Circumcision, by and for and about Jews
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http://www.circumcision.org/spectator.htm
Looking for quotes for a workshop (whole different topic) I went to Google
and entered "inquiry questions children jewish." The second item to appear
was an article on Jewish Circumcision considerations. it's too long to quote
here, and has a ton of hotlink footnotes, but here's the beginning and the
URL is above.
The religious origin of the Jewish practice of circumcision is written in the
Torah where God promised Abraham,
I will make you exceedingly fertile, and make nations of you, and kings shall
come forth from you. . . . I assign the land you sojourn in to you and your
offspring to come, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting holding. I will
be their God. . . . Such shall be the covenant between Me and you and your
offspring to follow which you shall keep: every male among you shall be
circumcised. (Genesis 17:6,8,10)
Over the centuries there has been much written by Jewish scholars about the
importance of circumcision. Support for circumcision in the Jewish community
today is widespread. There is another perspective on circumcision that is not
openly discussed. Contrary to common belief, circumcision has not always been
practiced. Moses failed to circumcise his son (Exodus 4:25), and circumcision
was totally neglected during the forty-year period in the wilderness (Joshua
5:5). Some Jews in the Hellenistic period (circa 300 b.c.e.-100 c.e.) chose
not to circumcise their sons in an attempt to gain public acceptance.1 During
the Reform movement in Germany in the 1840s, some parents did not circumcise
their sons. Theodor Herzl was one of the most prominent figures who did not
circumcise his son, who was born in 1891.2
Currently, circumcision is not universal among Jews either inside or outside
the United States. The Circumcision Resource Center, a nonprofit educational
organization, knows of hundreds of Jews in Europe, South America, and in the
United States who either have not or would not circumcise a son. Even in
Israel some Jews do not circumcise, and there is an organization that
publicly opposes circumcision.3 The purpose of this article is to coherently
explain a few of the contemporary reasons for the increasing doubts some Jews
have about circumcision. Then I will apply Torah law and Jewish values to
these reasons.
Looking for quotes for a workshop (whole different topic) I went to Google
and entered "inquiry questions children jewish." The second item to appear
was an article on Jewish Circumcision considerations. it's too long to quote
here, and has a ton of hotlink footnotes, but here's the beginning and the
URL is above.
The religious origin of the Jewish practice of circumcision is written in the
Torah where God promised Abraham,
I will make you exceedingly fertile, and make nations of you, and kings shall
come forth from you. . . . I assign the land you sojourn in to you and your
offspring to come, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting holding. I will
be their God. . . . Such shall be the covenant between Me and you and your
offspring to follow which you shall keep: every male among you shall be
circumcised. (Genesis 17:6,8,10)
Over the centuries there has been much written by Jewish scholars about the
importance of circumcision. Support for circumcision in the Jewish community
today is widespread. There is another perspective on circumcision that is not
openly discussed. Contrary to common belief, circumcision has not always been
practiced. Moses failed to circumcise his son (Exodus 4:25), and circumcision
was totally neglected during the forty-year period in the wilderness (Joshua
5:5). Some Jews in the Hellenistic period (circa 300 b.c.e.-100 c.e.) chose
not to circumcise their sons in an attempt to gain public acceptance.1 During
the Reform movement in Germany in the 1840s, some parents did not circumcise
their sons. Theodor Herzl was one of the most prominent figures who did not
circumcise his son, who was born in 1891.2
Currently, circumcision is not universal among Jews either inside or outside
the United States. The Circumcision Resource Center, a nonprofit educational
organization, knows of hundreds of Jews in Europe, South America, and in the
United States who either have not or would not circumcise a son. Even in
Israel some Jews do not circumcise, and there is an organization that
publicly opposes circumcision.3 The purpose of this article is to coherently
explain a few of the contemporary reasons for the increasing doubts some Jews
have about circumcision. Then I will apply Torah law and Jewish values to
these reasons.