In the Shirah which Moshe delivered on the last day of his life together with his faithful student and successor, Yehoshua, there are sharp words of admonishment and also encouraging words about the ultimate salvation that awaits the Jewish people.

On the pasuk “Zechor yemot olam” — “Remember the days of old” (32:7), Rashi explains that “yemot olam” refers to the early generations of the world who caused anger before Hashem, and what He did to them.

The Kli Yakar explains that the phrase “days of old” refers to the six days of Creation. Reflecting on it will prove that “Olam chesed yibaneh” — Hashem created the world solely out of His graciousness, for there was no one and nothing in the universe that He had to please or satisfy.

These two explanations are indeed worthy and do not need my approbation. However, it appears to me that the words “yemot olam” do not seem to fit easily with the interpretations. Since literally “yemot” means “days” and “olam” means “world,” it should have simply said “yamin shehayu lifneichem” — “the days that preceded you” — or “yemei Bereishit” — “the days of the beginning”?

Permit me to share with you a novel interpretation on the words “yemot olam,” I once heard from my stepfather, Rabbi Eliyahu Moshe z”l Liss, It may not be exactly peshuto shel mikra — the simple meaning of the pasuk — but accordingly, Moshe was implying a very poignant message.

A week consists of seven days, and there are thirty days in a month. Since there are over 350 days in a year, in an average lifetime of seventy years a person has approximately 25,000 days. Taking this a step further, in a millennium there are 25 million days.

Usually a day is an insignificant entity and as the popular expression goes, “a day went and another day comes.” However, in the history of a people, there are certain days that stand out due to their special significance. These days may have made an overwhelming change on a people or on the world either for the good or the opposite. They will always be remembered for their uniqueness.

For example, for the Jewish people the 15th of Nissan, when we left Egypt, or the 6th of Sivan, when we received the Torah, or the 9th of Av, which marks the destruction of the Beit Hamikdash, are not just ordinary days; rather they are days when our status changed. They are “yemot olam” — days that had an effect on our world. Moreover, they are “yemot olam” — days that mean the world to us. Arriving closer to our times, for example, the day 9/11 is one of “yemot olam” — a day that changed and affected the world. The day of Gimmel Tammuz is a yemot olam day that effected Chabad Chassidim and the Jewish community at large.

Individuals also sometimes experience a day which is “yemot olam,” a day which changes their world and which has a world of significance to the person. Whether due to happy or tragic events, these days are ones that should be remembered and reflected upon.

One such day is the wedding day. It is “yemot olam” — a day with a world of significance, and a day that changed the world of an individual boy and girl. The mutual affection of the Chatan and the Kallah on this day is indescribable. The spirit that prevails is lofty, the resolutions reached are exalted, and the ambiance is unparalleled. This day changes the couple’s status and molds them into a new entity. No longer are they two separate people, but one entity, united and tenaciously attached with love, dedication, and devotion.

My dear Chatan and Kallah, I say to you “zechor yemot olam” — You must always remember this day which changed your world and which has a world of meaning to you. Reflect on it throughout your lifetime and try to emulate that experience and spirit for “120 years.”