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Dr. Aaron Jesin Mohel & Family Physician Ritual Orthodox Circumcision 4256 Bathurst St. Suite 203 Downsview, Ont. M3H 5Y8 Telephone: (416) 635-5012
The acceptance of this commandment, or mitzvah, established an eternal bond between God and the Children of Israel. Its observance today is testimony to the continuity and strength of that relationship which requires us to perform the mitzvah with adherence to the laws and customs prescribed in the Torah and interpreted by our sages.
God appeared to Abraham when he was 99 years old and commanded him to circumcise himself, his son, Ishmael, all the males of his household and all his slaves. It is said that Abraham accomplished this on the tenth day of the month of Tishri, later designated as Yom Kippur, when the sins of the Jewish people were forgiven. The following year, when Isaac was born, he was circumcised on the eighth day. In return for his faithfulness, God promised Abraham that his descendants would become a great nation and inherit the land of Canaan for eternity.
Although circumcision dates to prehistoric times, and is one of the oldest operations performed by mankind, for the Jewish people the rite supersedes the surgical component. The rabbis believed it so important that they declared, "Were it not for the blood of the covenant, heaven and earth would not exist." (Shabbat 137b) Punishment for failure to obey this commandment was to be karet - cut off from one's kind, more specifically, excised from the community by Divine decree. Gradually, brit milah acquired a national identity, making its performance today as mandatory for the modern secularists of Israel as for the traditionally observant.
A rather comprehensive article by Jon Levenson on the subject of the Jewish perspective on anti-circumcision can be found in the March 2000 Commentary Magazine
Dr. Aaron Jesin Webmaster: interactivepages Internet Service
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