A Bris at 96: A WWII Veteran Enters the Covenant

Nearly 3,800 years ago, Abraham, the Jewish patriarch who brought monotheism to the world, gave himself a bris (circumcision). He entered a covenant with God, and ever since, the Jewish people have circumcised eight-day old Jewish boys, bringing them into the covenant between God and the Jewish People by channeling our animalistic desires towards spiritual pursuits.

When Armin Konn was born in Ukraine to Jewish parents in 1926, getting a circumcision was not a simple matter. Living under a anti-religious, communist regime, his parents were hesitant to do so. Jews could not practice their religion without fear of being persecuted.

Konn’s early life was not easy. When he was a teenager, World War II broke out and the Nazis came to murder Jews. The GPU, the predecessor to the KGB, arrested and killed his father in 1937.

“I went through a terrible life,” said Konn in an exclusive Aish.com interview. “All of this was very tough. I was brought up with hardship and I got used to it. I can take more hardship than anyone else without complaining.”

During World War II, Konn fought in the Red Army air force until his plane was downed over Lithuania. He was taken to a Lithuanian/Nazi collaborator POW camp, where the Nazis made everyone strip down. Anyone who was circumcised was taken to the side and killed. Since Konn wasn’t circumcised, he survived. Following the war, he managed to escape the Soviet Union and go to Canada in 1952. He currently resides in Toronto.

In recent years, he started going to the Jewish Russian Community Centre. Rabbi Yoseph Zaltzman, founder of the JRCC, was sent to Toronto by the Lubavitcher Rebbe in 1980 to serve the local Jewish immigrants from the USSR. Today, there are 10 synagogues and branches of the organization all around the city. At the Willowdale branch, led by Rabbi Zaltzman's son, Rabbi Yisrael, Armin began to get more involved, attending the Passover seder and other classes and events throughout the year.

Rabbi Yisrael Zaltzman and Armin Konn

The topic of circumcision came up when Rabbi Yisrael was chatting with Konn. When Konn mentioned he didn’t have one, Rabbi Yisrael suggested he go through the procedure.

“He was totally for it,” said Rabbi Yisrael. “He didn’t have any hesitations.”

After checking with Rabbi Dr. Avi Rosenberg, a doctor who specializes in brises for adults, as well as making sure that Konn got pre-surgical clearance from his doctor, Rabbi Yisrael arranged for Konn to have a bris. During the procedure, he was connected to a heart monitor, and everything went well. At the same time as his bris was happening, Rabbi Yisrael’s newborn son Elazar was receiving his bris.

A big day for both of them!

It’s safe to say that Konn is the second oldest Jew to ever have a bris, right after Abraham himself who was 99. So when the time came for Konn to choose a Hebrew name, what else could it be?

“Armin wanted a Hebrew name that started with A, so I said Avraham for sure,” said Rabbi Yisrael. “And that’s the one he picked.”

Following the bris, there was a grand celebration and feast. At the meal, Konn took out his accordion and played the famous song “A Yidishe Mamme” in Yiddish, English and Russian, to everyone’s astonishment.

“He wanted to drive home, but the doctor didn’t allow him to,” said Rabbi Yisrael. “But he’s up and about. He’s feeling great, thank God.”

The active 96-year-old, who is a volunteer for the Air Cadet League of Canada, still drives and copilots planes in Toronto.

Looking back at the bris ceremony, Rabbi Yisrael said that Konn expressed his gratitude and appreciation.

“He said, ‘I feel like a free man.” That’s his way of expressing the spiritual transformation that occurs at a bris – when he officially enters the covenant between God and the Jewish People.

Konn emphasized this point. “I feel good, like a bird being let out of a cage,” he said. “It was time to belong to my people.”