Taking the risk of sounding more-than-a-bit strange
[x-posted on b.org]
I'm going to do the "in the risk of sounding even more than a bit strange" thing again, if you don't mind, OK?
As b.org's "Beep Me" knows, I am getting married (no, it still doesn't seem real) in exactly one week. Which makes me (nope, totally not real) a bride.
Now, as it happens, in Judaism there is a lot of credit given to prayers by a bride. The idea is, since the couple starts a new life together, it's like they're sorta born again, like all their past sins are being erased, and they can start fresh, a completely clean slate. And so, their prayers are "easier" to filter through, to G*d or the universe or whichever you wanna call it. The hour of the actual ceremony is even nicknamed "an hour of willingness and mercy".
So a bride, sitting there, wondering what she was thinking about when choosing her dress, more often than not gets to have a list of people to pray for, to bless with good things (lots of singles asking for husbands/wives, of course, but also wishes for good health, or pretty much anything, really). Sometimes, people write down names of complete strangers, just because they believe in the strength of the prayer at that time, in that situation.
Now, I don't know what I think about all this, but I do know that if there's a way to spread joy and good will, then why turn it down? And then it occurred to me, if people may ask me to do it for strangers, I'm going to ask my friends (um, that's y'all, for the record, among others) if there's anything you want me to wish for you.
I'm not sure how to ask this - profile address? It's customary to say the name of the person, the name of their mother, and of course, what the prayer for them is about. If any of you think this may be a good idea for them, I would love to do it!