Under the Chuppah, the Marriage Tent!
The marriage tent is a symbol of home and hope, a house of promises. Open on all sides to symbolize the importance of what is beyond ourselves. With all the sides open it reminds us to be welcoming to strangers. The impermanence suggests the only thing real about a home is the people within it who love and choose to be a family.
Each person at the wedding was physically, virtually, or spiritually a part of our union. All who witnessed are like the posts of the chuppah that support us as we step into our marriage.
It is customary during the ceremony to invite everyone inside to imbue it with love. To think about your own love, the love you dream of, or your own wedding day. We invite you to imagine this.
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You'll notice Matt crowned Dominique, Minka's daughter. Dominique crowned Matt. Minka crowned Cassidy. A symbol of honor and love we each have for each other and our family.
Historical picture of The Alberta Shul, once called Tiffereth Israel.
This was a part of the reading on our wedding day:
This space we gather (and shared our wedding ceremony) has a rich history and meaning. When Minka and Matt had envisioned today they of course imagined a bigger crowd gathering in the country and kids running around - maybe petting alpacas. When they had to reimagined this day it brought them here. Throughout Minka’s adult life she has not lived far from this building and has come here for avant garde art shows and one year got the last minute chance to see the alien nativity scene set up for Christmas.
Three years ago, this building went up for sale and her good friends Eleyna and Annie Rose, discovered it had been a synagogue to Ukrainian and Russian Jews from 1914-1954. A community was created to try to buy the building in order to help bring back to life a gathering community space that could be a home for Jews in NE Portland, currently there isn’t a space in the NE side of town. Over $35,000 was raised. Minka became heavily involved in this community effort: helping with fundraising, creating an online fundraiser, painting a banner, organizing parades and community events. Through this process she also grew to a deeper understanding of Judaism and community. When Matt and Minka met she was in the beginning of this big project and Matt rallied to support the effort. He created the chai sign, which means life, that hangs at the top of the building today, as well as helping design buttons and calendars. This process has brought them closer to the community and many of the people here today.
Another important part of the story is how this building represents a history of racial justice. In 1954, when the Jewish community outgrew the building, a Black Christian church made an offer. It was met by great resistance from neighbors and businesses. They petitioned city hall and the realtor dropped out of the deal, but the Jewish community stepped forward in support of the Black community and wrote a letter denouncing racism. This story rings deep in Minka and Matt’s heart. A reminder of the work we must continue to do right in our neighborhood and in the world to stand up against racism and inequality even when there is great opposition.
