Tip snipped on baby born to 65-year-old

Family and friends gathered in Bnei Brak Monday to celebrate the brit milah (Jewish ritual circumcision) of Shimon Haim Shahar, whose birth last week to a 65-year-old mother made local and international news.

Chaya Sarah Shachar and her husband Shmuel had tried to have children since their marriage at the ages of 19 and 21 respectively. The couple had sought fertility treatments as well as blessings from religious figures, but until last year nothing worked.

The parents, who are affiliated with the Nadvorna Hasidic dynasty, attributed the “giant miracle” to a blessing from their rabbi, who died three years ago. The birth of Shimon made Chaya Shachar the oldest woman to give birth in Israel.

“The rebbe promised them before he died that they would have a child — and here it happened,” members of the community said when news of the birth was announced.

The rabbi’s son, Rabbi Eliezer Zev Rosenbaum, who currently leads the Nadvorno community, attended the brit milah and agreed to be the boy’s godfather.

The parents held the ceremony in the community’s main house of learning in Bnei Brak, and dozens of their friends, family members and fellow Nadvorna Hasids turned out for the momentous occasion.

“They’re still in shock,” a family member told Walla news. “It’s a celebration they’ve waited so long for.”