David's Bris

On David's 8th day of life - Saturday, October 13th - we celebrated his first mitzvah with family and friends at our home. David's Bris was an amazing day, one that I know Josh and I will remember forever. For those of you, who, like me, may not know much about what a Bris entails, other than it's when Jewish boys get circumcised, you can read more about it at our mohel's website: Berit Mila: A Brief History.

Here's a shot of the dining table all decked out for the festivities:

The first half of the ceremony was when the actual circumcision was performed. Aunt Lauren and Uncle Jason brought David into the room to start the ceremony.

Then Mom-mom and Pop-pop McSorley lit the candles..

And Grandpa Mark helped soothe David with some Manischewitz, which he apparently loved - he could not get enough of it :)

Here's a quick pic of mommy & daddy during the procedure...

It was pretty traumatic hearing David crying while he was having the circumcision done, but we were glad we were there & that he was in very capable hands (thanks Dr. Rawdin!). Here's an 'after' pic of me and Josh..

Haha, sweet relief :)

The second half of the ceremony consisted of David's baby naming, where he officially received his Hebrew name. Josh picked David's name; we wanted a nice, traditional, strong male name, and David fit the bill perfectly :) We both decided on Theodore for his middle name in memory of Josh's grandma Dorothy, who passed away this summer. Dorothy was a force to be reckoned with, and we can only hope that David has been blessed with even just a little of Grandma's spunk and tenacity :)

The Bris ended with Grandpa saying a blessing over the wine, and Nana breaking the challah bread for everyone to share.

Here's the formal certificate David got commemorating the big day:

And here are some shots of our big guy with family after the party:

Quick shout-out to Nana & Grandpa for hosting David's Bris - 

the house looked great & the food was SO good!

Can't wait to add another guy or gal to the McSorley clan in January!

Just like the Lion King :)

Proud mom & dad :)

And our photographer, cousin Jeff :)

Here are a few words that I really liked from the naming ceremony: 

May hearing his name always be a source of joy and happiness. 

May the one who blessed our ancestors, bless this child who has just been circumcised, and keep him from harm. May his parents have the honor of raising him, educating him and loving him for who he is. Grant him health of mind and strength of body. And may he be a blessing to his parents and all the world. 

To our family from the 4 grandparents:

 May they grow together as a family in health and strength, in harmony, wisdom and love. Their home filled with acts of kindness. May we be able to share in the joy of seeing our grandson grow into adulthood, a blessing to his family, his people, and all humanity.

Thanks to everyone for all of your love and support & for sharing in the big day with us! We have a feeling David is bound to do great things - he's definitely already the apple of mommy & daddy's eye :)