Aharon Berk lives in Johannesburg, South Africa, where he learns in kollel and is a featured wedding and events singer
Aharon Berk lives in Johannesburg, South Africa, where he learns in kollel and is a featured wedding and events singer with his Azamra band. Over the past year, he’s released two singles: “Tefillas HaEmunah,” his original composition, and the inspiring chuppah song “Ve’erastich Li.”
In South Africa, chuppahs generally take place in the afternoon in a beautiful outdoor setting, with the wedding dinner happening that evening in a hall. In this way the chuppah becomes a special experience in its own right, and doesn’t get “lost” as it sometimes does in other places. As chuppahs are my passion and main focus, I find this setup especially conducive to making the chuppah more meaningful for the chassan and kallah. It’s a time of heightened kedushah, when the marriage actually takes place.
I had a chuppah booked on the day my wife was coming home after giving birth to our third child. I had arrived at the hospital with adequate time to help her check out, but there was a delay with the discharge papers. The clock was ticking, and I was frantically worried that I would miss the chuppah. We finally managed to leave and rush back to town — and yes, I made the chuppah, with just minutes to spare.
Soon after Yaakov Shwekey released Yitzi Waldner’s “Tefillas HaShlah” on his Musica album, I was asked to sing it at a chuppah. I remember my first thoughts when I listened to it — how touching the song was, and also how original the vocal arrangements were. It was unlike anything I had heard before — the harmonies woven together so beautifully and delicately.
Create a free account to keep reading.
