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Brit Milah : Inconsistent with Jewish Ethics?
by D.A. Huffman-Parent
©2001
A round metal instrument was applied to my son's penis. How icy it must feel on his impossibly soft flesh. I commanded myself to look even as he started to wail, a razor thin, piercing cry that increased in volume and pitch until a bud of blood appeared, and then he issued as curdling a scream as I'd ever heard. “He doesn't feel a thing.” everyone told me, even the women, who should have known better. Red faced with pain and shock and betrayal,
Ben was suddenly in my arms. He still had not inhaled....But I sat with my son in my girlhood bedroom, rocking him, nursing him, wondering if he'd ever stop crying, not blaming him if he wouldn't, if he'd ever forgive me for mutilating him. For that's what I'd done: I'd branded him.
Baptisms, immersions, christening, briths, all these ceremonies are performed when the child is as soft and warm, as fragrant and kneadable, as a loaf from the oven, before they have a chance to object in any way, to be cognizant. The incising of marks, the drawing of blood, altering of the flesh. I remembered the story of Abraham and Isaac, which I'd never understood. How could a father march a son up the mountain to certain sacrifice? Yet I had done the same thing because of a tradition I couldn't see, describe, or explain. (Israeloff, 99-100).
Brit Milah is a traditional ceremony handed down for thousands of years and has been an intrinsic symbol of Judaism, yet some Jewish parents are beginning to question the ceremony and some are opting not to have the procedure performed on their sons. Brit Milah, or a brit or bris is the ceremony where a Jewish boy is circumcised and given his Hebrew name. This is done in fulfillment of the covenant G-d made with Abraham.
While millions of Jews have circumcised and the vast majority still do, some question the procedure and opt not to have it done. Some parents are troubled for a number of reasons including those that are rooted in Judaic thought and practice. Currently, 60% of American boys are circumcised, so this issue may not be particularly troubling for Americans, but in other countries, circumcision is unheard of except for religious reasons. Some find religious circumcision extremely troubling. 84% of the world’s men are intact (not circumcised) and many people in other countries are horrified by the idea of circumcising a baby for any reason, even religion. T. Weill, a psychoanalyst and researcher concludes that “for the non-Jew, circumcision is at the root of Jewish ‘strangeness.’ “ (Goldman, 7). The idea of questioning circumcision much less religious circumcision may seem odd to Americans who accept the procedure as a common practice, but those in other countries have expressed discomfort and even shock at the concept of performing such a procedure on a baby.
Most Jews never question circumcision. In fact, many believe it’s anti-Semitic to do so. Judaism is, however, a religion of questioning. It’s not similar to Christianity where the epitome of faith is blind faith without questioning. “One of the characteristic features of the Hebrew Bible and of post-biblical Jewish literature is the readiness of Jews to argue with G-d.” (Telushkin, 40). Gil Mann, a Jewish columnist and author of several books on Judaism writes,
He continues on to discuss the concept of "serious Jews" as on a continuum of how actively/passively they struggle with their Judaism, rather than judging people on how often/to what extent they practice rituals. A Jewish prayer book, Gates of Prayer contains a meditation called "Doubt."
So it’s quite obvious that to question any aspect of Judaism, including circumcision is not anti-Semitic. It is very much in keeping with Judaism’s rich tradition of discussion and debate.
Circumcision seems to contradict Jewish teachings in some respects, yet most Jews don’t want to question it. Judaism is not a religion of blind faith. It’s one of questioning and well thought out change. While Orthodox Jews believe sacrifice will be reinstated when the messiah comes, the majority of Jews not only don’t follow that belief, but many believe animal sacrifices are inhumane. The 613 mitzvot contain many regarding animal sacrifice, however, that is no longer practiced today and many Jews don't believe it ever will be again. Leviticus gives guidelines for killing animals so that even then, they’re treated in the most humane manner. A number of Jews are vegetarians largely due to Biblical teachings regarding kind treatment of animals. Therefore, many Jews not only don’t believe animal sacrifice will happen again, but believe it is very much against Jewish beliefs. Rabbi Sidney Clayman says, “The eating of meat in the Jewish dietary laws is not the ultimate goal, but a concession to human weakness.” According to Rabbi Clayman, vegetarianism is the ideal of G-d and all other standards are merely steps towards it. (Kalechofsky, 13). In the 11th Century, Rabbi Gershom noted that certain practices acceptable within Judaism and consistent with the Torah were contradicted in society and Biblical teachings and he issued the Takkanot which altered those laws. Whereas Talmudic and Biblical law allowed a man to secure a divorce without his wife’s consent, Rabbi Gershom’s Takkanot changed that. Polygamy was not only acceptable, but practiced by all the founding fathers of Judaism, however, contemporary cultural distaste for such marriages among non-Jews as well as a careful examination of those marriages proved that they were typically troubled ones which introduced complications. That lead Rabbi Gershom to forbid polygamy. His questions weren’t considered anti-Semitic in the least. In fact, “the comprehensive nature and humanitarian concerns of Rabbi Gershom’s decrees earned him a title, which is almost invariably appended to his name in Hebrew, ‘Rabbenu Gershom Me’or Ha-Golah.’ “ (Telushkin, 178-179). These practices were all open for questioning and reinterpretation but circumcision, however, seems not to be.
Many parents who insist on the brit milah will do so because it is commanded in the Torah, however, they overlook many other laws commanded as well. Exodus and Leviticus both set forth harsh laws as well, but many of those have been abandoned. "He who strikes his father or his mother shall be put to death. (Exodus 21:15). He who insults his father or his mother shall be put to death (Exodus 21:17)." Leviticus 20:9 reiterates the harsh punishment required for he who insults his parents. Leviticus 20:10 states, “If a man commits adultery with a married woman, committing adultery with another man’s wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall be put to death.” Leviticus 17 sets forth the basis of the kashrut laws which all are expected to follow meticulously. According to Leviticus 19:23, once a tree is planted, its fruit must not be eaten for five years. “You should not put on cloth from a mixture of two kinds of materials.” (Leviticus 19:19). “You shall not round off the side-growth on your head, or destroy the side-growth of your beard.” (Leviticus 19:27). Leviticus 18:19 demands, “Do not come near a woman during her period of uncleanness to uncover her nakedness.” Leviticus 20:18 reiterates that point, “If a man lies with a woman in her infirmity and uncovers her nakedness, he has laid bare her flow and she has exposed her blood flow; both of them shall be cut off from among their people.” Many of these laws have been disregarded by contemporary Jews. Typically, only Orthodox Jews follows taharat ha-mish-pakha (laws regarding menstrual purity), which, like brit milah, are commanded in the 613 mitzvot. In fact, “Unlike the Sabbath and kashrut, the laws of family purity are virtually unknown to non-Orthodox Jews.” (Telushkin, 322). It is, however, important to note the similarity between the consequence of both not circumcising and having intercourse with a menstruating woman. One who fails to circumcise the flesh of his skin, “shall be cut off from his kin” where as one who comes in contact with menstrual blood as well as the menstruating woman “shall be cut off from among their people.” Whereas the family purity laws have been abandoned by the majority of Jews, the circumcision law, however, has not even though their consequences are extremely similar.
While many circumcise because it is commanded in the Tanakh, the procedure they are doing is actually not biblical. Contemporary circumcision has been altered by rabbis. Jewish babies today do not undergo the same procedure Abraham and Jacob did. Originally, only the small piece of foreskin that hung over the glands was cut which actually left the majority of the foreskin intact. During the Hellenistic period, the Greeks saw the body as sacred and any alteration to it, including circumcision, was seen as mutilation and was looked down upon. When one competed naked in Greek style athletic competitions, it was obvious who had been “mutilated”. Many competitions (including the Olympics) refused to allow any circumcised male to compete. Since they still had much of their foreskin, many Jewish men were able to stretch their remaining skin so that they looked intact. Rabbis sought to prevent Jews from hiding their circumcisions, and therefore their Jewish identity, by drastically altering the required procedure for brit milah. In about 140 CE, Jewish law was altered so that radical circumcision called periah must be performed. Periah consists of the complete stripping and shearing of the foreskin (Kohler, 93). While many turn to the Torah as proof that the brit is required, the brit that is performed today is not the same as what G-d required of Abraham. Much more is removed than G-d required of Abraham and his sons.
According to Halakha (Jewish law), any boy born to a Jewish mother is a Jew. Circumcision will not make him Jewish in the way that baptism will make a child Christian. Some Orthodox rabbis will refuse to marry a Jewish man if he knows the man is not circumcised, but the vast majority of rabbis never ask. One Orthodox rabbi admitted he never asked, but if he were to find out that a man was not circumcised, he would refuse to marry the man and urge him to have a brit of his own. Typically, for Conservative, Reform, and Reconstructionist, it’s not an issue. While rabbis from all branches will urge a man to have a brit performed, it is not required. In no branch is a child required to be circumcised to be Jewish. He is Jewish by the fact that he is born to a Jewish mother.
In Genesis, circumcision is referred to as “the covenant between Me and you and your offspring to follow which you shall keep...,” however, a covenant is a “mutual pledge” and some parents acknowledge that their child is not capable of making a mutual pledge (Greenberg, 241). An eight day old infant is far too young to understand such a concept as G-d and a mutual agreement. Therefore, the parents are responsible for entering their child into the covenant. Some parents feel this infringes on their sons' rights since the children have no say in the matter. By entering the child into that covenant, they are taking away that child’s free will, which is a very important concept in Judaism. He is not allowed to decide for himself how to act. “The Jewish view is that humans...have the free moral will to choose the good and this free moral will can be more powerful than the evil inclination. Indeed, Jewish ethics requires the idea that humans decide for themselves how to act.” (“The Differences Between Judaism and Christianity”). Therefore, circumcision is not consistant with Jewish ethics because it doesn’t allow the son to decide whether or not to enter into the covenant. Advocating Circumcision Today (ACT), a Jewish organization states, “ Another form of sacrifice by circumcision is the self-sacrifice involved. Many mitzvoth require sacrifice, sometimes even fasting and abstinence from food and drink, or great financial loss. The greatest loss, however, is that of a part of the body”. The brit milah, however, is not a self-sacrifice. The parents have the procedure done, yet it is not being done to their bodies. The parents make the sacrifice of their child. Gil Man writes, “I have had two boys and I can tell you their circumcisions were extremely emotional and difficult for me to endure and I think even more so for my wife. And if I had to do it again...I most definitely would!...”( “I Will Not Circumcise My Son!”). He mentions it was difficult for himself and his wife, but nowhere in the article does he mention how his sons reacted. He insists he would do it again, but he doesn’t mention if his sons would. If he found it difficult to watch without the knife ever touching his flesh, one has to wonder how the person actually undergoing the operation must have felt. This sacrifice was made of his sons' bodies, not his and Judaism teaches we have no right to make a sacrifice of anyone else.
This concept of sacrifice is in opposition with the Torah. Some scholars believe circumcision is an extension of human sacrifice. It’s often seen as a token sacrifice to G-d. In ancient times, the first-born son was sacrificed to redeem future children in the family. As the culture advanced, children were replaced by animal sacrifice. David Biale, chair of Jewish Studies at the Graduate Theological Union has referred to circumcision as “a substitute sacrifice”.
Rabbi Stanley Chyet offers this insight:
Sacrifice, however, is expressly forbidden in Judaism. Sacrificing children is prohibited by the Torah. “Do not allow any of your offspring to be offered up to the Molech.” Leviticus 18:21 and Deuteronomy 18:10 both command “Let no one be found among you who consigns his son or daughter to the fire.” The ritual sacrifice of children is the one aspect of idolatry that the Torah is most appalled by. (Telushkin, 36-37). Isiah states “What need have I of all your sacrifices? says the L-rd...” Rather, “cease to do evil. Learn to do good. Devote yourselves to justice. Aid the wronged. Uphold the rights of the orphan. Defend the cause of the widow.” (1:11-17). Hosea 6:6 states, “For I desire mercy, not sacrifice.” Yet if circumcision is in fact the remnant of child sacrifice, then it is strictly forbidden.
Once the temple was destroyed, Judaism started on a path away from a focus on sacrifice of any kind towards one of ethics instead.
Rabbi Haskel Lookstein coined the slogan, “Menschlikhkeit before G-dliness” since “many observant individuals erroneously assume that Judaism believes G-d cares more about rituals than about how people treat each other.” (Telushkin, 514). Hillel summarized the contents of the Torah by saying, “What is hateful unto you, do not do unto your neighbor.” “This omnipresent emphasis on the ethical, even when matters of ritual are at stake, is perhaps the most enduring part of Hillel’s two-thousand-year-old legacy.” (Telushkin, 122). Judaism’s scholars and prophets have noted the emphasis on kindness rather than sacrifice, yet the practice of circumcision continues even though it conflicts with this very idea.
Jewish law forbids causing tsa’ar ba’alei chaim or pain in living things. However, circumcision is extremely painful. A study on the effects of circumcision without anesthesia had to be called off “rather than subject any more babies to the operation without anesthesia.” (“Circumcision study halted due to trauma”). The study found that blood pressure rose, heart rates raced, an increased risk of choking, and difficulty breathing. The reactions were so severe the study couldn’t be continued. While some may believe a baby doesn’t feel as much pain as an adult does, the opposite, infact, is true. Dr. Adrian Lloyd Thomas notes, “Infants having an operation may actually experience more pain than adults do having the same procedure and the reason for this is the control mechanisms which are highly developed to...suppress pain in a mature adult nervous system are not so well developed in a small baby. So the pain signals travel through uncontrolled, unsuppressed.”(Schonfeld). All national medical associations recommend anesthesia for infants undergoing circumcision. Mohelim, however, rarely use any anesthesia other than a wine soaked cloth which is has found to be ineffective for circumcision (CNN: Circumcision study halted due to trauma). When anesthesia is used, it’s most likely the topical EMLA cream. This however, raises other problems. The CNN study declared “Topicals woefully inadequate.” The doctors recommend that “if circumcision must be performed, it should be preceded by an injected anesthetic”. Mohelim, however, typically don’t use injected anesthetics. There is an additional problem with EMLA cream. The cream contains a warning which states, “EMLA cream is not recommended for use prior to circumcision in pediatric patients.” the Physicians’ Desk reference, under its listing for EMLA states that it is “not recommended for use on mucous membranes...EMLA Cream should not be used in infants under the age of one month...” EMLA contains Prilocaine which can react with the blood, particularly in infants and can cause a fatal reaction. The Canadian Department of Paediatrics has gone so far as to issue a “strong warning to all physicians who perform circumcisions. We strongly advise that Prilocaine local anesthetic not be used under any circumstances for neonatal circumcision. It is also interesting to note that EMLA cream contains 2.5% Prilocaine. It also therefore should not be used on the mucous membranes of newborns when they are circumcised.” The most current warnings provided by the producers of EMLA specifically state that it should not be used on neonatal circumcision (EMLA topical anaesthetic for neonatal circumcision). So not only are these infants being subjected to pain, which is forbidden, but they are also being put at risk by the choice of anesthesia if there is any.
Maimonides wrote, “circumcision has another very important meaning, namely, that all people professing this opinion-that is, those who believe in the unity of G-d-should have a bodily sign uniting them.” (609). If all followers should have such a sign, then why not women? If women have no physical mark, then at least half of those who believe have no bodily sign uniting them and therefore, all who believe do not have any such mark. Jewish women have no distinguishing mark and they are the ones who determine a child’s Jewish identity. “those who believe...should have a bodily sign uniting them” yet the parents have no idea what an 8 day old infant believes and that bodily sign is no guarantee of what he’ll believe in the future.
Gensis also specifies that the slaves should be circumcised, however, they were not Hebrews nor were they believers in one G-d. So this concept of the mark uniting all Jews may not be biblical if the text of the Tanakh ordered even those owned by Jews who were not Jews to bare that mark as well.
Some parents make the argument that they can be responsible for guiding their child towards to belief in one G-d. They feel that Hebrew schools, days schools, immersion in Jewish family life and rituals, and Torah study will make their child a believer without the need for surgery. Such parents are refusing to have their sons circumcised because they believe it’s their duty to teach their children to love Judaism. Then, they’ll be identified as a member of the Jewish community for their love of Judaism, not by a physical sign that really only makes a statement about their parents’ beliefs, not the child’s. Gil Man writes, “a bris is the oldest ritual in Judaism. For countless generations our people have followed this tradition. I wouldn't want to be the person to break this chain...” However, Judaism advocates an attempt to repair the world. “A central purpose of Judaism is tikkun olam, repairing the world. Much of the pain in the world is a result of repeating old harmful patterns of behaviors. By breaking a chain of pain, forgoing circumcision contributes to our healing. As we heal from this pain, we will be better able to heal others and reach our ethical and spiritual potential.”(Goldman, 11). When Rabbi Gershom saw the need for change, he created it and he is remember fondly for that change. Certainly, tradition keeps Judaism alive, but so does inquiry, dialogue, and well-thought-out alteration.
Many parents who don’t circumcise their infants feel that if their sons feel they want to enter into that covenant through circumcised, they can do so when they’re older. Maimonides, however, believes the procedure should be done on infants.
Do it because they don’t yet love the child enough to take his pain seriously? According to Maimonides train of thought babies are therefore strangers to their parents. Yet, the command to love and not oppress the stranger appears thirty-six times in the Torah. To oppress is to keep down by unjust use of force. Some believe performing circumcision when it’s not possible to get consent from the child is oppressive and is therefore violating the Torah and the “stranger”.
So what if parents don’t want the milah, but still want the brit? Several different alternative rituals have been created by parents and rabbis of all branches of Judaism. They’re typically called a Brit Shalom, so rather than covenant of cutting, it’s a covenant of peace. They tend to involve all the traditional aspects of a traditional bris, including all the same participants and blessings, just without the actual circumcision. Some will simply use the same naming ceremony used for girls. It’s not particularly common, but it is being used more often now than in the past. Support groups exist for parents of intact Jewish boys. Cars now bear bumper stickers which read, “Jews embracing wholeness. Saying no to circumcision”. Even in Israel, there are Jewish organizations that oppose brit milah. One non-profit organization in Israel working to stop circumcision took its case to the High Court of Justice in 1998 and maintained in its petition that “in a modern democratic society there is no place for the ‘barbaric’ ceremony which mauls a child who does not have any say in the matter." The movement is largely made up of Reform parents, but it is visible in other areas as well. Moshe Rothenberg is a Conservative Jew living in an observant Jewish community in Brooklyn, yet he did not circumcise his son. (Rothenberg). The Af-milah newsletter is an Israeli newsletter dedicated to ending brit milah. Those who question and refuse to have a brit milah aren’t necessarily doing it because they have assimilated or because they’re anti-Semitic. Some feel this way after careful study of Jewish texts and observances.
Whether or not it conflicts with other Jewish principles, circumcision is still considered a quintessential Jewish act, a symbol of the covenant between G-d and the Jewish people and a primary emblem of Jewish identity. Questioning circumcision, however is also continuing a Jewish tradition. Thus, a decision not to circumcise an infant, but to observe the covenant through a symbolic ceremony instead of a traditional one, can also be a Jewish decision which follows with traditional Judaism. Parents who refuse are not merely disregarding a Jewish tradition, but are embracing the Jewish tradition of questioning and understanding.
Also of interest:
Bris Shalom Ceremony: an alternative Bris ceremony for concerned Jewish parents
Loving G-d by Acting With Compassion
From 7 Hebrew Words and Phrases Every Activist Should Know
<<Ki Gerim Heyitem B'Eretz Mitzrayim
On more than one occasion, the Torah instructs us not to oppress the stranger, "because you were strangers in the land of Egypt." At the rossed, suffering. We should know better than to perpetuate injustice on others, through our actions or inactions. We should remind ourselves that we were victims ourselves, and that without organized action (and divine assistance) we would never have escaped. The same idea is expressed in the Passover haggadah, when we say that "in every generation, a person should view herself as having personally left Egypt".
Former slaves should be specially attuned to slavery in any of its forms in the world today. >>
From Ask A Rabbi.com:
<<"The child can still be raised as a Jew. There are some people who are non-circumcised- ie from Russia who are still Jews. His upbringing & what he learns is more important. He can always be circumcised as an adult. Now its far more important on how he is raise and what he learns.">>
The Ashley Montague Resolution to End the Genital Mutilation of Children Worldwide
Here's an interesting link :
"In Israel, Althoug the Brit-Mila is a very important tradition, there are people that are not sure it's necessary. On January 1999 we started to publish a NewsLetter in Hebrew, that raise the issue, and speaks for the people who are against this tradition. Since then, we published 5 issues, and lately, a long list of articles in hebrew, that can be sent by snail-mail, or be read online. It's in Hebrew, so anyone that can read hebrew is invited to visit our site, read the articles, and download the NewsLetters." Af-Mila NewsLetters
Here are some related links
Perspectives on circumcision: Religion
Dr. Ronald Goldman on Circumcision
A Non-Traditional "Circumcision" Ceremony
Change Without Denigration: Addressing Anti-Semitism
Circumcision no longer automatic in Jewish households
See also: My Three Reasons
Work Cited
December 23, 1997
Massachusettes: Vanguard Publications.
New York: Simon & Schuster, 1985
New York: Simon & Schuster, 1998.
Micah Publications. 1995: 13.
Illinois:. University of Chicago, 1963.
New York: Leo and Sons Publishing. 1997.
American Journal of Psychoanalysis 41 (1981): 142.
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