For most media outlets, the headlines from People’s recent interview with Oscar-winner Sandra Bullock are: She’s dropping her cad of a husband and she’s in the process of adopting a little baby from New Orleans.
The big news for JTA: She reportedly helped welcome Louis Bardo Bullock into her life with an at-home bris.
Some corners of the blogosphere were citing the report as proof that Natalie Portman and Scarlett Johansson have competition for Hollywood’s most beautiful Jewess award.
But plenty of celeb-obsessed Web sites said the opposite, insisting that what’s newsworthy here is that a non-Jewish movie star chose to go with a Jewish ritual circumcision. Take this snippet from Hollywood Life:
It is surprising that Sandra opted to have a bris, considering neither she nor her soon-to-be-ex-husband Jesse James are Jewish (not to mention Jesse’s apparent interest in Nazis, as captured in photographs).
Oh, wait, the celebrity Web site quickly adds, there is a Jewish connection of sorts:
The only Jewish person connected to Jesse, that we know of, is his godfather, who Jesse says gave him the Nazi hat he was photographed wearing.
And now, Bullock, in her own words:
A friend of ours helped arrange for a bris at the house, because we couldn’t go [to a hospital for the procedure]. The mohel [a person trained in the practice] came to us. You have never seen adults more panicked about what was about to happen to their son, but the celebration and the amount of love we felt and the pride in the little man whom we love so, so much became the greatest moment I have ever had in my life.
Wonder if she chatted beforehand with Christina Aguilera about the balloons.
This whole thing is more common than you think. At least if you believe what you read in the Forward.
Check out this article from 2007: "Mohels Give Non-Jewish Babies a Slice of Tradition."
Although commonly recognized as performers of the brith milah, or Jewish circumcision, an increasing number of mohels are finding themselves handling the rituals for non-Jewish babies (even when, as in the DeCaros’ case, the father happens to be an ordained minister). Sherman, 51, may be one of the most prolific circumcisers in the tri-state area, but others — including Emily Blake in New York and Joel Shoulson in Philadelphia — have also found their services called upon by non-Jewish families. While it’s not clear exactly how many mohels offer nonritual circumcisions, the practice is, according to Shoulson — an Orthodox-trained mohel who has circumcised Muslims, Buddhists, Taoists and Hindus during his 50-year career — very widespread.
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