{"id":7746,"date":"2013-06-21T06:43:21","date_gmt":"2013-06-21T12:43:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/?p=7746"},"modified":"2013-06-22T08:59:20","modified_gmt":"2013-06-22T14:59:20","slug":"double-wedding-in-seattle-caps-rappers-transformation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/double-wedding-in-seattle-caps-rappers-transformation\/","title":{"rendered":"Double wedding in Seattle caps rapper&#8217;s transformation"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>By DEBRA RUBIN<\/p>\n<p>(JTA) &#8212; Five years ago he was D-Black, a hip-hop artist rapping about the violence, gang activity and drugs of his African-American \u2019hood. Today he\u2019s Nissim Black, an Orthodox Jew davening in a Sephardic shul in Seattle and writing songs he describes as rap\/urban alternative that \u201cspeak a message of hope and inspiration.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The shift in his musical message will be on full display with his new album, &#8220;Nissim,&#8221; due for release July 16.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, the changes in his personal life were underscored earlier this year when the 26-year-old musician was one of two grooms in a double Jewish wedding ceremony that became a communitywide project.<\/p>\n<p>The story starts in 2008: Newlywed with an infant girl and then called Damian Black, he found himself at a crossroad after a friend was shot and killed at a nightclub where Black had been performing. Soon after, he lost his day job working with autistic children.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_7780\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Adina-and-Nissim-Black-wedding.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-7780\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-7780 lazyload\" title=\"Adina and Nissim Black wedding\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Adina-and-Nissim-Black-wedding-300x199.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"199\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Adina-and-Nissim-Black-wedding-300x199.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Adina-and-Nissim-Black-wedding-1024x682.jpg 1024w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 300px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 300\/199;\" \/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-7780\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-7780\" title=\"Adina and Nissim Black wedding\" src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Adina-and-Nissim-Black-wedding-300x199.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"199\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Adina-and-Nissim-Black-wedding-300x199.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Adina-and-Nissim-Black-wedding-1024x682.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/noscript><\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-7780\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The wedding of rapper Nissim Black and his wife Adina in Seattle, March 5, 2013. (Adar Images)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u201cI had a ton of questions and no answers,\u201d Black recalls. There were questions about \u201creligion, about God, about Christianity, about why aren\u2019t Christians Jewish if Jesus was Jewish.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Black began researching religion, reading about the Torah and begging his wife, Jamie, to study with him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe almost got a divorce,\u201d she says. \u201cWe didn\u2019t see eye to eye.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>But the more she read, the more she, too, found herself attracted to Judaism, ultimately taking the Hebrew name Adina.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf this is something that can give me answers, I wanted it,\u201d she says, adding that she felt like Judaism, unlike Christianity, welcomed questions. \u201cIt\u2019s like a breath of fresh air.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Adina began urging her younger sister (by 10 months) and best friend, Sheree, to study with them. Nissim and Sheree together pulled in Bradley Brown, Black\u2019s close friend since kindergarten, fellow musician and Sheree\u2019s future husband. They, too, have taken Hebrew names: Chana and Yosef.<\/p>\n<p>By 2010, the two couples &#8212; each with two young children &#8212; had moved to an Orthodox enclave in Seattle\u2019s Seward Park and were studying for conversion at the Sephardic Bikur Cholim Congregation. Their conversions were finalized with visits to the mikvah, ritual bath, on Feb. 27. As is traditional with a conversion at the congregation involving someone already married, a Jewish wedding ceremony was next.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s when the four of them came under the wing of congregant Beth Balkany, who was saddened that each couple previously had had wedding ceremonies with just a handful of guests and no celebration. She was determined to make the couples Jewish wedding celebrations they wouldn\u2019t forget.<\/p>\n<p>Under Balkany\u2019s direction, the March 5 double wedding became a community project.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_7781\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Chana-and-Yosef-Brown-wedding.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-7781\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-7781 lazyload\" title=\"Chana and Yosef Brown wedding\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Chana-and-Yosef-Brown-wedding-300x199.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"199\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Chana-and-Yosef-Brown-wedding-300x199.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Chana-and-Yosef-Brown-wedding-1024x682.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Chana-and-Yosef-Brown-wedding.jpg 2000w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 300px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 300\/199;\" \/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-7781\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-7781\" title=\"Chana and Yosef Brown wedding\" src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Chana-and-Yosef-Brown-wedding-300x199.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"199\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Chana-and-Yosef-Brown-wedding-300x199.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Chana-and-Yosef-Brown-wedding-1024x682.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Chana-and-Yosef-Brown-wedding.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/noscript><\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-7781\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Rabbi Simon Benzaquen recites the sheva brachot at the wedding of Chana and Yosef Brown in Seattle, March 5, 2013. (Meryl Alcabes)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u201cI was really excited to help them,\u201d she says, adding that others felt the same way, often asking her, \u201cHow can I help?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Through the local bridal gemach, a lending resource, Balkany found gowns that required just hems for each of the women. Nissim and Yosef provided a playlist for the DJ. A couple who married the previous day donated their flowers. The caterer donated his time, the photographer hers. Someone contributed money for a videographer, someone else makeup for the brides.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI raised the money to pay for whatever goods and services, whatever couldn\u2019t get donated,\u201d Balkany says.<\/p>\n<p>She pulled off a sit-down dinner for 170 people. Rabbi Simon Benzaquen officiated at the two separate ceremonies,; his wife, Cecilia, walked each bride down the aisle.<\/p>\n<p>The guests came not only from their congregation but also from Bikur Cholim Machzikay Hadath, the Seattle Kollel and Ezra Bessaroth, Seattle\u2019s other Sephardic synagogue.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPeople just opened up their hearts and wallets and came out and danced,\u201d Balkany says.<\/p>\n<p>The couples were ecstatic.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe had no idea that it was going to be as big and as fabulous as it was,\u201d Adina says.<\/p>\n<p>Says her sister: \u201cThe love you felt in the room; it was just amazing.<br \/>\n<em><br \/>\n(If you know of a lifecycle event that would make a great story, please send an email to <a href=\"mailto:Lifecyclist@jta.org\" target=\"_blank\">Lifecyclist@jta.org<\/a>.)<\/em><\/p>\n<div style=\"padding-bottom:20px; padding-top:10px;\" class=\"hupso-share-buttons\"><!-- Hupso Share Buttons - https:\/\/www.hupso.com\/share\/ --><a class=\"hupso_toolbar\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hupso.com\/share\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/buttons\/share-medium.png\" style=\"border:0px; padding-top: 5px; float:left;\" alt=\"Share Button\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" class=\"lazyload\" \/><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/buttons\/share-medium.png\" style=\"border:0px; padding-top: 5px; float:left;\" alt=\"Share Button\"\/><\/noscript><\/a><script type=\"text\/javascript\">var hupso_services_t=new Array(\"Twitter\",\"Facebook\",\"Google Plus\",\"Pinterest\",\"Linkedin\",\"Tumblr\",\"Email\");var hupso_background_t=\"#EAF4FF\";var hupso_border_t=\"#66CCFF\";var hupso_toolbar_size_t=\"medium\";var hupso_image_folder_url = \"\";var hupso_url_t=\"\";var hupso_title_t=\"Double%20wedding%20in%20Seattle%20caps%20rapper%27s%20transformation\";<\/script><script type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/js\/share_toolbar.js\"><\/script><!-- Hupso Share Buttons --><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1884],"tags":[3007,8790,8795,8788,3008,3009],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7746"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7746"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7746\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7748,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7746\/revisions\/7748"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7746"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7746"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7746"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}