Questions tagged [brit-milah]
Questions about circumcision (brit-milah in Hebrew)
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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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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 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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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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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 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 day ...
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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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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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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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Shower or Mikvah on a Fast Day
Are you allowed to take a shower on a fast day, and is it suggested?
Once we are talking about bathing, what about going to the Mikvah on a fast day?
Does it make a difference if one goes daily, and/...
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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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Does a halachically circumcised non-Jew need Hatafat Dam when converting?
Rambam, Hilchot Milah 1:7 says that a convert must be circumcised before his conversion is complete. If he was already circumcised when he was not Jewish, a Hatafat Dam Brit (taking a drop of blood) ...
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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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Baby boy born bein hashmashot when you don't know what day it is
Extreme hypothetical here...
We know (MT Hilchot Mila 1:9) that mila on the (definite) 8th day is doche Shabbat. If the baby is born bein hashmashot, when we're not sure what day it is, it cannot be ...
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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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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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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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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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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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May a Mohel who accepted Shabbos early circumcise a child who turned 8 days old on Friday?
Since the rule that a circumcision pushes off Shabbos is learned from the verse וביום השמיני ימול בשר ערלתו, ויקרא יב ג, from which chaz"l expound "ביום השמיני אפילו בשבת", (שבת קלב ע"א), therefore a ...
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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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Hadas at weddings and Brit Milah
Why do Sefardim place Hadas by the Huppah and Kise Eliyahu by weddings and brit milah respectively?
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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?
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Do we assume a Bris or Pidyon has been done?
If I adopt a 3 year old whose paperwork indicates that both parents were Jewish (but I cannot contact them or get further information about their religiosity) and he was an only child, do I assume ...
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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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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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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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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 ...
user1668
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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 ...
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Why does the word milah mean both circumcision and word?
What is the rabbinic explanation why the word milah means both circumcision and word?
To translate this into Hebrew is quite interesting, it would read like,
Why does the milah milah mean both ...
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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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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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Is there a halachic preference for milah over hatafas dam bris?
While hatafas dam bris is clearly valid for a convert who is already circumcised, is this considered bedieved? Suppose a man who is not already circumcised intends to convert.
Suppose he is also ...
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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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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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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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Hypothetical, what should a wife do if she discovers her husband is uncircumcised?
Circumcision is an integral part of Judaism. That being said, there really isn't an "inspection" to verify someone is circumcised. Unless the individual is a convert, there isn't a ...
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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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Rashi's explanation of why we are told that Avram was 86 at the birth of Yishma'el
Bereishit 16:16:
וְאַבְרָ֕ם בֶּן־שְׁמֹנִ֥ים שָׁנָ֖ה וְשֵׁ֣שׁ שָׁנִ֑ים בְּלֶֽדֶת־הָגָ֥ר אֶת־יִשְׁמָעֵ֖אל לְאַבְרָֽם׃
Avram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Yishma'el to Avram.
...
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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 happens at an adult brit?
I have never attended an adult (usually a result of conversion, but not necessarily) brit. I am curious what parts of the ceremony are different from what occurs during a baby's brit. For example:
Is ...
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Sheva Brachos at a Bris
If a Chosson & Kallah during the first week they got married attended a Bris, should the assembled recite Sheva Brachos after Bentching?
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