Does one need to perform a delayed brit milah at the first possible time?

Question

If a baby is sick on the 8th day, the brit is pushed off until the baby is healthy. Once the mohel and doctor determine that the baby is healthy, does the brit need to be performed right away (on that day), or can it be scheduled to happen a few days later?

Answer 1

ואם לא מל, חייב כרת. הגה: ובכל יום עוברים בעונשין אלו. ‏
And if he was not circumcised, he receives Karet (Spiritual Excision). Gloss: And he receives this punishment each day. (Shulchan Aruch YD 261:1)

CYLOM for a practical ruling, but it seems from the above that the milah should be scheduled as soon as possible to avoid excessive Karet.

(I'll note that there is a machloket rishonim brought in the Tur there if every day is Karet or just a Bittul Aseh, but either way better get it over with sooner.)

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I found here that Rabbi Paysach J. Krohn, Certified Mohel writes that delaying the bris after the baby is healthy for a more convienient time is not appropriate, but rather it should be performed "as soon as possible".

Answer 2

Maaseh Rav.

My son’s bris was delayed over 5 weeks. It was summertime. The mohel came one afternoon maybe 2 hours before shki’a and said we could do the bris that day. Most of the family were living 200 miles away and could not have attended.

I asked my Rav (who is widely respected in the Community) who said that we should go ahead that day as long as there was no chance of any quarrels being generated in the family by not giving them time to attend. We phoned the family and were reassured and so went ahead.

Answer 3

A friend of mine had a delayed bris for his son. He said the psak he got was that if it is delayed because the baby is yellow, then you do it as soon as possible after the jaundice has cleared. If it was because the baby was sick with something else, you wait a week before doing the Bris to make sure the baby is healthy. See here where it references the same concept, but is more vague about what constitutes a health risk that requires waiting seven days.

Answer 4

In my experience, britot that are performed after the eighth day due to health reasons are usually done on Sundays. I have seen this in charedi and non-charedi communities. Don't take that as halakha, just observed behavior.