Jewish community, we must ask: What tensions existed that the institution of
ba’alei brit could alleviate? How could honoring a member of the family help
in these situations?
Before answering these questions, we will compare the honor of serving as
a ba’al brit to other honors distributed at rituals. This will improve our under-
standing of the role of the ba’al brit within Jewish society. Furthermore, in
order to understand the tensions that were part of the workings of family dy-
namics, we cannot ignore the place of women in the circumcision ceremony.
The changes in this area certainly attest both to the importance of the role of
the ba’alei brit and to the social tensions surrounding it. By considering these
different factors, I will try to explicate the function of the ba’alei brit in a com-
parative context.
MarriageMarriage, as an agreement arranged by the parents of the bride and groom, was
the ultimate attempt of families to coordinate alliances and cooperate finan-
cially in the premodern world. This was the case in both Jewish and Christian
society.^121 Thus, an understanding of the workings of the marriage ceremony
can help us understand the function of the ba’alei brit in the circumcision cer-
emony as well.
As in the circumcision ceremony, we find descriptions of the marriage cer-
emony along with instructions for its proper procedure already in the Mishna
and the Talmud. As in the circumcision ritual, Jewish marriage rites underwent
change throughout the centuries.^122 Unlike the role of the ba’al brit, which
was newly introduced in the medieval period, the role of the shushvinis well
known from the Mishna, the Talmud, and various Midrashim.^123 The shush-
vin, a role that some scholars have compared with the ba’al brit or the co-par-
ents, provides a good example of some of these changes.^124 The shushvin was
a figure whose task it was to help make the match between the bride’s and the
groom’s families. In ancient times he also contributed, to a certain extent, to
the financial standing of the young couple. In earlier sources, the shushvin
played a number of roles: He gave the couple a gift, was an authority on all
claims against the bride’s virginity, and took part in the ceremony as well as in
synagogue rituals on the Sabbath preceding the wedding.
The shushvinim are mentioned in twelfth- and thirteenth-century sources.
There were usually two shushvinim, one from each side. They escorted the
groom to the wedding ritual and were honored along with him on the Sabbath
before the wedding, when they were called to the Torah.^125 The medieval
sources do not provide any reference to their involvement in virginity claims,
nor is there significant mention of financial involvement.^126 I have not found
any evidence that might determine who the shushvin was—a relative or friend.
Moreover, unlike the case of the ba’alei brit, we find no mention of complaints