About Brit Milah

The brit milah or bris of a newborn boy is both a great mitzvah (commandment) and a great simchah (celebration).  The first commandment given to humanity in the Hebrew Bible is pru ur’vu, “be fruitful and multiply.”    According to tradition, the second true mitzvah given in the Torah, and the first to be given to our ancestor Abraham, was that of circumcision.   Indeed, the Shulchan Aruch, the traditional Code of Jewish Law, starts its section on milah (circumcision) with the statement that this mitzvah is more fundamental and important than any other positive commandment in the entire Torah.

The command to circumcise is given twice. In Genesis 17:10-12 we are told that “G-d said to Abraham: ‘This is my covenant which you are to keep, between me and you and your seed after you: every male among you shall be circumcised.  You shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin, so that it may serve as a sign of the covenant between me and you. At eight days old, every male among you shall be circumcised, throughout your generations…’”  Later, in Leviticus 12:1-3, G-d commands all the Israelites that “…a woman–when she produces seed and bears a male child…on the eighth day, the flesh of his foreskin is circumcised.”

Genesis 17 begins with G-d’s commandment to Abram that he is to “Walk in My presence and be perfect (tamim)! The Rabbis understand this to mean that only after circumcision is Abraham considered perfect.  So too, a new baby is considered “perfect” or “whole” only after we have joined in G-d’s act of creation by committing the baby to the covenant by this action of circumcision.  Abraham circumcised his son Isaac at the age of eight days, and Jewish boys have traditionally been welcomed into our people by means of this covenant ever since.

Brit milah is normally performed on the eighth day of the boy’s life.   The religious significance of the eighth day comes from the fact the newborn has now lived a full week, and he has experienced a full day of Shabbat (Sabbath), joining in another great brit/covenant of Jewish life.    From a medical perspective, the coagulative strength of his blood is at a high point, yet his neurological system has not developed to the extent that he can localize pain.

The word ברית,  brit, means covenant.  A covenant is a binding, unbreakable relationship of love, concern, and respect between two parties. This brit, then, in the organ that is part of the continuation of life, symbolizes the transmission of the covenant from one generation to the next.  It links the newborn son to his people and his G-d.  In the course of the ceremony he will formally receive his Hebrew name, which establishes his identity in the larger Jewish community.

Throughout over 3500 years of Jewish tradition, brit milah has been viewed as a commandment of supreme importance, and the entrance of a male child into the eternal covenant with G-d as a day of great and surpassing joy. “Great is circumcision,” says the Midrashic interpretation of Jeremiah 33:25, “for had it not been for circumcision the Holy One Blessed Be He would not have created the world, as it is said: “Thus says G-d: had it not been for the observance of my Covenant (brit) day and night, I would not have made the natural order of heaven and earth.’”

Brit Milah is the abiding symbol of the consecration of the children of Abraham to theG-d of Abraham.  The mitzvah of circumcision is the first commandment a person participates in, at the age of just eight days.  It is unique among the commandments in that its observance is neither temporary nor restricted: this is a permanent mitzvah.  Wherever Jews have been scattered throughout the world, whatever has been their level of religious observance, however they have related themselves to the larger community — brit milah has been the one mitzvah most universally observed by the Jewish people.

A brit milah has always been considered an occasion for great joy: a person is “obligated to make the day of his son’s circumcision a day of joy and festivity.” (Yalkut Shimoni 1:81).  I invite you to fully celebrating the renewal of this powerful covenant.  And to observe this mitzvah in the specific here-and-now of this family and this newborn child in Israel, in the presence of family and friends, representing the community at large.

By longstanding tradition–perhaps dating to the Middle Ages–a chair is set aside for Elijah the Prophet, who legendarily attends all circumcision ceremonies.  The baby will be placed on the chair or throne of Elijah briefly when he enters, on “the lap” of Elijah for his symbolic blessing.  Elijah is spiritually present during every brit milah, giving strength to both the mohel and the baby.

If the family has selected godparents (this is not mandatory), they are traditionally honored with the holding of the baby at the introductory ceremony. Godparents are also known as k’vatter and k’vatterin.

A distinct honor, often confused with that of being a godparent, is being the sandek, the person who has the honor of holding the baby during the circumcision on a pillow on his lap, or of being closest to the baby if a special circumcision pad is used to hold the baby (for safety reasons).  This honor is traditionally given to a grandfather (or great-grandfather) or can be shared amongst more than one family elder.