Reflections at a Brit

This past week I had the unique pleasure of announcing the Hebrew name for a newborn baby boy at a Brit Mila (Circumcision) celebration in Westchester, NY. The young baby was named Yehuda Hirsh after his maternal great-grandfather who passed away in 2004.

As someone who was there with the family in the last few weeks and hours of the Great Grandfather’s life, it was a truly special feeling to be part of a baby naming of the first great grandchild 9 years later. This beautiful baby like all others who come into the world, brought lots of happiness to his wonderful parents who are cherishing these very first moments of their first child, to both sets of first time grandparents, and to two separate first time great grandparents. Isn’t it beautiful and remarkable that one baby can bring so much happiness to the world and bring so many different and diverse people so much happiness!

Betty, the new Great Grandmother, is a truly special lady and someone I admire greatly and have always been great inspired from. You see, Betty, is an Auschwitz survivor, and someone who saw much of her family perish in the war as she herself experienced and witnessed some of the worst atrocities mankind has ever seen. Miraculously Betty survived and built a new life and lived to tell the tale and rebuild her Jewish family.

Over the years Betty has hardly spoken about her experiences, but on the few occasions that she has spoken, she has shared powerful stories and sentiments that we could all learn from. On Monday as we celebrated at the Brit, I asked Betty, “68 years ago in the midst of the darkness at Auschwitz, would you have ever believed you would one day be able to cradle your own great grandson at his Bris and see Yiddishkiet and Judaism continue to flourish in your family!?

As I think of the magnitude of this thought, I am inspired and amazed by all the many years and tears of pain and determination that it took to rebuild her life, and by her amazing unwavering attitude of love for G-d and Judaism, and by her deep rooted passion at seeing all of her descendants carry on in the ways of hundreds of generations before her.

I wish Betty Migdol, her daughter and son-in-law June & Robert Hirsh, and granddaughter and husband, Julie & Mark Levin a big Mazal Tov on this special occasion and share with them my blessings and wishes that they continue to raise their new child in good health with abundant Nachas & Yiddishkiet!