## Rabbi Sacks on Siddur, The Cycle of Life, Brit Mila

###### Rabbi Sacks on Siddur, The Cycle of Life, Brit Mila 1
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**English Edition; Koren Publishers Jerusalem, 2017:**
SERVICE AT A CIRCUMCISION
Since the days of Abraham (Gen. 17:4–14), circumcision has been the sign, for Jewish males, of the covenant between God and His people. Despite the fact that the law was restated by Moses (Lev. 12:3), it remains known as the “Covenant of Abraham.” The ceremony – always performed on the eighth day, even on Shabbat, unless there are medical reasons for delay – marks the entry of the child into the covenant of Jewish fate and destiny. The duty of circumcision devolves, in principle, on the father of the child; in practice it is performed only by a qualified *mohel.*


###### Rabbi Sacks on Siddur, The Cycle of Life, Brit Mila 21
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**English Edition; Koren Publishers Jerusalem, 2017:**
בָּרוּךְ *Blessed are You:* There are three blessings to be said at a circumcision: (1) *And has commanded us concerning circumcision* – a blessing over the commandment itself, the “about” formula signaling that the *mohel* is performing the commandment on behalf of the father; (2) *To bring him* [*our son*]*into the covenant of Abraham, our father* – a separate blessing, referring not to the circumcision itself, but what it is a sign of – namely entry into the life of the covenant, under the sheltering wings of the Divine Presence (*Arukh HaShulḥan*, *Yoreh De’ah* 365:2); (3) *Who made the beloved one* [*Isaac*]*holy from the womb* – a blessing of acknowledgment. Isaac was the first child to have a circumcision at the age of eight days. He was consecrated before birth, Abraham having been told that it would be Isaac who would continue the covenant (Gen. 17:19–21).


###### Rabbi Sacks on Siddur, The Cycle of Life, Brit Mila 27
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**English Edition; Koren Publishers Jerusalem, 2017:**
כְּשֵׁם שֶׁנִּכְנַס לַבְּרִית *Just as he has entered into the covenant:* Mentioned already in early rabbinic sources as the response of those present. The three phrases refer to the duties of a parent to a child: (1) to teach him Torah; (2) to ensure that he marries; and (3) to train him to do good deeds, as the Torah says in the case of Abraham: “For I have singled him out so that he may instruct his children and his posterity to keep the way of the LORD by doing what is just and right” (Gen. 18:19).


###### Rabbi Sacks on Siddur, The Cycle of Life, Brit Mila 39
[Rabbi Sacks on Siddur, The Cycle of Life, Brit Mila 39](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Rabbi%20Sacks%20on%20Siddur/s/The%20Cycle%20of%20Life,_Brit%20Mila/r/39)

**English Edition; Koren Publishers Jerusalem, 2017:**
BIRKAT HAMAZON AT A BRIT MILA
נוֹדֶה לְשִׁמְךָ בְּתוֹךְ אֱמוּנַי *We give thanks to Your name among the faithful:* A highly stylized form of the invitation to say Grace, asking permission respectively from God, the Torah, Kohanim and Levites, and the assembled company, dating from the Middle Ages. Originally said at other festive occasions, it has come, over the course of time, to be associated specifically with the celebration of a circumcision.


###### Rabbi Sacks on Siddur, The Cycle of Life, Brit Mila 53
[Rabbi Sacks on Siddur, The Cycle of Life, Brit Mila 53](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Rabbi%20Sacks%20on%20Siddur/s/The%20Cycle%20of%20Life,_Brit%20Mila/r/53)

**English Edition; Koren Publishers Jerusalem, 2017:**
הָרַחֲמָן *May the Compassionate One:* A series of special blessings for the parents of the child, the Sandak, the child, and the mohel. The fifth and sixth are prayers for the coming of the Messiah, and for Elijah, who is believed to be from God, the Torah, Kohanim and Levites, and the assembled company, dating from the Middle Ages. Originally said at other festive occasions, it has come, over the course of time, to be associated specifically with the celebration of a circumcision.