Brit milah (English Wikipedia)

Circumcision Policy Statement Archived 2009-03-20 at the Wayback Machine of The American Academy of Pediatrics notes that "there are three methods of circumcision that are commonly used in the newborn male", and that all three include "bluntly freeing the inner preputial epithelium from the epithelium of the glans", to be later amputated with the foreskin.
Gesundheit, B.; et al. (August 2004). "Neonatal Genital Herpes Simplex Virus Type 1 Infection After Jewish Ritual Circumcision: Modern Medicine and Religious Tradition" (PDF). Pediatrics. 114 (2): e259–63. doi:10.1542/peds.114.2.e259. ISSN 1098-4275. PMID 15286266. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2006-07-23. Retrieved 2006-06-28.

academia.edu

Reiner, Rami (2022). "A baby boy who dies before reaching eight [days] is circumcised with a flint or reed at his grave" (Shulḥan 'Arukh, Yoreh De'ah 263:5): From Women's Custom to Rabbinic Law". Journal of the Goldstein-Goren International Center for Jewish Thought. Retrieved 3 January 2023.

ahavat-israel.com

"The Mitzvah of Brit Milah (Bris)". Ahavat Israel. Archived from the original on 2012-02-04. Retrieved 2012-04-25.

archive.today

Niebuhr, Gustav (June 28, 2001). "Reform Rabbis' Vote Reflects Expanding Interest in Rituals". The New York Times. Archived from the original on January 30, 2013. Retrieved 2007-10-03.

askmoses.com

"Can a brit take place on Yom Kippur? – holidays general information holiday information life cycle circumcision the brit". Askmoses.com. Archived from the original on 2012-02-21. Retrieved 2012-04-25.

becketlaw.org

"Central Rabbinical Congress v. New York City Department of Health & Mental Hygiene". becketlaw.org. Archived from the original on 18 March 2018. Retrieved 8 May 2018.

beritmila.org

"Home". Berit Mila Program of Reform Judaism. 2013-10-07. Archived from the original on 2013-10-07. Retrieved 2022-07-23.
"Berit Mila Program of Reform Judaism". National Association of American Mohalim. 2010. Archived from the original on 2013-10-07. Retrieved 2010-01-23.

biblehub.com

"Genesis 17: Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers". Biblehub. 2023.

books.google.com

Glick, Leonard B. (2005-06-30). Marked in Your Flesh: Circumcision from Ancient Judea to Modern America. Oxford University Press. pp. 46–47. ISBN 978-0-19-517674-2. the rabbis go on to dedicate all of chapter 19 to circumcision .. milah, peri'ah, and metsitsah. This is the first text specifying peri'ah as an absolute requirement. The same chapter is where we first find mention of the warning that leaving even "shreds" of foreskin renders the procedure "invalid". (note: section 19.2 from Moed tractate Shabbat (Talmud) is quoted)
Cohen, Shaye J.D (2005-09-06). Why Aren't Jewish Women Circumcised?: Gender and Covenant in Judaism. University of California Press. p. 25. ISBN 978-0-520-21250-3. These mishniac requirements have three sources: the Torah, which requires circumcision (milah); the rabbis themselves, who added the requirement of completely uncovering the corona (peri'ah); and ancient medical beliefs about the treatment of wounds (suctioning, bandaging, cumin). The Torah demands circumcision but does not specify exactly what should be cut or how much.
Katz, Jacob (1998). Divine Law in Human Hands. Magnes Press. ISBN 978-9652239808.
Fredriksen, Paula (2018). When Christians Were Jews: The First Generation. London: Yale University Press. pp. 10–11. ISBN 978-0-300-19051-9.

ccarnet.org

data.ccarnet.org

"Circumcision of Infants". Central Conference of American Rabbis. 1982. Archived from the original on 2012-03-15. Retrieved 2010-09-12.

cdn.co.il

cbci16.b1.cdn.co.il

"Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2014-02-22. Retrieved 2013-04-26.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

cbci16.b2.cdn.co.il

"Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2014-02-22. Retrieved 2013-04-26.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

chabad.org

"What Is Hanukkah?". Chabad-Lubavitch Media Center. In the second century BCE, the Holy Land was ruled by the Seleucids (Syrian-Greeks), who tried to force the people of Israel to accept Greek culture and beliefs instead of mitzvah observance and belief in G‑d. Against all odds, a small band of faithful but poorly armed Jews, led by Judah the Maccabee, defeated one of the mightiest armies on earth, drove the Greeks from the land, reclaimed the Holy Temple in Jerusalem and rededicated it to the service of G‑d. ... To commemorate and publicize these miracles, the sages instituted the festival of Chanukah.
"The Circumcision Procedure and Blessings – Performing the Bris Milah – The Handbook to Circumcision". Chabad.org. Archived from the original on 2012-01-16. Retrieved 2012-04-25.

circlist.com

"Styles – Judaism and Islam". Circlist. 2014-03-07. Archived from the original on 2014-05-15. Retrieved 2014-06-11.

cirp.org

Øster, Jakob (April 1968). "Further Fate of the Foreskin". Archives of Disease in Childhood. 43: 200–02. Archived from the original on 2010-06-29. Retrieved 2010-11-14.
Gracely-Kilgore, Katharine A. (May 1984). "Further Fate of the Foreskin". Nurse Practitioner. 5 (2): 4–22. Archived from the original on 2010-06-28. Retrieved 2010-11-14.
Hall, Robert (August 1992). "Epispasm: Circumcision in Reverse". Bible Review. 8 (4): 52–57.
Rubin, Jody P. (July 1980). "Celsus' Decircumcision Operation: Medical and Historical Implications". Urology. 16 (1). Elsevier: 121–4. doi:10.1016/0090-4295(80)90354-4. PMID 6994325. Retrieved 4 January 2020.

collive.com

"Lawsuit Unites Jewish Groups". collive.com. Oct 24, 2012. Archived from the original on 2015-12-08. Retrieved 2013-01-01.

courtlistener.com

"Docket for Central Rabbinical Congress of the USA & Canada v. New York City Department of Health & Mental..., 1:12-cv-07590". CourtListener. Archived from the original on 8 May 2018. Retrieved 8 May 2018.
"Docket for Central Rabbinical Congress of the USA & Canada v. New York City Department of Health & Mental..., 1:12-cv-07590". CourtListener. Archived from the original on 8 May 2018. Retrieved 8 May 2018.
"Docket for Central Rabbinical Congress of the USA & Canada v. New York City Department of Health & Mental..., 1:12-cv-07590". CourtListener. Archived from the original on 8 May 2018. Retrieved 8 May 2018.

crownheights.info

"Assault on Bris Milah Unites Jewish Communities". CrownHeights.info. October 25, 2012. Archived from the original on October 1, 2014. Retrieved September 29, 2014.

dhengah.org

"Kuntres Hamiliuim". Dhengah.org. Archived from the original on 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2012-04-25.

doi.org

Oliver, Isaac W. (2013-05-14). "Forming Jewish Identity by Formulating Legislation for Gentiles". Journal of Ancient Judaism. 4 (1): 105–132. doi:10.30965/21967954-00401005. ISSN 1869-3296.
Cohen-Almagor, Raphael (9 November 2020). "Should liberal government regulate male circumcision performed in the name of Jewish tradition?". SN Social Sciences. 1 (1): 8. doi:10.1007/s43545-020-00011-7. ISSN 2662-9283. S2CID 228911544. Protagonists and critics of male circumcision agree on some things and disagree on many others... They also do not underestimate the importance of male circumcision for the relevant communities.... Even the most critical voices of male circumcision do not suggest putting a blanket ban on the practice as they understand that such a ban, very much like the 1920–1933 prohibition laws in the United States, would not be effective... Protagonists and critics of male circumcision debate whether the practice is morally acceptable... They assign different weights to harm as well as to medical risks and to non-medical benefits. The different weights to risks and benefits conform to their underlying views about the practices... Protagonists and critics disagree about the significance of medical reasons for circumcision...
Glick, Nansi S. (2006), "Zipporah and the Bridegroom of Blood: Searching for the Antecedents of Jewish Circumcision", Bodily Integrity and the Politics of Circumcision, Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands, pp. 37–47, doi:10.1007/978-1-4020-4916-3_3, ISBN 978-1-4020-4915-6, retrieved December 21, 2020
Berger, Itai; Steinberg, Avraham (May 2002). "Neonatal mydriasis: intravenous lidocaine adverse reaction". J Child Neurol. 17 (5): 400–01. doi:10.1177/088307380201700520. PMID 12150593. S2CID 2169066.^{[dead link]}
Rezvani, Massoud; Finkelstein, Yaron (2007). "Generalized seizures following topical lidocaine administration during circumcision: establishing causation". Paediatr Drugs. 9 (2): 125–27. doi:10.2165/00148581-200709020-00006. PMID 17407368. S2CID 45481923.
Gesundheit, B.; et al. (August 2004). "Neonatal Genital Herpes Simplex Virus Type 1 Infection After Jewish Ritual Circumcision: Modern Medicine and Religious Tradition" (PDF). Pediatrics. 114 (2): e259–63. doi:10.1542/peds.114.2.e259. ISSN 1098-4275. PMID 15286266. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2006-07-23. Retrieved 2006-06-28.
Rubin, Jody P. (July 1980). "Celsus' Decircumcision Operation: Medical and Historical Implications". Urology. 16 (1). Elsevier: 121–4. doi:10.1016/0090-4295(80)90354-4. PMID 6994325. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
Conder, C. R. (1887-10-01). "Samaritan Customs". Palestine Exploration Quarterly. 19 (4): 233–236. doi:10.1179/peq.1887.19.4.233. ISSN 0031-0328.

dx.doi.org

Oliver, Isaac W. (2013-05-14). "Forming Jewish Identity by Formulating Legislation for Gentiles". Journal of Ancient Judaism. 4 (1): 105–132. doi:10.30965/21967954-00401005. ISSN 1869-3296.
Glick, Nansi S. (2006), "Zipporah and the Bridegroom of Blood: Searching for the Antecedents of Jewish Circumcision", Bodily Integrity and the Politics of Circumcision, Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands, pp. 37–47, doi:10.1007/978-1-4020-4916-3_3, ISBN 978-1-4020-4915-6, retrieved December 21, 2020

forward.com

Kreimer, Susan (2004-10-22). "In New Trend, Adult Emigrés Seek Ritual Circumcision". The Jewish Daily Forward. Retrieved 24 August 2015.
Goldberger, Frimet (18 February 2014). "Why My Son Underwent Metzitzah B'Peh". Forward.com. MBP is believed to be a commandment from God .. Chasam Sofer clearly stated his position on MBP .. I do not know all the answers, but banning MBP is not one of them.
"No Conclusive Evidence on Circumcision Rite and Herpes". forward.com. Archived from the original on 20 October 2015. Retrieved 8 May 2018.

ghostarchive.org

Earp, Brian (June 7, 2020). "Male and Female Genital Cutting: Controlling Sexuality". YouTube. Archived from the original on 2021-11-23. Retrieved October 30, 2020. It is agreed among scholars that the original purpose within Judaism... was precisely to dull the sexual organ.

go.com

abcnews.go.com

Susan Donaldson James (March 12, 2012). "Baby Dies of Herpes in Ritual Circumcision By Orthodox Jews". abcnews.go.com. Archived from the original on April 19, 2017.

haaretz.com

Ilani, Ofri (2008-05-12). "Traditional circumcision raises risk of infection, study shows". Haaretz. Archived from the original on 20 August 2009. Retrieved 15 August 2009.
Eliyahu Fink and Eliyahu Federman (Sep 29, 2013). "Controversial circumcisions". Haaretz. Archived from the original on 2014-02-10.

hamodia.com

"Judge Rejects Injunction in Landmark Milah Suit". hamodia.com. Jewish News – Israel News – Israel Politics. 10 January 2013. Archived from the original on 26 October 2017. Retrieved 8 May 2018.

ima.org.il

Distel R, Hofer V, Bogger-Goren S, Shalit I, Garty BZ. Primary genital herpes simplex infection associated with Jewish ritual circumcision. Israel Medical Association Journal. 2003 Dec;5(12):893-4 Archived October 21, 2012, at the Wayback Machine

jewishencyclopedia.com

Hirsch, Emil; Kohler, Kaufmann; Jacobs, Joseph; Friedenwald, Aaron; Broydé, Isaac (1906). "Circumcision: The Cutting Away". The Jewish Encyclopedia. Retrieved October 13, 2020. In order to prevent the obliteration of the "seal of the covenant" on the flesh, as circumcision was henceforth called, the Rabbis, probably after the war of Bar Kokba (see Yeb. l.c.; Gen. R. xlvi.), instituted the "peri'ah" (the laying bare of the glans), without which circumcision was declared to be of no value (Shab. xxx. 6).
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Singer, Isidore; et al., eds. (1901–1906). "Morbidity". The Jewish Encyclopedia. New York: Funk & Wagnalls.

jewishideas.org

"The Proselyte Who Comes". Jewish Ideas. Retrieved November 26, 2020.

jewishjournal.com

Hartog, Kelly (February 18, 2005). "Death Spotlights Old Circumcision Rite". The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles. Archived from the original on December 13, 2006. Retrieved 2006-11-22. Metzizah b'peh — loosely translated as oral suction — is the part of the circumcision ceremony where the mohel removes the blood from the baby's member; these days the removal of the blood is usually done using a sterilized glass tube, instead of with the mouth, as the Talmud suggests.

jewishledger.com

Nussbaum Cohen, Debra (February 23, 2006). "Controversy rages in New York over circumcision practice". The Jewish Ledger. Archived from the original on April 29, 2006. Retrieved 2006-11-23.

jewishpress.com

Federgruen, Dr. Daniel Berman and Prof. Brenda Breuer and Prof. Awi. "Consent Forms For Metzitzah B'Peh – Empowering Parents Or Interfering In Religious Practice?". jewishpress.com. Archived from the original on 22 November 2017. Retrieved 8 May 2018.

jewishvirtuallibrary.org

"Tractate Shabbat: Chapter 19: Regulations ordained by R. Eliezer concerning circumcision on the Sabbath". Jewish Virtual Library. Archived from the original on 2016-04-25. Retrieved 2022-07-23.

jta.org

"N.Y. newborn contracts herpes from controversial circumcision rite". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. February 2, 2014. Archived from the original on February 19, 2014.

jweekly.com

Harris, Patricia (June 11, 1999). "Study confirms that wine drops soothe boys during circumcision". J. The Jewish News of Northern California. Archived from the original on 13 August 2016. Retrieved 22 June 2016.

lohud.com

Clarke, Suzan (June 21, 2006). "State offers new guidelines on oral-suction circumcision". The Journal News. Archived from the original on 2006-07-06. Retrieved 2006-06-28.

matziv.com

"Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-06-17. Retrieved 2012-07-09.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

mechon-mamre.org

nih.gov

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Berger, Itai; Steinberg, Avraham (May 2002). "Neonatal mydriasis: intravenous lidocaine adverse reaction". J Child Neurol. 17 (5): 400–01. doi:10.1177/088307380201700520. PMID 12150593. S2CID 2169066.^{[dead link]}
Rezvani, Massoud; Finkelstein, Yaron (2007). "Generalized seizures following topical lidocaine administration during circumcision: establishing causation". Paediatr Drugs. 9 (2): 125–27. doi:10.2165/00148581-200709020-00006. PMID 17407368. S2CID 45481923.
Gesundheit, B.; et al. (August 2004). "Neonatal Genital Herpes Simplex Virus Type 1 Infection After Jewish Ritual Circumcision: Modern Medicine and Religious Tradition" (PDF). Pediatrics. 114 (2): e259–63. doi:10.1542/peds.114.2.e259. ISSN 1098-4275. PMID 15286266. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2006-07-23. Retrieved 2006-06-28.
Rubin, Jody P. (July 1980). "Celsus' Decircumcision Operation: Medical and Historical Implications". Urology. 16 (1). Elsevier: 121–4. doi:10.1016/0090-4295(80)90354-4. PMID 6994325. Retrieved 4 January 2020.

nydailynews.com

"Another Jewish baby has contracted herpes through bris". New York Daily News. 24 December 2014. Archived from the original on 2015-12-08.

nytimes.com

"Pain and Circumcision". The New York Times. January 3, 1998. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved June 11, 2014.
"Denouncing City's Move to Regulate Circumcision". The New York Times. September 12, 2012. Archived from the original on January 27, 2013. Retrieved 2013-03-01.
"City Urges Requiring Consent for Jewish Rite". The New York Times. June 12, 2012. Archived from the original on June 25, 2017. Retrieved 2013-02-01.
Newman, Andy (August 26, 2005). "City Questions Circumcision Ritual After Baby Dies". The New York Times. Archived from the original on May 15, 2013. Retrieved 2006-11-23.
Grynbaum, Michael M. (9 September 2015). "New York City Health Board Repeals Rule on Consent Forms for Circumcision Ritual". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 16 July 2017 – via NYTimes.com.

query.nytimes.com

Niebuhr, Gustav (June 28, 2001). "Reform Rabbis' Vote Reflects Expanding Interest in Rituals". The New York Times. Archived from the original on January 30, 2013. Retrieved 2007-10-03.

onthemainline.blogspot.com

Macdowell, Mississippi Fred (2010-04-26). "On the Main Line: Rabbi Moshe Sofer's responsum on metzitzah". On the Main Line. Retrieved 2022-05-23.
"The Chasam Sofer's ruling on Metzitzah Be-peh". onthemainline.blogspot.com. April 16, 2012. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved March 23, 2015.

oremus.org

bible.oremus.org

Luke 2:21

otzar.org

tablet.otzar.org

Western Ashkenazic version of Seder Avodat Yisrael, page 739 (the link is to Otzar HaChochmah, available only to subscribers).

ou.org

Halperin, Mordechai (Winter 2006). "Metzitzah B'peh Controversy: The View from Israel". Jewish Action. 67 (2). Translated by Lavon, Yocheved: 25, 33–39. Archived from the original on March 6, 2012. Retrieved February 15, 2007. The mohel brings the baby's organ into his mouth immediately after the excision of the foreskin and sucks blood from it vigorously. This action lowers the internal pressure in the tissues of the organ, in the blood vessels of the head of the organ and in the exposed ends of the arterioles that have just been cut. Thus, the difference between the pressure in the blood vessels in the base of the organ and the pressure in the blood vessels at its tip is increased. This requirement has deep religious significance as well as medical benefits....Immediately after incising or injuring an artery, the arterial walls contract and obstruct, or at least reduce, the flow of blood. Since the arterioles of the orlah, or the foreskin, branch off from the dorsal arteries (the arteries of the upper side of the organ), cutting away the foreskin can result in a temporary obstruction in these dorsal arteries. This temporary obstruction, caused by arterial muscle contraction, continues to develop into a more enduring blockage as the stationary blood begins to clot. The tragic result can be severe hypoxia (deprivation of the supply of blood and oxygen) of the glans penis.28 If the arterial obstruction becomes more permanent, gangrene follows; the baby may lose his glans, and it may even become a life-threatening situation. Such cases have been known to occur. Only by immediately clearing the blockage can one prevent such clotting from happening. Performing metzitzah immediately after circumcision lowers the internal pressure within the tissues and blood vessels of the glans, thus raising the pressure gradient between the blood vessels at the base of the organ and the blood vessels at its distal end—the glans as well as the excised arterioles of the foreskin, which branch off of the dorsal arteries. This increase in pressure gradient (by a factor of four to six!) can resolve an acute temporary blockage and restore blood flow to the glans, thus significantly reducing both the danger of immediate, acute hypoxia and the danger of developing a permanent obstruction by means of coagulation. How do we know when a temporary blockage has successfully been averted? When the "blood in the further reaches [i.e., the proximal dorsal artery] is extracted", as Rambam has stated.

oup.com

academic.oup.com

Hendel, Ronald (2005). Remembering Abraham: Culture, Memory, and History in the Hebrew Bible. Oxford University Press. pp. 3–30. ISBN 9780199784622.

protectmilah.org

"Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-05-15. Retrieved 2013-04-17.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
"Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-05-15. Retrieved 2013-04-17.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
"Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-05-15. Retrieved 2013-04-17.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

rabbinicalassembly.org

Rabbi Avram Israel Reisner, On the conversion of adoptive and patrilineal children Archived 2010-11-27 at the Wayback Machine, Rabbinical Assembly Committee on Jewish Law and Standards, 1988

rabbis.org

"Metzitza Be'Peh – Halachic Clarification". Rabbinical Council of America. June 7, 2005. Archived from the original on April 15, 2007. Retrieved 2007-04-06. The poskim consulted by the RCA agree that the normative halacha permits using a glass tube, and that it is proper for mohalim to do so given the health issues involved.
"Metzitza Be'Peh – Halachic Clarification Regarding Metzitza Be'Peh, RCA Clarifies Halachic Background to Statement of March 1, 2005". Rabbis.org. Archived from the original on January 17, 2012. Retrieved 2012-04-25.

reformjudaism.org

"B'rit Milah: The Circumcision Ritual". Union for Reform Judaism. Retrieved 2023-09-16.
"Reimagining the Mikveh". ReformJudaism.org. Retrieved 2024-03-26.

reuters.com

"U.S. Court revives challenge to New York City circumcision law". Reuters. 2014-08-15. Archived from the original on 2015-09-30. Retrieved 2017-06-30.

semanticscholar.org

api.semanticscholar.org

Cohen-Almagor, Raphael (9 November 2020). "Should liberal government regulate male circumcision performed in the name of Jewish tradition?". SN Social Sciences. 1 (1): 8. doi:10.1007/s43545-020-00011-7. ISSN 2662-9283. S2CID 228911544. Protagonists and critics of male circumcision agree on some things and disagree on many others... They also do not underestimate the importance of male circumcision for the relevant communities.... Even the most critical voices of male circumcision do not suggest putting a blanket ban on the practice as they understand that such a ban, very much like the 1920–1933 prohibition laws in the United States, would not be effective... Protagonists and critics of male circumcision debate whether the practice is morally acceptable... They assign different weights to harm as well as to medical risks and to non-medical benefits. The different weights to risks and benefits conform to their underlying views about the practices... Protagonists and critics disagree about the significance of medical reasons for circumcision...
Berger, Itai; Steinberg, Avraham (May 2002). "Neonatal mydriasis: intravenous lidocaine adverse reaction". J Child Neurol. 17 (5): 400–01. doi:10.1177/088307380201700520. PMID 12150593. S2CID 2169066.^{[dead link]}
Rezvani, Massoud; Finkelstein, Yaron (2007). "Generalized seizures following topical lidocaine administration during circumcision: establishing causation". Paediatr Drugs. 9 (2): 125–27. doi:10.2165/00148581-200709020-00006. PMID 17407368. S2CID 45481923.

state.ny.us

health.state.ny.us

"Circumcision Protocol Regarding the Prevention of Neonatal Herpes Transmission". Department of Health, New York State. November 2006. Archived from the original on February 5, 2007. Retrieved 2006-11-23. The person performing metzizah b'peh must do the following: wipe around the outside of the mouth thoroughly, including the labial folds at the corners, with a sterile alcohol wipe, and then discard in a safe place. Wash hands with soap and hot water for 2–6 minutes. Within 5 minutes before metzizah b'peh, rinse mouth thoroughly with a mouthwash containing greater than 25% alcohol (for example, Listerine) and hold the rinse in mouth for 30 seconds or more before discarding it.
Novello, Antonia C. (May 8, 2006). "Dear Rabbi Letter". Department of Health, New York State. Archived from the original on February 18, 2007. Retrieved 2006-11-23. The meetings have been extremely helpful to me in understanding the importance of metzizah b'peh to the continuity of Jewish ritual practice, how the procedure is performed, and how we might allow the practice of metzizah b'peh to continue while still meeting the Department of Health's responsibility to protect the public health. I want to reiterate that the welfare of the children of your community is our common goal and that it is not our intent to prohibit metzizah b'peh after circumcision, rather our intent is to suggest measures that would reduce the risk of harm, if there is any, for future circumcisions where metzizah b'peh is the customary procedure and the possibility of an infected mohel may not be ruled out. I know that successful solutions can and will be based on our mutual trust and cooperation.

thejewishweek.com

Nussbaum Cohen, Debra (October 14, 2005). "City Risking Babies' Lives With Brit Policy: Health Experts". The Jewish Week. Archived from the original on 2007-05-22.
Nussbaum Cohen, Debra; Cohler-Esses, Larry (December 23, 2005). "City Challenged On Ritual Practice". The Jewish Week. Archived from the original on 2006-11-20. Retrieved 2007-04-19.
"Editorial & Opinion". The Jewish Week. Archived from the original on November 20, 2006. Retrieved 2012-04-25.
Nussbaum Cohen, Debra (September 23, 2005). "City: Brit Case To Bet Din". The Jewish Week. Archived from the original on 2006-11-20. Retrieved 2006-11-23.

traditionarchive.org

"The Making of Metzitzah". Tradition. Archived from the original on 2014-05-02. Retrieved 2014-05-02.

usatoday.com

"NYC, Orthodox Jews in talks over ritual after herpes cases". USA Today. Archived from the original on 2016-07-10.

vinnews.com

admin (September 13, 2012). "New York, NY – City Approves Metzitzah B'Peh Consent Form (full video NYC DOH debate)". VINnews. Archived from the original on December 31, 2015. Retrieved 2022-07-23.
Witty, Allison C. (September 2, 2012). "New York – Rabbis Say They'll Defy Law On Metzitzah B'peh". VINnews. Archived from the original on March 6, 2016. Retrieved 2022-07-23.

web.archive.org

"Tractate Shabbat: Chapter 19: Regulations ordained by R. Eliezer concerning circumcision on the Sabbath". Jewish Virtual Library. Archived from the original on 2016-04-25. Retrieved 2022-07-23.
"Home". Berit Mila Program of Reform Judaism. 2013-10-07. Archived from the original on 2013-10-07. Retrieved 2022-07-23.
"The Circumcision Procedure and Blessings – Performing the Bris Milah – The Handbook to Circumcision". Chabad.org. Archived from the original on 2012-01-16. Retrieved 2012-04-25.
Ilani, Ofri (2008-05-12). "Traditional circumcision raises risk of infection, study shows". Haaretz. Archived from the original on 20 August 2009. Retrieved 15 August 2009.
Harris, Patricia (June 11, 1999). "Study confirms that wine drops soothe boys during circumcision". J. The Jewish News of Northern California. Archived from the original on 13 August 2016. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
"Pain and Circumcision". The New York Times. January 3, 1998. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved June 11, 2014.
Øster, Jakob (April 1968). "Further Fate of the Foreskin". Archives of Disease in Childhood. 43: 200–02. Archived from the original on 2010-06-29. Retrieved 2010-11-14.
Circumcision Policy Statement Archived 2009-03-20 at the Wayback Machine of The American Academy of Pediatrics notes that "there are three methods of circumcision that are commonly used in the newborn male", and that all three include "bluntly freeing the inner preputial epithelium from the epithelium of the glans", to be later amputated with the foreskin.
Gracely-Kilgore, Katharine A. (May 1984). "Further Fate of the Foreskin". Nurse Practitioner. 5 (2): 4–22. Archived from the original on 2010-06-28. Retrieved 2010-11-14.
"Styles – Judaism and Islam". Circlist. 2014-03-07. Archived from the original on 2014-05-15. Retrieved 2014-06-11.
Hartog, Kelly (February 18, 2005). "Death Spotlights Old Circumcision Rite". The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles. Archived from the original on December 13, 2006. Retrieved 2006-11-22. Metzizah b'peh — loosely translated as oral suction — is the part of the circumcision ceremony where the mohel removes the blood from the baby's member; these days the removal of the blood is usually done using a sterilized glass tube, instead of with the mouth, as the Talmud suggests.
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"Circumcision Protocol Regarding the Prevention of Neonatal Herpes Transmission". Department of Health, New York State. November 2006. Archived from the original on February 5, 2007. Retrieved 2006-11-23. The person performing metzizah b'peh must do the following: wipe around the outside of the mouth thoroughly, including the labial folds at the corners, with a sterile alcohol wipe, and then discard in a safe place. Wash hands with soap and hot water for 2–6 minutes. Within 5 minutes before metzizah b'peh, rinse mouth thoroughly with a mouthwash containing greater than 25% alcohol (for example, Listerine) and hold the rinse in mouth for 30 seconds or more before discarding it.
Novello, Antonia C. (May 8, 2006). "Dear Rabbi Letter". Department of Health, New York State. Archived from the original on February 18, 2007. Retrieved 2006-11-23. The meetings have been extremely helpful to me in understanding the importance of metzizah b'peh to the continuity of Jewish ritual practice, how the procedure is performed, and how we might allow the practice of metzizah b'peh to continue while still meeting the Department of Health's responsibility to protect the public health. I want to reiterate that the welfare of the children of your community is our common goal and that it is not our intent to prohibit metzizah b'peh after circumcision, rather our intent is to suggest measures that would reduce the risk of harm, if there is any, for future circumcisions where metzizah b'peh is the customary procedure and the possibility of an infected mohel may not be ruled out. I know that successful solutions can and will be based on our mutual trust and cooperation.
Susan Donaldson James (March 12, 2012). "Baby Dies of Herpes in Ritual Circumcision By Orthodox Jews". abcnews.go.com. Archived from the original on April 19, 2017.
Distel R, Hofer V, Bogger-Goren S, Shalit I, Garty BZ. Primary genital herpes simplex infection associated with Jewish ritual circumcision. Israel Medical Association Journal. 2003 Dec;5(12):893-4 Archived October 21, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
Halperin, Mordechai (Winter 2006). "Metzitzah B'peh Controversy: The View from Israel". Jewish Action. 67 (2). Translated by Lavon, Yocheved: 25, 33–39. Archived from the original on March 6, 2012. Retrieved February 15, 2007. The mohel brings the baby's organ into his mouth immediately after the excision of the foreskin and sucks blood from it vigorously. This action lowers the internal pressure in the tissues of the organ, in the blood vessels of the head of the organ and in the exposed ends of the arterioles that have just been cut. Thus, the difference between the pressure in the blood vessels in the base of the organ and the pressure in the blood vessels at its tip is increased. This requirement has deep religious significance as well as medical benefits....Immediately after incising or injuring an artery, the arterial walls contract and obstruct, or at least reduce, the flow of blood. Since the arterioles of the orlah, or the foreskin, branch off from the dorsal arteries (the arteries of the upper side of the organ), cutting away the foreskin can result in a temporary obstruction in these dorsal arteries. This temporary obstruction, caused by arterial muscle contraction, continues to develop into a more enduring blockage as the stationary blood begins to clot. The tragic result can be severe hypoxia (deprivation of the supply of blood and oxygen) of the glans penis.28 If the arterial obstruction becomes more permanent, gangrene follows; the baby may lose his glans, and it may even become a life-threatening situation. Such cases have been known to occur. Only by immediately clearing the blockage can one prevent such clotting from happening. Performing metzitzah immediately after circumcision lowers the internal pressure within the tissues and blood vessels of the glans, thus raising the pressure gradient between the blood vessels at the base of the organ and the blood vessels at its distal end—the glans as well as the excised arterioles of the foreskin, which branch off of the dorsal arteries. This increase in pressure gradient (by a factor of four to six!) can resolve an acute temporary blockage and restore blood flow to the glans, thus significantly reducing both the danger of immediate, acute hypoxia and the danger of developing a permanent obstruction by means of coagulation. How do we know when a temporary blockage has successfully been averted? When the "blood in the further reaches [i.e., the proximal dorsal artery] is extracted", as Rambam has stated.
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Berger, Itai; Steinberg, Avraham (May 2002). "Neonatal mydriasis: intravenous lidocaine adverse reaction". J Child Neurol. 17 (5): 400–01. doi:10.1177/088307380201700520. PMID 12150593. S2CID 2169066.^{[dead link]}

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Oliver, Isaac W. (2013-05-14). "Forming Jewish Identity by Formulating Legislation for Gentiles". Journal of Ancient Judaism. 4 (1): 105–132. doi:10.30965/21967954-00401005. ISSN 1869-3296.
Cohen-Almagor, Raphael (9 November 2020). "Should liberal government regulate male circumcision performed in the name of Jewish tradition?". SN Social Sciences. 1 (1): 8. doi:10.1007/s43545-020-00011-7. ISSN 2662-9283. S2CID 228911544. Protagonists and critics of male circumcision agree on some things and disagree on many others... They also do not underestimate the importance of male circumcision for the relevant communities.... Even the most critical voices of male circumcision do not suggest putting a blanket ban on the practice as they understand that such a ban, very much like the 1920–1933 prohibition laws in the United States, would not be effective... Protagonists and critics of male circumcision debate whether the practice is morally acceptable... They assign different weights to harm as well as to medical risks and to non-medical benefits. The different weights to risks and benefits conform to their underlying views about the practices... Protagonists and critics disagree about the significance of medical reasons for circumcision...
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yivoencyclopedia.org

In the first half of the nineteenth century, various European governments considered regulating, if not banning, berit milah on the grounds that it posed potential medical dangers. In the 1840s, radical Jewish reformers in Frankfurt asserted that circumcision should no longer be compulsory. This controversy reached Russia in the 1880s. Russian Jewish physicians expressed concern over two central issues: the competence of those carrying out the procedure and the method used for metsitsah. Many Jewish physicians supported the idea of procedural and hygienic reforms in the practice, and they debated the question of physician supervision during the ceremony. Most significantly, many advocated carrying out metsitsah by pipette, not by mouth. In 1889, a committee on circumcision convened by the Russian Society for the Protection of Health, which included leading Jewish figures, recommended educating the Jewish public about the concerns connected with circumcision, in particular, the possible transmission of diseases such as tuberculosis and syphilis through the custom of metsitsah by mouth. Veniamin Portugalov, who—alone among Russian Jewish physicians—called for the abolition of circumcision, set off these discussions. Portugalov not only denied all medical claims regarding the sanitary advantages of circumcision but disparaged the practice as barbaric, likening it to pagan ritual mutilation. Ritual circumcision, he claimed, stood as a self-imposed obstacle to the Jews’ attainment of true equality with the other peoples of Europe.
— Epstein, Lisa, "Circumcision", The YIVO Encyclopedia of Jews in Eastern Europe, Yale University Press.

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Earp, Brian (June 7, 2020). "Male and Female Genital Cutting: Controlling Sexuality". YouTube. Archived from the original on 2021-11-23. Retrieved October 30, 2020. It is agreed among scholars that the original purpose within Judaism... was precisely to dull the sexual organ.