US Chaplain Holds Bris For Son on Pacific Island

By COLlive reporter

US Air Force Chaplain, Captain Levy Pekar and his wife Bassy (nee Frankforter) celebrated the Bris of their new baby boy on Friday, and while they were celebrating practically alone, they felt the love of family and friends from around the world.

Organizing the Bris was no easy feat, since the couple is stationed at Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, Japan, where Pekar serves as a Chaplain in the US Air Force.

“The logistics of making a Bris on an island in the middle of the Pacific, on an Airforce Base, during a pandemic was a daunting task,” Pekar told COLlive. “Especially since the Mohel had to fly in from New York,” he says.

Serving as Mohel was Chaplain, Captain Tzvi Teitelbaum, a military Mohel who was the only one allowed to be in attendance, Pekar says.

With no guests allowed, the Pekars were joined by over 200 family and friends who logged in virtually to watch the ceremony.

Asked if this is the first bris held in Okinawa, Pekar says that while there have been Rabbis stationed in the area for over 50 years, “I never heard of anyone celebrating a Bris during their time here,” he said.