Mother v Father : Wife v Husband

It does not happen often, but every now and then the parents of the baby have very different ideas as to what they want their baby's circumcision to look like. And no, I am not talking about the actual aesthetics of how things will turn out and look post-op.

I'm referring to the setting of the bris. Without getting into specifics of what men v women want (because there is honestly no set rule here), let's just give a few examples where different visions can reach very different conclusions.

One wants to make a big party and invite lots of people
One wants to keep things modest. Very modest.

One wants to bring special attention to the mitzvah at hand
One couldn't care less about the mitzvah

One believes circumcision is the right thing to do for religious reasons
One believes circumcision is an important medical procedure

Bris on Tisha B'Av

This is one of a series of blog posts on things that might be done differently at a bris taking place on a special day on the Jewish calendar. See all of the links at this dedicated page

In the event your baby's bris will be taking place on Tisha B'Av (timely, because that will be observed this coming Sunday), here are a few things to bear in mind.

1. The bris takes place after Kinot, because we can't mix "Simcha" (of the bris) with the sadness of the Kinot. As far as when exactly we do the bris there are three views

1. After Shacharit, but before Chatzot (midday)
2. After Chatzot
3. After Mincha

Ashkenazim typically follow the first view, while Sefardim typically follow the second view. 

Like every other day of the calendar, the main rule is that the bris take place while the sun is out. Those who would like to serve a break the fast meal as a "Seudat Mitzvah" might prefer to have the bris as close to sunset as possible. 

2. The father, mohel and sandak may wear Shabbos clothes in honor of the special day (typically, Tisha B'Av clothes are less fancy than Shabbos clothes). There are differences of opinion as to their allowance to wear leather shoes. However, once the bris is over, they should change back to regular Tisha B'Av garb.

3.The blessing is made over wine, but the wine is given either to children to drink, to the baby to drink, or to the baby's mother, in the event that she is not fasting.  She should be sure to hear the bracha, have in mind to fulfill the bracha for herself with the recitation at the bris, and she should not talk between hearing the bracha and drinking the wine. (This applies if the bris is on time, or taking place while the baby is under 30 days old. If the bris has been significantly delayed, she should also be fasting).

4. For those who bring besamim to a bris (a Sefardic and Middle Eastern tradition), there is a debate as to whether they should be brought to a Tisha B'Av bris, some feeling we avoid making a blessing on spices on Tisha B'Av, with others thinking, "Yes, but it's a brit!!"

5. While we don't cut fingernails on Tisha B'Av, a mohel may cut his fingernails if they are needed for pri'ah. 

6. There are different customs surrounding wearing a tallis at a bris. Those who wear a tallis do not wear it on Tisha B'Av in the morning. As such, there are different views as to whether the "no tallis in the morning" rule also applies to a bris taking place in the morning. 

7. While under typical circumstances we do not allow the eating of meat on the evening that follows Tisha B'Av, but since meat is allowed to be eaten during the Nine Days for a bris, meat can also be eaten at the end of Tisha B'Av, if it is for the meal that is the Seudas Mitzvah of the Tisha B'Av bris. 

8. When Tisha B'Av falls on Saturday and is observed on Sunday there is a debate as to whether the father, mohel and sandak may eat. If they may, it is only after Mincha. All eating on a Sunday Tisha B'Av must be preceded by havdalah. 

9. If the bris has been pushed off, and today is not the 8th day, the father, mohel and sandak must fast. 

10. There is a custom to give the baby whose bris is on Tisha B'Av either the name Menachem or Nechemiah (there is also a custom to give a girl born on Tisha B'Av the name Bat Zion.)

(Source, Otzar HaBris  Volume I, pages 293-297)