Mohel Interview Series
Dr. Yosef Glassman
August, 2011 - Rabbi Shira Shazeer
Whether you know in advance you’re having a boy or you find out at birth, choosing a mohel (ritual circumcision specialist) can be a nerve-wracking decision if you don’t know who to ask. We’re lucky to have a long list of choices in Boston which should allow each family to choose a mohel whose procedure and style they feel most comfortable with. But it’s a big job to call them all and figure out what the differences are between them. We’re conducting interviews with as many of the mohalim (pl. mohel) in the Boston area as we can, asking the questions parents want to know, and passing that information on to you. Watch the video to get a feel for what it’s like to meet the mohel, and find more information, questions and answers below.
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Questions and Answers
How did you decide to become a mohel?
I wanted to blend my medical background with my Jewish practice. This was an exciting way to do both.
What about it do you find compelling?
I find that it is the most important mitzvah [commandment] in the Torah, according to the Shulchan Oruch (Code of Jewish Law) and it is initiating a young Jew into a world of the Torah.
Can you tell me a bit about your procedure, what kind of instruments you use (and how they are sterilized), how long it takes...?
My instruments are autoclaved in a professional machine. They are sterilized and wrapped each time anew. The knife (barzel) is disposable and only used once. I do NOT use clamps in accordance to Israeli standards and FDA recommendations. I simply use the 'magen' a flat non-mobile plate that protects the glans, similar to ones used over the past several hundred if not thousands of years. Traditional with a flare for hygiene. The actual bris takes 5 minutes. The ceremony is 20 minutes.
What is your approach to pain relief, and why?
I prefer natural pain relief (breast feeding 30 minutes prior and sweet wine during the ceremony). I don't recommend an anesthetic, since it is a drug and babies don't always react well to drugs at that age. If the parents insist, there are some safe ways of approaching this.
What about restraining the baby? Do you use a restraining board, have someone hold the baby on a table, or on their knees?
Legs are held by the sandek [honored guest / something like a God-parent]. No restraining board.
Do you practice metzitza (suctioning the wound)? If so, what is your method?
Yes, with a glass tube, as Israeli Board of Health standards dictate.
Which elements of your procedure are you willing or able to adjust at parents’ request?
I am willing to use some superficial alcohol/lidocaine wipes for pain if parents require it, but no internal injections.
Can you tell me about the ceremony you conduct? What’s your style?
Traditional style with Hebrew chanting. I sing & chant the verses. Explanations and questions come later. I am pretty serious during the ceremony, but I try to make everyone at ease before and after.
What do you like to emphasize as the significance of the bris?
This is the boy's primary and foremost physical connection with the Infinite from the 8th day on. It is a responsibility often more significant than the bar-mitzvah as its repercussions are in the flesh, and everlasting.
Do you have any guidelines for guests who the parents ask to participate in the ceremony?
Don't be nervous!
Do you like working with the family’s Rabbi or Cantor if they have one? How do you work with or accommodate families who want to craft a personalized ceremony?
I prefer when the rabbi is able to give the baby the name and the bracha [blessing].
What is the best way for parents to contact you and the best timing? What can parents expect when they contact you to ask you to perform the bris?
Call me anytime! 617-610-9416 is my cell. They can expect me to accommodate my schedule for them and this important mitzvah!
How do you ask parents to prepare themselves and the baby?
Say King David's Tehillim (Psalms) on the night before. Make sure the baby is well and not jaundiced, and without fever, even on the day of the bris; it can always be postponed and best to do so if necessary.
What happens after the Bris? Do you follow up with parents? What if the parents are concerned about something?
I visit both the day prior and the day after the bris. They can always call my cell phone anytime in between.
Do you work with interfaith couples, same-sex couples, adopted children? Do any of these issues change how you conduct the bris?
If the baby is Jewish (mother is Jewish) I will do the bris. The mother of the baby needs to be Jewish, since the mother is not only the source of mitochondrial DNA, but, more importantly, the baby's soul. Traditional Judaism places the female as the conduit for Jewish spirituality in the world. Men are born imperfect, hence the bris, to start fixing this imperfection. If a baby is doing the bris for conversion purposes, the parents need to be committed to raising the child as a mitzvah-observing Jew, since the bris is the first in a series and the physical foundation of mitzvos for the boy.
How did you decide to become a mohel?
I wanted to blend my medical background with my Jewish practice. This was an exciting way to do both.
What about it do you find compelling?
I find that it is the most important mitzvah [commandment] in the Torah, according to the Shulchan Oruch (Code of Jewish Law) and it is initiating a young Jew into a world of the Torah.
Can you tell me a bit about your procedure, what kind of instruments you use (and how they are sterilized), how long it takes...?
My instruments are autoclaved in a professional machine. They are sterilized and wrapped each time anew. The knife (barzel) is disposable and only used once. I do NOT use clamps in accordance to Israeli standards and FDA recommendations. I simply use the 'magen' a flat non-mobile plate that protects the glans, similar to ones used over the past several hundred if not thousands of years. Traditional with a flare for hygiene. The actual bris takes 5 minutes. The ceremony is 20 minutes.
What is your approach to pain relief, and why?
I prefer natural pain relief (breast feeding 30 minutes prior and sweet wine during the ceremony). I don't recommend an anesthetic, since it is a drug and babies don't always react well to drugs at that age. If the parents insist, there are some safe ways of approaching this.
What about restraining the baby? Do you use a restraining board, have someone hold the baby on a table, or on their knees?
Legs are held by the sandek [honored guest / something like a God-parent]. No restraining board.
Do you practice metzitza (suctioning the wound)? If so, what is your method?
Yes, with a glass tube, as Israeli Board of Health standards dictate.
Which elements of your procedure are you willing or able to adjust at parents’ request?
I am willing to use some superficial alcohol/lidocaine wipes for pain if parents require it, but no internal injections.
Can you tell me about the ceremony you conduct? What’s your style?
Traditional style with Hebrew chanting. I sing & chant the verses. Explanations and questions come later. I am pretty serious during the ceremony, but I try to make everyone at ease before and after.
What do you like to emphasize as the significance of the bris?
This is the boy's primary and foremost physical connection with the Infinite from the 8th day on. It is a responsibility often more significant than the bar-mitzvah as its repercussions are in the flesh, and everlasting.
Do you have any guidelines for guests who the parents ask to participate in the ceremony?
Don't be nervous!
Do you like working with the family’s Rabbi or Cantor if they have one? How do you work with or accommodate families who want to craft a personalized ceremony?
I prefer when the rabbi is able to give the baby the name and the bracha [blessing].
What is the best way for parents to contact you and the best timing? What can parents expect when they contact you to ask you to perform the bris?
Call me anytime! 617-610-9416 is my cell. They can expect me to accommodate my schedule for them and this important mitzvah!
How do you ask parents to prepare themselves and the baby?
Say King David's Tehillim (Psalms) on the night before. Make sure the baby is well and not jaundiced, and without fever, even on the day of the bris; it can always be postponed and best to do so if necessary.
What happens after the Bris? Do you follow up with parents? What if the parents are concerned about something?
I visit both the day prior and the day after the bris. They can always call my cell phone anytime in between.
Do you work with interfaith couples, same-sex couples, adopted children? Do any of these issues change how you conduct the bris?
If the baby is Jewish (mother is Jewish) I will do the bris. The mother of the baby needs to be Jewish, since the mother is not only the source of mitochondrial DNA, but, more importantly, the baby's soul. Traditional Judaism places the female as the conduit for Jewish spirituality in the world. Men are born imperfect, hence the bris, to start fixing this imperfection. If a baby is doing the bris for conversion purposes, the parents need to be committed to raising the child as a mitzvah-observing Jew, since the bris is the first in a series and the physical foundation of mitzvos for the boy.