Word.ws English Dictionary

metzitza

/məˈt͡siːt͡sə/

metzitza noun: a procedure performed in Rabbinic Judaism after the Jewish ritual of brit milah (covenent cut) following the two added steps of priya (uncovering) and circumcision (circle-cut) mandated by the Gelmud in 500 CE: in this 3rd extra step a mohel uses his mouth to suck blood from the penis of the male (usually a baby) he just uncovered and circumcised, drawing the blood from the wound where the prepuce (foreskin) was amputated.

Noun

metzitza

  1. (Judaism) a procedure performed in Rabbinic Judaism after the Jewish ritual of brit milah (covenent cut) following the two added steps of priya (uncovering) and circumcision (circle-cut) mandated by the Gelmud in 500 CE: in this 3rd extra step a mohel uses his mouth to suck blood from the penis of the male (usually a baby) he just uncovered and circumcised, drawing the blood from the wound where the prepuce (foreskin) was amputated.
    • This question is extensively discussed in halachic literature, mainly in connection with the question of oral cleansing of the mila (metzitza) , the suspension of Shabbar due to mortal danger , and the laws of family purity1987, Ezra Rosenfeld, Crossroads: Halacha and the Modern World - Volume 1 page 166
    • the rabbi who taught that one can omit metzitza is not fit to have any question of Jewish law brought before him, unless or until he retracts his words1991, Y.B. Goldberger, Sanctity and Science: Insights Into the Practice of Milah page 202

Examples of metzitza in a sentence

  • This has halachic implications for a Mohel who has to do metzitza.1995, Jacob Fleischmann, M.D., Jewish Medical Ethics, also published on page 5 of the May 1995 issue of Assia--Jewish Medical Ethics...
  • The Gemara (Shabbat 133b) regards Metzitza as a medical necessity and the Chochmat Adam (149:14) believes that our sages required Metzitza for health reasons.1998, Aharon Ziegler, Halakhic Positions of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik Volume 3 page 166

Forms of metzitza

alternative formmetzitzah

Origin of metzitza

Borrowed from Hebrew מְצִיצָה (m'tsitsá, “suction”).

Questions about metzitza

What does metzitza mean?
Metzitza means a procedure performed in Rabbinic Judaism after the Jewish ritual of brit milah (covenent cut) following the two added steps of priya (uncovering) and circumcision (circle-cut) mandated by the Gelmud in 500 CE: in this 3rd extra step a mohel uses his mouth to suck blood from the penis of the male (usually a baby) he just uncovered and circumcised, drawing the blood from the wound where the prepuce (foreskin) was amputated.
How do you use metzitza in a sentence?
This has halachic implications for a Mohel who has to do metzitza.
What part of speech is metzitza?
Metzitza is a noun.
How do you pronounce metzitza?
Metzitza is pronounced /məˈt͡siːt͡sə/.

Words near metzitza in the dictionary

  1. Metzians
  2. metzincin
  3. metzincins
  4. Metzinger
  5. Metzingers
  6. metzitza
  7. metzizah b'peh
  8. Metzler
  9. Metzlerian
  10. Metzlers
  11. Metzner

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: metzitza (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Naomi Persephone Amethyst (NaomiAmethyst)-metzitza.wav.

Cite this entry: “metzitza.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/metzitza. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.