Questions tagged [brit-milah]
Questions about circumcision (brit-milah in Hebrew)
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What happens when a potential convert can't have a circumcision? [duplicate]
Suppose a man wants to convert to Judaism but cannot have a circumcision for bio-medical reasons (he has a foreskin, but has hemophilia or some other condition which would make the surgery fatal or ...
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May a Brit Milah be performed by a (non-Jewish) doctor?
Some friends would feel more comfortable having their newborn circumcised with a regular doctor and in a hospital setting where the environment is more sterile, maybe better pain management options ...
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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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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?
user688
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Is there anything wrong with inviting friends to a bris?
I have a friend - let's call him 'A' - who's married; His wife gave birth to a boy. I asked another friend of mine, if 'A' invited him to the bris. He told me that one is not supposed to invite ...
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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 ...
user2110
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Are tefillin supposed to be removed before a bris (circumcision)? If so, why?
I remember in yeshiva one day as a bris was about to start after minyan, someone came around and told everybody, "take off your tefilin!"
Recently I saw R' Moshe Feinstein explaining why we leave ...
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Eliyahu HaNavi and bris
Someone once told me that when Eliyahu HaNavi comes to a baby's bris, everyone who is presently there is forgiven for their sins.
Does anyone know the source for this?
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Why is there no Bris Milah for girls?
The title says it all, for the most part, but given that the Bris Milah is a way of bringing a newborn boy into the covenant with God, why is there no parallel/similar ritual, or commencement, as it ...
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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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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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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 the name ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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Can a man circumcise himself?
If a man is not circumcised can he perform the mitzvah himself? Aside from issues of pain, and difficulty in the actual cut, can he say the beracha in such a state if he is not covered properly? What ...
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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 ...
user1668
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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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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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Why is there a ה in "מוהל"? [closed]
The Hebrew word for the act performed at a circumcision is "לימול". The root appears to be נ.מ.ל. Following the exceptional rules for roots whose first letter is נ, the causative participle and ...
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Can a non-Jewish person participate in a bris?
My best friend is Jewish, and I have been involved in most of the most important events in his life. I was the best man at his wedding, I celebrated Hanukkah with his family, and I am the "godfather" ...
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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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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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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.
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Is it possible for a man to convert to Judaism without circumcision?
Is it possible for a man to convert to Judaism without circumcision?
I'm not talking about where medical reasons would prevent circumcision; I'm curious to know if an uncircumcised gentile can ...
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Does circumcision require an orthodox Mohel?
Consider a case of a Jewish-born child who was circumcised by a non-orthodox or non-Jewish person (say with a circumcision clamp by a doctor - where the doctor was just thinking about a surgical ...
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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 ...
user2110
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Is the pain from the brit milah most severe at the 3rd day after it?
I had heard possibly a Midrash that says that the pain of the brit milah (circumcision) is most severe 3 days after the procedure.
I hunted through some of the commentaries in Mikra'ot Gedolot. First ...
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Does a Late Bris Necessitate Teffilin?
When one makes a Bris after Shacharis, he wears Tefilin. If a Bris is made later on in the day, does he wear Tefilin? Why or why not? And if he does, does it require a second Bracha?
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Can one use Maaser to pay a Mohel?
Can a father use maaser money to pay a mohel to give his son a bris milah?
The question is strenghtened since a person is not allowed to charge for performing a mitzvah.
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Where and when is the earliest attestation of the word "mohel"? [closed]
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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Does a mohel say Tachanun during mincha if he did a brit in the morning?
In a shul where a mohel is present for a brit, he (nor others in the minyan) say Tachanun. Usually, a brit is done after Shacharit.
Someone (not a mohel) told me, recently, that when a mohel has doen ...
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If someone's foreskin grew back, would he need a second Bris Milah?
Theoretically speaking, if someone's foreskin grew back after his Bris Milah, would he need another Bris Milah? Is the idea that the Bris be permanent, and if the foreskin were to grow back, it would ...
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What is the view of the Noachide movement on bris milah for non-Jews descended from Abraham?
The Noachide movement is a movement that encourages non-Jews to follow the Seven Noahide laws---that is, the Mitzvot that are binding on Noach and his descendents (in other words, on all living humans)...
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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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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 ...
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Why do we avoid inviting people to a b'rit milah specifically, and not other celebrations too?
I have learned, and seen in practice, that we don't invite people to a b'rit milah directly but rather just announce a date and place. The reason, according to this answer citing Rema Yoreh Deah 265:...
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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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What does a porcupine have to do with a berit milah?
R' Natan Slifkin, in this recent blog post, presents the above-embedded picture of a porcupine from the Rothschild Miscellany (Italy, 15th Century CE), which adorns a yotzer (seasonal additional ...
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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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If I wanted to convert to Judaism, would I need to have my circumcision repeated?
I was baptized in the Catholic Church, raised in the Methodist Church, and became an atheist when I was about 14 years old. My grandmother on my father's side was a non-observant Jew, but my father ...
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How does one become a Mohel?
I want to be a Mohel.
I learned the Tur - Shulchan Aruch (YD 260-266).
Now what?
What should be my next step?
P.S. I live in Brooklyn.
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What things are done differently for an adult circumcision?
I have never attended an adult circumcision, and I don't know anyone, personally, who was circumcised as an adult. I'm curious if there are any notable differences between an adult and child ...
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What defines a person who is circumcised "of the heart"?
Circumcisions of the heart are a topic which I've seen mentioned a couple of times but never really delved into. While the word circumcision is used to describe it, the mark cannot be equated to true ...
user15672
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Was Esau commanded in circumcision?
Was Esau commanded in circumcision? For instance, if he did teshuvah, was he still obligated in circumcision for himself and his children?
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Why does Yosef command the Egyptians to circumcise
Rashi on Bereshis 41:55 says
what he tells you, do: Since Joseph had ordered them to circumcise themselves, and when they came to Pharaoh and said, “This is what he said to us,” he (Pharaoh) said ...
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How much foreskin remaining by a bris is too much?
If someone as a baby had a bris done by a mohel but feels he still has foreskin going over his glans, then does he need another bris or has he fulfilled his obligation?
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Berith Millah in a different section of the Shul - Do you say Tahanun?
Are you supposed to say Tahanun if there is a Berith Millah being held in a different section of the Shul (eg., different Minyan being held in a different room)?
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Circumcision for conversion of someone whose male genitalia have been removed
Let's say a non-Jewish male has had his genitalia removed through some accident or medical procedure (e.g. for the purpose of gender transition).
If that person later decides to convert. How is bris ...
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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 ...
user2110
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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 ...
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