“At a certain point, we realized that we would be the ones who would have to marry her off— there simply wasn’t anyone else to do it.”
“W
hat a young mother you are!” a woman exclaimed as she offered a mazel tov to Miri, who was standing next to the bride. “You barely look older than the kallah!”
Miri laughed but didn’t say anything. She was very close in age to the beaming kallah — in fact, the two sisters are only a decade apart. Since their mother’s passing eight years ago, Miri has served as a stand-in for that role.
“I remember the moment after the chuppah, when the chassan took my sister to the yichud room,” recalls Miri. “Through my tears, I said to myself, ‘I can’t believe we’ve reached this point. From now on, there’s someone else who’ll take care of her — she has her own home now.’ I felt like someone had lifted a heavy load off my shoulders and my heart.” A 33-year-old interior decorator, Miri is also a mother of five — her eldest is 11 years old and her baby just over a year.
Most mothers Miri’s age are busy juggling their home responsibilities, children, and work stress. Few have the additional mammoth obligation of raising a sibling, helping her navigate the world of shidduchim, planning her wedding, and setting up her new home.
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