Friday, I picked up my mother and we drove to NYC for Michal's wedding. We stopped at Bill's Fish House in Old Saybrook for lunch al fresco and it was excellent. No traffic entering the city, which we entered through the scenic Bronx and Harlem. I dropped Bess at Nancy & Joel's and met Carol at Mary Boys's apartment at Union Theological Seminary. Mary is a professor there, and they take her vows of poverty as a nun quite seriously in terms of salary, but her apartment--it is the most beautiful New York apartment I've been in. It's a stone Gothic building with high ceilings and gorgeous ironworked windows. She has four bedrooms, a living room, dining room, study--all huge. On one side you look down on a courtyard and up to the towering Riverside Church, whose organ you can hear as you sit in the bathroom, playing with your own. On the other side is Riverside Park. Birds sing in the trees and on the windowsills. Light pours in from all side. And Mary has exquisite taste in decorating. And she was a gracious host. And helped us with our luggage. And a lovely person. And made us a stupendous black bean soup from scratch. And left Perugina chocolates on our pillows.

     Friday evening we gathered for services at the Spanish-Portuguese Synagogue. Then downstairs for a Sephardic buffet. Bess welcomed her guests with a touching and gracious speech. Sam made kiddush. Then cold poached salmon, couscous, borrecas, grilled vegetables, hummus, baba ganoush, and superb guacamole. Baklava and pistachio pastries with fruit for dessert.

     Saturday morning, we joined Janet Gottler and Mary for breakfast at--where else?--Barney Greengrass. Whitefish appetizer for me, nova eggs & onions for Carol, sable-nova appetizer for Janet, and a Havarti omelette for Mary, who is not from the raw fish eaters. Carol went to services at JTS, and I did some work at Mary's.
 

     Saturday night, the wedding took place at the Park Avenue Synagogue, which has been redone so that it's much brighter and inviting. A choir of 4 men from the Spanish-Portuguese Synagogue sang--uniquely beautiful. Down the aisle came both grandmothers, ushers, bridesmaids. Adam bubbled with a happy smile, accompanied by his parents. Michal was radiant (she claimed she was on drugs), Sam beamed, and Gilda giggled. It was a very joyful ceremony. Rabbi Angel of the S-P Synagogue married them--and fast. Adam put the ring on her finger, and the rabbi said, "See how easy it is to get married!" Not much for the woman to do except to take the ketubah, be obedient, and sit in the balcony. The reception was spectacular. Fortunately, Sam won the lottery last week, and he spared no expense. The bars had top labels. There were two sushi men and two geisha girls to serve it, a turkey man, a veal man, and a smoked salmon lady. Trays upon trays of superb hot hors d'oeuvres, and a bountiful vegetable table at the center. The banquet hall was elegant, with real flowers and lots of them. There was a great 11-piece band named Neshama & vocalist, very versatile. They could play Israeli music, klezmer music,big band sound, swing, rock--all very well. Excellent salad, chicken or red snapper, sorbets in a chocolate tulip for dessert. Everything top notch. As usual, Andy and Janet were the best dancers. So, who was there that we knew? Marjorie, Jonathan, Andy, Nancy, Joel, Marissa, Ali, Steffie, Jon, Yael & Eric, Daniella, Bess, Evie, Vivie, David, Michael & Pearl Port, Steve and Barbara Shulman, Jack & Whitnee, Sid and Sadele (who dried out at New York Hospital Friday night--from water, not alcohol--but was fine by the wedding), Karen,Stuart, Jared, Manny & Roberta, David & Carol Ingall, Marty & Trudy Cohen, Sarah Goldston, Ina & Henry, their children Benjamin and Sabrina, Effi & Esti (Sam's sister and brother-in-law), their sons Assaf & Elan, Eli, Sam's brother and his friend, Talma. And a few hundred more
friends and family. Sam gave a great welcome speech, showing off his homburg. We danced until 1:30 AM. Thank God we turned the clock back that night.
 

      Sunday morning, brunch at Nancy & Joel's, with a boatload of more lox, bagels, whitefish, kugel. And home to await the next simhah.