July 16, 2004/Tamuz 27 5764, Vol. 56, No. 43
A mensch among mohels
LILA BALTMAN
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| Phoenix pediatrician, mohel Dr. Alan Singer donates services to new parents As Jewish tradition passes along customs and rituals through generations of Jewish families and communities, today's world introduces new dynamics into Jewish practices. Contemporary issues, such as feminism and intermarriage, have led synagogues and organizations to create new programs to reach out to the unaffiliated. Jewish day schools and religious schools develop resources to educate the next generation. Religious leaders strive to uphold traditional Judaism, while also trying to make it relevant to today's Jews. For the next eight weeks, Jewish News presents a series of lifecycle articles that focus on the different stages of Jewish life. This week focuses on the birth of a baby: Free-lance writer Lila Baltman talks to Dr. Alan Singer about his work as a mohel and reports on baby-naming ceremonies and pidyon haben. |
 Dr. Alan Singer conducts the bris milah for Maximilian Isaiah Cogan in April. The baby's grandfathers participate in the ritual that symbolizes the covenant between God and Israel. Photo courtesy of Lila Baltman |
Once Cogan shared her wonderful news - that little, 5-pound, 14-ounce Maximilian Isaiah had officially entered the world - Singer did precisely what he has done many times over.
He opened up the calendar on his desk, counted exactly eight days after the birth, and made final arrangements with Cogan to meet her at her home on April 19 to perform the traditional and ancient brit milah ceremony for her newborn son.
A pediatrician for 31 years and a certified mohel for the past 12 years, Singer routinely packs up his black doctor's bag, or "bris kit" as he likes to call it, and performs about five brisim each week in the Valley. Some are held in the early morning hours before he starts work at his private practice, Camelback Pediatrics in Phoenix, and some are held in the evening hours, after work. In 2003, he performed 262 brisim.
It was in 1992 when Singer became certified as a mohel by the Jewish Theological Seminary and the Rabbinical Council in New York, and since then, has performed brisim for Jewish families of all denominations.
Having done as many as 4,000 brisim thus far, Singer has steadily become the most respected, beloved, and most sought-after mohel in the greater Phoenix area.
And, it should also be noted that in addition to doing hundreds of brisim each year, Singer also officiates at dozens of female baby naming ceremonies around the Valley.
Originally from Sioux City, Iowa, and then a resident of East Lansing, Mich., for 20 years (he attended medical school at the University of Michigan), Singer has been a resident of Phoenix now for the past 15 years.
He not only drives all around the Phoenix, Scottsdale and Cave Creek areas performing brisim, his work as a mohel has also taken him to Sedona four times, Flagstaff a dozen times, Prescott six times, and to Tucson twice. Basically, if his schedule allows him to get there, he will get there. Distance is never a factor.
In addition to driving to a wide variety of geographic locations, Singer says that he has also performed the actual circumcisions themselves in a wide range of places.
"I have done circumcisions on people's pool tables, outdoor picnic tables, kitchen islands, dining room tables, and in the more Orthodox homes, on a velvet pillow on the grandfather's lap," he says. "The pool tables are actually excellent because of the firm surface and great lighting. I have done at least 25 pool table (brisim)."
According to Cogan, "Dr. Singer is not only a skilled and caring doctor, he is truly a mensch. I loved the fact that he performed a warm, traditional ceremony that included my friends and family members, but he also made the circumcision itself as pain-free as possible for my son. ... Even my brother remarked on how this bris was the first one he had ever been to where the baby wasn't screaming."
Singer believes in giving the baby boys a little shot of the painkiller, Xylocaine, which completely numbs the area, instead of using a couple of drops of kosher wine in the baby's mouth, which many other mohels still use today to help dull the pain. Because of the strength of the Xylocaine, the baby boys that Singer circumcises rarely bleed or cry during the procedure.
"Yes, I try to make it pain-free for everyone," he says. "I'm good at keeping everyone calm." He also makes a point of calling the parents the very next day to find out how their son is feeling.
But, perhaps the most amazing aspect to Singer - and the one that truly sets him apart from other mohels - is the fact that he does not charge a dime for his services as a mohel. Not one penny.
While the average rate of hiring a certified mohel across the country is anywhere from $400 to $600, Singer accepts no money for his brit milah or baby-naming services. He simply requests that the family make a donation to any Jewish charity of their choosing.
"I never wanted money to be an issue or finance to be a barrier," explains Singer, who never asks families where they are sending their donation or the amount they are donating.
He also does not require that the families who use his services as a mohel join his private practice and become patients of his. In fact, he estimates that only one-third of the babies he performs brisim and baby naming ceremonies for each year are actual patients in his practice. Most families already have their own pediatricians they are comfortable with.
So, why, you may be asking yourself, does Singer do all of this?
His answer: "The real reason why I do so many (brisim) and baby namings each year is because I get a great deal of satisfaction in meeting new people, traveling, seeing different homes, and assisting families through this special milestone when I see that they are sincere about raising their child in a Jewish home."
Married for 36 years to wife Dale, a fellow pediatrician, Singer is a member of The New Shul in Scottsdale. Contact Singer at 602-840-3120. Other local mohels are Dr. Paul Block, 602-843-1777, and Dr. Richard Dobrusin, 480-833-1800.
| It's a girl! | Understanding the tradition of pidyon haben |