Rituals and music
By Ephraïm Kahn
Circumcision, also known as Brit-Milah (בְרִית מִילָה), marks the newborn male’s entry into Abraham’s Covenant and the fold of Jewish peoplehood.
The ceremony
Like every stage in Jewish life, the circumcision ceremony follows a codified rite. How could it be otherwise? – with a festive meal.
On the eighth day of life, the baby – if healthy – is carried into the room where family and friends are gathered. When the ceremony takes place in the synagogue, the event is often communal.
The arrangement of furniture is precise: in the center, a throne nicknamed the prophet Elijah’s chair. This is where the baby is placed, sometimes on the Sandak‘s lap[1]The Sandak is the person who holds the male child on his thighs or knees during circumcision. Depending on the tradition, this position may be occupied by the baby’s grandfather or father, or … Lire la suite. A table at the side of the aisle holds the belongings of the Mohel, the circumciser.
The child is often greeted with a song of welcome: “ Be blessed, faithful congregation ” (Beroukhim Atem). After the reading of various verses, which vary from community to community, the blessings are recited and the circumcision performed.
Beroukhim Atem (Djerba – Tunisia)
The lyrics of Beroukhim Atem are taken from a widespread poem whose author is unknown. In 1994, Hervé Roten made a field recording of it during a mission to Djerba with Israel Adler and Simha Arom. Marked by the recitation led by the community’s cantor, he recounts the experience in his book: Musiques liturgiques juives, Parcours et escales :
« Ya’aqov B’shiri sits on a chair. Deep wrinkles etch his forehead like the strings on his ûd. In a voice hollowed by age, he intones a piyyut that the men repeat at the top of their voices. Eight days ago, a child was born into the Zaken family. This day of circumcision marks his entry into the community of the Jews of Djerba, and the songs that welcome him will follow him throughout his life. »[2]Musiques liturgiques juives, Parcours et escales, Ed. Cité de la musique / Actes Sud, 1998, p. 95
From the moment the infant is welcomed, and even before, the audience often sings a song to the glory of the prophet Elijah. Indeed, two biblical figures are associated with this ceremony: the patriarch Abraham and the prophet Elijah. The former received the divine command to enter the Covenant by circumcising himself and his male descendants. The latter, according to a teaching of the ancient Sages, visits the circumcision assemblies of all generations, testifying to the faithfulness of his people to the Covenant.
Eliyahou Hanavi – Ensemble vocal de la synagogue de Versailles
Eli Eliyahou Hanavi – Haim Harboun
Other liturgical poems were also written for circumcision. Two of them, Efta’h sefatay berinah [3]alternating verses in Hebrew and Provençal and Messiès qu’entendes [4]poem entirely in Provençal, have been published by the IEMJ in the CD Musiques Judéo-Françaises des XVIIIe et XIXe Siècles.
Efta’h sefatay berinah – Adolphe Attia
Messiès qu’entendes – Adolphe Attia
Zeved ha-Bat, celebration of the birth of a daughter
In Jewish tradition, there is no female equivalent to circumcision. Nevertheless, the celebration of the birth of a daughter is now widespread. In addition to the naming of the child by her father in synagogue – on the occasion of an ascent to the Torah, followed by a prayer for the health of the mother and infant – a party is organized for family and friends.
The term Zeved ha-Bat, which translates as “a girl’s present”, has come to describe both the appointment and the celebration. No traditional song is specifically named. In the 20th century, the leading poet of Moroccan Judaism, Rabbi David Bouzaglo, wrote the first piyyut (liturgical poetic song) for the occasion: Qiryatenou melea nehora (Our city is filled with light), to a tune by Farid El Atrache, Ya ritni tir.
More recently, the Israeli poet Almog Behar dedicated a poem to it, as part of the Bo-ou legani project, under the musical direction of Yaïr Harel. The poem, entitled Yalda youlda lanou, is set to a Ladino wedding tune, Seniora novia.
Zeved Habbat – Jo Amar
Yalda youlda lanou (Seniora novia)
⇒ See other Brit-Mila documents in our collections
⇒ Order the CD Musiques Judéo-Françaises des XVIIIe et XIXe Siècles produced by IEMJ
| 1 | The Sandak is the person who holds the male child on his thighs or knees during circumcision. Depending on the tradition, this position may be occupied by the baby’s grandfather or father, or even a religious leader or a person to be honored |
|---|---|
| 2 | Musiques liturgiques juives, Parcours et escales, Ed. Cité de la musique / Actes Sud, 1998, p. 95 |
| 3 | alternating verses in Hebrew and Provençal |
| 4 | poem entirely in Provençal |
