circumcision and religion
Circumcision and Religion Male circumcision involves the surgical removal of the penile foreskin, a fold of skin and mucous membrane that normally covers the head or glands of the penis. Routine neonatal circumcision is usually done from one to three days after birth, while Jewish ritual circumcision is performed on the eighth day after birth. Postnatal circumcision is still frequently performed in the United States, the only industrialized nation to continue this practice for non-religious reasons on a majority of newborn male babies—about 60% according to the National Center for Health Statistics. ... In Jewish tradition, Berit Milah, circumcision, symbolizes the spiritual entrance of the Jewish people into a covenant with God. ... Circumcision is the removal of the foreskin in an operation performed on all male Jewish children on the eighth day after birth and also upon male converts to Judaism. Circumcision was enjoined by God upon Abraham and his descendants (Genesis 17 10-12) and has always been regarded as the supreme obligatory sign of loyalty and adherence to Judaism. As the sign of the covenant (berit) “sealed in the flesh,” circumcision came to be known as Berit Milah or the “covenant of our father Abraham. ... Unless medical reasons interpose, the circumcision must take place on the eighth day after birth, even if that day falls on a Sabbath or Yom Kippur. If circumcision has been postponed for medical reasons, the ceremony may not take place on a Sabbath or major festival. The only exception permitted to the otherwise universal requirement of circumcision is if the two previous children of the family have died as a result of the operation: that is, in cases of hereditary hemophilia. ... Judaism views circumcision as a religious ceremony, rather than just as surgery. It is recommended that a Mohel perform the circumcision.