About Circumcision
Brit Milah.
Image by Chesdovi.
A proposal to ban circumcision will be on the San Francisco ballot this November.
As a Jewish Mama, my response should fall somewhere along the lines of outrage and a head-tisk.
And as a bleeding heart Mama, my response should be somewhere in the range of agreement and an apology to my son.
I whole-heartedly feel all of these emotions. In other words, I’m conflicted.
I don’t agree with the circumcision ban. But you might be surprised why.
Read more at TCJewfolk >>
Galit Breen is an Israeli freezing her tuchus in Minnesota. She’s a Mama of three currently working on her first book about teaching children spirituality outside of religion. She blogs as the "Minnesota Mamaleh" for TCJewfolk.
Read the latest from JWA from your inbox.
Yes I have a son and a grandson, both circumcised. Yes, it probably hurt for a bit--I suppose a pierced ear does too, though I don't know about that. But to ban circumcision (or pierced ears) seems a kind of autocracy that doesn't bode well. Circumcision is not a matter of personal adornment but rather a mark of belonging to an ancient tradition, a tradition (a belief system?) that has been threatened as long as circumcision itself has stood as a mark of belonging. It has been reported that males who have been circumcised seem to have some better chance to avoid sexually transmitted diseases; for some that might be justification enough for allowing the procedure. But the ban smacks of a covert attempt to deny to Muslims and Jews a part of their heritage. I hope Jewish communities in California and elsewhere will vote against the ban....
I had something to say about this issue, and ignited a firestorm of feedback - some of it quite virulent.
http://blogs.forward.com/siste...