Tools of the trade IV - Probe

The Probe is used to separate the mucosal membrane from the glans before circumcision.

A quick anatomy lesson is in order - I will explain using a simple model.

Imagine you are wearing a cuffed shirt and a jacket. Pull both sleeves - of shirt AND jacket - over your fist. The fist = the glans of the penis, your shirt cuff = the mucosal membrane below the foreskin, your jacket over the shirt cuff = the foreskin. Now imagine your sleeve is attached to your fist through natural adhesions.

In a "kosher bris" circumcision, the goal is to get both the foreskin and membrane removed completely from the glans. This is why the term Or HaPriah (עור הפריעה) is used for the membrane - it is the "skin" (mucosal membrane really) that must be removed (after the foreskin is removed) in order to completely uncover (פרע) the glans.

Were we to only circumcise your jacket, the cuff of your sleeve would remain. Your fist would appear uncircumcised, and, in fact, your jacket might grow back.

This is why both the foreskin AND the membrane must be removed. The first step in achieving the goal of removing the membrane is breaking apart the adhesions that attach the membrane to the glans. This is accomplished with a probe.

The probe is inserted through the front of the foreskin and is moved around the outer edge of the glans (with care taken not to enter the meatus (the hole of the glans)) so the adhesions can be separated. this allows for the mohel to grab the foreskin and most (or all) of the membrane in one fell swoop.

Some old school mohels do not use a probe and they try to accomplish the same thing with their fingernails. They claim it is less painful to the baby to work mostly with fingers and less with "instruments."

I say, We all want to minimize discomfort to the baby. But we should also want to give the baby the best circumcision possible, while following the dictates of our law in using recognizably useful instruments. So whether a mohel uses a single-tipped or a double-tipped probe, it is an instrument which is helpful, important, and advisable to use to help that membrane be accessed easily.