Even in the darkest days of Communist oppression, Chabad Chassidim actively promoted the Jewish ritual of circumcision, even at the expense of their very lives. In the 1930s, many Chabad mohalim (ritual circumcisers) were taken away in the dead of the night and never seen again. Undeterred, others took their place.
Throughout the long years, brave men such as Reb Mottel der Shoichet of Moscow clandestinely made sure that Jewish boys and men would be welcomed into the ancient covenant of Abraham.
Following the fall of the Iron Curtain, thousands of Soviet Jews opted to be circumcised, often at advanced ages. In fact, Dr. Shai Shafit, known as “the mohel of Russia,” performed more than 6,000 circumcisions since he took up the ancient craft in the late 1990s.
Earlier this month, Muscovites gathered to celebrate the opening of a state-of–the-art circumcision clinic, dedicated to the memory of Sami Rohr, one of the earliest supporters of the renaissance of Jewish life in the former Soviet Union.
In attendance were Chief Rabbi of Russia Berel Lazar and Rohr’s son, philanthropist George Rohr, as well as supporters and community members.
The event was also attended by four young Jewish men who would be circumcised by Shafit that very day.
The new center boasts an intake room, a fully outfitted operating room, a recovery room and offices. It is located in the Rambam Medical Center, part of the Shaare Zedek Jewish Center for Chesed, in the Marina Roscha neighborhood in central Moscow.
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