The brit-milah tag has no wiki summary.
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When a Bris is being done for a baby at the same time as his Pidyon HaBen
If a baby who is a Bechor had his Bris delayed to the 31st day, and now on the 31st day he is ready to have his Bris and it is also the day of his Pidyon HaBen - which Mitzva should be done first? Do ...
4
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2answers
145 views
When a Bechor's Bris is delayed beyond the day of the Pidyon HaBen
If a baby who is a Bechor had his Bris delayed beyond the 31st day - should the Pidyon HaBen be pushed off until the Bris is ready to be done? On one side you do not want to delay a Mitzva in its ...
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0answers
22 views
Seudas Pidyon HaBen and Bris Milah together
If someone had a baby boy and the bris was pushed off until what came out to be the day of the Pidyon HaBen. Can the 2 seudas, one for the Bris and the other for the Pidyon HaBen be made together as ...
5
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1answer
402 views
Is metzitzah b'peh required when an adult is circumcised or in the case of hatafas dam bris?
As we've discussed in a general question regarding the requirements for metzitzah b'peh (MBP), the direct-oral-contact technique to draw blood from the penis of an 8-day old infant at his bris milah ...
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3answers
366 views
Baby boy's MOTHER as the sandek(et)
I have recently come upon historical evidence of the mothers of baby boys serving as the sandek(et) during the brit milah.
From page 18 of The Orthodox Jewish Woman and Ritual: Options and ...
6
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1answer
101 views
Why were the Israelites not circumcised in the desert?
Genesis 21:4 (JPS) And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, as God had commanded him.
Starting with Abraham, the Israelite men were circumcised and a boy at the eighth ...
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30 views
brit-milah for dead infant [duplicate]
Recent tragedy in NY, young haredi couple killed in auto accident.
Wife pregnant with baby boy.
Doctors delivered the baby but, tragically, he also didn't survive.
Before burial, a brit milah was ...
3
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2answers
109 views
Why is a bris performed after death?
Why does an infant baby boy who dies before he can be circumcised have a circumcision performed after death? If, as the article states it is to prepare the body for the next world why is this ritual ...
2
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0answers
49 views
May a woman be a kvater?
May a woman serve as the sole kvater (person who brings the baby to the sandek) at a bris? At most britot I've been to, the duty of kvater was handled by a woman and a man (typically married), with ...
2
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1answer
50 views
Naming an orphan
In light of the recent story in the news of a baby born an orphan. :(
Who names him (and performs the bris)? I assume the grandparents, but is there any tradition of which side has priority?
(I am ...
2
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1answer
59 views
Source that a woman is considered to have a bris milah
I recall learning, I think in mesechtas kiddushin, that a woman is the (halachic?) equivalent of a man who has had a bris milah performed. In other words, since she does not have the same organ she is ...
3
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1answer
56 views
Is the name of God associated with bris milah?
I recall learning, but have no source for, the fact that part of what is achieved by the bris milah process is a form of etching (part of?) the name of God into the makom ha'milah.
What is the ...
2
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1answer
133 views
Are there any Jewish sources that discuss vampires?
Are there any sources in Judaism that discuss vampires? I am aware that it is mentioned in the sefer hassidim but have not found any other source material. I am specifically curious if there are any ...
15
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1answer
174 views
Is there any source for not sharing a baby's name before the bris?
For some reason, I have it ingrained in me that a baby boy's name before the bris is a secret and should not be shared. Are there any sources for this, or is it something made up?
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1answer
74 views
Definition of Beit Hakneset area [with respect to tachanun]
Shulchan Aruch O"CH 131:4 says that we don't say Tachanun where there is a Chatan in the syagogue: (see also this related question) (Note: I mention here Chatan because it's clearly mentioned, but ...
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3answers
115 views
Where and when is the earliest attestation of the word “mohel”?
Where is the earliest attestation of the word mohel for one who performs the act associated with a ritual circumcision?
When was it written?
What language is it?
[Inspired by Why is there a ה in ...
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2answers
181 views
Why Not Eight Days Until a Convert's Circumcision?
Why doesn't a convert dip in the mikveh and then wait eight days until he gets his circumcision? The gemara (Yevamot 97b) says ger shnitgayeir kekatan shenolad dami (A convert is like a newly-born ...
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7answers
147 views
Why did Avraham wait to have a bris?
Chazal tells us (Midrash Rabbah Bereishis 64:4 and 95:3; Yoma 28b, based on. Gen. 26:5; Kiddushin 82a) that the Patriarchs observed the mitzvahs before they were given. But Avraham did not circumcize ...
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1answer
77 views
Is it necessary to use only the same Mohel?
Recently I was told that when one makes a Bris they should use the same Mohel they used for the older child. Is there a source for this? What is the reason?
5
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1answer
72 views
Why did Yaakov ask Yosef to swear in the way he did?
Inspired by this question
In Bereshis 47:29 Yaakov asks Yosef to "put his hand under his thigh" (a euphemism) and swear not to bury him in Egypt. Here, unlike by Avraham, there is no indication that ...
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0answers
95 views
Abrahamic covenant and Brit Milah - how is the covenant passed down?
Why is it so that if a Jew has a male child with a non-Jewish woman the child is not circumcised, even though, like Ishmail, the child is under Abrahamic (but not Mosaic) covenant, since the father is ...
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3answers
575 views
Is Metzitzah B'peh a must?
There is a lot of talk in the news, etc., about Metzitzah B'peh that employs direct oral contact being dangerous.
First: If it is dangerous, shouldn't pikuach nefesh push it off?
Second: How ...
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1answer
179 views
How did Yosef showing his circumcision prove anything?
Rashi to 45:4 says that when Yosef told his brothers to approach him, it was to show them his circumcision (presumably to prove he was Jewish). But how would that prove anything? All of Egypt had been ...
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1answer
203 views
Traditions what to do with removed foreskin
In Germany we recently started a debate, whether foreskin-amputation of children (not only Jews, but Muslims as well) has to be forbidden according to our fundamental laws.
Some magazine illustrated ...
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1answer
162 views
Is a male considered Jewish if his dad is Jewish and his mom is not jewish but the dad had his male child have a brit-millah
I have uncles and cousins who married non-Jewish women but had their boys have brit-millah when they were babies. Are they considered Jewish under orthodox Judaism?
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3answers
114 views
K'shaim Shenichnas L'Bris Kain Yikones L'Torah L'Chupa U'Lmaasim Tovim: why that order?
When a baby boy has his Bris we wish him "K'shaim Shenichnas L'Bris Kain Yikones L'Torah L'Chupa U'Lmaasim Tovim" - just like you entered the covenant so to should you enter into Torah, marriage, and ...
2
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1answer
88 views
Why does the mohel say the brocha at the bris?
Optimally, a father should circumcise his own sons. Optimally, an aliyah should read the Torah when called up. When we are called up for an aliyah, we say the brocha and the baal koreh reads for us. ...
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0answers
62 views
How long after a Bris of his son can the Father make the bracha?
I'll pose the following scenario in order to ask this question.
During the recent war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, a man was called up to duty. On one of the days that he was found in the ...
6
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2answers
67 views
How did Avraham save Terach?
The gemarah (eiruvin 19a) states that Avraham Avinu sits at the entrance to gehinom and doesn't allowed anyone circumcised to enter there. The Ariz'l (Sefer Likkutim, Parsha Vayera) states that the ...
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2answers
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Why did Avraham ask Eliezer to swear in the way he did?
Avraham asks his servant Eliezer to place his hand under his thigh to swear an oath regarding finding a daughter for his son. Chazal explain that he asked him to hold his (Avraham's) milah (male ...
12
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1answer
239 views
In case of diphallia, how is brit-milah affected?
Diphallia is a rare medical condition in which a male infant is born with two penises.
Does brit-milah requires both penises to be circumcised? Is there any reference in the litterature about such ...
14
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3answers
144 views
Why did Avraham name his son before the Bris (circumcision)?
Why does the Torah seem to imply that Avraham named his son before the bris?
First:
וַיִּקְרָא אַבְרָהָם אֶת שֶׁם בְּנוֹ הַנּוֹלַד לוֹ אֲשֶׁר יָלְדָה לּוֹ שָׂרָה יִצְחָק
And Abraham called ...
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4answers
301 views
Why is the foreskin removed?
Why is the foreskin removed? God gave it men, did God also tell them to have it removed?
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1answer
115 views
What is the origin on metziztah b'peh?
Is metzitzah b'peh of biblical origin or was it instituted by the rabbis? What is the source for this practice?
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0answers
111 views
Maimonides on Circumcision
These are not questions about circumcision. They are about what Maimonides said about the practice.
I would to know if the following things do, or do not, in fact represent things Maimonides said ...
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4answers
131 views
Does one need to perform a delayed brit milah at the first possible time?
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 ...
6
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3answers
349 views
Segulah of Kvatar: Source
Is there a source for the claim that being a Kvater (person who carries a baby to/from his Bris) helps cure infertility?
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4answers
274 views
How does paying a Mohel work?
I have heard - do not know the source - that a Mohel is not supposed to charge an official price - however you are supposed to pay him.
1: Is it true that a Mohel is not supposed to charge an ...
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0answers
44 views
Taking food from a Seudas Bris
When I am at a Bris I have noticed that many people take food for others who are not there. What is the source for taking food from a Bris?
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2answers
100 views
V'Al Brischa SheChasamta Bivsoreinu - ועל בריתך שחתמת בבשרנו - does a lady say this?
In Bentching (grace after meals) - both in the Ashkenazic and in the Sefardic version - we say V'Al Brischa SheChasamta Bivsoreinu - ועל בריתך שחתמת בבשרנו - "and for Your covenant, which you sealed ...
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1answer
86 views
Converting a baby - When to do Circumcision
I know that one can convert an infant (and if he doesn't recant when he becomes of age, the conversion is retractively chal) but what about milah? For a Jewish child, milah before the 8th day isn't a ...
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1answer
127 views
Why did Hashem not tell Avraham to have a Bris earlier?
Avraham Avinu was told to have a Bris at 99 years of age. Why didn't Hashem have him do a Bris earlier?
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1answer
82 views
When would you have a Seudas Bris by the Friday night Seuda? [closed]
How is it possible that you would you have a Seudas Bris by the Friday night Seuda?
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1answer
250 views
If no one else was available, could a mohel ride a bicycle on shabbos to perform a circumcision?
If a healthy baby boy's eighth day of life is on a Saturday, that's the day his bris milah / circumcision should be performed if at all possible. While elective surgeries are prohibited on Shabbos, ...
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1answer
179 views
Bar Mitzvah before Circumcision?
If one was never circumcised can they be called up to the Torah for their bar-mitzvah?
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1answer
67 views
Does the status “mal v'lo taval” apply to women?
In a number of circumstances, the halachic status of מל ולא טבל ("circumcized but not immersed in a mikveh") takes on significance.
For instance, regarding a nochri touching wine, the Shulchan Aruch ...
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1answer
107 views
Godparents in Judaism
Does Judaism have any tradition resembling the Christian practice of assigning godparents? Godparents are a man and a woman entrusted by the birth parents to take care of their child spiritually and ...
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1answer
62 views
Can a Brit Milah double as a Seudah for Purim?
Can a Brit Milah, on the morning of Purim, cover you for the Seudah or does it need to be distinct?
5
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1answer
246 views
Circumcision when danger to life, born Jews and potential gerim
In this post, Skylar refers to teshuvos from the Seride Esh and R. AY Kook which rule that a male non-Jew may not convert if he is unable to undergo milah.
Does pikuach nefesh completely push off the ...
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2answers
220 views
Etymology of the word “Kvater”
What is the etymology of the word "Kvater"? Kvater is what we call the person that carries the baby boy into a Bris.
