Special Day for Son of Proctor

It isn't every day that a Yard dormitory is the site of a circumcision.

But eight-day-old Noah Wayne Whitehead underwent minor surgery in Grays Common Room yesterday in front of about 20 friends and family members, who convened for the infant's bris, a traditional Jewish naming ceremony that celebrates a covenant with God and the entrance of a boy into the Jewish community.

Whitehead's father, Bradley W. Whitehead '82, is a proctor in Grays West, where he lives with his wife, Amy D. Weisberg, and daughter Hannah, who will be two years old in April.

"We wanted to do it at our home with the people in our dorm," the elder Whitehead said, adding that he invited "people from the dorm, people from Hillel, family, friends, and colleagues."

People at the bris speculated that such a ceremony may never have been held in a Yard dorm before.

"This is the first Harvard Yard bris probably on record," said Robert M. Levenson, the Mohel who performed the circumcision and the ceremony. "This is one of the most unusual places I've done it."

"The tradition of the building and the history behind it is marvelous," said grandfather Jack J. Weisberg. "It's really very historical. I wonder how many brises were held at Harvard University."

And proud relatives wondered if the location of such an important occasion would be an omen for the baby's future.

"I never thought that it would be at Harvard University," grandmother Florence Weisberg said. "Now he'll go here."

Noah's birth was a long-awaited event in the 32-person entry, Grays West residents say.

"The whole entry decorated the hallway when they got home," said Julie A. Wolfson '94. "We all got into it."

Waiting for the Baby?

"The whole dorm was in on waiting for the baby," said Shelley A. McDonough '94. "I'm so glad I could be a part of this whole thing."

Despite the excitement, the bris was difficult for some observers to stomach.

"It's a little gruesome, I guess, for most people when they watch it," Jack Weisberg said. "It's a part of your life."

"It's hard to watch," said Wolfson, who had never attended a bris before. "It's nice, though."