Bris Pictures

Here is our rosh kollel and his father. His father flies around the world and performs britot milah for more difficult cases, i.e. older babies, adults, etc. He has done nearly 15,000 britot in his lifetime (!). He was wonderful and we felt extremely fortunate to be in such capable hands.

Raizel, fiddling with the parochet (the curtain in front of the ark that holds the torah) before the bris.

Here is Mr. Avi. He did not like being held down, so that made him cry. The bris itself did not make him cry since he had been administered a local anesthetic.

Here is Rabbi F the older, Rabbi F the younger, the papa, and the papa's papa (and sandek).

Here's the little man. Such a good sport!

Here's the mama with Eli. Front row and center. Weird, I know, but I also stood really close for Eli's bris. It's all for a good cause!

Eli having a thoughtful moment. Or maybe experiencing a flashback...

Our own Rabbi B.

Papa and Avi, after the deed is done.

Mama, papa, and Avi.

Papa, Grandpa D., and Avi.

Our family, plus the only family that could make it with 4 days notice! My parents just happened to be visiting last week. My dad, Eli, Dean's dad, Avi, Dean, me, Raizel, my mom, and Amirah down below.

And breakfast. Yum.

It was really a very nice morning. A wonderful turnout, ***wonderful*** mohel (B"H), good food, and I actually got everyone dressed and out the door and there on time!

Are the kids Jewish yet? No, not quite. The last part is for me to fly with Raizel and Avi to Milwaukee, WI for a 5-minute dip in a mikveh. Yep, a 3-hour flight (x 2) for a 5-minute dip. Why Milwaukee? There is a top-notch beit din there (as in the conversions are *universally* accepted) that works with smaller communities that do not have their own beit din (Jewish court). Oh, yes, we have a mikveh, but it's owned by Chabad and Chabad does not allow their mikveh to be used for conversions (I think because that would be "taking sides" in the conversion issues and deciding who is Jew). There is a larger community 3 hours away, but that community stopped working with ours several years ago. Los Angeles is a 2-1/2 hour flight away and we have family there, so that would have been nice, but since Portland (and our family) already has a relationship with this beit din, it puts the whole process on greased wheels instead of it being a bigger bal egan to get it done. (How on earth do you translate bal egan - um, pain in the tush?? Big deal??? Hmmm...) So... sometime soon, BE"H, Avi, Raizel, and I will head to the midwest and finish this up. Hooray.