We did not find out the sex of our baby during my pregnancy, but if we had a boy, we discussed having him circumcised medically in a way of our own choosing.
When our daughter was born, we chose to have a naming within the first week of her life. We did not share her name with family or friends until she was welcomed into the community at the naming ceremony. I am now pregnant with our second child, and should we have a son, a naming ceremony will be held in the same way so the community can gather and be a part of the celebration.
For us, personally, we do not want our child's sex to play a part in the welcoming and naming ceremony. I spent many years training on LGBTQ issues, and it is in my heart that gender is developed by society and children should be free to make their own choices as they continue to grow in the world.
I want our children to be celebrated in the same way at birth, no matter their sex or gender. As a rabbi, I empower people to take ownership of their own Jewish journey.
I just started my own religious non-profit called Tackling Torah to help everyday people search for holiness in our everyday lives. There is a shift in how millennials and young families are choosing to engage with religion so I am meeting them where they are at in order to provide them with a meaningful Jewish life.
I help couples plan personalized lifecycle events—like a wedding or birth—and figure out what families can do to include their religion into the ceremony in a way that is comfortable to them. I have had a lot of conversations with families about circumcision. There are a lot of things families consider when they are presented with welcoming a baby boy into their lives. Some families continue to carry on the tradition as it is described in the Torah and others want to find ways to combine original traditions with their more modern family values to create a ceremony that is special and unique for their child.
Here's how I would explain a Jewish circumcision to families who are curious about the process. They were commanded to have a physical sign upon the people to distinguish them and that sign in the text is circumcision at 8-days old. Any male born after that point would be circumcised at 8-days old. Historically, it was an obligation for the father to perform the circumcision—this has evolved to involve someone called a mohel or mohelette who is trained to perform the ritual.
Within the reform movement of Judaism, mohels are often trained physicians with medical experience who use anesthetic during the ceremony. The mohel recites a blessing that says G-d has sanctified us to perform this circumcision and the father recites a blessing saying that he is taking on the responsibility of bringing his son into the covenant—that is the "brit" part of brit milah.
Cancel Subscription. Customer Service. The Jerusalem Post Group. Breaking News. Iran News. World News. JPost NY Conference. Diplomatic Conference. IvritTalk- Free trial lesson. The Jerusalem Report. Jerusalem Post Lite. March of the living. Kabbalat Shabbat. Shapers of Israel. Maariv Online. Maariv News. You shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and you. He that is eight days old among you shall be circumcised; every male throughout your generations, whether born in your house, or bought with your money from any foreigner who is not of your offspring.
Under Jewish law, failure to follow the commandment given to Abraham incurs the penalty of karet being cut off from the rest of the community of God. The Torah Genesis also says: "Any uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreksin shall be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant. There are no special rules about where the ritual should take place.
Most often it is held at the family's home but some people prefer it to be done in a synagogue. The ritual is performed by a mohel circumciser , usually an observant Jew, on the eighth day after birth unless there are medical reasons to prevent it happening. The mohel is required to have studied the religious laws and have the surgical skills essential to the operation. The Bris is an important family celebration for Jewish people. It is required that the father and mohel must be present but it's usual for other family members to participate too.
Traditionally, an empty chair is set aside in the room for the prophet Elijah, who oversees the proceedings and ensures the continuation of the ritual. The child may be brought into the room where the circumcision is to take place by the mother and other female family members.
During the circumcision, the child is held on the lap of a person who has been chosen to act as sandek. The grandfather of the child or the family rabbi often takes this role and it is considered an honour to do this. Blessings are recited and a drop or two of wine is place in the child's mouth. He is given his official Hebrew name. Although circumcision is widespread in the Jewish community, not all Jews accept the cutting or removal of a baby's foreskin as an absolute requirement.
Some groups are now questioning the tradition, arguing that it is not essential to be circumcised to be a Jew. While circumcision may be an outward sign of one's commitment to the Jewish religion and culture, they stress that a child's Jewish identity is inherited through his mother. Critics also point to the Torah's prohibition on marking or altering the human body as another reason why circumcision should be questioned.
Lev: The Torah states: "You shall not make any cuttings in your flesh on account of the dead or tattoo any marks upon you: I am the Lord.
They argue that this passage contradicts the requirement for circumcision because it involves the cutting and marking of the genitals. This, they claim, is not consistent with Jewish law and values. Opponents also insist that the Torah does not allow another person to be harmed. Exodus
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