Migrated Wedding Helped Save a Child’s Life

By COLlive reporter

The wedding of Chabad couple Shlomie Cohen and Sarah Bordoff, which took place in Cincinnati, Ohio last week, had an amazing and unexpected outcome.

While the location of the wedding, at the Pinecroft Manor Estate in Cincinnati, is a beautiful venue with stunning outdoor space perfect for the Chuppah ceremony, it was not the first choice for the couple, neither of whom hail from Cincinnati.

With restrictions on gathering imposed in many places due to COVID 19, Cohen from Leeds, England and Bordoff from Los Angeles, CA decided to make their wedding in Ohio. The father of the kallah, Boruch Bordoff, is a childhood friend of Rabbi Mendy Kalmanson who lives there, and he had been visiting the city in recent months.

Cincinnati also has more relaxed guidelines for large gatherings, and was allowing up to 300 guests at weddings, a member of the family explained.

On August 12th, the wedding day arrived, and people came from far and wide to attend. Friends and family of both the bride and groom came to Cincinnati from Los Angeles, Las Vegas, New York, Montreal, Maryland, Pittsburgh, Florida, and others.

“The wedding ceremony was beautiful. The music by DJ Levyticus was remarkable. The food was delicious, and the Chosson and Kallah were stunning,” said Shlomie’s brother, Eli Cohen, entrepreneur and founder of the SKINKISSED Global brand, who flew in from his home in Montreal to attend.

During the wedding, the question was asked, “How many people who are at the wedding are actually from Cincinnati?”

A quick count showed there were only about 10 locals. After all, both sides of the wedding were from out of town.

Eli Cohen said that they wondered if there was an inner meaning to why they ended up in Cincinnati.

Then, it became clear why all the hard work, all the planning, and all the traveling took place so the wedding should take place in that city.

The Chosson’s family planned to stay in town until after Shabbos. They had arranged for a beautiful Friday night and Shabbos day Sheva Brochos in a local hotel. The Kallah’s father joined them at the hotel, and everything was set.

About an hour before Shabbos, during all the hustle and bustle of last-minute preparations, a scream pierced the air. Shlomie Cohen heard the screams of a woman from across the hotel and he rushed over.

It was then that he heard someone shouting that a boy had drowned in the hotel pool with no lifeguard in the vicinity. The chosson Shlomie dialed 911 as two of his brothers, Eli Cohen and Levi Cohen ran to the pool area.

Arriving at the pool, they found a young child, about 5 or 6 years of age, at the bottom of the pool.

Eli Cohen jumped over the gate of the pool area, and pulled the child from the water. There was no pulse, and so he immediately began performing CPR. After what seemed like an eternity, the child began to cough and started breathing. The police and paramedics arrived and transported the child to the hospital.

One of the paramedics told Eli that he had saved this child’s life. Had he not acted as fast as he did, the child would not have survived, they said.

“After that, it was finally very clear to me why this Chosson from England, along with the Kallah from Los Angeles, had their wedding in Cincinnati,” Eli Cohen told COLlive.

“We know that everything G-d does is for a good and just reason. Nothing is by chance or coincidence,” said Rabbi Mendy Kalmanson of Chabad of Southern Ohio.

“Perhaps these two souls, of a Chasidic man and a young non-Jewish boy from Cincinnati, have a connection that needed to come together at some point in their lives,” he said.

“We are not always lucky to have that reason revealed to us but nonetheless, we know it is part of a greater plan. When we are lucky enough to see the reason, we should use that to strengthen our belief so when the reason is not revealed, we can know with 100% certainty that all is for the good,” he said.