The coronavirus pandemic has caused many incidents that conjure up tales of yore of Jews being moiser nefesh to fulfill mitzvos under difficult situations due to the enemies of the Jewish people. Currently the global enemy – the coronavirus pandemic – is the background of the stories.

A baby boy was born to Rav Yair and Geulah Baitz, Chabad shaluchim in the city of Limassol, Cyprus, a month and a half ago. All of R’ Baitz’s efforts to bring a mohel to Cyprus failed and traveling to Israel to have the bris performed there would have forced him, his wife and the baby to be quarantined for two weeks.

The father turned to Interior Minister Aryeh Deri (Shas) who took the problem to heart and left no stone unturned to find a solution for the problem, B’Chadrei Chareidim reported.

Ultimately a solution was found. R’ Baitz secured a private plane and he and his wife and baby flew to Israel, where they were greeted by their relatives in Israel including R’ Baitch’s father-in-law, Rav Boaz Yurkovitz, the Rav of the Chabad community in Lod, and of course an Israeli mohel.

The bris was performed in the Fattal Terminal lounge in Ben-Gurion airport on the baby – already a month and a half old. The Baitzs did not enter Israel’s borders and after the bris they flew directly home on the private plane.

אולי היום נזכה להשתמש בכרית? בעז״ה #בריתמילה #קורונה #לימסול pic.twitter.com/C44rcxa3Ui

— Rabbi Yair Baitz (@limassol_rabbi) May 6, 2020

Deri entrusted his chief of staff, Ruvi Shemesh, with making the arrangements and he worked in cooperation with the Cypriot Foreign Ministry, Health Ministry and embassy in order to receive special permission for the Baitzs to isolate at home upon their return to Cyprus instead of a medical facility.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)