What time of day should a bris be held?

The mitzvah of bris milah is to circumcise a Jewish boy on the eighth day after his birth. If one neglects to do so on that day, he loses the opportunity to fulfill this mitzvah in its proper time and transgresses each day one leaves him uncircumcised.¹ The Rebbe references the thirteen covenants associated with milah, and that even Moshe Rabbeinu was held accountable for delaying his son’s bris for a short while.²

A bris may not be performed at night, and one must wait until after sunrise. Halachically, the entire day is valid for performing a bris milah. Still, the principle of zerizim makdimin lemitzvos applies, and a bris is ideally held right away in the morning.³ Some poskim mention chatzos as the latest preferable time, and the Rebbe is quoted as encouraging it to be done before chatzos.⁴

Yet, some hold that for the sake of “b’rov am hadras Melech” — the glory of Hashem being magnified through more participants — it is sometimes appropriate to delay the bris.⁵ The Rebbe explains that although zerizus usually takes precedence, bris milah can be an exception since it was accepted with joy and is meant to be performed joyously,⁶ and waiting until more can attend will enhance the celebration. Indeed, the participation of friends and family increases the simcha, while their absence can cause disappointment. This is especially relevant when the gathering later in the day serves as a farbrengen that strengthens yiras Shamayim.⁷

If the baby was born during bein hashmashos (twilight), the bris is postponed to the next day to ensure that the eighth day is definite. If he was born during bein hashmashos on Friday evening, the bris must alsobe pushed off to Sunday — since “uvayom hashmini yimol” applies only when the eighth day is certain, not doubtful.⁸

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