MEITAL DOR | “Zewdi”

MEITAL DOR | “Zewdi”

Zewdi’s mother, Emaneshe Kebede, was not at Zewdi’s side at her wedding ceremony. Zewdi and her mother had separated ten years ago in 2012, hoping that Zewdi would find a good life in the Land of Israel.
Zewdi made her long journey through the Sinai Desert alone. She spent her first nights in Israel behind bars, and her first warm bed was offered to her by the nuns in the Ethiopian church In Jerusalem (also known as The Kidane Mehret Church).

When Zewdi’s baby, Mehert, was three days old, she found a family that adopted them. Yael, her husband, and their kids embraced Zewdi and her son into their home.

One day, Yael received a phone call from Zewdi, who was in tears and heartbroken. She told Yael that her mother, Emaneshe Kebede, had died in Ethiopia. Yael, Zewdi said gently, will be like a mother to her now.
Yael could not imagine back then that she would accompany her new daughter on her wedding day. After a few years of being a part of the Ethiopian church and attending services every Saturday, the nuns found Zewdi a match, Damte.
On Saturday morning, February 13th, 2021, Damte and Zewdi got married in a traditional Ethiopian ceremony surrounded by her friends and the church community that have been by her side for all these years.
The Orthodox wedding ceremony began at 6 AM with lit candles (Tuaf ), which symbolize the movement toward a happy life.

As Zewdi and Damte walked toward the ceremony hall, the groomsmen and relatives accompanied them, singing inspiring religious songs, thanking God, and welcoming the priests.
Two couples got married that Saturday, and the church hall was full of people.
The strong smell of incense and the divine sounds of prayer and singing that flooded the hall also shook my soul. It reminded me of my father’s house of prayer and my traditional Yemenite wedding ceremony, Henna, which was almost twenty years ago.

After exchanging vows and rings, the priest dressed the couple in long, heavy red coats adorned with gold. The coats symbolize the sacrifice of Christ as well as the humility and appreciation that the couple feels toward the church.
After long hours, the wedding ceremony came to an end with a series of prayers. Then, reciting a blessing, Zewdi and Damte were escorted out to the main church hall, where they joined the praying members of the community in dancing and beautiful traditional songs.

At 12 PM, we went out of the church into the delightfully sunny Saturday afternoon that was awaiting us and the newly married couple.
Almost two-year have passed since I met Zewdi. Yael, her unofficial adopting mother, shared with me recently that Zewdi and her new family: Damte, Mehert, and a new baby girl, Agernesh, now live in a new home in Lod, a city in Israel.

MEITAL DOR

Meital Dor (born in 1976) is an Israeli photographer based in Texas since 2021. She found her way into photography in her early forties with no official background, but it was clear to her that she had an inexplicable urge to present the truth to the world. She observes reality with great sensitivity and an open heart and tries to reach the root of the human story that she sees in front of her. Through intimate photographs and without unnecessary dramatization, she manages to touch, move and tell a personal or complex social story that is part of our life.
Meital Dor’s work has been published in international magazines, including Lens Magazine, the BIG B&W issue, 2021. She was awarded from the PHOTO IS:RAEL, International Photography Festival, and her work has been exhibited at the PHOTO IS:RAEL festival at Kikar Hamedina Tel Aviv and Beit Lohamey Hagetaot Museum, 2020-2021.

See the full article in Lens Magazine Issue #97