Some friends would feel more comfortable having their newborn circumcised with a regular doctor and in a hospital setting where the environment is more sterile, maybe better pain management options and are uncomfortable hiring a mohel. Is this permissible? If so, should they look for a Jewish doctor only?
Answer
In short, you need a Jewish person to do the circumcision לכתחילה. The basis for this is Shulchan Aruch Yoreh Deah Siman 264: "Every Jew is eligible to perform circumcision, including someone who is himself uncircumcised because his brothers had dies as a result of circumcision. If an adult Jewish male is present who knows how to circumcise he takes precedence. However a non-Jew, even if circumcised, may not perform the circumcision under any instances. If, however, he did perform a circumcision there is no need to repeat it."
In Sefer Nishmat Avraham- Yoreh Deah Siman 264 this question is asked. The Shach, quoting the Beit Yosef, writes that both opinions(quoted by him) agree that if the circumcision is not done for the purpose of fulfilling the Mitzvah, or if it is done by a non-Jewish surgeon, then hatafat dam brit will be needed. However the Sha'agat Aryeh rules like those poskim who do not requite hatafat dam brit. The Meiri's(a rishon) ruling supports that of the Sha'agat Aryeh. The Meiri writes that if a non-Jew circumcised a baby there is no need (for a Jew) to circumcise him again since in any case he is no longer uncircumcised. Moreover, there is no need for hatafat dam brit either, for there is no longer a possibility that there is foreskin hidden within the atarah.
Rav Auerbach zt"l told the author of Nishmat Avraham that for a baby who had surgery, it would be best to do hatafat dam brit in order to fulfill all opinions.
If this has actually significance, please CYLOR
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