A Mohel in South Florida

There are many cities in Florida that do not have a local mohel. There may be some people who will opt to have a physician play the role on the traditional eighth day, and there are some who will bypass tradition opting for a hospital circumcision in the hospital on day 1 or day 2 of their baby's life. [I don't recommend this path because I believe that a bris milah is incomplete unless it is done by the right person on the eighth day - or afterwards, if delayed for medical reasons.] If a person chooses this latter method, the procedure described here Hatafat Dam Brit, would be needed to turn the circ into a bris.

For those who are looking for the traditional method, a bris done with a mohel, the difficulty comes in finding the right person for your needs, as well as someone willing to travel. 

These are the things that make me - and therefore your bris experience - different than with a different mohel.

The travel expenses are sometimes the biggest deterrent for people contemplating the traditional route. But if you think of bringing in a mohel as a one-time expense which, in most cases, doesn't repeat itself for at least two or three years (if not more, if there's a girl somewhere in the mix), then it becomes a little easier to stomach.

So whether you are looking for a mohel, moyle, moil, moyel, in Naples, in Fort (Ft.) Myers, in Sarasota, in Tampa, in Western Florida, or in Kendall, in Miami, in North Miami, in North Miami Beach, in Ft. Lauderdale, in Hollywood, in Boca Raton, in Delray Beach, in Pompano Beach, in Plantation, in Cooper City, in Palm Beach, in West Palm Beach, in Boynton Beach, in Aventura, in Weston, in Pembroke Pines, in Margate, in Deerfield Beach, in Lake Worth, or in Wellington (not to mention Jupiter, Stuart, Port St Lucie, or Orlando) - or even Gainesville, Jacksonville, Tallahassee or Pensacola, to which I am accessible by plane, be in touch! I'd be honored to join your family for the bris of your son!

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Finding a Mohel in South Florida

A web search for a "mohel in south florida" or "mohel in florida" may have brought you to this particular page.

Ought you just go with the top search engine listing?

RESEARCH RESEARCH RESEARCH

Everyone who has any media sense or savvy will have nice pictures and guarantees of a beautiful ceremony. Of course that's what you'll find. After all, don't we all do the same thing?

Yes, and no.

Yes - we all do a ceremony, we all do a circumcision, and we all take care of your son.

No - it's not all the same.

Mohel, Moyel, Moyl, Moyle, Moil, Moiel?

What is the proper way to pronounce the profession of the person who circumcises Jewish boys?

It really depends on what your background is.

The Hebrew term for circumcision is מילה (Milah) - pronounced "me-la."

One who does Milah is called a מוהל (Mohel) - pronounced "moe-hell"

Those who speak Yiddish as a first language will typically take the long "o" sound, and turn it into a classically Jewish sound of "oy." For them, a "mohel" is now pronounced "moy-ill" because the soft "h" is dropped in the process.

Since most American Jews stem from European ancestry, where Yiddish was the first language, the term "Moyel" became popular and it stuck.

In his classic book about Judaism, "This is My God," author Herman Wouk wrote (1950s) that most Jews today need only go back four or five generations to discover observant Jews. In 2009 2010, I suppose that would translate to seven or eight generations. Through it all, assimilation, integration, emergence of different types of Jewish experiences, one thing has pretty much remained a constant: bris milah a.k.a. circumcision.

And so the Yiddish name for Mohel ("Moyel") has remained popular as well, because that's the way "it's always" been pronounced.

So whether you call us circumcisers "mohel"s or "moyel"s or something else, we look forward to answering the call and taking care of your son and your family's needs.