Judaism, Bris Milah, and Human Rights: A Torah Perspective

By YECHIEL WEISS

There can be no doubt that bris milah is an important mitzvah. While the Torah does call for circumcision at eight days, there are indeed prominent Jews in the Tanakh who were circumcised later in life. Avraham Avinu was circumcised at 99; tradition holds that he kept the entirety of the written and oral Torah well before matan Torah, meaning he performed the majority of mitzvahs in his life while in an uncircumcised state.

While it may potentially be halakhically serious if neglected, circumcision is not a requirement to be considered a Jew, if one is born of a Jewish mother. If someone uncircumcised happens to be a Kohen, he may even bless other Jewish people.

Bris milah is an interesting mitzvah, in that it has already undergone great historical change. Bris milah was once only properly fulfilled if done in conjunction with metzizah (b'peh or otherwise), as well as the application of cumin powder:

“All necessary acts for circumcision are done on Shabbat [even if it violates Shabbat]: We circumcise, do peri’ah (tear the membrane), do metzitzah (suction), and put a bandage with cumin powder on the wound [to stop the bleeding].”

– Mishnah Shabbat 19:2

Rav Papa notes:

Any mohel who does not perform metzitzah causes a sakanah (health danger) and should be banned from the practice.

– Shabbat 133b

No bris milah today includes cumin powder (it has completely fallen out of use) and true metzizah b’peh (a practice that has recently come under fire for health controversies) is increasingly becoming a fringe movement. Many poskim (rabbinical arbiters) hold that these practices are not actual mitzvahs per say, but were done in those times for medical reasons. Nonetheless, it stands to reason that the procedures of bris milah are not immune to change in light of new medical information. No one’s bris is “less valid” if done without metzizah, and mohels are certainly not banned from practice for failing to perform it.

The mitzvah of bris milah was also originally incumbent on the father to perform on his son, yet the practice is now relegated, almost exclusively, to an outside mohel. Few, if any, fathers take the time to learn how to do the mitzvah of bris milah, and instead appoint a shliach to do so, despite the mitzvah’s supposed importance and the z’chus (privilege) they would inevitably receive from doing it themselves.

There is also some historical evidence that the actual Torah mitzvah of bris milah was radically changed by rabbis during the Hellenistic period to include amputating a much larger portion of skin by the peeling act of peri’ah, to prevent Jewish epispasm (stretching of the foreskin remnant to appear as uncircumcised). This historical issue is addressed in the Oxford Dictionary of the Jewish Religion, although rabbinic interpretation disagrees with historical interpretation in this case.

As such, regarding the application of cumin, metzizah, the performance of the mitzvah by the father, and possibly the introduced requirement of peri’ah, it is clear that the particulars of bris milah are subject to change with shifting zeitgeist. This should be extended to age requirements, as argued henceforth.

Judaism and Human Rights

All forms of Judaism, including the strictest and most Orthodox, place human rights above the ability to perform a mitzvah. This is self-evident in the notion that the Torah is filled with references to human slavery and the laws governing it (Gen. 17:12-13, Ex. 23:12, Lev. 22:11, Lev. 25:46, Deut. 15:12, etc). While Jewish slavery was much more compassionate than other forms of slavery at the time (Ex. 21:2-11), it nonetheless remains a fact that this “more compassionate form of slavery” is not practiced in the modern world. As per the Rambam’s codification of the 613 mitzvahs, many of them entail owning a slave:

290. Blowing of the shofar on 10th of Tishrei to free the slaves (Lev. 25:9)

504. Purchasing a Jewish slave in accordance with halakha (Ex. 21:2)

505. Not selling a Jewish slave as other slaves are sold (Lev. 25:42)

506. Not working a Jewish slave oppressively (Lev. 25:43)

507. Not allowing a non-Jew to work a Jewish slave oppressively (Lev. 25:53)

508. Not having a Jewish slave do menial slave labor (Lev. 25:39)

509. Giving a Jewish slave gifts upon freedom (Deut. 15:14)

510. Not sending a Jewish slave away empty-handed (Deut. 15:13)

514. Forcing Canaanite slaves to work forever unless injured (Lev. 25:46)

515. Not extraditing a slave who fled to Israel (Deut. 23:16)

516. Not to wrong a slave who has come to Israel seeking refuge (Deut. 23:16)

Etc

However, none of these mitzvahs are practiced at present, and no sane or compassionate Jew yearns to have slaves once again so that such mitzvahs may be performed. It may be interesting to note that the Jews of Ethiopia practiced the Torah laws of slavery right up until 1942, when slavery was outlawed in that country.

Because slavery, in any form, is a blatant human rights abuse, no Jew alive today keeps slaves, despite the many mitzvahs that an institution of slavery would bring him. Judaism always prioritizes human rights, so much so that thousands of opportunities for mitzvahs were abandoned with a tradition deemed to be a human rights violation.

The Current Mitzvah of Bris Milah and Human Rights

The Rambam notes that the purpose of circumcision is to weaken sexual pleasure for the human male:

Similarly with regard to circumcision, one of the reasons for it is, in my opinion, the wish to bring about a decrease in sexual intercourse and a weakening of the organ in question, so that this activity be diminished and the organ be in as quiet a state as possible…The fact that circumcision weakens the faculty of sexual excitement and sometimes perhaps diminishes the pleasure is indubitable. For if at birth this member has been made to bleed and has had its covering taken away from it, it must indubitably be weakened.

–The Guide of the Perplexed

He further asserts that while bris milah does serve a purpose as a cultural identity marker, its reason is first and foremost to permanently reduce both a man's and a woman's enjoyment of sex:

The Sages, may their memory be blessed, have explicitly stated: It is hard for a woman with whom an uncircumcised man has had sexual intercourse to separate from him. In my opinion this is the strongest of the reasons for circumcision.

Many prominent acharonim (leading rabbis and poskim, from about the 16th century to the present) hold that the mitzvah of circumcision may in fact lie in the pain that it inflicts on the baby. Rav Aryeh Zvi Frommer (Teshuvas Eretz Tzvi) and Rav Moshe Schwab (Ma’archei Lev) agree with Rav Gedaliah Silverstone (Imrei Yosher), who stated that Avraham Avinu received reward for his bris due to the pain. Rav Shmuel Wosner brings Tehilim 44:23, “For because of you we are killed everyday,” to argue that circumcision is supposed to be painful. Most acharonim hold that milah should be done without topical anesthetic or ointment; more so than the application of anesthetic itself, the acharonim differ mainly on whether this is done because it is more medically advisable or whether the intention of this practice is primarily to inflict pain.

A critical conclusion must be drawn from this: bris milah is a serious procedure with lasting effects, and one that should not be dealt with lightly in the modern world. As per rabbinic sources, present day bris milah at eight days old is done for the purpose of injuring an infant and permanently mutilating his sex organs. It is important to read that sentence again. If the reader has understood, he will find it impossible to defend this practice further. If he cannot find grounds to disagree with it, he must ask himself why he dismisses the Torah's inherent mitzvahs associated with human slavery. Such a train of thought inevitably begins: “Slavery is wrong because it forces something upon someone against his will.” This train of thought must be carefully examined and reapplied accordingly.

One may well make the assertion that while one is not required to own slaves, bris milah is seemingly mandatory. However, there is no Torah verse discouraging slavery either, and it stands to reason that the practice would bring with it numerous opportunities for mitzvahs. Despite this, no posek would permit a person to keep a slave nowadays, even if he merely wanted more mitzvahs to fulfill. The 21st century views slavery as a human abomination, and despite its prominence in the Torah, Jews have recognized this practice as harmful and unproductive for human welfare, even in its most compassionate of forms.

Circumcision of an infant is increasingly being viewed a human rights violation, and must certainly be viewed as such as stated in the key sentence. This being said, an adult Jewish male is free to choose the procedure for himself and should be encouraged to do so if he so desires. He will certainly be rewarded for his mitzvah (especially if done without anesthetic, though that is optional and not mandatory). However, no one in the modern world has the right to do this to another human without his permission. Circumcision of a baby is a serious malpractice and human rights violation, and must accordingly be viewed the same way all human rights violations are viewed within the Jewish faith.

Genesis 17:11

ibid, 17:12

Freeman, Tzvi. How Did the Torah Exist Before It Happened? Chabad.org. Web. <http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/110124/jewish/How-Did-the-Torah-Exist-Before-it-Happened.htm>

 Encyclopedia Judaica. Jerusalem: Keter Publishing, 1971. "Circumcision."

Bolnick, David A., and Kenneth E. Katz. "Jewish Ritual Circumcision." Surgical Guide to Circumcision. Springer London, 2012. pp. 265-274.

Glass, J. M. "Religious Circumcision: A Jewish view." BJU International 83.S1. 1999. pp. 17-21.

Hoffman, Dovid Tzvi. Melamed Leho-il, Yoreh De-a 79

Kiddushin 29a

Cohen, Shaye JD. Why Aren't Jewish Women Circumcised? Gender and Covenant in Judaism. University of California Press, 2005.

Gollaher, David. Circumcision: A History of the World's Most Controversial Surgery. Basic Books, 2001. p. 17

Werblowsky, R. J., Geoffrey Wigoder, and Gavriel D. Rosenfeld. Oxford Dictionary of the Jewish Religion. Oxford University Press, 1997.

Glick, Leonard B. Marked in Your Flesh: Circumcision from Ancient Judea to Modern America. Oxford University Press, 2005.

Yebamoth 71b

Salamon, Hagar. "Reflections of Ethiopian Cultural Patterns on the Beta Israel Absorption in Israel: The “Barya” Case." Between Africa and Zion: Proceedings of the First International Congress of the Society for the Study of Ethiopian Jewry. 1995. pp. 126-127

Maimonides, Moses. The Guide of the Perplexed. Translated with an introduction and notes by Shlomo Pines. The University of Chicago Press, 1963. Part III, Chapter 49, p. 609

ibid

Teshuvas Eretz Tzvi, 56

 Ma’archei Lev, 53

Imrei Yosher 2:140

Shevet HaLevi (5:146)

Montrose, Rabbi Yaakov. Halachic World - Volume 3: Contemporary Halachic Topics Based on the Parshah. Feldham Publishers, 2011.

ibid 

Yechiel Weiss (a pen name) was born in New York and raised in an Orthodox household. He was raised Hassidic, but attended Litvish schools. He lives in a kosher and Sabbath-observant home, and enjoys learning Torah and Gemara.

When Everything In Me Said to Circumcise: A Jewish Father Wrestles with Tradition

By MARK MORRIS

Author, Mark Morris, with his partner Jude and their son Lev.

I always thought that if I had a son I would not circumcise him. I felt the need to challenge this Jewish tradition. It felt like quite a brutal decision to take on behalf of my newborn son, for a covenant that I did not believe in. (I am secular but very culturally identified.) But when I found out that we were going to have a baby boy, the sudden emotional desire to have him circumcised was immediate and very strong.

Following Our Hearts: A Father's Brit Shalom Journey

A beachside brit shalom in Vancouver, Canada.

By SHAWN STARK

My wife, Amari, was seven months pregnant and we were at our midwife appointment. At this point we knew we would be having a boy. Near the end of our visit, the midwife asked us what we were planning to do about circumcision.

Amari and I are both Jewish and we had discussed it a couple of times before. My take was: “We're Jewish. My grandparents are Holocaust survivors. Our boy is getting circumcised." However, Amari was against the procedure, although she was willing to do it if it meant that much to me.

Bizarre Circumcision Stories: Where's the Journalism?

By Lisa Braver Moss
Special to Beyond the Bris

If you follow circumcision in the news, you’ve been busy lately. And if you happen to like journalism that’s baffling—well, there’s been plenty to enjoy.

The Atlantic, for example, recently ran a piece about a married couple facing the circumcision decision. Like so many publications, the magazine apparently thought it had to be balanced about the parents’ opposing points of view. The highlighted quote: “We quickly realized that neither of us had any rational reason to feel strongly about the subject.”

Wait, these parents are equally irrational? One thinks baby should be left intact, while the other is advocating for surgery with no medical condition present. Those are both illogical?

Jewish Activist Speaks on Metzitzah B'Peh Circumcision Practice

By REBECCA WALD

The video has been published by photographer and videographer James Loewen. Loewen has been capturing emotionally gripping images and videos from inside the anti-circumcision movement. Many of his videos have been uploaded to his YouTube Channel, Bonobo3D. Loewen began uploading the videos four years ago and they comprise some of the most important statements being made and aired to a worldwide audience on the subject of childhood circumcision.

Social activist Jonathan Friedman, who is a longtime friend and contributing writer to Beyond the Bris, is featured on a new YouTube video discussing the Orthodox brit milah procedure he endured as an eight day old infant. He also speaks about his work to inform others on the harms caused by circumcision.

 

Our Covenant Is With Our Son: My Family's Take on Jewish Circumcisions

The author's husband, James, and their son Etani. 

By JENNIFER MARGULIS

The baby, who had been so quiet, peaceful, and trusting just moments before, opened his mouth in shock, a look of utter bewilderment on his face, and then started to scream. He screamed shrilly, like a wounded animal.

“I hate this part,” his grandmother muttered to me, shaking her head and ducking outside. “I’ll come back later.”

My Jewish Heritage was Key to Unlocking the American Secret

By FRANCELLE WAX

Photo/James Loewen

I was born and raised a Reconstructionist Jew in Scarsdale, NY. I wish I could say that growing up, with every cousin’s bris, I struggled mightily to comprehend such brutality. The truth is that, like virtually all children, I trusted the adults who told me that foreskin removal was in a baby’s best interest.

As I grew older, it was my Jewish education and upbringing that prompted me to be more considered about rules and authority, and ultimately to be reflective about circumcision.

When you grow up with the reality that your ancestors were persecuted in just about every place in which they tried to settle, and found to be on the the wrong side of the law just a tad too often, you come to appreciate that cultural embrace and legal status are weak litmus tests for determining whether someone or something is good or ethical. In referencing my ancestors, I’m not just talking about abrahamic tent dwellers or European Jewry in the 1930s, but also Russian Jews in the late 1980s. I realized I could not blindly trust the so-called “authorities”--even the Jewish ones--when it came to determining right from wrong. Once you grasp that, you resign yourself to a life of figuring stuff out for yourself.

The Emotional Consequences of Circumcision

By RICHARD SCHWARTZMAN, D.O.

The American Academy of Pediatrics announced in 2012 a change in its policy regarding infant male circumcision. Whereas previously they held “the procedure is not essential to the childʼs current well-being,” now in their carefully worded statement they say “the benefits outweigh the risks.” This reversal comes at a time when circumcision rates are at their lowest point in years in the USA, and when many people around the world are taking a stand against the procedure.

The benefits cited by the AAP are to prevent the potential for physical illness or disease, the evidence of which is questionable at best. There is no reference by the AAP to even the possibility of emotional harm resulting from such a traumatic experience so early in life.

There are countless animal studies showing that traumatic experiences soon after birth cause crippling long term effects. Such studies on human infants, while fewer, also show the damaging effects of early childhood trauma. Apparently, in the eyes of the AAP, such evidence is not considered important.  

A Call for Sensitivity in Discussing Circumcision

By MOLLY MCFLY

I am a young woman who is proud to be deeply invested in the movement to defeat institutionalized circumcision. However, as I have previously confessed, I once agreed with and actually defended this unnecessary surgery and its imposition on non-consenting infants. 

Since I used to be pro-cutting and am now adamantly opposed to it, I remember which messages I used to scoff at, and which messages actually got me to listen. I couldn't identify with the horror of the procedure until I learned about it in a non-judgmental manner. 

Third Year Brings Change for Beyond the Bris

By REBECCA WALD

What I love about Beyond the Bris is that it brings together different perspectives. I enjoy writing posts but it’s far more exciting for me to publish contributions from others. Jewish circumcision is a complex issue that touches on the sacred cows of sex, religion and politics.

The topics for discussion are limitless and there is always room to explore things in new ways. New and different voices are the heart and soul of Beyond the Bris.  

Bris Prep: What Happens During a Bris That You Might Not See

By REBECCA WALD

I have a friend, an educated man, who insists that circumcision during a bris involves nothing more than pulling the foreskin forward over the glans and snipping off the “excess” skin with a single cut. He is a grandfather who served as a sandak and held his grandsons during their ritual circumcision procedures. How could it possibly involve anything more, since he watched it take place before his own eyes?

Uniting the Next Generation of Parents Against Circumcision

By MOLLY MCFLY

As a nineteen-year-old woman, I only have one friend who is already a parent. She is an incredible mother to her young daughter, whose sex protected her from the circumcision debate. The rest of my peers are college-aged adults who spend an appropriately smaller amount of their free time than I do pondering infant welfare and debating a common practice that was probably performed on themselves or on their brothers. Yet in a few years, these people and I will become the newest generation of parents in America.

Circumcision Decision: Jewish Couples in Crisis

By REBECCA WALD

Back in the days when I was dating, before I met my wonderful husband, I would mention my views about circumcision early in a relationship, namely that I was against it and had no plans to circumcise any future sons. I figured I could marry someone with different interests or even political views, but when it came to circumcising a child, that was a deal-breaker. 

Facebook Campaign Protests AAP Circumcision Policy

By ELIYAHU UNGAR-SARGON

The AAP, who as recently as 2010 embarrassed themselves by recommending that physicians offer their patients a form of female genital cutting, find themselves on the wrong side of history once again. Their task force report is an insult to both reason and science and has destroyed what little credibility they may have had left on the subject.

Circumcision Resource Center Responds to Revised AAP Statement

By REBECCA WALD

The Circumcision Resource Center, headed by Ronald Goldman, Ph.D., has issued a response to the American Academy of Pediatric's revised policy on circumcision. The AAP pronouncement, issued today, strengthens the organization's stance in favor of circumcision, but stops short of recommending the procedure for all male infants.

Parshat Lech L'cha: Why Infant Circumcision in Judaism Isn't Kosher

By AMY SOULE

Then God said to Abraham, “You must keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you for the generations to come. This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep: Every male among you shall be circumcised. You are to undergo circumcision, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and you. For the generations to come every male among you who is eight days old must be circumcised, including those born in your household or bought with money from a foreigner—those who are not your offspring. Whether born in your household or bought with your money, they must be circumcised. My covenant in your flesh is to be an everlasting covenant. Any uncircumcised male, who has not been circumcised in the flesh, will be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant.” (Gen. 17:9-14)

I realize I may be making myself enemies, within and without, writing this essay, but here we go: I’m opposed to circumcision. To me, it echoes one too many abusive procedures, on top of the whole consent problem. An eight-day-old child cannot consent to any kind of procedure. 

Eight Reasons Why an Intact Penis Is Better Than a Cut Penis

By ERAN SADEH

Shalom. I’m Israeli, I’m Jewish and I’m an Intactivist, which means I strive to end male circumcision performed on infants and children in Israel and around the world. My journey to Intactivism began seven years ago when my son was born.

My wife and I had no doubts about circumcision. Although I hated it, and knew I was only doing it because it was a social dictate, I felt that putting my son through a surgical procedure to make his penis look “normal” was a must. The thought of not circumcising didn’t even cross my mind.

The German Circumcision Dilemma: Expanding the Debate and Proposing a Way Forward

By RONALD GOLDMAN

A German court in Cologne recently ruled that circumcising young boys represents grievous bodily harm. The court found the child’s "fundamental right to bodily integrity" was more important than the parents’ rights. According to the court, the religious freedom "would not be unduly impaired" because the child could later decide whether to have the circumcision.

Attachment Parenting, Avoiding Circumcision: My Jewish Family Traditions

By KAREN RANZI

I was born in Newark NJ at Beth Israel Hospital in the 1950s and was raised in Livingston NJ. My parents were Jewish. My father always taught me to question, and so throughout my life I have questioned all that has come before me to make sure I am following what I believe to be the truth. I published my first book in 2010, Creating Healthy Children: Through Attachment Parenting and Raw Foods.

The book focuses on parents following the needs of the child. Home birth, long-term breastfeeding, weaning when baby is ready to wean, skin-to-skin contact, holding baby, the family bed, and modeling emotional poise are all aspects of attachment parenting, which lead to superior physical, mental, emotional and spiritual development of the child. I devote a chapter of my book to circumcision facts and the harms of circumcision surgery.

Novelist Lisa Braver Moss Writes on Circumcision Jewish Practices for Huffington Post

By REBECCA WALD

Novelist and Beyond the Bris contributor Lisa Braver Moss has written a powerful essay for the Huffington Post on metzitzah b’peh, which is practiced by some Orthodox mohels during the bris. As a direct result of the ritual, several New York infants contracted the herpes virus. Two died and two suffered permanent brain damage.  

Healthy Eats and Natural Parenting Unite in “Creating Healthy Children” Book

By REBECCA WALD

Author and lecturer Karen Ranzi
at Nuage Cafe in Parkland Florida.

In her new book Creating Healthy Children: Through Attachment Parenting and Raw Foods (2012) Jewish author, lecturer and mom Karen Ranzi combines two subjects that are close to her heart in an informative compendium of sound parenting advice and great raw food recipes that even picky toddlers will devour. 

“I began writing my book emphasizing only raw food nutrition. However, I realized that one cannot raise a healthy child through good food alone,” Ranzi says. “Attachment parenting is crucial. The mothers of today’s civilized world must return to their roots and learn to listen to their maternal instincts in order to be present to raise their children,” she says.

"What to Expect When You're Expecting" Highlights Circumcision Controversy

By REBECCA WALD

The question of whether to circumcise is front and center in the new film “What to Expect When You’re Expecting ” which has an all-star cast that includes Cameron Diaz, Jennifer Lopez, Matthew Morrison, Chris Rock, and Dennis Quaid. The comedy-drama (heavier on the comedy) follows five expectant couples as they prepare to face parenthood.

“What to Expect When You’re Expecting” is well done, with solid acting and a fast-paced script that keeps the audience laughing. For circumcision critics, it is a slam-dunk in terms of pop-culture attention to this issue. Jules (Cameron Diaz) is an LA celebrity who is determined not to circumcise her son despite the protestations of the baby’s father Evan (Matthew Morrison). When a tabloid magazine prints that Jules won’t be circumcising on its front cover, the couple’s tensions over the issue escalate. The circumcision issue is not merely addressed in passing. It is a major plot point in the film.

Choosing Brit Shalom Over Brit Milah

By NATALIE BIVAS

Twenty-five years ago my husband and I did something few Jewish parents had. We held a brit shalom ceremony for our son as opposed to a brit milah. We invited guests without saying there would be no circumcision. Dr. Dean Edell (who is Jewish and opposed to circumcision) sent a camera crew for our brit shalom and later used clips from it on different TV programs.

We had a friend who was a rabbi in education, but without a pulpit. It was novel for him to do a brit without mila, but he was willing to do it and risk it. There was also a rabbi in Marin County who was known to do a brit shalom. He was known as a hippie rabbi. He also was willing to do this for us. So we had two rabbis.

Genital Autonomy "Zine" Makes Debut

Social activist and New Yorker Jonathan Friedman has recently published a “zine” on male infant circumcision titled “Genital Autonomy: Why Circumcision Must Be Stopped.” This is a significant project because it is introducing a wide audience to the harms of circumcision in an innovative way—and also in a way that is, at the same time, steeped in historical tradition. In the following interview, Jonathan talks about his project and how those interested in preventing infant circumcision can get involved.

Beyond the Bris:

What exactly is a “zine” for those who may be unfamiliar with the term?

Jonathan:

A zine is a pamphlet. Perhaps the most famous example is Thomas Paine’s “Common Sense.” Zines are made to be mass-produced, which is really easy with photocopiers. The word “zine” is short for magazine, and is pronounced “ZEEN.”

Me But Not My Son: A Young Jewish Man Breaks Rank on Circumcision

Some young Jewish men thinking ahead to fatherhood have decided they
will reject circumcision for their sons while also embracing their Jewishness. 

By AL RUBENSTEIN

I am 21 years old, Jewish, and opposed to circumcision. I attend college in Indiana. I grew up in a small Southern town where my family was one of a handful of Jews. My parents were born and raised Jewish. I was circumcised when I was eight days old by a mohel at a brit milah.

My Jewish identity was always very important to me growing up. I went to synagogue a lot, spent my summers at a Jewish summer camp, had a bar mitzvah, and in high school was part of NFTY (North American Federation of Temple Youth). I went to Israel for a semester in high school. When I was a child and teenager, I was always proud to be Jewish, to be a part of G-d’s chosen people, to be in a culture that valued life and not death. I’m also a person who finds the idea of permanent body modification disturbing. I feel G-d made us the way we are for a reason. Every organ has a purpose. Even our imperfections are a sign of our individuality. When I found out I was circumcised, I was horrified.