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# Jewish Circumcision Resource Center

Jewish Circumcision Resource Center

## Sitemaps

- [XML Sitemap](https://jewishcircumcision.org/sitemap.xml): Contains all public & indexable URLs for this website.

## Pages

- [Jewish Circumcision Resource Center](https://jewishcircumcision.org/) - Like the American cultural practice of circumcision, Jewish circumcision (bris or brit milah) is dependent on the acceptance of cultural myths.
- [Information Summary](https://jewishcircumcision.org/information-summary/) - Jewish Related 1. The religious origin of Jewish circumcision is in the Torah. It says that God told Abraham “every male among you shall be circumcised” (Gen. 17) as part of a covenant between God and the Jewish people. However, most Jews are unaware of this origin, and in a survey of American Jews, the
- [Book](https://jewishcircumcision.org/book/) - QUESTIONING CIRCUMCISION A Jewish Perspective Ronald Goldman, Ph.D. Foreword by Rabbi Raymond Singer, Ph.D. 144 pages • illustrated • bibliography • index VANGUARD PUBLICATIONS, trade paper ISBN 0964489562 QUESTIONING CIRCUMCISION: A JEWISH PERSPECTIVE is the first critical examination of the growing controversy of male infant circumcision with special attention to contemporary concerns of the Jewish
- [Contact Us](https://jewishcircumcision.org/contact-us/) - Consultation Information request Referral request Personal question General consultation Other Matters Questions about our services Comments on this website Inquiry about bris shalom/alternative ritual Media Inquiry Submit a personal story (confidential) Research inquiry (professionals only) Offer to volunteer Inquiry about public speaking Join Us To begin the membership process, please make a donation using the
- [Women's Perspective](https://jewishcircumcision.org/womens-perspective/) - Thoughts and Feelings Excerpts from Questioning Circumcision: A Jewish Perspective by Ronald Goldman, Ph.D. "I had profound doubts about my decision [to circumcise]. But because open discussion of Brit Milah seems to be discouraged in the Jewish community, I experienced my doubts privately and without comfort. . . . Thus, a rite intended to inspire
- [Alternative Rituals](https://jewishcircumcision.org/alternative-rituals/) - Some Jews who choose not to circumcise but still want a ritual, change the ritual to omit the circumcision. They may include other ceremonial elements that are sensitive to the infant and the community. For example, something other than the infant’s body can be cut to symbolize the circumcision. An alternative ritual, sometimes referred to
- [Circumcision: The Delicate Dilemma](https://jewishcircumcision.org/circumcision-the-delicate-dilemma/) - The Jewish Monthly - November, 1991 By Joel Silverman Circumcision, or brit mila, has set Jewish males apart from non-Jews since the dawn of history. In the Torah, God commands Abraham, the first Jew, to circumcise himself, his son Ishmael and all the male members of his household, saying, "This is my covenant, which ye
- [Circumcision: New Information Raises Questions](https://jewishcircumcision.org/circumcision-new-information-raises-questions/) - By Ronald Goldman Though many divine laws, rituals, and traditions are ignored by numerous American Jews, such as observing Shabbat and Kashrut, many Jews have accepted circumcision without subjecting it to any intellectual or emotional scrutiny. There have been several reasons. Many Jewish parents have not considered circumcision a choice at all. It was expected
- [Activists Up Efforts to Cut Circumcision Out of Bris Ritual](https://jewishcircumcision.org/activists-up-efforts-to-cut-circumcision-out-of-bris-ritual/) - Jewish Daily Forward - July 18, 2007 By JACOB VICTOR A few months before his son was born, Thomas Wolfe of Wheeling, W.Va., consulted the rabbi of his Reform congregation to discuss plans for the baby's circumcision. "I had the perception that a circumcision was just an innocuous procedure, with no risk," he later told
- [Circumcision: A Source of Jewish Pain](https://jewishcircumcision.org/circumcision-a-source-of-jewish-pain/) - Ronald Goldman Note: The arguments in favor of circumcision are familiar and readily available. Previous writing on Jewish circumcision has been totally supportive of the practice. It has been rare that writing on Jewish circumcision has mentioned, let alone elaborated on, arguments against the practice. Because the reasons to question circumcision are not well known,
- [Media Reports](https://jewishcircumcision.org/media-reports/) - Articles published in various media regarding the topic of circumcision.
- [Copyright and Terms of Use](https://jewishcircumcision.org/copyright-and-terms-of-use/) - Original information on this website is copyrighted by the Jewish Circumcision Resource Center, all rights reserved. Authorization is granted to reproduce this information for personal use only provided it is reproduced unaltered in its entirety and with the following attribution: From Jewish Circumcision Resource Center, https://www.jewishcircumcision.org. Under no circumstances may this information be used for
- [Consultation](https://jewishcircumcision.org/consultation/) - For Men A growing number of men are dissatisfied with their circumcision but are afraid to talk about it. Circumcised men need not feel resigned to their emotional or sexual condition. An individual consultation can give them hope and the resources for meeting their needs. For Parents Some parents report that if they could take
- [Beyond Anti-Semitism](https://jewishcircumcision.org/beyond-anti-semitism/) - By denying or ignoring any merit in questions and arguments critical of circumcision, Jewish circumcision advocates are left with suspecting a hidden motivation for those who would question circumcision.1 They need to make sense of what they perceive. How could Jews and others question a divine commandment? One advocate believes that the views of circumcision
- [Circumcision Questions (letter from uncircumcised Jew)](https://jewishcircumcision.org/circumcision-questions-letter-from-uncircumcised-jew/) - California Jewish Bulletin - May 31,1985 Letter to the Editor Circumcision questions By Alan Altmann I am writing about the series of articles that have appeared in the Bulletin about the question of circumcision. I have followed these articles with avid interest, since I myself am an uncircumcised Jew. I am the 32-year-old son of
- [A Mother Questions Brit Milla](https://jewishcircumcision.org/a-mother-questions-brit-milla/) - Humanistic Judaism - Summer, 1988 By Nelly Karsenty When I began to question the practice of circumcision among American Jews, to say that I had no idea of what a great taboo it was would be an understatement. Coming from a European background where routine circumcisions as practiced in most American hospitals are nonexistent, and
- [Mitzvah or Mutilation? Circumcision Sparks Debate](https://jewishcircumcision.org/mitzvah-or-mutilation-circumcision-sparks-debate/) - The Northern California Jewish Bulletin — February 14, 1992 By Leslie Katz Bulletin Staff When Erica Gleason's son was born seven years ago, she didn't have him circumcised. ''The thought of ripping off a piece of his penis was vomitous to me," she said. "He's not any less of a Jew because he has an
- [The Unkindest Cut?](https://jewishcircumcision.org/the-unkindest-cut/) - The Jewish Community Voice (New Jersey) — August 30, 1995 Opponents of Circumcision Question Necessity of Jewish Rite By LUCI SCOTT Jewish Telegraphic Agency PHOENIX — Miriam Pollack says she will never stop hearing her two son's screams as they were being circumcised. ''They were quite different from any other screams these children have
- [Every Circumcision is Unnecessary](https://jewishcircumcision.org/every-circumcision-is-unnecessary/) - Yediot (Israel) - May 6, 1997 Israelis opposed to Brit Milah found an organization "against genital mutilation": Tens of Israeli parents don't circumcise their sons for ideological reasons. "There is no need to cut anything to be Jewish," claim parents who belong to the new organization. "Circumcision may lead to mental trauma, long-term medical complications
- [Dr. Ronald Goldman On Circumcision](https://jewishcircumcision.org/dr-ronald-goldman-on-circumcision/) - Baltimore Jewish Times — May 23, 1997 Dr. Ronald Goldman, on circumcision: "Think about what a violation of trust this represents for the baby, who looks to his parents to love and protect him." Although Jews are commanded by the Torah to circumcise newborn males, some Jews and non-Jews today are beginning to question the
- [Jewish – With a Difference](https://jewishcircumcision.org/jewish-with-a-difference/) - Daily News - May 27, 1997 By SHEILA ANNE FEENEY ——————————————— Daily News Staff Writer MOSHE ROTHENBERG keeps a kosher house, attends a Conservative temple and celebrates Jewish holidays. His son, Samuel, attends a Conservative Hebrew school. But Samuel, 9, differs from his Brooklyn friends and classmates in a minor physical way that provokes a
- [Klagsbrun on Circumcision](https://jewishcircumcision.org/klagsbrun-on-circumcision/) - Letters to the Editor: MOMENT — August, 1997 Many Jewish Men Regret the Cut Over the last year I have formed a group called HOW (Healing Our Wounds), which is a forum for circumcised men to talk about how they feel about being circumcised. It is amazing how many men (including Jewish men) are extremely
- [Petition to Stop Circumcision](https://jewishcircumcision.org/petition-to-stop-circumcision/) - submitted: 27-Jan-98, 29th of Tevet, at 0:38:09 Israel Time (IINS News Service -Israel-1/27) The non-profit organization working to stop circumcision has taken its case to the High Court of Justice. The organization maintains in its petition, that in a modern democratic society there is no place for the "barbaric" ceremony, which mauls a child who
- [Rabbi Gets Sued Over Circumcision](https://jewishcircumcision.org/rabbi-gets-sued-over-circumcision/) - Press Journal (Florida) — January 29, 1998 By Adam Chrzan Press Journal Staff Writer An Indian River County couple has sued a Palm Beach County temple and a rabbi for a botched religious circumcision that required emergency-room stitches and has left their son scarred. Lisa Alsofrom and Maxou Jacques Lapeyre want an unspecified amount of
- [New Findings Related to Circumcision Stir an Old Controversy](https://jewishcircumcision.org/new-findings-related-to-circumcision-stir-an-old-controversy/) - The Jewish Advocate - February 13-19, 1998 By Karynne Naftolin Advocate Staff BOSTON - The question of whether to circumcise baby boys - and what to do with the foreskins - has resurfaced with the publication of new medical findings about skin substitutes made from the foreskins of circumcised babies and the use of the
- [Breaking with Ritual](https://jewishcircumcision.org/breaking-with-ritual/) - Detroit Jewish News - March 20, 1998 Some Jews believe circumcision causes lingering physical and emotional trauma. By Jill Davidson Sklar When Cheryl Resnick Ettinger married, she wanted to cram as much Jewish tradition into her wedding ceremony as possible. There were the seven brachot, a chuppah and a kosher ketubah. Not bad for a
- [Circumcision No Longer Automatic in Jewish Households](https://jewishcircumcision.org/circumcision-no-longer-automatic-in-jewish-households/) - Grand Rapids Press - May 2, 1998 By Clemete Angelo Lisi NEW YORK - To cut or not to cut. That is the question an increasing number of Jewish parents are facing these days when it comes to circumcising their male newborns. Circumcision, the surgical removal of the foreskin, has been a widely practiced medical
- [Jewish Circumcision Questioned on NPR “All Things Considered”](https://jewishcircumcision.org/jewish-circumcision-questioned-on-npr-all-things-considered/) - News Release — August 24, 1998 On August 24, 1998, millions of American learned for the first time that not all Jews circumcise their sons and that a growing number of Jews question the ancient practice. The twelve-minute story was broadcast on National Public Radio's popular news magazine program "All Things Considered." It was revealed
- [Circumcision Has Few Health Benefits](https://jewishcircumcision.org/circumcision-has-few-health-benefits/) - Ha'aretz (Israel) - March 1, 1999 By Iris Krauz CHICAGO - The American Academy of Pediatrics yesterday said the medical benefits of circumcision are not sufficient to recommend the procedure and for the first time said that pain relief should be provided when the procedure is performed. In response, the head of Israel's Pediatrics Association
- [Jews Unlikely to Cut Circumcision Despite New Policy from Academy](https://jewishcircumcision.org/jews-unlikely-to-cut-circumcision-despite-new-policy-from-academy/) - Jewish Telegraphic Agency - March 3, 1999 By Julia Goldman NEW YORK, March 3 (JTA) -- Most Jews aren't flinching at the medical establishment's most recent findings on circumcision. The American Academy of Pediatrics is recommending for the first time that pain relief, such as local anesthetics, be provided to infants being circumcised. The group,
- [Circumcision Opponents Energized by About-Face of Academy of Pediatrics Debate](https://jewishcircumcision.org/circumcision-opponents-energized-by-about-face-of-academy-of-pediatrics-debate/) - Forward - March 5, 1999 Advocates Say Burden Now Falls on Community to Explain Benefits Dr. Stuart Jaffee: "Our Guidebook is the Bible" FORWARD STAFF NEW YORK - Anti-circumcision activists are feeling energized by a new policy of the American Academy of Pediatrics saying that the medical benefits of circumcision are not sufficient to recommend
- [Local Mohel Speaks Out on Circumcision Debate](https://jewishcircumcision.org/local-mohel-speaks-out-on-circumcision-debate/) - Jewish Journal (MA) - March 19, 1999 By Bette Wineblatt Keva Jewish Journal Staff Samuel Pessaroff, mohel and well-known cantor of Temple Ner Tamid of Peabody, said the latest debate over circumcision is irrelevant to Jews. "We don't have a choice of whether or not to circumcise. It's a commandment," he asserted. The great debate
- [Ritual Basic to Judaism](https://jewishcircumcision.org/ritual-basic-to-judaism/) - Daily Hampshire Gazette (MA) - May 17, 1999 By Ali Crolius (MAY 17) -- The eighth day of life has always been a big one for most Jewish infants. The simple but solemn procedure of removing the foreskin -- a ceremony known as brit milah -- is carried out as family and community bear witness.
- [Circumcision Lite](https://jewishcircumcision.org/circumcision-lite/) - Jewish Journal (Los Angeles) - April 13, 2001 Parents Searching for an “Alternative” Circumcision Find One Mohels Call Bogus By Susanna Crosby Perrin An undeniable physical reminder of a man’s connection to Judaism, circumcision has been an important focus of the first days of a boy’s life since before we received the Torah. However, for
- [Live and Uncut](https://jewishcircumcision.org/live-and-uncut/) - New York Magazine - May 21, 2001 With circumcision rates dropping in America, some squeamish Jews are trying out a bloodless Bris. But is it kosher? By Gersh Kuntzman A man holds his newborn grandson before the crowd and announces that the uncircumcised tot is "whole" and "perfect" in God's image, says a prayer, drinks
- [Circumcision is Abuse](https://jewishcircumcision.org/circumcision-is-abuse/) - Ha'aretz (Israel) - June 17, 2001 By Nitzan Horowitz Sweden has passed a new law, the first of its kind in the world: Circumcision will take place only in the presence of a doctor and only with the use of a "pain-killer" administered by the medical man. From New York, the World Jewish Congress is
- [Reform Rabbis Confront Growing Doubts on Circumcision](https://jewishcircumcision.org/reform-rabbis-confront-growing-doubts-on-circumcision/) - Religion News Service - June 25, 2001 By KEVIN ECKSTROM MONTEREY, Calif. -- When God commanded Abraham to circumcise himself and his son, Ishmael, there wasn't an option for "No, I'd rather not." The terms seemed pretty clear: "Thus shall my covenant be marked in your flesh as an everlasting pact," God tells Abraham in
- [Sacred Practice or Unnecessary Procedure?](https://jewishcircumcision.org/sacred-practice-or-unnecessary-procedure/) - Bergen (NJ) Record - June 9, 2002 By Bob Ivry Staff Writer During her recent pregnancy, Rachel struggled for a way to balance the weight of 2,800 years of religious tradition with the overwhelming protective emotions she felt for her unborn boy. Rachel and her husband are Jewish, and every male born to their families
- [A Cut Above the Rest](https://jewishcircumcision.org/a-cut-above-the-rest/) - Israel News: Jerusalem Post Internet Edition - Nov. 21, 2002 By Hilary Leila Krieger A small but growing number of Israelis are vociferously opposed to circumcision while the majority of the population, from secular through to Orthodox, believe the brit-mila ceremony is an essential element of Jewish culture and religion Udi weighed his choices carefully.
- [Struggling with Circumcision](https://jewishcircumcision.org/struggling-with-circumcision/) - Reconstructionism Today - Spring-Summer, 2004 By Anonymous Dear Son, I'm writing to you now, years before you can understand, about a difficult decision your mom and I made for you today. I hope it was the right decision. I know it was a loving decision. You're only ten days old now. We named you just
- [In 21st Century, Circumcision Debate Continues](https://jewishcircumcision.org/in-21st-century-circumcision-debate-continues/) - Jewish Chronicle of Pittsburgh - May 24, 2007 By Susan Jacobs Associate Editor Circumcision is among the oldest of Jewish practices, dating back to the days of Abraham. According to the Torah, he was 99 years old when God commanded him to circumcise himself. For most of Jewish history, circumcision was a unique mark upon
- [Some Jewish Parents Forgo Circumcision and Tradition](https://jewishcircumcision.org/some-jewish-parents-forgo-circumcision-and-tradition/) - Religion News Service - June 21, 2007 Orthodox rabbis prepare to circumcise a Jewish baby in Lawrence, N.Y., in a scene from “Cut,” an independent film by Eli Ungar-Sargon that respectfully questions the Jewish ritual of circumcision. For use with RNS-JEWS-CIRCUM, transmitted June 14, 2007. Religion News Service photo courtesy of Eli Ungar-Sargon. CHICAGO --
- [Thousands of Parents Sail Against the Tide of Circumcision](https://jewishcircumcision.org/thousands-of-parents-sail-against-the-tide-of-circumcision/) - Jewish World - March 11, 2010 Note: This is a rough electronic translation provided by others. A marginal but growing number of Jewish Israelis choose not to circumcise their children, settled a breach of a millenary tradition which places them outside the social consensus and confronts them with their families. In the country there are no official

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