A Popular Dictionary of Judaism
(Hebrew abbreviation for BRIT MILAH ‘Covenant of Circum- cision’) The removal of the foreskin of the penis. Circumcision of male children takes place on the eighth day after birth.
The child is held on the lap of the *sandak and a qualified *mohel carries out the operation. The child is given his Hebrew name and *benedictions over wine are pronounced. The ceremony is a sign of the *covenant between *God and his people and, traditionally goes back to the days of the patriarch *Abraham (*Genesis 17). Male *proselytes to Judaism are also expected to undergo circumcision.
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