The only option for Rabbi Asher & Mussy Litzman, shluchim in South Korea, to perform a bris milah for their newborn son was to fly for 11 hours to Frankfurt, Germany. The mohel traveled from Vienna to meet them.
By Anash.org reporter
Last Shabbos, Rabbi Asher Litzman and his wife Mussy, shluchim to South Korea, welcomed a newborn son to their family.
However, having a mohel come to South Korea to perform the bris was impossible. Due to Covid restrictions, entry into the country required special permits and the mohel would have to spend a period of time in isolation.
The only realistic option to reach a mohel on time was for the Litzman’s to fly to Frankfurt, Germany, an 11-hour flight from South Korea.
Then another obstacle developed: the Israeli embassy was closed for almost a week of vacation due to Shavuos and a local Korean holiday. Only once they opened last Thursday could a newborn passport finally be issued. They would therefore land in Frankfurt only a few hours before Shabbos.
And so, the operation launched.
The Litzman family, including 9 children and their parents, boarded a flight to Frankfurt while the mohel, Rabbi Zvi Gutman from Vienna, Austria, drove 7 hours to meet them.
The shluchim in Frankfurt, led by head shliach Rabbi Zalman Gurevitch, took care of all the details related to the family’s accommodations and preparations for the bris.
On Shabbos, the bris was held at the home of the Rosh Yeshiva Gedolah, Rabbi Yosef Havlin, and the se’udas mitzvah lasted for many hours. Members of the community and students of the local yeshiva joined the celebration.
In an emotional post, one of the guests described the event: “Rabbi & Mrs. Litzman and their whole family – 9 children ka”h – are here with us in Frankfurt… Last Shabbos their baby was born in South Korea and there was no way they could bring a mohel there.
They all came here on Friday, and we had an out-of-this-world experience. A full Shabbos with Eliyahu Hanavi… I still can not put this experience into words…. Whatever I write is nothing compared to what it really was.
The picture is from motzei Shabbos: the mohel was Rabbi Gutman from Vienna who also arrived on short notice. In short, it was like a story of the Baal Shem Tov… only with a plane instead of Alexi the wagon driver…
The shluchim taught our community a lesson that we’ll never forget!”
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