Ritual circumciser’s often owned their own, personal copies of books (“mohel books”) containing works pertaining to the circumcision ritual and prayers and recitations to accompany the ceremony. In the 17th-18th centuries and beyond, some commissioned the creation of beautiful, decorated manuscript copies for their use over time. These volumes typically included the circumciser’s record of the circumcisions he performed, including the dates of the ritual and the names given to the infants. These lists constitute a valuable record of the lives of specific Jewish communities. 

The page in front of you is the work’s title page. This page, and others like it, imitates the title page that was common in Jewish religious books printed at the time (earlier manuscripts did not have title pages), with a decorative frame featuring Moses at the right and his brother, the High Priest Aaron, on the left.