Terminology

How Do You Spell B-R-I-S? (And M-O-Y-E-L?) — Plus Some Humor

Rabbi Howard Glantz

There are so many ways to refer to this most sacred and meaningful commandment — and further to spell it. Milah, bris, briss, brit, brit milah, bris mila... and which is correct?

There is no right or wrong way to spell a word in English characters that is not an English word. Brit (breet) literally means covenant — not the slang for a citizen of England. Bris is a Yiddish or Ashkenazic pronunciation of the same Hebrew word.

Brit Milah means literally the covenant of circumcision and is the more full reference to this rite. When one says bris milah, it is once again the Yiddish or Ashkenazic pronunciation of the same Hebrew words.

Spell M-O-Y-E-L — or is it Mohel? Moyl? Moyle? Moil?

Is there a proper way to spell the role of the circumciser? Like bris, there is truly no correct or incorrect way to spell mohel — but m-o-h-e-l is by far the most common. On the other hand, moyel or moyal is the most common way that people in the U.S. pronounce this word. So it can depend on one's background.

The Hebrew term for circumcision is מילה (Milah) — pronounced "mee-lah." One who performs Milah is called a מוהל (Mohel) — pronounced properly in Hebrew as "moe-hell." In Yiddish, Hebrew words with syllables that have the long "o" sound change to the Jewish sound of "oy." For Yiddish speakers, a "mohel" becomes "moy-ill" and the soft "h" is dropped in the process. Since most (certainly not all) American Jews stem from European ancestry — and there Yiddish was the first language — the term "moyel" became popular and stuck.

Rabbi Glantz uses the term m-o-y-e-l most often, which is the Yiddish pronunciation, because most of the time that is how people pronounce it. And when you email him, he will promptly e-moyel you a response!

The Bris on TV — A Running List

Comics have an easy mark when they poke fun of intimate things. We're already squirming a bit, so laughter is a relief from the discomfort — even when the joke isn't that good. That said, there are great jokes, TV episodes, and stories that involve our ancient ritual. Rabbi Glantz definitely has some favorites which he might share with you.

Ok, if you really need something punny — a definition of circumvent (n.): the opening in boxer shorts worn by Jewish men.

Glantzbris.com is compiling a list of every TV reference and updating it with each new one. Of course, plenty of movies have included the ritual, too — most recently the silly Ricky Stanicky with Zac Efron and John Cena. Feel free to e-mail additions to phillybris@gmail.com.