the other hand, requires that a mohel
possess a medical degree.
But while the mohelim interviewed
for this story agreed that being appoint-
ed for the task by the parents is a great
honor, the distinction carries a lot more
for them, namely income.
The assignation of the brit milah to
"-the mohel has become so widely accept-
ed that a veritable business has arisen.
For many parents, bestowing financial
gratitude for the service occurs some-
time between the slice of the scalpel and
the packing of the instruments.
Some have set fees, with rates averag-
ing $250 a bris, while others accept
contributions or suggest an appropriate
gratuity. And with anywhere from one
\-3E0 10 brit milot in one week, that
potentially means thousands of dollars
in additional income.
In areas with higher concentrations
of Jews, such as New York or California,
being a mohel is a full-time, highly
competitive position. Those mohelim
have permanent offices, clerical workers
who send out glossy marketing packages
to expectant parents, sophisticated corn-
--)munication devices that help them be
available at a moment's notice and intri-
cate Internet Web pages complete with
cute logos and uplinks to related sites,
describing their gentle care of the new-
born boy as well as their adherence to
Halachah.
"The mohelim in New York, now
that's a business," said Berris. "That is
all they do. Here, you are a cantor or a
-1rabbi and on the side you are a mohel.
Nobody here is trying to make a living
as a mohel."
In Detroit, a community with
approximately 100,000 Jews, mohelim
say they are happy to see each other
practicing the profession, but there is
undoubtedly competition.
To drum up business, some advertise
_their services to the community, incor-
/—porating sweet photos of serene baby

/-

a syn.agogue or temple. Additionally,
unaffiliated families who request a
Reform brit milah ceremony for their
child are encouraged to affiliate.
"The family that has decided to
have a bris is making a statement.
They are saying that they are making
a commitment to raising a child
Jewish," she said.
While the movement's view dif-
fers from more traditional strains,
Reform Judaism does not make the
circumcision aspect of the brit
milah optional. All healthy boys are

service, at times in less than ideal situ-
enduring hours of bad mohel jokes and
boys. Others use special telephone
ations.
playing untold amounts of Jewish geog-
numbers that sleep-deprived, yet deliri-
Greenbaum recalled flying to East
raphy with nervous parents and relatives
ous, parents can easily recall (788-
Jordan, Mich., to participate in a brit
in the moments before each bris.
BABY, 855-ABOY, 855- BRIS).
milah in a log cabin without electricity.
"It is a tense moment in everyone's
Marketing techniques also include
As the sun was beginning to sink below
life," said Glantz. Fainting participants
the freebie souvenir for the parents and
the horizon, he realized why rabbinic
are not uncommon either. While per-
child to mark the occasion. Cantor
sources have debated for
Greenbaum gives each
Photo Courtesy of Rabbi Avraham Cohen
decades about doing a bris at
child a pale blue T-shirt
dusk or night.
emblazoned with the
"And it was then that I
words, "I'm perfect ...
understood why doing a bris
now!" Cantor Glantz
in daylight is so important,"
hands out special kippot
he
said.
to the father and son
The hardest part for some
which are printed with
mohelim is in turning away
their English and
well-meaning parents. One
Hebrew names.
reason a bris cannot be per-
But most attract
formed is if a child is jaun-
business through word
diced or has life-threatening
of mouth or as a result
complications.
of performing a bris for
Another is the more deli-
a friend or a relative.
cate issue of intermarriage.
Cohen, who services the
Cohen said that a child born
Orthodox community
of a Jewish mother is a Jew,
Rabbi Avraham Cohen, right, an Orthodox mohel, soothes a baby
along with Rabbis
after performing a circumcision. Assisting are Arthur Weiss, left, and and therefore he has no prob-
Shaiall Zachariash and
lem performing a brit milah
Menachem Butrimovitz, Rabbi Daniel Nevins.
for that boy.
began advertising shortly
But
for
those children born of a
forming
a
bris
at
Selfridge
Air
National
after his arrival in Detroit about a
Jewish
father
and a gentile mother,
Guard
Base,
he
witnessed
a
strapping
decade ago. He dropped the ad when
Jewish identity is denied according
enlisted man collapse as the child cried
he found, like other mohelim, that his
Conservative and Orthodox standards.
Out.
clients came to him via word of mouth.
Some mohelim have refused to per-
"He was standing there watching one
"It is like finding a doctor. You don't
form a bris on a child born of such par-
minute and the next he was on the
look to an ad to find a doctor. You go
ents. Others encourage the parents to
floor," he recalled.
to a friend and ask what his experience
use the mikvah for the child or explain
There is also the slim potential for
was," he said. "For something as sensi-
during the ceremony that the bris is
that
has
malpractice,
a
nasty
outcome
tive as this, a parent wants a recommen-
being performed "for the future conver-
ended
careers
of
mohelim
in
other
dation."
sion" of the child.
It is more than money that motivates cities. Some full-time mohelim in New
"Usually, there is consensus on how
York and California carry special insur-
the mohelim from continuing what
the child will be raised before the par-
ance, but part-time ritual circumcisers
could be viewed as an unpleasant job.
ents call me," Greenbaum said. "It is
cannot afford to do so.
For Greenbaum, it is performing the
their responsibility beyond that."
"Why go to Lloyd's of London?"
mitzvah and being with a family in a
Weighing the good with the bad, all
Berris remarked. "We are not doing
time of happiness.
the
mohelim said they were glad they
heart
surgery.
It
is
so
rare
that
there
is
a
"What I really like about being a
had
chosen this route.
complication."
mohel is being with a family in their
"I love it," said Cohen. "It is a
And nearly all have gone the extra
most joyous moment," he said.
tremendous responsibility, an important
mile — or in one case the extra hun-
However, the bris business is not
mitzvah."
dred or so miles — to perform the
without its pitfalls. Mohelim speak of

,

❑

to be circumcised on the eighth day
of life.
"There is definitely an adherence
[to the traditional practice] as long as
the baby is well," she said.

Hurnantstze:

The movement allows the parents to
make the decision regarding circum-
cision. If the child is to be circum-
cised, the procedure is done in the
hospital following birth, when possi-
ble. There is no religious ceremony
marking the brit.

"The feeling is that we should
only do this when it is determined
to have health benefits," said
Birmingham Temple Assistant
Rabbi Tamara Kolton, acknowledg-
ing the debate over circumcision.
"There is nothing in Halachah that
binds us."
Instead, when the mother is feel-
ing up to it, the family has a baby
naming ceremony for both boys and
girls where a Hebrew name is
bestowed upon the child.
"It wasn't really equal for the

vs, -
girls for the boys to have a bris."
said Rabbi Koltori. "We stress
equality."
As for the timing, the movement
dictates human dignity and human
happiness and not necessarily utt`n
rst That
a hither power First.
is why the time for the baby nami n g
is set by the health 0 , f
"Eight days
child w hen. she
not be the gs ts
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ne; Lc

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•

3/20

1998

71

