Brit mila

A brit milah for two: Welcoming life, honoring the fallen - opinion

VALERY WAS more than just a comrade. He was brave. A rock in times of chaos. A man of quiet courage and deep conviction. Bobby often spoke of how Valery made him a better soldier and a better man.

 AVIGAYIL, THE WIDOW, holds the baby at the brit.
 THE WRITER conducts the circumcision as the head of the community, standing and wearing a prayer shawl, reads from the text and names the baby. ‘What I discovered is that Kenyans love Israel,’ he says.

A mohel in Nairobi: Discovering Jewish life in the heart of Africa - opinion

 Pictures of Shiri Bibas and her children Kfir and Ariel, in Jerusalem, February 20, 2025

Ukrainian Jewish man takes name Kfir Ariel in honor of Bibas brothers

 A brit milah performed for the nephew of fallen soldier Staff-Sergeant-Major (res.) Gilad Elmaliach, November 12, 2024.

Brit milah for nephew of fallen soldier held at Valor Forum Knesset encampment


I realized the depth of my Israeli trauma after rocket exploded while circumcising a baby - opinion

My emotional tank is at an all-time low. The day marked a year of persistent stress that isn’t over. We’ve had no distance from the tragedy that we’re all still living through.

Rabbi Hayim Leiter performs a bris ceremony in Har Gilo, West Bank, on October 7, 2024.

The arrest of a mohel in Ireland has shaken me to my core - opinion

This is the first time a rabbi has been arrested for performing circumcision since the time of the Nazis.

 A mohel performs a circumcision ceremony in Israel, July 6, 2023.

Looking back on Orthodox Jewish cantor and actor Phil Sherman - opinion

My connection with Phil began as my career as a mohel was just getting started. My in-laws knew him and thought I might be interested in shadowing him for a day.

 PHIL SHERMAN effortlessly flowed from giving a sermon about the meaning and history of our sacred rite of brit milah to telling a joke, to add a touch of levity and ease the minds of nervous onlookers.

Circumcision is a human right and a continuation of legacy - opinion

Contrary to viewing it as an infringement on a child’s human rights, circumcision can be seen as a human right itself, especially within specific cultural contexts.

 THE WRITER conducts a circumcision on a twin grandson a few weeks ago.

Circumcision: The history, health benefits, pros and cons - explainer

Circumcision is one of the oldest surgical procedures in the world and holds an important place in Judaism as the brit mila. Here's everything you should know.

A man prepares the items needed for a circumcision.

Israeli baby requires complex surgery after circumcision gone wrong

The baby required long and complex surgery performed by three surgeons to treat the circumcision damage, but it is unclear if it was successful.

A ‘MOHEL’ holds a scalpel as he performs a circumcision

United Nations presents follow-up to unprecedented report on combatting antisemitism

The new report, which outlines in detail how nations can combat antisemitism, is a follow-up to a historic report from 2019.

A UN security officer stands guard during the special session on the situation in Ukraine of the Human Rights Council at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, March 4, 2022.

Holocaust survivor holds great-grandson at brit milah during Remembrance siren

Holocaust survivor Rabbi Natan Weinberg, 90, held his great-grandson during his brit milah right as the Holocaust Remembrance Day siren sounded throughout Israel.

  Israelis stand still as the siren to commemorate Holocaust victims sounds throughout Israel on Holocaust Remembrance Day, April 28, 2022.

First brit milah celebrated at Polish Chabad center for Ukrainian refugees

Chabad of Poland has been doing everything to help the massive wave of Ukrainian refugees, from providing kosher meals to even conducting brit milot. But now it needs your support.

The father of the baby, Joseph Sofron, says the prayer of the father during his son's brit milah at Chabad in Poland, and to his right, sitting with the baby on his lap, is Rabbi Stambler, the head of Poland's Chabad

Finding religious tolerance during a Croatia circumcision - opinion

I realized that he was not the only one willing to put aside his own needs for those in his community.

THE WRITER performs a circumcision.

From Maine to Yeroham: One man’s journey to his grandson’s brit

For my father, 87, the brit was the moment he had been looking forward to after a cold Maine winter on the St. Croix River, filled with snow flurries and coronavirus worries.

Harold Silverman at his grandson’s brit