VICTOR AND THE HASIDIC CIRCLE OF ENERGY

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Shouts of joy. Toasts and clinks permeated the air. Loudly music blasted away. Every once in a while a crash of a glass could be heard. And amidst all this, Victor found himself being dragged by his first cousin once removed across the patio. 

Their destination? The dance floor. Tere a group of boys and young men were dancing the night away. 

Victor had been to weddings before, but none that would compare to this. Victor and his family are messianic Jews. They used to be conservative, but his father and mother had an encounter with the Yeshua during one stormy winter day. After that, they changed their religion. Victor being so young was naturally being taught according to his parent's beliefs. 

The rest of their families remained conservative with some far-removed branches that were orthodox. So while Victor most certainly had been exposed to some exuberant joyous celebrating in the past, this wedding was something else. It was a Hasidic wedding.

His first cousin once removed, Reina, was getting married to a Hasidic jew named Ari. Uncommon it was for a Hasidic to marry a non-hasidic. Not unheard of, but uncommon. Considering the strict rules Hasidics follow, the wedding was carried out according to their laws. 

Some of the customs were just plain weird to Victor. Even the dancing was a bit unusual but sublime. 

There was a special presence though, exuberant joy Victor had never felt before. And peace. Victor was enjoying himself like never before. This was by far the best wedding he had ever attended. And it was about to get even better. 

Victor and about 12 other young men were circle-dancing and enjoying themselves when out of the blue a second group approached them. A puzzled look appeared on Victor’s face. Noticing his confusion, his cousin told him a dance battle was to take place. 

‘A dance battle?’ Victor wondered. Standing there a bit sheepish, Victor then took a step back with the rest while one youngster remained in the circle. He was joined by another from the opposite group. And the battle began. 

Victor thought things couldn’t get even more crazy, but these two guys sure knew how to dance. And they were good at acrobatics too. 

Things turned wild and Victor was swept away by the euphorics. One by one others joined the two until the two groups joined and danced for the rest of the night. 

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Well into the night the wedding continued. Victor and his family retired around 2 a.m. Way past the hour they usually left. But, as his father admitted, even he was taken over more than usual.

In the morning they joined the bride’s extended family for breakfast. Since they traveled far, they were provided with lodgings at the nearby hotel. There the bride’s and groom's immediate families also slept.

Slowly they entered the dining room and took their seats. After the standard hamotzi prayer, they all dug in. 

Despite none of them receiving proper rest, the joy from the wedding had not died off. Everyone was loud, and exuberant as they could be. It both puzzled and ticked off the oung Victor who was feeling cranky from the lack of sleep.

After breakfast, they all headed to the synagogue. While Victor did not usually mind the sermons today he was feeling oddly ticked off. He was hoping the long sermon would end soon and his moodiness was steadily growing ever more.

When the rabbi finished he couldn't get out of the place sooner. His broodiness was getting to him more and more. His countenance was growing darker. Every little thing became a bother. Even stopping for some ice cream upset him. "Why was everyone so happy and full of energy? I can barely stand over here.", Victor thought to himself.

While Victor's family and friends were getting energized and filled with more and more joy, Victor was starting to feel more and more drained. He really wanted his bed.

When the bride's family suggested stopping at the park for a picnic, Victor managed to catch himself before snapping at all of their cheerfulness.

He was paralyzed for a second, shocked at himself and his thoughts. Following his family absentmindedly, an inner battle with guilt began. Finally, Victor was starting to notice his ever-growing dark thoughts. And guilt was finally starting to eat him up.

They stopped at the supermarket to collect some food and then managed to reach the park about 10 minutes later. As they were entering the park Victor was finally coming to terms with his sinful behavior. Repentance was beginning to fill him. As he was surrendering to God, he remembered a verse from scripture, from Proverbs 15: 15 to be more precise.

All the days of the afflicted are evil, but he that is of a merry heart hath a continual feast.

Proverbs 15: 15 (NIV)

Releasing his frustration, Victor actively chose to appreciate the food and company during the rest of the day. Steadily his countenance began to lighten, the heaviness departed. The tiredness that was so unbearable became almost like an afterthought.

Back at the hotel, Victor couldn't help but conclude that today was a lesson well learned.

SOURCES

1. Image created via canva.com.