On Sunday evening we had the pleasure of attending the wedding of the son of old family friends. We had watched him and his siblings grow and mature from the time that they were babies. This was a special simcha because the chasson is 43 and his kallah is 39. As we all know in frum circles that is considered old!

The fact that they waited to find the “right one” is not because they did not have previous opportunities. In actual fact the same couple was engaged to each other five years ago and for whatever reason decided to part ways. Hashem obviously had different plans for them because they are now husband and wife.

As we parked our car several blocks from the wedding locale in Manhattan we heard loud noises and suddenly realized that we were walking along 5th Avenue in the midst of the Gay Pride Parade. It is not the noise that disturbed us. All of us that attend weddings regularly know that the musicians must be told to increase the volume of the music as the evening progresses. By the time we leave a wedding we usually feel wiped out from the experience. Comically, in the lobby outside wedding halls we have found many older than 35 sitting and trying to engage in normal conversation before they lose their hearing.

It was the dress of the participants in the parade (or non dress), it was the absolutely disgusting behavior being exhibited by people on the floats and the crass lewd gestures that were going on publicly with thousands and thousands of people cheering them on. There were bystanders with young children, teenagers, older couples—we cannot imagine what they were thinking.

As we pushed our way through the street from this abhorrent display to the 12th floor of a building where the chuppah took place on the roof we went from one world to a totally different holy setting. The noise from the street actually permeated the rooftop where we all stood as the chasson and kallah walked to their chuppah. Suddenly a sense of holiness transcended. The ketubah was read, the brachos were recited, the cup was broken and a different type of sound permeated the area. They were the sounds of joy and elation. Music began and there was a significant difference between the music we had heard only moments ago and the excitement of Od Yeshoma.

We would like to make it very clear that we have friends who are living a gay lifestyle. There is no question in our minds that they would cringe at the behavior of the people participating in the parade. These were not the acts of people who are gay and living within communities participating in civic and neighborly activities. What we saw was totally outrageous only giving good cause to those who oppose a gay lifestyle.

At the wedding we discussed with siblings of the chasson how they tried to shield their own eyes and those of their children as they walked through the streets. Again it was time to be m’sameach the chasson and kallah and return to the reality of the world that we as shomer mitzvoth have chosen to live.

After what we saw yesterday the loud music played at our type of weddings suddenly seems more palatable (only slightly).

By Mordechai and Nina Glick