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Rav Hayim Leiter
Certified Mohel
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Getting Cover From Who We Are
I’ve surfed waves that could kill me.
But these days, it’s not the ocean that makes me think twice but rather the travel.
Places that once felt exciting suddenly feel unsafe.
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Sep 241 min read


Who's Really the Vicitim?
It’s not enough that Jewish experiences are dismissed, rewritten, and challenged.
Now, those who have spent years weaponizing cancellation and silencing others are crying foul when the same tactics are turned on them.
This piece takes a look at this growing double standard — and the battle over who gets to claim victimhood.
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Sep 231 min read


More Than a Bandage Solution
I thought I knew how Europe should respond to the current Brit Milah crisis — I was wrong.
The Center of Excellence for Religious Male Circumcision (CERM) may offer a better way forward: one that protects Jewish religious freedom while raising the bar for safety and training.
I wrote about why I changed my mind, what’s happening to Mohalim across Europe, and why this could be about much more than just Brit Milah.
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Sep 151 min read


Hot an Bothered by Air-Conditioners
Apparently, living a normal life in Israel has become controversial.
Buying groceries. Turning on the air conditioning. Listening to music. Dancing.
There’s a growing tendency to treat ordinary Israeli life itself as something morally suspect—and forget what exactly Israel has been fighting to preserve.
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Sep 31 min read


Heavenly Good Luck
I’ve never seen a Brit Milah end in cheers — until this one.
A couple kept their pregnancy secret after multiple miscarriages. At the ceremony, I discovered a 15-year-old connection that revealed why.
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Jul 241 min read


His Only Simcha
I expected to walk into a house of silence.
Instead I found one filled with song.
As a mohel, my days are spent welcoming new life. But last week I sat with a family mourning the loss of the same boy whose bris I had performed six months earlier — and they taught me something I won't forget.
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Jul 151 min read


Not By The Hands of God or Man
We must not return to being the defenseless, pre-Holocaust Jew.
With the US changing its tune on Iran and restricting Israel's ability to defend against Hezbollah, the alliance we’ve relied on for decades is cracking.
We can no longer afford to seek out false saviors. So, where does Israel turn when Washington starts pulling back?
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Jun 281 min read


We Won't 'Lie in Our Graves'
The luxury of naive Western moralizing is dead.
Living under attacks from all directions forces a clarity that many people abroad never have to confront.
It’s time to delete the soundtrack of illusions.
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Jun 141 min read


Out For Blood
I practice male genital mutilation.
At least, that’s what the anti-circumcision movement would have you believe.
This piece exposes exactly how secular columnists are weaponizing extreme clinical imagery to target our ancient traditions.
We cannot afford to let them dictate the narrative.
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Jun 101 min read


Word of Mouth
The bans are coming…
Three European countries are making moves to outlaw Brit Milah. Jonathan Lieberman argues that altering Metzitzah is the solution.
Appeasement is never the answer.
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Jun 41 min read


A Nod From the Judges
“Look Aba,” my eldest said as she showed me her phone. A video played of a Eurovision audience member holding his phone above his head displaying a Palestinian flag. I felt slightly dejected. “But look,” she continued. “He’s dancing.” I couldn’t believe my eyes. In the midst of his protest, this person couldn’t help but shake his head to the beat of Noam’s song. I hoped it was a sign of what was to come.
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May 201 min read


A Belgian Indictment
Belgium just indicted three mohalim for performing a Bris.
Austria and Switzerland are following suit.
None of this is theoretical anymore.
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May 121 min read


Belgium's Double Standard
When they came for the mohalim, I criticised the American ambassador’s claim — everything can’t be antisemitism.
But now they’re censuring the only Jewish MP in Belgium’s Parliament.
How is this not a double standard?
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Apr 301 min read


When Silence is Life-Threatening
This is a critique of the mohel's story who involved in the baby's death after circumcision and warns against a dangerous pattern of negligence. Responsibility does not end with the ceremony - and requires close monitoring and full protection of the newborn.
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Apr 93 min read


כשהשתיקה מסכנת חיים
זה ביקורת של גרסת המוהל המעורב בפרשת מות התינוק לאחר ברית המילה ומזהיר מפני דפוס רשלנות מסוכן. האחריות אינה מסתיימת בטקס - ומחייבת מעקב צמוד והגנה מלאה על היילוד
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Apr 91 min read


Here’s Why Anat Lelior Has Given Israeli Surfers a Much-Needed Morale Boost
For those of us spending more time in bomb shelters than in the water…
This one’s for us.
The full feature on Anat Lelior’s historic qualification and the resilience of the Israeli surf inside.
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Mar 251 min read


Bomb-Shelter Bris
90 seconds to find shelter.
10 minutes of interceptions.
20 minutes until sunset.
For the first time in years, my hand shook as I took the knife.
Performing a Brit Milah during a ballistic missile alert isn’t just ritual — it’s a stubborn refusal to let the sirens dictate our lives. We finished the Simcha as shrapnel fell.
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Mar 221 min read


Holding On To What We Value
How does a godfather become a "partner in crime"?
Circumcision is the most sacred moment, but it must also be the safest. In this piece, I tell the story of the harrowing encounter at the Britot of twins, and of my struggle as a Mohel to ensure that no baby is harmed in the process.
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Mar 195 min read


נאחזים במה שאנחנו מעריכים
איך הופכים מסנדק לשותף לפשע
ברית מילה היא הרגע הכי קדוש, אבל היא חייבת להיות גם הכי בטוחה. בטור חדש בערוץ 7, אני מספר על המפגש המטלטל בברית התאומים, ועל המאבק שלי כמוהל לוודא שאף תינוק לא ייפגע בשם "מנהג" שאפשר לבצע אחרת
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Mar 191 min read


A Bris Under Fire
“I'm not doing this!”
That’s how the morning began — with sirens, uncertainty, and a mother determined not to hold her baby’s Bris under rocket fire.
What followed was a walk through empty streets, split-second decisions, and a reminder of what it means to celebrate Jewish life in the shadow of war.
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Mar 31 min read
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