The firstmohel(sometimes pronouncedmoyel) was a 99-year-old ex-shepherd with no medical training whatsoever. There is no record of how he performed the procedure, but given that he was his own first subject, it is unlikely thatAbrahamused an anesthetic.
An Age-Old Tradition
Things have changed since then. Circumcision–known asbrit milahor simplybris–is probably the best-known indication of Jewishness in a male (if not the most immediately visible!). It is also the oldest and one of the most widely followed of Jewish ritual practices. Abraham circumcised himself and his sons, Isaac and Ishmael;Zipporahcircumcised Gershom, her first-born son. At first, like those estimable forebears, fathers (and apparently the occasional mother) would circumcise their own sons, with a stone knife, usually of flint.
Through all the upheaval ofconquering Canaan, building the Temple, being sent intoexile in Babylon,恢复和重建the Temple, the Jews still practiced circumcision. Gradually, it became the province of specially trained men, calledmohalim(plural formohel), who were learned in the ritual elements surrounding the procedure (and probably no more ignorant of medicine than the average physician of the period).
By the period of theSecond Temple, they were using iron knives, and reciting the blessings that are still used today. Initially, thebriswas a family celebration, but with time it became a festivity that would involve the entire community. By the Middle Ages, the ceremony was usually performed in the synagogue, with the entire congregation’s active participants in the festivities.
Mohel Training
Today, themohelis considerably better trained than his historical antecedents. Or hers, as the case may be, as the non-Orthodox movements now certify women physicians for the role ofmohelet(the female form ofmohel). Historically, there were women who acted as circumcisers in medieval Italy and perhaps at other times in history. Today, there aremohalot(plural ofmohelet) in the Reform and Conservative movements.
Amohelis still trained in the ritual of circumcision according to the rules prescribed in classical rabbinic texts and subsequent law codes from the medieval period. However, today’smohelwill also have been educated in modern surgical hygiene. The Reform movement in particular has taken an active interest in certifyingmohalimwho are doctors: they undergo training in the theology, history, and liturgy of thebrit milah. An increasing number of Orthodoxmohalimare also physicians.
Mohel Job #1: Health & Safety
Today’smohelwill examine the baby to certify that he is healthy enough to undergo the procedure (unless a doctor has decided he cannot). If he is not, it must be postponed to a later date. As usual in matters of physical health, Judaism takes a cautious approach, and mohalim are generally more strict on this issue than doctors.
Mohel Job #2: Leading the Service
A bris always takes place during the day, usually in the morning, in the home or synagogue. Themohelwill lead the ceremony, which is brief, and recite all the necessary prayers. It is preferable to have aminyan(a quorum of 10) present, but not essential; abriscan be performed by themohelwith no one but the father present.
Mohel Job #3: The Snip
The procedure itself is very brief. Themoheluses amagenor shield to protect the glans and guide the knife. He may use a silver probe to loosen the foreskin before beginning.
There are three phases to the procedure:me’ilah, the actual removal of the foreskin;p’riah, the tearing of the genital membrane underneath the foreskin back to the corona; andm’tzitzah–suction–the removal of blood and cleaning of the affected area.
In ancient tradition, themohel会吸血液;这是掩饰ved to have a disinfectant effect. By the 19th century, with the advent of the germ theory of illness, Jews realized that it actually had the opposite effect. Today, amohelwill probably utilize a glass tube and a cotton swab. Themohelwill put a sterile bandage on the incision and then the boy is dressed.
According to traditional Jewish law it is technically the responsibility of a father to circumcise his own sons. Themohelis merely his agent in this procedure.
