, lacey gowns. Even if such a gown would be available in Mbale, its price would be astronomical. Not only would it be a serious expenditure for Gershom and Tziporah, but it would put weddings beyond the means of most of the Abayudaya, many of whom would want to emulate their rabbinic couple. Tziporah was convinced to warm something more authentically African. Her mother and aunt accompanied her to the chuppah, amid the latter's jubilant ululations. (Photo by Ed Samiljan)

Tziporah and Gershom's wedding took place on 30 Shevat 5762, corresponding to Tuesday, February 12, 2002. The next day six other couples got married. Our original intent was to do the first part -- the kiddushin (sanctification) -- of the two-part wedding ceremony for each couple individually, followed by the sheva b'rakhot (the seven blessings of espousal) for all six couples collectively. They would not hear of it. Each one wanted exactly the kind of ceremony that the rabbi and his wife had. And so it was: we alternated roles, so that each member of the Bet Din -- including Moshe Cotel, who was then a rabbinical student, and Gershom, too, who had yet to apply to rabbinical school -- participated in various capacities in the different ceremonies.

Music and dancing are indispensable elements of any Jewish wedding celebration, no matter where the wedding takes place. The celebrations in this community were no exception. The albums of Abayudaya music, as fine as they are, simply cannot capture the joy, the spirit and the musical talent of this community. These have to be experienced in person. (Photo by Ed Samiljan)

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