Father misreads son's name at circumcision and breaks the internet: "I had a panic attack"
A video of a father accidentally calling out the wrong name for his newborn son during a circumcision ceremony went viral this past weekend. "It's a good thing I shouted quickly before the mohel could repeat the wrong name, and that way, according to Halacha, the name he shouted does not count," says Laim Abava in an interview with C14.
It was hard to miss the video that broke the internet this past weekend when a father got confused while reading the name chosen for his son at the circumcision ceremony. "It's a good thing I shouted quickly before the mohel could repeat the wrong name, and that way, according to Halacha, the name he shouted does not count," says Laim Abava in an interview with C14 about the moment that caught her off guard and drew an intense reaction from her.
The story began when the name "Navo" had already been chosen and registered in advance at the hospital, but the pressure of the ceremony took its toll. "We have friends who gave birth three months ago and named their child Nitai," Laim explains the source of the mistake. "My husband was very stressed and excited. He asked me many times before, 'Is the name Navo?', and I told him yes. Because he asked so much, apparently everything got tangled up in his head, and in the end, he just shouted 'Nitai!'".
Laim's reaction was immediate. "I had a panic attack, you can see the panic on my face," she shares. "My luck was that I managed to shout 'No!' in time. Because I shouted, the mohel did not repeat the wrong name, and thus it was possible to correct it immediately. If I hadn't managed to say it, most likely I wouldn't be talking to you now," she adds with a laugh, "I wouldn't have dealt with it."
The one responsible for the viral post is Laim's aunt, who uploaded the video to TikTok without updating the parents. "She surprised me, sent me the video and said, 'Laim, sorry, it was stronger than me'," Laim says about the footage that has accumulated over a million views. "I didn't believe it would explode like this. Today, everywhere I go, people stop me, and my mother says she can't leave the house because of all the phone calls."
Despite the many reactions, it was important for Laim to clarify one key point regarding her husband David: "It is important to note that he was not drunk. Many sent us that it is important not to drink before the circumcision, but he was not under the influence of alcohol at any stage. He was just excited about the ceremony and acted a bit stupid," she says in good spirits. "Now we laugh about it, after the mohel calmed me down that it is possible to change the name, I relaxed."
And what about conclusions for the future? Laim has an interesting suggestion for mohels in Israel: "In my opinion, from today onwards, mohels should not ask the men – they should ask the women," she concludes, "that way mistakes are avoided in the future. At the end of the day, the woman is the one who decides."
