Definition of "milah"
milah
noun
plural milahs
the first step in the bris, where the end of the upper foreskin is amputated (later followed by peria then circumcision then metzitza)
Quotations
The operation consists of three parts: " milah," " peri'ah," and " mezizah."Milah: The child having been placed uppon a pillow resting upon the lap of the godfather or "sandek", the mohel exposes the parts by removal of the parts by removal of the garments, etc., and instructs the sandek how to hold the child's legs. The mohel then grasps the prepuce between the thumb and index-finger of his left hand, exerting sufficient traction to draw it from the glans, and places the shield in position just before the glans. He now takes the knife and with one sweep excises the foreskin. This completes teh first act.Peri'ah: After the excision has been complete, the mohel seizes the inner lining of the prepuce, which still covers the glans, with the thumb-nail
1901, Isidore Singer, Cyrus Adler, The Jewish Encyclopedia: A Descriptive Record of the History, Religion, Literature, and Customs of the Jewish People from the Earliest Times to the Present Day · Volume 4 page 99
Originally in biblical times berit milah may simply have consisted of cutting the Corlah (foreskin) with a flint knife (Exodus 4:25 and Joshua 5 : 2). The rabbis of the talmudic period perhaps added peri`ah (the tearing of the genital mucous membrane and laying bare the glans)
1987, Joseph Guttmann, The Jewish Life Cycle, page 4