Brit milah

Set of implements used in the performance of brit milah, displayed in the Göttingen city museum

Brit milah (Hebrew: בְרִית מִילָה [bə'rīt mī'lā] literally: "covenant [of] circumcision"), also berit milah (Sephardi), bris milah (Ashkenazi pronunciation) or bris (Yiddish) is a religious ceremony within Judaism that welcomes infant Jewish boys into a covenant between God and the Children of Israel through ritual circumcision performed by a mohel ("circumcisor") in the presence of family and friends, followed by a celebratory meal (seudat mitzvah).

Biblical origin

Main article: Circumcision in the Bible

According to the Hebrew Bible, in the Book of Genesis 17:1-14, circumcision was enjoined when God says "Walk before Me and be perfect" to the Biblical patriarch Abraham to be followed by his descendants as "a token of the covenant" concluded with him by God for all generations. It is also when his name is changed from "Abram" to "Abraham" by God:

'Abram was 99 years old. God appeared to him and said, 'I am God Almighty. Walk before Me and be perfect. I will make a covenant between Me and you, and I will increase your numbers very much.' Abram fell on his face. God spoke to him [again], saying, 'As far as I am concerned, here is My covenant with you: You shall be the father of a horde of nations. No longer shall you be called Abram. Your name shall become Abraham, for I have set you up as the father of a horde of nations. I will increase your numbers very, very much, and I will make you into nations - kings will be your descendants. I will sustain My covenant between Me and between you and your descendants after you throughout their generations, an eternal covenant; I will be a God to you and to your offspring after you. To you and your offspring I will give the land where you are now living as a foreigner. The whole land of Canaan shall be [your] eternal heritage, and I will be a God to [your descendants].' God [then] said to Abraham, 'As far as you are concerned, you must keep My covenant - you and your offspring throughout their generations. This is My covenant between Me, and between you and your offspring that you must keep: You must circumcise every male. You shall be circumcised through the flesh of your foreskin. This shall be the mark of the covenant between Me and you. 'Throughout all generations, every male shall be circumcised when he is eight days old. [This shall include] those born in your house, as well as [slaves] bought with cash from an outsider, who is not your descendant. [All slaves,] both houseborn and purchased with your money must be circumcised. This shall be My covenant in your flesh, an eternal covenant. The uncircumcised male whose foreskin has not been circumcised, shall have his soul cut off from his people; he has broken My covenant.' Genesis 17:1-14[1]

As well as in Leviticus 12:3:

On the eighth day, [the child's] foreskin shall be circumcised. [2]

The penalty of non-observance is karet, "excision" from the people as noted in Genesis 17:14. Conversion to Judaism for non-Israelites in Biblical times necessitated circumcision otherwise one could not partake in the Passover offering (Exodus 12:48). Today, as in the time of Abraham, it is required of converts in Orthodox and Conservative Judaism. (Genesis 34:14-16).

History

The original form of circumcision practiced by Jews has traditionally existed since the time of Abraham. The rite of milah, initially consisted of cutting off only the tip of the foreskin, the part that extends past the glans in the normal male infant. A more extensive form, involving periah (clearing the glans) was commenced after the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai.

Two thousand years ago, Jewish hellenists, wanting to assimilate into Greek society, obliterated the sign of their circumcisions by finding ways to lengthen them, to make it look as if they had not been circumcised at all. This practice was unacceptable to the Jewish community at large.

Reason

As with many commandments, the Torah gives no specific reason why the covenant had to be remembered through circumcision.

Kvatter

The name of Kvatter among Ashkenazi Jews is for the person who carries the baby from the mother to the father, who in turn carries him to the mohel. This honor is usually given to a couple without children, as a merit or charm that they should have children of their own. The origins of the term may simply be a corruption of the German word for godfather[3], but it is also said to be a Yiddish erroneous combination of the words "Kavod" ("honor" in Hebrew) and "Tier" ("door" in Yiddish), meaning "The person honored by bringing the baby". Another Meaning is a mix of Hebrew and Yiddish. Kvatter means like the father. .The traditional custom is to honor as the Kvatter a young newly-wed couple (without children of their own yet) as a merit for having a baby. The young woman (Kvatterin) carries the baby from the mother and then hands it over to her husband.

Metzitzah

Alternately spelled mezizah, mean "suction".

By mouth

Metzitzah b'peh ("suction by mouth") is a practice in certain Haredi and Hasidic circles in which, after removing the foreskin, the mohel sucks out the blood from the wound to clean it}} The mohel spits the blood into a receptacle provided. Afterwards the circumcised penis is bandaged, and the brit considered complete. Because the practice may spread diseases to the babies from the mohel's mouth (such as herpes), most mohelim ensure that their mouths are sanitized and washed out by rinsing with alcohol to disinfect the mouth.

The foundation for the ritual of metzitzah b’peh is found in Mishnah Shabbat 19:2, which lists metzitzah b’peh as one of the four steps involved in the circumcision rite. Rabbi Moses Sofer (known as the "Chasam Sofer") observed that the Talmud states that the rationale for this part of the ritual was hygienic — i.e., to protect the health of the child. As a result of these texts, the Chasam Sofer contended that Jewish tradition instituted metzitzeh b’peh solely to prevent danger to the infant and stated that metzitzah was not required to be applied orally, but nevertheless made the leniency conditional upon doctors testifying that the metzitzah with a sponge would accomplish the same purpose as oral suction. His letter was published in Kochvei Yitzchok. [4]

On the other hand, Rabbi Moshe Schick, the Maharam Shik, one of the most prominent students of the Chasam Sofer, states in his book of Responsa, She’eilos U’teshuvos Maharam Shik (Orach Chaim 152,) [5] that the Chasam Sofer gave the ruling in that specific instance only and that it may not be applied elsewhere. He also states (Yoreh Deah 244)that the practice is possibly a Siniac ruling, i.e., Halacha l'Moshe m'Sinai, and one is required to have Mesiras nefesh for the practice. In addition, Rabbi Chaim Chizkiya HaLevi Medini the Sdei Chemed printed a 50 page section called Ma'areches Hametzitzah [6], also claiming the practice to be Halacha l'Moshe m'Sinai, quoting R' Yehudah Assad and others. He also elaborates more on what prompted the Chatam Sofer to give the above ruling: He tells the story, that a student of the Chatam Sofer - Rabbi Elazer Hurvitz, The author of responsa Yad Elazer and Chief Rabbi of Vienna at the time, (The incident is mentioned in responsa 54)- needed the ruling in defense of a governmental attempt to to ban bris milah completely if it included Metztitzah b'peh, because of the concern of spreading disease to the baby. He therefore asked the Chatam Sofer to give him permission to do Brit milah without metzitzah b’peh. and when he presented the defense in court they marked down his words and published it as if the Chatam Sofer gave it as a general ruling. He then adds, nevertheless it is my opinion that the Chatam Sofer never even wrote this letter it is a forgery in my opinion and even if the letter was written by the Chatam Sofer he surely didn’t give it as a general ruling, given that it was not printed in his book of halachic responsa which was the custom with all halachic rulings intended for the public. Included in Ma'areches Hametzitah is a pronouncement by several hundred noted Hungarian and Russian Rabbis, not to change the procedure.

Recent controversy

Metzitzah b'peh was implicated in the transfer of HSV from mohels to eight Israeli infants, one of which suffered brain damage [7]. When three New York City infants contracted herpes after metzizah b'peh by one mohel and one of them died, New York authorities took out a restraining order against the mohel. However, the mohel's attorney argued that the New York Department of Health had not supplied conclusive medical evidence [8] linking his client with the disease . In September 2005, the city withdrew a restraining order against the mohel and turned the matter over to a chasidic rabbinical court. In February 2006, Dr. Thomas Frieden, the Health Commissioner of New York City, wrote, “There exists no reasonable doubt that ‘metzitzah b'peh’ can and has caused neonatal herpes infection.…The Health Department recommends that infants being circumcised not undergo metzitzah b'peh”. In May 2006, the Department of Health for New York State, issued a protocol for the performance of metzitzah b'peh. Dr. Antonia C. Novello, Commissioner of Health for New York State, together with a board of rabbis and doctors, worked, she said, to “allow the practice of metzizah b'peh to continue while still meeting the Department of Health's responsibility to protect the public health.”

By tube

Most rabbinical authorities have ruled that the traditional practice of direct contact should be replaced by using a glass tube between the wound and the mohel's mouth, so there is no direct oral contact. The Rabbinical Council of America, the largest group of Orthodox rabbis, endorses this method. It should be noted that the RCA paper states: "Rabbi Schachter even reports that Rav Yosef Dov Soloveitchik reports that his father, Rav Moshe Soloveitchik, would not permit a mohel to perform metzitza be’peh with direct oral contact, and that his grandfather, Rav Chaim Soloveitchik, instructed mohelim in Brisk not to do metzitza be’peh with direct oral contact. However, although Rav Yosef Dov Soloveitchik also generally prohibited metzitza be’peh with direct oral contact, he did not ban it by those who insisted upon it,...". The sefer Mitzvas Hametzitzah by Rabbi Sinai Schiffer of Baden, Germany, states that he is possession of letters from 36 major Russian (Lithuanian) Rabbis that categorically prohibit Metzitzah with a sponge and require it to be done orally. Among them is Rabbi Chaim Halevi Soloveitchik of Brisk. It is interesting that of all the students of Rabbi Yosef Dov Soloveitchik and the many times he was asked to be sandek, only Rabbi Schachter seems to remember this prohibition.

In three studies done in Israel, Canada, and the USA , there have been a total of 11 cases of neonatal herpes supposedly caused by oral suction following circumcision.

Sexual Controversy

The human foreskin has twelve known functions, such as to contact the G Spot. [9] It is the opinion of some researchers that foreskin can be a tool for intercourse. In the book Sex as Nature Inteded It author Kristen O'Hara argues that foreskin is a natural gliding stimulator of the vaginal walls during intercourse, increasing a woman's overall clitoral stimulation and allowing for the achievement of female orgasm more often and in shorter periods of time. [10] It is therefore believed by some that the absence of the foreskin and gliding action makes it more difficult, not impossible, for a woman to achieve orgasm during intercourse.

Conversion and exceptions

A Brit milah could be circumvented with Dam Brit, or foregone altogether with a Milah L'Shem Giur:

Medical considerations

If a boy is born prematurely or has some other serious medical condition the Brit is generally postponed. The brit may only take place when a doctor or the parents deem the child healthy enough.

Hatafat dam brit

Medical circumcision alone, in the absence of the brit milah ceremony, does not fulfill the requirements of the mitzvah. In the case of a Jew who was circumcised outside of a brit milah, or an already-circumcised convert, the mohel draws a symbolic drop of blood from the penis.

Hatafat dam brit (heb. דם ברית "Drop of the blood [of the] Covenant") refers to the fulfillment of the mitzvah of a brit milah.

Blood

A brit milah is not considered complete unless blood is actually drawn. This is not the intentional spilling of blood. The standard medical methods of circumcision through constriction do not meet the requirements of the halakhah for brit milah, because they cause hemostasis, i.e., they stop the flow of blood. A brit milah, to be conducted properly, requires the use of a specialized surgical knife, called an izmel, which does allow for dam brit.

Unlike the traditional Jewish method, when circumcision is performed by a urologist or other surgeon the foreskin is removed by constriction, either with the use of clamps or a synthetic ring. This non-Jewish method works by crushing the skin until it is severed. The nerve endings and the blood vessels are severed in the same manner, causing pain and hemostasis.

Role in conversion

There are reasons not to perform a circumcision when a man has converted to Judaism. A circumcision is not possible if a convert was already circumcised prior to conversion, or if he has a medical condition (such as hemophilia) which would cause a circumcision to potentially endanger his life. In these situations, a brit milah cannot be performed, and instead a single drop of blood is extracted, in a practice called hatafat dam brit (Heb. הטפת דם ברית).

Milah l'shem giur

A Milah L'shem giur is a "Circumcision for the purpose of conversion". In Orthodox Judaism, this procedure is done by adoptive parents for adopted children who are being converted as part of the adoption. The conversion of an infant is valid in both Orthodox and Conservative Judaism until the boy reaches the age of 13. At that time he has the option of renouncing his conversion and Judaism, and the conversion will then be considered invalid. He must be informed of his right to renounce his conversion if he wishes. If he does not make such a statement it is accepted that the boy is halakhically Jewish. Orthodox rabbis will generally not convert a non-Jewish child raised by a mother who has not converted to Judaism.

The laws of conversion and conversion-related circumcision in Orthodox Judaism have numerous complications, and authorities recommend that a rabbi be consulted well in advance.

In Conservative Judaism, the Milah l'Shem giur procedure is also performed for a boy whose mother has not converted, but with the intention that the child be raised Jewish. This conversion of a child to Judaism without the conversion of the mother is allowed by Conservative interpretations of halakha ("Jewish law"). Conservative Rabbis will authorize it only under the condition that the child be raised as a Jew in a single-faith household. Should the mother convert, and if the boy has not yet reached his third birthday, the child may be immersed in the mikveh with the mother, after the mother has already immersed, to become Jewish. If the mother does not convert, the child may be immersed in a mikveh, or body of natural waters, to complete the child's conversion to Judaism. This can be done before the child is even one year old. If the child did not immerse in the mikveh, or the boy was too old, then the child may choose of their own accord to become Jewish at age 13 as a Bar Mitzvah, and complete the conversion then.

• • It does not have to be performed on a particular day.
  • The ceremony does not override and is not performed on Shabbat or Jewish Holidays.
  • In Orthodox Judaism, there is a split of authorities on whether the child receives a Hebrew name at the Brit ceremony or upon immersion in the Mikvah. According to Zichron Brit LeRishonim, naming occurs at the Brit with a different formula than the standard Brit Milah. The more common practice among Ashkenazic Jews follows Rabbi Moshe Feinstein, with naming occurring at immersion.

Where the procedure was performed but not followed by immersion or other requirements of the conversion procedure (e.g., in Conservative Judaism, where the mother has not converted), if the boy chooses to complete the conversion at Bar Mitzvah, a Milah l'shem giur performed when the boy was an infant removes the obligation to undergo either a full brit milah or hatafat dam brit.

Social context

According to the Hebrew Bible, it was "a reproach" for an Israelite to be uncircumcised (Joshua 5:9.) The name arelim ("uncircumcised" [plural]) is used opprobriously, denoting the Philistines and other non-Israelites (I Samuel 14:6, 31:4; II Samuel 1:20) and used synonymously with tameh (unclean) for heathen (Isaiah 52:1). The word arel ("uncircumcised" [singular]) is also employed for "unclean" (Leviticus 26:41, "their uncircumcised hearts"; compare Jeremiah 9:25; Ezekiel 44:7,9); it is even applied to the first three years' fruit of a tree, which is forbidden (Leviticus 19:23).

However, the Israelites born in the wilderness after the Exodus from Egypt were not circumcised. Joshua 5:2-9, explains, "all the people that came out" of Egypt were circumcised, but those "born in the wilderness" were not. Therefore Joshua, before the celebration of the Passover, had them circumcised at Gilgal specifically before they entered Canaan. Abraham, too, was circumcised when he moved into Canaan. The opinion ascribed to Joshua contradicts the fact that in Exodus 4:26, Moses and his wife did not know about circumcision.

Deuteronomy 10:16 says: "Circumcise the foreskin of your heart," suggesting that ethical acts (among people) are as important as spiritual acts (between people and God). The prophetic tradition emphasizes that God expects people to be good as well as pious, and that non-Jews will be judged based on their ethical behavior. Thus, Jeremiah 9:25-26 says that circumcised and uncircumcised will be punished alike by the Lord; for "all the nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel are uncircumcised in heart."

Recent views

Historical view

The Oxford Dictionary of the Jewish Religion (ed. R.J. Zwi Werblowsky and G. Wigoder. Oxford University Press, 1997, page 161) says that at the time of the Syrian-Greek occupation, "periah" the laying bare of the glans, was added to the original rite to make it impossible for men to "undo" their circumcision. Others claim that there is no basis for this view in classical rabbinic sources, which state that the "extended" form of circumcision, including metzitzah as well, was introduced at Mount Sinai. This opinion is brought in the responsa of the Maharam Schick - Rabbi Moshe Schick- Orech Chaim 152 & Yoreh Deah 242, Shailos and Teshuvas Yehudah Ya'aleh - Rabbi Yehuda Assad, Sdei Chemed - Rabbi Chaim Chizkiyahu Midini, Shailos and Teshuvos Binyan Tzion - Rabbi Yaakov Etlinger - Vol 1:23 & 24, all of them of blessed memory.

The anti-circumcision movement

The anti-circumcision movement has not made significant inroads into any of the Jewish denominations. However, a small number of contemporary Jews choose to not circumcise their sons. They are assisted by a small number of Reform and Reconstructionist rabbis, and have developed a welcoming ceremony that they call the Brit shalom ("Covenant [of] Peace") for such children. [11]

This ceremony is not officially approved of by the Reform or Reconstructionist rabbinical organizations. Rabbis in these movements strongly recommend circumcision for all male infants, and for all men who convert into Judaism. In contrast with Orthodox Judaism and Conservative Judaism, these liberal denominations, consistent with their view that traditional ritual law imposes no obligations binding on modernity, have generally made this a (strong) "recommendation" as opposed to an "obligation" (or "requirement"). Reform and Reconstructionist Judaism have often accepted medical circumcisions performed by doctors as sufficient to fulfill the commandment of brit milah. However, in recent years these movements have begun stressing the religious and ritual nature of circumcision and have begun training their own experts (mohalim) in this ritual. Brit Shalom is most fully accepted in Humanistic Judaism.

In Israel there are several secular groups such as Kahal that advocate against or supply information that is critical of circumcision.

Hebrew linguist Vadim Cherny suggested alternative reading of the Biblical passages dealing with the circumcision, and claims that circumcision was one-time affair before the Hebrews entered Canaan.

See also

• Circumcision in the Bible
• Zeved habat (welcoming ceremony for girls)
• Redemption of First-born (Pidyon ha-ben)
• Brit shalom
• Vacht Nacht (Ceremony the night before the Brit Milah)
• Shalom zachar Festive Meal on the first Friday night after the birth of a boy.

External links

• Jewish Encyclopedia entry [12]
• Everything you need to know, plus all relevant prayers and blessings.
• The Initiation Society - The regulatory body for mohelim in the UK. Provides Information on the ceremony and naming of the child, as well as an up to date list of mohelim

Sources that favor the brit milah

• Jewish Ritual Circumcision (About.com)
• Circumcision (Jewish Virtual Library)
• Bris milah - Beautiful or barbaric? (Aish.com) (Orthodox perspective)
• Brit Milah - Ritual Circumcision in Judaism (Chabad.org)
• Rabbi Avram Reisner, on the conversion of adoptive and patrilineal children (Responsum adopted by Conservative Judaism's Rabbinical Assembly regarding Conservative policy on infant conversions)
• Advocating Circumcision Today - A pro-circumcision site containing details about the ceremony of Brit Milah and its history.
• Circlist.org- A pro-circumcision site with a cultural examination of a bris.

Sources against or warning about the brit milah

• Jewish Circumcision.org - An anti-circumcision site that advocates for Jews to abandon the Brit Milah.
• Noharmm.org - An anti-circumcision article from a "Jewish feminist" perspective.
• City Risking Babies' Lives… - Controversy over metzitza be'peh.
• Af-Mila - An Israeli anti-circumcision organization.
• Jews Against Circumcision - A group of Jews that advocates for Brit Shalom.

Metzizah b'peh

• City Risking Babies' Lives… - Controversy over metzitza be'peh.
• City questions circumcision ritual after baby dies New York Times article
• Anne Miller, Staff writer, Times Union, "Rabbis, state sign health rules Safety protocol agreed to for ultra-Orthodox Jewish circumcision ritual", 13 June 2006, excerpt at [13]
• Rabbi Yonason Binyomin Goldberger. Translated by Rabbi Avrohom Marmorstein. Sanctity and Science - Metziza B'peh. Feldheim. 1991. ISBN 0-87306-807-6 (Haredi perspective. According to the publisher, "Contains a review of the latest scientific research demonstrating the safety and desirability of b'rit milah as performed by the traditional method.")