Today I attended a Covid era Bris. You’d think that being limited to having just the parents, mohel and sandek in attendance would dampen the celebration. Not so. Dozens of friends and family participated via Zoom and the celebratory air and emotion in the room when the child was inducted into the covenant of Abraham was as powerful and intense as any Bris I attended The secret to our ability to infuse even the most toned down celebration of this important milestone is rooted in the fact that our heritage transcends all limitations of time and space. From the beginning of our nationhood we were told that the Torah and all of its 613 mitzvos are the heritage of every Jew no matter where they may be or how much they know. And this tiny Bris was no different. It reminded me of a story about Rambam, the famed 12th century Jewish sage known as Maimonides. As the personal physician of the Egyptian sultan he enjoyed much honor in the royal court and his anti-semitic colleagues sought ways to get rid of him and finally one of the king’s closest confidants spun a convincing liable accusing Rambam of treason and the king agreed that he needed to be executed. However, due to his great love and admiration for his wise physician he sought to find a roundabout way to arrange Rambam’s death. The same confidant suggested that the attendant of the royal lime pit be told that the first person to approach him with the message “Have carried out the king’s orders” should be thrown into the lime pit immediately. The king will then send Rambam to deliver the message to the lime pit attendant and Rambam will meet his end without a public scandal. The king agreed to the plan and sent the Rambam on the suicide mission the next day. As the Rambam made his way on foot towards the lime pit which was a fair distance from the palace he was approached by a Jew who desperately needed a Mohel to perform a bris on his eight-day old son. The sun would soon set and he was not able to reach the other Mohelim in town. Rambam reasoned that although he was on a mission from the sultan, surely the commandment of G-d the King of all Kings was more important and he detoured to the Jew’s house where there was a small crowd assembled. After performing the Bris the host insisted he stay for the joyous feast and honored him with reciting the grace after meals on a large glass of wine. The wine had its effect and as he hurried to the limepit he was overcome with exhaustion and laid down to rest for a while. Meanwhile the antisemitic minister was overjoyed at having signed Rambam’s death sentence he wanted to see the burning embers of his nemesis. Calculating that Rambam had sufficient time to reach the lime pit he himself went to the limepit and innocently asked the attendant if he had fulfilled the king’s orders. To his horror, the man lifted him up and thrust him to his death on the spot. When Rambam finally reached the lime pit, he realized the great miracle that had occurred in the merit of performing the Bris. Rambam's greatest contribution to Judaism was to make every mitzvah in the Torah accessible to every Jew. He authored a digest of all the 613 mitzvot called Sefer Hamitzvot. In 1984, the Rebbe introduced a novel study cycle of Maimonides’ great work on Jewish law and incorporated an easy to follow system of learning all 613 mitzvot in under a year. Yesterday, millions of Jews around the world completed the 39th cycle and today begins the 40th cycle. You can join the movement and take hold of your heritage by committing a few minutes each day to study and by next summer you will be familiar with all 613 mitzvot! There are many resources available in numerous languages. Easy-to-read overviews, audio and video classes and a daily email straight to your inbox. There is even an app for it! Click here to find the best way for you to join.