Snip, Snip ~ Let's Eat

Last Friday we celebrated Grady's first right of passage as a Jewish male ... the Brit Milah ... also known as a Bris or covenant of circumcision. The Bris is a religious ceremony within Judaism to welcome Jewish infant boys into a covenant between G-d and the Children of Israel on the eighth day of the child's life. The Bris is generally done by a Mohel or circumciser (unless the father chooses to do it... which was NOT happening in our case), and the one we chose for Grady was also a local pediatric urologist.

The Bris consists of both the circumcision and the baby naming, and thankfully the first part went rather quickly and without too much trauma to either Grady or myself. I couldn't watch the procedure, though Matt and other relatives did. It was over within two minutes, and after bandaging him and feeding him a few extra sips of Manishevitz, Grady was re-diapered and given back to me to comfort.

Traditionally Ashkenazi Jews have the custom of naming after the deceased. The immortalization of a close family member or friend is a beautiful tradition. Grady's Hebrew name is Yacov Mordecai. He was named after both of his paternal grandfathers.

As with all Jewish celebrations, they are immediately followed by a feast of mass proportions... and this one was no different. We spent the rest of the day eating the endless trays of catered food ordered for our simcha. We schmoozed with family and friends and celebrated Grady's big day.

As a side note... the worst part of the circumcision was changing the dressing the next day. Oh boy, I think I whimpered as much as Grady did. Thankfully all is well and he's healing perfectly.

Left: Tools for the Bris ... Right: Just before the procedure

Left: The Mohel performing the Bris ... Right: Our first family photo