In the shadow of sorrow, a wedding of hope

There are moments that transcend those present. Moments that belong not only to a bride and groom, but to an entire people. 

The wedding of Sapir Cohen and Sasha Trufanov was one of those moments. 

Celebrated during the Three Weeks, as Jews around the world reflect on loss and the destruction that has marked our history, their chuppah stood as a loud and certain reminder that the Jewish story has always been one of rebuilding. Even in seasons of grief, life finds a way to begin again. 

Less than two years ago that future seemed almost unimaginable. 

On 7 October, Sapir and Sasha were kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Oz. Sasha’s mother and grandmother were also taken hostage and his father, Vitaly, was found murdered. Their families were shattered in an instant, while communities across the globe prayed endlessly for their safe return. 

This week, those prayers found one of their most beautiful answers in the form of an open miracle in our time. 

Watching Sapir walk towards Sasha beneath the chuppah, it was impossible not to think of the journey that had brought them there. The smiles, the music, and the dancing carried a depth that few weddings do. Every embrace acknowledged not only the joy of the day, but the fight that preceded it. 

For many South Africans, Sapir is more than a name from the headlines. 

Last year, she visited South Africa and Mauritius as part of a healing and respite programme hosted by The Base Community and the Jewish National Fund South Africa (JNF SA). What was intended as a chance for rest became something much deeper. Those who met her encountered a young woman of extraordinary warmth, resilience, and humility. Lifelong friendships were formed, and those bonds remained long after she returned home. 

Throughout that journey, one theme has remained constant ‒ Sapir’s quiet but unwavering conviction that even in humanity’s darkest moments, belief still exists. She has often spoken about how her faith deepened during captivity, and how the words of Tehillim 27 became a source of strength when almost everything else had been taken from her. 

That perspective made this wedding feel different. 

It wasn’t simply the celebration of two people in love. It was the triumph of hope over despair, of family over terror, and of life over those who sought to destroy it. 

Among those privileged to witness the relatively intimate ceremony were close friends who had walked alongside Sapir and Sasha through different chapters of their journey. Being gifted the honour to recite one of the blessings under the chuppah, alongside President Isaac Herzog, was a profound privilege, not because of the honour itself, but because it allowed my wife and I, along with the entire South African community, to share in a moment that belonged first and foremost to them ‒ and, in many ways, to all who had prayed for this day. 

The timing of the wedding felt especially poignant. 

As we approach Tisha B’Av, our tradition asks us to remember destruction. Yet Jewish history and the story of our Jewish homeland has never ended with destruction. It has always been followed by rebuilding. Sapir and Sasha didn’t set out to symbolise that truth, but they embody it nonetheless. On behalf of us all. 

Their wedding was remarkable because every smile had been fought for. Every dance was hard won. Every blessing carried the weight of prayers, candles, challot, and tears offered across continents over many long months. 

In a world still filled with uncertainty, their chuppah reminded us that darkness doesn’t always have the final word. 

Sometimes, after all the tears have been shed, the next chapter begins with the simple words spoken beneath a chuppah, “Harei at mekudeshet li [Behold, you are consecrated to me.]” The covenant between a bride and a groom echoes the eternal covenant between Hashem and the Jewish people, a bond that endures through joy and suffering, exile and redemption. It is a commitment that refuses to be broken, even by humanity’s darkest moments. 

For a brief evening, a nation that had once prayed for its freedom celebrated something even more beautiful ‒ its future. 

• Saul Jassinowsky is the vice-chairperson of the South African Zionist Federation, an executive committee member of JNF SA, and a member of The Base community.