Circumcision Safety: A Case Study in the Failure of Leaderships

Abstract

Male circumcision is central to the Jewish faith. It was a mitzvah given to Abraham, the first Jew, and it is practiced by members of all major Jewish communities throughout the world. Acutely aware of the centrality of circumcision to the Jewish people, history is replete with efforts by anti-Semites to uproot the practice. Such campaigns continue today and, at least in Europe, have managed some recent success. Efforts to ban circumcision in the United States, although apparently more frequently in the past few years, have been unsuccessful.

Lately, however, a serious concern has arisen regarding the safety of one particular aspect of many Jewish circumcisions, a step known as Metzizah b’Peh or MBP. Neither the secular nor the Jewish leaderships in the United States has properly responded to this concern. In fact, most secular authorities have simply ignored the issue. Even the one notable exception, New York City’s Department of Health, has crafted a completely inadequate regulatory response, which, in any event, the New York City government fails to enforce. Important segments of the rabbinic leadership have blithely dismissed the concern out of hand and have actually supported litigation contesting New York City’s innocuous regulation. As a result, neither the secular nor the rabbinic leadership has appropriately protected the health of young children or ensured that parents will be in the position to make informed decisions as to their children’s welfare.

The rabbinic leadership, however, has failed in at least two additional ways. First, safety is an extremely important factor in Jewish law, and by uncritically dismissing medical evidence about the harms of MBP, these rabbis may well reach incorrect Jewish law conclusions regarding MBP. Second, as a “political” matter, rabbinic leadership has contributed to the creation of a precedent for secular regulation of a fundamental Jewish religious rite. Even worse, the legal challenge to the regulation is likely to fail, further cementing this precedent.

This experience underscores the critical importance of direct involvement by members of the Jewish community in selecting secular and rabbinic leaders and in holding them accountable for their decisions.

Keywords: Agudath Israel of America, brit milah, circumcision, compelling state interest, herpes simplex, Jewish, MBP, Metzizah b’eh, Mohel, New York, rabbi, rabbinic, religion, religious freedom, slippery slope