by COLlive reporter
After a 140-day delay due to the war in Ukraine, a Jewish couple was finally able to get married in Moldova this past weekend.
Menachem Zevin and Ayala Shirel were planning on beginning a new chapter in their lives and had planned a large wedding in Kyiv on March 8, 2022. But when Russia declared war on Ukraine, their plans changed.
Menachem was working as a doctor in New York, and Ayala was living in Ukraine. At the beginning of the war, Ayala fled to Moldova and tried to join Menachem in New York, but the U.S. authorities denied her request for a visa.
Over the past four months, the Jewish community in Kishinev has welcomed Ayala with open arms. So much so that she and Menachem decided to hold their long-awaited wedding with the community.
This past weekend, Menachem and Ayala were married in the Bristol hotel in Kishinev, surrounded by their family, members of the local Jewish community and fellow war refugees who have become a second family to Ayala.
The Chabad community, headed by Rabbi Zushe Abelsky, took care of all the arrangements and it was an emotional celebration for those who participated.
Local Chabad Shlucha Chaya Zalmanov, who has become close with Ayala over these past four months, noted that “we may not be related by blood, but we’re one big family. Mazel Tov to Menachem and Ayala!”
VIDEO:
I am an eyewitness to the amazing work Chabad did in Moldova with the refugees. Kol hakavod
What a beautiful couple. May they build a binyan adei ad together in peace and tranquility!!
אמן