Sunday, September 23, 2012

Do Fairy Tales Come True?

This last Saturday I officiated Erika and William's wedding in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. What a special cosmopolitan couple! Their story is quite unique. Here are my remarks:

Do fairy tales come true? Well, that depends what you mean by a fairy tale. The first definition of a fairy tale, according to Webster's is, "a story involving fantastic forces and beings." Now, anyone who knows Erika and William, will tell you that they have no use for any type of such magical thinking.

Fortunately, Webster's has a second definition. According to this definition, a fairy tale is, "a story in which improbable events lead to a happy ending." If one tries, like Erika and William, to live life rationally, can one still believe that in our world there are such fairy tales?

I believe that you can. All you need to do is look at the extraordinary love story of Erika and William. What are the chances, after all, of these two coming together? Improbable, indeed. Then again these two, as individuals, exhibit character, that is almost improbable. Erika, well, you could just understate it, and say she took the road less traveled. Yup, all the way to mastering Spanish, and studying and working in Costa Rica, and at this point holding, as my dad would say, more degrees than a thermometer... And, William, well, they hardly use this quaint phrase anymore, but this is a self made man! You hear his story, and your average medical resident working 100 hours a week seems just down right lazy...

So, do fairy tales exist and come true? Not always. In fact, not often. That said, Erika and William in their story as individuals, and as a couple, show us that fairy tales do come true. They show us that there are stories, "in which improbable events lead to a happy ending..."

It does not end there, however. Anyone who knows Erika and William will tell you that there is something they feel very strongly about, in this regard. They both feel that there is a lot more we as a society and as individuals can and should do to make sure that more fairy tales come true for more people. Let us resolve to each heed this call in our lives. Let us resolve, as Erika and William have, to make more fairy tales become a reality.

1 comment:

  1. Hi Rabbi David. Sounds like you are a true romantic yourself! Lovely story! I also love hearing how couples met, and have photographed many beautiful people's weddings, all over the world, but although I have been present at a friend's Jewish wedding in Tel Aviv, I have never actually photographed a one myself ... yet - though have been the official wedding photographer at many interfaith weddings both in the UK and abroad. Keep up the good work! xx

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