Rav Amram Fried, a renowned posek in Bnei Braq, was asked an interesting question about a remote bris. Someone had traveled to Los Angeles for business. While there a grandson was born and he was unable to return in time for the bris, so he would have to participate via Zoom. 

The Rama rules in Shulchan Aruch that a woman should preferably not serve as sandek at the bris of a baby, if a man is available, due to it being considered immodest.

This is Chabad shliach to Chiapas Mexico, Mendy Turgeman, putting tefillin on someone protesting with a big sign against bris mila. In the comments on the picture people were criticizing him and demanding an explanation how he could put tefillin on someone like that. he basically explained that he has a mitzva to love him as a Jew, and the protester has a mitzva to put on tefillin, despite his opinion on bris mila. The protester agreed to put the tefillin on as long as he wouldnt have to put down his sign. He said he is opposed to bris but has no problem with tefillin

People are so concerned about the CoronaVirus that they are pushing off circumcisions because of it.

According to Arutz7 many mohels are reporting on cancellations because of CoronaVirus. Parennts are concerned and figure they will wait until later when everything calms down.

While mohels are encouraging parents to do it now with small ceremonies with just family and everyone staying more than 2 meters apart (though I am not sure how the mohel, baby, sandek, at minimum, can be far enough apart), and even to have a younger sandek  - younger than 50 years old - it is becoming a common theme for parents to decide to wait and not do it now.
Also, according to a Haredi news twitter feed called "Haskupim", Rav Chaim Kanievsky has decided that now he will not attend any more bris ceremonies even as sandek, because of the CoronaVirus issue. He normally is sandek multiple times every day. According to the news blurb, 4 bris ceremonies that were scheduled for tomorrow have been canceled. I hope, but am not sure, that "canceled" just means canceled in relation to it being in his shul and having Rav Kanievsky as sandek, but it will still go on elsewhere.

This is a big problem. I don't know if it is practical to perform the bris mila in one of those protective hazmat suits. Metzitza b'Peh, if done, would be difficult with the mask and whatnot. Maybe a number of mohels could be screened in advance and given the all clear to be used for circumcisions now, with testing or follow-up weekly visits to make sure nothing has changed.

An interesting question was presented to Rav Dovid Yosef.

Father had a baby boy. Father is a baal teshuva with a strained relationship with his father, since he became frum. Father learns in kollel in Bnei Braq, and since he became frum, Grandfather pulled the plug and does not support him - even to the point that he refused to help with the wedding, of his only son, when Father got married.

So now Father is making a bris. He called Grandfather and invited him to the bris and invited him with the honor of being sandak. Grandfather has a problem though. On the baby's 8th day, the day of the bris, Grandfather is scheduled to be abroad in a business meeting - a trip that he cannot cancel.

So, Grandfather made Father an offer. Grandfather offered Father to buy him a 4 room apartment in Bnei Braq if he would agree to push the bris off one day, giving him time to return in time for the bris and to be sandak.

Father sent the question to Rav Dovid Yosef asking if he could push off the bris one day, as the Rama writes by the halachos of the esrog that one need not take a loss of a lot of money (1/5th value of an object) in order to perform the mitzva, and he referred to opinions that apply the Rama's statement to bris mila as well. Father said, receiving this gift of an apartment would save him 3000nis each month from rental payments, which he said is more than 1/5 loss if he would pass up the gift of an apartment in exchange for the bris.

According to Kikar, Rav Yosef responded by pointing Father to the writing of Rav Ovadia Yosef, his father, who deliberated between the issue of pushing off a mitzva that needs to be done, which could be a "bittul aseh", versus the loss of significant money that Father would incur if he does not take the apartment and does not push off the bris. Rav Yosef left the decision in Father's hands, essentially saying either side of the debate is legitimate, and he should follow the opinion that speaks to him more or that he feels is more correct.

I don't know of any source for this being a factor, but I am surprised it was not at least part of the question - that being, if he would push it off by a day and be able to honor his father, it would go a long way in healing the rift in the family, while rejecting Grandfather's request would probably even make it worse. Again, I am not aware of a source that would allow that to be a factor in delaying a bris, but there might be such an opinion and at least it could have been asked and discussed, even if ultimately rejected.

The custom to daven for one's needs by a bris when the baby cries is well known and has been considered a segula. The idea, that I have heard, is that Eliyahu Hanavi is present at every bris and when the baby cries it arouses God's mercy and in Eliyahu's merit, or with him as a messenger, one's prayers will be answered.

Someone just asked Rav Benzion Mutzafi what the source is for this custom.

According to a report on Kikar, Rav Mutzafi responded that there is no source. Rav Mutzafi said the entire thing is made up - it is not a custom and not a segula - there is no source for it. Even more so, the opposite is actually true - those present at a bris merit to receive an extar neshama (similar to on Shabbos, I guess), but when the baby cries and feels the moment of pain, all the guests lose their neshama and all that remains is the nefesh. In order to get the neshama back, Rav Mutzafi says, the people at the bris make the bracha on besamim, similar to what happens on Motzei Shabbos.

I must say, that does not sound better and more reasonable to me.
1. Even worse - at Ashkenazi circumcisions they do not normally pass around spices or herbs to bless and smell. Do the guests at an ashkenazi bris not get their neshama back until the coming Shabbos?
2. Why should the baby's cries make all the people present lose their neshamas?
3. It sounds like those present lose both neshamas. Do people really not have a neshama until the spices come out or is it only the extra one? At the end of the bris, does the extra neshama leave on its own? What does the extra neshama do while it is with us?

this is pretty bad. can you imagine finding out that your mohel was no good so your mila is invalid and you have to do it again? Bad enough at 8 days, can you imagine having to redo it at 20 or 30 or 50 years old???

According to this report, a mohel from Russia, in the Saratov region, was invalidated by the Vaad Harabonim of the area due to it having been discovered that in 1991 he went to a festival in Zitomar in the Ukraine and at the festival ate pork. The rabbonim decided that this mohel was unreliable and unfaithful. He kept his secret hidden for 6 years until it became known, but in the meantime had circumcised 150 Jewish babies.

1997 is more than 20 years ago, so I dont know why they are only deciding this now, but still, can you imagine being told you have to redo your bris at age 25? Hopefully the rabbonim will only require the extraction of a drop of blood rather than some more invasive medical procedure..

MK Elazar Stern (Yesh Atid) has proposed a law that will surely be knocked down by coalition members.

Stern's proposal is to regulate the circumcision industry. Currently, mohalim in Israel are not supervised by any governing body. Stern's law would have some sort of committee made up jointly by the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Religious Affairs - this committee will supervise the industry, set standards and criteria, and give certification to qualified mohalim.

The law would prohibit anybody from offering his services as a mohel unless he meets all the qualifications as set forth within the proposed law in the realm of hygienic standards, training, internships, and more. Violation of this would subject the violator to a punishment of up to 3 years in prison.

Stern has explained in his proposal that circumcision is a religious commandment and most circumcisions in Israel are performed by mohalim who are not doctors, with a minority of them performed by mohalim who are also doctors. While the "doctor mohalim" are subject to supervision and regulation by the medical industry, the majority of mohalim, who are not doctors, have no supervision and no guidelines by which they must work. Currently there is also no legal method of dealing with complaints against mohalim or for investigating medical complications resulting from the circumcision, along with no set of minimum standards for practicing as a mohel.
source: Kipa

I suspect the key word in all that is "hygienic standards", and that is what will cause coalition ministers to oppose it. They will see this as an attempt, even if not immediate, to ban the practice of metzitza b'peh.

Another reason they will oppose it will be simply because they do not like Elazar Stern and see anything he does in the realm of religious legislation as meddling to lower religious standards. I would hope that if they do oppose it just because of who proposed it that they come up with their own proposal to the same end - even if some of the details will be different.

It does not make sense that circumcision is not regulated by the State while far less serious realms (in the terms of actual physical safety) are, while almost all Jewish male babies undergo this procedure.

We have seen new parents offering for sale the right to name their baby.

I think this might be a little bit stranger. Kikar is reporting on an advertisement in a newspaper (they don't say which) in which a person says he cannot fast on 17 Tammuz and therefore is looking to buy the right to be sandek at a bris. Being that a sandek would not have to fast, he is willing to pay up to $1000 for this right.



Supposedly they called him and he confirmed it, and added that he will only considering buying the sandek rights from a shabbos-observant family. I don't know what is wrong with being sandek at the bris of the baby of a non-shabbos-observant family, as such a sandek still would not fast and it would be the same "segula" and honor, but that is what he wants.

It is definitely a unique way of getting out of a fast, albeit expensive. He probably also figures it is worth spending a lot of money on as being sandek is  considered a segula for attaining wealth. He probably just figures he'll get his money back sooner or later.

Unless this is a 13 year old child fasting for the first time (or avoiding fasting), I wonder if he has done this before or if he has fasted before. And, what does he plan to do on Tisha B'av and Yom Kippur that are even longer fasts and this solution won't really help.

With the birth of a baby boy (Theodore James) to Ivanka Trump (Kushner), I wonder - are there any issues with having a non-Jew participate in a significant way with the bris ceremony? Could Donald be the sandek or amida l'brachos?

I am pretty sure that in actual halacha there is no problem, as only the mohel would likely have any actual halachic restrictions and qualifications, but I wonder if there is some sort of halachic or spiritual preference to not having a non-Jew involved as sandek (for example) or if that does not matter at all.

I am sure this issue must have come up many times, especially, but not only, with converts to Judaism who want to honor their biological parents.

Any ideas or thoughts about this?

An interesting BDS dilemma..

the South African government is considering the purchase of an Israeli device that will literally save lives. The device is one used in circumcisions, and it will save lives of young South Africans who might otherwise die from botched circumcision ceremonies.

On the other hand, they feel they must boycott anything that comes from Israel.
source: Yahoo News

hmmm.. BDS or save lives?

I wouldn't be angry if they showed some integrity and said they cannot make an exception. Unfortunately it would mean more needless deaths... It is easy to boycott products you don't need anyway. The boycott is only really effective if you boycott the products even when you do need them.

On the other hand, the entire boycott is silly, and they probably use plenty of Israeli products they most likely are not even aware of.. such as chips in cellphones, laptops, plenty of other medical devices, etc.

In Kenya, a boy lost his penis in a circumcision gone bad.

one of the tribe elders was asked about the accident...

I asked what he thought of the boy whose penis was cut off. "Accidents are accidents," he said, emphasizing they seldom happen. "It is not dangerous. We have done this since time immemorial."

(source: NPR)

Perhaps we make too big a deal of the mistakes in our ritual as well? The fight to change the customs because of the minor health risk.. maybe we should use a similar approach - sometimes accidents happen, but overall it is not a dangerous procedure...

hmmmmm

Get this...

Police raid a house in a town near Beer Sheva. They have a tip of a meth lab or some other drug enterprise going on there.

The team enters the house, finding a woman in her 60s with four children. They search the house, and find some locked doors. After opening the doors, they discover the lab.

At that moment, in walks the suspect they are looking for. He runs the lab. Seeing he is caught, he gives himself up right away, with but one request. He was scheduled to then hold the bris ceremony for his newborn son, and requested from the police to allow him to do so before taking him in.

The police decided to allow it. They stopped their activity of searching the house further, and even participated in the bris ceremony. After the ceremony concluded, they arrested him and took him in. He even thanked them for being so considerate in letting him do the bris before arresting him.

The commander of the unit said that one must remember they are dealing with people, even when they are acting illegally, and he is happy his policemen were able to mesh their professional duty in carrying out their tasks, with also acting humanely and with compassion toward the suspect.
source: Kikar

I wonder if he made the leading police officer the sandak at the bris...

does this qualify for an "only in Israel" story?

A psak was just published which is supposedly similar to piskei halacha given by both Rav Moshe Shternbuch (of the Eida) and by Rav Elyashuiv..

the psak was writen by Rav Yehoshua Weissinger, of the Hesder Yeshiva Orot Yaakov, saying that there is a basis in halacha to postpone a bris to the 9th day in order to avoid chilul shabbos by family members who would drive to the bris on shabbos.

The common psak is that we do not push off the bris from Shabbos, for any reason (besides for reasons like a c-section or an issue of the exact timing of the birth), but there are opinions that say that if there is going to be definite chilul shabbos because of the bris, then it is better to push it off. Rav Wosner is quoted as being a source for postponing the bris in such a situation.

Rav Weissinger also points to rav Shternbuch who said that if the father himself will be involved in chilul shabbos then the bris should be postponed. Rav Elyashiv as well is quoted as having said that if the parents are mechalel shabbos, and will be for the bris, it should be postponed to Sunday.

Rav Weissinger adds that in some places, such as Petach Tikva, in order to avoid the problem, all circumcisions in those places, both for families that keep Shabbos and for families that do not, on Shabbos should only take place in the house of the family, rather than in a social hall or in the shul.
source: Charedim10 News

I would note that nothing is 100%. Even the rule given that in some places all circumcisions are in the home, is not completely true. I dont know if such a rule exists or not, but I asked someone in Petach Tikva and she told me that just yesterday on Shabbos she went to the shul for a bris... so I dont know how widely accepted this is

A strange but sad story in Pittsburgh.. a mohel botched a bris pretty badly.. he cut the whole penis off. I cannot even imagine how this can happen..

From CBS Pittsburgh:

A local rabbi is being sued after allegedly botching a bris, the traditional Jewish circumcision ritual, and severing a newborn boy’s penis.
The incident detailed in the lawsuit happened at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Squirrel Hill within the last year.
The Jewish circumcision ceremony was performed by Pittsburgh Rabbi Mordechai Rosenberg – who is also a mohel.
Sometime during the bris, according to the lawsuit, Rosenberg severed the baby boy’s penis.
The baby was rushed to Children’s Hospital, where doctors performed emergency microsurgery.
“If your finger, your thumb was cut off and was put back on, that is pretty exciting,” said renowned UPMC plastic surgeon Dr. Joe Losee.
Dr. Losee was not involved in the boy’s treatment and he can’t talk specifics.
But our sources say it took eight hours. The baby needed six blood transfusions and was hospitalized for nearly two months. Sources describe the reattachment procedure as successful.
Dr. Losee says microsurgery advances every day, but it’s risky.
“Sometimes, it doesn’t always work,” he says. “When you’re reattaching a portion where you include nerves, sometimes the nerves don’t heal well beyond where you reattached it. So there are limitations for sure.”
On his website, Rabbi Rosenberg says he is recognized as a “certified mohel by the American Board of Ritual Circumcision.” His site also says “a doctor’s medical circumcision, usually performed in the hospital, is not considered valid according to Jewish law.”
“That is extraordinarily serious and is extraordinarily rare,” said attorney David Llewellyn.
Llewellyn handles cases involving injury during circumcision – injury brought on by both doctors in the hospital and mohels in religious ceremonies.
“Your average pediatric urologist probably spends about 20 percent of his or her time repairing children who have been circumcised,” Llewellyn says.
According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, one in every 500 newborn boys experience significant acute complications as a result of circumcision.
“This is pretty much unregulated,” Llewellyn said.
He says there is no regulated standard for training or certification of mohels, or any place for reporting injuries from circumcision.
“There’s virtually no regulation of this any place in the United States that I know of,” Llewellyn said. “I think the government probably should require some sort of training if this is going to be done.”
Rabbi Rosenberg told KDKA “I am trained in this.” He also called the case a “tragic accident” and a “horrible situation.” But also said he continues to perform circumcisions.
Sources close to the case say, while the baby is recovering, there’s no way to know if he’ll make a complete recovery. The incident happened about eight months ago.

I do not see why it would be a problem to regulate mohels, with certification, exams, training, etc. As far as I know, in Israel there is regulation and mohels must take a test, take an exam, become certified, in order to practice. I don't know how strictly it is regulated, but it is regulated. But even with the tightest regulation, the best training, accidents can and will still happen, mistakes can and will be made, and some tragedies will occur. The regulation and training would hopefully minimize all that, but there is no perfect solution.

I don't have much of an opinion on the metzitza b'peh issue. That is because I don't really understand it, I don't know how much of it is halacha, how much tradition, how much made up, and how strong each factor is.

This announcement, however, bothers me. Agudath Israel of America is preparing to sue the City of new York if it should pass a law later this week (tomorrow?) that would require a parental consent form to be signed for a mohel to be allowed to perform metzitza b'peh at a circumcision.

In a silly part of the statement, they say they are looking for a lawyer to work pro-bono on the case. Don't they have their own team of lawyers that can do this? And if not, why announce you are lookign for a lawyer to take such a major case pro-bono? Don't they have people they can approach quietly either to donate to the cause or to be the lawyers on the case and donate their time?

To the case itself though, Agudath Israel says this requirement would be a breach of freedom of religion and of freedom of speech.

I am no lawyer, but I don't know how making someone sign a form of consent is a breach in freedom of religion or speech. It is not likely that parents will sign such a form without asking the mohel first if he is carrying any disease before he performs the metzitza, so presumably forcing the mohel to disclose such medical information is the breach in freedom of speech. That does not sound like a problem of freedom fo speech to me, but more like an issue of disclosing private medical concerns, but when sucking an open wound, parents should be allowed to know if there is any reason for medical concern, and that should be so regardless of what you think of metzitza b'peh.

Even if I think metzitza b'peh is important and the circumcision is invalid without it, I would want to choose the mohel with the knowledge that my child will be safe when the mohel does the metzitza. Why would I allow the metzitza to be done by a mohel who wont tell me if he has herpes or some other infection? A mohel who refuses to disclose that info should not be used. he is not being forced to say anythign he does not want to - he has the option of not performing the circumcision. That is not a breach in freedom of speech, but is protecting the baby from a possible medical issue.

I also don't see how freedom of religion is being curtailed by this form of consent. You want to continue doing metzitza and the City is going to continue allowing you to. You just have to say that you want it and sign your name to it. All it means is that you are taking responsibility for your decision.


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