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The circumcision is done the eighth day after birth, unless ill health or serious medical problems prevent it. Even Shabbat does not stop a Bris. If such a child is not circumcised, he is nevertheless considered a Jew [San. 44a; Hoffmann, Melamed Leho-il, Yoreh De-a, #79]. However, if there are no medical contraindications (e.g. hemophilia), it is incumbent for the individual to arrange for their circumcision when medically safe to do so.
There are quite a few customs associated with circumcisions:
In the Ashkenazi community, on the Shabbat night (Friday night) prior to the Brit, the community comes to the home of the newborn to welcome him with singing and thanksgiving to Hashem on his birth, and a small meal is served including chickpeas (ar'bes). These are served as a sign of mourning: the child mourns that the angel caused him to forget everything he learned in his mother's womb (just one explanation of many for this custom of eating chickpeas).
In Sephardi communities, the night before the Brit is called the night of "Brit Yitzchak" and the community and family gather to learn the "Zohar" together, to sing special songs and have a dinner. In many places people from the community and family get together and study all night not only on the night before the brit, but also during the preceding week.
The greeting said to the newborn when brought to his bris is "baruch haba"blessed be the one who is arriving. It's a very old greeting, dating back to the workhands' reply to Boaz when he greets them in Ruth. The origin is probably a blessing God promises the Jewish people if they observe the Torah (Deut 28:6). "Blessed you shall be when you come, blessed you shall be when you go." It is part of a general covenant about getting the land of Israel, listing blessings and curses that will visit the land and the Jewish people depending upon their observance.
One does not issue invitations to a brit. This is because it is a mitzvah to attend a brit, and one tries as hard as possible to not refuse the opportunity to do a mitzvah. If you are invited and refuse, you run into this problem. If however, you are only informed of it, you have not been formally invited and circumvent the problem. Furthermore, since Eliyahu (the Prophet) will attend (the chair in which the holder of the baby sits is called Eliyahu's Chair), it is impossible to refuse an invitation.
The FAQ is a collection of documents that is an attempt to answer questions that are continually asked on the soc.culture.jewish family of newsgroups. It was written by cooperating laypeople from the various Judaic movements. You should not make any assumption as to accuracy and/or authoritativeness of the answers provided herein. In all cases, it is always best to consult a competent authority--your local rabbi is a good place to start.
Hopefully, the FAQ will provide the answer to your questions. If it doesn't, please drop Email to questions@scjfaq.org. The FAQ maintainer will endeavor to direct your query to an appropriate individual that can answer it. If you would like to be part of the group to which the maintainer directs questions, please drop a note to the FAQ maintainer at maintainer@scjfaq.org.
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© (c) 1993-2004 Daniel P. Faigin <maintainer@scjfaq.org>