Many happy occasions that were postponed this past year because of the pandemic are happening now, with people celebrating joyful events that were delayed. Sometimes, especially during a challenging period, we learn lessons that enhance such events, as illustrated by the following story:
“Shalom Sivan. On Thursday we celebrated the bat mitzvah of our daughter, Hadar Nitzan Biton. The celebration had been postponed once because of corona, and then again because of Operation Guardian of the Walls.
But this was not the only bat mitzvah that took place Thursday. When Miriam, my grandmother and Hadar’s great-grandmother, reached the age of twelve, her family planned to hold a celebration. Because of the War of Independence and establishment of the state, the event was postponed and never took place. My grandmother would always say that she somehow felt that her life was missing something.
Seventy-three years passed and her great-granddaughter, who had experienced a delay of her own, decided to surprise her and celebrate together with her. We presented her with a video of greetings and blessings honoring the occasion, a bouquet of flowers, a cake, and a picture of the two bat mitzvah girls with the caption, “Better late than never.”
(translation by Yehoshua Siskin)