TORAH PORTION
KEDEIMI
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44
FRIDAY, APRIL 3, 1992
Special to The Jewish News
T
he portion Tazria deals
with details of child-
birth and the ritual
status of an Israelite mother
after childbirth. At the very
outset of the portion is the re-
quirement that a male child
shall be circumcised on the
eighth day after birth.
Jewish circumcision origin-
ated with the commandment
of circumcision to be perform-
ed as a token of the covenant
between God and Abraham in
order that Abraham!s descen-
dants would inherit the land
of Canaan. (Genesis 17:11).
The practice of circumcision
was widely known in other
ancient cultures but assumed
a new significance in the
Israelite religion. It was not
merely a religious practice. It
took on a national character.
The importance of circumci-
sion in the Bible is ex-
emplified by the heated, con-
temptuous reference to the
Philistines as being "uncir-
cumcised." In Hellenistic
times circumcision was wide-
ly neglected. Many Jews who
wanted to participate nude in
the Greek games in the gym-
nasia underwent painful
operations to obliberate the
signs of circumcision. An-
tiochus Epiphanes prohibited
circumcision among the Jews.
Mothers who had their sons
circumcised suffered mar-
tyrdom. •
With the rise of Christiani-
ty it became a sign of the dif-
ference between the adher-
ents of the two religions. The
influence of circumcision on
Jewish life throughout the
ages became increasingly
strong. The more it was pro-
hibited, the more its obser-
vance was taken as a sole re-
maining affinity with
Judaism. Spinoza once
declared that the practice of
this rite was alone sufficient
to insure the survival of the
Jewish people.
In primitive times, medi-
cine and science were all part
of religion. The origins of cir-
cumcision as a Jewish rite
have long been forgotten. The
Ten Commandments do not
include circumcision. Pro-
bably at that time, it was
taken for granted, for to be
uncircumcised was synony-
mous with being unclean.
It was during the Babylo-
nian Exile that Jews found it
Dr. Hertz is rabbi emeritus of
Temple Beth El in
Birmingham.
important to practice circum-
cision. The inhabitants of
Mesopotamia did not know
circumcision and, therefore, it
became a mark that
distinguished Jews from their
heathen neighbors.
Circumcision probably ob-
tained its greatest impor-
tance in the priestly writings
of the Torah, for circumcision
was regarded as an outward
sign of the covenant which
bound Abraham and his
children to "walk before God
Almighty and be whole-
hearted." The circumcision of
a child or a proselyte meant
receiving him into the com-
munity of the Jewish people
and separating him from his
heathen neighbors by con-
secrating him to the one and
only God. Thus as a sign of
Shabbat Tazria
Leviticus 12:1-3:59
Exodus 12:1-20
Numbers 28:9-15
Ezekiel 45:16-46:18
the covenant of Abraham, cir-
cumcision assumed a deep
spiritual meaning and still is
the outward mark of belong-
ing to the Jewish people.
When the Jews were seek-
ing converts during the inter-
testimentary period of Jewish
history, they found that it was
no easy task for a pagan to
embrace Judaism. For men
especially, circumcision was a
great obstacle to the adoption
of the Jewish religion. Paul
tried to make it easy for
pagans to beome Christians
by declaring circumcision un-
necessary for converts.
Circumcision has become a
religious ceremony of great
significance, often prompting
a festive occasion in which
the family and friends can
rejoice.
Today, even Jews who are
indifferent to all religious
rites still practice circumci-
sion, sometimes without the
traditional ceremony. Many
Soviet Jews coming to Israel
undergo circumcision in order
to identify themselves with
Judaism and the Jewish peo-
ple. So important is that iden-
tification regarded by Soviet
Jews.
In America many Jewish
customs and folkways have
been discarded, but the
ceremony of circumcision con-
tinues to be the identification
of continuity with the Jewish
people.
We see then the Torah por-
tion for this week includes the