Remember the 25th wedding anniversary cards I made for this couple last year? Well, they both came back to me once again, as they so loyally do, this time to mark 26 years. Fortunately they requested very different cards.
The first card I created was based on a photo sent to me by the wife. The couple's twin sons and their daughter are all currently serving in the Israeli army. Gabi, on the left, has almost finished his 3 years of compulsory service. Adi, in the middle, is in the middle of his service and Ella, on the right, has just been drafted. The photo mum sent me, shown below, was taken at Ammunition Hill, Givat Hatachmoshet, on the day Ella went in.
The Hebrew words on this photo say, from right to left, "The one that's joining", "The one that's inside" and "The one that's on the way out".
"Thanks Lisa for the amazing cards as always!" she wrote on Facebook, whilst a friend of the couple wrote "Wow such a cool recreation of the photo."
Her husband asked me to make a card showing his wife drinking a glass of Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Honey Whiskey, with the Shabbat candles in the background. It seems she is rather partial to the stuff! "Happy 26th Anniversary" he asked me to write on the card and then "!לחיים".
לחיים, or L'Chaim, is a toast meaning "to life". A celebration with family and friends to mark a special occasion is often called a l'chaim.
Hebrew letters are also used as numerals and the Hebrew letters that spell "chai", life, also stand for the number 18. The letter Het (ח) has a value of 8 and the Yud (י) has a value of 10. Thus, 18 is considered a lucky number in Jewish culture. It is common to give gifts and contributions to charity in multiples of 18, symbolically giving the recipient the gift of "life" or luck.
* This post has been shared on All Seasons, Happiness is Homemade, Make It Pretty Monday, Creative Mondays, The Good. The Random. The Fun., Made by You Monday, Wordless Wednesday (on Tuesday) and Inspire Me Tuesday.
