the baby’s health. Unfortunately, the bris was postponed. Finally, a few months later, their baby was given a bris, and joined in Avraham’s covenant.
Once they’d already started down the path of giving their sons brissim, we thought it would be a good time to bring up giving their older two sons brissim as well.
“Go for it!” Mateo agreed. “If you can convince them to undertake the procedure, we’ll go along with it.”
I’d never attempted to convince an 11-year-old to have a bris before, but shlichus calls on us constantly to go beyond our comfort zones. When I brought it up to 11-year-old Benicio*, as gently as I could, he declined emphatically.
“There’s no way they’re going to put me in front of a room full of people, like they did to my baby brother!” he argued.
Even after I explained how his bris would be different, Benicio was still hesitant. He vacillated back and forth, first agreeing, and then changing his mind. Under the shadow of his uncertainty, the entire idea slowly fizzled out.
A year and half later, his parents approached me, asking about preparing for Benicio’s bar mitzvah. I began learning with him weekly, and as we developed a closer bond, I gently brought up the idea of having a bris again, emphasizing how great an opportunity it would be to start off his journey to Jewish manhood by joining the Jewish nation in body, mind, and soul.
Benicio finally agreed, and I then began the search for a mohel. It wasn’t easy to find someone who was not only an expert in adult brissim, but who’d also be willing to travel to Regina. I finally found a mohel, and we set a date for the exciting event.
With just hours to go, we found out the mohel’s flight had been canceled. Benicio was also starting to get cold feet. I feared it was all over.
Things were put on hold, but it was only temporary. After speaking with Benicio, I realized he just needed assurance and support. We got another flight for the mohel, and set another date. I sent Benicio a list of Jewish names, encouraging him to look through it and pick a new name for himself.
“How’s Alter Zushe?” he asked me, after studying it for a few days. “I like how it sounds.”
“It’s a great, chassidishe name!” I agreed.
Benicio’s younger brother had his bris directly after his brother’s. Since it’s unusual and challenging to find an adult-bris expert, we were also joined by a family who were planning to convert. In the end, the mohel performed six brissim in one day - and not one of them on a baby!
