Hatafat dam brit (“drawing a drop of the blood of the
covenant”) is a procedure done so that those who have previously had a
non-religious circumcision can have it validated retrospectively as a brit
milah. According to traditional law, this is a requirement for conversion
to Judaism. Some refer to this as “symbolic circumcision.” Uncircumcised males
need to undergo full circumcision in order to convert.
Baby boys born into
a Jewish family have a bris when eight days old so that they wear in
their flesh the sign of the covenant between G-d and the Jewish people. Inevitably, at the time of circumcision, some
bleeding occurs, and is referred to as the blood of the covenant. Blood is
considered to represent life, and the fact that the bleeding comes from the
male organ of procreation is felt to be very symbolic. The rabbis therefore
felt that if a drop of blood were drawn from the area where the foreskin had
been (not from the head of the penis), and if an appropriate b’racha were
to be said at the time of the procedure, then the prior non-religious
circumcision would now be considered halachically valid as a bris.
The other traditional requirements for male
conversion include a period of study (for adults) or commitment by parents for
a Jewish education and upbringing (for children), immersion in a mikveh,
and a formal conversion ceremony done in the presence of a beit din (religious
court of law).
I perform the procedure using a spring-loaded
lancet of the type used by diabetics to periodically obtain a small drop of
blood from a finger to check their blood sugar level. Any amount of blood, no
matter how small, is valid for hatafat, and the lancet produces a tiny
drop. It takes just a few seconds. The blood is drawn not from the
head of the penis, but from the loose skin (remnant of the foreskin) just
behind the head. Stretching the skin between my fingers renders the procedure
virtually painless.
I do hatafats for boys and men of all
age groups, from babies who have just been adopted into Jewish families to
pre-bar mitzvah boys to adults converting in their 60’s and 70’s. Many of
my hatafats are done at Mayyim Hayyim Community Mikveh in Newton, MA,
where I volunteer as a mikveh guide. The hatafat is usually done just
prior to the conversion candidate’s meeting with the beit din; immersion
takes place right after that meeting. Sometimes it’s done in a rabbi’s study or
in a home setting, arranged between the individual and me.
Men and boys have been undergoing hatafat for
centuries, to mark the entry into the covenant between G-d and the Jewish people.
Some rituals don’t immediately seem to be logical, but ultimately reveal their
significance over time. And rituals in and of themselves can be powerful. I
think this is the case with hatafat dam brit.
Click here to view blessing accompanying hatafat or circumcision for the purpose of conversion.
8/29/18
