Posts Tagged Jewish Culture

cartoonstock.com

As fans and observers (Jewcy includes “maybe a handful of Perez Hilton wannabes”) wait to learn if Natalie Portman will have her son circumcised, the anti-circumcision movement swells.  In reading Kveller’s post about the potential impending bris, I was slightly taken aback by the really heated comments from readers.  I am not particularly interested in outlining a well-developed reason as to why I either do or do not support circumcision.  I’m neither male nor a parent, and I have not yet had to think through my position.  What I do want to do is discuss the books published by JPS that may prove useful for those in the position to make the circumcision decision.

First and foremost: the Tanakh.  Yes, I know you probably already have one (which totally rocks), but start by reading the passage in Lekh Lekha (Genesis 12.20) in which G-d tells Abraham that “every male among [him] shall be circumcised…and that shall be a sign of the covenant.”  Side note: Lekh Lekha was actually my bat mitzvah portion so it’s interesting to be re-visiting it as a blogger rather than a thirteen-year-old grasping for the meaning of her portion.

Next, check out Vanessa L. Ochs’ book Inventing Jewish Ritual.  In her brief section on circumcision, Ochs offers a new take on circumcision as ritual.  She writes that, “Jewish ritual is no longer necessarily embraced or rejected without first engaging in a process of reflection.”  Rather, ritual is now the process by which a Jew comes to a decision, not just the decision itself.  For Ochs, ritual is essentially interactive, the act of deciding what one wants to do or not do based on reasoning.  For my parents, circumcising my brother was a given – “a Jew thing” as my dad says – but even their decision to adhere to past practice is a ritual for it shows a process by which they made a choice.

Finally, challenge yourself with a copy of Jewish Choices, Jewish Voices: Body.  Dr. Harry Brod, author of the article, “Circumcisional Circumstances: Circumspecting the Jewish Male Body,” writes of circumcision as “hidden.”  He explains: “that which is undiscussed or hidden…operates all the more powerfully precisely because of its hiddenness,”- so thus circumcision grows and festers as a subject the more that people refuse to discuss it.  Brod urges specifically men to discuss circumcision and to have an active role in deciding whether or not a son will be circumcised.  On a more general note, he encourages men to take control and participate in important conversations about their bodies.

The overall and overt point of this post is that there is no “right” answer to the circumcision question- it is a very personal and very important decision, one which each person or family must make for their own reason(s).  Individuals and families, however, owe it to themselves and Jewish tradition to make a well-educated decision, one which JPS is more than happy to aid with books.