Brit Milah,( Jewish Male Circumcision)
Since the time of Abraham, Jews have been required, in accordance with the laws of the Torah, to undergo this ritual. Today, primarily as a result of health reasons, many non-Jews are also circumcised.
Jews have practiced circumcision as a religious commandment for over three thousand years
The technique is different from other methods and should be judged on its own
Doctors are urged to acquaint themselves with the procedure and with the immediate post circumcision appearance and the natural healing process

The Actual ceremony
One or two days prior to the ceremony the qualified mohel visits the baby to ascertain that he is fit for circumcision. He will base his decision on his observation as well as enquiry about possible medical contraindication. A penile abnormality such as hypospadias requires an urologist's opinion. The religious ceremonial and prayers are an essential element of the ceremony but will not be detailed here except to say that this is when the boy receives his name.
In the presence of relatives and friends the baby is placed by his father on a pillow on the lap of the Sandek in a supine position. The Sandek is usually a grandfather, a rabbi or other respected personage. The Sandek is shown how to hold him with thighs abducted and his feet and knees held firmly. This is where the baby protests and why I encourage the mother to be in the room so that she can realize that the greater part of the crying is not due to the operation itself. The baby is given sugar water to drink and suck for a calming effect.
The mohel prepares the skin with a suitable solution. He assesses the amount of foreskin to be removed in order that the entire glans and corona will be completed exposed. He may decide to use a probe with which to separate the underlying membrane from the glans. He steadies the penis between index and middle finger and pulls forward the required amount of foreskin with the tips of the fingers of the other hand. The proximal section of the designated skin is then intoduced into the slit of a flat metal shield which is applied in order to protect the glans and shaft lying below the shield.
The skin is held taut and using a special very sharp knife or scalpel the skin is cut flush with the shield with one sweep of the blade. Usually part of the underlying membrane remains round the glans. It is very gently grasped between the two thumb nails and retracted in order to permanently expose the whole glans and corona. All this takes less than a minute. A firm dressing is now applied to obtain haemostasis. There is no suturing. Care is taken not to make the dressing tight enough to cause urinary retention. In our experience this is a very rare complication indeed. It is worth mentioning that many fathers and others have remarked that the baby's cry does not change at the moment of incision. The baby is then returned to his mother to be fed, hugged and loved. Within half an hour the mohel will check the baby in the presence of the parents/carers. He will particularly check that there is no bleeding and that the dressing is on satsfactorily. He will give clear instructions regarding the post-operative care and leave printed instructions with contact numbers for further guidance and to reinforce what he has already said.
Special attention must be paid that there is no bleeding, undue swelling of the glans and he must pass urine within four hours. I always emphasise that he must also be looked at during the night. The next day the mohel will remove the baby's dressing, once more checking that all is well and leave further instructions. The penis will look red and raw. Healing takes place by epithelialisation and is complete within seven to twelve days. A creamy coloured oozing from the raw area is not pus. Quite often there is a swelling which may take a few weeks to resolve. Complications are fortunately rare, bleeding being the most common. Frequently what parents describe as bleeding turns out to be a normal slifght ooze. The mohel must always be available when concern is expressed. When parents apologise that they have called me for nothing I sincerely assure then that I prefer to be called for nothing than for a serious problem!