All of eight days old, little Shalom Dovber
Kripor made history as the first Jewish baby to be
circumcised in the Andes mountains of southeastern Peru.
With a ritual circumciser flown in
specially from New York, the traditional ceremony was a
treat for the group of local Jews and visiting tourists
who have made the Chabad-Lubavitch center in Cusco a
second home. According to those who attended, the baby’s
parents, Chabad House co-directors Rabbi Ofer and Yael
Kripor, succeeded in hosting a very emotional and
beautiful ceremony.
“It was the first time I’ve ever been to
a bris,” said New York native Amy Bakal, using
the Hebrew term for a circumcision.
Bakal, 46, who’s been living in Cusco
for the past six-and-a-half years, said that she first
stumbled upon the Chabad House last year when she noticed
a young rabbinical student making photocopies of flyers at
a stationary shop.
“I noticed it was in Hebrew,” related
the woman, who directs a local free library.
Once the capital of the Inca Empire,
Cusco is especially popular with Israeli backpackers
hiking the world after their mandatory army service and
other foreigners with a sense of adventure.
Not conversant in Hebrew, Bakal started
speaking Spanish to the young man.
The student, however, didn’t speak
Spanish and “kept saying the word ‘Pesach.’ ”
Soon, she discovered that he was from
Connecticut. When the conversation switched to the
mutually-agreeable English, she learned of a large
Passover Seder being held at the Chabad House.
When she entered the Chabad House, Yael
Kripor “was waiting for me at the door.”
That first meeting began a friendship
that now extends to their young daughters, who play
together.
“We create our family here, and these
people, whether travelers or new residents, become part of
our family,” said Kripor. Tourists, especially, “fall in
love with the place and stay.”
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Clutching his older
son, Rabbi Ofer Kripor speaks at the celebratory meal
following his newborn son’s circumcision. |
Fighting Altitude Sickness
While the Kripors consistently get more
than 200 guests for Shabbat dinners during the peak travel
season, some 40 people attended the bris, which occurred
smack dab in the middle of the winter rains. For the
couple, who had their older son’s bris in Israel three
years ago just before moving to Cusco, arranging the
ceremony was far from easy.
“It’s hard sometimes,” she said, “but
mostly you just find strength in yourself beyond reason or
what you think you are up to.”
Situated at almost 11,000-feet of
altitude, the city’s location presented special challenges
for the Kripor family. Travelers not used to the thin,
mountain air are frequently struck by headaches,
dizziness, blurred vision and other symptoms of altitude
sickness. So Rabbi Levi Heber, who performed the
circumcision, had to be prepped for what to expect.
“When doing a bris, you have to be in
control,” said Heber. “I didn’t understand the
seriousness, though, until I landed. I felt different and
somewhat dizzy.”
The veteran circumciser followed Ofer
Kripor’s instructions to the letter, taking care to not
overexert himself, to climb stairs too quickly, or even to
carry his own luggage. He credited a special herbal tea
for helping him feel better.
In the end, the bris took place on time
on Nov. 27, doubling as a bar mitzvah for one traveler who
donned tefillin for the first time.
“Many times, this one mitzvah leads to
many more,” said Heber, who performs an average of five
circumcisions each week.
For her part, Bakal described the event
as “beautiful.”
“Everyone got to hold the baby,” she
said. “I felt very included.”
Printed from Chabad.org
