About
Brit Milah
 By
celebrating your son’s bris, you are perpetuating one of the oldest and most meaningful
traditions of our Jewish faith.
Bris milah
means “covenant of circumcision”.
Brit milah is the Sephardic, or modern Israeli, pronunciation of the
phrase. The
custom started almost 4,000 years ago, when G-d commanded Avraham
(Abraham), the first Jew, to circumcise himself, as a
symbol of the covenant between G-d and B’nai
Yisrael, the Children of Israel. Avraham
circumcised himself when he was 99 years old.
G-d made it an everlasting mitzvah (commandment) for
every Jewish father to see to it that each of his male
children born of a Jewish mother is circumcised at 8 days of
age. If he is not
competent to perform the procedure himself, he can hire a
certified mohel as
his agent.
The
first Jew to be circumcised at 8 days of age was Avraham
and Sarah’s son, Yitzchak (Isaac).
Even though he was the first person in the history of
the world to be circumcised at such a young age, Avraham
performed Yitzchak’s
bris with great joy.
Since that time, we continue to associate bris with happiness
and joy. The
Torah teaches that Avraham and Sarah made a
festive party to commemorate Yitchak’s
bris, just as we do today.
 A
bris is much more
than just the medical procedure of removing the foreskin.
Bris milah is
the physical sign of our spiritual connection to
G-d, a
commitment to follow G-d’s mitzvot.
In fact, a bris is the first commandment a newborn baby boy is expected to
undergo. It is
such an important mitzvah
that it is said to be as important as all the other 612
commandments combined! It is a sign of our love for G-d and our commitment to
continue our faith as the Children of Israel.
Bris milah is
said to be our way of “perfecting”
our physical bodies by removing the foreskin (orlah),
signifying our closeness with G-d, and our partnership with
G-d in perfecting ourselves and our world.
In
short, a bris is a
wonderful, warm, meaningful experience that brings your son
closer to G-d and our Jewish legacy.
It is an honor for Dr. Katz to assist you in
accomplishing this special and important mizvah.
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