Brit milah Jew trained in the practice of "brit milah", the "covenant of circumcision." According to traditional Jewish law, in the absence of a grown free Jewish male expert, anyone who has the required skills is also authorized to perform the circumcision, provided that they are Jewish. However, most streams of non-Orthodox Judaism allow female mohels, called "mohalot" (, plural of "mohelet", feminine of "mohel"), without restriction. In 1984, Deborah Cohen became the first certified Reform mohelet; she was certified by the Berit Mila program of Reform Judaism. It is customary for the brit to be held in a synagogue, but it
A Serious Man Jewish women's certitude in crisis, anticipating Judith's affirmative stand that her husband should pay for her lover's funeral. "The Wall Street Journal"s Joe Morgenstern disliked what he saw as the film's misanthropy, saying that "their caricatures range from dislikable through despicable, with not a smidgeon of humanity to redeem them." David Denby of "The New Yorker" enjoyed the film's look and feel, but found fault with the script and characterization: ""A Serious Man", like "Burn After Reading", is in their bleak, black, belittling mode, and it's hell to sit through ... As a piece of movie-making craft, "A Serious Man"