I think the interesting question is not why I circumcise my son but what happens when I circumcise him. A week ago I found out what was going on. I participated in a religious ceremony in the time-honored sense of the word.
This is a meaning that is gradually being lost, in a time when choosing to be religious is based on “what’s in it for me”: observing shabbat is social, sitting shiva is psychological, modesty expresses innocence lost. In modern times, religious laws have become passe and have gotten away from the notion that they are a Divine command. So here's a slice of a commandment that defies logic. When I circumcised my son, I felt for the first time in ages that I am observing mitzvot, commandments, not only because they are worthwhile, because they are healthy. I observe mitzvot because that is what God commanded.
(א) וּבַיּוֹם הַשְּׁמִינִי יִמּוֹל.מַעֲשֶׂה שֶׁשָּׁאַל טוּרְנוּסְרוּפוּס הָרָשָׁע אֶת רַבִּי עֲקִיבָא, אֵיזוֹ מַעֲשִׂים נָאִים, שֶׁל הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא אוֹ שֶׁל בָּשָׂר וָדָם. אָמַר לוֹ: שֶׁל בָּשָׂר וָדָם נָאִים. אָמַר לוֹ טוּרְנוּסְרוּפוּס, הֲרֵי הַשָּׁמַיִם וְהָאָרֶץ יָכֹל אָדָם לַעֲשׂוֹת כַּיּוֹצֵא בָּהֶם אָמַר לוֹ רַבִּי עֲקִיבָא, לֹא תֹּאמַר לִי בְּדָבָר שֶׁהוּא לְמַעְלָה מִן הַבְּרִיּוֹת שֶׁאֵין שׁוֹלְטִין עָלָיו, אֶלָּא אֱמֹר דְּבָרִים שֶׁהֵם מְצוּיִין בִּבְנֵי אָדָם. אָמַר לוֹ: לָמָּה אַתֶּם מוּלִין. אָמַר לוֹ: אֲנִי הָיִיתִי יוֹדֵעַ שֶׁעַל דָּבָר זֶה אַתָּה שׁוֹאֲלֵנִי, וּלְכָךְ הִקְדַּמְתִּי וְאָמַרְתִּי לְךָ, שֶׁמַּעֲשֵׂה בְּנֵי אָדָם נָאִים מִשֶּׁל הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא. הֵבִיא לוֹ רַבִּי עֲקִיבָא שִׁבֳּלִים וּגְלֻסְקָאוֹת, אָמַר לוֹ: אֵלּוּ מַעֲשֶׂה הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא, וְאֵלּוּ מַעֲשֶׂה יְדֵי אָדָם. אָמַר לוֹ: אֵין אֵלּוּ נָאִים יוֹתֵר מִן הַשִּׁבֳּלִים אָמַר לוֹ טוּרְנוּסְרוּפוּס, אִם הוּא חָפֵץ בַּמִּילָה, לָמָּה אֵינוֹ יוֹצֵא הַוָּלָד מָהוּל מִמְּעֵי אִמּוֹ. אָמַר לוֹ רַבִּי עֲקִיבָא, וְלָמָּה שׁוֹרְרוֹ יוֹצֵא עִמּוֹ וְהוּא תָּלוּי בְּבִטְנוֹ וְאִמּוֹ חוֹתְכוֹ וּמַה שֶׁאַתָּה אוֹמֵר לָמָּה אֵינוֹ יוֹצֵא מָהוּל, לְפִי שֶׁלֹּא נָתַן הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא אֶת הַמִּצְוֹת לְיִשְׂרָאֵל אֶלָּא לְצָרֵף אוֹתָם בָּהֶם. וּלְכָךְ אָמַר דָּוִד, אִמְרַת יקוק צְרוּפָה (תהלים יח, לא).
It once happened that the evil Turnus Rufus asked Rabbi Akiva, "which are the greater works, those of the Holy One Blessed is He or those of flesh and blood?" He said to him, "Those of flesh and blood are greater." Turnus Rufus said, "But the Heavens and Earth — is Man able to make such as those?" Rabbi Akiva said to him, "Don't speak to me about something which is beyond Man, which he has no mastery over, rather speak of things which are found among people." He said, "Why do you circumcise?" He replied, "I knew you were going to ask me about that, which is why I started by telling you that the works of Man are better than the works of the Holy One Blessed is He." Rabbi Akiva brought him stalks [of grain] and loaves [of bread]. He said to him, "These are the works of the Holy One Blessed is He, and these are the works of Man." He said, "Aren't these better than the stalks?!' Turnus Rufus [then] said to him, "If He wants circumcision, why does the infant not emerge circumcised from his mother's womb?" Rabbi Akiva said to him ,"And why does his umbilical chord emerge with him, [so] he hangs from the belly, and his mother [has to] cut it? And this that you said 'Why doesn't he emerge circumcised?', [the reason is] because the Holy One Blessed is He gave the Israel the commandments only in order to refine them [Israel] through them [the commandments]. And that's why David said (Psalms 18:31) (all) 'the word of the LORD is refined.'"
Jastrow
צָרַף (b. h.; cmp. צרב) [to press, shrink,] 1) to smelt, melt; trnsf. to refine, purify, try. Y. Keth. VII, end, 31ᵈ; Tosef. Keth. VII, 11 צוֹרֵף נחשת, v. infra. Yoma 72ᵇ (ref. to Ps. XVIII, 31) זכה משמחתו … צוֹרַפְתּוֹ if he deserves well, she (the Torah) cheers him; if not, she smelts him (through trials); צורפתו לחיים she steels him for life; צורפתו למיתה she smelts him for death. Yalk. Ex. 391 דרשתי … צָרַפְתִּי ובחנתי וכ׳ I studied and searched, refined and tested &c.; a. fr. —2) to tighten, harden. Yoma l. c., v. supra. Y. Yeb. XVI, 15ᵈ top שצְרָפַתּוֹ Var., v. צָפַד. —3) to change, v. infra.
Pi. - צֵרֵף 1) to smelt. 2) to tighten, harden. Makhsh. V, 7 המוליך … לצָרְפָהּ if one takes a ship out to sea for the sake of tightening it; מוציא מסמר … לצָרְפוֹ if one takes a (glowing) nail in the rain for the sake of hardening it; Tosef. ib. II, 16 בשביל לצוֹרְפוֹ. Tosef. Kel. B. Kam. III, 13 צֵרְפָן אפי׳ וכ׳ (or צְרָפָן) if he hardened (baked) them (the earthen vessels) even in a peat fire. Bets. 32ᵃ משיְצָרְפוֹ בכבשן (Ms. M. משישרפו) from the time be baked it in the kiln. B. Mets. 84ᵃ (of iron weapons) משיְצָרְפֵם בכבשן when he has hardened them in the furnace, v. צִחְצֵחַ; a. e. —3) [to melt together, weld,] to combine, join. Maasr. II, 5 ואם צֵרַף (Y. ed. צירף) if he combined (ate them together). Y. Pes. III, 30ᵃ top שני … אין הבית מְצָרף if two pieces (of leavened matter), each half the size of an olive, are in the same room, the room does not join them (so as to be counted one olive-size); if in one vessel, הכלי מצרף the vessel joins them.
(ה) רַבִּי יִשְׁמָעֵאל וְרַבִּי עֲקִיבָא, רַבִּי יִשְׁמָעֵאל אוֹמֵר אַבְרָהָם כֹּהֵן גָּדוֹל הָיָה, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (תהלים קי, ד): נִשְׁבַּע יקוק וְלֹא יִנָּחֵם אַתָּה כֹהֵן לְעוֹלָם וגו', וְנֶאֱמַר לְהַלָּן (בראשית יז, יא): וּנְמַלְתֶּם אֵת בְּשַׂר עָרְלַתְכֶם, מֵהֵיכָן יִמּוֹל, אִם יִמּוֹל מִן הָאֹזֶן אֵינוֹ כָּשֵׁר לְהַקְרִיב, מִן הַפֶּה אֵינוֹ כָּשֵׁר לְהַקְרִיב, מִן הַלֵּב אֵינוֹ כָּשֵׁר לְהַקְרִיב, מֵהֵיכָן יִמּוֹל וְיִהְיֶה כָּשֵׁר לְהַקְרִיב, הֱוֵי אוֹמֵר זוֹ עָרְלַת הַגּוּף. רַבִּי עֲקִיבָא אוֹמֵר אַרְבַּע עֲרָלוֹת הֵן, נֶאֶמְרָה עָרְלָה בָּאֹזֶן (ירמיה ו, י): הִנֵּה עֲרֵלָה אָזְנָם, וְנֶאֶמְרָה עָרְלָה בַּפֶּה (שמות ו, ל): הֵן אֲנִי עֲרַל שְׂפָתַיִם, וְנֶאֱמַר עָרְלָה בַּלֵּב (ירמיה ט, כה): וְכָל בֵּית יִשְׂרָאֵל עַרְלֵי לֵב, וְנֶאֱמַר עָרְלָה בַּגּוּף (בראשית יז, יד): וְעָרֵל זָכָר, וְנֶאֱמַר לוֹ: הִתְהַלֵּךְ לְפָנַי וֶהְיֵה תָמִים, אִם יִמּוֹל מִן הָאֹזֶן אֵינוֹ תָּמִים, מִן הַפֶּה אֵינוֹ תָּמִים, מִן הַלֵּב אֵינוֹ תָּמִים, וּמֵהֵיכָן יִמּוֹל וְיִהְיֶה תָמִים, הֱוֵי אוֹמֵר זוֹ עָרְלַת הַגּוּף. מִקְרָא אָמַר (בראשית יז, יב): וּבֶן שְׁמֹנַת יָמִים יִמּוֹל לָכֶם כָּל זָכָר לְדֹרֹתֵיכֶם, אִם יִמּוֹל מִן הָאֹזֶן אֵינוֹ שׁוֹמֵעַ, מִן הַפֶּה אֵינוֹ מְדַבֵּר, מִן הַלֵּב אֵינוֹ חוֹשֵׁב, מֵהֵיכָן יִמּוֹל וְיִהְיֶה יָכוֹל לַחֲשֹׁב, זוֹ עָרְלַת הַגּוּף. אָמַר רַבִּי תַּנְחוּמָא מִסְתַּבְּרָא הָדָא מִקְרָא וְעָרֵל זָכָר, וְכִי יֵשׁ עָרֵל נְקֵבָה, אֶלָּא מִמָּקוֹם שֶׁהוּא נִכָּר אִם זָכָר אִם נְקֵבָה מִשָּׁם מוֹהֲלִים אוֹתוֹ.
(5) (5) R' Yishmael and R' Akiva: R' Yishmael says, Avraham was a High Priest, as it says (Ps. 110:4), "The LORD has sworn and will not relent, 'You are a priest forever, etc.'" and it says elsewhere (Gen. 17:11), "You shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin." From where should he be circumcised? If he is circumcised from the ear, he is not fit to offer sacrifices. From the mouth, he is not fit to offer sacrifices. From the heart, he is not fit to offer sacrifices. Where should he be circumcised so that he will be fit to offer sacrifices? You must say it is the foreskin of the body. R' Akiva says, there are four foreskins. Foreskin is said with regard to the ear (Jer. 6:10): "Their ears are blocked." Foreskin is said with regard to the mouth (Exod. 6:12): "me, a man of impeded lips." Foreskin is said with regard to the heart (Jer. 9:25): "but all the House of Israel are uncircumcised of heart." Foreskin is said with regard to the body (Gen. 17:14): "male who is uncircumcised [one who is uncircumcised in his maleness]." It was said to him, (Gen. 17:1): "Walk in My ways and be blameless/whole." If he is circumcised from the ear, he is not whole; from the mouth, he is not whole; from the heart, he is not whole. From where should he be circumcised so that he will be whole? You must say it is the foreskin of the body. Scripture says (Gen. 17:11-12), "[You shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin, and that shall be the sign of the covenant between Me and you.] And throughout the generations, every male among you shall be circumcised at the age of eight days." If he is circumcised from the ear, he cannot hear; from the mouth, he cannot speak; from the heart, he cannot think. From where should he be circumcised so that he can think? This is the foreskin of the body. R' Tanhuma said, it makes sense that we circumcise from the foreskin that demarcates a person as male, based on the verse (Gen. 17:14): "male who is uncircumcised." And does there exist one who is uncircumcised in femaleness? Rather, from the place where it is recognized whether male or female -- from there we circumcise him.
ואתה את בריתי תשמור. מהו ואתה ומהו שחזר ואמר אתה וזרעך כך פירושו, שעיקר הצווי היה בעבור זרעו כי הם צריכין למילה חיצונית זו כדי שעל ידה יגיעו אל המילה הפנימית וטהרת הלב,
וכפל הקב״ה ענין זה כמה פעמים להורות שעיקר טעם מילה חיצונית זו היא להגיע על ידה אל טוהר הלב הפנימי.
And you shall guard my covenant: The essence of the commandment is for the sake of their sons, for they need Milah of the externality in order that by means of this they can come to a Milah of the internality and purity of the heart.
And God repeats this issue many times to teach that the essence of the reason of the external Milah is to reveal by this means the purity of the inner heart.
A frenulum (or frenum, plural: frenula or frena, from the Latin frēnulum, "little bridle", the diminutive of frēnum[1]) is a small fold of tissue that secures or restricts the motion of a mobile organ in the body.
- Oral tissue: Frenula of the mouth include the frenulum linguae under the tongue, the frenulum labii superioris inside the upper lip, the frenulum labii inferioris inside the lower lip, and the buccal frena which connect the cheeks to the gum. These can easily be torn by violent blows to the face or mouth, thus a torn frenulum is sometimes a warning sign of physical abuse.
- Penile tissue: The word frenulum on its own is often used for the frenulum of prepuce of penis or frenulum preputii penis, which is an elastic band of tissue under the glans penis that connects to the prepuce, or foreskin to the vernal mucosa, and helps contract the prepuce over the glans.
אמר ליה קיסר לר' תנחום תא ליהוו כולן לעמא חד אמר לחיי אנן דמהלינן לא מצינן מיהוי כוותייכו אתון מהליתו והוו כוותן א"ל מימר שפיר קאמרת מיהו כל דזכי למלכא לשדיוה לביבר שדיוה לביבר ולא אכלוה א"ל ההוא מינא האי דלא אכלוה משום דלא כפין הוא שדיוה ליה לדידיה ואכלוה
The Gemara relates: The emperor said to Rabbi Tanḥum: Come, let us all be one people. Rabbi Tanḥum said: Very well. But we, who are circumcised, cannot become uncircumcised like you. So why don't you all circumcise yourselves and become like us? The emperor said to Rabbi Tanḥum: In terms of the logic of your statement, you are saying well, but anyone who bests the king in a debate is thrown to the enclosure [labeivar] of wild animals. They threw him to the enclosure but the animals did not eat him, as God protected him. A certain heretic said to the emperor: This incident, that they did not eat him, happened because they are not hungry. They then threw the heretic into the enclosure and the animals ate him.
Philip Roth, Counterlife
Circumcision makes it clear as can be that you are here and not there, that you are out and not in – also that you’re mine and not theirs...Quite convincingly, circumcision gives the lie to the womb-dream of life in the beautiful state of innocent prehistory, the appealing idyll of living ‘naturally,’ unencumbered by man-made ritual. To be born is to lose all that. The heavy hand of human values falls upon you right at the start, marking your genitals as its own.
From God's Phallus - Howard Eilberg Schwartz
So what are the dilemmas evoked by the maleness of God in ancient Judaism? The first is homoeroticism: the love of a male human for a male God. The issue of homoeroticism arises in ancient Israel because the divine‑human relationship is often described in erotic and sexual terms. Marriage and sexuality are frequent biblical metaphors for describing God’s relationship with Israel. God is imagined as the husband to Israel the wife; espousal and even sexual intercourse are metaphors for the covenant. Thus when Israel follows other gods, “she” is seen to be whoring. Israel’s relationship with God is thus conceptualized as a monogamous sexual relation, and idolatry as adultery.
But the heterosexual metaphors in the ancient texts belie the nature of the relationship in question: it is human males, not females, who are imagined to have the primary intimate relations with the deity. The Israel that is collectively imagined as a woman is actually constituted by men, men like Moses and the patriarchs. And these men love, in ways that are imagined erotically and sensually, a male deity.
(ה) ואת ערום ועריה. מן המצות:
(ד) ואבא בברית אותך. הנה דם הברית אשר כרת יקוק עמכם:
You were naked and bare: Of Mitzvot.
And I entered into a covenant with you: This, surely, is the blood of the covenant which God made with you.
