Bris Mila
One of the most joyous and profoundly emotional life cycle events is the
bris milah - the ritual circumcision given to Jewish baby boys on their
eighth day of life. In the 1970s, in the USSR, it was not so simple to
perform this mitzvah.
The Moskovitz family was blessed with a bouncing baby boy in 1975. It was a
crime of state to have a bris openly in the USSR at that time. The penalty
was severe - perhaps expulsion to a prison camp in Siberia - perhaps death.
Anything was possible in those unstable days.
Many Jewish boys never received a bris. Some received a bris only as
adults, after emigrating to Israel or the United States. A few dedicated
souls were determined to bravely perform the bris on their babies in the
USSR. The Moskovitz family was among the few and the brave.
Moshe Moskovitz knew that this would involve a complex clandestine
operation - one that could not be completed in eight days, but would take
months. First he had to scout a suitable secret location. Then he had to
assemble a team. Of course the key man of this team was the mohel. A mohel
is a religious Jewish man, extensively trained in the operation of Jewish
ritual circumcision.
The rest of the team consisted of eight men who would round out a minyan of
men so that a quorum is present at the event. This was not as easy as it
may sound. All of the men had to be willing to participate knowing the
grave risk if caught by the police.
Further these men had to be trusted not to inform to the KGB. There were
Jews who would report other Jews in order to gain favor with the
authorities. In fact, the KGB would plant spies in Jewish synagogues. Moshe
had to be sure that the people he was enlisting were not spies or
informers. Whom could he trust? Perhaps more importantly whom couldn't he
trust?
Finally, after ten arduous months, all the pieces were in place. The men
assembled as planned and the bris was performed and the appropriate prayers
were recited. Only these ten men were present. No other guests - not even
the baby's mother was there. The risk of arousing suspicion was too great.
The men quietly left that site, making sure there was no evidence remaining
of what had transpired. Everyone inconspicuously went their own way.
Moshe returned home to his wife who was understandably anxious. He handed
her the newly circumcised baby whom she took to the next room to place him
in his crib. Soon Moshe heard a thud. His heart froze. What could that be?
He ran in to the room to find his wife passed out on the floor. Upon being
revived, she explained the following: "I was afraid that due to the
difficulties of performing a bris here in USSR, we would keep pushing it
off, become lax and let it drag out for years, or even never give our son a
Jewish bris. Therefore I took an oath not to kiss my baby until after he
had his bris. This way I would be super motivated to stay strong in my
resolve to have the bris as soon as humanly possible."
Quivering with emotion, she tearfully added, "When I kissed my son for the
first time, the feeling was so overwhelming, that I fainted."
[The foregoing true story is documented in "The Maggid Series," by Rabbi
Paysach Krohn.]
DVAR TORAH:
Importance of a Mitzvah
Rav Shlomo Kluger ztz"l accepted a new position as
Rav. Shortly thereafter, there was bris (ritual circumcision) to
which he of course was invited. When he got there he saw that
everybody was waiting around and the bris was not proceeding. He
inquired about the delay and was told that the father of the baby
was in the next room dying. In that place it was the minhag that if
the father of the baby was on his deathbed on the day of a son's
bris, they would wait to see if the father was indeed going to
expire that day so that they could then name the baby after the
father.
Rabbi Kluger was aghast. He ordered the bris to
take place immediately for two reasons:
First there is the concept of Zerizim makdimim
l'mitzvos - One should always do a mitzvah as soon as possible.
Naming a baby after a father does not justify a delay in performing
a mitzvah.
Secondly, the merit of the mitzvah will serve as a
zechus to heal the father. Particularly the mitzvah of bris milah,
because when a bris in performed the malach (angel) Raphael comes
down to heal the baby. Once Raphael is healing the baby he can also
heal the father.
At the Rabbi's urging the bris was performed
immediately and that minhag was officially abandoned. Shortly
thereafter the father made a miraculous recovery.
[The foregoing true story was told by Rabbi Feivel Wagner]