Mohel

A ( , Ashkenazi pronunciation , plural: , , "circumciser") is a Jewish man trained in the practice of , the "covenant of male circumcision". A woman who is trained in the practice is referred to as a ''mohelet'' (plural: ''mohelot'').

Etymology

The noun ( in Aramaic), meaning "circumciser", is derived from the same verb stem as (circumcision). The noun appeared for the first time in the 4th century as the title of a circumciser (Shabbat (Talmud) 156a).

Origins of circumcision in Judaism

For Jews, male circumcision is mandatory, as it is prescribed in the Torah. In the Book of Genesis, it is described as a mark of the covenant of the pieces between Yahweh and the descendants of Abraham:

In Leviticus:

Functions

Biblically, the infant's father () is commanded to perform the circumcision himself. However, as most fathers are not comfortable or do not have the training, they designate a or . are specially trained in circumcision and the rituals surrounding the procedure. Many are doctors or rabbis (some are both) or cantors, and today are required to receive appropriate training, both religious and medical.

Traditionally, use a scalpel to circumcise the newborn. Today, doctors and some non-Orthodox use a perforating clamp before they cut the skin. The clamp makes it easier to be precise and shortens recovery time. Orthodox have rejected perforating clamps, arguing that by crushing and killing the skin it causes a great amount of unnecessary pain to the newborn, cutting off the blood flow completely, which according to Jewish law is dangerous to the child and strictly forbidden, and also renders the (foreskin) as cut prior to the proper ritual cut.

Under Jewish law, must draw blood from the circumcision wound. Most do it by hand with a suction device, but some follow the traditional practice of doing it by mouth. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a warning in 2012 about the health implications of the latter practice, citing eleven cases of neonatal herpes simplex virus (HSV) and two recorded fatalities. A 2013 review of cases of neonatal HSV infections in Israel identified ritual circumcision as the source of HSV-1 transmission in 31.8% of the cases.

Many continue the practice of listing the names and birthdates of the boys they circumcise in little booklets. These books have become important documents for genealogical scholarship. Increasingly, these notes on circumcision are being digitized.

Women

According to traditional Jewish law, if no Jewish male expert is available, a Jewish woman who has the required skills is also authorized to perform the circumcision. Non-Orthodox Judaism allows women to be (, plural of , , feminine of ), without restriction. In 1984, Deborah Cohen became the first Reform Jewish to be certified (by the Berit Mila Program of Reform Judaism).

In popular culture

* In the popular sitcom ''Seinfeld'', a played by Charles Levin appears in the episode '' The Bris''.
* In the parody film '' Robin Hood: Men in Tights'', Rabbi Tuckman (a parody of Friar Tuck, played by Mel Brooks) serves as Nottingham's "mohel extraordinaire" using a miniature guillotine.
* "Weird Al" Yankovic's song Pretty Fly for a Rabbi, a parody of Pretty Fly (For a White Guy), contains the line "The parents pay the mohel and he gets to keep the tip!"
* In the ''Rugrats'' Hanukkah episode, the characters walk through the town center of ancient Israel past a shop titled advertising a "cut rate"
* Philip Sherman, one of the most prolific ''mohalim'' in the United States, was called America's Top Mohel" and "the busiest mohel in New York" in national and regional media

References

External links

*{{Commons category-inline, Mohels

Jewish religious occupations
Circumcision