When Harold met Bryna... they came to Jerusalem to tie the knot

About 300 Jewish couples from the Diaspora have come to the Holy City this year to wed.

By MATTHEW WAGNER
wedding biz 88 298 (photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski)
wedding biz 88 298
(photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski)
As Harold Bongarten, 86, crushed the glass under the chuppah Thursday, dozens of yeshiva students began spinning around the newly wed couple. Dancing and singing, the yeshiva students, who did not even know Bongarten or his new bride Bryna Hellman, competed to see who would best perform the mitzva of entertaining the bride and groom. The students held hands and stomped as they circled the couple under the Jerusalem sun. In the distance the walls of the Old City dominated the view of the Judean hills. Harold first met Bryna Hellman, 78, at the Anshei Israel Synagogue in Tuscon, Arizona, years ago. At the time, both were married to someone else. But when their spouses passed away, Harold and Bryna decided to marry - in Jerusalem. "We knew a wedding in Jerusalem would be special," said Bongarten, "but not how special. America might be our country but this is our land." In a week, Harold and Bryna will be on a plane back to Tuscon. They are part of a growing number of Diaspora Jews who choose to come to Israel, usually Jerusalem, to marry, and then head back home. According to Rabbi David Banino, head of the Jerusalem rabbinate's marriage registration department, about 300 Jewish couples from the Diaspora have come to the Holy City in the past year to tie the knot and then return home. "Weddings are like any other tourist attraction Jerusalem can offer," said Banino. "What can compete with getting married on the backdrop of the Kotel?" Since all Jewish marriages are performed by the Orthodox Chief Rabbinate, both bride and groom must be able to prove they are Jewish in accordance with Orthodox law. Until about five years ago, Jewish tourists who wished to get married in Jerusalem had to run a gauntlet of bureaucracy. But thanks to Rabbi Shaul Farber, head of ITIM, a non-profit organization that specializes in helping Israelis and Diaspora Jews navigate the bureaucratic ins and outs of the Israeli Rabbinate, marriage registration for tourists has become more user-friendly. Farber, who officiated at the Bongartens' wedding, said that making it easier for Diaspora Jews to marry here is an Israeli interest. "The experience creates a special bond to Israel," said Farber. "It solidifies the relationship."