Author: daniellecampisi

Many parents struggle with the issue of whether to have their son circumcised in the hospital or to have a bris at home.  They are concerned that the home environment is somehow not as “safe” or “sterile” as a hospital would be. They feel that having a circumcision is a medical procedure which is inappropriate to perform in the home setting.

Fortunately, these concerns are groundless. There is nothing especially sterile about the rooms in hospitals in which circumcisions are performed. If anything, since multiple babies pass through those rooms, there is more of a chance of a baby being exposed to infectious bacteria there than in his own home environment. The instruments that are used for a home circumcision are sterilized the same way as are those used in the hospital. And the rate of infection from home circumcision is vanishingly small.

It used to be possible to have the brit milah procedure done in the hospital–but that was decades ago when mothers stayed in the hospital for extended periods of time after having their babies. Now with mothers being discharged within 24 to 48 hours of having a vaginal delivery or 3 to 4 days after having a cesarean section, very few babies are still in the hospital on the eighth day.  Those that are, are often in the intensive care nursery, too ill to be circumcised.

There are several advantages to having a bris at home.  The baby gets to stay with the mother almost continuously during the entire process as opposed to being taken away for ½-1 hour when circumcised in the hospital. The mother is thus able to hold and comfort her baby just before and just after the actual circumcision part of the brit milah ceremony (which only lasts 3-5 minutes).  Moreover, a traditional home bris is a wonderful, warm ceremony that introduces the new baby to his family’s community of relatives and friends. It is a joyous and awe-inspiring celebration that feels much more comfortable in the family’s home then in the impersonal institutional environment of the hospital.

While there are some medical indications for circumcision, the main reasons for having a newborn boy circumcised are religious, cultural, and to be in accord with family tradition.

Until 1999 the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) went on record as saying that there were no medical reasons compelling enough to recommend routine surgical removal of the foreskin. But that year new data resulted in the AAP changing its position on newborn circumcision:  

“Existing scientific evidence demonstrates potential medical benefits of newborn male circumcision; however, these data are not significant enough to recommend routine neonatal circumcision. It is legitimate for parents to take into account cultural, religious, and ethnic traditions, in addition to the medical factors, when making this decision”.

The current American Academy of Pediatrics policy on circumcision has evolved since 1999 and now states the following:    

“Male circumcision is a common procedure, generally performed during the newborn period in the United States. In 2007, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) formed a multidisciplinary task force of AAP members and other stakeholders to evaluate the recent evidence on male circumcision and update the Academy’s 1999 recommendations in this area. Evaluation of current evidence indicates that the health benefits of newborn male circumcision outweigh the risks and that the procedure’s benefits justify access to this procedure for families who choose it. Specific benefits identified include prevention of urinary tract infections, penile cancer, and transmission of some sexually transmitted infections, including HIV. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has endorsed this statement.”

What health benefits does circumcision provide?

The following health advantages accrue to boys/men who are circumcised:

1. A decrease in infant urinary tract infections
   
   While urinary tract infections are rare in men, they are not uncommon in baby boys up until about one year of age and occur almost exclusively in boys who are not circumcised
   
2. Decreased spread of viral sexually transmitted diseases
   Circumcised men are less likely than uncircumcised men to infect their partners with HIV or high-risk strains of the human papilloma virus (HPV), a cause of cervical cancer and abnormal Pap smears.  Female partners of circumcised men have much lower rates of both of these conditions then do partners of uncircumcised men.
   
   Penile cancer, while uncommon, is almost never seen in circumcised males
   
3. Phimosis—adherence of the foreskin to the head of the penis—can cause pain, infection, and can interfere with sexual function.  This does not occur in circumcised men.

The issue of phimosis came up frequently in WWII during the North African campaign, in Vietnam, and in the recent wars in Iraq.  Uncircumcised soldiers, unable to exercise adequate hygiene and who are exposed to dust and sand experienced phimosis in high numbers making adult circumcision a common procedure for military surgeons in combat areas.

Like father, like son

Another reason to perform circumcision is so that a boy growing up will look anatomically like his father, his older brothers (if he has any), and other boys. Not only are most Jewish boys circumcised but in the United States the majority of all newborn male babies are as well.

Arguments against circumcision

There are individuals and groups that argue against the performance of circumcision. They claim: 

1. The procedure is not medically necessary
2. Circumcising an infant violates a child’s autonomy because an infant is in no position to give or withhold permission for a permanent surgical modification of his body
3. Circumcision is barbarous genital mutilation. 
4. Being circumcised decreases sexual pleasure. 

For many people, the arguments against circumcision are not compelling. Are a child’s rights violated when infant girls have their ears pierced as is the custom of many nationality groups in the United States?  As for genital mutilation, it is difficult to take that claim seriously when the majority of males in the United States are circumcised, when experts detail health benefits for circumcision, and when there are no negative functional consequences of the procedure.  As for the claim of “decreased sexual satisfaction”, there is no reliable published data in the medical literature to support this.  Moreover, it would be hard to see how such data could be obtained given an area as subjective as the “sensitivity of the penis” during sexual relations between different individuals.

For most parents, however, whether or not to have their son circumcised is a decision that depends on many factors involving the cultural and social indications already discussed.  And, as shown above, responsible physician groups now do acknowledge the health benefits of having a circumcision.  

The circumcision

According to the biblical commandment, it is actually the father’s obligation to perform the circumcision of his son on the eighth day—but most fathers are not surgically trained and are not familiar with the proper blessings for the brit milah ceremony. Therefore, they will engage a mohel as a “substitute” to perform the religious service and the circumcision for them. The transfer of authority from the father to the mohel has to be explicit; as part of the brit milah service the mohel will ask the father if he wishes to have him (the mohel) act for him in fulfilling the commandment/mitzvah of having his son circumcised. Usually—and hopefully—the father says “yes” and the service proceeds.  If for whatever reason there is no father involved in the brit milah ceremony, then the mother, mothers, or other legal guardian of the baby will assume all of the roles that would traditionally be assigned to the father.

An interesting situation arises when the baby’s father is surgically trained—not that unlikely a situation as many Jews do go into medicine—and would be capable of performing the circumcision. In this situation it is up to the father and the mohel to work out who will do what during the circumcision part of the brit milah ceremony.  

What makes a bris “kosher”?

There are certain elements of a brit milah ceremony that must be adhered to for a bris to be considered legitimate:

1. The brit milah ceremony should be on the eighth day from the birth of the baby with the exceptions noted previously.  Ideally it should be performed in the morning but at least should be done during daylight.
2. The basic elements of the brit milah prayer service should be present:
   — The welcoming of the baby
   — The reference to Elijah the prophet
   — The description of the biblical commandment to circumcise sons on the eighth day
   — The acknowledgment that this ritual enters the newborn male into the Covenant between God and the Jewish people
   — The father acknowledging that he is fulfilling the mitzvah of having his son circumcised
   — The circumcision itself and the blessing over it
   — The father’s and mohel’s post circumcision prayers
   — The blessing over wine
3. The circumcision must result in the entire head of the penis being visible.  

What about a baby who has already been circumcise before the eighth day?

If a baby has already been circumcised in the hospital without having had a formal brit milah ceremony, he should undergo the ceremony of hatafat dam brit (as described in a subsequent chapter):  a brief prayer service with the ceremonial production of a drop of blood from the penis.  This should be done on the eighth day from birth if possible or, if not, at the soonest opportunity—but not on Shabbat or a Jewish holiday.

Is a minyan (a group of ten Jews each more than thirteen years of age) necessary for a brit milah ceremony?

While it is preferable to have multiple guests at a bris because the presence of a group increases the celebratory atmosphere of the event, it is not a requirement to do so. The brit milah ceremony can be performed with just immediate family present, with just the parents, or under unusual circumstances, with just the mohel, the baby, and his attendants.

Is presence of clergy necessary?

No. A mohel is fully versed in the laws of the brit milah ceremony and is capable of performing both it and the accompanying announcement of the baby’s Hebrew name.   

That having been said, if a family does have an association with a rabbi or cantor—perhaps through membership in a synagogue—and wishes to have that clergy member present, it is entirely appropriate to do so.  In fact, having clergy present at a brit milah ceremony is only to be encouraged as it adds to the religious significance of the event.  The mohel and the rabbi or cantor will decide between themselves what part of the service each will do.  

Candles

Having candles present at a brit milah ceremony increases the formality and beauty of the event even though lighting candles is not a formal part of the service.  

There is a custom concerning candle lighting at a bris dating back to a time when doing a ritual circumcision was forbidden to Jews. Lighted candles in the window of a Jewish home approximately a week after the birth of a male baby clandestinely notified Jewish neighbors that the brit milah was taking place and that they were invited to participate in the ceremony and festive meal to follow.

Standing during the brit milah ceremony

It is customary that when the newborn boy is brought into the room for the brit milah ceremony all who are able rise to honor him and remain standing during the service.  This honors both the newborn who is entering the Covenant and the Covenant itself.  This custom is ascribed to the phrase in the book of Malachi II 23:3, “and the nation stood at the Covenant”.

Customs of the more traditionally religious

Shalom Zachar

This is the celebration with a festive meal the Friday night after a baby is born and before the brit milah ceremony. This tradition is especially observed if, for health reasons, the baby will not be able to have his brit milah on the eighth day.

Night of Vigil—Vach nacht

Arising in a more superstitious era, this custom was intended to ward off evil spirits that might interfere with the next day’s brit milah ceremony. It involved the men of the family keeping a vigil in the room with the sleeping baby while studying Torah. The evening before the bris, the baby’s siblings, if any, were also led into the room where the baby was to sleep and were helped by adults to recite prayers next to the crib of the infant.  They were then given sweets and coins—perhaps a precursor to today’s practice of giving siblings “a present from the baby” to help ward off jealousy. 

Crib presents

An old Eastern European custom, friends and relatives of the family would place sugar, raisins, cake, and coins into a baby’s crib “so that the child might have a sweet and rich life”. 

Planting a tree

One of the oldest Jewish practices connected with the birth of a child is that of planting a cedar tree to mark the birth of a boy or a pine or cypress to commemorate the arrival of a girl. In some communities this custom went so far as to use the wood from the now-grown tree as supporting poles for the chuppah when the child eventually got married.  

A more modern version of this custom is to donate to the Jewish National Fund to have a tree planted in Israel in honor of the birth of the newborn.

Giving to charity

Tzedakah— charity—is always an appropriate way for Jews to give thanks.  It constitutes a mitzvah, fulfills a holy obligation, and is a privilege for the giver. It is a direct way a Jew can participate in his or her obligation to “help repair the world”.

Special circumstances

A mourner may attend a brit milah ceremony, even in the immediate aftermath of the death of a relative when other public activities are proscribed.

A child with Down Syndrome or any other physical or cognitive birth defect is to have a brit milah ceremony just as any other male newborn.

In the tragic case of a male stillborn or a male newborn that dies before his brit milah ceremony, arrangements will be made for his circumcision—without a ceremony—either at the funeral home or at the gravesite. (Please see the chapter concerning fetal/infant death).

Sephardic customs

After their expulsion from Spain and Portugal, Jews from that part of the world—called Sephardic Jews—usually migrated to cities in southern Europe, the Middle East, or Northern Africa.  It is not surprising, therefore, that over the centuries their customs evolved differently from those of the Ashkenazi or northern European Jews. Below are listed some of these differing Sephardic customs related to the brit milah ceremony:  

— Recitation from portions of the Zohar the night before a bris. 

— The hanging of cabalistic charts on the walls and doors of the child’s room as protection against evil spirits the night before a bris. 

— In communities descendent from Syrian Jews, a large tray filled with flowers and candies is passed around at a bris so that guests can place cash contributions on it. At the conclusion of the brit milah ceremony there is an auction for the tray and its contents. The winner of the auction then donates both the tray and the price he/she paid for it to charity

— In Persian/Iranian communities apples are often placed on a table at a bris and young couples are encouraged to take them. The apples supposedly encourage fertility and “guarantee” easy births.  

— An old custom of Moroccan Jews is to place a dish of sand on the table where the mohel performs the circumcision, signifying the wish of the community that the child should be as fruitful as the number of grains of sand in the dish. 

— Another Moroccan custom is for the attendees at a bris to smell fragrant spices or flowers following the blessing over wine, similar to the tradition at Havdalah services at the end of the Sabbath. Often rose petals are used for this purpose.

— Spanish Jews drape the chair of Elijah with a purple-and-gold braided cloth to give it the appearance of a throne. The child is often carried into the brit milah ceremony on a pillow decorated with lace scarves and embroidered shawls.

Many rules pertaining to the performance of a bris for nonorthodox Jews are flexible–but that the brit milah is to be done on the eighth day after the birth of a baby is not— with certain technical exceptions to be discussed below.  Why is this the case? Why is this requirement for having the brit milah ceremony on the eighth day so important? 

 There are three major reasons.

I. Because God Says So

The first reason is that it is divine law. In Genesis God specifically tells Abraham to circumcise his son Isaac on the eighth day and that all Jewish male newborns are likewise to be circumcised on the eight day in perpetuity.  

No special reason is given in the Bible for this specific time frame in which to fulfill the commandment that marks the entry of a Jewish male into the Covenant between God and the Jewish people.  But as with many aspects of Judaism, theories and stories have arisen to fill this explanatory vacuum.  One such is that seven days represents the “cycle of creation” in which God formed the entire world and then rested for a day.  With the work of creation out of the way, it was thus logical that the eighth day be designated as the time for the binding of the Covenant between God and each new generation of the Jewish people. 

II. Biology

Most women having a vaginal delivery in the United States will have the following experience:  after delivery, if the baby is vigorous, he or she will be placed on the mother’s chest for skin-to- skin bonding. After about 5 to 10 minutes a nurse will ask the mother if she can take the baby over to the warmer to evaluate the baby and give the baby some medications. These medications are erythromycin ointment to prevent infection of the eyes and an injection of vitamin K to help augment the baby’s blood clotting factors.

Why is this vitamin K shot needed? It turns out that a baby’s blood clotting factors do not mature spontaneously until about the eighth day. Therefore, probably by trial and error, it was determined in ancient times that the safest day for the minor surgical procedure of circumcision was about the eighth day.

Additionally, by the 8^th day, a healthy baby is usually strong and stable enough to safely undergo the circumcision procedure.

III. Shabbat

A tradition in ultra-Orthodox communities holds that by performing the brit milah ceremony on the eighth day every baby gets to live through one 24-hour period of Shabbat holiness before having his bris and entering into the Covenant between God and the Jewish people.

Performance of the brit milah ceremony on the eighth day is considered so sacred a commandment that it even supersedes the normal regulations of not “performing work” on Shabbat, Yom Kippur, and other Jewish holidays.  Exceptions to this are:

— If the brit milah ceremony is postponed because of a baby’s health issues, the bris would not be subsequently scheduled on Shabbat, Yom Kippur, or other holidays.

— A bris performed for conversion likewise is not performed on Shabbat, Yom Kippur, or other holidays.

— If a baby is born via cesarean section on Shabbat, his bris would be postponed to the ninth day, a Sunday.  Likewise, after a cesarean birth a brit milah ceremony would not be performed on Yom Kippur, Rosh Hashanah, or other Jewish holidays even if that were the eighth day; the ceremony would be delayed until after the holiday.

Illness

It is very clearly stated in Jewish law that all requirements for performing the brit milah ceremony on the eighth day following the birth of a boy do not apply if a baby is ill or for whatever reason is considered not healthy enough to have the procedure done. This is consistent with all Jewish law which follows the general rubric that Jewish laws exist to enhance life, not for blind fulfillment that would hamper health or life. Health reasons for postponing a brit milah ceremony include:

• Jaundice of the baby
• Prematurity
• Infection
• Being underweight
• Respiratory instability
• Abnormal anatomy of the penis

If a bris is postponed for health reasons, it can be rescheduled on any day at least seven days after the baby’s physician says that the baby is healthy enough to have a circumcision—but, as noted above, not on Shabbat or other Jewish holidays.

Calculating the 8^th day 

According to the rules of brit milah, the “eighth day” is defined as the same day of the week that a baby is born but one week later. Since by Jewish law a new day begins at sunset, if the baby is born after sunset, that new day defines the starting point for the calculation of the 8^th day.  There are various arcane rules concerning when a bris should be performed if a baby is born at dusk, but in general it is safer to lean toward doing the bris one day later rather than potentially doing it too early.

It is the custom for a bris to be performed in the morning based on the tradition that a Jew should “rush to perform a mitzvah”. It certainly should be performed before sunset.

Bending the rules

One of the biggest problems for mohels (those who perform the brit milah ceremony) is when they are asked for reasons of convenience, family travel, or other issues to perform a brit milah ceremony on a day other than the eighth day. This is a dilemma because the rule concerning the eighth day is such a vital part of the entire Covenantal  ceremony. In the end it is up to the mohel and the family having the bris to determine if reasons for not having the bris on the eighth day are significant enough to warrant violating this honored tradition. Such a situation might arise when (1) there is a death in the family, (2) relatives are delayed in travel by weather conditions, or (3) some other major family crisis occurs.  A bris should not be re-scheduled from the eighth day unless there is a compelling reason for doing so.    

Ancient examples

Circumcision is an extremely old custom.  Archaeological evidence of the practice of circumcision is abundant and has been found at sites of civilizations going back several millennia.  Examples include:                  

— A stele from Egypt in the 23^rd century BCE that records a King of Lower Egypt stating  “when I was circumcised, together with 120 men …”  

— A bas relief from the sixth Egyptian Dynasty (2350 – 2000 BCE) bearing the legend “circumcision,” which shows a youth being circumcised and having the wound treated.

— A carving from the Temple of Mut from the reign of Thutmose III (reigned 1479-1425 BCE) picturing two boys being circumcised.

— A carved ivory from Megiddo (1350-1150 BCE) illustrating 2 nude military prisoners both of whom are circumcised.

— The passage from Jeremiah 9:25 in which it is noted that the Egyptians, Edomites, Ammonites, and Moabites all practiced circumcision.

— The statement by the Fifth century B.C.E. Greek historian Herodotus noting that Egyptians “practice circumcision for the sake of cleanliness, considering it better to be clean then comely”.

Biblical sources reveal that circumcision was originally performed using knives made of stone:

Exodus 4:25:  “Zipporah took a flint knife and circumcised her son”

Joshua 5:2:  “At that time the Lord said unto Joshua: “ Make flint knives and circumcise the children of Israel once again.” 

Greek and Roman worlds

During ancient times there were also cultures that opposed the practice of circumcision and in fact tried to prevent groups within their society from performing it.  The Greeks thought that circumcision was a desecration of the human body.  Written records from those times reveal two prominent Greeks, Marshall and Petronius, mocking the Jewish practice of circumcision.   The Hellenistic king of the Seleucid Empire, Antiochus, is described in the book of Maccabees as commanding that:

“They [the Jews] should not circumcise.  Every male who disobeys this decree and has his son circumcised will be executed. Women who circumcise their sons will also be executed according to the decree of the Emperor.”

Circumcision became so stigmatized, in fact, that large segments of the Jewish population—in their ardor to adopt Greek habits and practices–stopped circumcising their sons.  One reason was that since athletic events among the Greeks were performed in the nude, circumcised Jewish men who participated in such events stood out as being “different”.  Some Jews even went so far as to undergo procedures on their penises to make it look as if they had not been circumcised.  Rabbis struggling to maintain the practice of circumcision wrote documents such as the Bereshit Rabba to try to rationalize the practice of circumcision to the surrounding Greco-Roman and, subsequently, Christian world.   

The Romans also shunned the practice of circumcision and tried to prevent their subject peoples from practicing it.  Turnus Rufus, a Roman governor who ruled Israel for 60 years after the destruction of the second Temple, forbade both Jewish ritual circumcision and Torah study in an attempt to destroy the Jewish community in Palestine.  As conceited as he was dictatorial, Turnus Rufus attempted to debate Rabbi Akiva about these and other Jewish practices. One story tells of Turnus Rufus asking Rabbi Akiva why Jews thought that performing circumcision—“man’s handiwork”— improved upon God’s creation of man.  Rabbi Akiva’s answer was to show the Roman leader a freshly baked loaf of bread as an example of how mankind takes items as they come from nature—grain, also God’s handiwork—and “improves upon them” by turning them into bread.   Akiva is recorded as saying: 

“Man’s mission is not only to perfect the universe but to transform himself from a human animal into a human being……Jews are here to complete God’s work on earth”

The implication here is that a male child is not “complete” until he is circumcised.  Circumcision is an example, Rabbi Akiva says, of man being given the opportunity to improve upon nature.

Other Roman leaders also opposed circumcision. Emperor Hadrian (reign 117-138 CE), who suppressed the Bar Kokhba revolt in Palestine, issued decrees forbidding the practice.  

The early Christians period

The issue of circumcision was extremely important in the debates that took place at the time of the founding of Christianity. Most of the original church leaders felt that all Christians should also be religious Jews and therefore continue to undergo the ritual of circumcision. They quoted Jesus—himself circumcised—who had said that despite his ministry, there should be no change in the (Jewish) law. 

      Paul

Paul, however, disagreed. He argued in Galatians that salvation no longer had to come via Jewish law but rather that it was obtained by a new means:  Faith in Jesus.  Hence the practice of circumcision was no longer necessary for participation in the new Christian Covenant with God.  Paul’s motive for saying this was not only spiritual; he knew that recruitment of non-Jews into the new faith he was helping create would be much more difficult if all adult men had to undergo the painful procedure of circumcision.  Peter and James also spoke out against continuing the requirement for circumcision for conversion to Christianity, saying that it posed too much of a burden for pagans wanting to enter the church (Acts 15:8 – 20). 

19^th Century

Following the French Revolution in the late 18^th century the harsh conditions of life for Jews in Europe partially relaxed.  As Jews slowly attempted to enter the mainstream of civic and commercial life, they for the first time attended secular institutions of higher learning and became experts in fields other than religious studies.  Thus began the movement called “Haskalah” which represented a breaking away from total immersion in the study of Jewish laws and literature and emergence and success in the wider world.

One of the earliest manifestations of this trend was the movement in Germany to “reform” the practices of Judaism to make them more similar to those of the religious customs of the surrounding community.  To this end prayer books were rewritten, men and women for the first time were seated together in synagogue, and adherence to many Jewish traditions waned.

Some rabbis even argued that the practice of circumcision, “a cruel and bloody rite”, should be abandoned.  Jewish leaders such as Gabriel Riesser and Abraham Geiger discouraged their congregants from having their sons circumcised, urging instead that Jews celebrate the birth of their children, boys and girls equally, with a ceremony called “sanctification of the eighth day.” It must be remembered that all of this occurred at a time when many Jews were optimistic about their ability to integrate into their surrounding societies.  They were thus willing to make the devil’s bargain of dropping part of their religious identity in order to foster social integration. It was part of the same phenomenon that occurred throughout the 19^th century by which Jews “converted” to Christian denominations in an attempt to dispel obstructions existing for them in society at large.

20^th Century

In Europe circumcision remained a procedure practiced almost exclusively by Jews.  In fact, being circumcised was often the way oppressors identified Jews in order to single them out for discrimination, punishment, or even—by World War II—death.

By the mid-20^th century in America—largely for hygienic reasons—circumcision had become a generally adopted practice.  Because of this, being circumcised was no longer a “Jewish stigma”. The American Reform Movement, which had initially opposed circumcision, dropped its opposition early in the 20^th Century and by the 1970s had become a strong advocate of the brit milah ceremony as an important lifecycle event.  Currently the majority of all American newborn males are circumcised although this varies from region to region and from ethnic group to ethnic group.  

While God’s stipulation that all Jews be circumcised appears in multiple sections of the Bible, it is most thoroughly described in Genesis 17.  The essence of this discussion is as follows: 

1. Abraham is commanded to circumcise all males in his household.
2. Abraham is to circumcise his son Isaac when Isaac is eight days old.
3. Abraham is to teach Isaac to circumcise his son on the eighth day after birth and to have further descendants continue this practice throughout the generations.

In exchange for performing this ritual and confirming the covenant between God and the Jewish people, Abraham and his progeny are guaranteed that they will:   

1. Be fruitful and prosperous (“made into a great nation”) 
2. Be as numerous as the stars in heaven
3. Always have Canaan as their homeland

As confirmation of this divine arrangement, the circumcision of all Jewish males will be a visible sign of this Covenant between God and the Jewish people in perpetuity.

Below are the original passages concerning circumcision from Genesis 17:9-14:

God said to Abraham,

As for you, you shall keep my Covenant, you and your descendants after you throughout their generations. This is My Covenant you shall keep, between Me and you and your descendants after you: every male among you shall be circumcised. 

You shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskin, and it shall be a sign of the Covenant between Me and you: He who 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 not of your offspring. But he that is born in your house and he that is bought with your money will be circumcised. 

So shall My Covenant be in your flesh an everlasting Covenant. Any uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin shall be cut off from his people; he has broken My Covenant.

At this point in the biblical story most of this passage has little relevance to Abraham for as yet he has no son (or daughter). However, three verses later, in Genesis 17:16, God states:

I will bless her [Sarah] and will surely give you a son by her. I will bless her so that she will be the mother of nations; kings of peoples will come from her.

Abraham, impiously, laughs at the thought of he and Sarah—99 and 90 years old respectively—having a child (Genesis 17:17).  Abraham responds to God, saying:

Will a son be born to a man 100 years old? Will Sarah bear a child at the age of 90?”

God, ignoring Abraham’s skepticism, responds (Genesis 17:19):

Yes, your wife Sarah will bear a son, and you will call him Isaac. I will establish my Covenant with him as an everlasting Covenant for his descendants after him.

Abraham proceeds to fulfill God’s commandment (Genesis 17:26-27):

Abraham and his son Ishmael [by Sarah’s maid servant] were both circumcised on that very day. And every male in Abraham’s household, including those born in his household or bought from a foreigner, was circumcised with him.

When later Sarah actually did give birth to a son (Genesis 21:3 – 4), 

Abraham gave the name Isaac to the son Sarah bore him. When his son Isaac was eight days old, Abraham circumcised him, as God had commanded him.

Thus, the Bible explicitly commands Jews—Abraham’s descendants—to circumcise their sons on the eighth day after birth.  But the Scriptures are silent as to how this should be done and what ceremony should accompany the circumcision. As is true of many of the commandments in the Bible, it is only over time, through the accretion of tradition, and by the interpretation of the rabbis that the rules and structures of Jewish ceremonies are established.  As regards the brit milah ceremony, the major compilation of laws and rules defining it were not codified in written form until the 16^th Century work by Joseph Karo (1488-1575), the Shulchan Aruch (The Set Table), which is perhaps the single most definitive compilation of Jewish law.

It is of interest to note that a careful reading of Genesis does not reveal exactly why God wishes to establish a Covenant with Abraham and his people—as opposed to any other individual or group–nor why God chooses circumcision as the symbolic act consecrating and memorializing this Covenant. For one thing, at this point in the Biblical narrative Abraham does not have much of a “track record” as being an especially worthwhile or appropriate candidate to inherit the mantle of being anointed the founder of God’s chosen people.  

Theories as to why circumcision of the penis was chosen as the marker for the Covenant between God and the Jewish people abound.  Two prominent conjectures held by scholars hold that transfiguration of this organ was chosen because:

1. Since the penis is an organ of procreation, a procedure involving it speaks to the concept of generational continuity.

2. Control of the temptation for morally-troubling behavior involving this organ reminds individuals of their obligation to lead God-fearing, righteous lives. 

It is also of interest that the Bible analogizes removal of the foreskin (“orlah” in Hebrew) with the removal of a “barrier to holiness” that can prevent the penis—and also other organs of the body—from performing their moral and religious—as well as their physiologic—functions.  According to one imaginative interpretation by the rabbis, Adam, who was born uncircumcised, did not need to have a circumcision because he was as close as a physical being could possibly be to God.  There was no “orlah” intervening between him and his Maker.  Following Adam’s sins, however, his “virtual circumcision” was nullified, a reflection of his new and less favored relationship with God.  According to this interpretation, it was thus given to Abraham to restore mankind’s intimate relationship with God by performing the ritual of brit milah for the men of his time and thereafter.     

There are other biblical examples of this metaphorical concept of the “orlah/foreskin” as an inhibitor of appropriate behavior or physiologic function:

Thus Judaism equates removal of the foreskin in the brit milah ceremony with acknowledgment of the responsibility of all who enter into the Covenant to fulfill the obligations of following God’s moral commandments.  

There is a tradition, not stated explicitly in the Bible, that the performance of the brit milah ritual represents a more specific deal between God and Abraham that forms God’s real purpose in establishing the covenant between Himself and the Jewish people: Not only does God want Abraham and his people to be a holy people themselves, but He also wants them to be the messenger of His laws to all the peoples of the world. In exchange for this service, God will make Abraham, Sarah, and their progeny a prolific and enduring people in perpetuity.   

Having a bris after the birth of a baby boy is, for Jewish parents, to celebrate one of the fundamental rites of Judaism. Also called “brit milah”—“brit” for covenant, “milah” for circumcision—this ceremony admits the newborn Jewish child into the ancient Covenant between God and the Jewish people as described in the first book of the Bible, Genesis. The bris service is a re-enactment for every new generation of Jews of the original Covenant that God made with Abraham and his descendants. It is a chance to celebrate with friends and loved ones the birth of a newborn son and affirm his and the parents’ ongoing connection with the Jewish people.

But where does this ceremony come from, what does it signify, and how is it conducted?

What is a bris?

A bris ceremony—the act of ritual circumcision along with its accompanying prayers—has a 4000-year-old pedigree.  The prayers recall and re-establish for each new generation the relationship between God and the Jewish people, state the obligation of Jews to lead righteous and purposeful lives, and offer good wishes for the health and prosperity of the newborn baby and his parents.  Its origins are revealed in the book of Genesis (Chap 17) wherein it is related that God approached Abraham and told him that he and his people were to become a holy people to God and that God would make Abraham and his progeny “as numerous as the stars in heaven”. It is at this point that God commanded Abraham to circumcise all males within his household and, subsequently, to circumcise all male newborns when they were eight days old. It is this deal (or contract or covenant) between God and Abraham—participation of Jews as God’s holy people with specific moral and ethical responsibilities in exchange for prosperity for the Jewish people—that gets reaffirmed at every brit milah ceremony. The circumcision itself can be seen as equivalent to the signature on the contract of this holy Covenant. 

The prayers both before and after the ritual circumcision elevate what might otherwise be a routine medical procedure into a profound religious act.  Their purpose is to differentiate the physical act of removal of the foreskin performed for cosmetic or medical reasons from the religious and social statement of the affirmation of Judaism in the life of the family of this newborn that it is.  This ceremony forms one of the three fundamental observances of Judaism:  Entrance into the Covenant (brit milah), observance of the Sabbath, and the study of the Torah.  The traditional Jewish belief is that by circumcising their male infant, Jewish parents complete God’s work and enter their child into the Jewish chain of being that began with Abraham in the Middle Eastern desert almost 4000 years ago.  

No other Jewish ritual is adhered to as diligently as is the performance of a bris for a newborn son. Even nonaffiliated Jews, Jewish atheists, and couples with only one Jewish partner will arrange a bris for their baby boy. It is the strongest and most sincere expression of a family wanting to preserve some measure of Jewish identity for their children. From a religious point of view, it is the most important mitzvah that Jews can perform and thus is performed even on Sabbath and Yom Kippur. It, along with some form of Sabbath observance, is a major part of the cultural heritage of the Jewish people. 

To not circumcise one’s son is to cut him off from the Jewish people. Even Moses was not exempt from this commandment; in Exodus 4 we read that God threatens Moses’s life because he was tardy in circumcising his son.  Even the apostate Benedict Spinoza wrote that “the Jewish people will always survive as long as they continue the act of circumcision”.