Circumcision in this century

CHAIM STEINMETZ

It’s easy to dismiss the supporters of a November ballot initiative in San Francisco to make it “unlawful to circumcise, excise, cut or mutilate the whole or any part of the foreskin, testicles or penis of another person who has not attained the age of 18 years.”

Like all true believers, these “intactivists” engage in junk science and exaggerated rhetoric about “male genital mutilation.” Further discrediting the anti-circumcision cause is the fact that the movement’s leadership peddles propaganda that borders on the antisemitic, such as the anti-circumcision comic book Foreskin Man, which reads like a sophomoric plagiary of a superhero cartoon and Der Sturmer. One could imagine that, after November, the intactivist movement will quickly pass from centre stage. But that would be a mistake.

Circumcision is unsettling. As the actor Russell Crowe wrote on Twitter recently: “I love my Jewish friends; I love the apples and the honey and the funny little hats but stop cutting yr [sic] babies.” Despite the politically incorrect tone, Crowe makes it clear why the anti-circumcision movement is here to stay: circumcisions are bloody and make babies cry. Even the committed among us are uncomfortable, and most of us look down nervously when the mohel begins the ceremony. It’s painful to enter the Covenant of Abraham.

In the past, circumcision was considered attractive because of its health benefits, and even many non-Jews were routinely circumcised. Today, depending on whom you ask, it appears to be debatable if circumcision’s health benefits warrant it being a standard procedure. Without a clear medical rationale, non-Jews will stop circumcising their children, and marginally affiliated Jews are sure to follow. The Jewish community can no longer rely on doctors to do the mohel’s job and, regardless of the outcome in San Francisco, it will be a lot harder to convince apathetic Jewish parents to perform circumcisions. Why would any parent want to endure the blood, pain and tears of their baby’s circumcision without a really good reason?

In short, circumcision is a marketing nightmare; outside of a deep commitment to Judaism, there’s no good reason to do one. This point is significant, because the organized Jewish community is intoxicated with marketing. Federations commission countless surveys to find out what young Jews want; Jewish professionals search for ways to make their programs “hipper”; almighty social media is deployed in the battle for the hearts of the younger members of the tribe; grant money flows liberally to market-driven, cutting-edge, jargon-laden programs with a social media presence.

I can’t argue against good marketing – representatives of a religion that has prized ideas should be able to communicate well – but there’s a thin line between marketing well and being “market driven.” The market-driven vision believes that the customer is always right. So if it’s Yiddish or yoga or Jewish jokes that turn young Jews on, let’s pour community resources into a Yiddish Yoga Yukfest. (With bagels, lox and cream cheese, of course.) Instead of challenging young Jews, a market-driven vision of Judaism seeks to produce a 21st-century Judaism that will make our customers happy.

But here comes the problem. Aspects of Judaism like circumcision will always be unpopular in customer surveys. If we leave the future of Judaism in the hands of marketing experts, challenging rituals like circumcision or Passover or Yom Kippur will be ignored, and we will end up with a smooth syncretistic mumbo jumbo that has no resemblance to our 3,000-year-old tradition.

I’m a modern Orthodox rabbi who talks a great deal about the place of Judaism in the 21st century. Increasingly, I’ve come to realize that circumcision is incompatible with the times, as is much of Judaism. But Jews should be proud of how different we are. In an era of unprecedented individualism and hedonism, Jews declare that community is critical, even for an eight-day-old baby. We take pride in a ritual that expresses the Covenant and can be seen to affirm that sexual desire is not meant to be left unrestrained, but must be shaped by values of fidelity and devotion. When others seek endless comfort, we are willing to say that doing the right thing might be painful, but it’s still worthwhile.

Over the years, I’ve met inspiring people from the former Soviet Union, who performed circumcisions under heroic circumstances. Defying the communist dictatorship, they would huddle surreptitiously and perform the Covenant of Abraham on children of varying ages. The amazing thing is that these Jews had no Jewish education whatsoever. But even with only a rudimentary knowledge of Judaism, they understood that being Jewish means going against the current, and being Jewish requires personal sacrifice.

Even though North American Jews enjoy freedom and prosperity, we need to explain to young Jews that they, too, have to be willing to defy the spirit of the times to be Jewish. After all, Judaism is more than apples, honey and funny little hats.

Rabbi Chaim Steinmetz has been the spiritual leader of Tifereth Beth David Jerusalem in Montreal since September 1996. He blogs at chaimsteinmetz.blogspot.com. This article first appeared in Aish Hatorah Resources and was reprinted courtesy of Kaddish Connection Network.

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