Lech Lecha - Circumcision According to the Rationalists

This is the second post in my new RMH Parsha Series, which has so far been very well received.  The topic I chose to discuss this week is circumcision. At the end this week's Torah portion, we read as follows: 

God further said to Abraham, “As for you, you and your offspring to come throughout the ages shall keep My covenant. Such shall be the covenant between Me and you and your offspring to follow which you shall keep: every male among you shall be circumcised. You shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin, and that shall be the sign of the covenant between Me and you. And throughout the generations, every male among you shall be circumcised at the age of eight days. As for the homeborn slave and the one bought from an outsider who is not of your offspring, they must be circumcised, homeborn, and purchased alike. Thus shall My covenant be marked in your flesh as an everlasting pact. And if any male who is uncircumcised fails to circumcise the flesh of his foreskin, that person shall be cut off from his kin; he has broken My covenant.”(Genesis 17:9-14)

The Torah makes it clear that the circumcision is to be a sign of the covenant between God and His people.  The question still lingers, why is this the sign of the covenant? Why not choose some other sign? Why in this particular part of our body? and many more questions ... As the readers of this blog know quite well, the rationalist and the mystical streams of Judaism have different philosophies regarding the reasons why we do the mitzvot. This blog is about "Rationalist" Medical Halacha.  So, this week we will explore the Rationalist approach to circumcision.

The Torah - Circumcision as a Sign of the Covenant Between God and His People

Our discussion must always begin with the Torah itself, and we just read the words of the Torah itself as God introduced this Mitzvah to our forefather Abraham. We concluded that the "reason" is as a sign of the special covenant between God and His people.  In every single mention in Tanach of Milah, this is clearly understood as the reason for this practice.  Here is a comprehensive list:

1.   Genesis 17 - in the verses quoted above, the very punishment for not being circumcised is being "cut off from his kin". 

2.   Genesis 34:15-16.  Jacob and his sons declare to the people of Shechem, that in order to join with the Israelites and intermarry, they would need to be circumcised.  This clearly demonstrates how circumcision divides between the people that are "in" the covenant, and people that are "out."

3.   Exodus 5:25. Zipporah must circumcise her child (Whom Moses himself had not circumcised) to bring him to join his brethren in Egypt.  This is a cryptic and difficult to understand episode, but most commentaries would agree that this indicated that in order to join the rest of his people as they were to leave Egypt, the boys needed to be circumcised.

4.   Exodus 12:47-48 regarding the Paschal Sacrifice, celebrating the birth of the Jewish nation as an independent people: "The whole community of Israel shall offer it. If a stranger who dwells with you would offer the Passover to the LORD, all his males must be circumcised; then he shall be admitted to offer it; he shall then be as a citizen of the country. But no uncircumcised person may eat of it” It is quite clear, that to be a "member of the tribe" one must be circumcised

5.   Joshua 5:2-8.  As soon as the Jewish people entered the promised land to begin to establish their independence in their new homeland, the first thing Joshua did was to make sure all males were circumcised.  Now they were all full-fledged members of the new nation about to make its mark upon the world stage

It is therefore obvious, that throughout the time of the Tanach, Circumcision was understood as a sign that differentiated between Jews as members of the special covenant with God, and idol-worshippers, who were not part of this covenant. This is why throughout the prophets, the Hebrew term "Arel" meaning "uncircumcised" was synonymous with the term "non-Jew". Examples include Judges 14:3, Samuel 31:4, Isaiah 52:1, and many more.

Jeremiah - Circumcision as a Sign of the Removal of Obstacles Between God and Our Hearts

The problem with a physical sign of a covenant, is that people often make the critical mistake that all God wants is a physical sign, and ...presto! You are now the member of the special God-club!  This misconception was one that the prophets had to deal with from the very beginning.  God wants much more from us than a physical sign, He wants our hearts, and He wants our actions.  He wants us to learn important lessons from this mitzvah, and the prophet Jeremiah was the first to take on this problem.

In the book of Jeremiah, the prophet is consistently frustrated that the people mistakenly assume that God wants rituals, and that doing the ritual acts are enough to gain God's favor. Jeremiah lashes out against those who think that prayer, sacrifices, incense, and Temple rituals will somehow appease God.  He demands, like all the prophets who preceded him, real action.  The prophet repeatedly emphasizes the immorality and corruption of the Jewish people, and the imminent destruction of Jerusalem that God is about to unleash should they not repent their ways. The people refused to listen, they believed that God would never punish His people or destroy them.  After all, they are his favored people! Doesn't their circumcision demonstrate their special relationship to God/ How could God punish them like Jeremiah was predicting?  So, the prophet had to teach them, no physical sign on your body will save you if you do not open your hearts and improve yourselves morally and ethically:

Lo, days are coming—declares the LORD—when I will take note of everyone circumcised in the foreskin: of Egypt, Judah, Edom, the Ammonites, Moab, and all the desert dwellers who have the hair of their temples clipped. For all these nations are uncircumcised, but all the House of Israel are uncircumcised of heart (Jeremiah 9:24-25

The circumcision will not save you even though it may differentiate you from your neighbors.  If you act like your neighbors, and you do not humble yourselves, then your "uncircumcised heart" will be your downfall.  Circumcise your heart, not just your penis.  

So, the second explanation of the commandment is taking shape in the words of Jeremiah.  The foreskin represents the obstacles that interfere between our true inner selves and God.  Those obstacles are our lies, our greed, and our corruption.

Philo versus the Hellenistic Greek Culture

During the second temple period, the decree by Antiochus Epiphanes against Jewish circumcision was intended to force the Jewish population to assimilate into general Greek culture. The Jewish resistance to the decree was motivated by the intense Jewish attachment to their faith and traditions. As we know from the story of Chanukah, the Jews rebelled and prevailed.  However, the Hellenistic culture remained the primary cultural influence outside of Judaism and eventually it evolved into Roman culture.  Both Roman and Greek culture admired and, in some cases, worshipped the human form.  Both found circumcision to be reprehensible. Both did not like the Jewish practice of circumcision and wanted the Jews to stop the practice and assimilate into the rest of the empire. 

Force did not work to make the Jews change their practice, so the Greeks and then the Romans resorted to argumentation as well.  They accused the Jews of being barbaric, unnecessarily causing pain, and mutilating their bodies.  The Jewish people were now forced to explain to both themselves and to others why they were still practicing this ancient rite.  It was easy enough for a Jew to open the Torah and the book of Jeremiah and learn why circumcision was important, but how do we counter the relentless attacks against the practice from the gentiles among whom they lived?

The first Jewish philosopher to take up this challenge was Philo Judeaus of Alexandria (circa 20 BCE - 50 CE). Philo was an important Jewish philosopher who lived in Alexandria during the times of the second temple, when Egypt was part of the Ptolemaic kingdom.  Philo's writings are often directed at defending the meaning and purpose of Jewish religion and practice from the incessant attacks of the surrounding Hellenistic culture. Although his works have not generally been accepted into the rabbinic canon, one can still learn a lot from his philosophical explanations of the laws of the Torah.  He is considered to have been heavily influenced by the thought of Plato, and very well versed in the philosophy and science of his time.  Here is a quote from his "Treatise on Circumcision" (If you want to do the express version, feel free to skip to my summary at the end):

The genera and heads of all special laws, which are called "the ten commandments," have been discussed with accuracy in the former treatise. We must now proceed to consider the particular commands as we read them in the subsequent passages of the holy scriptures and we will begin with that which is turned into ridicule by people in general. The ordinance of circumcision of the parts of generation is ridiculed, though it is an act which is practiced to no slight degree among other nations also, and most especially by the Egyptians, who appear to me to be the most populous of all nations, and the most abounding in all kinds of wisdom. In consequence of which it would be most fitting for men to discard childish ridicule, and to investigate the real causes of the ordinance with more prudence and dignity, considering the reasons why the custom has prevailed, and not being precipitate, so as without examination to condemn the folly of mighty nations, recollecting that it is not probable that so many myriads should be circumcised in every generation, mutilating the bodies of themselves and of their nearest relations, in a manner which is accompanied with severe pain, without adequate cause; but that there are many reasons which might encourage men to persevere and continue a custom which has been introduced by previous generations, and that these are from reasons of the greatest weight and importance. 

First of all, that it is a preventive of a painful disease, and of an affliction difficult to be cured, which they call a carbuncle; because, I imagine, when it becomes inflamed it burns; from which fact it has derived that appellation. And this disease is very apt to be engendered among those who have not undergone the rite of circumcision. Secondly, it secures the cleanliness of the whole body in a way that is suited to the people consecrated to God; with which object the Egyptian priests, being extravagant in their case, shave the whole of their bodies; for some of these evils which ought to be got rid of are collected in and lodge under the hair and the prepuce. 

Thirdly, there is the resemblance of the part that is circumcised to the heart; for both parts are prepared for the sake of generation; for the breath contained within the heart is generative of thoughts, and the generative organ itself is productive of living beings.
Therefore, the men of old thought it right to make the evident and visible organ, by which the objects of the outward senses are generated, resemble that invisible and superior part, by means of which ideas are formed. The fourth, and most important, is that which relates to the provision thus made for prolificness; for it is said that the seminal fluid proceeds in its path easily, neither being at all scattered, nor flowing on its passage into what may be called the bags of the prepuce. On which account those nations which practice circumcision are the most prolific and the most populous.

These considerations have come to our ears, having been discussed of old among men of divine spirit and wisdom, who have interpreted the writings of Moses in no superficial or careless manner. But, besides what has been already said, I also look upon circumcision to be a symbol of two things of the most indispensable importance.

First of all, it is a symbol of the excision of the pleasures which delude the mind; for since, of all the delights which pleasure can afford, the association of man with woman is the most exquisite, it seemed good to the lawgivers to mutilate the organ which ministers to such connections; by which rite they signified figuratively the excision of all superfluous and excessive pleasure, not, indeed, of one only, but of all others whatever, through that one which is the most imperious of all.

The second thing is, that it is a symbol of a man's knowing himself, and discarding that terrible disease, the vain opinion of the soul; for some men, like good statuaries, have boasted that they can make that most beautiful animal, man; and, being puffed up with arrogance, have deified themselves, hiding from sight the true cause of the creation of all things namely, God, although they might have corrected that error from a consideration of other persons among whom they live; for there are among them many men who have no children, and many barren women whose connections lead to nothing, so that they grow old in childlessness.

We must therefore eradicate evil opinions from the mind, and all other ideas which are not devoted to God.

To summarize the ideas express by Philo, there are five main ideas:  

1. It prevents disease, such as some sort of "carbuncle" which can grow on the foreskin

2. It is clean, and prevents diseases which reside underneath the foreskin and cause some sort of infection

3. It represents the removal of the "foreskin of the heart" and brings about humility. It teaches us that even our own bodies are not perfect, and that we must humble ourselves before our true creator, God 

4.  It increases fertility by allowing more semen to be ejaculated

5.   It reduces sexual pleasure, which he viewed as a positive result in that it helps people focus more on God 

We have now added several more explanations of the circumcision commandment that we have not yet been exposed to.  Some of Philo's explanations were eventually adopted by later rabbinic scholars, and some were dropped and eventually ignored, as we shall see, Interestingly, the reason explicitly stated in the Torah, that of a sign of the special covenant between God and His people, was not mentioned by Philo.  Perhaps this was because many Egyptians themselves practiced circumcision, and Philo was trying to highlight similarities to gain acceptance by the society within which he lived.  He was not trying to highlight what made the Jews different.  

Rabbi Akiva - Man Perfects God's Creation

 A distinction is often made by Jewish writers between two types of commandments.  There are "Chukim" and there are "Mishpatim".   In general, a mishpat refers to a commandment in the Torah that is logical and something we probably would have come up with on our own, even without the Torah.  Examples would include most interpersonal mitzvot, such as honesty, charity etc.  A "chok" on the other hand refers to a mitzvah that does not make logical sense, and we would not have deduced it on our own. Examples would include restrictions against mixing meat and dairy etc...  These are extremely broad concepts of course.   

In general, rationalist thinkers tend to minimize the "chok" aspect of the Torah, and attempt to explain every mitzvah with a logical and sometimes scientific explanation.  When this is difficult, rather than say that there is no logical reason, such philosophers tend to say that we may not know the reason, but if we research hard enough, we will find the reason.  The most important such philosopher of course is Maimonides, who devotes an entire section in his Guide to explaining the reasons for mitzvot, even the ones that others dismiss as "chukim” ...

Philosophers that tend toward mystical thinking tend to emphasize the spiritual benefits of doing mitzvot because God commanded them.  There does not have to be a philosophical or scientific or social explanation. They tend to emphasize doing God's commandments because they are God's commandments. Period.  Even mitzvot that do make obvious logical sense should be performed out of allegiance to god, not because of mundane reasons.  The most extreme of such philosophers are those influenced by Kabbalah, but certainly there were many among the Talmudic Rabbis as well that emphasized this approach as well.

During the time of the Mishna and Talmud, there is of course a tremendous amount of discussion regarding the special mitzvah of circumcision.  However, almost all the discussion is about the laws of the mitzvah, the significance of the covenant between God and His people, and the holiness and importance of the rite of circumcision.  It is clear from the Talmud and Mishna that the reason for the mitzvah was, as stated in the Torah, a symbol of the covenant between God and the Jewish people. 

The first glimmer in the rabbinic literature that described another philosophical justification for the mitzvah of Milah is a discussion recorded in the Midrash Tanchuma. The Midrash tanchuma is one of the latest of all the Midrashim, and it appeared in its current form somewhere around the 8th or 9th century, but it is a compilation of rabbinic teachings that have been traced to much earlier times. Some have traced at least parts of the collection as far back as the second or third century (My translation from the Buber edition of Medrash Tanchuma Tazria:5).

How do we know that (circumcision) is considered a chok (something with no understandable reason)? As it says in Psalms 105:10 "And God established this for Jacob as a chok, for all of Israel a covenant forever" ..... There was a story that occurred when the evil Turnus Rufus (The Aramaic name of the  Roman governor, whose Roman name was Quintus Tineius Rufus, ruled in the time of Rabbi Akiva circa 90-130 CE, his tyrannical rule over the former Judea was so iron fisted and abusive that he is largely credited for spawning the Bar Kokhba rebellion against Rome.  His initial attempts at putting down the rebellion failed, and he was eventually disgraced due to his failure to control the Jewish rebellion) asked Rabbi Akiva, "Whose actions are more beautiful, God's or human beings?" Rabbi Akiva answered, "those of human beings!" Turnus Rufus responded, "Behold the heavens and the Earth, can a human being create anything like that?" Rabbi Akiva answered, "Don't ask me questions about things that human beings are not capable of, (as clearly that is a silly question and the two cannot be compared) If you are going to ask me questions of comparison, ask about things that human beings are capable of!" He then asked Rabbi Akiva, "Why are you (Jews) circumcised?" "I knew that's what you really wanted to ask!" Rabbi Akiva answered, "and that's why I said that the actions of human beings are more beautiful." Rabbi Akiva then brought in front of Turnus Rufus some stalks of grain and some cookies. He then said to Turnus rufus, "These (the stalks of grain) are the work of God's hands, and these (the cookies) are the work of man, aren't these cookies nicer than the stalks of grain?" Turnus Rufus then responded, "If God wanted you to be circumcised, why didn't He have babies be born circumcised already?" To which Rabbi Akiva responded, "When a baby comes out, isn’t the placenta that comes out with him attached by an umbilical cord that his mother must cut? As to your question regarding why God didn’t create the baby already circumcised, because God gave us commandments in order that we should purify and improve ourselves! This is why King David said, "The words of God purify! (Psalms 18:31)" 

This Medrash is extremely important for several reasons.  First of all, it defines circumcision clearly as a chok, a mitzvah which we would not have logically derived on our own.  But then Rabbi Akiva is forced to defend the practice in front of a Roman Governor, like the types of people Philo wrote his defense of circumcision in response to. However, Rabbi Akiva gave a quite different answer than Philo, and with his answer Rabbi Akiva spoke to the essence of what Judaism is really about.  A Roman cannot imagine a God that does not create something perfect, that is what makes Him a God!  However, a Jew believes that God created a world and gave us human beings a mission to sanctify this world, to bring holiness and spread the message of God.  God deliberately created an "imperfect" world and gave us a job to do.  The world God created was designed so that we must perfect it.  In this sense God also created a baby boy and asked us to complete the creation.  This lesson should be imprinted on us from our very childhood.  If the world is not right, it is our job to fix it.  It is not right to stand by and let evil pass simply by saying that "This must be what God wants".

Rabbi Saadiah Gaon - A Covenant is a Two-way Street

Rabbi Saadiah Gaon (882-942) was one of the most important rationalist Jewish philosophers, and one of the first to write a detailed book on Jewish philosophy.  In the context of a discussion of philosophical questions that a Rationalist might ask that would challenge his belief in the truth of the Torah, Rabbi Saadia Gaon writes as follows (my own translation, Ha'Emunot Ve'ha'deyot 3:10):

The seventh question that one might be bothered by is when he is thinking about some of the commandments. How could it be that when a man is healthy and complete as he was created, that it is not perfect (as intended by God)? Then suddenly when he removes a certain body part (from a perfectly healthy child) now the child is complete? Obviously, I am referring to (the mitzvah of) circumcision! I will therefore explain to you, that perfection is when something both has nothing missing, but also has nothing extra, and God, when he created man placed this extra body part on man, in order that human beings when they will remove it, will create perfection.

Rabbi Saadiah is responding to skeptics who are asking the same question that Turnus Rufus asked Rabbi Akiva.  Isn't God's creation perfect?  To which Rabbi Saadiah gave the same answer as Rabbi Akiva, with a little different emphasis.  NO, God deliberately created a world that is not perfect, and it is our job as human beings to make it perfect.  Sometimes that requires building things, and sometimes removing things.  This then is the lesson we are supposed to learn from the sign of the covenant.  A true covenant must be a two-way street.  We must bring the world closer to God by repairing it, as he brings us closer to him by His teachings.  

Maimonides - Controlling Sexual Urges

Maimonides is the most famous of the Rationalist Jewish thinkers, and he devoted an entire section of his philosophic magnum opus, The Guide to the Perplexed, to the mission of explaining the reasons for the mitzvot.  Here is how Maimonides explains the mitzvah of circumcision:

As regards circumcision, I think that one of its objects is to limit sexual intercourse, and to weaken the organ of generation as far as possible, and thus cause man to be moderate. Some people believe that circumcision is to remove a defect in man’s formation; but every one can easily reply: How can products of nature be deficient so as to require external completion, especially as the use of the fore-skin to that organ is evident. This commandment has not been enjoined as a complement to a deficient physical creation, but as a means for perfecting man’s moral shortcomings. The bodily injury caused to that organ is exactly that which is desired; it does not interrupt any vital function, nor does it destroy the power of generation. Circumcision simply counteracts excessive lust; for there is no doubt that circumcision weakens the power of sexual excitement, and sometimes lessens the natural enjoyment; the organ necessarily becomes weak when it loses blood and is deprived of its covering from the beginning. Our Sages (Beresh. Rabba, c. 80) say distinctly: It is hard for a woman, with whom an uncircumcised had sexual intercourse, to separate from him. This is, as I believe, the best reason for the commandment concerning circumcision. And who was the first to perform this commandment? Abraham, our father! of whom it is well known how he feared sin; it is described by our Sages in reference to the words, “Behold, now I know that thou art a fair woman to look upon” (Gen. xii. 11).

There is, however, another important object in this commandment. It gives to all members of the same faith, i.e., to all believers in the Unity of God, a common bodily sign, so that it is impossible for any one that is a stranger, to say that he belongs to them. For sometimes people say so for the purpose of obtaining some advantage, or in order to make some attack upon the Jews. No one, however, should circumcise himself or his son for any other reason but pure faith; for circumcision is not like an incision on the leg, or a burning in the arm, but a very difficult operation. It is also a fact that there is much mutual love and assistance among people that are united by the same sign when they consider it as [the symbol of] a covenant. Circumcision is likewise the [symbol of the] covenant which Abraham made in connexion with the belief in God’s Unity. So also every one that is circumcised enters the covenant of Abraham to believe in the unity of God, in accordance with the words of the Law, “To be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee” (Gen. xvii. 7). This purpose of the circumcision is as important as the first, and perhaps more important. (Guide to the Perplexed 3:49, Friedlander translation)

Maimonides is well known for his aversion to sexual behavior in general, following in the footsteps of his mentor Aristotle who believed that sexual desire and activity was the basest of human instincts.  It was therefore quite logical for Maimonides to assume that the reduction of sexual pleasure and behavior was a good and healthy thing from a scientific perspective.  So according to Maimonides, the circumcision reduced both male and female sexual pleasure, which for him was a reasonable scientific explanation. Interestingly though, after his scientific rationale for circumcision, Maimonides emphasizes the spiritual aspect of the sign of the covenant between the Jewish people and God, and the solidarity among the people of the covenant as expressed by this bodily sign.  In this, Maimonides is being completely consistent with his usual approach of using the scriptural basis of the laws together with what he saw as scientific and logical basis as well.

The Sefer HaChinuch (Author uncertain, 13th century Spain) combines both Maimonides' discussion and Rabbi Saadiah Gaon, and describes the reason for the mitzvah of Milah as being both a sign to differentiate between Jews and Gentiles, and as a physical completion that God left to human beings.  He does not describe why a body without a foreskin is more complete though and does not mention Maimonides description of a decrease in sexual desire or the health benefits described by Philo.

Maimonides has now brought into the rabbinic discussion the claims that Philo made a thousand years earlier.  That the lesson of the circumcision was that we must appropriately control our physical urges.  Both Maimonides and Philo understood this physiologically, i.e. that removing the foreskin lessened the sex drive.  However, later thinkers understood this more as a moral lesson.  That by removing the foreskin we remind ourselves that are sexual behavior needs to be properly controlled and appropriately expressed.  We will see this shortly in the words of Rabbi Hirsch.

A Quick Nod to the Mystics

As the mystical approach to Torah became more dominant in Judaism, there were of course many mystical and spiritual explanations of the special mitzvah of circumcision.   Comparisons of the blood of Milah to the blood of sacrifices, comparisons between the blood of the Milah to the binding of Isaac, the idea that the name of God was "written" on the Jewish man's body through circumcision, and many more spiritual explanations.  However, I am writing this blog as a chronicler of the rationalist approach, so I am not going to do an exhaustive review of the mystical significance of this mitzvah. It is important however to remind the readers of the blog that there is an extraordinarily rich history of spiritual explanations and meanings behind this ritual.  I am not belittling them at all, God forbid.  I would just have to start a new blog to discuss "Mystical Medical Halacha" and I am sorry, but I am not planning such a blog.

Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch Responds to Reform

Both the mystical and rationalistic traditions regarding circumcision continued to flourish for centuries side by side until modern times. For the rationalists, the explanations of Rabbi Saadiah Gaon, Rambam, and the Sefer HaChinuch remained the basis of the circumcision ritual. All was well with circumcision among Jews until the advent of the reform movement.  One of the first religious practices attacked by the Reform movement was the practice of circumcision.  The arguments against it included: that it was "barbaric", that God doesn't create "imperfect" human beings, that it was designed to separate Jews from others, that it violates the free choice of the child, that it violates the Torah's principle of not injuring oneself, and so on.  Most of these arguments we have already seen in our discussions of the attacks of the gentiles against circumcision, but now these attacks were coming from fellow Jews.

The spiritualist and mystically oriented Jews of Eastern Europe did not really have to confront the "rationalist" arguments of the anti-circumcizers.  For them, the spiritual reasons for circumcision were enough.  However, the Rationalist Halacha observant Jews, mostly concentrated in Germany and other Western European countries, desperately needed an educated and informed rationalist response to the anti-circumcision onslaught brought on by the reformers.  The most important and most articulate rationalist defender of Orthodoxy was Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch (1808-1888), and he stepped up to the plate and produced what remains the most beautiful and well-reasoned explanation of the sign of the covenant.

Rabbi Hirsch writes a lengthy treatise on the subject which is detailed and too long to quote here in its entirety.  I am therefore going to summarize his ideas in my own words, and for those who would like to read it in the original, please see his Essay "A Basic Outline of Jewish Symbolism" which is printed in several of the various collections of Rabbi Hirsch's writings.

According to Rabbi Hirsch, the mitzvah of Brit Milah symbolizes the very essence of what differentiates Judaism from many other religions. In other religions, sexual activity, indeed all physical activity is considered mundane and unholy.  They may be necessary for life, but they are still physical and mundane.  However, a Jew worships God and sanctifies life by the very mundane activities that others think are just debased and physical.  A Jew does this by following God's instructions on how to perform these otherwise physical behaviors. Nowhere is this idea more evident than when it comes to human sexuality.  Sexuality is holy and special, and sanctifies the human body, but only when it is done properly in the proper context.  By commanding His people to remove the foreskin of the male sexual organ, God is reminding us in a physical way how holy and special the sexual act is, if we remember His guidance and laws.  The covenant between God and His people is exactly this.  We make the world holy by using the bodies and emotions and drives that He created us with for their proper purpose.

Rabbi Hirsch goes on to describe how the removal of the foreskin symbolizes the removal of that which separates our physicality from our spirituality.   In Judaism, the two are not separate, but they are two parts of one whole.  Judaism does not believe or teach that the physical and spiritual reside on different planes.  They are all one and the same in the service of Godliness.

Ultimately though, Rabbi Hirsch still defines the essence of circumcision as a "chok" - something we do because God commanded us so, and not for health reasons. We do it because God asked us to make a sign on our bodies of the special covenant between us and God.   It is that covenant that gives us the ability to elevate the mundane and sanctify the profane.

For those familiar with the teachings of Rabbi Hirsch, the above summary of his ideas regarding circumcision would sound remarkably familiar.  Rabbi Hirsch often emphasizes the symbolism of the actions that we do for God.  The meaning in our actions lies in understanding the lessons that this action is supposed to teach.  This is rationalistic in the sense that it provides meaning to the action, though it also avoids assigning scientific reasons to the action.  The action itself remains a chok, something we will never fully grasp.  But we can grasp the lessons that we are supposed to learn from this act.

Post Rabbi Hirsch - Nothing New

After Rabbi Hirsch many rabbis have written about this subject, but as far as I could find, no one has come up with anything new that was not already said.  So, I will end my survey of rabbinic literature with Rabbi Hirsch. In general, the "health benefits" arguments of Maimonides and Philo fell by the wayside, and the symbolism of the covenant, and the many lessons to be learned have become the mainstay of the rabbinic rationalist approach towards circumcision.

There is an obvious advantage to dropping the health-related arguments.  Science can, and has, proven these arguments to be wrong in many cases.  So clearly one is taking a dangerous position by attempting to explain the Torah with scientific claims that may one day be disproven.  However, the Rambam in many places understood and stated specifically that his suggestions were just suggestions.  If these assertions are one day proven false, Maimonides would simply have moved on to another possible suggestion.  

Let me summarize the "reasons" that we have discussed regarding the practice of circumcision:

1.  A sign of the special covenant between God and His people (Torah)

2.  A physical sign of our membership in a specific group (Torah and described by Maimonides and sefer HaChinuch)

3.  A symbol to remind us to remove the obstacles of corruption that separate our hearts from God (Jeremiah)

4.  Health reasons (Philo)

5.  reduction of sexual pleasure (Maimonides and Philo)

6.  Increased fertility (Philo)

7.  To teach us that man is meant to work on and perfect God's creation (Rabbi Akiva)

8.  A covenant is a two-way street (Rabbi Sa'adiah Gaon)

9.  To teach us to control our sexual urges (Maimonides)

10. To teach us the concept that we sanctify the mundane by adhering to God's instructions (Rabbi Hirsch)

11. To teach us that are no barriers in Judaism between the physical and spiritual, all is holy (Rabbi Hirsch)

12. a bazillion spiritual, mystical, and kabbalistic explanations

13. it is a chok. God said so. period. 

(Reasons 5 and 6 have been proven to be scientifically incorrect. Reason #4 is scientifically correct but not exactly in the same way that Philo presented it)

 

Before we leave this subject, I believe that it is important to write about the current medical science regarding the health benefits of circumcision.  Not because these are the reasons for the commandment, we just discussed those in detail, but because it is interesting that this practice does have known and scientifically proven health benefits.  Please see this statement by the American Academy of Pediatrics for the full details of the medical benefits of circumcision.  

It is encouraging to know, that this practice that Jews have been doing for thousands of years, has the following medical benefits and more: Circumcision reduces the transmission rates of almost all STDs thus protecting both the circumcised male and his female sexual partner. These STD's include HIV, HPV, syphilis, herpes, Chancroid, and several more.  It was noted to have a protective effect against Bacterial vaginosis in female partners of circumcised men, and on the rates of cervical cancer in female partners and penile cancer in the men themselves.  Circumcision reduces the rates of urinary tract infections in baby boys, and phimosis in adult men.  There is also clear evidence that there is no reduction in sexual functioning, sexual desire, or sexual satisfaction in either circumcised men or their female partners.  There is clear evidence of no difference in fertility.  Please read the link I posted above for more details.

There is obviously much more to be discussed about this subject. But this is a weekly Parsha post, and my goal was to give the rationalist approach to a medical halacha in this week's parsha, and I hope I accomplished this task.  Please let me know what you think!