April Rubin, MD
Mohelet (Mohel)
Fellow, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
Graduate, Jewish Theological Seminary Brit Kodesh
Brit for Adult Converts
Converts who have not previously been circumcised require brit milah. I perform circumcision on neonates -- boys up to eight weeks of age. Circumcision on males older than that is a more serious procedure requiring a urologic surgeon, often done in the operating room. In these instances it is preferable that the surgeon be Jewish and that a rabbi or mohel/mohelet be present to say the necessary prayers.
Boys and adult men converting to Judaism who previously have been circumcised require a procedure known as hatafat dam which entails drawing a drop of blood from the penis in front of two adult Jewish witnesses. This customarily occurs shortly before the individual immerses in the mikvah and goes before the beit dinh
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Photo credit: Betty Adler