The Fundamental Mitzvah of Judaism: Brit Milah

A brit milah, also known as a bris, is the Jewish ceremony in which a baby boy is circumcised. In Genesis 17, God commands Abraham to circumcise himself and his sons as a sign of the covenant between the Jewish people and God. To self-circumcise and with only the rudimentary tools of his day, was an act of deep faith and devotion on the part of Abraham.

The word “brit” means covenant. A covenant is an unbreakable and binding relationship between two parties. As the brit is performed on the very organ responsible for the continuation of life, the brit may also be seen as a symbolic continuation of the covenant across generations.

The brit links the newborn son to his people.  As part of the bris ceremony, he also receives his Hebrew name, establishing his Jewish identity within the larger Jewish community.

Through the centuries, rabbis and other religious scholars have offered new arguments and additional teachings in favor of circumcision. Many modern Jews continue to see brit milah as an important tradition to connect generations.

It is tradition that the brit milah takes place on the baby’s eighth day of life, even if it falls on Shabbat or a holiday. Although if the eighth day is Shabbat, in some traditions, that issue is addressed separately.

A day is counted following the Jewish pattern, beginning anew each sunset.

The brit milah may never be held before the eighth day and must be postponed for health considerations.

If the baby is premature or has other medical issues, halacha mandates the bris is postponed until the baby’s health is confirmed. Once the baby has been deemed healthy, the bris is scheduled for a time not to fall on Shabbat or a holiday.

While the ritual is a religious one, the timing of the ceremony is supported by science. From a medical perspective, studies show that the coagulative strength of a newborn’s blood is higher during this period than at the time immediately following his birth. It is also notable that the nervous system has not developed sufficiently to experience localized pain sensations.

During the Torah reading on the first day of Rosh Hashanah, we are reminded of the religious meaning of the timing of the brit milah and of Abraham’s circumcision of Isaac at eight days. 

At the age of eight days the baby will have lived through one Shabbat.

With both Shabbat and brit milah being significant signs of the covenant, upon experiencing one sign, the newborn is made ready to experience the other.

Throughout history, there have been conflicts with segments of society about circumcision. Ancient Greeks forbade the practice of brit milah as it was seen as a violation of the holiness of the body. This prohibition of the practice of circumcision was one of the reasons for the revolt of the Maccabees.  The festival of Hanukkah also resulted from this revolt.

Today, many religious and secular groups question the practice or the medical necessity of circumcision. Over the decades, the American Academy of Pediatrics has changed its opinion many times. In 2012, the AAP published a statement accepting and recognizing brit milah as a parental choice. In fact, on the AAP website, they state that their “evaluation of current evidence indicates that the health benefits of newborn male circumcision outweigh the risks and that the procedure’s benefits justify access to this procedure for families who choose it.”

But the continuing controversy cannot simply be ignored. This is why our comprehensive mohel/mohelet training also includes developing the public relations skills needed to support Jewish parents who choose the brit milah for their newborn sons.

It was once the father who, like Abraham circumcised Ishmael and Isaac, was responsible for circumcising a male child. However, the institution of the mohel emerged and the mohel became the representative of the fathers of the community.

A mohel (or mohelet, if female) is a Jew trained in the practice of brit milah or the “covenant of circumcision”. While most non-Orthodox Jews are happy to have a mohelet to perform the ritual, Orthodox Jews do not, at this time, permit women to serve in this role.

There are full-time mohelim, but many are also physicians, rabbis, cantors, or nurse-midwives. Mohelim are fully trained in the Jewish laws concerning circumcision, as well as in methods used in modern surgical hygiene. But according to traditional Jewish law, in the absence of a trained mohel/mohelet, anyone with the required knowledge and skills may perform the brit milah so long as they are Jewish.

In the modern era, most Jews prefer a mohel to officiate the bris with or without a rabbi present. With critical shortages of trained mohelim, many Jewish communities are struggling to find a trained mohel to perform the mitzvah. Specifically certified Jewish medical professionals and religious leaders find themselves in high demand.