12 May MAY A WOMAN SERVE AS A MOHEL?

And Tzipporah took a
sharp stone and cut
off her son’s foreskin
and cast it at his feet.
Shemos 4:25
Introduction
Although the Torah records that Tzipporah
gave her son a bris milah, it is not the minhag
Yisrael for a woman to serve as a mohel.

Nevertheless, there are occasions when non-
religious parents will only consent to a milah

performed in the hospital and the doctor on
call happens to be a religious woman, leaving
her as the only person available to perform a
milah. Should a woman perform the milah in
such a case? Should she recite a beracha when
doing so, and do all the halachos that pertain
to a mohel apply to her as well?
The Source
The Gemara in Avodah Zarah (27a) rules that
a non-Jew is disqualified from performing a
milah:
It was stated: From where do we know that a
circumcision performed by a non-Jew is
invalid? Rav Daru bar Pappa said in the name
of Rav: [Because the verse states:] “And you
shall keep My covenant.” And Rabbi

Yochanan said: [It is derived from the verse:]
“He who is circumcised shall circumcise.”
What is the practical difference between
them? … The difference is with regard to a
woman. According to the one who derives it
from “And you shall keep My covenant,”
there is no issue, as a woman is not subject to
circumcision. But according to the one who
derives it from “He who is circumcised shall
circumcise,” a woman is considered as if she
herself is circumcised and therefore could
theoretically perform circumcision.
The Gemara then raises an objection based on
a pasuk in the Torah:
And is there anyone who says that a woman
cannot perform circumcision? But doesn’t it
say (Shemos 4:25): “And Tzipporah took a
flint knife…”—read it as “and she caused to be
taken.” And doesn’t it say: “And she cut off
the foreskin”—read it as “and she caused to be
cut.” She told another man to do it, and he
performed the circumcision. Alternatively,
you could say: She began the process, and
then Moshe came and completed it.
The Rishonim
The Gemara here cites a machlokes between
Rav and Rebbi Yochanan. When these two
authorities argue, we generally follow the

opinion of Rebbi Yochanan. Accordingly, the
Rif (Shabbos 56a) and the Rosh (Shabbos
19:11) both accept the view of Rebbi Yochanan
and write that if no man is available to perform
the milah, a woman may absolutely serve as
the mohel. Tosafos (Avodah Zarah 27a, s.v.
isha), however, rules like Rav, since the
Gemara began with a beraisa of Rebbi Yehuda
HaNasi, who rules in the same manner as Rav
that a woman may not perform a bris milah.
Nevertheless, Tosafos adds that the Behag
accepts the opinion of Rebbi Yochanan.
The Semak (157) writes that a woman should
not perform a bris milah, which could indicate
that he accepts the opinion of Tosafos. This is
how his view is understood by the Bach (YD
264:1). However, the Beis Yosef (ibid.) quotes
the same comment of the Semak and suggests
that he may have meant only that a woman
should not serve as a mohel lechatchilah; if
she already did so, it would be considered a
kosher bris.
The Shulchan Aruch
As indicated in the Beis Yosef, the Mechaber
(YD 264:1) rules that a woman is qualified to
perform a bris milah, but if a capable man is
present, he should be given precedence. The
Rema adds that there are those who hold that a
woman cannot do a milah, and the correct
practice is to find a man to do it.
The Shach (2) questions the wording of the
Rema. In stating that the practice is to try to
find a man to perform the milah, he seems to
be ruling the same way as the Mechaber,
who also writes that a man should be the
first choice but that a milah performed by a
woman is still kosher. Why, then, does the
Rema bother to comment?
The Makneh (Kiddushin 29a) suggests that
the Rema and the Mechaber argue as to
whether a woman would recite a beracha if
she did the milah. In general, the Shulchan
Aruch follows the opinion that a woman
who volunteers to perform a mitzvah does
not recite a beracha when doing so, whereas
the Rema maintains that a woman who
performs a mitzvas aseh shehazman grama
does recite a beracha. Thus, the Mechaber
holds that a woman would not recite a
beracha if she were to serve as a mohel,
simply because she is not obligated in the
mitzvah. Perhaps it is for this reason that the
Mechaber would prefer that a man perform
the milah, as in such a case a beracha can be
recited. The Rema, who holds that a woman
can recite a beracha on a mitzvah she
volunteers to perform, still requires that one
seek out a man to perform the milah, since
there is a machlokes as to whether she is
qualified to serve as a mohel in the first
place.
However, the Makneh suggests that since
the Mechaber makes no mention of a woman
abstaining from reciting the beracha, it is
likely that he would permit a woman to

make the beracha if she did, in fact, perform
the milah.
What About Tzipporah?
As noted above, it would seem to be obvious
that a woman is permitted to perform a bris
milah from the fact that Tzipporah did so. The
Gemara cited above offers two suggestions as
to why we do not derive the halacha from the
account in the Torah. The first is that we
assume that Tzipporah instructed someone
else to perform the milah on her behalf. The
second is that she began to perform the milah
and Moshe then completed it.
It is perhaps based on this that the Teshuvos
Beis Yaakov (104), cited by the Pischei
Teshuvah (3), rules that if a woman began the
milah and a male mohel showed up in the
middle, we prefer that the male complete the
milah.
Shabbos
Rav Menashe Klein (Mishneh Halachos
7:173) discusses whether a woman would be
permitted to perform a milah on Shabbos.
Under ordinary circumstances, we assume
that the father’s obligation to circumcise his
child is so compelling that it is even docheh
Shabbos. This reasoning would not apply to
the child’s mother, who is not similarly
obligated. On the other hand, if we assume it
is the child’s obligation that permits a milah
on Shabbos, we would not distinguish between
a male and a female mohel.
The entire premise of this teshuvah is
questionable. In general, the individual who
performs the bris milah is not the child’s father
and is not obligated at all to perform this
specific milah; he is merely the shaliach of the
father. It therefore should not really matter
whether that shaliach is a man or a woman.
The ability to act as a shaliach for the father’s
mitzvah should be independent of whether a
mother has a personal obligation in her son’s
milah.
Conclusion
We prefer that a woman should not perform a
bris milah, since there is a substantial
machlokes rishonim as to whether she is
qualified to do so. Nevertheless, if she did the
milah, the child would be considered fully
circumcised and there would be no need for
hatafas dam bris or any other ceremony to
complete the process.