Armed with only a scalpel, clamps, and a metal probe, Philip L. He kept a reminder of the inspiring sign on his windshield: “Mazel Tov! Bryce in progress. Please don’t mention tickets.”
Mr. Sherman, whose website was (in addition to his fancy license plate) emoil.comHe claimed to have performed about 26,000 circumcisions, most of them in the New York metropolitan area, during his 45-year career. He was trained in the religious rites of a preet mela – a general profession for which in English the word “mohel” is spelled and pronounced “moil”.
He said his record was 11 in one day, including two pairs of twins — quite a feat for the schedule, considering the rituals would take place on the eighth day of the baby’s life and during the day.
Mr. Sherman has also performed rites of circumcision on Muslim and Christian infant boys, as well as the son of a man he circumcised as an infant and the grandchildren of two Israeli prime ministers, and in all sorts of places, including Hong Kong and Cayman. Islands and Bar on Third Avenue (for family living upstairs).
He died on August 9 at his home in Englewood, NJ. He was 67 years old. His daughter, Nina Sherman Green, said the cause was pancreatic cancer.
Mr. Sherman performed his first circumcision when he was twenty-one, in Brooklyn during a snowstorm (wise, he had stayed nearby the night before). After being diagnosed with cancer, he began what he called a sabbatical in June.
Mr. Sherman, wearing his signature tie, did his best to pull off a party not for the faint of heart. For Mr. Sherman, it was life–and more importantly, the fulfillment of an enduring and sacred religious covenant, immortalized in the biblical verse “And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac.”
He said, “I am there to carry out the commandment of the Torah, to educate, to tell them what the point is, briefly, appropriately, with taste.” New York times In 2012.
He did so many brises for Jewish families in New York that he became a bold name and was written about Like celebrities.
His services were not cheap. “You pay $800 for a stable hand and a good reputation.” Scott Stringer, the former comptroller of New York City, told The Times after his son, born in December 2011, was circumcised by Mr. Sherman. “It’s not the kind of thing where you’re looking to save money.”
But Mr. Sherman said he did not turn away families who could not afford his fees.
Philip Lloyd Sherman was born on April 26, 1956 in Syracuse, New York. His mother, Malvina (Jacobs) Sherman, was an English teacher. His father, Paul Sherman, was a factory worker.
He was inspired to study the brit mela by his grandfather Isadore Jacobs, who was a philatelist and also a rabbi, qadi, dayan (religious judge) and shochet (ritual slaughter). After studying with Rabbi Yosef Hakohen Halperin, a noted orator, in Jerusalem, Mr. Sherman graduated in 1979 with degrees in Music and Bible Studies from a joint program run by Columbia University and the Jewish Theological Seminary.
He also served as a critic at several New York synagogues, including the Spanish and Portuguese Synagogues in Manhattan from 1985 to 2019. He also occasionally worked as an actor.
He played the judge in the Netflix series Orange Is the New Black and appeared in an episode of the Amazon Prime show The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. He also participated in Paul Rudd’s 2011 film “Our Idiot Brother”.
He said “I played a mohel, but the scene cut” Jewish Telegraphic Agency. “How ironic.”
He has described himself as the only motorcycle-riding rabbi in the Screen Actors Guild.
At the actual religious ceremonies which Mr. Sherman presided over, he not only shone; He also fed the supporting players to their lines.
“Let me tell you my secret,” he routinely confides to new parents, according to an interview with The New Yorker in 1999. “After it’s over, be sure to thank your wife for doing such a great job and giving you such a perfect son.”
In addition to his daughter, Mr. Sherman is survived by his two sons, Reuven and Ilan Sherman, from his marriage to Naomi Freestat, which ended in divorce; his brothers are Stephen and Martin Sherman; and six grandchildren. His marriage to Andrea Raab in 1994 ended in divorce in 2022.
Mr. Sherman has performed the Koran for his children and grandchildren, noting that in addition to following the biblical injunction of Abraham (instead of a referral to a doctor and turning a religious ceremony into a purely medical procedure), he underwent a full year of apprenticeship.
Yes, admit, of course, the child feels pain during this. But, he added, “when done right, just for a moment.”
And yes, he said, it was also true that sometimes even just by imagining removing a child’s foreskin, he might lose a parent or guest. But, he suggested cheerfully, “there is usually a shortage of doctors or lawyers.”
When actress and comedian Whoopi Goldberg tells him she hates going to a wedding, Mr. Sherman proposes to her.
He advised, “Next time you go to one, do what I do: close your eyes.”
He added just kidding.