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From MDT Shiur in YU. The recording has since been removed from YU's website. But it can be heard HERE.

I just had to be up early for a bris this morning. I attended a bris at YSV of one of my
customers. Ten and a half years after they were married, just had their first child. I
personally had more contact with their doctor on this case, than any ten cases. All that was possible to go wrong in a (action) could go wrong. She wasn’t ovulating, his sperm count was down, his sperm count went up, she couldn’t ovulate, she began ovulating, his sperm count went down… until HKB”H decided, all the kvetcherei till.. HKB’H says he has 3 keys in his little vest pocket that He doesn’t give to anybody, right?- the Mafteach of Geshamim, the Mafteach of techias hameisim and the Mafteach of the Yoledes- when the womb opens, when the grave opens, and when the skies open. That’s HKB’H’s business and you’re not gonna tell Him what to do- and He does it in His own time.

but.. the simcha, they must have had 300 people show up to a bris.. big thing.. ten and a half years after their chasuna, gave birth to a nice healthy baby, and the Mohel was Fischer, and I had to call the city’s state department that no-goodnik bends down to make metziza bpeh. I put my hand in front, I stopped him, I said no, you use a tube. He gave me a dirty look, he used a tube. The man is under investigation now for infecting several children, two of whom died, with herpes.

I’ve heard a case in Miamonides a few weeks ago, a baby died and he was the Mohel.
He goes ahead... Hungarians- uch (bangs hand on table in disgust) He’s a carrier of
herpes, you don’t need a cold sore, if you’re a carrier, you’re a carrier. and if you checked that you’re not a carrier today, you’re a carrier tomorrow. It makes no difference. Once a carrier, always a carrier, you don’t no way get rid of it, what then? they shed viruses. It’s not a constant thing, but you check him out one day, they don’t pick up any viruses, but the following morning, he’ll shed a massive amount of viruses.

Q. this is simplex 2, right?

MT- Huh?

Q. Herpes simplex 2?

MT- yeah

Q. yeah

MT – you heard about the case?

Q. yeah, that Fischer has herpes simplex 2, obviously, right?

MT- huh?

Q. he has herpes simplex 2?

MT- yeah, yes

Q. yeah

MT- it’s the plain cold sore herpes, but in a baby it goes cerebral, yeah, and…three months ago a baby died, he was the Mohel, and a few weeks ago he maheled the twins in Miamonides, and one of them died. Both came down with systemic herpes, and one of them died.

Q. how come they haven’t banned him yet?

MT- huh?

Q. how come they haven’t banned him?

MT- who?

Q. how come, the Jewish Community?

MT- who’s going to ban him? The Satmar Rebbe? It’s… you’re talking about the Wild West! There are no rules in Mohalim, even with the YU boys that become Mohalim.

laughter
Q. can they sue him?
laughter
Q. can’t they sue him?
laughter

Q. but, it was meant to be, that’s what Hashem wanted

MT- (ignores that comment, turns to student who is a Mohel) Avi, let a professional answer that one, Avi, what certification did you get?

Avi- I got a Haskama from my teacher in Israel that’s what everybody gets. They used to be Board certified, but now there is no board of Mila.

MT- ah, I was a member of the board. The board died, the Mila Board of America. I was a member of the board. We did certifications very nicely. We sent a young Mohel out between Mohalim, under the responsibility of three Mohalim, he let them know when he’s doing a Bris, and one of the 3 mohalim would make themselves available. They had him doing ten Brisim and then, like the old-fashioned medical education, which was done by apprenticeship, that was good, fine.

Q. people don’t know that he’s infected children?

MT- I’m sorry?

Q. people don’t know -it’s not public knowledge that he’s infected children?

MT- it is not in public yet, but it will be. This case is making it to the courts now, they want to.. there will be new regulations, in New York City, there will be, in NYC there will be legislation on Mila, but only in New York City. The case is in NYC, the city department is taking over. I’ve had, over the last two weeks, I’ve had a bunch of women marching in and out of my office downstairs, all the Health commissioners. The Health Commissioner of New York City, with her assistants Shulsinger and Blank (Bong)- various bkovodik people there, but walking gingerly, scared stiff to start up with the Chasidic community.

audience –sure..

MT-we know about their voting blocs, they know, they know. They’ve made it! They, they have extreme political power in NYC.

Q. this couple that had the baby, they’re Chasidish?

MT-huh?

Q. this couple that had the baby are chasidish?

MT- will they sue?

Q. no, they’re Chasidish?

MT-oh, naturally..

Q. this couple that had the baby.. were they Chasidish?

MT- no non- chosid would let a Mohel make metizah bpeh. In fact, a mohel won’t make Metzizah Bpeh on a non-chosid. He’s afraid that he’ll get infected from the baby, cuz the parents surely have AIDS.


audience laughs, comments ‘right, right’

Q. so the couple…?

MT- (continues) they paskened In Eretz Yisroel, when AIDS came out, so, this, I mean
you people don’t know, don’t you read anything? They Paskened that you could use a
tube. You make metzizah with a tube. Why? Because the Mohel complained their
life was in danger. Cuz they have Americans in Eretz Yisroel, that have babies and who
knows, Americans, most of them have AIDS. And therefore, they’re afraid to get infected, so they were Matir the Mohel, for the Pikuach Nefesh of the Mohel, to use a tube in E’Y. So everybody in E’Y uses a tube there.

Yeah, except by the Chasidishe. I am an old man, in Mila they all use tubes. Rav Vosner
and Rav Elyashuv were Matir to use a tube, fine. They were Matir to use a tube? It
was Matir 200 years ago, they used a tube, but..eh..

Q. so how come he followed you today?

MT- we need a disciplined Halachic Society, we don’t have it (bangs on table)

Q. how come he followed you today, how come he accepted- when you told him to stop- not to do- not to do it – how come he accepted it?

MT- how come he accepted?

Q. yeah, how come he followed it?

Q. in the place where he was?

MT- Because the father of the baby was next to me, Mr. Lazarus, a Talmid. I told the
Father, he said OK, I should tell the Mohel, The Mohel, he said ‘in your Shul you’re the Baal Habus, here you’re not the Baal Habus’. The father told him not to use, not to make metzizah bpeh. And I had in my pocket a 5cc syringe, I take it along.. I knew, yeah, and gave him the barrel of the syringe and he made Metziza with a syringe. Actually, if you make metzizah with a piece of gauze over the wound it would also be relatively safe- if he wraps the Mila, right after the Mila, wrap the piece of 2x2 gauze- on the dmei mtizah- you wouldn’t get anything from the mouth… a tube.

Anyway.. I co-authored a paper, Aug. 4, in pediatrics this year with a bunch of doctors. We put together –uh- Moishe, how many cases on that paper? I think we have 8 in that
Pediatrics paper -8 cases of systemic infection in children following Metziza Bpeh. OK.

(continues shiur)