http://www.circlist.com/glossaryfemale/f-anatdetail/rathmann.html
as of 1996 or 1997 girls in America are legally protected from forced female circumcision, however, our boys are still under the knife and have no legal protection.
Author Archives:
Grouchy plus coffee funny
Circumcised boys more penile issues
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/9393302/
clinical findings are much more common in these boys than previously reported in retrospective studies. The circumcised penis requires more care than the intact penis during the first 3 years of life.
Consent, barrel of oranges and circumcision, circumcised boys have more problems
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http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/9393302/
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(So circumcised boys have more issues with their genitals than intact boys of the same age)
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A female circumcision device- yikes!!!
http://www.circlist.com/glossaryfemale/f-anatdetail/rathmann.html
One mom’s story of her son’s post circumcision nightmare
Found on Facebook page Parents Overcoming Deception
Scream shots
Long days
It’s been along few days/weeks… I’ve been yelling too much… Thinking should get back on the meds….. (Been off for 2 months or more)
Dog tore ccl again….
Well Peppermint tore her CCL (analogous to our ACL) again…. This time the other back leg…. So now she has had surgery on both her knees….
The grand total this time was over $1,600 because while she was under we had the vet remove a large fatty tumor from her belly….
X-rays also showed the Beginings of arthritis in her hips…. She out little 8 yr old (be 9 in Nov) is just falling apart….. Sigh
March of the dinosaurs
My oldest loves this dinosaur documentary/saga/story
March of the dinosaurs
The story of Scar the Edmontasaurs and Patch the Troodan
Abortion- all or nothing????
http://rachelheldevans.com/blog/why-progressive-christians-should-care-about-abortion-gosnell
Click and read the link. what I’ve posted below are only excerpts
“So just as I grew irritated with the pro-life movement for its inconsistency and simplistic solutions, I grew irritated with the pro-choice movement for its callousness and disinterest in discussing the very real ethical concerns surrounding the termination of a pregnancy. “
…..
“When I explained on Twitter that a post about abortion isn’t simple enough to fit into 600 words, a guy tweeted back, “Sure it is. I can fit it in three: It’s always wrong.”Is it?
When the life or health of the mother is at stake?
In the case of rape or incest?
When a woman’s body naturally disposes of a zygote?
Meanwhile, my more liberal friends begged me not to write anything at all. It’s too complicated, they said, too controversial, too complex.
Is it?
When the life of the weaker is taken by the stronger?
When one out of five pregnancies in this country end in abortion?
When places like these( Kermit Gosnell) fail to get shut down in part because we’ve turned abortion into such a political issue? “
“I am still unsure of exactly how to do this. I don’t even know where to start, really. The more I learn, the more complex this issue becomes. But the Gosnell case does in fact point to something simple: that we are failing to care for the most marginalized and helpless among us, be they unborn children or women whose desperation sent them to Gosnell’s clinic. And we won’t be able to promote a “culture of life” until we are willing to advocate on behalf of both.
Perhaps God has called those of us who feel “stuck in the middle” to do exactly that.
###
What do you think?
How has your thinking on abortion changed and evolved through the years? What was your response to the Gosnell story?
And what sort of PRACTICAL steps can Christians take to to both address the complexities of abortion and actually curb the abortion rate?”
http://rachelheldevans.com/blog/why-progressive-christians-should-care-about-abortion-gosnell
(Personally, I am pro-life, however, like this author I find myself confused)
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Kermit Gosnell = sicko bastard
The post that made me anti-circumcision
I did not circumcise my sons. I did not see the need. However, I was not anti-circumcision or an Intactivist until I read this post by earthymotherhood
http://earthymotherhood.blogspot.com/2010/07/spending-day-next-to-victim-of.html?m=1
Spending the day next to a victim of circumcision
Yesterday we spent the day at hospital as my son had to have a suspicious lump removed from his shin. We’re awaiting the results and he’s a tough little person who is coping well- he barely seems to notice the fact that he even had surgery. He is almost 4 years old and is way too active to let something like 15 stitches slow him down!We arrived at the hospital at 7am. Just waiting for his surgery was traumatic enough to have to deal with, but our day got worse when I casually asked the parents in the bed next to us what their son was here for.
Dad: “Oh, it’s a circumcision thing.”
Myself: “Pardon?”
Dad: “He’s having surgery on his circumcision.”
Myself: “Sorry? He’s being circumcised?”
Dad: “Oh, no, they are fixing the first one.”
Myself: “Done recently?”
Dad: “No, he had it done as a newborn.”
Myself: “Oh, that’s horrific….”I had to grit my teeth and turn my head and try not to say something which would only inflame what was already a bad situation with a room full of starving children who weren’t even allowed water as they were all awaiting surgery.
Not only had this poor little boy already been mutilated, but they had mutilated him so that he needed surgery to correct the first mutilation. Two unnecessary surgeries and the poor little boy was 18 months old.
Although I was anxious about my own son’s necessary surgery, I found it hard not to think about the poor little boy in the bed next to us. How did he feel when he was first done? How much pain had he been in since then because of the first unnecessary surgery? How much pain would he be in after this one?
The thought of them cutting into my son’s flesh made me feel so awful, but the thought of insisting it is done to your newborn son’s genitals makes me feel absolutely revolted.
He was the child to go in before my son, and as I watched them carry him into surgery I couldn’t help but be angry. I would have done anything to not be in a hospital with my son, and the thought of this little boy being there because his parents chose to remove healthy tissue from his genitals when he was days old made me feel quite ill.
While their son was in recovery, my son was wheeled into theatre and I held his hand and stroked him while they anaesthetized him. I went back into the ward and waited for my son’s surgery to be finished.
Both of the little boy’s parents were waiting there as I waited for my son’s surgery to be over. We exchanged polite smiles and leafed through newspapers. I watched the clock and hoped my son’s surgery would be over soon. They came to tell me my son was in recovery but wouldn’t be awake for a while as he was drowsy from morphine (which I never imagined they would give to a child, actually!). I jiggled my feet and waited for when my son was awake enough so I could go and be with him.
Then they wheeled the little boy in. He was screaming and sobbing, clawing his way out of the metal crib to cling to his parents. They held him and rocked him and he screamed. They sang him songs and walked him around and he screamed. Nurses came in and pulled the curtain around the bed, talking to the parents and checking his nappy for blood. The little boy continued to scream. They gave him morphine and he went from screaming to sobbing, curled into a little ball as his parents rocked him, shushed him, patted him, rubbed him. For half an hour I sat next to the curtain pulled around his crib and I had to try not to cry for this poor little boy. His heart started to beat too fast and more morphine was administered. They laid him on the crib and he whimpered in his sleep, his body curled into the foetal position.
My son was rousing so I went to recovery and sat with him for 20 minutes while he drifted in and out of consciousness. The mass in his shin wasn’t what they expected and they had to remove much more than they thought. I thought he’d have 6 stitches, he has around 15. When he was ready to be moved back to the ward as we got back I could hear the little boy still whimpering, his mother out in the hall having some space while his father tried to soothe him.
We had to wait 3 more hours before we could take our son home. The entire time we were there post-surgery, the little boy next to us whimpered and cried in his sleep, his heart rate checked constantly. He would rouse and flail about, crying and raggedly choking on his own sobs. He pulled out the canula in his arm, spilling blood on the floor between our beds. I felt incredibly sick and incredibly sorry for this small person who had to be there because of a mistake.
When we left, they were still there, waiting for their son to be well enough to take home. Children who had been operated after my son was being discharged and this tiny little boy was still whimpering in his sleep, full of painkillers to numb a pain he never had to experience.
I’ve been an intactivist for years. When I discovered my son’s sex I researched circumcision and realised just how barbaric it is. What I saw yesterday horrified me, and I was watching a toddler experience it. I can’t imagine how awful it must be to see a newborn after male genital mutilation. This small boy was given a pre-operative sedative, general anaesthetic, morphine, codeine, paracetamol and more morphine- and he still whimpered in his sleep. I fail to see how anyone could say that a baby barely notices being circumcised- and with no anaesthetic and paracetamol for pain relief.
I’d give anything to keep my son away from a surgeon and away from pain.
I can’t begin to grasp why anyone would willingly hand their perfectly whole, well child to a surgeon- and ask them to cut off healthy tissue for aesthetic or religious purposes.
Earthy Motherhood at 8:04 PM
Share31 comments:
Click on the link to read the comments
Your son won’t feel pain. Say what????
http://www.everythingbirthblog.com/
Exact link:
http://www.everythingbirthblog.com/2013/04/circumcision-the-doctor-told-me-he-wouldnt-feel-a-thing/
Before
After:
Look at the stress written on his face
Same baby, same mother… one day later. After his circumcision, he just maintained the concerned look, with furrowed brows, even while he slept. It could have been pain from where they drew blood. Maybe.
So, for the week that followed I changed his diaper while he screamed the whole time. His little penis was red and tinges of blood would get on his diaper, even though I was putting petroleum jelly on it just like they said to. It wasn’t a little red. It was an angry red. And still I wondered why he was so upset. I remember telling him, “Mama has to change your diaper, honey.” As though what bothered him was not being wrapped up tightly. Maybe it was that. Maybe.
—
To this day, my son who is almost a teenager now, is still proving my old obstetrician wrong. He has asked me to get him a particular kind of underwear because his “completely normal” scar tissue causes discomfort. Sometimes, according to him, it even hurts. And the thing is, all of this discomfort and pain was pointless.
I was informed that my son would not feel a thing.
That might be one of the biggest lies I have ever fallen for.
.
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From the comments section and her reply:
Jeff says:
APRIL 28, 2013 AT 4:25 PM
The doctors weren’t lying.
It’s just that the “not feeling a thing” part comes later…
He’ll first notice that the doctors were “correct” in his twenties when he tries to practice safe sex by using a condom. At that point, he won’t feel a thing.
(He’ll give up on condoms at that point – hope he doesn’t catch anything.)
Later, in his thirties, or if he’s lucky, his forties, he’ll notice that the doctors were again “correct” when he tries to have sex even without a condom. Again, he won’t feel a thing.
Most of his pleasure nerves are gone now. He may be extra sensitive now, but that won’t last very long.
Before he knows it, his ever less sensitive penis will prove that the doctors were correct. He won’t feel a thing.
Oh, and just so you know. The only one “going through this” is HIM.
And he’ll be “going through this” for the rest of his life…
REPLY
Dawn says:
APRIL 28, 2013 AT 5:55 PM
Jeff,
When a mother expresses remorse and comes forward in an attempt to help prevent the atrocities in the future, it does no good further shaming her.
I appreciate the added facts, what to expect in the future. That was all good and imperative information to share. Your last two comments, however, felt as though they were intended to hurt me or at least to minimize the feelings of mothers who do feel pain because they realize that their child did.
Evidently, you do not understand what a mother “goes through” when she realizes that she had a part in something that unnecessarily harmed her baby. The truth is, circumcision harms much more than just the child who was cut. It harms the mother who realizes her mistake to her very core. It harms the partner he will eventually choose. It harms our society in general. There are more victims than just the primary one. And all of these aspects should be discussed.
Finally, it’s imperative for mothers to express their remorse. When they do, and they are shamed, it shows other women they should not speak up about their remorse.
The truth is, I believe that it’s mother’s talking about their remorse that will ultimately end this practice.
……
Both are powerful comments-
Shaming the mother or parents is wrong especially when they realize the mistake they made….this mom is sharing her story so others won’t feel her regret or her son’s pain
However, men (and women) who have been cut also feel the need (naturally) to lash out so that they to can leave a mark on the reader. The person who has been harmed is the child now grown up…. We must realize that these babies grow up and become adults…. Adults who may be angry…..
So parents- whether you chose to circumcise your children or not you should talk to them about circumcision so that when confronted with it in the future they can cope with it.
Once you’ve cone to the realization that circumcision of unconsenting minors is wrong let your child know so that when they grow up they don’t cut your grandchildren, so they advocate leaving children whole when asked by friends about circumcision…. Also if they are intact that they are proud to be whole and not ashamed because they are “deformed” in a cut-happy society!
Care for baby boy and child
Caring for your uncircumcised boy is easy: Do NOT pull back the foreskin. Simply wash the outside ONLY
We do not douche girls! You do not need to clean underneath the foreskin on boys. Too much cleaning of genitals for either sex messes with the body’s natural balance causing issues that never need be.
A teen or adult man should pull back the foreskin, rinse and replace.
Just as a woman should wash her labial folds but NOT stick soap up her vaginal canal. (Ouch)
http://www.kidshealth.org.nz/foreskin-care
How do I teach my son to wash his penis?
There is no need to clean inside the foreskin in young boys. Just wash the penis the same as any other part of your son’s body and be careful to wash off any soap. When a boy is old enough to bathe himself, he can wash his own penis.
Once your son can retract (pull back) his foreskin, you can talk to him about retracting his foreskin and washing. A simple explanation of “how to” may be helpful:
gently slip your foreskin back
rinse the head of your penis and the inside fold of your foreskin with warm water
slip your foreskin back in place over the head of the penis
Tell him to make sure he rinses off any soap before pulling the foreskin back over the head of the penis.
Back to top ↑
What happens if someone retracts (pulls back) my son’s foreskin too early?
Forcing the foreskin back before the natural separation of the foreskin from the glans has occurred causes tearing of the connective tissue. This is painful and can lead to problems:
tearing the foreskin from the head of the penis leaves an open wound which can lead to infection
the raw surfaces touching each other can heal together and form adhesions (areas that stick together) between the foreskin and the head of the penis leading to permanent problems with retraction (pulling back)
small tears in the opening of the foreskin can heal to form non-elastic (non-stretchable) scar tissue, possibly causing acquired narrowing (phimosis)
the foreskin can get “stuck” behind the head of the penis (paraphimosis)
- See more at: http://www.kidshealth.org.nz/foreskin-care#sthash.Me3ioemF.dpuf
Had to unlike
I had to unlike some intactivists Facebook groups and pages today…. Not because they did anything wrong but because my heart was breaking at the info they were posting….
It’s is true info and they are simply showing excerpts adamant pro-circumcision advocates who post the stupidest crap so that Intactivists (anti-circumcision, pro-leave a child’s genitals alone) can refute the negative and pathetic disinformation being spewed….. But it was over loading my feed and I’ve been tense, angry and depressed lately because of what I’ve been reading.
So sorry my friends on those pages. I’ll be back but I need a break….. I need a break….. Carry on …. Carry on…
Today.com: just say vagina
http://m.today.com/moms/just-say-vagina-using-correct-body-part-names-empowers-kids-6C9551650
The Atlantic featured her work in a recent article, detailing how she taught more than 500 students in public school classrooms in the last year. And she’s explained her reasons for teaching kids the accurate words to hundreds of their teachers and parents, too.
In March, Rohdenburg visited a first grade classroom, talking to 22 squirmy boys and girls about sexual abuse prevention. She discussed consent, empathy, body rights and privacy. She brought diaper-clad baby dolls, a boy and a girl, and asked the kids what body parts they have in common, according to The Atlantic story. The kids came up with heart, belly and mouth before one shouted that “they both have penises!”
As Rohdenburg began to change their diapers, she held up one doll. “Penis,” the kids shouted in response. “Vagina,” they said with a laugh when she held the girl doll up.
“Sometimes we giggle because we don’t talk about vaginas and penises a lot,” Rohdenburg was quoted as saying. “But it’s a body part, a private body part.”
Sex abuse prevention educators want kids to know that their private parts are off limits to others and to be able to talk about them in ways everyone can understand, rather than using euphemisms like cha-cha or wee-wee.
But not everyone is comfortable with saying these words out loud in public, especially when children are involved.
All children deserve better
Be they male or female children, All children deserve the rights to their whole body…. Not just the parts their parents or culture decide they can keep.
When the child grows up, that child can choose for themselves, as an informed adult, as to whether they are willing to lose a body part.
Body modification is an adult decision. The owner of the body should make the decision.
Hoffee- huffy without coffee
HOFFEE- huffy without coffee
Define huffy:
huff·y
/ˈhəfē/
Adjective
Annoyed or irritated and quick to take offense at petty things.
Synonyms
huffish – touchy
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XxxY- short documentary on intersexed children
Xxy- children born with ambiguous genitalia. Drs can’t tell if baby is boy or girl. Many drs force or surgically remove genital parts so that the child confirms more to genital norms.
So, not only do we need to protect “boys” and “girls” from genital cutting we need to protect the children born with parts of both sexes….
The video:
http://youtu.be/ReKwdIbE6Xk
http://www.facebook.com/xxdocxy – Winner, Best Documentary at 2001 Student Academy Awards, and at only 13 minutes long, Porter Gale and Laleh Soomekh’s documentary, XXXY, is essential filmmaking. A look at people born with ambiguous genitalia who had the grave misfortune of having their sex surgically decided for them as infants, the film concisely and powerfully conveys horror, injustice and tremendous personal fortitude. And it does all this through its straightforward cinematic visit with 24-year-old Kristi and clinical psychologist Howard Devore, two individuals who endured the experience themselves.
The film’s stripped down quality — talking heads, the occasional shot of a childhood home, or Kristi on a bike — means there’s nothing to interfere with the pair’s stories; the impact is profound. Plenty of others thought so too; after a successful international festival run, the film was awarded a student Academy Award gold medal.
Both Gale and Soomekh had been pursuing other careers before filmmaking became an option. Gale had been in New York, working in advertising, while Soomekh was freelancing as a photographer and teaching emotionally disturbed children. Both women wanted to move in a direction that would afford opportunities for combining their creative and socially progressive impulses. They enrolled in Stanford’s two-year film program, where XXXY was the result of an assignment to collaborate with a classmate.
– Filmmaker Magazine, Summer 2001, http://tiny.cc/filmmakermagazinexxxy2000
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The medical construction of gender
(Gag gag gag)
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Intersex- surgical correction/ surgical abuse
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After 5 mins this video gets better
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AIS
Women with AIS
Genetically male, outwardly female
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http://youtu.be/IxzKlPVceWg
Eight families with transgender and gender non-conforming children ranging in ages from 5 to 25 share their stories. With the healthy development of their children at stake, parents must confront binary perceptions of gender, widespread transphobia and controversial parenting decisions.
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Upset
I’m upset. One of the parenting humor blogs I follow on Facebook is adamantly pro-circumcision and makes fun if men who feel they have been harmed by circumcision.
I had to unlike her page. I know I am only one person, one like and it won’t even show up as a blurp on the radar but morally I cannot follow her page.
She is co-admin of another page and I will still follow that just because it isn’t only her POV but other co-admins as well and it is a humor page , not a parenting humor page.
http://holdinholden.blogspot.com/2009/08/pecker-talk.html?m=1
I understand not wanting to be judged for your parenting behaviors or mistakes but being actively advocating cutting an infant and demeaning the men who circumcision has harmed crosses the line.
(She has her comments in the comment section to this effect)
It seems in her case, even though the info was thrown at her (maybe too roughly) she chose to actively ignore and deride it.
(Disclaimer: in no way am I saying she is a bad mom. In fact, I relate to many of her posts. However, I can no longer actively or passively promote her blog either through Facebook or through sharing on my personal blog)
——-
On a side note:
This made me smile
Funnies and such…..
Commenter’s comments on Rabbi Blog about infant circumcision and the Jewish faith
Rabbi blog- pro-circumcision (obviously) but against
metzitza b’peh
(oral to genital wound suction)
http://blog.rabbijason.com/2012/06/being-honest-about-ritual-circumcision.html?m=1
I’m posting this because if one of the commenters. I am reposting a commenter’s comment.
Dear Rabbi,
With all respect for those who *choose* to observe as they do, I suggest being *completely* honest about ritual circumcision. As a fairly observant Jew, I would not personally impose my observances on others, but do want to offer my own perspective.
I’m a Jewish father, raising his son as a Jew. If waiting until adulthood was good enough for Abraham (and for Moses, by the way), it’s good enough for my little Moishele. I don’t think I have the *right* to impose it upon him in infancy.
The mitzvot are routinely over- & under- interpreted. Independent thought is itself a Jewish tradition. The bris is merely one of 613. I wish more Rabbis would interpret the bris as flexibly as the avoidance of boiling kids in their mothers’ milk. In fact, it seems to me that doctrinaire focus on the one mitzvah, while freely interpreting much of the rest is anathema to Jewish traditions of emphasizing scholarship over mere dogma. After all, the objective of all our mitzvot is to recognize, as did Rabbi Hillel, “That which is hateful to you, do not do to your fellow. That is the whole Torah; the rest is the commentary; go and learn.”
As for the medical benefits, they constitute specious rationalization at best. For example, there are far more effective and rational ways to prevent STDs. Refraining from unprotected sex is far more effective, by several orders of magnitude, than is circumcision. *First* do *no* harm.
In my opinion, no human should be subject to inessential pain or any possibility of complications without their consent; it seems to me *that* is anathema to Rabbinic teaching. Let’s finally shed the remnants of ancient, priestly superstition and fully embrace Rabbinic Judaism in all it’s enlightenment.
And, frankly, I feel particularly irritated when those who don’t don Tefillin to pray, men who are completely clean-shaven, women who refrain from monthly Mikveh immersions, et.al, pass judgement and make such a big deal about such a little piece of my little Moishele’s flesh. He can decide for himself when it’s time, thank you, and I feel confident he will find his own path towards fulfilling the mitzvot.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
Steven P
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more from him in comments
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Michael,
I agree conflicting information exists; all the more reason to leave such a decision to my son. It was good enough for Abraham to be circumcised in adulthood. It was good enough for Moses to be circumcised in adulthood.
People do, indeed, worship in different ways and have different priorities. Most of them at least attempt to justify or rationalize their priorities. I for one don’t see any rationalization for *infant* circumcision.
However, my perspective aside; many if not most Jews, many if not most Rabbis do indeed show disdain if not outright scorn for *my* decision to encourage my son follow in the footsteps of Abraham and Moses. Even you, Michael, are saying “all males *must* be circumcised” in *our* religion, inherently disallowing my choice despite my previous allusion; my wife and I are fairly observant, more observant than most I’d say. But, I digress.
So, the main question actually remains whether or not modern Jews (including Rabbis) will finally recognize and accept my son as a Jew, acknowledge the values that some of us can embrace Tikkun Olam over the superstitious dogma of our ancient, *priestly* ancestors.
Sincerely,
Steve PP.S. I personally wouldn’t even allow my daughter (or son) to have their ears pierced until adolescence at the very earliest. I certainly wouldn’t do it to them in infancy.
more in comments
Michael,
Sorry to have delayed posting a reply until after Havdalah.
FYI, our people also abstained from circumcision the entire time we wandered the desert, after the Exodus and prior to entering Eretz Yisrael. Maybe there’s an exemplar there. In any case, the accounts of Moses’ circumcision are conflicting.
The “Chabad guy” thankfully doesn’t (usually) spit in my direction. I *do* go to shul (on Shabbos, always voluntarily, always with great joy and reverence; I wish I could chant the Aleinu at three minyans each day; oy, if I were a rich man…), and the *only* reason I don’t attend Rabbi’s weekly Torah class is because I let my wife attend while I watch the kids, thank you. And I’m not at all angry with *our* Rabbis. Our Rabbis fully respect our choices. Our enlightened, erudite Rabbis happen to have six kids between them and, with the exception of one newborn, all of them are among my son’s best friends. The folk who vex me are the yentas and the nudniks who have the chutzpah to judge my son based on adherence to a single one of 613 mitzvot, to judge me for allowing my son to make adult choices for himself rather than risk potential mutilation, infection, etc. without his permission; those self-appointed mavens who are constantly kvetching and hakn a tshaynik about this or that perceived transgression, sadly and ironically with little regard for Rabbi Hillel’s golden rule. I also confess vexation for those Rabbis who would apparently prefer a return to the days of priestly Judaism; the “machers” who refuse to let my son accompany his mother in the Mikveh, etc.
As I previously alluded, my wife and I are fairly observant in many respects. However, I won’t enumerate further just to wear our observance as some badge of holy honor. I will point out, however, that you and I are strangers to one another, that you haven’t asked me a single question in the interest of getting to know me better, yet you seem to presume knowledge and understanding of me based solely on my stance regarding one of 613 mitzvot?!!! Frankly, I think it highly presumptuous of you to extrapolate such, to also presume I have not yet reached your level of learning. I will refrain from making presumptuous replies in-kind. Rather than presume, let me ask: How do you feel about wearing garments made of linen interwoven with wool, wearing Tzitzit and Tefillin, trying to manage in the modern world without being able to borrow on interest, residing in a Sukkah all the days of Sukkot, refraining from haircuts and shaving? While we’re at it, please instruct me; how are sentencing “sorcerers” to death, allowing judges to sentence “deserving” convicts to decapitation, immolation, stoning, and strangulation counted among “ALL (the) mitzvot (which) contribute to Tikkun Olam”; do these particular precepts *taken literally* make you “proud to be a part of a ‘kingdom of priests and a holy nation’” or do you take at least a few of them metaphorically?
Shavua tov,
SteveP.S. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eD52OlkKfNs
(Pardon a bit of cultural chauvinism, but I suggest we leave to the goyim, et.al, fundamentalist literalism based on mere dogma and superstition.)P.P.S. All these non-sequiturs aside, I still believe *infant* circumcision inherently constitutes an involuntary violation, making it one among many mitzvot which invite and warrant broad interpretation, but I’m perfectly willing to listen to reasoned counterpoint that isn’t steeped in dogma. Finally, please bear in mind I have *not* advocated legal prohibition.
more in comments
Dear Rabbi Jason,
Please pardon me for belaboring. With all respect, I propose a different tactic to better position us to counter legislation which could put Jewish ritual in jeopardy. I propose a learned Rabbi such as yourself… and I do mean that in all sincerity having followed your blogs and Facebook posts for some time… I suggest a learned Rabbi such as yourself admit that the opponents to circumcision have a few valid points and respond by developing new metaphors for ritual circumcision, metaphors that manage to adhere to the spirit of the mitzvah without subjecting innocent persons to inessential pain or possibility of medical complications. Be a pioneer. Offer such options and the “war on circumcision” might become moot. I’m sure there’s some way to reinterpret the mitzvah and I’m sure you are among those who are capable of doing such to the satisfaction of all but the ultra-orthodox.
One thought occurs to me as a result of some additional research today: it seems that the original Brit Milah involved only the tip of the foreskin and sometimes only poking with a sharp object so that a bit of blood was drawn. It wasn’t until overreaction to modernism circa 140 C.E. which led to the Peri’ah, i.e., complete amputation of the entire foreskin.
Sincerely,
Steve
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Michael,
I appreciate your more conciliatory approach. Thank you. I must confess to having become increasingly thin-skinned in proportion to disrespect for my son, for my scholarship, and for my piety (or presumed lack, thereof) that some Londsmen have exhibited over the years. I try to refrain from basing my arguments on credentializing but my wife and I do study Torah, we take the mitzvot very seriously, and we deeply considered our choices.
Of course, parents should have the right to raise their children in their faith as they see fit, but we should also recognize that there are slippery-slopes, that lines must be drawn somewhere, that we can’t allow, for extreme example, faiths that would promote religious infanticide. Furthermore, we constantly prioritize the mitzvot. Pardon me for citing another extreme hypothetical; would it be better to lie and thereby save an innocent life, or to tell the truth and thereby sacrifice the next Anne Frank? We do have mitzvot that conflict with the bris: Torah prohibits marking and altering the body, and the causing of pain to any living creature.
I concur with Rabbi Jason that circumcision is under attack. I gave great consideration to the title of his piece, in fact. “Being Honest About Ritual Circumcision” is the very reason I felt compelled to both tell my personal story and to acknowledge that “being (totally) honest” demands that we at least consider whether some critics of circumcision might actually have a valid argument or two. I suggest the best way to fend off the attack on our rituals should start with open, honest, intellectual (and Rabbinical) discourse rather than closed-minded (and Priestly) dogma. We should admit that most of us *very* freely interpret many of the 613 mitzvot and that there’s sufficient rationale for re-thinking what turns out to be a somewhat militant over-interpretation made circa 140 C.E.
Shalom,
Steve
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