He sees his job as a chance to educate

Mohel focuses on spiritual lessons, and calming parents, during ritual circumcisions

Sam Pessaroff says he always brings backup supplies, such as diapers and Bacitracin Ointment, when he performs a brit, just in case nervous parents forget something. (Jim Davis/Globe Staff)

Cantor Sam Pessaroff's license plate reads "MOHEL." In response, he's had people drive by him, flashing their fingers like a pair of scissors; another driver held a sign that read "Where's the bris?" while passing by on the highway. Pessaroff is, indeed, a mohel, a Jewish official who performs the ritual of brit milah, or circumcision. The ceremony is a combination of prayers, medical procedures, and the announcement of the child's name. It is done, according to the Torah, on male babies when they are 8 days old.

Pessaroff, who is not a doctor, trained in Israel during an apprenticeship. He has been doing ritual circumcisions for more than 20 years. He charges $475 to $500 for a local brit and slightly more if he has to travel a longer distance.

Pessaroff, who is also a cantor at Temple Ner Tamid in Peabody, tries to put nervous parents at ease with easy banter and a comfortable smile. He arrives carrying his so-called bris kit, which includes special instruments used specifically for a ritual circumcision, as well backup supplies such as cloth diapers, sterile gauze pads, cotton balls, Bacitracin Ointment, skull caps, a tube of Vaseline, and more.

Have you ever done a brit on an adult?
A circumcision on an adult requires surgery and general anesthesia. I've been asked if I will do the initial cut and the blessing in the operating room and then let the urologist finish.

Part of the ceremony is giving the baby a small taste of kosher sweet grape wine. Why is this?
The baby can suck on the wine and it acts as an analgesic. Babies like the sweetness, and it's better than a pacifier or binky. But sometimes parents inadvertently purchase nonsweet, semidry wine instead, and the baby doesn't like it. That's why I carry backup wine in my car.

Have you ever done triplets for a brit?
I had to wait a long time, but I finally got triplets a few years ago. I've done quite a few twins, though. There have been a lot of them lately.

What do you wear to conduct the brit?
I wear a white lab coat that comes down to my knees. It protects my clothes and looks professional.

How did you train to become a mohel?
I studied in Israel by following an experienced mohel around. He said, "Don't ask any questions until you see me do 30-40 circumcisions." I observed him, helped him set up his equipment and wash it, and would hold the baby along with the sandak (godparent). Each day it progressed a little further, until he finally said, "OK, you do it."

Isn't it kind of strange, a lot of people standing around in a room, watching you operate on a little baby's private parts?
The ceremony is 21 minutes, and the circumcision is but a very small part of it, only 30 seconds. It's a preconceived notion that an operation on a baby must be barbaric. I make the whole thing an educational experience.

What's the most number of britot you've done in one day?
Sundays can be a busy day. I've done maybe five or six on one day. And sometimes there are busy times of year - August used to be heavy month - but there seems to be no rhyme or reason to when births occur.

How do you try to lighten the ceremony with humor? During one brit, a father placed the baby on the table in the wrong direction. I said, "I just need to make one minor correction. Let's turn this baby around, because this is a good set up for a haircut - not a circumcision."

What's the strangest brit you've ever performed? A brit is usually done in a home, but once I performed one for a family who owned a funeral parlor in Rhode Island. There was a casket in the next room. It was a little odd, to say the least.