Christian Parents Opt for Religious Circumcision . . . Even if It’s Jewish
Correct me if I’m wrong here, but I always thought participating in a religious ceremony was supposed to have something to do with your religion. I know, call me crazy.
Christian parents who have started calling on Jewish mohels to perform their sons’ circumcisions apparently don’t care that they’re not, well, Jewish. They don’t even care that it costs a little extra.
Traditionally, Christian parents who have opted to circumcise their little boys have it done in a hospital setting – where it’s often covered by a parent’s health insurance. Many Jewish parents, however, follow the traditional method of a bris – a ceremonial circumcision performed after the baby has been released from the hospital, in the presence of friends and family. A mohel – a specially trained Jewish circumciser – traditionally does the honors, not only cutting the foreskin but leading the onlookers in a small religious ceremony. The whole thing can cost upwards of $300 to $800 – and that’s not including the party the parents’ usually throw for their guests.
So why would Christian parents call on a mohel? Philip Sherman, a mohel in the New York City area, told the Houston Chronicle parents would rather have the process done in the comfort of their own homes; they like to make it spiritual. Plus, he claims, the process is much quicker for the baby – he says it’s a few seconds for a mohel, half an hour in a hospital (The American Academy of Pediatrics actually calls for anesthetic cream to be applied sixty to ninety minutes before the procedure in a hospital or the use of some other, faster-acting anesthetic. The AAP also suggests a clamp be left on the area for several minutes to stop bleeding).
The mother of a daughter, I never had to make the “to circumcise” or “not to circumcise” decision. I don’t have a feeling either way. But where I can accept a Jewish parent’s decision to call in a mohel to practice their faith, I find the concept of a Christian parent doing the same slightly bizarre. Even odder? That mohels are adjusting their usual ceremony to make them less Jewish. In the case cited in the Chronicle, he actually handed out a prayer booklet that was appropriate for the largely Presbyterian crowd. Instead of religious, they call it “holistic” circumcision.
Isn’t this a bit like calling on a rabbi to perform your Catholic wedding? Maybe I’m just not well-versed enough in the Bible. Is there really any religious meaning to a bris outside of the Jewish faith?
Image: Houston Chronicle
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Christian parents who opt to circumcise their boys in the name of religion apparently have not read the New Testament. Christ did away with the circumcision of the flesh and it’s not mandated for Christians to do that to their children.
And I must say as a Christian, I believe God created my child and knew him even in my womb. I spent 9 months praying for a healthy child and trusted that God would provide. He did and I was blessed with a healthy son. Cutting off a body part designed by God seems almost blasphemous to me. Needless to say, we didn’t circumcise him.
I have no idea since I’ve never seen a mohel perform a circumcision but I hope they at least wear gloves and use sterile technique like a hospital does. It seems like an a high risk for infection otherwise.
And I agree those participating in a religious ceremony should be of that religion. Otherwise, how does it bring spiritual meaning to the occasion?
Many Jews are now choosing a non-cutting alternative called a Bris Shalom. For more information, see
jewishcircumcision.org
jewsagainstcircumcision.org
The Torah or the ‘Old Testament’ as Catholics call it, is part of ‘The Bible’. I have always believed that Catholics should follow almost all of the holidays and customs of Judaism because it is the begininning (sp?) part of the Bible.
How do you raise your children anti-choice when you are pro-choice? Do you say, “our family believes that abortion should be illegal” or “abortion is wrong” even if you don’t believe that? I find that very curious.
The circumcisions done by mohels are much less extensive, removing less tissue, than the ones done in hospitals. In a hospital, the baby is restrained on a plastic board, his penis is clamped (think of a ring shaped clamp that goes around the entire end of his penis, cutting off circulation to the foreskin), and the entire foreskin is removed. The Jewish tradition is much kinder – the baby is held in someone’s arms, for example, rather than being restrained, and less tissue is removed.
We’re Presbyterian, and we had to go into counseling over the circumcision issue when we were pregnant with our first. He’s pro, I’m antt. One of the compromises we discussed was having the procedure done by a mohel instead of by a physician, for the reasons I described above. In the end, I agreed to raise our children pro-life (he’s pro-life, I’m pro-choice) if he agreed not to press to have them circumcised. We agreed that we’d allow our children to make their own decision on the circumcision issue, when they’re old enough to understand the ramifications. I promised to wait on any sons hand and foot until they recovered if they elected to be circumcised when they were, say, 12 or 13.
Of course, we had two girls.
Still, watch videos of a hospital circumcision and a Jewish ceremonial circumcision, and see if the Christian parents’ reasoning doesn’t make more sense to you.
Hmm… not sure how I feel about this. I am Catholic, but my husband is Jewish so we have been in a number of bris.However, my observation is that this is far more than just the actual act of circumcision. For one, the child is also given his Hebrew name, which is usually in memory of a deceased dear relative. The ones that I have been to, the parents speak about why they chose that name, and about the person the child is named after. Also, it is the first time that everyone gets to see the baby and since at least in my husband’s family, there is no baby shower, the first chance to congratulate the new pareents. That said, I totally don’t understand why Christians need to do this. Maybe I am missing something?
So they want to pay more so their newborn can feel the pain of cutting part of his penis off and bleed a lot more? See, stupid people will spend money on anything.