The Hebrew word bris (Ashkenazic pronunciation) or brit (Sephardic or Israeli pronunciation) means “covenant.” The word milah means
“circumcision,” so that the full name of the ceremony is brit milah or bris
milah, the covenant of circumcision. The person who does the circumcision is a mohel
(Hebrew), or moyel (Yiddish).
In Genesis, chapter 12,
God chooses Abraham to be the patriarch of a people who are given the task of
going forth and making the world a better place. Abraham accepts the task and chooses God to be his God. As a reward for taking on this role,
Abraham is promised fertility, is told that he will be the father of a
multitude of nations and will have an uncountable number of descendents, and is
told that his people will eventually inherit the land of Israel. The sign of this covenant between God,
Abraham, and Abraham’s descendants, is circumcision. God instructs Abraham to circumcise himself (at the age of
99!), and tells him that throughout the generations, all males shall be
circumcised at the age of 8 days, so that this covenant shall be marked in the
flesh as an everlasting pact.
The mitzvah of brit milah has
been observed by Jews for close to 4,000 years. It is the first positive commandment given in the Torah, the
most consistently observed, and is a fundamental part of Judaism. Arranging a bris for a newborn boy makes a statement about his identity early
in his life, and the ceremony is powerful, joyful, and links the baby with past
and future generations.
The bris is done on the 8th day counting the delivery day as
day 1, so that, in general, it is done on the same day of the next week. For example, a baby born on Tuesday has
his bris the next Tuesday. Because the Hebrew calendar considers
the day to start at sundown, a birth after sundown on a Tuesday is considered
to have occurred on Wednesday, and the bris
is then done on the next Wednesday.
The bris is done on the 8th
day even if it is Shabbat or a holiday.
There are some rabbinical edicts which will very occasionally result in
the bris being done on a different
day, and we can discuss these, if appropriate, on an individual basis, but
basically it’s the same day of the next week. The ceremony should be done during daylight hours, not at
night. If the baby is ill or if
there is a medical reason to postpone the procedure, then it should be delayed
until the baby is healthy, in which case it should not be scheduled for Shabbat
or a holiday. It may never be done
prior to the 8th day.
Honorary roles or readings
during the bris ceremony can be given
to non-Jewish friends or relatives if desired.
Most frequently, brisses
are done in the home. However, I
have done brisses in synagogues, restaurants, function rooms, and other
places. All you need is the baby,
the family, and the eighth day!
One of the best sources
for additional reading is The New Jewish
Baby Book by Anita Diamant (Jewish Lights Publishing).
