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New Hampshire Union Leader

Manchester, NH — A traditional Hasidic Jewish wedding, possible the first in New Hampshire, took place in the Queen City yesterday, when a young rabbi from Australia married a New Hampshire girl raised in the strict, centuries-old Hasidic tradition.

Possibly A First: Hasidic Jewish Wedding Held in NH

New Hampshire Union Leader

Manchester, NH — A traditional Hasidic Jewish wedding, possible the first in New Hampshire, took place in the Queen City yesterday, when a young rabbi from Australia married a New Hampshire girl raised in the strict, centuries-old Hasidic tradition.

The ceremony took place at the center of New Hampshire plaza and drew some 400 guests, local people as well as friends and family from Australia, Brazil, New York and Atlanta, where the groom, Rabbi Dovi Barber, 24, was ordained. He married Mushka Krinsky, 23, the oldest daughter of Rabbi Levi and Shternie Krinsky, who founded Chabad-Lubavitch of New Hampshire 22 years ago.

Krinsky has said he believes it is the first Hasidic wedding ever in New Hampshire. Many of the men wore black hats, untrimmed beards and knee-length coats. Women were more stylishly dressed in evening gowns; they sat, dined and danced separately from their husbands.
For Stephen Singer, president of Merchants Auto Group, the wedding shows that Jewish culture is entrenched in the Granite State.

“I’m very proud of the Jewish pride we’re able to share with Jewish people all over the country,” Singer said.

The Krinsky family, he said, are role models for New Hampshire Jews.

The ceremony had the trappings of most Jewish weddings. It took place under a canopy. It ended with shouts of mazel tov when Barber took his shoe heel to a wine glass. And prayers were chanted in Hebrew and Yiddish. But it also followed strict Hasidic guidelines that emphasize modesty. Barber did not see his bride for an entire week before Tuesday evening, and she wore a veil throughout the ceremony.

The marriage contract was read in the ancient Aramaic language. and at the conclusion, the bride and groom barely looked at one another, much less kissed or embraced.

Family said the couple dated for about three months after mutual friends in the Hasidic community arranged their introduction. Throughout the courtship, they would not have even held hands. “In the Jewish world, the first step is the inner beauty of the person, the persons outlook, character. Your relationship’s not built on a physical attraction,” said Yitzchok Barber, a rabbi and stockbroker from Sydney, Australia.

The newlywed’s faith and commitment to keep a traditional Jewish home will keep their marriage strong, said Levi Krinsky.

Barber’s guests included family from Melbourne and Brazil, and his fellow rabbinical students from Atlanta.

On Krinsky’s side, guests included local Jewish leaders and the bride’s grandfather, Brooklyn-based Rabbi Yehuda Krinsky, whom Newsweek recently ranked the most influential rabbi in America. “It’s really two ends of the world coming together to form one soul,” Levi Krinsky said.

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14 Comments

  • wow

    what a wedding!! a real kiddush lubavitch, mazel tov krinskys and barbers

  • Chona Nosson Gewirtz

    Mazal Tov, but I think it’s doubtful that this is the “first” chasidic wedding in all of New Hampshire. My mother’s family goes back generations in New Hampshire – and that far back they were chasidim – at least when they came over from Eurasia. It’s also well know that Satmar has been in Bethlehem, New Hampshire for over 30 years.

  • Other Zaidy

    How about the Kallah’s zaidy, the esteemed, holy Rabbi Klein, fauthful servant of the Rebbe?

  • first chassidic wedding

    you are correct about the chassidim in bethlehem, however they only spend a few weeks in the summer there…they dont have chassunas. also to point out, it says “possibly”

  • mazel tov!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    etti!! mazel tov!!! so exciting :D :D :D :D!!!

  • impressed with sheluchim...

    to #2’s comment: satmar does have a ‘hotel” there, the arlington -for the summer. they do NOT do mivtzoim, reach out to other yidden, provide services for ALL jews, home-school their kids etc… im wondering about the veracity of your comment about your parents lineage there as well now…based on what??? sheluchim are a different category from anyone else..

  • eyewitness

    hey # 5-yes- GREAT kiddush lubavitch..can you swallow that????? I was there, you werent…

  • Just wondering

    To #5. If it bothers you to read about successes of Lubavitcher shluchim, why are you visiting Lubavitcher websites? Before you answer, you might want to research the chief cause of churban Bais Hamikdash, especially now that we’re heading into the The Three Weeks …V’di lachkimah.