I would like to correct a language error that has been around for some decades. That is the word "Brunch". People commonly use this term to mean a meal between breakfast and lunch.This is often consumed on the weekend with friends and/or family for about triple the cost of the same meal when bought at other times of the day. However, this is not an accurate definition. It is actually supposed to be called "Breach" or "Breanch" if you are from New England. In the southern hemisphere where things are generally backwards or upside down it is customary to refer to it as either "Lunst" or a mildly confusing "Lust" as the lunch part precedes the breakfast portion of the word.
The true origin of this word is far more interesting and goes back to the several thousand year old tradition of ritual circumcision. Although many cultures and religions perform these circumcisions, the first to do this were the Jewish people as they were commanded to in the Torah (referred to as the "Old Testament" by non-Jews). For those who do not know of this delightful tradition I will explain. God commanded the Jewish people that on the eighth day of a baby boy's life, an expert called a mohel, (pronounced moil, rhymes with oil) will hack the foreskin off the boy's penis with a machete. This is not as cruel as it sounds as the baby is given a drop or two of wine on a gauze pad, so he is drunk and just thinks someone has slammed his pecker in a car door. So that screaming you hear from a newly foreskin-free boy is just him yelling at his mother for being careless with the car door and please get some ice on that thing.
Well that sounds like fun, you say, but couldn't we just skip it? The answer is a resounding NO! Jews have a choice: chop off the foreskin or God chops off your soul! Not quite "an eye for an eye", but do you really want to risk your soul?Some Jews actually question god asking "Hey big guy, if you didn't want us to have foreskin, then why did you give it to us in the first place? And then we could just skip this thing altogether". But I know what you're thinking. As interesting as this is, what does this have to do with "Brunch"?
These ritual penis-carving ceremonies are typically done in the morning (sometimes in the afternoon if the Mohel is heavily booked, but forbidden at night) after which people are ready to celebrate. So, a delightful meal is served. typically in the late morning. Now this circumcision is called a "Brit" (pronounced bris, rhymes with bliss). Hence the "Br" from "Brit" combined with the "unch" from "Lunch" forms "Brunch".
So, the next time you are out for what you call "Brunch", please think of foreskin, blood, and screaming babies and enjoy your meal.
