"He Was 92 When He Asked to Undergo a Brit Milah"

No one could have predicted 33 years ago that Rabbi Yaron Amit's regular practice of praying at the tomb of Yosef HaTzaddik in Shechem would lead to the establishment of Brit Yosef Yitzchak. This global organization enables Jews to undergo a Brit Milah at any age and anywhere in the world.

Today, as the organization marks over 73,000 circumcisions facilitated by them, Rabbi Amit admits even he did not foresee such a reach. "It began when I would pray at the grave of Yosef every Thursday night with a large group. Each time, I heard moving stories about salvations in Yosef's merit. This inspired me to delve deeper into the merits of Yosef, and I learned that according to Kabbalah, Yosef HaTzaddik is associated with the Sefirah of Yesod, and Yesod is linked to the mitzvah of Brit Milah. Yosef is known for upholding the covenant, especially in resisting Potiphar's wife's advances, about which the Zohar states that Yosef is 'the Tzaddik' in the most definite terms. This understanding shaped my plan to strengthen the important mitzvah of Brit Milah, which unfortunately not all Jews have the opportunity to fulfill. Sometimes, it's not due to unwillingness, but rather a lack of awareness."

Rabbi Yaron Amit, chairman of the organization

How is it possible that people are unaware of such a fundamental mitzvah?

"Firstly, it's important to understand that several decades ago, in certain regions of Russia or Ukraine, the KGB was in power, and the secret police either murdered mohels or, at best, sent them to Siberia. During those times, there was a real danger in circumcising children. I personally know five families whose fathers were mohels and were murdered. It's no wonder that millions of Jews living in those areas were not circumcised. Furthermore, global statistics show that there are more Jews without a Brit than with one."

The Aspiration: Brit Milah Everywhere

Rabbi Amit decided to make this his life's mission and discovered something interesting early on. "The more I spoke with Jews who hadn't had a Brit, the more I saw an innate need in every Jew to undergo circumcision. There's no doubt about it. The only reason some wait twenty or thirty years to undergo the Brit is primarily fear. It's not an emergency surgery that your life depends on; rather, it's one you have to choose, and delaying is easy. From what I've seen, the fear of pain is significant. Therefore, our main goal was to allow people to undergo a Brit Milah without any pain whatsoever, almost to a non-existent level. We reached a point where people would call us post-Brit and ask, 'We have no pain at all, is that normal?' to which we respond, 'Yes, it's completely normal, and this is the great news.' Of course, we also ensure that adult circumcisions are performed only in operating rooms and with top-level doctors."

In the early 1990s, when the large wave of immigration from Russia began, Rabbi Amit understood how necessary the organization he had founded was for the Jews immigrating to Israel. "Hundreds of thousands of Jews without a Brit Milah arrived back then. They became aware that in Israel, it's not common at all, but they didn't quite understand that if they hadn't undergone the Brit at eight days old, they could and are obligated to do so later in life. We tried to act in the name of raising awareness on the topic, even investing significantly in increasing knowledge through various media outlets. As a result, not only did Russian Jews seek us out to undergo the Brit, but also Israelis who, for various reasons, weren't circumcised despite being born in Israel approached us. There were also many Holocaust survivors whose parents feared circumcising them during the war, and now they realized they had the opportunity to fulfill the important mitzvah. Of course, the highest demand remained among Russian Jews, some of whom came to us directly from the plane shortly after landing in the country. Throughout this process, we maintained a policy of not charging any fee, as we did not want financial concerns to prevent someone from having a Brit Milah."

When the Son is the Sandak

Over the years, Brit Yosef Yitzchak succeeded in crossing national borders, conducting circumcisions in fascinating places around the world. "Hashem blessed us to perform Britot almost in every corner of the globe," shares Rabbi Yishai Dahan, a senior mohel with the organization. The Britot he participated in took him to New Zealand and Australia, and he had the privilege of circumcising the son of the Prime Minister of Poland. He even reached Yemen, of course, by transferring between flights, and astonishingly was served locusts at the Brit feast, as per the Yemeni tradition.

"I also attended Britot in Siberia, in areas where temperatures reached minus 35 degrees," he recounts. "But the peak of a single day's Brit ceremonies was actually in Israel, with 28 Britot performed at a medical center in Jerusalem in one day. They were conducted in several operating rooms, continuously, from sunrise to sunset."

Undeniably, the most unique location where the organization performed a Brit was in the Himalayas. "We were called there after it was discovered that an Israeli couple working in the mountains decided to have their son enter the covenant of Avraham Avinu. The place lacks any health facilities, and they live as if in a jungle, with not even a bathroom in their home, yet this did not deter us from reaching them. We flew to New Delhi and from there continued to the Himalayas, where we drove in a jeep for 14 hours until we reached the family's home and carried out the great mitzvah there."

There is also a most touching case, one that Rabbi Dahan cannot help but tear up when recounting: "In a classroom at a Jewish school in Moscow, a teacher was telling the students the weekly Torah portion and narrated how Avraham Avinu circumcised himself. She shared this in a very vivid and emotional manner. Suddenly, one of the students stood up and asked loudly: 'Teacher, how are you teaching us about Avraham Avinu who was circumcised, while we are all uncircumcised?' The teacher was very embarrassed; she stopped the lesson and ran to the principal. He did not hesitate and immediately contacted our organization. We realized that this was a special opportunity, and so I was urgently called to fly to Moscow with the mohel Chaim Rubin to circumcise the entire class.

"Later, when we saw the strong desire among the students, we decided to announce a campaign for Brit Milah across all grades at that school. And that's how it was. For this, we took advantage of a summer camp outing and celebrated the circumcisions with great joy and a large feast. It wasn't just this school where we did this, as it happened repeatedly in various settings and institutions."

Unlike Britot conducted for children, Rabbi Dahan notes that they often celebrate a Brit for adults who also wish to celebrate their Bar Mitzvah that they never had, their wedding, and sometimes even their Pidyon Haben. There are also those who put on tefillin for the first time in their lives.

Of the events involving adults, Rabbi Dahan says they are moving each time: "It’s not like a regular Brit Milah, since in such cases the event occurs in an operating room, not a hall, initially seating the one being circumcised on 'Elijah's Chair' and even reciting with him the text 'This is the chair of Elijah the prophet...' He is then transferred to the operating bed and shielded with a curtain, undergoing local anesthesia, and thus the Brit is performed." Rabbi Dahan also emphasizes the important fact that the Brit is without any pain. "After completing the Brit, people leave the operating room, and then there is a mitzvah meal and wine drinking. It is very moving, especially when several Britot take place consecutively. I can never forget the great merit we had in one instance in Siberia, where we conducted consecutive Britot for a large number of children and adults, from dawn till dusk. We then went around with the wine cup between parents and children, giving everyone a few drops in a cup, and afterward, a large meal was shared with everyone. The atmosphere was so uplifting and special."

Another special incident occurred in Israel: "We circumcised a 24-year-old who had returned to religious observance and even managed to convince his father to undergo Brit Milah right after him. The unusual aspect was that the son asked to be the sandak for his father and then also requested to recite the Kiddush over the wine, adding the special text: 'Elokeinu ve-Elokei Avoteinu, sustain my father, my teacher...'

Rabbi Dahan notes that in his capacity, he has had the opportunity to train over 50 mohels both domestically and internationally. "We need to have representatives everywhere because there are areas in the world that cannot be accessed from Israel and do not permit entry. So, mohels come to learn with us from America, France, and even Kazakhstan. They then return to their countries and operate with great dedication for the important cause of fulfilling Brit Milah."

A Special Glow

During the entire COVID-19 pandemic, the Brit Yosef Yitzchak organization continued its activities, albeit with the logistics becoming more complex than ever. "Our main challenge during that time was sending mohels overseas," Rabbi Amit explains, "because most countries were closed and wouldn’t allow any entry. For instance, we were invited for five Britot in Hong Kong, but they weren't allowing the entry of a mohel; only a surgeon could enter, after undergoing a two-week quarantine. We eventually sent Dr. Raskin from Laniado Hospital, who performed a great kindness by leaving his work for a whole month, undergoing quarantine in Hong Kong and subsequently in Israel, all to circumcise the babies, some of whom were already three months old."

And what do the circumcisees have to share? Alex Asnin, who underwent Brit through the organization in 1990, at age 12 when he immigrated to Israel from Belarus, notes that he is currently responsible for the organization's outreach and accompanies the circumcisees, and he wishes to emphasize something important: "Often, those undergoing Brit ask me, 'What exactly is Brit?' One of the strongest explanations is that it is written that the Brit is the 'beginning of the entry of the holy soul' at eight days old. When the child reaches 13 years and a day, this marks the main and completion of the soul’s entry, as ruled by halacha. What happens when a boy reaches 13 and a day and is uncircumcised? The answer is that nothing happens, and thus weeks, months, and years may pass. At the moment he undergoes circumcision at some point in his life, the beginning, main, and completion of the holy soul enter him all at once.

Alex Asnin

"These aren’t mere expressions, but we see it tangibly," stresses Asnin, "Each time anew, we are moved to see this experience of the beginning, main, and completion of the holy soul all at once. We see how suddenly, at the moment of Brit, the circumcisees receive a glow of countenance. Their faces just light up with a special radiance. It’s the soul that illuminates, and we see it tangibly."