We Are From the Garden by Dan Nichols
We are from the garden, we are from the flood
We are from the angels singing all you need is love
We are from the mountain and the hope blowing on the wind
We are from the Holy One within
We are from the wand’rin’, we are from the dream
We are from the fight to understand what freedom means
We are from the promise and the hope for a better land
We are from the marchin’ hand in hand
Torah Study Blessing
Circumcision as a cultural practice
(א) בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ה' אֱלהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעולָם אֲשֶׁר קִדְּשָׁנוּ בְּמִצְותָיו וְצִוָּנוּ לַעֲסוק בְּדִבְרֵי תורָה:
(1) Blessed are You, Adonai our God, Ruler of the Universe, Who has sanctified us with Your commandments and commanded us to immerse ourselves in words of Torah.
This is a picture of an ivory image from the archaeological site, Megiddo. This ivory dates back to over 1000 years BCE, to a pre-Israelite period. Notice the naked slaves -- are they circumcised? What does this ivory reveal about the practice of circumcision?
Circumcision as a sign of covenant (Brit)
(9) God further said to Abraham, “As for you, you and your offspring to come throughout the ages shall keep My covenant. (10) Such shall be the covenant between Me and you and your offspring to follow which you shall keep: every male among you shall be circumcised. (11) You shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin, and that shall be the sign of the covenant between Me and you. (12) And throughout the generations, every male among you shall be circumcised at the age of eight days. As for the homeborn slave and the one bought from an outsider who is not of your offspring, (13) they must be circumcised, homeborn, and purchased alike. Thus shall My covenant be marked in your flesh as an everlasting pact. (14) And if any male who is uncircumcised fails to circumcise the flesh of his foreskin, that person shall be cut off from his kin; he has broken My covenant.”
Why do you think God needs a "sign" to mark covenant?
Circumcision as a ritual of belonging
(48) If a stranger who dwells with you would offer the passover to Adonai, all his males must be circumcised; then he shall be admitted to offer it; he shall then be as a citizen of the country. But no uncircumcised person may eat of it.
How is the rite of circumcision being expressed in this text?
What does one gain from being circumcised?
Consider Genesis 17:14 again.
Circumcision as perfection of creation
When Abram was ninety-nine years old, Adonai appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am El Shaddai. Walk in My ways and be perfect.
אָמַר רַבִּי יוּדָן מָה הַתְּאֵנָה הַזּוֹ אֵין לָהּ פְּסֹלֶת אֶלָּא עֻקְצָהּ בִּלְבָד, הַעֲבֵר אוֹתוֹ וּבָטֵל הַמּוּם, כָּךְ אָמַר הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא לְאַבְרָהָם אֵין בְּךָ פְּסֹלֶת אֶלָּא הָעָרְלָה, הַעֲבֵר אוֹתָהּ וּבָטֵל הַמּוּם, (בראשית יז, א): הִתְהַלֵּךְ לְפָנַי וֶהְיֵה תָמִים.
R. Judan said: In the case of a fig, its only defect is its stalk. Remove it and the blemish ceases. Thus, the Holy One Blessed be God said to Abraham, "Your only defect is this foreskin. Remove it and the blemish is cancelled. 'Walk before me and be perfect"' (Gen. 17:1). (Translation from Lewis M. Barth)
According to this midrash, what is the purpose of circumcision?
Why didn't God create men "perfect"?
Opposition to circumcision
Ancient, External Criticism:
Excerpt from Histories 5.5.8-9 by Tacitus (1st-2nd c. C.E.)
Whatever their origin, these rites are maintained by their antiquity; the other customs of the Jews are base and abominable and owe their persistence to their depravity... They adopted circumcision to distinguish themselves from other peoples by this difference.
Modern, Internal Criticism:
Israel Jacobson, Dedication Address of the First Reform Temple in 1810
"Let us be honest, my brothers. Our ritual is still weighted down with religious customs which must be rightfully offensive to reason as well as to our Christian friends."
Private letter of leading German Reformer, Rabbi Abraham Geiger:
Circumcision was "a barbaric, bloody act, which fills the father with anxiety and puts the new mother into a state of morbid tension."
Berit Milah in the Reform Context, p. 135, 144
What are the reasons that these different figures are anti-circumcision?
Where do you think these criticisms are coming from?
What other challenges might some people raise?
Closing
I wonder, which interpretation resonates most with you?
I wonder, what questions do you still have about circumcision?
I wonder, what did you learn from today's session?