just a reminder....
for the unusual in gists

TREAT YOURSELF

DEBRA B. DARVICK Special to the Jewish iVezvs

Pmf

he chuppah (wedding
, canopy) is the quintes-
sential symbol of a
Jewish wedding. Open
on four sides, it recalls Abraham's
kindness to passing travelers.

Historically, the chuppah has also represented the
room in the groom's father's home where the couple
would retire to consummate their wedding.
Whether it is old, new, borrowed or blue, the chup-
pah symbolizes most of all the Jewish home th bride
and groom are on the threshold of building with one
another.
When Scott and Jody Cranis of Farmington Hills
became engaged, Jody's mother learned how to needle-
point so that she could make the chuppah for their
wedding at Congregation Beth Ahm. In the 10 years
since their marriage, the chuppah has been used at sev-
eral other weddings, including that of Jody's sister, an
uncle and some close friends. It also played a central
role at the naming ceremonies of Scott and Jody's two
daughters, Mara, now 5, and Jordyn, 2.
"Every time I saw my mother-in-law," Scott recalls
of his and Jody's engagement year, "she had a needle-
point frame on her lap. The canvas went everywhere:
to the beach, on airplanes, to Florida."
Jeri Rope, Jody's mom, finished the chuppah the
night before the wedding. "My mother designed the
chuppah," Jody recalls. "She worked with Rachel
[Einstandig] of Rachel's Needlepoint [in Southfield]
and with Accents in Needlepoint [in West
Bloomfield], too. She wanted each panel to be its own
independent scene."
The theme of each 6-foot by 2-foot panel has to do
with Jewish weddings. The panel that faced Scott and
Jody under the chuppah was worked in the Hebrew
phrase Ani Idodi v'dodi li — I am my beloved's and my
beloved is mine.
The chuppah's other three sides feature a scene of a
dancing bride and groom surrounded by joyous wed-
ding guests; a scene of a bride and groom under a
chuppah of their own; and what Jody calls a Jewish
love star, with the word "love" worked into interlock-
ing triangles forming a Star of David.
As an additional wedding gift, Mrs. Rope needle-
pointed a smaller keepsake version of one of the chup-
pah scenes for Scott and Jody.
Scott and Nicky Glickman, who will return to
Michigan from Chicago in June, are also the benefici-
aries of Mrs. Rope's handiwork. Scott is a close family
friend, and he and Nicky were also married under the
chuppah and received a keepsake needlepoint — the
Jewish love star — as a wedding gift.
TOPPING IT OFF on page 14

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3/15

2002

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