In Jewish tradition, Brit Milah, Circumcision, symbolizes the
spiritual entrance of the Jewish people into a covenant with God.
Brit Milah was the first and only precept given to Avraham, our
first forefather. (Genesis 17:10)
It is also the only mitzvah conferred upon the Jewish people
before they became a nation
According
to Halacha, the mitzvah of Brit Milah is first and foremost
incumbent upon the father. If, for whatever reason, the father fails
or refuses to fulfill this mitzva, the beit din (rabbinical court)
is obligated to perform the circumcision on behalf of the chilled.
(A child's willingness to participate in the Mitzvah is evident when
the child himself becomes a father and enters his son into the
covenant with God). However if the child has entered adulthood (13
years of age or older) he himself is obligated to fulfill the
commandment of Brit Milah.
The circumcision itself is performed by a trained and skilled mohel
utilizing a cutting instrument, preferably made of metal. The actual
custom is the use of a special razor sharp knife with a smooth
finish. When using this instrument in the specific method detailed
in Halacha is followed, the cut - which is instantaneous - is almost
painless.
The circumcision is performed on the eighth day of birth.
Only if the child is completely healthy The medical profession does
not consider a baby to be weak should he be suffering from jaundice
or eye infection; however, Halacha forbids performing a Brit Milah
in such cases. Thus, the Halachic health criteria supersede medical
guidelines.
The
correct and true accepted Brit Milah procedure has not changed since
Avraham performed this Covenant over 3,500 years ago.
However in
an attempt to emulate the medical profession, some have developed a
new method to perform the traditional circumcision which has been
practiced for millennia. Designed by Rabbi Bronstein and known as
the Mogen clamp, this tool is manufactured and distributed for
non-trained Mohalim in local communities and for physicians who are
not trained in the skillful surgery procedure performed by a
traditional Mohel at Ritual circumcision.
Unlike a knife that cuts the foreskin, a clamp - both the Mogen and
Gomco clamps - completely crush and sever the skin, the nerve
endings and the blood vessels. All rabbinic authorities (Igeret
Moshe, Yoreh Deah 3:129)
prohibit the use of clamps for the purpose of circumcision on
several accounts. The first reason is best summed up by the Hatham
Sofer, "Innovation is forbidden in the Torah. Unless you can
prove that the new procedure is better, there is no reason to change
the traditional method. Second, the clamp itself causes much pain to
the child, and it is a biblical transgression to add to the child's
discomfort. Third, Jewish religious law prohibits the use of a
clamp, such as the Mogen clamp, that the potential for complete
homeostasis-i.e. A bloodless circumcision - since an essential part
of the ritual is the dam bris (blood of the covenant).
Some mohalim prefer the clamp method because it is easy to use, can
be performed by a non-skilled individual, does not require adequate
practice and demands no postoperative care or involvement with the
family. Yet although the clamp method may facilitate the practice of
the ritual by a nonprofessional, but it causes extreme pain and
trauma to the child, causing the child to withdraw into a state of
neurogenic shock in response to sudden massive pain.
Many
urologists, and trained surgeons. Consider the traditional method of
circumcision: “A
simplified and expeditious method … with excellent results and low
complication rates…. All in all, there is no doubt as to the
safety, efficacy and reliability of ritual circumcision.
The Midrash relates that King David was never without his
Talit or Tifillin. When he bathed, however, David was obliged to
remove these sacred objects, which deeply saddened him. Reflecting
upon himself, King David perked up and cries, "I rejoice over
Your precept as on who finds a vast treasure," (Psalm
119:162)
David realized that he always carried a holy treasure with him - his
Brit Milah.
The importance of Brit Milah is signified in our daily prayers and
in the prayer for naming the newborn infant where we recite
"Remember forever His covenant, the word that He commanded for
a thousand generations." (Chronicles
1:16:15)
This imposes an obligation upon the seed of Avraham, Yitzchak and
Yaakov to remember forever that they are bonded to God.
A circumcised infant is provided with a strong foundation. Even if
he chooses not to follow traditional Judaism, the circumcision
singles him out as different. It provides him-even as an adult-with
the opportunity to search for his roots.
Brit Milah is directly link to Torah learning. The external
circumcision activates an inner commitment to God and His
commandments as is evident in the similar references to the creation
of the world used for both mitzvot: "Torah is great. If not for
Torah, God would not continue the world's existence." (Nedarim
32a)
"If not for Milah, God would not have created the world!"
(Nedarim
32)
Moreover, a person who lacks an inner commitment to the covenant is
described as "uncircumcised." (Jeremiah
9:25 & 6:10; Ezekiel 44:7; Deut. 70:16; Exodus 6:12)
Commentators explain that if an individual's heart and mind are
blocked, he is mindless of God's commandments.
In choosing to make a Brit with the Jewish people, God cut - bathar
(the Hebrew letters of Brit transposed) - a covenant with His chosen
people thus making it irrevocable. The Brit therefore is not only to
be "remembered forever," but, as God declares, "…
the mountains may depart, and the hills may be removed from you; but
my kindness will not depart from you, nor shall my covenant of peace
be removed." (Isaiah
54:10)
Avraham had to wait 99 years to reach perfection. But in this time
he learnt and observed every precept of Judaism before it was even
given to the Jewish people - with the exception of Brit Milah - by
metaphysically observing nature. As God says to Avraham, "Walk
before Me and be perfect." (Genesis
17:1)
Our sages raise the following question: In his greatness, why did
Avraham fail to keep the mitzvah of Brit Milah? - Because a covenant
is a pact between two entities. While Avram knew what God wanted of
him, he waited for God to ask (command) him. Once circumcised, Avram
became "tamim" (perfect.)
The
Brit distinguishes Avraham and his seed after him from the rest of
society. It is, moreover, a mark of the child's unique Jewishness.
In this manner, God created a new nation. It is therefore fitting
that Avram is renamed: I will establish My covenant between Me and
you, and I will make you exceedingly numerous…. This is My
covenant … you shall be the father of a multitude of nations. And
you shall no longer be called Avram. But your name shall be
Avraham…. I will make you exceedingly fertile and make many
nations of you.
This spiritual rebirth is linked to the physical rejuvenation
Avraham undergoes. By removing the foreskin, men not only bear the
sign if the covenant of their bodies, but they are also directly
affecting the male sexual organ responsible for procreation and
reproduction.
Indeed, the word Brit is used thirteen times in relation to the
precept of brit Milah. This not only signifies the greatness and
importance attributed to this mitzvot of the Torah, (Nedarim,
32a)
but, emphasizes that the child himself is ultimately responsible to
fulfill this mitzvah when he becomes and adult, according to Jewish
tradition, at the time he turns thirteen. Failure to fulfill the
mitzvah of Brit Milah is punishable by karait (premature death by
divine intervention).
Thus, in opting not to circumcise their newborn infant, parents not
only deprive their son of his legacy, his tradition, his birthright,
but they are condemning him to a life without shayachut (belonging).
For the Jewish people are one people. No matter where one goes or
how far one travels, you identify yourself as a Jew
The Midrash relates that Avraham waits at the entrance to
hell and refuses entry to all who are circumcised. Even and infant
who dies before he is circumcised is to be circumcised at the grave
site, without a benediction, The child is named so that God will
show him mercy and he will be brought to life at tichiyat ha'maitim
(resurrection of the dead).
The mitzvah of milah assumes paramount importance in Jewish life
especially when Jews are being persecuted. During Hadrian's rule,
Brit Milah was forbidden on penalty of death. The tensions of the
times are reflected in the following Midrash (Mekhilta
Yitro II, 247 ed. Lauterbach):
