The past three decades have seen an explosion of women’s involvement and participation in various life-cycle events and public and familial ritual roles, especially in the more progressive and open parts of the Modern Orthodox community. These include activities such as women reciting hamotzi on the hallah at the Shabbat meal on behalf of the family, reading the ketubbah under the huppah, delivering derashot in the synagogue or eulogies at funerals for relatives and friends, reciting one of the sheva berakhot at a meal during the seven days of rejoicing for the groom and bride, reading Megillat Esther on behalf of a group of women (or, in some instances, for a mixedgender group), reciting the prayer on behalf of the IDF on Shabbat in the synagogue, responding as a bride with a verbal assent or various biblical verses to the harei at mekudeshet formula recited by the groom, and a host of other acts.
These developments have, in turn, led to an examination of various areas of ritual life to find possibilities for the expansion of the role of women. For example, women are rightly looking to be more fully involved in the momentous life events of their family and friends, within the parameters of halakha, as fully engaged ovdei Hashem. These moments of transcendence have been consecrated by our tradition as special times that offer opportunities for great spiritual and religious experiences, as well as times when the wellsprings of human emotions rise to the surface and let us touch eternity and feel the presence of God.
At the same time, the discussion surrounding greater participation for women cannot be divorced from the larger questions with which the Modern Orthodox community is struggling, including the weight that should be assigned to traditional Jewish practice and custom versus other halakhic and Jewish values and our attitudes toward feminism in general. Coupled with these issues are debates revolving around the parameters of rabbinic authority and who should be part of the decision-making process, the value of innovative practices on sensitive issues that may cause division within the Orthodox community, and the weight that we should assign to the sincere desire of women according to the precept of la’asot nahat ruah l’nashim (to give spiritual satisfaction to women). In addition, fear of the “slippery slope”—the notion that certain innovations that find parallels in non-Orthodox denominations are ipso facto invalid—the proper pace of halakhic change and innovation, as well as how we manage the tensions between the real lives we lead versus the perceived values reflected in traditional practice all lie at the core of these important discussions.
This short essay does not attempt to tackle these meta-issues, but simply examines the opportunities for women, and especially the mother, to participate in the various stages and rituals of the circumcision ceremony as practiced today in most communities. This essay does, however, begin from a worldview rooted in a belief that when Jewish law permits such, inclusion is the proper path to take.
History, Traditional Practice, and Contemporary Applications
In most contemporary traditional Orthodox communities, women’s role in the circumcision ceremony is limited. The mother or some other relative passes the baby to the kvater or kvaterin, often a couple who bring the baby to the bimah and the mohel. (There is a beautiful tradition among German Jewish communities for women to prepare an embroidered wimpel to swaddle the baby during the ceremony; later the wimpel is fashioned into a sash for fastening the sefer Torah for the boy’s bar mitzvah.) After that point in the service, the circumcision, the blessings, and the various tefillot are executed entirely by men. Later on, at the seudat mitzvah, the mother or another female relative may, in some instances, return to offer words of Torah or an explanation of the source of the name of the newborn. The mother could, alternatively, explain the choice of the name when it is announced during the circumcision ceremony.
Let us now turn to see the history of women’s involvement in the ceremony itself, as well the halakhic possibilities for participation that exist in our contemporary framework.
Mohalot
The Talmud records a dispute in B.T. Avodah Zarah 27 as to whether women may serve as mohalot to circumcise a boy or a man, based on different exegeses of verses in the Torah. The Talmud leaves the dispute unresolved, leading to a subsequent debate between major decisors as to the permissibility of this practice. Whereas Rambam and the Mehaber, the author of the Shulhan Arukh (R. Joseph Caro), deem it permissible for a woman to serve as a mohelet, Tosafot and other rishonim, as well as the Rema (R. Moshe Isserles), take a strict view and do not permit it. Nonetheless, it is clear from some of the responsa literature and scholarly discussion in the works of Profs. Daniel Sperber, Elisheva Baumgarten, and Avraham Grossman that there continued to be occasional instances of a woman serving as a mohelet in parts of Ashkenaz.
By the late Middle Ages and the modern period, women as mohalot seem to have fallen out of practice entirely, except in instances where no male mohalim could be found. Moreover, in contemporary society there are no poskim or Modern Orthodox communities that I know of that have formally endorsed such a practice. Even Sephardi poskim, such as Rav Ovadiah Yosef, who traditionally follow the rulings of the Mehaber, rule that one should not use a woman mohelet. This reticence can be understood in the context of the natural halakhic conservatism of rabbinic decisors, who generally work to ensure that in sensitive areas of halakhic rituals reflective of personal status there is a bias toward “playing it safe.” Specifically, there is an effort on the part of the rabbis to encourage fulfillment of the ritual in a way acceptable to all opinions, or in rabbinic parlance, to be “yotzei lekhol hadei’ot.”
Sandakiot
It is equally clear from the responsa literature that in Ashkenaz in the Middle Ages, there were numerous instances when women served as sandakiot, holding the baby during the performance of the circumcision. On purely halakhic grounds, there does not seem to be any room to object to this practice, as it does not involve any formal halakhic act. Despite this, the practice was forcefully objected to by the great leader of German Jewry, R. Meir of Rothenberg, who frowned upon women entering the men’s area of the synagogue in beautiful clothing and perfume, which he saw as breaking the bounds of modesty and propriety (p’ritzut) and potentially leading to inappropriate mingling and socializing between the sexes. As a result of his own and his students’ influence, the original practice was discouraged and eventually seems to have died out, to the point that it was codified in the rulings of the Rema that a woman should not serve in the capacity of sandak unless there are no men available.
Given the very different social reality in which we currently live, where men and women interact on a regular basis, and the practical reality that in most contemporary synagogues during the brit milah ceremony many women regularly come into the sanctuary to be close to the baby and the family (and even more so in the context of a brit milah taking place in the home), the sense that having a woman serve as a sandakit would constitute an act of p’ritzut does not reflect our lived reality. As such, as a matter of halakha, a woman serving as a sandakit should be permitted. In fact, the anecdotal evidence indicates that in a number of open Modern Orthodox communities, there have been instances in the last decades in which female relatives or esteemed female members of the community have served as sandakiot. It is, of course, critical to discuss such a course of action in advance with the mohel who is officiating to ensure that this relatively “daring” innovation (or return to more ancient custom) does not come as a surprise or become a cause for tension at the ceremony and in the community.
The Blessings and Tefillot
The formal blessing on the act of circumcision is recited by the mohel and is a birkat hamitzvah (a blessing on performance of a mitzvah) recited by the father or his agent, as the father, and not the mother, is the one who is formally obligated in the mitzvah of brit milah, according to Jewish tradition. The second blessing, “lehakhniso bev’rito shel Avraham avinu” (to bring him into the covenant of Abraham our father), is recited by the father himself, as the recitation is incumbent on the person obligated in the mitzvah.
Two other elements come into play after those blessings. The first is a blessing from the geonic period, which begins with the words “asher kideish yedid mibeten” (“who sanctifies the beloved from the womb”). This blessing is not a birkat hamitzvah, but rather a birkat hashevah, a blessing of praise. As such, there is substantial room to suggest that this blessing may be said by anyone in the community, whether male or female. From my cursory inquiry into practices in various communities, even in contemporary open Orthodox circles, women are not generally given the honor of reciting this blessing. Besides the general force of common minhag and tradition, this reticence may be rooted in the view of some aharonim who believe that this blessing should be recited by those who are b’nei milah, within the parameters of the obligation to be circumcised, which would exclude women. (However, one could mount a counterargument, based on the position of the Ritva and other rishonim, that women are within the universe of milah; it is just that they are considered halakhically mahul, already circumcised, from a technical halakhic viewpoint.)
After the recitation of “asher kideish yedid mibeten,” the ceremony continues with the naming of the child, which begins with the prayer Elokeinu veilokei avoteinu kayeim et hayeled hazeh (“Our God and God of our fathers, preserve this boy”). This prayer is not a blessing at all, but simply a beautiful prayer that can be recited by any honored guest. Indeed, there should be no grounds to refrain from inviting a woman to recite this prayer, and this practice has become fairly widespread in select Modern Orthodox communities.
Finally, during the latter section of birkat hamazon after the festive meal, a custom arose in the medieval period to add a list of Harahamans, short petitionary prayers beseeching God for a diverse list of needs and desires including protection of the newly circumcised baby, sustaining him to his parents in good health, and hopes to bring the ultimate redemption and the Messiah, in the merit of the fulfillment of this cardinal mitzvah of circumcision. The general custom is to divide these blessings up and ask honored relatives and friends to recite one of them out loud with the assemblage responding “Amen.” These prayers do not involve any devarim shebekedusha (prayer elements that require a minyan), nor are they obligatory in a formal sense, and thus there is no reason to exclude women from partaking in this honorific role as well.
Conclusion
In this short essay we have briefly examined the halakhic sources that touch on women’s participation in various aspects of the brit milah ceremony. In those sources we found a number of possibilities for expanding the role of women beyond what was the accepted norm. These possibilities beckon toward a more inclusive ceremony in which the mother and other female relatives and friends may partake in meaningful parts of the ceremony. As we noted at the outset, however, beyond the technical issues involved, meta-halakhic issues that are highly debated and contested in the Orthodox community will certainly come into play in the decisions that individuals, rabbis, and their communities will make in navigating the implementation of these options in the years to come.