Welcome To The Bris Blog

This Bris Blog is for Jewish parents-to-be, or parents-of-a-newborn baby boy.

Your son’s bris is literally around the corner, and you need to know all you can find out so you can have the best bris experience available to you.

You may want to know:

• Why Jews circumcise their sons…
• How to prepare a bris party
• How to go about hiring a mohel, the ritual circumiciser who will do the deed on your behalf
• What does the ceremony look like, from recitations and participants, to the surgical part itself
• Deeper symbolism of the entire day

You may also be concerned about:

• Your son’s pain and discomfort
• How to care for him and soothe him before and after
• How you’ll care for your son when the mohel is not around
• The overall stress of having to do this one week after your son was born

Finally, let us not sweep under the rug:

• Your concerns for your son’s health
• Your deep desire for the bris to be done cleanly – as in a “clean cut” and also a “sterile field”
• Your natural feelings that there are WAY too many people around, and you just want to take care of this little person and forget about everyone and everything else

All this and MUCH MUCH MORE will be addressed in these postings. Stay tuned!

Awareness III: What Can Go Wrong at a Bris and Afterwards?

Most brisses go well, without complication. But there are some things that can go wrong, either on account of the baby’s unique (and undetected) anatomical makeup or, obviously, human error. Even when human imperfections (or surprises beneath the foreskin) cause an imperfect circumcision, in most cases a competent mohel can fix things up simply and quickly. All the mohel needs is a little time and a little patience from those who have hired him, as well as their trust that he will produce the proper results as promised.

Anatomical

If the baby had, for example, a tight foreskin or undetected scrotal webbing, there may be a need for further removal of skin or membranes to clear matters up.

Human Error

If not enough foreskin removed, too much membrane (or ha’priah) remains, either on account of not having been touched, having been partially removed (but not completely), or on account of it looking aesthetically unpleasing, or if there was a bandaging error, which either causes more bleeding or a misaligned glans, a very quick fix after the ceremony can resolve the issue and avoid long-term problems.

Outside Causes

Anything can happen. Someone can bump into the mohel, the sandak (who holds the baby during the bris) can slip or let go of the baby, the baby might move. All of these scenarios, while uncommon, could be the cause of an imperfect job – all of which, ideally, are adjustable and fixable. The time to do so is right away, while the circ is fresh, so the baby is bothered in one window of opportunity, and not multiple times beyond what is necessary.

WORST CASE SCENARIOS

1. If the child is born with an anatomical abnormality that requires a reconstructive surgery, this should ideally be discerned before the day of the bris. If it were somehow missed, the mohel should not touch the child. It takes a big man to say “no bris today.” Hopefully the mohel recognizes when something is beyond his expertise, or beyond the care the mohel can give him in a non OR setting. 

2. When too much foreskin is removed, the shaft is “denuded.” It may or may not be a nice-looking circumcision. Google what the repercussions of too much skin removal could mean. e edge of the corona.

3. Any damage to the glans (or, God forbid, an amputation), which is most common in circumcisions done with certain clamps (though mostly by unskilled operators or careless operators) or when the circumcision is done freehand – e.g. without the use of a shield. [In some cases this can be surgically repaired, but the stories are never pretty] (Google “circumcision amputation clamp” to find out more) See previous post

4. If the mohel does anything that lands your child in a hospital (for stitches, blood transfusion, or because of infection), even if your child does get better, this becomes an emotionally taxing experience you need not have – and the emotionally negative experience is irreparable.

The Most Common Issues After the Bris

Some of the anatomical issues which play into whether the bris will take place on time were discussed here. In some cases, even with the bris taking place (which could happen), other issues can come up after the fact, whether there was an anatomical issue evident beforehand or whether there was not.

Doesn’t Look Circumcised

This could happen because of the swelling that naturally happens after the circumcision. In most cases it subsides and disappears, but in some cases, the swelling remains and creates an unsightly lower portion to the penis.

Also, because a baby spends so much time on his back, and because his diaper is a confined area that jumbles his penis together, and because many babies develop baby fat which is primarily deposited in the groin area, a percentage of babies develop one of a few symptoms that either A. make the shaft and glans of the penis disappear into the scrotum, or B. make it that you can’t see the outer rim of the glans, which should appear distinct from the shaft.

To avoid this, after the baby heals – starting a few days after the cessation of any ointment application, it is imperative that you make sure the outer edge of the glans remains distinct from the shaft.

All this requires is a gentle pushing of the skin below the glans at every diaper change – and particularly when the baby is in the bath.

Disappearing penis

While less common than the “almost uncircumcised” look, the disappearing penis is essentially when the shaft and glans disappears into the scrotum when the baby is lying on his back. A gentle push on the 3 o’clock and 9 o’clock sides of the scrotum surrounding the shaft – or on the belly just above the “dark hole” will usually cause the shaft to pop out of its hiding place.

An aware parent can probably prevent this from happening with due diligence as described. Otherwise there are two options. A. Either it will clear up on its own through the described counter-attack, or it will clear up on its own when the baby is walking – and particularly when he is out of diapers. B. If it does not go away, corrective surgery is extremely effective. In most cases, however, you will not have to go this route. An honest pediatric surgeon will likely tell you to “Wait it out. It will be fine.”

Awareness II: Mistakes Mohels Make

Mohels are human beings. This is no more a flaw than any person in the world has, but it is an important reminder that mohels are imperfect.

 

In conversations I have had with people who discover I am mohel, I get different reactions from people who speak out the experience they had with their son’s bris, ranging from speaking glowingly of their mohel to changing the subject quickly because their experience was not worth talking about.

 

This blog post, therefore, is a reminder to mohels that it’s not just about the end-result of the circumcision (though certainly that is very important!), as well as a reminder to parents that not all mohels are the same. 

 

So here we have the hit list, and how I believe mohels could improve their own performance, and how parents could do their best to have the best possible experience.

 

Mohel Mistakes

1. Treating Bris Milah like a business.

Bris Milah is a mitzvah. Most people call a mohel because they need to, not because they want to. (They may want to because they need to, but if weren’t a mitzvah, they’d never call some stranger to do this to their child.) Ambulance chasing pregnant women, assigning exorbitant fees for services, and not giving the people the time of day to answer their questions because you’re on to the next client – all bad practices which shame the position of Mohel.

• It is important to let people know you are a mohel, but there are ways to do it which are not creepy.
• Your services should be compensated (and hopefully people are appreciative and generous), but there is an element of giving to the community that this kind of “service-industry” must provide
• The exception to this is when a mohel has a long distance to travel – he should make clear that travel time and travel expenses need to be compensated (and the parents should be aware as well – the mohel need not accept the job, but the parents have the responsibility to see that the bris take place)
• Follow-up is essential – whether a visit, or regular phone calls. Parents must be made to feel that you care about their baby. And you, having helped the baby bear the mark of the Covenant, MUST care about him.

 

2. Not Maintaining the Highest Sterility Standards and Practices for Care

It is the 21st century. There is no excuse – NO EXCUSE – for not following the following protocols:

• All instruments autoclaved in sterile packages and brought to the bris unopened until setup time
• Laying instruments and bandages on a sterile drape (not a laundered diaper cloth or recieving blanket)
• Wearing sterile gloves for the entire procedure (priah can be done with thin gloves!)
• Covering the baby so that the sandak is not touching him directly
• Doing metzitzah with a sterile tube stuffed with gauze – to prevent all transfer of body fluids from mohel to baby and baby to mohel
• Using a surgical marker to note the edge of the foreskin – to remove the proper amount of skin, certainly no less and hopefully not much more – and following the mark when operating!

These may be adjustments for some old-timers, but the adherence to older, unacceptable standards, makes Bris Milah (especially in the hands of some less-careful mohels) less desirable, not more desirable.

3.  Using Unsafe Methods for Circumcising

The goal of a bris is to remove the foreskin and the membrane beneath it (and only that amount of skin), while protecting every other part of the penis, including the glans, the rest of the shaft and the scrotum. While I do not advocate the use of any clamp (for halakhic and safety reasons), for safety reasons only those who are absolutely expert in their use can use them (and they still run MAJOR risks). Also, those that use the freehand method, without any device that protects the glans, should NEVER be allowed to operate. They argue that their method is safe and hurts the baby least of all. But when their method causes amputations, it’s hard to argue that their method is least harmful to babies.

The traditional shield, a metal plate with a slit in it and no clamping mechanism, is the safest way to assure that only the foreskin is removed in the traditional circumcision procedure. 

 

4. Not Double-checking afterwards that all is OK

Not every bris goes perfectly during the ceremony. Whether the incision is uneven, or there is more priah (membrane) remaining after the circumcision, or the baby is bleeding, all of these “problems” are easily correctable within five minutes of the ceremony. A mohel who does not check the bandage or the bleeding, or that the aesthetics of the bris are pleasing is doing the baby and his parents a horrendous disservice. In the last month alone I met with a few people who told me stories (either personal or from the person to which it happened) of a baby who needed a blood transfusion after the bris (which is extremely rare, but is indicative of the mohel doing something wrong), of a baby who needed corrective surgery to remove excess membrane, and of a baby who needed a skin graft to fix a poorly done circumcision.

Simply put, the mohel may not leave the baby until the baby’s circumcision looks as perfect as possible, and the baby is absolutely not bleeding.

 

I know not what God wants anymore than anyone else does. As a Jew who believes in the Torah, I believe God wants us to circumcise our sons, and that there are a few other requirements as to what is supposed to take place during a bris – mostly that the baby be healthy and in a good place within minutes of the ceremony.

 

Beyond the inherent risk that the surgery of foreskin removal (the definition of Bris Milah) provides, the entire process must be reduced to the absolute minimal risk.

 

And the only kind of talk people should have about their mohel is how wonderful and caring he was, and how good a job he did. Mohels are entrusted not just with a tremendous mitzvah, but with a very important and delicate part of the body. We dare not be arrogant about what we are doing or treat our work lightly. If we do, it’s time to find a different profession. 

Awareness I: Mistakes Parents Make

If you are a first time bris-parent, you don’t have a previous experience to compare to the one you’re going to have now. This list is primarily for you.

If this baby is not your first son, you were either pleased with your previous experience and happened to stumble across this blog post by accident (and you plan to rehire your previous mohel (assuming he is/I am 🙂 available), or you were unhappy with the experience and you are looking to make sure you don’t make the same mistake again.

Remember that the experience your mohel provides is about one person and one person only: your baby. Will he be treated respectfully and with dignity? And will he have an aesthetically pleasing circumcision when all is said and done?

The Top Ten List : Mistakes Parents Make When Hiring a Mohel

(Written in Second-Person for convenience)

10. Despite knowing of your pregnancy (and even the sex of the child) for months, you do nothing to make any advance preparations for the bris before baby is born (calling a mohel, exploring different options for the ceremony and celebration, etc)

9. You let your parents (baby’s grandparents) handle all the arrangements. [If they want to pay for the bris, and you want to let them, that is a different discussion.] The celebration should reflect your style and baby’s parents (particularly the father, for whom this is your mitzvah) should at least be making the arrangements with the mohel of YOUR choice (based on your research, see previous)

8. You think it’s cool to hire the mohel who circumcised the baby’s grandfather (if the mohel was twenty at the time, and he is now in his sixties, this might not be a bad idea. But if the mohel was 30 then, and he is now in his nineties, you might want to reserve the coolness for a different part of your celebration)

7. You assume your baby is going to have a perfect circumcision, simply because “Everyone” uses so and so [even though no one talks about what the circumcision looks like]

6. You do not insist and demand that the mohel servicing you operate according to the standards that you think will most benefit your child

5. You choose not to be interested (to not care at all) as to what will be happening to your son. [It is nice that you trust your mohel completely. But how can you not want to know what he will be doing to your son?]

4. You do not inquire about the mohel’s hygiene practices and methods of sterility and circumcision. You do not concern yourself with whether he is wearing gloves, and even if he is wearing gloves, whether they touch anything before they touch your baby and are used for the circumcision. You don’t ask about metzitzah. You don’t inquire as to if he uses a clamp, what the repercussions are in either direction, and if that’s even what you want. 

3. You allow the mohel to make the bris about “himself” and “his show” and about “his getting more publicity and jobs from your bris” than about letting him play the role you have hired him to play, “to be the shaliach/agent to do the bris on your behalf.” [If you want the ‘extras,’ that is OK, of course. But it should be a conversation you and the mohel have before the morning of the bris.]

2. You let the mohel get away with leaving you with a bloody bandage, a bloody diaper, bloody blankets, a bloody pillow. If your mohel is the least bit competent, everything should be more or less clean (save for the diaper the baby is wearing immediately post bris, which should be changed right away by the mohel (IMHO)). If everything is an absolute mess, your mohel has given you a shlocky job. [i recognize that “things happen,” but such an outcome should be the exception, and not the rule]

AND, the NUMBER ONE MISTAKE IS
1. You allow the mohel to “estimate” where the edge of your son’s foreskin is, without marking it with a marker or surgical pen. Some mohels get lucky, and some might be good at estimating. But why take a chance? I know corrective surgery is always an option to make things better. BUT IT SHOULD NOT HAVE TO BE AN OPTION.

You are the parent. Take responsibility for your mitzvah. And more importantly, take responsibility for your son.

Defining the Eighth Day

The last seven postings have been about “Out of the Ordinary” circumstances – including those which might delay a bris from taking place on time. ברית בזמן – Bris Bizman – meaning “in its proper time” – will now be defined.

The Biblical sources for the mitzvah of Bris Milah are two:

Bereshit (Genesis) 17:10-12

This is My covenant between Me, and between you and your offspring that you must keep: You must circumcise every male. You shall be circumcised through the flesh of your foreskin. This shall be the mark of the covenant between Me and you. ‘Throughout all generations, every male shall be circumcised when he is eight days old…’

 Vayikra (Leviticus)12:2-3

to speak to the Israelites, relating the following: When a woman conceives and gives birth to a boy… On the eighth day, [the child’s] foreskin shall be circumcised

In both instances, the eighth day is mentioned as “the” day to do the bris.

Since the word “day” is emphasized, the Talmud teaches us that the bris takes place in daylight hours. In other words, anytime from early in the morning until sunset is a proper time for the circumcision to take place. A celebratory meal can follow, and can go into the evening, when necessary (such as a 4pm bris in the wintertime).

The Eighth Day itself is defined as follows:

Count the baby’s birth day as day one – no matter what time he is born. If born on Monday from 12:01am through the day (4am is the same as 6pm, as long as the baby is born before sunset), the bris would take place the following Monday. 

A baby born after sunset is considered born on the following day (just as Shabbos and all holidays begin at night). So a baby born on Monday after sunset, or Monday night, would have his bris the following Tuesday. Born Friday night = a Shabbos Bris. Born the day after Rosh Hashanah = a Yom Kippur bris.

The only exception to all this (other than a c-section) is if the baby is born in the 18 minutes (or so) from sunset to dusk on either a Friday evening or the week before a holiday. Then the bris would actually be pushed off to either Sunday (in the former example), or the day after the holiday (in the latter case). The reason for this is that the act of the bris (non-lifesaving surgery) is a violation of the Sabbath or a holiday, which is only permitted on a Sabbath or holiday if it is clearly the eighth day. The sunset to dusk period is called “Bein Hashmashot” in Jewish law, and is loosely defined as “neither day nor night.” Since a baby born at that time on Friday evening might have been born on Friday, and yet might have been born on Shabbos, he enters the realm of what we call a “Safek” (lit. “doubt”). We can’t do the bris on Friday because Friday was likely over (and it would be the 7th day). But since it “may have” still been Friday and “might not have been Saturday” we can not do a violation of Sabbath in the form of a bris for a baby who is not 100% born on Shabbos. So the bris will be performed on Sunday.

Out of the Ordinary VII: Miscarriages, Stillborn and Pre-Bris Death

What is the practice when a boy is a late-term miscarriage, stillborn, or dies shortly after his birth? Is he to be circumcised?”

There are mostly two approaches – to do it or not to do it. It is up to the parents and what they want to have done.

Let us consider the two possibilities for a moment – is it even appropriate to do this?

Not Appropriate: We generally demonstrate the ultimate respect for bodies that no longer house souls. We do not desecrate them or do anything other than clean them and prepare them for burial. A circumcision would be removing a part of the body that died at this age, as part of God’s Master Plan.

Appropriate: For some parents, it would be a comfort to know the child is circumcised. It is quite appropriate for a male Jewish child to be buried looking like a Jewish male would look had he only lived a little longer. As a corpse does not bleed, removing the foreskin would not desecrate the body in any way. He would look like his parents intended, with no noticeable deficiency or lack.

If it will be done, how is it done? According to the Shulchan Arukh Y”D 353:6: תינוק שמת קודם שנימול, מוהלין אותו על קברו, בלא ברכה, וקוראין לו שם, which means “A baby who died before he was circumcised is circumcised at his grave, without a blessing, and given a name [then buried].”

The Kitzur Shulchan Arukh (199:4) adds a similar ruling regarding a baby girl who does not survive. While there is obviously no circumcision, there is a custom to give her a name at her burial as well – תינוק שמת מלין אותו אצל קברו וקוראין לו שם, וכן לתינוקת גם כן צריכין לקרוא לה שם

A 15-minute discussion on this subject (as delivered by me) can be heard here (yutorah.org)

In Conclusion

There is a pervading custom to circumcise a child who dies before his bris. Some will do it at the cemetery itself, while others will do it earlier, simply because the way we bury people today will not allow for such an opportunity before interring the child in the grave.

As much merit as this custom may have, it is not by any means a mitzvah, and it is also not obligatory in any fashion. As evidence, a child who is buried uncircumcised will remain buried (and uncircumcised) – there is no permission granted to open a grave to conduct such a practice.

Parents should follow their hearts and do what makes them feel best in these few moments of grief before they say goodbye to the shattered hopes and dreams that accompanied the loss of this baby.

I certainly hope we never need to address this question in practical terms. I wish for all parents to be blessed with healthy children. May the boys have their brisses at the right time, and may the boys and girls bring light and life to their parents and relatives for a very long time.

Out of the Ordinary VI: Anatomical Issues

Every baby is different, every child unique. No revelations there.

But the same is true regarding the development of the penis in utero. No two peni look the same. Some have longer shafts, some shorter, some a much larger or prominent glans, some a hardly distinguishable glans. Some have a complete or evenly overly redundant foreskin, some have a partial foreskin.

These differences are fairly common enough that they won’t specifically cause any delay in the bris or a cancellation of the mohel’s services that he can provide.

But there are cases for which the bris might be delayed or postponed indefinitely out of a preference for a surgical reconstruction of the penis. In most of these cases, having a traditional bris would not only be “not in the baby’s best interest” but might even be harmful, if not destructive to the baby.

Without going into details of what these conditions are (you can research them on your own), a baby who has hypospadias, chordee (these two often come together), inconspicuous penis, scrotal webbing (sometimes referred to as pre-circumcision trapped penis), or whose shaft does not rest free (loose or separate) from the scrotum.

Most of these cases (with the exception of a mild case of hypospadias) would benefit from a reconstructive surgery, typically performed by a pediatric urologist. Usually whatever foreskin is present (though it is often quite diminished on account of the condition) would be needed for the reconstruction.

Any good (and responsible) mohel will spot the issue and defer the bris. It is wise to ask any doctor who examines the baby before the bris to ascertain that all is OK. Surprisingly, doctors do not usually pay any attention to the penis beyond checking that the testicles are present. A quick check of the shaft will affirm that all is OK.

Most babies do not have issues. But I have cancelled a few brisses in my day, or have been invited to participate in the surgery in the operating room (when the issue was noticed by the medical staff), on account of some of the conditions I have mentioned here.

Out of the Ordinary V: C-Section Issues

The Torah says that when a woman gives birth to a male baby, he is to be circumcised on the eighth day of his life. (Leviticus 12:2-3)

What happens when the birth is not really a “birth”? 

A child born through Cesarean Section does not travel through the birth canal. In the words of Shakespeare, he is “from his mother’s womb untimely ripp’d” (Macbeth, regarding Macduff).

According to Torah law (halakha), a surgical procedure, or any process that draws blood, may not take place on Shabbos, unless it is for the sake of saving someone’s life. The exception to this is bris milah, because the Torah says that when a male child is born, “ON THE EIGHTH Day he will be circumcised.” Therefore the eighth day will supersede the laws of Shabbos.

However, if the baby was not born, as in ‘he did not journey through the birth canal,’ the bris may no longer supersede the Sabbath or a holiday, were the baby’s eighth day to fall on one of these holy days.

If baby’s c-section “birth” takes place any other day of the week, his bris will take place on the eighth day of his life – in other words, on time. As of this writing, in the United States, most c-sections are planned and scheduled and take place during the week. Emergency c-sections are the exception, and they might take place on a Saturday.

If one is planning a c-section and wants the bris to take place on the eighth day, the c-section date should not be one-week before a holiday.

In practical terms, if the eighth day is a Saturday or a holiday, the bris will take place on the first available non-holiday day – assuming, of course, that the baby is otherwise healthy.

Out of Ordinary IV: Delaying a Bris – Causes

Having discussed Jaundice, Premature babies, and Multiples, it is now time to understand, in general, what goes into delaying a bris – as in, when we would not have it on the baby’s eighth day.

Size considerations. A very small newborn (under five pounds), would not have his bris until he reaches a desirable weight, which might be different from mohel to mohel. Once the weight has been achieved, the bris can (should) take place without further delay.

Health considerations. If a baby is born with, or develops, a condition that were it to go untreated there is a chance the baby could die (nowadays the baby will typically be put on antibiotics or given other out-of-the-ordinary treatment), we wait until the baby is considered healthy – medically “cleared” – and then we wait 7 full days (168 hours) before the bris can take place. This is a unique example of when medicine and halakha (Jewish law) clash. The doctors can say the baby is fine, but we nonetheless wait the 7-day period. Here are two possible reasons for the wait: a. as a monitoring period, to be absolutely sure nothing comes back, and b. just as most newborns are born healthy, the “medically cleared” baby is as if he is “born” now, so we wait until his “8th day.”

If the baby goes on antibiotics, it also depends on if they were treating something or were “just in case” as a preventive measure. Preventive medication will not delay the bris if nothing ends up happening.

Non-Systemic Issues. The previous paragraph referred to diseases, or something affecting a major organ (heart, lung, liver. Regular physiological jaundice is not considered “systemic” because if untreated it will clear up on its own and is not considered dangerous. Any other medical issue (including physiological jaundice that delays the bris) will only delay a bris until the issue is resolved – such as a  rash or a broken limb (I am not quite sure how a baby gets a broken limb, but if it is set and in a cast, it need not further delay the bris), with no need for the 7-day observation period. The bris will take place once the issue has cleared or has healed.

C-Section. If the baby was born by ceasarian section and the eighth day is the Sabbath or a Festival, the bris will take place on the first day following the Sabbath or Festival. This could mean that if a baby is born on a Thursday, and the following Thursday is Rosh Hashana (which lasts two days), which is followed by a Sabbath, the bris will be on Sunday, on the 11th day of the baby’s life.

Bris For Conversion. When a baby is being circumcised for the sake of conversion (most typically on account of adoption – though some mohels will do such when the baby’s mother is not Jewish), it need not take place on the eighth day of his life because there is no “mitzvah” to circumcise him – he is not Jewish by birth! In this case, the circumcision should take place sooner than later, but the timing will be determined based on when the baby arrives at his adoptive family, and when they are ready to have his circumcision.

Out of the Ordinary III: Multiple Babies

In my career I’ve presided over many brisses of twin boys and two sets of triplet boys.

“How do you do it?” people ask. Simple! Have multiple sets of instruments! For the mohel, the event becomes three separate brisses, all done in succession. Of course everything takes a little longer, but in the scheme of things, each baby is given his own attention (not that I think he cares) and has his own unique ceremony.

When the brisses are done on the same day (which is sometimes not the case if one baby is not yet ready on account of size or some other condition), the older baby goes first and they follow in order of birth.

For better or worse, since not all circumcisions turn out entirely the same, parents have what to compare from one to the other, and it sometimes becomes a discussion afterwards. One of the triplets mothers joked with me that she was grateful because they have another method of identifying the difference in their newborns.

Out of the Ordinary II: Jaundice or the “Yellow Baby”

There are differences of opinion as to the propriety of circumcising a jaundiced baby. The argument is based in Talmudic and halakhic discussions, but the details of these Talmudic discussions might not refer exactly to jaundiced babies, and certainly not to “all cases” of jaundice.

As a precaution, I will delay circumcising a baby who has a bilirubin count above 16, unless the numbers are going down. Other mohels might run away from a baby with the number 12 or higher – while some fear any double digit number.

Suffice it to say, regular physiological jaundice, a normal process experienced by a fair range of babies, is a minor issue which typically resolves on its own without intervention. Some hospitals will give the baby “phototherapy,” putting him “under the lights” and will recommend leaving him near a window to get sunlight. Even though we sometimes delay the bris for this kind of jaundice, the jaundice only delays the bris until the numbers go down. We do not require the 7-day waiting period of other babies who were ill. Most likely, were the bris to take place on a baby with normal physiological jaundice, there would not be any issue.

Other kinds of jaundice, however, could potentially be a very serious matter. These other jaundices are rare, however, and are more “out of the ordinary” than the scope of this posting.

Here is an article about jaundice written by Rabbi Josh Flug. It explains the different medical and halakhic aspects of jaundice and will hopefully be helpful if this is your circumstance.

http://www.medethics.org.il/articles/JME/JMEM9/JMEM.9.4.asp