Crossposted from Haaretz

When singer Zion Golan entered the wedding hall in Yehud at 7:10 P.M., the atmosphere was sleepy. Hardly anyone was there, not even all the waiters; it would be another two hours before the rest of the guests arrived and the wedding ceremony began. Those who were present no doubt wondered what Golan was doing there so early, since wedding singers usually show up only once the festivities are at their height. You won?t catch Moshik Afia or Lior Narkis entering a wedding hall before the first cigars are passed around.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

But Golan is a different type of singer. ?They told me the ceremony would begin early, as close as possible to sunset, so I came early,? he said ? though he no doubt understood, from 35 years of experience at thousands of parties, that ?early? is a relative term at weddings.

He politely rejected a guest?s suggestion to change the groom?s choice of first song. ?Young people don?t know the traditions,? the guest said. Golan promised to check with the groom, but he naturally insisted on the song he had already chosen.

Read more at Haaretz.com

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. We’ve started our Passover Fundraising Drive, and we need 1,800 readers like you to step up to support the Forward by April 21. Members of the Forward board are even matching the first 1,000 gifts, up to $70,000.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism, because every dollar goes twice as far.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

2X match on all Passover gifts!

$90 → $180 $180 → $360

$360 → $720

Other amount