Jerusalem – The birth of a son to a young couple from Israel’s Central Region turned into a string of nightmares when the mohel who performed the bris made a poor incision, causing severe injuries. As a result of the slip the infant had to undergo some ten operations and still requires further treatments.
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During the bris the mohel bandaged the organ too tightly, causing excessive pressure. The infant cried all night and the next day. The worried parents called the mohel, who said he would come the next day, but did not arrive. The parents took the baby to the hospital, where doctors discovered how serious the damage was.
The Rishon Letzion Magistrate’s Court recently sentenced the mohel to six months’ community service and a fine of NIS 10,000 ($2,650).
“I would have been happy had the outcome been different. The money is not important and obviously this amount does not even cover the medications. But in my opinion they should have given him a jail sentence,” said the baby’s mother.
very sad, I have nothing to say
Shreklach…… I get the chills when I see such stories. Nebach on the parents & this little Neshamala. May he have a Refua Sh’laime & the parents should have lots of Nachas from him!!
Besides him not showing up as promised the next day, I don’t see anything this Moihel did intentionaly wrong.
Every Moihel can make a mistake.
What about revoking his license to practice or at least suspend and have him retrained! I feel so sorry for the infant and parents.
this is not just a mistake all moihels should have medical training
Reply to 3
I agree but some mistakes are more costly than others now I’m not sure who this mohel is and if has a reputation as a good mohel or if it’s his first time if it’s a new mohel with no track record than perhaps we shouldban him from further brisin but one thing is forsure regardless be carfull who you pick as a mohel I recall before I Made my first bris I askt the. Mohel for rferences and under who he traind and I spoke to his rebby and after he asured me that he watcht him preform over 400 sucesfull brisim I hierd him
You know, we often joke about the one word you don’t want to hear from the mohel, “oops”, but this is no joke. Frankly, I’ve never heard of a mohel messing up like this before. Besides the criminal sentence and fine, isn’t he civilly liable for malpractice?
is there such a thing as a certified mohel ? not that certified people can’t make mistakes.
A Mohel should ALWAYS check on the baby within 24 hours
I pray that this baby does not end up with permanent damage which will prevent him from having kids. Ten operations sounds like very severe damage was caused. The mohel should be in prison for his negligence!
Can you imagine the guilt that the parents will have for the rest of their lives?
#3 When someone runs a red light and nearly kills you because he/she was on a cell phone and the person that smashed your car gets out and tells you mistakes happen, I would like to see your reaction!
This Mohall sounds like a selfish person. He should have come when called by the parents, especially since the baby cried all night.
Yes a baby must be checked soon after the bris ESPECIALLY if he cried so much. and then he didn’t show up!!!
HKB”HU controls the world. We don’t know why he did this.
(Thank you to)
sometimes surgrey isn’t the answer,arnica-homeopathic medicine is better as it was bruises and also blessings for refula sheima
I feel bad for the child and parents, but the parents are too harsh on the mohel. its not like he did it on purpose.
Its a very sad story- but there’s one part of this story I cannot comprehend, that when the mohel was a asked the baby after a day and a night crying( I’m sure the parents told the mohel that) shouldn’t the mohel have shown a little concern for a 10 day old baby and either come himself or sent someone else. I don’t want to be insenscetive to the parents plight, but maybe they should have done a little more a little sooner. As far as the mohel he should lose his liscense for his lack of concern for this baby. May the baby have a complete recovery.
Can a mohel be sued for malpractice?
Jail seems harsh. Doctors dont go to jail for screwing up. He should have followed up but how did the parents wait 36 hours?
Geez, it was an accident.
Apologize and move on
take off that picture it is not nice. Are you going to put on before & after pictures
In E’Y there are so many brisim and many Bts they do not who to use. Someone shows them a business card and the “Mohel” ios a silck talker and he is hired. I once saw a video posted of a mohel using a “Clip” prior to mahl and he mutilated the poor neshome. It is a tragedy. B’H these are the few cases that exist BUT even one case is one to many. Something must be done.
It happened to my nephew many years ago. The Mohel (London) has had many problems since & I think he was pulled off the list of approved Mohelim. But my nephew bled so much the next day this moron asked my sister if there was a history of hemophilia in the family. I thought my father (not my brother in law) was going to kill him.
B”H my nephew & his wife are expecting their first baby, but my sister & brother in law were frantic at the time. The only thing people can do is seek recommendations & pray.
Truly a scary story. May G-D bless the child with a complete and speedy Refuah Shleimah!
Ten operations and still requires treatment!?! Poor kid.
So many questions:
How many brisim had this mohel performed before? Were there any problems?
Did the mohel realise there was a problem, and if not, why not?
What exactly went wrong – what was the “poor incision”, and how much of the problem was the bandaging, and how much the delay in seeking medical care?
Why didn’t the parents go straight to hospital, instead of calling the mohel and waiting over a day for him to turn up?
Why didn’t the mohel go straight to the baby when he heard there might be a problem? Why didn’t he arrive the day after when he said he’d come?
Is the mohel still allowed to perform brisim?
Why isn’t the mohel in the picture wearing sterile surgical gloves? That should be the first sign you’re using the wrong mohel.
This baby has permanent damage which will prevent him from having a satisfactory sex life and marriage. Ten operations means very severe damage – the mohel and the synagogue should pay everything and the mohel lose his license for damage and negligence! The synagogue should be fined and required to ensure the mohel do immediate, interim and long term follow-up.
The parents too should have sought immediate attention at a hospital if the screams persisted after ten minutes and the mohel did not show up.
All this agony for revering a 6,000 year old bronze age sacrificial ritual which is very punitive and has no place in contemporary society, culture or religion.
Hasn’t anyone heard of Bris Shalom? Shalom meaning whole as well as peace! Many educated parents in the US and Canada are turning from cutting and respecting their sons’ rights to wholeness.
Bris Shalom means preserving 20,000 – 40,000 nerve endings of 7 different types connected to all of the neurological pathways, and ensures there is never any risk of ‘additional surgical misadventure’ – read botch job. Same cham[agne and party sanwichs, same beautiful singing, no agonized screams from the boy, EVERYONE goes home happy.
I’ll do something I usually try not to do, which is to quote from Kabbolah and the Zohar; but because we have been challenged I feel that it would be appropriate to bring a quote so that Me’at Min Ho’ohr Doicheh Harbeh Min Hachoishech.
The Zohar says; I think it is actually in the Tikunei Zohar: Kad Loi Notrin Yisroel Bris Milah, Misgabrin Umin De’almeh, De’inin Hamayim Hazeidoinim – Kad Notrin Leih [Bris Milah], Itmar Behoin (Bereishis 8:5) Vehamayim Hoyu Holoich Vechosoir …”. You cannot be a Noiter Habris (perfection Bla”z) without getting circumcised.
I hope that the rabbonim came out and disallowed this mohel from performing a bris again. Having the baby bleed a little extra and requiring stitches is one thing, this is something much worse. Just pray that the rabbonim aren’t too wimpy to talk about another rabbi