Bride and Groom Honor Fallen Friend at Wedding as His Father Stands in as Witness

A deeply emotional wedding ceremony took place for Yarin Maoz and Noya Yizraeli, when the father of the late Captain Maoz Rakanti stepped in to serve as the groom’s witness in place of his son, who had been expected to stand under the chuppah. Rakanti, a platoon commander in Battalion 12 of the Golani Brigade, was killed several weeks earlier by a explosive drone strike in southern Lebanon.

As the ceremony unfolded, the crowd was visibly moved when Eliyahu Rakanti walked to the chuppah instead of his fallen son. Moments before breaking the glass, the groom linked the joy of marriage to his personal loss and said that his close friend Maoz should have been there, and should have stood under his own chuppah a week later. He said Rakanti had been expected to be the witness at the wedding, and added, “Our home will be built on your values, on your humility, your modesty and your love of the land.”

The article says Rakanti and his fiancée Roni had registered for marriage just days before he was killed. At his funeral, Rabbi Daniel Lounzer of Itamar recalled meeting the couple the previous Friday and said he had prepared a draft ketubah for their upcoming wedding. Speaking with emotion, he said Rakanti and Roni were building a home of “love and purity,” and described Rakanti’s “shy smile” as unforgettable.

Rabbi Lounzer also lamented the loss for both the family and the wider public, saying, “What a magnificent home the nation lost, what a loss, what pain, we have a hole in our heart.” He concluded by telling Roni that, with God’s help, she would build a holy and pure home filled with love, brotherhood, peace and friendship.