From: gertler@ptms_dev.sbi.com (User - Don Gertler)
Subject: Re: What is Jewish religion? (long...)
Reply-To: <gertler@ptms_dev.sbi.com (User - Don Gertler)>
Organization: Nysernet
Date: 27 Jul 92 11:39:06 GMT

hrubin@pop.stat.purdue.edu (Herman Rubin) writes:
><gertler@ptms_dev.sbi.com (User - Don Gertler)> writes:
>>hrubin@pop.stat.purdue.edu (Herman Rubin)
>>>Where does it state in the Written Torah that circumcision is to be performed
>>>by a mohel?

>>It need not be stated.  A mohel is one who performs milah.  Do we
>>need the Torah to state that speaking is to be performed by a speaker?

>But this merely states that whoever performs a circumcision is a mohel!

Precisely my point.  Well, perhaps not precisely.  I specifically used
the Hebrew word "milah" in order to include with it the Jewish legal
definition.  Circumcision, per se, does not entail all the same actions.

>Does one have to certify a speaker?

Well, it depends on the circumstances.  In the U.S. it is illegal to
dispense legal advise without being certified by the bar.  [I'm sure
I'll be corrected about this if I'm wrong.]  In other areas, the
"certification" may not be so formal.  If you're attending some sort
of symposium, you would expect speakers to be knowledgeable in the
fields on which they speak.  This would probably be borne out during
their presentations, or at least during any Q&A.   If the speaker
is a charlatan, then (it is hoped) he/she will not be invited to give
another lecture in this field.  (Perhaps we could consider the defense
of one's dissertation to be a sort of academic certification, or at
least the granting of the degree.)

Now, does a mohel really require certification?  I suppose not.  I have
a couple of friends who performed their own -- well, those of their sons.
They weren't certified.  But rest assured, they -- both physicians --
were quite well trained (or drilled) before they felt comfortable
performing the procedure on their own children.

The reason for certification is simple.  Not every Jewish community today
has an experienced mohel.  Since many (most ?) O, C and R Jews wish to
have milah performed according to Jewish law, they want some way to be
assured that they person performing the milah is "certified."  It is
similar to kashrut today.  In the time when people bought all their foods
locally, and the village butcher slaughtered chickens in his shop, one
could ask the rabbi if the butcher was reliable.  Today, it just doesn't
work that way in most Jewish communities.  For this reason (and of course
because there's business involved) we have certifying agencies.  I may
not trust them all, and I may feel uncomfortable having to trust those
that I do accept.  But it's the only practical way to survive.

When I look for a doctor, I ask around, usually other doctors I know.
If I need a lawyer, I'll ask around too.  But I'll always check their
credentials.  The U.S. government (or states) requires certification
in many different areas.  While Jewish law does not, per se, it does
require training, as well as a certain adherence to the law in general.
How will I know if some guy who advertises in the paper is legit?
I'll ask around, find out about his training, experience, etc.

I remember some years back calling (for someone else) a well known mohel
in the Washington, D.C. area.  When I told him the day of the birth --
a Friday -- he asked if the milah could be put off until Sunday, because
he was away for a few days and a Friday appontment was inconvenient.
When he detected in my stunned silence how I felt about postponing the
performance of a Torah obligation out of convenience to him, he quickly
came up with another suggestion.  His son would be in town that day,
and I could call him.  He's just as reliable, he said.

We called the a member of the Washington board of Rabbis.  They recommended
a mohel.

-Don Gertler
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