What are and why are Brit Milah and Brit Banot performed in Judaism?

Question

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Answer 1

A Brit Milah means the Covenant of Circumcision. (It can also be pronounced Bris Milah)

It's the circumcision of a Jewish baby boy, and it takes place 8 days after he's born as early in the morning as possible. Exceptions to this are if he is jaundiced (yellow), or if he has had several brothers die from circumcision. In the first case we wait for him to get better, in the second case he remains uncircumcised.

The reason is it's a commandment from G-d in the Bible, "You shall cut a covenant between you and me in your foreskin and the foreskin of your whole household..." The Bible and tradition do not give a reason why the covenant is sealed in that area, so we simply accept it as the sovereign will of the Creator.

A Brit Bat is not a Jewish ceremony, meaning it has no origin in Judaism. It was invented by certain liberal Jews who felt that girls were left out of birth rituals because they couldn't have a Circumcision.

The ceremonies differ and are generally created by the parents to be meaningful to them.

Such ceremonies are forbidden by Orthodox Jewish law for various reasons (mostly because they are an invented custom), but there are welcoming ceremonies for little baby girls that are part of Jewish tradition:

1) Usually a Kiddish is given in the baby girl's honor. A Kiddish is a ceremony where people thank G_d for giving the Jews the Sabbath while holding a glass of wine. THey then drink the wine and eat various refreshments. THis happens every week on Friday night and Saturday morning.

After the birth of a daughter it is normal and expected for the family to invite some people over to the house or sponsor one of these events in the synagogue in the merit of their daughter.

In some circles it is considered so important to do this, that if the parents were not religious and didn't; the daughter is told to when she gets older. Even in her thirties or older. This is because it is supposed to provide her a lot of merit that helps her have good health and find a good husband.

2) Sephardim, Jews from North Africa and Asia, have a ceremony called Zeved HaBat where they give the little girl a name in her house and pray for the mother's recovery.

Ashkenazim, Jews from Europe, don't have a name for the ceremony (it's part of a different one called Mi'sheberakh), and it takes place in the Synagogue. Unlike the Sephardi ceremony, the mother and baby are usually not present. They are still in the hospital or resting at home.

Hope that helps.