What does the word bris mean?
When did this custom originate?
What exactly is done at the brit milah?
Who performs the ceremony? Can a doctor perform the circumcision?
What is a sandak?
What does Elijah the Prophet have to do with the brit milah?
Must it be performed on the eighth day?
How can a female child be welcomed into the covenant of Israel?
Further study and reading
What does the word bris mean?
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When did this custom originate?
Circumcision was enjoined by God upon Abraham and his descendants and has always been regarded as the supreme obligatory sign of the covenant with God, "sealed in the flesh."[1]
What exactly is done at the brit milah?
The foreskin is removed from the penis. Rabbis later added the requirement of peri'ah (laying bare the glans) and mezizah (sucking out blood), done originally by mouth and later using a glass tube for hygienic reasons.[2]
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Who performs the ceremony? Can a doctor perform the circumcision?
The circumcision is performed by a trained mohel (circumciser) who knows both the medical and religious requirements. If a doctor is versed in both, he can perform the ceremony. However, as the occasion is regarded as a festive event for the whole community, it generally takes place (if possible) in the presence of a minyan (quorum of ten) and is followed by a festive meal.
What is a sandak?
Sandak is the person given the honor of holding the child on his knees during the circumcision ceremony. The word is probably derived from the Greek word suntkenos (meaning "companion to the child") which appears in the Talmud. Traditionally it was regarded as a great honor and mizvah to be a sandak and the donor was often given to a grandfather or to a man of outstanding piety. In some communities the woman who brings the child into the ceremony is called the sandakit.
What does Elijah the Prophet have to do with the brit milah?
Elijah is regarded as the patron of circumcision, and it is said that his spirit is present at all circumcisions. The Chair of Elijah is an integral part of the ceremony, and one (or more) may be found in many synagogues. At a certain point in the ceremony, the mohel (circumciser) places the child upon the Chair of Elijah and proclaims, "this is the chair of Elijah, may he be remembered for good."[3] During the ceremony the infant is held in the arms of his godfather (sandak), who sits on this special chair.
Must it be performed on the eighth day?
Circumcision always takes place on the eight day after birth, even if that day falls on a Sabbath or Yom Kippur, unless there are medical reasons to postpone it. If circumcision is postponed for medical reasons, the ceremony may not take place on a Sabbath or a major festival. The only exception permitted to the otherwise universal requirement of circumcision is in the rare and tragic case of hereditary hemophilia, where previous children have died as a result of the circumcision operation.
Female circumcision was never allowed in Judaism, although naming ceremonies for newborn girls (zeved ha-bat, fadas, fadan yento, siete kandelas) are common in several Jewish communities around the world.[4] Baby girls are customarily named in the synagogue, at one of the Shabbat services after the birth, with the attendance of both parents. In many communities, the mother recites a blessing expressing gratitude for her health and well-being after childbirth; the father is called to the Torah and the daughter is named at the first Torah reading which takes place after her birth (Monday, Thursday or Shabbat). It is customary in most communities for parents to prepare drinks and pastries for the entire congregation.
In recent years more and more couples are writing their own ceremony, drawing from traditional (and sometimes modern) poems, verses, prayers and songs.
Further study and reading
Diamant, Anita and Cooper, Howard.
Living a Jewish Life; Jewish Customs, Traditions and Values for Today's Family
(HarperCollins, 1991).
Diamant, Anita.
Jewish Baby Book (Summit Books, 1988).
Donin, Hayim Halevy.
To be a Jew: A Guide to Jewish Observance in Contemporary Life
(Basic Books, 1972).
Drucker, Malka.
Celebrating Life: Jewish Rites of Passage (Holiday House, 1984).
Jacobs, Louis.
The Book of Jewish Practice (Behrman House, 1987).
Klein, Isaac.
Guide to Jewish Religious Practice (JTS/Ktav, 1979).
Levine, Elizabeth Resnick.
A Ceremonies Sampler: New Rites, Celebrations and Observances of Jewish Women.
(San Diego: Women's Institue for Continuing Jewish Education, 1991).
Maslin, Simeon.
Gates to the Jewish Life Cycle (NY; CCAR, 1979).
Strassfeld, Strassfeld, and Seigel.
The Jewish Catalog (JPS, 1973).
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