Live from ???, it's Rob & Jill: The Bris

Miles’ bris was today. For our non-Jewish friends, this is the ceremony where Jewish babies are circumcised and also where the origin of the baby’s Jewish and English names are explained. It was a very nice service and we were lucky to have Dr. Cohen—Miles’ doc from the NICU—to actually perform the circumcision procedure. (Dr. Cohen assured us he doesn’t drink on Wednesdays which was a reliefJ) We were surrounded by family and friends and of course ended the ceremony with a feast of lots and lots of yummy food thanks to Tina and DavidJ

We’d like to share the sentiments we gave to the Cantor who performed the service about where Miles’ middle name and Hebrew name, respectively, come from:

English Middle Name: Samuel, after Miles’ Great Grandpa Sam

Rob's Grandpa Sam was a kind and gentle man with a big heart who always prioritized caring for his family as well as serving others and the community. Sam was a teacher for decades and spent his free time mentoring his students and offering volunteer accounting services to those in need. Rob attributes his own desire to make the world a better place to the values Grandpa Sam passed down to his Dad and Uncle Lenny and then to Rob and his brother Adam. Anyone who knew Sam would say he lived life with integrity and honesty. Another characteristic passed down through the generations - Sam's intensive planning and attention to detail as marked by the dozens of grading notebooks and plans we found after his passing. Rob and Jill have no doubt these are values and traits that will be passed down to little Miles. Rob recalls fun days in the garden and trips to East Quogue to visit, as well as a most recent and very memorable visit with Jill to see Sam before he passed away.

Hebrew Name: Asher, after Miles’ Great Grandpa Charlie

While Jill's grandpa Charlie passed away when Jill was just 7 years old, he had a profound impact on her. Jill spent many weekends with her grandparents, marked by frequent trips to the candy store and hours and hours of swimming in the pool...Charlie never seemed to tire of "watch me swim like a fish" Grandpa! Jill also has fond memories of looking for change on the ground during long walks together. And bouncing up and down on Grandpa’s big belly when she was really little. Grandpa Charlie was a kind, hardworking man who taught Jill the importance of family, caring for others, and smiling despite adversity.