DailyHalacha.com for Mobile Devices Now Available

Click Here to Sponsor Daily Halacha
"Delivered to Over 6000 Registered Recipients Each Day"

      
(File size: 764 KB)
Rosh Hashana- A Berit Mila Held on Rosh Hashanah

The Taz (Rabbi David Halevi, 1658-1667) comments that when a Berit Mila is to be performed on Rosh Hashanah, it is held just prior to the sounding of the Shofar. Both Berit Mila and Shofar have the capacity to arouse Divine compassion upon the Jewish people, and it is therefore proper to combine them in this manner in our effort to invoke God’s mercy on this day of judgment.

The Taz then proceeds to record a custom he observed that further underscores the importance of this association between Berit Mila and Shofar. The final stage of Berit Mila is "Mesisa Be’fe," when the Mohel (person who performs the circumcision) draws some blood from the infant’s wound with his mouth, in order to prevent infection. The Taz observed in situations of a Berit performed on Rosh Hashanah that one of his Rabbis, Rabbi Feivel, would have the Mohel blow the Shofar after the Berit without first cleaning his mouth. Rabbi Feivel wanted the blood from the Berit to come in direct contact with the Shofar, in order to reinforce this association between the two Misvot of Mila and Shofar.

It should be noted, however, that this practice may be followed only if the Mohel will himself be sounding the Shofar. In most cases, however, when the person who performs the circumcision is not the same one who sounds the Shofar, the one sounding the Shofar may not perform the Mesisa in order to fulfill this custom. As the Hatam Sofer (Rabbi Moshe Sofer of Pressburg, 1762-1839) and Hochmat Adam (Rabbi Avraham Danzig of Vilna, 1748-1820) write, drawing blood is generally forbidden on Shabbat and Yom Tob, and it is allowed only in the context of a Berit Mila, which overrides the prohibitions of Shabbat and Yom Tob. Hence, only the Mohel, who performed the actual circumcision, may perform the Mesisa on Yom Tob. Therefore, the person sounding the Shofar may not perform the Mesisa unless he had performed the circumcision. Although the practice recorded by the Taz is certainly an admirable one, it is followed only if the same person who performs the circumcision will also sound the Shofar.

Summary: If a Berit Mila is performed on Rosh Hashanah, it is held immediately preceding the Shofar blowing. If the person who performs the circumcision will also be sounding the Shofar, then he should not clean his mouth after performing the "Mesisa" (drawing blood from the infant’s wound), so that the blood of the circumcision will touch the Shofar.

 


Recent Daily Halachot...
If One is Unsure Whether or Not He Counted the Omer
May One Purchase and Wear New Clothing During the Omer Period?
Sefirat Ha’omer – Training Children in the Misva; The Status of Women Vis-ŕ-vis Counting the Omer
If One Remembers After Sundown That He Had Not Counted the Omer
Sefirat Ha’omer – If the Hazzan Had Missed a Day of Counting
Sefirat Ha’omer – If One Forgot to Count at Night and the Next Day, Until Ben Ha’shemashot
Sefirat Ha’omer – If a Person Missed a Day of Counting
Sefirat HaOmer- Ladies Counting The Omer??
Sefirat Ha'omer – Counting Before the Age of Bar-Misva, and a Boy Who Becomes Bar-Misva during the Omer
The Underlying Reason Behind the Mitzva of Sefirat Ha'omer; the Status of the Mitzva Nowadays
Would it be Permissible to Take a Haircut if the Quarantine Ends During the Omer Period?
Cutting Fingernails, Moving Into a New Home and Hosting a Hanukat Ha’bayit During the Omer
May a Bar Misva Boy and His Father Take a Haircut in Honor of the Occasion During the Omer?
If a Community Rabbi Missed a Day of Sefirat Ha’omer
May a Music Teacher Continue Teaching Music During the Omer Period?
Page of 239
3585 Halachot found