How to Plan a Bris

Mazel tov! You have a beautiful boy--and eight days to plan a bris (also called a Brith Milah), when the baby is circumcised and receives his Hebrew name. A bris is one of the rare Jewish life-cycle rituals that can be performed on Shabbat or even High Holidays. Don't forget the bagels and lox!

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

1. Choose a mohel to perform the ritual circumcision. Ask for a recommendation from your rabbi, cantor or Jewish friends who have boys. You can even find listings on the Internet. You should line up a mohel well before the birth (if you know the sex).
2. Ask candidates the following questions:
3. Get the mohel's clearance that the baby is healthy enough for the bris. Sometimes the pediatrician will intervene and say the baby is too sick or weak. Under these circumstances you can postpone the bris until the baby is well enough.
4. Select a place to have the ceremony. Hold it in your synagogue as part of the daily morning services, or have it in your home. If there are health considerations, the mohel might opt to do the circumcision in the hospital.
5. Spread the word. The only people required to attend are the parents, the baby, the mohel, and the sandek, who is most often the baby's grandfather and who is responsible for holding the baby during the circumcision and when he receives his Jewish name.
6. Decorate the house or synagogue with flowers and candles.
7. Hire a caterer or rely on friends and family to bring food. Even if you don't observe kashruth (the Jewish dietary laws), make sure to serve foods that will accommodate the rabbi's and mohel's preferences. Fruits, vegetables and fish are always safe choices.

Tips & Warnings

• If you will be holding the Brith Milah at your home, provide yarmulkes (skull caps) for all the men, even non-Jewish ones.
• Ask the mohel if it's alright for both men and women to participate in the ceremony and what part non-Jews can play.
• Ask a special guest to make the hamotzi (blessing over the bread) before the meal begins.
• Take plenty of pictures and video (if the mohel and rabbi approve).
• A bris is usually held in the morning of the eighth day after the baby's birth. For example, if your son was born late Tuesday night, you might schedule his bris for Wednesday morning of the following week.
• Traditionally, people aren't invited to attend a bris, but are notified and encouraged to come. You won't have a lot of advance notice, so it's usually best to use word of mouth, a phone tree and e-mail.