Brit Milah: The Healthier Choice? (And Does It Matter?)

Circumcision can’t seem to keep itself out of the news. First, the court in Cologne, Germany declares circumcision illegal. Then last week, a German rabbi who performs circumcisions found himself facing a criminal charge. But then, an article in the New York Times quotes none other than the American Academy of Pediatrics, who comes out with a statement that that the benefits of a circumcision may outweigh the risks.

So you have those who say a brit (circumcision) is tantamount to sexual abuse, and under no circumstances should one human remove a healthy body part from another human, even if the first human is the second one’s parent, even for religious or health reasons. Then there are those who tout circumcision as essential to a healthy lifestyle. And there are those—Jews and Muslims—who have been performing the ritual for thousands of years for no other reason, really, than God told them to do so.

It’s interesting, actually, that some mitzvot have taken on a life of their own, developing into complex laws and lifestyle choices that may be unrecognizable to the Jews of biblical times. (Keeping kosher comes to mind.) But brit is pretty simple; it hasn’t changed much since the days of our forefathers, when Abraham was commanded to circumcise his son. The Torah (Gen. 17: 9—14) states, clearly and simply, that beginning with Abraham, we must circumcise the foreskin as a sign of the covenant between the Jewish people and God.

It hasn’t changed since then. Circumcision. Eighth day. Covenant. The end.

I’ve read many articles, blogs and comments on this issue during the past few months. The so-called “intactivists” stand firm in their belief that circumcision is wrong, under any circumstances, and they will not be swayed. They believe that circumcision is immoral, that if a male truly wants a circumcised penis, he can have the procedure done when he is adult enough to make that decision. No new medical research will shift their position.

But we can take a lesson from them. Medical studies shouldn’t sway us, either. We need to be just as strong, just as unmovable, just as convinced of the rightness of our actions. Because it is a matter of faith. We circumcise our sons because God requires us to do so. Whether it is the healthier lifestyle choice may be a side benefit, but it can’t and shouldn’t be the reason.

I’m not an advocate of blind faith. I believe—and Judaism does, too—that we should always be asking, probing, delving into our religion. Judaism is not afraid of questions. But it also requires of us a foundation of belief. We can’t let our religion hang on the thread of the latest medical study. We will (we need to) keep doing what we’ve been doing for thousands of years, no matter what the courts, the activists or the medical establishment has to say.