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Jews
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Jews > Earning
a Living > Decentralization of Jewish
New York > Bris Milah > Shiva - Mourning in the Jewish Tradition
Bris Milah
The bris milah ceremony, or ritual circumcision,
was performed upon all male Jewish babies born into religious families.
The milah celebrates the Jewish belief that Jews are entered into
a covenant with God, who selected Abraham and his descendants to
be the chosen people and to mark themselves as such by circumcising
all males (See Genesis 17:1-15). The milah is considered by many
Talmudic scholars to be the most important of the mitzvahs (commandments)
that God assigned to the Jewish people.
The laws governing the bris milah, particularly within the Hasidic
and Orthodox sects, are very strict. It is never to be performed
until the eighth day of the baby's life, and must be conducted by
a mohel. The mohel learns his skills by serving an apprenticeship
with older, accomplished mohels, and must gain their written approval
before being allowed to practice on his own. Although in recent
times many mohels are also doctors, traditionally the role has not
been limited to those in the medical professions. The mohel also
must be a shomer shabbas (a Jew who obeys the laws of Sabbath),
and kosher in his dietary practice.
The day of the bris milah also doubles as a day for great celebration.
Family and friends gather to witness the event, and a large meal
is served following the ceremony. An empty chair is on hand for
the prophet Elijah, so that he may witness the covenant between
the Jewish people and God being upheld. Many of the witnesses also
assume roles in the milah. Second in importance to the mohel, is
the sandek, who holds the child during the circumcision. After the
circumcision is complete, the child is given his Jewish name and
a sip of wine to consummate the ceremony.
Increasingly, most bris milah ceremonies, except among religious
Jews, take place in the hospital where the baby is born and are
done by a regular doctor, not a specialized mohel. Circumcision,
once mostly confined to Jews, is now performed on the majority of
boy babies born in the United States for health reasons.
For further reading, see: Henry C. Romberg, Bris Milah: A Book
About the Jewish Ritual of Circumcision (New York: Feldheim
Publishers, 1982).
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