Those present at the circumcision ceremony held in recent days at a large yeshiva in central Israel could see that this was not merely a family celebration, but rather an exciting closing of a circle.
As soon as the mohel announced that Rabbi Shmuel Lipshitz, one of the leaders of Yad L'achim, was honored with a godfathership, everyone present realized that they were witnessing the happy ending of another rescue that the organization trusted in him and his ilk.
But none of them could have guessed all the breathtaking details of the current affair.
Seven circles of hell passed through R., a daughter of a poor family from the south of the country, when she fell into a dark and dangerous relationship with an Arab resident of a particularly hostile village. During this period, she was forced to convert to Islam. This was when one day she tried to escape the village on her own, while at the same time forming a connection with some of her family members who agreed to take her in and try to rehabilitate her.
Shortly thereafter, the Arab clan that was after her managed to locate her, return her to the village, and force her to convert to Islam, after she supposedly broke her previous commitment in her attempt to return to her Jewish people.
When R's difficult story reached Yad Laachim and the path to rescue was paved, all necessary measures were taken to safely rescue her, ensure her well-being, and at the same time ensure that this time none of those who wanted her life would be able to locate her. The forced conversion to Islam in the Sharia court was also canceled upon her return to Judaism in the Rabbinical Court.
All of Yad L'Achim's rescue teams were involved in this story. First, it was the security personnel who ensured the rescue was carried out in a precise and swift manner without any hindrances or traces; at the same time, the legal department that accompanied the event took action, demanding that all those involved in her forced detention be brought to justice; and above all, it was the organization's social workers who accompanied the survivor every day, in the process of rehabilitation treatment and in strengthening her Jewish identity.
""Am I allowed to say Tehillim after I converted to Islam against my will?" she asked in one of the first stages after being rescued, and was so moved to hear that it is never too late and that the gates of tears are never closed.
This week, as mentioned, the circumcision of her newborn son was held in great pomp and circumstance, with students from the yeshiva that hosted the ceremony serving together with Yad L'Achim activists as the mother's immediate family members and the eight-year-old circumcised infant.
The excitement was evident in the voice of the mohel, Rabbi Yosef Kurt, as he announced the verse that opened the ceremony of the covenant: "Blessed are you who choose and draw near, may he dwell within your walls, I swear by the goodness of your house, the holiness of your temple.".
Everyone present understood the double meaning of the verses, as the new family approached the house of God.
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