sandak

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Pronunciations

sandak (SAHN-dehk) listen

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Definitions

  • n. The person given the honor of holding the baby at the brit milah.

Example Sentences

  • "To act as sandak is a great honour. There is a tradition of appointing one of the child’s grandfathers as sandak" (source).

  • "I recently had the great privilege of being the sandak at the brit mila of my great-grandson. As I sat in the 'chair of Elijah the Prophet' holding the baby, I had mixed emotions" (source).

  • "I thought for a moment that the sandek was going to pass out, but he was just closing his eyes and saying something" (Glinert)

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Languages of Origin

  • Textual Hebrew

Etymology

  • TH סנדק

      • Who Uses This

      • Religious: Jews who are engaged in religious observance and have some Jewish education
      • Jews: Jews of diverse religious backgrounds and organizational involvements

      Regions

      • Australia / New Zealand
      • Great Britain
      • South Africa
      • North America

      Dictionaries

      • The JPS Dictionary of Jewish Words, by Joyce Eisenberg and Ellen Scolnic, (Philadelphia, 2001).
      • The Joys of Hebrew, by Lewis Glinert (New York, 1992).

      Alternative Spellings

      sandok, sandek, sanduk

Notes

  • feminine: 'sandakit'

    "The sandek may hold the child on his lap during the circumcision or, as is common today, just hold the baby for a moment in a symbolic fashion. The honor is often given to one of the baby's grandfathers or to another relative or close friend." (JPS).

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