Elul and 9/11 – All About Love

Anyone who lived through 9/11 remembers those last desperate phone calls to tell your loved ones “I love you.” If ever there was an Elul wakeup call now which connects the 9/11 and the Corona- it is the one tie that binds – Ani L’Dodi V’ Dodi Li – “I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine,” – Song of Songs (Shir HaShirim). There are no coincidences. Elul is the love month – the only month where weddings may occur all month long.

And yet, how many of us take these same loved ones for granted. We assume that love is a given and requires no nurturing or investing. And so we go about our daily routines without taking the time to reflect on what our loved ones mean to us until G-d forbid a 9/11 or Corona happens.

Take a moment to view this chilling reminder of those last words.

https://youtu.be/MDB88fNRKig?t=45

My nonprofit Together in Happiness/B’Yachad B’Osher founded in memory of my parents to demonstrate that there is a response to 9/11 and Corona – and that is to provide couples with the skills and tools to counter the tendency to take our loved ones for granted – in the form of marriage education.

The Marriage Education Movement still remains in its infancy in Israel – although it has precedents of success in the United States, United Kingdom and Australia where governments have invested millions of the currency to help couples maximize their marriages. And the group that has received the most attention are the engaged and newly married couples – for whom the skills are so vital.

This coming Tuesday night, our nonprofit is launching its first Invest in Your Relationship webinar exclusively for Israeli dating, engaged and newly married couples. In order to provide the maximum outreach, we are co -hosting this event with the City of Beit Shemesh. We want to build as many bridges between both Hebrew and English speaking couples by offering this webinar in both English and Hebrew. The skills which will be imparted are based on the world acclaimed PREP curriculum which our nonprofit offers exclusively in Israel in the form of I-PREP (Prevention Relationship Education Program).

In addition to the mini I-PREP seminar, we also have the privilege of special guest appearance by renowned speaker Sivan Rahav-Meir.

Also as an added bonus the webinar marks a return appearance of the international “father of marriage education “ and founder of PREP – Professor Howard Markman.  Professor Markman was a keynote speaker at both The First International Conference for Marriage Education that our non profit sponsored in 2011, as well as at the Knesset Seminar we co-hosted on Pre marriage education in 2017.

Any Israeli dating, engaged and newly married couple is invited to join us – to Create a Marriage that Lasts!

Please access the link below to register and join this first of its kind webinar on this Tuesday night September 15 at 7:30PM.

https://yes.shemesh.co.il/registration/

The webinar is free because we need to find avenues to advance the language of LOVE. The key is to build the solid foundation so that everyday becomes an expression of Ani L Dodi V’Dodi Li.

The 9/11 and Corona times are perilous reminders of how fragile life is – we owe it to our loved ones to invest in our marriages – every day and may those panic calls never need to happen. Take every opportunity to learn how to be the best possible and loving partners and together we can build a future of peace and make the new year 5781 one of hope and shalom.

Wishing all a ktiva vchatima tova – a healthy and sweet New Year.

For more details on the webinar and marriage education related information contact me at marriageconf@gmail.com