A Brit Milah at Age 60 in Siberia, Thanks to a Grandmother’s Resolve in 1937

At the height of communist repression in Zhytomyr, one courageous grandmother circumcised her grandson Felix in secret while his parents were at work. This week in Tomsk, Siberia, the son of that same child— Yevgeny —entered the covenant of Abraham and received the Jewish name “Chaim,” completing a remarkable family story that began under the shadow of the Stalinist regime.

In the frozen heart of Siberia, a rare moment of Jewish warmth was recorded this week in the city of Tomsk, as a nearly 90-year historical circle was brought to a close. Yevgeny, a 60-year-old member of the local Jewish community, made the courageous decision to undergo a Brit Milah. Upon receiving his new Jewish name, Chaim, he completed a powerful family journey that began in secrecy decades ago.

Rabbi Levi Kaminetzky, Chief Rabbi of Tomsk and Chabad emissary to the region, who accompanied Yevgeny—now Chaim—through the sensitive process, shared the background to this moving event. “It all began in 1937, at the height of the terror and communist regime in the Soviet Union,” Rabbi Kaminetzky recounted. “In the city of Zhytomyr in central Ukraine, a baby boy named Felix was born. In those days, performing a brit milah was a dangerous act that could result in imprisonment or exile, and Felix’s parents were deeply afraid to carry out the mitzvah.”

However, Felix’s grandmother held firm to her principles and refused to surrender to fear. She declared: “I will not have a grandson who is not circumcised—I must ensure he has a brit.” One day, taking advantage of the parents’ absence at work, she secretly invited a mohel to her home. Felix, then just one month old, was brought into the covenant of Abraham in complete secrecy.

The price for this brave act soon followed. Word of the clandestine brit spread, and the communist authorities responded harshly: Felix’s parents were immediately dismissed from their jobs—a severe economic and social punishment in that era.

“About 20 years ago, Felix himself told me this story with great emotion,” Rabbi Kaminetzky added. “He knew that his grandmother had shown extraordinary self-sacrifice, risking everything to continue the Jewish chain of generations. He shared how, for many years, his parents were unable to find good employment because of what had happened. The cost was very heavy.”

This week, history stood present in the synagogue in Tomsk. Felix’s son, Yevgeny, decided that his moment had arrived. Despite his age and natural concerns, he approached Rabbi Kaminetzky and asked to complete what had begun in that small apartment in Zhytomyr in 1937.

“To witness a man of 60 entering the covenant in Siberia is deeply stirring,” said Rabbi Kaminetzky. “Yevgeny, now Chaim, shows us all that it is never too late to enter the covenant of Abraham. The determination of that grandmother never disappeared—it simply waited for the right moment to reemerge in her grandson. This is the strongest answer to those who tried to erase Jewish identity—we are still here, proud of our heritage and our people.”

At the conclusion of the moving ceremony, as the words “And he shall be called in Israel: Chaim” were proclaimed, emotion filled the small Jewish community of Tomsk. Chaim had completed not only a personal journey, but also a historical one, reconnecting with roots that others had once sought to sever.

“Today I feel whole,” Chaim said with emotion. “I carry the name Chaim with pride, in memory of that heroic grandmother and my father, Felix.”

The Jewish community in Tomsk, under the leadership of Rabbi Levi Kaminetzky, has experienced a spiritual revival in recent years. Yet even in Siberia, a story that bridges the underground reality of 1937 with contemporary Jewish life stands out as truly exceptional. “This is a victory of the Jewish spirit over any passing ideology,” Rabbi Kaminetzky concluded. “A victory of generations over those who tried to erase Judaism.”