Q. If someone due to an accident, had to undergo a penis transplant from a non-Jewish uncircumcised cadaver source;
1) Does he have to wait for the bris until he regains complete sensation on the organ? (that takes longer, that other functions)
2) Is the bris done with a brocho?
3) If the transplant came from a circumcised individual, does he need hatafas dam bris? What if the deceased donor happened to be Jewish?
A. Igros Moshe (Y.D. 1: 227) considers reattaching the lost finger to a Cohen (in regards to the tumah prohibition), and mentions that once reconnected the finger becomes part and parcel of the body even before the transplanted organ becomes totally accepted and alive again. Tzitz Eliezer 13: 90 and 21: 31 maintains a similar view.
Horav Shlomo Miller's Shlit'a opinion is that the transplanted organ, when accepted is an integral part of an individual that already underwent and complied with the mitzva of bris milah. The fact that now he has an uncircumcised member, would make him similar to the case of a “nimshach orlaso” or one who after performing circumcision had some remaining skin pulled over, creating a new covering of foreskin The Talmud (Yebamot 72b) considers this as requiring milah by rabbinical law since he looks uncircumcised and there is “maras ayin”. No brocho is recited for avoiding maras ayin (Chasam Sofer Y.D 248, however Beis Meir Y.D. 265: 4 and Yehuda Yaaleh Y.D. 255 rule that a brocho should be recited). Therefore if the transplant originated from a circumcised donor there is also no need for” hatofas dam bris” either.
If the donor happened to be Jewish, there are other additional issues such as deriving benefit from the dead, “nivul hames” or embarrassing the dead and not complying with the obligation of burying the complete corpse of the dead. Therefore such donor should be avoided.
Although the Rov indicated that no brocho is recited, the bris should be carried out when some feeling has returned to the transplant.
Rabbi A. Bartfeld as revised by Horav Shlomo Miller Shlit”a
Important Numbers
