Supply List and Bris Instructions
The Brit Milah (Bris)...
This will help you prepare for your son's brit milah. Please have all of
the items listed below ready for the ceremony.
Supplies:
- Kosher sweet grape wine (no Blackberry or Cherry) or kosher grape juice
- Kiddush cup or wine glass
- 6 disposable diapers
- 3 large cloth diapers OR 3 receiving blankets
- 2-1 oz. tubes of Bacitracin (with or without zinc or aloe; no Neosporin
or Triple Antibiotic ointment, please)
- 1 box of 3"x 3" sterile gauze pads
- 2 pillows — standard size
- 2 standard size pillowcases (any color; no satin, please)
- Yarmulkas (kipot) for the participants; yarmulka (kipah) for the baby
(optional)
- If the bris is taking place in a synagogue, country club or restaurant,
a cocktail table, two chairs and a wastebasket are needed for the bris set
up. Or, if the bris is taking place in the home, a bridge table will do (along
with two chairs and a wastebasket). I can also set up my things on one of
the corners of the dining room table or when I arrive, we’ll figure out the
best place to set up.
Instructions:
- The Hebrew/Jewish (Yiddish, Ladino, etc.) names of the father, mother
and baby are needed for the ceremony. Also, is the father or mother of the
baby descended paternally from a Kohen or Levi? (A naming ceremony is part
of the Brit Milah ceremony.)
- Please do not feed the baby about one hour before the brit milah. The
baby can be fed right after the ceremony.
- To reduce the baby's discomfort, he may suck on a gauze pad dipped in
wine before (if needed) and after the Brit Milah ceremony.
- A Brit Milah takes place on the eighth day during the daylight hours only.
The day of birth counts as day one. Please confirm the date, time and location
of the Brit Milah with the mohel before informing your guests. Also, please
make sure no one else in the family is making arrangements with another mohel.
- A Brit Milah can be postponed at any time (including the day of the ceremony)
if there is any question about the health of the baby. Normal physiological
jaundice is normal and does not delay the Brit Milah.
- Dress the baby simply for the ceremony. A gown, stretchy or kimono is
fine; please avoid outfits with many small buttons or the "zipper from the
neck to the foot" outfit. Instead of a t-shirt underneath, use a onesie.
- A minyan (quorum of ten) is preferred, but not required. The appointing
of Godparents is not a Jewish tradition. We do not have godparents for boys
or for girls. In Judaism, the parents are responsible for the religious upbringing
of the child. It is also a common misnomer to call the Sandak (the one who
holds the baby for the Bris) the godfather. The word Sandak comes from the
Greek word "syndikos" which means patron. Therefore, you may appoint as many
godparents as you wish or none at all. If it will keep peace in the family
by appointing godparents, then do it. Otherwise, skip it. It is up to the
individual discretion of the parents.
- It is suggested that kosher food (not kosher-style) be ordered so all
of the guests may partake of the seudat mitsvah (festive meal). The food
is served after the ceremony.
- Please, no photography or videotaping is permitted while the baby's diaper
is off or if the Brit Milah occurs on a Shabbat or Jewish holiday.
Post-Bris Care Instructions:
- Prepare for a fussy baby. Primary healing time is 24-48 hours.
- There are risks, benefits and alternatives to this or any other surgical
procedure. The risks are bleeding, infection and/or damage to the penis.
- There may be some swelling of the area (on one side or both) and you may
notice a thickness on the underside of the penis where the skin was bunched
together. Over time, this will decrease in size.
- After each diaper change, apply a sterile gauze pad treated with a healthy
amount of ointment for 3-5 days. If the gauze pad sticks, leave it alone
until it comes off by itself. Put the new gauze pad with ointment on top
of the old one, and after a few diaper changes, both should come off. If
the gauze pad sticks, soak the baby in a shallow tub of warm water to remove
it.
- Any bleeding will stain the gauze pad and the diaper. The size and intensity
of the stain will decrease after each diaper change. If bleeding persists,
apply direct pressure with a sterile gauze pad for 15-20 minutes. This should
stop the bleeding. Call the mohel or pediatrician immediately.
- If there is a bandage (which is not the same as the gauze pad--the gauze
pad covers the bandaged penis), the nurse or the parents may remove it after
24 hours. If it comes off by itself at anytime — great; if you accidentally
remove it, don't worry. If the bandage unravels, you may re-wrap it. If the
bandage sticks, soak the baby in a shallow tub of warm water to remove it.
After the bandage comes off, continue applying gauze pad and ointment for
a few more days. Your baby should have a wet diaper within a few hours of
the circumcision.
- If there is no bandage (not to be confused with the gauze pad), no follow-up
visit is needed. Parents may wish to schedule the first pediatrician's visit
within a week of the circumcision. A follow-up visit by the mohel may be
requested at any time.
- Following the circumcision, resume the baby's regular routine and treat
him normally.
- Sponge bathe the baby until the penis is healed. When the penis is sufficiently
healed (about one week) you may immerse the baby in the bath (assuming the
umbilical cord is healed, as well).
Longer term care:
No further bandaging is necessary. One may continue to apply ointment as
needed to enhance further healing. Each child is unique and the techniques
of performing circumcisions vary. Cosmetic results will vary from child to
child and are not guaranteed. During the healing process, the head of the
penis(glans and corona) should remain completely revealed. The following may
occur during the healing process: (a) The redness will last for about two
weeks. (b) Sometimes a whitish or yellowish waxy-like coating (granulation)
will occur on some babies. This is normal and part of the healing process;
it is not an infection. (c) During the healing process, the tip of the penis
may turn a bluish/ purple color or (d) a water blister may develop along the
circumcision line — this, too, is normal. For babies who gain weight quickly,
the fat of the thighs and abdominal fat pad may cover the circumcision (i.e.
the penis "disappears"). Retract the penis and use ointment to avoid adhesions.
If there is any question about the healing process or appearance of the penis,
DO NOT WAIT — call the mohel and arrangements will be made to see the baby
immediately.
Some general guidelines:
- Once again — please read and follow all instructions.
- In the event of an emergency, page me immediately at 1-917-448-2747 and
leave a voice message. For all other non-emergency questions regarding the
Brit Milah ceremony, please call me at 1-212-595-0132.
- If a question or emergency arises on Shabbat or a Jewish holiday, you
will not be able to reach me. Please call your pediatrician immediately.
After the Shabbat or holiday has concluded, please call to apprise me of
the situation. If I am unavailable at any other time, and you need assistance,
please call your pediatrician.
I look forward to sharing your simkha. As your son enters the covenant,
so may he enter the world of Torah, the wedding canopy, and a life of good
deeds.
Cantor Philip L. Sherman, Certified Mohel
New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Westchester, Long Island and Rockland.
Website: www.emoil.com | Email address:
Honors:
The five main honors, in order of appearance are:
- (Kvater and/or Kvaterin) — someone to bring the baby into the room where
the ceremony is taking place.
- (Kise shel Eliyahu) — someone to place the baby on the Chair of Elijah
and to take him from the Chair of Elijah.
- (Sandek) — someone to hold the baby during the circumcision.
- (Amidah le-berakhot) — someone to hold him during the Naming and
- (Kvater and /or Kvaterin) — someone to take the baby out of the room.
Traditionally, it is the parents of the baby who give out the honors at
the bris. Both men and women are included in the ceremony. I recommend that
parents distribute select honors in a meaningful way, rather than pass the
baby around just to include a lot of people.
The honor of bringing the baby into the room at the beginning of the ceremony
and/or taking him out at the end of the ceremony is usually given to the grandmothers
of the baby. Or, the honor may be given to a couple who have been married
for a number of years, who have been trying to have a baby and have not yet
been successful. If this is the first boy for the parents, the paternal grandfather
of the baby holds for the bris and the maternal grandfather of the baby holds
for the Naming portion of the ceremony. (If one grandfather has already served
as a sandak previously, he can defer to the other grandfather.) Placing the
baby on the Chair of Elijah and carrying him from Elijah's chair are honors
that can be given to other relatives. There are many more permutations and
possibilities (older siblings, stepparents, great-grandparents, etc.), so
the best thing to do is prepare a list of those people whom you would like
to include in the ceremony. The mohel can help you decide the best way to
distribute the honors.
Berakhot (Blessings):
Father (after the mohel performs the Brit Milah):
"Barukh Atah Adonai Elohenu melekh ha-olam, asher kideshanu be- mitsvotav
ve-tsivanu le-hakhniso bivrito shel Avraham ovinu."
"Blessed are You, Lord our God, king of the universe, who has sanctified
us with His commandments and commanded us to enter him [the baby] into the
covenant of Avraham our forefather."
Mother (on the occasion of coming through childbirth safely):
"Barukh Atah Adonai Elohenu melekh ha-olam, ha- gomel le-hayavim tovot sheh-gemalani
kol tov."
"Blessed are You, Lord our God, king of the universe, who bestows good and
who has shown me every kindness."