Sacred Covenant

Brit mila is a special
time with many customs
for observant families.

SUSAN TAWIL
Special to SourceBook

At the "brit mila,"
great-grandfather
Sam Bakunow of
Oak Park places
the Gelberman son
on the symbolic
Throne of Elijah
the Prophet.

• sourcebook 2000 • in

t happens all of the time. People return to a
more active practice of Judaism when they
have children. That's when the reality hits:
They are expected to be role models and
know more than their kids do about their
studies.
When the doc says, "It's a boy!" things
start hopping in a traditional Jewish home.
For Southfield residents Ari and Aviva
Gelberman, who heard, "It's a boy!" and
"It's a girl!" with the birth of their twins,
things got doubly busy.
Along with making "mazel tov" calls to
share the happy news, the Orthodox couple
also contacted Rabbi Abraham Cohen of
Southfield, a mohel (ritual circumciser) to
arrange for the brit mila, covenant of
circumcision, for their son.
"We heard he was very fast and very
gentle," says Aviva Gelberman.
The mitzvah to excise the orla
(foreskin) of a baby boy on his
eighth day is based on the
encounter in the Torah between
God and Abraham (Genesis,
Chapter 17). Abraham, at 99 years
old, is commanded to perform brit
mila on himself and his
household. Thereafter, says God
(Genesis 17:12-13), "a son of eight
days shall be circumcised among
you; every male throughout your
generations... and my covenant will be in
your flesh for an eternal covenant."
The performance of mila is looked upon
as a divine signal to perfect oneself. The
commandment signifies that man is to
bring his animalistic instincts under control
and to live a life in which the spiritual takes
precedence over the physical.
"Brit mila is not the same as
circumcision," says Rabbi Cohen.
"Circumcision is a medical procedure; a
brit mila is something holy."

BUSY WITH SIMCHAS

Meanwhile, other exciting events were
taking place in the Gelberman household.
Although Jewish boys are not given their
names until the ceremony immediately
following the mila, baby girls are
traditionally named, in absentia, at the first
Torah reading after their birth.
Devorah Chana Gelberman named in
memory of her maternal grandmother was
named when her father was called to the
Torah at morning services at Young Israel of
Oak Park, two days after the twins' birth.
The Gelbermans later celebrated their
daughter's naming with a festive Shabbat
Kiddush held at their home.
Assuming the baby boy is healthy, the
Zohar (a kabbalistic text) teaches that
performing brit mila on the eighth day of
life enables every boy to draw strength from
the holiness of a Shabbat before his
circumcision. This first Shabbat of the baby
boy's life is traditionally celebrated with a
shalom zachar, an open-house style, Friday
night gathering of family, friends and
neighbors.
Vacht nacht (Yiddish for "vigil night") is
observed the night before the boy's brit
mila. On this night, it is customary for men
to study Torah in the house to protect the
baby. In a precious ceremony, young
neighborhood children come to the house
in the evening and gather around the baby's
crib to recite the bedtime Shema prayers.

EXCITEMENT HEIGHTENS

The day of the brit mila is a time of great
anticipation and excitement. The
Gelberman brit was held at Congregation
Agudas Yisroel-Mogen Abraham in
Southfield, after Shacharit (the morning
prayer service). This is the traditional time
for a brit mila, signifying the family's
eagerness to perform the mitzvah at the