56-Yr-Old Convert Undergoes Circumcision, Takes The Name Of Rabbi Schlanger

JERUSALEM (VINnews) — Be’Damayich Chayi (By your blood you shall live): A 56-year-old convert to Judaism was circumcised and named after Rabbi Eli Schlanger, the Chabad emissary murdered in the Sydney terrorist attack on Sunday.

Yuri, who is originally from Russia, chose to take the name Eliezer Feivel ben Lev in memory of Rabbi Schlanger, of blessed memory, just hours after the terrorist attack at a Hanukkah celebration in Australia. The circumcision candidate also celebrated a moving bar mitzvah ceremony in Florida.

The circumcision was performed by a team from the “Brit Yosef Yitzchak” organization in Florida, which enables every Jew to enter the covenant of Abraham free of charge. During the ceremony, Shneur Medalia served as the sandek (the one who holds the baby).

Following the circumcision, the mohel, Rabbi Izik Gurin, helped Eliezer Feivel put on tefillin for the first time in his life.

In doing so, Eliezer Feivel also merited celebrating a late and deeply moving bar mitzvah. Together with the team, he participated in a se’udat mitzvah and a bar mitzvah meal.

Rabbi Eli Schlanger, a Chabad emissary in Sydney, was murdered in the brutal shooting attack that took place during a first-night Hanukkah candle-lighting celebration. The attack occurred on Bondi Beach, and 16 Jews were murdered, may their blood be avenged.

The moving act of commemoration in Florida became a kind of spiritual testament for the murdered rabbi.