Essay About Jewish Community And G-D

The Covenant of Circumcision
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The Covenant of Circumcision
And G-d said unto Avroham: “And as for you, you shall keep My
covenant, you, and your seed after you throughout their generations.
This is My covenant, which you shall keep, between Me and you and
your seed after you: every male among you shall be circumcised. And
you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a
token of a covenant between Me and you. And he that is eight days old
shall be circumcised among you, every male throughout your
generations, he that is born in the house, or bought with money of any
foreigner, that is not of your seedand My covenant shall be in your
flesh for an everlasting covenant. And the uncircumcised male who is
not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, that soul shall be cut off
from his people; he has broken My covenant.”
–Genesis 17:9-14
Within the Jewish community, the topic of bris milah, ritual
circumcision, has never been more controversial. Many liberal Jews are now
rethinking its function in Jewish life, some even choosing not to perform it on
their sons. They argue that circumcision is no longer of value now that the
spread of infection can be halted by good hygiene and modern medicine.
Some fear that the removal of the healthy part of an organ is a purely
arbitrary act which may cause permanent psychological and physical
damage. It is true that circumcision alone is neither medically necessary nor
emotionally beneficial. Still, the bris milah is an essential ceremony
intended to formally usher the Jewish male into a covenant with G-d.
Although the removal of the foreskin has been practiced by Jews since
Avroham, the actual ceremony as it is today developed some time around the
middle-ages. Thus, communities in North Africa, Europe, and the Middle-East
all evolved unique customs for welcoming new baby boys. There are still
certain elements that are typical of all ceremonies. The following description
of a German bris is typical of the milah ritual and lacks many of the details
that would distinguish it from ceremonies originating in other regions.
The mohel, ritual circumcisor, calls in the kvater (from German “for
father”, or G-dfather), the man who “delivers” the baby into the sanctuary.
The mother, who will not witness the ceremony, hands her eight-day-old son
into the care of his grandmothers who pass him over to the kvater. The
kvater carries the baby into the next room and lays him into a beautiful chair
which the mohel will declare as the Throne of Elijah before reciting a few
biblical verses. The kvÐterin, G-dmother, lifts the baby from the Throne of
Elijah and places him into the lap of the Sandak, the man (usually the father,
grandfather, close friend, or well respected Torah scholar) in whose lap the
ceremony will take place. The mohel asks the fathers permission to act as
proxy for the mitzvah, commandment, of circumcision. The father
relinquishes his right to perform the circumcision and appoints the mohel,
who is more familiar with the religious law as well as the medical and
hygienic requirements of circumcision, to do the mitzvah instead. The mohel
recites the benediction, “Blessed are You haShem our G-d, Master of the
universe who sanctifies us with the mitzvot and commands us to perform
circumcision,” before removing the babys foreskin. When the actual cutting
has been complete, the father also makes a benediction: “Blessed are You
haShem our G-d, Master of the universe who has sanctified us with His
commandments and has commanded us to bring him [the baby] into the
covenant of Avroham, our Father.” Everyone in the audience then declares,
“Just as he has been brought into the covenant, so too he should enter Torah
study, the wedding canopy, and the doing of good deeds” (Klein 426). It is
during this ceremony that the boys name is publicly announced for the first
time (Robinson132).
Bris Milah literally means “covenant circumcision.” Ashkenazic,
Northern- and Eastern-European Jewish, communities refer to the entire
ceremony as a “Bris” which means simply “the covenant”. Rabbi Moshe
Schapiro emphasizes that “the circumcision must be coupled with the
intention to forge a blood pact between G-d and the Jewish people.” That
bris milah is frequently translated only as “circumcision” is unfortunate
because it leads people to believe that the removal of the foreskin is the
most important element of the mitzvah. This is in conflict with Jewish