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Re: Interesting fact about Religious Circumcision

Written by Rood at 03 Sep 2002 02:36:27:

As an answer to: Re: Interesting fact about Religious Circumcision written by Mohel at 01 Sep 2002 21:23:31:

I'm sorry to have to disagree, but genitally mutilating a helpless child is cruel and cowardly. If adult males weren't so afraid of freely making the decision for themselves, according to the strength of their religious beliefs, as did Abraham, the procedure wouldn't have to be forced on children. What does a newborn baby know about religion, about belief, about tradition, about ritual, about sacrifice? That this procedure is forced on them is an indication not of the strength of the religious tradition, but of it's weakness, about its fear of being absorbed and lost, and about the adult fear of pain. You assume, only, that someone that you know as a Jew is circumcised. Do people go around checking? It's a completely meaningless observance, save for the harm done to the sexual life of a married couple, and the possibility of complications to the child. Isn't it a rule that after the second child dies after circumcision that the third may be spared? "Great personal sacrifice" is evidently truer than you admit. Come now, don't be a fool. The Jewish tradition doesn't rely for its validity on genital mutilation. Never has, never will.

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>"And G-d spoke to Abraham saying: ...This is my covenant which you shall keep between Me and you and thy seed after you -every male child among you shall be circumcised." (Gen. 17:12)
>For 3500 years, since the time of our forefather Abraham, the Jewish people have observed the ritual of circumcision as the fundamental sign of the covenant between G-d and Israel. Known in Hebrew as Brit Milah, "the Covenant of Circumcision", it is considered much more than a simple medical procedure. Brit Milah is considered the sign of a new-born child's entry into the Jewish tradition. For millennia, in every country where Jews have lived, they have always practiced this ritual, sometimes at great personal sacrifice. Perhaps more than any other ritual, Brit Milahis the ultimate affirmation of Jewish identity.
>A brit performed according to Jewish tradition links the child to his Jewish brothers throughout the world; properly planned, it will forever be a source of happy memories for you and your whole family. May the Almighty grant you much nachat from this child, and all future children!
>Mazal Tov!


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