ele haneched sheli (this is my grandson)

The brit of a son should be a heartfelt and joyous experience; a simchah. First and foremost, circumcision is a common thread throughout the fabric of Jewish community. It ties one to both their ancestry and community.

Before entering Canaan, Joshua circumcised the Israelites according to God's command. The Israelites buried their foreskins and blood of the circumcision in earth. Thus, once excised, the orlah is placed in a vessel. Following the bris, the orlah and blood of the covenant are packed for burial. The orlah may be buried anywhere. Though no blessing is recited, it is a good time for mother and father to reflect on the significance of their son's bris and his future place in the Jewish community.

On Friday, March 5, 2010, Owen was circumcised and given his Hebrew name in our home in Dayton surrounded by our family and friends. Because we were moving, we didn't want to leave this small piece of our son behind. We contemplated the perfect place of permanence for our treasure. Jeremy and I came to the conclusion that our first born son's foreskin would be buried in Oregon at the grave of his paternal grandmother - a place where we will always visit and is most sacred to us. This last part of Jewish tradition was incomplete until a few weeks ago, when Owen's Grampie Dick made the trip here, to carry out our wishes.

When he arrived in Portland it was a beautiful day. He went straight to the cemetery to do some maintenance on her grave. He bought fresh flowers, and planted them. At this time, Owen's foreskin, which had been carefully kept frozen and carried across the country, was buried at the top, center of the grave - in the place closest to her heart. The foreskin was placed in a small, black box and enclosed was a tiny document which read:

“This box contains the foreskin of baby Owen David, son of Jeremy and Tamara. He was born on February 24, 2010, and he was circumcised in March of 2010. By Jewish custom, the foreskin is to be buried. So here it will be, close by to the earthly remains of Owen’s paternal grandmother, Caren Reese Krepel. Buried in this grave by Owen’s grandfather, Richard Krepel, on May 31, 2010.”

We were told this was a beautiful moment, on a beautiful day and we are most thankful to Grampie for making the trip and uniting Owen with his Jewish ancestry, and beloved grandmother. In blessed memory.