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CAN SUPERHEROES CONVERT?

Dear Rabbi

As Wolverine heals instantly any time he is injured, if he wanted to convert to Judaism, would one round of circumcision be sufficient. Or would he have to do it repeatedly?

Angus

Dear Angus

Step one, ask my gen Z child who Wolverine is. Step two, avoid answering her when she asks, “Why do you want to know?” Step three, record this question in my special book of weirdest questions ever asked. Step four, think of a sensible answer to a nonsensical question.

According to Jewish Law, once a circumcision has been performed, one has fulfilled their Biblical obligation. Kabbalah explains that extreme impurity is concentrated in the foreskin during the first eight days since birth, and once cut, it never returns.

However, Jewish law also mandates that Rabbinically, it ought to be done again, to avoid others suspecting him of not having performed a circumcision (marat ayin). When that consideration is irrelevant, then there would be no need for a second circumcision. To that end, as it is apparently common knowledge that this Wolverine of which you speak, always heals, then no one would suspect that he did not convert properly.

I only wonder who would perform the conversion: Would it be an authentic, Halachic conversion? Apparently he has special claws. Would he be allowed to use them on Shabbat?

Perhaps it’s time for a Rabbi to be recruited into the Avengers. We have plenty superpowers of our own you know. How else do you think we are able to cope with our congregants?

I hope I have answered your question, though I have to admit, having spent the required time actually answering your question, that’s fifteen minutes of my life I won’t get back!

THE REBBE’S LEGACY

Dear Rabbi

Thursday, June 22, is the 29th anniversary of the Lubavitcher Rebbe. I know that each year Chabad make a big celebration on the yartzeit of the Rebbe. I don’t understand why a yartzeit would be a cause for celebration? Surely it is a sad day for all concerned.

Hesh

Dear Hesh

A yartzeit is not a time to reflect on the loss, but on the enormity of the impact. Though all those who experienced the Rebbe, in whichever way, will feel the palpable void in their lives, they nevertheless reflect on the Rebbe’s mission statement, the ongoing incredible growth and achievements of Chabad, internationally, and the commitment to further that mission exponentially.

Additionally, there are stories that continue to circulate, many of them first-hand accounts that illustrate the uniqueness of the Rebbe’s ongoing blessings. Here’s a recent one: A businessman from Antwerp by the name of Yechiel relayed how in the late 1980s, his mother visited the Rebbe to get a blessing for a family member who was unwell. After giving her the blessing, the Rebbe said: “Tell your son (in reference to Yechiel) not to travel.” His mother was surprised. “My son is not traveling anywhere,” she clarified, but the Rebbe repeated: “Tell your son not to travel.”

At first opportunity, she contacted her son, sharing the strange exchange that she had with the Rebbe. Yechiel replied, “I explained to my mother that I had been planning a trip to Colombia, where I was going to do a deal in emeralds that would be worth a small fortune.” He then told his mother, “I hadn’t told you about this because I didn’t want you to worry about my traveling to such a dangerous part of the world. But, if you say that the Rebbe said that I shouldn’t travel, then I will immediately cancel my trip.”

As Yechiel tells the story, his Italian partner was furious with him, insisted he’ll have no share of the profits and then travelled on his own. In the end, the partner was killed by the Colombian associates. “I realized that the Rebbe’s timely directive had saved my life!”

But the story doesn’t end there. “In 1995, a year after the Rebbe’s passing, my brother, David, who lives in Texas called me to tell me he had a very strange dream: ‘Last night in my dream I saw a painting of the Lubavitcher Rebbe. The Rebbe spoke to me and said, tell your brother Yechiel, zochor al tishkach es hadevarim – Remember and don’t forget the words. That was the dream, I don’t know what it means, but I felt I must share it with you.’

I thought back to my last communication from the Rebbe which was the instruction through my mother not to travel. I was due to travel from NY to Paris, and I’m getting the same message, albeit through my brother’s dream. Once again I cancelled my travel plans. The flight that I had been scheduled to take was TWA flight 800, which exploded into a fireball 12 minutes after take-off, killing all 230 people on board.”

With this, Yechiel concluded his remarkable narrative. The Rebbe’s leadership continues no less and his impact continues no less. Painful though the physical reality is, that’s cause for celebration.

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