Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s announcement on Motzei Shabbos that Israel is beginning a partial shutdown beginning on Sunday for five weeks included a ban of gatherings of over 10 people. Furthermore, simcha halls, among other venues, were to be shuttered by Sunday morning, which means that any family who has a wedding scheduled for the next five weeks has to cancel the wedding.

Many Chareidi families who were supposed to hold a wedding this week decided to quickly prepare a wedding to be held overnight Motzei Shabbos before the new restrictions went into effect at 7 a.m. on Sunday morning. These hastily prepared weddings were of course still subject to the ban of gatherings of over 100 people.

A hall in Ashdod opened its doors to allow a couple from the south to hold their wedding, with the chuppah beginning at 4:30 a.m. and ending at 5:15 a.m., B’Chadrei Chareidim reported. Shacharis was then held at neitz and dancing took place until 7.50 a.m. Israel Police arrived to close the hall at 7:55 a.m.

STAY UPDATED WITH BREAKING UPDATES FROM YWN VIA WHATSAPP – SIGN UP NOW Just click on this link, and you will be placed into a group.

Kikar H’Shabbos reported on a family from Ashdod who held a wedding in a Bnei Brak hall in middle of the night. The kallah, who lives in Jerusalem set out to Bnei Brak after Shabbos but was delayed due to the heavy traffic. Meanwhile, a chef was called to the hall to cook the wedding meal.

בשל ההוראה על הגבלת אירועים לעשרה אנשים, כעת (01:00 בלילה) מתקיימת חתונה שהייתה אמורה להתקיים מחר pic.twitter.com/YLoDKKV69X — קובי בורנשטיין (@hachardak) March 14, 2020

The wedding was held on Sunday morning at 4 a.m. “It was a moving chupah,” one of the participants told Kikar H’Shabbat. The men and women were separated into two different halls so as not to violate the ban of gatherings of over 100 people but many people were present at the chuppah that was held outside the hall.”

3 לפנות בוקר, חתונה במודיעין עילית pic.twitter.com/REkkZyrd8g — מנחם קולדצקי (@nbjovsr88) March 15, 2020

“The excitement was palpable in the hall. Despite the hasty preparations – the kallah chair, the food, the band – everything were prepared in a rush but they were all wonderful. It was obvious from the guests’ expressions that they were experiencing an extraordinary event.”

2 לפנות בוקר: חתונה אחרונה באולמי נוף עילית במודיעין עילית pic.twitter.com/ZPkNK1xgVk — מנחם קולדצקי (@nbjovsr88) March 14, 2020

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)