Double Bris For Double Cousins Born Hours Apart

By Karen Schwartz – Chabad.org

A double brit milah was recently held in Akron, Ohio, for two baby boys born in the community. While that is unique in itself, what made this celebration extra special was that the babies were first cousins, born on the same day to two brothers, rabbis and leaders of area Chabad centers who are married to two sisters.

Rabbi Moshe Sasonkin, father of one of the boys and director of Chabad of Akron, says the whole framework of the bris and births was amazing. “Everything really seemed to have the divine hand at play,” says Sasonkin, who is also rabbi at Anshe Sfard Synagogue.

He and his brother, Rabbi Berel Sasonkin, who runs Chabad at Kent State about half an hour away, knew the due dates of their babies were fairly close. But when his sister-in-law, Rochel‘s, baby was born at 2 a.m. on the 2nd of Sivan (May 29), they were already seeing lots of “2s.”

“Then at 2 o’clock in the afternoon, we were blessed with our baby,” Rabbi Moshe says of himself and his wife, Mussie.

Some 150 people gathered for the event that was held at the Akron synagogue that the Sasonkins father, Rabbi Mendy Sasonkin, had led until his untimely passing in 2018, when he was succeeded by Rabbi Moshe, and was followed by a dinner.

“As the rabbis said in their speeches, it’s just double the blessing,” says Daniel Dorman, who moved back to the close-knit Akron Jewish community in 2021 to attend medical school.

“It’s just like watching a family member reach another milestone; you’re very happy and proud, and there’s only positive energy,” he says.

Much of the community came out for the event, which took part June 5, alongside many family members of the rabbis and their wives, recounts Dorman. “Seeing everyone there, it also reemphasizes the importance of family as well,” he says. “You see how big their families are, and it’s very joyous to see.”

Rabbi Berel and his wife, Rochel, named their son Menachem Mendel after the Rebbe as well as his late father. Rabbi Moshe and his wife Mussie named their son after the Rebbe’s brother, Yisrael Aryeh Leib.

“That’s another set of two,” says Rabbi Berel Sasonkin.