Heartwarming: 'Against All Odds - I Had the Merit to Bring Two Babies into the Covenant of Abraham'

In recent months, the mohel Rabbi Tzvi Gutman has performed numerous circumcisions, but the two from last week were especially unique and unconventional.

"It all started a week ago," he recounts, "when I received a special call from Rabbi Avraham Gvirzman in Belarus: A baby was born to a Jewish family in Belarus. They wanted me to come and perform the circumcision on the eighth day, but they could not afford the travel expenses."

Circumcision in Belarus

Brit Milah during the Corona Days

What does it mean they don't have money? How much does a Brit Milah cost these days? It turns out that during the Corona crisis, circumcisions have become a particularly complex operation: "During the Corona crisis, I was called every week to perform circumcisions outside my home in Vienna, and each time anew it was a complicated task," Rabbi Gutman shares. "Most borders are closed, almost all countries require two-week quarantines for all foreigners entering the country, there are no flights, and no travel permits. Under such circumstances, every circumcision performed on time requires special travel approvals, legal improvisations more or less, and daring ideas. In one instance, I even had to become a 'truck driver' to allow me to cross borders...

"This time, we saw that the way to Belarus would only be possible with the following route: I had to travel[31] by car from Vienna in Austria to Germany. It's about a four and a half hour drive, and afterwards, I had to continue with a flight to Finland and from there on another flight to Belarus. For the return journey, we found a flight from Belarus to Sweden and from there to Vienna, with a layover in Sweden for seven and a half hours. Note all the border crossings and changes of transportation, which require a lot of money for the entire travel arrangement. This amounts to about 1500 euros, which is around 2000 dollars. The parents of the newborn heard this and went into distress. They did not know how they could finance the expensive and unusual trips."

Rabbi Gutman preparing for the circumcision in a rented room at the airport in Sweden

Really, it's a high amount. Unbelievable that in 2020 Jews need to pay 2000 dollars for a Brit Milah... So what did you do?

"On Friday, I wrote about it to a friend with great distress, and he spread the message to various groups. The result was amazing: within two hours, all the needs for the circumcision were met! Precious Jews from around the world contributed and participated wholeheartedly so that the Brit could be held on time. Without knowing the baby and his family, without checking and investigating, they just opened their hearts for the sake of the mitzvah. Not ten minutes passed from the publication of the notice, and I was already getting calls from faraway America wanting to donate... and not just from there, but from all over the world. Very quickly I saw that the full amount needed for the travel was collected, and I immediately put out a notice that there was no need to donate anymore. But the invaluable Jews who heard about the mitzvah insisted on their desire to be involved in the Brit, and did not relent: there were those who donated money to the baby's family, others donated and sent clothes through me for the baby, and there were even precious Jews who donated food."

Why is there a need for food donations? What's the connection between travel costs for the Brit and food donations?

"This too is related to the Corona crisis. Usually, a little kosher food can be obtained in Belarus when the local Jews import or rely on travelers to bring them kosher food products. But now there's a big shortage of kosher food products in Belarus because of closed borders and import difficulties. I myself wanted to help and bring kosher food to Belarus, knowing that the Jews there need fresh and kosher dairy products like cheeses and would be very happy if now that I am already making such an effort and crossing all the borders – at least I could bring them some kosher food. I went to the supermarket and made a large purchase for the Jews of Belarus, adding even snacks for children, and bought as much as I could pack into the car. Then the store owner, a good friend of mine, asked if my purchase was related to the discussed Brit. I confirmed that indeed I was buying the kosher products for the circumcision meal and for the Belarus community. The seller heard that and, when it came my turn to check out and pay, he surprisingly announced that the entire purchase was a gift from him. There were more and more precious Jews interested non-stop in how they could further participate in the great mitzvah and did not agree to miss out on the merit. It was an indescribable feeling. I felt like it was a Brit of all of Israel."

Immersion with the Cost of a Whole Pool

Indeed, Rabbi Gutman set out on Monday at five in the morning. He began the long journey towards Belarus, equipped with donations from dozens of Jews around the world.

"Before I set out, I called the Rebbe of Belz," he shares, "As a Belz chassid, I always call before trips to ask to be mentioned before the Rebbe and merit his blessing. During these days, with the borders closed and each trip requiring special permits and improvisations, I wanted more than ever to embark on the journey accompanied by the Rebbe's blessing. Indeed, the Rebbe blessed me, and I began the journey.

"I drove to Germany by car, continued flying with special permission to Finland, and an hour later changed planes to Belarus. I arrived late Monday night, after long hours of travel, exhausted and drained, but the main thing is that I arrived, and the Brit could be held on time, with Hashem's help. When I met the baby's parents, the family could not believe the moving load I brought with me: clothes, kosher food, a stash of chocolates, and snacks with outstanding hechshers, and mostly a big heart from the entire Jewish world."

But the story of the Brit does not end here; Rabbi Gutman continues to narrate the tales of the moving week he experienced: "Before performing the Brit, I wanted to immerse in a mikveh, as is customary. The community explained to me that men's mikvahs are closed due to the Corona lockdown, and I had no possibility of immersing in a kosher mikveh. We thought of what to do, and finally found a creative solution: we rented a local swimming pool, and at six in the morning, I went into the empty pool and immersed. Although this is not a kosher mikveh for a Torah-level immersion, for the customary immersion of men, it is also good. The non-Jewish pool owner was stunned: Why would Jews rent an entire pool for the day, at such high costs, yet use it only for a short time? Go and explain to a non-Jew the virtue of immersion..."

The Brit blessing ceremony in Sweden: Rabbi Gutman, the doctor, and the baby's father with the baby

After all the preparations and obstacles, it was the little baby's turn to join the Jewish circumcised community. "By the grace of Hashem, we were able to perform the Brit for the baby on the eighth day after his birth. The little baby was named Eliahu, and the parents were happy they had the merit despite all the difficulties. At the end of the Brit, the baby's grandfather asked to pay me a fee, as customary, but I refused. I told him that so many Jews participated in this sacred Brit, and I too want to be a part of the people of Israel without taking money for the Brit. The grandfather heard this and began to cry with excitement."

Brit for a One-Month-Old

The Brit ended in much happiness, and it was now time to make the return trip to Vienna. But it turns out that for those who perform a mitzvah, merits pursue one another: "The only way back home was via a flight to Sweden, which included a layover," the mohel recounts. "I wanted to use this layover for another Brit. Special. We already knew a month ago that a Jewish child had been born in Sweden, who was waiting until now to enter the covenant of Abraham our Father. The parents were afraid of the rampant Corona virus in the country, and for weeks we worked to persuade them to perform a Brit for their small child. My friend Reb Moshe Starik living in Vienna helped me greatly with this, along with Rabbi Chaim Greisman - the Chabad emissary in Sweden. Both repeatedly appealed to the parents, explaining the importance and great privilege in performing a Brit Milah for the baby, but the parents were still very scared and refused. Now that I was anyway going to pass through Sweden on my way, I felt it would be too big a miss to stay in the country and not circumcise the Jewish baby so eager to join the ranks of the Jewish people.

Rabbi Gutman and the Jewish doctor at the Stockholm airport

"All through that night, we held a phone call marathon with Sweden: I connected the parents with other families who performed Brit Milah during these times, calmed and explained the entire process, implored, and persuaded. With Hashem's help, after much persuasion, the parents were willing to perform the Brit for their child, and we immediately had to rush and arrange all the details of the sudden Brit, coordinate among the attendees, plan where and how and who, and also secure a Jewish doctor to join us, as required by Swedish law.

"It was decided that the Brit would be held in a side room at the airport itself. The father arrived at the airport with his one-month-old baby, accompanied by a Jewish doctor. Without a quorum present, but with much joy and excitement, we held the Brit, and the child entered the covenant of Abraham our Father. His name in Israel is Meir, and the parents were happy that they had the merit to perform the Brit for their son despite all the previous fears."

A Light from Above

Rabbi Gutman continues to narrate: "After we finished the Brit, I was fortunate to witness special divine providence personally: the Brit was held at 'ARN Stockholm' airport, and afterwards, I had to continue with another flight to leave Sweden and return to Austria. But a small and crucial detail had slipped my notice: the second flight was scheduled from another airport, 'Stockholm NYO', not from the airport where I landed and held the Brit. When I booked the flight tickets, I didn't notice the 'small' difference. Even the process of retrieving my suitcase from the plane did not draw my attention to the change; the whole procedure was regular. I would have likely only noticed the mistake in real-time when I had to board the plane and found none at the airport. Easily, I could have missed the crucial flight, and who knows when I would have been able to leave and return home? I don't know when there are other flights from Sweden to Vienna.

After the Brit: Rabbi Gutman and the doctor with the baby's father at the Stockholm airport

"We were already after the Brit, little Meir was calm, sucking the pacifier dipped in wine, and I rested a bit before boarding the next flight. I asked the baby's father to help print my flight ticket. He easily printed it and glanced at the ticket.

"'Hey, you're in the wrong place!' he tells me.

"'What do you mean?' I didn't understand. 'My flight is in three hours. What's the problem?'.

"'Look at the ticket. Your plane departs from another airport. You must hurry and travel to the airport two hours away, before you miss the flight'.

"For a moment, I was alarmed. I didn't know what I would do or how I would make the flight, but then the Jewish doctor, who had come only to make the Brit legal, intervened in the conversation and said he was traveling to that exact area. Eventually, the doctor drove me straight to the airport, and I caught the flight back home at the last minute. Without the Brit that we went through so much effort to make happen in Sweden, I likely would have missed the flight and been very sorry. I felt this was truly a light from Hashem."

"I returned home, full of impressions from the exciting circumcisions, and wrote to all the wonderful donors: 'Hashem has given you a special gift. Not only did you participate in the merit of one Brit, but you gained the merits of two circumcisions'".

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