R. Avi Billet - Mohel For My Son provided by Bravenet.com

IT'S A BOY!!!

Dear Parents,

Mazal Tov on the birth of your new son!

The bris ceremony is the first of many in the life of a Jewish boy, and you undoubtedly are looking to make it meaningful and special for your family.

Thank you for taking the time to explore this site. I hope you will find it informative and helpful in preparing for your son's bris.

There are many fine mohels out there. I thank you for considering me and the services I hope to provide for you.

Avi Billet

Rabbi and Mohel

Read my blog about bris milah and being a mohel. It has anecdotes, some humor and helpful information for new parents. Updated frequently!

The Ceremony, What to prepare

The Ceremony

The ceremony begins when the baby, typically wearing a white outfit, is brought to the room on a pillow, carried by the kvatter*. The father greets his son before the baby is placed on the chair of Elijah the prophet*. Then the baby is placed on the lap of the sandak*, who will lovingly hold him during the procedure. After the bris, the baby is wrapped in a blanket and held on a pillow by one honoree* while another honoree* recites two blessings and gives the child his Hebrew name over a cup of wine. Afterwards, all assembled participate in a festive meal in honor of the occasion.

* indicates an Honoree

Items to prepare for bris and post-bris

1 bottle of sweet kosher red wine

1 kiddush cup

2 pillows

1 small wastebasket

5 disposable diapers + wipes

5 hospital-style receiving blankets

1 small bottle of baby oil

1 tube of A&D Ointment (the gold tube)

1 box of 25 sterile 3"x3" gauze pads

2 tubes of polysporin/polybacitracin

Items in italics can be purchased at any pharmacy

Last feeding should end no later than 1.5 hours before the bris. (he eats immediately afterwards)

Aftercare

While there is still a bandage

Before every diaper change, wash your hands with soap and water
Prepare a gauze pad with A&D ointment on it, in the shape of a quarter
Open the diaper, wipe as normal � do not touch the gauze or bandage.
Before closing the new diaper, remove the previous gauze pad.
If the gauze pad sticks, either leave till next diaper change or apply a small amount of baby oil to spot that sticks, then remove.
Replace with new gauze pad, placing center of ring over glans, and pinching the sides of the pad so it forms a tent over the penis. (DO NOT squeeze the glans)
Close diaper.

Once bandage is off

First twenty fours hours, apply polysporin/bacitracin on gauze as above
After twenty four hours of no bandage, apply polysporin/bacitracin directly (no gauze) for three to four full days, at every diaper changing.
After the three or four day period, ointments should no longer be applied as the bris needs to finish healing on its own.

Bear in mind...

While the birth of a baby is a joyous time, it can also be a highly stressful time. Location, logistics, food - these will all fall into place. As parents, the number one concern is your new baby: that the bris goes well, you know what you must do to care for him post-op, and that every precaution is taken to minimize the risk of infection.

As Jews, we circumcize our sons because God commanded us to, but living in the 21st century, we recognize that circumcision is still a surgical procedure which carries with it small risks.

As for the stress, my wife wrote an article about being a mohel's wife, in which she has pinpointed the feelings a mother goes through in trying to be the perfect hostess eight days after giving birth (in some cases, eight days after abdominal surgery). Read it here.

As for surgery and hygiene, I take every precaution to maintain sterility through autoclaved instruments, sterile drapes, gloves, sterile gauze and a tube for metzitzah, to ensure the risk of infection is minimized under my watch.

My article on this subject can be found here.