The Nest

Tales of a Jewish Bride-to-Be: Mobile Megillah

Posted Monday, March 05, 2007 6:17 AM

The life of a Jewish bride is filled with so many odd moments -- beyond what you'd find in the pages of most bridal magazines.

For example: This past weekend we celebrated the holiday of Purim, which commemorates the victory of a brave queen and the downfall of an evil man. Oh, and we eat hamantaschen (a jelly-filled cookie) -- a LOT of hamantaschen.

Last night, my fiance and I went to pick up his brothers to take them to Dave and Buster's. I drove from my house to his and got a call from my mom in Chicago that my zayde, who had recently come home from the hospital, was going to be reading the megillah (the story of Purim). She said she would put him on speakerphone so I could hear it. Of course, she called back before I had a chance to tell my fiancé why I was just sitting in the car. On top of that the landscapers were over so I couldn't stand outside very long (or even try to get into the house because it was so noisy).

I was able to write out a note to FI: Zayde is reading megillah. I'm on speakerphone.

The landscapers left and we were able to get into FI's car ... where I turned my phone's speaker on so my FI could hear the Megillah -- for the first time in a long time. We didn't have a copy in front of us, so luckily my mom kept announcing the chapters (and when Zayde was taking a water break, and when the phone rang and my Bubbe answered it). Then when the name of Haman was said .... Adam and I made noises to block it out (luckily we could tell because my mother would start banging on the table). 49 minutes later (20 for the English translation at the beginning, 29 for the Hebrew) the megillah was done -- just as we pulled up in front of Adam's brother's house.

Sharing the holiday with my fiancé is something I'll always remember -- even if it was from the front seat of a car in the Valley.