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Many have the custom of honoring four people, plus a married couple, by assigning them roles in the ceremony. It is advisable for the baby’s parents to decide beforehand whom they wish to honor. The roles are:
- Kvatters – The couple who carry the baby to the brit. (Having kvatters is not a universal custom.) The infant’s mother gives him to the woman selected. She then passes the baby to her husband, who brings him to the father. After the brit, this sequence is reversed.
- The Chair of Elijah (Kisei shel Eliyahu) – The person who places the baby upon the special chair that reminds us of Elijah (the prophet whose spirit attends every brit), and who then carries the baby to the sandak.
- The Sandak – The person who sits and holds the baby on his knees while the brit is performed. This is the most important of the honors, and is generally given either to a grandfather or the rabbi.
- The One Who Blesses – The person who, after the brit is performed, recites blessings over the wine and over the brit, and then names the baby. This honor is generally given to a Torah scholar.
- The Second Sandak – The person who holds the baby during the recitation of the blessings. Some do not designate a separate person for this, but simply leave the baby with the sandak.
