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[[Image:Milah barzel.gif|right|thumb|Mohels often use some sort of device to keep the glans from being severed.]]
In Jewish tradition, boys are circumcised on their 8th day of life. The tradition is based on the [[Abrahamic covenant]] found in Genesis 17.<ref name="bigelow1995">{{REFbook |last=Bigelow |first= |init=J |author-link=Jim Bigelow |year=1995 |title=The Joy of Uncircumcising |url= |work=The Development of Circumcision in Judaism |editor= |edition=Second Edition |volume= |chapter=Chapter Six |scope= |page= |pages=54-60 |location=Aptos, CA |publisher=Hourglass |ISBN=0-934061-22-X |quote= |accessdate=2023-08-29 |note=}}</ref> The circumcision is conducted by a traditional circumciser called a ''[[mohel]]'' in a ritual known as a ''bris.'' There are three stages in how a traditional Jewish circumcision is now performed; these are ''milah'', ''peri'ah'', and ''metsitsah b'peh''.
== Milah ==
The first stage of a ritual circumcision, the initial cut, is called ''milah'' in Hebrew. The Hebrew word for "covenant," is ''brit'' in the Sephardic pronunciation now used in Israel, or ''bris'' in the Ashkenazic pronunciation used over the centuries by European Jews outside of Spain and Portugal, hence the terms ''brit milah,'' or ''bris milah.'' Most Jewish Americans are familiar with the term "bris," as in "They're having the bris tomorrow." The term bris is well known, but few Jews realize that it means "covenant" rather than [[circumcision]].
Originally, Jewish circumcision, or "milah" only involved the removal of just the [[acroposthion| tip]] of the [[foreskin]]. This was realized by pulling the loose edge of the [[foreskin ]] up through a protective device called a ''barzel'' and slicing it off.
The result was a [[penis]] that still retained much of the [[foreskin]], with just the tip of the [[glans]] protruding.
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This stage of Jewish circumcision was implemented in the 2nd century by hardline rabbis who wanted to make it difficult for Jewish men to [[Foreskin restorationepispasm|restore]].<ref>{{REFbook
|last=Glick
|first=Leonard B.