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C32 celebrate! • 2017 jn Invaluable gifts of time — and timeless — treasures. To The Bride And Groom! T he classic wedding present — wrapped in sparkly silver paper or inserted into a greeting card — is, no doubt, much appreciated; and if it comes from the couple's registry, even anticipated. But, once in a great while, a gift comes with such extended meaning and touching, per- sonal consideration that, for the recipients, it is priceless. FAMILY HEIRLOOM For Jennifer Epstein Rube and her husband, Saul A. Rube, of Oak Park, a fabric art piece was not only a gift of beauty, but one that also became an everyday reminder of the gift-giver and of Jennifer's ancestry. "My Grandpa Julian died three weeks before my engagement," Jennifer said. "When family was going through his possessions, my sister had a tapestry — painted by my great- grandmother Adele Priebatsch Lewinthal in Mississippi in the early 1900s — restored as a wedding gift. It had spent 60-plus years rolled up in a closet in my grand- parents' Erie, Pa., home. It is a copy of a 'famous' painting that no one — including us — seems to know and my grandpa always called 'Rebecca by the Well.'" The Rubes, who were married at Congregation Shaarey Zedek in December 1997, both "love family heirlooms," Jennifer said. "When we got married, I knew that we were not just merging our lives but those of our families and those of our histories. This was a beautiful tangible expres- sion of that. The tapestry proudly hangs in our home over our staircase. Every day when I walk downstairs to greet the day I see the reminder of my sister's gift and my family's history." SHARED CULTURAL TRADITIONS In the midst of a newly experienced very old custom that took place at Julie Ohana's January 2009 wedding reception at the Birmingham Community House, came an unexpect- ed gift from her new husband, Ofer. In the first minutes of her marriage, Julie became the focal point of a unique ceremony she had never seen before, where mud-like red henna dye is placed on the palms of the bride and groom to symbolically bestow to them good health, fertility, wisdom and security. "Ofer's late dad was Moroccan, and it's a typical Sephardi tradition to have a henna ceremony sometime the week of the wedding," said Julie of West Bloomfield. "We put our own spin on it and did it at the wedding reception instead to be able to include all of the guests and family from out of town." The ceremony included special music and outfits — including caftans, hats and scarves — brought with Ofer's sister from Israel. "Ofer and I were sitting on 'thrones,' and his mom and stepmom and sisters brought over a pair of vintage white gold and diamond ear- rings and a necklace," Julie said. "I had no idea that this was coming, and it was given by such special people at such a special moment, when I was already feeling like the luckiest person in the world. "They are, to date, the best gifts I have got- ten from him," she added. "I so treasure these pieces of jewelry. I wear them and remember those feelings of happiness, and it makes me feel that same way still. This jewelry is just one more symbol and reminder of how lucky Ofer and I are. We love each other more today than eight years ago, and I know we will continue to love each other even more each day that goes by." EVOKING MEMORIES In the Oak Park home of Bayla Hochheiser-Berman and her husband, Sruly Berman, is a one-of-a-kind garnet-colored mezuzah that evokes the honor and memory of a beloved aunt. "When each of my five siblings got married, my Aunt Tami Fink wanted to buy them something Jewish as a wed- ding gift; so she and my Uncle Gary, who lives in Oak Park, would buy a glass to be broken under the chuppah, which she then had placed into a mezuzah case," said Bayla, who was married at the Adoba Hotel in Dearborn. Her aunt passed away before her July 2013 wedding, but her uncle continued the tradition. "We picked the color for the mezu- zah because my aunt always wore black, grey and red. Every time I look at it, I think of my aunt. My husband never got a chance to meet her, but he feels like he knows her through the mezuzah. SHELLI LIEBMAN DORFMAN CONTRIBUTING WRITER TOP TO BOTTOM: An heirloom tapestry in Jennifer and Saul Rube's home. Ofer and Julie Ohana during the henna ceremony at their wedding. Andy and Erika Bocknek under the chuppah. Thea Gardin, 6, and her sister Ava, 2, with their mom, Miriam, lighting her grandmother's candlesticks. BRETT MOUNTAIN continued on page 34