Twins again - and French origin

Judging by most of the population's proclivity for having children in single doses, multiple births are not very common. Of course, with IVF and other fertility advancements, multiples have probably become more common these days - nonetheless, most people have one baby at a time.

In the last few years I've presided over brisses of twins around 10 times (with a few additional situations where one of the twins was a girl - so it was only one bris).

In two cases (two separate sets of twins) the parents were living in the US but had relatively recently moved here from France - can't get into all the reasons why, though I'm sure that one reason is obvious to everyone. 

What's up with French Jews having twins? :)

It is most fun for me for two reasons as well. My last name is a European word which means "ticket" - and it is so French of a word that these lovely families feel an additional connection with me owing to my French origins, beyond our being Jewish. (FTR, I know of no Billets from France, and I speak as much French as Huckleberry Finn)

The second reason is harder to explain, but it is 100% true. While I speak a decent Hebrew and with an undistinctly American accent (living in Israel for a year as a kid helped me fashion my own version of an Israeli accent - though my vocabulary limitations are a dead giveaway), every time I'm in Israel and find myself in Jerusalem, whether in conversation with a vendor or when either asking for or giving directions to someone, I'm inevitably asked "Ata Tzorfati?" (Are you French?) Maybe it's a complexion thing, or maybe it's a style of Hebrew-speak, but it has happened so many times I don't even wonder what it's all about anymore.

Anyway - point is, there is a connection beyond words that exists between me and French Jewry. And I am always honored to be the mohel for the twins - and even enjoy the occasional single bris that life brings my way. 

How I explain what happens in a bris

Letting the cat out of the bag here will take away a little of the entertainment factor from those who will hear this shpiel in the future, but I imagine that this, like all blog posts, will eventually get lost in the blogosphere.

For the record, I've described how things look after the bris here and here and here, and I've even offered a link to a medical website that shows textbook images (computer generated, not photos) of a pre-circumcised and post-circumcised penis.

In the moments before or especially AFTER the bris, I like to explain to parents what has happened to their son.

Then I pull out my model, the one I "carry with me always" - and here it is:

Imagine my fist being hidden by the cuff of my sleeve (if you look carefully, you can detect it below the cuff). Now: CUFF = FORESKIN.  FIST = GLANS (head of the penis)

In the act of circumcision, the foreskin (imagine the entire cuff) is grabbed and excised, leaving the glans to emerge from the incision-spot, to be completely exposed and not covered by the shaft-skin, (or the shirt below the cuff.)

Watch as it emerges.

The tip emerges

It takes a second or two.

Almost completely out

And then we are free and clear!

You didn't really think I was going to cut the cuff of my shirt just for a demonstration, did you?

It is important to note that the fist (GLANS) is free and clear of any skin so that nothing will heal attached to it. Anything attached to the glans makes the bris "unkosher" and needing a repair.

It is important to also know that below the foreskin is a membrane that we aim to remove during the circumcision as well. Sometimes it comes off during the circumcision, sometimes it needs to be torn and folded back, and sometimes it needs to be excised afterwards - using hemostat and scissors.

One of the things I do is use a marker to help guide the incision so that the skin that should remain on the shaft remains, and we avoid having a significant amount of extra skin removed.

In other words - this should be avoided:

We want the glans to be revealed, but we don't need to reveal the lower layer of the shaft..

Now that I've given away my secret, what will I do for fun in explaining this stuff? Maybe not everyone will read this blog post. There is hope!