similar stories have happened a few times recently.. both at weddings and at funerals...

someone goes to a wedding and is surprised to see a very small crowd. He posts to Facebook saying come rejoice with a bride and groom, with very few guests. Great mitzva. Sure enough, hundreds or thousands of people show up and the party is amazing.

It really is the "beautiful Israeli", especially when in comparison with the "ugly Israeli" series of videos that were being publicized last year.

It just happened again this past week, and so many people are sharing it on Facebook to show the beauty of Israelis.

But I noticed something else.

If you look at the video, or the few pictures I've seen, you will see tables set for guests with empty seats and settings.

Where are all the people that were invited and did not bother showing up? Only 30 people came to celebrate their friends wedding, with what looks like it was meant to be a normal wedding with all the friends sharing in their happy day. Where was everybody that was invited?

Sometimes a wedding takes place between a bride and groom that don't have many friends. Maybe new immigrants who know few people in the country, or other similar situations. Then they make a small wedding. If someone "calls out the troops" to try to make the dancing more energetic and joyful, that is a beautiful thing. When someone gets married and expects all his and her friends to show up and they don't, it is still beautiful when "the troops" drop everything and come running to help make a wedding more joyous, but where are all the people that were invited in the first place? Why could they all not be bothered to participate?

Israelis can be beautiful and act as extended family, but that does not exempt friends from being friends.