Family Pics 📸

Some of our greatest family pictures happen on Chanuka. Looking back at these pictures, they tell lots of stories. Definitely a story about how shaitels and clothing have developed over the last many years- who doesn’t get a good laugh looking back and wondering how we left our house looking like that. And, of course, it makes me giggle that IYH in 20 years, we will be really laughing at ourselves about how we left the house today. (Yikes)

But the pictures are more than that. They’re the unofficial rule book of belonging. You’re not just seeing faces in a picture. They are a visual testament to who’s in and who is out. 

If you have ever attended a family simcha while you were engaged, you understand exactly what this means. “Do I join the family picture or do I not?” That awkwardness and people squirming is about the boundaries, and it’s funny you often have different people having different opinions as to who is welcome in the family picture and who is not! 

Family pictures are frozen moments that tell the story of “us”.

In this world that never seems to stop spinning, family pictures ground us. They capture the laughs, the inside jokes, the space between family members (specifically the space between the 14 year old son and 12 year old daughter who can’t be too close), all the teasing in general, the (hopefully) comfort of the parents being at the center and guiding the rest of the crew, bringing back memories to that day, that are often forgotten. 

In the chaos of our daily lives, these pictures serve as a gentle reminder of what really matters: FAMILY. These people in this family picture, these are the people who are supposed to have our back and stand by us - no matter what. It’s not just for us, it tells a story for generations that we are a team, we have a boundary that separates us from the rest of the people.  

Family portraits dictate the boundaries of our inner circle. Our Circle of Trust. It’s not as much about exclusion as it is about cherishing what we’ve got and protecting the integrity of our boundaries. 

So when you take pictures this Chanuka, think to yourself: this is not just a photo op - it’s a reaffirmation of our belonging and a visual contract that says “We are there for each other through thick and thin, we’ve got that special bond, we are FAMILY.” 

Happy Chanuka! 

💗, Shifi