Question

Thank you very much for your reply. I find this really disturbing and it saddens me to hear that a child who is not circumcized is "spiritually cut off from God and the Jewish people." (see Genesis 17:14) even if born of a Jewish mother. I have always thought of God as a more compassionate being than that. Does that mean that I am cut off too because I chose to marry outside of my religion? This just brings up a whole list of questions for me.

Anyway, the consideration would never even have crossed my mind had I not married an Englishman who is neither Jewish nor circumcised. The funny thing is that I am very logical and in this case I can see equal reasons for and against. My husband thinks that we should just raise him Jewish and let him decide about his own spirituality later on. The thought being that if our son should feel really strongly about it one way or another he will be able to make the choice.

Some Reasons for: Judaism, less of a possibility of future infections, will look like 80% of the American population

Some Reasons against: Father isn't circumcized, keep the body in its orginal natural state (as God created us), enhanced sexual pleasure for a man later in life, no pain for the baby, 80% of the world's male population aren't circumcized (including Jews living in Israel)

It is the first time where my decision isn't clear and I am usually a good logical decision-maker. Thanks in advance for helping me think this through.

Answer

God is compassionate, and that's why He wants to preserve the Jewish people as a force in this world. The Jewish people make important contributions to the world. The values that the civilized world takes for granted - "monotheism," "love your neighbor," "peace on earth," "justice for all," "universal education," "all men are created equal," "dignity of the individual," "the preciousness of life" - are all from the Torah. This is an enormous impact and we accomplished it under the most adverse conditions. As far as keeping the body in its natural state: The Almighty created the human body imperfect, as a metaphor for the imperfection of the world itself. Just as we perfect the body through Bris Milah, so too we must perfect the world through Tikkun Olam. This is a very important lesson, which is otherwise lost on an uncircumcised jewish baby. As far as letting the baby decide for himself later in life, it is highly unlikely that as an adult he will choose circumcision, so you are effectively making the choice for him now. And don't we make many such choices for our children: Being selective about the books they read, the children they play with, etc. This is how we train our children to grow up with the values we hold important. I hope this has been helpful.