Brit Milah on 8th day v/s delays

Question

This question pertains to how necessary it is to perform a bris on the 8th day from birth. I know that, if the baby is sick, it can be delayed (to a non Shabbat/Yom Tov day). This question relates to other reasons for delay, aside from health.

(1) Is it preferable, or even allowed, to perform a bris on the eight day after sunset (shkiah) but before nightfall (tzeit hakochavim), or should you wait until the next day (9th day, assume melacha is allowed) and perform the bris between sunrise and sunset?

(2) If 10 men aren’t able to be assembled for the 8th day, are you required to wait until a later date for a minyan or should the bris be performed on the 8th day without a minyan?

Answer 1

1. R. Yitzchak Yosef in Kitzur Shulchan Aruch Yalkut Yosef YD 262:9 allows a brit after shekiah of the eight day (but before the start of R. Tam’s bein hashemashot) only in extenuating circumstances (everyone is waiting, the food is all prepared for the meal and the mohel was delayed). It sounds like otherwise, the brit should be delayed until the next day.

Note that his leniency is based on a doubt of when bein hashemashot actually starts (the argument between R. Tam and the Geonim). If we knew for sure when bein hashemashot starts (the ‘real’ shekiah), the brit could not be performed after that time.

2. R. Yosef in 262:6 allows one to delay a brit in order to assemble a minyan until the afternoon of the eighth day. I infer that it is not permissible to delay until the ninth day in order to have a minyan.

Note (as R. Yosef points out) that a minyan is not a requirement for a brit. If ten men are unavailable, the brit is carried out regardless.