On the 40th day of the war in Ukraine, after almost five weeks of fire and rubble, refugees and migration, the first Jewish wedding in the country since the outbreak of the war was held last night at the Menora compound in the eastern city of Dnipro.
The couple Alexander Tolkach and Tatiana Gvinyashvili, young Jews from the city, married each other in a small ceremony attended by a total of 25 people, instead of hundreds who were expected to attend in the first place.
The two's friends and family have fled the city or been drafted into the army in recent weeks, but Alexander and Tatiana knew they would have their wedding anyway on a set date.
"It may have been a bit annoying at first to think that so many people dear to us could not be happy with us, but we are happy to build our own home out of the surrounding ruins," they tell Israel Today.
The two were consecrated by the Chabad emissary and rabbi of the city, Rabbi Shmuel Kaminecki, who said under the canopy: "This wedding symbolizes for us the beginning of Shabbat life on their path, and we hope it will be an example to many and instill in them optimism about the future."
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