Ordinarily, the ‘word prompt’ shehakol would have instantly brought to mind the basic elements of life, coffee, ice cream, and cheese; but with the recent marriage of our youngest daughter, the word shehakol conjures happy memories of the first bracha under the chuppah, ‘shehakol bara l’chvodo’ – everything Hashem created is for His glory and honor. It is a beautiful bracha reminding the young couple that the purpose of marriage is to create a Jewish home that will bring Hashem’s honor into this world. The bracha also evokes the six days of creation, further teaching us that everything Hashem brings into this world can be utilized l’shem shamayim.
After the wedding was over, random images of that day kept randomly popping into my head, the most pervasive of which were the flowers at the chuppah. I am probably one of the only women I know who does not appreciate receiving flowers. I think it’s a little sad to pluck them out of their natural habitats and bring them inside where I get to watch them die, petal by petal; and on the morning of the wedding as I watched the florist lop the heads off a zillion flowers to create the chuppah, I imagined that I heard a zillion screams. Hours later though, as we walked our daughter down the aisle, I reconsidered my position. It was clear to me that every single flower that adorned the chuppah was created for just this very moment, a lush purple crown for my daughter the queen, each blossom a breathing testament to G-d’s glory.