Man Dancing & Group Singing

Man Dancing at my wedding (Jerusalem 2005)

Today marks one month since we moved to Jerusalem.

There is a great deal I could say about the changes and adjustments that come with moving, especially the transition to city living. But as I reflect on this first month, I find myself thinking less about the place and more about the people.

My father had never really attended an Orthodox wedding before mine. At our wedding, the men and women danced separately. Afterward, he grabbed my arm and said, “You know, I never realized men dancing could be so much fun.”

I have thought about that comment many times over the years.

Since moving, I have been davening at a shul near our apartment. Nearly every time I go, whether for a weekday morning minyan or Friday night services, I find myself becoming a little misty-eyed. I am moved by the singing, the warmth, and the feeling of people coming together with genuine joy.

But the music is only a gateway to the depth that lies beneath it.

In a remarkably short time, I have found people with whom I can have deep, thoughtful, and vulnerable conversations. We can ask difficult questions of one another, share our struggles, challenge each other, and still laugh and embrace. There is an openness that allows relationships to form quickly, but not superficially.

When we lock arms and dance together on a Friday night, the dancing is more than an expression of happiness. It is a symbol of the strength of the bonds being formed. Each person moves independently, yet no one is dancing alone.

Perhaps that is what my father sensed at my wedding. Men dancing together can be joyful because the dancing is not really about performance. It is about belonging. The singing and dancing give physical expression to something much deeper: the human need to connect, to be seen, and to know that we are part of something larger than ourselves.

One month into this new chapter, I remain deeply moved by how quickly meaningful relationships can be built when people are willing to sing together, dance together, speak honestly, and open their lives to one another.

There is still much to learn about our new home and many adjustments ahead. But already, through the people I have met, Jerusalem is beginning to feel less like a city we moved to and more like a community we are becoming part of.