Atlas - Circumcision

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CIRCUMCISION

Biblical Basis and Historical Significance

From The Biblical and Historical Background of Jewish Customs and Ceremonies by Abraham P. Bloch

The rite of circumcision is based on a biblical injunction addressed to Abraham (Gen. 17:9-14)....Josephus took note of the antiquity of this ritual. "And they circumcised him [Isaac] upon the eighth day, and from that time the Jews continue the custom of circumcising their sons from that number of days" (Antiq. 1:2).

The practice of circumcision was common among some Western Semites but not among the Eastern Semites. In Judaism circumcision became a symbolic token of a covenant between God and the Hebrew people (Gen. 17:13).

Various rationalizations have been offered for the rite of circumcision. According to Josephus and Maimonides, it is a sanitary measure. According to Philo, it was designed to aid procreation. Some ancient non-Jews regarded it as an act of consecration. The literal sense of the scriptural text appears to stress circumcision as a physical distinguishing mark of Jewishness.

Jewishness is identified by marks attached to garments (tzitzit) and to homes (mezuzah). The mark in the flesh is indelible and constitutes a permanent reminder of one's descent and religion. The rabbis viewed circumcision as a deterrent to sex crimes and intermarriage. "The Torah decreed the circumcision of the genitals so that the fear of God may deter one from committing a sin" (Yalkut, Shofetim 42).

Despite all rationalizations, the real purpose of circumcision has remained obscure. Such was the conclusion of a midrash: "Only to Abraham did God reveal the mystery of circumcision (Tanchuma, Lech Lecha 19). Rav Tzemach Gaon (quoted by Avudrahim, Hilchot Millah) said "We do not know the reason for the mitzvah of circumcision and we practice it because it is a divine decree."

The rite of circumcision was widely observed by Jews from time immemorial....

There were a number exceptions to this rule in the pre-exilic history of the Jewish people. According to a talmudic tradition, Jews did not practice circumcision in Egypt because of their desire to imitate the Egyptians (Exod. Rabbah 1). Only the children of the tribe of Levi were circumcised (ibid. 19). As a priestly tribe they might have followed the custom of Egyptian priests who practiced circumcision. Children born in the desert were not circumcised due to the danger of sandstorms (Yevamot 72a). However, entry into Palestine was contingent upon circumcision (Gen. Rabbah 46)....

Rabbinic Judaism extolled the merit of circumcision and classified it as a central pillar of the faith. "Great is circumcision, which is as weighty as all the mitzvot of the Torah" (Nedarim 32b).....

Even an alienated Jew like Spinoza noted, in a letter to his Christian friend Henry Oldenburg, the importance of circumcision in the survival of the Jewish people: "The symbol of circumcision ...is, I believe, so potent that I am convinced it alone will keep this nation alive forever" (Kobler, Treasury of Jewish Letters, p.535).