One part of brit milah used by some ultra-Orthodox is under fire (Illustrative photo)
צילום: לע"מ
New York to probe rare brit practice
Probe comes in wake of death of baby that may have contracted herpes from mohel who circumcised him. Two other baby boys have contracted herpes, as well, according to reports
New York City officials are planning to carry out a health study of the rite of metzizah b'peh, in which a mohel (ritual circumciser) uses his mouth to suck blood from the circumcision wound during the practice of brit milah, two New York newspapers have reported.
The probe comes in the wake of the death of a baby that may have contracted herpes from the mohel who circumcised him. Two other baby boys have contracted herpes, as well, according to reports.
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg recently met with dozens of ultra-Orthodox rabbis, who said they are concerned that such a ban would set a bad precedent, the New York Daily news reported.
The Daily News reported in February that the city Health Department was investigating whether Rockland County-based Rabbi Yitzchok Fischer gave herpes to a baby through the practice of metzizah b'peh - in which the rabbi uses his mouth to suck blood from the circumcision wound. The baby later died.
Order alarms ultra-Orthodox
On Aug. 1, the Health Department sent Fischer's lawyer a draft of an order banning the rabbi from performing metzizah b'peh in the city, officials told the Daily News.
The threat of such an order alarmed the ultrareligious community, the newspaper said.
The controversy comes as Bloomberg, who has had a strained relationship with the Orthodox community, according to the paper, is looking to repair things before the November election.
Bloomberg told Newsday he met decided on the study "to make sure everybody is safe" when metzizah b'peh is performed.
"At the same time, it is not the government's business to tell people how to practice their religion," Bloomberg said during a weekly radio interview, according to Newsday.
Los Angeles rabbis and mohels told the Los Angeles Jewish Journal earlier this year the practice is confined primarily to Chasidic groups.
“Even within the Chasidic community the procedure is restricted to only parts of that community,” Rabbi Yitzchok Adlerstein told the Los Angeles paper.
