Brit Milah is the ceremony during which a circumcision is performed on a Jewish baby boy when he is 8 days old. This ceremony remembers the covenant that God made with Abraham and is a symbol of the covenant between God and the Jewish people. It is how Jewish identity is conferred on a baby boy. Brit Milah is considered among the most important and central commandments in Judaism. The circumcision of his son is the first mitzvah (commandment) incumbent on a father.
Meaning and Significance
Contents
History – How Was it Done in Rhodes
The night before
Throughout the night preceding the day of circumcision, two people guarded the baby. Known as the shemirah or watch, this was to protect the baby from evil spirits which might attempt to snatch him away. A sword was hung in the baby’s room in order to ward off evil spirits. Those who spent the night with the baby read selections from the Bible, Mishnah, Midrash and Zohar (religious Jewish books). Rabbi Hizkiah Shemuel Tarica (19th century) of Rhodes wrote a Ladino poem to be sung on the night of the shemirah. In it, he indicates a mystical symbolism-that the blood of the circumcision should be counted as a sacrifice (korban) to God.
The day of
In Rhodes on the morning of the circumcision celebration, the kitada, or godmother carried the infant to the synagogue on cushion. She was accompanied by a joyous retinue of relatives and friends. As the group wove its way through the streets of the Juderia, people sang and danced. Some played on violins, guitars, and mandolins. The circumcision was performed in the synagogue. An ornamental chair was placed on an elevated platform and was known as the chair of Eliyahu Hanavi. The kitado, sandak, or godfather, (typically the grandfather) would hold the child on a cushion on his lap during the circumcision operation. After the operation, the kitada once again took the baby on a cushion and led a parade throughout the Jewish quarter. The rest of the day was given to celebration and merry-making.
It was customary for many youngsters to wait until they heard the baby being named. They would then rush to the home of the new parents and shout the baby’s name. The ladies who were taking care of the new mother would then reward them with dulses and hashlik, sweets and money.
(Extracts from: Stella’s Sephardic Table)
“Just as he has entered into the Covenant, so may he enter into Torah, into marriage, and into good deeds.”
BLESSING FROM BERIT MILAH CEREMONY
Today – Order of The Ceremony
Siddur Zehut Yosef: Daily and Sabbath Siddur / Turkish & Rhodes
The day of
The ceremony takes place at the family’s home or synagogue, when the godfather and godmother, kitado and kitada, are also announced. At this ceremony, a special ornately embroidered cloth is draped over a chair – Elijah’s chair, la siya di Eliyahu Hanavi – which is left empty. It is believed that the saintly prophet, Elijah, is an eternal witness, casting positive blessings over the ritual. The kitada carries the baby dressed in an embroidered white gown, kamiza larga, on a cushion and hands him over to the kitado, who holds the infant during the ritual.
It is the obligation is on the father to perform the brit milah. He can either do so or appoint the mohel (a Jewish man trained in the practice of brit milah) as his deputy. If he appoints the mohel, the father of the baby boy stands next to the mohel, picks up the surgical knife and hands it to the mohel, stating that he appoints the mohel as his deputy to perform the brit milah, the circumcision. The knife is extremely sharp, and double edged, in order to cause the least pain possible.
It is the obligation is on the father to perform the brit milah. He can either do so or appoint the mohel (a Jewish man trained in the practice of brit milah) as his deputy. If he appoints the mohel, the father of the baby boy stands next to the mohel, picks up the surgical knife and hands it to the mohel, stating that he appoints the mohel as his deputy to perform the brit milah, the circumcision. The knife is extremely sharp, and double edged, in order to cause the least pain possible.
The Sephardic custom is for the mohel to say, at this point in the ceremony:
ברשות מורי ורבני
bereshut moirei verabotai
with the permission of my teachers and the community
The community responds:
לחיים
l’chaim
to life
The father recites the blessing:
בָּרוּךְ אַתָה ה’ אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם אֲשֶׁר קִדְשָׁנוּ בְּמִצְוֹתָיו וְצִוָנוּ לְהַכְנִיסוֹ בִּבְרִיתוֹ שֶׁל אַבְרָהָם אָבִינוּ
Baruch atah A-donay, Elo-heinu Melech Ha’Olam, asherkideshanu bemitzvotav vetzivanu le-hach-ni-soh bivrito shel Avraham Avinu
Blessed are You, L‑rd our G‑d, King of the universe, Who has sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us to enter him into the Covenant of Abraham our father
He then recites the blessing of Shehechiyanu.
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ה’ אֱ-לֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, שֶׁהֶחֱיָנוּ וְקִיְּמָנוּ וְהִגִיעָנוּ לַזְּמַן הַזֶּה
Ba-ruch A-tah A-do-noi E-loi-hei-nu Me-lech ha-o-lam she-he-chee-ya-nu v’ki-yi-ma-nu vi-hi-gi-ya-nu liz-man ha-zeh.
Blessed are You, L-rd our G-d, King of the Universe, who has granted us life, sustained us and enabled us to reach this occasion.
The mohel recites the blessing:
בָּרוּךְ אַתָה ה’ אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם
אֲשֶׁר קִדְשָׁנוּ בְּמִצְוֹתָיו וְצִוָנוּ עַל הַמִילָ
Ba-ruch A-tah A-do-noi E-loi-hei-nu Me-lech ha-o-lam asher kidoshanu bmitzvotav al ha milah
Blessed are You, L‑rd our G‑d, King of the universe, Who has sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us concerning circumcision.
Then he begins the circumcision:
Those present respond:
כשם שנכנס לברית כן יכנס לתורה, לחופה, ולמעשים טובים.
Ke-shem she-nich-nas la-brit kein yi-ka-neis le-to-rah oo-le-choo-pah oo-le-ma-a-sim to-vim
Just as he has entered into the Covenant, so may he enter into Torah, into marriage, and into good deeds.
The community prays that the father merit to fulfil his other obligations throughout the child’s upbringing: to educate him, marry him off, and raise him with acts of kindness.
The mother is not present during the circumcision ceremony and after the ceremony the baby is named. A festive breakfast then takes place.
It is a custom to perform the mitzvah as early as possible on the eighth day, therefore the Sharcharit (morning) prayers would be the ideal time to perform a brit milah. The accompanying seudah (festive meal) would then be a festive breakfast. Savoury and sweet treats are offered to the guests with the mother now present to take part in the celebrations.
Menu
A circumcision song in Ladino
Alavar alavaremos
A circumcision song in Judeo-Spanish
A poem indicates the importance of the circumcision:
Perform the mitzvah with happiness,
Do not say penitential prayers this day
Let all the juderia rejoice
With Elijah, the prophet.
This day is called a festival,
The sandak, the father dress themselves up,
And do not go to work but are With Elijah, the prophet
Sign hymns with joy
During the meal of this day…
Videos
Below is a mock berit mila performed by Rabbi Solomon Maimon in Song of the Sephardi (Seattle, 1978):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PShdc-P_OoE&t=108s
The clip below is from Island of Roses (1995) — a documentary film about Jews from the Island of Rhodes who fled during World War II and settled in Los Angeles — Neil Sheff, a Los Angeles resident, explains his desire to recuperate Rhodesli traditions for his son’s berit mila, or circumcision.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9JWFHoSerM
The kitado (godmother) in another clip from Song of the Sephardi
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXpZu4cnQwU&t=16s
Video on the Sephardi custom of naming a newborn after grandparents (both living or deceased)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4MSH8T3Mc0U
NAMING CONVENTIONS
After the ceremony the baby is named. In Sephardic custom, naming children after living relatives (as well as deceased ones) is encouraged. A child is named according to an established priority. The firstborn son is named after the paternal grandfather; the second son after the maternal grandfather. The firstborn son is given the title behor, or behora for a girl. Names of sons also often reflect incidents around the birth concerning the family – Nissim, (miracles) could be given to a boy whose family were living in extreme hardship hoping for a change of fortune.
Honours to be Given
The godfather kitado and godmother kitada. Although anyone may technically serve as the kitado and kitada, it is customary to give the honour of godparents for the first newborn male to the grandparents on the father’s side and for the next male to the maternal grandparents.
Other honours at a brit milah include placing the baby on Eliyahu;s chair, reciting the brachot (blessings) after the brit, naming the baby (in some cased the last two honour are combined), holding the baby during the brachot and the naming.
Honours can also be given to the woman bringing the baby from the women’s area and handing it to her husband in the men’s section. This man will then bring the baby to the mohel.
- Marc D. Angel, The Jews of Rhodes – The History of a Sephardic Community (1978).
- Rebecca Amato Levy, I Remember Rhodes (1987).
- Siddur Zehut Yosef: Daily and Sabbath Siddur / Turkish & Rhodes Tradition.
- “The Circumcision Procedure and Blessings”. Chabad.org. Available at: https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/144464/jewish/The-Circumcision-Procedure-and-Blessings.htm.