It was a great merit to be present at a historic Bris Milah (ritual circumcision) at the Newcastle Synagogue yesterday!
Our colleagues, Rabbi Yossi and Malki Rodal, directors of Hunter Chabad, were blessed with the arrival of a healthy baby boy 8 days ago, and yesterday the Bris took place. A large crowd gathered in the Shul for the frist Bris in many decades at the Shul. (Thank you to the comments here, there certainly had been Bris ceremonies at the Shul in its rich past!). After the special blessing was made, Rabbi Yossi gave the name to the new baby - Yehudah Aryeh, named after Yehudah Aryeh Herszberg who was a pioneer of Jewish life in Sydney in the mid 1900's. The special energy that is present at a Bris could be felt in the Shul as the new baby was welcomed into the age old covenant of the Jewish people. Mazal Tov to the entire family!
