Sandek
Encyclopedia
Sandak is the term for a person honored at a Jewish
brit milah
(circumcision
) ceremony, traditionally either by holding the baby boy on the knee
s or thigh
s while the mohel
performs the brit milah or by handing the baby to the mohel. The origin of the term has been attributed to a derivation from the Greek
suntekos, which means "companion of child.
The Rabbi
Moses Isserles
(Rema) recorded the practice of the sandek holding the baby on his thighs (Yoreh Dayah 265:11). The Biur Hagra (YD 265:44) cites the Midrash Shochar Tov that explains that this is based on Psalms
35:10, which states "All my bones shall say: 'YHWH
who is like you?'" Midrash
outlines how every body part is used in the service of God and says that our thighs participate in the service of God by placing the baby on them during the brit.
The Rema records a custom that a father should not honour the same individual twice with being the sandek for his children. The reason is that the sandek is compared to a kohen
(priest) offering the ketoret
(incense offering) in the Beit HaMikdash (Jewish Temple
). The procedure regarding the Ketoret is that a Kohen does not perform this Mitzva (commandment) more than once in his lifetime. God rewards the Kohen who offers the Ketoret with wealth. Thus, we want to afford the opportunity to as many Kohanim as possible to become wealthy (Babylonian Talmud Tractate Yoma
26a). Similarly, we wish to afford as many people as possible to serve as a Sandek and receive God's blessing to become wealthy.
The Vilna Gaon
(Gra
) (YD 265:45) expresses some skepticism regarding this custom. First, based on its reasoning, the custom should have been that one should not serve more than once as a Sandek for any child, not just two different children of one family. Second, the Gra writes that we have never seen someone become wealthy because he served as a Sandek. Nevertheless, the Aruch Hashulchan
(Y.D. 265:34) concludes, we should abide by the custom recorded by the Rema. The Aruch Hashulchan notes, though, that the custom in many locales is that the Rav
(rabbi
) of the city serves as the Sandek for all the baby boys. The Aruch Hashulchan justifies this practice by comparing the local Rav to the Kohen Gadol
(high priest), who had the right to offer a Korban
(sacrifice) or Ketoret any time he desired (see Yoma 14a). Indeed, it is related that the Chazon Ish served as the Sandek for innumerable baby boys. Rabbi Yissachar Frand relates that Rav Yaakov Yitzchak Ruderman
(the Rosh Yeshiva
(dean) of Yeshivat Ner Yisrael) also served as the Sandek for countless baby boys.
The honor was given traditionally to a single Jewish male: some older family member (grandfather, great-grandfather), a rabbi, or another important male who was observant and righteous. The sandek also wore the tallit
(prayer shawl) and held the baby on a pillow while the mohel completed the circumcision. In modern times among some more liberal Jews the sandek may be female or even non-Jewish. At most ceremonies there is only a single sandek, but two are permissible, although more than two is uncommon.
During the brit a chair is sometimes placed next to the sandek's seat. The chair is reserved for the prophet
Elijah and remains unoccupied during the ceremony; this practice is derived from the tradition that Elijah protects children from danger. According to some sources the sandek is the "representative" of Elijah.
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
brit milah
Brit milah
The brit milah is a Jewish religious circumcision ceremony performed on 8-day old male infants by a mohel. The brit milah is followed by a celebratory meal .-Biblical references:...
(circumcision
Circumcision
Male circumcision is the surgical removal of some or all of the foreskin from the penis. The word "circumcision" comes from Latin and ....
) ceremony, traditionally either by holding the baby boy on the knee
Knee
The knee joint joins the thigh with the leg and consists of two articulations: one between the fibula and tibia, and one between the femur and patella. It is the largest joint in the human body and is very complicated. The knee is a mobile trocho-ginglymus , which permits flexion and extension as...
s or thigh
Thigh
In humans the thigh is the area between the pelvis and the knee. Anatomically, it is part of the lower limb.The single bone in the thigh is called the femur...
s while the mohel
Mohel
A mohel is a Jewish person trained in the practice of brit milah "covenant of circumcision."-Etymology of the Hebrew and Aramaic term:...
performs the brit milah or by handing the baby to the mohel. The origin of the term has been attributed to a derivation from the Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
suntekos, which means "companion of child.
The Rabbi
Rabbi
In Judaism, a rabbi is a teacher of Torah. This title derives from the Hebrew word רבי , meaning "My Master" , which is the way a student would address a master of Torah...
Moses Isserles
Moses Isserles
Moses Isserles, also spelled Moshe Isserlis, , was an eminent Ashkenazic rabbi, talmudist, and posek, renowned for his fundamental work of Halakha , entitled ha-Mapah , an inline commentary on the Shulkhan Aruch...
(Rema) recorded the practice of the sandek holding the baby on his thighs (Yoreh Dayah 265:11). The Biur Hagra (YD 265:44) cites the Midrash Shochar Tov that explains that this is based on Psalms
Psalms
The Book of Psalms , commonly referred to simply as Psalms, is a book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Bible...
35:10, which states "All my bones shall say: 'YHWH
Tetragrammaton
The term Tetragrammaton refers to the name of the God of Israel YHWH used in the Hebrew Bible.-Hebrew Bible:...
who is like you?'" Midrash
Midrash
The Hebrew term Midrash is a homiletic method of biblical exegesis. The term also refers to the whole compilation of homiletic teachings on the Bible....
outlines how every body part is used in the service of God and says that our thighs participate in the service of God by placing the baby on them during the brit.
The Rema records a custom that a father should not honour the same individual twice with being the sandek for his children. The reason is that the sandek is compared to a kohen
Kohen
A Kohen is the Hebrew word for priest. Jewish Kohens are traditionally believed and halachically required to be of direct patrilineal descent from the Biblical Aaron....
(priest) offering the ketoret
Ketoret
The use of incense in Judaism was related to perfumed offerings on the altar of incense in the time of the Tabernacle and the First and Second Temple period, and was an important component of priestly liturgy in the Temple in Jerusalem....
(incense offering) in the Beit HaMikdash (Jewish Temple
Jewish temple
Jewish temple:*Jewish temple or The Jewish Temple, may refer to the original two ancient Jewish Temples in Jerusalem.**The First Temple was destroyed by the ancient Babylonians in 586 BCE.**The Second Temple was destroyed by Rome in 70 CE....
). The procedure regarding the Ketoret is that a Kohen does not perform this Mitzva (commandment) more than once in his lifetime. God rewards the Kohen who offers the Ketoret with wealth. Thus, we want to afford the opportunity to as many Kohanim as possible to become wealthy (Babylonian Talmud Tractate Yoma
Yoma
Yoma is the fifth tractate of Seder Moed of the Mishnah and of the Talmud. It is concerned mainly with the laws of the Jewish holiday Yom Kippur, on which Jews atone for their sins from the previous year...
26a). Similarly, we wish to afford as many people as possible to serve as a Sandek and receive God's blessing to become wealthy.
The Vilna Gaon
Vilna Gaon
Elijah ben Shlomo Zalman Kramer, known as the Vilna Gaon or Elijah of Vilna and simply by his Hebrew acronym Gra or Elijah Ben Solomon, , was a Talmudist, halachist, kabbalist, and the foremost leader of non-hasidic Jewry of the past few centuries...
(Gra
GRA
GRA could refer to:* Gemological Rating Laboratory of America, Inc.* Goffstown Residents Association,* Glucocorticoid remediable aldosteronism, autosomal dominant disorder in which the increase in aldosterone secretion medicine...
) (YD 265:45) expresses some skepticism regarding this custom. First, based on its reasoning, the custom should have been that one should not serve more than once as a Sandek for any child, not just two different children of one family. Second, the Gra writes that we have never seen someone become wealthy because he served as a Sandek. Nevertheless, the Aruch Hashulchan
Aruch HaShulchan
Aruch HaShulchan is a chapter-by-chapter restatement of the Shulchan Arukh...
(Y.D. 265:34) concludes, we should abide by the custom recorded by the Rema. The Aruch Hashulchan notes, though, that the custom in many locales is that the Rav
Rav
Rav is the Hebrew word for rabbi. For a more nuanced discussion see semicha. The term is also frequently used by Orthodox Jews to refer to one's own rabbi....
(rabbi
Rabbi
In Judaism, a rabbi is a teacher of Torah. This title derives from the Hebrew word רבי , meaning "My Master" , which is the way a student would address a master of Torah...
) of the city serves as the Sandek for all the baby boys. The Aruch Hashulchan justifies this practice by comparing the local Rav to the Kohen Gadol
Kohen Gadol
The High Priest was the chief religious official of Israelite religion and of classical Judaism from the rise of the Israelite nation until the destruction of the Second Temple of Jerusalem...
(high priest), who had the right to offer a Korban
Korban
The term offering as found in the Hebrew Bible in relation to the worship of Ancient Israel is mainly represented by the Hebrew noun korban whether for an animal or other offering...
(sacrifice) or Ketoret any time he desired (see Yoma 14a). Indeed, it is related that the Chazon Ish served as the Sandek for innumerable baby boys. Rabbi Yissachar Frand relates that Rav Yaakov Yitzchak Ruderman
Yaakov Yitzchak Ruderman
Rabbi Yaakov Yitzchok Ruderman was a prominent Talmudic scholar and Rabbi who founded and served as Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshiva Ner Yisroel in Baltimore....
(the Rosh Yeshiva
Rosh yeshiva
Rosh yeshiva, , , is the title given to the dean of a Talmudical academy . It is made up of the Hebrew words rosh — meaning head, and yeshiva — a school of religious Jewish education...
(dean) of Yeshivat Ner Yisrael) also served as the Sandek for countless baby boys.
The honor was given traditionally to a single Jewish male: some older family member (grandfather, great-grandfather), a rabbi, or another important male who was observant and righteous. The sandek also wore the tallit
Tallit
A tallit pl. tallitot is a Jewish prayer shawl. The tallit is worn over the outer clothes during the morning prayers on weekdays, Shabbat and holidays...
(prayer shawl) and held the baby on a pillow while the mohel completed the circumcision. In modern times among some more liberal Jews the sandek may be female or even non-Jewish. At most ceremonies there is only a single sandek, but two are permissible, although more than two is uncommon.
During the brit a chair is sometimes placed next to the sandek's seat. The chair is reserved for the prophet
Prophet
In religion, a prophet, from the Greek word προφήτης profitis meaning "foreteller", is an individual who is claimed to have been contacted by the supernatural or the divine, and serves as an intermediary with humanity, delivering this newfound knowledge from the supernatural entity to other people...
Elijah and remains unoccupied during the ceremony; this practice is derived from the tradition that Elijah protects children from danger. According to some sources the sandek is the "representative" of Elijah.