Give your son his brit now

Now is the easiest time he’ll ever have

For a baby, the brit itself is over in moments. Babies typically settle quickly, feed normally, and are well on the way to healing within a week.

For a grown man it’s a different story. It needs local anesthesia, a pain plan, days of soreness, time off work, and weeks of healing. And before any of that, many men spend years carrying the question quietly, unsure who to ask. Men who come to this as adults often say they wish their parents had done it when they were babies.

What the research shows

The same study found complications in the first year of life were rare, under half of one percent. The study covered medical circumcisions, and older boys were more often circumcised for a medical reason, which accounts for part of the difference. But the direction is clear: the earlier, the easier.

A hospital circumcision isn’t a brit

If you’re planning to have your son circumcised anyway, have it done as a brit, by a certified mohel, on the eighth day. A circumcision done by a doctor in the hospital, without a mohel and without the blessings, is usually not considered a brit. Later in life he would need hatafat dam brit to complete it, or he may simply grow up not sure whether his brit was kosher.

Done properly the first time, there’s nothing for him to wonder about.

The eighth day

The brit takes place on the eighth day of the baby’s life, counted from the day of birth. Because the Jewish day begins at sunset, a baby born in the evening may have a different eighth day than you’d expect. Tell us the date and time of birth and we’ll work it out with you.

If the baby is unwell, we wait. Jaundice, prematurity, low birth weight, or any question about his health means the brit is postponed until he’s ready. That isn’t a compromise; halacha itself requires it.

Keep the record

Write down his Hebrew name, keep the brit certificate safe, and give copies to the family. One piece of paper can answer a question decades later.

Planning the day

For the practical details, such as the ceremony, the honors, a checklist for the week before, and the meal afterwards, see these guides:

• The ceremony explained
• Your brit checklist and honors list
• Checklists and aftercare
• The meal after the brit

Short answers

Does it hurt the baby?

The brit itself is over very quickly. Babies typically settle soon afterwards and feed normally, and healing is usually well advanced within a week.

Can’t he decide for himself when he’s older?

He can, but the same brit is far harder at 30 than at eight days, with anesthesia, recovery time and weeks of healing. Men who come to us at that age often say they wish it had been done for them as babies.

We’re not very observant. Is this for us?

Yes. Every Jewish boy deserves a brit, whatever kind of home he grows up in. Families of every background give their sons a brit.

What if we can’t afford it?

Cost is never the reason to wait. Tell us when we speak, and where it’s needed, a sponsor covers it.

Our son is older and never had a brit.

It isn’t too late. Call us and we’ll talk through what fits his age.