IT’S ALL ABOUT THE TIMING

“And on the eighth day, the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised.” (Vayikrah 12:3)

The Torah, in parshat Lech Lecha (Bereishit 17), has already dealt with the subject of brit milah, circumcision, in detail. Why, then, is the command to perform a brit (or bris, in Ashkenazi pronunciation) repeated here in the context of impurity brought about by childbirth? The Sages derived several important laws about brit milah from this verse: “And on the eighth day” – even if it is Shabbat” (Shabbat 132a); “And on the eighth day” – the entire day is valid to perform a bris but those who act with alacrity hasten to perform mitzvoth” (Pesachim 4a); “And on the eighth day” – we only perform a bris once the sun has risen” (Megillah 20a).  Regarding the point that this command appears in the passage dealing with the impurity brought on by childbirth, the Talmud (Shabbat 135a) derives the following rule: “Rabbi Asi stated: Any child whose birth renders his mother ritually impure due to childbirth is circumcised at eight days; and any child whose birth does not render his mother ritually impure due to childbirth, is not necessarily circumcised at eight days. As it is stated: “If a woman bears seed and gives birth to a male, she shall be impure seven days…and on the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised” (Vayikrah 12:2–3). This means that if a boy is born in an unnatural way, such as via a Caesarean section, his mother will not be rendered impure and by extension, the bris does not have to be on the eighth day. These laws are extremely important when planning a bris and mohalim must carefully ascertain exactly when and how a child was born before setting the date for the bris. The questions below have come my way often as a mohel.

As noted above, when a baby boy’s eighth day is on Shabbat, the bris must be done even though this involves a desecration of the holy day. There is a famous argument in the Mishna (Shabbat 130a) regarding the extent to which Shabbat may be desecrated to perform a bris. Rabbi Eliezer ruled that even preparatory tasks could be done for the bris. Hence, one could chop wood, make a fire, melt metal and fashion a knife to perform the procedure. This involves at least four prohibited categories of work. Rabbi Akiva ruled that only tasks that cannot be done in advance are permitted for the purpose of the bris. Hence, only the surgery itself can be done on Shabbat but no other preparations. The halakha follows the view of Rabbi Akiva (Shulchan Aruch, Yoreh Deah 266:2). Consequently, the mohel must ensure that all of his dressings are prepared and his instruments are transported to the location of the bris before Shabbat. What is the halakha if the mohel suspects that there will be other forms of Shabbat desecration as a result of the bris? For example, he might be concerned that guests will arrive by car and take photographs and that the food will be warmed up. This is a thorny issue and the poskim (halachic authorities) disagree as to whether he may do the bris or put it off till Sunday instead. Rabbi Moshe Feinstein (Igrot Moshe Yoreh Deah 1:156) ruled that the mohel must do the bris but he must leave quickly so that he does not have to witness the desecration of Shabbat.

One of the questions the mohel will ask the parents, if the birth was on Shabbat, is whether it was a natural birth or a Caesarean section. If it was a natural birth, then the bris will be on Shabbat. But if it was a C-section, then as noted above, the bris does not have to be on the eighth day and consequently, it cannot be performed on Shabbat as only a bris that has to be on the eighth day is permitted on Shabbat. I have had to tell a few disappointed parents that their son’s bris will not be on Shabbat because the birth was a C-section.  Mind you, this is not at all common in Cape Town as most obstetricians only perform elected C-sections on Tuesday, Thursdays and Fridays.

Even if a baby boy was born naturally on a Friday night or Saturday, it is still possible that the bris might not be on Shabbat. The reason for this is the status of the period called bein hashemashot, twilight. Simply put, the period between sunset and nightfall (when stars emerge) is of doubtful status. Does it belong to the previous day or the next day? Is it still day or is it already night? For example, if a boy was born this Friday afternoon, 17 April 2026, after sunset (18h20) but before nightfall (18h54), was he born on Friday or Shabbat? The same question would apply if he was born during this period on Saturday afternoon. In the Friday case, the bris cannot be done the following Friday because twilight might be considered nighttime and thus Friday would be day 7. On the other hand, thebris cannot be done on the following Shabbat because twilight might be considered day, in which case his bris should be on Friday. Therefore, the bris has to be postponed to Sunday (Shulchan Aruch, Yoreh Deah 266:8). This issue is relevant even for a boy born during the week. If he was born, for example, on Tuesday afternoon during twilight, his bris would have to be the following Wednesday.

When on the eighth day should one do the bris? As noted above, any time between sunrise and sunset is acceptable but a bris cannot be done at night (ibid 262:1). However, one who is ardent in his performance of mitzvoth should ensure that the bris takes place as early as possible in the morning. Hence it is customary to arrange a bris for after the daily Shacharit service (ibid). The halachic authorities grapple with the question of whether one can delay a bris until the afternoon if the delay will ensure a large crowd or the attendance of a family member or a great Torah scholar. Another question is whether one can further delay a bris that could not be done on the eighth day due to the health of the child. Rabbi Yehezkel Landau (Prague, 18^th century in Noda BiYehuda Tinyana, Yoreh Deah 166) ruled strongly that this should not be done and that as soon as the child is ready, the bris should be done without delay. He was concerned that the child might die before the bris, resulting in the failure to perform the mitzvah altogether. Child mortality was much higher in those days than it is today. He also stated that the father was failing to be ardent in his performance of mitzvoth. 

There is also a great deal of discussion about when a bris should be done on special days, such as Purim (some say before the Megillah reading and others, after, see Orach Chaim 693:4 ); Rosh Hashanah (after the Torah reading but before shofar blowing, ibid 584:4) and Yom Kippur (before Mussaf, ibid 621:2). Some rabbis scolded chazzanim for drawing out the Shabbat service when there was a bris, as this would cause the father not to fulfill the requirement to do the bris with alacrity, as soon as possible, in the morning (see Pitchei Teshuva, Yoreh Deah 262:2). 

In brit milah, as in life, timing is everything!

Lee, Chani Merryl & Naomi join me in wishing you Shabbat Shalom!

Rabbi Liebenberg.

This week’s YouTube message: https://youtu.be/GwHR6y0axAM?si=94ZiUe0lanrCIDyA