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How to choose a moyel

 

Hazzan Howard Glantz is one of the few mohalim who is quick to say, there are many excellent mohalim with legitimate training who have different styles and approaches.  Certainly he wants you to be most comfortable with him after asking whatever questions you might have and especially after hearing his thorough replies. The best way to choose is by calling. Responsiveness and openness to frank questions are very telling.  Glantz's manner will make you feel at ease and he will never make you feel that a question you ask is stupid or silly.

 

Glantz has over 20 years of experience working with every type of family one can imagine.  Whether at a bris for a very traditional family or most untraditional, even perhaps with attendees who are skeptical, Howard has a way of putting people at ease.  Once interviewed on the subject of his experience he said, "I am not so modest to refrain from saying I am a good moyel and certainly after this many years, I know more of what to expect among the attendees.  Still, when I was 27, fresh out of training, families expressed that they had a good experience with me. Even after only a few years as a moyel, I was honored to be chosen to perform the brit milah for sons of rabbis, cantors, pediatricians, and urologists and other physicians."

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This is a section on the websites of many mohalim/moyels or mohalot. Glantz feels it would be disingenuous to list preferred qualifications for a mohel here when these would most certainly encompass the qualities and offerings he provides to the exclusion of most others. Rabbi Glantz adds, "No matter the industry, I am wary of those who denigrate the 'competition.' Some mohalim/mohalot are very quiet, and matter-of fact, and who is to say that doesn't fit for some folks?  I like to project confidence while being warm and inviting.  I like to allow the bris to be celebratory, getting people to sing, using the traditional pageantry of the ancient ceremony, and reflect exactly what I hear from the parents regarding their preferences and needs.

 

Instead, the best recommendation is that you speak with the mohel/moyel. Perhaps even meet, or Skype with a mohel/moyel who will take the time to do so.  Request recent and/or not-so-recent references.  Look for reviews on platforms that cannot be controlled, such as one's Facebook business page or Yelp!

 

Ask all the questions you have and judge for yourself how the questions were answered. Before you decide in whose hands to trust your newly arrived package from God,  call Rabbi Glantz with no obligation whatsoever.

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