Traditionally, a baby boy is formally taken into the community with a brit milah, a bris ceremony (ritual circumcision). Some families are choosing to welcome a new daughter with a simchat bat (literally “joy of a daughter”), a ceremony in which the little girl receives her Jewish name.
First, the mohel uses a special knife to remove the baby's foreskin. Then the mohel tears off and folds back the mucous membrane to expose the glans. The final stage is called metzitzah, which means suctioning the blood from the wound.
A bris includes a circumcision performed by a mohel, or a ritual circumciser, and a baby naming. The practice is rooted in Genesis, when God instructs Abraham to circumcise himself and all of his descendants as a sign of their contract with God.
Two blessing are recited
The Mohel will make the first blessing, "Blessed are You are God, Ruler of the Universe.. Who commanded us to perform the bris." After "the cut" the relative will recite the blessing "Blessed are You are God, Ruler of the Universe..
A bris traditionally takes place when the baby is 8 days old.
Can a woman perform a bris? Jewish scholars, even the most Orthodox, answer with a tentative “why not?” for there is no halachic (Jewish law) prohibition against mohelot – female mohels.
Since a bris will often take place on a weekday morning, work attire is appropriate. Otherwise, choose clothes suitable for any family party—festive but not suggestive.
A sandek or sandak (Hebrew: סנדק "companion of child") is a person honored at a Jewish brit milah (circumcision) ceremony, traditionally either by holding the baby boy on the knees or thighs while the mohel performs the brit milah, or by handing the baby to the mohel.
Sikhism does not require circumcision of either males or females, and criticizes the practice.
A bris does not really hurt. It is only skin being cut, no muscle or flesh. The nerve endings are yet undeveloped, and so the baby has little sensitivity there. The knife used is so super sharp that the cut itself is not noticed by the baby.
One national study reported that 54.2% of black Africans were circumcised, with 32.1% of those traditionally circumcised and 13.4% circumcised for medical reasons.
Circumcision is also standard in the United States and parts of Southeast Asia and Africa, but is rare in Europe, Latin America, and most of Asia. A personal preference in favor of circumcision is more common in Anglophone countries such as the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.
Which is better? Either way is normal and healthy — there is no “better” or “worse” option. The foreskin is the retractable tube of skin that covers and protects the head (glans) of the penis. All healthy boys are born with a foreskin.
Circumcised men take longer to reach ejaculation, which can be viewed as "an advantage, rather than a complication," writes lead researcher Temucin Senkul, a urologist with GATA Haydarpasa Training Hospital in Istanbul, Turkey.
Urine will not hurt the circumcision and should not cause pain since surgery was not performed on the area where the urine comes out. Urine is sterile and does not cause infections. It is not unusual to see a small amount of bleeding from the incision for the first day or two.
Morris' systematic review carried out in Australia [23] on early MC, with a total of 40,473 men, showed that medical circumcision (MC) does not adversely affect sexual function, sensitivity or pleasure.
Results: Jesus Christ was circumcised as a Jew on the 8th day after his birth. Until 1960 the Catholic church celebrated the day as Circumcision Day. In medieval times the holy foreskin was worshipped in many European churches.
Most boys born in Australia around 1950 were circumcised. Since then, there has been a big move away from circumcision. Now less than 20% of Australian boys are circumcised. The only major western country where circumcision is very common is the United States.
In the case of Christ, the beneficiary of the grace bestowed in circumcision is not one child only but the entire human race. Catholic theology understands the significance of the circumcision of Christ in relation to his death when the whole law would be fulfilled.
Jewish law requires circumcision (Bris) on the eighth day, by a Jewish circumciser (a mohel) and is usually, but not essentially, in the home. Result: All the medical authorities agree that anesthesia should be administered. Religious authorities cannot find any reasons to avoid anesthesia.
Non-Orthodox Judaism allows female mohels, called mohalot (מוֹהֲלוֹת, plural of מוֹהֶלֶת, 'mohelet', feminine of mohel), without restriction. In 1984, Dr. Deborah Cohen became the first certified Reform Jewish mohelet; she was certified by the Berit Mila Program of Reform Judaism.
Although health care insurers usually will not pay for a bris ceremony, they will almost always reimburse individuals the amount they would have paid a physician for doing a circumcision postpartum in the hospital.
If you have already given the baby a gift, do not feel obligated to bring one to the bris. However, a small token gift, such as a bib or stuffed animal, is perfectly appropriate. Though it is thoughtful to give a baby gift with religious meaning, it is certainly not required, nor even expected, if you are not Jewish.
In terms of cost, most mohalim in the Boston area charge between $400 and $800. The cost does not usually vary by movement; more likely, cost varies due to normal economic forces and other factors, such as having an observant mohel walk a great distance for Shabbat or stay over for Shabbat.
This brunch consists of bagels, cream cheese, tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, lux, a variety of egg omelet dishes and assorted pastries. There is no right or wrong way to celebrate a bris. Each family is unique and different. Each family has a vision as to what they would like to see happen at their event.