The Cut Off

It's been a month already for Isaiah. A month of firsts. His first trip in a car. His first time outside. His first time meeting an array of folks. His first time to a restaurant. His first walk in the park. Its all firsts for a while...but in the grand scheme, they get less momentous. There haven't been a lot of big benchmarks yet.

Though there was a biggee eight days after his birth.

His bris.

I have to admit, I was more than a little unsure of this thing. I've never been to a bris, ever. So I wasn't sure how comfortable I would be forcing my newborn son to undergo ritual genital mutilation on my dining room table---no matter how socially acceptable it is in this case.

Oh, a step back for those who don't know---a bris, or Brit milah, is the short ceremony in which a Jewish boy is circumcised. Yeah. Minor penile surgery in our house; you can add that to the list of firsts. Hopefully its the only one.

Aside from the whole thing of watching my son's penis getting cut up, it was actually quite pleasant. We had a couple dozen friends and family at the house (that's a happy grandfather and great uncle in the picture). The men all seemed to make a B line for the bar. I myself had quite a few gin and tonics to prep myself... And, in lieu of anesthesia, Isaiah was given the corner of a towel which had been soaked in kosher wine to suck on. It did the trick. The service was short and thoughtful---a celebration actually, as it signified Isaiah (and me) fulfilling the Biblical covenant between G-d and the Jews. It did not feel celebratory while watching those first quick jabs with the scalpel---but the guy wielding the knife was not only good at the religious service, he was a pediatric surgeon who had done this a million times and it was (thankfully for all present) over quickly.

Why on Earth do it at home rather than the hospital? Well...good question. Most everyone I know did it at the hospital. Heck, mine was done at the hospital. But given the interesting set of culture and identity issues that Jo-Elle and I bring to the table, I thought it important to embrace the tradition and engage our friends and family. Raising the little guy Jewish in our neighborhood won't be the easiest thing, but this ensured we got started in the right way.

Plus, everyone likes a good party, right? Its never too early to instill that spirit in Isaiah...