South Africa Circumcision Plan
Creates Worldwide Mohel Shortage
Richieville News Service – JOHANNESBURG
In response to news that the government of South Africa plans to circumcise five million men, tens of thousands of rabbis from around the globe have flocked to this African nation in recent days. The rabbis, all of whom are mohels, trained to perform the Jewish circumcision ritual, have set up shop here in the capital and throughout South Africa, waiting for the anticipated, “bris boom,” to begin.
Although the circumcision effort, designed to halt the spread of AIDS, was originally planned to be carried out in hospitals, the South African government seemed happy about the mohel influx.
“Five million circumcisions is a lot,” said Daniel Naidoo, a spokesman for the Department of Health. “So we’re going to need all the help we can get. I just hope they’re not all kosher.”
However, the sudden shift of so many mohels has created something of a crisis for international Judaism, forcing Jewish parents of newborn sons to scramble to find qualified practitioners. Mohel training institutes and rabbinical schools were adding courses to try to make up the shortfall.
“We’re training them as fast as we can,” said Rabbi Kenny Solomon of Yeshiva University in New York, “but believe me, this isn’t something you want to rush.”
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