Houston Revisited

Have Knife - Will Travel

Welcome to travelingmohel.com! If you are expecting a boy, or if your son has just been born, and you live in an area without a local mohel (or the local mohel is unavailable, or you are exploring other options), travelingmohel.com is the address for you.

I come highly recommended by happy parents, rabbis and physicians, and have developed the traveling for a bris down to a science so that you have the best experience possible from a traveling mohel, your baby is given the attention he needs and deserves, and we remain in constant contact until your baby is completely healed from his bris (circumcision).

I currently live in South Florida, making me an ideal candidate to fly anywhere in the Caribbean or the United States. I am open to flying just about anywhere in the world!

For more information about me and my thoughts on bris milah/ brit milah/ berit milah, please see my regular blog at http://www.mohelinsouthflorida.com/

Click here to read the inaugural thoughts of this website/blog. This posting is the important first step in understanding what I offer and how my mohel services will best fit your needs.

Sunday

Houston Revisited

I can get used to this.

I had the privilege to go to Houston, TX once again for a bris. But this time, since the baby was born on Saturday, it was a "Shabbos bris!"

This meant that I had to fly in Friday before sundown, stay the entire weekend, and I finally came home today (Sunday), as there were no flights out of Houston on Saturday night, by the time Shabbos was over.

As no one in this crowd takes pictures on Saturday (Orthodox Jewish crowd), there are no pictures from the bris.

However, before I left this morning, I took a stoic selfie to mark the occasion and location. (when earbuds are plugged into the phone, it's possible to take a selfie without holding the phone)

This is the twice-recently-flooded sanctuary of UOS (United Orthodox Synagogues), where Rabbi Barry Gelman has been the rabbi for 15 years. Rough times for the shul those were - they seem to be doing well, despite the setbacks.

ANYWAY, it was an honor to serve this beautiful family. I am grateful for the opportunity to be there for them for Shabbos, when it is often very difficult to procure a mohel. I am grateful to my wife for letting me go. Thankful to all those who hosted me (including a couple featured here earlier who have since moved to Houston), and the family that hosted me for Shabbos dinner - which was delicious!!

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About Me

I have been a practicing mohel since I completed my training in Israel with Rabbi Mordechai Sasson, the government supervisor of Mohels in Israel, back in the late 1990s.

I have a unique style of presiding over a bris, which celebrates Jewish tradition while maintaining the utmost sterility in the care of your son. Beginning with a phone call before the bris and continuing through the follow-up visit and follow-up phone calls, I look forward to guiding you through every step of the bris journey with charm and graciousness. You will be given the time and courtesy you deserve, sensitively and professionally, to make your overall bris experience meaningful and memorable.

The number of brisses I have performed is in the 4 digits (that description won't need an update for awhile!), both Ashkenazic and Sephardic, throughout the US and Israel (including in Puerto Rico!).

For my schooling and rabbinic training, I studied in Yeshivat Har Etzion in Gush Etzion, Israel, and completed my rabbinic ordination and a Masters in Education at Yeshiva University in New York.

A Note on Costs and Remuneration

I am a rabbi of a synagogue. Any honorarium from bris milah services helps supplement my "parnassah" (livelihood), and is therefore greatly appreciated.

Bris services are offered on a sliding scale, in which I leave the final amount up to the parents (or generous grandparents!) to decide. The following are guidelines for the different circumstances which may arise.

LOCAL BRIS ON A WEEKDAY (local = reasonable driving distance)
Most people give between $600 and $1300. Average is between $700-$1000. (multiply by 2 for twins, multiply by 2.5 for triplets)

TRAVELING and SPENDING A NIGHT
Weekday "travel bris" is between $800-$1500 plus travel expenses
Shabbos "travel bris" is between $1000-$1800 plus travel expenses

TRAVEL EXPENSES include
Air travel - plane ticket plus airport parking
Car rental (+ gas) or taxi/uber
Driving - about $.65 per mile per U.S. recommended reimbursement
Hotel accommodations when needed.
Home hospitality for Shabbos is absolutely acceptable at a Shomer Shabbos/Kosher-keeping home.

Some people cover the hotel and/or flights up front and therefore need not include them in any remuneration. Thank you!

Rabbi Avi Billet - The Traveling Mohel

Have Knife - Will Travel

Sunday