![]() Then all the guests respond: “Just as this child has entered into the covenant, so may he enter into (a life of) Torah, the marriage canopy, and into good deeds.” In liberal communities, both parents recite this blessing. In traditional communities, the father recites a blessing for fulfilling the commandment to bring one’s son into Abraham’s covenant. If you’ve been holding your breath up to this point, you can relax. Many others consider the use of gauze as an adequate means for metzitzah. Some contemporary mohalim use an oral suction tube so that their mouth does not come into direct contact with the baby’s penis. Today we know that suction by mouth is not hygienic germs can be transmitted from the mohel to the baby and from the baby to the mohel. The rabbis in the Talmud believed that this kind of suctioning was a hygienic measure. In the time of the Talmud, the mohel would suction the penis by mouth, actually sucking the blood from the wound. This last stage is the most controversial. The final stage is called metzitzah, which means suctioning the blood from the wound. Then the mohel tears off and folds back the mucous membrane to expose the glans. First, the mohel uses a special knife to remove the baby’s foreskin. The actual circumcision consists of three separate acts. When choosing a mohel, it is worthwhile to ask what his policies are regarding clamps and anesthetic. Mohalim who do not use anesthetic give the baby sugar water or wine as a mild form of sedation. Similarly, Jewish legal authorities debate the use of local anesthetic. The general concern is the act of circumcision must immediately draw blood some tight shields delay blood flow. Jewish legal authorities debate the permissibility of these different shields. Some mohalim (plural for mohel) use a tighter shield that functions like a clamp, which they believe eases the baby’s pain. There are different kinds of shields, some tighter than others. The mohel uses a shield to protect the penis and to guide the knife to make sure only the foreskin is cut. This means “blessed is the one who has arrived.”īefore the circumcision, the mohel recites a blessing acknowledging that the mitzvah (commandment) of circumcision is about to be fulfilled. When the baby arrives, the mohel–a professional specially trained in circumcision–welcomes him with the words: Baruch Ha-Ba. This is often one of the baby’s grandfathers, but parents can also choose to honor other people with the role. The baby is handed to the sandek, which is the name given to the person who holds the baby during the circumcision. In some families and communities it is considered a great honor to carry a baby to his bris, and parents choose someone (or more than one person) special in their lives for this job. Here’s a rundown of the main events.īefore the ceremony, the baby is usually placed on a large pillow and carried into the room where the circumcision will take place. But a bris is actually more than just a snip it is a ceremony that includes various traditions, rituals, and prayers. The main element of a bris–also called a brit milah–is the removal of the foreskin from an eight-day-old baby boy’s penis.
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