periah

English

Alternative forms

• peria, priah, peri'a

Etymology

From Hebrew פריעה (periah, “uncovering”).

Noun

periah

1. (Rabbinic Judaism) a supplementary procedure in the bris following the milah (excision of the akroposthion) where the preputial epithelium of the foreskin is separated from the glans of the penis as a precursor to posthetomy.
   • 1900, Israel Meir (ha-Kohen) translated by Aviel Orenstein, Mishnah Berurah: The Classic Commentary to Shulchan Aruch Orach Chayim, Comprising the Laws of Daily Jewish Conduct · Volume 3 page 147

     See the Chidushey Ha-Ran, who states that even if one is no longer busy cutting / , i.e., with the milah,^1*/ but /already/ started /doing/ the periah^1* he is /nevertheless/ still classed as being occupied with the milah, since milah and periah are /classed as parts of/ the same action.

   • 1986, Avraham M. Goldstein, The Eternal Heritage: An Anthology of Torah Thought · Volume 1, page 192

     in the description of Abraham's circumcision eth is not sued. Rashi quotes Bereshith Rabbah, which explains that Ishmael underwent periah - the removal of an additional membrane below the foreskin - while Abraham did not.

   • 1998, Gad Freudenthal, AIDS in Jewish Thought and Law page 123

     The Midrash, extolling the wisdom and beauty of the human body which is uniquely constructed for the performance of mitzvot, notes that G-d gave people nails on their fingers so they could perform the rituals of melika (a form of schechita of birds in the Mikdash) and periah. Nevertheless, when mohelim developed a more efficient method of performing milah and periah in one step, no objection was raised.

   • 2000, Lawrence Balter, Parenthood in America: An Encyclopedia · Volume 1 page 127

     The biblical technique of circumcision may have been quite different than that practicsed currently. One medical historian notes that until approximately A.D. 140 circumcision was accomplished by placing a slotted metal shield near the tip of the foreskin after the foreskin was pulled foreward by the operator. Subsequently the small amount of skip at the tip of the foreskin was incised above the shield, swiftly and relatively painlessly with a sharp knife and removed, leaving virtually the entire inner layer of the prepuce intact over the glans. Thsi process was referred to as Bris Milah, and is thought by some to be accurately depicted by Michelangelo Buanorrati's sculpture of King David, who appears on casual inspection to be uncircumcised. Over time, however, the amount of foreskin removed during ritual neotnatal circumcision increased, possibly in response to confusion regarding the cirmcumcision status of the infant, child, or adolescent by religious or secular authorities, when ascertained by casual visual inspection, in order to distinguish Jews from Gentiles. The removal of larger amounts of foreskin during circumcision, referred to as Bris Periah, leaves the glans fully exposed and very little of the inner layer of the prepuce intact.

   • 2003, Elizabeth Wyner Mark, The Covenant of Circumcision: New Perspectives on an Ancient Jewish Rite, page 93

     periah was an innovation instituted over the course of time, most likely in response to the drawing down of the foreskin that was known from the time of the Hellenists and was still practiced during the time of the Hadrianic persecutions .. Proof that periah is an innovative requirement is to be found as well in the tradition that the Patriarch Abraham did not practice it.