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Mohel

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Amohel(Hebrew:מוֹהֵל‎[moˈhel],Ashkenazipronunciation[ˈmɔɪ.əl],plural:מוֹהֲלִים‎mohalim[mo.haˈlim],Imperial Aramaic:מוֹהֲלָא‎mohala,"circumciser" ) is aJewishman trained in the practice ofbrit milah,the "covenant of malecircumcision".[1]Women who are trained in the practice are referred to as amohelet.

Etymology

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Ahistoriated initialEfeaturing amohelperforming thecircumcision of Jesus,accompanied by Mary (c. 1350)

Thenounmohel('mohala'inAramaic), meaning "circumciser", is derived from the same verb stem asmilah(circumcision).[2]The noun appeared for the first time in the 4th century as the title of a circumciser (Shabbat (Talmud)156a).[3]

Origins of circumcision in Judaism

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Main article:Religious male circumcision § In the Tanakh

For Jews, male circumcision is mandatory, as it is prescribed in theTorah.In theBook of Genesis,it is described as a mark of thecovenant of the piecesbetweenYahwehand the descendants ofAbraham:

And God said unto Abraham: 'And as for thee, thou shalt keep My covenant, thou, and thy seed after thee throughout their generations. This is My covenant, which ye shall keep, between Me and you and thy seed after thee: every male among you shall be circumcised. And ye shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of a covenant betwixt Me and you. And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every male throughout your generations, he that is born in the house, or bought with money of any foreigner, that is not of thy seed. He that is born in thy house, and he that is bought with thy money, must needs be circumcised; and My covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant. And the uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, that soul shall be cut off from his people; he hath broken My covenant.'[4]

InLeviticus:

And theLORDspoke unto Moses, saying: Speak unto the children of Israel, saying: If a woman be delivered, and bear a man-child, then she shall be unclean seven days; as in the days of the impurity of her sickness shall she be unclean. And in the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised. And she shall continue in the blood of purification three and thirty days; she shall touch no hallowed thing, nor come into the sanctuary, until the days of her purification be fulfilled.[5]

Functions

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Biblically, the infant's father (avi haben) is commanded to perform the circumcision himself.[citation needed]However, as most fathers are not comfortable or do not have the training, they designate amohelormohelet.Mohalimare specially trained in circumcision and the rituals surrounding the procedure. Manymohalimare doctors orrabbis(some are both) orcantors,and today are required to receive appropriate training, both religious and medical.

Traditionally,mohalimuse a scalpel to circumcise the newborn. Today, doctors and some non-Orthodoxmohalimuse a perforating clamp before they cut the skin. The clamp makes it easier to be precise and shortens recovery time. Orthodoxmohalimhave rejected perforating clamps, arguing that by crushing and killing the skin it causes a great amount of unnecessary pain to the newborn, cutting off the blood flow completely, which according toJewish lawis dangerous to the child and strictly forbidden, and also renders theorlah(foreskin) as cut prior to the proper ritual cut.[6][7][8]

Mohelbookfrom Hegenheim (F), dated between 1805 and 1849. Today in theJewish Museum of Switzerland'scollection.

Under Jewish law,mohalimmustdraw blood from the circumcision wound.Mostmohalimdo it by hand with a suction device,[9][10][11][12]but some follow the traditional practice of doing it by mouth. TheCenters for Disease Control and Preventionissued a warning in 2012 about the health implications of the latter practice, citing eleven cases of neonatalherpes simplex virus(HSV) and two recorded fatalities.[13]A 2013 review of cases of neonatal HSV infections in Israel identified ritual circumcision as the source of HSV-1 transmission in 31.8% of the cases.[14]

Manymohalimcontinue the practice of listing the names and birthdates of the boys they circumcise inlittle booklets.These books have become important documents for genealogical scholarship. Increasingly, these notes on circumcision are being digitized.[15]

Women

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According to traditional Jewish law, if no Jewish male expert is available, a Jewish woman who has the required skills is also authorized to perform the circumcision.[16]Non-Orthodox Judaism allows women to bemohalot(מוֹהֲלוֹת‎,plural ofמוֹהֶלֶת‎,'mohelet',feminine ofmohel), without restriction. In 1984,Deborah Cohenbecame the first Reform Jewishmoheletto be certified (by the Berit Mila Program of Reform Judaism).[17]

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References

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  1. ^Lawrence, Eliezer (December 18, 2019)."What is A Mohel?".www.FamilyMohel.com.
  2. ^Maslin, Simeon J. (1979).Gates of Mitzvah: A Guide to the Jewish Life Cycle.Central Conference of American Rabbis.Committee on Reform Jewish Practice. p.70.The term mohel (ritual circumciser) is derived from milah (circumcision).
  3. ^Bloch, Abraham P. (1980).The Biblical and historical background of Jewish customs.KTAV Publishing House. p.10.ISBN9780870686580.Beginning with the fourth century, the term mohel (mohala in Aramaic) appeared for the first time as the title of a circumciser (Shabbat156a).
  4. ^Genesis 17:9–14
  5. ^Leviticus 12:1–3
  6. ^Gesundheit; et al. (August 2004)."Neonatal genital herpes simplex virus type 1 infection..."Pediatrics.114(2): e259-63.doi:10.1542/peds.114.2.e259.PMID15286266.Retrieved2 February2015.
  7. ^Gesundheit; et al. (February 2005). "Infectious complications with herpes virus after ritual Jewish circumcision: a historical and cultural analysis".Harefuah(in Hebrew).144(2): 126–32, 149, 148.PMID16128020.
  8. ^Ben-Yami, Hanoch (2013)."Circumcision: What should be done?".J Med Ethics.39(7): 459–462.doi:10.1136/medethics-2012-101274.PMID23760731.S2CID8878760.Retrieved2 February2015.
  9. ^Hartog, Kelly (17 February 2005)."Death spotlights old circumcision rite".JewishJournal.com.Retrieved2 February2015.
  10. ^Rabbi probed for circumcised infants' herpes,nbcnews.com, 2 February 2005. Retrieved 2 February 2015.
  11. ^Distel, R; Hofer, V; Bogger-Goren, S; Shalit, I; Garty, BZ (2003). "Primary genital herpes simplex infection associated with Jewish ritual circumcision".Isr Med Assoc J.5(12): 893–94.PMID14689764.
  12. ^Yossepowitch, O; Gottesman, T; Schwartz, O; Stein, M; Serour, F; Dan, M (June 2013)."Penile herpes simplex virus type 1 infection presenting two and a half years after Jewish ritual circumcision of an infant".Sex Transm Dis.40(6): 516–17.doi:10.1097/olq.0b013e31828bbc04.PMID23680909.S2CID9800836.
  13. ^Baum, SG (8 June 2012)."CDC: Neonatal HSV Infection from Circumcision-Related Orogenital Suction".Morb Mortal Wkly Rep.61:405–409.Retrieved2 February2015.
  14. ^Amir Koren; et al. (2013)."Neonatal Herpes Simplex virus infections in Israel"(PDF).Pediatr Infect Dis J.32(2): 120–23.doi:10.1097/inf.0b013e3182717f0b.PMID23334339.S2CID46492038.Retrieved2 February2015.
  15. ^Lubrich, Naomi, ed. (2022).Birth Culture. Jewish Testimonies from Rural Switzerland and Environs(in German and English). Basel. pp. 54–123.ISBN978-3796546075.{{cite book}}:CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  16. ^Talmud Avodah Zarah 27a; Menachot 42a; Maimonides' Mishneh Torah, Milah, 2:1;Shulkhan Arukh,Yoreh De'ah, 264:1
  17. ^"Berit Mila Program of Reform Judaism".beritmila.org.Archived fromthe originalon 7 October 2013.Retrieved2 February2015.
  18. ^"A Maccababy's Gotta Do What a Maccababy's Gotta Do".Nicktoons. 7 December 2015 – via YouTube.
  19. ^Rovzar, Chris (October 19, 2009)."'He's the Busiest Mohel in New York'".New York Magazine.RetrievedAugust 15,2023.
  20. ^Cramer, Philissa (August 10, 2023)."Cantor Philip Sherman, the 'busiest mohel in New York,' dies at 67".Jewish Telegraphic Agency.RetrievedAugust 15,2023.
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