Mistake in Odessa Corrected in Germany 13 Years Later

Sometimes we do see the reason we’re brought into darkness.

Jana was born in Odessa, Ukraine. Other than summer camp, she had minimal exposure to Yiddishkeit as a child and so she married a Ukrainian man, who was not Jewish.

When their first child, Vlad, was born, Jana thought about having him circumcised by a mohel. However, since the father was not Jewish, she wanted to discuss the idea with a rabbi first. She only knew one rabbi in Odessa. When he heard the father was not Jewish, he advised the young couple not to have a circumcision right away but to wait until the child was old enough to decide for himself. Meanwhile, the father felt some sort of ritual should be done for the child. The result of this rabbi’s (who obviously was not Lubavitch) terrible advice was that the father considered taking him to church.

Fast-forward thirteen years. On 23 Adar 1 5782 (24 February 2022), Russia attacked the Ukraine. The young family, now with two children, was plunged into sudden darkness. War surrounded them. They were forced to leave their stable home life in Odessa and flee to Germany. Fortunately, Jana had relatives in Krefeld, their destination.

After a long journey by car, they arrived in Krefeld, and were overwhelmed by the warm welcome from the Jewish community.

After settling in a bit in their new surroundings, Jana came to speak with the Krefeld community rabbi, Rav Yitzhak Mendel Wagner, and his Rebbetzin, Rachel. The two could hardly believe their ears when Jana told them the story of Vlad’s birth.

After verifying their Yiddishkeit, Rabbi Wagner immediately brought traveling mohel Mordechai Tzvi Solomon to Krefeld. In no time, Vlad became Chaim.

A few days later, Chaim celebrated his bar mitzvah in the Krefeld Synagogue. Thanks to a very generous donor, he received tefillin, which he has proudly worn every day since.

Vlad’s sister, Milana, was renamed Malka at the Torah. She is now attending the Jewish elementary school in Duesseldorf. Their mother Jana has meanwhile become an active member in the Krefeld community.

A sudden plunge into darkness has resulted in much light, putting Jana’s family back on the path of Torah and mitzvahs.

It’s never too late to rectify a mistake.