Advantages and Disadvantages of some Places

SYNAGOGUE

– The sanctity of the place will have a good influence on the baby and on the participants.

– The place is not an anonymous room among many others but a place brought to last (especially in Israel), the more he will be happy to go to the synagogue where his Brit-milah took place.

Sometimes some people do not sufficiently respect the holiness due to this holy place. They allow themselves to talk about secular topics (divrey ‘hol) or go there in an inappropriate outfit to the place (tsniut problem).

HOME (of the parents, of the grandparents, etc.)

– This allows mom and baby to avoid travel fatigue and thus contributes to their well-being.

– This makes it possible to bring Eliyahu hanavi into your home.

– The fulfilled mitzvah will increase the holiness of the house giving a positive impact on the place.

– The place is not anonymous. If the parents have no plans to move, the child will be happy to live in the place where he entered the Avraham covenant (especially if the parents describe to him the joy they experienced at that moment).

– Like any reception at home, this leads to a certain fatigue due to preparations. Now, it is necessary to be very careful about the tranquility of the delivery.

-Sometimes the house is small and you have to go to a room for the reception anyway. This causes additional fatigue for all guests.

PARTY ROOM

– This solution is convenient. The Brit-milah and the Brit-milah reception (se’uda) are in the same place.

– There are not the disadvantages mentioned above (problem with the size of the room or fatigue due to preparations. In addition, the hall is not a place full of holiness, so guests can speak freely there).

– The place is not full of holiness (however, in a party room where there are numerous Brits, it may be that these mitzvot positively influence the holiness of the place).

– Outside of Israel, Eliyahu Hanavi’s chair is not in the room and it will have to be brought and brought back to the synagogue. This entails an additional effort for the father who has already been well occupied since birth.

MATERNITY UNIT. CLINIC. HOSPITAL

– In the event that the mom and the baby should stay at the maternity unit for a week or more after the Brit-milah, this has the advantage of not moving either the baby or the mom. But this case is rare though.

– This reduces the religious character and holiness of the ceremony. Often the doctor considers circumcision as a surgical act only and not as part of a ceremony with high spiritual importance.

– Sometimes it is difficult to organize the reception at such places.

– This choice is problematic, especially outside of Israel. Some parents could choose a circumcising doctor who does not act in accordance with Halakha and does not meet the required qualifications (non-Jewish; Jewish not respecting Shabbat).

Under the SUKKAH (on the feast of huts)

– Obvious advantage: it is beautiful to attend a Brit-milah under the Sukkah, in this temporary residence built specifically for the festival of huts. This creates an exceptional atmosphere.

– Since the sanctity of the Sukkah is very great, it will have a positive influence on the baby and the participants. In addition, it will allow all guests (even the most distant from Judaism) to enter a Sukkah and practice this mitzvah.

– Since it is forbidden to consume bread outside the Sukkah, it will be necessary anyway to plan to move to a sukkah for the reception.

– Weather conditions (heat, rain or cold) do not always lend themselves to it.

– Sometimes there is not enough room in the Sukkah.

– Sometimes the lighting is not powerful enough for the Mohel to work in the best conditions.