So You Want to Make a Bris

Henry Michael Lerner

Description

Of all the issues that confront Jewish couples when they are having a baby, one that often catches them by surprise is the need to make arrangements--if the baby is a boy--for a bris on the eighth day after the baby's birth. Years ago when most Jews lived in fairly close communities and were more observant of religious rituals, if you were having a baby, you found it easy to get information about having a bris. Now with many young Jewish couples living far from their parents and home communities and having less knowledge about and observance of Jewish customs, such information is less readily available. That is why this book has been written. Its goal is to provide clear, accurate information about all aspects of the modern bris ceremony. The information in this book will help couples (1) make decisions about having a bris, (2) choose a mohel, and (3) understand the medical and religious aspects of this significant family event.

Sujets

• Rituals
• Philosophie et théologie
• Judaism
• Religion
• Practice

Informations

• Publié par: Outskirts Press
• Date de parution: 24 novembre 2020
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781977237361
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 6 Mo

Extrait

So You Want to Make a Bris Everything you need to know about having a bris for your newborn son All Rights Reserved. Copyright © 2021 Henry Michael Lerner, M.D. v4.0

The opinions expressed in this manuscript are solely the opinions of the author and do not represent the opinions or thoughts of the publisher. The author has represented and warranted full ownership and/or legal right to publish all the materials in this book.

This book may not be reproduced, transmitted, or stored in whole or in part by any means, including graphic, electronic, or mechanical without the express written consent of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

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ISBN: 978-1-9772-3736-1

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The author Dr. Henry Lerner is an obstetrician-gynecologist wh o has been in practice for more than forty years. He is also a certified mohel. He has d elivered more than 10,000 babies, has performed over 4,000 circumcisions and has offi ciated at more than 500 brises. A graduate of Princeton University and Harvard Medica l School, Dr. Lerner did his obstetrics and gynecology residency at the Universi ty of California, San Francisco. He returned to the Boston area to establish his practi ce at the Newton-Wellesley Hospital, where he continues to head a nine-doctor ob-gyn gro up. He has published extensively in various areas of obstetrics and gynecology and h as a special interest in the obstetrical complication of shoulder dystocia. He i s a retired assistant clinical professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Harvard Medical Sch ool, although he continues his private practice.

Why this book

Years ago when most Jews lived in fairly close comm unities and were more observant of religious rituals, couples having a baby found i t easy to get information about having a bris if the baby was a boy. Now with many young J ewish couples living far from their parents and home communities and having less knowle dge about and observance of Jewish customs, such information is less readily av ailable. That is why this book has been written. Its goal is to provide clear, accurat e information about all aspects of the modern bris ceremony. The information in this book will help couples 1) make decisions about having a bris, 2) choose a mohel, a nd 3) understand the medical and religious aspects of this significant family event.

Note

Because some readers will read only certain section s of this book, there is some built-in repetition about parts of the brit milah ceremony.

Additionally, the termsbrisandbrit milahare used interchangeably in describing the Jewish ritual circumcision ceremony.Brisis the Ashkenazic/Yiddish traditional pronunciation forbrit.

Table of Contents

Introduction The biblical background of the bris The history of the brit milah ceremony Timing of the bris: Why the eighth day? Rules and customs concerning a bris Why should I have my son circumcised at all? Choosing between a home bris and a hospital circumc ision Twins and other multiple births The mixed couple—one partner who is not Jewish Medical reasons for postponing or not doing a bris How should the baby be dressed for his brit milah c eremony? What should attendees wear to a bris? Cameras, videos and other high-tech equipment Is it appropriate to bring small children to a bris ? Should one bring a baby gift to a bris? What supplies do you need to have at a bris? Explaining the brit milah ceremony to non-Jewish gu ests Honors at a bris The Chair of Elijah The Brit Milah Service The Mohel Choosing a mohel How much does a mohel charge? How do you pay the mo hel? What do you have to do to get the baby ready for his bris? The circumcision procedure Anesthesia Metzitzah Burial of the foreskin Aftercare Hatafat dam brit Naming the baby Brit Bat—Jewish birth ceremonies for girls The redemption of the firstborn son: Pidyon ha-ben Special circumstances Conversion Adoption Brit Shalom (no circumcision) ceremonies Brises for nontraditional couples Fetal demise/stillborn Biblical passages from Genesis that outline the ori gin of the brit milah ceremony Glossary

Introduction

Having a bris after the birth of a baby boy is an o pportunity for Jewish parents to celebrate one of the fundamental rites of Judaism. Formally calledbrit milah—brit for covenant,milahcircumcision—this ceremony admits the newborn Jewish child into for the ancient covenant between God and the Jewish peo ple as described in the first book of the Bible, Genesis. The bris service is a reenac tment for every new generation of Jews of the original covenant that God made with Ab raham and his descendants. It is a chance to celebrate with friends and loved ones the birth of a newborn son and affirm an ongoing connection with the heritage of the Jewi sh people.

But where does this ceremony come from, what does i t signify, and how is it conducted?

What is a bris?

A bris ceremony—the act of ritual circumcision alon g with its accompanying prayers— has a 4,000-year-old pedigree. The prayers in the r itual have several purposes: They recall and reestablish for each family with a newbo rn son the relationship between God and the Jewish people, they state the obligation of Jews to lead righteous and purposeful lives, and they offer good wishes for th e health and prosperity of the newborn baby and his parents. Its origins are revea led in the book of Genesis (chapter 17) wherein it is related that God approached Abrah am and told him that he and his people were to become a holy people to God and that in exchange God would make Abraham and his descendants “as numerous as the sta rs in heaven.” It is at this point that God commanded Abraham to circumcise all males within his household and subsequently to circumciseallmale newborns when they were eight days old. It is this deal (or contract orcovenant) between God and Abraham—participation of Jews as God’s holy people with specific moral and ethical r esponsibilities in exchange for prosperity for the Jewish people—that gets reaffirm ed at every brit milah ceremony. The circumcision itself can be seen as equivalent t o the signature on the contract of this holy covenant.

The prayers both before and after the ritual circum cision elevate into a profound religious act what might otherwise be a routine med ical procedure. These prayers are what differentiate the physical act of removal of t he foreskin performed for cosmetic or

medical reasons from the religious and social state ment of the affirmation of Judaism in the life of the family that is the basis of the bri t milah ceremony. Moreover, this ceremony constitutes one of the three fundamental o bservances of Judaism: Entrance into the covenant (brit milah), observance of the s abbath, and the study of the Torah. The traditional Jewish belief is that by circumcisi ng their male infants, Jewish parents complete God’s work and enter their children into t he Jewish chain of being that began with Abraham in the Middle Eastern desert almost 4,000 years ago.

No other Jewish ritual is adhered to as diligently as is the performance of a bris for a newborn son. Nonaffiliated Jews, Jewish atheists, a nd couples with only one Jewish partner will still arrange a bris for their baby bo y. It is the strongest and most sincere expression of a family wanting to preserve some mea sure of Jewish identity for their children. From a religious point of view, it is amo ng the most important mitzvahs that Jews can perform and thus is performed even on the sabbath and Yom Kippur.

To not circumcise one’s son is to cut him off from the Jewish people. Even Moses was not exempt from this commandment; in Exodus 4 we re ad that God threatens Moses’s life because he was tardy in circumcising his son. Even the apostate Benedict Spinoza wrote that “the Jewish people will always survive a s long as they continue the act of circumcision.”