Rabbi Mahpud, The Mohel: 'People Sometimes Don't Realize They Were Not Circumcised Properly'

It was moments after Rabbi Yehuda Mahpud completed yet another circumcision in his life. If the words 'circumcision' immediately make you think of a soft infant, numerous guests, and excited parents, Rabbi Mahpud indicates otherwise, as the person circumcised was 86 years old. "Despite his pain and weakness, he got out of bed and hugged me," recalls the rabbi, "He couldn’t stop his tears. I asked what happened, and he pulled out a piece of newspaper from his pocket with the phone number of the organization 'Brit Yosef Yitzchak'. He then said in a deep Russian accent: 'I have had this paper in my pocket for ten years, saying every day: 'Tomorrow I will call'. Now it happened, now I am a complete Jew and my mother in heaven is certainly very happy.' That Jewish man is the oldest 'infant' I've circumcised, but he's not the only one; I am fortunate to circumcise many elderly Jews and bring them into the covenant of our forefather Abraham."

The mohel Rabbi Yehuda Mahpud (28) is the grandson of Rabbi Shlomo Mahpud, head of the kashrut system of 'Badatz Yoreh Deah', the rabbi of the neighborhoods Neve Ahiezer and Shikun V in Bnei Brak, who also serves as a renowned mohel. The grandson, Rabbi Yehuda, chose to follow in his grandfather's footsteps and shares stories that have made a lasting impression on him.

Not Just a Circumcision, But Much More

When did you realize you wanted to be a mohel?

"The desire followed me from early childhood and did not stop during my youth. Everywhere I had the opportunity to be close to my grandfather, Rabbi Shlomo Mahpud, I seized it, not allowing myself to miss the chance to learn and master the complex and special art of circumcision, where I need to observe every action the mohel makes and execute it precisely. It’s not easy, especially at the beginning. Grandpa saw my passion and guided me the entire way, where I found myself after more than a decade with a broad, comprehensive understanding of the very important mitzvah of circumcision."

In practice, Rabbi Yehuda Mahpud notes that in his opinion, in the matter of circumcision, as in any other field in life, experience is more important than anything. "This is why I always consulted with my grandfather, with his vast experience, to learn the craft of circumcision. After spending time with him, Grandpa connected me with the conversion department at the Chief Rabbinate, to learn and see circumcisions for adults, and also to understand how sometimes a medical circumcision does not satisfy the halachic requirement. We see this in conversions coming from all over the world, and often we have to perform circumcisions again for people, even if they have already gone through circumcision once for medical reasons."

"After the course at the Chief Rabbinate, I went to specialize at the organization 'Brit Yosef Yitzchak', to acquire the knowledge for correcting circumcisions and adult circumcisions. Most of the circumcisions done through the organization are for immigrants from the Soviet Union, and some of the corrected circumcisions are for those from Persia."

At what age did you perform your first circumcision?

"After two and a half years of learning the craft in detail, I wanted to proceed, especially since other students who arrived much later than I did were already practicing mohels. I felt left behind and asked my grandfather: 'Grandpa, why am I not a mohel yet? Is it because I’m young?'. Grandpa smiled and didn't answer. A few days later, we attended a circumcision in Ramat Gan, and Grandpa asked the father of the baby if he would allow me to perform the circumcision under his supervision. The father agreed. At sixteen and a half years old, I performed my first circumcision. It was a unique feeling, seeing my dream start to come true."

In my entire conversation with Rabbi Yehuda, it is clear that the practice of circumcision he speaks of does not end with professional knowledge alone. "The cut is not the whole matter," he explains, "it's mainly what's around it," he challenges me. When I ask him to elaborate, he explains: "There's a special charm I always see with my grandfather, that besides the expertise in kashrut and circumcisions, there is also the 'fifth Shulchan Aruch', known as 'derech eretz' (manners). Grandpa never refuses others' desires, but tries to direct them in the right way, according to their soul and passion. This is part of the profession – to contain others along with the differences, that is the challenge."

Do you often encounter such cases?

"Definitely. As a mohel, I often encounter challenging dilemmas where I must make difficult decisions immediately. There was a time when I was invited to a circumcision in Rishon LeZion. Everything seemed fine for the circumcision, but the baby developed jaundice, and the parents did not know they needed to update me on the developments. Two hours before the circumcision, they informed me that the child had very high levels of jaundice. At that moment, I realized that performing the circumcision was out of the question, as it was a real danger to life, yet on the other hand, the entire family was excited, to the point of buying a pillow for the circumcision with the child's name embroidered on it. I talked to the parents and explained that their child would not have a circumcision that day. They could not accept the news and asked in tears: 'What do we do now?' After consulting my grandfather, Rabbi Shlomo Mahpud, he gave me a directive. I went to the hall to perform the entire circumcision ceremony and immediately before the actual performance announced that due to the child’s health condition, we couldn't perform circumcision, but we would proceed with the name-giving ceremony. I took the cup, recited the grape blessing, followed by the fragrance blessing. Then I began reading the name-giving text, there were many songs and much joy, and the ceremony passed peacefully. Two weeks later, we performed the real circumcision at their house, in a modest, respectful, and beautiful manner. I understood from this that the profession of a mohel is not just to perform circumcisions, but also knowing how to cancel them suddenly."

The Merit of the Mitzvah Stood By Me

Can you share with us the most emotional case you encountered in your work?

"There were several such cases. One of the most emotional ones was when a 40-year-old religious man, who was actually uncircumcised, reached out to me. He was never circumcised because he was born with a circumcised appearance, and they told his parents there was no need to perform one—an error caused by the medical world, which claimed that those born circumcised need not undergo circumcision. But this is not halachically correct, as the medical definition of 'born circumcised' does not align with the halachic definition of circumcised. In fact, this holy Jew very much wanted to undergo circumcision according to Jewish law, but he had a personal concern. He noted that he and his wife were undergoing fertility treatments and feared that the circumcision would interfere with the process. I suggested we consult my grandfather, and we set an appointment where we expressed our concerns to him. Grandpa asked him: 'Do you want Hashem to bless you with children? The merit of the mitzvah is what will bless you, and with Hashem's help, you will hold a child.' In tears and excitement, he went through with the circumcision, and we expedited the healing process as much as possible. Ten months later, I found myself at Ichilov Hospital because my daughter was born, and coincidentally, I met the circumcised Jew there. He shouted: 'Rabbi Yehuda, Rabbi Yehuda, mazal tov! We had a daughter, against all the doctors' odds. I am sure it’s because of the circumcision. Hashem heard my prayer at the time of devotion.'"

Rabbi Yehuda recounts another incident: "An eighty-two-year-old man approached me wanting to undergo circumcision. I humorously asked if in eighty-two years he hadn’t found the time for a circumcision, and he told me he and his wife were Holocaust survivors, denying belief in the Creator, Heaven forbid. But every disbeliever possesses a 'small believer' hidden in their heart, and they agreed that after one of them passed away, they would visit the surviving spouse to tell about the hereafter and whether there is a world to come. By agreement, if there is indeed a world to come and his wife is the one to remain in the world, she would start observing Shabbat, and if he is the one to stay, he would undergo circumcision. In tears, he shared that his wife came to him in a dream to tell him there is a world to come, so he is there to fulfill his promise for circumcision. How can one not be moved?"

Not Only a Religious Act

The common perception is that circumcision is a religious act, but Rabbi Mahpud debunks this myth. "One of the things agreed upon is that circumcision benefits a person health-wise. So much so that in the U.S., 75% of males, excluding Jewish and Muslim populations, are circumcised. Even in countries with low circumcision rates, like England, the Queen of England has not forgotten to circumcise her sons, and believe me, she is not suspected of having close ties to Judaism." I raise an eyebrow at these statements, but Rabbi Mahpud explains the health aspect of circumcision: "The reasons are evident in reality, be it infections, fungi, urinary tract infections, cancer, phimosis (tight foreskin), and more."

And what do you say to those who want to give their child the right to decide on his body?

"Some parents worry about the child's wishes. They say – 'We will wait until he grows up and can decide for himself about his body.' It's interesting, when your child has a cavity or a tied tongue, do you also wait until he grows older to decide on his own? Maybe he won’t want to undergo the procedure? But no, that’s not what you ask; you certainly do it immediately. So, in circumcision, I tell them clearly: 'Why harm the child? I am confident that when he grows up, he will get circumcised, so why wait? Why have a situation where the child or young man remains with an impairment accompanying him, with a situation that bothers him in every social setting because he is embarrassed that he is not circumcised?"

Yet, parents still fear hurting the tender infant...

"I am very aware of the difficulty every mother and father feels when their baby cries. They understand this as the baby suffering, that he is in pain. But what I see is as follows: The mohel performs the circumcision, then the baby starts to cry. One of the guests panics and immediately shouts: 'Get a pacifier', the second says loudly: 'Give him wine', and the third comments to the mohel: 'Put more powder.' Everyone gives their comments because a red light was triggered for them by the baby's cry. Let’s look – why do they worry because the baby cries? I understand, the answer is they are anxious because they don’t know why he is crying. Before the circumcision, when the baby cried and wanted to eat while still at home, no one rushed to help and support the mother, and the crying neither frightened nor worried anyone, but during the circumcision, when the baby cries, and those same people didn’t feel the need to worry in the days leading up to the circumcision, they aren't concerned because the baby cries, they worry why the baby cries: Is the mohel doing his job faithfully? Thus, I suggest you choose a mohel you feel calm and confident about his professionalism, so you will feel at peace even when the baby cries."

Beware of Medical Circumcision

When dealing with the mitzvah of circumcision beyond all the celebration around it, there is also a sign made with Hashem. Rabbi Mahpud elaborates: "The special commandment that our forefather Abraham received with joy has remained joyous today. Every Jew, as a Jew, is troubled if he hasn’t been circumcised, and when he undergoes circumcision, his happiness is complete. A man whose son is born, on the day of circumcision, his joy is enormous, and this is something against logic, as it’s a painful mitzvah, yet still there is joy, why? In my opinion, the great secret in this mitzvah is to view difficulty as a gift, because we know it’s the best for us and the best for the child. In the mitzvah of circumcision, we understand this, and we should apply this to all mitzvot and to the service of the Divine. This is the faith of the Jewish people from our forefather Abraham, and we can learn from this for every difficulty we have, to believe and view it as a gift, because it will result in good, and understand that everything Hashem does – is for the best."

Finally, Rabbi Mahpud wishes to convey an important message to those unaware of the matter: "There are non-Jewish doctors who learned from a mohel and became a 'doctor-mohel'. They tell people they perform circumcision according to halacha, and the simple people, who don’t know the halacha, believe them. But know that while they may have indeed learned all the nuances of the halacha from a Jewish person, they are not kosher to perform circumcision, because only one who is obligated by the mitzvah of circumcision is kosher to circumcise, but a non-Jew, not being under the obligation, cannot circumcise. Therefore, listen carefully in all matters of circumcision, as hiring a doctor-mohel in some cases can be very problematic."